#because IMAGINE the last time you were in Asgard the whole line of succession just fuckin Disappeared and you became king

[woulddieforloki]

W A I T okay this has probably been done before but has anyone ever written a fic where The Avengers just. like. didn't happen? like Thanos couldn't break Loki so he just threw him down to Earth or maybe Thanos did break him but the Mind Stone was supposed to make him do Evil Things except it stopped working after he went through the Tesseract? so Loki's just kinda There™ in SHIELD headquarters while the whole place is falling apart and everyone's just like ??? and Fury and Clint drag the very confused random man out of there before they call get very dead and Loki's either half-dead because Thanos couldn't break him or he's just very confused because the Mind Stone suddenly stopped working and it's just a very unproductive moment?

and then stuff happens and Thor comes down to Earth and they manage to get the Tesseract from SHIELD somehow and they go back to Asgard and Loki hasn't actually really done anything so they go to see Odin and Odin's just like ........... because like yeah Loki kinda overthrew the monarchy but he was having a bad day and he does seem to realize that was wrong (at least enough that he's not actively trying to murder his brother again) so Odin just kinda awkwardly pats him on the back and welcomes him home

and then Loki just has to. like. live with it. and everyone's all weird about him now and they've always been weird about him but now they're extra weird about him because he was king for a day? and then fucking died? except he didn't? and then obviously Heimdall and Sif and the Warriors Three know what really happened which makes it even weirder when Loki comes back and tries to go back to his normal life and nobody's gonna tell him not to go back to his normal life because. like. he should do that. probably. but at the same time like twelve months ago Loki fucking killed himself and how do you just move on from that (and if you figure out the answer please tell Loki because he really doesn't fucking know)

#because IMAGINE the last time you were in Asgard the whole line of succession just fuckin Disappeared and you became king #and then you kinda went insane and got a little violent and then got a lot suicidal #and then a year of indescribable horrors pass and suddenly you're back in bed with your favorite book in front of you #except there are no WORDS IN IT #but like there ARE words in it you just can't READ THEM #except you ARE READING THEM they're just not fuckiNG WORDS THEY DON'T MAKE SENSE WHY CAN'T YOU READ #oh right haha it's the ✨ t r a u m a ✨ #but no one wants to talk about the trauma which is fine because you don't want to talk about the trauma either #except if you don't talk about the trauma you will EXPLODE #except if you do talk about the trauma you will DIE #and all you wanted to do was play a little prank on your brother and maybe also stop him from becoming king for a few weeks #because you weren't ready for him to become your legitimate superior yet because he's just your big bro and that's all you want him to be #and if you'd known it was gonna be such a hassle you would've just skipped the stupid coronation and screamed into your pillow #like a normal person with normal person coping mechanisms #fic idea? #back on my bullshit

[hitbythunder]

Among the Gods of Asgard -3

A dark!Thor x Reader, minor Loki x Reader story with all the drama and angst you’re craving. Including Alexander Skarsgard as Balder.

–> Read also on AO3

Summary: The gods are being loved and feared in equal parts by their subjects, more the latter by the thousands of slaves working for them. Ten feet tall, powerful and immortal are the rulers of all beings within the Nine Realms. You, the daughter of an Asgardian merchant, fancy the three handsome princes of Odin - like any woman does - and dream of actually meeting them instead of watching them at public events. That is until, as a consequence of Loki’s tricks, you are being forced into slavery at the royal court. Amidst this harsh new reality, you catch the attention of the god of Thunder who then seeks to make you his alone. You are nothing but a toy, a puppet, in the god’s eyes and he will use you as he pleases.

Do not hope for mercy.

**** WARNING: dark story, manipulative Thor, heavy rape/non-con elements, no happy ending in sight

____________________________xXx____________________________

The crown-prince of Asgard was a man to be envied by thousands of others. For he had everything one could dream about. Wealth beyond imagination, the might of thunder coursing through his veins and a physique like carved marble, all embellishing his immortal life. And as if that wasn't enough, Thor Odinsson would soon step into his father's place and become king of Asgard. Oh how he enjoyed the sound of it already. Thor, king of Asgard, Protector of the Nine Realms and Ruler over all beings.

The prospect caused a warm pleasant shudder to rush along his spine, trailing his muscled back like slender fingers of a wanton woman. This sensation grew more violent with each repetition of the line.

Many would have called Thor a greedy, spoiled brat who strived only for his own satisfaction regardless the cost – if they had the courage to face him and his famous temper, his wrath capable of erasing whole villages with ease. Truth be told, the crown-prince was guilty at all points and probably at a few more the public didn't know about.

But Thor didn't care.

He loved his life, indulging in every single day, be it the hard training in the morning, the joyous afternoons with his brothers or the heated nights with one of the goddesses. Yes, Thor had a certain reputation in this regard too and since the branches of the gods' family tree would fill several pages, he had some options to choose from. Currently, there was Sif the goddess of harvest, who had been a dear friend of his since their early childhood. Thor's amicable feelings for her had transformed into those of a more salacious nature, however, not until Sif's name-day last year. The celebrations in her honor in early autumn had been one of the very rare occasions that the goddess had shown herself in a lovely dress. Since Sif was also a fierce warrioress, her body was usually hidden beneath cold metal but not so on that very night. The caramel silk clung to her athletic but feminine figure in all the right ways. Thus, while the citizens of Asgard had humbly presented their offerings, Thor's hungry gaze had lingered on the goddess's alluring curves, wondering how he could have missed them before.

Skilled as he was, Thor had her wrapped around his finger soon after, her welcoming legs spreading wide for him. Because once the predator was awoken he would complete the hunt no matter the obstacles. And there was always new prey.

Almost simultaneously, queen Frigga introduced her first-born to the goddess Idunn, whom she deemed best suited as a wife – and perhaps future queen. In comparison to Sif's lean physique from the fighting, Idunn was a lot softer all around and she didn't shy at displaying her voluptuous assets. And Norns, Idunn's fruits were beyond ripe. So Thor didn't complain and played the charming prince, aiming at burying his face in those welcoming tits.

Which he did actually, two moons after their first introduction, and her soft flesh felt just as heavenly as expected.

Why wait with the fun until after a mayhap-wedding? Take what you desire and indulge in its utter consumption without regret. That was the motto according to which Thor fought, ate and fucked.

Both Sif and Idunn could verify that fact.

    All in all, the crown-prince enjoyed the luxuries of his life without questioning the (social) mechanisms behind them, whether they were just or not wasn't in his interest. Asgardians were far below the god and slaves mostly even invisible - if they did as being told, that is. For woe betide anyone who failed to keep up his duties! A serving girl once spilled the prince's wine while pouring and Thor had replied promptly with a mean back fist, sending her across the room.

The Thunderer was known for having the highest turn-over rate of personal slaves.

xxx

Whenever the god lay with one of his affairs, the world around him blurred and nothing else but the whimpering woman beneath him mattered, her squirms of delight ringing in his ears. Also this time, as he took Sif against the balustrade on the balcony of his bedroom, their garments removed just so that the heated flesh could meet. High up above the rest of the city, Thor succumbed to the bliss and almost didn't notice the silent observer. From the corner of his eye he spied the small figure standing on a balcony of the nearest tower, some cloth in hand.

One of Balder's maids...

The girl was staring nonchalantly at the god and continued to do so even when their gazes met.

Persistent just as Thor kept burying himself in the damp wet hole.

Sif's moans grew louder, more appreciative as her cunt pulsated with every thrust, and reclaimed Thor's attention – both cock and mind. Being close made him grip Sif's hips hard, helping himself deeper into her, the way he enjoyed most. His satisfaction was what he strived for, always, regardless the needs of the woman beneath him.And although the grand wave was already rising on the boarder of his mind, somehow, the thought of being watched wouldn't make way for the crescendo. Thus Thor increased speed, sending Sif over the edge and causing the world once more to blur around him.

Except for one particular spot.

The girl was still there, frozen in place and staring right at the panting god. His gaze was heavy laden with lust, the blue a tad darker than usual and sparkling between the strands of golden hair. When it fell upon the girl, a lovely shade of crimson painted her cheeks and Thor smirked triumphantly. Then he came.

xxx

With a quiet squeal, ________ shut the balcony door after she was back inside from shaking out a cushion. Her mind was spinning, matching the flutter of her heart and she slowly walked over to the large bed. Absentmindedly she put the pillow back in its place, images of what she had just witnessed flashing up before her inner eye. Those strong hands holding on to the moaning woman while penetrating her, each thrust vigorous as per the looks of it. _______ hadn't been able to tear her eyes away from the scene, away from the ocean blue orbs of the crown prince as he fucked. Norns, he could have me hanged for that...

During her first few weeks, ________ had learned about the dos and don'ts as a slave, when to be silent and which gods to avoid messing with. Thor was leading the ranking. The many stories of how he maltreated (not only his) servants haunted the girl in her dreams.

Luckily, Balder was not like his brother in this regard and he seemed to keep his promise, having ________ cleaning his chambers or fetching him some items. Generally easy tasks which she carried out dutifully nevertheless, giving her master no opportunity to complain. Her current punishment was harsh enough so better not add any unnecessary extensions. With that in mind, the girl wondered why she hadn't been able to look away.

She had almost given up on solving this riddle when some nights later, the three brothers decided to close the day with some cups of wine in Loki's salon. After a successful hunt together, they had each retreated quickly to their own chambers in order to change, Balder had even refreshed himself in the hot tub of the common baths, before they gathered again. While Loki had his slaves prepare some drinks and food, both Thor and Balder had each brought two of their own servants as well, ________ being among them.

It was the first time she entered the private chambers of the youngest prince, a mysterious place full of wondrous magical objects as she had heard. As they entered, the girl looked curiously around the salon, it's interior being dominated by green, gold and dark ebony. Very classy and matching the Trickster's image. Yet her admiration was overlapped by growing nervousness when she spied the crown-prince sitting on the couch next to the fireplace, the flames tinting his blonde locks in an orange glow. The piece of furniture was entirely occupied by his long, muscular limbs stretching in all directions as he relaxed, the dark red tunic being stretched as his broad chest expanded with every breath. And here I thought Balder was huge...

Upon seeing the three princes together, the differences of their physiques became prominent: Loki was lean and athletic while Balder was well-built and a tad taller. Well, and Thor was massive.

"Come and sit, brother!" the Thunderer called and waved lazily with one large hand towards the couch opposite of him. Following her master further into the room, ________ purposefully remained behind him in order to hide from the giant on the couch - a least a little while longer. As Balder sat down, she looked around for the drinks so that she wouldn't let him wait. But one of Loki's slaves already hurried towards the god, the green double-serpent inside the ring on her upper arm glowing vibrantly in the dim lit room. Thus there was nothing for _______ to do right now than to position herself a little in the background and wait for an order. Of course Thor noted her then, a spark of recognition crossing his eyes as they fell upon her. Much to the girl's relief, however, he chose to ignore her for the rest of the evening.

xxx

Time floated by as did one bottle of wine after another. The gods were in a good mood and chatting casually about various topics, some of which ________ found quite interesting to listen to. The shallow conversation was punctuated by many subtle, quite entertaining jokes of the Trickster and the girl found herself stifling a laugh at least trice. Loki, the god of Lies and Mischief, impressed her with both his witty comments and his looks. Clad in a dark green tunic atop back leather pants, matching his neatly combed raven hair, he had draped himself gracefully onto he plush couch next to Balder. The porcelain skin resembled a painting, soft strokes forming his oval face and those long black lashes atop the strong shade of emerald green. The god's appearance didn't account for the cruelty he was capable of - the snake wasn't his sigil for naught - but the way he hissed at his slaves for no reason gave a good hint. ______ was almost feeling thankful for being Balder's maid.

xxx

Later and back in Balder's chambers, two maids helped him undress while _______ drew the heavy curtains of the bedroom shut, pulling at the long piece of fabric with all her strength to move it. Her body already yearned for sleep, her plain strawy mattress in the slave quarters transforming into a wonderful prospect with each passing minute. "_________?" Balder suddenly called from across the room, already in his nightgown and walking towards the over-sized bed. "My golden bangle appears to be missing..." Her shift could have been over for today but no.

"I need you to retrieve it for me from the bath. That's where I probably left it!" the god added as he slipped beneath the silken blanket, the soft mattress giving way under his weight. _______ watched him full of envy but smiled at him nevertheless. "Of course, your highness!" she replied sweetly and bowed before she took her leave. "But don't wake me, just put it onto the table in the salon once you have it!" Balder had received the missing bangle from his father to signal the reaching of adulthood. Of course the prince would send her, the maid he trusted most with such a task. Apparently, this was Balder's way to value her well manners and upper-class education or he merely intended to test whether she would cheat on him like Harald had. Anyways, ________ could feel honored but instead she cursed the forgetful god, the Norns and above all her father for keeping her persistently from sleep.

She hurried down the empty hallways, racing around corners and past a few guards, in utter determination to find this damned piece of reminiscence.

That was until she reached the large doors to the common baths.

#dark!thor #thor x reader #thor movies #loki x reader #among the gods of asgard #drama and angst #fanfic

[brightsun-and-darkmidnight]

Heartbeat: A Fragile Reminder

TITLE: Heartbeat: A Fragile Reminder

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 35 / ?

AUTHOR: brightsun-and-dark midnight

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki falling in love with a Midgardian and his words to Thor about Jane during Dark World coming back to haunt him. “It would be a heartbeat. You would never be ready.”

RATING:  M for Mature

NOTES/WARNINGS: ~▪︎~FOR THE WHOLE STORY~▪︎~

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Check Masterlist. It's going to be a long read. I try to keep each chapter around 3,000 words.

My Ao3: brightsun_and_darkmidnight

!-!TRIGGER WARNING(S)!-!

So many triggers, read ALL of them!

Swearing. Angst. Death. Depression. Violence. Self-harm. Regret. Carelessness for safety. Doubts. Torture. NSFW. Smut. Fluff. And Of Course- Mischief.

Summary: Some stress is dealt with as Alicia asks Loki about a secret he has kept. 

~ ~ ENJOY ~ ~

With breakfast Alicia didn't eat much due to the knot in her stomach.

Setting her fork down Alicia took a deep breath before speaking quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were helping Tony with upgrading his system to see through a spell?"

Loki almost took another bite but set his fork down as well. His lips pressed into a firm line but his eyes were studying Alicia's face.

"Who told you?"

Alicia knew she had to be vague in truth. "It doesn't matter. I asked you why you didn't tell me about it."

"Who? Was it-?"

"Don't play that game. I am not telling you." Alicia felt her heart thudding in her chest. "Why? Did you hide that from me to not stress me out? Is that it? Because I have been worried sick about my dad. He has been missing for months and who knows what he has been going through!" Alicia's face was warm with tears of angry frustration. "Was all of the training I did for nothing?!"

Alicia searched Loki's eyes for anything.

Loki was looking at her with a stoic face.

"Why would I tell you about updates when you are supposed to be recovering? You would have had the team, who Eir does not allow, in your room, discussing missions you could not go on. You were not allowed access to any mission information because you would have been more stressed."

"More?" Alicia scoffed. "More. Right because knowing that there are tunnels underneath the hideouts and being rushed out of the building because of small injuries. I could have-"

Loki calmly requested. "Alicia stop."

"No I'm not done. If everyone would have stayed and not pulled me out of there I would have found-"

Loki's voice raised, "enough!"

Alicia shut her mouth but gave Loki a harsh look.

"You wouldn't have been able to do anything. They would have taken you. Peter told me how they aimed for him. They wanted him out of the picture to take you. The others, they told me how that building swarmed with people. The only reason you are allowed on missions is because that is when Luit lets us have information."

Alicia shoved her food tray to the side and stood. "Then let me go with them! There. Simple."

Loki was quick to force her to sit. 

"You are unbelievably reckless. I know- I KNOW you would hand yourself over to them. They would have you and there is no guarantee of anyone's safety anymore. You have no care or worries about your own safety. I care for you. I worry for you. That is why I was so furious about them letting you on a mission without me. THEN, finding you in agony and near death because of your sister?"

Alicia watched Loki sit in his chair as he put his forehead in the care of his one hand that rubbed his temples. She did not hear his breathing but could see his chest expanding slowly.

With his head down he spoke. "I asked for permission to marry you and I promised your father I would keep you safe. That is what we talked about, the day Marcus smiled and shook my hand during your SHEILD assessment."

Finally Loki looked in Alicia's wide eyes.

"His words the day of the attack on Asgard, "keep your promise" was the last thing he said before he was taken. He wants you safe. It's the only thing that matters to him."

Alicia's eyes fell to her hands that were wrapped and she spoke quietly. "But I want him safe."

With understanding Loki talked smoother. "We are trying. With the new upgrades to Tony's equipment and now that I know for certain there are spells in place I am sure the next mission will be more successful."

Alicia heard his sigh and she let the silence take its place in the tense room.

Alicia barely heard her own voice. "Will you at least let me know when the next mission is?"

"It is going to be this afternoon." Loki moved to sit beside Alicia on the bed and placed hair behind her ear to see her face. "I will find as much information I can."

Alicia looked at him and held his hand. "Be careful."

Loki smiled, "one of us has to be."

Alicia smiled with effort. "We both know it is not me."

There was a knock on the door and Eir walked in. "I want to test your wrists and maybe when Emma wakes she can test your magic." 

Loki went to his chair as Alicia moved her wrists and Eir pressed on certain spots.

"Everything healed excellently. You can use your magic -with assistance, and maybe we could get a potential release date. You must listen to your healing orders so, no magic without supervision."

Alicia nodded with a smile. "If that all means I am out sooner, fine."

"It also means if you fail to follow orders, you will be here longer." Eir smiled. "We are on the same page now so be on your best behavior. I need to get back to Asgard and tend to matters there." Eir went to the door. "Heal well Alicia."

Alicia glanced at Loki with her smirk. "I guess I better be good."

Loki held back a laugh. "If you want to get out of here yes. Are you hungry?"

Alicia glanced at her food and it wasn't appetizing anymore. "No. I think I just want my bath."

Loki held out his hand and steadied her as they walked to the bath. She sat on a chair as he started the water with a packet made by Emma. Loki thanked the norns Emma was Alicia's healer. She was brilliant and knew exactly how to take care of Alicia. Her research showed how hard she worked to help Alicia in every way.

Loki watched as Alicia stepped into the bath and sat there as the water filled the rest of the way.

"I guess you can't bathe with me either."

Loki sat beside the tub. "No Love. I can't."

Alicia turned her head slowly to Loki. "When was the last time we were intimate?"

Loki smiled briefly. "You need to rest."

Alicia mumbled, "Sex releases endorphins…"

"I am not asking if it is safe for you to have sex."

Alicia's smile faded as she sunk under the water just under her nose.

Loki moved hair out of her face but she dunked all the way.

His hand rested on the edge of the tub.

She surfaced and sighed leaning back.

Loki let the silence envelop the room.

A quiet confession broke the peace.

"It's like I'm always sad."

Her eyes were closed. Water was still beading and falling off her face.

The corners of her lips twitched down then she smiled. 

"It felt good to finally say it." 

Alicia kept her eyes closed and to urge more from Alicia, Loki stayed silent.

"Before I met you I was on my own but I was blissfully ignorant of the issues I know now. I never knew anything about being a witch.. so I never knew I would have a "worst vision" and I certainly didn't think I would need a babysitter. -In all my life, I never felt so low I injured myself like I did. When knocked down, I always got back up and did whatever I was doing but I did it better…"

Loki watched as she slowly opened her eyes with many blinks.

She turned her head and faced him and had a genuine, small, smile.

"All of that drives me crazy just thinking about how different my life would be without you. When I think of a life where you were never part of my life, that. THAT is what tears my heart out. Because of you I know what real love is. I never thought I would find someone who can love me so much. You kept your promise. To take care of all my needs, wants, and desires to the best of your ability. So as much as I wish I could be blissfully ignorant, having you in my life makes all of this terrifying knowledge worth it because I know you will be there."

Loki put his hand on her cheek and held her eye contact. "I will always be there for you."

Alicia rested her hand on his. "Thank you, Loki. Once I am done will you hold me for a little?"

"Of course Love." Loki rubbed his thumb along her fingers. "Get washed and I will get your favorite comfortable shirt."

Alicia kissed his hand before letting him have it back. "Is it one of yours?"

Loki gave her a teasing smile. "We both know it is yours now."

Alicia washed herself with no hurry and the relaxing mixture in the water soothed her emotions. Well, at least calmed her emotions a bit. She felt bad for arguing with Loki but he shouldn't hide information concerning her father.

Alicia focused on her breathing as thoughts of her sister rushed her mind. 

Was Marcibeth trying to train her-of course because Marcibeth wouldn't hurt her. She never let Alicia get hurt to this extent, and why would there be no key? What was Marcibeth trying to prove? Alicia knew there was no telling when Loki would find her, thus not knowing how long she was in the trap.

Loki walked in as Alicia was getting out of the tub. 

She was grateful he only handed her a towel and not urged her to sit down in the stupid chair. She dried herself and Loki gave her underwear, the large green shirt, and her favorite shorts. With her hair in a messy wet bun she was comfortable.

Loki picked her up and sat on the bed then laid down while still holding her. She adjusted herself to get encased in Loki's embrace. He drew odd things on her back as she drew shapes on his chest. His calming heartbeat thudded against his chest and his breathing let her know she was with him, finally, having a moment of peace.

"Love don't fall asleep."

Alicia smiled, "I know…but I miss this."

She felt him shift and moved with him.

He looked down at her then played with her hand, kissing it after a brief time.

A nurse brought a single lunch tray. "My apologies prince Loki. I thought lady Alicia was alone. Would you like me to get you something?"

Loki replied with a sullen smile. "No. I will be fine. I must be leaving anyway."

The nurse left the tray on the table.

Alicia watched Loki as she played with his hair. "Please be careful."

"I will."

Time seemed to slow as Alicia gently pulled Loki. 

Time stood still as their lips met.

Alicia's lips worked with Loki's in a loving and desperately needy kiss. Her hands played with his hair and Loki held her cheek as the other pulled her closer to himself.

It felt so right to be with Loki and it has been a long time since they had a moment like this. She knew he was easing her out of the breathtaking kiss by how his lips slowly eased away from her. 

She instantly met his eyes. 

They were smoldering green that flickered from searching her eyes.

His husky voice told Alicia of his own desires. "I love you but I must go."

Alicia nodded. "Go. I will be here."

Loki gave her a peck on the lips and a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too Loki."

Loki got off of the bed and gave her one last look before leaving.

Alicia ate then laid in bed for a whole hour length tv show. Her glasses helped see the TV but still made an ache in her eyes. Alicia kept the glasses on to try to get used to them. She drew in the sketchbook of some Christmas memories, making sure to capture some points of the children opening gifts. Especially the looks on Loki's and Hassiba's faces as Emily played with the stick pony.

Eventually, Emma and a few others were testing out Alicia's magic.

Emma sighed. "Everything is good. Great even. I will have some more bathing packets made. A few more drink recipes sent to the kitchen with a schedule of when what needs drank."

Alicia cautiously asked, "so will I be out of here before new years?"

Alicia didn't let the stern healer look get to her. She has seen that look enough times to not be afraid of it anymore.

Emma's stern look went into a teasing smile. "I think it might be possible. How about we practice more?"

"Finally something I will actually do." 

Alicia laughed as soon as Emma tried to hide a smile.

Emma shook her head. "Alicia...You are ridiculous"

Alicia practiced as much as Emma allowed. She was able to do a shield away from her body by about six inches. She was able to block Emma out of her mind. She could create a poor quality illusion and mask herself for a short time.

Dinner came and with it, Hassiba showed up as well.

The old witch looked around then smiled when Alicia could not hold the cloaking spell when she sat down to eat.

The happy witch smiled. "I heard you are being released soon. You must be excited."

Alicia paused eating for a moment to reply. "I am. I can't wait to get out of here."

Alicia felt Hassiba's gaze on her.

"You are worried about something."

Alicia finished her bite slowly to think of how to answer. "Loki went on a mission with the others. They are going in the tunnels."

The old witch smiled. "I am sure everything will be ok. You will see him for breakfast tomorrow to hear all about it."

Alicia yawned and looked at Emma's tray.

Emma nodded. "I just need a few more bites."

Alicia smiled around a yawn. "It's ok."

Emma took a few more bites, "just go to sleep. I will help once you are in a deep sleep."

Alicia's dreams were fast but when she felt Emma helping, Alicia was slowly understanding how to make a part slow down for a moment. 

Alicia felt her breath escaping her when she seen herself being taken through tunnels and seeing Marcibeth walk in to take Marcus out. The cuffs were put on her. Marcibeth left Marcus with a few Avengers and went back. Loki was there and took the cuffs off. An explosion and immense pain for both of them outside.

Her dreams moved forward past a healing time and then Alicia forced herself to stop for a moment when she seen Marcibeth again. The background was smeared but no doubt Alicia was in pain and Marcibeth was going for the kill. Edward was watching and Alicia attacked him. Marcibeth survived but was… different.

Then the fast visions started. They whipped Alicia one way and then the other with odd scenery and other beings.

Alicia was in a ship, recovering from something. Emma was there and got her in an outfit. Then Loki was there scared and furious. The only thing that she seen clearly was a large silhouette and everything was a blur from then on with every possibility.

Alicia woke to see a smiling Emma.

Emma patted Alicia's cheeks. "You did some of that yourself."

Alicia watched Emma go to the other side of the curtain.

"You were much better at not dying." With a small laugh Hassiba smiled with her notebook in hand. "Tell me about your dreams dear."

-:-

Loki was exhausted but had work to do.

Being away from Stark to cover more ground might have worked in the beginning  but there were spells placed everywhere and made the place a maze of confusion.

Natasha spoke. "Does this remind anyone of those mirror mazes at carnivals?"

Tony agreed over the earpieces. "Maybe like a horror Halloween one."

Loki read the mind of another guard before shoving them to the ground. "We need to regroup. The 'maze' will be easier to deal with together."

Clint's amusement did not go unnoticed as he pushed another guard to Loki's grasp. "Getting scared?"

Loki grunted in frustration of nothing useful from that guard. "If you would like me to stop being your guide let me know." Loki threw a dagger over Clint's shoulder into the neck of yet another guard.

Clint nodded, "Thanks."

Thor's voice was heard through Loki's earpiece. "Stark we should regroup. Loki is the master sorcerer and this place is covered with advanced spells. The special eyewear is only doing so much."

Loki thought of how to say it politely. "My mind is well trained to stop mind alteration spells. These spells are advanced and I can't cancel the spells with all of you getting triggered into a brief memory loss. The spells also give off a feeling similar to Luit's signature spell."

Tony's cocky voice rang through. "Did he just call the rest of us stupid?"

Loki smirked. "Perhaps inexperienced."

Natasha teased. "With all that grey hair, does Tony have performance issues now?"

Loki did nothing to hide his abrupt laugh.

Tony chidded. "Romanoff don't get into big boy talk."

Loki threw a dagger at the guard Tony was about to shoot.

Loki poured amusement over his words, "are you embarrassed of erectile issues of old age?"

Tony sounded so smug. "Being 1,000 years old explains the issues with you."

Thor grunted, "with how audible Alicia is I doubt he has issues."

Steve groaned. "I am going to remove my earpiece if this continues."

Loki saw how everyone was tiring. "I hate to say this since we came so far, but I think a retreat is in order. You are all getting tired."

Steve demanded. "How will we know where we have been?"

"I have left traces of my magic where I have been."

Tony proudly stated. "I made a map where I have been. Everyone can see mine."

Natasha teased. "Keep your measurements to yourself boys."

#brightsun-and-darkmidnight #Heartbeat: A Fragile Reminder #chapter 35 #loki #check triggers #check description

[magicmastered]

What Universe does Thor: Ragnarok Take Place In? Part One

Let’s be clear. If you like Thor: Ragnarok, or don’t want to see criticism of it, I suggest that you: a) don’t read this, b) filter your tags, c) block me, or d) some combination of the above. Now that we have that out of the way....

A cinematic universe (like the MCU) is a set of movies that all take place in the same fictional universe and share continuity with each other. This means that they share characters, settings, and timelines with other movies in that cinematic universe. To give a recurring character in a cinematic universe contradictory timelines and/or personality traits is to violate the entire point of having a cinematic universe.

Thor: Ragnarok is labeled and marketed as an MCU film. Certainly it shares some settings with other MCU movies, and some characters have the same names and faces. However, that’s as far as it goes. Several characters that T:R shares with other MCU films have noticeably altered personalities, inexplicable within the fictional universe. Two even have different and contradictory backstories. Continuity is destroyed.

Allow me to explain.

I’ll start with the backstories. Thor and Loki’s specifically, beginning from the start of the movies.

According to the interviews and commentary from Thor (2011) and a book about the movie (I believe it’s called Thor: Heroes and Villains), Loki has always tried to be a good son and brother to Odin and Thor respectively. He usually talks Thor out of bad situations. Loki got a rough deal compared to Thor, who didn’t know what ‘no’ meant. As shown in the movie and deleted scenes, criminal activity is something new to him (“Loki’s always been one for mischief, but this is something else entirely”). He prefers to negotiate rather than fight (he talked to Laufey before Thor could make things violent, and would’ve gotten everyone out safely if not for Thor’s temper and bloodlust), and though he’s a skilled fighter, he doesn’t enjoy it. Loki looks out for Thor and co. (he saves Fandral and Sif during the Jotunheim fight, and he references a battle where he got them all to safety by hiding them). He thinks ahead to make sure things work out safely (he tells a guard to tell Odin that they were going to Jotunheim). As a child, he was quiet, curious, and insecure. Odin raised him and Thor to believe that both of them had a chance for the throne, but only one of them would get it—implicitly, whichever of them was ‘worthier’.

The next part of the timeline review will focus more on Loki, considering that it’s more relevant to the topic. I’ll keep motives listed with actions where they fit, seeing as they’re a major issue (as I’ll expand upon later).

(I’m leaving out details of the interrupted coronation because I plan to write a meta on the subject at a later date.) The Jotuns were let into the weapons vault to interrupt Thor’s coronation; his reaction was meant to show (as it did) whether or not he was ready to rule. Loki, when he told the guard to fetch Odin, had no idea that Thor would get banished; he looked shocked and told Sif and the Warriors Three as much.

Upon receiving a major hint that he’s a Jotun, a race Odin raised him to hate and fear, Loki confronts Odin about it in the weapons’ vault. Odin falls into the Odinsleep. Frigga gives Loki the throne, since he’s next in line (this is how succession works, for those who don’t know—king, crown prince, any younger princes). Loki, having had his identity, already mangled self-worth, and entire life shaken to the core, decides to use this power to prove to Odin that he’s a worthy son. This means he needs Thor out of the way, so he tells Thor that Odin’s dead and his banishment is permanent to ensure that he doesn’t try to return. It means he needs to control everything happening on Asgard to make sure whatever else he does goes as planned, so he orders Heimdall to let no one through the Bifrost and tells Sif and the W3 to stay put. It also means he has to do something drastic that Odin can’t not notice. Maybe something to do with ending the war that Odin was so angry about. So Loki goes to Jotunheim and invites Laufey to come to Asgard with a few guards to ‘kill Odin’, intending to kill the Jotun king—his blood father—to save Odin’s life. The ‘assassination attempt’ will provide him with the solid reason he needs to erase any doubt that he’s really Asgardian, and to end the war as Odin’s family has been venerated for ending wars for the last couple generations. Genocide. He can’t be a Jotun if there aren’t any Jotuns left.

(Side note: I realize that genocide is wrong. That’s not the point. The point is that Loki doesn’t, since everyone he’s been taught to look up to has either done it or attempted it; it’s literally part of the culture he grew up in. I’m not excusing him for it, I’m explaining him.)

But then Heimdall, Sif, and the W3 commit treason. Now he’s got problems. He takes care of Heimdall himself (notably Heimdall struck first), but Sif and the W3 are on Earth already, where Thor is. They tell Thor that Loki’s betrayed them. Thor’s shocked; it’s unlike Loki. Loki panics and sends the Destroyer to stop them before they can bring Thor back. Thor assumes that the Destroyer’s there for him. Loki, now angry as well, has the Destroyer backhand him in frustration (it’s arguable whether or not he meant the blow to be deadly). Well, he’s probably kept them on Earth for now, but he has to hurry things up. He brings Laufey over and kills him just as he’s about to kill Odin. But then Thor shows up and he’s angry. Loki blasts Thor through a wall to buy himself from time and initiates genocide-by-Bifrost. Thor comes back and tries to stop him, despite the fact that he was trying to get the same result three days earlier. Loki, visibly breaking down, can’t stop now—he’s desperate, he’s rapidly lost his mind, and his brother is trying to stop him from doing the one thing he thinks will finally make Odin acknowledge him. So he fights Thor. Thor eventually hits the Bifrost hard enough to break it. Odin wakes up and catches them both before they hit the black-hole-looking thing the Bifrost made. Loki pleads for his approval; Odin rejects him. Loki gives up and commits suicide.

Unfortunately for him, he has absurdly terrible luck, so he not only survives falling into the black hole-looking thing, but falls through who-knows-how much space after it and proceeds to land where Thanos finds him. Since he shows up with what looks like burn marks in a deleted scene, appears in his next movie with visible signs of heatstroke, and the interview quotes describing his experience go like...

“...it was like the worst place imaginable...”

“[he had]...several brushes with death...”

“...was like being captured in a terrorist cell...”

“Anything that would’ve happened to a runaway child who ran into the wrong people, happened to him.” (or something like this. I don’t remember the exact quote, but it’s to this general effect.)

“Harrowing, and scarring for life...”

...he has a really bad time. Considering that Thanos has a thing for torture (check out GOTG 1 and 2 and Infinity War), it’s pretty safe to assume that’s what happened. It certainly explains how Loki goes from wanting to die to claiming to want to rule Earth. And he’s in for worse if he doesn’t deliver up the Tesseract (“You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain”). Hence, Avengers (2012).

Odin becomes relevant for a moment here. Fast-forward to Loki’s trial. Odin condemns Loki far more harshly than he did Thor for almost the same crimes.

Fast-forward to the Second Battle of Svartalfheim in Thor: The Dark World. Kursed’s beating Thor into the ground. Loki’s just finished off the other Dark Elves who were still there. He sees that Thor’s in trouble, grabs a Dark Elf blade, and stabs Kursed all the way through the back and chest with it. (I’m not sure if he grabbed the implosion weapon from another Dark Elf or if it was just hanging on Kursed’s belt.) Kursed turns around and impales him (note the solid body) on the end of the blade. Loki activates the implosion device, when he can’t know that Kursed will toss him away before it goes off. Thor cradles his (solid!) body, and Loki seemingly dies.

Later, Loki heals to some degree. What now? If he goes back to Asgard with Thor, Odin will either have him executed or throw him back in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. Odin will punish Thor and co. severely as well. If Loki doesn’t go back to Asgard at all, he could run into Thanos. That means he has to go back to Asgard, but he also needs Odin out of the way. So he returns to Asgard in the form of a guard and overpowers Odin. Thor thinks he’s dead. If he lets Thor spread the word, Thanos will stop looking for him. Thor’s handled his death before. He allows Thor to keep thinking that he died honorably.

Now. Thor: Ragnarok.

According to Thor: Ragnarok, Loki’s been trying to kill Thor for his entire life. He’s been stabbing Thor for no reason since he was eight. Thor patiently puts up with this. Odin does nothing about it. Loki betrays Thor constantly. Loki completely faked his death. The only reason Loki’s ever had for doing things is that he’s a trickster and can’t help himself.

What?!

How can Loki have tried to kill Thor for his whole life when he’s always tried to be a good son and brother?

How can Loki stab Thor for no reason while being the quiet, reasonable one who doesn’t like fighting?

How could Thor patiently put up with Loki’s assaults when he’s always been hotheaded and violent?

How could Odin ignore Loki stabbing Thor all the time when he favors Thor and doesn’t let Loki get away with anything?

How could Loki betray Thor constantly when his betrayal in Thor (2011) clearly comes as a massive shock to Thor?

How could Loki have completely faked his death when the solidity of the body that Kursed grabbed and that Thor held make it impossible for the death to have been an illusion?

How could his only reason for doing things be that he’s “a trickster” and “can’t help himself” when his reasons, as stated above, range from wanting to prove himself to Odin (killing Laufey; attempted genocide on Jotunheim), keeping Thor out of the way (lying about Odin’s death), avoiding torture (Avengers (2012)), utter desolation (suicide attempt), delivering punishment for treason (freezing Heimdall, sending the Destroyer), and protecting himself and Thor and co. (taking out Odin and keeping his survival secret)?

Both statements in each set cannot simultaneously be true.

Thor: Ragnarok contradicts the prior MCU. There is no continuity.

With no continuity, there can be no cinematic universe.

@lucianalight? You said you were interested?

#anti ragnarok #mcu loki #loki meta #marvel #mcu thor #mcu odin #loki in avengers #whew! #I’ve been working on this for a few days #long post #this is my fifth time trying to get this all down #what universe does ragnarok take place in? #my post #my posts

[mightylauren]

Avengers Endgame SPOILER FILLED Thoughtstream

Pretty much a blow by blow reaction stream straight from my mind in list form of the entire movie from beginning to end. Clearly full of spoilers so it’s below the cut and tagged to death. There’s some all caps screaming. A few keyboard smashes. A fair amount of cussing. Probably a fair amount of typos as I typed this while totally not rewatching it in the comfort of my home. 

Totally not.

I don’t really expect anyone to read all of this but it was all festering in my mind and now it’s out. 

SERIOUSLY I SPOIL LIKE EVERYTHING BELOW THE CUT DON’T CLICK IT UNLESS YOU’RE SURE YOU WANT TO SEE IT.

Who put’s mayo on a hotdog?

Oh man hawks didn’t even see it happen nooo. I knew we were opening with Barton family dusting but ouch.

Tony calling Nebula the blue meanie!

Nebula refusing the last of the food and making Tony eat it makes me love her even more. 

Tony somehow keeps his sense of humor even in the face of death. God I love him. I know he’s gonna make it off this ship.

HA, that Internet joke about Carol showing up right after the trailer scene is true. That’s hilarious.

They never explain how Carol knew to look for them, but I’m going to guess she came to earth ala the scene after Captain Marvel and then went back out to see if she could find him.

Or she got REALLY lucky

I’m unclear does Nebula need oxygen and food? Or just significantly less than a full on human? She seems much better off than him.

Steve shaving did we miss seeing the beard one last time by like seconds? rude.

OMG Rocket sitting down and taking Nebula’s hand. The last of their family. Everyone else gone. My heart is aching.

23 days so we’re less than a month past Vanishing Day

Ha Tony calling Rocket Build a Bear is my first genuine laugh this movie.

I honestly was dying on the inside the whole time Tony is losing his shit on Cap. I mean he needed to say it all but seeing how sick he is and falling apart. He rips off his reactor and hands it over then collapses.

My heart.

Rhodey man. “That’s cute, Thanos has a retirement plan.”

Man this is the least planning they’ve ever done before a mission. They’re just gonna pack up, hop in a space ship and go kill Thanos? Cool. Coolcoolcool.

Okay it’s pretty good to see a lot of that trailer stuff is from very early on in the movie.

“Who here hasn’t been to space? You better not throw up on my ship.” XD

How does this big ass planet that can clearly sustain life have no life on it? Just Thanos some birds and some Meiloorun fruit?

That’s a Star Wars reference for those of you who don’t cross fandom lines.

So his snapping arm looks completely borked.

OH SHIT THEY CAME IN SWINGING

FUCK THOR CHOPPED OFF HIS ARM DAMN

ASDFKSAJDOFIUA THE STONES ARE GONE

Wait why is Banner still not Hulking out? How is that suit still running?

Damn he destroyed the stones. He knew they’d come.

DAMN THOR WENT IN HARD.

We are like twenty minutes in and Thanos is dead? I… what?

*crumples up and throws away all predictions she had before going into the movie

FIVE YEARS LATER?!?

FIVE

FIVE YEARS

I should have brought a paper bag to breath into.

Okay there’s the support group. Yup a lot of the footage from trailers and stuff is front loaded at the beginning of this. Which is good, because no clue where this is genuinely going.

Did… did a rat just bring Ant-Man back? A rat?

Shit how long has it been for him?

Oh wait, he’s looking for his people maybe not that long.

P-professor Chang?

Can you imagine how disorienting this all is for Scott? Pops out five years after a tragedy like the snap with no idea what the hell is happening.

My sister literally turned to me and said “no trash service but they built a monument?”

Valid question. Very valid. 

OMG CASSIE IS ALL GROWN UP I CAN’T.

I don’t think he fully realized how much time had passed until he saw his daughter.

“You’re so big” just made me tear up a little.

I just had a baby daughter four months ago. So I’m trying not to imagine what it would be like to vanish along with a bunch of other people and then turn back up five years later.

CAROL’S HAIR.

I’m sorry some of this is probably going to be completely incomprehensible unless you’ve seen the movie it just needs venting.

I am liking that they’re all reporting to Nat. That Rocket and Nebula are clearly teamed up.

OMG rocket made a joke about the haircut and Carol called him Fur Face

In case you didn’t know I have a ridiculous love for Rocket so I’m just glad he’s got a support system right now with almost the entirety of his found family dusted.

Capt. Marvel is basically saying she’s out for most of this movie isn’t she? I guess that makes sense she’s OP as hell.

Rhodey is tracking Clint but reluctantly. Clint’s clearly gone off the deepens a bit. Vigilante. Nat isn’t taking it well. Oh no she’s crying. 

This movie is gonna kill me.

I’m trying to imagine seeing a pod of whales in the Hudson River and I can’t imagine it. 

Okay so I’m guessing Scott’s about to turn up covering another major point from the early trailers. Yes yes yes. This is good.

Nat explaining that the Avengers gave her a family and a life and made her feel like she was a better person. Oh girl. You’ve done enough. It’s okay.

HA THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES ARE PRICELESS

Scott doesn’t know science. He’s trying so hard. We need the Science Bros. Where are they?

FIVE HOURS

FIVE FUCKING HOURS?

HE WAS IN FOR FIVE HOURS AND LOST FIVE YEARS????

“Scott, I get e-mails from a raccoon so nothing seems crazy anymore.” LFAO

Tony has a daughter I’m dying. It had to be a little girl. 

Wait is he serious about eating crickets on lettuce? He might be this is semi post-apocalyptic.

Tony does not look happy to see them.

YES LET’S PULL A TIME HEIST. Tony isn’t feeling this but I am.

Oh, Scott, honey. Back to the Future? 

Though Tony your protege Peter used movies to make plans all the time. Maybe it’s not that laughable.

Okay I would die for his daughter. “Mommy sent me out here to save you.” Don’t think you were supposed to just say that outloud kiddo but props on a successful mission.

I know Tony too well for this. He’s saying no, because he loves his family. He needs his family. He’s scared to lose his family.

But now this idea is going to itch at the back of his brain aching to be solved.

Come on Tony lets go back to the future and pull off a time heist.

Hulk in glasses and a sweater is was not even on my theory bingo card what is happening. Is this his diner? They had to find him so he’s clearly not working for Nat right now. I have so many questions.

This whole thing with the kids is awkward. 

Come to think of it I have questions about how the infrastructure that is supporting things like cell phone networks is still functioning after the vanishing. Maybe because it’s been five years.

Is Nat flirting with Banner to get him to help?

Tony looking at a picture of Peter he’s got to try.

OH MY GOD HE GOT IT IN ONE EVENING.

EVEN HE LOOKS SURPRISED.

SHIT! 

I’m glad there is laughter in this movie and it’s not entirely heavy. I mean it’s Marvel I should have known.

He calls his daughter Little Miss. And she just extorted a juice pop out of him. I love Dad Tony. 

This is gonna hurt later I just know it. I can feel it in my gut.

“I love you 3000” My heart.

I’m glad that Tony is just going to have a straight up honest conversation with his wife about this.

He’s grown so much.

Oh Pepper, she’s telling him to do it. There’s some unsaid deep communication happening in this conversation. Bless this pair so much. She’s going to let him go and he’s going to go even though his gut his telling him that the road is not going to end well for him.

That’s why he wants to put it in a lock box and drop it to the bottom of a lake.

This is just so damn good so far. No complaints yet.

I kind of love this Hulk. He has no idea what he’s doing here but I love him. He’s like only half taking this seriously.

BAHAHAHA THIS TEST. HE comes back as a baby and Hulk is like “He’ll grow” I mean he’s not wrong but not the right answer buddy.

Another genuinely funny scene. 

“TIME TRAVEL!” With his hulk arms held wide.

Tony is literally speeding in his car there. Cap doesn’t even look that surprised.

Oh this is the Tony and Steve getting back on the same page moment I’ve been waiting for. I love it. I really love it.

HE BROUGHT THE SHIELD.

I love that it was in the trunk buried under kids stuff.

Tony is back and I love it even if I’m scared it’s gonna mean his end.

“Rhodey, careful on reentry theres an idiot in the landing zone.” As if I couldn’t love Nebula more in this movie.

Wait “New Asgard Please Drive Slowly” just threw me for a total loop. Good to know all the Asgardians didn’t actually die in that ship.

VALKYRIE!!!!

She’s like not acknowledging the Raccoon LMFAO

Holy hell what is happening here. Oh man Thor what have you done to yourself.

Actually, I get it. 

Are they playing Fortnite? 

This whole scene is super surreal right now. 

I actually kinda dig it but I did NOT see it coming. This movie has gone places I never would have predicted.

Thor kept strong for so long. He lost so much. He got all the way to the point where he’d done all he could think. He killed Thanos and there was no way to undo all that could be done so he just settled and existed. He drank and played video games with his buddies.

I get it.

Rocket just lured him onto the ship with beer. 

Was good to see Korg and Miek are alive. And there for them in their own ways.

RONIN ALERT.

Oh dude he’s just fucking people up does he even have a bow with him?

Nat waited until there was some way to undo the snap before reaching out to him. She’s just been silently tracking him waiting for a good reason to bring him in. 

In a matter of seconds Tony calls Thor “Lebowski” and Rocket “Ratchet” and I have always lived for his dumbass nicknames. 

Lebowski Thor is officially what I’m referring to this iteration of Thor.

Oh look a classic time travel trope a limit in the number of trips they can make. Makes sense though, Hank Pym was always very protective of how to make the particles so they only have what was made before the Vanishing.

I love the team debating how time travel really works. Listing all the time travel movies. Bill and Ted even snuck into the list. 

Not sure sending Clint back for the test was the best choice this is gonna be rough.

Okay he started to lose it at the end but he made it.

YES brainstorming session this’ll be fun.

Tony’s gentle handling of Thor says a lot. Tony’s been to rock bottom and recognizes the symptoms. At the same time I laughed when he offered breakfast and Thor said no he wanted a Bloody Mary.

ROCKET CALLING SCOTT AN EXCITED PUPPY BAHAHAHA

Nebula is so dramatic I’m here for it. 

Laying all over the desk brainstorming for Nat to finally figure out that there are three stones in one place at one time. This is the content I came for.

TIME HEIST LETS GO.

And just like that its 2012 this is surreal.

LMFAO HULK DOESN’T WANT TO SMASH.

Interesting seeing what the Ancient One was doing during the battle of New York. On a roof defending the sanctum from Chitauri.

OH SHIT SHE JUST PUSHED BANNER’S SOUL OUTA HIS HULK BODY

I didn’t see that coming.

Just a glimpse of Loki. :-(

It was almost cruel to send Thor to Asgard to do this. I mean someone had to go with Rocket, but damn this is tough to watch.

DAMN Rocket smacked him. And also just called Mantis “the chick with the antenna”. Pep talk’s not bad but Thor is crying I don’t think he can do this.

I don’t know why they want to do it that way anyway, Jane would have taken one look at him and known it was the wrong Thor.

Wait… they’re sending Nat and Clint to Vormir… oh God… oh no…

Okay so that’s going to suck in a few minutes lets just put a pin in that.

Nebula you waited a bit to tell Rhodey that there’s another you out there looking for the same infinity stone you’re there to fetch. 

Oh look its like just barely pre-Guardians Gamora, Nebula, and unfortunately Thanos.

I have a bad feeling about this.

OH SHIT I HAVE A VERY BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS.

Turns out two Nebula’s in one place is bad voodoo. She’s seeing video from the other Nebula which means THANOS can see video from the other….

Yeah this is all gonna go bad.

HAHAHA Tony just checked out Steve’s ass. 

AMERICA’S ASS!!!

It’s hard to remember that this shit is going to fall apart when I’m laughing.

Tony just flicked Ant-Man to his target and all I can think about is Gimli an “toss me” from LOTR.

Is Cap about to fuck up a bunch of people in the elevator again?

STEVE YOU SNEAKY BASTARD YOU JUST HAIL HYDRA’D AND STOLE THE SCEPTER.

2012 Time heist is about to hit a hiccup isn’t it. OH MAN they just gave Tony a heart attack.

LOKI NO

I mean yes but no. Loki just nicked the Tesseract and dipped with it. 2012 Loki is just gone.

There’s like timeline repercussions there. Not entirely sure what they are but there will be repercussions.

Cap fighting himself! CAP CHECKING OUT HIS OWN ASS!

Man the Time Heist is so rapid fire there’s too much to absorb.

“I’m totally from the future.” - Lebowski Thor breaking a law of time travel

Thor’s heart to heart with his mom is giving me feels. He needed this.

YES MJOLNIR IS COMING WITH HIM!

Ok it’s never occurred to me how ridiculous Quill would look dancing around without the music. That’s hilarious.

AH SHIT THANOS KNOWS AND HE’S THERE AND THIS IS WHERE IT GOES TO SHIT.

NEBULA </3

It’s so good seeing Steve and Tony back on the same page trusting each other. And clearly completely throwing Scott “Piss-Ant” Lang for a loop. 

I didn’t expect a detour to the 70’s. AAAND that’s his Dad. Tony’s just run into his own father. 

This movie is a roller coaster I’ll tell ya.

This is all mush if you’ve read this far you deserve an award. Or a sticker. One of those.

What a weird decision to have Tony have this whole meet up with his father here. And now Steve is taking refuge in Peggy’s office. Like this is almost mean to do this to these two. 

Why is it the Russo’s never could decide if Steve had gotten over Peggy or not gotten over Peggy. Back and forth and back again. I take it we aren’t going to see the niece at all in this one?

Alright boys lets get the hell out of the 70s this felt like a weird trip without the drugs.

Damn Nebula why is past you such a bitch when I love present you so much. I know I know that’s because you grew and what not but shit I don’t know what you and Thanos are about to do but it’s about to suck.

FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT VORMIR BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON

I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready for this. I don’t want either of them to die. This sucks. No No no no onoanfnaondaksldfj;lasdkja;

God we’re going to have to literally watch them fight over which one is going to sacrifice themself.

Here it is, I’m crying now. Me and Barton are just going to cry here in this puddle if you need us. 

They’re all back, except Nat. Which means that’s the wrong damn Nebula and no one notices because NO NAT. Shit. Shit shit.

This movie is going to give me a heart attack.

“Did she have any family?” “Yeah. Us.” :’-(

Okay Thanos like fucked up a whole mining community and shut down a star afterwards to forge a gauntlet to put the stones in and here’s Tony Stark plopping them into like an Iron Man armor piece like its nothing.

Looks sleek too. I dig it.

And they’re all too busy with the glove to notice fucking Nebula. SHIT. 

Man it’s hurting Hulk just to WEAR the damn thing. Thanos was just strolling around wearing it, which doesn’t bode well considering I see Nebula is bringing Thanos here. 

Cool. That’s cool. This is fine. 

How long of a moment of joy are they going to get. Clint’s wife is calling. Birds are singing. Shit is inches from a fan.

THERE’S THE SHIT. HOLY SHIT HE’S BLOWING AVENGERS HQ COMPLETELY OFF THE MAP NOOOOOOO

There’s like a whole hour left. Tell me they all survived that. I was not ready. I WAS NOT READY.

Oh here’s that shot of Hawkeye in the tunnel. Much later in the movie than a lot of those trailer shots. Fascinating. 

So 2014 Thanos is here with his whole crew and there’s a complete gauntlet here. Shit.

Well, they’re all alive. They’re not together entirely but they’re all alive.

Double wielding dad bod Thor just braided his beard with lightning and I’m here for it.

The stakes are at maximum. Now Thanos wants to destroy it all not just half. So failure here can never be undone there won’t be anyone to Avenge anything if he gets the gauntlet this time. That’s not terrifying at all.

Fuck that’s the wrong Nebula. BUT THERE’S THE RIGHT NEBULA WITH GAMORA.

Clint is like in the middle of this stand off like “wtf is happening I should have kept my hands on the glove”

Nebula just killed her own past self. And she didn’t vanish so no Back to the Future rules here for sure.

Damn Thanos is giving the boys a run for their money even without a single stone. 

Shit is Thor gonna die?

HOLY SHIT CAP HAS THE HAMMER AND THE THEATER JUST MIGHT EXPLODE FROM THE SOUNDS OF THE AUDIENCE SCREAMING ABOUT THIS.

Damnit Thanos is calling in the whole army. Cap is like the last one standing on the front line and he’s not backing down because he’s Captain “America’s Ass” America. Thor is down Iron Man is down. The others are trying not to drown. Shit.

OMG ON YOUR LEFT I JUST MIGHT CRY.

HOLY SHIT ITS EVERYONE I’M CRYING. 

PEPPER FUCKING POTTS IS HERE AS RESCUE HOLY SHIT.

TALK ABOUT THE CALVARY RIDING IN AT THE LAST POSSIBLE SECOND HOLY HELL.

HE’S GONNA FUCKING SAY IT

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

It’s a good thing they sound proof these theaters now or you’d hear this across town the audience is going fucking nuts.

There’s too much to touch on all this chaos I’ll hit the highlights because it’s so much.

Pepper and Tony fighting back to back.

Thor and Steve switching weapons, Thor telling him to keep “the little one” aka Mjolnir.

Tony and Peter reuniting and the hug.

Quill seeing Gamora and it’s the wrong Gamora and actually that broke my heart a little bit because his Gamora is gone forever.

Playing hot potato with the gauntlet.

Scarlet Witch fucking Thanos up to the point he panics and starts firing on his own troops to get her off of him.

Spider getting the gauntlet and for the first time ever activating instant kill on purpose.

Peter becoming the hot potato along with the Gauntlet.

OMG ROCKET FOUND GROOT AND HE’S BODILY BLOCKING HIM FROM FIRE MY HEART.

When the ships started firing up my sister elbowed me and legit was like “She’s here.” 

All the women assembling around Captain Marvel!! Even Gamora is with them holy shit!

Damn it the glove is back within his reach and I can’t with this. 

GET HIM CAROL DON’T LET HIM DO IT AGAIN.

She took a headbutt to the face like it was nothing and he panicked like a bitch pulled the power stone and punched her with it. 

OH MY GOD TONY

My sister silently handed me a tissue and I fell the fuck apart.

I never thought in a million years they would have it go this way. Tony snapping. Dusting Thanos and his army. 

I can’t even comment more on this scene I’m too sad. Everything after is too sad. The funeral.

There are infinity stone colored stones in the “proof that Tony Stark has a heart” setting. 

I love you 3000 Tony Stark.

Thor leaving Valkyrie in charge and heading off with the Guardians.

Quill clearly looking for new old Gamora. I doubt she was dusted so she must have just faded away after the battle to do her own thing.

Glad that Nebula is with them though.

I feel a loose beginning set up for the actual Asgardians of the Galaxy.

Bucky said goodbye to Cap like he knew Cap wasn’t going to be back with them in five seconds. He knew.

We’re lucky he didn’t come back as a baby though. ;-)

I mean I’m surprised they went this route with Cap but I’m happy for him.

I’m happy for Sam too. We knew at the end of this the mantel had to get passed and here it is, old man Steve passing the shield to Sam.

I bet that show about “Falcon” and Bucky is really about the new Captain America and Bucky. Just saying.

Steggy shippers rejoice and the cries of a million Stony and Stucky shippers can be heard round the world.

Is that a sentence I just wrote? I never got into MCU shipping stuff personally.

And then all there is at the end is the distant sound of Tony forging that first armor.

A reminder that Tony Stark built all this in a cave.

From a box of scraps.

TONY….

I’ll be mourning Tony for a long while. I was always team Tony.

They did him right tough. His arc was satisfying and RDJ performed beautifully in this one.

My heart aches. They had to give him a daughter. I’m watching my daughter sleep totally not thinking what it would be like for her to lose her father. 

I’m gonna go hug my partner when I’m done with this.

Over all I am happy with Endgame. I mean with time travel they obviously left loose ends all over.

They say they can’t change time and the whole present becoming your past when you go back while the past is your future blah blah blah

But like clearly things are changed. 2012 Loki got the tesseract and escaped

2014 Thanos is no longer in 2014. So the Guardians movies happened but also couldn’t have happened? I dunno it’s confusing.

So basically the MCU has finally caught up with it’s comic book roots of being a confusing jumble timelines. How poetic.

Anyway if you read this you are amazing and feel free to private message me if you want to scream about Avengers Endgame and have no one else to do it with.

I feel better having vented this all out.

#spoilers #endgame spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers #mcu spoilers #mcu #marvel #avengers #avengers endgame #endgame #marvel cinematic universe #it took me all day to rewatch a 3 hour movie because I have a 4 month old child

[mariamermaid]

Like Lovers Do

Summary: He might have been a god, but you were a titan rising from hell and still, you fell so dearly for him, it was destined to fail, wasn´t it?

Words: 2.7k

Warnings: drinking, implied smut, kinda dark

A/N: I highly recommend listening to the song “Like Lovers do” by Hey Violet while reading. I didn´t have yet time to check for spelling mistakes so it might slightly change within the next days!

Halloween Imagines Masterlist

She stepped through the echoing hall like it already belonged to her. She was born for this, this simple but so crucial moment. In a matter of seconds that elapsed like waves crashing against the sore cliffs. Her perfectly curled hair, her sweet smile and the charm in her eyes. The tailored dress made for her body, fitted like second skin. Her natural glow illuminating the room and of course, all eyes were on her.

But then there was you.

The sister. Everything she had like it was her inherent right, you had to fight for. She was the golden star, but you were the storm crawling through the night sky, letting stars fall like hail. She could bring flowers to bloom, but under your feet the earth shook and bowed, afraid of your presence. You were two foreign princesses from a galaxy far away and your recently deceased mother, mentioned her last wish on her death bed. She hoped that one of you would marry a prince to help your realm. Obviously, she didn´t say a name, but with the last breath she took, it was clear who she had meant. You sister, Lakira, immediately took it upon herself to search for suitable contenders and when she heard about the god of thunder, it was impossible to stop her. Your father, who fulfilled each wish she had, agreed to the visit in Asgard. They would soon realize their mistake…

 Not all eyes were on her, on particularly blue-greenish pair, remained on you. You immediately caught his sight and a devilish smirk played on your blood red lips.  

I see you watching me, eyes on your target Mix drinks and smoke rings, it's already started It won't be too long before me and you Are doing what lovers do You were wearing a black, simple dress, your hair open. The simple touch of a red lipstick flattering your dark aura. And he couldn´t take his eyes of you, the sweet smell of danger of pulling him in. He wore a green suit with golden details, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief. He could feel the vibrations from your powerful figure and he didn´t mistake them as your sisters. He could sense that there was more lingering under your skin that appeared to be such a sober shroud. And while the kingdoms greeted each other with fine chosen words and compliments, you two started to play a game, either way losing like lover do.

“It is an honor to greet you here, when you have such a long journey behind you, King.” Odin greeted your father and they shook hands. Your father, a good head smaller than the king and his two sons, offered him a noble smile. The god of thunder gawked at Lakira, but besides her beauty, there was nothing about her that attracted him to her. A pretty face to hide a shallow character. You often reminded yourself that it wasn´t her fault, she was born like that. And at certain, scarce moments, when you two were completely alone, you could see behind her smile. And when you two shared the intimate and sacred times of being just simple sisters, you loved her so dearly, it broke your heart. But you could also see that for Thor´s heart another woman already had the key, which made this whole occasion miserable to watch.

The dinner began and while almost everybody lightly chatted with each other, you and Loki constantly locked eyes. Yet, he couldn´t fully figure out where your thoughts wandered when behind your eyes appeared the darkness of a galaxy. But the tension kept going until the desert was served. You both sat across each other, just like Lakira and Thor. The skill of disappearing in invisible shadows so that everybody forgot about your presence, was a simple skill you had perfected over the years. And now the shadows cloaked the God of Mischief as well. The desert, a typical Asgardian mousse  with sweet fruits was neatly placed in front of you, but after your first bites of the sweet taste, you laid your golden spoon back on the table. The mood was lightening and the talks began to get louder. “Excuse, I´m going to the bathroom, I´ll be back in just a second.” You explained bitter sweetly, even though only Loki heard your voice. He watched you leave and his eyes couldn´t resist wandering down your curved body, wondering how your skin felt without the silk hiding it´s beauty. After two more passing minutes, in which neither Thor nor anyone else of the present guests realized your missing, Loki excused himself as well. The more distance got between him and the hall, the quicker his feet hit the ground. He thought to find you in your chambers, but just before turning the corner, he accidently lurked up the stairs which led to the observation platform and he caught sight of a thin layer of smoke hovering in the air. He followed the trace and found you on the observation deck.

Clothes on the floor, we're exploring our bodies Getting you off is my new favorite hobby Lipstick on your neck brands like a tattoo 'Cause that just how lovers do With big steps he encountered you and you grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. He slightly leaned down to you while your hands embraced his neck and your lips connected with his. The beauty of the passionate kiss was the synchronized rhythm. The way your tongues played with each other, but with harmony and gracefully you embraced each other, just to feel the closeness. Two lovers on a bridge in front of a kingdom with galaxies decorating the background. A picture that was quickly engraved on your mind.

Ooh, love is just another four letter word But that never stopped nobody Ooh, either way we lose Just like lovers, just like lovers do “Wow that was… stunning.” Loki admitted, his arm around your bare shoulders. You chuckled while drawing lines on his skin. Out of your finger escaped dark sparkles which then faded into the air. The sun had set and through the open window blew a soft breeze. “And I thought this unsuccessful journey would be boring.” You admitted, he kept quiet. After a long time passing he spoke up again. “Why unsuccessful?” “Because it was the plan that Lakira would seduce your brother, but his heart already belongs to another woman.” He was surprised. Loki watched you thoughtful, it was very rare that somebody could surprise him. After all it was in his nature to be in control at all given times, but you created chaos in him. A pleasant chaos. “You know about her?” “It´s hard not to see.” “For you. Your sister is still left in the dark.” You hummed in response but then you sat up. The blankets slipped away when you left the bed and started picking up your clothes from the floor again. Loki sat up. “You´re leaving?” He asked confused and again, he wondered why you caused such abnormalities. You laughed while already putting back on your dress. A laugh he couldn´t yet read. You eyed yourself in his mirror on last time, rearranging your hair and checking your makeup, then you turned to him. “Yes.”

His and hers closets are perfect for skeletons Hiding resentment and shared infidelities Cheers to regret, wash it down with some booze Drinking like lovers do

Days passed, and a wonderful reversal changed colors in Asgard. The leaves on the dress started to shifted to a warm red-orange, and the sea verging on the mountains appeared in a glowing turquoise, which created a stunning view. Behind the mountains was the dark grey unknown and thunder hollered in the far. Your sister and father didn´t have any success yet and you didn´t dare to open their eyes. It was rather amusing to watch Lakira flirt with all weapons, when Thor was only focused on training. And your father wasn´t any better. He tried his best to built a strong bond with Odin, who seemed more annoyed by him with each encounter. Sadly, the more aggressive Odin got, the more he let it out on Loki. You could see his struggles to keep up with the image of being the adoptive son. It reminded you of your own fate. Sometimes you could still feel the blame your father laid on your shoulders that you never rose to his standards. 

And when dinner was finished, Loki and you shared your thoughts and drowned them with booze. The burning taste of liquor running down your throat let you forget your conscience and filled your mind with the lingering picture of Loki´s lips that you craved. And when the bottle was emptied the tickling touch against his skin fulfilled you.

Ooh, love is just another four letter word But that never stopped nobody Ooh, either way we lose Just like lovers, just like lovers do Weeks passed and even Lakira had now accepted that Thor would never be hers. Only your father remained pounding on the imagination that Thor, his new son-in-law, would come and safe his realm. Lakira had also noticed your thing with Loki, but for now she had been quiet about it. You guessed she would eventually come and question you about it, so you purposely avoided her and spent even more at Loki´s chambers.

Loki, God of Mischief, in whom you had found sympathy and you opened up to his calming character. Just now you sat at the end of his bed on the floor, a book laying on your knees, reading. Loki who sat across you, leaned against the brown arm-chair, glanced up from time to time. When you caught him, he smiled sheepishly and you grinned jubilant. You had been there for two hours reading and the relaxed morning was accompanied by the smell of tea. It was perfect.

The sudden knock of a servant surprised you both and quickly you hid inside an adjoining room, but your ears were sharpened. “The King and the princesses will leave Asgard, a sudden sickness had afflicted their country.” He made a break, thinking if he should share his thoughts with the Prince. “I don´t think they´ll ever come back. Their country has been so destroyed, especially without their King there and with this deadly sickness, it will be only a question of time.” Loki´s jaw dropped, the situation took an unexpected turn. He could only stutter his answer, unable to form clear thoughts. “Yes… Yes, I will be coming to farewell the king… In just minute.”

When he closed the door shut and turned to look for you, you had disappeared and he cursed over your abilities to vanish. Of course, you had heard the news and the shattering truth had hit you hard. Especially because you had no idea. Angrily you stormed inside your sister´s chambers without knocking. “What sickness?!” You yelled and she flinched surprise. “Y/N what are talking about?”

Your angry façade dropped and was knocked out of the skies. She didn´t know it neither.

That's how it goes so take it like a grown-up Life's not a fairytale, it's time to own up Hire a hitman to take care of you And end it like lovers do You didn´t want to see him, you couldn´t see him. Deep inside you knew you wouldn´t be able to handle it, so you quickly disappeared in the space ship with the typical colors of your home. You told your servant you weren´t feeling well and they politely offered you to lay down. Hot tears ran down your cheeks and your mouth was shaking, trying to keep in the sobs. When the feeling of the ship lifting off the ground echoed in your cabin, you felt a slight ease. But then you remembered what was waiting for you at your home and dark images of death formed in your head.

You landed and realized that at some point, you had drifted off to sleep, but you still felt exhausted and tired. The castle seemed colder and lonelier. You realized servants missing, but didn´t question it. You drifted off into a constant condition of numbness. For days you barely ate, the food didn´t taste at all, the water in the shower was freezing cold, then burning hot, it didn´t matter. The only memory keeping you breathing was you and Loki sitting on his bed reading, or taking a walk at sunset. Watching the early fog slowly fading when sunrays appeared. The bond you shared, you almost called it love.

Ooh, love is just another four letter word But that never stopped nobody Ooh, either way we lose Just like lovers, just like lovers do The loud sound of spaceships landing woke you up. With you dark, silky robes on you tiptoed down to the lifeless hall of your castle. Your father still sat on the throne, it didn´t look like he had left it in the past days. His deep rings under his eyes, the unhealthy color of his skin, his dry lips and his thin body. He didn´t look good at all. You spotted your sister as well barefoot coming from her chambers, her arms around her body to shield her from the undeniable cold. The cold that didn´t even mattered for you, your body knew how to protect yourself. You looked out the window and realized the large groups walking out of the spaceships, no armor but instead big packages filled with medicine and stretchers. Their uniforms looked Asgardian.

The tall stone doors were pushed open and the first three persons to enter were Loki, Thor and Odin. Your father coughed before he could speak up, but then he managed to form some words. “King Odin, what are you doing here?” But Odin had no intention of speaking, Loki took the lead and simple stormed over to you. Now you embraced your own body as well, the whole attention that was suddenly on you made you shiver. Just a few feet before you Loki stopped and dropped down on one knee and small golden ring in his hands. You gasped shocked. “What the hell are you doing?” You asked screaming panicky and Loki just couldn´t resist to flash you a charming smile, which didn´t calm you down in any way.

“We both know that Asgard helping you is your only chance of saving your people.”

“Soooo?”

“So, I´m asking you to marry me.” You huffed a sarcastic laugh, but he didn´t allow you to interrupt him. “I know that under the circumstances of how we met wasn´t perfect, but nobody ever has been able to calm me down like you. Nobody ever made me laugh like you. You helped me forget my worries and you fought the monsters in my head. And the minute you left, I missed you. I missed you so dearly I couldn´t sleep because your picture haunted me in my dreams. I knew it was a mistake letting you go, and I know it won´t happen again.”

You hated to admit it, but small tears formed in your eyes, which you tried to blink away as good as you could. Never had you expected marriage to be knocking at your door, not so soon. Probably not ever. But now with Loki kneeling here in front of you smiled at the idea. You smiled at the past memories you had with him and the concept of many more of those moments in your future filled you with excitement.

“Yes.” You breathed and Loki, who was still struggling to find fitting words, fell silent.

“Yes?”

“Yes!” He jumped off the ground and put the ring on your finger, his hands still shaking. Then he tightly embraced you, pulling you off your feet. Your arms embraced his neck and you pressed your face in his skin. You glanced over to your sister and even Thor, they genuinely smiled at you.

I see you watching me, eyes on your target Mix drinks and smoke rings, it's already started Let's roll the dice and we'll both make our moves Playing like lovers do

  tags: @feelthefeelingsinsideyou @illuminateshawnm@imaginesforlotsofthings@suburbiasqueen  

#loki imagine #loki laufeyson imagine #loki #god of mischief #thor #avengersimagine #halloween imagine #tom hiddleston #tom hiddelston imagine #loki x reader #mariamermaidimagine

[taaroko]

Post-IW MCU Rewatch: Thor: The Dark World

Yay more Thor! (Yes I know this is widely considered to be the worst of the MCU movies and I DO NOT CARE. *hugs entire population of Asgard possessively*)

This prologue is ridiculous. I don’t know if it’s Anthony Hopkins’s inflection or if it’s just a step too far in the high fantasy direction, but it does make me cringe a bit. More showing, less telling! The prologues in the LotR movies were way more interesting than this.

The Dark Elf language also makes me cringe. I am very aware that it’s preposterous to assume that people from different planets speak English, but what’s most important to me is that actors cannot deliver nuanced performances when they are speaking gibberish. At least when it’s real languages, someone can coach them on inflection and stuff, but they really hamstrung Christopher Eccleston by making him say these silly-sounding lines.

Malekith has no imagination if the only thing he could think to do with the Reality Stone was turn stuff into dark matter.

“Benevolent god” indeed. Sending the Chitauri to slaughter people doesn’t really fit that description, sweetie.

Seriously Anthony Hopkins’s delivery is really weird in some places.

Odin is now three for three on children who showed scary genocidal tendencies, so I think there’s a lot of bitterness and feelings of failure behind what he says to Loki. Also Loki’s not showing any remorse at all, even though now would be a great time to explain that he was tortured and manipulated by Thanos. They’re both getting defensive and lashing out instead of engaging in meaningful communication.

Hi Sif! Hi Volstagg! HI THOR! He has such good entrances. Hi Fandral and Hogun! (Even if this is Zachary Levi Fandral with his stupid wig.)

The weapons the raiders are using are really interesting.

Hey I wonder if this Kronan knows Korg.

I love Thor’s smile when all the raiders laugh at his “I accept your surrender.”

*dreamy sigh* Asgard.

HUGIN AND MUNIN! And one actually lands on Odin’s arm! That’s awesome.

Odin ships Thor/Sif. (Me too, Odin.)

Obligatory shirtless Thor scene!

Volstagg and his family! *wibble*

Oh Sif. Rejected. (But Thor’s pretty nice about it.)

Jane is really quite socially awkward, isn’t she? Why did she go on this date?

It says something about how bad of a driver Jane is (hitting Thor, nearly driving off the road) that she would trust Darcy to drive her around (I guess Darcy’s record is slightly better, having only hit Thor once, while they were in the middle of a dust cloud).

“Why’re you calling me?” “I didn’t want to shout.”

Portals! Whee! (Honstly the portal shenanigans are one of the big reasons I love this movie. This crap is so much fun.)

I love the way Darcy wiggles her hand when she says “Gimme your shoe.”

Okay so the Dark Elves are set to wake up if the Aether gets activated? Headcanon time. Judging from all the creepy red lights in their ships, I think they used the Aether to make most of their tech, much like Schmidt did with the Tesseract. So yeah, if the Aether gets activated, their tech would react. That works.

Heimdall’s new armor has an orange stone in the breastplate. I thought he was gonna turn out to be the one who had the Soul Stone, and that it was the source of his infinite sight. ...I’m pretty sure I still like that better than what we ended up with in canon. Also, I only noticed this the other day, but Heimdall’s helmet is shaped the same as Hofund’s hilt, and that’s awesome.

Heee, I love Thor and Heimdall’s chat. I definitely believe that Thor would describe Heimdall as his best friend.

Whoops! Continuity error. Jane should not be in her Asgardian outfit yet. I guess they decided to move this bit to this part of the movie instead of later, but didn’t reshoot it.

Did Thor make this storm or is that just London being London? He does make it stop, I guess.

Sorry guys, Thor already has that dark strand of stuff in his hair; it’s not a Loki memorial braid.

Thor and Darcy’s interactions are always gold.

You sliced off part of that car!

Oh, question answered from before. You CAN see space rushing past from inside the Bifrost. Sweet.

Hi Eir! The Soul Forge is so cool.

Jane takes Odin’s rudeness pretty well. But dang, Odin. I know you ship Thor/Sif, but being mean to the competition is an elementary mistake.

That book is freaking awesome. It’s like the Book of Kells, except the images move and it’s in runes.

Dangit I don’t want the bad guys to be the ones who touch foreheads to show affection!

I really don’t like this look for Frigga. That one-boob breastplate is really weird.

The emotion in Loki’s scene with Frigga’s projection is so great. He wants to sever ties with Odin (or he thinks he does) but he can’t do that without severing ties with Frigga too, and you can see how much it hurts him to say anything that would hurt her. Which he plainly instantly regrets. And it’s the last thing he ever says to her.

Yessss more romantic exposition from Thor.

Hahaha, Jane is so much more shy around Frigga than Odin.

Man the way the Kursed dude kills people is really messed up.

Loki you would not be smiling at this dude if you knew he was going to do much more than cause a bit of mischief.

Thor jumping and grabbing Mjolnir is such a cool shot.

“It’s only because I’ve worried over you that you have survived.” Based on how Odin behaves as soon as she’s dead, that is extremely accurate.

Heimdall is so awesome. Oh, and I love the way the Dark Elves’ ships look almost like they’re made of dragon hide or something. Dragon hide or lava rock. Fantastic design. Fantastic movements.

This movie has so much more of Asgard in it than the first one, which is awesome. Even if it’s mostly getting pummeled by Dark Elves.

Those black hole grenades are freaking terrifying.

Yeah...if Loki hadn’t given that tip about the stairs to the left, the Kursed dude wouldn’t have arrived in time to help Malekith before Frigga finished him off, or before Thor and Odin arrived. :/

Frigga’s funeral is beautiful. The music, however, has been somewhat retroactively ruined by that play in Ragnarok. (Which I adore.)

Even if Loki doesn’t know how much his actions specifically contributed to Frigga’s death, I think he regrets helping the Kursed dude.

Hi Stan!

Dang, Asgardian law is crazy strict if Thor and the Warriors Three are casually talking about being killed by Einherjar if they screw up this plan.

This is so sad, because Loki actually doesn’t betray Thor at any point during this mission. He makes up for it by being incessantly irritating (which is the best stuff in the movie), but he sticks to the plan the whole time. The only one he betrays in this whole movie is Odin.

Okay the dagger/handcuffs trick by Thor is funny and all, but it really doesn’t hold up if you think about it. You’d definitely notice the difference between being handed a dagger and having thick cuffs put on.

Sif is very good at not letting her jealousy show too clearly. And her sword is awesome. Her and Volstagg’s threats to Loki are pretty great.

Peak annoying little brother stuff right here, when they’re in the Dark Elf blade ship. My favorite is “Oh dear. Is she dead?”

So Thor has the “face squashed against glass motif,” and I think Loki has a falling motif. Into the abyss in the first one, out of the ship in this one, and through whatever dimension Doctor Strange trapped him in in Ragnarok.

The flying longboats are so cool.

I love how much Loki likes it whenever Thor gets the better of him with sneakiness. He’s so used to Thor just smashing his way through stuff, so any subtlety he uses (especially when it’s successful against him) is fantastic in his book.

“Ta-dah.”

“What I could do with the power that flows through those veins.” I would love to see what Loki could do with the Aether. He’s already a master of illusions, and the Reality Stone would multiply that by about a thousand. It’d be awesome. And yet he sent it off to Knowhere instead of keeping it (or giving it to Thanos). Just like he kept the Tesseract safe in Asgard’s vault the entire time he was pretending to be Odin. If Loki had really done everything he did in Avengers of his own free will while in his right mind, he would not have gone to such lengths to keep multiple Infinity Stones away from Thanos. Heck, he might even have been the one to commission Stormbreaker from Eitri. I suppose he didn’t use the Stones himself because he knows as well as Thor does how deadly they can be to the wielder, or maybe he knew they’d draw Thanos to him like a beacon.

Thor thinks Loki wants to hurt him because he’s talking about Jane’s mortality, but Loki thinks Thor only cares about Jane and not the fact that their mother just died. They’re so bad at understanding each other.

The bittersweet smiles they exchange after “She wouldn’t want us to fight.”/“Well, she wouldn’t exactly be shocked.” are so painful to watch. They both desperately miss the days before any of this happened, when they were simply brothers, and I think they realize that about each other in this moment. But it’s not enough to fix everything, which is why Thor says “I wish I could trust you” and Loki says “Trust my rage.”

Ian is such a dope.

If a flock of starlings burst up through the ground at my feet like that, I would be scarred for life.

Thor’s plan is awesome. I totally fell for it in the theater. I thought Loki had double-crossed him and chopped his hand off, but they were working together the whole time. I kinda don’t think they let Jane in on it, though. Is the lack of blood on Thor’s arm stump a mistake or a hint that it’s a trick? *rewinds and squints* Ooh, no, it’s because the dagger has a glowy energy field on it! Insta-cauterization! Anyway, this would’ve been the perfect time for Loki to betray Thor for real if he’d wanted to, but he plays along. In part, I think, because he was so impressed with the plan.

Hey guys, even when Loki’s pretending to be a traitor, he doesn’t call himself Laufeyson. STOP CALLING HIM LAUFEYSON IN YOUR TAGS. Also his knife-fighting is awesome.

The Kursed dude’s eyeballs getting sucked out of their sockets was NOT a necessary detail to include.

“You fool, you didn’t listen!” What does Thor mean? What did Loki not listen to? Did Thor tell him that he was only supposed to protect Jane, not him?

Okay so I’m really not sure what the deal is with Loki’s fake death here. I have a couple different theories.

Theory 1: Loki really did get stabbed and really did believe he was dying. After Thor and Jane left to seek shelter from Thor’s uncontrollable grief storm, Loki reverted to his true form (because, dying) and that actually saved his life because Kursed blood isn’t as deadly to the Jotnar as it is to the Aesir, or his vital organs aren’t in the same place anymore, or something. So he was able to heal himself and take advantage of the situation.

Theory 2: Loki never intended to betray Thor, but he always intended to fake his death, both as a way of escaping prison and of avoiding Thanos’s retribution. So as soon as he finished off those four Dark Elves, he turned one of their corpses into a copy of himself and puppeteered it over to stab the Kursed dude and get theatrically killed. It would explain why the Loki who gets stabbed only has a Dark Elf sword and a black hole grenade on him.

I lean more towards theory 1 because I don’t really like the idea that Loki would trick Thor into thinking he was dead the day after their mother died, and also because when they filmed it, they actually meant for this to be Loki’s real death scene, and they only changed it later because test audiences didn’t believe Loki was dead. However, if I put aside my emotions, I have to admit that theory 2 makes more logical sense.

Would Malekith have found the Aether sooner if it hadn’t gotten into Jane? The movie implies pretty strongly that Malekith woke up because the Aether was out of its hiding place.

Mjolnir on the coat hook is such a great gag.

The elevator in Malekith’s ship looks like a spinal column, which is some fantastic design.

Thor’s battle trash talk is always delightful.

PORTAL SHENANIGANS. YESSSSSS.

Poor Mjolnir. It’s trying so hard to get back to Thor. I like to think that when it shatters the glass of that building on its way back up, it’s doing so in frustration.

Hi Jotunheim!

So apparently this isn’t remotely how you get to Greenwich from Charing Cross. Whoops. Maybe that girl was just really flustered at being addressed by Thor and gave him crap directions?

Jane really likes trying to throw herself between an unconscious Thor and a thing that she thinks might kill him.

POETRY. Malekith tried to destroy the Asgardian army by dropping his fleet on them. Now he gets killed by his own ship falling on him.

How’d Loki know about Thor’s line to Odin “There will never be a wiser king than you”?

“I can assure you, it will be absolutely safe here in my collection.” LIAR.

It’s so cool that Chris’s wife is the one who played Jane in the end credits scene. I’m not sure how they failed to do this kiss scene with Natalie in the first place, but whatever.

Every time Thor’s about to show up somewhere in this movie, there’s thunder. :D

Okay so the biggest problems with Thor: The Dark World are that Malekith is the dullest villain in the entire MCU and that Thor kinda doesn’t have a character arc. In a movie where half of his family dies (as far as he knows). How is that even possible? Despite the beautiful funeral, Frigga’s death was really kind of glossed over, and then Loki seemingly dies too, but even though those are very powerful scenes while we’re in them, they don’t leave much of an impact on the rest of the movie. You don’t really feel those losses in the way Thor fights Malekith. Thor should’ve been struggling to stick to the plan instead of just whaling on Malekith blindly with Mjolnir. He should’ve had some breakdown with Jane there to witness it and comfort him. Instead he’s the one comforting Jane when she blames herself for all the loss he’s suffered? No no no. He should’ve either been very emotional, very bent on revenge, or smiling and joking through the pain like he does in Ragnarok and Infinity War. This stoicism is not effective, and it probably contributes to so many people’s (mistaken) belief that, prior to Ragnarok, Thor was a boring character. And Malekith’s side of the battle would’ve been better if it had been personal for him too. He could’ve been more upset at the death of his buddy Algrim, or maybe he had family members who were killed by Bor, which is why he’s so keen on killing members of Asgard’s royal family now. It would’ve been so easy to make this an emotionally intense fight. Instead, it’s merely fun because portal shenanigans. *shrug*

Despite not having much of an arc, Thor is still wonderful. He’s funny, he’s more thoughtful and wise than he’s ever been, he’s gallant, he’s romantic, and he’s getting better and better at working as part of a team and finding solutions besides smashing stuff. Also he makes the best entrances, has awesome armor, and is mesmerizing to watch in battle. I adore him.

Other stuff this movie has going for it. So much more Asgard screentime, even if they cut a few scenes I wish they’d left in. The music is still great. Everything looks gorgeous, and the Dark Elves at least have interesting technology and costumes. No Dutch angles. Plenty of screentime for Heimdall. Every single second of Thor and Loki’s scenes together, being obnoxious bros to each other but still working as a very effective team (heralding all the excellent contentious Brodinson stuff to come in Ragnarok).

#thor the dark world #mcu marathon #thor #loki #infinity war spoilers #kinda

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #499

Top Ten Everything Ever

Four hundred and ninety-nine. That’s how many weeks I’ve been doing this four. Four hundred and ninety-nine.

Next week is the big five-oh-oh and I’m doing something typically stupid, but I wanted to make it a real celebration. That means for the next three weeks you’re going to get some rather meaningful and special Tops Ten; lists that have been long in the making, or that are just bonkers-level awkward for me to do. Like this one.

I mean, I’ve ranked films, games, fictional guns, and robots that made me cry. How much longer can I do this for? How many more weeks am I going to put myself through this?

Give me a barrel with bottom unscrap’d.

There’s nowhere to go but up, ladies and germs, and so I present to you the list to end all lists. The most definitive list possible. A list of everything. A list of my favourite things in all of time and space. A list of the official best things ever.

I mean, what more is there to say? This covers everything. I’ve tried to avoid it being really specific to one film or one person. And, of course, it doesn’t include people I know in real life, or events that have happened to me. These are, in their own way, big, sweeping things; film series, franchises, bands, stories that have in their own way changed my life. Just the greatest things I’ve come across in my nearly 40 years on this planet.

And you can’t say fairer than that.

The Transformers comic: this should be obvious to anyone who knows me well, but there’s no greater influence in my life, in terms of storytelling or entertainment, than Transformers. And of all the variants branching off from the Prime Timeline (pun very much intended), it’s the comic that’s greatest. Whether it’s the melodrama of Simon Furman or the intricate plotting of James Roberts, I’ve been addicted to the Transformers comic for the vast majority of my life. It has fundamentally shaped how I consume fiction and the sorts of things I’m into. It’s also really changed how I write, and, in fact, the original Marvel run is at least partly responsible for the fact that I write at all. I drew Transformers comics as a kid. I planned out elaborate multi-issue arcs before I was a teenager. I wrote detailed synopses and snatches of scripts for Transformers movies that would never be made. And I robbed, wholesale, motifs and lines of dialogue for the original books and comics I was working on too. It changed my life. It’s not hyperbole to say Transformers is the single biggest piece of fiction I’ve ever touched. Till all are one indeed.

The films of Steven Spielberg, 1975-1982: Spielberg is my favourite filmmaker, but it felt a bit weird to just say “Steven!” as one of the entries here. So instead I’ve decided to hone in on his early career, despite the fact that knocks out one of the biggest influences of my life, Jurassic Park. But everything I love about Spielberg is in these movies. His skill with a camera, his love of light, his great eye for casting, his way with actors; I mean, Close Encounters, which I probably first saw aged about twelve, is just a microcosm of all my interests in my teens: aliens, government conspiracies, determined men going on a crazed quest, and above all a pervasive sense of hope and optimism. Spielberg’s craft is exemplary, but that’s also true of many of his peers. His flair for action scenes and love of spectacle is entertaining, but there are many directors of whom you could say the same. What I love about him – what keeps bringing me back to him – is his warmth and optimism, his belief in the best of us. Even in his darkest movies, in Schindler’s List and A.I. and Munich (which has one of the bleakest endings of his career), there’s still joy and warmth and something worthwhile and wholesome to fight for. And whilst Raiders is a thrill-ride and E.T. an emotional tour-de-force, all of his preoccupations are encapsulated in Jaws, a tense horror film, a buddy-comedy, an entertaining rollercoaster, an acting masterclass. But it’s still Jurassic Park that made me want to make a movie.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe: so when I was a kid I was reading Transformers and Ghostbusters and other Marvel-published adaptations, but not really any actual Marvel comics. However, as a result, I became very loosely familiar with who Iron Man and Doctor Strange were (and Spidey of course) through references and back-up strips, and that time Death’s Head fought Tony’s nephew Arno Stark. No, when I started reading “proper” comics – mainstream superhero stuff – it was DC. I loved Batman, so I bought Batman, and that was a gateway to the rest of the DCU. However, despite the successes of the various DC movie adaptations, it’s the MCU that really, really got its hooks into me. For one, they’re really good adaptations, well-cast, with some great set-pieces. But the interconnected stuff is what really sings. Not just the characters popping up in each others’ movies, or even the overall arc leading up the crossover events; no, it was the actual shared-ness of it, the way the destruction of SHIELD had an impact, or the Sokovia Accords, or Asgard, Skrulls, magic… everything has an impact, an effect. And sure, it’s incredibly good fun to follow the breadcrumbs and try to work out where things are heading. As we enter a new phase – literally and figuratively – I just can’t wait to find out what’s next.

Grant Morrison’s Batman: talking about interconnectivity, no one does it better – or weirder – than Morrison. His Batman arc – and I’m referring to the character not the title, as it spans multiple series and even, arguably, includes work he did on JLA years earlier – is a web of connected theories, images, themes, events, and references. What does the Zur-En-Arrh graffiti in Gotham mean, not just in the here-and-now, but also as a long-standing reference to decades of Batman’s past? The anticipation of uncovering the next breadcrumb, the excitement of deciphering the next reference; it was long-form storytelling as a form of existential theatre, and it was sublime. But he also did two things that have utterly changed my view of the character. On the meta level, he presented a Batman where everything was canon; the grim thirties Shadow-inspired vigilante, the goofy fifties space adventures, the hairy-chested love-god of the seventies… it all happened to one man over a span of about 15-20 years. Fair enough; that’s cool storytelling. But his idea that Batman was not a miserable, psychopathic loner, that he was not insane or struggling to cope or still traumatised by his parents’ death, that Bruce Wayne was a nice guy with friends and family, who’d used his pain as a weapon, who’d gotten past his rage and grief and turned all the negative stuff outwards. Batman was what was built from all that, and Batman allowed Bruce to grow. And what did he do? He found other lost children and saved their lives, allowing Dick Grayson to take over. Batman is a force for good, in a similar way to Superman in Morrison’s All-Star book, making people better by association. And his confrontation with Darkseid in Final Crisis is extraordinary; brilliant as-is, as a piece of comicbook badassery on the page, but the metatextual resonance it’s given – Batman as a good man versus the font of all evil, David versus Goliath, Theseus and the Minotaur – is brilliant. How it ties in to Morrison’s wider Bat-epic, the whole Black Glove stuff and the devil and time travel and the myth of Batman’s creation and all of it… and just the simple thing of Batman’s last act being shooting the embodiment of evil, saving a human life, and then saying “Gotcha,” before dying, is perfect. Perfect.

The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge: when I was little, I played Spectrum and C64 games at my cousins’ house. Then I got an Amiga – I think maybe I was ten? – and I started playing Amiga games. And it was fun and all, but then I read a review in Amiga Action, and my life changed. It was something called an “adventure game”, and it let you walk around chatting to people and interacting with the world, with great big colourful graphics and characters whose mouths moved when they spoke. And then I played it. My love of the medium and its possibilities was cemented then; and, fittingly, it was through the wordy, hilarious dialogue and comedy antics of a wannabe pirate who may, or may not, be selling these fine leather jackets. It’s not overstating things that my gaming tastes were defined by this game and its technically superior sequel. The quirky set-pieces, the weird puzzles, the playing with form (like when you “die” in Monkey 2), and the smart use of Lucasfilm in-jokery. The first game’s “How to Get Ahead in Navigating” gag/puzzle will live with me forever, as will the second game’s bonkers, nightmarish, beautifully constructed ending. As good as they were, none of the subsequent games could hold a candle to it, especially as the whole aesthetic changed into something much more cartoony. But these two? They’re my Big Whoop.

Star Wars: I imagine I know a lot of people in real life who would be surprised – nay, astounded – that I would list my ten favourite Things of all time, and yet Star Wars would not manage to break the Top Five. That’s because that as much as I love Star Wars – and I do, I really do – it didn’t hit me, didn’t speak to me, apart from one brief and weird moment in my late teens. It was games that made me fall in love, I think; games and toys. And, I have to confess, it was the prequels; the intricate digital visions of gleaming cities and impossibly acrobatic Jedi. I love the goofiness and ultra-seriousness of Lucas’ vision, sadly muddled now by the earthy chaos of the sequels. Star Wars is cool; for a while, it defined my idea of cool in cinema. An exciting sci-fi reimagining of ancient and endless myths, a confusing smorgasbord of weird stories and arcane philosophy. Plus spaceships and rapscallions and laser swords. So yes: whilst it was never my faith, so to speak, it’s still one of the coolest and most original pieces of fiction in my lifetime, and to this day there are very few things at all that I find more exciting and evocative than the thought of a Jedi pirouetting through the air with their ‘saber lit.

Middle-Earth, in print and film: one of my most vivid memories of childhood is my mum reading me The Hobbit (and also Macbeth, funnily enough). Then I bought myself my own copy, read it as a kid, read it again as a teenager, wrote (aged about 12 or 13) a sequel in which Gollum comes back to reclaim the ring. I remain to this day baffled that my teacher did not think to tell me that there actually was a sequel to The Hobbit. Eventually I did hear about it, watched the Ralph Bakshi version, and – when I read in Empire that it was gonna be a film and Sean Connery, of all people, was gonna be Gandalf – I thought it best to take the plunge. And I adored it. whilst there’s something about the lyrical simplicity of The Hobbit that I prefer, the depth and scope of The Lord of the Rings – and Tolkien’s subsequent, more disparate writing – that moves me on a profound level. It’s not just the epic nature of the work – the story itself, with its grandiose tales of heroism and adventure – but the sheer balls of the man to make such a thing, to craft wholesale an entire mythological ecosystem. And then the films! I can’t believe they managed to do that; it was pure lightning in a bottle, and we know that because they didn’t quite manage to do it a second time with the Hobbit movies. But all those glorious moments: “Fly, you fools”, “For Frodo”, “I can carry you”, “Go away and never come back” – bloody hell.

Empire magazine: it feels a bit weird, for some reason, citing a magazine as a Favourite Thing. It’s a magazine, a periodical, a journal; it tells you the news and recommends films. it’s not supposed to be part of the culture, part of the fabric of one’s being. But whilst you could debate whether criticism itself is culture, Empire definitely has a culture. It’s a club, nay, a family; something that has been entrenched in recent years through its podcasts and live shows. But for me it began as an education. I started reading it, really, to find out more about Jurassic Park (there we are again, the secret eleventh part of this list). But it went on, showing me more films and filmmakers, introducing me to esoteric industry concepts, broadening my horizons. I always liked film, but Empire made me love film. It reflected my tastes but then it enriched them, codified them, offered me new flavours. It was the first magazine to put Lord of the Rings on the cover; it celebrates Spielberg and the MCU; it had articles about The Greasy Strangler, for goodness’ sake. So much of what I love about film I learned from Empire over the last (nearly) thirty years, and so much of what I love about Empire now is because of what I learned. Bangily-bang.

Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO games: the games that did not make this list, I don’t know. Halo; man, I love Halo. Or what about classics like Lemmings, Worms, or SWOS? What about Mass Effect, Deus Ex, or Fable? What about Mario Kart, what about Civilization? They all deserved a place, really. But there’s something esoteric, timeless even, about the heights of the LEGO games. I remember playing a demo – on the first Xbox, I think – of the first LEGO Star Wars, and being blown away by the fact that, well, it was good. When the games started coming out on the 360 – Star Wars II, Batman, Indiana Jones – I was in the gloriously fortunate position of getting a lot of them for free at CITV, and I devoured them. The simple mechanics, the generous, forgiving gameplay, the satisfying tactile feel of smashing objects and collecting studs. There was something just so rewarding about playing them. And the fan-service! Giving you all those beloved characters, all those worlds, all those genuinely funny in-jokes, references, and cut-scenes. Plus they’re great to play with kids. Time went on, some games were better than others; I feel they reached their peak with the first LEGO Marvel Super-Heroes game, presenting us with an open world New York to play in and a collection of comic book characters that fitted the gameplay perfectly. Subsequent games have either put new restrictions on play, or given us more complicated stories and mechanics, or – really – just over-egged the pudding slightly. I’m really, really optimistic and excited for The Skywalker Saga, long overdue, and promising something of an overhaul. it began, really, with Star Wars; and I feel with Star Wars they’ll have their greatest hour.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: fun fact: finding the tenth spot on these lists is very hard. How about a brand I love, like Xbox, or the BBC, or even Disney? Or another writer or director – what about Aaron Sorkin? Or a TV show – Doctor Who, perhaps, or Star Trek? Or how about, oh I dunno, Shakespeare? I like him. But I’ve not talked about music, so let’s do that; we’ll go out on a number. I’m not a musical person; I didn’t grow up frequenting record shops or listening to mix tapes in my room. I liked songs, but mostly I came to music through film. That was even true with Nick Cave, who I first heard in an episode of The X-Files, and read about in the X-Files magazine. But he remains one of the few artists, The Bad Seeds one of the few bands, that I continue to seek out and listen to regularly (rather than just saying “Alexa, play nineties rock”). I love the different styles, from the distorted noise of the early, post-Birthday Party years through the sombre melodies of Nocturama. I love Cave’s lyricism; his evocation of myth, his use of imagery. I love how he manages to get phrases like “morally culpable” into a song. I love the humour as well as the tragedy, the references to things both real and mythological, the sadness and eloquence of it all. I love how so many of his songs are about sex but are also really moving and meaningful; how much of the music is infused with pain and sorrow but is also uplifting. The horrible evocations of Cave’s own abuse in Do You Love Me, through to the references to his son’s death in Girl in Amber. I love Cave’s voice. I don’t know if this has come through in this list, but something I really like is stuff that makes me cry but isn’t necessarily sad. I cry when I read Sandman, when he wins the Oldest Game by challenging the end of everything by becoming “hope”; I cry when Donna tells Josh, “if you were in the hospital I wouldn’t stop for red lights”; I cry when Steve Rogers jumps on that dummy grenade. I think it’s hope and heroism and love. And that’s something that I get constantly, mainlined, intravenous, from Nick Cave. As Morgan Freeman says in Seven, “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for – I agree with the second part.”

God, there’s so much stuff not listed here. So many things I love that I feel are core; no Pixar, no West Wing, no other filmmakers cited, really, apart from Spielberg. But ten’s not a big number, and I contain multitudes.

Thanks for reading.

#top ten #everything #499 #nine years #lists #my life

[imagine-loki]

The Powers That Be

TITLE: The Powers That Be

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter Fifty-Seven

AUTHOR: wolfpawn ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki discovering a hidden mutant when he realises they are at risk of being found by S.H.I.E.L.D. who experiments on mutants, he is the one to help them.

RATING: Teen and Up

Alexia sighed as she ate the last of her food, she had never felt hunger like she was feeling at present. Her body decided to compensate for all she had done by taking in, according to Stark, was the equivalent of a World’s Strongest Man competitor during competition in calories and not once in the approximate ten thousand calorie intake did she seem uncomfortable with what she was eating.

The Avengers watched in shock while Loki and Thor thought nothing of it. ‘What?’ Thor asked, looking at them all. ‘I have eaten more than that on a normal day.’

‘You are three times her size.’ Roger’s pointed out.

‘But she uses more energy, I manipulate one element, she manipulates four.’

‘Yeah, about that, how come she can manipulate them, but not thunder, if they are all elements?’ Barton asked curiously, grabbing the last chicken drumstick before Alexia had a chance to take it.

‘They are the four base elements, all others are not as essential.’ Thor explained.

‘Wait, so she is more important that you?’ Barton asked.

‘Yes, it is my duty to defend her with my life….though considering what she has done, it is safe to say she defends mine.’ Thor smiled at her.

Alexia winked. ‘Ah Thor, always the equalist.’

‘Is that not what you all call feminism?’ He asked confused.

‘Same difference.’

*

Alexia looked at her father as she readied to Heimdall to be called on to open the Bifrost. He stood awkwardly in front of her. ‘Say it, whatever it is.’

‘I…’

‘Don’t approve, are convinced he is using me, both, more. What?’

‘Those, yes, I won’t lie, but I am also really proud of you, I think your mother would be terrified of what you are doing, but proud of you too.’

‘Because of course, you knew her so well.’ Alexia responded sarcastically.

‘I did actually, we worked together for a few years, she was on my team, so yes, I did.’

‘Screwing a subordinate, really?��

‘She had already left when we…’ He paused awkwardly.

‘Made me?’

‘Yes. that’s the best way to put it.’

‘Well, it doesn’t change anything regardless, though I should probably thank you for your messed up genes doing this to me.’ She scoffed.

‘I should probably be grateful that it happened, if it didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, I don’t think it would have been stopped if you were…..normal?’

‘Yeah, that is about right.’ She gave a small smile. ‘Look, I know the whole thing with Loki is impossible for you, I do, but it doesn’t change it.’

‘I am aware, as he said, it is useful having someone so elusive on your side.’

‘In this universe, it actually is.’

‘Is it really as bad as all that?’

‘You have no idea.’ Alexia looked at him for a moment. ‘I better go, the oxygen is running out in that plane...thing.’ she moved the earth and water covering the plane that was under the lake.’I hope you don’t get in too much trouble for this.’

‘I am not in command here.’

‘Good. Bye.’

‘Goodbye, and if you feel the urge to write, have Thor deliver it.’

‘Yeah, sure.’ She walked forward and stood next to Loki, who gave her an encouraging smile. ‘You look at ease carrying that thing.’ She indicated to Gungnir.

‘It suits me, does it not?’ He smirked.

‘You have to give it back.’ She reminded him.

‘Don’t ruin this for me.’ He warned, causing her to laugh slightly.

‘Heimdall?’ Thor looked to the sky.

‘How are you with the Bifrost?’ Loki grinned as he looked at her.

‘Fine actually, it doesn’t bother me.’ She beamed back. Loki’s brow rose.’Does that disappoint you?’

‘Slightly, yes.’

‘Sorry, not sorry.’ She laughed just before the light began to increase above them. ‘Try not to get in too much trouble down here, I am not overly fond of the idea of working visits.’ She looked at the Avengers.

‘You’re welcome anytime you want at the Tower, light bulbs be damned.’ Stark shouted. Alexia could not help laughing as she heard the last of his words over the roar of the Bifrost.

When they landed on the other side, Loki landed first, readying himself to catch Alexia, who, as he predicted, was stumbling out of the Bifrost. When they righted themselves, they turned to see Heimdall looking at them from his post.

‘All well here, my friend?’ Thor asked nonchalantly.

‘Asgard is well, as are the realms at present, but it never takes long for trouble to start.’

‘True, yet we wish for not to be so.’ Thor commented. ‘Is Father awaiting us?’

‘You need to ask?’ Heimdall indicated to Muninn, who was perched on a golden ledge above them.

‘We best report to him so.’ Thor commented.

‘If you want to go ahead with your mallet and begin without us, I doubt Lexi will be too heartbroken, I know I won’t.’ Loki indicated.

‘Sure.’ Thor rolled his eyes, holding out his hand. ‘I will relieve you of that, Brother.’ He eyed Gungnir.

‘If you must.’ Loki begrudgingly gave over the staff.

Thor chuckled before swinging his hammer and flying to the palace.

‘What was that in aid of?’

‘I want us to have some time to talk without someone eavesdropping.’

‘How much trouble am I in?’

‘What do you think you are in trouble for?’ Loki eyed her carefully.

‘Going into that cave and risking everything, carrying you out, not coming in the first place and my plethora of actions with Bálor.’

‘That is a fairly accurate assessment of your crimes.’

‘I didn’t let myself get eaten though, did I?’ Alexia challenged.

‘No, I must concede you did not. In my defence, my will to care for such things was hampered because of a certain Goddess I am inclined to love abandoning my side.’

‘Are we calling this off?’

Loki looked at her worriedly. ‘Do you wish to?’

‘I don’t, but you might want to.’

‘I do not; if you wish to, I have to accept that, but as it stands, no, I do not. Do you?’

‘No.’

‘Then we are going to remain as is.’

‘More talking though.’

‘I agree.’

‘Loki?’ He looked at her. ‘I have a weird feeling.’

‘What is it?’

‘I am not sure I will ever see Phil again.’

Loki frowned and pulled her to him. ‘With his line of work and your vastly different lifespans, and in turn, concept of time, I cannot lie and say what you are feeling is absurd, There is a very real risk you will not.’

‘I tried my best to be nice before leaving, but….I don’t feel anything.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t hate Phil. for a while I did, but now, looking at him, I feel nothing. I don’t want harm to come to him, but the same way I feel about everyone I am not overly close to, you know? I would be far more upset if something happened you, I don’t feel a familial bond with him.’

‘I do understand. For so long I was desperate to get Odin’s approval, then I realised I never would never achieve that, and I stopped trying, leading to me being very angry and hating him. But now, I feel nothing, I see him and I feel none of the resentment or other emotion.’

‘What does it say when we both have this lack of love for our fathers?’

‘That we have experiences that led to this, do not feel guilty, I realised after a time that you are not morally or legally bound to love a parent.’

‘I miss my mother.’

‘That is a sensation that I am aware of also.’ Loki acknowledged. ‘It is unsurprising we ended up seeking company in one another.’

‘Is that what you think this is, simple seeking company?’

‘No, I feel it is what started our deeper understanding of one another, which led to this.’ He noted the way she nodded her head. ‘Does that quell any concerns you have?’

‘I am not concerned. Not overly. I just….I don’t want to be hurt.’

‘Understandable, your only knowledge of males in your life is being disappointed by them, but have I let you down?’

‘Not once.’

‘Then hold onto that. I beseech you.’

‘If you do let me down?’

‘It will be forgetting you wanted apple juice instead of orange juice.’

She could not hide her smile. ‘I don’t know if I can forgive that. I rather you stand me up for an evening than mess with my food.’

*

‘So, Midgard is secured, none of our men lost and all of our warriors safely home, a successful mission then. Well done.’ Odin commended.

‘We did only what was required.’ Thor stated.

‘I saw it all, Lady Alexia, your power is unparalleled, you are a resourceful and terrifying creature’

‘Thank Thor for his recommendation that I fight for my right to live and Loki for his invaluable training.’ She smiled.

‘And Diarmaid.’ Loki reminded her.

Alexia pulled up her sleeve, which revealed a leather tied rope and a trinket on it. ‘I will forget Diarmaid and what he did for me. How he died for me. But he would not have had a me to work with if both of you did not get me to him.’ She pointed out. Both brothers looked at her, before looking at one another, and finally, puffed out their chests in pride. ‘I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you two lugnuts.’

‘Is that an insult or an affectionate term?’ Odin asked his sons. ‘I am not one for the Midgardian lingo, it changes so fast, last time I was there, a pork meatball was called a name that nowadays is a slur against a homosexual, odd realm like that.’ Both of his sons just shrugged. ‘Midgardians, you cannot keep up with them.’

#loki #other #submission #submitted fic #chapter 57 #wolfpawn #the powers that be #discovering #hidden #mutant #risk #S.H.I.E.L.D. #Experiments #help