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sinceileftyoublog · 1 year

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Hedvig Mollestad Interview: The Rhythm of Care

Photo by Kim Hiorthøy

BY JORDAN MAINZER

On her upcoming album Maternity Beat, Norwegian guitarist and composer Hedvig Mollestad redefines what it means to be maternal. Though she has two kids, her exploration of motherhood is not autobiographical, nor is it dependent on having children at all. Really, Mollestad boils the concept down to its essence: caring for something other than yourself.

Around the European migrant crisis of 2015/2016, Mollestad had her first child but was faced with images, whether on the news or in person, of immigrants from Syria coming to Europe to request asylum, many of whom had young children of their own. At the same time the unfortunate nativist aftereffects of the crisis arose around the world, Mollestad was beginning to feel like she needed to do something different with her music. She drafted Maternity Beat for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and pitched it to the Molde International Jazz Festival and Midtnorsk Jazzsenter. While they rejected it in 2017, they eventually accepted it for the Festival’s 60th anniversary in 2020, which, unlike so many other festivals that year, actually did go on, albeit at a much lower audience capacity. Last October, Mollestad and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra recorded Maternity Beat, which finally sees release next Friday on Rune Grammofon.

Though the recorded version of Maternity Beat is a bit shorter due to studio time and vinyl constraints, the ideas are consistent: It’s a piece about how we support each other and help each other grow. Mollestad knew pretty early that she wanted to include spoken word, or at least voice, on the record, and from the very first track, we’re presented with what’s at stake: “Is there a boat on the horizon? / With mothers and children and fathers?” Atop rolling drums and sharp guitars, and eventually woodwinds that sound somewhat hopeful, we experience the rollercoaster of emotions brought upon by these images of desperation. “Do Re Mi Ma Ma” contains improvised nonsensical vocals that sound like a baby trying to say their first words, and clattering drums that are akin to how one might play with their toys. Eventually, the band picks back up, with horn blasts and searing guitar solos, the song developing in sophistication along the way. “Her Own Shape” is comparatively subdued, inspired by parents giving their children tools they need to create, with peaceful, wordless harmonies over bendy, exploratory guitars.

But it’s “Donna Ovis Peppa” that’s the album’s centerpiece, touching on the brunt of the record’s themes. The title itself is inspired by the phrase Dona nobis pacem (“Grant us Peace”), which comes from the Agnus Dei section of the Roman Catholic mass. “Ovis” itself is a play on Ove, the name of the father of Mollestad’s childhood best friend, who was a big supporter of her as a child and was sick with cancer at the time Mollestad was writing Maternity Beat. “I had a little contact with his family...in spring of 2020,” Mollestad told me over Zoom a couple weeks ago. “I had this urge to make something in this music for him. That’s the 5/4 pattern in the middle. It’s made only for him and his family.” He ended up passing away the day before Mollestad and the Orchestra performed for the first time. The last part of the song’s title is, yes, inspired by Peppa Pig, whose instrumental theme you can hear in the song if you listen closely enough. Mollestad’s children loved Peppa Pig, and though they’re too old for it now, I guess she wanted to nod at least once to her own motherhood.

Read my conversation with Mollestad below, edited for length and clarity, in which we talk about the album’s themes, working as a guitarist with a large orchestra, and the distinctive cover art.

Since I Left You: Last time we were talking, you mentioned Maternity Beat in context of reading Dag Hoel’s Fred er ei det beste, about ammunition production in Norway. Now, I understand the context, you thinking about the world you want your child to grow up in. As such, this album is your first time exploring gender and motherhood in relation to your music, which you were reticent to do before. Why was that, and what changed?

Hedvig Mollestad: The main reason in the beginning was as simple as I thought it was very important for there to be female instrumentalists where [people] were only talking about their instruments and their craft, the subject of their music and guitar and art. Very often, I saw female musicians being asked to comment on their gender, and of course, male musicians never were. So I was very strict on that. Gender-related stuff wasn’t my expertise. My experience with it would have been a very selective voice to the matter. If someone wanted to know something about it, they could find some good feminist research about it.

Music and art today are fighting a lot against the media. At the same time, it’s a way of reaching people, as that’s the nature of music, to be heard by others if not necessarily everyone. You want to find a way of getting into the ears of people who appreciate it. But [the media] is also problematic because it’s taking away the focus from the music itself. Very many musicians have to work with the media to be there in the right way, and you have to produce and tell people you’ve done it and present it in a way. [The media] grasping into the places where the art is made and taking over a little bit. For that reason, I was trying to focus on the music. As it’s instrumental music, I don’t have lyrics I can pull meanings and philosophies from.

Now, as I’m 40 and a mother of two, I’ve understood that as a touring musician and a composer, it’s also important for others that mothers are visible as musicians. Now, I’m sharing a little bit more for both female and male musicians. Touring as a family member is hard. It’s very good for the community to be open about it and talk about it and share our experiences. I’m also in a position to be able to work with my music as it is.

I was playing with my much beloved Trio for many many years. I started feeling that I wanted to make music for other kind of ensembles using other kinds of instruments and expressions. [I had the idea for Maternity Beat] very early in 2017, and I drafted it for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and the Festival. They didn’t pick it up at the time, but they picked it up a couple years later for their 60th anniversary. It took some time for it to come to live. I started to work on it and was supposed to work on it at the start of 2020. The pandemic came. The festival was so big, they decided to go through with it even though the capacity would be very low and very uncertain. I got to work on this February-June of 2020. The children were not in school. I spent time with them during the day when my boyfriend was working, and when he came home, I just left the house for my rehearsing and working space. I worked the evening and the night and came back. It was very focused and so undisturbed. It was such a good place to dig into another world, thematically and in terms of deeper structures and working them out all the way.

SILY: When did you start to think about motherhood and parenthood as it relates to the various social issues you explore on the album, like the migrant crisis?

HM: The idea for this music was first and foremost musical. I wanted to write for a big orchestra, and I wanted to put the guitar in a way that could drive it without taking up too much space and without being an instrument like the saxophone and the trumpets [that are] playing lines. The title Maternity Beat was very good to work from because it suggested rhythm and something that, yes, [has to do with] motherhood, but also mother earth. I wanted to connect it to my experiences, but I was also clear to myself from the beginning that it wasn’t going to exclude anyone. It’s not about being a mother; it’s about caring. What’s happening when you’re caring for someone or something? What’s waking us up to care for others? For people that have children, it could be parenthood, but it doesn’t necessarily have to me. Many people have bad relationships with their parents [or no parents] at all. [Maternity Beat] is a way of describing how we care and what makes us care. That’s the only thing we have in common. We all come from parents, but not all of us know them or like them.

When you’re a new mother, you’re very full of hormones, and it’s very overwhelming. Suddenly, another life is relying on you and your presence so much. That was very shocking for me as it is for very many new parents. There are so many parents and children around the world that have so many bigger issues than putting their kids to bed and making them go to sleep. When the migrant crisis happened in Norway in Europe in 2015/2016, that was when I had my first child. I found it very disturbing we were [having] this amazing experience at the same time there was a crisis for people in my situation. I was going around and making my baby fall asleep, but I felt like I wanted to go and help others because they really needed it. It’s a cliché, but with the loss of power you feel when a global crisis comes close, it feels meaningless to go on with your life and letting [the crisis] pass by on the side. So I didn’t want the album to be about [speaks in precious voice] my child and the beauty of life. It’s such a harsh contrast and still is.

SILY: Even though your music doesn’t usually have lyrics, this album does have passages of spoken word that allude to what you’re talking about. At what point during the creative process did you realize you wanted something more lyrical on here?

HM: I knew it quite early, because I was setting up what type of musicians I wanted to be a part of the project. I wanted to use vocalists for that purpose, not just to use their voice but to speak words that had meaning. I also knew very early I wanted the opening track to contain lyrics about the darkest part of this, to set the pace and get it over with. [laughs] For the first track, I was very inspired by Scott Walker and the opening of Tilt. It hasn’t been many years since I heard that for the first time. It made such an impression on me. The atmosphere that he creates, and the emotionlessness of the words. [sings] “Do I hear, 21, 21, 21.” There’s no metaphor. It’s very simple yet extremely powerful. I really wanted to go in that direction because the focus he managed to make there is really amazing. During the composing process, I wanted to have different theories in different parts of the music. I didn’t want it to be one big fat sausage. I wanted various things represented, both humorous and my experiences with motherhood. So I put in the words for when I thought [the music] needed it.

SILY: You really get at what you’re aiming for on “Her Own Shape”, which is about parents giving children the space and tools they need to thrive. That song is so spacious as compared to the rest of the record, almost like a canvas that demands to be filled.

HM: The words [on that song] are so very specific and filled up with serious meaning, the music cannot be as emotional as the text. It should be beautiful and easygoing, and a place for that lyric to be able to be what it is without too much disturbance.

SILY; Can you talk about the song “Do Re Mi Ma Ma”?

HM: The recorded version is a lot shorter than what we’re doing live. There’s a wonderful transition from the first part to the second. In general, [on the record], I was very specific for how the lyrics should be performed. I read them, recorded it how I wanted it to be, how short, etc. But I wanted to give [the vocalists] a task where they were a lot freer. So I thought, “Okay, what’s the [simplest] thing they could say?” It was, “ma.” So I gave them 5 minutes of improvisation. I said, “You can use 'ma,' but you have to avoid it sounding like 'mama,' at least for the first three minutes.” It was so funny and so interesting how they worked around that. I also wanted to have a bassline pattern that I could write so I could focus on the horns and trumpet section. “On The Horizon, Part 2″ has a lot of things happening with the band, very busy patterns with the guitar and the time signature changes. So I wanted to [follow it with] this very slow, bluesy bass riff where I could get the most out of the horns. That was a good thing to bring together with the vocalists.

SILY: You mentioned wanting to use the guitar in unexpected ways with this orchestra. Both of the singles, “All Flights Cancelled” and “On The Horizon, Part 2″, do that. When you think, “Guitar in a jazz orchestra,” you don’t necessarily hear the sounds of those two songs.

HM: “All Flights Cancelled” is a band song, with an A part and a B part. Rune Grammofon released that single first, but I think it’s the least orchestrated piece on the whole record because it’s only the band. I like it because it has a whole other mood than when we recorded it with the Trio. It was a good way to break everything up and bring back the focus to what I’m usually working on, which is the guitar in a band setting. [This time,] it was much more complex and involved a lot more composing. It was so hard to make it fit with the rest of the music. It had to be pointy and very audible. I’m not used to pointy and audible; I want to be broader. The tempo was quite high, and the time signature was changing. [The drummer] was really mixing the ingredients. That helped a lot with the role of the guitar, which had to be restricted.

SILY: I was also surprised by how much music from other regions of the world snuck in. “Donna Ovis Peppa” had some klezmer, and the hand percussion on “Maternity Sweep” was almost Latin. Was that intentional?

HM: I don’t think it was very intentional, but it was important for me to have percussion, other rhythmic impulses besides drums, to have another person go crazy on all these other rhythmic sounds. It’s an orchestra, and it should be in the drum section as well. The percussionist was instructed very little. He was encouraged to do what he thought would fit. Then we worked on it. We used congas and so many woodblocks! He was very free there. He’s amazing and eager and has so many ideas. He’s so vibrant and was working so hard. He was the one who left the studio the latest.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the cover art?

HM: I’ve been working with Kim [Hiorthøy] since the first record I released on Rune 11 years ago. When I signed there, cover art was one of the only things I couldn’t decide. They said, “Kim is making the covers, and he’s making them the way he wants. If you really hate it, you can tell me, and he’ll make another one, but if you just don’t like it, it’s not enough.” I was very cool with that because Kim is amazing. But I really wanted to have pictures on the covers. I talked to him about it, and he was cool about it. When we make new covers, we meet up, talk, maybe have a beer, hang around at some strange place. For the first cover, we did a lot of straight things. I showed him around my rehearsal room while he was taking photos. For the second, he came to a gig. For the third, we went to his very small studio. For the fourth, it was outside where I used to live. Then he came to the rehearsal space again. He’s into closed places.

When Maternity Beat came up, it was obvious it was something a little different, elevating on a philosophical level. I don’t know why, but I think he wanted to try another technique. He suggested we would do it in two processes. He would first take photos of me and then project it. I instantly liked that idea because it was very analog and something I could relate and connect to. He couldn’t fix it; he had to develop the film, make small [versions], and then we could meet up again. It was going to be a process that would take some time. I came back [to him] and brought my grandmother’s dress, and we tried different ways of projecting me on myself. It was another way of working with him. Of course, it took a lot more time, but it didn’t matter because it’s so nice to spend time with him. Whatever session I have with him, something extraordinary comes out of it. He has an eye for something else. He’s not looking for the face, or what the media tells us is beautiful. He’s looking for something very human, other structures in a photo. There’s so much to think about when I see all of his photos, which is so much better than having a big, fat face on the cover.

SILY: You mentioned “Do Re Mi Ma Ma” is a lot longer live. Are there any other stark differences between the recorded and live versions of these songs?

HM: Yeah. There are very many transitions that have been left out. There’s even a whole part with a lyric and an improvised piece that had to be left out because of time limitations both in the studio and on the vinyl. We haven’t performed this live more than twice, but it was a main idea to have transitions. “Do Re Mi Ma Ma” is one of them. There was a longer part in “On The Horizon, Part 1″ where Ingebjørg [Loe Bjørnstad] actually spoke in Norwegian. There was a solo bass transition at some point. For the record, I really wanted to shape and tighten things up because there was so much going on anyway. I was pleading on my knees to have a conductor. It was freaking impossible to play this piece and still get the most out of a horn section, putting them in where they were supposed to be. I was with the guitar in another room. We tried to do most of it as live as possible. But we had to move a little away from that because I couldn’t do all of those tasks. We [did get] a [conductor] who was working with the horn section--saxophone, trumpet, flute, and violin--and taking over the score. I really depended on him. He was really important in making the peaks as good as they are. I wouldn’t have managed to do that without him.

SILY: Do you have any upcoming dates playing this material?

HM: Yes, in a year. That’s because I have this big residency at a Norwegian festival in July, playing so many different shows with a lot of different projects. I’m going to have to work for 6 months. But next October, we’re going to have 5 shows in Europe. It could be that some of them have to be in Norway. It would be amazing to go to New York and play there. The Jazz Orchestra have played there. I really hope we can play this live.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, reading, or watching lately?

HM: I’ve started to only read newspapers since February. I stopped reading news online. It got to me. [But my decision] freed up a space inside of me, not worrying as much. I feel happier.

I’ve been listening a lot to Led Zeppelin lately, as well as a lot of fellow musicians in Norway.

I’ve been touring a lot.

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#interviews #hedvig mollestad #trondheim jazz orchestra #molde international jazz festival #Midtnorsk Jazzsenter #maternity beat #kim hiorthøy #rune grammofon #zoom #peppa pig #dag hoel #fred er ei det beste #scott walker #tilt #hedvig mollestad trio #Ingebjørg Loe Bjørnstad #led zeppelin

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jdgo51 · 2 months

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FEBRUARY 28, 2024

God Hears Our Cries Cindy Lee (England, United Kingdom)

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." - Romans 8:26 (NIV)

"'My heart hammered in my chest and turmoil swirled inside me because my father was in the hospital. However, attending a prayer gathering at my church with Christians from a variety of denominations and being surrounded by believers and God’s loving presence was comforting. All of us were at different stages in our personal journeys with Jesus, but we all had hope and faith. I found the readings, thoughts, and messages inspiring, even though there was a knot of worry inside me. When it was time to offer prayer requests, I desperately wanted to ask for a blessing for my dad; but if I were to speak, I knew my sadness would overcome me. I felt powerless and voiceless.

One of the parishioners who knew of my situation smiled at me, then stood up and prayed, “We ask God to protect the sick and hospitalized who are suffering and need healing — and we ask God to help those who are caring for them.” Tears filled my eyes. Overcome with gratitude, I felt peace filling my soul. My loving heavenly Father had heard my cry and allowed someone else to give voice to my need."' You can pray your own prayers, but if there is an issue someone else can voice it on your behalf. God hears every single prayer and knows the situation if its being voiced by someone other than the petitioner praying. God ahead, Pray!

TODAY'S PRAYER

"Loving Father, thank you for listening to us and surrounding us with your love." Amen.

Romans 8:22-30

"22 We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. 23 And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. 24 We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? 25 But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. 26 In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. 27 The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will. 28 We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 We know this because God knew them in advance, and he decided in advance that they would be conformed to the image of his Son. That way his Son would be the first of many brothers and sisters. 30 Those who God decided in advance would be conformed to his Son, he also called. Those whom he called, he also made righteous. Those whom he made righteous, he also glorified." Many were conformed to God's image and God went on to make them righteous and glorified. Blessings are for you in abundance. Joe

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fireflies-with-pencils · 7 months

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Today I was tasked with editing some text based arrangements in order to make them more legible and appealing. I started off with an excerpt from a Sherlock Holmes novel. When I received this assignment I immediately noticed that the texture on the background would make any text harder to read. I asked my superior about it and they said the background absolutely must stay. Additionally, I was not allowed to change the color of the text. This made it rather challenging to differentiate the text from the speckled paper.

After all my limitations were established I began working on the body text. Since the body text was the biggest aspect of the graphic, I thought if I got that right, everything else would fall into place. I knew I wanted a sans serif font, this would make the text more readable. After picking one I also made the text slightly bigger. The dark specs on the page were especially noticeable when the text was smaller, making some letters look off compared to others. I also moved the text accordingly, making as few intersections as possible. Lastly for the body text, I indented the paragraphs, allowing for more separation and visibility.

After dealing with the body text, I moved on to the details. I ordered the book title, book part and chapter largest to smallest at the top of the page, using the same sans serif font I used for the body. I kept the source font as Times New Roman. This helped differentiate it as less vital than the main text.

The next piece I had to work on was an art nouveau article. The text was small and disconnected from their images. The text was also in Times New Roman, which certainly has a place in college research papers but not quite in this particular article. Once again I opted for a sans serif font for legibility and cohesion. Even though I was allowed to change text colors for this article, I decided against it for two reasons; one being that I was not allowed to change the background color. I find using colored text on a white background is too risky, the colors can easily be too light and/or too bright and can cause eyestrain. The second reason is consistency. Since this is an article that will be presented on a computer screen, the article would immediately be compared to all other online articles. To fit this mold, I wanted to keep the standard white background and black text.

Now it was time to arrange my composition. I had two images to work with, both with corresponding blurbs of text. I knew I did not want to change the size of the images, I felt making it bigger wasted space and making it smaller made the images harder to decipher. I put the images in opposite corners to keep my composition balanced. Next I made a shape in illustrator that went around the first image and put text inside of it. This made for an effective use of space and felt more dynamic than a square of text.

The next project was the most involved but also the most fun. I was told to create a wedding invitation almost entirely from scratch. All I was given was the text that had to be on the card. My superior told me to find all the assets myself and make a compelling layout. This proved challenging because I had almost nothing to work with. So I looked up example wedding invitations, almost all of which involved flowers in some way.

While looking for images to use, I found a free png of pink and blue flowers on pngtree.com. They were angled in such a way that I could put them in the corners of my design perfectly. I then used these flower decals as a reference to form my color palette.

Next I began working on my text. The type was, again, given to me in Times New Roman. Since many of the reference invitations had a flowy script font, that is what I chose for my design. I also wanted the letters to be big in this font, as I wanted to use this for the bride and groom's names. For the rest of the supplementary information, I went with a thinner, serif font. I wanted to keep the invite delicate and soft looking. However, I think the light pink may be hard to read on the light background. I made the text bigger but that only remedied it slightly. Overall I think this was a fun exercise, the seemingly endless freedom really let me express my creative freedom.

This was where I got the flowers

https://pngtree.com/free-flower-png

#typography #artwork #artists on tumblr #digital art #digital illustration

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pooma-bible · 1 year

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Sister. Savita Manwani: Greetings to all in the Name of Jesus. I welcome you to hear the Word of God and be blessed.

Let us Pray: Dear Lord, thank you for this time and opportunity you gave us to listen to your voice. Give us a receptive heart to receive your word with gladness and be blessed. Make us the doers of your word and not just the hearers. In Jesus name. Amen.

Topic - ADD TO YOUR FAITH

Scripture Text – II Peter 1:5-7

II Peter 1:5 - And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge

When we call on the Lord Jesus Christ to save us, and God shares with us His divine moral nature, holiness, and godlikeness, then we need to grow in Christ’s image and likeness. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Peter taught that we need to be diligent about this growth.

“Diligence” means “to make haste, be eager, to do one’s best, to take care, to exert one’s self”. This speaks of an intensive effort to do God’s will. This diligent effort is what II Peter 1:5, 6, and 7 will deal with.

Add to your faith” in Christ. The word “add” is taken from the Greek word chorus. We are to work godly character qualities into our faith as a choir director helps to blend all the vocal parts to make one sound.

We are to “add to [our] faith, virtue.” This word “add” is a command. We are to be busy growing in grace. The word “virtue” means “moral excellence”, or courage. We believers are commanded to work into our lives of faith, virtue, a personal moral excellence, and to expend great energy in doing so. To this personal moral excellence, we are to add or blend together into a beautiful life, “knowledge.”

This knowledge is not gained just by facts, but by experiences. It is a knowledge that is practical—knowledge that we gain by walking with God and by reading His Word daily. So, now we are to add, blend, or harmonize together personal moral excellence and practical knowledge.

II Peter 1:6 - And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness

The word “temperance” means “self-control” over one’s “desires and passions”. It is the control of one’s temper, moral passions, or the passion for material things. John 8:32, 36 teach us that in Christ, we are made free, but free to do what? Free to serve God—no longer bound by sin, but free to be like Christ. This freedom does not mean that we are to continue in sin, but to serve Christ freely (Romans 6:1-2, 18).

We are to add, blend, or harmonize together “virtue”—personal moral excellence, practical “knowledge” of our God, and self-control of our desires or passions. Then we are to add “patience.” “Patience” is the ability to bear “up under a heavy load” or burden. This word is a “picture of steadfastness, constancy, and endurance”

The word “godliness” means worship or devotion that is directed toward God. It is “the attitude of reverence that seeks to please God in all things”. This is an attitude directed toward God because He is worthy of worship and reverence.

So, we are to add, blend, or harmonize together “virtue”—personal moral excellence, practical “knowledge” of our God, self-control of our desires or passions, “patience”—a steadfast consistent endurance, and “godliness”—a reverential worship toward God and effort to live pleasing to Him in all things.

False teachers were saying that self-control was not needed because deeds do not help the believer anyway (2:19). It is true that deeds cannot save us, but it is absolutely false to think they are unimportant. We are saved so that we can grow to resemble Christ and serve others. God wants us to produce his character in us.

But to do this he demands our discipline and effort. As we obey Christ, who guides us by his spirit, we will develop self- control not only with respect to food and drink but also with respect to our emotions.

II Peter 1:7 - And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” To “godliness” we are to add “brotherly kindness.

Brotherly kindness” is the Greek word philadelphia which refers to brotherly love or affection toward a fellow Christian. This is seen in kind acts done towards fellow believers. What are believers to do for their fellow believers in order to fulfill this command?

Paul, in Galatians 6:2, admonishes us to “bear ye one another’s burdens.” In Ephesians 4:32 we learn that believers are to be kind or gentle, tender-hearted, and forgiving. Then we are to add love—agape, self-sacrificial love. This love is not merely affection, but a divine kind of love which focuses on the benefit or the highest good of the one loved. This love is for both believers and unbelievers alike.

Faith must be more than belief in certain facts: it must result in action, growth in Christian character, and the practice of moral discipline, or it will die away (James 2:14-17). Peter lists several of faith’s actions: learning to know God better, developing perseverance, doing God’s will, loving others.

These actions do not come automatically, they require hard work. They are not optional, all of them, must be a continual part of the Christian life. We don’t finish one and start on the next, but we work on them all together. God empowers and enables us, but he also gives us the responsibility to learn and to grow.

Peter does not mean to imply that the believer is to cultivate each listed quality in turn, one after the other until all have been perfected. Instead, they are all to be cultivated simultaneously. Peter has continuing spiritual growth in mind.

The Christian’s knowledge should affect the way he lives. It does not set him free from moral restraints, as the heretics taught. Rather it produces holiness and all such virtues. These virtues will produce a well-rounded, fruitful Christian life.

So, let us review. We are to blend together personal moral excellence, practical knowledge of our God, self-control of our desires or passions, patience or steadfast consistent endurance, a reverential worship toward God, brotherly kindness, and a love for all into one beautiful chorus of life.

Dear friends, since God has made all the necessary provisions for our spiritual maturity, we are to try our best to incorporate godly qualities in our lives. We must remain diligent in faithful obedience and Christian growth. Growth is essential. It begins with faith and culminates in love for others. To keep growing we need to know God, keep on following him and remember what he taught us.

God bless everyone in the group.

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bluebumblecreative · 2 years

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Signage Graphic Design: 7 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience

Graphic design signage can be a powerful tool to improve the customer experience. By using clever design and effective messaging, businesses can create an inviting and engaging environment for their customers. In this article, we will explore seven ways to improve the customer experience with graphic design signage.

Use Contrasting Colors

When creating signage graphic design, it’s important to use colors that will create a contrast and make your design pop. Bright colors against a dark backdrop are always a great way to achieve this or vice versa. Using colors that are too similar can make a design feel bland and uninteresting. So be sure to mix it up, and use contrasting colors to create a visually appealing environment.

Use Interesting Typography

There are many ways to use interesting typography to enhance your design. You as a graphic design company or freelancer can use different fonts, sizes, and styles to create visual interest. You can also use text effects, such as shadows and highlights, to make text stand out.

You can also use text positioning to create visual interest. For example, you can use text alignment and indentation to create interesting borders around the text. You can also use text wrapping to make text appear to be floating on the page.

Use Eye-Catching Images

Images are a powerful tool for engaging your audience and capturing their attention. They can also be used to help convey your message or story. When selecting images for your content, it is important to choose ones that are eye-catching and relevant.

You can find free images online, or you can purchase stock images. When using free images, be sure to check the license agreement to make sure you are allowed to use them.

Use Consistent Design

Design is an important aspect of any signage graphic design, no matter how small. When you’re working on signage, it’s important to use consistent design throughout to create a cohesive finished product. This means using the same fonts, colors, and design elements throughout your project. Not only will this make your project look better, but it will also be easier to create and update.

Use Appropriate Colors

Certain colors are associated with certain emotions. For example, blue is often associated with sadness, while yellow is often associated with happiness. When it comes to signage graphic design, it is important to use colors that evoke the correct emotions in your users.

Use Legible Fonts

Fonts are an important part of any document and should be chosen carefully. They can make or break the readability of a document. Some fonts are more legible than others, and it is important to use a font that is easy to read. Some common legible fonts include Arial, Times New Roman, and Calibri. When choosing a font, it is important to consider the purpose of the signage.

Use Appropriate Design

The design of signage is one of the most important factors in how successful it will be. To use appropriate design, you must first understand your audience. What are their needs and what will appeal to them? Once you have a good understanding of your audience, you can begin to create a design that will be both effective and appealing.

Conclusion

Graphic design signage can be a very effective way to improve the customer experience. By using clever design and effective messaging, businesses can create an inviting and engaging environment for their customers.

Source: https://bit.ly/3x5DrjR

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laoyangtutor · 2 years

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老Yang教员组今天为大家整理一篇优秀的paper代写范文- Dante's political thought，供大家参考学习，这篇论文讨论了但丁的政治思想。但丁不仅是中古时期意大利文艺复兴中最伟大的诗人，而且还是一位毕生从事政治斗争的社会活动家和有新政治观点的人文主义政治思想家。在他的著作《神曲》和《论世界帝国》中，都体现了他的政治思想并论述了其重要特征和影响。虽然但丁的政治思想具有鲜明的时代特征，但他的思想依然在西方政治思想史上占有重要的地位。

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As we all know, Dante is a poet, a great writer. What is less known is that he was a lifelong political activist and a humanist political thinker with new political views. His political thoughts were mainly reflected in divine comedy and on world empire. Among them, the divine comedy is composed of hell, purgatory and heaven. It is a magical description of Dante's fantasy three worlds, mainly expressing his idea of separation of church and state. He will be a hypocrite, corrupt officials, the evil of the Pope, making prosecution, usurer, mixed, the traitors in different layer and everlasting punishment in hell, and the wise monarch, academia of saints and faithful priest in meteorological majestic, colorful, full of love and joy of heaven, only they can enjoy in this eternal happiness. In this process, Dante carefully arranged two characters as his mentor, one is a symbol of reason, knowledge of Virgil, one is his lover - beatrice, she symbolizes faith, piety. We can see from the divine comedy that Virgil, a symbol of reason, is not yet qualified to enter heaven, and can only act as a guide for the poet in the "heaven on earth", while beatrice, a symbol of faith, is qualified to lead him into the "kingdom in heaven". This clearly shows that he attacked the church, hated the Pope's imperiousness and greed, criticized the Pope for interfering in the power of secular monarchs, and longed for the separation of church and state and the reunification of the motherland, but he was not against Christianity, he was not against faith, but put faith above reason. What he wants to maintain is that the Italian nation and the entire human race must, under the enlightenment of faith, regulate behavior with reason, implement moral perfection and the constant transcendence of spiritual realm, so as to realize the highest ideal and finally move towards a bright future.

Dante's realistic criticism of the church in the divine comedy mainly focuses on the corruption of the church from the moral perspective, which was not completely regarded as hostility and offense to the church at that time. On the contrary, the church at that time even took the divine comedy as the textbook of moralizing, because its moral image was basically consistent with its own moral image declared by the church. What the church really couldn't allow was his idea of separation of church and state, which got him into a slump at first because of the separation of church and state, and then started to turn the situation around because of the high comments made by gravener and vico. This makes Dante move towards the lofty status of the holy, and his political thought has gradually been highly valued. The political idea of the separation of church and state and the discourse on the world empire became the focus of the Italian and even European nations in this era, and he became the "father of Italian poetry" in the eyes of italians in the 19th century. Later, he was praised by Shelley, byron, Jacob burkhart, forsyth and others. However, Dante's idea of the separation of church and state is always accompanied by religious thoughts, which is inevitably bound by certain restrictions and has obvious characteristics of The Times.

His other political treatise, on world empires, took a more radical and obvious view. Careful reading reveals that his expression not only perfected the idea of the separation of church and state, but also highlighted his idea of a world empire. Rome united the world by right; Earthly sovereignty is given directly by god and not by the Pope. In this work, Dante placed his hope on the holy Roman emperor Henry vii, who was hated by the white party for writing to him. Finally, the death of Henry vii also declared that Dante's dream had come to nothing. His dream was to seek an enlightened monarch to build a universal empire. Such an empire, he thought, should be unified by a secular government, separate church from state, the only government that ruled the world. Only in this way can man avoid war, the avarice and decay of the church, the intrigues and intrigues of the poets, and the whole world be in harmony. Its obvious feature is that this kind of monarchy is not a democracy, but this kind of monarchy is different from the absolute monarchy, and this kind of monarchy has some similarities with the current European Union. Thus it can be seen that the political ideal of the independence of the royal power and the religious power and the thought of the unity of the future world are the highest political goals that Dante will pursue in his life. In his imagined world empire, Henry vii was the representative sent by god, who existed as the judge of all, and whose will was the basis of all justice. This again confirms that Dante does not give up faith, that god is omnipresent and omnipotent in his mind, and that in the theory of the unified world of the holy Roman empire, in addition to the principle of reason, he also argues according to the principle of Christian faith, that the birth of Christ shows that the dominion of Rome is divine. At the same time, he believed that earthly sovereignty came directly from god, not from the Pope. He sees the secular sovereign and the Pope as two unitary entities without any subordination, and these two unitary entities are unified with god, because their power is directly given by god, and only god can really rule over human beings, they are just the executive tools of god.

In the divine comedy, Dante will own infinite passion and bizarre fantasy, combining the evaluation of reality with faith in "the kingdom of heaven is" sincere, showing his amazing imagination, not only the symbol with singular, dream, for the characteristics of the middle ages to the peak of literature and art, also very clearly expressed his political views. For example, he expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the current political situation in Florence, no matter how prosperous the business in Florence was at that time, it was just a manifestation of greed in his eyes. The strongest political attitude expressed by him is to firmly oppose the greed and corruption of the Pope, and sternly accuse them of meddling in the secular power, believing that it is their greed that causes the political chaos in their hometown. Therefore, Dante will place them in hell to be punished forever. In addition, Dante hopes that the holy Roman empire can give Italy a unified and revitalized, criticizing the invasion of the French lords. All of these are expressed by Dante through the divine, which shows that his political thought is highly theological.

In the empire of the world, Dante almost always USES a theological point of view to justify his theory. This, like the divine comedy, also confirms the theological color of his political views, which indicates that his political dreams have to be somewhat utopian.

The utopian nature of political ideals was also determined by the characteristics of his time. 13 ~ 14 century is the era of religious activities active, the Pope's authoritarian rule, and the use of force by brutal repression of heresy, make its status rises to the status of the Christian world, and also formed a sense of the Pope of the crisis of faith, the city's campaign against priests, and makes this crisis as the rotting of the Catholic church, internal struggle and gradually deepened. The Pope has always seen Italy as his sphere of influence, in conflict with the emperor. The Italian people wanted their country to be united, and the Pope's struggle with the emperor and their individual ambitions were obstacles. They adopted a policy of divide and rule lest a united Italy should threaten their rule. The intricate contradictions make Italy's political life extremely active. The persecution between political enemies and the conflicts of interests between different classes are often manifested in the most brutal forms. In such a context, it is impossible for any thinking Florentine not to be strongly influenced by these activities, and Dante is no exception. So no matter how vehemently he opposed the church, he was still tied to theology, and ultimately exiled for political cruelty. As a homeless person, Dante, nomadic life of vagrancy, painful experience of exile and thought of the longing for returning to homeland, dear ones, make he yearned for a unified polity, full of justice, harmony in this regime under the freedom of the people can live a happy life, all this is deeply affecting the Dante, and reflected in his political thought, this is his world unified theory. In addition, the time of the fiorentina in addition to the political chaos, also is in her era of Western Europe began to germination of capitalism, the development of commodity economy, currency increasingly prevalent, lead to natural economy rapidly towards disintegration, the city develop continuously, on the basis of the old city also appeared a large number of new cities. As a result, the ranks of the citizen class grew stronger and stronger, including businessmen, workshop owners, small handicraft workers, etc. As a new political force, they entered the historical stage. As their economic status gradually increased, they increasingly felt the importance of political power. They demanded free trade, opposed papacy, supported the monarchy, and wanted to end feudal rule and achieve national unity. This is exactly the reflection of Dante's political thought in this era. However, the emerging civil class was still weak and many conditions were not mature enough, so their ultimate dream and pursuit had to be shattered in the fierce struggle between the church and the royal power. Even though Henry vii, the emperor of the holy Roman empire, had brought some light to the royal power, it was still extinguished because of the strong power of the religious power.

To sum up, although Dante's theory of world unity has its reasonable side, because of the characteristics of the time, Dante cannot get rid of the shackles of theology, and his political ideal must become a fantasy.

Dante's political thought was born in an era of new and old, which was not only influenced by the politics, economy and culture of Western Europe in the middle ages, but also had the trace of the new era when capitalism was budding, which profoundly reflected the political economy, ideology and culture of western European society that transited from the middle ages to the modern times. Both his literature and art, academic research and ideas have left a profound influence on later generations, and his political thoughts have unique personality characteristics and distinctive characteristics of The Times, which occupy an important position in the history of western political thoughts.

As we know petrarch and Machiavelli also inherited the Dante thought the basic elements, such as the rationality and belief in slam the door of the dream and the reality, so that on the basis of the law of national thought political theory become reality, for the formation of European nation-state provides a powerful ideological weapon. Dante theoretically for the first time put forward the political and religious equality, requires the separation of church and state, bribing the secular power against the church's point of view, the dominant religious doctrine is a brave the challenge of the nature to be followed by reformation and modern capitalism thoughts had a profound impact, so he is referred to as the "first religious reformer" Shelley.

It can be said that Dante's opposition to foreign invasion and his insistence on the separation of church and state made him the forerunner of the Italian Renaissance. His mission was to achieve the unification of the Italian nation state, which was consistent with the future of the Italian nation. So mazzini also regarded him as an icon of Italy's national revival. From then on, Dante became a bright banner of the Italian Renaissance movement in the 19th century. Under the guidance of this banner, italians urgently demanded to end the situation of papacy, foreign invasion, feudal separation and chaos, and achieve national independence and national unity. They fought bravely for this mission. Finally, with the development of the revolution, Italy established the Roman republic headed by mazzini in 1849 and established the kingdom of Italy in 1861. The Pope was subsequently deprived of secular power. It must be said that because of Dante's pioneering role in theory and later generations' efforts, his political ideal of separation of state and religion and national unity has been basically realized.

Finally, the unity that Dante desires is the unity of all human beings, he wants to establish the only government in the world, a unified world empire. This is the point where Dante has placed his hopes in the holy Roman empire, and his hopes have not been fulfilled and cannot be fulfilled, and this is a radical point. This reminds me of the two world wars initiated by Germany later. Is there any connection between their world hegemony theory and Dante's theory of world unity? This needs to be further discussed.

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nixonnixon36 · 2 years

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winklerklit5 · 2 years

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cross32pugh · 2 years

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jdgo51 · 6 months

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR NOVEMBER 6, 2023

The Spirit Intercedes

By Zithelo Sibanda (Northern Ireland, United Kingdom)

READ ROMANS 8:26-30

"We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."

ROMANS 8:26 (NIV)

"My faith journey is not always smooth sailing. I often face challenges that cause me to lose my close connection with Christ, sometimes even to the point that praying becomes difficult. Loss, guilt, grief, stress, and unanswered prayers can derail my prayer life.

An inconsistent prayer life weakens our relationship with Christ. In those moments, we may wonder, Where do I begin? How do I rekindle my relationship with Christ? Often we have so much to say, and yet it seems as though the right words are just not there! It can seem like we should wait to rebuild the connection at the right moment when we know the right words to say. But Romans 8 reminds us that the Spirit intercedes for us.

The Lord knows our hearts, so we don’t have to be discouraged by the obstacles we are currently experiencing. We don’t need to wait for the perfect moment to reestablish our relationship with Christ. All we need to do is ask the Spirit of God to intercede for us, either through silent prayer, or when we cry out to the Lord." The Lord is in tune with you. No roadblock or situation can get the best of you. Just be in relationship with Him and the Spirit will be there working on your behalf.

TODAY'S PRAYER

"Dear Lord, you know our hearts. We have much to share, but words may fail us. We need your Spirit to intercede for us." Amen.

Romans 8:26-30

"26 In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. 27 The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will. 28 We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 We know this because God knew them in advance, and he decided in advance that they would be conformed to the image of his Son. That way his Son would be the first of many brothers and sisters. 30 Those who God decided in advance would be conformed to his Son, he also called. Those whom he called, he also made righteous. Those whom he made righteous, he also glorified." God works everything for good if we love and want to serve Him. Be the one who does God's work faithfully and make life better for many. Blessed is He who loves the Lord. Joe

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discoscoob · 3 years

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Fires of Pompeii | Loki x Female Reader

Loki (Marvel) x Doctor Who

You and Loki meet each other while you’re both running for your lives through the streets of Pompeii.

Part Two | Chapter Index

Words: 10k +

Warnings: blood and injury

Read on AO3: here

You huddled under the arch of an abandoned doorway just off the high street, it provided you suitable enough shelter from the miserable rain which pathetically drizzled down from the night sky. The light from the street lamps, traffic and shop fronts reflected off the soaked concrete while in the distance you could hear the laughter and chatter of groups of people as they made their way to the pubs and the clubs, the night was still early for them but you intended to be home and curl up in bed within the hour but first, dinner.

You warmed your frozen fingertips around the paper wrapping which contained a piping hot portion of golden chips from your favourite chippy. Just as you were about to pop one of the steaming chips into your mouth using one of those tiny wooden forks you only ever find in chip shops, something caught your attention and you paused.

“You’re not mating with me, sunshine!” A woman gasped in a broad east London accent that you would recognise anywhere, it belonged to your auntie Donna, a fiery redhead with an unmistakable dialect. Reluctantly you dropped your wooden fork, with your chip still attached to it, back onto the pile of chips which sat on the wrapping paper cradled in your palm and you ran out from under the doorway to investigate.

“A mate. I want a mate.” Came a reply and you turned your head in the direction the voice came from to find your auntie, half shielding herself behind the door of an old police box, while a man you didn’t recognise stood before her wearing a pinstripe suit with a pile of luggage gathered around his feet.

“Well just as well because I’m not having any of that nonsense. I mean you’re just a long string of nothing, you know, alien nothing.” She asserted, now standing fully outside the police box.

“Is everything okay?” You approached the pair, completely lost by the conversation or argument you had picked up on midway through. Upon hearing your voice Donna gasped your name suddenly looking like someone caught doing something they shouldn’t.

“Oh chips! I love chips. Can I have one?” The man smiled and pinched a chip from your pile before you could even answer.

“I can explain.” Donna offered and that is where it all began.

Donna’s explanation had consisted of an elaborate story about how the man she was with, known simply as The Doctor, was the last surviving member of an advanced alien species which specialised in space and time travel and that he had offered to take her exploring with him through all of time and space. Naturally your initial response was one of disbelief, you questioned your auntie on how much she had to drink that night, then you quickly switched to concern wondering if this strange man had drugged her.

Donna looked offended that you believed she was anything but sober while the Doctor was startled that you believed he had any ill intent and was quick to sincerely reassure you that he meant your auntie no harm and that he was more than happy to extend his invitation of space and time travel to you, either in order to prove what they were telling you was in fact the truth or to allow you to come along to ensure Donna’s safety.

You were tempted by his offer until you found out that their mode of transportation was the cramped police box the three of you were stood in front of, the Doctor informed you that it was called a TARDIS, an abbreviation for something you were sure you wouldn’t remember, and that it’s appearance as a police box was merely a disguise however the function had stopped working several decades ago meaning it was stuck like that permanently. You questioned how all of you would comfortably fit inside, along with the huge pile of Donna’s luggage. Images of scenes from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure ran through your mind, the two teens faces pushed up against the glass of phone box which they were squashed into like sardines along with several prominent figures from history.

Your concern soon developed into wonder after you were ushered by the pair into the box to find it was much bigger on the inside, and not in a ‘its size is deceiving’ sort of way where they cleverly maximised the limited space inside, it was literally impossibly bigger. You had to immediately step outside and circle the boxes perimeter to make sure it wasn’t attached to any walls but it stood in the middle of the street completely detached from any other structure or building. That is when you first started to believe that maybe what Donna had told you wasn’t so far fetched after all.

Barely 10 minutes later you were rendered speechless as you were stood in the middle of a busy outdoor market, chippy tea long forgotten. Beneath your feet the ground was no longer covered in puddles or reflected the colours of the different city lights, instead you stood on cobble stone covered with dry sand and stray piles of straw. The black night sky was replaced by a flawless blue with not a single white cloud in sight as the heat of the midday sun caressed your skin. You were quick to unwrap your scarf from around your neck and shrug off your bulky winter coat and carelessly throw them back into the TARDIS without a care where they landed.

“Ancient Rome!” The Doctor enthusiastically announced.

Your eyes scanned around the bustling market once again and you took in the sight of all the people dressed in period typical clothing, tunics, sandals and such. The air way filled with the smell of fresh baked goods, scents similar to a barbeque and the faintest smell of horse stables. Some people who walked by were even wearing armour with long red capes draped over their shoulders, you eyed them cautiously as they passed.

“Oh my god!” Donna gasped, grabbing your attention you quickly turned around. “It’s… it’s so Roman! This is fantastic.”

You rolled your eyes at her dramatics as she threw her arms around the Doctors neck to pull him into a hug and he laughed happily with a proud smile on his face. You had to admit, you were impressed, more than impressed, you were astonished. You could hardly believe your eyes as you took in your surroundings, you would have believed you were on a film set were it not for the lack of a technology crew, cameras and director yelling at you to get out the way of the shot.

“Hold on a minute, that sign over there’s in English. Are you having us on?” Donna spotted and you looked in the direction she pointed in to find a sign which read ‘TWO AMPHORAS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE’ and your shoulders sank and the prospect of being lied to this whole time.

“No, no, no,” the Doctor calmly reassured her “that’s the TARDIS translation circuits, it looks like English. It works for speech as well, you’re talking Latin right now.”

That certainly was very clever and convenient, you thought to yourself.

The Doctor lead the way as you continued your stroll through the crowded streets in search of landmarks like the colosseum, the pantheon and the circus maximus. You were excited by the prospect of seeing these ancient landmarks in all their former glory but the Doctor appeared lost as he aimlessly wondered the streets with no sense of direction.

A sudden deep continuous rumbling caused the ground beneath your feet to shake and vibrate, causing tremors to ripple through your entire body, almost knocking you off balance, while the pottery from the market stalls could be heard smashing as they fell to the floor and the scent of smoke in the air intensified. You panicked and grabbed onto Donna’s arm for balance, you caught her staring upwards her eyes transfixed on the sight before her. You followed her line of sight and your face dropped when you saw a mountain top standing tall over the small buildings which surrounded you, as black clouds of ash emerged from the top of it, your heart hammered against your ribcage and your grip on Donna involuntarily tightened.

“Pompeii. We’re in Pompeii and it’s volcano day.” Your throat closed up as you heard the words leave the Doctors lips.

Without another word the Doctor began sprinting back in the direction you previously came, you and Donna quickly followed on his heel. As all three of you dashed through the busy streets as fast as your feet could carry you, in an attempt to make it back to the TARDIS and escape the city before the volcano erupted, you collided into someone’s chest just as they were running in the opposite direction, your foot got caught on their ankle, causing you to trip and before you knew it you were heading straight for the floor with barely enough time to brace for impact.

“Watch where you’re-“ You heard a raised voice behind you and cringed as you prepared to be yelled at on top of the humiliation of already tripping flat on your face, but his voice faltered mid-sentence and you cautiously looked over your shoulder to find a man dressed in modern attire staring back at you with a slack jaw and his brows pulled together as his eyes roamed over you. Obviously your modern clothes caught his attention, just as his caught yours and you could practically see the cogs turning behind his eyes, you were sure your expression mirrored his as you studied each other. You pushed yourself to your feet and glanced over his appearance from head to toe. His shoulder length dark hair was windswept indicating that he must have been running for some time, he wore a brown jacket with its collar pulled up, over a plain white dress shirt paired with a thin dark tie and matching straight leg brown trousers and on his feet he wore a pair of smart polished black shoes. He definitely didn’t belong here, you concluded.

You barely noticed him take a quick glance over your shoulder before he grabbed a firm hold of your wrist and pulled you into a small nook hidden behind one of the market stalls and clamped his hand over your mouth before you could let out a single sound. You glared up at him to try and communicate how aggravated you were, only to find he wasn’t even looking at you as he was too occupied with searching the market with shifty eyes. So you gave up on your glaring in an effort to try and spot what he was looking for, that is when you caught sight of a man who stood out in the crowd, due to the fact that he, too, was dressed in modern attire. You could see he was searching for something, no doubt it was the man who had you pinned against a secluded wall with his hand over your mouth, for your own good you had to ignore the way your stomach flipped ever so slightly by that predicament.

Once the man on the street was out of sight the stranger slowly removed his hand from your jaw and took a step back to give you some space. You were about to open your mouth to ask him what exactly that was all about when another rumble shook the ground beneath your feet and reminded you of how urgently you needed to catch up with Donna and the Doctor before the entire city was destroyed and you along with it. You had no time to stop and interrogate the stranger with all your questions such as where he came from, how he got here, who was that man on the street and why was he hiding from him and why volcano day in Pompeii was such a popular destination for time travellers. Perhaps you could bring it up with the Doctor later as he seemed to have all the answers.

You were about to step foot back onto the street and continue your sprint back to the TARDIS but the stranger had other ideas. He wrapped his large hand around your upper arm and tugged you back against the wall, with no concerns about being gentle and this time he managed to cage you in with both his arms placed on each side of your head.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His voice was low and intimidating, as he loomed over you threateningly and stared at you from under his dark eyebrows but with adrenaline already coursing through your veins you were feeling bolder than usual and with your mind occupied by the imminent threat of ash clouds and burning hot magma, it would take a lot more than a deep voice and an intimidating stare to scare you into submission right now.

“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you have somehow failed to notice that you arrived in Pompeii on the same day the volcano famously erupts and I think it goes without saying that I’m not too fond of the idea of being here when it does. So to answer your question I am trying to get back to the time machine that I came here in so I can get out of here before the city is destroyed. I advise you hurry back to yours and do the same.”

The man looked taken aback by your abrupt tone and you momentarily allowed a fluttering of pride to fill your chest but it didn’t last long before it was once again drowned out by the heavy feeling of anxiety caused by the life threatening natural disaster which lay just around the corner, both literally and figuratively.

“The volcano doesn’t erupt until tomorrow,” the man finally explained once he regained his composure, dismissing your concerns. You blinked, contemplating whether or not to believe him. “But more importantly, I couldn’t help but hear the fact that you mentioned you have a time machine.”

“Of course. How else would I have got here? Don’t you have one?” Despite your positions you were beginning to feel less threatened by the man as your interaction shifted into feeling more like casual conversation.

“It’s a long story.” He vaguely answered.

“What about that man you were hiding from?” You suggested.

“What about him?”

“Does he not have a time machine?”

“It’s a long story.” He repeated and you sighed with the realisation that this conversation was going nowhere fast.

“Right. Well, it was... interesting to meet you but I need to get back to my aunt and the Doctor before I get left behind. Then I would be in trouble.” Donna wouldn’t leave you behind, you hoped, surely she was worrying about you right now, wondering where you were.

“I need safe passage on your time machine away from here.” The stranger rushed to explain before you could duck out of his makeshift trap.

“I mean... technically it’s not mine.” You awkwardly scratched the back of your neck, as you cleared up the misunderstanding.

“You just said you have a time machine.” He narrowed his eyes as his expression grew dangerous.

“I have access to one but it’s not mine. It belongs to the Doctor.” You quickly clarified.

“Then you will take me to this Doctor.” He commanded, leaving no room for negotiations.

“I don’t even know your name.” You hesitated.

At this the man paused and finally took a step back once again granting you your personal space.

“I am Loki of Asgard, God of Mischief and you will answer to my request.” Loki answered as he raised his head with pride and looked down his nose at you.

There was a momentary beat of silence as you stared at one another before you couldn’t hold it any longer and you let out a snort of laughter.

“I’m sorry, does that amuse you?” Loki look mortified and you quickly bit your lip to contain your giggles, realising he looked truly offended.

“Wait, you’re being serious?” You paled.

His quiet glare was enough to tell you he was not messing around and you looked down and awkwardly cleared your throat. Had you met this man yesterday you probably would’ve thought without a shadow of doubt that he was suffering from delusions of grandeur but today you were in Pompeii in 79 AD so your mind was beginning to open up to new possibilities, one of those being, meeting a God. Stranger things have happened.

“Okay, Loki, God of mischief...” you began as you introduced yourself following the same format, telling him your name followed by the country you lived in and jokingly adding ‘mortal of existential crises’ at the end.

“Don’t do that again.” Loki didn’t appear amused.

***

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening.” You panicked when you returned to the exact spot where the Doctor had left the police box only to discover it had vanished, leaving no trace behind.

“What? What can’t be happening?” Loki asked you from where he stood a few steps behind, his eyes were still shifty as he seemed paranoid about that man he was hiding from finding him.

“The TARDIS, the time machine... it’s gone.” You could barely believe the words coming out your mouth, they couldn’t have left without you, Donna wouldn’t have left you behind. Unless the Doctor forced her, but no she would’ve fought him, you would never want to get on the wrong side of your auntie, she was a force to be reckoned with and the Doctor was no match, like she had said he was a long string of alien nothing. There had to be an explanation.

“Are you sure that this is where they left it?” Loki impatiently offered.

“Yes, I’m certain. It’s a big blue police box, you can’t miss it. He parked it right there.” You gestured to the empty corner with both your arms, before you brought one of your hands to your forehead while the other rested on your hip.

“Excuse me.” You jumped when you felt a tap on your shoulder and turned around to find an older man with a head full of curly hair stood behind you. “I couldn’t help but overhear you’re looking for a blue box.”

“Yes, it was stood right there,” you pointed behind you. “Did you see it?”

“I sold it. A young couple came looking for it not too long ago, I sent them to Old Caecilius’ villa on Foss Street, he’s the one who bought it, if you’re quick you might be able to catch them, I think they might try to steal it.”

“Steal it? You can’t steal something that already belongs to you!” You complained.

“Well, it belongs to Caecilius now, don’t it? After all he bought it off me fair and square.” The man haggled and you finally noticed that he was speaking with a rough cockney accent which was very fitting with his sleazy disposition, presumably the work of the TARDIS’ automatic translations, this offered you the peace of mind that it was still here along with Donna and the Doctor.

“It wasn’t yours to sell!” You argued in return.

“It was on my patch, weren’t it?”

You growled, ready to argue back but Loki quickly stepped in.

“If you would be so kind as to point us in the direction of Foss Street and we will be on our way.” Loki charmed the older man with a polite smile and your jaw dropped at the contrast to the abrupt and arrogant attitude he had treated you with since your encounter began.

“Straight up there, big villa, can’t miss it.” He pointed to the street behind Loki.

“Thank you, sir.” Loki slightly nodded his head before before he took a hold of the back of the shirt near the small of your back and began tugging you towards Foss Street, while you stared at him speechless.

“What?” He finally snapped when you didn’t take your eyes off him.

“What was that?” You asked as you shrugged his hold off your shirt.

“What was what?”

“Back there,” you gestured behind you with your hand. “‘If you would be so kind... thank you, sir.’ What possessed you? You’ve been nothing but rude since I met you.”

“You we’re doing nothing but wasting my time by engaging in an argument with him and being polite was the quickest way to get the answer I needed so I could be on my way.” He curtly answered, never once meeting your gaze as he kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings.

“Why is that man looking for you?” You wondered out loud a few moments later, finding his constant surveillance of the surrounding area concerning. If you were going to help this man escape, undoubtedly you had a right to know what you were helping him run from.

“He wants to erase my existence.” He answered so bluntly it stunted to silence for a moment.

“Why?” You finally asked.

“I’m a glitch in the timeline, I’m not supposed to be here.” He admitted but you were lost.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a-“

“Long story.” You rolled your eyes but you meant no harm, Loki realised, when he fixed you with a hash glare which softened when he saw your teasing smile.

Your eyes quickly snapped away from Loki’s when you heard your name being called and found Donna running towards you, you left Loki to run over to her and she pulled you into a bone crushing hug once she finally reached you.

“I thought you had left without me.” You admitted, as you snuggled into her embrace, all your emotions of the day finally overwhelmed you and you felt moisture building at the rim of your eyes.

“I’d never leave you behind, besides your mother would kill me if I let anything happen to you.” She assured you with a small laugh, she wasn’t exaggerating. “But where did you go? You vanished into thin air.”

You were about to answer her when her eyes fell on Loki who was quietly stood behind you with his hands resting in the pockets of his pants, his modern attire immediately making him standout to Donna as he did to you when you first laid your eyes on him.

“Who’s this?” She asked, her interest clearly peaked.

You invited Loki over by extending your arm and he stepped up beside you.

“Loki, this is my auntie Donna. Donna, this is Loki. I crashed into him while we were running back to the TARDIS, he’s the reason I fell behind.” You glared at him accusingly and he rolled his eyes.

“You found your very own time traveller?” Donna looked at you with genuine excitement, obviously putting two and two together from his outfit.

“I am a God.” Loki narrowed his eyes, frustrated at his status being reduced to ‘someone’s time traveller’

Just like you had, Donna burst into laughter and you awkwardly pulled your lips together while you waited for her to realise he was being serious.

“He’s a bit full of himself but at least he’s easy on the eye.” Donna did a terrible job of trying to subtly whisper in your ear and you massaged your eyebrows in embarrassment.

“I heard that.” Loki sighed exasperatedly, already finding your aunties lack of filter tedious.

“Come on, let’s get you inside. It’s getting dark.” Donna put her arm around you and guided you into the villa, in an effort to run away from Loki’s glare. Loki followed a few paces behind the pair of you and he glanced over his shoulder one last time before he stepped through the entrance to the villa.

***

As soon as you entered the villa you could see how grand it was compared to the other houses on the streets of Pompeii, it was obvious that the family who lived here were well to do. Everywhere you looked all you could see was marble, it covered the walls and floors and the room was decorated with various marble sculptures and other art pieces, Caecilius was clearly a collector. Sculpted pillars ran through the room, supporting the high ceilings and in the very centre of the room there was fountain. You thought it was a shame that it would all be buried under rocks and fire within less than 24 hours, but you tried to let yourself think too much about it as Donna introduced you to Caecilius, the man who bought the Doctors TARDIS, which you noticed was stood in the far right corner of the room, and Metella his wife, she explained that they also had two teenagers, a daughter, Evelina but she was sleeping and a son, Quintus, who was currently out with the Doctor.

“The Doctor isn’t here? But we’re meant to be leaving.” You asked, your voice slightly raised in pitch due to your panic.

“Something came up. Strange things have been happening, he just wants to make sure nothing untoward is going on.” Donna answered.

“This Doctor...” Loki stepped forward. “He will return soon, yes? I am in quite the rush to leave.”

“You’re coming with us?” Donna looked between you and Loki for an answer.

“Yes.” He answered

“I mean, if it’s okay with the Doctor.” You answered at the same time.

Without warning the whole villa began to shake as tremors ran through the floor again, Caecilius and Metella held onto their valuables to stop them from smashing against the ground, it reminded you of the scene from Mary Poppin’s where Mrs Banks and the maids cling onto the furniture when the admiral sets off his cannon. You noticed that this time the tremors felt different, they weren’t continuous, they came one after another mimicking the rhythm of footsteps. Before you could question it, the Doctor came running loudly into the room just in time. A teenage boy, presumably Caecilius’ son, Quintus, followed close behind him.

“Get out! All of you! Get out!”

“Doctor! What is it?” Donna yelled, she and the Doctor were holding onto each other for stability and that’s when you realised you had instinctively held onto Loki after the tremors started and he was holding onto you, the both of you stepped away from each other as soon as you realised.

“I think we’re being followed!” The Doctor explained, before his eyes landed on Loki and he took in his appearance.

“Who are you?”

“Loki of Asgard-“ Loki started.

“The God of Mischief?” The Doctor finished, his pitch raised several octaves as his face scrunched up in confusion.

“Hold on, for real?” Donna looked between Loki and the Doctor, now realising Loki was serious about being a God earlier and in normal circumstances you would have face palmed.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” The Doctor thought out loud and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a device the size of a pen and pointed it at Loki, the tip glowed blue and it emitted a high pitched bleeping sound as he scanned it over his body.

“What is that?” Loki quickly jumped back, dodging the device in the Doctors hand and with a flash of emerald light he was holding a dagger in his hand, that appeared out of nowhere, causing you to gasp and Donna quickly pulled you to her side.

“It is a sonic screwdriver.” The Doctor answered distractedly, not even noticing the weapon in Loki’s hand as he closely inspected the device with furrowed brows and mumbled something about not being able to get clear readings, but before he could allow himself to get too concerned over the matter, you were all reminded of the bigger problem by the sound of a loud clatter which came from inside the room, it was caused by the metal grid flying off one of the square grills.

“Just get out!” The Doctor yelled at you all again, as he flapped his arms towards the doors but you were frozen to the spot, you could hear a sinister growling from beneath the floor, there was definitely something alive down there and from the cracks that were beginning to form around the grill, it was obviously trying to break out.

Gradually a large creature made of magma and stone began to rise out of the ground, until it stood to its full height of about eight foot.

“The Gods are with us.” Evelina, Caecilius’ daughter, cried as she entered the room and her mother wrapped a protective arm around her.

“That is no God! I am the only God present.” Loki seethed in offence.

“Water, we need water. Quintus, Donna, all of you, get water!” The Doctor yelled above the growls which came from the threatening creature.

You were about to follow Quintus and Donna out of the room as they rushed to get buckets of water like the Doctor instructed, but Loki grabbed hold of your wrist and kept you by his side. You looked at him and pulled your brows together confused by his actions, but he offered you no explanation as he closely watched the beast which stood high above all of you.

“Talk to me, that’s all I want! Talk to me! Just tell me who you are.” The Doctor cautiously approached the tempered creature, with his arms held out before him. “Don’t hurt these people.” He continued to try and reason with it, while it just continued to growl and snarl aggressively at him.

Quickly Quintus came rushing into the room with a bucket of water and threw it over the beast. A loud hissing could be heard, as steam evaporated around it, and the Doctor shielded Quintus with his own body as he backed him away from the creature which began to crumble to the floor into a heap of rocks.

“Like I said, not a God.” Loki smugly remarked to no one in particular.

“What was it?” Caecilius shouted at the Doctor, quickly learning that he was usually the one with all the answers.

“Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma, not too difficult to stop but I reckon that was just a foot soldier. Still... If there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it’s a good thing we stayed.” The Doctor pondered aloud.

“Excuse me, aliens?” Loki stepped forward.

“Oh yes, I still haven’t figured out what you’re doing here.” The Doctor drew his focus back to the God, clearly intrigued by his presence.

“It doesn’t matter why I am here, I only wish to leave.” Loki answered with a scowl.

“Why don’t you just leave the same way you got here.” The Doctor challenged with raised brows.

“I cannot.”

“Why not?”

As you observed the exchange you saw Loki falter and his eyes cast downwards.

“It would result in my death.” He answered truthfully.

The Doctor suddenly looked upon Loki with eyes that seemed filled with familiarity and a hint of sympathy.

“You remind me of an old friend of mine, I think you would’ve liked him,” he paused as if imagining it. “Actually, perhaps not… your personalities would’ve probably clashed.” The Doctor digressed. “Since you’re not supposed to be here you’re welcome to join us on the TARDIS.”

Loki’s brows shot up, as he seemed genuinely surprised that the Doctor agreed to let him travel on the TARDIS.

“We should be on our way, it will not be long before,” Loki glanced at Caecilius and his family who were all comforting each other after the ordeal they just witnessed, without wanting to mention the volcano out loud in case they might overhear he resorted to miming an explosion with is hands while adding a “boom” sound effect by blowing air through saliva at the back of his throat.

“Not just yet, I need to- Donna?” The Doctor paused looking around the room in search of Donna and you began looking around for her too but she was nowhere to be found. “When did you last see her?” The Doctor looked at you.

“She ran out when you asked for water, I didn’t realise she hadn’t returned.” You scolded yourself for not focusing, you should have noticed she wasn’t there.

“Donna!” The Doctor shouted at the top of his lungs, as he began to run out into the street but before he could leave Evelina stopped him timidly.

“I saw members of the Sibylline Sisterhood take her while you were confronting the beast.” She quietly confessed.

“The who?” You questioned, completely confused, while the Doctor grumbled under his breath wasting no more time before he dashed out the door and you were quick to follow after him. Behind you, you heard Loki call your name as he followed after, but you didn’t listen, Donna had been taken and she needed your help.

***

When you sneaked into the temple between the Doctor and Loki, who had caught up to you halfway, and saw Donna bound to a slab of stone, surrounded by a group of women dressed in red robes and one of them holding a dagger above her head ready to plunge it into your aunties chest, you were ready to attack, but the Doctor held you back before you could do anything rash and silent put a finger to his own lips to signal for you to keep quiet, his eyes silently assured you he had a plan.

“Let me go!” You heard Donna yell above the voice of the woman who held the dagger. The Doctor quietly made his way across the room, ready to intervene at any moment while you stayed by Loki’s side near the back of the room.

“This prattling voice will cease forever!” The woman yelled as she began to lower the dagger towards Donna.

“Oh, that will be the day.” The Doctor casually commented, causing all the women around Donna to gasp in shock, while your auntie sent the Doctor and you a wide smile when she realised you had all come to save her.

“No man is allowed in the Temple of Sibyl.” The woman who was clearly the leader of the group warned the Doctor, before her eyes also shifted to Loki.

“Well, that’s alright, just us girls.” The Doctor joked as he made his way towards the women, while in the corner of your eye you caught a glimmer of green light only to do a double take when you found Loki had transformed into a woman.

She sent you a proud smirk as you gaped at her with a slack jaw, your face full of confusion and astonishment.

You turned your head back to Donna and the Doctor when you heard the sound of his sonic screwdriver, which he held above her restraints and they immediately fell lose, freeing her bound wrists.

“I have got to get one of those.” Loki commented, her voice sounded more feminine to match her changed appearance, but it still kept that low and slightly intimidating tone.

As soon as Donna was free she came running over to you and you gave each other a hug, when she pulled back her eyes were on Loki.

“You’ve changed.” She stated the obvious as her eyes dragged up and down Loki’s new form.

“I am respecting the sisters temple.” Loki raised her chin and crossed her arms over her chest as she answered.

“Respecting the sisters temple?” Donna sounded exasperated. “They just tried to kill me!”

“I saw.” Loki offered no concern.

“I’m just glad you’re safe now.” You quickly interjected before the argument escalated, you put your hand on Donna’s shoulder and moved yourself between the pair while you sent Loki a disapproving stare.

“Show me this man!” A voice echoed through the temple, startling you and drawing your attention back to the Doctor and the sisters. Immediately they all turned and fell to their knees and bowed their heads.

“They dare kneel before another being whilst in the presence of a God?” Loki seethed as her brows cast a shadow over her eyes.

“And after you respected their temple n all.” Donna poked from beside you, feigning sympathy.

You placed a hand on Loki’s chest to hold her back when you heard her grumble under her breath.

“High Priestess, the stranger would defy us.” The leader spoke, being the only sister left standing.

“Let me see. This one is different. He carries starlight in his wake.” The voice echoed again, coming from behind a set of sheer drapes at the top of the temple.

“Where do these words of wisdom come from?” The Doctor asked as he approached the voice.

“The Gods whisper to me.” It replied.

“If they’re hearing voices, it’s not mine.” Loki raised her hands innocently.

“Might I beg audiences? Look upon the High Priestess?” The Doctor suddenly requested and the sheer drapes slowly pulled back to reveal a woman made of stone sat upon a bed.

You watched closely as the Doctor inspected the Priestess’ condition, and inquired her about it to try and figure out the cause.

“The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts.” The Doctor observed.

“This word... this volcano... what is that?”

“More to the point, why don’t you know about it? Who are you?”

“High Priestess of the Sibylline!”

“No, I’m talking to the creature inside of you. I demand you tell me who you are!” The Doctor commanded.

“We... are... awakening!” The Priestess spoke, but her voice had suddenly deepened and multiplied, she sounded possessed.

“The voice of the Gods!” The leader of the sisters cried, before those who were on their knees before the Priestess began repeatedly chanting ‘words of wisdom, words of power...’ your eyes widened at the scene before you, Donna’s jaw was slack with shock, while Loki just rolled her eyes and appeared bored.

“We... are... rising!” The possessed voice of the Priestess grew louder as she rose from the bed and stepped toward the Doctor.

“Tell... me... your name!” He yelled back, mirroring her tone.

“Pyrovile!” The voice inside the Priestess roared.

“Pyrovile, pyrovile, pyrovile...” The sisters chanted.

“And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor.” The possessed Priestess threatened.

“I warn you I’m armed!” The Doctor yelled as he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.

“Is that... a water gun?” Loki squinted her eyes at the yellow plastic toy the Doctor held in his fist.

You heard your name yelled by the Doctor as he instructed you and Donna to lift the grid off one of the grills, similar to the one the monster smashed through in Caecilius’ home.

Without hesitation you followed Donna over to the grill and you both hooked your fingers into the holes on each side and attempted to lift it, but it slipped from your fingers since you weren’t expecting it to be so heavy and it crashed back into place. Loki quickly joined you and Donna to offer a helping hand and together the three of you lifted the heavy iron grid, while the Doctor continued to argue with the Priestess behind you.

“Got it!” Donna yelled at the Doctor, once the grid was completed removed.

“Now get down!” The Doctor quickly shouted back, and you looked down into the hole in the ground which hot steam was rising out of.

“What, down there?” You asked, wondering if the Doctor had lost his mind.

“Yes, down there!”

“Sisters, I see into his mind, the weapon is harmless!” The leader of the sisters yelled.

“Yeah, but it’s gotta sting.” The Doctor shrugged before he began squirting water at the Priestess who groaned in pain as steam evaporated from where the squirts of water hit her stone surface and she stumbled backwards.

“Get down there!” He repeated louder when he saw none of you had yet made a move to jump into the hole.

Donna jumped in first.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Loki spoke, her eyes almost looking spooked as she glanced down at the steaming hole.

“It’s either climb in there or stay here and wait for the volcano. Your choice.” The Doctor told Loki as he urged you to climb in next.

Sensing Loki’s anxiety you offered her an assuring nod. “You’ll be okay, look watch me and then follow right after.”

Once you joined Donna you found yourself in an underground cave, you could instantly feel the change in the temperature as the air was thick with heat. You looked back up through the hole to find Loki looking down at you.

“See, perfectly safe.” You assured her.

Hesitantly Loki climbed into the hole and you helped her down, once both her feet were on the ground she swayed and stumbled as if she was about to faint but you caught her with your arm around her waist and helped her regain her balance. She held your shoulders and shook her head and forcibly kept her eyes wide open before she looked back at you, suddenly aware of how close you were.

“Are you okay?” You asked, concerned by her behaviour.

A green light shimmered over her body and he returned to the form you had met him in, you noticed he instantly grew taller and you needed to tilt your head slightly to maintain eye contact, your arm was still wrapped around his waist but it was no longer holding him up as he was supporting his own weight now although you could still feel his body swaying slightly as it was pressed against yours.

“I’m fine.” He answered curtly, before taking a step back to put some distance between the two of you.

“This way!” The Doctor led as soon as he jumped into the cave.

“Where are we going now?” Donna sighed.

“Into the volcano.” The Doctor answered as if it were obvious.

You failed to notice Loki’s face fill with dread beside you.

“No way.” Donna challenged.

“Yes way.” The Doctor smiled as he twirled the water gun around his finger.

“Wait, for once I agree with her. We can’t go into the volcano. It could be dangerous.” Loki argued before quickly adding, “for mortals.”

“It will be fine, it doesn’t erupt for another few hours yet.” The Doctor dismissed. “Now, come on!”

Before anyone else could protest he had already turned on his heel and began leading the way through the cave, Donna followed behind him, you followed behind her and Loki was at the back.

As you followed Donna and the Doctor through the winding path of the cave, you kept taking quick glances over your shoulder to check on Loki and you grew increasingly concerned as his condition appeared to deteriorate each time you looked. The further you walked into the cave, the hotter and thicker the air became, you were surprised to find Loki seemed to be the one who was most affected by the conditions out of all of you. While your breathing had become heavy and a thin layer of sweat coated your skin, sweat literally dripped from Loki’s forehead, he started using the walls of the cave to hold himself up as his legs barely carried him, the skin around his eyes grew darker and you could hear him straining on each breath.

Once you reached inside the volcano Loki rested his back against the wall and began to sink to the floor, his chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to shrug off his jacket, his white shirt clung to his body due to his sweat and he attempted to loosened his tie with trembling hands.

“Doctor!” You called, as you rushed over to Loki who looked as though he was about to pass out. The Doctor quickly joined your side, as did Donna once her eyes fell on Loki’s condition.

“What happened?” He asked you urgently.

“I... I don’t know, he hasn’t been right ever since he entered the cave.” You explained.

“Loki! Loki, can you hear me?” The Doctor tried, he gently tapped Loki’s cheek but his head just lulled to the side and he struggled to keep his eyes open as he mumble some incoherent in a cracked voice.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began scanning it over Loki.

“That’s not possible.” You heard the Doctor whisper to himself as he looked over the readings, he quickly gave Loki another scan and read them again and his face squished up in pure confusion.

“What is it?” You urged him.

“He’s... he’s Jotun?” The Doctor answered while sounding more like he was asking a question.

“What’s a Jotun when it’s at home?” Donna asked.

“He isn’t Asgardian at all, magic is suppressing his true form. He’s from Jotunheim, a frost plant inhabited by Jotuns, they aren’t designed to withstand heat of such temperatures as this. We need to get him out of here.” The Doctor quickly explained as he crouched down to scoop a barely conscious Loki into his arms and held him bridal style, once he knew he was secure he began running further into the volcano, leaving both you and Donna trailing behind after him.

You all stopped in your tracks when you found more of the giant stone beasts roaming around inside the volcano.

“There’s tons of them.” Donna gasped. “You better hurry up and think of something, Rocky 4’s on its way.”

“There’s an escape pod!” The Doctor noticed.

“Maybe... it erupts, and they launch themselves back into space or something?” Donna offered, since obviously the escape pod belonged to the stone creatures which were currently invading Pompeii.

“Oh, it’s worse than that.” The Doctor whispered.

“How could it be worse?” You frowned.

“Heathens!” You heard a man cry. “Defile us! They would desecrate your temple, My Lord Gods!”

“Come on.” The Doctor started running towards the escape pod, which looked like a huge hollow boulder with circuits inside.

“We can’t go in!” Donna shouted after him.

“Well, we can’t go back.”

“Crush them! Burn them!” The man who you now noticed was stood on top of some rocks looking down at you as you tried to escape.

A giant monster blocked your path to the escape pod and growled causing you all to slide to a stop.

“Get the water gun, it’s tucked into the back of my pants!” The Doctor called your name, unable to get it himself as he was still holding an unconscious Loki in his arms. You wasted no time reaching for the water gun and squirted it directly at the creature and it stumbled back with a groan easily allowing you all enough time to rush past and continue your dash towards the escape pod.

“There is nowhere to run!” The man screamed.

“No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the Gods, before we perish, once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?” The Doctor yelled up to the man.

“My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. There is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise.”

“Yeah, I should warn you, it’s 70% water out there.” The Doctor explained, nodding his head to the world which lay beyond the mountain.

“Water can boil, and everything will burn!” The mad man argued.

“Then the whole planet is at stake.” The Doctor concluded to himself. “Thank you. That’s all I needed to know.”

He quickly turned and gently lowered Loki to the floor of the escape pod then ushered both you and Donna inside before he squeezed in as well and used his sonic to seal the door shut.

It was cramped inside of the small escape pod with the four of you squashed inside together, once you got inside you immediately crouched down beside Loki to check on his condition.

“Loki, can you hear me?” You gently nudged his shoulder. His eyes fluttered slightly but he failed to open them and he let out a weak groan, but you were just relieved that he was still conscious.

You were conscious of the fact that inside the cramped space of the escape pod it felt even hotter, even you were starting to feel faint. You were still holding the water pistol in your hand and had an idea. You took a gentle hold of Loki’s chin in your free hand and encouraged his mouth open, in his weak state he didn’t fight you, and you pulled the trigger of the toy gun to spray water into his mouth. Once he felt the cool liquid hit his tongue he gladly accepted it as it provided him a little relief from the heat. Loki offered you a small grunt as thanks.

“See? The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds the Pyrovile to human. Now it’s complete, they can convert millions.” You heard the Doctor explaining how the Pyrovile planned to take over the human race to Donna, sounding completely horrified.

“Can’t you change it? With these controls?” Donna tried, her voice filled with panic.

“I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But that’s the choice, Donna. It’s Pompeii or the world.” The Doctor revealed the heavy decision you were all faced with.

“Oh my god.” Donna paled.

“If Pompeii is destroyed then it’s not just history, it’s me. It was always meant to be me, I make it happen.” The Doctor realised. “Push this leaver and it’s over. 20,000 people.”

The pod fell silent as the Doctor froze with his hands held over the leaver, Donna watched him with tears building in her eyes and you looked at Loki who was barely unconscious and you made your choice.

You used the wall to push yourself back up to your feet and you stepped between Donna and the Doctor. You placed your trembling hands over the Doctors. You looked to your auntie when she whispered your name and saw the tears brimming out of her eyes your chest felt heavy. At first you thought she was going to talk you out of it but when you felt her hand rest on top of yours you couldn’t control the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes as well. She gave you a final nod and then you knew you could do it, all three of you pushed down the leaver and within seconds the entire pod was shaking, you braced yourself against the wall, careful not to trample over Loki and prepared yourself for whatever fate awaited you.

Your body got flung around as you were pretty sure that the pod you were in was currently flying through the air, you could only pray you would survive the crash landing. A force pushed you to the ground and you landed on top of Loki’s chest, while the Doctor fell down beside you and Donna miraculously remained the only one standing. Your eyes snapped open when you felt the first breeze of fresh air brush your cheek and you saw the Doctor crawling out the pod. You felt hands wrap around your upper arms and you looked up to find Donna helping you to your feet and you both stumbled out the pod on shaking legs, while the Doctor lifted Loki back into his arms and you noticed that he had sustained an injury to his head during the escape.

You didn’t have much time to do anything other than run when you noticed the heavy cloud of ash quickly heading straight for you and all three of you began running as fast as your legs could carry you, hoping you could make it to the city and into the TARDIS before it was too late.

You and Donna held onto each other’s hands as you ran ahead of the Doctor who was slowed down by the extra weight of Loki, but he still managed to run pretty fast. You weren’t far from the city when the thick ash blocked out the light of the sun and plunged the city into darkness, though it was daytime it felt like night as you raced through the streets, trying to remember the direction to Caecilius’ villa.

Ash fell down from the sky like snow as the people of the town scrambled in different directions in attempts to make it out of the city alive, you could hear nothing but their cries and the thunderous sound of the volcano as it felt like the whole world was crumbling around you.

As Caecilius’ villa came into view you pushed yourself to go even faster and you looked over your shoulder to find the Doctor not too far behind with Loki still in his arms, his injured head fell limp over the crook of the Doctors arm, revealing his long neck and prominent adam’s apple and dread struck through you, you had to remind yourself he was only unconscious.

You pushed through the doors of Caecilius’ villa and headed straight towards the TARDIS but the sound of whimpering stopped you in your tracks, you looked to find Caecilius and his family crowded together on the floor, holding on tight to one another as they cried.

“God save us, Doctor!” Caecilius begged the Doctor when he came running in behind you, and he stopped beside you and Donna for a moment as you all looked at the family, you thought the Doctor would encourage them all to get on board his TARDIS but eventually he turned away kept running towards his TARDIS in the corner of the room.

“No! Doctor, you can’t!” Donna called after him, you silently looked between the Doctor and the family, as he kicked the TARDIS door open with his foot and disappeared inside with Loki. You pushed away the feeling of guilt which fell heavy on your chest as you followed after the Doctor into the TARDIS.

“Donna!” You pleaded with her when she remained frozen in place, she couldn’t look away from Caecilius and his family as they looked straight back at her, silently begging her to save them. The sound of one of the windows smashing through snapped Donna back into reality and she looked back at you before she hesitantly made her way towards the TARDIS, leaving the family behind.

When you entered the TARDIS, you saw the Doctor had placed Loki down onto the floor while he operated the console, preparing the TARDIS to leave. You rushed over to Loki and immediately checked his pulse and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when you found it still beating.

“You can’t just leave them!” You heard Donna yell as soon as she entered the TARDIS but you couldn’t lift your eyes from Loki, looking over his pale face and hovering your hand over the injury on his head, drops of blood had ran down the side of his sharp cheek and matted into part of his hair.

“Don’t you think I’ve done enough? History’s back in place and everyone dies.” You heard the Doctor answer, as you checked over Loki for anymore injuries.

“You’ve got to go back. Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back!” Donna demanded.

The TARDIS shuddered and your whole body jerked letting you know the Doctor had sent it into flight, once the tremors subsided, the ship fell silent.

“It’s not fair.” Donna whispered.

“No, it’s not.” The Doctor agreed.

“But your own planet. It burned.” Donna cried, and you finally looked up, you didn’t know what your auntie was referring to but you looked at the Doctor with sympathy. It suddenly made sense why he froze when it came to pushing the leaver, if he had already watched his own planet suffer a similar fate.

“That’s just it. Don’t you see, Donna? Can’t you understand? If I could go back and save them then I would, but I can’t. I can never go back. I can’t, I just can’t, I can’t.” His voice broke.

“Just someone. Please.” Donna bargained. “Not the whole town. Just save someone.”

“You saved him,” you spoke, as you looked at Loki, who was laid out in front of you. “You can save them too.”

***

The Doctor had returned to Pompeii and saved Caecilius and his family, he and Donna were currently outside bidding them fair well where the Doctor had safely dropped them off just outside of Rome, while you stayed inside the TARDIS by Loki’s side waiting for him to regain consciousness.

You had cradled his head and moved so you could cushion it against your lap, since you imagined his head will already be hurting from the injury it wouldn’t be very comfortable for him to rest it against the hard floor of the TARDIS.

The first sign of Loki regaining consciousness was his eyebrows drawing together as a groan slipped out between his lips, no doubt quickly becoming aware of the pain in his head. His eyelashes fluttered against the top of his ash covered cheeks before his eyes slowly blinked open and the first thing he saw was your face above his.

“Hi,” you began, unsure of what else to say.

You barely leaned back in time to avoid his head colliding with yours as he suddenly shot up, so he was sitting up straight on the floor with his legs still lying out in front of him. This appeared to make his head rush as he moaned and cradled his head in the palms. You slowly shuffled up to him so you were at his side, careful not to startle him, you hesitantly placed your hand on his strong shoulder.

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” You assured him softly.

He lifted his face to look at you, his eyes filled with something you couldn’t quiet put your finger on.

“Where are we?” He asked you, for the first time since you met him his voice sounded gentle.

“The TARDIS.” You answered him, just as gently.

He let his eyes roam over the room, taking in his surroundings, before they finally landed back on you. “Am I severely concussed or is this thing bigger on the inside?”

You laughed softly.

“It’s bigger on the inside.” You confirmed. “Don’t ask me how, I have no idea how it works, if you’d like to know I’d recommend asking the Doctor.”

Loki nodded with a slight smile as his eyes fell to his lap and you both stayed like that for a moment, neither of you saying anything.

“Thank you.” Loki eventually broke the silence.

“What?” Your head shot up, afraid you had misheard him.

Loki avoided your eyes and his dark hair shadowed most of his face, protecting him from your gaze as he continued.

“For what you did in the volcano and for...” he cleared his throat, “for the lack of a better word... saving me, I guess.”

“I mean to be fair the Doctor did most of the heavy lifting.” You humbly joked.

“Where is he anyway?” Loki asked, since he noticed it was only you and him. “Isn’t he the pilot of this thing?”

“He’s just outside with Donna saying goodbye to Caecilius and his family, he dropped them off safely just outside of Rome.” You don’t know why your chest felt heavy as you asked Loki your next question, perhaps it was due to the fact that you had just started warming to his company and he would be leaving soon. “So do you know where you would like the Doctor to drop you off?

Loki seemed stumped by your question, as if he hadn’t gave where he was going much consideration, instead he was more focused on just escaping Pompeii rather than where he was escaping to. When some time passed and had yet to answer, you decided to break the silence.

“I mean, if you’re not sure where you want to go, you could always stay with us.” You offered, it was now your turn to avoid his eyes as he looked at you with as much shock as you had when he thanked you.

“You think the Doctor would be okay with that?” Loki worried.

“Sure, why wouldn’t he?” You now looked up at him with your brows pulled together.

Loki opened his mouth about to answer you when he realised, you didn’t know him, you didn’t know any of his previous actions, on Asgard, on Jotunheim and on your very own planet. Then it crossed his mind, he didn’t know what year you were from, in his time it had been about a week since he attacked New York, he imagined his face would have been all over every media outlet after the attack but you hadn’t even recognised him when you first ran into each other.

“What year are you from?” Loki quickly inquired out of nowhere and you were a bit confused by the random question.

“2008.” You answered him anyway.

4 years before he first stepped foot on midgard, 4 years before he attacked New York under Thanos’ control, 4 years before you would know him as the man who tried to take over your planet and rule the human race. Right now you only knew him as the time travelling God of mischief who you ran into while you were both running for your lives. He had anonymity with you, you offered the perfect opportunity for him to start a fresh. He could join you on the TARDIS for a while, with your auntie and the Doctor plus he imagined it would only make it harder for the TVA to find him if he was constantly moving through time and space.

“I would like that.” Loki confessed.

“To stay?” You asked hopefully, just to make sure you weren’t misinterpreting him.

When Loki nodded you couldn’t hold back the smile that took over your whole face, you we’re excited to spend more time with Loki, learn more about him and explore all of time and space with the God of mischief.

#loki #loki (marvel)#marvel #doctor who #loki imagine #loki x reader #loki x you #tom hiddleston #Tenth Doctor #Donna Noble #fires of pompeii

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