#thor 4 prediction

[johanna-swann]

I feel lied to. Everyone kept saying Madame Web was even worse than Morbius? But honestly, I could list at least 5 marvel movies that were worse.

It made more sense than Endgame. Thor 4 was a dumpster fire. Doctor Strange 2 was definitely worse. Everyone agrees Thor 2 was a mistake. Then there's Morbius of course.

Compared to at least half the marvel shows on disney+ this movie is a masterpiece.

It was a little predictable and cheesy, yeah, but come on. It's a marvel movie.

#marvel #madame web

[shinjisdone]

To Soften a Warrior’s Heart (Vinland Saga; Thorfinn; Part 10, Finale of S1)

In which you have joined Askeladd’s band…and grow closer to the Son of Thors. Though it is more difficult than anyone can could ever imagine…

[Headcanons of how it would be like to meet and crawl your way into Thorfinn’s heart (based on season 1; both platonic and romantic)]

Part 1 is here - meeting Thorfinn at the age of 14 and how he is at that age

Part 2 is here - meeting Thorfinn at the age of 16/17 + headcanons of growing closer (slightly following s1 story)

Part 3 is here - blooming friendship with Thorfinn (slightly following s1 story)

Part 4 is here - Thorfinn unwittingly opening his heart as he realizes he does not want you to die

Part 5.1 is here - sweet things Thorfinn would do for you (headcanons)

Part 5.2 is here - other sweet things Thorfinn would do for you (headcanons)

Part 6 is here - meeting Canute and becoming his guard - Thorfinn accepts your relationship and bond

Part 7 is here - Canute grieving over Ragnar and Thorkell catching up; Thorfinn leaves you alone for revenge

Part 8 is here - Thorfinn wins against Thorkell; Questioning your bond with Thorfinn

Part 9 is here - Meeting Leif and Thorfinn dueling Askeladd; Losing while Askeladd told him the truth of his constant losses

Tag list:

@luopenis , @jinsecho , @mitsureigen , @theknightssecrets

Mentions of murder, death, war, slave trade, harrasment against women and whatever awful things happened in the viking era. Only mentioned and used as examples. Mostly gender-neutral examples but female-leaning ones are there, too.]

[This part will specifically mention: Lost Thorfinn, you snapping, confrontation, crying and screaming, Thorfinn kinda losing it, depressive vibes, Thorfinn thinking about death, mentions of blood and snot, zombie Thorfinn, longing, abandonment]

It's Just Like A Burning Torch In A Storm, Like A Little Flower Blooming In A Home...

The weather has worsened as Askeladd predicted.

Even as it was past noon, the sky darkened in a warning as if it were the middle of the deadly night. Snowflakes that started out so lovely of how light they were, were now raining down like arrows and blurring the sight. You could barely see any light come from York and simply trotted after the footsteps your 'leaders' and 'liege' left behind.

You scoffed at the fear of the trails being hidden away by the upcoming storm at this pace, however. Dragging Thorfinn by his wrist would take forever until you'd find shelter.

You had told him to rest his broken arm in the sling but he let it swing with every little limp he managed after you. His good arm was just as lax and he barely let out any signs of pain of how utterly and crushingly tight you gripped his wrist as you dragged him after you. Hunched like a bell ringer, his pants and groans were as quiet as a mouse.

You bit your tongue. He barely paid any attention and just let you haul you around like a dog-

A thump. Thankfully you did not let your grip falter on him as he fell to his knees. Swallowing down a sigh, you turned around and tugged on his wrist. "C'mon. The snow is getting heavier."

Thorfinn hung his head.

"C'mon." You called out louder, tugging at him again. With a dreadfully slow pace, Thorfinn managed to lift one leg after another. After helping him up, you turned around to lead the way.

The same song all over again. The scenery did not seem to change, Askeladd and friends having vanished right under your nose. It felt like you were stranded on a place familiar yet far away. Freezing snowscapes weren't an ucommon sight and they surely were not with only Thorfinn as your company but this caving, this sharp chilliness that felt paralyzing as your heart seemed to give in the longer you dwelled here - as if this place was cursed - it was a first. It was all a first, daunting and frightening. Although, you doubted you could really pinpoint your feelings right now.

You let yourself sigh in frustration as Thorfinn fell once again. The crunching of the snow has become irritating and you snapped towards him. "Thorfinn. I know you can stand. You were running towards Askeladd just moments ago," You hoped it was 'just' moments ago, "Stand up already, don't have me haul you."

All you received was another groan. Another attempt but he kept on slipping. With a growl of your own you kneeled down to hold him under his arms. Heaving him with great effort, you almost slipped yourself as the blonde stayed limb, letting you lift him up with all your might. You felt like a mother with an grown man.

You scolded him again as he simply let himself lean on you once you were up on your feet - before pushing him away and giving him a good shake.

Still, he almsot tumbled down again.

"Thorfinn!" Yelling did not seem to effect him as well as his eyes, black and blue, narrow and swollen from the one-sided brawl, barely took in your figure. His brown eyes looked like they saw right through you, not even on eye level as he still did not walk straight, and it pissed you off.

Even breathing for air was painful, the sharp coldness of this barren, damned place wanting to cut into your lungs with each inhale as if taunting you, knowing that you rely on it now. Now, stuck in this forgotten land as the snow lies down on your shoulders. It's getting heavier and heavier, ringing in your ears as even they felt like falling off your head at any moment. They might as well. The biting wind, though gentle as it was, stealing any feeling you had in your bones.

Sniffing and swallowing your snot, you yanked at his arm again, swiftly turning around and trying to march after the fading footsteps as Thorfinn limped after.

The mere sound of crunching snapped the last strand of patience you so miraciously found within you and before the young man could completely slip again, he fell on his side instead as your fist collided with his face.

"You're a complete idiot!"

Thorfinn barely let out a sound. It made the fire within you rise.

"Askeladd was damn right! You're a moron! A godsforsaken fool! Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

You stomped your foot, akin to a child, and Thorfinn wondered why you did not let him feel your ire instead, as he gazed up at you through lidded, swollen eyes. Though he did shakily gasp as you bent down and grabbed ahold of his shirt, holding him up to your level.

"The hell do you think you're doing here?! Huh?! What the hell are you doing here?! Answer me!" You threw him to the ground just as quickly. "You have people here that want you back to a home and you are crawling back to damn Askeladd out of all people! Vile, disgusting, bastard Askeladd!"

Your pants grew louder and louder, hands on your head, as they quickly snapped from brainless inhales to a growling, longing shriek - an animal squealing in pain.

"Do you have any idea - no, 'course you don't! You're a stupid mutt! You never think, never had any brains up there, did you?!" Piles of snow were thrown left and right, partly falling on Thorfinn, on his beaten body and face. He flinched at the contact. You kept on screeching. "You always end up like this. On the ground. Like a dog!" Again, you kicked snow his way, "When you could be somewhere else, somewhere far away that isn't here!"

You snapped your arm back to a direction you believed York was, distressed glare still on your friend, "What the hell was this Leif person talking about?! Iceland?! Helga and Ylva?! They're your family, aren't they?! You have family, Thorfinn, family that is alive and well and in Iceland and they want you back! They love you, Thorfinn!" Retreating your arm, you brought your hands back to your head, pulling on your hair, pulling on the last strand of sanity this man left you. Though you desperately were scowling, you wanted to scowl, your eyes were only wide. Wide and big, distress shining in them as tears welled up in the corners. A choked sob escaped you.

"Anyone would jump up in joy hearing that their family is still alive but you didn't give a damn about what that man had to say. He said he'd wait for you. Maybe he's still there."

The screeching softened the more you talked, misty-eyed as you gazed at anything but him. Lamenting to yourself at this predicament he found himself in. Thorfinn's own eyes widened as best as they could as he managed to sit up. A breathy gasp escaped him. He's never seen you like this.

"Do you have," Sobbing, you wiped your nose, "Any idea how lucky you are to have people in this world...that want you?"

The breathy gasp morphed into sharp inhales, greedily gulping in the painful air as Thorfinn kept staring and staring at you, wide-eyed and afraid. He barely could breath.

"You could be there...but you're not. So answer me when I ask you what the hell you are doing here."

Something...something he reckoned to be akin to ringing wormed its way in his ears alongside your sobs. He saw you hiding your eyes as tears fell down your face - but he wasn't sure, the heavy snow and his lidded eyes made it difficult to truly see you. Thorfinn was not certain if he stooped this low that he had begun seeing things.

Tilting his head down to the snow - his neck couldn't find any strength anymore - he startled at the face his father's dagger reflected. Swollen and broken...dark and bruised, blood and snot oozing out of his bent nose with one of his eye hardly visible and of course, barely able to see with it anyway. Maybe it wasn't the trick of the weather but just his swollen face.

He had seen this face time and time again.

It whined and fussed whenever he looked at it, leaving him no choice but to see its pain and its borderline stupidity. The blood coated on the blade as it cut the guards.

The broken arm that almost earned worse by Thorkell's duel.

The stomach that churned whenever he trotted away like a corpse out of sheer hunger. Looking for anything he could gnaw between his teeth.

The hand that held the torch to the woman's demise. The hair she groomed was soaked in blood later, he recalled.

All that gruesome work...all the murders and the guts on the floor, the stolen goods and impaled heads...all those errands.

It was all this ugly face that he sees.

He sucked in air only to let them out in a wail. He wailed and wailed, louder and louder, his voice cracking as his tongue was tied and not able to form any words. He stared at you as you kept on sobbing.

Thorfinn's scream pierced through the heavy snow and the deafening silence. The cold, the snow, the dark, thunderous sky was nothing compared to this might, to this pathetic pain. It was louder than anything else you'd ever heard, both from the people you've killed and their pleas for mercy, and from the amount of grief he so sparingly shared with you, here and there.

Wiping your tears, you grimaced. Even through this wail that teared your heart apart, you could not help but think back on Askeladd. Oh, how wretched he'd feel this sight would be.

It hurt even more that you'd even agree.

It's Just Like A Lighthouse In Your Hands, Like A Little Flag Flapping In The Sands...

Misty-eyed, you looked down on the mutt wreathing in the snow. In his beaten state he could no longer look down at his dagger, could not form any words of remorse, imploration or grief. It was animalistic braying, as Askeladd described, howling at a moon that won't ever rise. You observed for some more, drying your face completely before falling onto your knees before Thorfinn.

His brown eyes struggled to follow your movements but that did not bother you. Watching him twitch and turn, you scooted closer and opened your arms. Arms that felt to heavy to share any burden.

Your limbs were slow, so woefully slow and heavy as they wrapped around his hunched body. Even as you gently and gingerly pressed him against you, Thorfinn continued to cry out, seeming to not have even noticed your gesture. He seemed to only gulp back for air when the side of his head was pressed against your chest.

This cringing feeling only grew worse at the rapid speed of his heart pounding against you. It was akin a bird's panicked flappings as it tried to misguidedly escape the cage it's been put in. However, you still tried to focus on the lightening aspects. How his gasps ceased and he himself tried to take deep breaths. Your hand found the crown of his head, stroking his grimy hair.

Thorfinn jumped. These calm breaths of yours tickled his head, leaving him shuddering. Gazing into the empty, barren snowscape he pondered if - maybe if, as long as he's not mistaken - you had ever done something so comforting to him before. He thought of it to be comforting at least. The familiarity of it all left him stumped as well as equally frightened. He did not know what to make of it.

Were you always like this? You have never...embraced him like this before. Was it because of him? Did he put a distance between you? Were you hesitant, perhaps reluctant to offer him soothing solace such as this? Thorfinn did not know and he did not remember.

Letting out a confused groan, he ever so tediously turned his head and gazed up to you. Chin resting on your chest as he looked up at you like an intriguied animal.

You cringed slightly at the face before you. No longer stroking his hair, you grabbed a fistful of snow and gently rubbed it against his dark blue cheek. Thorfinn did not resist but only let out a soft croak of pain. Still, his eyes never left you. "I'm sorry. I made the bruise worse." You spoke under your breath. The snow dissolved and fell apart, leaving only your reddened palm to cup and carress his face. You hoped it would soothe the injury.

Wordlessly, you continued to graze the bruises on his face with your cold hand in an attempt to lighten the pain. The blonde, as beaten and silent as he was, fluttered his eyes close whenever your fingers touched the swollen lumps nearby. He'd croak and sigh at the lightest of touches, leaning on you on his knees and face tilted up to look at you. Wiping the blood under his nose caused him to sneeze and you ripped a handful of your cloak off, offering for him to sneeze into it.

"One more time. The blood might dry and clump up your nose." He did so as told, clumps of snot and blood pulled out of his nostrills. He sniffed, inhaling the air. You threw the blood-soaked cloth away. Wiping your hand, your brought it back up to press his head against you, hesitant, but deciding to squeeze him ever so gently. Your face grimaced but you did not want to let him know.

It was almost on command. How he let his head turn around again, his ear leaning against your chest to listen to your heartbeat. His own pounded against his chest, calmly yet alone. Lonely and longingly. Aside from it, he was empty. So, so empty he would have loved nothing more than to just lean against you and sleep. Sleep forever.

"...C'mon, Thorfinn. Let's get ourselves somewhere warm." Obeying your command once again, he looked back up at you with big eyes, before lifitng himself up. You tucked a few loose strands of unruly hair behind his ears before slinging the good arm around your shoulder, with your face close to one another, you marched back to York.

A Floating Moon...You Still Croon?

He still leaned against you, that fool.

It nearly made you smile how he almost snuggled. Yet it was just as pathetic. Pathetic and ironic like the sun that decided to bless you the moment you found York again. The snow below you all but melted away by its rays and left nothing but filthy, grimy roads. You prefered it over the slippery ice.

The town was rather crowded. Carts filled with many goods pulled by healthy, decorated horses and men with respectable blades passed by. The meeting is soon to begin, you believed.

Still, it only made you more hesitant to ask for any help. Anyone you turn to could be some high and mighty ruler of a region or worse, their vessels and guards. The many swinging scabbards at their hips did not ease your anxiety.

The side of the road it was. Better behind some stables in the shadows and out of the sight of the many servants. Thorfinn looked worse for wear and a youngling like you would definitely not be welcomed with open arms. Oh, how awfully right you were.

With another person's weight on your side, you accidentaly bumped into another. Praying they'd simply scoff or ignore you, you immediately bowed your head and apologized once they argued with you.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? Bumping into me, eh? Causing an accident only to rob me from my goods, eh? I know that trick." One approached while you stepped back with Thorfinn in tow, head hanging low. You shake your head, trying to explain that it was indeed a mere accident-

"Don't pull that on me. Look at you, beaten and cold. You two must be poor beggars. C'mere, we know what to do with lot like you." As soon as you were cornered and one pulled his arm back for a punch, Thorfinn snapped his arm forward and shoved the man out of the way. He shrieked, alerting the others. "Hey, now-!" The second one grabbed your shoulder, however, he was swiftly kicked off, legs sweeped under his and falling into the manure below. Thorfinn let out something of an scoff despite his unreadable gaze.

Just as your friend was ready to bash the third man out of the trio, you made a run for it. There was no time to scold Thorfinn - you couldn't afford to earn the anger of some ruler's servant!

A mere barn was found and you snuck Thorfinn to the back behind a few bundles of hay. That certainly was close...but you didn't have the strength to berate him any more.

Instead, you tended to him some more, the best that you could as beggars. The man wasn't nearly wrong. Even now Thorfinn only let out a few hums at each action and touch, nodding meekly at each of your words. It was pitiful and equally heartbreaking.

Only to you though, it seemed.

You gently placed your hand to his forehead and sighed in relieve when not detecting a fever. It didn't appear that he had any symptoms either.

The blonde just leaned into your touch, tired.

You tucked a few unruly locks away. "I have to fetch something...I'll be right back." You snapped up only to be tugged down abruptly. Widened eyes looked down to find Thorfinn grabbing your wrist, stopping you and pulling you down. His swollen lips parted for air and eyes were still unreadable. Lying a hand on his, you tried to offer a smile, "I'll be right back, it won't take long. Just stay here and don't move from your spot."

The grip on your wrist was tight enough that you had to shake it off and leave before he could jump after you.

You missed the way his hand reached for your vanishing figure.

The port was even busier, making your heart race.

It was a mystery to you how you managed to find the short, unassuming man within the crowd of bellowing merchants and sailing boats but there he was, staring at you with wide, big eyes. He blinked a few times; Not quite certain if he should even be speaking to you - with that glare you were offering him.

"I don't know any details," You began, "But I have a request. I'll do what it takes for you to accept it." The man let out a nervous, brief chortle before taking a step forward. His hand scratched the back of his neck. The best he could was bear a crooked grin. "Now, hold on, little one. You, ah," He hesitated, blinked and took a breath, "I saw you with Thorfinn the other day. You are a friend of his, no?"

The man did not miss the way you avoided his gaze.

"And you are a relative of his, right? Uncle...Leif, it was?"

The merchant laughed and his nervous tone quickly shifted to a carefree one. It startled you yet that did not stop him from explaining his situation.

That was all nice and dandy...but you did not have time to listen to old tales.

"Listen, I know where he is. I'll take you to him but for that...you have to take him back to Iceland."

Leif could not deny that your request intriguided him. After all, just like Thorfinn you seemed to be a viking despite being his friend. He never had a viking ask him for a favour.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get him there. I'll personally drag him to your boat if I must, beat him black and blue and throw him into it." Again, Leif waved his hands and hoped his awkward laughter would ease the tension...and make you realize how dramatic your solutions were. It was not neccessary, he'd say, all that was needed was a good talk and listening to each other. To follow one's heart...and he's sure Thorfinn would choose the right answer.

That was enough for you to consider it a deal. Hurrying the older man, you were suddenly stopped as he tapped your shoulder. "I wanted to thank you, young one."

Raising a brow, it only made Leif grin.

"Thank you for being a friend to Thorfinn. He used to be such a sweet and hopeful kid...but now, he'd been through hell. I don't know all of the details but I am certain his life would have been more miserable if it weren't for you. Thank you for always staying by his side."

He continued to speak. You listened attentively, your eyes widened and fearing to tear up yet again at these kind words of this kind man.

Thorfinn could count himself lucky to have people who love him.

Listen To Me, Cleave Your Way Again, Again...

The floor was cold but thank the gods not as cold as the snow outside.

Lonely droplets of water fell down one after another and another and another; Like a melody to the puddle below. Thorfinn would have liked to thank to be alone right now. Alone and with not another soul as his company, as the trio of men chased after him and handed him over to the town's guards. With no resistance, he let himself be thrown into the dungeon.

But he could not find any gratitude in his empty heart to any gods right now.

You weren't back. You said you would be but when he looked up to the shadows hovering over him, he was met with three disgusting grins and not your smile. Bitter, bewitching, bland - it did not matter, he just needed to see your smile again.

You...held him. As if he deserved it.

You deserve to be looked for right now but he could not find any strength nor vigor to get up and escape, as easily as he was capable of it. All his head was filled of where questions on your whereabouts as his heart yearned for your presence.

A guard called out to him, speaking of an visitor. His first thought was you and how you returned to him. As best as he could, he crooked his neck and uttered your name.

Yet you weren't back still. There, sitting on the ground with the brightest smile he could muster was the man who used to tell him stories as a child. He prepared himself before he spoke. "Thorfinn. I've been told of an rowdy beggar being locked up. My gut feeling told me that might have been you, my boy."

Thorfinn sighed in disappointment and laid back down.

Leif licked his lips, taking a deep breath. "...You told me how you suffered for the past eleven years since we lost you, Thorfinn. You spoke of how I wouldn't understand, and I might not, and how...you couldn't find any peace within you as long as that man was still alive."

"...That...has nothing to do with you."

Nevertheless, the man persisted, believing it to be of concern to him. The fighting, the wars, the pain - and of how he swore it to himself to bring an end to it all by bringing him home.

A home filled with warmth and people. Of stories, some true and some silly, of food and water. Of no fear for your life and your future. A place where there was love.

"I swore an oath, you know? To myself and to Thors...that I would bring you back to Iceland. Bringing you back home where you belong, Thorfinn. That is the honor I want to uphold and the least I owe to Thors."

At the utter of his father's name, Thorfinn found the fortitude to sit up. Leif's grin was even more radiant than he remembered as a child. "So, Thorfinn...let us go back home. To Iceland!"

"Home...?"

Home...how tempting that word was. How it rolled off his tongue like stenching poison.

Home...after all this time? Why? Why would he, why should he?

Could he even?

"My boy, you said it yourself!" Leif scooted closer, his grin rivaling the sun, his eyes shining like a jewel. "So we can go to Vinland!"

Thorfinn could barely catch his breath, his empty chest that barely could hold his caving heart now rising. Rising, as he remembered the tale of old times.

A land far in the west, beyond the ocean...a land so warm and fruitful and so far away that no slave drives nor wars could reach it...

"Thors wished to go there, too...and I am sure - no, certain! Certain that if he was still alve, he would have loved nothing more than to travel to Vinland!"

Thorfinn hung his head. Was he...even allowed to hear such things, let alone do them? Take action?

"Home...and Vinland..."

Not being able to hold off his quivering smile, Leif dusted himself off as he got up on his feet. He walked slightly to the end of the bars. "And if you allowed it too, Thorfinn...I invited another companion to join us."

Now standing near the end, Leif opened his palm. Squinting his eyes, Thorfinn made out an hesitant, shaking hand peeking out from behind the wall and gingerly taking Leif's own outstretching one. He gladly wrapped his fingers around it, while the other shyly wrapped theirs around him, after a good while.

Following him, behind the wall your figure appeared - and the young blonde wasted no time to jump to his knees. You turned to him, looking down with a bittersweet smile. Thank the gods, he could see your smile that he so wished for.

Voice shaking with disbelief he called out your name.

"You gave me an heart attack."

My, did you tell him of how he did give you an heart attack when you returned to the spot with Leif and found him to be gone. Of how you told the man that he must be arrested and locked up, like the idiot that he was, and that he'd best be bribed free. Leif took the initiative and kindly asked you to wait.

Grey eyes glanced between the two of you and Leif let out a sigh of relieve, his hands on his hips. Even in this odd, ridicilous and hopeful situation that you wanted nothing more than to put your faith into, you approached the bars and looked down at your friend with the sweetest smile you could muster.

"After all this...could you take me to Vinland?"

Listen To Me, Sail Away Again, Again...A Misty Moon

I'm Missing You...

For the first time since today, you could feel the breeze.

No longer was it biting or howling but simply soothing.

This road, dirty and muddy and the chants of the people going their merry way felt like a dream.

Stepping inside Leif's humble, little boat felt like a dream.

The mention of other possibly kind merchants joining as Thorfinn held your hand - it was wonderful. Once he was out, he embraced you tight, not saying a word. He worsened his broken arm with the never-ending squeeze he gave you and definitely smeared snot and blood on your neck when he buried his head in there, but you did not dare to complain. Your arms wrapped around his body, silently grateful to have him back.

In this mess that you were and the mess that you are, you felt like the luckiest person alive. You, bewtiched by the bliss, did not complain as Thorfinn let go of your hand.

He was as quiet as a mouse, anyway. You let him ponder, you let him pout to himself. But what you could not let happen was him vanishing once again.

As he did on that snowy hill to fight Thorkell.

"Thorfinn!" Yours and Leif's scream aligning with a bird's shriek. The man just got this little boy back and now you were running off as well, searching for him. He thought he finally found Vinland. Finally could honor his own oath and quench this sadness in his heart.

It was all for nothing.

The searching, the bribing, the empty promises on his behalf...your fighting, your murders, tending his wounds and holding him in your heart. All for nothing.

Yells echoed within the meeting hall. You caught a glimpse of brown and yellow make a sharp turn for it. "Thorfinn!" Yet as men tried to flee the hall, you only struggled to get inside, hearing Thorfinn's screams for Askeladd.

He seemed to have gotten in as his figure vanished from your sight and you hardly could hear him. The yelling and screaming ceased - what had happened in there?

"Thorfinn! Thorfinn, come back! Please!"

Not a reply, not a bellow of utter agony either. It was only you, screeching out his name, screeching out to be let go as the many servants and guards dragged you out. Pulling on your cloak, pulling on your hair, your arms, your face.

"Thorfinn!"

You could not see beyond the crowd. It was eerie to not hear anything from him. Now you wished he hadn't been so quiet.

"...What...? You, are dying? You...?"

The men reckoned you to be a beggar, wondering what you are doing here. Breaking into the king's meeting.

"...Don't be so foolish...and stop this nonsense. I give you my life...but...what will you do with your life...after you've taken mine...?"

Your screaming only convinced them of your madness. A mere, hysterical beggar breaking into the king's murder.

"Thorfinn!"

"...Will you take your friend with you...? Or will you do as I did to Björn...you should go, Thorfinn. Go far, far away from here. Somewhere that isn't here..."

You shall be taken away. Hysterical but maybe useful.

"Damn it, come back! Go back to Iceland, Thorfinn! GO BACK TO ICELAND!"

Iceland is not a fruitful or promising land...you shall be useful somewhere else. Somewhere that isn't here.

"...Go, Son of Thors...become a true warrior..."

Do Good, To Be Good...Do Good, To Be Good...You're Not Alone...

For the first time today, you felt the agony that dwelled within your heart, boiling there, wating for this moment.

The faces of the people, the mud of the road pressed into your face, the cuffs on your hands. It was a true nightmare.

Ripped away from the second Thorfinn let go of your hand and did not return to you. You still missed his silhouette. It was gone the moment you were hauled out of the place and thrown into the sea.

Thorfinn did not even answer your cires.

No one would now to a slave.

#vinland saga #vinland saga x reader #thorfinn #thorfinn karlsefni #thorfinn x reader #vinland saga headcanons #thorfinn headcanons #thorfinn karlsefni x reader #gender neutral imagine #vinland saga imagine #thorfinn imagine #thorfinn x you #prince canute #canute #askeladd #thorkell #thorkell the tall #AAAAAAAAAA #AAAAAA #IDK WHAT TO DO NOW #OMG i really struggled with this one #too...hngh...long #too much...dialouge #man i died there #JUST LIKE ASKELADD HAH #anyway things arent gonna get any sweller #i just i #idk #thorfinn just...made me lose my mind #TSAWH

[kiteblue42]

Part 4 of - what the heck is going on with Mobius anyway?

S2e5 - the one with where they get the band back together

Disclaimer- I’m a single parent and found it hard to be objective watching this one. For me this episode was a very perfect reflection of how hard, lonely it can be to bring up children by yourself and how you willingly give up so much of yourself for them. They did this very well - I hope they don’t screw this up in the final episode.

A good life, but not a happy one

Mobius timeline life is good but not super happy. He comes across as struggling and lonely. Mobius works 6 days a week, he tries to sell Loki one of his jet skis that he no longer can use, he’s constantly being interrupted at work by his kids, the house is chaos and he had to leave the boys to fend for themselves selves while he was at work (therefore he has no friends or family to watch them or money to pay for childcare). This is a person struggling to keep it together, but he does manage to do so for his boys and he manages to stay kind and positive towards them. The boys are the top of his list of priorities “I can’t leave my boys”/ “I need to check on the kids” “I got to get back to my boys” “I’ll know”. This all speaks of someone who has given up his own wants for the kids and feels guilty about doing anything for himself.

Given the slightly flippant tone of “long gone” when discussing his wife I think it likely she left rather than died (or blipped) - as that’s not how a grieving widower is likely to speak (especially if he might be overheard by the boys).

The whisper of adventure

There are a number of signs that Mobius has a desire for adventure. His love of jet skis, the fact he immediately agreed to try out the time door, how much he loved the idea of being “Mobius.” (“Mobius is a pretty cool name”)

The idea of being your better self

It wasn’t just adventure for fun that’s calling his name though but also the idea of being something more. Mobius reacted emotionally to the idea of himself as someone that would “save my life when I first arrived”. His delivery of “I sell Jet Skis man” showed how little he thought of himself, but also a desire to be something more.

Loneliness

This exchange killed me:

Loki “you saved my life when I first arrived. You saw something in me I hadn’t seen in myself”

Mobius “Are you really my friend?”

Loki “I am”.

Just the way Mobius says this tell us how much he really really wants to believe he could have a friend like this.

Loki’s view of Mobius

Once again the major topic of conversation between Sylvie and Loki is Mobius (this is becoming a theme - and if they do get Sylvie and Loki together it’s just mad and funny).

Anyway this conversation tells us that Loki believed Mobius when he said the TVA was the “only life he knew” and that he “liked it”. Of course there’s an element of this being wishful thinking on Loki’s part, but he is pretty insistent that Mobius should be given the choice. So Loki thinks (at least until Sylvie talks him out of it) that there is a good chance Mobius would chose the TVA - and himself. And as Frigga once said (Thor: dark world) Loki is “.. so perceptive about everyone but yourself”. So I don’t think we should dismiss Loki’s perception about Mobius. (He is also pretty insistent in his conversation with Mobius that “this is not the life of the man I know”. And there’s enough for viewers to see “Mobius” is more at ease with himself than “Don”.)

Sylvie undermines this and persuades Loki he is being selfish. (Side note - Sylvie puzzles me this season and in particular in this episode- if you watch closely she sees that her McDonalds meal disappears and Loki’s drink in the bar disappear too - but says nothing to Loki and does everything to stop Loki from trying to fix it - is it just denial or something more sinister?)

Last episode

So some theory based predictions for Ep 6

Themes that still need payoff:

- order & chaos

- Partners & Friends & loneliness

- Hard choices

Th end of the last episode has me thinking we may get a happy ending because it would be narratively neat to leave Loki surrounded by his new TVA family - especially after the way last episode was concluded.

It would pay off the themes positively as follows:

order & chaos - Loki (chaos) working with TVA (order) to give balance

Partners & Friends & loneliness - Loki and his misfit friends get to stay together so they don’t have to be alone

Hard choices - this one worries me but it would be possible for a number of hard choices to be made that still ends up in a good place (even if it doesn’t seem like it will at the time).

Hard choices Mobius

I think this is aimed specifically at Mobius - Loki made his hard choice in Ep 5 when he was willing to let this team go. I’m hoping they will be able to square the circle with Mobius and his family, because he’ll *not* be ok without the boys or without Loki (& the TVA).

Given this is a time travel show with magic I don’t see why they can’t find an solution to that - because the issue is about not having enough time to both look after the boys and look after yourself. I’ll be super disappointed if they make this unnecessarily miserable by making Mobius give up either his fulfilling life & friends at the TVA or his boys. Though I also won’t be surprised to see this as a plot point. If they try to sell it to me as Mobius being super happy to return to his life I’ll be doubly annoyed.

In theory the boys timeline should be long gone so this choice should not exist, but they seem to be setting up this hard choice for Mobius in particular ( so maybe the loom explosion was meant to be a full reset).

Hanging threads & wild cards

X5 /Brad /Zaniac - is still in the TVA - is he going to cause chaos as they try to fix the loom?

Renslayer - is in the void - will she tame Alioth? Is Miss Minutes really gone or does she have another instance in the citadel at the end of time?

Kang - is HWR really behind everything? Are all the events just one pre-planned trap of HWR?

Sylvie - Sylvie knew more than she has told anyone (eg she saw the disappearance of items and said nothing). She has HWR tempad. Loki treats her like she has words of wisdom so we also tend to accept she is right or benign, but her last piece of advice was completely wrong. She has been acting pretty oddly all season too - what’s up with that? (Worth remembering she is a Loki variant and they are generally not to be trusted).

Romance

My own reading of Mobius remains that he lost his heart to Loki sometime around S1e2. By S1e5 he’d accepted this, but concluded it wasn’t going anywhere - so conveniently he didn’t need to exactly work out what the feelings were. Mainly because Loki was focused on Sylvie. This episode doesn’t change that since we don’t get any TVA Mobius.

Loki on the other hand did give more away this episode - and it was the first one (for me) where it looked like his feelings could be romantic or at least headed that way. Whenever he talks about saving his friends we all know this primarily means Mobius. I mean how much interaction has he really had with the others? The discussion in the bar was particularly instructive- he wants Mobius to have the choice (this is *after* seeing him on the timeline when he knows what Mobius would be giving up) and he desperately hopes Mobius would choose to stay with him. But Sylvie persuades him otherwise.

Sylvie - there is really no sign of the romance from last season left here. Loki does still greatly admire Sylvie. I’d say Loki almost hero worships her - and especially takes what she says about free will and choice as authoritative (as if she were an expert on it). This is consistent with his romantic feelings from s1e4,5&6 which seemed to grow out of his admiration for her radical / free spirit nature. But by this episode it didn’t seem to be romantic any more - rather a mentor / mentee conversation. Loki did not declare he wanted Sylvie back or even anything close to it - and it would have been the obvious time to do that.

Sylvie has never seemed particularly romantically interested in Loki to me. She kissed him to distract him in s1e6 and no doubt thinks he’s quite hot, but that’s all I’m getting. I actually like this about her as a character (she’s just not that into you Loki sorry). I hope she is a bit more villainous than we know (a bit more basic Loki if you will) otherwise she has been a bit of a spare part this season.

I am not expecting any romance from the last episode though mainly because:

(1) I don’t think there is time to do either romance option justice with all the other plot points to be resolved (2) romance is not central to the plot of season 2 - they have pushed the friendship / found family theme hard and that will do for plotting & emotional payoff purposes, and (3) if you want to be commissioned for season 3 you don’t resolve romantic tension. We’re on Tumblr so we all know there are a significant chunk of fans of any media that follow the stories for the romance aspect - and we all know this audience is likely to be very loyal, vocal on social media and will predictably turn up to watch the next season just to see how it plays out. If they resolve a romance arc either way too early they kill a lot of interest in season 3 - people are always more interested in “will they won’t they” than an established relationship.

#loki #mobius #loki spoilers #lokius #mobius m mobius #lokius meta #loki season 2 #loki season 2 theories #loki meta

[gabbytalksalot]

My predictions for the Loki finale

(Im delusional)

1. Loki and mobius will kiss

2. Flash forward to the future and they live happily in a cute home with mobius's kids and Loki

3. All the Kang stuff just stops so Loki Dosent have to die or spend the rest of his time trying to fix it

4. Sylvie can just have a happy life where she isn't constantly running and doing shit

5. O.B becomes a best selling author 🙏🏽

6. miss minutes dies again but very painfully

7. Lowkey (loki🤭) want Thor to meet tva Loki cuz I feel like their relationship would change alot

8. Omg imagine Mobius sons having like a playdate with Love (Thors adopted daughter)

9. Loki being the cool uncle

10. Loki will express and take form more as a woman!!!!

#lokius #loki laufeyson #loki season 2 #loki series #loki #loki and mobius #loki odinson #loki show #loki spoilers #loki x mobius

[mechanismssexymanbracket]

and with that, we have the official mechanisms tumblr sexyman bracket! for easier reading (and so i can link the polls later), here are the pairings:

Ashes O’Reilly (1) vs. Briar Rose (32)

Raphaella la Cognizi (16) vs. Guinevere Pendragon (17)

The Starship Aurora (9) vs. Dr. Pilchard (24)

Marius von Raum (8) vs. Frankenstein’s AI (25)

Galahad (4) vs. Narcissus (29)

Ulysses (13) vs. Ivy Alexandria (20)

Nastya Rasputina (12) vs. Orpheus (21)

Drumbot Brian (5) vs. Ariadne (28)

Gunpowder Tim (2) vs. Thor (31)

Mordred Pendragon (15) vs. Lancelot Pendragon (18)

Odin (10) vs. Victoria Frankenstein (23)

Loki (7) vs. Bertie (26)

The Toy Soldier (3) vs. Oedipus (30)

Jonny d’Ville (14) vs. Sigyn (19)

Dr. Carmilla (11) vs. Hatter and Hare (22)

Lyfrassir Edda (6) vs. the Marquis de All The Knives (27)

the polls will go live tomorrow morning (EST) and run for 24 hours before moving on to the next round! get your predictions and propaganda in before voting starts, and feel free to send me/tag me in your predictions! happy sexymaning!

#the mechanisms #the mechs #drumbot brian #gunpowder tim #marius von raum #nastya rasputina #the toy soldier #jonny d'ville #ashes oreilly #ivy alexandria #raphaella la cognizi #mechanisms sexyman bracket

[jolieblack]

Jolie’s thoughts on Silver Blaze (Sherlock & Co. podcast) Parts 1 & 2

… because I can already tell that this will get too long if I wait for parts 3 & 4 to drop…

I know Joel has said in several places that this case is his favourite ACD story, so expectations are high… and not being disappointed so far!

I already loved this one at 3 minutes in, with the opening montage of part 1 being totally over the top, mega blockbuster crime of the century style, and then the next thing we get is Sherlock practising the clippity-clop thing and looking for a new home for 327 ants.

Sherlock being a train geek (of course he is) and going on about the ghost trains just after John went on about the creepy Dartmoor legends got me, too. In my book, Silver Blaze has never had a gothic horror vibe to it, but it may well have now! Let’s see how that aspect will develop.

Other details I loved:

John‘s mum: "He‘s a very sensitive boy and you need to respect that." - "He’s not a boy, he’s a man… who plays with ants."

John and Mariana pushing Sherlock into the case by threatening him with a party, and John being a gleefully cackling little bugger about it when it works.

"Just trying to understand how your brain works." - "Yeah, you and me both, mate."

Sherlock giving us a whole paragraph straight out of ACD (the "plethora" bit) - I love how well it always works in contrast with how everyone else in this universe talks.

The dodgy SD card, which - I hereby predict - will turn out to be more than a comedy element as the case progresses.

Sherlock deducing the entry code for the cottage, we love to see that kind of stuff, don’t we.

"We’ve got a horse to find. Giddy up."- Love it when Sherlock speaks ordinary colloquial modern English like a foreign language.

"You are a child, a giant crime-solving child!" - Sherlock Holmes in a nutshell.

"I’ve done the washing up - he said, pausing for a thank you - " - "Thank you."

Oh and scrolling on our phone to the point of existential crisis till we pass out is so how we all fall asleep these days, isn’t it. Jonk Watson, the true Everyman for the 21st century.

And then we get feeeeels, too!

Starting with "Talk to me, John." - 🥹🥹🥹 The incredible intimacy of that little moment. Also, another 'John', seemingly out of nowhere - is this Sherlock being incredibly finely attuned to the moments where John's war trauma may re-emerge, such as in this scene where they’re viewing a very badly injured body, ready to step in with whatever emotional support may be needed? If so, our boy has come a long way already since the first sweet but clumsy "Would you like to hold hands and talk about your emotions?" when they were viewing the body in Thor Bridge and I’M HERE FOR IT.

And what was that shower scene??? Things getting very much *less weird* for Sherlock while he stares at his dear companion in the shower (who presumably doesn’t shower fully or even half dressed) and imagines what life would be without him? If this show was heading in an unequivocal Johnlock direction, I‘d say this was an awakening. As it is, I don’t believe for a second that Sherlock was high. He just wanted reassurance that John would stay in the picture forever, whatever exactly you like to imagine the picture to be. 😭

More lovely details:

"Cinderella will go to the ball" - "You stop being so bloody clever, and I will stop with the compliments." And literally two minutes later it’s "I'm not asking you to be comfortable, I’m asking you to help me solve the case!" and John being Sherlock’s literal beast of burden so Sherlock can look over a wall that even little John Watson climbs without any assistance only a minute later.

Sherlock Holmes telling John Watson to get on his knees as if this isn’t the moment the Sherlock Holmes fandom has been waiting for for over 140 years.

Sherlock being gentle and friendly with the horse!

And to wrap up, a few thoughts on the case aspect:

[Warning: Contains spoilers for the original ACD story and may therefore contain spoilers for this version, too!]

*

*

*

*

*

The limping sheep in part 1 had me going 👀 already, and now the cataract knife has made its appearance, I really don’t expect a lot of surprises when we get to the denouement, and I'm assuming that the fact that there is an imprint of the letter S from the walking stick on the head of the murder victim just means that there was a violent confrontation quite some time before June actually died. Why else would Sherlock agree with Inspector Gregory that the imprint is there, but also with John that those extensive and massive injuries could not have been caused by a single blow with a stick? Nope, not sensing any dramatic plot twists compared to the original version this time. Let’s see if I was right!

#sherlock & co #sherlock & co podcast #podlock #sherlock and co #episode notes #silver blaze

[imustbenuts]

Kiran is luck itself. And that luck is causing problems in FEH, an analysis. (Part 1!)

(Disclaimers first. One, I’m drop kicking my Kiran is a deity theory from this post, but elements of it will pop up bc it’s hard baked into the game now. Two, my understanding of Norse mythos is very limited and I might get some stuff wrong. Am doing my best, but if there’s any hiccups I apologize ;; also Part 2 is here.)

Luck in FEH is a big big thing.

It's in gacha, which is the core mechanic of the game, but it's in the story too. And I think this luck is causing massive fucking problems as time goes on, but specifically to Kiran as well.

In the original Norse mythos, Odin/Alfador knows the future to come. His best buddies are Loki and Thor, who together make up the Norse Trio. Surtr is meant to bring about Ragnarok, and end the world.

But something is weird in FEH's story, and we can safely say now that Ragnarok is averted or subverted after the events of Book 2 and everything that has gone on since. FEH's story has derailed so hard from Norse mythos that we can't predict anything anymore, and it's thanks to 1 Summoner allying themself with Alfonse & co.

Bc see, Kiran's real power is half from their ability to summon heroes, and other being their incredible fucking luck. In fact, here’s a brief overview of how each book was won in Askr’s and their allies’ favor real quick. (Feel free to skip over this segment under the read more if you don't need a refresher.)

Book 1: Kiran gets dropped into the world of FEH after Alfonse & co seeks out the legend behind Breidablik. Their situation immediately turns around from being helplessly invaded to invasion repelled. OoH gets fully established as a result of Kiran’s presence. Lucky them!

Book 2: OoH travels to Nifl then to Muspell, fighting against a tyrant named Surtr who is unkillable due to his Rite of Flames. Helbindi intervenes by removing the sacrifice needed for the rite, and the Order drop kicks his ass into the aether. Lucky for everyone!

Book 3: Hel invades Askr, but one of her generals, Lif, turns out to be an Alfonse from an alternate world who wasn’t so lucky and everyone died. Passing that dead Kiran’s Breidablik to our Kiran, we luckily gain the power to kill that which cannot be killed, Hel.

Book 4: Freyja seems to be keen in trapping Kiran in the dream world through a bluff, but Kiran decides not to believe in the bluff and kills her and wakes up to find that Alfonse is actually still alive. Lucky them!

Book 5: Reginn is the luckiest here, in that finding out she’s the real successor to the throne of Niðavellir. By accepting and allying herself with the OoH, they do the difficult task of killing her brothers and taking out Eitri to bring peace to Niðavellir. 

Book 6: Thanks to Kiran preventing Alfonse from cutting down Bruno all the way back in Book 1, Bruno eventually pulls off the ultimate sacrifice and helps Askr and Embla achieve peace. Lucky, but tragic.

Book 7: The Kiran we know happens to pick up a glowing Breidablik which has been +1’d and can break everyone out of a perpetual time loop. Lucky them, since the other Kirans did not make it.

So. Kiran is not winning necessarily by having incredible power. They are winning by being in the correct place, with the correct people, under the correct conditions, and having the correct power-ups.

And even if you want to argue it's about raw power, the ability to summon powerful heroes is also dictated by luck in the gacha mechanic.

In short, Kiran and whoever allies with them is surviving by sheer luck.

The problem here is that, despite preventing Surtr from causing Ragnarok, Kiran is now... effectively causing Ragnarok.

OKAY to be fair it's more like preventing a meteor from impacting the earth directly by shattering it into a billion pieces, but having to deal with the small bits and aftermath. The Ragnarok was the meteor, and while Surtr was going to be the trigger, a lot of things were already in motion long before Kiran's arrival. Askr and Embla's 'feud' for example. Taking out Surtr only seems to change the trigger and cause smaller explosions instead.

Kiran is definitely helping, but in doing so have gone from being a curious insignificant interloper to a outright formidable entity in the world of FEH. In fact, the more they seem to fix, the more things change, and the more the world reacts to their actions and accepting their presence. And also, drawing attention to them and theirs.

Which. Causes problems. More so for one guy who knows everything. Alfador.

If I were Alfador, I would be interested in paying super close attention to this cryptid the moment they landed, more so because they don't fully belong in the world of FEH.

There's some evidence of this. Loki and Thor immediately puts them on a watchlist as early as Book 1. As part of the trio, they would know some things about the prophecy, especially Loki. Since Loki LOVES chaos and fun, it's entirely possible she's very invested in Kiran's ability to fuck shit up.

Loki even seems to give Kiran and co a chance to break fate in Book 2 by letting them mess with Surtr's Rite of Flames. And once that they've proven they can, and again in Book 3 by killing death Herself, all bets are off.

Kiran. Can. Kill. Gods.

Which then kind of makes sense for what happens in Book 4. From what I can understand, it seems like 4 was a whole ploy by Freyja to keep Kiran trapped in the dreamworld through a bluff. In Book 4 chapter 15:

Freyja: I don't suppose you CAN remember what happened... If you could recall, the dream would likely collapse. Be that as it may, the truth is that this mortal you care so much for, Prince Alfonse, defeated death... And with that, He Who Created Everything, Alfaðör, has decided... Prince Alfonse could no longer be allowed to exist. A decision made by the Creator is absolute. His will is truth—and as you know, truth is inescapable. Yet here you are, fleeing... Soon you will have no choice but to accept it. Prince Alfonse is gone. You will never see him again!

The bluff itself is very interesting, since it's the first time we see the name Alfador be dropped directly in Kiran's face. It's also a hint that Freyja and Alfador may be working together, since Freyja doesn't have a real gain out of trapping Kiran in the nightmare realm aside from for the hell of it otherwise. (And maybe also to kill her brother. Is she in on it?)

PLUS, Alfador in FEH is the CREATOR. Which adds to Kiran being something he did not create, and seriously does not bloody belong in the world of FEH!

AND now in Book 7 Gullveig seems to have been brought into existence because of Kiran in... a way. It's ambiguous here but that luck works, in weird messed up ways sometimes.

So to reword this in another way...

Kiran's superpower is LUCK itself. And they are actively breaking fate with it, in doing so causing ripple effects which drastically alters events. Alterations which one Alfador may or may not like.

And the more they survive, the more gods die, the more things change, the more aggro Kiran will draw unto themself and their allies. Which means, Kiran could become a Surtr replacement in the worst case scenario, but will likely crawl out of the carnage. Through luck. Again.

So in summary....

Alfador has high blood pressure now.

Edit: a part 2 has been written!

#fire emblem heroes #summoner kiran #kiran #analysis

[space-coyote-remix]

Long ass stream of consciousness post about my opinions on every fight in Record of Ragnarok so far:

Spoilers for Record of Ragnarok up to Round 9:

Round 1: Thor vs Lu Bu

Pretty decent fight overall, I genuinely couldn't guess who was going to win at first and though Lu Bu's death felt a bit anticlimatic at the end, with him getting his head smashed in by a hammer after all the build-up he had about being the strongest and most badass human and all that. But overall a good fight, I liked Thor and Lu Bu about equally so I was sad but not too sad after it was all said and done.

Round 2: Adam vs. Zeus

I was really hoping for Adam to win, naturally, but I had a feeling Zeus was going to take it because there's no way they would kill off the main villain that quick (and honestly, I don't think anyone else is gonna replace Zeus as the main villain, so to speak, even if there are other gods doing random evil scheming and shit in the background.) The fighting itself was good, though, it was the most straightforward slugfest of them all, no fluff, no frills, just two dudes beating the hell out of each other until one of them ran out of gas in the tank.

Round 3: Kojiro vs. Poseidon

Hoo boy, this was my favorite fight so far, and not only because it was one of the only two fights where the guy I wanted to win most won. I like how much of an asshole Poseidon was right off the bat and how Kojiro didn't let Poseidon get to him at all, despite Poseidon being portrayed as one of the more frightening gods, Kojiro didn't back down and give up, he kept on pushing through and in the end he took it. The moment Kojiro sliced and diced Poseidon like sushi, I literally leapt off my couch and accidentally threw my phone on the ground I was so hype (I watched the anime before reading the manga.)

Round 4: Heracles vs. Jack

I had mixed feelings about this one, because obviously I lean more towards wanting humanity to win but also, I never really liked Jack, and I still don't care for him. He's just there to me, and he does nothing for me. I disliked him a lot in the beginning but now he's just, idk, whatever. I liked Heracles and wanted to see more of him but I had a feeling he was probably going to die because he was portrayed as being much nicer than his opponent while Jack was portrayed as a cunning, crafty trickster, and in most fighting anime/manga series, the fighter who relies more on cunning or sneaky tricks almost always beats the guy who relies more on strength or raw power.

Round 5: Raiden vs. Shiva

I wanted Raiden to take it so bad, Raiden cracked me up from the moment I first saw him lying naked on a bed with a bunch of random women of all sorts of random species, snoring his ass off like it was just a regular fucking Tuesday (no pun intended,) and his introduction scene made me start howling with laughter at his absolute unfiltered horny crackhead energy, plus I love how he was genuinely fond of Thrud from the moment he laid eyes on her and it tugged at my heart strings when he wanted to break their bond at the end so she could live but she chose to die with him anyways because she didn't want to leave him. But of course, given who and what Shiva is, obviously the outcome was as predictable as could be, as there's no fucking way they'd ever kill off Shiva in a fictional series, otherwise you'd have like 2 billion people out for blood and it's pretty damn obvious why.

Round 6: Buddha vs. Zero

Plot wise and thematically, I enjoyed this fight a lot, but it was pretty predictable, because as I mentioned for Round 5, there's a very obvious reason why they would never let Buddha lose, plus Buddha's the one who invented the volund strategy that even allows humans to be able to fight against gods in the first place. That said, I like Buddha as a character even if he's not much like the actual real Buddha, and I'm glad he won. However, Zero having to die really broke my heart, Zero was such a kind, sweet, innocent little guy and I cried a little harder than I'd like to admit when he died. Of course, it also doesn't help that Zero may not have even been a willing participant in the fight in the first place, given his various issues that he'd been dealing with plus the fact that given how he seems much younger than the other gods, it's possible that he might not have even been an adult by their standards and the idea of a child (possibly a young teenager,) fighting in a fight-to-the-death tournament is one that just doesn't sit right with me. That said, I have many opinions about Buddha and Zero, way more than I could fit into a single post, and I'm glad we got to see both of them for the time that we did, and even though I'll always be bummed that we'll never get to see Zero again, I'm glad he was there and I'm glad that in the end even though he died, he was able to return back to his un-corrupted self after his fight with Buddha.

Round 7: Hades vs. Qin

I honestly didn't have much opinions about this fight. For whatever reason, I could never make myself care much about either Hades and Qin as characters and while I appreciate that Hades cared about his brothers, I also don't care for the Greek gods much as a whole, and the rest of them besides Hades annoy me to some degree (especially Poseidon and to a lesser degree Apollo,) and Qin just has way too much going on to the point where he feels more like a collection of as many tropes as someone could fit into a single character packed together in a trenchcoat like a bunch of little kids standing on each other's backs and wearing a big coat to try to disguise themselves as an adult. I had a feeling Qin was probably going to win, but I couldn't really be bothered to care either way, although I did find it odd that Hades would lose to a human-if you had me guess which gods would beat a human no questions asked before I actually started the series, I would have definitely included Hades on that list because I mean, he's the god of death and the underworld, those titles carry a lot of weight.

Round 8: Tesla vs. Beelzebub. I had/have some problems with some of the previous rounds but hoo boy, Round 8 was a disaster. Tesla was given absolutely no prep time to even figure out what to do (and though you could argue the same for other fighters, it's only really relevant for Tesla because he's the only human fighter who was a non-combatant besides Jack, and Jack was already established as a sneaky son of a bitch who will find a way to trick anyone, so he didn't need any prep time.) Including Tesla on the roster was a very odd choice to begin with, and though I like Tesla as a character, I have very mixed feelings about how they handled him fighting. Also, Beelzebub-don't get me started on him. I haven't hated a character this much since Sasuke from Naruto, and to be honest, of the two of them, I think I hate Beelzebub more. Even just having Beelzebub be in the story at all pisses me off, and seeing him kill Tesla after what he did to Zero was one of the few moments in this series that just genuinely pissed me off.

Round 9: Somehow worse than Round 8, which I didn't think was possible. Leonidas hardly got any focus, his backstory was basically just an abbreviated re-telling of the movie 300 and he only got 3 hits on Apollo (granted, those 3 hits were apparently enough to bring Apollo to death's door, but still,) Leonidas had so much wasted potential it pissed me off. Apollo annoys me for various personal reasons and his sudden reveal that "Oh, he's actually not an arrogant preening prick with his head shoved up his ass," halfway through the fight felt so forced it was like a random ass-pull that just came out of nowhere. Leonidas basically didn't get to do much of anything besides be a disposable punching bag for Apollo for 5 fucking chapters and then Apollo's like "Oh, you (and Geirolul) were the peak of beauty." and somehow we're supposed to believe they just suddenly started liking each other out of nowhere. The whole fight felt sloppy and incomplete, like the authors just ran out of fucks to give and wanted to rush it and get through it as fast as possible to move onto Round 10, which I won't get into now for many, many, reasons that would take way, way too long to explain on this post.

#judal speaks #the coyote talks #Record of Ragnarok #RoR #shuumatsu no valkyrie #SnV

[lokittystuckinatree]

Now that we seem to be at a stopping place for MCU! Loki’s character, time for a no context personal ranking of Tom Hiddleston Lokis

1. Thor 2011 (The Loki I base my Loki standards on)

2. Loki Season 2 (specifically episode 5 and 6)

3. Thor: the Dark World (you just decapitated your grandfather)

4. Loki Season 1 (peak mischief, angsty identity crisis, punk Jotun girlfriend. Rest sucked.)

5. Avengers (solid iconic Loki era just not my taste)

6. Thor: Ragnarok (Loki wrote a play. Loki being predictable chaos and afraid of change. Rest sucked.)

7. What If (for Jotun Loki’s eyeliner and shenanigans alone)

8. Endgame, etc. Loki was not in Infinity War ✌️

#loki #just my personal opinion #everyone else likely has a different ranking of Lokis #MCU Loki #tom hiddleston #this is just for the characterization of MCU Loki btw

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

5 Immortal Thor issue 3 Predictions

Immortal Thor #3 comes out October 25, and although I have new episodes of Loki every week to tie me over, I'm dying to read more of Al Ewing's writing and hopefully see Loki as The Teller again, HNNG.

Anyway, here are five predictions for #3 (and a little bit #4). Spoilers, of course, for the previous issues and the summary for #3.

Loki will not leave Thor adrift and defenseless in this world. There will be aspects of them there to help him.

There will be more than one thing/world/story for Thor to have to endure. Likely three or five trials (my guess is 3 given the length of the comic and I think #4 moves on from this part of the adventure, but 5 is also a nice archetypal number for trials).

Loki will die, either at the end of this issue or by the end of the next, but it will not be permanent and they will be back before the run ends.

Loki will have more of a role in the outside world while Thor is enduring the trials, but this will not be clear until later, either the very end of issue 3 or the start of issue 4.

This trial world will have a dual function as a dreamworld, so Thor will emerge from it as well-rested as if he succumbed to Thor-Sleep.

#loki #loki theories #loki comics #the immortal thor spoilers #the immortal thor 2 #the immortal thor #the immortal thor 3 #al ewing comics #al ewing #marvel comics theories

[bedlamsbard]

Trick or treat! 🎃

You get...the alternate version of a scene from Better in the Morning! Marked in my files as coming from Chapter 4.

Now

“Well, this is all…awful,” Loki said to no one in particular.  Rather than attempt to join in the argument Odin and Frigga were having he sat down against the wall instead, pulling his knees up in front of him.  It wasn’t that he had nothing to contribute; it was just that at this point all he wanted to do was find somewhere quiet and scream for a while, but since that wasn’t an option he was going to have to settle for getting out of the way.  Maybe it would make his parents think he was a child; at the moment, he didn’t care.

Predictably, Thor immediately came over to sit down next to him.

“Go away,” Loki told him.

Thor shook his head. “There’s not exactly anywhere to go.”

“There’s the other end of the hallway.”

“Don’t be like that.”

Loki rubbed at his forehead. “I’ve had a very long day, Thor,” he said. “And any moment now the TVA’s goons will probably turn up again and we’ll both have to get up and fight for our lives, so I would just like to take a moment to sit here and pretend that our parents – or rather, our mother, from your past and my future, and your father from a different timeline entirely – aren’t arguing about whatever they’ve moved onto arguing about now, and that our genocidal big sister whom our father kept secret from us our entire lives isn’t here either.”  He thought about what he had said, then corrected himself, “Your father.”

“Not either of our fathers, apparently,” Thor said after a moment’s thought.  He frowned.  “That grammar doesn’t sound right.”

“Ugh.”  Loki let his head fall back against the wall.  It felt oddly warm, but he didn’t have the energy to investigate why; it was also entirely possible he was still mildly concussed from the Hulk, even though concussions didn’t typically last this long for Asgardians. “I hate this.”

“Me too.”

Thor was quiet for long enough that Loki shut his eyes again and was halfway to drifting off to sleep – he wasn’t making any attempt to listen to what Odin and Frigga were saying to each other, and the familiar sound of their voices was hypnotic – when Thor said abruptly, “I need to ask you something.”

“I really don’t think you need to,” Loki said, cracking open one eye.

“It’s about Thanos.”

#squireofgeekdom #bedlam replies #meme response #morning behind the scenes #family reunion concept #I had to LOOK UP what my tag for morning was lol

[maple-seed]

I made you something 🧍🏻‍♀️

It’s nothing grand

Pls lower any and all expectations and keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times

Okay are you ready?

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3O6Qnor7aNgzRviMh95Nbt?si=IHPt0NeHRdCgkSp0dJWc5A

Tadaaa✨

It’s too short to be a playlist so I’m calling it a concept album for Thrown :)

- Track 1: the world from Ash’s POV

- Track 2: a song I think she’d listen to on the way to the market

-Track 3: definitely a Loki Thor and Val song

Val/Soldier Loki/ Poet Thor/King

Track 4: Loki wanting to be friends with our female lead but still not knowing how to let people in

Track 5: Loki realizing losing her is no longer a risk he’s willing to take

Track 6: just some good old fashioned pining

Track 7: Loki finally coming to terms with his feelings

Track 8: “You would be loved. Little else mattered.

He stood and looked down at you, and felt his priorities fall into place.”

Track 9: the pizza dinner scene near the end of chapter 9

And I can’t shout out chapter 9 with out my favorite line hehehe

"I think it stands to reason that he's got just as much claim to the title of God of Honesty."

Tracks 10 & 11: (I hope you like the Beatles and The Cranberries) the vibes of these songs are my predictions for how this fic will end, like the end credits at the end of a good movie, they’ll leave you with a sense wonder and a journey well traveled, the characters will live on, but you’re glad you got to spend time with them

Happy Birthday Maple 🍁

My dear, dear, Loops.

This is the first time anyone has made something inspired by a thing that I made and that alone has brought me so much joy I can't even put it to words.

More than that, I absolutely love your song choices, I love your reasons for choosing them. I love this so much!!🥰🥰🥰

I can only hope that my story makes people feel as happy and peaceful as this playlist makes me feel.

I'm going to link to this post in the Thrown masterlist, if that's ok.

(Also to anyone else reading this, today is not my birthday. I am responding to an old ask.)

#my heart

[farsight-the-char]

IMMORTAL THOR #4 AL EWING (W) • MARTÍN CÓCCOLO (A) • COVER BY ALEX ROSS SUMMONS OF THE ALL-FATHER!

On the dark side of the moon, God faced Goddess – and that was only the beginning of Thor's troubles.

But as his many foes gathered to destroy him, the Odinson had one final trick to play…

This is the story of THE IMMORTAL THOR…and the Summoning of the Four. 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

....

Prediction, The Four are in reference to Thor's siblings (or at least, ones he can call upon).

#thor #thor odinson #angela odinsdottir #loki odinsdottir #balder the brave #Laussa Odinsdottir #marvel #al ewing #alex ross #Wednesday spoilers

[thetimelordbatgirl]

I think what doomed the MCU quality-wise was deciding to leave it open-ended and keep going. Continuity and characterizations don't stand a chance when there's no endgame in mind. Pun somewhat intended. Endgame wasn't a good movie but it took Phase 4 for a lot of people, myself included, to realize that. I think Endgame's legacy - and the MCU's for that matter - would be a lot more favorable if that movie HAD been the actual endgame.

That's an on-going point really against the current MCU: Endgame had been set up basically as the finale of Phases 1-3, meaning it feels like a perfect conclusion to everything that had been set up...but of course, cause the MCU refuses to end, even Endgame sets up stuff that we see in Phase 4, Loki being a obvious example, but instead of going back to his whole, "The sun will shine on us again." thing to Thor in Infinity War, we just...go into a Loki show in Phase 4 that in itself is just setting up Kang. And then you got the Gamora thing the movie set up that...doesn't even seem to be getting explored in the new Guardians movie as she's already with them again, as even Love And Thunder showed Thor leaving the guardians at least to do his own thing again.

And with the mention of Love And Thunder: 'Thor will return.'- again, they very confident that they'll give Thor another movie that they didn't even tell the director or Chris Hemsworth who as we know, has decided to take a break from acting due to wanting to spend time with his family after discovering he has two APOE4 Genes, making him ten times likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Like I will point out: Disney couldn't predict this, but the fact remains that they refuse to just plan stuff out before going ahead, meaning they jumped instantly to 'Thor will return' in the same phase that already has various open endings to plots to come, with I think only WandaVision's open ending concluding....in the train wreck that was Multiverse Of Madness that in itself has ANOTHER open ending.

And yes, I know they claim to now have two plans, aka Multiverse stuff and Kang plans, but here's the thing: they entered Phase 4 by that logic with zero plans beyond doing random crap with open endings, because they couldn't just take a break to do planning so they set up random stuff we may either get or may not get. Like, if they really wanted to continue the MCU so badly after Endgame, they should have just rebooted at best or waited to do planning, as now we in a mess that's quality is showing as we see with the reactions to No Way Home, Multiverse Of Madness, Love And Thunder and now Ant Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (which is literally meant to start off the planned phase 5 too ironically).

#anti mcu #mcu critical #didn't even get to mention they did a black widow film...in phase four #after she died in endgame #when a black widow film should have been done earlier #and dont care it was to set up yelena #cause they probably gonna mess her up in this thunderbolts film they got coming up

[zensations35]

Viral Paradox (TVA Loki Part 5)

I give you, part 5!! The focus is going to be on Loki and Thor in this one, and they're both sick >:3 Catch up with part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4! Things you'll see in this chapter:

-heavy HEAVY whump

-big thematic (and a little cheeky) fight scenes

-&$$#ed up dream sequence based on a real dream

-thunder snz

-big feels

Part 5:

Future Planet

Damn! Damn it all!! 

Loki’s footsteps rip across the red dirt, dust clouding his ankles. He scoops up a nearby stone and hurls it across the air. It lances a tree trunk, the bark splitting, flecks of wood flying.

It’s not enough. Loki’s hands form claws and a bubble of energy bursts from him, fanning a radius around him. A shout tears at his throat, ringing his own ears.

Idiots! All of them!

Insults rattle around in his head, each more visceral than the last as he curses each damn Avenger for their stupidity.

How dare they send him away?! Now they will have no hope of survival!

Another thought pings through him. Why do I care? Years ago he was ready to lay waste to that wretched planet. Why should he give two fucks if they all end up dying now?

Loki shivers, teeth grinding together in the ghost of a snarl. He wraps his arms around himself, squeezing his body as if the act will contain his emotions. He tips forward, knees hitting the hard ground. 

Fools. The whole lot. They should be grateful. They should be throwing themselves at his feet in gratitude! His vision blurs and he curses himself too.

“Do you weep for them, brother?”

Of course Thor would be here. Of all the times he’s shown up to needle Loki further, this might be the worst. Loki whirls on him, teeth tearing at the wind. 

“Now you see my tears?!” he yells, “All those times we were children, you outshone me--every time I did something right, you had to do it more right. Every time you did something wrong, it was my fault!”  his voice hitches as he fires his rage at the only person available. And he hates himself for it. 

Loki, god of chasing people away…

Thor eases himself down next to Loki, lacing his hands in his lap. “Loki…I’m sorry. When I was young…we were competitive, you and I. One of us would be King.”

“Father never planned to make me King. And after that relic’s prediction, you were convinced as well.”

“Fear of your magic made our youth difficult. But I did always love you. Even when we fought. Even when you were misguided. I always cared for you.”

“Only Mother did not fear my powers.”

“I see her in you,” Thor says. “In every illusion. Every cantrip. Every time you heal.”

“I am not so good at healing as she was.”

Thor rubs his nose and sniffs. Loki chews his cheek worriedly. 

“So, where are we?”

Loki places his palms on his legs, “We’re on the Variant’s base planet. He’s hiding here, plotting something. Wait, how did you get here?”

“Stark sent me.”

“He can do that?”

Thor shrugs vaguely and stands. “I imagine this Variant is some sort of villain of time?”

“Well, a bit. It’s a variation of another person, an alternate version of them. This one is…me. A different me.”

“I see. And you have faced him once already?”

Loki nods.

“Very well. We shall…” Thor’s eyes mist, his features pinching as he takes in a mouthful of air. “H-HRSCH!-HNN!”  Ribbons of lighting encircle his arms, crackling once and then dissipating. 

Loki stands and brushes himself off. “Perhaps you should let me handle this.”

“We are both ill, Loki. And you are more frail than I.”

“Beg your pardon! I am just as capable as you are!”

“On a good day, yes.”

“Look, if anyone is going to be able to fight in a battle while sick, it’s us. So we go together, yeah?”

Thor smiles up at him and they clasp hands, Loki pulling his brother to his feet. “We do. Together.”

They trudge along the packed red earth, bootprints dusting away in the wind every few steps. Every now and then, one of them pauses to cough or sneeze. Thor’s are continuously increasing in volume and danger.

He curls a fist under his nose, pressing against his nostrils as he drags in air, “HHh-HEH-SHHHHuuu!” lightning snaps the ground like a whip, thunderclaps echoing across the region.

Loki swears, “You’re so loud, are you trying to blast open the gates of Hel?”

Thor sniffs, “What do you expect from the god of thunder?”

Loki rolls his eyes.

“Just try to avoid the…hh-thhh-HEIX-TSHHHEU!!” another peal cracks the ground right next to Loki who dances away and glowers at Thor. 

“I swear, I get shocked every time you’re sick.” 

“Not every time. You’ve been dead often, brother.” 

“Point taken.”

They continue a few paces before Thor asks, “Why does Stark call you dust bunny?”

“Thor, if you love me even a little, you will never call me that.”

Thor chuckles.

They approach what seems to be a stunted castle--barely even a fortress. It looks more like a historical landmark. It has turrets and a spindly tower, all dressed in the brown veins of dead ivy.

It's cheesy and ridiculous and Loki would never be caught dead in a place like this. His Variant must be losing his mind. 

They enter the castle and find it's nothing more than a maze with only a few larger rooms in each section. 

“Do you know where he is?” Thor asks. 

“I can send illusions to map out the way.”

“Will that get us caught?”

“Not if you can keep your mouth, and your nose, shut.”

Thor grunts and folds his arms, waiting as Loki transforms into a mouse and splits into a dozen--two dozen--a hundred scurrying mice down the halls while his true form waits patiently on top of Thor’s boot.

Finally, Loki leaps into the air and changes back into his human form, straightening his tie and smoothing his hair.

“Find the way?”

“It was…Hh-XST!” Loki sniffs, pinching his nose, “enlightening. Follow me.”

Their boots echo through the chambers, muscles tensed and ready for attack. 

Thor's breath snicks, lip stuttering as his throat rumbles louder "Hhh-Nhhh--”

Loki flings his arm out, fingers curling around Thor’s lips. His index and thumb find his nose, pinching it shut as the breath slinks between Thor's lips. 

Thor scrunches his nose, jaw tightening under Loki's grasp. He tips his chin and exhales through Loki's fingers. Satisfied, Loki removes his hand. Close. 

They turn into a long hall that leads to a wide archway. Then, a throne room--a shockingly destitute looking one, with merely a two tiered stage and a crumbling throne. Windows have ratty cloth covering the squares of light, only a few beams piercing the tattered holes in the scarlet drapes.

The Variant Loki splays his body across the crumbling throne, his smile so wide and vivid, it should have its own circus show. 

As they approach, Loki can see the dark, archaic lines zigzaging down from his eyes--like ink under his skin. His eyes are a soft black, jittery, cutting back and forth between Loki and Thor. 

His mouth cracks open, “Are you here to see me conquer death itself?”

The brothers still, rooted to the stone floor. The Variant sways to his feet, magic dripping from his fingers like liquid light. He flicks his fingers at the wall and it spins. The stone rotates, grinding as it reveals a marble table. Thor’s body is stretched out upon it.

Loki’s eyes widen. A variant of Thor?

“What are you doing to him?”

The variant cackles. “Isn’t it obvious?” his limber fingers trail along the corpse. “I intend to raise him from the dead.”

“What?!” 

Variant Loki nods, lips tipping down. “I killed him. I regret it. But now I can reverse my mistake.”

“How in the Nine Realms will you do that?”

“It is not much different than what we did in our youth.”

Loki’s voice pitches. “It is completely different! That…that was a fluke of magic. What you’re doing is necromancy.”

The Variant’s eyes flash with rage. “The magic exists. It is my right to claim it!” He spins to the body, blackened ends of his fingers playing at the Variant Thor’s temples in a crown. “Wake up, brother.” A ripple of darkness coats the body, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

Variant Thor’s eyes fly open, dark starbursts frothing in his irises. He sits up, face blank, eyes glazed. His skin is pale as moonlight, beard an inky black--a monochrome version of the god of thunder. 

Loki and Thor backpedal. “You…is he…?”

Variant Loki places a fist on his hip. “His mind is still gone. That is why I wanted the scepter. I cannot bring his mind back without it. But, I can control the body.” He brushes the undead Thor’s shoulders, “Brother dear, would you please capture our guests? I’d like the skinny one alive if possible.”

Loki snorts. Skinny?!

Thor grabs Loki’s hand and tugs him back, but Variant Loki arcs his arms above his head, magic whooshing with his resounding clap.

The world tilts and suddenly, all four of them are outside. Undead Thor grabs what looks like a ghostly skin of Mjolnir and takes off. 

Loki feels Thor’s arm wrap around his middle right before his feet lift off the ground. Thor takes off, Mjolnir carrying them through the air. Loki peeks back and sees Thor’s double rushing equally fast on their tail.

“You’re not losing him!” 

Thor banks a hard left, jerking Loki with a grunt. He speeds toward the ground and hovers mere feet from it. Loki slips from his grasp and lands on the ground, barely catching his fall. 

Thor doesn’t stop. He speeds past Loki, luring the double away.

“Thor!” Loki shouts, rage flushing his neck, “You utter dick!! Don’t you dare leave me behind!!”

But Thor does not return. 

Damn him. DAMN HIM!

Loki starts to run, picking up speed until he’s sprinting full out across the field. He leaps off the ground and his body contorts into a sleek hawk. He zooms after Thor, finding him locked in combat with his undead double. 

Loki upturns his feathered body, talons pointed down at the evil double. He soars, descending faster and faster, transforming at the last minute so his boots slam into the undead’s back. It knocks the double flying and Loki tumbles, rolling to his feet. 

Thor knits his brow, tossing his hammer in a flip, “You should let me handle this, Loki.”

“Not a chance.”

The Variant Thor flings his hammer at them--it’s pitch black, drizzled with splotches the color of mist and bone. It brumes with dark energy. 

Undead Thor flies at them, catching Thor in the ribs and kicking him clear across the field. Then he turns onto Loki and chucks the hammer.

The coal-stained weapon sails toward Loki. It catches him in the shoulder and he stumbles, his hand instinctively coming up to grab the hilt of the hammer, throwing it off of him.

Loki freezes. Wait.

He stares at the inert hammer, moving slowly toward it. He reaches out, wrapping fingers around its leather bound hilt. He lifts it. It’s both heavy and light at the same time.

“I…can hold Mjolnir?”

He looks up at Thor who is using the pure version to fight both variants.

That must be it. The hammer in Loki’s hand is tainted. Bound to chaos.

Does that mean…

Loki flings the hammer across the field, waiting until it’s a ways away before summoning it back. Just like Thor’s does, the hammer obeys him, rubberbanding backward and into Loki’s hand. 

Oh. This will be fun. 

Loki swings Mjolnir in an arc, attempting to take flight. He smashes it into his knee and stumbles to the ground. 

Egh. Not as easy as it looks. Well, he’ll just improvise.

Thor is fighting both variants now. Loki needs to even the odds. He flips the hammer and chucks it at the undead Thor. It sings through the air, that metallic whirr, and cracks against the variant’s head. 

Loki sprints toward the battle, arm out to catch the hammer before bringing it back down against the variant’s chest. Necro Thor catches it by the head and wrenches it from Loki’s grasp, swinging it around to smack him.

They play hot potato with the hammer for a good while, Loki finally getting the hang of spinning it like a ring. Loki finally gets the upper hand. He swings the hammer and  misses. Variant Thor lunges and Loki snipes him with a burst of stasis magic, ramroding him into the stiffness of a board so that he nosedives to the ground, motionless.

He keeps his focus on the stasis to keep it from breaking, but he looks for his brother fighting the Loki variant--hammer versus spear. 

Loki has fought Thor many times. They are a good match--on a good day. Today is not a good day. Thor’s movements are sluggish, his strikes weak from the toll of the virus or the Variant’s time magic. Perhaps both.

Either way, Thor is losing. He slings his hammer but the variant dodges with a cackle. Thor is not doing as well at dodging. Necro Loki keeps catching him with the spear--in the legs, the arms, even the face, leaving pink and red gashes trailing blood, until the ground beneath their feet is slick with it. 

One of Thor’s punches catches the Variant in the jaw. Necro Loki gasps, stumbling backwards as Thor closes in. Thor reaches out to grab the Variant but Necro Loki’s form fades, vanishing in a flicker of gold trim. 

Thor blinks, hand grasping air. Loki watches it happen as if on a screen in slow motion. The Variant appears behind Thor. The tip of the spear pierces his chest. Thor cries out, spine curving backwards, his body going limp as he falls out of consciousness.

Someone yells. Screams. It’s so loud it rings Loki’s ears. He gasps as if he were ravenous for air. His head feels cloudy, throat raw.

It was him. He screamed Thor’s name. His feet lift, preparing to race to his brother’s side, but something cracks against his head and darkness takes him. He doesn’t even feel himself hit the ground.

Loki strides into the room, boots clipping across the gold-flecked floor. He grins out at his subjects, hooded by his horned regalia. His arms spread out at his adoring subjects.

“King Loki!” someone calls, voice ringing against other cheers of praise. “Hail Loki!”

Loki circles the golden throne, cape arcing around his waist. He lounges across the seat, feeling weightless as a quilt of clouds.

A woman pads up the marble steps and places an offering at his feet. “For you, my King.”

A lazy smile blooms Loki’s face and he leans forward to admire the offering. It is an oval platter, black as void. It teems with energy, black and thick. As Loki stares into its center, his gaze fogs with darkness.

Loki…

His perspective shifts abruptly. He blinks and the scenery changes. It’s dark, his vision is narrow, as if peering through the eye of a needle. 

He senses a form nearby. A warm body. Loki tries to move his head, but when he does, his vision darkens and he feels his neck snap forward, “HHhhIZZSHH!!”

The whole world tilts and he careens backwards. His head thumps against the back of the throne, gaze fluttering. His nose itches. 

The faces of his adoring subjects pepper his vision. They look to him, shining with admiration. Loki rubs his nose with an index finger and waves his hand for a guard to take the offensive offering away.

Loki…

He stiffens in his chair, heart doing a drumbeat in his chest. It beats hard enough to hurt. Something pings against his cheek and he cups his jaw, glowering in the direction of the assailant. But he sees only his subjects, growing increasingly ravenous for him

They are clamoring toward him, desperate to glimpse the true king. Yes! Loki! The…ne  T..Ru… Ing of aSgD …afYsoN Glor…urpse…

--LOKI!!

Loki throws himself to his feet, a cry clawing up his throat. The room goes dark. The roar of his subjects hammers against the howling wind of Frigga’s voice.

…dying…

Loki growls, “What are you saying!” he shouts. He will be obeyed. His subjects fall silent as the dead. All Loki can hear is the pulse in his ears. 

“Am I dead? Is this…Hel…” his fingers graze his chest and he feels it pulsing, as if his heart were in his palm. 

His neck cranes down, so slowly it barely displaces air. Dread pools in his gut as his King regalia fades and he is wearing a uniform and tie. There is a slash in the middle where a dull red glow pulses…the same tune as his heartbeat.

“What…”

His head jerks up. Everyone is gone. Loki stands alone in a blaring white hall. Frigga’s voice clangs around in his head.

TR IS DYG.

Memories explode in his head. The fight. The virus. The spear…

Thor is dying.

“No…” Loki hobbles across the screaming bright tile, steps echoing, clattering around his head in the formless world of white. “I’m dreaming,” he rasps, picking up speed even as blood begins to rush out of his wounds. “I need to wake up!” 

Thor is dying. 

He spins, breaking out in a sprint, chugging air. No walls appear, no doors, only the white void of his mind. “I need to wake up!!” He skids to a halt and claws at the hole in his chest. Pain. He needs to feel pain. That will wake him. 

Wake up! Wake up damn you! Wake--

Pain shocks him with each rake of his nails, and he gasps, heaving air as if he’s broken the surface of the ocean.

His eyes fly open, his body jackknifing upright. The pain is white hot in his chest, his shirt painted onto his skin with sweat. The bitter splash of reality washes over his vision.

His head whirls, finding the body next to him. Thor. Battered, broken, breaths ragged and sporadic. His body held at an angle, the snapped end of the spear cutting through his chest.

“Thor,” Loki’s attempt to squeeze out the word comes in a whimper. He scrambles to his brother’s side, palms slipping across his motionless form, painting them red.

He presses his stained hands to Thor’s cheeks, vision blurred and drunk with grief. “No…this can’t happen.” The heat from him is sweltering, like hovering in front of an open oven. His face is pale and bathed in sweat. 

"Thor," Loki cups the back of his head and gives it a tiny jostle. 

Thor’s breath snags and he chokes out a wheeze. His voice is brittle, “Er du virkelig her, Loki?“

Loki blinks salt from his eyes, “I’m here, brother,” he squeezes Thor’s hand, “I’m here.”

Thor’s muscles tighten, body shifting, nose pressing against the cool stone as his chest inflates. “Hhhh-EXSHH-hhh!”  Small spider legs of lighting crawl from him, flickering across the damp stone. He lets out a stormy cough and goes limp once more.

He’ll survive the spear--Thor’s lived through worse. But there is too much damage to his body, already being ravaged by the virus. 

Even if Loki used the tempad, he can’t interfere with his own timeline to prevent the injuries. Every time traveler knows that, even the ones who don’t follow the other rules.

Shit. Loki’s jaw feathers, tears shivering down his cheeks. He has to do something. And only one thing comes to mind.

His fingertips wink to life, bathing the cell in an emerald hue. He presses his hands over Thor’s wounds and pulls with his magic. The wounds begin to knit together under his palms, flesh stitching closed. 

Loki snarls into a grimace as his skin splits, pain spiking in a mimic of Thor’s healing wounds. His body starts to shake, blood cutting red lines down his arms to dot the stone floor.

Loki transfers all but the spear wound--if he takes that on, he won’t be able to get them to safety. He peers around and notices how rudimentary the cell is. Clearly, his Variant didn’t think they’d be in a state to escape. Only a small coating of magic along the bars prevents the cell from being a simple dungeon. Loki can easily get out, but Thor…he’ll have to carry. 

It’ll be easier to teleport straight to help. He fumbles for the tempad. It slips around in his wet, jerky grasp. 

“Hhhih-EKSZHH!” his hands shudder and the tempad slips from his grasp, landing on the stone floor with a clatter. Loki reaches a shaky, blood streaked hand to press the button.

A portal opens on the other side of the cell. Loki frowns. He was sure he set it for Asgard. He needs to get Thor to a healer.

“Holy shit,” the sound of Tony’s swear startles Loki, making his jaw unhinge.

“Wh-what…” The room begins to fill with the Avengers: Stark, Banner, Widow, Barton, Rogers. “What are you doing here? And how…”

Tony tosses the tempad to Loki. “You brought us here.”

Loki stares at the new (well, older) tempad. “This means…”

“It means we have a bad guy to fight.” Tony gestures for Loki to follow. 

They all look well. Devoid of illness. Even Banner, who didn’t even get an antidote. How long has it been for them since they last saw Loki?

Loki hesitates, eyes flicking to Thor. “I can’t leave him…I…”

Tony sees Thor and blanches. “What the hell happened to him?”

“We were a-attacked--ngh!” Loki wobbles to his feet, cracking open his wounds. “Hhh-hizzSCH!” the sneeze wrenches his body and he gasps, pain singing to life.

“Well, we don’t know where to go. Can you tell us?”

Loki swallows and nods. He splits himself into two, and his physical form kneels beside Thor. His duplicate passes through the bars like a ghost.

“This way,” Loki takes the lead down the hall. As he walks, his wounds bleed, dripping from his glamoured form to vanish before it hits the ground. Loki explains everything: the time stone, undead Thor, Necro Loki’s magic to revive and control the dead. 

They all take it without comment. Strange. Loki expected questions, quips, maybe a bit of Stark snark. But they all are treating him like…well…like they trust him.

“Hhhfff..” Loki’s illusion stumbles, flickering as if a dimming light bulb, “H-SZZCHhh!” it peters out completely before fizzing back to life.

“Stay with us, Loki.”

“Oh *snf* not dust bunny anymore? HH-ekgZH!” 

“If you keep sneezing like that, you will be.”

Several steps later, the illusion flickers again; Loki’s physical body sprouts buds of pain causing him to grimace and suck in air.

“Loki,” Tony reaches out to grab him but his hand passes through the glamour. “Shit, are you dying?”

Loki fades in again. “No.” He squeezes his eyes and sips a breath through his nostrils. “I am doing all I can. Not sure how long…”

“Just get us to the bad guy and we’ll do the rest.”

Loki nods and pushes his illusion forward. The hall forks and Loki splits his projections, mapping out the correct path as swiftly as possible. His duplicates multiply until he finds the way, then all but one illusion vanishes.

Loki points, “This way.” He leads them a few steps, “Be cautious. My Variant is quite powerful. And Thor’s…” grief shocks his breaths and he shivers. “He will not easily be beaten.”

“We got it, Loki. Go take care of Thor.”

Loki nods and his illusion vanishes, leaving the Avengers to do their job.

In the cell, Loki cups Thor’s cheek in his palm. “I’m going to help you, brother.”

An inhale, too soft, too stilted, “hhh-RRsssHHeh! hhh…!” Thor’s voice is mostly breath, shifting the air between his lips. “You…” he sniffles thickly, “wounded…”

“I’m okay. I’m taking you to Asgard--”

Thor grunts, shaking his head. “They…you’re dead…”

Oh. Right. They all think he’s dead in this timeline, but really, he is disguised as Odin. In fact, none of the timeline will be safe for them. 

Loki purses his lips, frustration a bubble in his throat. Thor seems to be growing more lucid as time passes. “Come,” he scoops Thor up, ignoring the jolt of pain skewering his bones. He heaves Thor to the portal. “We will get you help.”

He carries his brother through the portal to Earth, the weight of his guilt and grief heavier than his brother’s slack form.

#lo/ki #sic fic #snz #snz fic #sickfic #illness #magic snz #mar/vel #mcu loki #whump #much whump #HEAVY WHUMP #tw blood #tw injury #angst #SUPER SOFT LOKI INC #all the feels are here #I know this one is long #but yall have stuck with me so far #snzfic

[dragonstepp]

Wars

As I lay awake pondering other things:

I believe wars begun when the first two human creations met one another. Greed and power are the reasons. And they become worse the more people meet one another, even if from the same place, but everywhere anyway. And christianity was the worse thing that ever happened - I know this from personal life.

I know when christianity came into being, and it was not the 1st day of the first year of Anno Domini. It was brought into being by priests at a synod in 326 AD. It was made universal (at the time) across the known world.

First of all, how was that date chosen for that date. How was the child chosen to be identified as the Christ. The boy Yeshua was actually born historically 4 days before the date chosen for the start of Anno Domini.

We seem to know theoretically the date of birth happened based on the time of a super-nova; that was the bright star. But super-novae stay in the sky at specific dates when they occur. We cannot predict them, unless some astrophysicist knows astrologically. It is all theoretical anyway.

Pre-christianity was known to have the days named by different gods. Now I believe in an almighty God/dess who rules over humanity. What humans do not understand that are nine-million names (or more, that was the name of a great story, so fictional or not) of God/dess. It is named differently because of languages and places of named. Thus, Zeus, Jupiter, Thor, Dio, Dia, Freya, Buddha, are all names of the same God/dess. Male and female, man and woman, all spirits, not humans. God/dess does not wear a man's face. And by god/dess, I do not believe in any creation that thinks we humans are the best s/he can do.

If you believe in the christian god, and also believe in the evil that men (and women) do, are very delusional, and do not understand the very essence of an all-seeing and all-loving Being.

So don't tell me you believe in god if you think lying, greedy, unkind, non-compassionate people who think they are better than the liberals who believe in justice for everyone, every single human being who has ever lived. YOU DO NOT.

We the good are going to win out. We are.

Carol in Austin

#gods #goddesses #spirituality #compassion #love