Thor Odinson

Thor watched silently as Rachel took the news. He allowed her to process it all at her own pace, in her own way. He was not about to interfere with another’s grief, especially when he had enough of his own to deal with. He noted, quite bitterly, that if it was only Rachel who had lost her home world, he would have been more sympathetic to her plight. As it was, he was prepared to let her face the initial shock of the news alone.

He drained another tankard of mead and considered getting himself yet another. He did not want to face this situation sober and in his right mind, not that he had been in his right mind for a long while now.

Even as Rachel dropped to the floor, Thor did not move to help her. He let her stay there as she laughed and cackled. He could hear she was not laughing out of mirth, but out of shock and grief. Wasn’t there that Midgardian turn of phrase: if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry?

He waited until her laughter subsided and she spoke again. “If you want me to help you find hope again, I can’t do that, not now when I barely have any hope left for myself. I am still your family but I might not be the best being to be in the company of presently.”

He drummed his fingers against his empty tankard and stared off in the distance. He wanted to feel something other than hollow bitterness but all other emotions were simply not present or available to him right now. Rachel would never see the grand halls of Asgard or meet her mother. She deserved comfort and she deserved to be told that hope could still exist. But could Thor provide that for her when he could scarcely do it for himself?

“Being hopeful does not make you weak,” Thor stated with an edge of anger in his voice that was not meant for Rachel; it was meant for himself for his lack of empathy for her. “If you choose to give up on hope, that is your choice but do not mistake hope as something to be frowned upon. Hope can still exist in the darkest of times. Sometimes it is a struggle to find it but it can be there should you choose to believe it.”

@the-darkness-ismy-friend

In Between (Open)

It was cold out and she pulled her coat a bit around herself, she kept herself close to Thor, thankful for the body heat. She had not walking in any specific direction, just walking to walk, hopefully away from those that wished Thor was not here. Soon they had come to a park, luckily it was not very busy, likely due to the cold.

Darcy listened to him carefully, she could feel tears in her eyes. She often wondered about how he was holding up, she blinked back the tears, she could not imagine losing her home. “Do not apologize for how you feel, you are one of my closest friends, and I will always be here for you.” She continued walking, the pace was normal for her, and she guessed it was slow for Thor, but she did not feel like walking fast or stopping.

She noted how he stopped speaking, she tried to think of ways to help with his grief. There was no guide for this, all she could think of was ways she would like to be comforted during the loss of a loved one. “I know this may be difficult to think about, sometimes at least with those native to Earth, people who are grieving talk about their lost loved one.” She took a deep breath, hopefully giving him a chance to think. “Tell me about your most favorite memory on Asgard.”

@godxfthunderthor

Thor stuck close to Darcy as they walked without any particular purpose. Thor wasn’t paying attention to which direction they were going; he was only placing one foot in front of the other and going through the motions like it was the only thing he knew to do. He was feeling numb but not from the cold chill in the air for he hadn’t noticed the drop in temperature. He had noticed was the emptiness in his heart.

When Darcy stated that she would always support him, Thor took her hand in his and gave a gentle squeeze. He needed to hear those words from her. She had been one of dearest friends here on Midgard and the idea of her not being in his life chilled him more than any Winter’s day ever could, even one on Jotunheim.

He linked his arm with hers after that as they continued walking. They had come across a park that was not too crowded. Thor had stopped paying attention to the other people they shared the park space with. Now he was becoming wrapped up in several lifetimes’ worth of memories of his home. Could he really pinpoint just one?

“It doesn’t seem that long ago now, and yet it would be over one of your millenia ago it happened,” he explained, his voice quiet and unlike Thor’s usual level of energy. “But when I was a child, I spent a lot of time in the training grounds. I can remember whole summers spent there, or at least that’s how it seemed. From the crack of dawn to the arrival of dusk, I would be learning how to be a warrior. My dearest friend, Sif, would be by my side, and eventually she would be joined by Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun. Occasionally Loki would participate but he usually watched from the sidelines, along with my father and mother. It was hard work but whenever I think of those times, I remember sunlight, warmth, laughter.” He could not speak any more of it without fear of his emotions completely outrunning him.

@hesprettycut

In Between (Open)

Darcy squeezed his hand back when he held on to it. She did not remove her hand, knowing just how important it was for humans to have touch. It seemed the way Thor was just about clinging to her hand it had to be important for people not of Earth as well.

She smiled back when he answered her second question. “Of course.” She sighed when he said he was not doing well, Darcy squeezed his hand again hoping to give him as much comfort as she could. She really could not know how much pain he must be going through but she wished to sympathize as much as she could. Thor was one of her closest friends, and she wanted to help him in whatever ways she could.

Darcy nodded, understanding what he meant. There was too much that happened that many did not understand, let alone there could be people just waiting to report their conversation. It made Darcy shiver at the thought that anything they did could be reported to people who may be seeking to harm them.

She finished off the last few sips of her coffee. Letting go of Thor’s hand she gathered her things and put a tip on the table before she stood up. She wrapped her arm around Thor’s as they headed out of the shop. “Why did you decide to go in there if you did not want food or something to drink?” The realization had struck her, there really was not many other reasons to go into a cafe besides those.

@godxfthunderthor

Thor was glad Darcy didn’t pull her hand out of his. It was like she was anchoring him, holding him back from floating off into the abyss. He knew he still had friends and people he considered to be like his family here and Darcy was one of those beings. Darcy couldn’t remove all the pain and grief he was going through and Thor wouldn’t ask her to even try. But she was helping, in her own way and Thor wanted to feel blessed for that. Right now though, he felt anything but blessed.

Thor got up from his chair once Darcy had finished her drink. He could feel people’s eyes on them and not in a good way. These people no longer trusted him like they once did. Doubt and prejudice had infiltrated their minds and now Thor was no longer welcome. But if he didn’t stay here on Midgard, where else could he go?

“I am unsure of my actions recently,” Thor confessed to her as they began to walk along the sidewalk arm in arm. “I feel as if I am moving through mud. Nothing feels right any more.” He sighed out and his head hung low; not his usual demeanor at all. “I thank you for your time, Miss Darcy. I am most grateful for it. I apologise for my current mood. I doubt it will change soon. The loss of Asgard, it has-” Thor had to stop talking for a moment as he gathered his wits again. He was not going to fall apart here. “It has been hard on me.”

@hesprettycut

the-darkness-ismy-friend-deacti

All That’s Left || Thor & Rachel

Whatever Thor had given her seemed to be working some form of wonder. She felt stronger then she had in days since the battle. Not as strong as she had been before but strong enough. At least she didn’t feel like falling flat on her face for the moment.

Rachel stared up at the shadowy apparition of her mother. She could detect some form of similarities between the figure and herself. This was the first time she was looking upon the woman. From the delicate slant of her nose, Rachel was quick to conclude that her’s was like her mother’s. Though it was the color of her eyes that had always been a mystery to her. Who had she gotten it from? Her father or her mother? Of course the shadows couldn’t tell but perhaps Thor could. Though what he said next had her turn to him, frowning.

“What do you mean?” She asked, her voice breathless and low. Hoarse even as if she had been running a marathon. Clearing her throat Rachel looked at the god. “Did something happen to your home?” She couldn’t say our home, since she had never set foot there her entire life. Earth was the only home she had eve known. It may not have been under the best of circumstances but at least she had her powers to help her out. She would’ve survived without them, that much she was certain but Rachel was never one to mull over what could have been or how it should have been. Not realistic.

There was a pain radiating from Thor. One that she had felt the second she had stepped into the room. It was one of the reasons she had collapsed but now the pain seemed to envelope her. It was so strong that she couldn’t help the tears that stung behind her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. “What has happened to Asgard Thor?” The dark haired woman asked again, waiting patiently for him to answer her question.

@godxfthunderthor

Thor stood up and took Rachel’s empty tankard with him as he went indoors. He returned with her tankard refilled with the mead and a filled tankard of his own. He put Rachel’s tankard on the table next to her before retaking his seat. He sipped his mead as he summoned the courage to explain to her what he had meant.

“The Foesitians weren’t only threatening this realm, Rachel,” he started with, “they wanted to extinguish all the stars we can see in the sky and more. They were not going to be satisfied until only darkness existed. While we succeeded in saving Midgard, we failed other realms.” He paused to sip some more of his mead. Where the mead had had a regenerative effect on Rachel, it did nothing for Thor. If anything, it made him feel worse as his homesickness increased every time the mead hit his tastebuds and reminded him of the times he had spent drinking the stuff with his dearly departed friends.

“Asgard is gone. I cannot any trace of it left. The Foesitians got to it and now it is no more. I have no home to go to now and I guess in a way, neither have you. I cannot contact anyone from Asgard, not even Heimdall. The Bifrost is gone. If anything of Asgard remains, it is silent and desolate. If Nott truly is your mother, and I believe you when you say that she is, you are all that’s left of my Asgardian family.”

Thor stopped talking and looked down at his tankard. This was difficult for him to discuss. He had avoided doing so with the other Avengers so far but Rachel deserved to know the truth. After a shaky breath, he looked up at the young woman. “I have been searching for anything left of Asgard but alas so far I have been unsuccessful.”

@the-darkness-ismy-friend

the-darkness-ismy-friend-deacti

All That’s Left || Thor & Rachel

Rachel nodded, suddenly feeling parched. Taking the glass or rather tankard offered to her, she quickly gulped it down, hardly feeling the burning sensation as she gulped faster and with more force then necessary. “Thank you, Thor.” She said, once she had drained it all. Her face turned to the side, her eyes open, as the drink seemed to warm her up form the inside.

“It is when you’ve tasted strength and know how it makes you feel.” She said, standing up, strength slowly creeping back into her limbs, her heart rate slowing down to its normal speed, her chest not heaving with every breath she took. “What the hell is this stuff?” She asked, raising the small tankard, eyeing it critically, before glancing up at the god. “Ambrosia?”

The young woman suddenly felt nervous. This was the first time she was going to reveal who she was to anybody. Saying it out loud would be admitting to herself who she really was. For years she had been happy, or as happy as she could get anyway, living in denial. But those blasted headaches hadn’t left her alone and she had been desperate to get rid of them. Rachel immediately berated herself for being nervous. She was acting like an idiot.

“Don’t blast me out of the room alright?” She said, walking forward so that she was standing a few paces away from her…….relative. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she raised her violet eyes, looking at him for a brief second, before speaking.

“I-I recently found where I come from.” Moving her hand she conjured a tiny figure of a man. “This is my father, or rather his shadow. His name was Asger.” Spear of God. What kind of people were her paternal grandparents? She waited for a second, before waving her hand to conjure another smoky figure. “And this is my mother.” She had meant to form a small figure like her father’s but instead the shadows decided to take matters into their own hands. So to speak. The figure that emerged from the shadows was life sized. The woman was very beautiful, even though she was made from shadows. She stood almost as tall as Rachel, looking regal yet commanding. “And I believe you have already met my mother.” She said, gesturing towards the figure, slightly awed at how the shadows had sapped no energy from her. “Nott.”

@godxfthunderthor

Thor was impressed by how quickly Rachel was able to neck the mead. Most mortals would have struggled with it since it was a little stronger than what they were used to. If their situation had been more of a cheerful one, he would have saluted her and led a toast in her honour; but not today.

“I will not blast you out of the room, or any other if I can help it, Rachel,” he said. The corner of his mouth twitched with the want to smile over amusement of her request but the sensation did not last for long. His expression quickly returned to the solemn one that he had worn since the Battle of the Blood Star.

His brow knitted into a frown when he realised how nervous Rachel was. The young mortal had never shown such nerves being around him before. In fact he had been impressed by how brave and brash she could be. Seeing her like this troubled the Thunderer and his imagination began to race as to what could have troubled her so.

He said nothing as she explained her parentage. Her father’s name meant Spear of God and Thor recognised the meaning behind the name immediately, although he was not sure if he was supposed to know who Asger was. He looked at the shadow form of Rachel’s father and Thor wished he knew the man, if that was what Rachel required of him.

However when the next shadow figure formed in front of him, Thor nearly fell to the ground in shock. He was facing a shadow form of Nott, one of the lost from Asgard. He stared hard at the shadow figure, desperately wishing that she was real, and that she could be proof that he wasn’t the only Asgardian left in the Nine Realms.

Then it dawned on him. If Rachel was Nott’s daughter, she too would be Asgardian or at least in part. That was enough for Thor though; this meant he was no longer alone. Tears well in his eyes and he willed them not to fall. “Rachel,” he said, his voice shaky, “we’re all that’s left of Asgard.”

@the-darkness-ismy-friend

In Between (Open)

Darcy felt bad at having been so abrupt when addressing the person she assumed had been there to try and convince her aliens were bad. It had taken almost all of her will power to stay seated and not wrap her arms around the man. She had hoped he had survived, but she had not heard from him.

She reached for his hand from across the table, trying to ignore the stares they were getting. Even as inconspicuous as Thor tried to be, he seemed to attract attention. “Is it safe for you to be out here?” She worried for him, if the reactions she received from people were any indication, she did not want to think about how bad it was for him.

“Do you need anything to eat or to drink?” She worried that they may not serve him, they would at least serve her, even if some did not like it. Darcy wondered how it was in other parts of the country, New York was more liberal than a lot of places other places may do much worse to those not from this world and those that supported them.

She left one of her hands on the table and picked up her coffee with the other, taking a few sips. “How have you been?” Darcy could not imagine the pain he had to be going through with the loss of contact with Asgard, having no idea if it survived. It was clear even to the naked eye that stars had been lost, Darcy shuddered at the thoughts of the people that had been lost when those stars went out.

@godxfthunderthor

Thor took hold of Darcy’s hand and held on as tightly as he dared without hurting her. The simple act of them holding hands helped to ease the pain and heartbreak he was experiencing over the loss of his home realm. He had been trying to shut himself off from his friends; perhaps he should have been doing the opposite judging by how Darcy’s presence was able to shift his sorrow a little.

“It’s as safe as anywhere else at the moment,” he said in a hushed tone. The attention he was attracting from the others wasn’t going unnoticed. Thor was not in the mood for conflict about him having the right to be here or not. No one seemed to be brave enough to actually speak to him directly. Until they did, Thor settled for ignoring them.

“I do not require nourishment,” he stated. He summoned a weak smile for his dear friend, “but I am grateful for you asking.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as she asked him about his welfare. That wasn’t going to be an easy question to answer, despite the simplicity of the original query.

“I have not been faring well, Darcy,” he admitted as he blew out a shaky breath. He had not yet spoken about his loss and he was already thinking that a coffee shop such as this one was the appropriate place to speak of such things. He glanced around him before looking back at Darcy. “Perhaps we should take a walk, once you have finished your coffee of course. I fear this is not the safest of places for us to discuss sensitive information.”

@hesprettycut

the-darkness-ismy-friend-deacti

All That’s Left || Thor & Rachel

‘Don’t Collapse. Don’t Collapse. Don’t Collapse.’

Her knees bent underneath her. She hissed at the impact her still scabbed legs and knees made with the cold marble floor. Rachel lifted her head to asses her location before groaning, cursing under her breath before, curling up in a fetal position right on the floor. Her breathing was slightly labored as she tried to regain her breath. Shadow-travel was still rather hard on her body. It took too much of her energy, though it had seemed almost effortless before the Battle.

She didn’t know how long she lay there, but she could feel a familiar shadow on the floor above her. Pushing herself up, grunting with effort, she staggered to her feet, her hand gripping the table next to her for support. Her knuckles turned paler then her usual skin tone. She stood there for a few brief minutes, letting her heart slow down and adopt the familiar steady rhythm. Taking a deep breath she loosened her grip on the chair.

Feeling the familiar tug in the air she let the shadows wrap themselves around her as the transported her to her destination. If she kept this up it would surely kill her, or weaken her enough that she would. This time she arrived at her destination.

“Thor.” She said, seeing the God stand in front of her, a relieved smile pulling at her lips. “I-” She gasped out, feeling her knees weaken. “I came to see you.” She said, the words pouring out as if she had rehearsed them.

Rachel stepped or rather staggered forward towards the wall, wanting as much support as she could. “Damn, I hate feeling weak.” She growled under her breath, sliding down against the wall as she did. Holding up a finger in the Norse God’s direction she leaned her head back, letting it rest against the wall. “Gimme, a second.” She said. “I gotta catch my breath.”

@godxfthunderthor

Thor had not entertained any guests since the final battle of the Blood Star. He had turned everyone away, demanding that he needed space to grieve. He had refused the help offered to him by his teammates and effectively cut himself off from the rest of the realm. If Rachel had called ahead, he would have told her to stay away; but by dropping in like this, Rachel had given him no choice and despite his misery, he felt obligated to assist her.

“Do you require a drink? Nourishment?” He asked like any good host should. He pulled a chair up for Rachel to sit on if she required it. Concern for another person was just enough to pull Thor out of his grief for now and remember that he wasn’t the only one hurting in one way or another.

“Feeling weak isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Rachel,” he said in a quiet and sombre tone, not his usually brash and overly cheerful one. While Rachel was giving him a chance to break through the bleakness that had taken over his life, he didn’t have it in him to return to the demeanour he was perhaps best known for. He wasn’t ready for that yet, not for a long time.

“What has brought you here, Rachel?” He asked after retrieving a small tankard of sweet mead for her. The liquid had restorative properties, although Thor was using it sparingly now. If Asgard was truly gone, there would be no more mead as well as no more of a lot of things. Thor tried his best not to think about that although it remained in the back of his mind.

@the-darkness-ismy-friend

#thedarknessismyfriend #have a lot of Thor feeling sorry for himself!!!

All That’s Left || Thor & Rachel

starter for @the-darkness-ismy-friend

The last time Thor had slept, he had dreamt of Asgard. It was Asgard as he remembered it from his childhood. Everything glittered and shimmered. His laughter, mixed with Loki and Sif’s rang through the halls of the royal family’s home. His father didn’t look so old and bitter. His mother was happy and safe. Everything was perfect.

He awoke and cursed his dreams. Asgard was gone, the chance to relive those memories in the place he had made them was gone with it. All of his family, his fellow warriors: gone. A whole realm had been destroyed and he had done nothing to prevent it.

Thor had slumbered on the desk that he had covered in various charts and maps as he tried to search the skies for any trace of his home realm. Several cups of half-drunk coffee lined the edges of the desk. Boxes of untouched food littered the desk and floor. Thor got up from the desk and slumped over to the collection of telescopes he had set up along the balcony of his quarters in the Avengers Tower and he began his new ritual of checking for any changes in the night sky.

Nothing had changed since the previous night. Perhaps it was time for him to go further afield again; leave New York and leave the Midgardians to their petty squabbles over who deserved this realm or not. Maybe go back to New Mexico, where he first met Jane Foster. Maybe go to Norway, where he used to go a lot in his youth. Maybe go anywhere but here.

He was going to hold out his hand and call Mjolnir to him but he paused. A shift in the shadows to his side stopped him. Something was in the shadows, trying to break through. “Who goes there?” He asked, his voice as weary as he felt. He nearly gasped as he recognised the form of the girl he had met back in Detroit emerged in the darkness. “Rachel?” He asked as he stretched his hands out to her, “is that you?”

In Between (Open)

It had been awhile since the fight in Detroit, and Darcy was still dealing with that fact. She still had nightmares, all the people who had given themselves to save the world, and so many that she had not been able to save.

Once everything had calmed down they found out there was no longer any communications which they had previously had contact with. She hoped that they were still out there, especially Asgard.

She had been asked not too long afterward if she would join S.W.O.R.D. being an assistant to Brand and a liaison between S.W.O.R.D. and the White House. She accepted the position, it had been keeping her busy, she was flying between Detroit, D.C., and New York often, spending most of her time with Brand.

Today was one of her off days, and she was spending it in New York. Everything was hostile now, she was one of the first to meet an Alien, and she got sneers and dirty looks, not to mention what had been said about her on the crazy websites of those who believed HOPE.

Darcy sat in a coffee shop, stirring her coffee and reading a newspaper, it was a quiet place. Well it had been quiet until she saw someone approach her table. She laid the newspaper down and peered up at the person in front of her, she had raised an eyebrow before she spoke. “Is there a reason you approached my table?” She did not want to be rude, but she had become used to people walking up to her, and telling her she needed to stop supporting aliens.

Thor was close to being a his wits end. No matter what he tried or how hard he had tried it, he could not find any remnant or trace of Asgard. For all he knew, he was the last living Asgardian in the whole of existence and that scared him more than he liked to admit. Heimdall wasn’t answering and the Bifrost bridge was gone. Every search Thor made since the end of the Blood Star battle had led him nowhere. He was a god without a home.

Thor wasn’t one to languish in the depths of depression. Despite his grief and anger, he forced himself to keep moving. In this instance, he kept himself moving to a quiet coffee shop close to the Avengers Tower, if only to get him out of his quarters for a short while. He had covered his rooms in an abundance of star maps and charts, most of which had been a part of Dr. Jane Foster’s research. He couldn’t stare at them any longer.

So with a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, he entered the coffee shop and ordered himself a drink. He could hear whispers of people recognising him and he frowned at the murmurings that distinctly sounded as if he wasn’t welcome here, not only in the coffee shop but in New York or on Midgard. Before this soured his mood even further, he saw a familiar face that managed to warm the tattered remains of his broken heart.

“I approached because I thought it would be nice to talk to a good friend,” he said to Darcy as he took a seat opposite her. “Tis good to see, Darcy. You have no idea how good it is to see you again.”

@hesprettycut

ravenmystiqued-blog

Anti-Hero for Hire (Game of Thrones AU) | Open

#ravenmystiqued #gotsharp

@ravenmystiqued:

It would be so easy to just stab him. In the middle of the street. There’s no one here. Leave him bleeding out in the dark. The drunks would be tripping over his corpse all night without second thought. Raven turned and flashed Thor a perfect smile. She wanted to say all manner of things to him, but she guessed making fun of him was not going to make him trust her, which was not her intention. Raven wasn’t stupid, she knew she wouldn’t be able to lie outrightly to someone like him, but he struck her as one of the rather arrogant and self-important sorts and she could use that.

Her eyes rested briefly on the sword Thor was gripping so tightly and the ghost of a smile played on her lips. “Oh, there’s no need for that, Sir. I’m not going to hurt you. Unless you feel like pulling a stunt similar to that delightful gentleman in the bar. But you don’t strike me as that- forward.” She took a step toward him, hands raised, “You may call me Raven, although you might know me by another name,” She left this purposefully open ended. It was most definitely a test.

“As a member of the high command, you must be able to identify my profession from how I look? No? Well, I rent my services to those with ambition and the ability to afford me.” She smiled, the look of a cat lying next to an empty bird cage. She approached him, placing a hand over the one gripping his sword and whispered in his ear, “I can elaborate, but I’ll leave you to your deductions.” And then in the time it took to blink, she had pulled away from him again. Raven turned slowly away, glancing back over her shoulder, “Is that all? I really do have places to go. And I’m afraid there are deadlines to be met.”

As soon as she mentioned being able to identify her profession on sight, Thor realised he was addressing an assassin. Ice ran through his veins. It was stupid to assume there weren’t any assassins lurking in the shadows of King’s Landing but seeing her here now, with the Mother of Dragons in the city too, only spelled trouble in Thor’s mind. Of course this assassin wasn’t going to tell him why she was here or who she was working for if he asked but he had to find out one way or another.

“You might say your name is Raven but you are also known as Mystique,” Thor said, his voice low like the rumble of thunder in a distant storm. “You are wanted, in one way or another, all over Westeros for your skills and your crimes. While you are here in King’s Landing, I must warn you that if I discover your intentions here are to do ill to anyone I’m sworn to protect, I will end you.”

Mystique’s reputation was certainly colourful, to put it mildly. But then again, so was Thor’s. He was known for his temper and for his ferocity in battle. There was a reason why he was Head of the Queen’s Guard and why he had managed to hold onto the position for much longer than most of his predecessors.

He stood as still as statue as she got closer and moved away again. His eyes never left her, not trusting her for a moment. As she turned to walk away, he finally moved so he could step around her and stand in her path, preventing her from getting to those places she had mentioned. “The deadlines can wait until I’m done with you.”

ravenmystiqued-blog

Anti-Hero for Hire (Game of Thrones AU) | Open

#ravenmystiqued #gotsharp

@ravenmystiqued:

The title of “best assassin in Westeros” did not come without its hardships, but she’d found the profession to her liking, so the risks did not bother her as much as they probably should have. The assassin had never missed her target and she didn’t plan to in the for the foreseeable future. At the moment, she was going under the name Raven, and she liked it that way. Her training had been with the Faceless Men, but that was before she’d been sent off to work independently after a rather unfortunate accident. However, even through her wanderings, she believed herself indebted to them, so chose loyalty only to coin and the God of Death.

Raven was counting a small bag of bloodstained coins in the corner of a crowded tavern. Her employer had believed himself more clever than she and had payed her half of what they’d agreed to. Now, Raven had all of her money and one less treacherous, unreliable Lord to worry about. She smiled to herself and she flipped a coin in the air and caught it, placing it back in the bag and putting it away. A man sidled over to the table, red-faced from drunkenness. “What’s a fine little girl like you ‘angin’ ‘round a plac such as this?” he asked, stumbling over his words, leaning heavily on the table. “I’m no “girl” my good sir,” she smiled with false politeness. “Oh yeah?” the man gave her an ugly, toothy grin, “Wanna show me?” “Not really,” she smiled, and before he could say another word, she’d slid out from behind the table and pulled it out from underneath him, sending the man crashing to the floor.

She stared down at him, a disgusted look on her beautiful, yet scarred face. “Pity-” she murmured, throwing her bag over her shoulder and stepping over him. The establishment had been generally unaware of the scuffle, which is how Raven liked to keep things. She did not like to show off. It drew too much attention, and, in her opinion, the mark of the overly confident and pretentious. She had, to her dismay, caught the attention of someone, and she could feel them followed her out of the building. “Please, speak up,” she sighed, without turning around, as she exited the tavern, “Someone might assume the worst when you lurk around. And I’d hate to cause a scene.”

Thor was in the tavern for work reasons, not for personal. As much as he would like to drink tankard after tankard of ale, he did not partake. He needed to keep his wits about him as there were even more rumours of assassins and evil doers swirling around King’s Landing than usual. The arrival of Alexis, the Mother of Dragons, had brought with it more trouble than Thor had ever seen during his tenure of Head of the Queen’s Guard. One slip and Thor would have the blood of innocents on his hands and that was not something he was prepared to have.

That’s why he spotted the scuffle when no one else did. That’s why he followed the woman responsible for the scuffle out of the tavern and out onto the street. All of his instincts told him she was dangerous and while he had no cause to arrest her as yet, he knew that following her now was a good plan.

When she spoke, Thor gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his hand, ready to draw the blade known as Mjolnir in a heartbeat. The woman was smaller and slighter than he but that did not mean he would naturally have the upperhand if they came to blows.

“My name is Thor Odinson, Head of the Queen’s Guard. All I ask is that you reveal your name and your intentions for your visit to King’s Landing.”

Weave Me a Spell|| Thor & Wanda

for @wanda-thescarletwitch

The tavern was quiet this night and Thor could not express how relieved he was about this. For he was not in the mood to be surrounded by his fellow guards while pretending that everything was OK. It was not OK, far from it, all thanks to a woman and her dragons.

Tonight he was going to be able to quietly drown his sorrows. Tonight he was going to forget about dragons and Khaleesis and games of thrones and whatever else was going on in King’s Landing. He got himself a large tankard of ale and a plate of meat, bread and vegetables and took a seat in one of the darkest corners of the tavern.

He had barely managed to start on his food when he saw an old face grace the tavern with her presence. Despite all of his troubles and woes, Thor found himself smiling to himself. It had been some years since he last laid eyes on Wanda but she was always welcome as far as he was concerned, despite the rumours about her abilities as a witch.

He got to his feet and momentarily left his dark corner to attract Wanda’s attention. “Wanda,” he said with a beaming smile. “Tis good to see you again. Perhaps, if it is not too much trouble, you might join me for a spell. I am sat over there. I would appreciate your company if you are willing to share it with me.”

#wandathescarletwitch #gotsharp #hope this is OK

team-hiddleston

#loki #fc spam

chrishemswortharchive

But if you put the hammer in an elevator?

#brooooooooooooooos!#steve rogers #fc spam #brotp

Beyond the Call of Duty

Open for anyone in King’s Landing who is not with the Khaleesi

Never in all of his days had Thor seen such ridiculousness. Actual dragons had returned to King’s Landing and now he was expected to keep said dragons in line. Since when was it stated in any text written anywhere that the Captain of the Queen’s Guard should do such a thing as babysit a bunch of dragons? Surely there was someone else more qualified for this task, as Thor was more interested in protecting his Queen.

Thor paced in the throne room as he awaited either the Queen herself or any one of her advisers to show themselves and hear Thor’s thoughts on the matter of dragons. He had quite a lot of thoughts to be expressed on this particular matter, most of them involving him losing his temper and a lot of curse words that should not be heard in a place such as the throne room.

Thor’s pacing slowed to a stop when he heard approaching footsteps. He crossed his arms on his chest and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for whomever was about to enter the throne room and join him. He did not intend to keep them for long considering how busy everyone was during this chaotic time but he needed to vent his frustrations to someone.

#gotsharp #open to anyone in King's Landing who's not with the Khaleesi

thegoodxcaptain-deactivated2018

The Blood Star - Combat Team One

starkxnaked-deactivated20180524

“Language, Captain. I thought we had talking about this,” Tony intoned dryly as his helmet snapped shut once more. “And you’re welcome, Rogers,” Tony grumbled past his own flooding sense of relief. Captain America was okay. Steve was okay. “You know, tactically, I still think I should be here and you should be driving them towards me, but aye, aye, Captain.” Things seemed calmer here, like perhaps the Captain was the eye of the storm, the stoic center of their team, the driving energy that kept all of their frenetic power in orbit around him. He paused a moment after Barton jogged off. Maybe, if he could only… Maybe Howard wouldn’t appear again. Maybe he could fight it, fight the visions, because he already felt worn at the edges, with only his insanely well developed ability to compartmentalize and handle crisis holding him together. “Whatever they have you seeing, Steve, he’s not there. Stay focused. We need you here.”

And then, the hypocrite, Tony snapped his eyes shut, cursing silently. Howard wasn’t there, but he was, and Steve was looking at Tony’s father in a way he’d never, never, earned from either of the pair. With respect, with affection, like they actually wanted him there, like they were friends, like he belonged. Howard’s easy laugh made his ears burn as they had when he was young. “Oh, Tony, Tony. Get a grip. Go be useful somewhere else, let the big boys talk, alright? Be a man and get your pathetic ass out of here.” Tony was so glad Steve couldn’t see his eyes. He’d always been told they were the only expressive thing about him, and he had no intention of explaining anything he’d seen later, and certainly not to Steve. “Catch you on the flip side,” he finished gruffly and shot up into the air.

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the battle teeming below, scanning for his team mates, and not for the first time wishing that the Big Guy had joined them in this fight. His strength would have been useful in sweeping these assholes out of the way. Noting Thor’s remark that the Black Widow had fallen but was safely in the med tent, he turned his attention to Barton– Shit, where was Clint? “Barton, do you read me?” As he spoke, the strange keening of the aliens began, and his brain began whirring with potential possibilities and outcomes, but still, his team, he can’t lose track of his team, it’s his job. “Clint, come in, respond. JARVIS, run a heat signiture scan, find Barton.” “Yes sir. Agent Barton appears to be inert, Sir, I will direct you to his location.”

Hitting the ground hard next to Barton’s curled form, Tony growled as the suit blasted away half of the group of buggers attacking his friend. Useless. “Not now, dad,” Tony growled out louder, between his teeth. The other half of the group went flying at the suit crouched protectively over Clint’s form. You should have been so much better, so much brighter… Someone who deserved to take over Stark Industries. You don’t deserve to work alongside him, do you, you know you don’t. This must be what paranoid schizophrenia felt like, Tony decided. The vicious, drunken, whispers of his father’s voice never quelled, but with a concerted effort of concentration and a missile driving back a force that had tried to slip past the border they had established. “The Void is shutting down. It’s volatile, try to stay back from it.”

{ thegoodxcaptain }

thegoodxcaptain-deactivated2018

Combat Team One scattered, just as Steve had ordered, but it still felt a bitter parting. He felt out of control, unpractised, untested, and he knew it was making him edgy, making him second guess his own calls. Perhaps this was his real fear; that he would lead his team into destruction. It certainly seemed true when Thor reported that Natasha was down, swiftly followed by Clint being picked up by Tony.

It couldn’t go on this way. Something had to give, and he’d be damned if it was him next.

A strange noise settled over the battle, one he didn’t notice at first over the roaring of his blood and the ringing in his ears from several heavy blows to the head he’d taken. Slowly it crept into his awareness, along with the fact that the Foesitians resembled less and less the familiar figures from his subconscious. They were losing form, looking distracted and scattered. Steve took his opportunity, swinging his shield through clusters of soldiers, taking off heads, limbs, cutting a swathe of destruction through the faceless enemy.

Briefly, he remembered Italy, the first time he’d killed a man. Men, it had been more than one. He’d pulled the trigger of the gun without hesitation that time, but on the road back home, Bucky at his side, when he should have been washed over with glory and happiness he could do nothing but shake and lose the contents of his stomach at the side of the dirt road. Such a long time ago.

Now there was too much blood on his hands. Literally, as his shield became slick and slippery, spraying blood like rain every time it span through the air.

Blood red, like the air was red, but then a flash of light took all that away and bleached out his vision. The Void, it was pulsing, humming almost it felt to him, filling the plains of Detroit with a golden glow so unlike the malevolent sickly light of before. No more soilders emerged. The ships, they must have forced their way through. Someone up there was winning.

“Don’t lose hope,” he panted over the comms. “You see that light? They’re winning, they’re closing the thing down. Don’t let them take your hope from you, they’re on the run. We can do this. Thor, Tony, secure the wounded and let’s finish this. For Asgard, for this tiny heap of rocks.”

Steve stopped, his shield spinning from his hand one more time, staying buried in the ground pinning two dead Foesitians beneath it. His chest heaved, his body was littered with burns and bruises and other small hurts, but he stood straighter. The Void was beautiful now, like he could run full tilt into it and drown in its light. It would not be cold like the ice, he thought. It would not be cold like the Potomac. It would be glorious, like the Captain who had led him there, shining and full of wonder.

A soldier approached and Steve swung his elbow out with great force, caving the thing’s face right in. It felt good, somehow, in a way he did not want to look too closely at, so as the remaining Foesitians staggered around Steve set to work. He left his shield in the ground and moved around it in an arc, using his fists and body weight to crush anyone who came near. He was exhausted, but it felt pleasurable, to finally find a limit to his body to push against. With every body that hit the ground, with every bone that crunched under his fist he thought of Bucky, of Peggy, of all the people he had loved and lost and all the people he tried to love who stood beside him then. He was their Captain, and leading them into victory was the only acceptable outcome. He would not give the Foesitians the satisfaction of anything else.

Steve fought, bodies piled up around him, and even drenched in blood he could only see how beautiful the golden light was.

{ imjustadudewithabow }

imjustadudewithabow

Clint’s vision was still spinning, but he could tell something new and strange was happening. The sky above seemed less red, and was streaked with rays of yellow light coming from someplace just out of his line of vision. The Foesitian leaning over him faltered in its movements, and something about it began to look less and less like Natasha. Strange that it was her appearance becoming less convincing that made his fear wane, and not the other way around.

He was still in no shape to fight back. One well placed blow from the Foesitian could take him out of this fight, and he knew it – but the Foesitian didn’t seem to be in much better shape than he. A blue-white blast of light hit it a second later, and it fell from Clint’s field of vision. He took the chance to squeeze his eyes shut completely, and try to regain some form of focus.

Fear seemed almost a foreign thing now, and was mostly replaced with exhaustion. Laying there in the warm dirt with his eyes tightly closed and the world silent around him, he suddenly became aware of just how tired he was. And sore. And tired. He would say one thing in favor of fear is that it kept his adrenaline up, kept him fighting as long and as hard as possible, but now that the fear was (quite literally) dying out the adrenaline was slowing too. He was very tired, and very human, and very ready to go home.

He opened his eyes again. The world had stopped spinning and was a little less blurry. He forced himself to sit up, elbows on his knees and palms against his eyes. He rubbed the sweat and blood out of them, then looked up at Iron Man who was standing beside him and whose repulsors, presumably, were the source of the light that had blasted away the soldiers who had surrounded him moments before. “I’m tired.” he admitted flatly. “It’d be awesome if they’d just be done already. I’d really like a nap. And then a shower. And then another nap.”

Clint sat for another moment before pushing himself up onto his feet. He winced, realizing he should move a bit more gingerly than he had. He did pretty much just get the shit kicked out of him by a couple of aliens… He looked toward The Void, and saw that it had turned a strangely beautiful shade of gold, and was it his imagination, or did it look smaller than it had before? The army around them had certainly shrunk substantially, and seemed to be weakening in the presence of the golden light. That light which seemed to brighten with every passing second, and which was definitely coming from a much smaller rip in space than it had been before. “So, does this mean we’re good? Like, the fight’s almost over?” he asked, glancing sideways at Iron Man. “Because I mean I’m pretty much outta arrows, so that would be awesome timing if they could just stop.”

godxfthunderthor

#imjustadudewithabow #awidowskiss #thegoodxcaptain #tonystarksliquorstore

Don’t lose hope...

Thor was beyond hope. His hope had died with Asgard; all that was left was rage and grief. Still, Captain Rogers’ voice managed to break through the dark storm cloud had had gripped what remained of Thor’s tattered and broken heart. The forces of Midgard were finally winning. Asgard might have fallen, but Midgard was still going to stand after all of this awfulness. That meant something, although Thor’s mind was too burdened with darkness to comprehend that fully.

“Aye, Captain,” Thor’s voice boomed over the comms as he and the Foesitians surrounding him became bathed in a glorious glow of bright, golden light. Thor ignored it on a conscious level and threw himself into following the Captain’s orders. He charged through the Foesitians as they began to cry and scream in horror as the Void began to shine brighter than any star Thor had ever seen. On a subconscious level, Thor felt his spirits lift a little. He had helped saved Midgard, not all was lost. He should be proud of this moment, that he was able to stand with his friends and defeat a seemingly unbeatable foe. And yet, Thor could not allow himself to truly feel joy over this moment. Asgard had still fallen and he blamed himself for that.

Thor pushed through the battlefield, helping those that could get to their feet head towards the perimeter of the fight. Many of those he helped thanked him for his assistance. Thor tried to smile at them but each of the smiles he gave were forced and false. These people were grateful for their lives, but Thor was no longer grateful for his own. He was the last of his kind now, as far as he knew. He was a god without a home. How could he smile truthfully knowing that?

The light coming from the Void turned into a brilliant white colour and if looked into directly would blind a person’s vision temporarily. Thor turned to face the Void, his Asgardian heritage protecting him from harm from the Void’s light. He fell to his knees, much like many Foesitians around him. Unlike the fallen Foesitians though, Thor opened his arms out to the Void, letting its light warm his skin through his armour. Around him, the foe writhed in agony whereas Thor released some of his own. They had avenged all of those destroyed by the Foesitian forces, including Asgard.

Don’t lose hope...

As the Void became a beacon of white hot light, turning the grimy murky day into something akin to a gorgeous summer’s day, Thor let out an almighty roar of anguish. As he did so, the light provided him with the capacity to hope again although he would not know this for days to come. The insurmountable foe had fallen, realms and kingdoms had their vengeance, the heroes of Midgard had gone above and beyond to deliver what was left of the galaxy to safety. This was a day to be celebrated until the end of days.

So why was Thor still so miserable?

{Next up: tonystarksliquorstore}

thegoodxcaptain-deactivated2018

The Blood Star - Combat Team One