You come out as trans to your family, and many gladly help you become accustomed to your new name- except the fae across the road, who you've just gained an immunity to. Friendly shenanigans ensue.
Mod Note: - We want to be clear that if someone chooses to fill this prompt, it should be handled respectfully. There’s a lot of ways you could use something like this for fun that’s not going to hurt trans folks. Be conscious of that when writing. - A trans person’s dead name is not their “true name” so please don’t use it in that context.
This story is roughly based off my own personal life, minus fae and style of coming out, regarding my own gender identity and journey of self discovery. That being said, I know my experience is not universal and even as a trans person, i might get things wrong and have more to learn, any critiquing is appreciated.
I have not used the names that I myself settled on but rather the names that I explored for myself and decided did not quite fit but am still fond of.
I did not get the chance to do heavy research into the fae and their rules before hand so things may be off. I also consider elves on the Seelie court and put them under the category of fae for the prompt.
This was just a short drabble I wrote based off the above prompt from @monsterkinkmeme and may rewrite later with the same characters just as a longer and more elaborate story.
All that being said, please enjoy and let me know what you think!
~Elysium
What Makes A Name?
Word Count: 2183 words
Characters: FTM Trans reader, Aithlin Theodas (elf male)
Rating: G
Content: A short drabble story based (very) roughly off my own experience with gender exploration. There is a small car accident but I tried to keep it as limiting and vague as I could to avoid triggering.
Two years ago, you moved into a small house on the edge of the city where the suburbs faded out into farmland broken by groves of trees and thick forest began to sprawl. You adored this new place, the open yards for your dog, the wind rushing out to meet you as you opened your window every morning, the bright morning sun coming up from behind your neighbors trees to cascade upon your front porch as you sat there with a cup of soothing tea.
When you first moved in, you went around and introduced yourself to your new neighbors, intent on making good impressions. When you went to the house right across the street and knocked on the door, you met someone you didn’t quite expect. The door had opened and you were face to face with a fae, more specifically, an elf. He was pretty, tall with long light hair and piercing eyes that seemed to peer right into your soul. It made your heart beat fast. Was it possible to have a crush at first sight? Because you definitely did.
“Hello?” he asked, his voice surprisingly deep and rumbly, making your knees feel a little weak.
“Hello!” You said quickly, your own voice sounding squeaky and frail. “I’m Mariamne, I just moved in across the street.” You quickly held out the store bought banana bread that you had in your hands. “This is for you, it’s banana bread.”
The elf looked down at it, and a look crossed his face that you couldn’t quite read. Was it anger? Confusion? Satisfaction? His eyes moved back to you and he gave you a sweet, polite smile. “Thank you.” He said, moving to slowly take it. “Why don’t you come in?”
“Oh, thank you, but I can’t right now.” You told him, and you could swear you saw a slight twitch to the corner of his eye. “I have to go home and feed my dog…”
He had let you go, but ever since then things had been, odd, to say the least when he was involved. He was constantly trying to give you things, and while you knew very little about the fae, you knew it was best to just politely decline gifts from them, and plus, with how often you did this to him, you could swear he hated you at this point. But nevertheless, you had gotten to know him over the past two years. Aithlin Theodas, a rather kind but nosy man according to the other neighbors, you saw him frequently out in his garden, tending to the flowers and pulling weeds. You supposed it made sense for him to be nosy, it probably was a very good idea to have all the information on whats’ going on in your neighborhood, especially if you’re a fae.
But now, your family was coming to visit, and you were nervous. Over the past two years, in secrecy from family and neighbors, you had been questioning things. You couldn’t bring yourself to wear any of the ‘girly’ things you once had, you hated having your hair long, having cut it short under the guise of donating it to charity, and just everything about your body made you so uncomfortable that many days you had problems getting up. After talking with friends and exploring different things, you were finally ready for what was to come.
Your family was coming over for the holiday, and while it was an awful time to pick to come out, it was the only time you could think of when everyone would be there. So, as the cars rolled in one after another for thanksgiving, you quickly got things in place. After an hour, everyone was there, grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and you felt like you were going to pass out.
Taking a deep breath, when everyone was gathered around the table, you stood to make the announcement, every bone in your body stiff as you imagined the negative outcome as the words spilled from your mouth. “Hello everyone, I would like to say something…” Everyone was staring, smiles on their faces as they watched you. “I-After a lot of thinking, and soul searching, talking to people and seeing a gender therapist, I would like to tell you all that I am transitioning from being a girl to a boy.” Well, the words didn’t quite fit right, but it was the easiest way to explain it. “I’m not comfortable being seen as girl anymore, so I would like it if you don’t use she and her pronouns and instead use he and him, and if you called me Castor instead of Mariamne…”
There was silence that hung in the air, thick and heavy, the tension palpable enough that you swore you couldn’t breathe, but then there was a voice, your grandfather who sat on the other far end of the table from you.
“Well, Castor, pass me the turkey, I’m hungry.”
It felt like the world had been lifted off your shoulders in that moment. Everything seemed to go back to normal, people smiling and laughing, immediately putting in the effort to make the changes of pronouns and names. At the end of the day when everyone left, you smiled and waved them goodbye, not a single one of them being unsupportive.
“Good evening…” Aithlin’s voice came from the edge of the road where he was watching your family go. “Have a good holiday Mariamne?”
You flinched at the name as you turned toward him, and with a rush of bravery from the day, you lifted your chin and looked down your nose at him. “It’s not Mariamne anymore actually, and I would prefer if you didn’t call me that.”
His face went blank for a moment as he blinked slowly at you. “Then tell me, what is your name?”
You opened your mouth to answer when your dog started barking, running off after your cousins car as she tried to leave your driveway. Cursing softly to yourself, you took off after him, Aithlin and his question forgotten as you tried to keep Rufus from running into the street and getting hurt.
When you got your dog back in, your mind had completely forgotten about Aithlin, and when you looked outside, he was gone.
It was days again before you saw him, but he was speaking to your neighbor Deborah. His brow was furrowed, a scowl on his face as she spoke and he nodded occasionally. When Deborah noticed you and Rufus, she waved, and motioned for you to join them. Stepping across the street, you held tight to your dogs leash as you moved to stand with Deborah and Aithlin.
“Hey! How was your thanksgiving?” She asked, smiling at you sweetly.
“Oh, it was good!” You gave her a smile back. “I got to see my family, catch up with them, you know?”
“Speaking of catching up,” Aithlin said, his voice sounding almost ominous as he stared intensely at you. “You never finished our conversation the other day…”
“Oh, I didn’t?” you asked, cheeks flushing as you shifted nervously.
“No… Last I heard, you said something about not going by Mariamne now?” He hummed softly, not noticing how Deborah started to get a bit uncomfortable.
You felt a heat rise to your cheeks as he watched you closely. “Oh, yeah…” Your mouth felt dry, and it felt like there was a lump in your throat. “Uh, it’s Castor now…”
As soon as you said that, Aithlin leaned back on his heels, an almost satisfied smile crossing his face. “Very well, Castor…” He hummed, and you got a turning feeling in your stomach.
“Oh, can I call you Cassie?” Deborah asked.
“No!” Aithlin snapped, making you and Deborah jump a bit. “No nicknames.” He huffed. And that was when you remembered, if a fae knew your name, they had control. That feeling in your stomach only got worse.
“W-well, I need to go again..” You said, your voice shaking nervously. “See you all later…”
Months passed after that, and you saw Aithlin more and more. He seemed to get more friendly, offering you more gifts and striking up more conversation on your daily dog walks. It felt a bit weird, but entirely unwelcome. In fact, the more you got to know him, the more you understood him. He was a bit of a control freak, needing everything to be perfect and not liking when things didn’t go as planned. One day though, when he stopped you on your walk to talk, you felt your cheeks flush.
He stalked from his garden toward the edge of his property, glowering at you intensely. “When were you going to tell me?!” He snapped.
“Tell you what?” You asked, stomach twisting as you gripped your dogs leash.
“You changed your name again!” He scowled, hands balling up into fists at his side.
“Oh..” You looked completely shocked. You hadn’t told anyone here in the neighborhood, just your immediate family last time you visited them on saturday. You cleared your throat. “I-I was just having a really bad week…”
“I know!” He huffed, moving to take off a gardening glove and run a hand through his hair. “What is your name?!”
Rufus began to pull at the leash, growling at another dog from across the street. “I-I have to go…”
“No! No! You need to tell me your name!” Aithlin yelled as Rufus pulled you away. “Just say it!”
You never got to say anything though as Rufus pulled harder, and your body lurched into the street right as a car began to roll over the hill and into your view. Everything seemed to slow as the car barreled closer, the screeching of brakes ringing in your ear. You could feel the contact, hitting in your side first, then the scraping of pavement against your skin, and then a facefull of grass.
Your eyes began to open, slowly blinking away the blur in your eyes as you slowly sat up. You were in the edge of your property where it met your neighbors, no longer in the street. Your head whipped around to where a glowing figure lay crumpled in the street, a car stopped a few feet away.
Slowly, you managed to get to your feet, your own voice muffled and faded in your ears as your body lumbered toward the one in the street. It was like you were deep inside your own head, your body unfeeling, like you were just a person watching a movie through your own eyes. When your eyes looked down at Aithlin, everything began to blur again.
***
It took months, but eventually, Aithlin came back from the hospital, though he was still using crutches to get around on a broken leg. When you saw him back at his house, you left Rufus inside and moved to go over to his house. Knocking on the door, you waited anxiously until he opened it, looking out at you in shock.
“What are you doing here?” Aithlin asked, eyes looking over you.
“I wanted to come see you..” you said, holding out another store bought banana bread toward him, making him groan.
“Not this again…” He sighed, moving out of the door. “Would you like to come in?”
“What do you mean, ‘not this again’?” You asked, ignoring his question as you furrowed your brow.
“The banana bread, it’s just like when you moved in, and I finally find a way to pay you back and now you’re doing it again.” He explained calmly.
You stared at him, a smile slowly cracking over your face as a laugh bubbled up in your throat. “What?”
Aithlin looked back at you, frowning as you laughed. “Hey! Don’t laugh at this! This is serious business! I paid my debt!”
“You!” You couldn’t help but laugh still. “You think that saving my life was equal to giving you banana bread?!”
His face flushed then, a pink blush dusting over his cheeks. “Well-”
“No!” You interrupted him. “I definitely owe you now, and it’s going to take a lot of banana bread…”
He straightened as much as he could on his crutches, looking over at you. “What’s your name?” he asked.
You hesitated then. That’s right, that was the whole thing that lead to this. “Tino…” You told him. “Short for Valentino.”
“Well then Valentino, if you think you owe me, then I shall remedy that quickly.” He huffed. “Go on a date with me.”
“What?!?!” You asked, feeling like your breath had been stolen right out of your chest, making him frown at you again.
“What? Don’t act like it’s disgusting!” He snapped. “I’ve been trying to find a way to ask you out for two and a half years!”
Your heart hammered in your chest again. Well, that certainly was a surprise, but you had to admit that you had a crush on him from the first time you saw him. So it was easy to nod, and now the only problem you could think of was what to wear on your first date.
Original Imagine from Imagine Loki: Imagine Loki falling in love with a Midguardian and his words to Thor about Jane during Dark World coming back to haunt him. “It would be a heartbeat. You would never be ready.”
HEARTBEAT BY: ELYSIUM PUCK
Buh-Bump
You had been walking down the street, arms full of pizza for you and your friends for your weekly game night. The cardboard boxes were almost hot against the exposed skin of your forearm as you walked, a large grin on your face as you thought about the hijinks you and your friends would be getting into, but as your eyes glazed over with the enticing thoughts of games, you didn’t see the man that was walking the opposite way. The corner of the pizza boxes caught on the mans’ bicep, and as the boxes shifted, you did too. But even as you reached out to try and catch them, the boxes fell to the ground, a thumping noise as the pizzas squished inside them.
“Shit!” You swore, and without a moment’s hesitation, you turned your frustration to the man who had brushed into your dinner. “Watch where you’re going!”
“I beg your pardon?” The man asked in a british accent, facing you from the other side of your ruined pizzas.
“I said, watch where you’re going!” You repeated, just now taking a pause to look at the man in front of you.
He was tall and lean, his physique not really hidden beneath a form fitting black suit the matched his long, wavy black hair. He was pale, but incredibly attractive with a sharp jaw and high cheekbones, and his eyes, those were what made your breath hitch in your throat. His eyes were gorgeous. A piercing jade green illuminated with the dancing neon signs of the book shop behind you. They seemed to almost stare into your soul as your body was suddenly frozen, paralyzed by him and his sharp glare and when you tried to swallow the words that were now lodged in your throat. You swore, if you listened closely, both you and him could hear the hammering of your heart in your chest.
Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I thought with the end of finals that I would have more time to write yet work upped my hours and life just got in the way. Hopefully I’ll be able to write more now though! Thanks for sticking with me, all 2 of you
Found this lovely imagine: http://imagine-loki.tumblr.com/post/172709502489/imagine-an-au-where-everybody-can-read-a-chapter and just had to write a drabble for it. Might progress to something more if enough people like it.
****
You sighed, your fingers tracing over the spine of the book that had come into your possession some time ago. It had been years since you actually acquired the book, the mysterious tome appearing on your doorstep. You hadn’t been expecting it when you left your home that morning but when you had stepped out, you nearly tripped over the blocky thing. It was a short book, fitting comfortably within your hand as you turned it over, inspecting it curiously. Taking it inside, you had decided to delay time spent with your friends for a peek at the contents.
The book looked old, the cover blue with deeper blue lines that seemed to be cracks in the binding, but the sleeve over it was a deep black that when moved under light looked almost green. Bright golden letters shimmered under your fingertips as you traced the words on the cover. Slowly opening the book, you looked in at the pages. They were crisp and clean in the center, the edges rumpled and rough, lined with a thin sliver of gold. Cursive font decorated the pages, lines of text that went on and on for chapters, the thoughts and actions of a person you never knew. Your heart skipped a beat.
About a year ago, your friends had all started receiving mystery books, all of them different and unique. And when your friends read them, after some time they wound up meeting the person who they read about and they would hold a book of their own detailing your friends lives. They had started calling them Red Ribbon Books. This came from the old stories of soulmates having a red ribbon tied to their fingers that would stretch and move with them, always tying the soulmates together. But now, you held one in your hand. You had a soulmate of your very own.
Looking at the text, you could tell you clearly had this soulmate for quite some time now but perhaps it just hadn’t been the right time to know about them and now you were ready. Quickly pulling out your phone, you had cancelled on your friends and sat down, opening the pages to read about your future lover.
Now though, it had been so long. Every day, you had read a chapter, reading about the man you were going to end up with, but never coming closer to actually meeting him. In fact, you were pretty sure you never would. From the sounds of it, he seemed to be an alien, lost on foreign worlds with odd names and even more peculiar events. And what was even more frightening was the fact that he seemed to be…dangerous. He explored new places, battling and killing without the blink of an eye, even attacking his own allies just for fun! He had a brother that he played so called tricks on, but quite frankly, it sounded violent. ‘Stabbing his own brother,’ you remember thinking. ‘If he could do that, what would stop him from hurting me?’ Your heart hammered in your chest at the thought. You could only hope that if you did ever meet, he never would.
****
Loki had always been fond of books, but none more so than the book he had gotten many many years ago. When he first found the book, it had been completely blank, the pages holding nothing inside of them. He had scoffed and tossed it aside at first, moving to walk away from it. Yet, something made him circle around and pick it up again. He held it in long and elegant fingers, inspecting every page carefully, squinting with a suspicious eye. Well, even if it was plain, he could always use it as a journal. He glanced around at the street vendors shop, smirking as he found them looking elsewhere before he pocketed the item.
When he had returned to his room, he moved to his desk, pulling out a feather quill to begin writing in it. However, as he put the pen to paper and began to scrawl, the letters faded and vanished from the page. Glaring at the book, he tried again only to be unsuccessful yet again. Cursing under his breath, he went to work, trying to discover if there was a magic put upon the tome. When he found nothing he could decipher, he set the book aside and went to the royal library in search of an answer. With time, he would get this book to work in his favor.
And one day, it did.
Loki had gone into his bedroom that night, moving to sit at his desk. Thor had been especially insufferable that day and he desired to get his feelings down for later revenge and in a moment of forgetfulness, he grabbed the wrong journaling book. Pulling your book into his hand, he opened it to discover words adorning the page. Quirking a brow, he took a moment to read over the words. He turned another page, eyes skimming the new contents. Why was he reading this? This was about a child crying for it’s lost bear! This was pointless! He closed the book, tossing it aside on his desk before going to bed.
Getting into the large bed, he lay under the covers to close his eyes, trying to go to sleep. The darkness surrounded him and he breathed deeply, attempting to calm his mind… Damn it. He threw the covers off himself and grabbed the book again, bringing it to bed to read. He didn’t sleep that night, his eyes glued to the pages as he read of your childhood. He found himself smiling, imagining the small child growing as he read more and more over the next few weeks.
Soon, he started to get attached, keeping the book on him and reading every day no matter where he was. He had read through your childhood, your teenage years, first loves, heartbreaks, new friends, old friends, the traitors and saviours. He found himself in the pages, in you, seeing a kindred soul in the way life seemed to throw you into different things.
While your life seemed rather blaise compared to his, he found himself longing to read again every night, living through the minutiae of your day, every day. Then one night, a brilliant idea popped into his head. He was going to find you.
****
You were grown now, an adult with your own job and an apartment with your best friend. You still read as much as you could from your red ribbon book, but honestly adult life was busy and you didn’t always get the chance. Today had been especially bad as you had been stuck on a cash register at your job, forced to deal with chatty customers who wanted nothing to do but complain to you about the horrible experience they seemed to have here. Well, you were having a horrible experience right now too and if you didn’t have the risk of getting fired, you would tell them that, along with where they could go shove the decorative pillows they just bought.
But now you were nearing the end of your shift, glancing at the clock on your register. Ten more minutes. You looked at the line that had formed, sighing in frustration. As you took a quick scan over the people in your line, you saw, between the faces of annoyed people watching you, a man reading a book as he waited. Shaking your head a bit, you went back to scanning.
Five more minutes. You told yourself, then you would shut off your light and the next person coming in would come, sign in, turn on the light, and you were free. You reached for the next item on the belt, grabbing a book. You didn’t take much notice of it really, a lot of people bought books, but you did notice its cover was your favorite color. Moving to scan it, you frowned as it didn’t beep and show up on the screen. Turning the book over, you sighed as you didn’t find a barcode.
That was when you heard a soft chuckle from the customer. You felt your face flush in embarrassment, your eyes darting up to look at him. You froze as you met icy blue eyes and an amused smirk. The man was handsome really, pale skin against raven black hair gelled back into gentle waves that cascaded around his shoulders. He was tall, thin, wearing a black suit that fit his form tightly, but only as he moved did you realize that he was actually quite muscular underneath the suit. You imagined he was lithe and toned, appearing thin and harmless but holding a deadly power with well placed strikes.
“Is there something I can help you with?” you asked, your voice wavering as your mouth suddenly felt dry.
“I think so.” he said, opening the book to the last page where it scribed your thoughts as you thought them. Your eyes widened as you looked up at him, mouth hanging open. The man chuckled as he reached out, slender fingers grazing your jaw before pushing it up so your mouth closed. “I’ll be waiting outside.”
You watched in a daze as the man grabbed the book, moving to walk out of the store. It felt like every second dragged on until the next employee came up to take over for you. As soon as you saw them, you made a mad dash for the time clock, punching out and grabbing your sweatshirt before running back outside the building to meet your fate.
