#seidrade

[seidr]

migrating yet again...

I'm on ao3 and twitter as seidrade but my old tunglr account is in sadtimes hornyjail so it's finally time to break the streak~

anyway, let's be buds, plantcest fam <3

[illwynd]

For the WIP ask meme: Every good boy? :)))

ohohoho. this is the one that’s a complete 100-page draft that i just want to rework some bits of (and i’ll probably have to psych myself up to post it because Hoo Boy). modern human au in which loki is thor’s uncle, and he’s the black sheep of the family, so when thor fucks up at age 19 and gets kicked out by odin, he goes running to his weird uncle who he had a crush on when he was younger. Loki honestly tries to do right by the kid. 

and yes it then goes exactly where you might expect. though perhaps not in the way you’d expect.

A snippet:

Nerves still jangling, Loki unlocked the door to his apartment and ushered his nephew inside ahead of him.

That should be the lesson to him, once and for all. He had no place trying to take care of anyone else, and if Thor stayed with him, it would surely only end in disaster.

He should tell the kid that Odin had been right in everything he said about him, every warning he ever gave to be wary of his uncle. He should tell Thor what kinds of shit his own past was full of, things Thor did not---should not---want to be anywhere close to.

This line of thinking was shattered as soon as the door closed behind them, as Thor nearly threw himself into Loki’s arms, pressing himself against him, face buried in the curve of Loki’s neck.

[veliseraptor]

B, N, R? ☺️

Already answered B!

Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

I am going to go with things I actually feel like there isn’t enough of, rather than things that I am continuously hungry for (i.e. Loki whump). 

Time loops. I love them, they’re great, they’re so much fun and there could be 5 million more of them. Also plenty of opportunity for repetitive death experiences.

Fic digging into Loki’s lack of agency throughout his timeline, poking at the way that affects his attitude toward his physical integrity, particularly in the context of (especially sexual) relationships.

Slow burn enemies to lovers fics. People talk a big game about these but honestly I’ve found that true enemies to lovers fics, at least in my fandoms/ships, are relatively few. There’s some really good ones, to be sure - but damn, could there be more. 

There are others that are more specific (i.e. more Dottie/Peggy, more Thor/Loki/Steve, fic about the relationship between Sam and Rhodey) but I’m going broad spectrum, here. Okay, two is specific, but...overall broad spectrum?

Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

I mean, Thor and Loki, probably. They’re definitely the pair that loom largest in my mind when I think about relationships that are important to me in current fandoms - though there have been a lot of them, over the years. (Jaenelle and Lucivar stands out off the top of my head; Celegorm and Curufin is another.)

There are a lot of other friendships/platonic relationships that are super important to me (Gamora and Nebula, also, Clint and Wanda, Steve and Natasha, Clint and Natasha, yes it’s a ship it’s both, and that’s just in the MCU) but Thor and Loki are kind of on another level for reasons that are...very personal, and run very deep. 

[loxxxlay]

seidrade replied to your post “i like really wanna have sex with a girl right now and idk what to do...”

Make a tinder and tell people to only swipe if they wanna help induct you into the lady lovin’ club, and also inform them they will need to make you a badge so it’s official. Have them send visual proof of badge-making skills prior to agreeing to a hook up. Make them compete for your attentions��

this had me laughing tears lmfaooooo OH MY GOD

what a fucking plan.

gonna do it XDD

[mostfacinorous]

I am a bad person with bad taste, so my prompt is for an AU wherein Loki and Bucky meet by chance sometime between the 1940s-80s. (Whether he’s still Bucky or the Winter Soldier is up to you!) xx

Not bad at all! And here it is, sorry for the delay!The time is handwavy and Bucky’s identity is also– *wiggles fingers* but hey! Have a small thing.

Spells weren’t perfect. Loki knew this.

He had come to Midgard on a search for his uncle; the brother that he was compared to, as Odin and Thor were deemed perfectly alike– but Odin’s brother, Cul… the man Loki had heard whispers of, and nothing more– he was hidden somewhere here, on Midgard.

Locked away to be forgotten.

And Loki wanted to know why. Why his name had been stricken from the records, why his name was hissed at Loki’s back– an omen, a curse, a warning.

Loki wanted to know what he was doing so wrong as to be deemed to have a similar fate awaiting him.

So he’d devised a spell, to find him.

Spells cared naught for names, and Loki had no face that he could focus on, Cul’s exile having come about before either he or Thor was born. And there were no portraits, no proof that he had ever existed. Save the laws that ensured that was the way it should be.

So he created parameters: A spell to find a man whose name was never spoken; a man who few knew of, and all who knew him feared. A man hidden from the world. A powerful man, older than he seemed, who did not age by mortal standards.

It should have worked.

But spells weren’t perfect.

The man it brought him to instead was not expecting him. He was expecting something else, though, as evidenced by the six rounds he managed to fire before Loki had even opened his mouth.

“Not goin’ back.” The man said firmly, gun still leveled at Loki, despite the fact that none of his bullets had penetrated Loki’s shields.

“I wouldn’t dream of making you.” Loki told him evenly, unsure where ‘back’ even was. “Just to be certain– you aren’t Cul, are you?”

But he couldn’t be. He was, distinctly, human. Despite the augmentations he boasted.

The man stared him down, and frowned.

“I don’t know. You’re not Russian.”

“No.” Loki said, the word almost lazy, though he himself was frankly intrigued.

“Do you not know who you are?”

“Asset.” The man told him. “And something else. Been awake too long. Handler got taken out.”

Loki was unsure what the majority of that meant.

“Perhaps sleep will help you, then?”

The guy nodded and took a step forward.

“Our position is compromised. Shooting,” he explained, almost apologetically, Loki thought.

“…Yes.” He answered, slowly.

“This way.” The man said, turning away and obviously expecting to be followed. He barely broke his stride to lift a bag that sounded as if it were filled with nothing but more weapons, then headed deeper into the building.

Loki considered for the space of a moment.

His spell hadn’t worked. He had no idea where on Midgard he was, and to get here he’d had to slip between worlds and slip past Heimdall’s ever watchful eye.

It would not last. In the meantime, though, why not?

It wasn’t as if the man could hurt him, nor did he seem particularly inclined, now that Loki was not surprising him. In fact, he seemed to have accepted Loki fairly quickly, once he’d ascertained that he wasn’t working to capture him. Not particularly communicative, but that was alright. It made him more of a mystery, more interesting. And it made up Loki’s mind.

He followed.

The man led him to a fire escape, down a ladder, and into an alley, and Loki followed gamely, if a bit bemused by all of this.

“Where are we going?” Loki asked, and the man turned to glare at him, raised one hand to his lips, and pointed upwards vaguely.

Their own version of Heimdall? Loki wondered. He didn’t ask, though, instead resuming walking when the man flicked his metal fingers forward, obviously picking a direction.

They moved, silently, for about 40 minutes, looping in a circle once or twice, Loki assumed, so the man could be certain they were not being followed.

Eventually, he found his way to where they had been headed, opened a basement window, and slid inside, holding the window open for Loki to do the same.

He did, loathe as he was to lay on the ground to do so.

Once the window was closed behind them, the man flipped on some lights and nodded.

“Emptied this safehouse a week ago, left clues to make it look like I was leaving the country. They left three days ago. Won’t be back for a while. Should be safe here, for now.”

He looked around the room, then slid a shelf aside, opened a panel, and flipped a switch.

Metal covers engaged, and Loki realized with a start that they were locked in, and the rest of the world locked out.

“Why have you brought me here?” he asked, careful not to anger the man.

“Sleep?” He said, head cocking to the side. “You said… might help.”

Loki looked around, not seeing anything that looked particularly like a bed.

“Right. But my role in this?” He asked, and the man tilted his head to the opposite side.

“Keep watch.” He told him frankly, and with that he pulled out his gun, turned it, and offered it to Loki.

Loki took it gingerly, not entirely sure how such things worked.

“Ah.” He said. “Right.”

He had no idea what, in this man’s mind, qualified him as trustworthy enough to watch over him while he slept, considering he knew nothing of Loki save that he was ‘not Russian’.

Apparently that would do, though, because the man was already curling up, his bag of supplies functioning like a pillow, and his body laid out on the cold concrete as if he had never experienced anything better.

Loki hoisted himself up onto a workbench that leaned against one wall, and frowned, trying to puzzle through this dilemma.

This trip– and that spell– were a wash. That much was certain. He needed to rework it, to research further, find out more about Cul before he would have any chance of finding him. His search was, as of yet, entirely too broad.

As for this new Midgardian pet he seemed to have picked up–

And that was it, wasn’t it? The man reminded him somewhat of a dog, from the way he cocked his head to the way he strained his ears, eyes chasing shadows. Not a hunting dog, nor a lady’s toy, but the sort that had been kicked around. Wary, hungry…

Tired.

And he was, even now, twitching on the floor. Running in a sleep that by all rights he should barely have had time to fall into.

Loki let him run.

If the man needed sleep and these dreams came that swiftly, the kindest thing to do was let him reach the other side of them. Dreams such as those waited for you to return to sleep, to play themselves out.

The good ones were rarely so polite.

Eventually he stilled, though his twitching was still sometimes violent. He seemed to stay solidly asleep through all of it, and though Loki hadn’t meant to actually keep watch over him, he found himself doing it just the same.

The arm was strange, at once clumsy and elegant. Strong and well designed, but created in such a way that he was certain it caused the man pain. It seemed too heavy for his body, too big by a bit. He was muscular, yes, but his other side didn’t quite match. And it was– it didn’t always react the way he expected it to, it seemed. Like sometimes he forgot it was made of metal.

Loki watched as he smacked himself in the face with that hand, and what might be batting at a fly for anyone else left a huge, dark bruise that blossomed across his face, and then faded almost as quickly as it had come.

He was very far from the mortals Loki had encountered here before and he wasn’t sure if he was the norm now, or if he was something wholly different for this world.

He suspected it was the latter, though, or the parameters of the spell that Loki had cast would not have singled him out. And no matter how exceptional the man, being unable to sleep without guard and being alone was not something he could sustain indefinitely.

Loki would give him this one night’s respite. He would ask what questions he could, and then he would return home, ape a bit about his reasons for going to midgard, maybe imply that he’d taken a lover or three, and work on reshaping his spell.

In fact, it seemed he had much of a night left to do that now; and why not?

He conjured his journal and took up a pen, beginning to list things he might do to better locate his uncle.

They were tied together by blood, after all; that surely had to count for something. Even if he had been warned, time and again, against attempting bloodwork. Other sorcerers and mages did it all the time. Royal blood couldn’t be so special, so different…

He passed hours making notes.

Hours enough that, absorbed, he did not immediately notice when the man rose, jumping slightly when he approached.

“Who are you looking for?” He asked, voice rusty and rougher, if possible, than the night before. However, he seemed a bit more…cognizant.

“My uncle. He was sent away from my home before I was born. I have reason to believe he is hiding nearby, or perhaps imprisoned. Our records were not clear.”

The man looked surprised, then pleased.

“You’re here to rescue him?”

Loki pursed his lips. He hadn’t thought that far ahead; of course he couldn’t bring Cul back with him.

“Perhaps. I want to talk to him, find out his version of what happened. I’ll decide from there if he deserves my help.”

Though there was a distinct line between breaking a few rules to talk to a banished relative and outright treason.

Fortunately, Loki was fairly good at balancing along such lines. And that was one balancing act he would worry about when he came to it.

Still, if anything his answer only seemed to please the man further. He nodded, satisfied.

“You remind me of someone.” He said, then his face fell and his brow furrowed, clearly trying to remember who.

Perhaps someone he hoped would rescue him.

“And who is it you’re looking for?” Loki asked gently, and the man tilted his head, looking almost as if he were listening for something, until his face went blank and he straightened up again.

“Handler.” He said simply.

Loki couldn’t claim to understand.

“And who is that?” he asked.

The man frowned.

“You?” Doubt crept into his voice, and he lost that emotionless look, the mask crumbling only moments after first appearing.

“No.” Loki said firmly. “I will have to leave soon, I’m not… whoever it is you’re looking for.”

If the man was disappointed, he hid it well.

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Loki repeated. “So. You have slept. Do you feel better for it?”

The man flexed his hands, looking down over himself.

“Yes. For now. Thank you.”

Loki inclined his head.

“So what is next?”

The man frowned again, then slumped a little, his posture sagging.

“Run. Hide. Long as I can.”

“Is there no way to escape their reach?” He asked.

The man shook his head.

“They’re everywhere, all over the world. I can hide for a while but… I think I’ve done this before. I think I’ve failed before.”

Loki watched him, then made a split second decision.

He wasn’t human, exactly, and even if he were… if he claimed asylum, and Loki granted it, as Prince of Asgard, he thought he would be able to keep him safe. None would force him to break an oath, after all.

“Come with me.” he said. “I will take you where they cannot follow. You will have as much sleep as you like and… maybe you will be able to aid me on my search, and if you recall who you are looking for, I may yet aid you in yours.”

The man’s face smoothed again, and his lips twitched upwards at the corners.

“Yeah? Alright. I’m with you–” He trailed off, brow creasing and words fading. Loki waited, but he just shook himself and shrugged.

He hefted his bagonto his back, retracted the metal, and nodded.

“Where are we going?” He asked, as they climbed out of the holding. Loki gestured, dropping his spell to hide him from Heimdall’s gaze, and took hold of the man.

“Asgard.” he told him. “I suppose you’ll need a name, though. What did you say you were called?”

“Asset.” The man answered promptly. “Or, The Winter Soldier.”

“Hm.” Loki said. “We’ll work on it. Heimdall?” And like that, the sky opened, and the fate of the Soldier was changed.

[kingloptr]

seidrade replied to your post “I was tagged by the lovely @seidrade !! \o/ Thank u ohmg this was so...”

Oh wowwwww yes I’m so here for Thunderfrostiron. Seeing everyone’s responses to this meme has really opened my eyes, I desperately want all these A+ rarepairs to explode in popularity

holy shit yas i’m so glad you agree!!!! :D

[philosopherking1887]

seidrade replied to your post “spikedbat: joss whedon: loki tortures and murders people for fun,...”

@philosopherking1887 I’m remarkably neutral about him as a creator, haha. I quite like some of his work and have some genuine critiques, but I’ve never felt he was either the media saviour or villain he’s been alternately taken for. (Did this just get meta?)

No, I don’t think that’s a meta-answer... unless you’re alluding to the parallel with our attitudes toward Loki (i.e., neither the savior/victim/woobie nor the villain he’s been alternately taken for)?

I entirely agree with your attitude to Joss Whedon as you just expressed it... though maybe I’m more fond of his work, which is why I get so annoyed when it’s constantly being trashed for bad reasons. I certainly wouldn’t describe him as a media savior... this may be an attitude that predates my engagement with fandom, and likely accounts for a large part of the backlash -- i.e., people were putting unrealistic hopes and expectations on him, so they turned around and vilified him to an excessive degree when he disappointed them.

[illwynd]

So I was gonna send you an anon ask re: writing Norse myth fic vs. MCU/Marvel fic, as far as how you generally approach Thor/Loki in those different realms and your fave tropes/themes to explore— but I’m not on mobile for once and so in trying to find your ask button, I first found the page for your grand unified theory of Loki and now i’m Just Screeching because I’m so excited to read everything you have linked and would love to just flail with you about it sometime *chinhands* *heart eyes*

PLZ FLAIL WITH ME ABOUT IT SOMETIME *___* i would love that, i live for that!

My writing any of the grand unified theory of loki has sort of fallen by the wayside but i still want to get back to it someday and i’m rly happy when anyone stumbles across that tag and gets something out of it, because i really feel there is something of value there, and other perspectives on it are amazing.

Regarding how i approach such things... it’s weird to me you often see people talking about how completely totally different marvel thor and loki are from their myth counterparts, but I don’t think that’s true, really. They’re of course quite different in many biographical details, but I think they retain the same essence—-they’re different because the myths were told by people of a culture very different from ours, and the Marvel versions from comics and movies are different from each other partly due to the medium and format and genre expectations, but the common thread exists because they are serving the same sorts of purposes in the stories they appear in. We’re not telling the exact same stories, because our cultural context has changed, but we recognize who those older stories were about and we can translate those personalities into our own context and figure out what sorts of stories they fit in now.

And honestly they don’t look all that different, in a certain light. Marvel thor and myth thor are both earnest, compassionate, prone to anger but quick to forgive. They are unified by defining their own ethics, regardless of Odin or Asgard or any other standard, but caring deeply about doing right. The Thor of Norse mythology was so well loved by people of the time because he was the one you could trust to protect you on principle, out of the goodness of his heart, because he could and therefore he must, rather than being overly concerned with rules or lessons or clever maneuvering—and gosh, doesn’t that also sound a lot like Marvel’s superheroic take on him? And for Loki, Marvel loki and myth loki are both liminal, conflicted, clever but self-defeating. They are unified by their position as torn between two worlds, torn between their need to exact vengeance and their craving for acceptance. A question that has always fascinated me about myth Loki is why he takes up residence in Asgard in the first place, why he’s so hung up on his relationships with the gods, since he could easily have left when things started going badly. But he was hung up. He knew he would never really belong there, and being so close but so far drove the way he behaved, his conniving and his striving and getting in his own way all the time. And dang, doesn’t that resonate for Marvel/MCU Loki too? From there, everything else is just details.

And, I mean, all that works for me because the possible interactions of those two---the ways they can come into conflict and tension, and the ways they can fit together perfectly---basically outline the themes and tropes that interest me most.

but anyway yes plz talk to me about this stuff whenever! clearly i am always willing to type out way more than anyone wanted to hear in response XD