#relest

Five hundred years before Thor's coronation, Sif's a lowly page who can't move up in the ranks and Loki's a Royal Academy student trying to survive his last examination. The solution to their problems may lie in the legends they heard as children of the lost Tenth Realm. Now all they have to do is actually find it.

Note: (This is one of the last of the shorter Loki works I'd queued up to read. I've a few 100k+ works I mean to get through soon, but that's between me and my mental capabilites.) This work was written as a prompt-fill gift for the annually recurring "Mischeif and Mistletoe" exchange, I'd recommend browsing those collections if you're interested in the Loki/Sif pairing. Furthermore Margo_Kim has written for a variety of fandoms since 2013 so I hope they don't mind my featuring a work from [cough] years ago. The Tenth Realm brings us along an approximately six-month pilgrimage with Sif as she and Loki attempt to prove themselves worthy in their respective "professions". In my eyes the characterisation is fantastic and the unique touches in each realm add depth and curiosity to an otherwise brief story. (The Midgard chapter is incredibly funny; if you don't already know, look up Turtle Island before reading.) Against the context of Odin's impending "Partition" of the realms, it becomes clear to Sif that the effort of making this journey will be as important as the destination.

- Author's Tumblr | @andhumanslovedstories -

“Behold, ye warriors brave,” the goblins cried As brilliant shone, from within the cave, The secret light. Here lay the realm forgotten That Lady Ash, the woman-king of Asgard Had fought so long to see. She fell and wept At the beauty. “I claim my prize at last. I look upon my home—the Tenth Realm beckons And here, forever, I rest my head and sword.” —Excerpt from the final movement of Asgard’s epic, “The First Daughter of Yggdrasil,” Sif’s favorite poem as a child, as translated from the ancient tongue by Second Form graduate, Loki Odinsson.

The King’s Library was dead silent as Sif crept in through the skylight. It was always so hushed. She’d learned more of stealth skulking here after training than she’d ever learned actually in training. The King’s Library forbade women from entering, just as the Queen’s Library forbade men, and most maesters who ran them had ears and eyes to rival Heimdall’s. Sif crept through the stacks like a hunter stalking particularly flighty prey. Her feet made no thump. Her sword never clinked. Even her breath was silent as an absence. Shadows boomed louder than her.

It was either this or set fire to every damn book around her and when the maesters came to put the flames out, she’d set fire to them as well and any other man who ever came up to her again and said, “Pardon, lady, but you belong elsewhere.” But that wasn’t really a viable option at the moment, not unless she felt like killing nearly every man in Asgard, and since she wasn’t quite there yet, creeping silently took enough skill to keep her distracted and sane.

And the look on Loki’s face when you surprised him was always worth it.

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to bring comfort to someone you love.

[Note: Ms Ma'am has written heaps of beautifully subtle, emotionally charged content over the past 8 years, most of which can be found exclusively on tumblr. Her works have included Tom, Adam, AU and canon Loki, and probably the most impressive Oakley story on the Internet. This work is a peaceful vignette I return to read regularly, as well as a great introduction to her style.]

- Read on Author's Tumblr | @just-the-fics-maam -

It’s late. And cold. And damp. But inside, where you are, it is warm and dry, although perhaps a little lonely.

You sigh and rest your head back on the pillows. It’s been a challenging few weeks, but you knew it would be. He’s been busy, invigorated and exhausted at the same time. Long hours on the stage. Even longer hours at the stage door.

Still, it’s been fun to watch. You love to peek when he doesn’t know you’re looking, and watch the animation flicker on his features. That thing, that daily, nightly, hourly contract with the audience, that interchange of energy – that is what makes him burn like a flame. That is why he was born, and when he leaps into it with both feet, it’s more than just attractive. It sounds so terrible – so clichéd and lovesick – but it’s inspirational. It pushes you onward with your own projects, with your own trajectory, which now seems, perhaps, to be connected with his.

It begins in a prison with a monster driven to madness. It ends in much the same way.

Note: (In honour of the impending release of the Loki miniseries and my sceptical optimism for it, I'm highlighting a few canon-adjacent Loki works that can pass the time between new episodes or, if you're like me, distract from new content long enough to miss the first wave of inevitable Discourse.) It's evident miraellie loves the character and the ancient myth of Sigyn by the care they've taken to depict her across multiple works and universes. The two installments of Discrete are particularly heartfelt and more than a little bit sentimental. In a surprisingly accurrate prediction of The Dark World, Descrete begins by examining Loki's trauma through his limited point of view, and its sequel Escape the Day pivots to examine Sigyn's determination to overcome her own. Between their uncertainty and distress we are treated to scenes of tendernesss and budding fidelity without slipping so far into fantasy as to betray the grief that forever defines Sigyn's legend.

- Author's Tumblr (Inactive) | @victorybringer - - Series on AO3 | Author's Page on FF.net -

He sees her when he returns to Asgard.

It’s only a few fleeting moments as Thor and some guards take him to his dungeon cell but she’s there, she truly is, standing by a window, her black hair pulled away from her face, so different from how he’d seen it before where it was long and free for him to run his fingers through and she’s so close all he’d have to do is break away from his brother and the guards and reach for her hand, and her name is on the tip of his tongue but the muzzle cuts into his skin as he tries to open his mouth to speak, to whisper her name, to get her to just look at him--

But she doesn’t because her gaze is drawn towards an Einherji who takes up all her attention and he’s slowly, clumsily brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and she shifts away from him, doing it herself and saying something Loki can’t hear and he’ll kill this damn Einherji, how dare he, how dare he touch her like that--

Her focus shifts and finds his gaze and the world stops because she's looking at him and every single vision the Tesseract showed him comes back to him, both of them by the fire and under the night sky and watching two boys laughing as they run through a field of flowers while she holds his hand and leans up to kiss him and--

As a warrior, you are no stranger to battle and blood. It is all you are made for, and all you want to be. Foreign to the realm of Asgard, your goal upon arrival was to conquer your enemies. You did not come to meet a prince, especially one as narcissistic and duplicitous as Loki Odinson. You did not ask for anything that came thereafter. Yet here you are.

Note: (In honour of the impending release of the Loki miniseries and my sceptical optimism for it, I'm highlighting a few canon-adjacent Loki works that can pass the time between new episodes or, if you're like me, distract from new content long enough to miss the first wave of inevitable Discourse.) ODE feels close to an original science fiction work without losing familiar Marvel aspects. WanderingWorldWarrior utilises the second person point of view throughout the trilogy and to great effect; Softer Emotions begins by introducing tension among the realms, hostility among Odin's family, and then drops you into a battlefield to fight for your life. Each of the installments uses its 100k words to develop characters and conflicts so fully that consequences truly feel irreversible. This is handled beautifully in ODE's second and third entries, which parallel MCU events with original plots which both conclude with poignant ramifications.

- Author's Tumblr | @wanderingworldwarrior -  - Series on AO3 -

Odin Allfather is a terror to behold in his rage. His council flinches before him, the messenger that delivered the terrible news ducking his head and backing away respectfully so as not to catch the god’s unintended wrath.

“This slight shall not be ignored,” Odin growls, rising from his grand chair and almost upsetting the table in the process.

Static crackles audibly in the air, tensions rising with the physical sensation tingling on their skin.

“We should attempt to reason with them,” one of the council men pipes up quickly.

It is well known that whoever’s advice the king takes becomes heralded as a hero among the nobles of Asgard.

“No,” another man butts in, frowning. “We should use this against the barbarians. Perhaps one of the Ordinat can be leveraged to give us information.”

“That’s absurd!” a third says, rolling his eyes. “If the organization has revoked their deal with us, they are our enemies now!”

Odin’s eldest, Prince Thor Odinson, rises from the table with a grim scowl on his face. “Send me, Father. My warriors and I can make this right.”

A dark chuckle sounds from the other side of the table. The men of the council shudder in their tunics, shooting unfavorable glances at the younger prince.

“You find this statement humorous, brother?” Thor asks while Odin glowers at the table top with his one good eye.

Loki Odinson laughs again, finally gracing his brother with a cold, green stare. “You think your blundering band of boars can do anything to help this? There are situations that can't be settled with blood, you know.”.

He got in her way again. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?” he asked, the dangerous smile on his face. She wondered idly what the right answer was. What she would say if she could say anything but the truth. . . “You’re a force of nature. I fear you the way a fisherman fears a storm in the distance. I can’t out run you. I can’t hide from you. You may sink me. You may fill the nets with fish. You may ignore me entirely. But there’s very little I can do to influence the outcome. All I can do is brace myself and hope for the best.”

Note: (In honour of the impending release of the Loki miniseries and my sceptical optimism for it, I'm highlighting a few canon-adjacent Loki works that can pass the time between new episodes or, if you're like me, distract from new content long enough to miss the first wave of inevitable Discourse.) Advice often repeated to aspiring authors is a strong exposition and and detailed knowledge of their original characters; NyxEtoile acheives both impressively The Dark Inside series. The original Syn character is inspired by the Syn in Norse mythology, and her comprehensive backstory is cleverly explored throughout the series as events require. And if you enjoy other MCU fanfiction Nyx and their frequent collaborator @olivesawl have published an abundance of completed works to enjoy, including the Tales From The Tower series which allows canon Avengers characters to run amok.

- Author's Tumblr | @nyxetoile | Series on AO3-

There was a false king on the throne of Asgard.

And as far as Syn could tell, she was the only one who’d noticed.

She’d come to the castle of Odin as a child, working in the kitchens. She’d sliced her fingers peeling vegetables and burned her arms on pots of soup and kettles for tea. It was difficult work but she’d done it well and never complained where anyone could hear. She’d been rewarded, eventually, by becoming a handmaiden for the queen. Dresses and jewels were far less dangerous than the kitchens. She had seen a great deal of the royal family while working for the queen. She knew the king and his sons by sight and sound and even smell, though she doubted any of them would know her face.

And the man calling himself Odin the Allfather was not who he said he was.

The illusion was good, she admitted that. At times it seemed to shimmer over him, like a mirage in the heat. And certain sentences were him, through and through. Certainly he had fooled everyone else who had laid eyes on him. Thor himself had been fooled. But there wasn’t an illusion made that Syn the Truthful couldn’t see through.

Loki Laufeyson sat on the throne and no one knew but her.