FIC: To Rule the Varied Year (Avengers movie-verse)

[bachlava]

Title: To Rule the Varied Year
Pairing: Loki/Steve Rogers (Marvel Avengers movie-verse)
Disclaimer: It’s all Marvel’s; no claim or commerce here.
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Steve and Loki are both creatures of ice.
Author’s note: Many thanks to the amazing zelda_zee for beta reading. Any remaining errors are my own.
Loki occasionally likes to paraphrase A.G. Brodeur

Comments

[ageofalejandro]

Beautifully written and very, very Loki. Love it!

[bachlava]

Thanks! I'm glad it rang true.

[halfdutch]

Oh, that was very intriguing and so beautifully written. I had never thought of the snow and ice connection that Steve and Loki share, but that worked very well, especially the way Loki exploits it.

I have read some Loki/Steve fics but mostly they move far too quickly. I like that this takes its time, although I could have seen the dance played out a little longer. Steve does seem very lonely and so perhaps he's easier to seduce, especially when the one doing the seducing is Loki. The whole metaphor of having an ice splinter in his heart kind of breaks mine a little. Were you also thinking of the fairy tale The Snow Queen? It's one of my favorites. And maybe that ice splinter makes him more susceptible to Loki alsol, as the boy in the fairy tale is to the Queen.

There is something very old fashioned and noble in Loki's Asgardian speech (which you've written so well) and I think that also strikes a chord with Steve. But it makes me very sad for him and of course this can't end well.

[bachlava]

I'm really glad you enjoyed this! Any scenario for this pairing, I think, needs time for the seduction to unfold, even if Loki ultimately decides to strike when the iron is cold, as it were.

Speaking of cold things, I wasn't consciously thinking of The Snow Queen, but now that you mention it, I think it was very probably rattling around in my subconscious while I was writing. The thought of being literally enveloped in that kind of cold, for that long... This isn't really a very happy pairing, is it? Maybe it will end... as non-traumatically as possible, anyway, and Steve will quickly move on to something nicer.

In any event, so many thanks for reading, and for your kind words!

[kuhekabir]

Lovely! :)

[bachlava]

Thanks!

[elise_509]

This is a fantastic piece of work! I'd yet to read a fic that really made me remotely interested in Steve and Loki as a pairing, much less one that made me truly want it, but I saw that you wrote this so I was like, "Let's give this a whirl!" The way you used their link through ice in this was inspired genius. You also write Loki astoundingly well, everything about him was right on the mark, especially the way he stands back at the edges and observes things that others miss, and how he deftly works those things to his advantage, whether the cause is for ill or good. It really makes me want to see Loki draw all that ice from Steve and let him feel complete warmth once more.

[bachlava]

*blushes* You are far too kind! I'm really glad that you enjoyed this fic. Loki is such a fascinating character, and it's a lot of fun to explore the different ways he can employ the fruits of his observations. And, yes, I kind of hope Steve will warm up too. ;)

The way you used their link through ice in this was inspired genius.
That, and I live in Canada. ;)

[nera_fiore]

This is perhaps the most beautifully poetic thing I've read in years. As someone who hears stories, and does not see them, your words sparked some sort of synesthetic beauty in my mind. Your descriptions and characterizations were absolutely flawless.

But this part, this part stands alone, and it is neither about Loki or Steve: "a man with a tin heart that loves only gold" that is the most beautifully bittersweet thing I've ever read in my entire life.

Thank you. Honestly. Thank you so much.

[bachlava]

Even more thanks to you. I'm very glad that you enjoyed this fic. Loki is a wonderful character on so many levels, and I certainly hope to do him justice.

Tony does have such a sadness to him, doesn't he? He tries so hard to hide and to ignore it, but it's almost all the more present for his efforts.

Many thanks once again for taking the time to leave such kind words.