These lines are the MOST defining for these characters. Yet they seem to go lost on a large chunk of the audience. Except that Gamora at least acknowledged Nebula’s pain and validated her grievances. Whereas Thor continues to believe that Loki has only ever had ill intentions, and functions primarily to specifically antagonize him. And thus, the general audience continues to believe this as well.
The general audience doesn’t analyse beyond surface level and consequently doesn’t have a cooking clue about this difference. That’s fine, but I wish they wouldn’t tell me to shut up when I notice stuff like this. Because I’m not wrong. I’m just being more observant and critical.
what else can loki lay claim to that thor doesn’t already have?
Oh, interesting.
Of course, for every secret there’s a reason. It’s irrelevant to Thor. It would burden Thor to know. It would only cause Thor pain. And there’s truth in all of those reasons.
But he also just wants the luxury of being the sole possessor of certain experiences or pieces of knowledge, particularly, I imagine, if those secrets are deeply personal.
“After Odin fell into the Sleep, Loki kept going back to the Vault every few hours to stand before the plinth where the Casket of Ancient Winters lay. Like a guilty man returning to the scene of the crime. But what was the crime, he wondered, and whose? Loki’s driving his father past the brink of exhaustion by confronting him with the truth? Or Odin’s abandoning his son when he most needed his father’s guidance? Or was it earlier: the lie he had told Loki for his whole life only to reveal the truth in the wrong way, at the wrong moment, and then escape taking responsibility for the aftermath? …
“He saved my life, Loki reminded himself; I would have died if he hadn’t taken me. But was that even true? Could he believe Odin’s word about anything, now? Was he a rescued castoff or a hostage? … Loki was starved for knowledge, and he knew he would not get it from Odin. Nor could he expect truth from his mother, from Frigga: Odin might well have told her the same lies. No, there was only one person he could ask: Laufey himself. As a king to another king, Laufey owed him the courtesy of truth.”
Posting my giveaway fic for @shine-of-asgard on AO3 in two parts with a bit of a delay, for exposure reasons. (Do you have an AO3 account, so I can list it as a gift?) Prompt: “Loki/Lucifer and Odin/God. Variation of the ‘Lightbringer’ theme where Loki rebels against Odin and tries to steal the Casket of Winters to give it back to the Jotnar. It can follow the ‘biblical’ version with Odin striking Loki down and Loki falling from Asgard or you can spin it any other the way you want. Bonus points for the appearance of Thor as a conflicted good archangel who loves his brother but won’t go against God for him.”
Chapter 2, “Paradise Regained,” has also been posted.
“Thor was beginning to think he might be happy in Midgard. Not yet, of course; not while the news of his father’s death and his mother’s rejection was still so fresh, not while he could still feel the ache in his muscles from straining to lift Mjölnir, in vain. But someday. He would court Jane slowly, as befit a lady of her standing and education. Selvig, who seemed to stand in place of a father for her, had given his implicit permission.
“So it came as a complete surprise when Lady Darcy called from the front room of the Midgardians’ strange abode, ‘Thor? There’s someone here for you… she says she’s your mother?’
“Thor’s hesitant spark of hope was instantly smothered. What could she be here for, but to let him feel the full measure of her fury and disappointment?
“He emerged from the room where he had been reading one of Jane’s texts of Midgardian physics (a wondrously bizarre way of viewing the world) with his head bowed, bracing himself against the onslaught. But when he dared to raise his eyes, Frigga’s expression seemed wrong; it was worry, not anger, that creased her brow and tightened her lips.”
@shine-of-asgard‘s giveaway fic is now completely posted on AO3, Parts I and II as Chapter 1 (Paradise Lost), Parts III and IV as Chapter 2 (Paradise Regained). It’s probably easier to read there than as 4 parts on Tumblr…
“Thor was beginning to think he might be happy in Midgard. Not yet, of course; not while the news of his father’s death and his mother’s rejection was still so fresh, not while he could still feel the ache in his muscles from straining to lift Mjölnir, in vain. But someday. He would court Jane slowly, as befit a lady of her standing and education. Selvig, who seemed to stand in place of a father for her, had given his implicit permission.
“So it came as a complete surprise when Lady Darcy called from the front room of the Midgardians’ strange abode, ‘Thor? There’s someone here for you… she says she’s your mother?’
“Thor’s hesitant spark of hope was instantly smothered. What could she be here for, but to let him feel the full measure of her fury and disappointment?
“He emerged from the room where he had been reading one of Jane’s texts of Midgardian physics (a wondrously bizarre way of viewing the world) with his head bowed, bracing himself against the onslaught. But when he dared to raise his eyes, Frigga’s expression seemed wrong; it was worry, not anger, that creased her brow and tightened her lips.”
@shine-of-asgard‘s giveaway fic is now completely posted on AO3, Parts I and II as Chapter 1 (Paradise Lost), Parts III and IV as Chapter 2 (Paradise Regained). It’s probably easier to read there than as 4 parts on Tumblr…
“After Odin fell into the Sleep, Loki kept going back to the Vault every few hours to stand before the plinth where the Casket of Ancient Winters lay. Like a guilty man returning to the scene of the crime. But what was the crime, he wondered, and whose? Loki’s driving his father past the brink of exhaustion by confronting him with the truth? Or Odin’s abandoning his son when he most needed his father’s guidance? Or was it earlier: the lie he had told Loki for his whole life only to reveal the truth in the wrong way, at the wrong moment, and then escape taking responsibility for the aftermath? …
“He saved my life, Loki reminded himself; I would have died if he hadn’t taken me. But was that even true? Could he believe Odin’s word about anything, now? Was he a rescued castoff or a hostage? … Loki was starved for knowledge, and he knew he would not get it from Odin. Nor could he expect truth from his mother, from Frigga: Odin might well have told her the same lies. No, there was only one person he could ask: Laufey himself. As a king to another king, Laufey owed him the courtesy of truth.”
Posting my giveaway fic for @shine-of-asgard on AO3 in two parts with a bit of a delay, for exposure reasons. (Do you have an AO3 account, so I can list it as a gift?) Prompt: “Loki/Lucifer and Odin/God. Variation of the ‘Lightbringer’ theme where Loki rebels against Odin and tries to steal the Casket of Winters to give it back to the Jotnar. It can follow the ‘biblical’ version with Odin striking Loki down and Loki falling from Asgard or you can spin it any other the way you want. Bonus points for the appearance of Thor as a conflicted good archangel who loves his brother but won’t go against God for him.”
Thor
and his companions made camp on the glacier. They ate from the travel rations
they had packed because there was no hunting or forage to speak of. The sun
scarcely seemed to dip below the horizon for an hour, and it never truly grew
dark. Thor’s friends seemed to be able to sleep, shielded from the unrelenting
light by the thick fabric of their tent, but Thor could not.
He
left Volstagg’s snoring and Sif’s quiet nonsensical muttering and sat alone on
a fur blanket on the snow-covered ice, watching the sky slowly change from light
blue tinged with pink at the horizon to a deepening lilac. As the sky darkened,
a ribbon of acid-green light became visible, like a great serpent wrapped
around the Earth. Thor remembered this from his visits to Midgard in his youth:
the Northern Lights. He remembered asking Loki if he had cast some sort of
illusion, and Loki had shaken his head, his mouth slightly open in awe, and
said, “No, it’s just the sky.”
The
sun was well above the horizon again when his friends emerged from the tent and
began busying themselves with rebuilding the fire. None of them asked Thor
whether he had slept at all, for which he was grateful. After a light
breakfast of toasted waybread and slices of cured meat, they quenched the fire
with snow and headed toward the cluster of black tents where Coulson’s
comrades—the “agents of Shield,” he had called them—had made camp.
They
met Coulson and a few of his black-clad agents partway between their two camps.
“Loki has agreed to meet with you,” Coulson said. “I’ll escort you to the Jötun
encampment.”
Perfect ending! I didn’t know what to expect, but Loki actually not wanting to rule Jotunheim is perfect, as is his carving his place somewhere else entirely and not going by any titles.
“Blood will out” lol. Fuck Odin. And Frigga to some degree. And Thor should grow up. So yeah, perfect story
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you’re happy with it 🙂
Thor
and his companions made camp on the glacier. They ate from the travel rations
they had packed because there was no hunting or forage to speak of. The sun
scarcely seemed to dip below the horizon for an hour, and it never truly grew
dark. Thor’s friends seemed to be able to sleep, shielded from the unrelenting
light by the thick fabric of their tent, but Thor could not.
He
left Volstagg’s snoring and Sif’s quiet nonsensical muttering and sat alone on
a fur blanket on the snow-covered ice, watching the sky slowly change from light
blue tinged with pink at the horizon to a deepening lilac. As the sky darkened,
a ribbon of acid-green light became visible, like a great serpent wrapped
around the Earth. Thor remembered this from his visits to Midgard in his youth:
the Northern Lights. He remembered asking Loki if he had cast some sort of
illusion, and Loki had shaken his head, his mouth slightly open in awe, and
said, “No, it’s just the sky.”
The
sun was well above the horizon again when his friends emerged from the tent and
began busying themselves with rebuilding the fire. None of them asked Thor
whether he had slept at all, for which he was grateful. After a light
breakfast of toasted waybread and slices of cured meat, they quenched the fire
with snow and headed toward the cluster of black tents where Coulson’s
comrades—the “agents of Shield,” he had called them—had made camp.
They
met Coulson and a few of his black-clad agents partway between their two camps.
“Loki has agreed to meet with you,” Coulson said. “I’ll escort you to the Jötun
encampment.”
Loki is the Philosopher King 