iamanartichoke:

lookforastar:

Jumping on because I can’t resist over thinking this with you.  I wholeheartedly agree with everything you wrote, and wanted to comment on the unspoken layer beneath all of this.  Because as much as Loki’s trying to prove himself and make his father proud (as Frigga tells him to do), there’s the the constant undercurrent of Loki trying to grapple with what he is.  Yes, he is trying to prove himself as the second son now that he’s out of that shadow, but he’s also trying that he is capable as King despite his Jotun nature.

Because no matter how much you claim to love me,
you could never have a Frost Giant, sitting on the Throne of Asgard!

Loki believes that Odin only saw him as a tool and never intended–never saw him capable–of sitting on the throne.  No amount of Frigga’s words of support and love are able to negate this, so Loki needs to prove that Odin is wrong.  That he can do this–can destroy Laufey and the Frost Giants and prove his worth as a son of Odin.  I think up until the moment he Gungnir in his hand, Loki is floundering–unable to process what he’s learned and unsure of how he will cope–but when he is named king, he suddenly realize that he can do it.  He can make Odin proud despite ‘what’ he is.

Father! We’ll finish them together.

Loki knows what Thor will do if he returns.  Thor will wage war against Jotunheim.  Thor will lead them into battle and get the credit for saving the realm.  He will be the golden son that he always is.  Why else would Loki have ended Thor’s banishment unless Loki needed Thor to rule because he couldn’t do himself?  Why else would the Warriors Four be questioning his reign, if they too didn’t seem him as incapable?  But, as you note, if Thor stays on Midgard, then Loki will be the victor–he will be the worthy one.  No one will see him as the weak second son (or the monster he now knows he is).  He will prove he can rule–that he can save Asgard–despite not being Thor (and despite what he his).

There will be no kingdom to protect if you’re afraid to act! The Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they
once feared you.

And finally’s there’s this.  Loki has heard Thor say such things since they were boys–I’m sure Loki, himself, said such things.  As much as Frigga says he’s their son and that they love him, he fears Thor’s reaction.  I don’t think this alone is enough to make him strike first, but he is guarding himself against it.  Then the Warriors Four doubt and betray him purely because he is Loki.  If they can turn on him so easily now, Loki doesn’t even need to question how they–let alone the rest of Asgard (or Thor)–would react if they knew what he was.  They would string him up before he could even blink.  But if he can just destroy Jotunheim (something that is better than Thor just making the Jotuns fear him), then there is no reason for any of them to doubt him.  The only way to disprove what he is, is to be the hero.  And the only way to be Asgard’s savior is to keep Thor on Midgard (by any means necessary).

Ugh this is all so, so true and an excellent point/addition. Especially this: 

iamanartichoke:

Obligatory puppy dog Loki: 

I don’t know that Loki immediately began plotting to make it a more permanent position out of corruption, though. I think that he began plotting to do as much as he could while he had the position to clean up Thor’s mess with Jotunheim and make himself the hero who killed Laufey, slaughtered the Frost Giants (which Thor wanted to do) and saved Asgard. In my opinion, Loki’s intentions were never evil or corrupt; he acted out of a desperate need to prove his worth – to prove himself equal to Thor, or maybe even better than Thor. 

It really makes me wonder how things might have turned out had Sif and the W3 not intervened – because, really, all Loki was trying to do was keep Thor away from Asgard until he had time to carry out his plan and come out the other side, victorious. I think eventually, he probably would have let Thor come back. But once the W4 went against Loki’s orders to bring Thor back, that’s when Loki got desperate and things fell apart. 

I don’t think Loki ever thought he’d have the kingship permanently. If nothing else, Odin was going to wake up eventually, at which point he’d be king again. Loki just saw an opportunity to prove himself, while taking Thor down a few pegs, and pounced. Idk, it’s all very interesting because there’s just so much complexity going on between the characters in this movie and a million different ways things could have all turned out. 

If they can turn on him so easily now, Loki doesn’t even need to question how they–let alone the rest of Asgard (or Thor)–would react if they knew what he was.  They would string him up before he could even blink. 

God, poor Loki. The saddest part is that this is absolutely true, Loki doesn’t have to do anything untrustworthy to be considered untrustworthy, so if they knew what he really was, that dynamic increases tenfold. Additionally, it’s almost like it gives them validation in their mistrust of him. See? He’s a frost giant. We knew he was up to no good. We were right not to trust him. Incidentally, I kind of headcanon that Heimdall does feel this way toward Loki – that he inherently distrusts him because he’s Jotun and is just waiting for an excuse to be proven right. This is why Heimdall turns on him in the blink of an eye. Like, that escalated pretty quickly for someone supposedly so loyal to the throne. But I digress. 

Yeah, I’ve had that thought about Heimdall, too.