Somewhere on the Statesman in the land of Infinity War was a Fever Dream…
It had been the seventh time that evening.
Seven times now where Thor heard screaming from next door, seven times now where had Thor shaken his brother, a sweating, shaking mess awake.
After realizing each time he wasn’t being subjected to whatever horrors his dreams held, Loki always did his best to attempt to string together a composure.
“I’m fine.”
“I thought you were good at lying, brother,” Thor replied as he sat down on his bed next to his very annoyed looking adopted sibling, “Unfortunately, your dreams are betraying you. Loudly.”
Loki’s face is a mixture of fear and HOPEFULNESS. Thor has been exhibiting surly disregard ever since their return to Asgard. Now at last, he’s touching Loki, looking DIRECTLY into his FACE, and TAKING HIM SERIOUSLY. Classic “negative attention is preferable to no attention.” Since Odin conditioned Thor and Loki to be helplessly codependent, in a scenario in which Loki is fated to be thought the “bad” and “losing” half of a dichotomy, Loki has decided in THOR’S CASE ALONE, it is worth being the bad guy to not be forgotten utterly. Better to be hated than erased, even in a dysfunctional relationship.
Look how goddamn eager his face is. “Yes hit me, rage at me. Anything, I’ve finally got your attention again.”
And not an ounce of that is manipulation. it’s desperation.
Just realized, Thor has Loki’s helmet engraved on his vambraces in the Avengers, because he believed Loki dead, and had it done as a mark of mourning and respect and all my feels have just exploded </3
Loki is the Philosopher King 