So in Thor: Ragnarok, on Sakaar. Thor says he and Loki are brothers and Loki replies “Adopted”.
Let’s assume that got back to Valkyrie, so she knows they’re brother but that they are not blood related. And that is all she knows.
Now let’s further assume that Hela’s “You don’t look like him” had some truth to it and that Thor physically takes after Frigga. Meanwhile, Loki and Hela have the same coloring and general build, And Loki has Odin’s fast-talking.
So what if, not knowing the particular of how Loki and Thor happened to become brothers, she’s assumes Thor is adopted one?
What if she doesn’t learn otherwise until some time into the trek to Earth?
Because I can’t sleep anyway:
Valkyrie for what is probably the fifth time in as many days: “But are you sure he’s not the one who’s adopted?”
Thor getting seriously exasperated: “I solemnly swear on the roots of Yggdrasil that I am, to the best of my knowledge, The blood son of Odin and Frigga of Asgard.”
*a beat*
Thor: “… Of course 8 years ago I would have sworn the same thing about Loki.”
*Another beat*
Thor: “… And I would have called myself their firstborn. So I will grant that “to the best of my knowledge” may not be particularly reliable, but I’m not the one who turns blue.”
Loki, from the sideline: “That can be arranged.” *makes ominous gesture*
Tag: hela
okay, so that post about how taika waititi wouldn’t be afraid to use britney spears’ toxic in a fight scene and
well, my finger slipped
thor ragnarok fight scene but holding out for a hero is playing
I was fluttery and charmed and delighted by one of my fave cheesy songs x Chris Hemsworth the Lightning God, but then Valkyrie came on and I made this involuntary guttural moaning sound and sank into the couch with my legs spread.
Hhhhhhholy shit. Hhhhholy SHIT can I please just … UGH.
So at first I was a little ??? about Hela being Thor’s sister in Ragnarok (squeezing her into the role Angela so recently acquired as their long-lost-big-sister in comics), but the more I think about it, the more I like what it does for Thor and Loki’s arc.
Thor now has two siblings who became his antagonists because of his father keeping secrets – hiding Loki’s heritage, and then hiding Hela’s existence. Which re-enforces how damaging that habit of lying and secrecy is to Asgard’s growth, as represented by Thor. Having those secrets come out and be faced is necessary for Thor’s development and maturity – confronting the sins of his father.
And for Loki – when Loki tries and fails to be a hero, he becomes a villain. He always measures himself against Thor, and then casts himself as Thor’s opposite. But with Hela showing up, suddenly the role of bad guy has been usurped by another sibling; he’s no longer the baddest Asgardian, or even the baddest of Odin’s kids. His sins are now in a whole new context, where his misdeeds are frankly small potatoes. He’s not only been outstripped as a hero by his sibling – he’s been outstripped as a villain. And that forces him to find some other measure of identity; not wholly good, not wholly evil, but something in between – something new.
Also, it re-enforces their brotherhood in an interesting way. Hela is Asgardian. Hela is Thor’s blood sibling (or at least half-sibling). And Hela is still awful. In that light, Loki can no longer ascribe his wickedness to his heritage – he isn’t evil because of some innate genetic factor, or because he isn’t Asgardian, since Hela is clearly capable of that evil despite being raised on Asgard and having Odin’s genes. And while Hela and Thor share blood, they have no kinship to speak of. Thor and Loki do, despite the lack of blood relation. They snipe and bicker like brothers throughout, and there are callbacks to their childhood and past together (the snake story, ‘get help’).
Hela’s appearance as Thor’s sister lends new context to both Thor and Loki’s relationship with each other and their family, and I think it gives us, as fandom, a lot of fresh material to play with as far as our boys’ character growth moving forward.
knitting in the dark 