#Frigga’s a+ parenting

[bitchliteraria1906]

Asgard royal family headcanons! (Specifically about Loki and how he relates to each family member).

• I really like the headcanon that Frigga was pregnant before Odin took Loki, and she lost the baby. Mostly because it makes sense logically (that would make Loki easy to explain! He's not some random baby that spawned out of nowhere, they can just say he's the child she was pregnant with!). But also, it adds another layer to their relationship: he's an adopted rainbow baby.

• Because of this, she remembers baby Loki very fondly, romanticizing the memories a bit. I'd even dare to say she remembers Loki as an easier baby than Thor, even though, objectively speaking, that's not true at all. Loki cried more, screamed more, needed special care. Which was to be expected: he was way too young to be separeted from his mom, and the bright lights and warmer weather of Asgard (in comparisson to Jotunheim, that is) were bad for him. Odin even feared that it would be too much to Frigga, that she would beg him to take Loki back or something, but his fragile state just made Frigga want to take care of him more, and she rarely, if ever, complained.

• Odin's feelings were very different, of course. He remembers Thor as the easy baby, because Thor was predictable. Familiar. He didn’t need special lights for sensitive eyes or cold cloths pressed into his forehead to be able to sleep in hot nights. He did all the things, both cute and annoying, that an Asgardian baby is supposed to do, expected to do. Nothing more and nothing less. And of course, he wasn't a secret and a stolen child.

• The golden child vs black sheep dynamic was set from the start, is what I'm saying.

• Odin's treatment of Loki has so much layers that it probably deserves it's own post, so I won’t talk much about it here.

•Constanly comparing him to Thor. Sometimes it was subtle, but sometimes it was literally just saying "Why can't you be more like your brother?"

• I'm not sure what Asgard's stance on physical punishment would be. Like, I can definitely see some people thinking it makes kids stronger or whatever, but Idk.

• Regardless of what the common Asgardian stance on hitting your kids is, I don’t think is something Odin and Frigga would automatically jump to with young Thor and Loki. Frigga doesn't want to hurt them, and Odin prefers other forms of discipline.

• He's definitely not above hitting, though. It may not be his go-to method to actually teach them things, but a smack for talking back from time to time? It has happened, especially with Loki.

• Every punishment happened more with Loki, actually. Odin knew he specifically hated time out, because of how it forced him to think about what he did wrong while completely alone in his room. Sometimes he'd come out ashamed of himself, sometimes he'd just be angry. Either way, he wouldn't willingly talk to Odin for the rest of the day, either completely isolating himself or clinging more to Frigga. Most of the time, Odin wouldn't even notice, and for Loki, that was the most painful part.

•Frigga genuinely loved Loki, but she also had a hand in perpetuating the racism against frost giants (either by action or by compliance) and let a lot of Odin's treatment of him slide. She also had a "defending the person who isn't in the room" approach to conflict, so in the rare occasions that Loki vented to her about Odin, though she was a good listener, she didn't really validate his feelings that much? It was always "I know your father can be difficult, but he just wants what's best for you!" or "I guess he could've been nicer about it, but is he wrong, honey? You already know he doesn't like it when you do that."

•When it came to defending Loki (or speaking up about how Odin was raising both him and Thor in general), she mostly worked in the shadows. She’d argue with Odin about it when they were alone, but never in front of others, and Loki took her silence as agreement, basically thinking "Well, if Mother doesn't speak up when Father is so harsh to me, maybe it's because she agrees. And if she, who is the kindest person I know, agrees, maybe I actually do deserve it."

•Despite all these issues, she was still the person Loki felt the safest around, and a very self indulgent hc I have for them is that they had a special place they would go to when Loki was exceptionally upset. Maybe it was a special room in the palace, or a library, or a garden, or even a little house in some woods nearby. Regardless, they'd stay there for some hours until Loki was feeling better and ready to face the world again.

•At some point Loki decided he was too old to keep needing her this way and that he needed to change that if he wanted to be taken seriously, so he stopped going to said comfort place with her and overall leaning on her too much. She was pretty heartbroken, not only because of that "Damn it, my kid is growing up and changing" feeling that leaves a lot of parents distraught, but also because, knowing Loki too well, she knew that this sudden change came from a place of insecurity and wanting to be taken more seriously by Odin, Thor and his friends, mentors, and pretty much everyone.

•Thor and Loki's relationship as kids was innocent and simple and pretty much what you'd expect from 2 kids who are royals and raised in a culture that values warriors and strenght: lots of competion and sibling rivarly, play fighting, but also a lot of teamwork.

•Thor took his big brother title very seriously as a kid. Yes, he teased Loki a lot, but he was also protective and sweet. Whenever they went on little adventures together, like exploring some place they weren't supposed to go, he'd put Loki's safety before his own.

•This might have been half fueled by Frigga saying "Take care of your brother" whenever they went out to play, or by Odin constanly saying that Thor was the strongest one between him and Loki (see 6th headcanon). Probably both.

•The real problems started in their teenage years, when the golden child vs black sheep dynamic became more obvious. Thor was the perfect stereotype of an Asgardian warrior and king, and was surrounded by friends (and potential romantic partners) who also reached some amazing standards. Meanwhile, Loki was a quieter, more fragile looking and weirder person, with an interest in magic, a different way of fighting, an aversion to most social gatherings and no friends. Most of Thor's friends just tolerated him. Some took interest in him the same way someone would take interest in an exotic animal: they'd listen to him for a while, just enough to see if he really was as weird as he looked, and then leave as soon as they got their answers and their fun.

•This, along with Odin's favoritism becoming even more obvious, really soured Thor and Loki's relationship, leading to some arguments in which pretty cruel words were said by both of them (I might write this).

I could go on but I'm tired lmao. Maybe another day.

Some inspiration was taken from @taw-k and @unityrain24 btw!

[worstloki]

very carefully explaining to the princes of asgard how recessive genes work and skirting around details because eye colour is the textbook example and one of them has green eyes when neither parent does. hair colour is the other example in the textbook but well one of them has black hair when neither parent did.

[purplehalnw]

God the moment in TDW when Frigga asks Loki "Then am I not your mother?" is so fucking painful and sad.

Like Loki was hopeful that he still had Frigga as a mother, that he still had some family that actually loved him, that she was still the good person he always thought she was, but then she starts to manipulate him like Odin, defending Odin's actions, and basically saying "you can either have both of us or neither of us". And he decides that he's not taking it anymore, he already took enough from Odin, he's not taking it from her. So, he responds, realizing that he has no one left, "you're not".

And oh my god just seeing the realization on his face makes me cry

[nikkoshierlokiofneeds]

[justanotherblonde]

signal boost! haven't you always wanted to read about the escapades of baby Loki and toddler Thor????

a friend of mine is writing a really fun series, please come check it out!!

Ta Meg Tilbake Igjen (Take Me Back Again) by MedeaSavannah (IlonaAutumn) (AO3)

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Loki (TV 2021), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Odin (Marvel), Frigga | Freyja (Marvel), Bragi (Marvel), Idunn (Marvel)

Summary: Ever wondered if Loki was always this exhausting or if Thor was always so brash? This is a series of canon-compliant one-shots that follow Thor and Loki from infancy to young adulthood. See Loki’s journey from a cranky baby to a cunning trickster, and Thor’s evolution from an adventurous boy to a pre-hero warrior. Told by different characters to explore their mischievous escapades, brotherly bond, and the challenges as they become the characters we know in the MCU.

gonna tag @worstloki to humbly invite you to have a look 🥺😌

[kipcobblestone]

ASGARD’S FAVORITE BOYS!

🌟🖋️💌🐺⛈️

Anyways I needed a little tap into digital stuff cause I’m gonna be working on a logo for my friend and I thought drawing them would help me a bit. And this was a silly Chibi I sketched forever ago that im still obsessed with!! They’ve all finally got colors…

Btw I designed Baldur, Vidar, and Thor and @clusterpuppy designed Hermod and Hodur!! :D

[nostalgia-tblr]

i'm so ambivalent about frigga! on one had i think the MCU treated her very poorly and so fandom should build her up and give her some more 'oomph,' on the other hand what fandom has done with her also annoys me because it apparently decided she's the good parent to be contrasted with her husband even when they did the exact same things.

so i always have the urge to "support" her by making her problematic in one way or another. and strange. she deserves to be strange.

[therese-lokidottir]

Iyou know when loki talking about frigga in loki series, he describe her as pure decent and someone that belive in him, but somehow it make me note sad for loki not just because they using it to torture him. So if we look again in films frigga is well not good parent either. And in dark world, she never asked why loki did what he did on earth, she just assumed the worst from loki. And she literally know that loki have struggle with his relationship because 'thor and odin case they shadow to loki' and well ot giving real solution, yes she teach loki magic but what will that do inside society of peoples that worshipped brute strength rather than inner strength and mocking magic power?

Also let's not forget that she let odin and everyone in Asgard talking g about jotun peoples, she can at least made loki to thinking positive things about jotun but well she same racist like odin

While I belive frigga have good intentions but her actions is not enough, and sometime she can be worse. Loki really need stay away from his asgard 'family '

The later MCU and part off the fandom does have a bad habit of place Frigga on the pure perfect pedestal. and she really is just flawed as the rest of the family. Like, the only thing that puts her above Odin is that she at least tried and saw that Loki needed reassurance. But she is just as guilty for lying to Loki and denying him his heritage. It is none the less a bigoted and wrong thing to do just because it was done for "good intentions" and she may not have used Loki as a scapegoat the way Odin and Thor did she still denied him acknowledgement the wrongs done did him.

I will say I don't think she's irredeemable, I don't think she's heartless and think their is room to interpretate her as a nuanced character and thing I hate about the series is how it erased her agency and treats her like a prop for the sake of making Loki feel bad.

[lokijiro]

Tween Frigga visits a witch who tells her that she will marry a king and have two children. Tween Frigga is a little disappointed because she wants seventeen children.

When Frigga is told that she can no longer have children after Thor's birth, she is confused. She is certain that despite what she is told, she is capable of having another child. However, Odin refuses to try; he won't risk Frigga's life or health, even though he hates that his queen is miserable and he knows he needs a spare.

When Odin brings Loki to Asgard, Frigga immediately knows that he is her prophecized second son.

[galaxythreads]

“I once read an amazing fic where Odin finds Loki in the bifrost instead of Thor and he's beyond distressed that things got this point.”

Do u remember the title or any tags i would love to read this😆😆

I FOUND IT! I SPENT STUPIDLY LONG LOOKING FOR THIS EARLIER BUT I FOUND IT

summary:

On one hand, Loki will do anything to make his father love him. On the other hand, Odin loves Loki, but doesn't know how to show it in a way that Loki will understand. This is the story in which no quite gets the point.

it's not finished and hasn't been updated in years, but what's there is amazing, and who knows! positive support may coax another chapter out of the author if you're lucky. ;)

I ADORE Frigga and Odin in this fic though.

[raointean]

Okay, I was watching Love and Thunder clips today and I found these gems.

THIS IS CANON! We always rag on Odin for being a terrible parent, but we mostly just bring up how he pitted his children against each other and the "worthiness" thing. If we're doing a REAL deep dive, we may talk about Thor's role as Odin's personal attack dog.

But we never bring up anything from Love and Thunder because a) it wasn't a great movie, and b) Odin wasn't actually IN it. However, that means we miss out on this golden moment for ammo against Odin (and Frigga's) parenting!

Odin sent his tiny-ass BABY into a LITERAL BATTLE! And Frigga LET HIM! We don't know anything about the circumstances of their marriage, so it's possible her hands were tied, but STILL! Probably not even a century after the whole Hela fiasco, Odin is sending his next child out to learn how to kill people!

Thor has been fighting in battles since literal infancy. All he knows is death, destruction, violence, and burning, plus whatever the fuck was going on at home. He has no frame of reference for "normal"! (That also explains why he was so nonchalant about Loki trying to kill him all the time)

I'm not going to go on about all the issues that would have caused, because I don't know them. I just thought it was crazy that no one's talked about this while discussing Thor's abuse!

[emilythedog661]

Here is Odin and Frigga as ponies

Odin is a alicorn and frigga is a very strong unicorn

[worstloki]

Caring understanding Frigga who wink wink already knows where Thor and Loki’s matters of the heart lie is sooooooooo not canon. That lady spoke to her sons 5 times throughout the cinematic universe and was scraping the bottom of an empty pot with how sound her advice was. She spoke to Loki 2 times and both times it was to gaslight him when he was already crying about something... give her prophetic visions all you want that woman is NOT a sage

[nikkoliferous]

Directly Contrasting Movie!Loki vs. Series!Loki

Avengers vs Loki (2021) Promo Shots

Debunking the Lie That Loki Was A Lazy, Pampered Prince (Unlike Sylvie, Whose Life Was Sooo Super Hard!)

Some of the Jarring Differences Between Movie!Loki and Series!Loki

Addressing the Laughable Notion That Loki Has Never Been Out-of-Control Before Loki (2021)

Loki (2021)’s “Redemption” Arc Only Works If You Ignore His Prior Characterization

Loki Caring About Other People Is Nothing New

The Narrative’s Treatment of Avengers!Loki vs. Ragnarok/Series!Loki

Debunking Loki (2021)’s Whitewashing of Frigga’s B+ Parenting

Loki’s Character “Development” in Loki (2021) Fails To Take Into Account His… You Know, Character

Loki (2021)’s Failure to Distinguish Between Acting In-Control vs. Being In-Control

Debunking the Lie That Loki Had Only Ever Cared About Himself Until He Met Sylvie

Does Loki Actually “Love to Talk”?

TDW!Loki vs Series!Loki and Caring About Other People

Loki’s Entire “Redemption Arc” in the Series Is Based on a False Premise

The Worst Part of Loki (2021) Was Everything

Disney Did Worse Than Kill Loki Off—They Unmade Him

↩️ back to the compendium

[nikkoshierlokiofneeds]

[villainousshakespeare]

Therapy Fit for a God Chapter 27

“Loki/OFC Rated E: Trigger Warnings: Smut, Sex, Oral Sex, Angst, talk of suicide, therapy, unhealthy family dynamics, mention of torture and mind control, touch starved, drinking, memory loss.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26

Loki’s plans to conquer and rule Midgard have come to a disastrous end. After being captured by the Avengers, he is being held on Earth. Odin has refused to interfere, and the outlook for the God of Mischief appear bleak. His only hope may lie in one mortal woman, a Psychiatric expert brought in to interrogate him.

Dr. Caroline Thorpe is intrigued by Loki and thinks that more lies beneath his actions than is commonly known. Can she find out the truth before he is shipped off to die for crimes against the Earth? And can Loki bring himself to care?

@yespolkadotkitty @just-the-hiddles @hopelessromanticspoonie @wine-and-whines @arch-venus25 @caffiend-queen @devilish–doll @enchantedbyhiddles @hiddlesholic @i-do-not-fangirl-i-fanwoman @kellatron55 @ladyoftheteaandblood @latent-thoughts @yespolkadotkitty@maryxglz @myoxisbroken @nuggsmum @nildespirandum @pedeka @redfoxwritesstuff @sinfully-lustful-darling @vodka-and-some-sass @wrathkitty @kingtwhiddleston @wolfsmom1 @poetic-fiasco @shiningloki @dangertoozmanykids101 @bookworm-christina @amwolowicz @delightfulheartdream @frostbitten-written @what-a-flammable-heart @tom-hlover @nonsensicalobsessions @myraiswack @loki-yoursaviourishere @ghostypau @ms-cellanies @colorfulfreakstudentpizza @mareebird @colorfulfreakstudentpizza  @szycha22 @chokemedaddyloki @queenofallhobos @just-the-hiddles-reads  @alwida10  @justjoanne242 @chantsdemarins @lovelysizzlingbluebird @lokiprompts @evieplease @unlucky-number-13 @bitchassbecky691 @georges-left-ear

Eir was an imposing looking woman. Easily over six feet tall and crowned with a cap of snow white hair over steel grey eyebrows, she looked more like a general than a healer and tended to run her medical team accordingly. Loki had always had a great deal of respect for her, but he also found himself unaccountably ill at ease in her presence.

They were seated in his mother's study having gathered to discuss, much to his irritation, Loki's condition. Eir was the last to arrive, entering with the air of one barely humoring her inferiors. This look was lessened slightly as she nodded deferentially to Frigga but returned in double intensity as her eyes swung to Loki and Caroline.

"Thank you, gracious Eir, for agreeing to meet with us at this late hour," Frigga said, indicating a high-backed chair similar to the one in which she sat.

"When the AllMother calls, it is our duty to answer," she replied, sitting bolt straight in the chair, back not touching the carved wood. "The young Prince looks to be healing nicely from his wounds. I sense no lasting cellular deterioration beyond the elasticity which he always has possessed."

Her words were clipped, spoken in a deep, resonant voice. It was all Loki could do to keep himself from slipping back into the posture of the boy saw him as, slouching down to draw less attention to himself. To say the healing goddess had intimidated Loki, Thor, and their friends would hardly be stretching the truth.

"Indeed, his injury seems to be well on the mend," Frigga smiled.

"Pardon me, dear ladies. Do you think you might consider talking to me? I am in the room after all,” Loki asked with a look of false courtesy plastered on his face. His self respect, after all, would not allow them to completely send him scurrying back to the school room.

"Loki, behave yourself," Frigga chastised him gently, causing his eyes to roll.

"You see, they treat me as a child," he complained to Caroline who gave him a small smile of commiseration.

"That is what you are, comparatively," Eir said, though no intended offense was detectible in her voice. "I had lived two lives before you were even born."

"I must be an infant then," Caroline said weakly.

It was a valiant attempt, and he admired her for finding her voice among such imposing women, but Eir was ancient even by Asgardian standards.

"Less than that," the healer turned her ice grey eyes on Caroline. "You are the blink of an eye, a wave on the shore. Here now, but soon gone with barely a trace to show you existed at all."

Sitting close to her on the sofa, Loki could not help but feel the wince that Caroline tried to hide from the room. Knowing what a slap that sentence would be, squeezed her hand in support. To Hel with Eir and her superior manner. Caroline deserved better.

"Dr. Thorpe has made more of an impact on me in the past month than all the population of the Citadel of Asgard did in my entire life," Loki defended Caroline, glaring at the woman who had saved his life.

"Has she? May I ask in what way? I am curious about the lasting effects of Midgardian exposure."

To left, Caroline smothered a laugh. Alarmed at first that something was wrong with her - a reaction to all of stress he had put her through would not be out of place - he belated realized with surprise that her humor was genuine. Something clicked inside Loki's brain. Caroline had looked at Eir, a Goddess who terrified most of Asgard, and realized the truth of her. The woman was not trying to be rude or offensive, not a bit. She simply looked at the world in through a scientific lens rather than an emotional one. Eir was legitimately intrigued by their connection. She would probably like to take Loki and Caroline's clasped hands and study them under a microscope.

"Well, young prince?" Eir prodded again. "What changes did the Midgardian girl make on you?"

"Well, that is just the problem," Loki sighed with a rueful smile. "I don't seem to remember."

"The spell we wove, clouding the disruptive memories," Frigga jumped in to explain. "It seems we obscured more than we intended."

"Ah. I see. The brain is a complicated piece of machinery, and we were pressed for time, if you recall. Had he woken up again and continued to fight his recovery, he may not have had enough energy left to heal."

"I do recall," Frigga's voice trembled a bit at the memory. "I am not reprimanding you, or myself, Eir."

"I should hope not. How much time has he lost?"

"A year or more," Loki answered for himself, the barest trace of annoyance in his tone, even though Eir looked at his mother. "I have no firm recollection of anything between Thor's would-be coronation and waking up in the infirmary."

"Well, a year is hardly so great a matter. It may come back eventually. Or not. It is difficult to say."

"It was a rather significant year," Frigga put a slight emphasis on her words that added to Loki's misgivings.

"Meeting a Midgardian woman hardly seems significant to me."

"And your opinion of it seems even less so to me," Loki snarled. Quirk of nature or not, he would not allow anyone to disrespect Caroline.

"Loki," Frigga admonished with a glance. "As much as I am sure Dr. Thorpe was important to my son, there were other things that transpired that may hold more wide scale significance."

Ah yes, the mysterious other things. Loki stole looks at his mother and the healer under lowered lids. What was it that had them all so on edge? He knew from what Thor and his idiot friends had let slip that he had committed some errors in judgement in regard to Midgard, but instinct told him that this was not the extent of his actions. Torture had been alluded to, as well as some sort of break down. The more he heard of his lost year, the more anxious it made him.

"Frigga, have you seen Thor? Ah, Eir, what brings you here this time of night?"

The door to the study slammed open and a man strode in. Considering he had entered without so much as a knock or a by your leave, there was only one person this could be. Not that Loki needed to know that to recognize his father.

Odin was huge, not just in stature, but in presence. Burly in a similar manner to Thor, if perhaps not in such dramatically fit shape, his presence made the room feel as though it had shrunk to half the size. His hair was mixture of white and grey, with a few dark strands showing the color it once had been. One eye hid behind a golden eyepatch, permanently affixed to his face, but the other shrewd orb seemed to hold a stormy sky tossing in its depths. A similar storm surrounded him, it always seemed to Loki. He radiated an energy that pulsed through the room, commanding all attention rest immediately on him.

"AllFather," Eir greeted Odin, nodding from where she sat. Even she sounded deferential when she spoke to Odin.

"My queen is not unwell, I trust?" Odin's eyes flicked from Eir to Frigga, concern clouding them.

"I am fine," Frigga brushed off his worry. "We are discussing Loki."

"Good evening, Father," Loki stood to acknowledge his sire, bringing Caroline to her feet with him as he was not about to drop her hand now.

"What has he done now?" Odin demanded. "You are awake, I see."

"I am. Your well wishes are much appreciated," Loki couldn't resist from adding in the last words.

"Loki has not done anything," Frigga told her irritable spouse.

"Well, there is a first time for everything," Odin said with a hard look at Loki.

"You are not being fair, father," he said with the merest hint of a smirk. "At least half of the time it was Thor's fault."

"SILENCE!" Odin shouted, causing Caroline to let out a squeak she would be relieved to know only he could hear. "Now, would someone tell me what I walked in on?"

"Loki has lost some of his memories," Frigga said, shooting Loki a look when he opened his own mouth. "It is a side effect from the spell Eir and I wove on him."

"The Princeling is missing approximately a year of time," Eir added.

"Considering how he spent that year, I would think that would be all to the better," Odin opined, making him even more uneasy about his deeds. "If he is truly innocent, or at least not culpable for his actions as you claim, then it is better to let the unpleasantness lie in the past and hope we all forget it."

"That is the worst thing you could possibly do!"

Loki heard the words ring out in Caroline's clear voice. If he could have jumped in front of her and stuffed them back in he would have. Odin's eye, dark with anger at being gainsaid, swung to pin her to the carpet like a bug in one of Eir's experiments.

"And who is this person who dares contradict me in my own palace?"

"A Midgardian woman the Prince has befriended," Eir was the first to answer in a voice that said she was impervious to the tension crackling in the room. "He claims she is important for some reason, though I have yet to discover how."

"Caroline is my consort," Loki said boldly, puffing out his chest and hoping he sounded confident.

"A Midgardian woman? Consort to a Prince of Asgard? Don't be absurd. Call one of the guards and have her escorted to a room in the servants' quarters at once. We can send her home on the morrow."

"If Caroline goes, I go," Loki was angry now, and used it find the confidence he had never had to stand up to his father head on. "I am in love with her."

"He is obviously more disturbed in the head than you led me to believe," Odin said to Frigga.

"Dr. Caroline is a brave woman who saved Loki's life. Thor told me all about it today when we went to retrieve her. Perhaps we should hear her out." Frigga defended her, surprising Loki himself with the revelation. How had Caroline managed to do that? What other secrets did this wonderful woman hold?

"Regardless, she knows nothing of these matters. Her opinion is irrelevant."

"On the contrary," Caroline countered, taking a step forward. "I know a great deal. Loki and I have spoken at length, before he lost his memories, about what he was put through. I would go as far as to say that at this moment I know more about the situation than anyone alive. What's more, I have made the study and aid of trauma victims my life's work."

Loki stared at Caroline with love and admiration as she locked eyes, or eye, with his domineering father. Few even among the other Gods would dare to stand up to the AllFather when he was in a temper, and here was a diminutive mortal doing just that. He was immensely proud of her.

"Your life's work," Odin mocked. "A child on Asgard would have studied longer."

"Yes, we have already been through the disparaging of my age," she said. "I admit that my life is short by comparison, but I believe in this one matter if nothing else my expertise should be respected."

"You talk of respect - "

"Father - "

"My love," Frigga cut through Odin's next growl and Loki's protestation. "I believe we should listen to her. Just hear her out. After all, what harm could it do? If she fails to convince us, we have lost nothing. On the other hand, if it could harm Loki or anyone else to keep his memories buried, better to find out how and deal with the problem."

Loki held his breath, waiting to see if Frigga's calm and common sense would carry the day over her husband's pride. Sometimes it did, but not always by a long shot.

"Very well," Odin agreed at last. "We will here this person out. But I warn you, my decision will be final."

"Of course," Frigga assuaged him.

Loki didn't say that regardless of what Odin decided he would stop at nothing to recover his memories, but he was fairly certain everyone in the room knew it to be true. He bit his tongue instead as his parents seated themselves in the highbacked chairs that were not quite thrones.

"Loki, you should wait outside."

Caroline spoke so softly to him that at first he thought he must have misheard her. Surely, she did not expect him to leave her to face his father's wrath without him? Did she thing him such a coward?

"I most certainly will not," he insisted.

"We need to discuss what you have been through," she said practically. "Part of my concern is about the way in which you find out what you are missing. For you to hear it baldly discussed would be particularly cruel."

"I can deal with whatever it is."

"You could, but you shouldn't have to. Please, Loki. You have been torn apart once already by this. There is no need to have it go that way again."

"Dr. Caroline is right, Loki," Frigga echoed.

"Why don't you come into the next room with me, Princeling. I will look into your brain and see if I can determine just where the edges of our spell lie, in case we want to attempt to alter it."

"I do not like this," Loki looked from one of them to the next, eyes landing last on Carolines.

"I promise she will be fine, Loki," his mother assured him. "I will look after her."

"I am not a damsel in need of rescuing, Loki. This is my job. Please, let me do it."

"I will be just next door," he said reluctantly.

"I am hardly going to harm the girl," Odin grumbled.

Ignoring his father, Loki searched Caroline's eyes one last time before sighing in defeat. She was right. If he had really shared his story with her, she was the best equipped to decide what to do. He just wished he could spare her the unpleasantness of a confrontation with his father. Leaning down, he gave her a long, lingering kiss. He had meant it as a show of loyalty for the others in the room, but the moment his lips met hers he forgot them.

"Come along boy, you have made your point," Eir interrupted.

"Call out if you need."

As Caroline nodded, eyes slightly glassy, Loki reluctantly allowed Eir to lead him from the room.

***

Caroline's father had warned her that someday her need to ease the emotional pain of others despite the circumstances would land her in hot water over her head. Well, it didn't get much hotter than where she was now.

The departure of Loki and Eir had left her alone in a room on an alien planet (that she wasn't even sure actually was a planet) with her lover's parents, beings of immense powers who had inspired the gods of ancient Earth societies. It was all a little daunting to say the least.

"Very well," Odin grumbled, pinning her to the spot with his one eye. "Let's get this over with. You will tell us everything that Loki said to you, leaving not out a word out."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I cannot do that," she replied automatically, taken aback by the brusque request.

"I do not understand," the God glared at her. "I thought that was the reason we were allowing you to remain."

"Perhaps you can explain what you mean, Dr. Caroline," Frigga suggested with an encouraging smile.

"Loki is - was my patient," she tried to keep her voice professional. "As such, some of the details of what we spoke about are confidential. Ethics will not permit me to share them with anyone."

"Your ethics are of no concern to me. We are dealing with the safety of whole realms."

"They may not concern you, your Majesty, but they are of great concern to me," Caroline shot back, before taking a deep breath. "I cannot tell you word for word what Loki said, but I can discuss matters in general."

"Go on," Frigga said, as her husband just glowered. "Though some of it I have pieced together. He was tortured?"

"He was. For months on end. I do not know, and I do not wish to know, all of the ways in which he was tormented, but I do know that included mental and emotional torture as well as the physical. Loki was broken down bit by bit by someone who knew exactly how turn someone's mind, a creature he referred to as The Other, in service of Thanos."

"The Mad Titan!" Odin seemed interested now. "He was involved in all of this?"

"He was," she nodded. "His children abducted Loki and he used The Other, with the help of one of the Infinity Stones, to bend Loki to his will."

"The Mind Stone," Frigga said. "Thor told us it was in the scepter Loki used in his invasion."

"The invasion was guided by Thanos through the Mind Stone," Caroline went on. "I believe Loki was fighting against it as much as he could."

"I did wonder how one I trained could be so clumsy," Odin said grudgingly. "The Mind Stone is a powerful tool."

"I have had some small experience with it. Nothing compared to what Loki endured, I was only possessed for a matter of minutes, but it was the worst thing I have ever experienced."

"You were possessed by the stone and survived with your mind intact?" Odin sounded marginally impressed.

"Only thanks to Loki. He had prepared me for what might happen, and when I could not prevent it he sacrificed himself for me. That is how he came to be injured."

She couldn't quite bring herself to confess to Loki's disapproving father that he had sacrificed himself by jumping in front of a gun and allowing her to shoot him. He already had reasons enough to dislike her.

"If what you say is true, then perhaps Loki is not to be blamed for the battle on Midgard. While I am disappointed that he would be careless enough as to fall prey to the Mad Titan, once subjected to the Mind Stone even Thor might have difficulty resisting its urges."

Caroline almost bit a hole in her tongue at that. Thor was physically strong, but compared to Loki his mind was that of a child. He would have been easy pickings for the jewel.

"I did not think the details we heard of the invasion sounded like our son," Frigga agreed with Odin, tactfully ignoring the second part of his statement.

"I still do not see the current difficulty," Odin said. "You claim to care about Loki; why would you wish him to have to remember the pain and torment you say he endured?"

"If it was only the torture and invasion he had forgotten, I might agree with you," Caroline struggled not to take offence. "But we all know there was more. The memory loss goes back further, to the day of Thor's coronation."

"What of it?" Odin crossed his arms across his chest, in a gesture Caroline had seen Loki mirror many times before.

"Loki has forgotten he is Jotun," Caroline said baldly, deciding the best way was to rip off the band aid.

"He told you, did he?" Odin's words were laced with contempt.

"He did. But even had he not, it was in his SHIELD folder that I was given at the start of our sessions. Thor apparently informed his fellow Avengers when they were attempting to form a defense plan against him."

"Damnation!" Odin growled, banging his fist on the arm of the chair.

"The secret is out, your Majesty. Earth knows. From what I have gathered, many people on Asgard know. The lie of him being your son is no more."

"He is my son!" Odin shouted, face turning red.

"Then perhaps you should have treated him as such!" Caroline snapped back.

He was an innocent, and brilliant, and longing for love and you treated him like a possession. You never thought to look at the potential locked within and find a way to help it to bloom. You took him into your home and your family, you should not have done that if you were not willing to open your heart to him as well. The words screamed in her head unspoken, but she was sure her face said them all.

"How dare you!"

"Odin, please!" Frigga placed her hand on his arm. "Caroline, despite what you may believe, we raised Loki as our child."

"But he was not born your child," she replied, getting a handle on her emotions, "and he found this out in the worst way possible. There was no one for him to talk to about it. Thor was gone, his father was incapacitated, and you were tending to him. Loki's entire world was broken, and he had to deal with it all alone."

"I admit, the timing was not ideal," his mother said in an extreme understatement.

"That knowledge is still there, somewhere in his psyche. He may not be consciously aware of it, but on some level Loki knows. On some level, he probably has always known. It was difficult, but I was finally beginning to convince him that this truth did not make him a monster, condemned to be alone and hated."

"Thank you," Frigga said simply.

"It was my pleasure. I would have done as much for anyone, but Loki is special."

"He is."

"If we keep this knowledge from him, particularly when everyone else is beginning to know, I worry what will happen this time when he finds out. All of the work we have done to get him over the worst of his self-hatred will have been for nothing. The last time he learned of his true origins, he descended into an identity crisis that led to an attempt on his own life followed by the lives of millions. Don't put him and those around him in that danger again."