There is a great difference between helpful intentions, and actually being helpful.

And it wasn't as if Loki meant to start a war, or anything.

It was just his nature.

He was by nature a tactician. Thor... well, Thor was not.

Loki thrived on careful planning-if things went awry, then you should have thought up a more expansive variety of possible alternative outcomes. Which was far too many words for his brother's tastes.

Loki spent his days reading. His brother spent his days gallivanting all about Asgard, making an utter fool of himself, if Loki did say so himself.

Because of his heightened interest and ability in the magic arts, Loki had never felt as though he had a place in Asgard. Everyone was so very different from him, and at times even Asgardians could be unreasonably prejudiced.

He couldn't physically live up to Thor's standard. Naturally, everyone thought him cowardly, weak, and more than just slightly effeminate. Admittedly, he did little to prevent such misgivings. He knew he couldn't force them to understand. Not that the average Asgardian did very much of that anyways.

He still tried. He always was trying to live up to Thor's standard. Always trying to make Odin proud. But he couldn't seem to do any of that. He could never make Odin proud like Thor could, because he was different by nature. Loki was not a fighter.

He was a diplomat- a politician (which did actually fit his charge description quite well- Mischief, Lies, Trickery- it was quite obvious, wasn't it?). He preferred to fight with carefully chosen words rather than brute strength. The Midgardians had always claimed that the pen was far mightier than the sword. And, in Loki's case, it was very true.

A carefully chosen word could make peace. It could also get under the skin of just about anyone, and nearly start a war between all nine Realms.

Let it further be known that the "Deaf-Blind Heimdall Incident" wasn't his fault. Not entirely, anyways.

The only reason that the "Deaf-Blind Heimdall Incident" even happened was because, as stated before, having helpful intentions do NOT equate to actually helping.

He always had good intentions. Helpful ones.

His brother was an incompetent prince, and would be an even more inadequate king. He let the Frost Giants in to prove that to Odin. Merriment was a factor, incidentally...but not that much.

No one else had even thought to tell anyone that they were going to Jotunheim. He did, because he knew that they were walking into doom and destruction.

Who else wouldn't want to know of their origins? He touched the Casket only as an experiment.

He wanted peace just as much as anyone. After his father told him of the original purpose behind his adoption, he targeted the one whom he thought would be the greatest threat to a lasting peace. It happened to be his birth father.

He kept Thor on Midgard and sent the Destroyer down to give Thor a chance to prove himself an able king- humble and sacrificial. Loki knew that he himself would never be able to truly be a good king for Asgard. Too many idiots in one place to control. For the foreseeable future, anyways.

He did it for them. He did it for Odin. There was the 'proving himself' aspect, but nevertheless. He had always kept good intentions, even if he was forced to work in Thor's shadow, and even if some of his methods were slightly more than just mildly questionable. Admittedly, they usually were.

And yet, even if he kept good intentions, they were always just... Helpful intentions. Not actually Helpful.

The attack from the Frost Giants during Thor's Coronation day nearly resulted in an all-out war.

Odin's discovery that they had gone off to Jotunheim led to Thor's banishment.

Loki made his father go into Odinsleep when he lost his temper. Let it be known to all that he had never intended to say those horrible things to Odin. They sort of just tumbled out before he could stop them. It was instinctive. Careless. He knew that careless words could wreak untold havoc. Of course, his careless words usually did.

Assassinating Laufey meant that he would be an outcast among his blood brethren.

Clearly in retrospect freezing poor Heimdall wasn't a good idea. He conceded that it was most definitely one of the worst of his available options. Of course, slaying Heimdall outright wouldn't have been the brightest idea he'd had either, and it was high on the list of potential options. It had caused a cascading failure in his entire plan to get Thor back (without all the sheer idiocy the prince had possessed before).

Thor had proved himself, but then- things just didn't turn out the way that Loki would have hoped. He had made an effort to provide a quiet, normal transfer of power from the regent to the up-and-coming king. And things weren't ready when Thor had arrived. Jotunheim wasn't vanquished. War was eminent. Laufey had only just been defeated. Odin was (STILL!) not awake. Things were most definitely NOT ready.

Naturally, they misjudged his intentions as mischief, as they always did. They believed that it hadn't been for the good of Asgard. That he had been self-seeking and power hungry. Granted, as a prince, he had expected at least some recognition as a prince. But it had all been for Asgard. For Thor. For Odin. For everyone he knew and cared about.

And it didn't work. Again. Just as all of his other schemes and plans to gain his father's favor. It was not planned quite well enough. He could have turned Odin's spear on himself for his lack of foresight.

He remembered exactly what had transpired. He remembered exactly the reward he received for his helpful intentions.

He dangled over the precipice of the bridge, and he pleaded with his father.

He had seized the throne, likely unlawfully, making him something of a criminal. He had (for all points and practical purposes) executed Laufey and nearly destroyed Jotunheim, meaning that they would most certainly slay him if he returned.

Asgard was obviously the less lethal choice. He had placed all of his metaphorical eggs into a single proverbial basket. And, oh, how his choice was so terribly, terribly wrong.

"I could have done it, father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us..."

With one fell swoop, with two carefully chosen words, Odin reasserted what Loki had feared all along. That his father didn't care if he had good intentions or not- that neither mattered as he would never again be accepted as a son of Odin, nor a son of Laufey.

Perhaps Odin didn't realize that what he said would lead to Loki's ultimate conclusion and the action that followed.

Perhaps Odin had thought that what he was saying would make everything right again.

Perhaps Odin had fallen into the terrible error of helpful intentions.