A Sorta Fairytale

Disclaimer: Standards apply.
Notes: Dedicated to Arion Morgon, belated happy birthday. Not my usual voice or tone, but experimenting with style. Written before the anime ended.

Perhaps we should begin this story with "once upon a time," because what I am about to relate isn't anything that happened in a time frame you or I can understand. It's one of those things that goes beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, but...

Well, most of us don't admit our mortality. Not even the Gods, and the Gods themselves are mortal.

No? Don't believe me? Well, listen to my story, and then make up your mind.

Let's try starting this way...

Mukashi, mukashi...

Yes, our story has a Japanese flavor, even though the Gods which I want to speak of are Norse. Why, I don't know, but blame it on Odin. It's always good to blame everything on the All-Father, that grim and gray god. He is, after all, the most powerful of the gods, so if something goes wrong, it can eventually be traced back to him. Just be careful, because his temper is the stuff of legends. But this IS a legend...

Anyway, mukashi, mukashi...

There was a god. Of course he had many stories told about him during the age of fable, and some were more true than others. This made it hard for people to understand what he was like, because his very nature was as changeable as the weather. Some called him a trickster, while others call him the devil. Me, I call him chaos incarnate. He wasn't evil — no, not him — but he definitely wasn't good. If you want good, you'd have to look at Thor, who always did what was right and just... but our hero... no, no...

Before I lose my train of thought, let's continue. The God, Loki, was perhaps the most powerful of them all. I know I just said that was Odin, but let's think on this. Odin is a force of law and order; Loki is a force of chaos. Which is stronger?

Thought so.

But at this particular time, Loki and Odin were friends, shieldbrothers. I'd even say shieldmates, but that has different connotations, and Odin never went that far. Loki was devoutly bisexual, but Odin... well, I don't gossip about his love life. There's STORIES about what happens to people who do, and he's a nasty bastard when you piss him off.

Loki, of course, always walked just the right side of the line, always knowing just when to push and when people were going to take a revenge that he didn't want to deal with. He was a master at landing on his feet, like a cat - a charming S.O.B. That's that thing that come to mind about him first, his charm. That and the fact that he was drop-dead gorgeous and knew it. Maybe those are related, now that I think on it.

But Loki and Odin had many adventures together, back when the world was new. They did quite a lot together, and both owed each other many debts. They promised to always be friends, and it seemed like things were going to stay that way. Loki liked to create trouble, but he liked how things would eventually return to a rather pleasant status quo.

Then the Norns spoke the prophecies of the Ragnorak, and it all came apart. Ragnorak, well... I shouldn't try to explain it. It makes my head hurt just thinking about what will happen. It's the end of the world, everything falling into nothingness and chaos. Prophecies say that Odin will lead one side, and Loki the other.

Now here is where there's all the problems. When Odin learned of it, he naturally feared it... and became afraid of Loki.

Self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's a vicious cycle, being afraid. His fear will cause the end of the world, I think. He'll push and push, trying to destroy Loki, and Loki will push back, and...

No? You think Loki won't do anything?

Ahh, but you don't know Loki. He loves the world, but I think he loves himself more. He's not into martyrdom, and that's what Odin would have of him.

So Odin was at odds with Loki, but Loki didn't realize it. He's clever, but Odin is as well, and hid his animosity. He plotted to get rid of Loki before things could come to a head. Since Odin was the leader of the Gods (much more into organization), he commanded Loki to steal Heimdall's eye. You understand, Heimdall's eye isn't quite... normal. It has powers, and Loki could see why Odin wanted it. So away Loki went, doing what Odin wanted...

And was thrown out of heaven when he presented the eye to the All Father. No explanation, nothing.

WHAM!

It was a hard landing. Loki ended up in Japan of all places, which wasn't real close to his beloved Scandanavia. Even worse, Odin had turned him into a child, which was nearly unbearable for the known womanizer.

But Loki, being Loki, made the best of things, determined to get back. He was confused and maybe a bit hurt. He started a detective agency with his son, Migardstormr and began to collect jaki.

What happened?

Well, he got back, alright, but not before Odin sent assassins. People who had been Loki's friends, turned against him...

And Loki turned them against Odin, in the end, simply by being his charming S.O.B. self.

Here's where our story gets even worse. Loki goes back to heaven... but things aren't the same. Oh, no. Relationships have changed, and he's bringing everything closer to the Ragnarok.

You laugh. But really, that's what's happened. Loki WILL bring the Ragnarok, simply because of his nature. He and Odin move ever closer to it without realizing they're playing right into the Norn's hands. Of course, the Norns aren't thrilled about the end of the world, but there is a prophecy, and they never make mistakes.

It all comes down to Ragnorak.

People don't get what that is. Ragnarok. It's the destruction of the gods, caused by Loki's mischief. He won't mean to bring it about, but he rarely intends on bad things happening. They just DO.

He's not evil. Oh, no. He's worse - he's chaos. And Odin, Odin is order and structure. It's inevitable they'll clash, and when that happens...

All bets are off. They'll all kill each other in a mass of bloody battles, and who knows who will be on which side? Alliances shift, and people die. Loki will be sorry for it, sure, but that means squat in the end.

So what does that mean? I'm not a god, so I can't tell you exactly, but I do know that times... they are changing. And I don't know where anything is going to end up... no one does.

If this was a fairytale, I'd be giving you a "happily ever after" and tell you things all ended merrily, that Loki and Odin reconziled, or that Odin was deposed and replaced by Loki, or that Odin and Loki realized they were deeply in love and that was the cause of their fighting.. But... these are Gods we're talking about, Norse Gods. I don't think they know the meaning of happily ever after.

Note:

Mukashi, mukashi... Similar to "once upon a time." Used QUITE a bit in "Princess Tutu."