commentary plus long headcanon-y ramble on Thor
There's close to two and half thousand words here, with an extra commentary bit at the end. You have been warned.
"Those who sit-" I want to know the end of that sentence on the relic in the Vault. Because yes. I paused and read the runes.
"Forged in the heart of a dying star", oh where have I heard that line before? Wait, Doctor, you didn't steal Gleipnir did you? Or 'borrow' the two other chains that were used to attempt to bind Fenrir?
Odin~ why don't you have super special secret ops division of the Valkyries to commit acts of low war against the Jotunns? I mean, they got caught, so Thor's fully valid in his opinion to enact high war against them, but governing fail eeee. You have Huginn and Munnin, why aren't you using them.
AND LOKI. You're all "Bro, were you even paying attention when we were being tutored about politics? And dad wants you to be his heir?" when you were in the vault and then you poke him into committing an act of high war.
Why are there so many meme-like lines in the "Let's go to Jotunnheim!" scene? I'm counting 1 LotR reference repeated twice and 1 300 reference so far.
Pretty music!
You are leaving your horses behind? Wha-?
And Sif's the practical one, with a hood on her cloak. Okay, so is Gilderoy's doppleganger, but you are not dressed warmly enough indeed.
Still maintaining the Bifrost is a path through the Vortex though. Although I can kind of see why Odin hasn't sent spies if their entrance is that showy.
Jotunns are about the same height as the Hulk? (Or at least mini-Hulk, because it looks like he's like Mokona and can change size from slightly less than two times the height of his shorter team mates (who are tall on average) to like three storeys tall.)
Battle scene! I love how cartoony Mjolnir's sound effect is. And Loki's magical gestures just make me giggle. Roaring back at things is always good though.
Oh gods, I'm getting poi feels, which then give me poi feels, which then give me Maori mythology crossover feels. Also I feel there should an obvious wrist strength joke in here. (I just- yeah. Maori poi were originally for warriors to develop wrist strength so they could swing their weapons, which were mostly of the axe, club and hammer family of weapons.)
Impractical though they are, I do love what the costumes designers did with the capes.
Is Sleipnir just that restless or is Odin listing from side to side because he is that tired? (Also, Sleipnir, you gorgeous baby, why are you black? You're supposed to be grey. But you have very pretty armour and are obviously the best horse ever. #sometimes I act like a little kid #horses! Now go off and father Shadowfax.)
And that was one of the longest opening sequences ever.
Nornheim? What. Your pronunciation's off as I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be saying Niflheim, but I can't hear that. I mean... the guy playing Odin got the pronunciation of Thor and Mjolnir spot on.
Taking people to the hospital in movies which are set in the USA would be a lot more believable if I weren't aware that the public health system (which extends to A&E departments) didn't suck in the US.
Thor and variants of are pretty common as names in certain parts of the world I would like to note though. I mean, there's Thordis and Torkel.
Pretty hammer music!
Odin, you don't exactly have the best track record of simply taking people because it's a good thing to do. I have no idea if Freyr and Frejya exist in this universe, but uh diplomatic hostages with the Vanir, that's all I'll say.
Though infant death by exposure is nasty. So a part of Odin picking Loki up and bringing him home would probably be because it's a compassionate thing to do. But then he cared too much and by loving Loki as a son thus made him unsuitable for any kind of parley with the Jotunn.
The shine of Loki's tears in the torchlight is also really distracting. Almost enough to distract me that Loki's interpreting Odin's words correctly, but also at the same time oh so wrongly. He's not feeling the emotion and motivation behind those words, just the way that lies would twist those words into the way they've been spoken.
So apparently all planets do have a North. And a West, East and South. :D That just pleases me immensely.
I love Darcy's pronunciation of Mjolnir. Mirmir? Mewmir? It's adorable, whatever it is.
And yay, confirmation that Dr. Selvig is indeed German. Or maybe Swedish or Icelandic or any of the other countries that are proud of their Viking history and thus actually teach it.
Do I friendship Darcy and Jane? Yes I do. That is also one classy looking rented research space. Especially the sofa.
Huginn and Muninn! In the backdrop behind the throne!
But Loki you sound so... empty. ;_;
So yes, Rainbow Bridge is the other name for Bifrost, but behind that I think about X/1999 and Tokyo Babylon and though I have not actually read them... well, the Rainbow Bridge has people DIE on it.
Intrigue music!
Why is the temporary complex in the shape of a mirrored treble clef?
That grin Thor gives when it starts pouring down with rain! Yes, thunderstorms are the best. Can an AU - No Powers Thor be a weather forecaster?
Also, modern archery bow porn. @_@ Prettiest thing!
Yay! Darcy! Although I don't like any form of "Aliens are actually gods from ancient civilisation", even in fiction. The flipside, yes. But aliens as gods gives me hives.
Aww... "You mustn't blame yourself". Yes, because Loki blames HIMSELF.
Although I do not hold with all those lies or the absence of any farewell hug.
...Coulson's smile is creepy.
Boiler makers? Those are DANGEROUS.
That is absurdly petty Loki, letting frost giants in to disrupt Thor's party/coronation/announcement of inheritance.
Heimdall, that grimace. You are not terribly trusting of Loki, are you?
Can I bro Thor and Selvig together? Please? At least as drinking buddies and sharing awesome stories about stuff? Because Thor was being an awesome bro.
Where's Darcy gotten to?
Eeee! Yggdrasil! Although I still have no idea how Ratatosk fits into this mythos.
Unpopular opinion time: Thor actually understands, on a level equal to Jane or perhaps slightly lower but not by much, how these astrophysical systems work. He just can't make them work, doesn't have the vocabulary to actually explain the mechanics of them and takes their manipulation for granted. So saying he's simple minded or unintelligent isn't technically true. Though single-minded is.
Or basically he's got a barrel full of privilege and isn't aware of it.
Oh, but Loki, you would approve of Heimdall's statement that he cannot open the Bifrost for Sif and the Warriors, but that doesn't mean he can't leave it open for them.
Hee, is that a reference to the theory that Heimdall is actually Vanir that I hear? Because if it is, that's awesome.
Sif~! You are awesome, even if your armour is impractical. Although your dresses are pretty.
Also, I kind of ship Sif/Thor more than Jane/Thor, simply because mythology! Which um, kind of implies that marriage really doesn't matter who sleeps with whom, unless there are kids involved. So open relationships, yay!
Thor carries her shield~ and it has the proper number of hand grips!
Nervous lip worrying!
Thor, why are you lit with sunlight when you are walking in the shadows of the buildings?
Classy special effects though. It's like they're actually real! /sarcasm
Is that a sonic boom?! A thunderous boom caused by Mjolnir?
Also, I have not mentioned this yet, but I bet Thor would kick ass at croquet.
Also, is that a little of Darcy/Gilderoy-doppleganger I see? Yep, still thinking that consorts are a usual thing on Asgard.
Lady Frigga with a sword! Yes!
Also, Odin is also part Jotunn, which is why he's also not getting frost burnt. /mythology plot filler
Awww, Loki just wants to prove himself like Thor said he'd prove himself all those years ago.
It doesn't quite make sense to me either though why Thor's had a change of heart. Not charging into things without being fully aware of all possible outcomes, yes. Seeking truth and alternative ways to achieve one's goals, yes. Not fighting the Jotunn, not really. Although I couldn't quite get why Thor wanted to kill them all in the first place.
Why is it Loki always ends up stuck on his back? It's not a very flattering camera angle either.
Rimfall! Is Tethis around somewhere?
And no, Loki kind of did it for himself to prove he was worthy to Thor and Odin. So Odin is completely right.
But hey, it's been shown they can survive out of an atmosphere for a while, he should be okay. If, you know, I hadn't already had head canon about falling into Vortexes and becoming insane as a result of that. Instead he's just fallen to Jotunnheim, which is probably a far worse fate. Nightmare Fuel-ish. Not nice to think about
Also, why is he falling DOWN into space? Is space not 'up' anymore?
Oh good, thank you for clarifying that the 'her' Thor's missing was Jane. You were a bit unclear otherwise. Because Loki likes gender-shifting, yes.
The Rimfall is actually really annoying me now. Unless Asgard is actually a flat disc on the back of four elephants on the back of a turtle, why is the water falling like it is?
Very pretty credits though, zooming through very famous nebula and galaxies. Which I can't name, but do recognise and appreciate as pretty.
No, wait, Asgard actually is flat. What the fuck. /ragequits
Why is there a Lucy Liu in the credits? Under one of the VFX teams?
Oh god, Loki had his metaphorical claws in Selvig even back then? Creepy.
So, most of my previous headcanon has remained intact. Gallifrey is still Vanaheim, Coulson is still the adopted son of Canton III and actually visited dad after the whole Thor's Hammer business. The Bifrost is still an actualised path through the Vortex.
Phil Coulson actually being a reincarnation/long lost descendant of Finn McCool hasn't been pushed too far off to the side as crack, but Loki and Pinkie Pie and Discord have been thoroughly dismissed as such. Although it is still funny to juxtapose Loki against Pinkie Pie.
Actually all of the crossover with Doctor Who has been completely solidified. I'm still a little shaky on how the Gallifrey/Asgard alliance worked with the time war, but I'll just assume that as they were adopted by Asgard they don't count as Time Lords. Or were never trained as Time Lords/Ladies and are simply Gallifreyan. It's kind of neat though how well Freyr and Frejya slot in with being Vanir. I mean, Gallifrey slots right into their names.
In relation to the comics... my headcanon totally does not wish to go there. Mostly because I can kind of shoe horn in the traditional mythology and it isn't too bad for wear, but trying to incorporate comics elements (that aren't The Sandman) just ends with a mess being made. Though apparently Sigyn is Vanir in the comics.
But I dislike that most of the realms are simply regions on Asgard, rather than actual worlds. I can handle funky plateau realms of myth but boring regions isn't fun. Unless it's correlating myth to reality, which is something totally different.
Incorporating mythology is a little hard, mostly because all the kids seemingly don't work. Well, Loki's. (Oh hey, maybe when he falls to Jotunnheim that's when he meets Angrboda...) Thor doesn't have any kids of consequence. Also, I really hope there is a Baldur who is the shining golden son of Thor, the far more favoured one. Everyone loves Baldur.
Unless there's going to be a Hodr/Baldur parallel with Loki/Thor. That'd be interesting. Very interesting.
Amusingly, my mythology opinion of Loki and Odin (that they're both dicks) was where my opinion swung to on movie!Loki and Odin. They're both dicks and both to blame for their falling out, though I still am sympathetic to Loki. (Post-Christianity Odin is not my favourite. There are Jesus parallels I do not like, whereas Loki is usually just a fey agent of chaos.)
I want to see Valkyries though. And I want Natasha to see/meet them as well. Because Sif was awesome and I want more. (I'd also like to see the Norns, especially as maidens and not hags.) More Frigga with a sword as well, because lady Vikings were awesome in their own right.
I did not quite see where 'curvy' Darcy comes from, she's normal looking. But she is indeed terribly cool. Even if she did feel a little tacked on and her continuity wasn't that great. (Was she chatting up Coulson when Thor dragged Selvig back to the mobile home? Where did she go?)
Darcy/Fandral is apparently an OTP for me now, as is Darcy/Coulson. That last one mostly because of what I just wondered about where she went to.
Jane/Thor felt a bit... shallow. Thor is very sweet to her, but I can't help but think that his expectations of their relationship are wildly different from Jane's. Jane's kind of thunderstruck and obviously head over heels, but he's... sweet towards her. Not even infatuated, just kind of "you are attractive and I would like to spend more time with you". I'm sure he vaguely realises that it's a Mayfly Decemember Romance, which makes his affections a bit more urgent, but I can't help but see it as a prince choosing his consort. (There are of course also the fact that she's human and while her kids with him wouldn't pose any issue to the throne it'd probably be advised against, just because in the Lokkasenna (which is pretty much the only thing I've read simply translated and not expanded up in a great big book of mythology) it comes across that half mortal children are a shameful thing to have.)
Oh gods, the bit at the very end. I really hope that Selvig wasn't under Loki's influence from the beginning of the tesseract project, but if he was, that'd just be amazing. I'd really like to know if he was taken over because he was the only character in a capacity to have any influence who actually knew Norse mythology and thus knows the trouble that Loki will cause.
Supplementary headcanon is that Selvig gets hauled in to study the Tesseract, while Jane gets a fancy SHIELD grant to continue her bridge study. Darcy tags along for however long she needs to, but since I'm pegging around 1 year/18 months (maaaybe squished down to 6 months) between Thor/IM2 and Avengers she probably has reached the end of her extra credits that she needs and is either simply hired as best assistant to Jane Foster or something else. I don't know. Butbut Jane definitely ends up meeting Bruce and after a day or so asks him if he ever knew a Dr Selvig. (I really want to know who the contact he emailed was, btw.) And they are then physics!bros. Jane and Bruce.
But also Selvig if he wants to join in on sciencing.
Other things that need to be either in fic or the sequel: Thor needs to compare the Hulk to the Jotunn, more Thor+Loki hugs, Loki ending up on his back yet AGAIN, Thor contributes to science or maybe just to the weather forecast, Ratatosk is the name of the inter-system shuttle to Asgard, actually can all of the Avengers go to a field trip to Asgard?, more pretty Sleipnir, more Darcy, more Frigga, more Sif and a bit less waffling and less voyeur!Loki.
And now I need to go write Thor misinterpreting late night physics talks with Bruce as something else and Jane is indignant and Bruce is confused and Tony is also confused, but mostly as to why there isn't a hot threesome going on that he could maybe get in on.