Of gods and men

[Jaxen Marveet]

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Not that I’m suggesting he did either out of the goodness of his heart, I just think it’s representative of the chaos he embodies. Chaos doesn’t have purpose.

I don't interpret Loki to be a traditional chaos god. The word itself is not associated with him, rather he is referenced as a 'trickster god'. Maybe there are associations with chaos I've missed-- Mickey?

I interpret the root source of his mischief to stem from an innate ornery/arrogant streak. However, the events of his life as Loki took hold. There was some psychological impact of his adoption. In time, while never outright harming his brethren, he was bitter toward them. See the story about getting his lips sewn shut by the gods who laugh and jest. He stalks out of sight and quickly ripped the thread away. It sounds like he had a lot of [dramatic pause for effect] pain to deal with.

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And a lot of his trickery is born out of the urge to defy the impossible.

THAT is hitting the nail on the head. Nicely done, Thal. Perhaps this is the faint line that differentiates chaos god from trickster god, but Loki does things for a reason. For instance, defying authority, proving the impossible, or making a point. To me, a chaos god enjoys sewing discord for the sole purpose of watching it unfold. Loki has reasons, some rooted in his emo-streak, others from arrogance -- "Of course Baldr can die! Let me prove it!"

Although

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<del>Like most of the chaos type deities, he’s the change that prevents stagnation.</del>

- that sounds way too academic for this discussion.

The only thing between a villain and an anti-hero is the choices he makes. They have the same personality, many of the same flaws, and are both talented. However the anti-hero ends up making his choices for the greater good but sees those come about in his own, non-traditional way. The villain does not, obviously. In the end, he serves his own goals. Now imagine if the anti-hero was bitter toward his adopted family that shunned him all the time. He could turn into the villain pretty easily. The villain, meanwhile, might have been the hero all along. At the beginning of 'the story' the villain usually is the hero, after all.

My point is, 5th Age Loki ended up turning against the gods that raised him. It might be so simple to say that if the gods were the 'good guys' then he was a villain. If the gods were the 'bad guys' then he was an anti-hero fighting against them. However, Loki did not do what he did to serve some greater purpose beyond himself. Therefore, I find it hard to think he was an anti-hero, because he served his own agenda.

2nd Age Loki. *grin. Now, throw the temptation of the Dark One in the mix and things get complicated. Bad childhood, perhaps the baby brother living in the shadow of more talented siblings, or the pressure of being the 'best servant of all servants' got to him. I can easily see him turning Forsaken. Not necessarily because he wants to rule the world, but simply to advance his own agenda -- such as being the greatest musician in the world perhaps *grin? *shrug? Loki wasn't the most masculine dude in the mix. And Jaxen is a HELL of a dancer. Just sayin'

Which brings us back to 7th/1st Age Loki. He has the potential to go either way. But like his other lives, it will be his experiences that shape whether or not he turns into the non-traditional anti-hero begrudgingly helping others, or into the villain with only his own agenda in mind.

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That’s probably a very rosy Loki interpretation, but I love me a good anti-hero (or a redeemable villain) so that totally warps my opinion *grin*

Just admit it, Thal. My characters are irresistible.


Edited by Jaxen Marveet, Oct 21 2013, 06:51 AM.