Hey guys I’ve been thinking about Loki (don’t we:) )
Unfortunately The sagas don’t tell us much about Loki’s childhood. They leave gaps. Silence. Space.
So this is not a retelling of scripture it’s an interpretation shaped by myth, symbolism, and intuition untangling the perspective Loki was painted in by Christianity
From what is known, Loki was not born among the gods. He came from Jötunheim, the land of the jötnar a harsh world where survival mattered more than comfort, and strength often spoke louder than tenderness. His father, Fárbauti, embodied violent force and sudden destruction. His mother, Laufey, is quieter in the myths possibly often overlooked possibly associated with leaves, softness, and endurance. His parents can tell you who he is made from destruction yet softness, storm and shelter, the crack and the seed that grows through it
From that pairing, I imagine a child who learned early how to be by observing
But observant. Clever. Adaptable.
I don’t see Loki as a child who broke things for fun. I see one who learned humor before power, words & cleverness before fists someone who figured out quickly that being useful, entertaining, or intelligent could mean the difference between belonging and being discarded.
Even among the giants, Loki possibly felt like an in-between not brutal enough for Jötunheim, or to roam amongst his brothers during the cold nights. I see someone who felt discarded for not measuring up and later, never quite noble enough for Asgard either. That liminal space, that constant state of almost, feels like where he truly grew up.
So when Loki later stands among the gods laughing, scheming, challenging them I don’t read arrogance. I read survival, and eventually a greater purpose for Asgard and to the gods themselves for as they say “Loki gets the gods into trouble but he also gets them out of trouble “ he lived among the gods Loki didn’t conquer his way into Asgard But in the old stories, Loki doesn’t break things randomly.
He exposes what was already rotten He humiliates prideful gods. He forces stagnation to move.
He brings consequences gods try to avoid.
That’s why they loved him… until they didn’t. Shapeshifter and why that matters Loki didn’t just disguise himself. He became.
Man, woman, mare, salmon, old crone, fire, shadow.
This is simply how I see him:
A son of the king but due to his “small stature “ a jotun who was put aside by his father. born to be a king, a ruler. Someone who was trusted yet not to be trusted but born to adapt. not raised in safety, but raised in awareness not evil but shaped by worlds that never fully claimed him.