”Write about Loki’s relationship with his children.”
Loki might seem hyperfocused on Hel, but it’s not because he loves her the most, by far; only because she needs and wants it the most. Fenrir loves to keep distance and needs his own privacy; but I’m pretty sure occasionally they have their own moments of fun, when Fenrir feels like it – maybe they chase each other with water guns in the garden, or sometimes Loki pretends not to understand how to play videogames, even though he matches Fenrir as equal in skill in every way. And if they happen to be on the same team, then woe be the opposing team, because there is no better teamwork than theirs in the entire world, and if anyone, they know it the best of all how to progress a motherfucking payload.
What relationship he has with Jörmungandr, I will not be able to put into a metaphor until I shoehorn Jörmungandr himself into some kind of remotely human form, but I’m pretty sure that it’s such a one that makes the OG Long Boy feel just as happy and content as the other kids.
Nari and Narfi don’t need a lot of attention from their dad, but Loki always keeps a close eye on them; and when they cry and Sigyn wakes up in the middle of the night, she will always find Loki by the bedside already, trying to soothe the kids with moderate to ambiguous success.
I could imagine that for him, confronting Váli is not very easy, but he pushes himself to do it as often as he can, maybe even just a little bit more, week after week. Váli doesn’t really have expectations towards his parent. Váli will always be there, and every bit of care and attention someone spares for him will always be a new sensation he is grateful for. To him, every occasion of even seeing his parent will always be just as wondrous and blissful as the first.
I wonder what relationship he would have with Sleipnir. No, actually I have an idea, just not completely sure how to put it into a metaphor. Let’s say... if Sleipnir were a human kid, I would imagine him to be the one from the family who went to an expensive and illustrious college abroad – rarely actually meeting the rest of the family, but keeping in contact on Skype every day – especially with his mom – and asking her for advice in bigger or smaller things, depending on how certain he feels himself in the new world he found himself in. As time passes, Sleipnir will also become more confident in himself, eventually taking first an internship, then a full time job, at Dr. Wednesday’s law firm, where he will work for the rest of eternity. He would only come home for holidays, but keep in touch with everyone often, and regularly send home heartfelt, handwritten letters and hand-picked, thoughtful gifts.
These are the kids mentioned by name in the lore, as far as I would know... but that’s not all the kids that Loki has, however. Not by a long shot.
One time, I think maybe in Lokasenna, he gets ”accused” of going underground at some point and through the power of the Seidr (ie. ”milking cows,” doing that from a distance is a thing that Seidr-women were capable of doing, allegedly) bearing children for eight years. Doesn’t say how many, but I think the text at least vaguely implies that there was a ton.
As of me writing this, there are about 7.63 billion people on Earth.
I think those children are us. The misunderstood kid in every monster. Oh, all of us are a little bit monstrous, none of us are exempt. We are all made of mud given glory.
I think Loki is the All-Mother just as much as Ódinn is the All-Father, and she will always love us with the love and care according to what we want and need. She’s not even mad at those who abandoned her and spit at the mention of her name. They curse thin air itself, and try to fistfight a windstorm. She effortlessly evades them at worst, with a wry and slightly disapproving smile, sighing, like a mother would at a defiant and rebellious teen. Oh, you know how kids are, she says. She’s waiting, until each of us figures it out – if not in this life, maybe the next one, or the one after, if there is any. But even if we never do, she still loves us all the same.