"There's always a choice."
Loki: Where Mischief Lies is the first novel in the Young Adult Marvel Rebels And Renegades series, based on Marvel Comics character Loki. It is written by Mackenzi Lee and was published in 2019.
During a feast, Odin receives a vision of Loki leading an army of the dead against Asgard in the future.
Some time later, after a diplomatic disaster on Alfheim, Loki is sent to Victorian London on Earth by Odin to assist the SHARP society in finding a magical serial killer.
Tropes:
- Accidental Kiss: The first kiss that Loki and Amora share is an accidental one.
- Accidental Misnaming: Prince Asmund of Alfheim calls Loki "Prince Lonely", much to Thor's amusement.
- Animate Dead: Amora animates the bodies of the humans that she drained to have an army to take over Asgard.
- Animorphism: At several points, Loki considers turning someone who annoys him into a small animal. Most of the time it's Thor.
- Bad "Bad Acting": Loki, when he impersonates Odin to get Amora and himself into the vault. At one point he tells an Einherjar unprompted "I'm Odin."
- Betrayal by Offspring: The vision that Odin sees in the Godseye Mirror shows Loki leading an army of the living dead against Asgard. The mirror doesn't offer any context but it is interpreted as Loki bringing about Ragnarok, the end of Asgard.
- Bilingual Bonus: The Futhark runes on every other chapter title spell "fate" (ᚠᚨᛏᛖ) or "will" (ᚹᛁᛚᛚ).
- Blade Brake: Loki uses a knife to prevent falling off the train when he fights Amora and her army of living dead.
- Bodybag Trick: Loki hides in a coffin to get on the train that transports the bodies of the living dead to the cemetery.
- Calling the Young Man Out: After the diplomatic disaster on Alfheim, Odin calls out Loki for forging a plan that was supposed to make Alfheim look vulnerable but damaged Asgard's credibility instead of attempting negotiations, and Thor for putting all responsibility on Loki instead of owning up for his mistake of following along this plan.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Downplayed. Loki clearly has feelings for Amora when they are both children and it is hinted that she might have feelings for him as well. When they meet again as adults, they kiss several times and talk about ruling Asgard together, but they fall out as Loki realizes that Amora intends to betray him to have all the power for herself.
- Combat Clairvoyance: In the past, Asgard could prepare for a war with Jotunheim after Odin received a vision in the Godseye Mirror.
- Covert Group: SHARP is a secret society on Earth that works for Odin ever since its founder accidentally made contact with Asgard through a fairy ring.
- Crocodile Tears: Amora fakes crying when Loki arrives with SHARP to tell her the theory, that Amora's magic accidentally killed the humans, that Loki and Amora made up together.
- Deadpan Snarker: Half of Loki's dialogue is filled with snide comments and witty remarks. Then again, this is Loki we're talking about.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The SHARP Society, whose "S" stands for "society". Lampshaded by Loki.
- Emotion Eater: The Lurking Unknown that Loki and Amora accidentially summon after breaking the Godseye Mirror lives off fear. It grows bigger and stronger due to Loki being terrified of it.
- Engineered Heroics: It is revealed that Loki stole the Norn Stones from Karnilla to make himself look like the hero that managed to track down and return the powerful artifacts and gain Odin's approval. When he finds out what Amora has been doing, he decides to deliver her to his father as well. The plan backfires in the end because Amora lets herself fall from the train so that she doesn't have to return to Asgard. In Asgard, Loki decides to use the Norn Stones to stop the living dead which in turn reveals that they are in his possessions, and Loki ends up confessing his entire plan to Odin.
- Fairy Ring: Fairy rings are among the locations where inter-dimensional travel between realms is possible. When Loki is sent to Earth by Odin he appears on a fairy ring near London.
- Fate Worse than Death: Amora's punishment, being banished to Earth and having her magic bound. Amora begs Odin to lock her in the dungeons instead and Loki even thinks that it would be more merciful to have her executed.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Downplayed. Thor rarely remembers his diplomatic lessons, if he even payed any attention in the first place, and commits several faux-pas as a result. Loki takes his lessons more seriously but his love for mischief leads him to make several poor decisions.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Thor and Loki discuss which one of them was in Odin's vision, Loki quips that it might not be either of them since Odin might have a secret family somewhere.
- While Thor shivers from the cold in the Ice Elves' palace, Loki is not affected one bit.
- Mrs S. comments that the dose of blackout powder that Theo administered to Loki would be enough to knock out a Frost Giant.
- Future Me Scares Me: Loki is shocked to find out that the Godseye Mirror showed Odin a vision of him leading an army of the living dead against Asgard, which Odin believes indicates Ragnarok.
- Gendered Insult:
- When Loki jokingly calls himself "Loki the Enchantress", Theo and Mrs. S are surprised that he doesn't call himself "enchanter" since most men would feel insulted to be associated with a feminine word. Loki doesn't see anything unusual about it.
- The man guarding the door to the Enchantress's show tells Loki that he looks like a witch. However, Loki doesn't take it as an insult and thanks him instead.
- Greeting Gesture Confusion: Thor shakes Prince Asmund's hand despite body contact being a no-go in Alfheim's culture. Loki believes that Thor had been sleeping during their briefings about Alfheim and much to Loki's annoyance, Asmund doesn't actually mind that much and the faux-pas has no consequences.
- Healing Herb: Frigga heals Loki's bruised ribs, which he has received in the attack of the Lurking Unknown, which a bag of herbs.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: It first seems that Loki will betray SHARP and Asgard by allying with Amora and leading an army against Asgard to take over the realm together. Loki however figures out that Amora intends to betray him and fights her and her army together with Theo. Loki still isn't entirely on the face side since everything was an elaborate plan to look like a hero in front of his father. Loki eventually discards this play as well to save Asgard from the army of the living dead, but when Odin names Thor his heir Loki considers to be a villain again.
- Homophobic Hate Crime: Theo, who is attracted to men, got his leg broken in a hate attack and was held in a prison for "indecency charges" after kissing another man.
- Human Shield:
- Loki tries this on Theo but it fails since the magic restrains prevent him from summoning his dagger.
- Amora seems to be doing this to Theo to make Loki hand over the other four Norn Stones but then it is revealed that Theo is actually Loki who uses the situation to take the fifth Norn Stone from Amora.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: While Loki often insults Thor in word and thought, he feels protective when Amora calls him "Thunderhead" and tells her not to call him that.
- Inadequate Inheritor: At the end, Odin decides to make Thor his heir since he believes that Loki could never be fit to be king since he has too much darkness inside him.
- Inevitable Mutual Betrayal: Loki teams up with Amora to lead an army of the living dead against Asgard. However, Loki figures out that Amora intended to betray him to take all power for herself and reveals that he also plans to betray her to deliver her to Odin.
- Love Triangle: Loki has had feelings for Amora since their childhood, and it is hinted that she had feelings for him as well. When they meet again as adults, Loki still has feelings for her and they share several kisses. However, Amora ends up betraying Loki. Meanwhile, Loki and Theo develop feelings for each other and Theo kisses Loki. Loki promises Theo to take him back to Asgard but Loki breaks this promise and ends up with neither of his potential romantic partners.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Loki admits that it took some time to figure out that Amora planned to betray him because he is in love with her.
- Life Drinker: It is revealed that Amora drained the energy out of the human murder victims so that she still could have magic despite her banishment.
- Long Last Look: Loki looks back at Theo when he leaves him on earth before returning to Asgard.
- Magic Is Feminine: Besides Loki, magic is only really practiced by women. This is illustrated when Thor talks about how Amora teaches Loki how to be a "witch", and by Odin wanting Loki to be a soldier instead of a magician.
- Magic Mirror: The Godseye Mirror is a black mirror that allows someone to see the future when another powerful magic user channels their power into it.
- Make an Example of Them: Odin warns Loki after punishing Amora that next time, his status won't protect him and he'll receive a similar punishment to Amora.
- The Mole: Gem is a police officer and provides SHARP with intern knowledge about the murders.
- Momma's Boy: Loki is much closer to his mother than he is to his father. She treats him a lot better and decides to teach him magic despite Odin's disapproval to do so since he is afraid of Loki's magic potential.
- Mythology Gag:
- Loki tells Theo that he thinks that "SHARP" is a ridiculous name, so he proposes to rename it "S.W.O.R.D." or "S.H.I.E.L.D.."
- The fake name that Amora gives to the clerk at the train station is "Sylvie Lushton", who also took up the mantle of the Enchantress in the comics.
- Never My Fault: Odin calls out Thor after Thor puts the entire blame for the botched mission on Alfheim on Loki:Thor, a king does not attempt to pass the blame for his actions to others. He accepts the consequences. A king is strong enough to take ownership of his mistakes, and admit when he has made a poor decision. He does not claim he had no choice, for he knows there is always a choice. You would do well to remember that.
- Nothing Up My Sleeve: Loki has often daggers and knives hidden in his sleeves.
- Only Friend: Amora is Loki's only friend in his childhood, which makes her banishment even more painful for him.
- Ouija Board: Amora uses a board similar to this in the Inferno Club, using it to make people believe that they have a connection with their dead loved ones.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Gem notices that Mrs. S is actually Loki in disguise because she isn't wearing her wedding ring.
- Puny Earthlings: Loki has a very low opinion of humans and doesn't understand why Odin sees the need to help them out.
- Percussive Pickpocket:
- Loki steals the keys to the Prism of Alfheim from the captain of guard by bumping into her and replacing the weight with his cutlery.
- Loki uses the same move on Theo, but this time he doesn't steal anything but puts the Norn Stones in Theo's pocket to keep them out of Amora's reach.
- Power High:
- For a brief moment after accidentally destroying the Godseye Mirror, Loki feels ecstatic over being powerful enough to destroy the artifact. It doesn't last long and the emotion is replaced by shame and uncertainty.
- Loki feels the same feeling again when he holds the Norn Stones.
- Power Nullifier: Asgard has wrist restrains that can remove the access to magic, which are used on Amora, and on Loki by SHARP.
- The Promise: Loki promises Theo to take him to Asgard where there is no homophobia and Theo can openly be himself. However, Loki breaks the promise and leaves Theo behind. Theo isn't particularly surprised which makes Loki feel even guiltier than he already does.
- Prophecy Twist: Loki does end up arriving on Asgard with an army of living corpses and holding Norn Stones. However, he does not attempt to invade Asgard but instead it is all a failed plan to gain Odin's approval by making himself look like a hero.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Loki's mission on Earth is essentially a form of punishment for the disaster on Alfheim. Loki wanted a second chance to prove himself to Odin but finds out that he can't return to Asgard until he has finished the mission on Earth.
- The Reveal: Loki was the one who stole the Norn Stones to make himself look like a hero who managed to get the Stones back to Asgard.
- Rule of Three: Loki is told thrice that "There's always a choice" when Loki invokes that others have already decided that he is a villain. First, it is said by Mrs. S right before she is killed by Amora. Then, it is said by Theo. Lastly, it is said by Odin when he tells Loki that he will make Thor his heir and asks Loki whether he accepts the decision.
- Runic Magic: Karnilla uses runic magic and also taught it her adoptive daughter Amora. They work by channeling magic and make it possible to perform spells someone has nothing but energy to lend to. Amora also uses runic magic to animate the corpses of the living dead.
- Screw Destiny: Theo does not believe in destiny and in what Norse Mythology has to say about Loki, but instead believes that Loki has full agency over who he wants to be.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Loki assures Thor that Odin's vision can't become true since Loki would never harm Asgard and now that he knows what the vision was, he can actively try to prevent it. Thor points out that trying to prevent it might be what makes the vision eventually come true.
- Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: In his youth, Loki isn't as proficient in magic yet and has to wear a person's actual clothes when shapeshifting into them.
- Shoddy Shindig: Loki, Thor and Amora are bored to death at the Royal Feast of Gullveig which is basically a giant diplomatic meeting. Thor is even so bored that he begs Loki to plot something.
- Shout-Out:
- Loki considers turning into a snake to eavesdrop on his parents and Karnilla, but decides against it thinking that Thor would pick up any snake to admire it, which references the snake story that Thor tells in Thor: Ragnarok.
- The Inferno Club has a sign saying "All hope abandon, ye who enter here", which is a reference to Dante's The Divine Comedy.
- Inside the Inferno Club, Loki wears an all-black suit and is told that he looks like a witch. This references Loki's all-black suit at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok that also got Thor to tell him that he dresses like a witch.
- Loki tells Thor "You really are the worst, brother" when he is annoyed with Thor, which are Thor's last words to Loki in Avengers: Infinity War.
- Loki mentions some ideas he has for "government-funded theatre", which is a reference to Loki's play The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Thor is blond, loud, confident, popular, and a warrior while Loki is dark-haired, insecure, reserved, and a magician who has few friends.
- Speculative Fiction LGBT: Asgard is this in comparison to Earth. Theo is stunned when Loki reveals that no one on Asgard cares who loves who, and that Loki does not need to hide his gender-fluidity .
- Stealth Insult: Loki suggests renaming the SHARP Society to "the Society where Hospitality's Ignored Totally" which, when shortened down, would end up as "SHIT".
- Successful Sibling Syndrome: Loki is annoyed when Theo calls him "Loki, the brother of Thor."
- Taking the Heat: Amora takes the blame for destroying the mirror even though it was Loki's spell that accidentally shattered it. Odin knows that Loki is at least partially responsible but only punishes only Amora and warns Loki that next time his status won't protect him.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Played with. Loki is shocked when he reads the stories about him in Norse Mythology that make him look like a fraud and a villain. Amora tries to convince him that he might as well play the role that others think of him and be evil. SHARP on the other hand, especially Theo, believes that these stories don't have to mean anything and that Loki always has a choice to decide who he wants to be. At first, Loki seems to go along with Amora and tells her "let's be villains", and the two seem to decide to animate the living corpses with the Norn Stones to lead them against Asgard. Loki however figures out that Amora is only using him to get power over Asgard herself and tries to stop her. Then, when Odin decides to make Thor his heir, Loki returns to this mindset, believing his role to be the scheming witch since this is how Odin already sees him.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Thor sees Amora as a bad influence on Loki. He doesn't specify why and Loki doesn't reflect on it since Amora is his only friend. This dynamic persists into their adulthood when Amora seriously makes Loki consider Then Let Me Be Evil, while others such as Theo offer Loki the hopeful and idealistic notion that even if everyone thinks that he is evil, he has the strength to chose his own destiny and be good.
- Traintop Battle: Loki fights Amora on top of the train that transports the bodies of the living dead when she tries to lead them to Asgard with the Norn Stones.
- Translator Microbes: Asgardians have Allspeak which translates everything spoken and written into Asgardian.
- Two-Way Tapping: Loki is capable of performing an eavesdropping spell by creating a connection between two objects. It works both ways, which he learned the hard way when he was eavesdropping on his mother one time and made her rouge talk.
- Victorian London: Part 2 of the book is set in 19th century London where Loki is sent on a mission by Odin. A lot of the descriptions mention how dirty the city is.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Loki desperately tries to receive Odin's approval and to be named his heir.
- What Would X Do?: One reason why Loki decides to use the Norn Stones to stop the living dead, save Asgardian lives and in turn reveal his original plan is because he believes that Thor would not hesitate to do that.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Odin thinks this way about magic. Frigga reveals to Loki that this is the reason why Odin doesn't want Loki to study magic and even she warns Loki that he has to be careful lest he gets corrupted by the power.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Many, including Odin and Thor, believe that whatever the Godseye Mirror shows will become true since you can't escape fate.
