Chapter Notes: Those Who Hunt Monsters #6: Diplomacy

[lokiofsassgaard]

I posted a video to Twitter of just how different this chapter is, compared to what went out in the newsletter.  It got cut in half at one point, because I wanted to spend a little more time with the actual talks than I did before.  I also really didn't like that Thor being a snotty brat ultimately helped the whole thing along, so the entire end to this chapter was rewritten to just go nowhere.  The end result will still be the same once it gets there, and the pact will be signed, because it has to be.

I think I've said before that I love the whole concept of the Non-Interference Pact within Marvel, because it's the goofiest, most pointless retcon they've ever done.  The gods are not allowed to interfere with the goings on of men, and yet Thor's entire premise is the gods interfering.  But I also wanted to point out before any of it even happens that the pact is unenforceable.  The only way to find out someone is messing around with the mortals is to be on Earth, messing around yourself.  Nobody's going to want to incriminate their own pantheon and go to war.

I also really love how within Marvel, gods and deities are all fair game, but they ultimately don't know how to handle certain figures.  One of my favourite minor arcs was with Volstagg when Asgard was in Broxton, and the local reverend got his knickers all in a twist over the Norse gods being there.  When Jesus is brought up in an argument, Volstagg's entire response is to just laugh and say he'd like to meet the fellow some time.  They toyed with him briefly, but they never really seem to know what to do with him.  Which honestly, fair.  And personally, I think it's funnier to have the representatives of the modern major religions just completely absent.  Jesus showed up, said, "hey, let's be nice to each other," got crucified for it, and flounced off back to his home planet.  The gods can't be accused of abandoning their followers when humans kill their gods in the first place.

Another subtle thing that I wanted to lean on a bit heavier than I did in previous drafts of this chapter is to show that Loki is already becoming a little chameleon.  He's learning to play certain roles to get what he wants.  He also completely threw poor old Thein under the bus, and almost gave himself away in the process, but Odin didn't even notice.  Loki knows Thein's lessons are full of lies, because of the book he stole a few chapters back.  But nobody knows he stole the book, and if they do know, they don't seem to care.  But Loki knows that something isn't right with what he's being taught, and his trust in his lessons is already starting to fade.  So he'll act like a grown up to get what he wants, while Thor is behaving like a perfectly ordinary nine-year-old and wanting nothing to do with any of this boring old crap.