Disclaimer: even though this is some meta in which I try to explain my train of thoughts, there is also a matter of opinion in this. Of course you can disagree with me, and if you do I’d love you to explain why. Otherwise we just agree to disagree with no hard feelings 😉
So, here’s something that has been bugging me for a while and it took me some time to pinpoint it but I think I finally managed.
It is somewhat widespread throughout Loki’s fandom (which is fine) that Loki keeps up a glamour, spell or illusion to hide his Jotunn form but I think the meta lies a little different in this case. Let me explain you my train of thoughts on this…
We know for a fact that Loki has a Jotunn side inherited by his father Laufey. His mother’s side has never been confirmed but after breaking it down we can actually confirm that his mother must have been either Aesir or Vanir otherwise he wouldn’t have possessed the gift of magic. In this case I’m going with Aesir and it will become self-explanatory later on why.
Now, here is why I think why Loki doesn’t keep up a spell: because he is actually both races from which he inherited their appearances a full 100%. He is both sides of one coin.
This is somewhat difficult to understand because we don’t have such a thing on Earth. When two parents from two different races (whether it be human or animal) get offspring, they tend to take on properties from both parents and therefore creating a mix. In Loki’s case there has never been a mix of both breeds (Frost Giant and Aesir) because he is a God and earthly rules don’t apply to Gods. In other words; he got the best of both worlds.
When we learn about Loki’s true heritage we can see baby Loki turn from Jotunn to Aesir. We don’t see Odin put a spell on him nor do we see Loki bewitch himself in some manner to take up his Aesir form, he just shifts form due to touch.
The same happens a thousand years later when Loki is touched by a Frost Giant. He is in his Aesir form but because a Frost Giant grabs him his blue form gets triggered.
Both of these episodes (and the touch of the Casket of Ancient Winters) are beyond his control. He is just forced to shift because it is a trigger element – he doesn’t get to choose, it’s mandatory due to his ‘blood’.
Can he actually control in which form he chooses to live? Yes, I think he can. However, he is somewhat brainwashed after a thousand years of living in his Aesir skin and will most likely find that the easiest form to adorn.
Let’s get back to that touch thing. Let’s say Loki is in his Aesir form and he meets a Jotunn who touches him, he will instantly shift to his Frost Giant form. He would be able to stop himself from shifting but it will probably cost him some effort because he has to fight his own body in this regard. The same goes the other way around; if he is in his Jotunn form and he is touched by an Aesir, he can stay blue but again, it will cost him some effort to do so.
This is also why I stan his mother was Aesir. Upon Odin’s touch he shifted to pale-skinned – fairly mandatory because it’s in his ‘blood’.
Then why oh why did he never knew about his other side if it was in his blood? Why didn’t he just turn into a Frost Giant much sooner? Simply, because he didn’t know there was another side to him. He has been raised thinking he was a full-blood Aesir (even the actual son of Odin and Frigga just like Thor) and not something else. And if one doesn’t know, one can’t act upon it. Had he known sooner (and maybe figured it out through a little less cruel way than what happened in the vault) he would probably have experimented with it.
And this is why I kinda cringe when someone writes: ‘I can see through his glamour and can see his jotunn form’ (or something along those lines), because there is no ‘see through’. Loki is just both and can switch between the forms.
In other words (and my opinion), Loki is a hermaphrodite of both races.
Tagging @burningrosepassion cause she actually made me think about this specific piece of meta.
@starscreamloki I quite like this idea about MCU Loki and I
totally agree with you. Do you think could he learn how to control his forms
apart from touching? I mean if he wanted could he stay in one particular form
even though someone touches him? I always thought that frost giants have cold
blood and Æsir have warm blood such as the humans have as well. So, I was
wondering that a not Æsir but warm-blooded touch what kind of reaction would it
trigger from him? What about emotions? Could he change his forms via emotional
attachment?
@annievvv7, that are a lot of questions. I’ll see if I can break down a couple of them.
Yes, I think he could learn how to control his forms apart from touching but he would have to work for it. (I think I mentioned it in the article as well).
Regarding his blood, yeah, here is a little thingy I did not fully cover. Even though Loki has the best from both worlds and can change between forms, he also has inherited a little mix. One of those things is his blood (imo). He is cold to the touch no matter which form. This also extends to his hair. He has hair on his head due to Aesir blood (or Vanir) but not on the rest of his body because Frost Giants don’t have hair. If he would fully turn he would loose his hair and suddenly have weird ridges on his head just like Laufey. Same goes for emotions…
@boredbrooder, I read your meta and I’m still thinking on it. Give me a little time, my brain is scrambled currently.
@maniploki, I’d love to hear your opinion on the Aesir/Vanir matter. I’m not a 100% sure about this one as well. If I take a look at Norse Mythology things are different again. I cannot find if Farbauti is actually a Frost Giant or not…
Create a mess 