Chapter 4853: The Little Devil Rules the House (Fifty-one)

Greedy nodded. Thor's political acumen has never been low. During Odin's rule, he acted like a fool, but that doesn't mean he truly was stupid. If he truly lacked political sense, even with only one possible heir, he couldn't have gained such recognition from so many Asgardians.

You must know, when Odin cast him down to Earth, there was also an uproar within Asgard. Thor had many supporters, which shows his standing.

And his point about "emphasizing commonality" is indeed important. After all, this film is released on Earth, aiming to let humans better understand and trust Asgard. Emphasizing Asgard's strength would make people fear their reputation; but only by letting humans know that the divine race and they have no essential difference will they truly draw close to Asgard.

"But I don't want to make it into a pure propaganda piece." Thor again said, "For example, when humans suffer misfortune, the divine race comes to rescue, or the Aesir gods and humans fall in love, and so on. Such plots are really somewhat..."

Thor didn't finish, but Greedy understood his meaning. Filming it this way would be a bit like "Sima Zhao's heart is known to all passersby"—one glance shows it's a soft sell. Although with the current relationship between the two sides, mutual promotion isn't a problem—before, Earth even rammed into his head, and Asgardians still lament losing the moon to this day—letting Asgard do a bit of promotion isn't anything.

But this theme has been filmed too much; people easily grow aesthetically fatigued. Knowing the first minute, one can guess how the last half hour will play out, and ratings might fall short of expectations, thus failing to achieve the effect.

"I have an idea." Greedy said, "Don't you find the segment when you first arrived on Earth quite interesting?"

Thor raised an eyebrow: "You mean when I was thrown onto Earth?"

"Exactly. You were like a human, working to support yourself, worrying about rent and food expenses..."

"Isn't this a bit..." Thor hesitated, "Although this indeed lets humans resonate, if there's no difference from humans at all, then it also fails to show I am an Asgardian."

"Ah, there's a way." Greedy said, "How about this: work on Earth by day, return to Asgard to be emperor by night?"

"What a crappy plot." Thor said, "Why would the Asgardian emperor come to Earth to work?"

"This is simple." Greedy said, "Once, you were wounded in battle, pursued and fled to Earth, where a kind-hearted Miss saved you..."

"I'm married." Thor shook his head like a rattle-drum, "My wife is Sif; how could I romance another woman?"

"Just acting. And you don't even have to do it yourself..."

"That also won't do. Everyone knows I am the Emperor of Asgard, which they could easily misconstrue as a real romantic affair. Not to mention else, if it reached Asgard, Odin and Frigga would break my legs. We place great importance on this reputation."

Greedy thought for a moment, and indeed it seems so. Don't look at the setting in human Norse mythology where Odin has more than one wife, but in the Marvel setting, Odin and Frigga are truly monogamous, with no one else between them.

And in other comics and films, after Thor came to Earth he suffered amnesia, so he would fall for Jane Foster again and abandon his original girlfriend Sif. But Thor of the Prime Universe didn't lose his memory, nor did he meet Foster; the two still don't know each other to this day, and upon returning, it naturally followed that he married Sif, with no further romantic history with humans.

If the TV drama forcibly fabricated a segment for them, it would easily be seen as a true story adapted, affecting their marital feelings. Thor would certainly not agree.

"Then change it to brother." Greedy said, "During a battle, your brother Loki was kidnapped and ambushed, suffered severe injury, and drifted to Earth. You couldn't leave him to care for him, but simultaneously couldn't abandon your duty, so you could only shuttle between the two."

Thor deeply furrowed his brows: "If Loki were so easy to kidnap and ambush, we'd probably both be dead long ago. Indeed, many have tried to use him to threaten me, but all were played to death by Loki. Wouldn't this make him seem useless, too insulting to him?"

"You know, he cares deeply about this." Thor said with a headache, "He has spent most of his life seeking a sense of existence, wanting to appear very useful. If you write a TV drama saying he drags me down, he won't agree."

"Then say he's faking it." Greedy's inspiration flashed again and again, "Dragging you to Earth was to vie for the throne against you. Everything is his self-directed, self-acted play."

"Then what's the final ending?"

"Naturally, you defeat him, and then become Emperor of Asgard."

"Not likely." Thor shook his head again, saying, "If he did this for the throne, it shows he really wants this position, then I would yield the throne to him."

"You two are really hard to please." Greedy couldn't help but say.

The biggest problem with this Asgardian brother pair is: all the conflicts between them stem not from hatred for each other, but from loving each other too much. Loki desperately seeks a sense of existence before Thor, while Thor indulges him without limits. Others dislike this pattern, and thus dislike Loki, making him want to prove himself even more, then he goes overboard, ultimately causing a host of incidents.

Therefore, there's no way to film these two as loving brothers—one in trouble, the other carefully caring; nor as mutually harmful brothers—both fighting ruthlessly for the throne.

"Moreover, I cannot be stranded on Earth because of Loki." Thor emphasized again, "I have stressed to countless people that any of my misfortunes cannot be blamed on Loki's head, including my being cast down to Earth. I am not making excuses for him, nor expressing my own magnanimity, but I truly believe this. This has never been his fault."

"I was cast down to Earth by Odin because I caused trouble while drunk. Some think Loki induced me to drink, or he spoke ill behind my back, provoking my past misdeeds. But I am not Loki's parrot, nor his puppet; if I myself didn't want to do this, he couldn't persuade me."

"Also, many believe those pranks and traps. I have followed Odin in war for so many years, I wouldn't fail to see this trick. I jumped in willingly, not because Loki wanted to harm me, and I didn't notice."

"Many think me too foolish, and Loki too clever, believing our interaction is me being toyed with by him, him saying something and I believing it, I being the pitiful victim of persecution. But actually, I am the one cultivated as heir for hundreds of years, while Loki has always been the overlooked one. This dooms him from controlling me, while I merely indulge him."

Greedy admitted Thor's words indeed have some truth. But it's also not hard to see that his view of Loki is through eight hundred layers of filter. In his eyes, Loki is a willful younger brother who became somewhat twisted due to constant neglect, those provocations and pranks merely petty jokes.

But whether it's truly so, just look at the newly established Anti-Fraud Unit of the Interstellar Security Force. That victim list—those unaware might think Loki has already lived twenty thousand years. That is, dinosaurs died early, and even living two more years would still get their undergarments swindled by Loki.

Greedy really couldn't be bothered to complain about this. He said, "Truly impossible, then just film it as reality. Just say you were thrown here by Odin, with no choice but to work here to survive. Loki, on one hand wants to mock you, on the other worries about you, so he also comes to find you. You two were together hauled to Sakaar, endured a trial, after which you ascended the throne and he became a prince."

"That's not bad." Thor said, "But the biggest problem is, how do you extract yourself from the story? Or do you want to ignite another spark?"

Greedy hurriedly shook his head. He thought and said: "Actually, I also haven't produced any very important role in your relationship."

"You're being modest." Thor said, "I must admit, since coming to Earth, Loki has indeed matured a lot. Before coming to Earth, his mental state was very poor. And the experiences of other-universe Lokis also prove, if not for your miraculous recovery, things would have developed in an irredeemable direction."

Thor recalled the situation then, and said: "I think your most important contribution in this is letting Loki gain great strength. Whether it's the divine power and divine office he gained from Odin, or him becoming the Radiant Goddess, this gives him more confidence. Facing me, he no longer always remains in a weak state, even having surplus to sympathize with me. With no survival crisis, naturally he has more leisure to discuss feelings with others. This is the true cause of his transformation."

Greedy sighed. There's a saying: "Poverty breeds schemes, wealth nurtures conscience"—this saying indeed sounds like it lifts high and steps low, utterly lacking sympathy for the lower classes. But placed in the context of feelings, it fits perfectly.

A person living is difficult, or he himself feels great survival pressure, or his spirit is already drained, then he cannot spare extra feeling to love others. But if a person's life has little pressure, his own emotions are already good, then he can spare more feeling to love others. Loki completed on Earth the shift from the former to the latter.

But Greedy has one point of disagreement. He looked at Thor and said: "This strength is not given by me, nor by Odin. It is given by you."

Greedy looked into Thor's eyes and said: "I don't know exactly what happened. But you must have done certain things, making him believe that even in your most destitute desperation, he is loved unconditionally. This gave him security and strength. This is what he has always wanted."

"Maybe so." Thor said, "But I don't recall clearly. Because I've always been doing this—I am his brother."

"No matter, he surely remembers deeply." Greedy stood up and said, "If you think this works, I'll go ask him for details, then have the investors find a screenwriter. TV drama filming is fast, maybe it could even air earlier than the movie."

"Then let it be so." Thor smiled and said, "If it becomes a hit, I'll give you a set of Asgardian housing, beside Loki's prince manor. You can be neighbors."

"Really?" Greedy said with a hint of delight, "The kind with a horse carriage?"

"Yes, a flying horse carriage. With eight heavenly horses."

Greedy snapped his fingers: "Watch me."