Sometimes we publish fiction here at Tweetspeak Poetry. And we definitely give a place to student writing. This series qualifies as both. If you’re a fan of The Avengers or the Thor movies, you’ll be more prepared to enjoy The Loki Goodness Campaign. If not, you’ll still recognize a fun story when you see it. For those who don’t follow the Thor and Loki characters, it might suffice to say that Thor is the good guy and Loki is the bad guy. Except? There really are many people who campaign for Loki’s inherent goodness. This phenomenon inspired our student writers to come up with an actual Loki Goodness Campaign. Well, an actual fictional campaign. Read on.
Prologue
Loki woke up one fine summer morning to the sound of the lock on his bedroom door being picked. He knew this, of course, because he had picked enough locks to recognize the sound. Although he usually preferred using magic. Or explosions.
He groaned.
The door flew open, to reveal a short man wearing an orange T-shirt with the word Pumpkins emblazoned on it, and a cape obviously made from a sheet of plastic. It hadn’t even bothered with the futile task of trying to look intimidating.
“I, ” the man proclaimed, straightening himself to his full puny height, “Am George.”
Loki sat up. “George who?” he said.
The man looked vaguely insulted. “George Weathermarrow, if you must know, ” he said tetchily. “I am here to kill you for your crimes against humanity.”
“And Jotunheim, ” Loki put in helpfully. “You can’t forget that.”
The man scowled, pulling a butterfly net from under his cape.
“How, may I ask, ” Loki said, with a sneer of disdain, “are you planning to kill me with that?”
“I thought the whole thing out.” The man said, with a faint smile on his lips, and a faraway look in his eyes. “I will cast the net mightily over your sorry head and twist it with great force, creating a severe strain on your neck, causing it to snap.”
Loki couldn’t help it. He laughed.
The man let out what was probably supposed to be a roar, and flew at Loki, butterfly net outstretched.
Loki stood up.
FRONT PAGE NEWS:
George Weathermarrow, a conscientious and quiet man of 42, has gone missing this past week. His wife stated that, “He left on Monday morning to go to work just as he usually does. I haven’t seen him since.”
It’s been one week since the man’s mysterious disappearance, and police have found no sign of him, though they say there is no reason to suspect foul play.
“It’s possible he just wandered off and got lost. Happens to my dog all the time.”
Chapter One
The day after the article came out detailing the regretful disappearance of George Weathermarrow, Loki finally decided to do something he’d been contemplating for some time. He was going to change his image. The constant attempts on his life were getting tedious.
The first thing to do, of course, was to hire a marketing agent.
Loki flipped through his phone book, before setting his finger down on a name that sounded promising. Selva Jane, Marketing Professionalist: Gain a reputation in whatever field you require.
One phone call and ten minutes later, Loki had arranged for Selva Jane herself to come to his house. No one ever said he wasn’t a smooth talker.
. . .
“So you see my dilemma, ” Loki concluded.
“Ah yes, ” replied Selva. “I see how that would be a problem. Don’t worry, we’ll have this taken care of in no time at all.”
Loki smiled. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
The two proceeded to Loki’s luxurious business room, where the woman spread out her papers on the table, and began to explain her marketing plan.
“We’ll start by getting everyone used to the idea that you’re not really a bad guy, and that they have nothing to fear from you. To do this, we will have you run an advice column in the Weekly News.”
“An advice column, you say?” Loki thought about that for a moment. “I suppose that would not do any harm.”
“Great!” the woman said, beaming, “I’ll write the paper and see what I can arrange. You can expect my call tomorrow.”
to be continued
Art from Superbwallpapers.com. Story by Anonymous.
Read more fiction
Browse writing prompts
- Loki Goodness Campaign 8: Inventions and Dreams - August 21, 2015
- Loki Goodness Campaign 7: At the Salon - June 26, 2015
- Loki Goodness Campaign, 6 - May 22, 2015
SimplyDarlene says
Wowzer. Simple man. Crazy man. Sarcasm. Wit. A cape. And an advice column. Da-ude (or da-udettes, as in this case), these are some of my most favorite things. Oh yeah, bring it on.
Will there be a melding of my writerly super hero, Erma B., and mean ole mister Loki? A girl can only hope.
🙂
Megan Willome says
Loki needs this extreme makeover. Write on!
L. L. Barkat says
I am struck by the many seamlessly good writing techniques in this piece. Instead of saying George Weathermarrow is a ridiculous and annoying little man, you put him in an orange t-shirt emblazoned with “Pumpkins” and you give him a name like… George Weathermarrow. The policeman quoted in the newspaper is perfect. How small is Weathermarrow when casually compared to a dog that wanders off? Instead of wasting a reader’s time with descriptions of Selva’s arrival, you move straight to Loki’s conclusion and Selva’s sure-to-be amusing strategy. I love the succinct promise: “Gain a reputation in whatever field you require.”
And so much more.
Excellent writing. And, good humor is so hard to pull off. Can’t wait for the continuation! 🙂
SimplyDarlene says
I agree.
Show don’t tell. And reckon that the reader can string pieces together.
Marcy Terwilliger says
Oh, but I want to be transformed and put into this story. It’s August and I’ve got all sources of pumpkins on the vines. Dress-up outfits too. My famous black cape, super large black butterfly wings, my black and red spider net coat. Let me put leaves in my hair and a butterfly, I can be “Mother Nature.” No one dare fool with her!