#merthorki

Oh wow, that would be shocking (literally and figuratively, I’m sure Thor might let off an errant bolt or two just seeing his father again)! I haven’t really decided how Thor’s parents are going to find out about the family he’s made with Loki. Frigga would be understanding, of course, but would Odin? Perhaps in time.

(I know Odin’s a royal prick, but I secretly headcanon that he has a serious weakness for babies, kind of playing on his canon portrayal of “ooh look, a free baby!” in regards to Loki in the first Thor film. But I digress.) Maybe once he sees his seven grandchildren, his barnacle-encrusted heart will melt and he’ll welcome Thor (and Loki) into Asgard. This is sort of a fairy tale, so there’s gotta be a happy ending somewhere, right?

Ah thank you, anon, I’m so glad to hear you like that AU! I don’t have anything new to report just yet, but I’m hoping to update the adventures of sea snake sorcerer Loki and merman Thor and their seven little merbeebs this coming mermay!

Re: #merthorki

Sure I have names for them! Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Dopey--

...wait. That doesn’t sound... let me get back to you on that

I think most oviparous (egg-laying) sea creatures use the egg sac method of laying eggs, especially invertebrates like squid, snails, jellyfish and octopi. (Want to see something incredible and possibly horrifying? Norwegian divers come across a massive squid egg sac.) It kind of makes sense, keeping all the little ones together where they stand a better chance of survival, but I think there are quite a few sea creatures who lay eggs individually, like sea turtles, and bury them in holes.

Some sea snakes do this. Reproduction varies widely among the species, with some sea snakes birthing live young while others lay eggs. Here’s an excerpt from this article on sea snakes, which is a fascinating read even if you’re not doing research for a merfolk AU:

The true sea snakes may be oviparous (lay eggs) or ovoviviparous (live birth from fertilized eggs held within the female’s body). The < mating behavior of the reptiles is unknown, but it may be linked to the occasional schooling of large numbers of snakes. The average clutch size is 3 to 4 young, but as many as 34 young may be born. Snakes born in the water may be nearly as large as adults. The genus Laticauda is the only oviparous group of true sea snakes. These snakes lay their eggs on land.

All sea kraits mate on land and lay their eggs (oviparous) in rock crevices and caves on shore. A female krait may deposit from 1 to 10 eggs before returning to the water.

For sea serpent Loki (and my whole #merthorki AU), I made him ovoviviparous, meaning that his babies hatched from individual eggs inside his womb and were then born live, one at a time. (Most types of sharks and rays have babies this way, too.)

While I personally like to base my fanfiction and headcanons on facts as much as I can, at some point I–and by extension, everyone who reads my stuff–must sometimes just suspend disbelief and embrace the fantastic. After all…

The Mating Coil

Serpenians have a different way of making love than Thor’s people. While Dolfolk mating is typically hard and energetic and performed in multiple brief episodes, Serpenians prefer to clasp their partners in a strong but flexible coil and slither against each other for a while before finally engaging. Bellies and chests are especially sensitive, and rubbing these parts against their lover’s is highly arousing. The Serpenian method is a slower, more sensual, intimate form of mating. Sometimes it will take close to an hour for Loki to climax, but the buildup to that moment is glorious, and his orgasms are often so powerful that they leave Thor’s arms and shoulders covered in bleeding scratches, his belly raw from rubbing, and his lower half aching from the tight grip of Loki’s tail.

But Thor wouldn’t have it any other way. Now that he’s learned how to slow down and mate gently with Loki, hardly a day goes by when they can resist each other’s embrace. And the fact that Loki is pregnant does nothing to damper his libido. In fact, the bigger Loki’s belly grows, the more sensitive to touch it becomes. There’s nothing Thor loves more than to bask with Loki, belly to belly in the afterglow, and feel the tiny flutters of their babies between them. After all, this was how they were made.