On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads

by Enigmaris

Harry finds out that his dad is alive, has been the whole time. Instead of being overjoyed, Harry's disgusted. His dad left earth and abandoned his friends. Every painful thing he's ever gone through can be traced back to one man. Now Harry's got super strength he can't control and an almost unnecessary amount of magical power. His dad might be living it up with the Avengers now but not for long. With the help of his friends, Harry comes up with a plan for revenge. Get ready Avengers, Harry's out to punch a god.

Genres: Fan Fiction, Fantasy

785 pages, ebook

Published April 15, 2020

Reviews

[Diane]

I would have to be a total grinch to give this entertaining and feel-good [Gen] LONGfic only 3★, yet I can't get past my few quibbles re. content (e.g., the sequence of what Loki|James knows/ questions/ reacts to about Sirius's fate seems off in the early chapters, and certain events are only mentioned and cast-members/ elements perhaps under-used), and re. proofreading goofs both small (occasional homonym & syntax errors, mainly) and large (conflating Eir and Idunn for several chapters, not corrected back through after the author's realization), to give it my "full" 4★. (You know I hardly ever give 5★, right?) 🤷 "No rating" it'll have to be again, sorry.

Regardless, this is a wholesome fic with a number of clever, sometimes eye-opening, twists, and a good balance of angsty moments and lighter (sweet or hilarious) ones, quiet moments and action/drama, on the way to a very happy ending and denouement + epilogue. There are a couple of A+ fixits, and some cool headcanons, but I'm not going to spoil them.

I found myself shaking my head at my own level of cynicism, since the plotting held together, given the givens of two major kinds of magic: why couldn't I just buy in 100%, instead of having to willfully suspend disbelief?

Harry goes from understandably angry, to seeking reconciliations, cooperation, and ultimately a peace that will outlive him. Once he has better perspective on the people and events in his life, and a strong and diverse support network, mortal and immortal (even if they can't promise things will go well in the inevitable confrontation with his destined foe), it gives him strength and determination. Even Odin is guilted into being a better father and leader.

Not that Harry will ever again have faith in Dumbledore's supposed wisdom and kindness, but the solutions to the problem of unredeemable Tom Riddle are as much about love/soul as they are about training to fight. Harry's soul-searching re. not feeling pleasure at the thought of vengeance, unlike many of those who love him, is maybe a bit overworked, but teen angst, it's a thing, and a boy whose fears that he'll die young are entirely reasonable has more justification than most.

Oh, Snape devotées, this is not the story for you: Harry decides to simply not give this pitiable man's bile any more weight in his mind and heart, which matches my own attitude, though I can enjoy fics which convince me otherwise. Harry does discuss the Marauders' bullying with his father, and he acknowledges it was wrong, but this was one of the elements I considered under-addressed.

The narration includes sections from Loki|James's PoV, plus a couple (few?) other spotlight chapters, including wryly amused Minerva McGonagall and even some insight into ol' Moldyshorts himself (ugh).

There are some great minor touches, like Hermione choosing to learn the battle-axe, oh, and this Tyr as a wonderful supporting character, but I really don't want to spoil any major twists, so I guess I'll stop here.

AO3 info:
(N.b.: some inclusions are spoiler-y!)
archiveofourown.org/works/17926664
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply (The story begins not that long after Sirius fell through the Veil.)
Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Tony Stark, Lily Evans Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter
Additional Tags: Fatherhood, Dealing with your trauma by punching a god, Forgiveness, Lies, Prophecy, Loki works with the Avengers, Harry Potter is Loki (Marvel)'s Child, James Potter Lives, Sirius Black deserved better, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Angst, Humor, Lily Evans is perfect, Genius Hermione Granger, Harry doesn't trust adults, but can you blame him?, Protect Harry Potter, Canon Divergence - Post-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Demigod Harry Potter, I've been told this is wholesome, happy endings, complete fic, The Golden Trio
Collections: (I'm not going to include this section, but know that a LOT of folks on AO3 have "collected" it!)
Stats:
Published: 2019-02-26
Completed: 2020-04-15
Words: 246,843
Chapters: 56/56

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such lovely cozy fluffy warm feelings encircle this read.

[Connie Feng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow so I’m really branching out with my Harry Potter fan fiction genres these days. But I thought to myself, if I can enjoy a Gordon Ramsay x HP fic, then I can enjoy an Avengers x HP fic, and wow did I enjoy it. Spent a wonderful Saturday reading this and had to pause several times just to curl up on my bed in joy because of how satisfying the plot was! I was tearing up nearly every chapter with how wholesome it was. I thought I didn’t know enough about the Avengers to read this, but the author did a good job of making the premise believable and blending the two worlds. The ending was a little *too* perfect for me, but honestly Harry deserves it. Only thing I'd change is perhaps less Dumbledore bashing.

[Tailtiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/179...