I think that if Odin were a semi-decent human being, who had still for some reason stolen a baby but was at least determined to attempt to be decent in raising him, he would have done four main things:
1) He would have told all of Asgard, upfront, that Loki was a Jotun, and that he was his son, and he would have told both Thor and Loki as they grew, and Loki would have grown up in the knowledge of who and what he was.
2) He would have made immediate, ongoing, and explicit efforts to improve the reputation of Frost Giants in Asgard, to foster cultural understanding, and to root out and examine privilege. Loki and Thor grow up hating and fearing the Jotun "monsters" in canon because ODIN ALLOWS THAT TO HAPPEN. If he actually gave a shit, he would have started working to counteract that idea long before Loki was old enough to realize it was an attitude that existed.
3) If he intended to somehow use Loki to foster peace, he would have formed some kind of communication with Jotunheim, and when Loki was old enough he would at the very least have let Loki go to Jotunheim and learn about his culture. (This one is tricky because, so long as Laufey is still alive, I can't see why Odin would even have kept Loki if he were indeed a decent human being. But.)
4) He would not have played favorites.
Since he fails, and fails hard, on all four counts, I'm really not sure where he was going with this scheme.
(Also also, my thoughts on how Odin would have acted if he were actually a decent human being and genuinely interested in peace with Jotunheim are here (http://fialleril.livejournal.com/222659.html). Someday I will write this AU.)
no subject
1) He would have told all of Asgard, upfront, that Loki was a Jotun, and that he was his son, and he would have told both Thor and Loki as they grew, and Loki would have grown up in the knowledge of who and what he was.
2) He would have made immediate, ongoing, and explicit efforts to improve the reputation of Frost Giants in Asgard, to foster cultural understanding, and to root out and examine privilege. Loki and Thor grow up hating and fearing the Jotun "monsters" in canon because ODIN ALLOWS THAT TO HAPPEN. If he actually gave a shit, he would have started working to counteract that idea long before Loki was old enough to realize it was an attitude that existed.
3) If he intended to somehow use Loki to foster peace, he would have formed some kind of communication with Jotunheim, and when Loki was old enough he would at the very least have let Loki go to Jotunheim and learn about his culture. (This one is tricky because, so long as Laufey is still alive, I can't see why Odin would even have kept Loki if he were indeed a decent human being. But.)
4) He would not have played favorites.
Since he fails, and fails hard, on all four counts, I'm really not sure where he was going with this scheme.
(Also also, my thoughts on how Odin would have acted if he were actually a decent human being and genuinely interested in peace with Jotunheim are here (http://fialleril.livejournal.com/222659.html). Someday I will write this AU.)