Coercion Is Not Consent

Fuck Me or Die

In a state of true Consent, all parties involved are capable of freely backing out (in whole or in part), and they're all aware of this, but choose to participate anyway.

If backing out would likely cause Serious Consequences for one or more of the participants, and these consequences are deliberately caused by someone related to the encounter, that's Coercion. Coercion is the opposite of free consent.

(If the Serious Consequences aren't deliberately caused by someone, it's likely Dubious Consent of the Sex Pollen or Heat Sex varieties.)

I might refine this definition over time, but the key factor is that someone has removed your freedom to back out.

If you have to have sex with Bob, and can't say no because of something that Bob will do, that's Coercive Sex, a form of rape.

If you have to have sex with Bob, and can't say no because of something that Viktor will do, that's still Coercive Sex, but a form of rape by proxy. If Bob doesn't know about the consequences (he thinks you're willing) or if he knows but also has no choice in the matter, then he is a victim of rape as well. Regardless of how much either of you enjoy it.

Going Along to Avoid Consequences

I've seen a lot of fics that have clearly coercive sexual encounters in them, but are marked as merely Dubious Consent. I really wish that authors would become more aware of the distinction. Let's see if we can work this out a bit.

Coercion, By Definition

Clear Threat of Death (Obvious)

1. Alex sticks a gun in your face, and says "Have sex with me or I'll shoot you."

Pretty clearly rape, right? Y'all understand that?

2. Alex sticks a gun in your face, and says "Have sex with me, and pretend to want it, or I'll shoot you.

It's still rape. The only thing that's changed is that an outside observer might not realize that it was rape.

Less Lethal Threats

3. "Have sex with me, or I'll leak these incriminating photos to the press."

Whether we're talking evidence of a crime that could land you in jail (possibly lethal threat) or just evidence that could derail your career, break apart your marriage, forever sully you in the public eye, it's still a significant threat. You have to weigh whether you're wiling to let someone use your body in a way that you don't want or consent to, vs. the harm that will happen if those photos get to the press.

4. "Have sex with me, or I'll use my position of power to make your life hell."

Perhaps a bit less obvious, but this is why a sexual relationship with your boss, or your teacher, or your parent (or anyone who has significant power over you, up to and including slavemaster) is inherently problematic, and generally frowned upon.

These are cases where the person with power refuses to allow the victim to choose freely (including the right to say no), and knows full well that the victim would not have sex with them if not for the threat. Ergo, these are still cases of Coercive Sex, a form of rape.

Subtextual Threats

But suppose that the guy doesn't make the threat directly. Suppose that he's simply indicates that he wants to have sex with you, but there's a Context that makes the "request" coercive.

For example, the Grandmaster on Sakaar. He's in charge of a slave planet. He forces people to fight (possibly kill) each other in the arena. He uses shock discs to keep people from doing things that he doesn't like. He kills people when he's upset, and treats death as a joke.

If the Grandmaster "suggested" that you have sex with him (or with someone else, for his amusement), you might refuse. But then again, refusing his whims might get you killed. He might decide to execute you, or to put you in the arena, or to tie you down and rape you anyway -- and he's got the power to do any of that. If you've been on Sakaar for a while, then you're probably well aware that saying no to the Grandmaster is a risky business.

Ergo, this is a form of Coercive Sex, even if the Grandmaster didn't threaten you directly, and even if he actually doesn't, in the present moment, have any such threats on his mind. If you're afraid to say no because of Serious Consequences, then you're not free to consent.

There is nothing dubious about Coercive Sex. If you're not free to say no, free to leave, then you are not consenting, even if it looks like you are and even if you believe yourself to be. "I'll have sex with you so that you don't kill me" is not the least bit unclear.

Loki as Aggressor

Built Like a Moth by youcrashstanding

"I don't want to die," Tony repeats. "I'll... whatever else. I don't..." not here. Not like this. Not after everything that he's been through

"Tell me this is what you want," Loki hisses, tongue sliding along the shell of Tony's ear. "Tell me you want this or I will..." I will tear you apart, the words hang between them unsaid, but Tony hears them all the same.
"Yes," Tony whispers, because it's better than death, it has to be.

Is this the least bit dubious or unclear? Loki has threatened Tony with death, painful death at that, if Loki does not accept the sex (and worse) that he's about to do to him, and if Tony does not claim that he wants it (whether or not he actually does). This is Coercion, hence Rape.

Loki as Victim

Reconciliation by Tangerinedream [UNFINISHED (2014)]

…desperate keening pleas in broken Norse: “Aldregi! Allfather, Neinn! Neinn! Aldri, Allfather. Please, please. Neinn þræll: æva þræll.”

...

Dark Master Tony

Dark Avenger: Merchant of Death by SwirlsOfBlueJay: (Haven't read it yet.) Loki sentenced to lifetime slavery; Tony sees potential in him and buys him at auction. Both characters are dark.
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Loki as Slavemaster

Somewhat rarer is Loki holding one or more of the Avengers as his personal slaves. This tends to be a darker read of Loki, sometimes very dark.

Spoils of War by Limmet: After conquering the Earth, Loki claims Tony Stark as his personal slave. Because of the arc reactor, as well as Tony's skills and talents putting him far ahead of the other humans. However, Loki's total disconnect from modern human individualist culture leaves him completely incapable of connecting with Tony, since all he does is assert his authority to have Tony as his slave, and punish disobedience harshly; Tony develops depression.
Behind Enemy Lines by Arkada: On Sakaar, Loki (positioning himself toward an ending where he seizes power and gets revenge on the Grandmaster) gets given Tony Stark as a gift. So Tony's a slave, Loki's a different sort of slave, they have sex and then Tony flees while Loki stays behind to enjoy his future plans (with the interesting thought that if he ever does make it back to Midgard, he and Tony might have a bit of a fling).
Spoils and Patience and Respect by chubbychoco: Clint is Loki's slave. Basically just a quick PWP pair.
Till Kingdom Come by neverminetohold: "Cognitive Recalibration" was a ruse, and Clint, in sleeper-agent form, has been waiting for Loki to return to claim him and carry out the next phase of their plan.
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Odin's Less of a Dick

Reasons of State by Cthultystka: "Well, now that Thor's renounced the throne, you get to be King. Unless you want to go back to the dungeons for the rest of your life. Oh, and you better accept all these other stipulations and such; you really don't have much choice."; Okay, technically, it's better than it sounds. Also, pretty short, and Odin's not as much of a dick as he often is in these fics. Does show some fatherly affection, tempered by irritation and not having a lot of choices anymore.

Slavery on Sakaar

While slavery as a legal punishment is interesting, there's also times when Loki is stuck as a slave for other reasons. One big minefield to explore is the slave planet Sakaar.

Lemme Smash by jessalae: The Grandmaster requires Loki to service the Hulk.
please don't hurt yourself. by DictionaryWrites: A far more disturbing variant, though the story closes before the sex starts. This is Loki terrified, and the Grandmaster forcing him to accept having sex with the Hulk, and Loki not being able to do anything about it. It's adept at capturing that emotion.; The author marked this with Coercion, Manipulation, and Extremely Dubious Consent, but I don't see anything dubious about this setup. Loki says no repeatedly (I don't, I can't, I'll do anything else, I can't, I can't, no, I can't bear it, etc.) in roughly the strongest terms he can use when dealing with the Grandmaster, and the Grandmaster overrides his will completely, including using magical compulsion at the end. When the guy in charge can kill you on a whim and is making it pretty clear (through implication) that if you don't play nice he won't either, there is no room for consent in a setup like that. (I love setups like that, but let's just be clear.)
cast me down where the devil don't go and the Where the Devil Don't Go series by Lise: Fleeing the revolt on Sakaar, the Grandmaster happened across Loki, and is not pleased. Later on, Thor finally runs into them, and bargains to get his brother back, but Loki's a bit worse for wear.
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Lost and Found by Thorkified: Twelve-year-old Loki found out about his heritage by overhearing his parents fight; in distress, he ran away, and got caught by the Grandmaster, who raised him as a sex slave. When Thor finally locates him... well, it's not pretty, or easy to solve.
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A Warm Place and the Resurfacing series by Cthultystka: Thor left Loki as in Ragnarok, but Loki never escaped -- the Grandmaster turned him into a near-mindless sex slave. When the Avengers come to rescue him, he's all but unrecognizable. We do get to see Wanda, Vision, etc. interact with him, and respond to Thor's previous actions. An interesting detail is that all the things that Thor says in an attempt to be comforting are turned by Loki's mind into memories of Thor saying or doing something that makes his assurances a lie. E.g. “You think I'm gonna just turn around and leave you like that?” brings to mind being left helpless with the shock disc torturing him for hours.

AU Slavery Fics

Lastly, here are the fics where Loki was a slave to begin with, or is captured as a slave through other means.

Fairy Tales Don't Exist by DollEyedExistence: (Sadly, this fic has just an intro and was never written up to any length. But the idea was Loki as a slave fairy (human-sized), I think, and Tony planning to take down the whole institution of slavery for fairies.)
Antidote and the Poison Prince series by novembermond: Thor has Loki as a war prize, as exchanged for the Casket by Laufey himself. Loki's magic is locked behind chains, and there's a spell that will make Thor his master if Thor rapes him. “I know what your kind does to captured enemies. It’s vile.” “Listen, it’s going to happen no matter what. All you can do is making it more or less painful for yourself.”
Final Contracts by Prince_Ofluff: Loki is demon; Thor bargains his life and soul for an end to this endless war. Pretty quick and straightforward, as such things go.
the breaking light by maharlika: Thorki, Intersex Loki. Loki's been broken as a sex slave (on Sakaar, by the Grandmaster), then he's gifted to Thor, a long-ago lover before the war started. Also, when they give him to Thor, they drug him with arousal drugs. Loki's deeply screwed up in the head, and Thor has to fight with his own protective instincts in order to help bring him out of it. (Skimmed it.)
Blue Box of Mischief by ManipLoki: This one gets dark with mind control and torture, as the slavers train Loki to obey and then, just when it looks like he might have a chance at escaping, use a collar that rewires part of his seidr, roughly like rewriting his brain (though the distinction is a plot point -- and the first time I've ever seen Loki's lack of magic to be an asset). Deliciously twisted AU of what could've happened in the Void.
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