...okay, so Loki was absolutely looking for a reaction there, but since he wouldn't want to frighten someone past the point of a decent conversation (at least not today), he merely smiles, eyes glinting with amusement, rather than mock or push his advantage.

He's really been on his best behavior in the Nexus. It's been a long streak. It can't last forever.

"A reasonable point. There is inherent power in so many things," he says. "There is power in a single word. I cannot deny there may be some in practical, secular ceremonies. I would still venture to say any real power in them derives from the passion and focus of their participants, rather than the ritual itself."

"The steps of a ceremony may vary across worlds, across cultures, even in the same culture across time periods, but the importance of them--the power--tends not to. One generation demands that the bride and groom swear to 'love, honor and obey' amidst their wedding vows. The next eschews the idea that any adult should swear obedience to another that they purport to love. The wedding is still a wedding, and it is still a milestone, because the participants believe in it."