I think I assumed at the time that your "thank you!" below was in response to the list of quotations as well as the single Loki one, but I don't object to you coming back to respond more specifically; it means I've re-read this discussion, and now I'm thinking about the question again. (Was co-writing something with a friend recently where she described a man's laugh as "creaking like a gallows rope," which works excellently in context and is exactly the kind of thing I was chewing on here.)