#loki saving mobius from the tva to i need a hero

[lucianalight]

Connections between Gods of Stories: Breaking the Cycle and Rewriting Reality

From "Loki God of Stories - A Comparison between MCU and Comics" series - Co-Written by @lucianalight (Luci) and @theitcharchives (Hollow)

Ouroboros, the snake that devours its own tail, is an ancient symbol of birth and rebirth in a never ending cycle for eternity. It appears in many mythologies around the world including Norse mythology, with the serpent Jörmungandr encircling the world with its tail in its mouth.

Like an ouroboros, Loki is trapped repeating certain moments again and again, but no matter what he tries, the outcome doesn’t change. In the comics, it’s him trying to escape the role of villain and Ragnarok. In the series, it’s him trying to find other ways besides killing Sylvie and saving the tyrant who takes away everyone’s free will in exchange for constrained stability, or letting everyone decide and allow the basis for a multiversal war. There is also a nice parallel between comics and MCU here. In comics kid Loki wanted Loki to choose his path aka die as himself. Classic Loki wanted him to choose the old role. And in MCU Loki could either die with the destruction of all universes or kill Sylvie and become a villain. It's a recurring cycle in both mcu and comics. Loki either dies a hero or has some scheme(betrayal, escape, etc).

But series Loki doesn’t like either option. So he finds another way, like comics Loki. For the people he loves, for everyone, and for himself. And I (=Luci) can’t help but think that “For you, for all of us” in a way is breaking the fourth wall. Loki’s also saying it to us who love him and followed his story all these years.

“It’s not your story. It never was.” [Renslayer, S1E1] 

When Loki asks “how does it all end?”, Mobius answers: “It’s a work in progress...They’re untangling the epilogue from its infinite branches.” Not far from the truth, actually. There was a point after which HWR couldn’t predict anymore what would happen: it was Loki time slipping, again and again, until he made the final decision of replacing the equation. The end wouldn’t be clear before Loki arrives in the TVA and before he starts his Journey from there in season 2. The multiverse fate depended on the decision he would take in the future. 

Each time Like time slips, the cycle repeats:

Sylvie kills HWR

The loom overloads and deletes branches except scared timeline which causes HWR's reincarnation(Remember while Loki does remember all his time slippings HWR doesn’t)

in sacred timeline Loki escapes with the Tesseract

TVA gets him until he reaches HWR’s citadel with Sylvie

return to number 1,

until Loki destroys the loom and creates the tree and the loop(1 to 4 repetition) breaks. 

So the cycle starts with Loki getting to the TVA until it breaks with Loki always keeping the timelines alive. It is a dynamic similar to what happens in Sandman S1E11, A Dream of a thousand cats. When the cat asks Dream of the Endless if a world dominated by humans and not cats was the actual reality, Dream replied that it had always been so once the humans dreamed of it. So the narrative strand of the cats’ world and of the humans’ world can exist in parallel, as HWR’s reign and Loki’s reign do–there was always a sacred timeline, until Loki replaced it with Yggdrasil that always existed (which is why Doctor Strange was able to see billions of outcomes in IW).

So now, there are two parallel narratives, one where time was always constrained into the sacred timeline which led to the happenings of the season one and two, and one where Loki has always sat in Yggdrasil and held the timelines. The first narrative has always been true, until Loki disrupted it, and now the second narrative has always been true (like the humans dream-changing the world as it has always been).

This needs to be true for both the beginning and the end of the series to exist. So Loki substituting the narrative is him reshaping reality, retelling the story of the universe. Which makes him this universe's God of Stories. Even God of the Story, if we consider his Yggdrasil the creation myth that spawns all others.

There were other examples of the loop too, most notably Ouroboros himself. Was OB inspired by Timely or vice versa? Who came up with that knowledge first? Who was there first? HWR, Timely or OB?(It is my personal idea that this very thing was what actually led to OB being named like that, and the Ouroboros parallels are Luci’s mind connecting dots -Hollow)

This is how comics Loki defeats the gods sitting above in the shadows. Did the gods create humans, or did the humans create their gods? What about gods of gods? Who created who first? It's a never ending loop. A never-ending story. Just like how Loki’s story was cycling in a loop.

From the ancient Egyptian to now “the loop – so often represented by the ouroboros – has been inextricably bound to our concept of time.”[s]

I (=Luci) have to appreciate how the series keeps the theme and lore through both seasons and connects it to the ouroboros mythology. The sacred timeline is shown as a circle surrounding the HWR’s castle. “The ouroboros in its original Egyptian context symbolizes repetition, renewal, and the eternal cycle of time.”[s] And when HWR is talking about managing the timeline it is shown as a circle around him. Like how “In the more widespread Roman variant of Iranian Mithraism, Zurvan, symbolizing ‘boundless time’, is depicted with an ouroboros entwined around his body.”[s]

“The Renaissance-era alchemists saw the ouroboros as something to break out of in pursuit of a linear, rather than cyclical, eternity”.[s] When Loki breaks the cycle by becoming the god of stories, the timelines shape Yaggardsil, tree of life. A tree of stories just like how comics showed the stories as a tree.

The existence of everyone’s stories depended on him. Loki became the god of stories by giving everyone the chance to write their own stories. The story was always about him. For all time, always.

Source: The ancient symbol that spanned millennia

Previous - Next

#loki #loki series #loki meta #loki tv show #god of stories #comics loki #agent of asgard #ouroboros

[brsb4hls]

Ok, ok, ok, Loki: moral of the story.

I slept, I rewatched, I'm trying to be coherent.

So Sylvie. I know people love to hate her, but she's obviously integral to the plot, or they would have kept her at McD's in the second ep. Now what does she do?

She challenges Loki's viewpoint. There's a constant push and pull about what's right and wrong between them. And in 2x5 we've established that Loki simply just does not want to be alone.

But what about people's choices?

The only constant about the tva the narrative has established is pruning=bad.

Everyone was on branched time lines in 2x5, so when the tva took them before the branch could develop, everything around them would be reset.

So what about Mobius' kids? The show really invested some time in that. Mobius is trying, but struggling. He is in constant sale mode, desperate (even trying to sell to B15 later on). So he's short on cash.

And his kids need guidance. They call him at work and left to their own devices, they set shit on fire.

Mobius looks exhausted (the stubble etc). He's very sceptical and even afraid, when Loki shows up and finally agrees to come with him, because Loki says his boys are in danger.

If that Mobius stays at the tva, what about his boys? Why create such a huge emotional scene for nothing?

Also, if the time line hadn't branched (original version, where Mobius got taken at the nexus event), his boys would be erased.

Now from a Rick Sanchez pov that shit doesn't matter, but narrativly, there has to be something to it.

Sylvie challenges Loki by pointing out the branched timelines are what should have happened in the first place hadn't the tva not interfered.

They go back and forth about choices.

Point is, the choices were already made and lead to nexus events and branches and then the tva took those choices away. So Loki dragging everyone back cannot be good, right?

Sylvie wont interfere, even if she gets Loki on an emotional level, because it's not her place.

And Loki realizes that when he says everyone should go home after Sylvie didn't come with him.

Sylvie does interfere, when the branches are threatened, they dissolve, so she helps. She is very much about free will, but she is not careless. She always helped when needed.

BUT SHE DOES NOT WANT TO CONTROL.

Loki does!

So where will that lead? Loki will have to jump back and stabelize all the branches.

Victor probs wont succeed and Loki will do it himself.

But what then?

The morally correct thing would be to let all branches exist with the variants on them. (Especially if we take the soundbits into account when Loki is deliberatly slipping, B15 saying she was happy where she was, Mobius wanting to get back to his boys...)

If Loki gets powerful enough to safe and control time lines (the green lines in the trailer) he doesn't need the tva. He can keep an eye on Kang himself.

But he wants to keep his friends for selfish reasons.

So what will it be?

Also the end will be exactly what HWR predicted. Plus the tva has a fail safe (shown on the screen before spaghettification).

So does the tva have to keep existing? If so, to what extend?

Narrativly Loki would have to put everyone on their respective lines and sit his arse down at the citadel, making sure shit doesn't go sideways. Powerwise that would be cool, he would also be a true hero, but isolated again, after he just acknowledged he needs connections.

Side note: notice how Sylvie makes those connections? Everyone knows her by name. She's a regular at the bar and the record shop. She built herself a life, wrote her own story and encourages Loki to do the same.

So the 'happy ending' would be him saving everyone, and then building himself a life outside of tve tva (since that's an artificial place and his 'friends' there aren't themselves).

But that still leaves the treat of Kangs.

So how do we solve that moral dilemma?

To say it with Buffy:

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

#loki spoilers #loki disney+ #loki #loki series #I want everyone to be happy #but narrativly that can't work #ugh #loki speculation #sylvie #mobius

[holdontohopelove]

I think my biggest issue with the whole thing is that while the Season 2 finale is exceptional, it's only exceptional in the context of Season 2.

Let me explain.

I saw on X last night that people were raving about the finale, calling it the best Marvel work in years, the "Andor" of the MCU. And it was a blockbuster finale especially compared to some of the other studio projects lately.

HOWEVER, it's a good end for Season 2, if it was an anthology. Or if you came into Season 2 without much knowledge of or emotional investment in Season 1. Because Season 2 and Season 1 barely seem like the same show.

The new characters. The time splitting and the multiverse and the overall weirdness of the whole thing. Sylvie basically being a side character. Mobius and Loki being the dynamic duo of the season (Not bashing, just observing). The extra time spent on Timely and Renslayer and Ms. Minutes. Whatever was left hanging in Season 1 stayed hanging in Season 2 as Season 2 went in a totally different direction with totally different vibes. Quite literally, it felt like different branched timelines of the same fucking series.

So with that being said, the finale went perfectly with Season 2. It was, in some ways, exactly what was supposed to happen if you only look at Season 2. Loki saves his friends. Loki completes his "villain to hero" arc. Loki becomes the true god he was always capable of being.

But if you try to connect Season 1 to Season 2, the finale falls short immensely. Because no matter what or how you ship, very little of what went on makes sense in the context of the Sylvie and Loki connection. Yes, he sacrifices his life as it was and could have been for her free will and for her to live her life. Yes, he loves her too much to kill her. But everything else that Season 1 laid down - the nexus event, the "you go, I go", their magic being stronger together, Loki's obvious temptation at the two of them together on the timeline - Season 2 never picks any of it up. With the possible exception of Loki making the final choice so that Sylvie can be "okay" (and this is NOT said, just an inference on my part), none of it really connects.

Yes, he's a hero. Yes, he sacrifices himself for his friends. Yes, he loved Sylvie too much to kill her. Yes, the TVA is revamped and ready for Kang. Yes, Sylvie and Mobius get to live life with free will. But where, where was any of the resolution needed from Season 1? Like so many other people have said, even if EVERYTHING ELSE stayed the same, having Sylvie and Loki have a deeper moment when time was frozen, or a more meaningful goodbye, or ANYTHING that addressed the connection from Season 1 would have bridged the seasons. And truthfully, I think the strongest bridge between the seasons would have been if Sylvie chose in that moment of her own free will to stay with him. How do you spent one season building up these two characters as being so deeply connected and then basically have them never address that connection in the next season?

Separately, each season is amazing. But to try to put them together as one cohesive, satisfying series doesn't work at all.

Is it just me here? (No hate, please, I come in peace).

#loki #loki season 2 #loki series #loki laufeyson #loki spoilers #sylvie laufeydottir #sylvie #sylki #marvel mcu #marvel

[shiningshenanigans]

So, about Loki and Sylvie’s dynamic in Episode 2…

This episode was hard to watch. It’s painful to see these two characters who we know love each other wrestle with such deep-seated issues in their relationship. The gap between expectations and reality for their reunion scene, what we hoped it would be vs. what we got, is pretty glaringly huge. 

It’s interesting to think about how most of the reunion fics people have been writing for the past two years have been variations of the same thing: Loki searching endlessly for Sylvie out in the multiverse, finally finding her and welcoming her back with open arms; Sylvie, tentative and rageful at first, but eventually breaking down in tears and melting into his embrace. We all wanted a big, emotional moment for them, full of kisses and hugs and apologies and “I love you”s. What we got instead was awkward tension and a lack of vulnerability from both parties. 

That sad part is, this is just what happens in human relationships sometimes. Sometimes you can’t resolve everything with one conversation. Sometimes fear, insecurities, pride, or just poorly timed interruptions keep us from mending what’s been broken between us and the people we love. 

But, there’s still a reason that we wanted to see the reunion scene play out this way, à la Hosea and Gomer or the prodigal son returning home after wasting his father's money. We long to see forgiveness and repentance play out in relationships, because that’s what unconditional love looks like. That’s how the conversation should have gone, and would have gone if these weren’t flawed, complex characters that we’re dealing with. Sylvie should be feeling remorse for what she’s done. Loki should be prioritizing Sylvie’s emotional well-being above his own needs. Under the surface, I think that that’s exactly what’s happening. But neither of them are vocalizing it properly, and that’s what’s creating the tension. 

Sylvie, I think, is clearly in the wrong. I say that as the biggest Sylvie stan ever, so hear me out. Her actions and anger towards the TVA have always been completely, 100% justified, but she’s being really short-sighted at the moment. She thinks she can settle down in her own timeline and forget about everything, but sooner or later the consequences of her actions are going to come back to haunt her.  

If you think about it, killing HWR didn’t really do that much to free the timeline. The TVA didn’t even know that HWR existed, and he seemed to be running everything on autopilot. If Sylvie had made it all the way to the citadel by herself, without ever meeting Loki or Mobius, the TVA might very well have just continued to prune branches and hunt her down, with no real knowledge of what happened behind the curtain. 

The real reason the TVA stopped coming after Sylvie is because Mobius and B15 put out an order to stop pruning branches. While Loki and Sylvie were making their way to the citadel, they were down in the TVA changing hearts and minds, transforming it from the inside out. That’s not to diminish what Sylvie did - after all, it was her fighting spirit that inspired the change in the first place. But in a roundabout way, Loki is really the one who set her free from her life on the run. He was the bridge between her and the TVA, the one who brought her story and the all evils of the TVA to the light. It’s really his influence that has made her new life on the timeline possible, but she doesn’t comprehend this yet. She can’t, with all of her unhealed trauma. In her mind, she’s her own hero. She saved herself.

It’s interesting to note that when Loki asks her what she’ll do if HWR shows up again, her answer is, “Kill him”, with that smug little smirk on her face. This has been Sylvie's go-to solution for all her problems ever since we met her. Minute men chasing her down? Kill them. Timekeepers trying to control her destiny? Kill them. Clown interrupts her plan to kill said time keepers? Kill him. Weird man in a purple robe trying to take away everyone’s free will? You guessed it: kill him. What she doesn’t realize, though, is that this mindset makes her no different from the corrupt TVA agents she hates so much. People making choices that lead to chaos and multiversal war? Prune them. In other words, kill them. Loki’s love for Sylvie, and his friendship with Mobius, has taught him that life has value, and now he’s doing everything he can to protect it through the TVA. But this isn’t a lesson that Sylvie has learned yet. She’s only thinking about the value of her own life - not the lives of others. Not really. Not yet.

Also, how happy could she really be in her little 1980s McDonalds world? Yes, she's experiencing stability for the first time in her life, and don't get me wrong, Homegirl totally deserves the chance to rest and live a normal life for a little while. But, at the same time, how many people in her new timeline could ever really, truly understand the life she’s lived? She deserves to have people like Loki, Mobius, B15, Casey and OB in her life: fellow variants who can relate, on some level, to the trauma that she’s been through. She deserves the chance to explore and embrace her Asgardian heritage, her Jotun heritage, even. With Loki in particular, she has the opportunity to be in a relationship where she is fully known in every way possible, seeing as he’s literally a masculine version of herself. She deserves that kind of intimacy in her life, and it won’t be long before that lack of connection starts to leave her lonely again. She may say that she’s not running from anything, but she is. She’s running from herself, from her own story.

Loki’s not off the hook, either. He made some major missteps in the way he approached this conversation. It really should have been his responsibility to lead with love and prioritize Sylvie’s emotions over his own. And while I think he tried to do that… he failed pretty miserably. 

I have a suspicion that he was disappointed, a little hurt, even, when he learned about Sylvie’s new life on the timeline. Afterall, they had kinda made plans to do that together when all was said and done. It probably stung to learn that not only was she ok without him, she was also happy and thriving in her new life. This is honestly the hardest part of learning how to love someone selflessly. You tell yourself that you want what’s best for them, but… can you accept it if “what’s best for them” has nothing to do with whether or not you are an active part of their life?

A lot of Loki’s desperation to find Sylvie in the first episode is fueled by uncertainty–not knowing where she is and wanting to make sure she’s ok. When he learns about her new life, a lot of that urgency goes away. But, he still wants to see her, and he feels like he needs a “reason” for it. So, he hides behind his encounter with her in the elevator as his way in.

What Loki should have done in this moment was be vulnerable with her. He should have asked her how she was. He should have told her the real reason he came: because he loves her and wants to fix things between them (and also protect her from an impending multiversal war, but that’s a conversation for later). He got this so right when he threw himself under her blade at the citadel, holding her gently and assuring her that he knew how she felt. But sincerity and truth-telling, vulnerability, are all still new to him, and while he’s not hiding his feelings anymore, you can tell he’s still struggling to express them.     

He’s too in his own head during their conversation. Her cold attitude and the time limit she’s placed on the talk have left him scrambling for words, so instead, he chooses to put up his own walls rather than chip away at hers. He tells her about what he saw in the future and asks her for information. He starts talking about TVA business and multiversal wars (the absolutely last thing she wants to hear about) and tries to force his viewpoint on her again rather than actually trying to clear the air.  

They both have so far to go to reconcile their relationship, and it's tough to watch. It makes me miss their bond in season 1, their playful banter and the inherent sweetness of their honeymoon phase. Is it possible that they’re drifting apart intentionally, that they won’t end up together in the end? Yeah, sure. Marvel doesn’t really have a great track record for ending romances on a positive note. But I really hope that all the angst is building towards something satisfying in the end. It is, after all, only episode 2. We’ve got the whole rest of the season to go!  

#sylki #loki season 2 #loki series #loki spoilers #geeking out gracefully

[therese-lokidottir]

There's one thing that literally wromg on screen and it's very obvious, like there's no justifying at all but of course they trying justify it and it make showrunner look stupid and cruel

It's even mobius and loki first time in theater room and well it's lead mobius saying na d blame loki for frigga dead and say loki existence is nothing but for step stone

That is literally cruel and torture and showrunner specially Waldron had nerve calling it 'therapy ' and make loki 'look into mirrors' to realize his sins and mistake (loki literally know and understand his sins and mistake, he no need anyone and everyone rubbing it on his face). Seriously season 1 scenes it's filled with stupid and cruel scenes

Seriously what the f&*- wrong with Waldron, I know he didn't watching previous films but seriously? Every single his 'writing ' literally bad, boring and stupid. Waldron make joss wedon and Russo brothers look like the best writers and prosucers in world

Loki literally know and understand his sins and mistake

And the thing Loki does understand he did wrong. You see it on his face when the reality of the situation hits him.

So, here's the problem with Waldron entire premise. Everything about the show says he has no choice that he'll be killed along with his entire timeline if he choses to do good but then still places all the blame on him for doing wrong.

Mobius judgment and shaming is really twisted when you think about it because from Mobius perspective, what he fully and unquestionably believes is Loki is just acting out what is written for him. It's not his fault it's the timekeepers intent for things to happen that way. Either Loki has free will and could have choice differently or he has no free will and no one has the right to judge him.

Loki didn't kill Frigga, not just in the way others have explain there is no way take the stairs to the left where enough to lead the monster to the room place and Malakath already was there. But in the way this Loki never got to the point and with the tesseract, that moment probably never would have happened. The TVA killed Frigga, this version of Loki who onscreen family and home is gone because of the TVA.

Loki doesn't admit wrong because he doesn't want to buckle to Odin, someone who has done worse and refuses to admit wrong himself. It is a personal conflict at that point and Loki has never been confronted by someone he has wrong in a significant way.

Thor, Volstagg and Sif threaten to kill him, he doesn't object or defend himself. He gets it. Jane punches him, he's more amused. Again, no excuse to people he's wrong in some way, Loki accepts that hate. The family stuff is a conflict because his family also screwed up and he refuse to be the only one who admit wrong.

Peter lost his uncle because of his inaction. Tony suffered torture and say his own weapons used against the US and civilians. These are both inciting moments for them to be heroes, but it's not therapy and the people doing these things are the villains.

Again, what sense does it really make? Mobius: Hey, you're an evil loser only good for causing harm. Now help up catch a someone so we can go on unimpeded annihilating universes and killing people. It's not therapy it is in every way cult indoctrination because all it does is tear Loki down and say the only path forward is obeying the system that isolated him.

Like, Raganrok wasn't a particular good redemption arc either but what it shows is Loki doesn't need this. He doesn't have to have his mother death shown to him and collared and beaten to change. There can be other paths for him to be a hero. True, either is through torture and shame but TR at least it was about saving live and that was it. He saved Asgard he accepted Thor as king no objection. So, yeah, wasn't necessary for Loki to change he was always capable of saving lives and giving his to protect his loved ones

#asks #anti mobius #dumb walnut #loki series criticism

[bushs-world]

Loki's evolution (from bad to good)

Just thinking about the fact how Loki went from an antagonist and morally bad person in Thor to a genuinely good person in the series. His character growth in the series is always so special to me, seeing him shed all his villianous qualities and flaws, his selfishness and his total disregard to other people's safety and genuinely growing into a person who cares about lives lost and the damage and suffering caused to normal people.

In the movies, Loki always had a total disregard for innocent lives and was always willing to sacrifice a few people if it helped him or benefitted him. For him, other people and their lives were expendable and he was not scared to throw people into danger if it helped him get what he wanted. Sure, he didn't go around wanting to kill for fun but he was more than willing to push a few to their deaths for his own advantage.

In Thor, he unleashed frost giants in the weapons vault, without caring about the guards who died, unleashed the destroyer on Earth again without caring if humans got hurt and then tried to commit genocide. In Avengers, he unleashed a whole army of chitauri on New York and happily pulled out eyeballs. In TDW, he helped the Kurse even tho he knew people will be killed. In Ragnarok, he preferred staying in Sakaar than save the Asgardians from Hela n was willing to capture Thor for his benefit.

But in the series, we see Loki show real regard to innocent lives. He was ashamed of the deaths he caused in Avengers and admitted he didn't enjoy killing people. He was concerned about the people of Lamentis being left behind and only the wealthy getting in the ark. He was worried over the old woman who chose to stay behind, and was worried over the lies told to the TVA workers. Sure, he isn't a total hero who goes and rescues people but he shows empathy and regard to innocent lives put in danger rather than how he rarely cared in the movies. Then in episode 6, his only driving force when he's stopping Sylvie from killing HWR is that they might unleash something much worse. For a guy who was willing to burn everything for his own needs, it was heartwarming to see him care about the universe being in balance and wanting to take the right decision.

Another thing I love is how he showed remorse and guilt over his mistakes. In TDW, Loki doesn't feel any remorse or guilt for the lives lost on Earth. He goes on justifying his actions to both Frigga and Odin, thinking he was justified in his attack. Instead he kept pushing the blame on others or denying any responsibility by trying to use Odin's past as a shield. Its only when his mother died did he start to change.

In the series however, Loki is shown to be ashamed when Mobius shows him a recording of new york. He looks away in shame, he is sad when Mobius tells him he is born to cause pain and suffering. He's ashamed when Miss Minutes and HWR bring up the battle of New York. He even accepts to Mobius he doesn't like killing people.

He shows so much growth and development from the first episode itself but it's not until he meets Sylvie that he really starts to grow. The thing that makes Sylvie so great and inspiring for him is that she isn't bound by the same flaws and shortcomings like him. She isn't looking for power or validation, she is fighting against a fascist organisation and is trying to give people free will. She shows Loki he can be more than what the world thinks he can be and her presence inspires him to be better.

That's not to say that Sylvie doesn't have flaws of her own. She also has their issues, trauma and flaws to work through and funnily it's Loki who can reach out to her and help her out. That's what I love about sylki that they are perfectly balanced and compliment each other.

But the biggest growth imo is how loki addressed women. He really went from threatening assault on Jane and calling Natasha a mewling quim to addressing Ravonna as madam 🤣🤣🤣

#loki #sylki #loki series #sylvie #loki meta #loki laufeyson #sylvie laufeydottir

[anonymousewrites]

Portal to My Heart (Book 2) Chapter Five

Chapter Five: In the Library

            (Y/N) and Loki sat outside of Judge Renslayer’s office while Mobius was inside. If they were younger, they would have resembled children waiting outside the principal’s office. (Y/N) bounced her knee anxiously.

            “What are you nervous about?” asked Loki. “You’re not the one who tried to trick everyone. You actually exposed me.”

            “Get over yourself, it wasn’t going to work, and I’ve made it clear that I wouldn’t have done anything if you didn’t involve me,” snapped (Y/N).

            “Don’t you want to escape?” huffed Loki.

            “Yes, but I want freedom after that, not to be used by you or anyone else,” said (Y/N).

            Loki frowned. “I…” The image of his mother and (Y/N)’s dead bodies flashed into his mind. The memory of (Y/N) sacrificing herself to save him played before his eyes. “I wasn’t sure how to make it believable. I don’t see you as a pawn.” He chuckled. “I would be an idiot to try to manipulate you now. You’d be far too much trouble,” he teased.

            A small smile cracked (Y/N)’s face. “Yeah, I’m pretty at causing trouble. That’s the entire reason I’m here: to make trouble for Lokis.”

            “Well, then you won’t be in trouble, you’re doing exactly that,” said Loki, smirking.

            (Y/N) smiled. It might not have been an apology perse, but it was enough. It was, however, Loki acknowledging that he didn’t see her as a pawn (still, of course, using playfulness to deflect from the vulnerability of honesty). And that was what (Y/N) wanted.

            The door of Renslayer’s office opened, and Mobius walked out. He whistled at them to get up. Loki hurried after him.

            “You’re probably wondering what happened out on the mission,” said Loki. Mobius just kept walking, annoyed at Loki’s behavior.

            And he’s back to acting all tough and clever. (Y/N) smiled to herself. Well, at least I got to see a glimpse of another part of him. Makes him a bit easier to get along with. Still isn’t going to stop me from teasing him, though. Has to be someone to bring him down a few pegs.

            “That was your first lesson in catching a Loki,” said Loki. “Expect the expected. Half the fun of being a trickster is knowing everyone knows you’re a trickster, and, then, many of your tricks can come from exploiting the fact that they already know—”

            “Okay! Just shut up,” snapped Mobius. “Please. What happened to the guy I met on the elevator? Who didn’t like to talk? Remember him? Now I’m stuck with this guy who won’t stop yacking away about what makes a Loki tick. At least (Y/N) knows when to listen!”

            Mostly because I’m figuring out your weaknesses too so I can escape.

            “But isn’t that precisely why I’m here?” asked Loki.

            “No, I don’t care what makes you tick,” said Mobius. “You and (Y/N) are here to help me catch the superior version of you, Loki! That’s it!”

            “Hang on!” exclaimed Loki. “I’m not sure ‘superior’ is actually quite the right word.”

            Mobius turned on Loki in front of an elevator. “See? There it is. Right there. I believed, stupidly, that insecure need for validation would motivate you to find the killer. Not cause you care about the TVA mission or bein’ a hero, but because you know this Variant is better than you and you can’t take it. But it seems (Y/N) is the only one of you who is making any effort to be better! And while she has just as many issues as you, at least she’s not blind and making things worse for everyone!”

            (Y/N) winced. Even if Loki and I did just get along, he’s not going to like the implication of anyone, especially me, being better than him in any way.

            “Very nice,” said Loki. He fiddled with Mobius’s tie. “I mean, it is adorable that you think you could possibly manipulate me. I’m ten steps ahead of you. I’ve been playing a game of my own all along!” He nodded, pleased with himself.

            Mobius sighed and pinched his brow. “(Y/N), make a point.”

            (Y/N) glanced at him uncomfortably. “Umm, I really don’t want to get in another argume—”

            “Now.” Mobius wasn’t in the mood for sparing Loki’s feelings.

            Shifting uneasily, (Y/N) cleared her throat. “Loki…When Mobius brought up seeing the Time-Keeper’s earlier, your face lit up. Then, you compared them to Gods, making it clear you thought of yourself on par with them. Finally, you said the other Loki would want to team up with you to overthrow the Time-Keepers to take over the TVA. It’s pretty obvious you yourself want to take control of the TVA.” Loki’s face fell, and (Y/N) grimaced. We had just been getting along…

            “A double-cross by history’s most reliable liar,” said Mobius pointedly.

            “Fine,” said Loki. “Then why were you sticking your neck out for me in there?”

            “I’ll give you two options, and you can believe whichever one you want,” said Mobius. He stepped closer to Loki. “For you? A) Because I see a scared little boy, shivering in the cold. And you kind of feel bad for that ice runt.” Loki’s eyes widened. “Or B) I just wanna catch this guy, and I’ll tell you whatever I need to tell you.” Mobius narrowed his eyes. “And let’s not forget that the more you act up, the more you endanger (Y/N)’s position too!”

            (Y/N) frowned. “But I helped!” She turned to Loki. “Sorry.”

            “No, no, I don’t understand either,” said Loki.

            Mobius sighed. “Look, what I’ve done, bringing you two along, is very controversial. Everyone is looking for a reason to get rid of you two. And they’ll use the mistake of one of you two punish the other.”

            “Shit,” sighed (Y/N), running her hand through her hair.

            “So both of you better be on your best behavior or you’re in trouble,” said Mobius, stepping into the elevator.

            “We don’t need sympathy,” said Loki.

            “Good, cause I’m runnin’ out of it.” The doors slid closed.

            “What is this? The next step of your manipulation?” asked Loki as they stepped off the lift.

            “This is the final step. Your last chance,” said Mobius. “And it’s definitely a test for (Y/N). Renslayer isn’t sure you’ll be able to figure out a Variant Loki’s mind quite like this one’s.”

            “I’m offended,” muttered (Y/N).

            “What does our desperate last chance require?” questioned Loki.

            “Work,” said Mobius.

            (Y/N) groaned as they walked into a room filled with boxes upon boxes of evidence and files.

            “I need you to go over each and every one of the Variant’s case files, and then, give my your…How do I put it? Your unique perspective on the Variant Loki,” said Mobius. “Who knows? Maybe there’s something that we missed.”

            “Well, you’re idiots. I suspect you probably missed a lot,” quipped Loki.

            “With their myopic view, definitely,” said (Y/N).

            “That’s why I’m lucky I got ya for a bit longer,” said Mobius, sighing. He stopped in front of a table piled high with files. “Let me park ya at this desk. And don’t be afraid to really lean into this work. Here’s a good trick for you, Loki: Pretend your life depends on it.” He patted the on the back. “I’m gonna get a snack.”

            Sighing, (Y/N) slumped down in a chair alongside Loki. She flipped open a file and began reading. Over and over, the pattern repeated. Time crawled by at a snail’s pace.

            “And another group of Minutemen were ambushed, surprise surprise,” muttered (Y/N) on what felt like the hundredth report.

            “Stole the reset charge as well?” said Loki monotonously, already knowing the reason.

            “Yep.”

            A librarian shushed them violently. Loki and (Y/N) looked at her and shushed her right back. (Y/N) let the files fall the table and stood up.

            Loki raised an eyebrow. “Where are you off to?”

            “I’m going to ask a question. At this point, anything’s better than dying of boredom, and I’d rather do something interesting and helpful for myself,” said (Y/N). She walked over to a librarian’s desk. She tapped the bell repeatedly until the librarian grabbed it so it would stop ringing. (Y/N) smiled innocently.

            “Can I help you?” snipped the librarian.

            “Yeah, can I have the files on the founding of the TVA?” asked (Y/N).

            “Those are classified.” The woman’s deadpan stare didn’t wave.

            “Then give me the files on the beginning of time,” said (Y/N).

            “Those are classified.”

            “End of time?”

            “Those are classified.”

“Is that all you say?” Silence. (Y/N) sighed. “What can I have?”

            The woman sighed before standing up and silently led her to a shelf. She pulled out a few files and put them in (Y/N)’s hands. “Happy reading.”

            (Y/N) huffed as she saw the files were only on her and Loki. She walked back to the table and sat down. “I hate this place.”

            “I take it you didn’t have any luck?” said Loki.

            “I want to know the truth about this place, but they hide all the information. I’m surprised everyone just goes along with what they’re told,” said (Y/N). Sighing, she shook her head and held up the files she got. “Here, I at least got this. Might be more interesting than what we’re doing now.” She smiled playfully. “And I thought reading about you, well, another version of you, your timeline—fuck, this is confusing.” She tossed Loki’s to him. “Just read.”

            Loki chuckled, and his eyes softened for a moment as they met hers. They were quiet for a moment before turning to their files. The first words that stared up at them in alarming red letters were “DESTRUCTION OF ASGARD.” The details were worse. (Y/N) saw the words “full planetary destruction” and “entire civilization annihilated.” Swallowing hard, Loki blinked away the gathering tears. A mournful look appeared on (Y/N) face.

            “Loki…I’m so sorry…” She reached across the table and gently touched his hand. It was a bare brush across his hand, but it was there. Loki just met her gaze with his teary eyes. Unable to say anything more, (Y/N) bit her lip and looked down. She frowned, drew her hand back, and held the file up. A particular line reading “zero variance energy detected” had caught her eye. Her eyes widened as she made a connection. “Loki…look.” She held up the paper. “Nothing was detected during an apocalypse.”

            Loki blinked before straightened. “Oh…Oh!” He smirked, pushing aside his sadness. “It appears we uncovered something interesting after all.”

            He’s hiding his emotions… “Guess we have something to show Mobius.” She stood up and gathered the files. “Let’s go.” If he doesn’t want to face his pain, I can respect that…I won’t push.

l

            “We found something,” said Loki as they entered the cafeteria and walked straight to Mobius.

            “Correction: I found something,” said (Y/N), waving the file in her hand.

            “Well, you wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t…You wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t there,” said Loki.

            “And yet I made the connection,” hummed (Y/N). She smirked. “I think that means I found it.”

            Mobius sighed. “I thought I told you two to not bother me until you’d read all the files.”

            “We did,” said Loki.

            “Every file?” Mobius sounded incredulous.

            “Yes!” Loki was indignant.

            “Pertaining to the Variant?”

            “Doesn’t matter,” interrupted (Y/N), “because the answer wasn’t in the files. It was on the timeline!” She sat down with Loki. They were so excited to share their discovery that they couldn’t be bothered to fight more.

            I can’t decide whether I want them to be this in synch or not…thought Mobius.

            “The Variant is hiding in apocalypses,” said (Y/N).

            “Which apocalypse?” Mobius looked at them blankly. “Any time in history? There’s, like, a million of em.”

            “Ragnarok. Are you familiar?” said Loki.

            “Yes. The destruction of Asgard and most of its people. I’m sorry,” said Mobius.

            “Yes, very sad,” said Loki, becoming quieter and softer. “Anyway, it got me thinking—” (Y/N) coughed “—us thinking—” She coughed louder “—alright, (Y/N) thinking.”

            “Go ahead.” Mobius sat back.

            “Nexus events occur when people do something they’re not supposed to, right?” said (Y/N).

            “Well, it’s a little more complicated, but yeah,” said Mobius.

            “And then there’s a ripple effect from their one action, right? A bunch of things that aren’t supposed to happen start happening until a new timeline branches,” continued (Y/N).

            “Chaotic altercations of a predetermined outcome.” Mobius nodded.

            “Big words for the same concept,” said (Y/N). She began looking at the table in front of her. “Let’s say…”

            “What are you doing?” asked Mobius as Loki jumped in and took his salad.

            “Your salad is Asgard in this scenario,” said Loki, picking up on where (Y/N) was going.

            “It’s not Asgard; it’s my lunch. I want that salad,” said Mobius, sighing.

            “It’s a metaphor, just hang in there,” said Loki.

            “Now, we could go to Asgard before Ragnarok destroys everything and do anything we wanted,” said (Y/N).

            “Push Hulk off the Rainbow Bridge,” suggested Loki, shaking some salt into the salad while Mobius protested.

            “Right, and I could drink all the Asgardian wine I wanted,” said (Y/N), shaking pepper into the salad.

            “No, just stop,” said Mobius mournfully as his lunch was ruined. “Don’t drink the wine.”

            “We could do whatever we want to do, and it would never matter,” said Loki.

            “It wouldn’t go against the dictates of the timeline because…” (Y/N) shook the soda and found it was empty. Grabbing a milk carton from a nearby table (the poor secretary was confused), she returned and held it up. “Because the apocalypse is coming.”

            “Surtur destroys Asgard no matter what we do,” explained Loki. (Y/N) poured the milk into the salad.

            “No, don’t do—!” Mobius sighed in resignation.

            “There’s the apocalypse,” said (Y/N).

            “That’s the apocalypse?”

            “Ragnarok destroys the salt and pepper,” said (Y/N).

            “There it is!” chirped Loki. The two smiled at Mobius, very pleased with themselves.

            “What am I looking at?” asked Mobius, staring at his milky salad.

            “Okay, it was a clumsy metaphor, but you see what we mean,” said Loki.

            “It doesn’t matter what apocalypse it is. Tidal wave, meteor, fire, volcanoes, supernova, anything,” said (Y/N) excitedly. “If everything is going to be destroyed soon, then it doesn’t matter what we do because the timeline won’t branch. The Variant could be in an apocalypse and doing whatever he wants, and we wouldn’t know.” Mobius frowned. “Think about it this way, it doesn’t matter if we create a ripple in a pond if the pond is taking away.”

            “Perhaps we should have started with that metaphor,” remarked Loki.

            “Probably,” said (Y/N).

            “Not bad,” admitted Mobius.

            “Take us to a real apocalypse, to Ragnarok, we’ll show you!” said Loki.

            Mobius chuckled. “Yeah. So you can run away back to your homeland? No.”

            “Better try than last time,” said (Y/N).

            “I’m not taking you for a stroll along the promenade, much less an apocalypse, said Mobius.

            “Oh, Mobius, come on!” complained Loki. “What could possible go wrong?”

            “We have to test this theory,” said (Y/N).

            “Oh, god.” Mobius sighed. “You’re on the same side on this. I’m hate it.” He crossed his arms. “How do I know Loki isn’t going to just going to stab me in the back?”

            “Because I would stop him. I like you,” said (Y/N).

            Loki snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Exactly!”

            “(Y/N), you might not lie as much as him, but you still might just…leave,” pointed out Mobius. “Abandon us for some new adventure.”

            (Y/N) shrugged. “That’s fair.”

            “Look, if you don’t trust us, you can trust one thing.” Loki held up a single finger. “We love to be right.” Shrugging admittedly, (Y/N) nodded. Mobius pinched the bridge of his nose.

#portal to my heart #mcu loki #loki #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki x reader #tva #loki tv #loki series #loki show #mcu fic #marvel mcu #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel

[mimisempai]

The President and the Clerk -1

Summary:

Casey lives his life between the new TVA and his surprising friendship with Loki. But the return of the Lokis from the Void will turn his life upside down. There isn't enough housing for all the variants and Casey is forced to take in a reluctant president.

Notes:

Well, here we are, the fanfic about President Loki and Casey that almost nobody asked for…

Rating G

On AO3

Casey, focused on his task, had not seen Loki come into the open space. 

"Hey Nemo! How would you like to come out of your fishbowl and have a cup of coffee with me to catch up."

Casey looked up and grumbled, "Now that I know what a fish is, I don't really appreciate you calling me that."

Loki looked at him mischievously and retorted, "Then get out of your fishbowl and see some of the world."

Casey stood up and replied as they headed to the TVA cafeteria, "See some of the world? Look at me Loki, I'm just a pen pusher, I'm nothing like you heroes who get to save the universe or the multiverse for what I know."

Loki turned to him and there was no longer anything mocking in his attitude as he replied, "But Casey, you have something of a hero about you."

Casey burst out laughing, "But of course...a hero! I know you're just messing with me!"

Loki stopped him, "I'm serious, you're the first person at the TVA who has spoken to me normally, without wielding power."

"Well at the same time it's normal, you threatened to eviscerate me like a fish, something I didn't even know."

"Casey, you're not an idiot, you knew perfectly well that I wasn't capable of hurting you within the TVA. You could have turned me in immediately, but you didn't."

Casey shrugged, "Even when you threatened me, you didn't really seem like a bad guy. And when you had the thing there, the Tesseract in your hands, you looked so sad, I figured there was no need to add to it."

Loki put his hands on his shoulders and shook him, "That's right! To me, at that moment, you did something heroic."

Casey shrugged and simply said, clearly not believing a word of it, "If you say so." 

Putting aside that ridiculous idea, he continued, "Seriously Loki, since the changes here, there isn't a day that I don't have to go to my computer and look up a new word. I am so ignorant, how would you like me to get by if I went to see the world as you so beautifully put it ?"

Casey knew his place at the TVA and always had. There was nothing extraordinary about him. He was just a clerk who was dedicated and did his job well. The changes hadn't made much difference to him. Except that before he didn't know he was working for the bad guys and now he was consciously working for the good ones.

The thought of being taken from a life he didn't remember by the TVA didn't bother him more than that. He was sure that in his previous life he must have been the same dull, ordinary person. At least here he had a real friend. 

A friend who was looking at him right now with a little too much compassion for his liking so he changed the subject and asked Loki, "I noticed there was a lot of movement this morning at the TVA, what happened?"

Loki replied after taking a sip of his coffee, "We started repatriating people who were sent to the Void."

Casey chuckled, "You mean you brought all those Lokis back here?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "Yes and to be honest most of them are really unbearable."

Casey coughed into his coffee, "Takes one to know one."

Loki ported, "Hey, I heard that."

Casey impassively continued, "And they all live here?" 

Loki nodded, "That's the only problem, it's a bit complicated and there are a few Loki's that don't have a place to stay yet. Besides, there are two of them who are going to live with us. With Mobius and me."

As he said this, Casey found that Loki had a peculiar smile on his face, as if he held a secret happiness, and he couldn't help but ask, "Which ones?"

Casey had had his hands on most of the files of the variants that had come through the TVA and had read most of them, so he knew a few.

Loki's smile widened, "The kid and the alligator."

"You look happy about that," Casey said softly.

Loki nodded vigorously, "Mobius and I have talked about this a lot, and we'd like to try to give the boy a family life, God knows how long he's lived there. And... it may be silly, but I'd like to be able to allow him to be happy. To grow up happy."

Casey placed his hand on Loki's forearm, "Hey Loki, that's not silly, if anything, credit where it is due !"

Casey was happy for his friend. 

Sincerely happy. He still wondered how their first contact had led to such a friendship, but he was glad to see that it was genuinely real.

Casey was truly glad to see Loki happy with Mobius. The only thing was that it made him even more aware of his own loneliness. Especially when he came home at night to his empty apartment.

But this was not the time to think about it. 

He asked Loki in a light tone, "And why the alligator?"

Loki shrugged, "Apparently they are inseparable. And honestly I like the little rascal. I told you about how he ate the hand of-"

Casey interrupted, "Yes, yes at least a thousand times." then realizing something he asked, "By the way, when you brought the... how should I say... Lokis back with Mobius, did you actually bring the President back?" 

Loki was surprised at Casey's question, first of all they had never talked about this Loki specifically, only to tell the story of the alligator eating his arm with delight and most of all he had never seen his friend so flustered, even when he had threatened him.

Loki shook his head, "No, not yet, is part of the ones we're bringing back tomorrow and we don't know where to house him yet."

Casey felt a little sad for this particular Loki. He had read about his nexus event at the time of the old TVA and in light of what he now knew, he found his fate to be extremely cruel.

During a political debate, this Loki disguised as a reporter had saved the population from an attack organized by Hydra. Immediately afterwards, when asked by a reporter about his choice between the two candidates, he replied that both candidates were indirect and liars, adding that if he were president, he would lie directly to America's face.

That's how he finally found himself campaigning.

The only obstacle in his path was a reporter, Nisa, who as a little girl had been a victim of the New York attack and was determined to bring him down. Loki finally lost the election on purpose and confessed that he had created an entire political campaign just to support Nisa's future career as a voice against corrupt politics to redeem himself in some way.

Unfortunately the TVA could not accept it, a Loki in tune with himself went against their plan for him. 

The Lokis were destined to be evil so that the others could be the best they could be. Being the best version of themselves didn't fit into the TVA's grand schemes. 

So the TVA took this Loki from his timeline and made him a variant. Worse, without even a trial he was sent directly to the Void. 

No wonder he did everything he could to get out of it. Even if his choices had been rather foolish.

Not everyone was lucky enough to have a Mobius in their path like his friend.

Casey realized how much the TVA had ruined lives and felt ashamed that he had once been their instrument in this, even if it had been on a small scale.

"Casey! Hey Casey!" 

Loki snapped his fingers in front of him and brought him out of his reverie.

"I have an idea!" exclaimed Loki when he was sure he had Casey's attention.

Casey still wondered what trick Loki would pull out of his sleeve, so he didn't expect the words that followed.

"What if President Loki comes to live with you?"

Casey shook his head, "What?"

"What if President Loki came to live with you?"

"I had it right the first time, my question was rhetorical. Seriously Loki, put yourself in President Loki's shoes for a moment. You come in here, and you're forced to live in the apartment of someone who at one point you would have considered to be an insect. Don't deny it, you've changed but we know that before, you wouldn't have given me a glance. "

Loki shrugged, "Are you forgetting whose house I spent my first night in?"

Casey rolled his eyes, "But the chemistry between you and Mobius was undeniable from day one. I may be an ignoramus, but even I saw that. Me and President Loki living together? Impossible!"

Loki shook his head, "Yes it is! I swear, I'm sure it could work out well."

Casey shook his head and tried to ignore the little voice inside him telling him to accept.  Hadn't he complained inwardly just before about his loneliness? What had Loki told him before? To get out of his fishbowl and see some of the world?

But that would mean going from the fishbowl to the ocean in this case.

Yet the little voice inside Casey was getting stronger and stronger.

Loki sensed this and looked pleading, "Caseyyyy, pleaaaase!"

Seeing his still hesitant look, Loki looked serious again, "I'm not asking you to be his best friend, just to take him in for a while. Just until we find him something to do and a place to live."

Casey sighed because he knew he had lost, "Okay... that's fine. I accept."

"Excellent!"

Casey would have called the situation many adjectives like unlikely or scary but certainly not excellent.

In any case he was good for an express cleaning session when he got home tonight.

He spent the rest of the day in a daze, too preoccupied with what would happen the next day.

Before going home, he made a detour to the archives, and took the time to re-read the file on his future resident.

There were two new pages concerning the events that had taken place on the Void, from his Loki army to his coup against the kid Loki, to the betrayal of said army and finally to the loss of his hand.

Whatever he did, no man deserved this.

He looked around and sure that no one saw him, he put the picture of President Loki's file in his pocket before putting his file away and going home.

As planned, he cleaned up, prepared what was necessary for his future resident and went to bed, exhausted.

He ignored the feeling in his stomach as he entered his bedroom and realized the obvious, that he and President Loki would have to sleep in the same bed.

The god was big so there was no way he was going to sleep on his ridiculously small couch and Casey wasn't about to give up the comfort of his bed so easily either.

He wasn't sure what to make of this sudden realization, so he brushed it from his mind. President Loki, whoever he was, was a Loki, and therefore unpredictable. 

Welcome chaos, Casey thought before falling asleep with a new feeling in his heart.

Anticipation.

Main Post

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

#Casey x President Loki #Casey #President Loki #Lokius #Loki #Mobius m mobius #kid loki #alligator loki #croki #Crack Treated Seriously #Crack Relationships #one bed trope #living together #domestic fluff #getting together #enemies to friends to lovers

[qwanderer]

OK I did it I watched the Loki S2 finale! Loved it and the season as a whole! My optimism about how S1 could be made to pay off really proved fully justified.

There were a lot of emotional dynamics present in S1 that I pulled out and extrapolated in my fics that were then very much confirmed in s2 (albeit with a totally different plot). I thought they were what made sense and happily the writers agreed!

For example: it makes total sense for Sylvie's greatest needs after S1 to be stability and continuity, and for Agent Loki's greatest needs to be to prove himself as a hero and to do his best for his friends, and given the way it's set up it makes sense for that to involve a fresh start with a new incarnation of the TVA. That logically led me to conclude that they would choose different paths, but I hoped they would remain friends and I think this counts.

I also thought I perceived some UST between Loki and Mobius but wrote it as staying unresolved, for a lot of reasons given their personalities and how the two of them started out in their partnership. The show writers chose the same.

I also think O.B. and his lab and the team that came together to fix the loom really serve a lot of the same purposes in the show as Stark Fortress did in my fic, a place to come back to to fiddle with the technicalities involved in saving the multiverse. (Although that does in fact make it even creepier that O.B. sounds so much like Obie.)

Okay I want to talk a little bit about S2E4 and S2E5 and how I felt watching them! How I understood the plot and what it led me to expect.

The moment Victor Timely walked down those stairs I was like "No! This makes no sense! This is not going to work! Obviously Loki should be the person going out there! You put a human out there with the Loom and they die from being blasted with Time Waves or whatever! They age! You put Loki out there and the worst thing that happens to him is he has to be played by Richard E. Grant!"

So of course I was not all that shocked when Timely died, but it was something of a jumpscare. I appreciated the execution.

Then when Loki was collecting all his friends from their various branches, and that included Sylvie, I was like, this makes no sense as a way to regain a moment in time, because either one of two things is true:

1) any variant of a person will have the same vibration [because these are the versions of his friends that are just hanging around on the timeline, they have no memory of the TVA and are effectively just variants of the people Loki knows] and therefore Loki doesn't actually need Sylvie here because for these purposes they are the Same Damn Person!

2) this isn't going to work because he needs the specific version of these people that remember working at the TVA with him!

so catch me yelling at the screen "You are the same damn person!"

and then Loki goes "it's about the who" and I'm like "Oh okay damn so it's about Loki having Emotions I guess it does make sense!" A Loki's magic really seems to be driven by what they need it to be in the moment and Loki needs his friends. These are the closest versions. It works.

So then the finale. Wow.

I love time loop stories with Loki in them, I have at least a couple of those in my AO3 bookmarks. I saw it coming in the best way, said to the screen like "ooh get ready, it's time loop time!"

Centuries later and he knows so much weird comic book physics (catch me giggling about what a setup for frostiron THAT is)

and Timely is dying a thousand deaths and then he doesn't die and I'm like... hmm...

and then they hit us with TIME LOOP TAKE 2: DOUBLE THE LOKI DOUBLE THE TIME LOOP and he has to fight Sylvie so many times and it's so great and so SAD

and then Loki goes down the stairs and I am straight up like YES WHAT DID I TELL YOU I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR TWO WHOLE EPISODES

And we get alllllllll the power we've been wanting to see. And we get the AoA GoS transformation, sacrifice, holding the cosmos in trust like a bauble.

And I'm watching sad Mobius in the aftermath, and I'm like "aww your girlfriend turned into the moon... that's rough buddy"

(seriously very Princess Yue of you, Loki)

Anyway

Yeah it's good.

#the loki show #loki #loki season 2 #loki spoilers #meta

[overcoatangel]

Also, Sylvie intro to "I need a hero", a song I've wanted this idiot franchise to use for years, was *chef's kiss*

#obviously she's not evil and i really loved the song choice i hope they bring it back in the finale #loki saving mobius from the tva to i need a hero #loki #loki spoilers #spoilers

[trutrustories]

Bad fighter Mobius M. Mobius is the best kind of Mobius M. Mobius, Actually.

I already loved Mobius more than most of the MCU characters before episode 6 came out, but THAT scene in Ravonna´s Office was really game changer for me. Until then I was actually sure, that this man is a great fighter. Because HOW THE FUCK COULD HE NOT BE, RIGHT? I mean...

he looks so sure of himself, He´s going on those missions with trained hunters all the time, he´s fearless! And then Ravonna says: “even with that, you´re of no danger to me” And I was like: Ha! keep dreaming girl He´ll show you! And Mobius was like: “Is that what you think? Let´s see..” And I was like: Yeeees that´s my boyyyyy!!!”

And then Ravonna was like...

Mobius in the air in like a split of second. And I was like 

But Mobius freaking smiled and was like: “Yeah you were right”

ok. OK. HE´S MY FUCKING FAVOURITE NOW. THERE IS NO ONE BETTER THEN HIM SORRY.  Suddenly I was lost. I was blown away. It was HE BETTER STAYS IN MCU FOREVER OR I WILL SCREAM type of feeling. So let me get this straight. He can´t fight. He probably knows that he is not a good fighter, and he...  HOLY SHIT. THE WHOLE SERIES IS SO MUCH BETTER!!! .... As much as I love the idea of strong Mobius with long hair and daggers, looking for Loki through entire universe… I´m not sure, if I really want to see that in canon. I just love this cute and non-combatant version of Mobius too much, I´m sorry! Let me explain my weird brain please: we have lots of strong heroes in MCU – those who are great fighters, or those who had to learn how to fight.   The one thing I always loved about Iron man was the fact, that he really needed his brilliant brain, his technology (suit) and bravery to fight. And in the end he was the hero who saved them all. I mean… yeah. There are side-kicks, like Happy Hogan, or Luis (Ant man´s best friend) and I LOVE them! But none of them has got as much screen time and importance, as Mobius. When I think about what I love so much about him and his dynamic with Loki, there is always this one thing that prevails: one of them is an incredibly strong but also very careful god (not when he´s drunk though) who uses a lots of strategies and plans, while the other is a tiny man in a suit who can´t fight shit but runs into the throat of a danger every chance he get and no one can´t stop him. just look at him!!!

He goes on missions with these trained hunters to just look around for clues and has no concerns about potentional harm whatsoever.

And he even finds the time to stand up for normal people and be kind to them in the process:

Once Loki has no collar, on his neck he could break all Mobius´s limbs in a matter of seconds if he wanted to, but Mobius is completely sure he has nothing to worry about around his Loki. He´s not scared of ANYTHING, especially  of Loki variants. Like EVER! :D

let me break it down in detail for ya. I made a list: When they are taking Loki on his first mission outside, Loki asks, if no one is concerned that he is going to has his magic back...

well, maybe someone actually is concerned by that but it sure as hell isn´t Mobius. He just simply says that he could get Loki to Time keepers if he won´t try anything and like... this one line is getting on Loki so much, that Loki even tries to use it few moments latter xD And here is the best scene ever: 

LOKI: “we can go anywhere!” 

MOBIUS: “I´m not taking you for a stroll along the promenade, much less an apocalypse” FEW MOMENTS LATTER:

Hang on. Wait. So you telling me, he took this man outside without  permission, without backup (you know, hunters, that actually CAN fight), right to the apocalypse, knowing that Loki can use his powers anytime, however he wants.  It´s just...  God. I love him!!! And then he just hands him the daggers like it´s no big deal!

Like are we all aware this man has no any super powers, no big strength, nor any impressive fighting skills and he is willing to give him daggers for a mission, where this god is capable of magic and everyone else in team ECCEPT mobius is at least able to fight????? And he just has that small bulletproof vest,  and a raincoat and he chats with Loki in a rain like it was a fucking another apocalyptic DATE?

Ok. Let´s jump to the episode four He goes and persuades Ravonna to let him interrogate Sylvie and he is straight up arguing with her, even when he´s told how dangerous Sylvie is. This man LOVES danger!!! 

Once he has doubts he  decides to risk it all and  swaps TemPads right behind Ravonnas back. 

And he is watching it OUT LOUD in a place where anyone can show up at anytime! 

no but serously. This is a face of a man who is EXCITED for a dangerous adventures with Loki. Yeah, lets bring this whole place down together! 

And then we have this scene. Mobius really has a nerves to pull “ ha ha I had to take it by mistake” line right there. 

But once he understand he´s gonna die, he just take his fate with bravery and talks to Ravonna about life he really desires. 

And remember that time Ravonna warned him about this variant and how dangerous she is?  He casually saves her, just like that. No big deal. 

He even has a time to make teasing notes about how  Sylvie should be more careful jumping to a strangers car like that and how she really is one of the Lokis. 

And after he saves her, he manage to apologize to her  and make her to like him. EVERY FREAKING LOKI LIKES HIM! - that has to be his super power I swear And then Sylvie is like: well actually let´s go back there, I think It´s the best idea ever.  And mobius is like:  What back to the angry cloud? - oh great. fuck this why the hell not. Lets do it. 

so... while Loki and Sylvie are getting closer, lets show us, how literally every Loki likes Mobius (like not even alligator loki wants to hurt him, even when Mobius suggests that he is a liar I CAN´T) And just random (AGAIN) during the chat  saving Loki and Sylvie (without even knowing) when he inspires Classic Loki to change. 

He offers free tickets straght to the TVA to kid Loki, classic Loki and an alligator. I mean... What a LEGEND. 

when he gets there he just knock on Ravonna´s door and is like - lets talk about it xDD

And he isn´t even suprised to lose that fight. He makes himself comfortable on the floor: yeah you were right. Here we go again. Just prune me already, doesn´t matter, I have my Lokis there anyway.

But make no mistake, I don´t think he is stupid, or naive. That is the most fascinating thing about him.  He is brilliant. He can makes great plans (it surely as hell was him, who come up with the high school scheme) He is a great  investigator, he  is familiar with psychology very well, he know how to manipulate people just as well, as Loki. He can  interrogate flawlessly (when jealousy is not involved) And when he woke up in the Void, he was able to escape certain death, choose a car and drive around looking for Loki - and eventualy save Sylvie. He is a very capable man. I dont think he shouldn´t have any power. Like - he has his inteligence, his knowledge of all  languages  (I want to see him chat with Groot please), his knowledge of psychology,  knowledge  of how TVA works... He can have his pruning stick, TemPad, bulletproof vest and a raincoat for what I care. but most importantly he has his kind heart, love of adrenaline, and he is a freaking Loki expert. And let´s not forget, every Loki loves him. Also, he has a damn luck as well :D It´s like - Loki always ends up loosing, so Mobius  is fine  - even when he should be dead about million times already. (one man´s void is another man´s piece of cake) So when they are togheter. There is no way for Loki to actually die. Not by his side xD So I don´t think he needs to become great fighter. I believe, that this is a hundred times better. Creators should explore this dynamic to it´s bottom before they make him fighter with super powers or something like that. ( I wouldn´t mind long hair though)  I´m sorry. But I just really love that. I love how small and fragile he is, but he wont be scared of anything. And now he´s Loki best friend (while having masive crush on him, let's be precise ) So just imagine all those amazing scenes that could come with that.  Imagine there is some very dangerous Loki variant that everyone has problem to deal with, and Mobius is gonna be like - you´re so cute guys, nice try. Now let me talk to him, will ya.  Imagine some big battle where our Loki and Mobius are fighting side by side with Avengers and Loki is using all his potential, and he is so stunning in his leather but he can´t focus very well, because few metters from him is a small, fragile man in a suit just using TemPad an afucking pruning stick. And Loki didn´t even want him there in the first place. So they are arguing like married couple right then and there and every avenger AND enemy in  close distance just can´t believe these two are real.  also Loki saves Mobius by taking him in his arms right on time and running to safety with him

Maybe this post is  completely useless and has  incredibly bad english like every text I write, but I don´t care. I just wanted to loudly  appreciate this mans non-fighting skills and his hilariously huge courage. End of the post.  have nice day! Bye!

#Loki #loki series #loki laufeyson #Mobius #mobius m mobius #loki spoilers #lokius #loki and mobius #i love him okay #He is the best character marvel ever created #longpost #long post

[raifenlf]

Why Loki’s Sylvie Is A Mary Sue

So I am firmly in the camp that Sylvie on the Loki series was/is a Mary Sue.  The last episode made me feel better and like maybe the show was doing a thing where they were faking you out that she was a Mary Sue only to show she was actually sort of a bad guy and I liked that.  But all the recent interviews make me think the show wants to go back to her being a Mary Sue.

But I feel like when I call her out for being a Mary Sue people tell me what are you talking about, she’s not a Mary Sue, bad things happen to her, etc.  But that doesn’t actually make her not a Mary Sue.  

Also, before we start, I know some people find Mary Sue sexist.  But I personally use the term for guys and girls. I don’t use the term to belittle women.  I use the term to criticize a poorly written character.

And I know Mary Sue is often used to describe fanfic characters.  But to me, this series is kind of like a fanfic because the writers took a character who had been in canon MCU material for ten years and then created characters around that character.  So, I kind of review it like I would a fanfic.  It’s very different than if the writers had created a brand new show with all of their own new characters.

Anyway, if you are not totally familiar with the Mary Sue term, then check this out:

I know the term Mary Sue probably means different things to different people.  But I have always used these guidelines when I write my own fanfic to make sure my characters never come off as a Mary Sue.

This article really gives you a full scale of what a Mary Sue is.  If you start reading it, you’ll immediately see why Sylvie is.  But I’m going to take out the parts that most fit Sylvie just to highlight why I believe she is a Mary Sue.  I apologize for this being so long.

Mary Sue Character Traits

Personality

Erm... what personality? The typical Mary Sue doesn't have one per se, because she isn't meant to be a character; rather, she's an entity by which the author makes cool stuff happen.

I feel like that is Sylvie in a nutshell.  She doesn’t have a personality.  I feel like even though she ate screentime, I still don’t really know her at all.  The writers love to say she’s badass.  That’s not a personality.  

Sometimes when I am writing stories for fun and creating new characters, I like to take surveys as my fictional characters.  Like the kind of surveys you’d see in a magazine, like personality types, what’s your dating style, etc.  I figure if I don’t know what my character would do in any of those situations, then I need to keep working on my character.  And if I was trying to fill out a survey pretending I was Sylvie I would have no idea what to answer because she doesn’t have a personality.  She’s just “cool”.

What little personality a Mary Sue has isn't as important as how other characters react to it. No matter how shy or socially awkward Mary Sue is supposed to be, other characters will be inexplicably drawn to her

This is so Sylvie.  Loki falls in love with her...why, exactly?  He falls in love with her in the big Nexus event moment...why?  Because she had a tough childhood?  Mobius spends like two seconds with her in a car and goes from hating her to saying she’s his favorite Loki.  For. No. Particular. Reason.

She's extremely persuasive; everyone finds her opinions to be better than their own

She enchants Hunter B-15 and then immediately Hunter B-15 makes it her whole entire life mission to back Sylvie up.  

And occasionally she'll be a complete asshole...This can manifest itself in several ways...The author wants to write a badass but doesn't know how. This leads to a character who mistreats everyone around her and is never called out on her abrasive, casually abusive behavior.

Sylvie talked down to Loki and treated him like garbage for all of episode three, but it was never portrayed as a bad thing and we never got any impression Sylvie later felt bad for the way she treated Loki

The author doesn't know how to hold back the character, meaning that she will succeed at practically everything. This means that when she encounters rules or authority figures who would otherwise prevent her from doing what she wants to do, she rolls right through them (and they praise her for her "boldness" in defying regulations). If a bad guy is violent and aggressive, she can beat him by being more violent and aggressive (with all that entails). It's impossible for her to go overboard because she's protected by Protagonist-Centered Morality.

Sylvie is shown as a kid to immediately be able to grab a Tempad and run away.  And she can kick ass way better than Loki, for no known reason.  She is always able to fight back against the TVA when they attack her.  And she can kill lots of innocent TVA agents but it’s okay because TVA bad, Sylvie good.

Skills

She will always be superior to the canon characters, regardless of what canon has established they can do or whether it makes any sense.

Whose skill was needed to defeat Alioth?  Sylvie’s.  Of course.  Sylvie needed to teach Loki her skills in order for him to succeed (!).  And again, she is literally called the superior Loki.

Relatedly, there's no effort to her skills. She never actually trains or learns anything to become more powerful; she just wins the Super Power Lottery, or is a freakish natural learner, or is just Inexplicably Awesome

We’re told Sylvie literally taught herself magic.  She literally taught herself to enchant people.  That. Makes. No. Sense.  Like, I have so many questions.  Like, why would it even occur to her to teach herself that?  And how????????????  This is really lazy writing.

Canon Character Relationships

Mary Sue is often designed to hook up with another character, often as a form of Wish Fulfillment. This isn't that bad in and of itself (okay, it is kinda weird), but Mary Sue accomplishes this without any sense of realism. She just grabs her lover's attention straight away, and their relationship will never face any obstacles or tension; it's true love from the start and nothing else. The biggest giveaway is if the love interest is explicitly the author's favorite character, and she essentially "cures" him of all the angst that ails him (at the expense of his characterization).

Yeah, so...this one should be pretty obvious to anyone who watched the show.  Loki literally falls in love with Sylvie immediately, and then he suddenly turns from “villain” to “hero” just because of loving her.  And this was definitely at the expense of his characterization.  And Loki just knows he falls in love with her.  There’s not even any moments of hmm what do I feel for this person?  It’s just true love, immediately.

She will be related to a canon character in some way. This (marginally) helps explain such phenomena as her being a Copy Cat Sue and other characters accepting her so easily.

Sylvie is a Loki variant.  They use this to help explain why Loki is drawn to her and why their falling in love immediately “makes sense”.

Most characters give her more heed than they normally would. The good guys never stop praising her

Seriously, it was so over the top and OOC for Loki to gush over her.  He literally tells her she’s amazing.  They don’t even make it subtle.

Characters' previously established personalities change in reaction to her. Proud, arrogant gimps suddenly acknowledge her superiority in everything. Reckless youths will listen to all her advice. Responsible leaders will defer to her instead. Villains will obsess with her to the detriment of all else. Extremely competent characters will become stumbling buffoons who require her help to do anything. Sweet, mild-mannered characters whom the author doesn't like turn evil and insult her. They all become unnaturally focused on her in some way.

Again, Loki’s whole personality changed in reaction to her.  He became a buffoon who needed her help to enchant the Alioth because of course he couldn’t do anything without her!  Hunter B-15 goes from doing whatever the TVA said to fighting the TVA just because of Sylvie.

Story Elements

Mary Sue is without exception a single-person Spotlight-Stealing Squad. The entire story hinges on her existence; if you removed her, there would be no story. 

Sylvie undoubtedly drove the whole story this season.  It all became about HER meeting the TVA heads because of HER trauma.  Loki’s life was only saved at the beginning because the TVA was trying to capture HER.  And SHE was the one who started the whole multiverse (!).

Mary Sue is The Chosen One, even if the setting already has one. There are many ways she can accomplish this: she can be a Sailor Earth type who "shares" the position with the canon hero; she may be vaguely "destined to help the destined one fulfill their destiny" (i.e. do all the work except the final blow so that the prophecy is still technically correct); or the canon hero may be revealed to be a Fake Ultimate Hero all along. Being the Chosen One doesn't necessarily involve her being a God-Mode Sue, especially as authors become aware of the phenomenon and try to avoid it, but it does make her critically important to the world and allows her to continue stealing the spotlight without the "god mode" label.

HWR wanted Sylvie to come with Loki in the end, like she was chosen all along right alongside Loki.  Like one of the most important characters in the entire MCU is now this character who we only met a few episodes ago.

Most Sues have an unusually Dark and Troubled Past. It's often used to create a Sympathetic Sue, but any type of Sue can have one

They tell us, over and over, how hard Sylvie’s life was because she was kidnapped by the TVA in order to create sympathy for her.

She almost never does anything wrong. In the rare instance that she does, it's usually; (a) a way for the author to disclaim her being a Mary Sue by introducing a single imperfection (that has no bearing on anything anyway), and (b) designed to show her smarts by making her feel instant remorse, and she'll be Easily Forgiven anyway:

So this one hopefully will not come true, as a lot can change between now and when the show is taped. But if the show goes on the way the behind the scenes team is talking, Sylvie immediately felt remorse for betraying Loki, and Loki has already forgiven her and is desperately looking for her.  Ugh.

Alternatively, she is more than capable of doing something wrong, be it in general moral terms or something that goes against whatever code she abides by, and she maybe even frequently does so, but don't expect the other characters or the narrative to ever acknowledge or comment on it in any real capacity. If the other characters do call her out, expect them to be treated like they're the problem for daring to criticize her at all.

Mobius calls her out for killing people, but Sylvie immediately says he’s a bad person and then Mobius agrees, because, of course.

She will often suffer from Special Snowflake Syndrome; i.e., she has a trait or backstory that sets her apart from her group or race.

She is the only female Loki, thus making her the special one among all the Lokis in episode five.

Presentation

In visual media, the camera just can't stop staring at her.

The camera would follow her in fight scenes rather than Loki.

Mary Sue Tropes

Okay, so there are specific Mary Sue tropes that Sylvie is.  One of those is Copy Cat Sue, which I think was referenced before.

Copy Cat Sue

A lot of fanfic writers...start to write something because of their passion for this character, but they find something about the character that doesn't mesh well. Maybe they're the wrong gender or are otherwise not close enough to the author's expectations...In any case, rather than put them through the Possession Sue process, they just get a Clone-O-Matic™ and out pops a Copy Cat Sue...the character might be intended as a replacement for the canon character, but without whatever icky traits the author hates. They'll then rob the spotlight, prove the canon character to be unworthy of his/her position, and either relegate the character to obsolescence or, perhaps, even remove them entirely.

Sylvie is basically a clone of Loki, she is a variant.  But she absolutely robbed the spotlight of Loki’s, and they literally call her the superior Loki.  I mean, they are literally not even being subtle about this.  And there was a feeling by myself (and a lot of other viewers) that Sylvie might ultimately replace Loki in the MCU. 

Black Hole Sue

Much like a black hole, this is a Mary Sue who "sucks in" the plot and characters to her. Characters will behave outside their personalities, logic will be defied, and rules will be broken for her sake.

Sylvie really does suck up all the plot and Loki definitely behaves outside of his personality just to fit the Sylvie show.

Jerk Sue

A Mary Sue who is mean or maybe even cruel, but are still treated as an ideal person.

Once again, Sylvie is basically a jerk all of episode three, but you’ve got Loki falling over himself to call her amazing in just the next episode.

Relationship Sue

A Mary Sue who exists to be the perfect mate for a specific character...this character has everything in the plot conspiring to enforce this One True Pairing...in Fanfiction, they are the perfect beloved of a canon character.

They literally have Mobius speculate that Loki falling in love with Sylvie is so extraordinary that it causes an entire Nexus event, that’s how huge this One True Pairing is (!).  And Sylvie is the love interest of Loki, the only character who had been around before the beginning of the series

TLDR: Sylvie has all the tropes of a classic Mary Sue character.  So calling Sylvie a Mary Sue isn’t being sexist or just randomly hating on the character.  If you use common Mary Sue characteristics to examine the character, she just has too many of these characteristics to ignore.

#loki negativity #antisylvie #loki critical #loki criticism #antisylkie

[liz-allyn]

shudder, part 5/6 [agent mobius x gn!reader]

After disaster places your life in danger, Mobius makes a consequential choice.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Series Summary: Pre-Loki series. You are one of the most dangerous variants the TVA has ever recovered, but Mobius knows what makes you tick. Five times he made you shudder, and the one time you returned the favor.

Words: 4k

Chapter Warnings/Tags: Language; Graphic Violence; Whump; Angst; Panic Attack; Hurt/Comfort; If the movie Titanic stresses you out too much-this isn't for you, chief; Mobius x reader

V.

2889. Hell was erupting on the planet of Olympus-V in its final hours.

A fierce rainstorm barreled down on the alien world’s rocky cliff face. A dangerous surf crashed on the rocks, the sea threatening to scale the cliffs. The sky glowed crimson, illuminated by a Red Giant that was hours from its own collapse. The red light gave the rainstorm an eerie hue. It looked like it was raining blood.

The landscape was crowned by the fiery wreckage of an alien ship. It was the intended getaway vessel of a dangerous variant that managed to escape your team through a hijacked Time Door. Your team followed him boldly, not realizing it was never a getaway. It was a suicide mission. And you walked right into a kamikaze attack.

The variant was dead. Eight other Minutemen were dead. Your still-sorta-new analyst partner was dead. B-15 was badly wounded and unresponsive. You and C-20 were stumbling through the corridors of the ship, both sporting nasty head wounds, as you dragged-carried B-15 towards refuge.

Catastrophe was a mild description, never mind the looming apocalypse outside.

“Help!” another voice rang out from the distance. It was U-91. “Somebody help me!”

You turned towards the sound of the man’s voice, stopping in your tracks. You looked at C-20.

The ground beneath your feet was subtly moving, quaking the ship with every inch. The rocky soil beneath you was giving way under the weight of the wreckage. You and C-20 knew that soon the ship would be a fireball at the bottom of the cliff. But you couldn’t leave him behind.

“Go,” you ordered. “Get her outta here.”

You turned around and rushed back into the smoke and flames. C-20 watched you anxiously as you disappeared. She carried on her rescue mission, dragging B-15 towards a temporarily opened Time Door that would lead them safely back to TVA HQ. It would stay open, as long as the ship didn’t crumble down the cliff.

You were alone again, covering your mouth with your jacket sleeve, following the painful groans as they grew louder.

“I’m over here!” U-91 hollered, his voice echoing down a corridor that was bent nearly vertically. You spotted his position, flush against the ground, but you would have to scale walls of the hallway at a steep angle to reach him. “I’m stuck on something!” he shouted.

“Hang on!” you replied. You approached the base of the corridor with trepidation. Carefully and quickly, you began to climb up the hallway via the walls. You gripped door frames, pipes, handles - anything that you could use to scale the corridor.

“Where’s A-19,” the Minuteman shouted about his partner. “I can’t find A-19!” He sounded panicked, which was never good.

“Hang on, I’m almost there!”

“Did you find A-19?”

You didn’t immediately reply, seeing from your vantage point what he could not. U-91 was less than 10 feet from you, and was truly “stuck.”

His leg was impaled on a ripped pipe that had torn away from the wall in the crash. He was hanging there helplessly by his limb. You winced at the sight and scanned your eyes over the area. You locked on to another gruesome sight: the body of his partner of many years, A-19, crushed by a beam just feet away..

“I c-can’t move,” U-91 said with a choked-out sob. You’d never seen this hunter anything less than tough-as-nails. But now he was weeping. “I-I… I can’t find A-19.”

“It’s okay,” you said as calmly as you could.His wailing broke your heart. “I’m going to get you.”

The final hurdle was going to be just that. You needed to jump up and reach the top of the doorframe to be able to free U-91. You glanced down the corridor warily.

The ship growled impatiently as it shifted another inch.

You used all your strength to leap up in the air and catch the doorframe. You’re pretty sure you sprained your shoulder, if you hadn’t already in the crash. You struggled to keep a firm grip as you shimmied to reach him.

While supporting his weight, you pulled the pipe downwards and freed him. His weight fell on you, unleashing cries from you both. But you didn’t let go.

U-91 looked at you blearily, body wracked with pain and exhaustion. He froze. His eyes went black. You knew exactly whose body he could finally see.

“No,” he cried out pitifully. “No!”

“We have to go!” you implored him. “The ship is unstable and we’re going to fall.”

He couldn’t take his eyes off of his partner’s body.

You held him tightly, and looked down the corridor to where you began. This part was basically a giant slide if you aimed just right. Just like at a water park. Piece of cake.

You said a brief prayer and leaned U-91’s weight across your chest as you both slid down the walls of the corridor. You landed with a harsh thud and U-91 cried out again in agony.

You looked up at the Time Door, still open where you left it - where C-20 and B-15 had already made their escape. It was just you and U-91 alone. If you ran now, you could make it.

“You did this,” you heard U-91 moan beside you. He was delirious; you could only imagine the immense physical and emotional pain he was in. “We should’ve never followed you—”

His sentiments burned like acid, but you shook them off. “Come on!” you hissed, using all of your strength to pull him onto your back. Your shoulder was buckling from the weight, still ravaged from your last injury in the field.

Maybe you were bad luck. Maybe U-91 had a point.

“I need you to walk!” you ordered him.

“You killed us,” U-91 repeated through chattering teeth. “You killed us...”

You tried to throw him on your back and carry him fireman-style towards the exit. Four steps in and you lost your balance. Both of you fell to the ground as the ship started quaking. This time, it didn’t stop.

You felt a strong hand grip your upper arm and yank you to your feet. For a moment you expected to see C-20 back to rescue you. Your heart skipped a beat at who you saw instead.

Mobius pulled you up close until you were nearly nose-to-nose. You gaped at him like a literal deus ex machina come down from the heavens to deliver salvation. He wasn’t supposed to be on this mission. He wasn’t on the mission. How did he get here—?

The Time Door. He went through the Time Door. He came there for you.

“We gotta move!” Mobius shouted as the vibrations jolted you both into action. He reached down and grabbed hold of U-91, and you grabbed the injured man’s other side. It was much quicker to carry the man down the hallway until you were steps away from the time door.

Then the ground shifted, and your world was upside down.

When you came to, the first thing you felt was the cold. You were laying on the ceiling of the ship.

There was a voice echoing— Mobius’ voice. He was crouched down over you shouting something that you couldn’t hear.

You noticed his TVA flank jacket and tie. Paired with the mustache he looked like a detective on a procedural cop show. This stupidly-handsome, hero time cop walked into an apocalypse to save you, now stared down at you with wide, terrified eyes.

That’s when you realized you couldn’t move.

“Stay with me,” he implored, as he lifted your head out of the water.

With your ears clear, you could finally hear the chaos around you. A symphony of groans from twisting metal squealed and cracked through the halls of the ship. You could hear another crushing sound on top of the din. Rushing water.

You lifted your head to see why you were cold. You were laying in rising water with your hips pinned to the ground by a fallen steel door. Mobius was pulling up on the door desperately trying to free you.

Your heart began to pound.

The ship had fallen off the cliff into the ocean below. You were now sinking, the wreckage falling deeper into the sea, with you trapped inside.

You saw water rushing in through the hallways, filling all the corridors. It surrounded you. It was going to bury you.

“Agent Mobius!” you heard from a distance. “Get through the portal!”

You turned your head to see two Minutemen shouting as they dragged the injured U-91 through a flickering Time Door. They were so far away.

“Get help!” Mobius ordered frantically. “I can’t lift it off of her!”

“We can’t keep it open!” one of their voices echoed back. “Sir, you gotta get out bef—”

The door shorted out and vanished. And now, you were both trapped. .

“Mobius…” you exclaimed, barely able to breathe through your terror.

The water was rising quickly. Mobius glanced down at you again, and he reached down deeper to get a grip on your restraints. You both struggled and grunted, but the door only slid a little further without freeing you.

You were allowed a little more space to breathe, and were able to lift your torso a little higher out of the water. The relief was short-lived. The water was flowing rapidly and neither of you were strong enough.

“Damn it!” he roared in frustration.

You glanced around frantically and spotted an opportunity. “Look! There!”

He followed the end of your finger to a pipe nearby. He was on his feet immediately, kicking the piece of metal loose as you continued to try to push the door off of you. Once he broke the pipe free, he brought it over to you and stuck it in the space between your body and the watery ground, driving it down deep beside your leg. He gripped the pole tight and lifted with all of his might.

You pushed up on the door as he shouted, his muscles burning. You were shifting and thrashing like a fish in the frigid water until you were finally able to pull your hips out. You kicked furiously in the tiny crawl space until your legs were freed.

Mobius dropped the weight, and collapsed on his hands and knees. You were reaching for him desperately, your fingers aching to hold him. He wrapped his arms around you, embracing you tightly, as you both kneeled in the ocean water.

A sob escaped your lips as you buried your face in his neck. “You came back for me…” Your body shook as you cried like a child.

He tightened his hold on you and you felt the hair of his mustache graze the delicate skin of your neck.

“Of course,” he replied.

You wanted to hold onto him forever, letting the tears flow freely down your cheeks. It was the greatest act of love that anyone had ever shown you. And it was about to be the last.

Your eyes focused ominously on other imminent danger pounding its way through the doors.

“Moby...” you shuddered as he pulled you up to your feet. The water level was crawling up your thighs, rushing in from everywhere.

He snapped into action, grabbed you by the wrist, and pulled you back down the (inverted) hallway where the Time Door once stood. You took giant strides to push through the current towards a less-submerged part of the corridor.

It became easier to run, but everywhere you looked, your nightmares were coming to life. Your brain began to cease; your mind locked up. You were being paralyzed by terror.

Mobius was shouting something again, but you only caught part of it.

“...outer ring of the ship. If we swim we can make it.”

“What?” you blinked incredulously. He pointed towards a submerged hallway. A water-filled tunnel into the deep darkness. You looked up at him with wide eyes, horrified at his suggestion.

“The ship’s emergency systems would’ve opened the door passages in the event of a crash,” Mobius rushed to explain. “The way should be clear. If we swim now, we can make it out of the ship and up to the surface.”

You were shaking your head, trembling uncontrollably.

“We can do this,” Mobius breathed, pulling you towards the deeper end of the water.

“No-no-no,” you shrank away from his grip. “No, please, no..!”

“We don’t have a choice!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around you. He took a breath and calmed himself once more, “We’re running out of time.”

“Please, don’t make me!” You were crying again. “I-I-I can’t, I’ll drown.”

“No, you won’t—”

“You don’t know where you’re going! You don’t know if there’s even a way out!”

“We have to try,” he explained, meeting your pleas with calm declarations. “If we don’t, we’re gonna die in here. The more we wait, the deeper we sink.”

He had stopped pulling you towards the water, but he wouldn’t let you pull away. He held your body close to him, and for a moment you thought he’d drag you under. He was begging you not to give him a reason.

“Please icanticantocant…” You gripped his chest desperately.

His hands went to the sides of your head, a placating touch matched with a stern voice. “Look at me,” he ordered. He was once again that person that you’d met in the time theater: calm, compassionate, but equally authoritative and focused. “Look at me,” he repeated. You did, and that was the last time he’d ever have to give you directions twice.

You reached up and covered his hands with your own as he held your face. His dark orbs were gentle as they drew you in, hypnotizing you into a vague sense of calm.

He was reading you again—reading and dictating the pages of your mind, writing miracles in the margins of your nightmares.

“You can do this,” he declared with resolve. He whispered to you at a frequency you could hear, even over the crashing current. “You’re the best hunter we have. I’ve seen what you can do.” He gazed at you like he could see the sun rise through your eyes. “You can do anything.”

Your heart swelled and ached.

“I swear to you,” he said softly, as if in prayer, “you will make it to the surface.” He touched his forehead to yours as he wiped the tears from your face with his calloused thumbs. “You’re not going to drown.”

He sounded so confident. Like it was already written and he’d read it many times before, and this was all just another page in the chronicles of the Sacred Timeline. You wanted to believe him. He was asking you to believe him.

That was the moment you realized it.

He was the only thing in the universe that mattered to you.

You couldn’t fathom a version of your story without him in it. You believed in him. And even if he was wrong, it was worth dying for.

You wanted to cry out; to tell him all of the things you felt for him - that you loved him, and would die for him, and wanted nothing more than to be back in his bed at the TVA where he could hold you and tell you that the nightmares were over and that you were safe with him.

“Okay?” he said to you, his eyes fixed.

You blinked at him, and gave him a gentle nod. “Okay.”

He took your hand in his and walked you into the icy water. You were soaked already but your body jolted from the shocking cold.

“We need to slow down our heart rates,” Mobius explained. “Preserve the oxygen a little longer, alright? So we’re going to take five deep breaths - together, then we go under, okay? I’ll give you the signal when it’s safe to breathe.”

You nodded, despite your terror. You couldn’t take your eyes off him, trying to burn into your memory every line and curve of his face.

“Just don’t leave me behind, okay?” you pleaded with him meekly. You didn’t even think about what you’d said until it was done. His eyes softened as they rested on you. “Promise you’ll stay with me?” you asked.

He contemplated you, then reached out and pressed a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“Always,” he promised.

You both turned towards the water, then back to each other. “Okay, five deep breaths,” he instructed. “In and out. Through your nose.” You filled your chest with air and exhaled deeply.

“That’s one,” he counted. “Pull in from the diaphragm.” Mobius rested his hand on your stomach and watched it move with your next inhale and exhale.

“Two.” Another deep breath. He removed his hand from your belly and grasped your hand. There was no way you were going to let it go.

“Three.”

You were gazing into his eyes again, losing yourself in their warm earthy tones.

“Four. One more, in and out.”

You pulled the air in through your nose and out through your mouth, in sync with him.

“Five. Deep breath.”

You filled your lungs as tightly as you could, and dived beneath the surface with him.

It was so much darker than you’d expected. You might as well have been swimming through a starry sky, and in your mind that’s what you wanted to pretend. There were brief flashes - sparks from blown fuses, mostly - that would illuminate your surroundings. You pretended they were flares from stars dying out as you swam through the milky way.

The water was so cold. It was the kind of cold that your skin doesn’t acclimate to. You started counting in your mind as your feet kicked. You weren’t sure how long you'd been holding your breath, but you’d only made it down the first hallway. Mobius pulled you around another corner, continuing on to some blind destination.

How did he know where he was going? You didn’t let your mind dwell on it, as you felt your heart start to pound under the exertion. He knows about space ships, probably an expert. An expert on space ships and jetskis.

Down another corridor. It was getting darker. Were you supposed to be swimming up, or down? You were moving so slow although every muscle in your body struggled to propel you forward. Maybe the cold was slowing you down.

Your chest was burning.

Mobius was still kicking and pulling himself through the water, holding your hand tightly. He was a strong swimmer. Fit for his age, which was… 1,000? Time moved differently in the TVA, so you didn’t know. He was moving slower now, you noticed. Or maybe time was slowing down. Maybe you were drowning already.

God, your chest hurts.

You reached another intersection. He hesitated, looking back and forth briefly. Your mind registered the brief pause, but before you began to panic he pulled you along.

The stars had all gone out. It was so dark.

You kept thrusting your arms deeper through the water, picking up the pace. They were burning from lack of oxygen, but it only made you fight harder.

Mobius pulled you to a stop and you went through another door. It was an elevator shaft of some kind, and the sparks above illuminated the path forward.

Bright lights were filling your gaze, but not from the sparks.

You kept kicking. You could see light. Red light.

Mobius is pulling you forward now. The opening is right there. You’re almost out of the ship and can see the red glow of the surface.

Every thrust of your arms makes them weaker. Like you’re swimming in molasses.

Your lungs are on fire. You’re kicking freely past the confines of the ship. The surface is getting brighter. How deep were you - maybe 40 feet? 30 feet?

You weren’t going to make it.

You were running out of air fast. Your body was beginning to convulse as Mobius held you against him. The world around you was getting brighter and darker.

You weren’t going to make it. You were running out of time.

Mobius stopped his upward push and for the first time you could feel he was losing it too. He let go of your hand, but grabbed the sides of your face. His mouth was on yours, and he gripped the knape of your neck.

That’s when you felt it. The double-squeeze. The signal.

You breathed inwards instinctively before you realized what he was doing. He emptied the last bit of oxygen into your lungs and you felt his grip soften.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to save you from blacking out. You felt his touch disappear. Your hand shot out through the water and gripped him by the arm. You turned your gaze up to the surface and kicked as hard as you could, reaching up for the sky.

No, no, no, no, no.

You were busy trying to convince your mind that this wasn’t really happening. That Mobius was not limp in the current beneath you. You climbed furiously upwards. 15 feet. 10 feet. 5 feet.

Your head ripped through the surface as you gasped for air, choking on the blistering pain. Rain pelted your face as you kicked to stay afloat on the surface. “Mobius!” you cried out as you dragged him up above the water. His head rolled back in a way that gutted you.

You glanced around frantically as a wave crested over you both, filling your mouth with sea water. You spat as you broke through the surface again, kicking even harder to keep him afloat.

You started swimming towards the shore. The tide allowed you to ride the current most of the way. It was dumb luck. You probably would have drowned otherwise.

You held Mobius tight, fighting to keep his head above water, as another surge pushed you forward. A beachhead at the base of the cliff was visible in your sights. One more wave and you both washed up on the crystalline white sand of the shore.

Every muscle in your body throbbed, but you didn’t stop. You squirmed to your feet and dragged your partner with all of your strength further up the beach.

He wasn’t moving. You crouched down beside him, your body shaking with terror. You dropped your ear to his mouth.

He wasn’t breathing.

“No... no, Mobius...”

Your teeth were chattering cold while hot tears flooded down your cheeks. Your mind struggled frantically to process a solution.

You stacked your hands firmly in the center of his chest and sat up on your knees, counting each compression under your breath.

After the count of ten, you tilted his head back, opening his airway, pinched his nose and breathed deeply into his lungs. Tears were falling freely from your eyes onto his face, and you choked back a sob after your second breath did not resuscitate him.

“No,” your voice was thick with anger. “No - you promised me.”

You repeated the process of CPR, compressing his chest and breathing into his mouth to no avail.

“You promised me, you son of a bitch,” you hissed. “You promised you’d stay with me!”

You shoved the heel of your palm into his chest even harder. Your shoulders were filled with a strength that the rest of your body was drained of. This was worse than heartbreak. Your soul was crumbling.

“Please don’t leave,” you were begging. “Please come back... Please, I need you...”

A cough sprang forth from his throat as water shot up from his mouth.

The rush of joy winded you and knocked you to your elbows. Mobius turned his head and expelled the rest of the sea water from his lungs, coughing harshly, his whole body shaking.

You were shaking too, not just from the cold.

“God,” you breathed, overcome with immeasurable relief. Hearing him gasp for air was the closest you’d ever come to heaven.

You laid your head on his chest as silent cries racked your body. You were now a disciple, a humble and devout witness to whatever miracle brought you two together. You squeezed your eyes shut as you listened to the sound of his heartbeat, the gentle sound of each blessed breath. And you worshipped him.

“S-See,” he said with a cough, that sly smirk on his face. “To-toldya w-we’d make it.”

And for that comment, you were going to kill him.

Part 6

A/N: Ok kids, the next chapter is straight up hard R-rated. Like X-rated. Like. The. Whole. Chapter. I’ve never written anything like this. And it’s long! Is that weird? I keep thinking 4k words of smut is like… whoa… Your thoughts in the comments, please. Part of me also just wants to cut the smut in the middle but that would be cruel, right?

Did you like this chapter? Reblog & let me know! If you're not tagged, it's because I couldn't tag you.

@generalhugzzz @isaxbella749 @yodaboo @aloyssia

#mobius x reader #agent mobius x reader #mobius m mobius x reader #mobius #agent mobius #mobius m mobius #mcu fanfiction #loki tv series #loki show #owen wilson #mobius fanfiction #mobius imagine #Lizzy writes. #Lizzy writes!shudder. #mobius x you

[kiki-shortsnout]

21. Listening to someone's heartbeat? From the intimacy prompts, With Loki/Tony, please? 💜

I could've written a whole story with this prompt! As it is I struggled to keep this near 2,000 words! Thank you for the prompt!

~~~~

Where is this place? What is this place? Loki asked himself for about the millionth time, glancing around the room and trying not to fidget on the hard-backed chair he was sat on. He stretched his neck from side to side, trying to relieve the irritating itch he felt from the collar chafing his neck.

He’d suffered through worse. He could endure this.

‘If looks could kill,’ Mobius mocked.

‘What do you want from me?’

‘Well, let’s start with a little cooperation.’

This man knew nothing about him, and Loki had already formulated a plan about how he was going to escape from here, possibly killing him in the process. However, that plan began to unravel the more they spoke, this TVA agent able to strip back every façade, every mask that Loki had constructed around himself.

Only one other person had been able to do that, strip Loki bare and see his vulnerable, true self beneath.

And that man was currently shining on the wall that was playing the movie of Loki’s life.

Loki didn’t react at seeing Anthony again, didn’t give away what they were to each other, feeling himself seethe as an image of them kissing after a battle was revealed.

His greatest secret.

‘A secret Avenger lover! How did you guys manage to hide that? I don’t know which is worse, a hero falling in love with the bad guy who murdered his people…’

Loki clenched his teeth, refusing to speak. It was no one’s business about how he and Anthony had gotten together, what drew them together in the first place. He knew what Mobius was trying to do, but it wasn’t going to work. He was going to escape, find the Tesseract, and convince Anthony for once and for all that they needed to leave their worlds behind.

‘Or the man who fell in love with the enemy, giving up his mission for glorious purpose because of a pair of pretty doe eyes.’

Pushing himself up and away from his chair, Loki paced the room, mind trying to think of a way out of this, to protect Anthony, find a way back to him while eliminating whatever threat this was to them both. If the TVA knew about the relationship, something Anthony had taken great pains to hide, then Loki needed to eliminate this threat.

‘What exactly is it that you want?’

‘I want you to be honest about why you do what you do,’ Mobius answered, still calm despite Loki’s growing agitation.

‘Liar!’ Loki called him out.

Even as Mobius gave a passionate speech back, something about wanting to understand him, Loki paid him no attention, gazing at the hideous orange panels on the wall, feeling the squeeze of the collar on his neck.

‘What makes Loki tick?’

The man reached out and tapped the orange ball on his desk, revealing more moments of Loki’s life, the invasion of New York, his shame, his weakness that he’d nearly harmed the one he…cared about in some misguided quest for glory, his true intentions warped by the Scepter.

He needed to get back to Anthony, to explain it hadn’t been him, that he had been beholden to some trick.

That he wasn’t the monster Anthony had needed to stop, led away by Thor in chains and a muzzle until an opportunity presented itself. Loki was forced to witness his shame again from an outsider’s perspective, the haze of blue in his eyes as he’d forced the Midgardians to bow before him.

Had Anthony known that wasn’t him, that he had been controlled? Why hadn’t Thor seen it?

‘I was... I am on the verge of acquiring everything I am owed, and when I do, it'll be because I did it. Not because it was supposed to happen, or because you or the Time Variance Authority, or whatever it is you call yourselves, allowed me to.’

That wasn’t quite the truth, what Loki truly wanted mingling with the aftereffects of the Mind Stone’s influence, his impatience to get back to Anthony and set things right overriding his rational mind.

Please don’t allow this to change your feelings for me. Please, beloved, please realize it was not me who acted.

‘Honestly, you're pathetic.’ Who was Loki speaking to, the TVA agent before him, or himself?

‘You're an irrelevance. A detour. A footnote to my ascent."

‘If you hadn't picked up the Tesseract, you would've been taken to a cell on Asgard.’

What sorcery is this?

‘What is this? This is nonsense, more tricks. This never even happened.’

‘Not to you, not yet. Look, the TVA doesn't just know your whole past, we know your whole life, how it's all meant to be. Think of it as comforting.’

All his thoughts, his arrogance, his plotting fled as he watched his mother die. For the first time in his life, he was speechless, his desperation making him babble.

‘Where is she?’

‘You lead them right to her,’ the man said, a hint of sympathy in his voice.

‘I don’t believe you. You’re lying. It’s not true.’

He couldn’t be responsible. This was a trick, it had to be a trick.

‘It is true. That's the proper flow of time and it happens again and again and again because it's supposed to, because it has to. The TVA makes sure of it.’

‘Where is she?’ Loki demanded.

What if they have Anthony locked up in his place too? What tricks are they playing on him?

‘Now why don't you tell me, do you enjoy hurting people?’ The man asked again, his voice increasing in volume, making Loki feel as though his chest was being squeezed with overwhelming pressure.

‘I don’t believe you,’ Loki paced in agitation.

‘Do you enjoy killing?’

‘I'll kill you,’ the words were hollow, and they both knew it.

‘Like you did your mother? Like how you attempted to kill Thanos and left your lover alone to sacrifice himself?’

His rage that had been steadily building the whole conversation suddenly dissipated, leaving him lightheaded at the swing between the two emotions, a cold fear now scrabbling up his throat, chasing away the burn of his anger.

‘What happened to Anthony?’

‘Who?’

‘Anthony! Tony Stark! What happens to him?’

‘Does it matter? I mean I know he was your secret lover, but he was an Avenger, an obstacle in your-’

‘Tell me!’ Loki screamed, feeling the furious tears burning his eyes, the onslaught of his emotions frightening him.

He’d shown his hand, exposed his feelings for the two he cherished. Loki had known this would happen, that emotions would make him fragile, defenseless. Now he had no way of saving either and had given the TVA what they needed to blackmail him.

‘You care for him that much?’ All the bluster and posturing from Mobius was gone, a genuine curiosity in his face as he watched Loki.

‘I love him,’ Loki admitted, words he’d never uttered to anyone, not even Anthony. ‘Please, I know you have no reason to trust me, that I’m everything you say I am, but please, let me see what happens to him.’

Sighing, Mobius reached into his pocket and pulled out a separate tape, revealing he held it all along. ‘Here…he was a great man, your Tony Stark. I’ve watched how you interact with everyone around you, your enemies, and the ones you pretended not to care for… it was hard not to be moved by Tony Stark.’

Loki wasn’t listening, trying to fumble with the machine, almost snapping his teeth at Mobius when he reached over to take the recording from him and set it up in the machine. He watched the film, waiting for the moment where Anthony’s life had twinned with his own, when Thor had first been banished and Loki had faced the man of iron for the first time.

Their secret meetings Loki initiated because he’d been intrigued by this morally gray Midgardian, their first kiss, their first tumble into bed. Loki treasured those moments, and now they felt tainted with Mobius’s scrutiny, his gaze leaving grubby fingerprints over their memories.

There were other moments, a future Loki still had to discover. The moment Loki finally confessed his feelings, the heartbreak of betrayal Anthony felt from Captain America (Loki threw the chair across the room at that). He watched as the Hulk creature passed on news of Loki’s death, the way Anthony’s sorrow hardened and was reborn as fury, the catalyst for why he launched himself into space after Thanos’s minions.

And then the end, the blaze of glory, standing alone and proud against the Titan, his beautiful mind destroyed under the effects of the Infinity Stones. Loki couldn’t breathe, his chest trying to move in short sharp pants, his teeth gritted against the pain.

No. Not like this.

He couldn’t see past the agony, couldn’t keep his heart beating with the vile poison of the truth. He could feel a hand on his back, a voice trying to call to him.

‘Please, let me go to him,’

‘Loki, I can’t-’

‘Please. You’ve brought me here for a reason. Whatever it is you want from me, I’ll do it without question. I won’t escape. I won’t betray you, whatever it is you want, but please…’ Loki trailed off, unable to speak past the emotions webbing in his throat.

‘In all my studies of you, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you beg, not sincerely anyway.’

‘You know my…my love for him to be true, that I would not jest about this. Please, Mobius, you have my word, my vow, just please… let me see him.’

‘Ten minutes, that’s all you get. No messing around with the timeline, no giving cryptic warnings. You do anything to divert the timeline Stark is in and I’ll send in a team to prune him and the branch you’ve created, understand?’

Loki didn’t know what pruning meant, but he made an educated guess it had to do with those glow sticks the TVA agents wore and the way they disintegrated the people they stabbed them with.

Nodding, he offered up his hands in a silent plea, sniffing back the tears. Mobius reached out to clasp his hands for a moment, before pointing towards a glowing doorway in the room.

‘Ten minutes and then I’m pulling you out.’

Anthony was asleep in his bed when Loki stepped through, and he rushed over to his bedside, crashing down to his knees as a wounded sound spilt from his lips.

‘You foolish, idiotic mortal, what were you thinking!’ he hissed, the words barely forming sound, not wanting to wake Anthony up or inadvertently cause his destruction. ‘I knew your self-righteousness would be the end of you, that you’d sacrifice yourself in some heroic deed.’ Loki brushed Anthony’s bangs back, leaning forward to press their foreheads together, trying to keep his tears at bay.

He glanced around the room, recognizing it as Anthony’s house in Malibu, no sight of the Avenger Tower. This had to be before New York, before his carnage of Anthony’s homeworld.

‘Lo?’ Anthony suddenly whispered, voice thick with sleep, hands sliding from the bed covers to reach for him. ‘You said…busy…’ he yawned, not entirely awake.

‘I know, dear one, but I made time.’ Loki slid into the bed beside him, taking care to rearrange himself so he could curl around Anthony, protecting him while trying to keep him asleep. He rested his ear directly over the arc reactor, his hand on Anthony’s chest. He could hear the thrum of energy beneath his ear, felt reassured by its continuous sound, knowing it was keeping his mortal alive.

He could feel Anthony’s heartbeat under his palm, never as strong as he liked it, but reassuring enough that Tony was here and alive.

‘I’m sorry. By the Norns, Anthony I am sorry.’

Anthony shifted in his sleep, hugging Loki close and kissing the top of his head.

‘Bad dream, honey?’ he whispered, still sleepy, but trying to comfort him.

‘Something like that. Go back to sleep, darling,’ Loki soothed, hiding the pain in his voice.

He knew what he’d promised Mobius, and his promise to help him stood, but Loki knew he’d twist the intentions of his help to suit his own purposes. He’d find a way to meet these Time-Keepers and bend them to his will. He wasn’t going to lose Anthony to Thanos, would save him from his fate and be together like they deserved.

For now, Loki focused on the sound of his heartbeat, the reassurance he was alive, committing the sound to memory for the next eight minutes.

#frostiron #thank you for the ask! #ask response #tony stark #loki series #loki variant #Loki

[ellestra]

Truth will set you free

I love how this show mirrors Loki's development in the movies while also going more in depth of why and how it happened.

Loki has always been his own biggest enemy. We see it in the memory of Sif. He remembers how he shrugged it off when it really happened but it was one of the thousand papercuts that turned him into the spiteful asshole who tried to kill his brother. His way of getting the attention he wanted was to annoy people because negative attention is still attention. But what he really craved was their love and respect and this was a clear way to never get it.

Of course, in Asgard, the skills that were really appreciated were the warrior ones. The kind Loki was never that good with and his brother possessed in abundance. So he found a different way to get people to pay attention to him. Even if they hated him for it. He told himself he doesn't care. That it doesn't matter because he is smarter than them anyway. But of course it did. It always matters.

And he wasn't the only asshole. The whole first Thor film was about Thor learning how to be less of a one. They both became their own versions of a bully. Thor was callous one who just never paid attention to others or considered their point of view. He just chased his own fun without thinking of consequences. And Loki was the one who acted out by tormenting others just so they would notice him.

And it all boiled over when Loki learnt he wasn't even an Asgardian. All the feelings of not fitting in and all the rejections added up. He over reacted because that was always his go to and became exactly what he thought they thought of him. A villain.

It's not an accident he became a better person when he finally believed that Odin and especially Thor cared. Even when he would finally expect the expected and anticipate his betrayals Thor still wanted him. This belief that he can be a good person and a hero is what made him become one. This is the Loki who saved Asgard as people by destroying the place. He saved the day and made sure Hela was defeated. Because he finally believed his brother believed in him.

And then he was a hero again when he saved Thor from Thanos. And it ultimately saved half the Universe. One of biggest lies TVA told him was that he was destined to lose. It helped that they forced him to cut the crap and forced him to face the lies he told himself but it's also important that he rebuilt himself. They didn't do it to him. He saw what he could be in Sylvie - someone who didn't even have the home and family he had and still manage to almost destroy TVA all by herself. And he believed in her.

We saw once again what the power of such belief can do. Because when he believed in Sylvie he was also believing in himself and it was powerful enough that it created a nexus even in a total apocalypse. Helping others achieve greatness is a more glorious purpose than any Loki has ever proclaimed to have.

All this talk about destiny and the 'sacred timeline" has always been bullshit. It's the choices one makes that decide if they are more good of more bad. Sylvie was the big bad - the Variant that got away and killed countless agents - but really she was always the hero. She just needed someone to see it. Even her powers of mind control with the creepy feeling they always bring are the ones that help set people free not imprison them. They give them back their lives.

It's always about how you use your skills that decide if it's right or wrong and the Universe uses Lokis to bring back the free will. The ones who insert unpredictability. The demigods who have the smarts, the skills and the conviction to destroy the chains that bind it.

Too bad that Loki didn't manage to tell Sylvie he figured out how they can do it together. He understood it because Mobius told him they can create new timeline together. And he knows they can defeat the TVA that way because Mobius believed in him and believed him when he said he could do it. It was always Mobius plan and he got it in the end.

MCU has always been about families and familiar love and relationships more than any romantic notion. I try to stay away from shipping wars but I'm pretty sure neither Mobius nor Sylvie are romantic interest. They are a stand ins for Odin and Thor - a father figure (or mentor) and a sibling. And the way he loses one and then dies in front of the other mirrors the movies nicely too.

Luckily, Loki was right Lokis don't really die. At least not from glowy sticks. So Sylvie can get her information from Ravonna and escape with B-15. and he can get his from other Lokis and pick Mobius(es) on his way back. And then they can bring back the multiverse.

#loki #sylvie laufeydottir #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #mobius #mobius m mobius #ravonna renslayer #tva #time variance authority #asgard #thor #odin #thor odinson

[worstloki]

The Sylvie Show

this got a bit long so i'm putting it under a cut but basically it's episode summaries of what i would do if the loki show had sylvie as the main character instead, since I do think the plot of the show would be better suited to be focused around her rather than 2012 loki. I've tried to keep it so that a lot of existing canon shots/sets/scenes can be reused.

episode 1: the show opens up with young Sylvie on Asgard. The TVA appear and drag her towards a temportal. She wakes up from the apparent nightmare, gasping heavily. cue title card and cool music. a portal opens within a church, sylvie interrupts the man giving a talk on religion, questioning what he's saying with roundabout logic and being generally witty, even managing to incorporate giving a bar of gum she had in a pocket to a child sitting on an aisle seat who is really happy about it. the man is still coming up with an answer to what she said when the doors of the church are broken open and TVA agents start to file in. Sylvie says "about time," and proceeds to have fun slaying the unit and stealing a tempad. She picks up the charge on her way out, sending a blow kiss to the devil mural on the wall on her way out. cut to stepping out of a temportal, throwing the charge behind her over a shoulder (it lands on a mattress) and taking a heavy seat in front of a set of screens which show the inside of a mall. the cameras are mostly empty and where there are people it does not fascinate her (one of them shows someone reloading shelves). she scrutinizes the screens, drumming fingers on the table, but quickly sighs and pulls out her tempad: it flashes with low battery and she rolls her eyes, throwing it into a bin filled with likewise empty devices. she's about to get up when the cameras show a group of agents walking into the store. among them is one with a jacket reading VARIANT in bright orange. "Sh*t," she says, getting up and going to the mattress, rifling through a pile of clothes on the floor next to it "sh*t sh*t sh*t where is it". She pulls out a dark brown jacket, and the camera pans over to the screens again, where the VARIANT turns: it's Loki. A golden portal opens on the beige walls of the TVA, Hunter C-20 stepping through holding a man in 1940s army uniform by the arm and dragging him towards a desk. the man protests but she places a grenade on the counter and tells the deskworker to log it. "it wasn't a dummy," is the explanation she gives. In the background a single guard steps through a portal, looking around and proceeding to the doors out of this room. It's Sylvie, and she walks alone past other guards and rooms labelled Court and Memory Chamber. A group of people run past her saying a variant is loose and she walks faster. She walks past one court room, catching the words "trust me, you can smell the cologne of two Tony Starks," but continues looking around. An analyst (Mobius) rounds the corner in the direction of the court rooms and seems to be in a hurry, and Sylvie takes a sharp turn opening the closest door to her to avoid being seen. She is in a room with a Sacred Timeline screen, and zeroes in on the man closest to her, "what are you--" she places a hand over his mouth and pushes him down into his desk area behind his trolley, shushing him. "Do you know where the Reset Charge Storage Chambers are?" "Why?" *deep breath* *serious face on* "Tell me where the storaGE CHAMBer iS or I'll GUT YOU like a goAT!" "is that... like a fish?" *confusion* "how do you not know what a goat is?!" she spots a poster on the wall with a location guide and pushes Casey away with a hand to the face. "Nevermind." - We see Loki monologuing "the idea that your little club decides the fate of trillions of people across all of existence at the behest of three space lizards, yes, it's funny. It's absurd." an agent walks past in the background pushing a trolley but no attention is brought to it "I thought you didn't like to talk," mobius says. Sylvie pushes a door reading "Storage: Units" open, but looks and finds bodies in little cyro pod chambers lined up. "wrong door," she says, and pulls the trolley across the hall to the door reading "Storage: Charges." She's in a room with shelves filled up with reset charges, and opens the trolley drawer to find it already filled up with useless junk like infinity stones and such. to which she has no reaction. She shoves all that stuff to the side and out of the drawer, making space to

carefully place reset charges there. She individually picks up the two Tesseracts in it though and admires them, saying they're shiny and placing them on lower shelves in the room instead of on the floor. While she loads up the trolley ("a few more should do it") Loki walks past the door in full TVA outfit, happy and carrying a stack of papers that read RAGNAROK in bright red letters. She closes the drawer, takes her Hunter helmet off to shake out her hair and wipe sweat from her forehead, then puts it back on, pushing the trolley towards the door. Mobius has a hand at Loki's back, guiding him out of the Memory Chamber, Loki has clearly been crying and Mobius comforts him "it won't be so bad, you love being useful. and wearing suits." Sylvie walks past, pushing the trolley in the background. Sylvie continues down the hall, and when she sees no one behind or in front she pulls out her tempad and opens a portal, pushing her trolley and herself through. She's already gone and misses Classic Loki with a collar around his neck being escorted through the hall. - Sylvie and her trolley push through the portal and are in a mall, the lights dim and flickering above. Thunder is heard and lightning strikes as she places a reset charge on a shelf, flicking open a panel on it's side, and then walking a bit further and placing another. "May I help you?" a store employee asks, startling her. She considers. "Actually..." and places a hand to the person's temple - it takes a few seconds of effort but her fingertips glow green, and so does the person's eyes and temple, "don't mind if you do." She walks away from the trolley in a rush, and the store worker behind places a reset charge on a shelf. "I'm a bit short on time," she says to herself, pulling out her Tempad. Suspenseful music as the screen fades to black. - Everything cuts to a desert, with a small town in the background. A portal appears high up, and Loki falls from it to the ground. the words "twelve miles east of Puento Antiguo" appear on screen, and we see Loki formed a small crater in the ground, reminiscent of Mjolnir and the one in Stark Tower. "Ow," Loki says, taking the muzzle off with one hand, and then pulling the cuff chains off. The dust settles around him and he's still extricating himself from the hole in the ground and groaning about sand being irritating and getting everywhere when a golden portal opens up (we get a high shot, showing that Loki did indeed land within a larger crater too). Loki puts his hands in the air. "Appears to be a standard sequence violation. Branch is growing at a stable rate and slope. Variant identified." "Beg your pardon but I--" "On behalf of the Time Variance Authority, I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline." "I didn't meddle with time, that would be the Avengers." "You're coming with us." *agents point pruners at him* "It's been a long day, I'm afraid you'll have to make me." *loki's hands start to glow green but B-15 presses a button, freezing him in place. Any sand blowing in the wind or any dust rising has also now stopped. There is a bird stuck mid-flight. B-15 pulls out a collar and places it around his neck. An agent places a reset charge on the ground and activates it, it starts to fizz purple. Time unfreezes and B-15 drags Loki going "hey!" through a temportal, and it closes, leaving the audience to watch a few seconds of the charge going off and the radius of the charge increasing, washing the ground in a bright neon-ish light.

Episode 2: this one is a combination of the Loki episodes 1 and 2. Basically, Loki goes on trial, the TVA has no reason he's committed a crime, but Mobius who had been at the church crime scene saves him and takes him to the memory chamber to break. What gets him to stop acting as if he actually wanted to rule all of space and whatnot is Mobius bringing up the topic of choice in Avengers 1, and asking if Loki knew the mind stone was effecting him too, along with him explicitly asking about the torture which happened before, even during - he pulls up footage - the invasion. Mobius pulls up footage of Frigga and Loki pickpockets the collar remote etc. everything else remains the same, including most of episode 2, with Sylvie fighting to "I need a hero" etc, but C-20 is left behind after being enchanted. When the TVA show up C-20 is tied up hastily in leather belts and rope. She's mostly out of it saying stuff like "it's real, it's all real" but she also says "we're variants, we're all variants" which Mobius obviously brushes over casually. Loki narrows his eyes though, and says stepping out of the renaissance fair tent would have them winding up dead like the agents scattered around here, B-15 calls bluff and Mobius says to wait but the people walking in front of the ones holding C-20 up to take her to the TVA for medical help fall dead upon stepping out. Loki was stalling for time with the wold anecdote, and doesn't tell how he knew the death thing would happen ("I see a scheme, and in that scheme I see myself" "bullsh*t" "it's true. my reflection looks quite good, too." "you *sshole." *he smiles softly, as if t'were a compliment*), and everyone gets back by opening portals from within the tent. The dots between the gum and the apocalypses is drawn, they see Pompeii, end up going to Roxxcart, where we see Sylvie watching the screens, now in her leather gear. B-15 and Loki split up together, the guy at the 'hurricane sale' placed a charge on the shelf but no attention is drawn to that bc Loki and 'Loki' are talking. Sylvie emphasizes that she holds a grudge because he's a traitor, specifically for working for the TVA because they're "condescending time fascists." Loki assures her he knows, and that he's seen the charges around the place. She comes to the realization that he's been undercover/faking. We're shown Mobius and co. finding the room with screens but it's just got Sylvie's random junk, nothing really useful. They talk some more, no physical fighting but the vessel sizes get bigger and Loki calls it 'real mature'. While they still disagree on what to do with the Time Lizards (destroy or overthrow) Sylvie settles on leaving the portal open for him at the end and giving him a chance. She waits for him to go through first, with Loki looking back at Mobius meaningfully determined and then walking through.

Episode 3: Young sylvie is going through the stripping/signing/temporal aura process. She's sent into the court room. she bites and runs out of the room, putting distance before fiddling with the tempad she took, figuring it out, while Renslayer gets stuck answering the Judge. Sylvie appears back on Asgard, but there's already a Sylvie there playing with her toys. a TVA portal opens and she presses another "Asgard" on the device to escape quickly. "I just want to go home," she says to herself, appearing in the same room, but the child is a bit older (a teen?) and a boy and black and reading instead of playing but he's clearly also in green/gold and a loki. the kid turns after hearing her and she panicks and goes through another portal. another one with adult loki in the same room, she looks hopeful as if she could ask for help but then sif walks in with insults and slaps him but spots her. "who's the kid," sif asks and a portal opens up next to her. Agents step through and Sif punches one that does, asking Loki what trick this is now. Sif/Loki fight them while they're still coming through, sylvie presses another asgard but sees a knocked out agent has a tempad on his belt and takes it before running again. no loki in the room, it's empty, but a group of people rush across, talking hurriedly about 'the goddess of death' and 'odin's real heir' and 'thor and loki dead' and 'seeking refuge in the moutains.' Sylvie looks lost. Cue titlecard and cool music. They step into the TVA. Sylvie is determined, telling Loki to hurry because they won't have much time the TVA remains in disarray from the reset charges everywhere, but stops when he says he needs to get a weapon. "Why didn't you use magic to get some earlier," she asks. "Spares," he smiles, "magic doesn't work here after all." Sylvie notes that it explains her last attempts to infiltrate failing so badly. They fight some guards together on the way to the elevator rather than fighting each other. The elevator to the time keepers opens but Renslayer and a bunch of guards are in it waiting. Sylvie grabs Loki and tries to use him as a bargaining tool. Doesn't work, obviously, and Sylvie is shaken upon coming face to face with the same Hunter who had caught her as a kid, she doesn't react in time to stop Loki taking her tempad and dropping them somewhere. Same plot from here, the two of them fighting over the tempad, with Sylvie wanting to go back and Loki telling her they clearly already failed and she should explain what's going on first. She says she doesn't need to and if he wants to help defeat the TVA he needs to trust her and give the tempad back. He makes it vanish and she gets frustrated, asking if he gives up on everything that easily, and maybe that's why he's the first Loki she's seen working with the TVA. Etc. They need a power source anyway and get to the train hoping it'll lead to the ship that won't get off-planet anyway. Loki acts a fool Sylvie naps, wakes up to singing. Sylvie calls him out for not actually being drunk and also he downs a glass and offers her one, and when Sylvie asks how he's paying for it he says it's on the house and points to the barkeeper (male. we're implying/showing flirting. maybe a wink at him or a cute wave.). It's blatantly clear he's trying to get info on her backstory along the way and she's not falling for it but allowing him to know a bit of stuff. (eg. "I know everything is watered down ale for an Asgardian," "watered-down watered-down, more like. But you know of Asgard? Do go on...") She softens at hearing his backstory, and shares hers too. The people appear and ask to see their tickets, everything is the same from here forward. The episode ends with them watching the ship getting destroyed.

Episode 4: different music when sylvie and loki look into each others eyes since i didn't like that. cue titlecard and song after the TVA portals open on Lamentis. this episode remains the same mostly with Sylvie and Mobius driving the plot. No narcissist comment but Mobius gets to act jelly of what Sylvie and Loki have going on. Instead of it just being a bad memory loop with Sif we get her three times and then it alternates to Thor who is also angry. If he's not already down Thor will punch him (even though Loki is just happy to see him bc he didn't think he'd see him again--) and then tell him to hold still so it'll hurt less. It's framed as bad and Thor will imply it's only a fitting punishment. Thor is only shown twice, the first time the scene cuts at Loki being hit and held down, the second is Thor leaving the room, chuckling about how Loki didn't need to talk to anyone anyway bc he's alone, says he'll heal soon anyway. Loki isn't shown, but Thor's fingers have blood on them where they hold mjolnir. the loop resets and Loki is back to standing in the middle of the room and ghosts a hand over his mouth and then Mobius arrives. Loki calls the repeated memory boring and cruel, says he hates when Thor is drunk and feeling rash, with Mobius saying at least he didn't send him to Thanos or something and gave his crotch a break. Sylvie asks what her nexus event was and Renslayer doesn't remember. The end of the episode is the same, with Sylvie 1v1-ing Renslayer and beheading a Time Keeper, Loki getting pruned. The credit scene remains the same.

#note that i didn't plan this beforehand and was making it up as i went and it took... maybe an hour? #maybe an hour and a half #yeah so #first draft idea. #tell me what you think :) #feel free to add suggestions #i'll probably add/change/rewrite on this as more episodes come out #i have a feeling Sylvie wouldn't've left the gum though? #we'll see #the Loki show #loki spoilers #loki show spoilers #i really took episode 4 making loki irrelevant to plot and not getting him character development either to heart i guess #also #if we're making the TVA evil and bad lets go all out and make loki go in a loop to a myth/comic-accurate punishment while at it :) #at least now we haven't downed the angst factor by playing something JUST for laughs #that's how sif can still crotch shot him #repeatedly