#poor loki has no other choice that to do what the TVA wants

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

I have watched Loki's second season, and I have so many feelings... I apologize for the rant ahead!!

This season feels like the writers listened to fan's critics. But somehow, they managed to get it wrong anyway... Take Loki's role: he is, without a doubt, the lead character this time. They even have him speak about his past (another big complaint about the first season) and they have him literally say what his motivations are (he doesn't want to be alone, he is searching for a place to belong), but it feels so damn wrong! Yes, it's true, belonging is a crucial point for Loki, and I would have been very happy to see him finally finding a place to call home, but.... the TVA 2.0?! Seriously?! And it's all so rushed. Almost overnight, the TVA becomes now a good thing, its new purpose is to protect all timelines and prevent Kang's variants to start another war - yes, there is a small group of people who still believe in pruning the other timelines, but the problem is easily and quickly contained and forgotten. I really have to believe that such a big and complex organization, with countless brainwhased "workers" and soldiers, just because Mobius (an obscure analyst), Loki (who for everyone is still a dangerous variant) and B15 (a rogue hunter, previously detained) say so, suddenly becomes the new Amnesty International. I mean. It could have been a great story of change and renewal, if only they would have taken the time to actually tell it...

Sylvie deserves a moment all for herself. I don't like her, and I didn't like her romance with Loki, but the writers put her in this show, they created big expectations on her role, and in this second season they just... forget about her, without a reason. They even have erased the romance between her and Loki, and again, I didn't like it, but if you want to erase a romance, then do it properly! Instead, it feels like it never happened. Loki was very clearly attached to her in the previous season - he wanted her to be okay, he even asked her to figure out their lives together, after everything, and sure, they had a big fight in the last episode, but... again, it's like it never happened. Now Loki doesn't particularly care about Sylvie (yes, she is in his group of "friends", but nothing more), he just feels somehow inexplicably guilty when she is around, and Sylvie seems like she has troubles remembering who he is... Not to mention her choices after she kills He Who Remains. Again, I really have to believe that after all her trauma and tragedy, after all the travels around worlds and apocalypses, apparently all a norse goddess might want is a job at a MacDonald. What a terrible lack of imagination... And I get the "I want to live a humble, simple life, to enjoy little pleasures", it's a beautiful concept, really, but I'm not exactly sure that working in a fast food chain is such a heavenly and simple life - ask real workers how beautiful and full of little pleasures that life really is. But no, here it is the new american dream. To sell hamburgers on a minimum wage.

And yes, the ending was good. To see Loki finally secure of himself, to see him finding his purpose and his powers, it was cathartic, even if bittersweet: we already knew he was capable of great things! And, at least to me, it didn't feel much like a sacrifice: he does not die, he does not suffer; yes he is alone (side note: at least Mobius has the decency of feeling sad to have lost his friend, Sylvie simply doesn't care, which is unlikely even for her, but they wrote her like that, so...), but he has the means to travel across time and space whenever he likes (he literally spent centuries studying physics! Who knows what else he could do!), he is not trapped inside the time branches. He becomes the most powerful being in the MCU so far, truly a God, and in that his ending is way better than Thor's ending (poor Thor...). But Loki gets here for all the wrong reasons, and the thing that I hated the most is that he needed Mobius advice. So, in the end, Mobius gets to say that he always felt like pruning timelines was a heavy burden, but a burden he chose to bear for a greater good in lack of better options. Seriously?! And we have to pause and think "oh, you see, he wasn't really a mindless killer, he had pity, empathy, especially for children, poor him, he was just trying to do the right thing..." and we have to accept that what Loki does in the end is inspired by him, can be compared to what TVA did for centuries. In fact, what Loki does is presented as an improvement: TVA's purpose was to avoid the multiversal war and to avoid the distruction of all timelines by protecting just one of them, they did it as best as they could given the impossible circumnstances, now thanks God (literal God: Loki) someone else can keep all the branches alive without the whole world collapsing, so they can focus on finding Kang's variants and avoiding the war, yay!

I have much more to say, but I ranted enough for now. Thanks for reading all this :)

Loved the rant! 😉

I'm glad to hear he wasn't sidelined in this one. It's crazy because I remember a review published before the series aired saying the exact opposite, so… I'm glad they were wrong.

No wonder it felt rushed, 6 eps are not enough to tell a good story, not when they pretend to take the lead character from point A to B with a completely different characterization/motivation. And I suppose it's made worse by the fact that Loki was always this complex character so trying to tell a story where he's hilariously basic just can't work out.

They're wasting an outrageous amount of money on these eps, making a longer series is unattainable, especially when everything I have read on the matter states these streaming services are not making huge numbers, if anything Disney+ is losing money.

I'm not surprised the TVA are shown as good though, Marvel thinks they're Shield. If they refused to acknowledge that Shield was corrupted in its core, they were never going to do it with the TVA.

Why does Loki feel guilty around Sylvie though? Are they still claiming he was in the wrong in the S1 finale? That's insane!

I couldn't agree more with you about flipping burgers at McD's. It screams of elitism that these execs are so stupid they think these jobs are what… humbling? A life lesson? If Sylvie wanted a simple life you can't give her a mid-life crisis or a break where she does something a human would do. She's not human, she's a goddess.

I feel bad that they ignored her though. It seems she didn't have as big a fanbase as we were led to believe but to write her as the main character in S1 only to push her aside in order to show more Loki/Mobius is just wrong. The problem with Sylvie is not that she exists, is that she was written only to take the spotlight from Loki and make him look bad, she never had a complex story of her own.

And with Mobius… the very same guy who said the TVA was his glorious purpose, the same guy who said he didn't waste time in questioning anything and he just accepted what was, the same guy who put Loki in a torture chamber for escaping them… we have to fall for that "I was doing it for the greater good"? Come on, now! 🤦‍♀️😂

#loki negativity

[therese-lokidottir]

Okey, I know that you no want do anything with loki season 2 but I want opinion

Okey, after tva get 'destroy' all workers sending back to their timeline and they life in a live that before tva and they personalities are different, I am sorry but what??!! so they just getting free card and justify 'they been brainwashed ' yeah but they still can choose. Oh my God, that is the worst ever, no one calling out them then they just free card consequences after all genocide they did

And they keep blame bicky that literally not have control of his own actions. Is that called justice and fairness?

I never need the people in the tva to be punished. I just wanted them to be called out. Part of them were willing to do this, look down on others, kill trillions and act proud of. My criticism was everyone in the TVA showed why too much freedom of thought for the brainwashed excuse to work as any kind of valid excuse. Especially, after Mobius clearly displayed cruelty that wasn't required by the job. I just wanted the narrative to acknowledge the people in the TVA were wrong and were fine with doing horrible things when it suited them. But they never once did. It treats the members like poor innocent people who were tricked into fascism. It's okay because they thought they had a good reason to pull people from their homes, strip them and collar them like animals, people that included children.

It's terrible because the series keep insisting Loki is just inherently. Made worse when FatWS director claims Bucky has to make amends and can't hide behind his lack of control. Made even worse when Natasha dies with her guilt and sacrificed herself to wipe the red of her leger. I hate how so many characters who had no control over their situation are constantly blamed for it, while the TVA get an easy excuse. I'll remember of in AoS the framework arc nearly broke Fitz knowing the person he could have been and how interesting that was from a character standpoint. Meanwhile Mobius even after learning he was wrong tries justifying himself to the woman he knows was victimized sense a child.

I don't care if some presses the undo button, because the tva members weren't treated as wrong while they were actively committing atrocities. Of course, the show just lets them all retire to Argentina. The fact the show is giving them the choice between live a normal life or keep being a time nazi is the most messed up thing. Why is marvel so desperate to keep the TVA?

#asks #anti tva

[time-variance-archive]

Sorry, I haven't made posts of my own for a while, mainly because I am a bit tired when I come back from work and I don't find the creative energy or the self discipline to do basic ressearches. My next posts include references to Henri Bergson's Time and Free Will, and watching a few more online classes about the Eddas and historical knowledge of the Norse myths.

But recently I got caugh in a very interesting conversation (tw for heavy topics) and while I don't want to include myself in the thread, I want to make my own post it.

I'm not sure where to begin, because violence in fiction is a very complex topic that have been discussed since humans make up stories. I don't have any moral ground to hold there and I think everyone's feelings and opinions on the matter have a value. I am not one of those poeple who scream against "antis" all day, because "anti" is a word that can mean anything and nothing at once (okay, I use it occasionally, always for specific situations like anti-Sylki, anti-Lokius, anti-series... it's just an easy way to name the sides of an argument). I think it's a mere courtesy to respect other poeple's triggers and emotional response, as well as their argumentation.

I think a good text to read on the matter is Aristotle's Poetics, but I am too lazy to look at anything else than the Wikipedia page and my few memories from college.

I think a good part of the "fandom wank" comes from an opposition of a Platonician and an Aristotelian approach of fiction. Some poeple take fiction as a symetrical imitation of the real world while other people read fiction in a more metaphorical way. I don't think any of those sides are better, especially because not all fiction is meant to be consumed the same way. I would say it is not appropriate to watch historical fiction the same way we watch fantasy.

Anyway, sorry if I'm rambling, I'll come to the point discussed here : does Mobius' interrogation methods qualify as torture, and is it appropriate within the narrative of the show ?

As @iamanartichoke said, fiction is subjective to a certain point and I agree. I've been talking about the time loop scene with several poeple in DMs and we confronted our perception of the scene, and how it clashes with the answers of @lucianalight and @tori-artemis.

I think a lot of poeple, me including, percieved the time loop scene as a memory loop, aka, not Loki being repeatedly beated by Sif, but Loki experiencing a memory of being repetedly beaten by Sif. It's not a big nuance, but it changes the whole meaning of the scene.

By putting the emphase on the memory aspect, the scene becomes an introspective moment. What matters here is how Loki reacts to the memory and how it shapes his character journey. After the first loop, Loki mocks the choice of memory, saying "I never thought about it again, because it was just a little fun". It takes him a few loops to come to the realisation he has hurt Sif, and to apologize. Interesting part, his apologies worked, even in a memory, and fake-Sif tells him "you have always been alone and you will always be."

What I understood of this scene is that sometimes, we have to think over and over about a past event to take a lesson from it. I think we've all been Loki there, remembering a morally dubbious deed with fondness or indifference. Wasn't it funny when we pranked the poor math teacher and they lost their temper ? Here, Loki comes to an important realisation : one of the reasons why he's been alone is because he was seeking attention the wrong way. It's only by admitting his wrong that he can take something out of the memory.

Note that my interpretation is purely doylist : the time loop scene serves as a visual metaphor for introspection. This is not an admission that Mobius was right or Loki deserved it, because I am in no way a TVA apologist. My feelings for Mobius are complex and I keep that for another post.

I hope I'm not offending anyone with this post, I am not interested in discourse at all and I have no claim that my interpretation of fiction is more valid than anyone.

@iamanartichoke @lucianalight @tori-artemis @rollychan @acertifiedmoron

#watsonian vs doylist #meta #morality in fiction

[dadsbongos]

gentle lover

(1)gentle lover (2)burn me to the ground Movie/Game/Show: Loki Dynamic: Loki Laufeyson/Reader Warnings: spoilers for infinity war/1st episode of loki ig, fem pronouns Summary: Loki almost wishes he could've experienced the life he's watching of you and him together. ~~~

There’s something about looking upon the gentle face of a lover and coming to the realization that you’d do anything for them. It isn’t as though you never knew - the knowledge was already there, it just took a few seconds for the thought to become cemented as truth. Loki sees this in himself as he stands before the TVA projection of his life.

He’s paused at a moment on an unnameable planet. He sees himself standing on a balcony in what he assumes to be a late-night, but instead of staring up at the stars, he’s looking upon a woman beside him. She’s looking at him as well. They share the glance with smiles - and that’s what alarms Loki most. The smile he sees is one he hasn’t felt in years. It’s small but it’s more genuine than the leather he was wearing moments ago. It’s a smile he hasn’t felt since before he knew about Laufey. Since before his mother…

He knows that woman. One of Thor’s Midgardian friends. The one assigned to watch and guard him in New York.

He doesn’t know why she’s there with him. He doesn’t know why she looks so content to be on another planet with him. He doesn’t know why he looks so at peace at her mere presence. He doesn’t know why it makes him miss a reality he’s never even known to exist.

He almost wants to be there, just to know what it is about that woman that brings him so much tranquility at that moment.

She’s just another bug, their difference in lifespans is proof enough of that. But Loki knows that look, as much as he hates to admit to his own conscience, he knows that feeling smeared across his own face. It’s caring. Tender. A softness he’s never felt for others is now on full display to a Midgardian.

Loki clenches his jaw and resumes the projection.

He watches the two slide their hands together on a railing, interlocking their fingers.

The Loki onscreen’s eyes flicker between hers and their joined hands. It isn’t even him that speaks first, it’s her.

“When this whole thing is over and Sakaar is ruined and Thor has the throne, where will you go?”

Silence is passed between them, Loki brushes his thumb over her knuckles, tilting his head to the side briefly in thought, “Where will you want me?”

She chuckles and shakes her head, “You wouldn’t want to go to Earth. Unless you’d like the Avengers up your ass.”

They giggle together, ignoring the very real reason why the Avengers would be so onto him in the first place. Loki blinks at the woman, scooting closer to her, “I wouldn’t be fond of that… but for you, my dear, I’d tear the universe apart.”

He kisses her knuckles and she merely jokes back, “That sounds like exactly why they wouldn’t want you. Sorry to say they’re not fond of universe-tearing.”

“I’m charming and romantic and this is how I’m repaid?”

“However,” she stresses with a broad grin, “I can’t say that’s not excellent bargaining to keep you on a leash.”

Loki’s brows furrow and he nearly pulls back, “Like a dog?”

“Well, now,” she bites her lip in thought and looks away at the dystopian city below, but Loki still looks at her.

He looks at her as though she’d sewn the very realms together. As though she’d hung all the moons and suns and stars and planted every sweet flower and harvested every fruit. He looks at her like she’s the beginning of his world - and he knows that it also means that, if she asked right then and there, he’d help her destroy the world too. He looks at her as though she’s the only true love he’s ever known. And for all this Loki, watching himself and this woman be entwined, knows - she probably is. He can feel it through the very projection he’s watching, and so he plays another scene with her in it.

“For a woman who could undoubtedly tear people apart, you master the role of a noblewoman, love.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Her response is dripping in lighthearted sarcasm and it manages a laugh from the Loki onscreen as he lays back in a shared bed.

“I am somewhat on the espionage scene, it’d be a little embarrassing if I couldn’t even pull off a little role like this.”

“Even so, I admire you for it.”

“At this point, it’d be rarer to find something you don’t admire me for,” she lightly huffs, a smile tipping at her lips as she finishes tying up her dress, “Not that I’m complaining. It's a huge ego boost.”

“There certainly is much to admire about you,” Loki shows his palms as if to display a sort of surrender.

Before more can be said, the projection is paused once again. Loki closes his eyes and lets his head down in the silence - almost expecting that voice to creep through his mind again. He can hear her now, in his head. He knows that out there, in those other variations of him on the sacred timeline that haven’t yet become Variants, they can probably hear her too. In a more realistic sense, of course. Because if they’re determined to fall in love, there must be one of her fated for every one of them. And he almost pities the fact.

He plays the projection in bits and pieces.

“My mother…”

“Loki, stop, you don’t have to.”

“I wish to, dear.”

“Loki…”

“My mother, I truly feel that she would’ve adored you.”

He takes in their love story as it comes and he struggles down what feels too intimate for even him to watch.

“Do you ever worry about the day when you wake up and I don’t?”

“Yes, of course, I do.”

“What will you do?”

“I prefer to not think on that.”

“You think about everything.”

“Some things… are better left unplanned for. At least for now, when that isn’t a valid worry in my mind.”

He almost wishes he hadn’t touched that tesseract. Just to live a life where he gets to see first-hand how this human woman manages to creep under the walls he so carefully spent years crafting.

“I love you.”

“Poor choice, really.”

“Loki. Seriously. I love you.”

“I love you, too, dear.”

It’s bizarre to see himself love. It’s bizarre to watch as he cares for a being he once would’ve had no qualms ruling over. It’s bizarre to know that this is what could’ve been the happiest times of his life if he hadn’t picked up the tesseract.

“Did you ever imagine yourself here?”

“On a spaceship with a bunch of Asgardians and the gladiators from Sakaar? No, never.”

“I meant with me.”

“I know, I was just messing with you. And… no. To be honest. I thought maybe I’d have to watch you as a guard or something. With the whole trying-to-take-over thing, but never that I’d be your girlfriend.”

“Eh.”

“‘Eh’? The hell does ‘eh’ mean? I am!”

“It sounds so… juvenile. Girlfriend - boyfriend.”

“What? Wife sounds better?”

“In honesty? Yes, it does. I’d much rather call you my wife than my girlfriend.”

“You can’t joke about that! I’ll get my hopes up.”

“Who said anything about joking, dear?”

And as he comes to the end, as he watches himself be lifted by the titan he’s come to fear more than anything, he hears her. Her mourning. Her screaming. Her pleading. Her gut-wrenching cries.

He watches her and Thor crawl to his body and sprawl themselves over it in heaps of hiccupped tears and choked sorrows.

“You were supposed to out-live me… Loki, please. You’ve come back before, Loki, please, come back again. Come back again… I can’t - I can’t live this life without you, Loki… please… please come back again…” she sounds as though her heart itself has been ripped from her chest and torn in two before her very eyes, “You were supposed to out-live me… Loki...”

He looks away from the screen. Decides that now is too much. He can’t watch her lose what she saw as the world. Loki barely knows her and yet he knows himself enough to know if he watches her grief then he’ll want to mend it.

Looking upon her and seeing how deeply and irrevocably she’d cared for him, knowing of his past and forgiving his ways and loving him anyway, he knows he’d want to end her cries. It’s that feeling of realization that makes him feel ridiculous for wanting to do so much for a Midgardian he hasn’t fallen in love with yet.

Yet?

Yet.

It’s a feeling of realization that he’d do anything for that lover of his, when he gets to love her. If he gets to love her.

And it’s that ‘if’ that makes him understand why Mobius was so interested in making him watch his own life. His own future. It makes him realize what he wants but can’t have. His brother, his love, his happiness - it gives him something to want. Lying just out of reach.

So long as he’s compliant with the TVA, he assumes. Otherwise, he’d have to tear the universe in half to even see that Midgardian woman once again.

#loki x reader #loki x y/n #loki x you #loki laufeyson x reader #loki fanfic #look guys idc if i can't have the characterization of a ms birbs #just let me post my bs and then :)

[venomous--fics]

You shuffled through your papers, doing your best to make sure they were organized. Once they were organized, the next thing to do was to put them into the system, and once you did that, it was onto a new stack. Just like every day.

"Y/n,"

You were too focused, thinking it was another nobody trying to interrupt you, you went to wave them off. Except your wrist was caught and you jumped a little your head upwards to look at the person.

Mobius raised an eyebrow and you quickly darted out of your seat, wiggling out of his grasp and dusting yourself off, "Right, it's- Sorry-"

"You coming with me or not?" he asked, already turning and walking away.

You glanced at your work before quickly following him, "Where are we going, Mobius, sir?"

He chuckled a little, "I told you to stop with the formalities."

"Right."

"To a hearin-"

You couldn't stop the small groan that escaped your lips, which of course got his attention. You cleared your throat, "With all due respect, remember what happened last time we attended one of these things?"

"Whatdaya mean?"

"I'm not going to say it. I just don't think we should meddle in Renslayer's business again.."

It was quiet for a moment before Mobius muttered, "It wasn't that bad."

"It was pretty bad." You rubbed your temples thinking about it, "I had so many papers to fill out because of you- And it flooded the- Just don't get us in over our heads again."

Mobius' hand rested against the big door, "Have I ever led you astray before?"

"Yes."

As per usual, the "courtroom," as Renslayer liked to call it, was pretty empty. There was only a few guards in there, and then the accused. You followed Mobius to the front, garnering an odd look from Renslayer, and using your hands, you were trying to assure her that you two came in peace this time. At least you did.

"I just don't understand why I'm here." the guilty party half shouted, "I mean, the other guys went back in time- Like farther back than they were supposed to."

"Because of you," Renslayer leaned forward, "If you hadn't-"

"Yeah, I know. Stolen the tesseract and gotten away with it. You guys keep telling me this. I get it." The person clapped their hands together, "However, I feel like I was supposed to do that because it was mine to begin with."

There was a silence.

"No? Not going to argue with me on that one?"

Again, no response, only a sigh.

"Does that mean I'm right?"

Your shoulder was tapped with something, pulling your attention away from the mess. Mobius handed you a file. It was plain and paper thin, which was surprising to you. Normally they had a little bit more to them than just a single printout.

You looked at Mobius for a split second again before opening the folder.

Loki. You looked back up towards the front of the room. That must've be that guy over there chatting it up with the judge. Poor thing. Doesn't even know that it won't make a difference.

"Don't mock me. I am a god."

Oh boy, you thought. You watched as they pathetically tried to use whatever magic powers they may or may not have had.

Renslayer had see and heard enough, "Prune them."

You watched as two guards grabbed each of their arms and dragged them away from the podium. Loki, you believed them to be, was struggling against them, saying how unfair and stupid this was and that we'd all regret this.

That when, much to your dismay, Mobius stood up. You panicked and stood up beside him, "Don't-"

Renslayer stared at Mobius as he appoarched the bench. By the look on Renslayer's face, you already knew how this was going to play out, so you opted to step into the aisle. Sure this could end in your guy's- Or Mobius'- favor, but you wanted to make sure you could run in case it went awry.

Sure, what a terrible choice to make. To abandon Mobius like that, but to be fair, he has gotten himself into more trouble than ever lately. How were you supposed to get him out of it if he get himself pruned?

Mobius, with a triumphant pep in his step, lead the variant over to you. "And this," Mobius had stated, gesturing to you, "Is Y/n. Kinda my assistant, but they don't really like to be called that. More of an equal to me."

Loki looked at you, almost no readable expression on their face, "I see."

You held your hand out, "Pleased to meet you."

Loki grabbed your hand and shook it eagerly, "Charmed."

You and Mobius led Loki to the interrogation room, "Sorry about Renslayer. She's a bit-"

"Hostile. Does she ever take a vacation?"

"Uh," you responded, "No. None of us do that."

Loki almost wanted to laugh, "You mean to tell me you do this all the time? Nonstop?"

"Sometimes I sleep at the break tables..." you admitted, "That's pretty exciting."

"What's with this place." it came out as more of a flat statement than a real question, but you answered him anyways. Whether it was out of habit or something else, the words just came out before you could process them.

"It's not so bad. The TVA really is just trying to keep everything in order. Without us doing our work, who knows, the whole universe could just unravel and," you paused to chuckle a little, "Maybe it would explode! Or maybe it would simply turn into a tangle mess of timelines."

"Doesn't that make you a little curious?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"You keep everything in order to prevent some sort of outcome. What if it's not a bad one?"

Mobius opened yet another door and ushered Loki in, "Let's not be putting cockamamie thoughts into anyone's heads."

Loki wanted to know the answer, though. Ever since he was dragged here, all anyone could preach about was how the sacred timeline would and should be maintained. But why? Why was that such a big deal. Seriously, what real harm could come from a few timelines branching out? It didn't seem like that big of a deal.

Mobius asked you, for privacy reasons, to busy yourself somewhere else. You understood, and left him to his work. You'd just met them, but Loki had already done it. He had already gotten into your head.

See, you always felt like something was wrong with this place, but you could never pinpoint why. Nothing seemed to fit in, yet everything still worked and made sense. You had no memories outside of work. No family, or friends, outside Mobius- Did he consider you a friend- That's not important.

Did you do anything before all of this? You asked yourself that every time Mobius brought you files upon files to catalog. You really could help but like your thoughts wander. Surely there's more to life than doing someone else's bidding. But no matter how hard you thought, everything either came up blank or hazy.

Your train of thought was interrupted by Renslayer blocking your path. Her glaze was cold and nothing less than stern. You stood straight in your spot, hands at your side. You could feel them tremble, but you tried to not let it show. She looked you over for another minute before handing you a new file.

Opening it showed that it was just and updated version of Loki's file. You stared at his profile picture for a good minute, wondering if he was trying to annoy you or if he was being truthful. You'd done this for so long but you could never tell if someone was ever lying to you.

You looked back at Renslayer, who tucked her hands behind her back. You straightened up a bit more.

"Don't mess this up." she said coldly, "One mistake and I'm pruning all of you."

You clutched the file to your chest and nodded silently, knowing better than to speak right now.

"Do I make myself clear?" is all she asked as she stepped past you.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

As naïve as you were, you knew she wasn't lying. You turned on your heel to deliver the file to Mobius. You couldn't help but mentally curse him out for this. One bad joke from this variant and you'd all be dead. You were silently praying that they'd both be on their best behaviors.

As you got to your destination, you hesitated. You just realized that Renslayer gave you a new file. But that wasn't the problem. You just processed the fact that she was withholding information from you.

Why would she do that? She's never done that before.

#loki imagine #loki x reader #marvel imagine #marvel x reader #mobius imagine #mobius x reader

[delyth88]

Episode 6 reaction

Spoilers ahead!

Whoa boy! Yet again that did NOT go in the direction I expected! Overall I really enjoyed that and I’m excited to see what happens next. I can’t believe they left us on a cliff hanger like that!!! I do kinda hope this opens the door to Loki getting to be in the films with Wanda and Dr Strange at some point in the future (I want my magic trio!), but I don’t know if they’ll go there. I keep feeling like they’ll do almost anything but allow him to interact with the Avengers! Lol

So there’s no particular pattern to these thoughts… here we go…

I’m heartbroken for Loki that he lost Mobius in this. Mobius not recognising him just… agh! Can he catch a break?! I guess that makes sense of the odd sense of finality when they hugged goodbye in the last episode. And this comes after he loses Sylvie too. Very different circumstances, but he’s filled with this sense of urgency that they must fix the timeline and then all of a sudden the people he trusts to help him are all just… gone!

That moment when Loki first returns to the TVA. That was heart breaking! While I still don’t buy into the romantic relationship Tom sure can act, and this was so well done. You could see him take a moment to grieve then pull himself together for the greater good – to save the universe. Soul crushing. Ooof.

So yeah, damn. They were going for the romance. *rolls eyes* Ah well. At least I’d had a few weeks to prepare myself. :/

And they went the route of Sylvie betraying our Loki. Now that was interesting. It was something that I really didn’t want to happen, but I actually came out of this thinking that was quite well handled. I thought the idea that they would disagree over the approach to take was quite a good idea. It gave them an opportunity to dig deeper into the differences between these two characters. And I liked that it was a difference born out of their traumatic experiences. I think there’s going to be tons of meta on why Sylvie and Loki made their choices in that moment, and I LOVE that (as of right now – who knows what I’ll think in the morning) I feel like there is actually something to dig in to there, like it wasn’t completely shallow. It wasn’t some stupid repetition of the what’s almost a joke now Loki wants to rule line. And I liked that our Loki was the one who saw the grey areas and wanted some time to analyse it, he wasn’t just hot-headedly set on killing. And I liked that he finally seemed to have some backbone, some drive.

I was wondering where they were going to find some drama from when I saw that the head of the TVA was some new character (who I have to assume is Kang since online is full of how he’s the next big bad). Like how was that going to mean anything to me? Especially when so much of that scene was Loki and Sylvie sitting there listening. (I did love the identical postures with swords across their laps though. 😊) But this worked for me.

And I really thought for a moment they were going to have Sylvie kill Loki. How sad is that that the experience of IW and Endgame has made me fear for the lead character’s life so frickn’ much! Ugh!

One thing that I can see that may have been a problem for some people, and possibly me after I’ve had some more time to think about this, is that the finale had a lot of focus on setting up the next step in the MCU. Now while this is great, especially if it enables Loki to actually participate in events, it does sort of take away from the characters. At this point, for me though, the conflict between Loki and Sylvie worked enough to satisfy me. And then the mad tumble to the end where we get revelation top of revelation was exciting and a very energised way to ‘end’ the episode. But it is definitely NOT any sort of resolution.

And omg what are we going to do knowing where Loki’s at right now for the next months? Years? Till the next season comes out!? Lol

One thing I am grateful for, and again I think it’s a sign of my super low expectations regarding Loki’s treatment, is that I am glad that Loki seems to be relevant to things again. It’s felt so much like they’re trying to ease him out of the universe, so the fact that they wanted to make a second season when they very clearly didn’t need to does make me feel good on behalf of Loki, and Tom.

I felt like Loki had the opportunity to be a little more like my Loki in this episode. Particularly some of his responses while talking to Kang. And I think this just goes to illustrate the point that in the earlier films we’ve seen a lot of time where Loki is in very serious and high stakes situations. And the way this sets up what feels like some big action to come makes me hope that perhaps he might get the chance to be a bit more of that characterisation of Loki in whatever he shows up in the future in.

So, what happened to those shots of Loki in Stark Tower and in Asgard? I am terribly confused. They weren’t in there, right? I didn’t somehow miss them, did I? I thought, when we saw Miss Minutes and her offer, that they might have been moments shown to Loki to entice him to take up the offer. I’m a little disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing Asgard and Loki in his Asgardian gear again. Did they maybe cut them out for time or some other reason? Were they pieces they filmed pre-pandemic and then decided against using later? If so, why was it in the poster? *shrug*

So no new Loki outfit. ☹ No new Loki powers. ☹ I still feel like the various hints in Episode 5 about Loki’s power really were leading to something and we haven’t (yet?) seen it play out.

Having said that, from the perspective of the end of the season, it now feels like the whole season was a bit of a lull, and bit of a time for Loki to learn about himself (and I would say ‘grow’ but all the talk of Loki ‘growing’ in Ragnarok have made me slightly allergic to that phrase lol), almost as though this is the set up for him to take on something bigger. I dunno. It probably isn’t, it never seems to be, but I plan to enjoy the next however-many-months we have imagining the possibilities.

I liked that Mobius got to have a conversation with Renslayer. That he called her out on all the nice things she’d said but didn’t mean. To me he’s one of those people who it feels worse to have disappointed at you than angry. I also like that he tried to stop her rather than letting her go for some old feeling of friendship or some cliché like that.

So that’s what that pen was all about. So is that a version of Renslayer that Renslayer is protecting? I’m not sure I followed? Or is it just a variant that B-15 found? If so, then why does TVA!Renslayer have the pen?

I get they were going for disarming, contrasting, and just a little mad, but I didn’t particularly like Kang. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays out in the films etc.

I’m here for the multiverse, though!

So, did Sylvie push our Loki into a different multiverse? Does each one have it’s own TVA? Is that a variant Mobius? Or is this some sort of ripple effect that’s changed the course of history, even in the TVA? Questions!!

My list of negative things hasn’t changed much since episode 3 really. I’m still sad that Loki’s characterisation is so different, that they haven’t addressed his time with Thanos or his pain from being Jotun, that he still hasn’t used a lot of magic, and that he never got to see Frigga again. And mostly that he really didn’t seem to be driving the action at all for most of the season. So I think I’m likely to be both happy with this show and disappointed, and apparently completely able to hold both these opinions in my head at the same time. The characterisation and the romance seem to be things I can become more comfortable with on repeated viewings.

I maybe a hopeless fool for Loki, but him having his heart broken and then being thrown into dramatic universe ending peril within the space of two minutes works for me. lol Poor Loki.

Right, that’s enough for me. I look forward to reading other’s thoughts.

Tagging a few folks: @iamanartichoke @scintillatingshortgirl19 @sparklegemstone @pinkpondofasgard @thelightofthingshopedfor @piccolaromana

#loki #loki series #loki episode 6 #loki finale #spoilers #loki spoilers #my review #my reaction #loki series positivity #loki series negativity

[agoldengalaxy]

Fun, Indeed

read on Ao3

“Every time I begin to think you actually have a brain in that head of yours,” he sighed, placing a hand on the small of Mobius’ back, guiding him to walk down the beach a little. “That...is why we are here.” He gestured to a small dock, to the place where it met the sand. An old man sat in a folding chair, a hat covering his face, and at the end of the dock was a striking, brightly painted red jet ski.

Mobius blinked a couple of times, attempting to process the information. “So let me get this straight,” he said, unable to look away from it, “you brought me to 2036 to steal some poor man’s jet ski?”

--

“Mobius. Oh, come on. Wake up.”

Somewhere in his subconscious, the TVA agent could recognize that annoying, hushed voice anywhere. He groaned, burrowing further into his pillow. And then something soft hit him in the face. He had a feeling that the God of Mischief wasn’t planning on leaving him alone anytime soon, so he groaned again. “What d’ya want, Loki?” he mumbled, opening one eye as whatever had hit him before was lifted from his face.

Loki stood over his bed, a huge grin on his face, still holding a pillow with the letters ‘TVA’ inscribed across it. “I want to show you something.”

Sighing, Mobius rolled onto his back, running a hand over his face. “And it was so urgent that you had to wake me up for it?” The TVA didn’t allow much time for rest; he supposed he should have expected his rest would be cut short by the man he was so often in charge of babysitting.

Not unlike a child, the other frowned, tossing the pillow onto his chest. “Yes. It has to be now. Come on, I don’t want your colleagues to be on my back again.”

“What did you do?” It was his first thought, and he didn’t feel the need to keep it to himself as he begrudgingly pushed himself to sit up, throwing the pillow back at him. “And how did you get in my room?” He was surprised, but then again, should he have been? Even without magic, Loki always found a way. Sometimes it was a good thing, and other times it was just aggravating. And yet, more often than not, it was endearing all the same.

“I beg your pardon, Mobius. You ought to have more faith in me. I didn’t ‘do’ anything.” Feigning hurt, Loki huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The way his eyebrows knit together was a common expression these days, and yet Mobius found himself still unable to look away. It was replaced with a sly grin. To answer your second question, you left your door unlocked. Perhaps you are going senile.”

Mobius groaned, putting his face in his hands. “Don’t talk to me about getting old. You’re thousands of years old. I’m only fifty.”

“And that’s half of a mortal’s lifespan. Your point?”

Getting to his feet, Mobius waved a hand dismissively, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Alright, wise guy. You woke me up, so I’m the one asking questions. What is it you wanted to show me?”

Loki, seemingly pleased that Mobius had finally gotten out of bed, grinned and headed toward the door. “Look, we don’t have much time. You know how we can do anything we want, anything at all, and it’s of no consequence so long as a natural disaster occurs?”

“Right…” He already felt wary, not liking the excitement Loki was expressing as they left the room.

“I know you just hate breaking the rules, but I think you’ll want to make an exception this time.” Now Mobius really didn’t like the sound of that, but he also knew that whether or not he followed, Loki was probably going to keep going - or come back to drag him to wherever he was going. “Just trust me.”

Mobius couldn’t help but laugh at that. Whether it was sarcastic or not, though, he couldn’t tell. “Trust you? That’s funny.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a smirk tug at the corner of Loki’s lips. “Come now, Mobius, after all we’ve been through together? I’m trying to do something kind for once.”

And he couldn’t help but smile, too, though he hid it by ducking his head a little. “That doesn’t exactly reassure me, you know. Your version of ‘kind’ is different from most.” They reached a shimmering door, presumably left open by Loki when he’d come to wake Mobius. Loki didn’t bother waiting, just smiling a little more as he stepped through the doorway, leaving Mobius no choice but to follow him.

His shoes began sinking, and he looked down in surprise to find sand beneath him, sparkling in the sun. Brows furrowed, the sound of crashing waves surrounded him, and looking up confirmed it. The ocean’s waves weren’t very big, and the sun shone a light orange, dipping toward the horizon, bathing the beach in a warm glow. The beach was only home to a couple of people at the moment, and Mobius frowned as his eyes scanned the beach. “Is this…?”

“Japan, 2036,” Loki finished his thought, glancing down at the TVA bracelet around his wrist. “And if I’m correct, in about an hour, there will be a tsunami that will wipe out this town.” He let his arm return to his side then, looking over at Mobius, barely containing a grin.

The agent sighed, still unsure of where he was going with this. “...Okay. And why are we here, Loki?”

“Every time I begin to think you actually have a brain in that head of yours,” he sighed, placing a hand on the small of Mobius’ back, guiding him to walk down the beach a little. “That...is why we are here.” He gestured to a small dock, to the place where it met the sand. An old man sat in a folding chair, a hat covering his face, and at the end of the dock was a striking, brightly painted red jet ski.

Mobius blinked a couple of times, attempting to process the information. “So let me get this straight,” he said, unable to look away from it, “you brought me to 2036 to steal some poor man’s jet ski?”

Loki rolled his eyes, taking him by the shoulders to make him look at him instead. “Oh come now, Mobius. You’ve always wanted to, haven’t you? Remember, none of this matters! They’re all going to die anyway, you can afford to have some fun without the TVA breathing down your back.” He leaned back, smirking as he folded his arms over his chest. “Or do you not know how?”

Putting aside the fact that every instinct in his body told him to say no, to drag Loki back to the TVA and continue with his work, one thing stuck out to him. Loki remembered. Loki remembered how much he admired jet skis, how he had never been on one but loved how they looked. And...no one had ever done anything so kind for him before. He never would have expected it from the God of Mischief.

Before he knew it, he was smiling a little, and he had to look away, feeling a blush creep up his neck. “Alright, alright. Jeez. Only for a little while.” While Loki grinned, Mobius turned and began walking toward the dock, shrugging off his blazer. His heart pounded, though he wasn’t quite certain if it was due to the thrill of doing something wrong, or something else entirely. He was careful to be quiet as he walked past the owner of the jet ski, who didn’t move at all as they passed by.

“Oh dear. Is he dead already?” Loki whispered, and Mobius laughed, hitting his arm.

“Shut up.” Leaving the blazer and his shoes on the dock, pants cuffed below the knee, he climbed aboard the jet ski, admiring the details. Loki stood on the dock, looking down at him, smiling, genuinely. Mobius raised a brow. “Are you coming?”

The smile faltered for a moment, replaced with slight amused confusion. “You want me to come with you?”

Mobius almost burst out laughing, but he settled on an eye roll instead. “Every time I begin to think you actually have a brain in that head of yours,” he teased, mocking him. “C’mon, Loki. You brought me here. Don’t tell me you’re scared now.”

“What, me? Absolutely not,” Loki scoffed, but Mobius didn’t miss the smile that returned as he shrugged off his own jacket, stepping down to sit behind him. Mobius did his best to ignore just how close he was as he started the engine, untying the rope.

Excitement buzzed through him, making it easy to focus on the water rather than the man behind him. “Alright. Here we go!” Revving the engine, he took a deep breath, grinning, and hit the gas. He started out slow, but as he moved past the larger waves, he increased the speed. Loki’s arms came around to embrace him, holding onto him tightly, keeping him from falling off.

“I suppose you do know how to have fun, after all!”

Mobius was pretty sure his heart stopped for a moment, and so he focused on driving, on the wind that whipped at his hair, the cold water splashing up against his legs. “Of course I do!” He could barely hear Loki, but he felt the way his chest rumbled against his back as he laughed. And Mobius couldn’t help but laugh, too.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so alive.

There was no telling how much time had really passed, but as clouds began setting in, Mobius slowed down, directing the jet ski toward the dock again. His cheeks hurt from smiling, he was out of breath, and he could feel Loki’s breath on the back of his neck, too. As he tied the jet ski up again, Loki slowly removed his arms from around his torso, getting up onto the dock carefully. When he turned around, he was grinning.

“See? Causing trouble isn’t so bad, is it?” He offered Mobius a hand, and he hesitantly took it, letting Loki pull him up onto the dock. The God’s dark hair was windswept, and his eyes were bright. Mobius’ heart lurched as they both knelt on the wood, inches from each other. He swallowed and opened his mouth to respond when he was suddenly shoved, pushed off of the dock with a small yelp. The water engulfed him, colder than he was expecting, and he pulled himself to the surface with a gasp, only to hear Loki laughing loudly. “Oh! You should have seen your face!”

Mobius frowned, up at him as he tread water, shaking his head. “I thought you wanted to have fun. This is not fun.”

At that, Loki grinned, kneeling down to reach for him again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m having lots of fun.” Frowning, Mobius reached up for Loki’s hand - and in a brief moment, barely without thinking, he pulled Loki into the water beside him. Shock was the last thing etched upon his face before the splash took him downward, letting go of the other’s hand. A moment passed, and he surfaced again, pushing wet hair out of his eyes with an annoyed frown.

“And now I’m having fun,” Mobius said smugly, and Loki blew out a long breath.

“Hmph. I suppose I deserved that.”

“Yes. Yes you did.”

They knew not to stay too much longer. After all, the last thing they needed was to be caught in the tsunami, so they both swam over to the sand. Crawling onto land again, Mobius let out a long sigh, flopping onto his back for a moment. Loki did the same, not too far away from him, so they could both catch their breath.

The sand was warm on his back, which was appreciated after the cool of the water. He stared at the cloudy sky for a moment, then glanced at Loki, whose chest was rising and falling steadily now. “Hey.”

“What is it?” Loki turned his head to meet his gaze, raising a brow.

“...Thank you. For this.” He didn’t miss the surprise on Loki’s face, but he turned his head to look back up at the sky, suddenly unable to really look at him. “I’ve never really had any time for myself before. The TVA doesn’t leave much time for leisure. This is…” he chuckled. “This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had.”

There was quiet for a moment, and he was aware of Loki staring at him, so he pressed his lips together, turning to look at him. The other’s eyes were soft, and he was smiling a little. “Well, I am the God of Mischief, after all.” A beat. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

They stared at each other for a moment, Mobius’ heart beating hard in his chest. For a moment, he wondered if Loki had somehow put a spell on him. Suddenly, Loki propped himself up on an elbow, hovering right above the agent. Mobius was paralyzed.

Before he knew it, his face was being held by calloused hands, rough lips pressed against his own. He tensed, every inch of his body going rigid, because Loki Laufeyson was kissing him. After a moment, though, he realized he had two options; push him away, or kiss back. And...the choice was clear.

Closing his eyes, he reached up, placing his arms around his neck, and kissed back. He could feel Loki smile a little. It wasn’t exactly gentle, but it wasn’t too rough. It was perfect. It wasn’t unlike stories Mobius had read a long time ago, of fairy tales that were meant for children.

They probably could have stayed there all day if it weren’t for a large wave that crashed nearby, spraying them yet again with cold water. Loki pulled away, looking down at Mobius with a grin, water droplets dripping from his hair. “Fun indeed,” he purred, making Mobius turn bright red. Loki stood up, dusting himself off, and green engulfed him for just a split second, drying him completely. He turned to Mobius, who was still lying dazedly in the sand, and flicked a hand, using magic to dry his clothes, too. With that, he bent down, taking his hand, and pulled him to his feet. “We can’t stay here. Perhaps we ought to finish this somewhere else.”

People were running now. The tsunami was certainly on its way. Loki didn’t let go of his hand, and Mobius struggled to articulate, a dumb grin on his face. He couldn’t believe this. “Y-Yeah. Yeah. Perhaps we should.”

Laughing lowly, Loki opened a portal back to the TVA, and together, they headed back to Mobius’ room for the fun to continue.

#marvel #mcu #loki laufeyson #mobius m mobius #lokius #loki show #wowki #why do I love them so much already #god #mobius believes in loki so hard #okay anyway enjoy im trash #agoldengalaxy #my writing #my post

[littlehollyleaf]

ok shhh so listen

...I LIKE the Loki series so far...

and I might want to babble and/or meta about it

but it could still all go horribly wrong for me so shhhhh let's just not talk about it yet so I don't jinx it

(especially since w.t.f. The Avengers timeline destruction fuckery was 'MEANT TO HAPPEN' ?? 'MEANT TO HAPPEN' ?!

literally changing multiple characters' previously established pasts, including but not limited to Peggy Carter's, Gamora and Nebula's, and fucking Thanos', was all 'MEANT TO HAPPEN' - but oh, Loki picking up a box that he didn't even cause to be dropped, THAT'S the thing that fucked everything up? THAT'S the nexus? HE'S the 'variant' and not, idk, the version of Peggy who diverged from her original timeline, ie. the magical/mythical single timeline the TVA video tells of surely(?), to dance with and/or marry a future version of Steve who shouldn't even be able to exist anymore? or the past version of Gamora who has diverged from her original timeline, ie. similarly The Prime timeline(?), to exist in a future that can't have happened with Thanos and Nebula dead??

I just - I'm currently holding to the belief that the whole 'the Time Keepers maintain the 'correct' flow of time' thing is actually at least somewhat bullshit and there will be a reveal later on that they are kinda shady and some of their choices about what 'should' and 'shouldn't' happen are either arbitrary or blatant favouritism or both because HONESTLY - I was with Loki in that court room scene - if anyone is to blame for the current timeline catastrophe it is 1000% THE AVENGERS, and not this unfortunate past version of Loki who got accidentally caught up in their shenanigans while simply trying his hardest to be a power hungry villain and rule the world(s) so he doesn't have to confront his own pain... you know?? :p

...or is the idea that everything The Avengers did post-Loki-tesseract-escape... was ACTUALLY 'WRONG' cos they were 'meant' to get the tesseract? so Loki taking it started a catastrophic chain reaction from that point? meaning him doing that is, like, the catalyst, the root cause, the first domino that CAUSED the death of past Nebula and Thanos and all the rest of the stuff that Doesn't Work? So... stopping Loki's escape will/would/should ...change the plot of Endgame to how it/things WERE 'meant to happen'?

...hmmmm ...aside from the fact that would, I repeat, really not be the fault of Poor Unfortunate Albeit Villainous Past Loki ...THAT ...could work?

...esp if the endgame of all this is to therefore UNDO, well, Endgame ...from that scene on at least ...though god knows how that would work with other current plots in the mcu, so it prob won't be that... in fact obviously it can't be given the Dr Strange film is clearly gonna be a 'multiple timelines battling for dominance' situation, so we are more likely gonna end up either with an mcu that just HAS multiple timelines existing alongside each other or a NEW single timeline that has magically merged histories and characters from various films/stories/franchises via... well, magic, one assumes...

...also what are those lantern-like contraptions that agents leave behind at these so called Nexus Points exactly? The things that apparently 'reset' or 'purge'. What are they actually doing?? They left one in the desert at the point of Loki's escape... now... if it was supposed to 'reset' the timeline back to the version with Loki going to Asgard jail and Freya being killed and Ragnarok etc etc then clearly that didn't happen? Sooooo...? Could these things... be a handy handwavy technobabble answer to how the rest of the timeline fuckery is able to currently be happening? Is that one in the desert keeping all the current paradox, multiple versions of other characters etc stuff stable somehow?? ...cos I MIGHT, I MIGHT be able to suspend disbelief enough to accept that...

But listen

I'm not talking about this

Nope

I'm not gonna let myself hope for a satisfying light at the end of this Terrible Time Travel Travesty...

That would be foolish...)

#loki the series #in which we are all creating illusions in a desperate attempt to hide from our own lack of control... #(regardless of everything else I do kinda need the time keepers to be ~a bit shady #just because #it's a pretty standard tried and tested ~thing with fictional beings that control time ya know? #and... I just think it's neat) #(also I'm digging the idea of this other Loki variant... what's gonna be the twist there? #they are currently cloaked cos... they are a shapeshifted version? a female Loki? #are they gonna look like King Loki from Agent of Asgard comics?? #is the twist that they are actually ~not Loki?? #can we bring back the 'it's Mephisto' theories??? :p #are they a Loki trying to create a timeline where Freya doesn't 'have' to die? #this is a good mystery I like it... just hope the payoff is good...)

[the-cocky-bitch]

So, Loki is turning out to be a bit of an opposite of what I was expecting. I was expecting chaos and mischief and fun time-travel shenanigans. I mean it might still turn into that, but the whole setting idea is very much not what I was expecting.

I hate everything about the TVA. I hate that there is only one “Sacred Timeline”, I hate that everything is pre-determined, I hate that when anyone deviates from the dictated time-flow, they get captured, collared, processed though a beaurocratic line, like a bit of paperwork, I hate that they are then immediately sentenced to death/reset/pruned. I hate the idea of everything that’s happened, being pre-determined. I especially hate the idea that what people choose to do, choose to be, choose to become, doesn’t really matter and never did. That people never really had a choice, because if they chose something else, they would be removed from the timeline, and reset to someone/something’s pre-dictated order, and then put into a path that would make them “choose” the only option some high up beings allow for them.

I hate the idea of these people knowing every single thing about a person and showing only boredom and disdain for every event that shaped them into who they are, dismissing their life as anything that could be noteworthy in any way. I hate the idea of people using every single thing in a person’s life to manipulate them into a vulnerable position where they can get what they want from that person.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Loki as a fun, chaotic villain, but I’m not a Loki-apologist, so this isn’t coming from a place of “my poor baby, you have done nothing wrong ever, and do not deserve this, everyone is being so mean to you”. But everything I’ve seen from the TVA sets me on edge. The only way I can see for me to enjoy this series, is if current Loki becomes the person who disrupts the “Sacred Timeline”, this other Loki, and burns the whole system down, and allows chaos and freedom and choice to be available again. It would also be pretty ironic if he started off with proclaiming to want to rule everything and deriding freedom as something that makes the little people feel only guilt and shame, to someone who wants freedom and choice, someone who leads to the multiverse being free of the constraints of the Timekeepers. I hope their actions to him at the beginning, choosing to show him his life and all that jazz, leads to a paradox where they cause him to become what they’re trying to prevent - someone drastically and irreversibly altering the timeline.

If the TVA’s absolute control is not destroyed, it would make everything that happens in the MCU feel utterly pointless, because it would be pre-determined. Someone else wrote the story, and the characters would feel even more 2-dimensional, just puppets going through the motions. I mean, the MCU has had a lot of issues in the last few years, after they moved from placing importance on the characterization to the importance of shiny battle scenes and horrible plot-twists and world-building, but this would finally kill it for me.

I also don’t know how to feel yet about the TVA internal set-up. Again, I would have to see where they take it, but unless they turn everything upside down or burn it down, I wouldn’t be very comfortable with it either. The heavy-handed hunters, the swift trial with no proper defence and brutal final judgement feels, the treatment of prisoners as an object, feels a bit insensitive with what has been going on.

#loki #loki s01e01 #loki s01e01 spoilers #marvel #loki spoilers

[khentkawes]

I think you're overthinking Loki's comment about the TVA. I don't think it's commentary on the writers and besides we know the real reason Tony was killed off was because Downey wanted to retire from the role.

Anon, I’m not sure if you intended the “you’re overthinking it” comment to sound condescending. I can kind of read this as a genuine comment because you just want to discuss (which, if that’s what you intended: cool), but my experience is that most people use “you’re overthinking it” as a dismissive way to shoot down any interpretation that they don’t like. You certainly don’t have to like my take on anything. But If you're looking for a blog that is uncritical of Marvel...this ain't it. I'm also a fan of Loki and Tony as characters, first and foremost. I mean, there are other characters I like, but those are the only two I'm invested in. So my interpretation of marvel content will usually focus on them. But if you’re not cool with critical takes on Marvel’s writing, then my blog probably isn’t gonna be a fun place for you to hang out.

I don't think the writers of Loki were intentionally commenting on the writers/writing of past Marvel movies. But I AM commenting on the writing of past marvel movies because they've set up this lazy plot device of explaining every plot decision they've made with "well, it was the only way" even when that's clearly not the case or it isn't a plot decision that makes narrative sense. They used that excuse a million times in regards to the final battle of Endgame and the way they used time travel. Some new time branches are good because they were "supposed to" happen (i.e. Steve's ending) and some are bad because they're not supposed to happen (i.e. Loki stealing the tessarct and apparently... whatever the Ancient One was worried about with time branches if they didn't return the infinity stones...even though they clearly created a whole bunch of time branches by time-traveling anyway). It's inconsistent and it's lazy writing.

And it sure looks like Loki (both the series and the character) are going to be exploring and commenting on ideas of free will. Tom Hiddleston has even said something about how the show questions "who gets to decide what's supposed to happen?" So I don't think they're trying to comment on past Marvel movies, but I do think they are trying to explore ideas about free will.

I am the one who is taking it a step further and connecting these themes with previous Marvel movies and writing choices because I think previous Marvel creators *cough*Russos*cough*MarkusMcFeely*cough* have done a piss-poor job of tackling these themes, even when they (intentionally or not) introduced the ideas about “free will” and “destiny” in the first place.

For the point about RDJ--it's clearly not that simple. Chris Evans wanted to retire his role too, but Steve didn't die--he got the most traditional of traditional happy endings. They killed Tony off because they wanted to give him a big dramatic death scene for maximum dramatic impact. And on the one hand, I get that as a writing decision. I do think it worked to some extent. But my biggest beef with the Infinity War/Endgame combo is how it carries an unintentional message that people who have made mistakes and are working towards redemption all have to die without a "happy ending" because that's how they finalize their redemption. They did it with every character who had a major character arc that had to do with "red in their ledger" or mistakes in their past they had to atone for. Natsaha, Tony, Loki, Gamora... all people who have done bad things and could have been considered villains. I mean, three out of the four were straight-up murderers and one made weapons used by murderers. And the writers believed that the most fitting end for all of them was death. I don't think the writers meant to convey that redemption can only be earned through a heroic/tragic death. But that's still kind of the message they ended up with (albeit accidentally). It implies that certainly types of people are “supposed to” get a happy ending, while others are “destined” to die. And the writers went to great lengths to make most of those deaths as permanent as possible, reinforcing the idea that they were all "supposed to" happen because it was the only way those character arcs could be resolved. I find that to be lazy writing and another example of the "supposed to happen" / "can't be undone even though everything else can be" plot device that marvel has relied on so heavily of late.

Until now, Marvel has been fairly superficial in their exploration of the “destiny arrives”/”only one way to win”/”this is how it’s supposed to happen” tropes. They have only pulled those ideas out as a plot device to ward off alternate options. It seems clear that Loki is going to take a more critical look at this idea of “destiny.” Is Loki destined to “be bad” and “cause suffering”? Do we have free will at all or is everything just controlled by forces that decide what’s “supposed to happen”? Those are clearly themes they are setting up in this show. And it’s about time! I’m not going to stop criticizing past writers/movies for setting up these themes, failing to explore them in any meaningful way, and then using them as a cheap plot trick to excuse lazy writing.

So that's kind of a long explanation that wanders away from your ask a bit but... I've got a lot of ranty feelings about Infinity War / Endgame / Marvel writing in general. If that's not your jam, that's totally fine. But when I post about Loki, some of those ranty feelings are definitely gonna come up.

#endgame critical #marvel critical #khent answers #khent's marvel discussions #loki spoilers #but not loki critical #(except in terms of critical analysis which is...not the same thing) #but the marvel writers are shit #(i just wanted an excuse to use that tag again) #khent's posts

[mimsylovesloki]

Episode 4-Play by Play Reactions (Spoilers)

(I accidentally spoiled a major part for myself by browsing tumblr after the episode aired but before I watched it because I’m dumb)

I’m watching this on my TV and not my phone this time so I’m excited

Previously on… the show I’ve been obsessed with months before it released. As if I need reminding lol.

Friggin marvel opening gotta remind me of Tony snapping every episode

Interesting watching this on my flatscreen cuz the show is wide screen

Oh asgard!

Little Sylvie!

Oh my gosh that would be horrifying as a kid… she just got kidnapped pretty much

“Crimes against the sacred timeline” oh for cripes sake she’s just a kid!

Oh my gosh this would be terrifying

Oh is this when Renslayer was still a hunter

Clever girl!!! She escaped before even being sentencing

There’s a lot more to Renslayer I bet

TIME KEEPERS BABY

Space lizards finna meet the business end of a pruner

Mobius yay!!!!! I’ve missed him!

And what’s so bad with different branches?

Oh is that hunter locked up?

Oh nvm

That “how?” from Mobius is the closest thing we will get to hearing him say “wow” in this show and that makes me sad.

Dawn of the Final Day

Aha iconic promo scene!

Serious Loki moment?

“The universe wants to break free so it manifests chaos like me being born the goddess of mischief.”

I don’t believe C-20 is actually dead

Soooo does Loki not still have the tesseract? Or are we gonna get a silly clown Loki moment of “OHHHH I FORGOT I HAD THIS.”

“Do you think what makes a Loki a Loki is the fact that we’re destined to lose?”

“No. We may lose. Sometimes painfully. But we don’t die. We survive.”

Please don’t romance them

This is sweet and sad

Don’t kiss please don’t

What set them off? How did they find him?

He really should have an equal amount of security

Mobius shut up.

Bad friend? Oops

Uh oh

TELL HIM THE TRUTH LOKI DO IT

Oh? Asgard?

Uh oh

Lmao

Bully Sif

Ouch

Poor Loki

Ohhhhhh lmao time loop of being beaten up by Sif… ouchie

Cmon Loki fight back.

Or break her mind lol

Loki don’t fall for it— ahhhh ok

Ouchie

Controlling woman huh

Easiest to break huh? Shut up Ravonna

Titans? (Lmao please tell me they arrested a variant Thanos)

Vampires??? Hinting at a Blade reboot????

Hunter B-15 knows something is up

Oh my gosh Loki real moment confessing to Sif “because I’m scared of being alone.”

Genuine or??? Is she gonna throw him? Poor Loki…. “You are alone. And you always will be.”

Mobius you scumbag. That’s literally torture.

Mobius shut up

Mobius shut up. You don’t know the real Loki.

Oh so even they don’t know what caused it

Now Loki is lying just to avoid being hit by Sif

Oh no. He thinks she’s gone. Loki can’t lie very well when he’s sad.

No not swooning… please don’t ship them I beg you.

Not romance please stop no.

MOBIUS SHUT THE HELL UP

Please don’t make it romantic please please please please

SHES NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND PLEASE SHUT UP

YEA LOKI TELL HIM THE TRUTH

Maybe he had a family, a life… maybe… maybe a jetskii?

Mobius shut up.

Shut up about “girlfriend”

Yea Mobius. Let it stew. You’re a liar.

That Hunter B-15 is onto something.. OH YEA SHE WAS ENCHANTED FOR A BRIEF MOMENT TOO

SHE MUST BE REMEMBERING SOMETHING

Theremin. Nice.

Odd music choice for a date I gotta say.

How much older is Owen Wilson than Gugu Mbatha Raw? (Googling) Owen Wilson is 52… Gugu is 38

Mobius is onto something. But I’m still mad at him.

“What we do here matters.” Doubt

Friendzoned

What trophy?

Oh the sword

SNEAKY MOBIUS SWITCHING THE REMOTES NYAHAHAHA

He’s not the best liar tho

For all time. Always. Doubt

She knows he’s lying.

Hunter B-15 interrogating Sylvie at Roxxcart

Yea Sylvie tell her!

FRIENDS? Please?

Oh my gosh poor Hunter B-15…

Hug?

Team up?

Yay???

Damn C-20 really is dead?

Funny with all that technology but that video looks like my old handheld game from like 2010 that I bought from Walmart.

Mobius having an existential crisis. Good.

Please stop hinting at a romance between them…

Friends yay!

Renslayer you scum…

Uh oh

Maybe he had a Jet Skii!

NO

NO

LOKI JUST LOST ANOTHER FRIEND

Renslayer I will revel in your demise

“But she’s just doing her job.” Shut up. She saw what Hunter C-20 said…

Loki is crying again… he just made another friend and he’s gun… HE NEEDS TO COME BACK. If Mobius is gone forever I will never forgive the TVA.

Awww she asked if he’s okay… I’m still praying only friends. Please nothing more.

What was the event? Come on Renslayer. You remember you crap hole.

Oh my. Time keepers??? Aha this IS where the stairs on the wall and a fight breaks out.

Lmao that one time keeper sounds like a dopey dog from a cartoon.

YEA HUNTER B-15 I LOVE YOU

Oh that’s how Loki gets that cut

Now he has a sword babyyyy

Renslayer I hate you

Loki help her!

Oh nvm she’s good

Child of the time keepers?

I KNEW IT

JUST ROBOT PUPPETS!!! ITS ALL A TRICK

So… who’s really in control???

Seeing Loki in this blue light… cmon give me Jötunn Loki.

Where’s hunter b-15?

Don’t confess love pease I beg you

Please please please don’t romance them. For all that is good in this world.

Oh gosh

Hug?

Please just hug

NOOOOOOOOOOOO

WHAT????

PRUNE HER DO IT

Loki?????

What???? NOOOOO

HE CANT BE GONE!!! We still haven’t gotten that scene where he has the flaming sword!!!!!!!! Pruning HAS to not kill them please!!!!!!!!!

Dammit I KNEW something would happen. They had their backs turned to them and it was too quiet.

LOKI BETTER NOT BE GONE I SWEAR TO GOD MY HEART CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH AGGHHHHHHHHH

I’ve seen him die too many damn times agahahshehhdheiebdusienenridiehehejd

And now the credit song has love in it

I really really hope they don’t have some sort of self-cest between Loki and Sylvie…

POST CREDIT SCENE WHAT????

LOKI YES

OH MY GOSH THANK GOD HES ALIVE

Oh

My

Gosh

MY JAW JUST DROPPED

ALL THE OTHER LOKIS

SO WHAT THE HELL DOES PRUNING DO?????

WE GOT KID LOKI, BLACK LOKI, OLD COMIC LOKI, AND EVEN A FRIGGIN CROCODILE LOKI LIKE WHAT???????

And what is black loki (I feel bad for calling him just that but I don’t know his name DX) holding? And what is old comic Loki holding?

What is this place that looks apocalyptic??? Why are they all here?

WHAT IS HAPPENING

THIS IS MY FAVORITE EPISODE YET AGGHHHHHHHHH

SO IS MOBIUS STILL ALIVE THEN????

IS EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN PRUNED STILL ALIVE?

Is each pruned person sent to a place with all the other variants of themselves???

I HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS

NO WONDER TOM HIDDLESTON SAID POOR LOKI IN THESE EPISODES

My biggest concerns now are: how on earth are they going to wrap this up in only two more episodes? And PLEASE DONT ROMANCE SYLVIE AND LOKI!!! I mean, I get it… if Loki should fall in love who better than his parallel. She’s different enough from him to have it not be too weird I guess, but it’s still a variant version of him. And it seems a little too forced. Like sure a crush maybe, but don’t you dare say love when they’ve only known each other for like a couple days.

My mind is melting. I’m so glad I waited to watch this in the morning instead of at night so I could appreciate it in all its glory.

BUT NOW I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK AGGHHHHHHH

Oh and is Hunter B-15 okay? We saw her get knocked down but that was it. She didn’t appear in the rest of the fight.

AND WHO MADE THE TIME KEEPERS????

IS IT KANG? IS IT…… MEPHISTO??? WHOOOOOOOOOOOO?????

Gonna go browse tumblr to cry and reblog gifs from the episode to help me cope until next week.

#marvel #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel studios #marvel series #marvel shows #Loki #Loki Laufeyson #Loki Odinson #Sylvie Lushton #Sylvie Laufeydottir #Sylvie #Mobius #Mobius M. Mobius #Ravonna Renslayer #Loki on Disney+ #Loki on Disney Plus #Loki Disney+ #Loki Disney Plus #Loki Spoilers #Loki Reaction #Loki Episode 4 #Loki Episode Four #Loki Ep 4 #The Nexus Event #Loki The Nexus Event #Loki Series #Loki Show #Disney+ Loki #Disney Plus Loki

[morefunkti0na1]

Rambling about LOKI

I already made my annoyance clear about this on my twitter (@dy5funkti0na1 ;) ) But I wish to ramble properly. Beware of spoilers from ep 1 -4. 

FIRST OF ALL, the entire basis for the show bothers me. The TVA, while a hilarious meme, is a completely tired trope that’s been done a million and a half times before. Sure it gets slightly edited but it’s like copying someone’s homework and rewording the essay questions. It’s not great. Marvel is an  innovator, so watching them fall back on something so run to the ground to get out of their own plot holes is a little sad. Not to mention the fact that every. single. time. someone remakes the “Time Overlords that oversee everything” trope, they always have a 50′s/60′s technology theme. What is up with that???? Aren’t they removed from time??? Don’t they have access to any technology from anywhere in the timeline??? I don’t get it man. 

Second issue: pruning. What is it? I understand that it’s essentially killing a person by erasing any trace of them from their timeline, but if a new timeline is created with every single choice, then aren’t there infinitely many Variants? And infinitely many tasks for the TVA? And wouldn’t completely erasing every trace of a Variant also remove them from all of their correct decisions and basically just create a new issue? I get how it works but there is so little thought put into it and so little explanation, it’s just been bugging me. 

Third issue: Marvel doing things out of character as a gag. This isn’t just in Loki but I wanted to add this anyways. Marvel has developed a habit of doing random things for the laugh factor, which is understandable, Marvel movies are meant to be funny. But going completely out of character to do so is just vaguely irksome enough for me to notice it. Why would Loki’s time jail be that one instance of Sif being miffed at him when HE HIMSELF SAYS “I took a bath, had a glass of wine, and never thought of it again.” It didn’t affect him or his psyche at all. With a character that has canonically been through so much trauma, why would the TVA try to emotionally manipulate him through him ??? getting scolded???? He literally grew up feeling unloved and unwanted only to find out he was adopted which confirmed his suspicions that he was different from his family and pushed him further into his feelings of being ostracized from everyone he knew. Not to mention Odin, mister Father of the Year. It happened in Loki, it happened in Endgame, it happened in Wanda Vision, and it’ll likely continue to happen. It’s just annoying at this point.

Fourth Point: Sylvie and Loki. I honestly don’t even know where to start here. Not only did Marvel make a point to establish both of these characters as bisexual, but they also made it clear through episode three that NOTHING WAS BETWEEN THEM. They are funky little dudes with wacky space hijiinks and nothing more. Then, the writers couldn’t figure out a way to get them off the planet and decided to twist some love plot? It makes zero sense. Not only is it disgustingly heteronormative and poorly written, it shouldn’t even work. The point of hiding in apocolypses is that they cannot start a nexus event by being there, because everyone will die either way. Them awkwardly holding hands shouldn’t be enough to tear the Sacred Timeline to smithereens. They had no romantic involvment at all and now we are meant to believe that Loi, a character who has never had a canonical MCU relationship and was heavily implied to have flirted with the Grand Master to gain his position (evidence of him only using that relationship for his own gain) is magically infatuated with the alternate version of himself?? It’s like incest but weirder. The show took the only male/female combination they could get their grubby hands on and made them like each other like a little girl making barbies kiss. It’s terrible, and casts total doubt on the massive deal that was canon bisexuality. 

TLDR: Wanda Vision was better and this show is a poor attempt at covering the Endgame plot holes. At this point the only things keeping me invested are spite, the potential for nonbinary Kid Loki, and the damn Alligator. Marvel totally dropped the ball on this one.

#Wanda Vision was so much better #loki #sylvie #loki series #marvel #mcu #seriously im at my limit #im going to rewrite this show so hard #alligator loki my beloved #holy crap this is 725 words whoops

[lokigodofaces]

(mini) thoughts on loki episode four: the nexus event

under cut for your convenience

mainly about Renslayer, Kang, and just other things I deem important

there is no villain now. i don't think Renslayer will be the main villain. so this could lead to Kang the Conqueror.

in the comics, Renslayer is a love interest to Kang. she isn't interested in him, and Kang starts killing people because of it. i wonder if we are seeing some version of that. that could be why Renslayer became a judge after losing Sylvie, she was unfairly promoted so that Kang could keep a better eye out for her.

this would be a horribly abusive thing going on & i hope marvel doesn't try to be abuse apologists for that, but i don't have much hope.

if Kang is the villain, why is he doing this? Kang loves the multiverse, he wants to conquer all of them.

i think the TVA is a ploy to get rid of branches and people in them that are a threat to his reign.

lets look at Loki, for example. Loki is wicked powerful. Loki is someone with the potential to learn about Kang, more so than, say, Steve Rogers. Kang does not want Loki to know what is happening because Loki would try to stop him.

in addition, Kang knows the dangers of Loki and Thor being cooperative. we all watched TDW and TR, we know that they're able to do a lot while working together, even use Ragnarok to defeat the Goddess of Death. i think this is why in the "sacred timeline," Thor and Loki are pitted against each other, and Odin and Frigga are the way they are. because that depowers an entire family that is very powerful and could maybe stop Kang.

so why was Sylvie arrested when she was? i think it was that Odin had just told her she was adopted (something drastically important considering how things went for the main Loki). i don't think the minutemen could handle Odin, so they waited until Sylvie was alone.

this explains why Sylvie was able to go years without being pruned because, if the TVA's rules are as they seem, Odin and Frigga should've created a branch timeline when Sylvie was conceived and did not have the chromosomes necessary for a male child. i don't think Kang cares if there are branch timelines. i think he cares when there are threats. once Sylvie was told about her heritage, she becomes that much more of a threat and has to be eliminated.

this is why powerful characters have crap happen to them. Kang chose to have a multiverse of Lokis that go through heck in their lives. they chose Lokis to have self-esteem issues, to have contention with Thors, to not have confidence, to go through horrible things. Kang chose to have a universe that had the first person to use all infinity stones insane and not want to use them to check out how the universe works (revealing Kang). a universe where most of the really powerful characters died in the Snap, a way to control them, to take away five years where they could do something. think about it: Strange and Wanda die in the Snap, Loki is killed before that, and this drives Thor to depression. the four most powerful people (in my mind) are taken out, not in a position to cause problems.

what about every other variant? i don't think the TVA knows about all this. if anyone does, it would be Renslayer, but even then i'm not sure. i think that the technology is set up to detect enough nexus events Kang couldn't care about so that the TVA seems legitimate, but really it is impossible for the TVA to prune every branch.

(also i think pruned people generally go to a place where the Time Keepers "create" them, a way to get free labor. so pruning regular people is to Kang advantage to keep a workforce to hunt down the powerful people he fears)

they also made a big deal about Lokis not dying in this ep, so i think that's why pruning and entire timeline is done. trying to kill Loki is inefficient, we all know that. but get rid of the timeline and force them through the TVA? then everything will probably be alright for the story Kang wants.

possibly Loki is in a limbo pocket dimension sort of place with all the Lokis. and Mobius? i theorize pruned TVA agents go to limbo instead of being remade because they have to deal with people remembering them and if they rebelled once, whose to say the won't again? & we know Mobius will show up again driving a car by the Sphinx and Stonehenge (or something similar? can't quite tell what that structure was), so that's how i think it is, but who knows.

this explains how the multiverse HAS BEEN CONFIRMED SINCE DOCTOR STRANGE. the Ancient One literally talked about the "vast multiverse" when she met Stephen. i trust her when it comes to this stuff, more than i do the TVA. so i think there is a multiverse, it is just being selected by Kang to be the least threatening to him.

also Mobius said the TVA deals with a lot of Loki variants, so that adds to this.

as for apocalypses, if we look at real life physics (many worlds theory) hiding in apocalypses does make a new universe. stepping on the wrong leaf in an apocalypse makes a new universe. any choice anyone or anything makes creates a new universe. but Kang is fine with that. because anything in an apocalypse that would be a threat to him is destroyed. i'm jumping into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for an example. Talbot was powerful as Graviton. i don't know, maybe he would have been threatening to Kang. but in the timeline where he destroyed Earth, he was destroyed as well. so why would Kang care if he attacked Los Angeles instead of Chicago? he wouldn't! as long as Talbot died, there is no threat because he is dead regardless. but, if Talbot had left, if he had survived, then maybe the TVA would've come after him (oh my gosh those poor minutemen that would be hard).

& i don't think Loki falling for himself is the reason behind the nexus event. i think that it is because he made an actual connection with someone for once. and that is important to him being able to heal and to have self love and all those good things. & that is so much more dangerous for Kang.

again, think about it, bad stuff always happens to the most powerful characters of the MCU. Loki, Thor, Stephen, Wanda, Carol, (since i'm into aos), Daisy, Ruby, Talbot, they all had bad things happen to them. things that have repeatedly knocked them down/killed them. they've grown from these things, yes. but they all have traumas they have to work through, things that are protecting Kang. out of all of them, i'd say Loki probably had it the worst. and he is definitely a threat to Kang, but only if he believes he is.

also, if the TVA is a bunch of BS, it means AoS is there! maybe a different universe after all the time travel hijinks they have, but there!

also, since Wanda is a nexus being, i don't know how much the TVA/Kang can control her since she is detached from reality.

i kept talking about Kang, but he's the guy i think would make the most sense. it could be King Loki or He Who Remains or someone else, but i think the fear of Loki is still there.

#loki (2021) #loki (2021) spoilers #loki (2021) review #loki laufeyson #tva loki #sylvie laufeydottir #ravonna renslayer #kang the conqueror #mobius m mobius #agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. (2013 2020)

[sparklegemstone]

Taking a break from work so time to write up more of my Loki trailer thoughts since all the cool cats around here seem to be doing it :-D.

In chronological order:

1) Personally I was 'meh' about the trailer starting with the Endgame scene just because I think the Russos did a terrible job matching the tone of that scene with the tone of the original Avengers film's conclusion and I want the Loki series to feel like a continuation of Avengers.  Alas, the Endgame scene grates on me as feeling inauthentic to the story it's supposed to take place in.  But I certainly understand the practicality of needing to put it in to give the audience the context for when/how this new story with Loki is taking place.

2) But five seconds later on the other side of the wormhole…yay, Kate Herron fixed the tone!  This feels much closer in tone to when Thor and Lok depart for Asgard at the end of Avengers.  Excellent job Kate.

3) Was so pleasantly surprised by Owen Wilson's portrayal!  Very different than any of the comedic characters I strongly associate the actor's acting style with.  I like his character a lot with what we've been given so far.  It's instructive reflecting back on the potential concerns I had and that were being discussed in the fandom when we were working with scraps and rumors that we now know don't have merit: things like 'Hiddleston is only there to narrate the series' and 'How comedic in tone is this going to be if Waldron from Rick and Morty is hiring Owen Wilson?'.  Ah the good old days of baseless speculation.

 4) I mentioned the frequently low camera position in another post -- it does a poor job of conveying how Loki carries himself, tall and straight and elegant.  It makes him seem more ordinary, but maybe that's the point -- equalizing him with Mobius rather than it being an Asgardian in a non-Asgardian's presence.

5) The way Loki goes from locked down and not letting any sense of what's going on his head slip to Mobius (what I feel is in-character for Loki) to suddenly being a lot more open with what he's actually feeling and having less guarded, more friendly/casual attitude toward Mobius is weird to me.  I think it's a cut just for the trailer and hopefully it will make more sense in context, but Hiddleston's acting here and the way he has no qualms about being physically guided out of the elevator by Mobius is one of the points where it felt more like Hiddleston playing a different character than playing Loki to me (and lacking Loki's costuming doesn't help that perception certainly).  Which I know is nitpicky, but I was just curious to see to what degree this would actually feel like 'fresh off of Avengers' Loki and so I'm paying close attention to what feels in and out of character for me.  Does Mobius say something to really throw Loki for a loop that would cause him to drop his guard like that?

6) "Glorious" -> YAASSSS that's the Loki I wanted to recognize.  He's back!  I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around how blessed I am, but we've got him back for more screen time.  Also, with him back in Stark Tower and the later image of post-apocalyptic Manhattan, I am super intrigued by the possibility of Loki (and me too!) experiencing different ways things could have played out on Earth, if he'd succeeded in his conquest for example.

7) Loki's going to learn about what happened in the main timeline and the choices he made in the future?!  That's huge!  Should be a fascinating character moment.  This bit of Loki turning away from the projector gives me a lot of hope that the writing in the show is actually going to explore, honor, and authentically run with where Loki was as a character at the end of Avengers and the context of what he experienced rather than Marvel just plopping the "general" character of Loki into a genre-fied crime thriller show basically disconnected from the events of Thor and Avengers so they can say they made a Loki show.

8) Do I like Loki in the beige detective jacket?  Nah, not really.  But I do appreciate that even with the earth costume they kept Loki's style of being completely covered up.  Also creates contrast with him not being in control when he's in the TVA prisoner jumpsuit that has short sleeves.

9) Thought that was Nat on Voromir at first because of the purple environment.  Been reading some thoughts on how that's probably not Nat, and while the theories make sense, if that's true, why would Marvel put in a shot of a character that looks so much like Nat that it would cause confusion and maybe get her fans' hopes up?

10) I agree with @delyth88​ on the D.B. Cooper scene.  Didn't think I'd want Loki looking like Hiddleston, but I don't mind it / it's not taking me out of the scene as I might have expected.

11) The fight choreo and edit into the twirling -- I already discussed this before, but the physicality of it is giving me human-strength!Loki vibes.  If instead the guy he's fighting is also super strong, wouldn't the plastic or metal disc thing between them break upon impact?  Also the fact that it seems implied that Loki would get hurt by jumping out of the plane w/o Heimdall’s help to catch him.

12) The twirling -- is Loki legitimately, celebratorily, uninhibitedly happy?  I feel like we've never seen him like that since the Thor cut scene before they all made that fateful trip to Jotunheim.  I read a theory that the roman numerals on the building in this frame might mean he is in Pompeii the year the volcano erupts, which is interesting.

13) Loki saying "Brother”,  “Heimdall", coordinating with at least Heimdall, traveling on the Bifrost -- HOPE!  BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, HOPE!  I was honestly expecting the show to make no mention of anything connected to Asgard, except maybe segueing into Thor 4 at the very end, so the fact that Loki is (indirectly) interacting with Heimdall -- calling Thor "Brother" (even if not to Thor) !!!!!!!!!!!! -- interesting!  

14) The idea of him being D.B. Cooper is very fun! (though I didn't know who that was in advance).  It's very easy to pretend that Loki is real and has been an unidentified part of our history all along.

15) I do not like the last scene with comics!Loki suddenly being brought to life.  In fact I had a very kneejerk dislike of it the first couple times I watched the trailer (so many watches ago :-P) because it presses a very personal button of mine, which is how the MCU is moving toward becoming more spectacle-driven and comic-book-y and therefore away from the grounded, character driven storytelling that I enjoy about the MCU.  I'm here for the character of Loki that I love as he is already established in the MCU, not the comics versions of the character.  Also, IMO the acting is out of character for MCU Loki and more goofy.

That said, I'm hopeful context will help a whole bunch here as @iamanartichoke​ has said.  Given all the timey-wimey multiverse shenanigans, it's probably not even Avengers!Loki anyway, and I'm certainly not going to begrudge the many fans who are excited to see comics references on screen.

Overall impression?  Very excited, very hopeful.  Would I selfishly want a story that's just a direct continuation of the Avengers and hyper focused on the exact context of the character of Loki as he was in Avengers, fleshing out the off-screen bits and up-until-now only implied emotional impact of what Loki experienced between the end of Thor and the start of Avengers, digging into his relationships with the Black Order, and family, reconciling with his heritage?  Uh…duh ;-).  

But you have to give an audience what they need as opposed to what they think they want, and from a craft perspective, this has to be its own story.  The Thor and Avengers stories are their own stories, they're told, they're done, even if certain emotional threads were left hanging / implied / off-screen that we as very detail-oriented Loki fans would like to see dealt with explicitly.

But given that this was always going to be its own story, I'm very hopeful that the series has an explicit creative goal of telling a story that also does a great job with emotional continuity and exploring the fallout of Thor and Avengers and what that means for Loki's character; of honoring, picking up from, and running with Loki as a character in the context of who he was when he surrendered to the Avengers and where he goes from there.

The Marvel Studios executives could have easily decided to make an isolated story featuring Loki that general MCU fans that don't think overly deeply about the character would have been very happy with and probably it would be very successful, and I would have gladly taken that over nothing.  But I'm optimistic that that isn't what we're getting and that they chose to ground their story in the specific context of Loki's character.  We'll see!

#loki #loki+

[omegafan101]

 I’m marathoning the MCU again to get ready for it finally returning with WandaVision and now I’m hyperfixated and I just gotta express excitement for all the new stuff.

WandaVision

I mean firstly we’re finally getting back to the MCU!

These two characters definetly deserve their own show!

Multiverse of Madness teasers?

Falcon and Winter Soldier

I mean what’s not to love about Sam and Bucky working together??

Captain Falcon!

Return of Zemo! (Masters of Evil perhaps??)

Black Widow

This is coming out a whole year after it was supposed to and I’m so ready to finally see it.

Taskmaster looks so fucking cool!

Loki

I’m not even the biggest Loki fan but how can I deny how exciting this is?

Looks like we’ll be getting into how the time travel messed things up with the TVA.

Love & Thunder teaser?????

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

I don’t know anything about this guy so I’m really happy to learn some more about other Marvel heroes!

Finally gonna see the real Mandarin!

What If...?

Animated MCU?? Sign me up!

I’ve always loved What If scenarios so seeing them within the context of MCU lore is sure to be cool!

Marvel Zombies baby!

Last performance from Chadwick Boseman.

Eternals

Again, don’t know anything about these guys but happy to learn!

I love Kumail Nanjiani!

Spider-Man 3

God where do I begin???

Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx reprising their roles??? Hell yeah!

I think they already got Andrew Garfield and are working on getting Toby Maguire???? Fucking amazing if they do and no matter how many news sources I read it just seems to good to be true!

I have this crazy idea that they’re gonna do a multiversal Sinister Six which would be amazing but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Hawkeye

Kate Bishop baby!

I actually don’t know much about either Hawkeye but my friend loves Kate so I’m excited!

Ms. Marvel

KAMAL KHAN IS MY FAVORITE FUCKING MARVEL CHARACTER EVER!!!

I want everyone reading this to know I freaked out the moment she was announced.

And even more so when I found out she should have her show out by next year!

Thor: Love and Thunder

It’s another Thor movie directed by Taika Waititi. How could I NOT be excited???

Jane Foster Thor here we come!

Asgardians of the Galaxy perhaps?

Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness

I think they said it’s gonna be a horror movie so I can only assume Nightmare’s gonna be the villain?

Definetly leaning into other Earths with this.

More Wanda content!

Moon Knight

Don’t know too much about the guy but he was always a top choice for a somewhat more obscure hero to join the MCU.

She-Hulk

What’s not to love about She-Hulk?

Also more Hulk content! Really hoping we get to see him wreck some shit with She-Hulk, saw more Banner than Hulk in Endgame.

ABOMINATION’S FINALLY BACK BABY! So ready to see him in better CGI!

Leader too maybe??? Please????

A-Force perhaps?

Secret Invasion

MOTHER FUCKING SECRET INVASION!!!

Secret Invasion has ALWAYS been one of my favorite Marvel stories! I was kinda dissapointed when the Skrull turned out the be good guys and thought we wouldn’t get it but here we are!

And Fury as a main character hell yeah!

Ironheart

So glad we’re getting into the newer generation of heroes!

Champions maybe?

Armor Wars

So glad they’re doing Armor Wars! And with Rhodey as the main character!

Justin Hammer will probably be back??? If he is I’m so glad they’re finally working with Iron Man 2 and Incredible Hulk. They kinda just left those two in the dark for years.

Titanium Man maybe????

Fantastic Four

BOUT FUCKING TIME!

Poor Fantasic Four has really not been given good treatment huh? Really excited to see what MCU does with them!

MOTHER FUCKING DOCTOR DOOM!!!

He’s inevitable. He’s one of the greatest villains in Marvel history and it’s a shame we weren’t able to have him sooner.

Now all we need is X-Men.

Don’t have much to say about the rest honestly.

#MCU #wanda maximoff #vision #wandavision #Scarlet Witch #falcon #winter soldier #sam wilson #bucky barnes #helmut zemo #Black Widow #natasha romanoff #taskmaster #Loki #Shang-Chi #Mandarin #What if #chadwick boseman #Eternals #kumail nanjiani #Spider-Man #tom holland #alfred molina #Jamie Foxx #andrew garfield #toby maguire #sinister six #Hawkeye #Kate Bishop #clint barton

[thats-a-real-mood]

loki episode 1x01

Im loving the green/gold marvel logo. 

mega spoilers under cut! 

Ngl not sure why the tesserect threw him like that in mongolia. Is there a reason that thanos had better control? (Other than him being a giant grape) Is this what happened with red skull?

Tva introduced. Very mysterious

Aw loki is just done with the avengers and everything else

Why did they have loki’s lips do that for so long? And in 1/16 speed

Reset the timeline? What does that do?

Zooming in on the device on the ground assuming that is going to reset the timeline. Okay so but reseting does that mean that there is now another loki? Our loki we are watching and a different loki who is continuing one the timeline?

A variant skrull?

Loki trying to run and then getting timelooped back to the lady is slightly funny

Aw that poor guy is cheerful and shes all like no i have a job

Deadly consequences huh? Is that gonna come back later? I have a feeling they will never like each other

Aw happy robot

Aw fashionista drama queen loki. I love it

Okay i may be ace but loki looks good!

-honestly in the gray suit he doesnt look that muscular but he is. Its just hidden. It hints at it with his shoulders but he in fine!

I did a get picture of the end credits where it shows what he said

“if it’s all the same yo you know i’ll have that drink now.

“tva? friend i think there has been a mistake. I am Loki,- You will regret this. I am burddened with glororius purpose. I stand on the right side of thanos- pleased to learn you’ve- my father is-”

is all i could read from this

A cat and a cat mug. I like it. This dude must be so tired. And everyone gives him extra work with everything they say even in his room. -does it do this even after they leave? And honestly i thought lokis stack would be bigger

“Do alot of people not know if they are robots?”Hun im sorry but you didnt know you were frost giant..

Now at first glance the whole “what if i was a robot and didnt know it?” Line is funny but you gotta like deeper. Like i said right above he didnt know he was a frost giant for almost the whole time 2012! Loki has been alive.

Ok but why does it look like giant scratch marks in the red rectangle. I think it’s supposed to be like dried blood or whatever but more like scratch’s.

His temporal aura..lots of red,maybe purple and yellow followed by green and blue at the top. I wanna know what it mean. Do more colors get added with more temporal stuff?

That looks like the guy who died in the trailers

He was insistent that he take a ticket. Lokis staring contest with the guy. Passive aggressive loki

Is that PA sound activated by a specific phrase? I think it would be since it probably would have turned on sooner than when loki shouted otherwise

I dont like miss minutes.

Who are the timekeepers? How are they all knowing? Can we get some more lore on them?

Branching off the nexus? That showed in a scene in the trailer..

So do the tva not want a multiverse? But it was canonized in dr strange. And wandavision. Or do they just not want a multiverse war?

Created the TVA and its workers? What do they mean by creating the workers as well?

Wait what that the reset charge i saw in the cartoon? So does that mean that there is a loki that is continuing on the timeline?

Is that how we kept the “sacred timeline”? But how? The avengers dropped the cube and loki got it and left. So how did they fix the timeline to keep him from picking it up again?

The guy doesnt have a ticket and is throwing a karen tantrum. Oop-

Okay now loki is scared.

Is it bad that i saw him hold up his ticket and found it funny? Like see boom i have it totally not gonna get destroyed now

Okay so i wrote the cool “runes” i put them in quotations because i dont know if that is what they are. Ill try to look them up later and post them.

Five dead in france..1549

Sombody got the jump? Its him? Who?

Stab wounds? Reset charge is gone. Sixth attack? That they know of?

Nice satan imagery in the background. First (assuming) micheal first with light shining in this guy and now satan..

I saw her eyes look to the satan and then upwards so assuming she means the horns but it could also be mephisto. But does mephisto stab people? Those horns look loki style

Afraid of them?

Kablooie? Blue gum? Blooeberrie?

-Why was it given away? Is it a sign? Do i need to look deeper into this? It does have that whole look that fits with the tva but im gonna hold on.

Devil bearing gifts?

-What happens when it hits the red line?

They have a FILE? On loki? Where did they get that photo? And HE IS GENDER FLUID

Judges room has the workers mural and the timekeeper mural. So the cut off the branchs to keep it in a orderly timeline?

Push t to those avengers! STEVE👏ROGERS👏IS👏A👏VARIANT

Hun..hun no thats not why they traveled.

Pffrt two tony starks! So he knew tony was there… did thor not smell him as well??

Gods to gods

Is..is this what it looks like when he tries to do magic??

Who are the people watching who isnt the guy from earlier?

So is this gonna be a show of freewill? Like wanda was grief and depression? Or the winter soldier was of —-

If my theory is right about loki being the guy killing the agents and that guy is investigating and has his file then it makes sense that he knows what loki is capable of. I would also like to point out that is it loki killing them, then they are greatly underestimating him. He should use that to his advantage

Chasing a hunch? Going sideways? Bad idea?

And this guy is flirting (i think) but also drinking his respecting woman juice.

Burn down his desk? Ok so ngl its cool outside the window but idk what it is but i can tell its greenscreen. The architecture is great. I love the scene.

A nightmare department??

I wanna know what the buttons in the elevator mean.

Created by the timekeepers? So possibly not human. Can they leave? are they aloud to? What do they mean created? Is there a process? Or are they just never kids?

Trust is for children and dogs? Oka i get the dos. But children? Does this mean that he hasnt trusted anyone since he was a kid? What happened that made him stop trusting people? Does he trust his mother?

Living in his set path? Okay i was part of the son fandom so im getting team free will vibes from loki insisting that he chooses what he does

Wooing someone powerful you intended to betray? Thanos? (Ew giant grape face guy) You, agent mobius? The Grandmaster?!

Are they flirting? I genuinely cant tell? Is this what flirting looks like?

Pursuit in Dangerous variants? So not loki. My theory holds strong for me but maybe its not?Hes a hissing cat? So born to be king?

A fan? Okay..i wanna saw how are you a fan? But you have the file.

Oh

Loki

The wrong path always taken…

“I am smart.” I know

What do u know mobius? Time passes differently…has loki been here before? Have u met him before? How do u know he his smart? Yes you have a file but that doesnt tell me why u are saying for certainty that u know he is smart. And he looks serious. Like he knew something. What are you hiding??

Okay so he heals fast. This couldnt have been hat long since then?

Okay so they bring in phil but they dont even acknowledge that he is still alive (as far as im aware)

The uncomfortable shifting and keeping his gaze away from the screen as new york was shown was kinda telling cause of what he said earlier…

Deflecting to keep from talking..

The FLASHBACK

Why does he need money?

Young..lost a bet to thor… what was the bet???

You just used reverse psychology on loki and it worked

Why do you wanna know about why he does what he does? Are you using him for your other case? (Assuming hat he is killing the guards somehow)

Did his voice crack when he saw his adventure in germany? Anyone else catch that? And the past tense after that. His masks are starting to fall. I think he is gonna lash out soon

Oh

Oh his mother

This is gonna get painful. Im crying already.

Oh frigga. He is tearing up. He is getting agitated now. Dude you just accused him of killing his mother

Okay stop. So others can achieve better versions of themself?

U mean when nat yeeted herself on vormir? Or when clint went around killing people during the blip? Or when cap stayed behind with peggy when he had bucky to come back to?

I can see him planning something but idk what yet

Ok so i already watched this earlier but now that i watch this part carefully i can see his hand pickpocket

Another unit? So thats six units now?

Loki escaped??

Prune? Is that what the stick thing is?

Ok he asked the guys name. I like that. Polite.

I saw him take a breath to get ready for another performance

U..u dont know what a fish is?

Lived entire life behind a desk? How old are you?

Okay thats practical to know what your being threatened with. Informed choices my dude.

Ok is this the room that loki has a desk at in the previews? Also i like casey. He is now my new fav

Whats is the desk? INFINITY STONES?? are you kidding me? So other people have tried to get them but werent aloud because of the timeline with thanos and the avengers???? Why do you have so many of the same stones? And the fact that the time stones as well means something attempted to happen to earth to get them..

They dont work at the tva? You USE INFINITY STONES? AS PAPER WEIGHTS? INGOT OF IMMENSE POWER THAT WERE CREATED SUPPOSEDLY AT THE BIG BANG??

This is giving me (another show that used something important as paperwieghts) vibes

Coming to the realization that this place is powerful? Ok so that is pruning.

His mother, he is crying i cant deal

Oh god im crying again

He just want his parents love and they are dead. He just wanted family to love him. He wanted to so much and didnt ever feel like he had it. But he did.

Oh no

Please dont make him watch his death

Please

The immediate falling of his face, his tormentor, i wanna know what he is thinking when he sees thanos

Oh the bone sound

And loki watched

Not making light of this but they speedrun his trauma and his redemption. He didnt get to see the good parts of what he has done. Just the bad.

Oh his laughing and the bitter glorious purpose

The fight was short but cool

He is being his petty self and i love it

See, don’t underestimate him

That nose scrunch

He looked emotionally drained

Wait why cant he go back? Cause he saw his future? Isnt that the reset? Oh wait if he goes back, he dies and he knows that but he couldnt be able to stop it without ending back up here

Hes opening up. The masks he had are falling around mobius. He sees himself as a villian.

Fugitive variant?

I KNEW IT IT WAS LOKI!

but hold on. If this fugitive is loki, then how? What part of the timeline is they from? Are they a future loki? So the future loki is a dangerous variant and this loki is a cat? What makes the future one more dangerous? We just heard him say he doesnt like to kill?

Okay now oklahoma 1858, if this is loki then how is he goin across time? And what for?

Wait third millenium? When is that?

Okay so we got a 1500 deaths and pieces of gum? And now third millennium thing in the 1800?

Oil? In a field…i get that u would think that but please think about where u are and the fact that other units have been killed in what i assume are regular calls like this as well.

Hooded figure? In a foggy night?with different background lights? I like it.

Told you oil plus field equals fire

Oh big spots of oil and oil leading places

Okay there is the reset charge? Is this important like i said earlier i thought it would be?

Ok if this is loki then what’s with the get up? Where is the drama? The showmanship? And why do you need the reset charges? Assuming this person took them from each scene that is at least six or seven? Or is this eight? Would this be the one that they said earlier with the captain lady interrupting or is this another one after that?

Ok so i took some pictures of the end credits that i think are important. I want to look closer at them before i post them.

#loki spoilers #loki series spoilers #loki marvel #loki series #loki #loki show #loki laufeyson #loki episodes #loki 1x1 #sorry its so long #im on mobile #and can’t make a cut on here #marvel spoilers #spoilers