#there is no Thor without Loki

[lokiondisneyplus]

Marvel’s Phase 4 has seen Thor and Loki going separate ways, and now the Loki series and Thor: Love and Thunder have proven Thor needs Loki more than Loki needs Thor. Following the game-changing Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the often intertwined journeys of Thor and Loki became separate for the first time since the beginning of the MCU. Loki is now the star of his own show while Thor has been in his first major adventure without Loki, and the way Loki and Thor: Love and Thunder were received shows that the former worked better than the latter.

Technically, the Loki who had been slowly redeemed after Thor: The Dark World and that was willing to die to save his brother no longer exists. That Loki died in Avengers: Infinity War, and while Avengers: Endgame’s time-heist made it so that a version of Loki could return, the character Tom Hiddleston now plays is not the same character whose death Chris Hemsworth’s Thor cried for. More than allowing Loki to return after his death in Infinity War, the time travel and multiple realities set up made it so that Thor and Loki could finally walk separate paths in the MCU.

Thor and Loki needed to be in separate stories after a decade of fighting either against each other or side by side. Keeping Thor and Loki separate would allow the MCU to take both characters to unexpected places, and it would assure that their roles in Phase 4 and beyond would feel different from what audiences had watched throughout the Infinity Saga. However, Thor: Love and Thunder struggled with tone and with how to nail its main character whereas the Loki series knew exactly how to craft a Loki solo adventure. This shows that, while splitting the pair up was a necessity, Loki is actually faring better by himself than Thor.

The Loki Series Worked Perfect Without Thor

Taking a character who is usually tied with gods and mystical arts and placing them in a sci-fi background could have gone incredibly wrong. However, Loki season 1 proved that Loki works surprisingly well as a sci-fi character within the MCU’s multiverse. One of the first Disney+’s Marvel shows, Loki was released far before the MCU announced its plans for the Multiverse Saga, yet it was the franchise’s first step into the journey that will lead to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.

There were little to no references to Thor in Loki, and while Loki missed his brother and cried upon learning the events of the Asgardian Ragnarok, the emotional weight of the series was not Loki’s Asgard story. Loki was a character study, one that purposely removed everything familiar from Loki to then deconstruct the villain. Essentially, the reason that Loki worked so well without Thor or anything Asgard-related is that it asked the question of what it means to be a Loki – and the answer had to be more meaningful than just “Thor’s brother”.

Loki Could Have Improved Love & Thunder

The first Thor film not to feature Loki, Thor: Love and Thunder struggled to recapture the magic of Thor: Ragnarok. Love and Thunder had the difficult challenge of repeating everything that worked in Ragnarok while continuing to reinvent Thor as a character, but the result was an unbalanced film whose tone did not match its story. Ragnarok brought a breath of fresh air to Thor’s character, replacing the soulless broody temper seen in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and the first two Avengers films with a more charismatic, relatable Thor. Ragnarok reinvented Thor while still giving the character and the world around him some level of emotional weight, something that Love and Thunder failed to replicate.

Love and Thunder’s Thor felt sometimes more like a parody of Ragnarok’s Thor than an evolved version of the character. While that is a consequence of Love and Thunder’s tonal problems, it could have been eased by Loki’s presence in the film. Loki is Thor’s emotional anchor in the MCU even when the brothers are placed in comedic moments like Ragnrok’s “get help”, and that is exactly what Love and Thunder lacked.

Thor’s Best MCU Moments Are Still With Loki

The Loki series has some of Loki’s best moments in the MCU, including Loki watching a movie of his life, his earnest conversations with Mobius, and his dynamic with the Loki variant Sylvie. However, when it comes to Thor, the God of Thunder’s best MCU stories are still the ones featuring Loki. The MCU’s Thor is defined by his relationship with Loki, especially because Marvel’s Phases 1 and 2 still hadn’t nailed what the Chris Hemsworth character should be like. The Thor audiences cheered for during Infinity War only came to be because of Loki’s death, which exemplifies how essential Loki is to Thor’s story and how significant Loki’s absence from Thor: Love and Thunder was. As a villain who later becomes an antihero, Loki would always have an easier path to become a “solo main character” himself. Thor, on the other hand, will forever be a hero, which means he will often be defined by his villains.

#loki #thor #there is no thor without loki #there is loki without thor

[thissmallplace]

#thor #thor odinson #loki #thor and loki #loki odinson #thor feels #loki is always thinking about thor #thor is always thinking about loki #there is no loki without thor #there is no thor without loki #it's a package deal

[sunflowerdigs]

I keep imagining the Avengers bursting into the citadel at the end of time in a righteous fury because they assume that Loki is up to no good, only to find him and Mobius making banana pancakes for "breakfast" and slow-dancing around their kitchen to Kokomo by the Beach Boys.

#lokius #loki is giggly from the mimosas but he tries (badly) to sober up and be terrifying #while cuddling Mobius close to him #nick fury is without words for the first time in his life when the team radios in #also despite bring both drunk and punch drunk in love Loki beats the Avengers handily in the ensuing fight by timeslipping #thor doesn't participate because mobius offers him pancakes and alcohol and becomes his new favorite person

[worstloki]

AU where Loki doesn’t interfere with Thor’s banishment at all and it takes Thor years to prove himself worthy and when he returns to Asgard everything is just. The same. Nothing seems to have changed at all and everyone greets him like his absence was a minor obstacle that didn’t fundamentally change Thor and the worst part is Loki stepped down from the place as regent without any delay and Thor can’t help but feel there’s something underlaying the way his brother looks at him now and won’t let him touch him and Thor doesn’t know what he could have missed because he doesn’t think he would have found anything wrong with the things around him and how everyone behaves if he hadn’t spent time on Earth reflecting.

#the warriors 4 not being interested in anything Thor ‘learnt’ at all #and making it clear that Thor was punished unfairly and the AllFather’s decision had been harsh #Loki saying he’s happy for Thor and Thor sees the way the smiles are forced and he sees the way Loki avoids any touch #Thor hating the way Frigga talks about Loki’s short regency and Thor’s absence like it wasn’t two whole decades or something #like she’s so grateful to have her other son back without ever addressing why he was gone #Thor just. growing during his time on earth and being much more aware of the behaviour around him #he learns to be critical and assess why people around him may act a certain way #once he realises that it’s possible for him or anyone else to be fallible and make mistakes it’s over for Asgard for him I think #Thor returns and Loki gives him the throne and everyone expects him to obviously have the throne #and Odin is sleeping and Thor isn’t comfortable with the way everyone accepts him as king regent after the banishment #Loki who either never lashed out against Jotunheim or did and it was brushed away and no one thinks about it as anything #but Loki is still deeply affected and acts the way he always would have but Thor can feel it’s not the same #he knows something is wrong and Loki won’t say anything about it and Thor doesn’t know how to bring it up #Thor sees Loki metaphorically receding into the shadows to become a nonpresence so loud Thor hears it even after returning from decades away #Thor goes to Earth and gets his priorities in order gets a new worldview learns not to take what he has for granted #and finds out he actually despised Asgard #he’s been back a week and he can’t stand it

[gloriousburden]

i think they should make a movie where the writers actually like thor and loki

#how many more times are you gonna butcher their characters? #we need to talk more about how shitty the writers treat thor too. his writing in endgame was so… #you know… just because he’s a quote on quote rich kid space viking (words of taika waititi) #he still deserves a character arc from writers who actually understand what they’re working with and respect him/his fans. #fans who they (the writers directors and the studio in general) would be nothing without btw. #thor and loki deserve better #anti avengers endgame #anti thor ragnarok #thor ragnarok criticism #avengers endgame criticism #anti taika waititi #thor #thor mcu #loki #loki mcu

[tomhiddleston-loki]

Me right now 🥺 I can't stop thinking about Loki

#lokiedit #he was left alone without his friends #he was afraid of being alone #Thanks Marvel #now it will be difficult for me to resign myself to the fact that Loki will never have a happy ending. #but I am hopeful that we will see him again. #thor odinson

[watcherinwater]

Alright, whoever the writer (s) on the MCU What If staff is who is willing to portray Odin as the villain he is, and sympathizes with his children/victims, I would very much like to buy them a drink! I seriously doubt this will ever happen in the main timeline, but it’s nice to see that it happened somewhere.

#they are so much better off without him #sadly I doubt the Thor of the main universe will ever realize this #MCU #mcu what if #Odin sucks #Odin is a villain #anti odin #hela odinsdottir #hela goddess of life #thor odinson #thor god of thunder #loki #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki god of mischief #loki god of time #loki god of stories #jotun loki #loki of jotunheim #frost giant loki

[nikkoshierlokiofneeds]

he always just wanted to be loved 😭

#this should really fucking go without saying on this blog #but loki is not now nor has he ever been evil 😞 #he is however an unreliable narrator on occasion and sometimes prone to hyperbole #and letting people think what they want to about him bc fuck it they've already made their minds up #so i feel like this works in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way #tl;dr ily loki you're not evil at all <3 #loki #thor the dark world #brodinsons #mcu #my memes #actually loki #you lack queueviction

[thortwenty151]

Okay you know what? I don’t want this to get lost in tags. Basically, Thor is allowed to have feelings and be messy and imperfect all on his own without it having much if anything to do directly with Loki. Or even indirectly. A huge amount of Thor’s character arc has to do with his relationship to Odin, and his relationship with who he himself is outside of being who he was brought up to believe he was meant to be.

Like he should not have been 1500 years old the first time his mother tells him he can be himself. And see, the trade off of this is that Thor has almost no self-worth nor self-actualization outside of who he thought he was supposed to be. And when the person he was supposed to be fucks up so badly (in his mind), that half the universe disappears…

Well, who is he after that? What purpose does he have? He can’t be the king he was expected to be, because that person doesn’t actually exist.

And because he can’t be that version of himself because of his trauma and grief and guilt, he doesn’t know who he is at all. And so the traumatized, grieving version of himself, the one that can’t get off the couch and has completely, as Chris Hemsworth said, “checked out” isn’t the king he was expected to be, so why bother even trying? He needed some time to not have to try. Valkyrie gets it, she was right in the same place, so she picks up the slack for him, which makes it that much easier to check out more and more. By the time Rocket and Bruce show up, he’s basically decided that this new version of himself is happy, while he’s right on the verge of a breakdown pretty much at all times.

He’s been taught his whole life not to show his people his feelings. His dad’s advice to him about having feelings was basically, go drink, and put on a goddamn happy face because a future king needs to keep his weird gross sadness to himself.

So Thor does exactly that: his feelings are too overwhelming to translate into productive anger (how he usually copes), so it turns inward. And that’s not good because he’s been told not to show his feelings so many times. It’s ingrained. So he drinks and he pretends to be happy, but it doesn’t mean he’s got any sort of sense of identity.

He leaves with the Guardians to try a different version of himself, to middling success in terms of helping him form his own identity, one that had started to heal from all the horrible things that have happened in a time period that, to him, is like a long weekend.

It’s a journey he’s still on, and ultimately it only peripherally has much to do with Loki.

#not to say Loki is not vitally important to Thor’s development #just as Thor is vitally important to Loki’s #there is no Thor without Loki and no Loki without Thor #but Thor has his own issues to deal with sometimes #usually when Loki’s not there #Thor #Loki #Thor Odinson #Loki laufeyson #Thor meta #pro Thor #pro Loki #give Thor a break he’s doing his best

[brsb4hls]

#loki #thor #brodinsons #not mine! #found online without source or credit #probs old but still relevant #also serotonin inducing so I wanted to share #meme

[maple-seed]

Thrown - Chapter 27: Resolve

Summary: The new year is celebrated with unfamiliar traditions.

Word Count: 1,711

Warnings: Mild alcohol consumption

Author's Note: And we're back! I hope everyone is doing well and I hope the new year brings you everything you need.

Masterlist

Loki understood the humans' division of years. It was reasonable; the span of time in which their planet revolves around their sun with a predictable, repetitive cycle of seasons. The part that perplexed him was the day they designated as the beginning of that cycle. It wasn't the beginning of a season, it had no astronomical significance, it seemed to be a completely arbitrary day in their journey through space. He suspected it started with someone looking for another excuse to celebrate during this absolutely dismal season and the rest of them just went with it. He admitted it was difficult to argue against.

The human town apparently made a spectacle of the event every year. It was said that most of the population came out for the fireworks and revelry and, from what he heard, much of New Asgard seemed to be planning on joining in. He and Thor were not the exception; Valkyrie had picked them up in her beaten blue truck and they were currently en route to meet you at the celebration. There would be libations to consume but the Midgard drinks were unlikely to have much effect on the gods. It was unfortunate that there weren't any Æsir spirits available yet. He could use a drink. Supposedly Asbjorn and his sons were making great strides in brewing something akin to Asgardian liquor, but there wasn't yet enough volume for general consumption.

"So, you guys planning on kissing anyone tonight?" Valkyrie kept her eyes on the street as they passed through New Asgard, only glancing at the brothers. Thor and Loki turned to her with blank stares. "You haven't heard? It's a tradition. They kiss someone at midnight. It's supposed to be good luck." She shrugged. "I thought it was cute." Thor chuckled. "Indeed. I can't say I have any intention of participating."

Loki said nothing, but naturally his mind immediately turned to you. As he watched the scenery out the window he allowed himself the indulgence of imagining kissing you, his hands cupping your face and pulling you close. He wondered how you might respond. The fantasy was quickly broken by a dread reality. Were you going to kiss someone tonight? He couldn't be sure if there was someone you had your eye on. In all the long conversations the two of you had shared, romance rarely came up. It seemed to be the sort of thing you kept to yourself. Was there someone you would bestow your affections on? Would he have to see it? He thought back to the man behind the counter at the cafe and glowered. He wasn't prepared for that sight. However, it was too late to back out of the event without drawing questions he didn't want to answer. He could really use a drink.

The town was filled with people strolling through the streets, generally moving in the same direction. It became apparent that the truck wouldn't get much further than this, so Valkyrie parked and the gods stepped out into the throng. The crowd was flowing toward the edge of town and up a slight hill near the harbor. The buildings opened into a wide, paved promenade. One side of the promenade was lined with shops, and the other looked out to the ocean, where a barge could be seen anchored in the distance. All the snow had been cleared away from the pavement and people were gathering here for the fireworks show, which would presumably be administered by the barge. Some groups had spread out blankets while others had folding chairs. Children were running about, Asgardians and humans were mingling freely. Picnic dinners were being enjoyed and a few food stalls were set up here and there.

"Boys! Val!" The three gods turned to see you approaching, Ash at your side. You were carrying a plastic champagne flute, which was currently empty. Judging by the flush of your face and the slightest hint of stagger in your step, Loki would guess this wasn't the first time you had emptied it. "You made it!" You reached the group and grabbed Thor's hand --Loki easily buried the slight sting of envy-- and began pulling him through the crowd. "We're set up over here." Thor chuckled. "I see you've already begun the festivities." He gestured toward your glass. "Gotta hit my quota before the year's over." You shot him a wink.

You led them through the promenade to a cluster of chairs beside a blanket. Khadija was sitting in one of the chairs, next to a man who Loki assumed to be her husband. He was shortly proven correct as you introduced them. Thor asked after Hani and was informed that she was flitting about with some of the other children. There was no sign of the man from the cafe, or any other potential suitors of yours, at least for now. Loki relaxed a fraction but still prepared contingencies should some romantic prospect make an appearance.

You were holding your glass out to Khadija, who filled it without question. "Are you certain you haven't had enough?" Loki asked with a smirk. You waved him off without a word and brought the glass to your lips. "Let the woman drink." Valkyrie was sitting on the blanket, Ash halfway sprawled into her lap. "I don't know how she's put up with you all this time while sober." "Who says I've been dealing with him sober?" You practically fell into one of the chairs. "Oh, it's very clear that you have been sober." Loki took a seat next to you. "The counterexample currently on display is evidence enough." You scoffed. "I guess you've finally driven me to drinking." You punctuated your point with another sip from the glass.

Food and drink was passed around and cheerful conversation passed the time. Members of the group would leave to greet other friends or acquaintances, or to patronize one of the food stalls, returning again to the little cluster of chairs eventually. Thor was elsewhere when Hani made an appearance, with a young Æsir girl in tow.

Hani stopped in her tracks when she spotted Loki. "Mr. Loki!" She pulled the Æsir girl over to him. "Can you show her your fireworks?" The Asgardian girl looked at him slightly apprehensively, she was clearly aware of his reputation. It stung a little, seeing it here, in contrast to Hani's open friendliness. He held out his hand, palm up, and manifested miniature fireworks above it. Hani clapped with glee. The Æsir girl had a small smile and spoke quietly. "My mother could use seiðr. She said she was going to teach me someday." Loki noted the past tense. "Then we must find you a teacher, as she intended." Her smile grew. Hani was ecstatic. "You'll learn magic!?" In a burst of giggles the two girls bounced away again.

Loki looked over at you. You were watching him with a strange look on your face. It was something akin to admiration. He would bask in it all day if given the chance. He was only given a moment more, Valkyrie asked something and stole your attention away.

Darkness had fallen and Loki was watching the steady waves when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked up to find you standing beside him. "Come on, I want to go for a walk."

He stood and offered you his arm which you took without hesitation. Ash remained with Valkyrie as you traipsed away with Loki. You leaned into him, in fact you were practically hanging off of him as the two of you strolled through the crowds. It was delightful. If you had a particular destination in mind, you didn't make it known. You seemed content to simply walk and chat with him in your normal way. Occasionally you would stop him to watch one of the games being played beneath the streetlights. One was spread out across the ground, it seemed to involve tossing wooden batons at wooden blocks on your opponent's side of the pitch. You cheered with the other onlookers when one was knocked over. You paused at another game at a table, two men hunched over a board with little figures on it.

"Oh, hey, look at this one." You said as you stopped to watch a move. "It's a game of strategy. You'd probably be good at it." He watched as the man took one of his opponent's pieces off the board. "Yes, I'm certain I would." You scoffed. "You are always so full of yourself." "Darling, I was merely agreeing with you." You rolled your eyes.

The two of you continued on, meandering around the promenade, gradually working your way back to the cluster of chairs when you expressed your need for more finger food. As the night wore on Loki began to relax. You didn't seem to have any intention of leaving his side and no admirers had made an appearance. He felt a small pang of guilt for the relief that brought him. You deserved to be courted. You deserved that happiness. He shouldn't wish otherwise just to protect his own petty feelings. He found slightly less joy in the fact that you weren't sticking close to some beau in anticipation of midnight. But perhaps you simply didn't subscribe to the tradition.

The fireworks began. Bold, bright bursts of color broke open in the sky over the water. As the barge sent its artillery into the air, the image of kissing you returned to Loki's mind. He willed it away, buried it. It wouldn't do to dwell on something like that while you were close by. He stole a furtive glance at you, as if worried you had heard the thought. You were unaware, admiring the show.

Midnight approached. The crowd began counting down as the fireworks built to a finale. The new year rolled in with the booming of explosives and roar of applause. Loki was startled when you suddenly leaned over to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. You settled back into your chair and immediately broke into laughter, then joined the cheers of the crowd. Couples throughout the promenade were ringing in the new year with shows of affection.

It felt like good luck.

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@mischief2sarawr, @imalovernotahater, @norestfortheshelbywicked, @purplekitten30, @ozymdias, @pdraxxi, @goblingirlsarah, @chantsdemarins, @n3rdybirdee, @marvel-love24, @lokiprompts, @ladymischief11, @gigglingtigger, @lilmilkbun, @huntress-artemiss, @ellooo0ooo, @femme1fatale

#loki #loki fanfiction #loki x reader #loki & thor #loki mcu #loki fanfic #mcu loki #slow burn #reader insert #loki thrown #btw Valkyrie definitely kissed Ash's head #I just couldn't include it without breaking the momentum

[mydairpercabeth]

Did the MCU just make MPreg canon???

#thor love and thunder #spoilers without context #korg #dont read the tags #but korg being gay and having a boyfriend #and also being the son of gay dads #and having a baby with his boyfriend #im so happy #the taikafication of the mcu continues #thor odinson #loki could neva #loki laufeyson #valkerie #korg x dwayne #mpreg

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Okay, after rewatching Phineas and Ferb Across the Second Dimension, which came out in 2011, I need to know if the first Avengers movie- which came out in 2012- copied it, or if it was just a weird coincidence that both movies have an interdimensional portal with a seemingly endless evil army coming out of it set on the top of a weird looking building in the middle of a city that they have to fly up and close after a showdown with the villain?

#phineas and ferb #avengers #also that scene where they're 'going clockwise through the multiverse' #reminds me of the scene in GoTG 2 where rocket yondu and groot are trying to get to ego's planet and keep flying through portals ajghfalksd #also I will lament AGAIN that we didn't get a phineas and ferb/gravity falls crossover because it would be GREAT #if this movie had come out a few years later there could've been a shot of ford somewhere as they're dimension hopping #or bill ajfhlksagdjfas #also the whole 'mad scientist builds portal to another dimension. memory erasure happens' is also a hilarious connection #basically I'm now questioning if a lot of people watched P&F and decided 'you know what that's a fun idea I'mma use that' #mostly marvel because there's just. there's just so many coincidences otherwise xD #the portal the evil army the showdown on the roof #begs the question if thor had given loki one of his childhood toys he'd lost would he have calmed down then? xD #anyway #this is all very funny to me #this movie was funny without context but it's definitely better with the context of the show #for ages this movie was literally where all my knowledge of P&F came from xD

[worstloki]

// Fortesa Latifi, The Truth About Grief //

#web weaving #we need to talk more about how Odin took away Thor's natural born Asgardian abilities on a whim #leaving him in a mortal body without the strength he's had his whole life #with no one he knew in a world he was unfamiliar with #like sure it worked out conveniently and he gained friends instantly but #the fact that Mjolnir was his weapon and he could *no longer lift it* #not really knowing of the enchantment put on it but also... that was THOR'S weapon #it was thrown in the backwater to face the same disgrace Thor got #do you wonder if Thor thought this meant his banishment was permanent #even before Loki visited him #do you think going from a coronation to being told he didn't deserve it dealt him enough damage for him to reconsider everything #do you think being out from the shade of Odin's favouritism for mere few days caused him grief #even though he wasn't sure quite what he did wrong #even though he was following the footsteps of his father #do you think it bothers Thor once he's worthy again that the enchantment is still on Mjolnir #that even though he's regained his status and strength it's at Odin's behest and can be revoked again if he wants

[gloriousburden]

ragnarok and the loki series were both like watching loki die again, and have it rubbed in your face. he was “brought back”, just to be desecrated more. a reminder that not just his physical body is dead and long gone, but the idea of who he was not only to himself and the characters around him, but to real life people as well. it’s like no one remembers who he was anymore. he was dug out the grave, to essentially become a reanimated figure/puppet who no longer resembles the character you loved so much. as to say, he is truly gone and you are not getting him back. not in his own universe, nor another. or whatever the tva is. loki series loki is obviously not our loki and he’s very insignificant to me, but it’s a whole different story with ragnarok loki. he literally is supposed to be our loki.. we were left off with his best character development yet in tdw, and it was put together with so much care. the writers cared to humanize loki, without stripping him of everything that made him, him… and it all just went to shit because of new careless writers/directors. it’s made grieving loki really weird. he actually died in infinity war, but it seems like he’s been dead since after tdw. the character i love has died multiple times, and not just literally. i know recently i’ve been less serious on here and i haven’t talked my shit about ragnarok/the series in a minute, but i’m still in complete shock of his death. whether that be his literal death in infinity war, or the death of any idea of his character and who he is post tdw. i can’t believe my favorite character is dead. i have a lot of favorite characters who have died, but not like this. this is worse.

#i just want him back #or to be able to rest peacefully without attempts to bring him back only for audiences who never understood or liked him in the first place #loki #anti thor ragnarok #anti loki series #anti taika waititi #anti michael waldron #thor ragnarok criticism #loki series criticism #loki deserves better #mcu criticism #loki rant #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki mcu #loki 💭

[benevolentgodloki]

(for thorki verse) you and thor have a mutual “gonna hit that” list? and if so, top three names on it??

"Me, me, and me. But, I suppose if we have to choose others, probably Jane, Stark, or ugh, Quill. Bonus would be that bitchy little wizard, Strange. If they would get over wanting to kill me, Sif and Valkyrie would be other options."

#completely making up thorki answers without consulting a Thor XD #Thorki Loki answers anons #thorki