hiddlesgoddess

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THE AVENGERS (2012)

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insp.

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If you want to know why the Loki fandom has drifted away, just look at what Disney/Marvel did to him.

He was incredibly powerful—they made him weak and helpless.

He was smarter than everyone else—they made him a fool.

He was a prince—they made him a corporate office drone. They literally put him in a cubicle.

Loki was an alien—they made him an ordinary guy.

He was flamboyant and colorful—they put him in beige. They actually made him act as if he was excited to wear a beige uniform.

The real Loki would never have tolerated a uniform of any sort, much less something so bland. He was never a soldier or a cog in the wheel. Loki is the piston.

Loki was a deeply wounded, angst-driven son with complex motivations—Disney made him an uncaring narcissist who suddenly sees the error of his ways (in one episode) and has a total personality swipe.

Loki was iconoclastic—they made him ordinary.

They took the most interesting and volatile character in the MCU and warped him into an Everyman role, and somehow everyone bought it. Apparently because they used the same actor with the same face—?

Really think about it. If another actor had started playing Loki for the series, they couldn’t have pulled it off. Series Loki is not the same character as Loki from Thor 1, Avengers 1, and Thor 2. He’s as different as the moviemakers in charge of the productions are. (The directors of Avengers 1 and Thor 2, Joss Whedon and Alan Taylor, simply had the grace and humility to take their cue from the original vision of Kenneth Branagh.)

If you don’t actually pay attention to Loki’s character, motivations, logical action, or his history, and you’re only interested in being entertained, I guess it doesn’t matter. This is just a superhero movie character, so who cares if they turned him inside out to conform with a simpler, less challenging archetype?

He’s their property, after all. They can use him however they want to. If they want to chew him up and spit him out as a naive, lovelorn mensch because that’s the Disney protagonist formula, they can and will. If they want to put him into a buddy-cop procedural, as if he were an ordinary human person whose shtick is a magic kit, they can.

A lot of you who are constantly defending the Loki Series are not really thinking about it. Maybe you’re just happy he has a show to his name. Maybe you don’t care; you just want more “content.” Maybe you don’t want someone spoiling your fun.

Maybe you think you’re being the loyal crowd by “defending” Loki. You’re not seeing that Disney did worse than kill him off—they unmade him. They put the God of Mischief into a blender with the Disney formula, audience response data, standard storytelling tropes, a limited range of plot lines, and a great deal of money, and out came this golem with Loki’s face on it.

You might revile me for saying all this because that’s easier than facing the truth or questioning the Powers That Be. There will always be people who can’t tolerate having their beliefs challenged.

I have seen nastiness on this hellsite toward people who question and protest what the majority accepts—but that’s just a reflection of the real world. It’s never going to work out well for those of us who see things differently and who don’t shut up about it. So, why do we keep annoying everyone with our dissenting opinions?

In my case it’s because I actually do care about Loki. I care enough to tell the unpopular truth, as I see it. Because, to me, Loki isn’t just an MCU character. He is representation.

He was a survivor of abuse and scapegoating by his own family. He was an outsider who defied convention and took on great challenges, despite everyone in his world trying to push him down. He shirked the role he was forced to play and chose to define himself instead. He saw the hate and scorn directed at him from all sides and laughed.

He struck out on his own into the unknown—which is incredibly hard to do, even if you had been given the support to believe in yourself.

The Loki Series did get one thing right: Loki is a survivor. He’s survived misinterpretations before, and he will survive Disneyfication. Maybe the public will tolerate a warped mischaracterization of him for a while before they lose interest, but the God of Mischief prevails. Thor1 Loki will always be there, smirking triumphantly from the shadows.

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Symbols and Runes in LOKI - Saturday, Scythes, Shepherd's Crooks - Enter DEATH and TIME

Sequel to THIS right here.

So - this...thing. This...hook? This L that got in a gruesome car accident?

I have some theories.

D'yall know this symbol?

This was a symbol made for The Blue Öyster Cult , they of "Don't Fear the Reaper" fame. It's called the 'Cross of Questioning". It briefly became famous as a 'Satanic Symbol' in the 80s, despite being anything but. Worth mentioning since the Horned God's symbol is also here (see previous post).

It was based on the Greek Symbol for Cronos, the father of Zeus.

The designer flipped Cronus' symbol to get the Cross of Questioning.

So, what is this symbol? And am I reaching? Probably a bit, but stay with me here. Cronus is the God of the Titans. He famously overthrew and killed his father, Uranus, a Primordial Spirit, to make the Titans the dominant race of heaven. In time, his son, Zeus, would kill him. Both he and Zeus were the youngest of their sibling sets, and both became King of the Gods thereafter. MCU Loki is the youngest of his sibling set, and kinda maybe wants to be king? Ish? He says he does but he doesn't try all that hard. He does kill his biological father, Laufey, though, and contributes to circumstances that kill Odin, his adoptive father.

But more importantly, Cronus was conflated with the Roman God Saturn.

Some differences between them - Saturn was not killed by Zeus, but exiled. He ruled Latium in peace and harmony, and presided over Saturnalia, a festival famous for role reversal, where slaves would become the masters and the masters the slaves. It also featured wild dancing, gambling, and the appointment of a King of Saturnalia, who would make ridiculous commands that must be obeyed for the express purpose of causing chaos and mischief (these might be "Sing naked!" or "throw that guy in the lake!"). It is thought the Feast of Fools and its Lord of Misrule have a relation to this celebration, if you're fans of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame like I am. The King of Saturnalie was created to expressly mock the rule of one man, a backlash to the appointment of emperors over the traditional social and political networks of Rome. It is meant to make ridiculous the notion of a single all-powerful man presiding over the fates of everyone.

Both Saturn and Cronus are harvest gods, which is why both are usually depicted with a scythe. It's actually from him that we get our image of the Grim Reaper.

And now we briefly come back to Blue Öyster Cult. The reason they chose the symbol of Cronus was because it represents his Scythe. (He used this to castrate Uranus before killing him, by the by, fun fact, enjoy that image, and respect how I didn't spend ten minutes trying to make an adolescent pun about Uranus and private parts).

You ever wonder why Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are named for Norse Gods (Tyr, Wodan, Thor, and Frey/Freya/Frigg), Monday and Sunday are named for celestial bodies, and then Saturday just waltzes in like how are you is this the right address for the party and then collapses drunk on your couch, having been named after a Roman Titan?

Interesting thoughts on that. We're not sure it is named for Saturn. It might come from Sætere, another god of the harvest, possibly of Slavic origin. He is described as bearing a scythe and being a complicated god, both good and evil. His name means 'setter of traps, insidiator, plotter'.

It is thought this name is another kenning for...yeah, you guessed it.

Hit that keep reading and follow me deeper into this rabbit hole.

(Side note, It is pronounced 'Say-ter', which sounds a lot like 'Satyr', the race of half-goat, half-men that Pan is the god of. And yes, they have horns. I don't know if this is coincidence or another case of cross-pollination, which, as mentioned with connection between Othal and Omega, was happening. I'm no academic on this so it's only a coincidence that I am noticing).

It is unknown where the name Sætere came from, but some think it might've indeed come from Saturn, mixing Loki with Roman mythology. In any case - there is a connection between Loki and Saturn, and you get to have it once a week (which is why I've posted this on a Saturday, of course).

So...is this..broken L symbol...a scythe? What would that mean?

Well...that's kind of obvious, isn't it?

I did mention the Grim Reaper was based on Saturn.

Death Hisself. This time it's not a god, but a Personification that we can throw on the pile of mythological figures we've accumulated in these posts. But it's not just Death who was inspired by Cronus.

Cronus has this little problem with his name sounding like Chronos, The Personification of Time. So people mixed them together, a bit like Loki and Loge. Cronus and Chronos became conflated into one being, making both Cronus and Saturn 'Gods of Time'.

Chronos/Cronus would later become the inspiration for a figure you see once a year at the cooler New Year's Parties -

...Father Time.

Could it be coincidence? Maybe. But it's interesting to think of all these cross-sections Loki has with wider world mythology and figures.

Already, Death and Time seem to be major themes, and a scythe represents both of these concepts. Father Time is meant to symbolically 'Kill the Year'. Cartoonists depict the new year as a child (Baby New Year), and the old year about to die as the old man. It is another symbol of Death and Rebirth - the idea of something new coming out of the destruction of the old. This is also the meaning of Ragnarök of course.

(I love that cartoonists have had this tradition for well over a century. That top one is from 1897.)

Of course, I might've been off on completely the wrong track on this. It also be the Phoenician or Hebrew 'L', Lamedh, which is said to be based on a shepherd's crook.

Phoenician Lamedh

Hebrew Lamedh

When I type 'ל', tumblr tries to type from right to left. Neat.

Lamedh, as the tallest letter in Hebrew Alphabet, represents royalty - the King of all Kings, in fact - The Almighty himself. It also means 'heart', as it is at the center of the alphabet. Finally, it means to 'teach, learn or guide'. Gaining knowledge is said to bring a person closer to God as they come to know his creation. (This does remind me of Kaunaz and its 'search for knowledge'.)

The name comes from its shape, which is a shepherd's staff. This was used by the shepherd to guide his animals, 'teaching' them the right way to go, or, should they fall, using the hook to lift them out of dangerous places.

Of course, the shepherd's crook is also the famous symbol of one Jesus of Nazareth, The Good Shepherd, but I'll leave it there.

This letter is an ancestor to our L, same as the Norse Rune Laguz.

Laguz - rune of the ocean and water, it is meant to represent evolution and becoming. It is something of a brother to Kaunaz (which is about the quest for knowledge and represents 'torch' or fire as well as metamorphosis, or conscious change). Laguz is more like how when you dream, you often figure things out you can't when you're awake. A subconscious change that leads to a greater shift in your being.

I think both Laguz and Lamedh have meanings that could be apropos to the LOKI series, but I admit the Saturn/Cronus/Chronos connection feels more more meaningful to me.

And that's all the hay I can make from this weird broken L at this time. Stay tuned for more Rune breakdowns, including my fore-mentioned coverage of the true 'Odin Rune' - which might just be the key to the entire Loki series and the flashing, changing logo itself.

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Hey wouldn’t it be crazy if we just *falls in love with you in every timeline, known and unknown, in and out of bodies we have come to recognize, in places both mundane and not to be traversed, and is bound to find you in every walk of life we take*

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Frigga, Thor, and Loki ✨⚡🐍

Instagram: kayla.bee.marie Etsy Shop

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When it hits you, that raising a shape-shifting baby of a different species might not be as easy as you thought 

vs 

When you find out that your new child is the coolest baby you’ve ever held

idk it was funnier in my head

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Ah yes, the three genders: Girl, Boy, and Mischief

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WANDAVISION Appreciation Week day eight | anything: wanda & vision

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this here is the real king shit that Marvel can’t handle. the length of this gif is literally the length of the shot and it’s much darker in the film but many recognized it was Loki :) originally this scene was longer but they had to cut it because it took the focus away from Ultron and made the audience think Loki was behind it all. the power he radiates from this 1 second clip alone…effervescent ✨

i think hall h and the test audience focusing on Loki in this scene made Marvel realize they had to keep Loki out of the picture for as long as possible or he would just keep stealing all the attention from their golden heroes. then when they had no recourse but to bring him back due to demand they did their utmost to defang him and make him into a clown, because they know if they left him at his full power and potential as a character no one would come close to being as interesting as him.

isn’t it ironic that in-universe Loki is constantly shoved to the side and silenced and belittled but in reality he became one of the most beloved characters in the MCU to the point where it was others who stood in his shadow. that’s why Marvel had to destroy any semblance of the character he used to be.

tsk. jealousy, so ugly ❤️

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Loki stunned by his Goddess of Death form and Thor stunned by Jane wielding Mjolnir dressed as him 💚💀// ❤️⚡️

Bonus :

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Loki in suit  💚 💚 💚

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so just Loki then?

Loki being sexy (The avengers)

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Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Thor Ragnarok.

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