northrnfool - Tumblr blog

[northrnfool]

I think what made a difference is that they said they read the comments and they actually addressed people’s concerns directly instead of giving a vague, halfhearted apology. That couldn’t have been easy for them to see that backlash and respond to it in a constructive way. This whole situation will probably sit at the back of my mind for a while, and it made me acknowledge that I don’t enjoy their new stuff as much as I used to like Unsolved, so I don’t think I’ll be as enthusiastic to watch their new stuff, but I still have to give them props for the way they responded.

watcher situation overall is so interesting to me for many reasons but if you're personally gonna take anything from this i think it should be that yesterday people were saying they were never going to recover and fans would never trust them again and today people are saying they have one of the best apologies on youtube. regardless of what you think of that it's a pretty clear "even a big fuck up isn't an end of the world fuck up" lesson to me.

[northrnfool]

I die a little inside every time someone tries to defend Watcher by calling them artists. No, they make videos where they get shitfaced and read fan submitted ghost stories (btw, are they going to pay their fans who submitted those stories?). Literally most of their channel is goofing around. Calling them artists is an insult to every real artist (for example, the artists right here on Tumblr who balance out sharing their creativity on this site, doing commissions, and having patreon accounts) who make way less money for for talent and hard work than the Watcher guys make.

To me, they’re more comparable to RedLetterMedia. A comedy channel on YouTube who have been successful by keeping their production simple and small and knowing what their audience is interested in, hilarious banter.

[northrnfool]

And another thing about Watcher: the point about not wanting to be beholden to advertisers so they, instead, want fans to fund their whims (without us knowing what those are) is just so out of touch. Who isn’t beholden to the people writing their pay checks? Unless you’ve built yourself up to that point and/or are extremely lucky, you have to work within a framework.

This is giving some strong Icarus vibes.

[northrnfool]

I’m mainly on tumbler to gush about my assorted ships but this whole Watcher thing has got me pretty bummed out… but I also realized my disappointment in them didn’t just start with this announcement.

Honestly, and I’m probably in the minority with this opinion, their content has been pretty disappointing ever since they started their own channel. I was so excited when they announced they would be continuing to make videos after leaving Buzzfeed because I absolutely loved Unsolved, but I found that Ghost Files and Mystery Files has been a huge step down from the simple, straightforward entertainment that was Unsolved. It feels like they’re focused more on fancy production than what made those videos good in the first place: their witty banter. And, for me, this announcement about the streaming service is just an extension of that lack of understanding about what made them so popular. I can’t fault them for wanting to grow and make content with higher quality production, but don’t act like it’s what your audience wanted.

[northrnfool]

OMG EVERYONE WAKE UP

WAKE UP THEY LET OUR BOI OUT OF THE BASEMENT

[northrnfool]

If it’s all the same to you… I’ll have that drink now.

[northrnfool]

I’m okay with not having a love confession in the Loki series since the focus needed to be on healing his relationship with himself. It’s the fact that people behind the scenes act like it’s some sort of unfathomable thing that fans ship those two. Like, it is somehow impossible that they would be attracted to eachother.

sometimes i forget that loki like? canonically? likes men? and has canonically? been with men? before? like in the past? like full-on relationships? and that these facts where blatantly confirmed? and that we still? don’t have a lokius confession scene?

[northrnfool]

LET'S TALK ABOUT MOBIUS'S SIGNIFYING COLOR

Characters often have signifying colors in literature and film. Comics exaggerate this visual motif even more so, therefore it stands to reason Marvel would replicate that aesthetic in the MCU.

Informally, viewers have agreed that Mobius's colors are either orange or blue. These are sensible conclusions, but I personally think Mobius's signifying color is gold.

His introductory shot is beautifully, softly lit in a church (organized religion; the TVA), while his concluding shot is deftly diffused beneath a tree (individual faith; Loki/Yggdrasil). In both cases, he is in halo, which for superheroes represents their power or magic in use. Green in the case of Loki, Red in the case of Wanda, and so on.

Mobius has no powers except those that remind us of his humanity: an extraordinary well of kindness, enduring patience, and an unshakable hope for broken things becoming something better.

Culturally, these are all virtues that bleed over into spirituality. For Mobius, these virtues become more pronounced when aimed at Loki, a god.

This isn't to suggest that Mobius is a saint and has done no wrong. No, he's committed many mistakes, both minor and awful. I do suggest, however, that there is a quiet spiritual undertone in the series that rises to the fore when Loki ascends, and that Mobius was instrumental to that ascension.

Perhaps that is why, when Mobius is lit, it is in a way that alludes to the divinity of the soul. Once when his god comes to him, and again when his god departs.

That gold is also Loki's accent color is, well, a nice touch.

[northrnfool]

"But Lokius isn't even canon! Stop making everything gay!"

...

The Loki series isn't just about romantic relationships and shouldn't be seen as so. However, there is a lot of subtext. Maybe this ship is not canon, but it was intended to be seen as so by the fans.

If Lokius isn't canon, then why were the last two shots of the series showing Mobius and Loki?

If Lokius isn't canon, why would there be so much touching and scenes so physically close to one another? (believe me I know they're friends. that just offers a solid base for something more)

If Lokius isn't canon, why is there a OFFICIAL track named like that?

Why is said track played or incorporated in different scenes of the series? like

-the first McDonalds meeting with Sylvie,

-the back-in-time conversation with Kang

- the ASCENSION to the throne?

Why is the Sylvie and Loki kiss never mentioned, by the producers, in the series per se, or even in the season 1 recap?

Why is Mobius the only one looking at Loki when he leaves down to the temporal loom?

And the other way around, why did Loki only make eye contact with Mobius in that scene?

Why is Mobius the only one to notice there is something wrong when Loki is still trying to fix the Loom?

Why did Mobius/Don on the original timeline, mention he's single, trust a complete stranger, invite him for a drink, AND offer to sell him a quite personal jet-ski?

Why did Loki, the LITERAL GOD OF MISCHIEF stutter and fix his hair and coat for no one else but Mobius (who by the way is just a jetski salesman on that timeline)?

Why is the timeslipping Loki had to go through directed to Mobius twice, him being the the only one he doesn't need a TemPad to "recruit"?

Why would Loki bring up Thor and Jane if it wasn't to mirror him and Mobius? (because, as he already was talking to Sylvie, he certainly wasn't implying it's about her. They were arguing, AND Mobius was implied in the conversation. Loki defended him in front of Sylvie, in case you forgot.)

Why would Mobius's voice be the one to echo back to Loki on his throne? let time pass time pass time pass

Why the RAINBOW?

WHY DID LOKI LOOK AT MOBIUS RIGHT BEFORE THE FAMOUS LINE "IT'S ABOUT WHO"? (important mention: Sylvie was behind him when he said that. why didn't he just turn around when saying it? nope, they know what they're doing)

Why is the shot cut to Mobi after Loki's "it was more about what I wanted" line?

Why the shot where 7 characters could've been showed (Mobius, Loki, Sylvie, B-15, Casey, O.B., Victor Timely) there are only 2: Mobius and Loki?

Why is Mobius the only one to tell Loki he can be someone good, and the first one Loki actually believes despite his tendency to do the other way around in the past?

Why does Mobius finally find insight, and reinvent his whole life at the TVA because Loki helped him do so? (they're not even the first Loki variant he faced, but something clicked this time)

Why does the bloody sleeve, representing Loki being hurt by Sylvie just because he "wore his heart on his sleeve" disappear on episode 2? (because he finally understands who he needs to be next to)

Why did Mobius risk his life on the first episode?

Why did Loki go to past Mobius for the final advice, not to the present one, not to Sylvie?

Why did Loki ultimately sacrifice his life for the ones he loves?

And why is Mobius left alone, with the door locked, after Loki leaves in the Loom's radiation?

Why would there be so much endearing looks, and smiles at each other, if not for a conscious acting choice?

Why why why why why if it isn't canon?

Nothing is for nothing. Especially in television, where everything counts from the light to the angles and the way the lines are spoken.

We don't need to see two characters kiss to know they are made for one another. In fact, I think implied canon is so much better because it leaves free interpretation for the fans, and nothing to strike on for the haters.

Of course, that doesn't change the fact that the ending is still tragic, altough it holds its sweet from bittersweet. But remember: there aren't tragedies without love.

[northrnfool]

LOKI S02E02 “Breaking Brad”

[northrnfool]

That and sing.

😉😉

[northrnfool]

Something else I noticed rewatching Thor, the Avengers, and the Loki series:

There is a noticeable shift away from focusing on Loki’s relationship to Odin and Thor to his relationship with Frigga. In the movies, Frigga’s importance to Loki is kind of there but certainly not the focus, we mostly see how his actions affect his father and brother (while disregarding the impact that their patriarchal world had on him). In the Loki series there is very little mention of Thor and Odin, instead it focuses more on how his actions affected his mother: Mobius showed him the video of Frigga trying to reason with Loki, he also used her death to get a rise out of him, Brad later accused Loki of making things harder for Mobius, B-15, and his mother (no mention of his father and brother), and when talking with Sylvie in season 1, Loki reminisced only about his mother and her belief in him.

Then, today, I listened to a podcast about fairytales and the host talked about how actual fairies weren’t actually common in them universally but magic was. Magic is present in fairytales because it allows for the possibility of transformation, the hope of change. It made me think about how important Frigga was for Loki’s ability to transform in this series; she taught him his magic, something that give him his own identity in a world that was dominated by brute male power and strength. Without her nurturing, who knows what Loki would have become in Asguard.

Even though Odin acted like he saved Loki because he took him from Jötunheim where he was left to die, Loki really only had an opportunity to live because of Frigga. Fast forward to the Loki series and in 2x06, we were told by Mobius that Renslayer (another power-driven authoritarian) is the reason Loki isn’t dust in a TVA vent, giving her the undeserved credit for saving Loki, when in reality it was actually Mobius’ belief in him, his nurturing, that saved Loki.

I then realized the parallel between Frigga and Mobius: both are compassionate and nurturing, both of them believed in Loki when no one else would, and they both gave him something he took into his transformation in the end of the series: She gave him his magic, that beautiful green magic that allowed him to give life to the timelines and Mobius offered his “heart of gold” to Loki, the gold that holds together the pieces of his crown and envelopes his throne. Both gave him the opportunity to not just live but become his best self.

[northrnfool]

Guys, I just finished a rewatch starting with the first Thor movie, the Avengers, then the Loki series and now I’m fucking sad again.

Why did I do this to myself?!?!

[northrnfool]

The way this series framed Loki and Mobius’ relationship around these three time theatre scenes was so brilliant, imo.

I read a post a while back from someone who knows way more about filmmaking than I do that there’s a tendency to sort of repeat scenes using the same setting/characters/placement as a way to highlight something that has changed. In this case we get Loki and Mobius in the time theatre in their exact same spots at this table three separate times and yet each time their dynamic is veeeery different.

The first time they meet here it’s like two worlds colliding. Neither really knows what they’re getting into with the other so there’s a guardedness to both of them. Loki is like a cornered animal and Mobius is fully masked in his pleasant unaffected demeanour. Tom Hiddleston mentioned several times in interviews that Mobius is able to look at Loki’s life from an outsiders perspective, specifically that he’s not personally emotionally affected by Loki’s actions.

A few episodes later and that’s no longer the case. Now we get to see Mobius, who has been very good at guarding his emotions, let them get the better of him. These guys are both feeling hurt and betrayed because they both formed an attachment to the other, but at this point neither understands that so they don’t appreciate it. Instead of opening up to one another they’re both defensive and abrasive to one another.

The third visit to this time theatre shows how much their relationship has changed. No more guardedness, no more defensiveness, we now only see softness and openness between them. Hell, look at the framing: the camera focuses directly on their faces with both actors playing this scene so vulnerable. We talk a lot about how isolated Loki has been because of his pain but the reality is, Mobius has been just as isolated; it’s incredibly meaningful knowing that this is Mobius from early in the show and all it took was for Loki to reach out to him, to gently ask for help and Mobius opened up like a flower. These two needed the connection they have with each-other so desperately, they just needed a multiversal level apocalypse to figure their shit out.

[northrnfool]

Lokius Thought: Lokius is Canon & Here is WHY!

So I was thinking about Lokius and I kinda realized why it works.

The dynamic between them is somewhat opposite yet similar in personalities. Almost like a mirror of eachother and what they want to somewhat see in themselves.

Loki; is chaotic both in nature and in general as goes by his name. He’s a bit of a fun character but at times has gone too far without fully realizing it. He loses his temper and can go on destructive behaviors as a way to shield himself as he only knows to put his guard up. He’s been betrayed and lied too.

His life was a lie. (Being adopted and lied to about his heritage)

Loki also has dealt with loss and has been shown/told he’s meant for failure (mostly thru his life) and has been a shadow for those that are seen as “better” or “above”. He want’s acceptance but feels he’ll never have it so he puts up walls to protect himself.

He doesn’t want to be alone.

Mobius: he himself is a bit of a neutral chaotic somewhat wanting more and even having interests (jetskis) that we and from what I got in the series are taking as a bit of as a joke. Mobius wants the truth but has been lied to and betrayed by those he’s been close to.

His life was a lie. (who he was and his past)

While he see him as this ray of sunshine it seems he has things built up after finding this out. He wants his OWN life and wants to do what’s right.

He doesn’t want to be alone.

Both characters have personalities that blend together positively while also countering acting their negative traits. They both feel they can change because of the other. Not because the other changed them but rather that they showed them a different perspective.

Both don’t want to be alone yet both want to do the right thing and change. Which makes it almost feel like the Loki series was a queer story but a tragic story about love, acceptance and change.

Both characters care for one another and are literally willing to go great lengths for eachother. They have and will, both waiting for the other, both thinking about the other and both wishing the ending of their story could’ve been different.

They long for eachother.

They wait for eachother.

And they are alone.

Together.

But far way from reach yet both still wait and hold on to what they meant to each other and what they shared.

A sense of loneliness.

This is why in my opinion Lokius is Canon and why the relationship with Loki and Mobius works.

[northrnfool]

I actually found the gif @sunflowerdigs @percheduphere! Woohoo!

I forgot that Mobius was so extremely petty about Sylvie at first. He even dunks on her name ("is it ie or just an i?"). I wonder if that line was meant to sound so derisive or if that was just Owen adding his take. Either way, that scene seems so telling because Mobius has, up until that point, been pretty calm in the face of things he expects Loki to do. He says he expects Loki to stab him in the back before they go to Pompeii. When Loki lies during the first mission, he almost seems amused by it. Which makes sense - this is all very Loki stuff!

But when Loki betrays him by following someone else (notably, a woman that Mobius assumes he's attracted to), Mobius suddenly cannot hold his anger back in front of Loki. Just...the choices that were made baffle me so much sometimes if we're not meant to read Loki and Mobius as attracted to each other.

[northrnfool]

It breaks my heart every time I think about it. They have so much they need to say to one another. The writers set up so much unfinished business between these two that would be utter nonsense if they didn’t reunite.

This scene. Right after Loki walks off. Like seriously fighting back tears. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

One of the most devastating moments of the series, because it's the last interaction they have when it's just them, with no one else around, where they can touch, and speak...and Loki doesn't do either to comfort him. UGH

The replay of the interrogation doesn't count, and the two of them just staring through the glass doesn't count, either. And while Loki does go back in time after the loom explodes, they don't go back far enough to erase this.

It would be a great missing scene fic, that sometime during those centuries, Loki apologized. Maybe every time. But it's highly unlikely, since Loki still had hope there'd be more time.

It just guts me.