#i just want loki to be happy

[melodyfsoul1]

Time to talk about Loki S2 E4, because if I dont write down some stuff that has been floating around in my head since I saw the eoisode, I will go insane XD

* Spoilers for Loki S2 E4 Ahead *

THAT ENDING OH MY GOD, I really didnt THAT, and how Timely died?!?! That was so grotesquely brutal for Marvel/ Disney, same with the Renslayer and Miss Minutes using the box, like that was straight up horror...

BUT ESPECIALLY THE ENDING, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?!

Im usually not much a theory person, but with Loki I just get so invested...

But then again, Im no scientist nor am I a scifi nerd, so I have no idea what that ending means for the timelines/ multiverse.

So here are some questions that ran through my mind once the episode was over, while I was staring at a black screen, filled with a feeling I havent felt since the Snap...

Did the branches / timeline im/exploding mean everything is over? Dead? Erased?

Or Reset?

Or do all the branches flow freely now?! An unfiltered natural multiverse how it would have been without the loom?

If so, did the already existing branches stay intact?

Or did they get damaged in the blast?

Could universes have merged, like in the comics?!

And what does it mean for the characters that were "outside" of the timeline/ in the TVA?!

Did they get erased?

Or sucked back into/ scattered over the multiverse? Do they have to find each other again? Hell do they even have their memories?!

Is that how Marvel plans to have the current Thor and the Loki Series' Loki meet?!

[wolfpup026]

It wasn't the type of place Loki would've ever chosen to eat at. Thor had dragged him there, ignoring his protests over the tacky theming and bright colors that were visible all the way from the freeway.

But inside the diner, something other than the garish decor caught his eye.

[sawceelcd]

id like to think that at some point in loki’s vast attempts at getting the loom to work he knew he would take a while so he just decided “fuck it” and him and mobius finally got their kiss

(please turn that into a fanfic im too lazy to write plus i suck ass at it)

[morksphincter]

ignoring whatever tf just happened in episode 4 i would like to point out that mobius downloads unauthorized games on his tempad, he's so adorable i love him. i just imagine him palying like tetris or like frogger or something on his little tempad on his pie break

[galaxythreads]

Foegive me of this is a question you've answered in the past but, what are your thoughts on the scene at the beginning of Avengers 1 where Loki sort of doubles over/trips on his way out of the SHIELD base and it's never addressed?

Also thoughts on the canonicity of various myths to the MCU Loki backstory?

no worries, I don't mind answering questions twice. My blog is long and tales tales, so I understand if people don't want to hunt for answers and just reask stuff.

as far as your question goes,

SCREAMING SCREAMING SCREAMING. Do you KNOW how much I LOVE that SCENE (the answer is no because I haven't talked about it) but I LOVE THAT SCENE! That is THE scene to me. I love everything about how carefully it's handled because what you have to look for is SUBTEXT here, because the Avengers was written in a way that forces you to think. It doesn't lay everything out for you, it's intended you come to your own conclusions.

The Avengers trusts you and that is a very strange thing for media now. It's pretty rare to find one that doesn't treat you like an idiot.

Breaking this down:

The first frame with Loki is of him kneeling. That is the first thing we learn about him. I want you guys to remember that the introduction of a character is HUGE. It tells us the most important things for us to know about that character right now

So what do we need to know about Loki RIGHT THEn. Right at the start of the movie?

he's smart. He opened the portal with the Tesseract, from across space, and teleported himself to another planet. This is something no one has replicated (using an infinity stone from across space). Loki is said to "know it's workings like they never will" which says a lot about him.

Loki was GIVEN the scepter by the Chitauri, but if you watch that opening opening scene, it looks more like it's being forced on him than him GLADLY taking it. (There's this half second where the Other waits to make sure Loki is actually going to hold it. Loki doesn't reach for it until he has to. One of the most powerful objects in existence and it practically has to be shoved into his hands) Look how close their bodies are. Like bro???

-okay, then Loki comes through the portal and he is KNEELING. so the first, and I mean the VERY FIRST thing we need to know about Loki is that he is in the subservience of someone/thing else. This gif below is artwork of that moment, but still. Like. who do you think he's kneeling TO? Well, the opening scene of the Avengers showcases that the Other is kneeling to Thanos, Ergo, using the subtext trust that the director/writers have given us, that means Loki was kneeling to Thanos before he came through the portal.

And then, Loki comes out like a hunted animal, but he legitimately does not remember he's holding the scepter until Fury points it out to him. You can see him look down at it in confusion. And okay, WHY is he confused? I remember watching this for the first time at 14 and going huh, that's kinda weird he forgot he had the weapon. What this is trying to tell us is that this is not a familiar weapon to Loki AND -- it is doing something to him. It's emitting that same misty thing that it does when Loki possesses someone later. That wispy smoke is always so interesting to me because of the implications. The scepter doesn't do that unless it is FRESHLY possessing someone. And what do we know about Loki TWO SECONDS AGO?

he was kneeling to thanos.

Anyway, so Loki gives his name, is not a well man, and the scene you're actually referring to is this one:

which GETS ME EVERY TIME. I could talk aout this scene for hours. The implications of it. (Also if you've read my work YSFSLWFTCA, that man who grabs Loki's back is Nathan Swenson ;)

So I've been getting professional acting training for about 6-7 months now and one thing I have learned is that nothing makes it in the movie by accident. The director has to approve it, the editor, the producer, up the whole food chain. This was not Tom Hiddleston sneezing and then them keeping it in the movie because it's funny. So this was put in on purpose. They WANTED you to know that Loki isn't okay. And a scene like this would get like what? idk 3-6 takes at a minimum, which means that they flimed this ON PURPOSE 3-6 times. Tom Hiddleston was instructed to do this ON PURPOSE. That guy who approaches Loki's back was told to do that ON PURPOSE. Loki was supposed to be shown to be a mess physically. Like. Then they go and KEEP doing this later, when Loki can't get into the car and can barely keep himself upright. Loki doesn't start to look "okay" until Germany and even then he's not doing amazing.

What's interesting to me, beyond the obvious implications toward bodily harm - torture! :) - is the timing. Loki immediately topples when Clint hands the Tesseract to Selvig. There's something about Clint doing that that seems to cause him physical pain. That could be a coincidence, and I bet it is because it's not brought up again in the movie that the Tesseract exchanging hands gives Loki physical pain, but it is interesting.

Another interesting point is that Clint looks away, Selvig doesn't care, but that sheild agent Immediately moves up to put his hand on Loki's back to support him. And Loki doesn't flinch. That always struck me as weird, right, because even people who don't have trauma flinch when someone touches their back and they weren't expecting it. And Loki clearly wasn't? So why didn't he twitch at least a little? Tom Hiddleston is too good of an actor for that to be a mistake.

So to me that means that Loki just... doesn't have feeling in his spine at that moment. Or he was in too much pain to even register it. Loki was clearly tortured with some type of heat. If you watch him in this scene he's displaying all the signs of heat exhaustion. So I kinda think that maybe Loki got burned so badly on his back before this happened that he just... doesn't feel anything anymore. It had to have been recent for walking to nearly send him toppling, but Loki's back is a source of issues for the entire movie.

That is why this scene is here from a directing perspective. to SET UP Loki's back problems. The extent of them are left vague, but I think when Tom Hiddleston and Joss Whedon sat down to talk about Loki for the Avengers, one of the things they must have agreed on was that Loki was not in good physical condition and they planned to show that THE ENTIRE MOVIE. I don't know if they talked about torture or Thanos, but they talked about SOMETHING.

But I just...idk. That guy grabs Loki's back to support him in an effort to help and it's just so interesting to me. Because how does the mind control WORK then? Selvig is obsessed with the Tesseract. He almost seems possessed by that rather than Loki. Clint goes completely silent and doesn't do anything except the mission. THIS GUY immediately comes to take care of Loki, and Loki himself is ruthlessly efficient with one goal in his mind. So it's interesting. Subtext! :D

So what do I think about this scene. I think that Loki was tortured and his back is giving out and I LOVE THIS SCENE BECAUSE IT IS SO DARK BUT TRYING NOT TO BE.

Thanos' immediate response to something not going his way is torture and he knows Loki. Knows him well enough to pick his brother out of a crowd in Infinity War and leave him alive until the end. Knows him well enough to make his death personal. Strangulation is a crime of passion. Thanos hurt Loki and he knew Loki, and the idea that Thanos made sure that Loki wouldn't see the torture coming - by doing it to his back/spine - is just an extra layer of awful. Thanos left Thor alive. On purpose. He could have killed him. He didn't.

That was Loki's punishment. Leaving Thor alone. Because Thanos knew that would hurt him the most.

But Thanos also chose to kill Loki, and in infintiny war, while hunting the stones, Thanos doesn't make any unnecessary bodies. Which to me, means that Thanos had to kill Loki because he saw Loki as a threat.

So anyway, somehow I'm talking about Loki and Thanos again, who are my favorite horrible duo and I love talking about them because their relationship is so so messed up. I wish that the Loki series had DONE something with Thanos and Loki, but they didn't. :/

But why Loki's back? Like Thanos started with Loki's head in the post-credits scene of Thor 1:

why did he move to Loki's back? Also the fact that Thanos was having Loki hunt down the Infinity Stones through astral projection and/or enchantment is just so messed up and I love it. Wish it had been explored because THIS ^^^ was the giant beast I wanted poked at in Loki season 1.

[crescentmel]

the problem is that i love sylvie to death and i adore her character so much but like whyyyy does this always have to end in a couple they’re better off the way they were in s1e3 i miss that friendship 🫠

[bubbles-is-hardcore]

Top 3 worst endings for season 2

In order of how much I’d hate it

1. Loki dies sacrificing himself to save the TVA/Multiverse with a goodbye kiss to Sylvie and a meaningful look to Mobius.

2. Mobius dies sacrificing himself to save the TVA/multiverse with either a confession to Loki (w/o a response a-la supernatural) or again just a meaningful look. Loki and Sylvie run off together.

3. They save the TVA but Mobius and Loki are permanently separated either because Mobius went back to his life on the timeline or he chooses to stay at the TVA while Loki and Sylvie run off together

[wumboot]

quick doodle because its officially GOW day :) happy ragnarok'n to all who practice

[heyaritou]

It's all fun at the seemingly harmless midgardian party until...

[hooliganarachnid]

I sincerely doubt lokius will ever be canon past this point BUT apparently they are supposed to show up in deadpool 3???? And honestly, it’s not in character for Wade Wilson to NOT comment on the weird vibes those two got going on. Oh yeah and Deadpool doesn’t have the budget to actually show supertime so it’s just Tom Hiddleston in the Loki costume wrapped up in green streamers. And no characters comment on it, least of all Loki. What do you mean? This is time itself?

Then later in the film there is a smash cut as deadpool explains that THAT setup was too much money for the amount of screen time so then whenever they are talking to Loki about the timeline problems it’s just Tom Hiddleston as himself knitting a green scarf, and Deadpool keeps making more timelines so more and more yarn keeps getting thrown at him.

“Keep knitting you beautiful beautiful man we need our fox crossover!!!”

*hair flip* “Who are you??? Why are you doing this?!!”

Mobius shows up in the background at one point just drinking coffee, bonus points if he very obviously is not wearing his own clothes.

[icanmakeusbothworse]

I’m gonna be so active for the next couple hours (I’m lying) but UGH they were so FLIRTY I love this for them they’re so silly. They’re literally simultaneously bickering and teasing each other like they’ve been married for a millennia and I love that for them

[crunchycrystals]

what if i just pretend like he gets something else to hold the branches together

[feral-sylki]

I love Sophia Di Martino’s interviews and stuff about the show, she clearly has such a deep enjoyment and understanding of her character (I need to find time to listen to that playlist she dropped everyone’s posts about it are making me so excited) but it’s interesting watching people’s reactions to her commenting that Sylvie and Loki’s relationship is a bit “weird” bc they’re the same person and like. I run a blog called “feral-sylki”. Obviously I ship them. I love the ship. And one of the reasons I love the ship is because it’s weird. I don’t think it’s perverse or anything, but it is weird, and I love that! I love getting to explore the dynamics of two variants of the same person! It’s classic sci-fi stuff that I adore, to go hey, wouldn’t it be crazy if we took this concept and ran away with it?

[single-snail]

the marvel intro for the finale should be only loki to make up for the fact he hasn’t been in it

[blue-kyber]

Loki becoming the heart of the tree of life, giving up everything, giving up his life, to sit at the core of time with those branches in his hands and tears in his eyes, choosing an eternity alone, bearing the burden of time so the people he loves can live.

He went from being a selfish narcissist wanting a throne for ultimate power out of greed and a sense of entitlement to rule, to a selfless hero who became the ultimate power in the universe on a throne with a life he never wanted out of love for his friends.

Loki's soul is stuck in that tree holding time together for eternity because of love.

He found his purpose. He's alone, he doesn't get to be with his friends which was what he wanted, but he came to terms with the fact that his purpose is a heavy burden of no comfort. His purpose is to hold the timeline together to keep them alive. And he sacrificed himself to do it.

That is one hell of a damned good character arc.

To be able to write something like that that rips peoples emotions apart and leaves them bloody and crying on the floor...

I am in shambles.

Friends, I am not ok. :(

[worstloki]

the idea that Sigyn was roped into marriage with Loki to settle him down but it was all actually them both getting away with marriage by making people think it's arranged seems appropriate on both their parts