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assemble-revengers · 3 years

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Nexus Split

**Contains spoilers for Loki**

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 2203

Prompt: “Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

Author’s Note: I woke up and chose violence today.

Time was hard to grasp before this whole mess began, but it at least had some structure regardless of how ethereal it seemed. There was structure and a time and place and you just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time so it seemed when you also made a move to snatch up the Tesseract the second you saw Loki move in New York. That’s how you got into this mess and honestly there were many things you had regretted initially. For instance, why couldn’t you have minded your own business?

Well, if you had you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet Loki, and at the moment? That felt worth more than anything. It hadn’t started that way -- the two of you were practically at each other’s throats and when you weren’t bickering between each other you were being confused by the politics of the TVA and time in general.

In a wild turn of events you became an unpaid intern all over again. You supposed it was better than dying or “being pruned”. You still were confused as ever by the lingo and even though you had tried your best to pay attention to the onboarding process, but frankly you were still wrapping your head around the prospect of the TVA in general. How had no one even considered this being a possibility? Where did these people come from? It seemed that it just...was? But if that was the case, why was there an onboarding process?

Miss Minutes was terrifying -- she was just so...eerie and popped up randomly and honestly you just wanted a nap. Or to wake up from this bizarre dream.

The worst part was the notion of running into other variants, namely the fact that a variant that had been targeting members of the TVA happened to be a Loki-variant.

“Wonderful,” you retorted, interrupting Mobius with disdain, “There’s another one of him.”

The aforementioned god was sitting across a table from you and you weren’t entirely sure how he was taking the whole thing. According to him, the tesseract was useless here. A paper weight. Another beyond weird thing that the TVA brought.

“We should team up,” a voice interrupted your spacing out and it took you a moment to realize that the voice belonged to Loki. And he was talking to you.

You blinked a few times incredulously, “You have been nothing but cruel to me since we met. Why would I ever help you?” Honestly, the audacity of men.

“I am sorry about that, by the way,” he answered, “I was going through something.”

You couldn’t help the laugh you let out, covering your mouth immediately to try to mute the sound and avoid any more attention. “Aw, that makes it all better.”

There was no reason to hide your sarcasm, and he knew that. You could tell from the way he blanched for a moment before resuming his composure, obviously trying to turn on some godly charm or something onto you, “I was. I truly am sorry.”

“Loki, you stole the Tesseract, tried to take over the world and brought a bunch of crazy alien things into New York City,” you listed, counting off the things on your fingers, “And now because you went after the stupid Tesseract again, with a room full of Avengers I might add, I cannot return to my life which wasn’t that impressive, but at this moment? I kind of miss it. So, no, I don’t accept your apology.” He was silent after that and you went back to your mind palace spiraling about the logistics of what was happening to you.

It was not a great day for you. Week? Hour? Time was weird. It was even more weird when you were suddenly having to do research into the Loki-variant-assassin. Going through files and files of different instances in time was tedious. It was interesting in that some of the things had already happened, were going to happen, and were happening in places you had never even heard of. It was during this that you and Loki had begun to work more collaboratively.

In fact, the moment you guys had made the connection that it was apocalypses? You taught the god of mischief the importance of a high five. Or rather, never leaving someone hanging because you chased him down, yelling at him until he returned the high five before you even allowed him to present your findings to Mobius. The bond continued when you both were treated like unhinged criminals or starved, ravenous animals by pretty much everyone other than Mobius who was...friendly as ever.

You did not have a lot of options in terms of trust. While Mobius seemed genuine, there was no way you could possibly know. The issue was that the only thing that was any level of normal in your eyes was Loki which was...laughable, but he was from your timeline. The two of you were in this together sort of because at this point you wanted to go home and it seemed he did too after the whole semantics of this whole thing. Or maybe he wanted to take over the TVA. Regardless, it gave you some hope that he might be kind and put you into your timeline where you belong.

The feelings came out of nowhere. In fact, you hadn’t even realized it happened until there was a chance for you both to chase after the Loki-variant (or Sylvie as you would learn later) and before Loki went through the portal, he reached a hand out for you, Mobius yelling and you found your feet moving on their own accord, turning to mouth ‘Sorry’ to Mobius before grabbing Loki’s hand and rushing through the portal.

Sylvie was interesting and endearing and was someone you instantly found yourself drawn to. You felt sympathetic to her story, and maybe that was dangerous. Dangerous, but gave you another sliver of hope despite the fact things were bleak. Very bleak. Being on Lamentis-1 about to explode and everyone die bleak. Despite this, the two of you sat and chatted in your booth at the bar while Loki got absolutely hammered and even began to softly serenade you in what you assumed was Asgardian (this was after he sung to the whole room) and you found yourself pulling him back down to the chairs and pulling him into a hug while you laughed.

“Loki, I have no idea what you’re saying,” you giggled, pulling away from him, “But I think you’ve had enough.”

“Darling, I think I’m just getting started,” he answered with the smoothness of butter on a hot pancake. You couldn’t help the burning of your ears and the rest of the blush that began to dance across your features. Sylvie coughed. Moment interrupted (Thankfully? You don’t know). Back to the business of the world ending and no way out. Maybe that’s what let all of you decide to unload tales of the past. Yours was boring and...uneventful comparatively which led you to remain relatively quiet as both Loki and Sylvie talked.

Hearing all of Sylvie’s plight and what brought her to that moment had both you and Loki feeling empathetic. You felt anger that this whole this was allowed and deemed ‘okay’ by the TVA. An entity that really had no checks and balances as far as you could see. You pretended to ignore Sylvie and Loki bonding. You felt your stomach tighten. Envy was ugly and green really was never your color.

But that triggered the TVA rolling up and taking the three of you back. You weren’t sure what you were expecting. You weren’t expecting yourself to start fighting. Your restraints, the situation, the fact you were separated from Sylvie and more importantly Loki. You were utterly alone in your cell, screaming for them to let you out. The person interrogating you entered, tried asking you questions that you just couldn’t hear. Your head was swimming and it was almost as if you were hearing things like you were underwater. Fight or flight and apparently your entire being chose to fight.

Per someone’s orders you were moved, you lit up the moment you saw Loki and soon you were joined by Sylvie. Your restraints were removed and your eyes began watering as you rushed to Loki’s side, grabbing his hand as he gave yours a reassuring squeeze, moving so that he was shielding you from the front. The next thing you knew and before you had a moment to process, Mobius was pruned in front of you and Loki moved to shield you further.

Surprisingly, you were not entirely useless in the fight that ensued, but couldn’t help but feel entirely out of your element. The closest you had ever been to being in a fight in the past was when you were five and some girl stole your crayons and had the nerve to try to eat them.

Your adrenaline was pumping when you turned to Loki a feeling like being shocked by a plug while also being burned by a pan that had been on the stove. You were confused, Loki was yelling something. You couldn’t hear. You reach for him, desperate to calm him down or maybe it was because you subconsciously knew what was happening and you were terrified. The hot, electric feeling spread across your body before what felt like you were dropped in ice cold water and suddenly...your eyes blinked awake. You weren’t at the TVA.

Instead, you found yourself on the run (you hated yourself for missing out on all that gym time because your cardio could use some work) from a cloud that ate things. You would learn that you were in The Void, the evil vacuum of the cloud was called Alioth, and that there were even more Loki variants. One was an alligator. He was your favorite.

Your Loki also turned up and you practically threw yourself into his arms in relief, “I thought I lost you, you idiot.”

“I could say the same to you, pet,” he responded, murmuring into the crook of your shoulder. Reunions had to be cut short after you introduced the other variants, (“And this Loki is an alligator! How cool is that! He’s my favorite of all of you, no offense.”) and now you were seeking shelter to hide from Alioth and...well survive you supposed.

President Loki and the other Lokis were...a lot. In fact, there were so many Lokis that you were beginning to get a tension headache trying to keep up with everything that was going on. Some of them seemed to recognize you, including President Loki that informed you that you were late and with the wrong people (“No? I don’t even know who you are?” “You will.”)

Reuniting with Sylvie and Mobius brought even more relief. Sylvie seemed to think she could enchant the Alioth. You protested quite a bit before she was able to convince you otherwise. There was a way out. You had a chance to go back to the TVA and sort things with Mobius. Maybe go back to where you belong. Maybe stay. You weren’t sure, but it seemed Loki, your-Loki was hesitating.

Mobius was opening the portal behind you to the TVA. You stood with your hand firmly within Loki’s, fingers interlaced as you bid Sylvie a small, quiet ‘good luck, you’ve got this’. You and Loki were right by the portal, a sliver from stepping in before Loki stops, pulling you so that you two were facing each other, your back to the portal.

“What’s wrong?” you ask concerned.

“I’m staying,” Loki affirms, “To help Sylvie, to...do this.”

“Okay,” you lament. You were staying too. You tried to move to leave the portal Loki gave Mobius a heartfelt hug, which ended up being a group hug since Loki wouldn’t let go of you. In fact, as soon as Mobius was released from the hug, you were engulfed into Loki’s arms where you practically melted. The hug ended far too soon, but Loki didn’t release you, holding your face in his hands as he pressed his forehead to yours. It made your heart warm and peace washed over you.

“Loki…” you sigh, feeling an entire lifetime of emotions flooding your system, “I…”

“Shh,” he cuts you off, “I know. I feel the same...but I can’t bear to hear it.”

“Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” You inquire, voice cracking. You felt frozen in place as panic began to bubble up under your skin.

“Because you’re not staying with me,” he murmurs weakly, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, “I love you, Y/N. Remember that, please.”

Before you could respond, you were shoved by a great force. You couldn’t even react as your grip was easily broken, your sense of balance knocked out from under you. Mobius had already stepped through the portal...surely it wasn’t still up? You landed on the ground, having been knocked off your feet, but you were no longer in the void.

You felt your heart shattering. You couldn’t even cry. He was gone.

#loki x you #mcu loki #loki x reader #loki x y/n #mcu x you #mcu imagine #mcu x reader

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twh-news · 3 years

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'Loki' Star Sophia Di Martino on the Season 1 Finale, Working With Jonathan Majors and What She Knows About Season 2

[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 1 finale of Loki, "For All Time. Always."]

Since her introduction at the end of Episode 2, Sophia Di Martino's depiction of Sylvie, the female variant of Loki introduced midway through her campaign of vengeance against the TVA, has been a defining aspect of Disney+'s Loki. And, as we learned in the season finale, the story of Loki isn't over yet — though what's in store is pretty nebulous, following Sylvie's betrayal of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after what was their first and what might be their last kiss.

In a one-on-one conversation with Di Martino via Zoom, Collider asked about working with Jonathan Majors in his MCU debut, what it was like having both fight scenes and more romantic scenes with Hiddleston, and of course what the conversations around Season 2 have been like.

Collider: To start off, when did you have a sense that there would be a second season of Loki?

DI MARTINO: I mean, there'd been rumors for a while, but I still haven't heard officially if it's happening, like officially, officially. I only know what I know through reading the news. And I know, because you guys know, because of the tag at the end of Episode 6.

I was going to say, that feels like a pretty official thing, but it doesn't sound like anyone has shown up at your doorstep with paperwork.

DI MARTINO: No, nothing. Nothing like that.

Now, does that mean that when you watched it, were you given a full script of the sixth episode?

DI MARTINO: Yes. We got one episode at a time. So I wasn't given Episode 6 until like midway through shooting Episode 5.

So in that situation, what was your initial reaction to reading, especially like the last, say, 10 pages or so.

DI MARTINO: Just like, holy crap. This is massive. How exciting. Woof. And then also, "who's going to play He Who Remains, I need to know because it's such an amazing part and such incredible speeches he has. I wanted to imagine who would play him, but I couldn't have ever imagined the way Jonathan would have done it. So brilliant.

In terms of working with Jonathon Majors, what was that experience like? Just because I feel like he brought such a different energy to the role than I think anyone would have ever expected.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. He just exploded onto that set with so much energy and nothing like we could ever have imagined. It was a lot of fun and he was brilliant. You know, people were saying this is going to be something really special, whispering behind the camera. He was so eccentric and fun and kind of terrifying. Very easy for Tom and I to just sit and listen to him for a few days. Very entertaining.

Yeah. In rewatching the episode, it's still so striking to me the way that, after Sylvie stabs him, he makes barely any noise.

DI MARTINO: Because he knows that it's a possibility, I think. So maybe he's had a long time to sort of imagine every scenario. Yeah. It's kind of creepy, isn't it? The way he does that.

When you were breaking down the script for Episode 6, were you talking about Kang the Conqueror? Were you talking about the comic book backstory there?

DI MARTINO: I don't remember talking about the comic book backstory of Episode 6. But you know, to be honest, it was all very quick. Especially with Episode 6, we got the script pretty late in the day. So there wasn't that much mining to be done, to be honest. I'm not sure about Jonathan's experience, but for me, it was sort of pretty late in the day, just in the case of learning my lines and trying to make sure I didn't mess that up.

Of course — and it makes sense in terms of where your character is coming from.

DI MARTINO: Exactly. So I just need to know at that point, I just need to know what's going on for Sylvie.

In that case, in your head, what was going on for Sylvie in those scenes?

DI MARTINO: Oh my goodness. So much. I mean, so much happens in like 30 seconds. Doesn't it?

Definitely. But even before the final sequences, it's very dialogue-heavy and there's a lot of listening. In playing that, what was important for you?

DI MARTINO: To really listen and to really take on board what he was saying to us at that point, and then to choose not to believe him. For Sylvie, she's just on a revenge mission from the minute she walks into that building, she knows that she wants to kill someone. When they're in the elevator with him, she's already taking swipes at him. She just wants to get him with her machete. And I think she's just so laser-focused on that goal, that he could have said anything to her and her priority wouldn't have changed.

So you don't think there was ever a moment in that whole sequence where Sylvie was tempted, not tempted by the possibilities presented, but tempted to believe him?

DI MARTINO: I think there's a moment that he really pushes Sylvie's buttons when he's talking about you have been on a long journey and it's been really tough for you, hasn't it? And you can't trust anyone. You think you can trust him. And he starts playing mind games with them, playing them off against each other. And I think at that point, he plants a seed of doubt in her mind about Loki, but I think her mission to want to kill him doesn't change. She's absolutely married to that idea. And that feeling is so strong that she chooses it over Loki in the end.

From your perspective, where does that come from?

DI MARTINO: Just revenge. Like having her life taken away from her, her life ruined, spending her whole life on the run, this sort of anger. And if you want to think of it in these terms, her "glorious purpose." I went there.

I don't think you got to say those words during the show, so I'm glad you got this moment now.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. I'm saying it as much as I can now.

Later in the episode, this wasn't the first time you had a fight sequence with Tom Hiddleston, but did it feel different from the episodes you shot earlier?

DI MARTINO: Yeah, it did. This scene was far more emotive. There was a lot more going on for both of them. It was the breakup scene. It was the fight that you have when you are leaving someone. And it's so painful because you care about this person, but you just can't be with them for whatever reason. And that's how that felt.

Which is so interesting because of course what happens at the end of it is that there's a kiss and it's given the whole big Hollywood romantic music treatment.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. I mean, but that often happens when you're splitting up with someone, doesn't it? Just one last time, a sweet goodbye. It's kind of like a goodbye kiss in a way.

Of course. But it was also, unless I'm missing something, the first kiss.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. It was. And it had been building up for a long, long time. I think it was ultimately a goodbye kiss and a clap away for Sylvie to physically turn him around so she could get hold of that TemPad and zap him back to the TVA.

Yeah, of course. In terms of that, in general, I feel like there's a temptation to just kind of look at the Loki and Sylvie relationship as a straightforward romance, which of course it is very much not. From your perspective, what was it about that you worked hard to lean into.

DI MARTINO: I think it's about sort of self-love and acceptance as well as being a romance story. And for Sylvie, she's sort of shedding everything she doesn't need before she gets to He Who Remains so she can kill him. She gets rid of her cape, she gets rid of her horns. She ultimately gets rid of Loki. It's just not serving her in that moment. And it's so cold to think of it that way. But I think that's what was happening. That and the fact that she wanted him to be safe. So, she's kind of saving him by pushing him through that time door as well.

And if you're going to think of it as like an exploration of self-acceptance and self-love, that's also interesting because she showed sort-of, I don't know, getting rid of a part of herself that isn't serving her anymore at the same time as keeping it safe.

It's really interesting to hear you talk about it that way, because it makes me think about how the one thing that came out, especially I think in Episode 5, is the idea that knowing Sylvie made Loki a better person in some fundamental ways. And I'm wondering about the opposite of that. What did knowing Loki mean for Sylvie?

DI MARTINO: I think it's slightly different for Sylvie. I don't know if he's made her a better person. I don't know if she's allowed herself to change yet. Loki's been quite brave and he's changed. He's a changed person by the end of that series. Sylvie is still hell-bent on her mission and she still chooses it over caring about someone else. So maybe she's yet to make that change.

So in talking about the scene like it's a breakup... Season 1 ends with the characters being very separated and of course, Season 2 is very much a nebulous thing at the moment, but people break up all the time and get back together. In your head, do you see there being still some sort of future for the characters as a couple?

DI MARTINO: It would definitely be fun to see them in the same room together again, wouldn't it? I'm fascinated. Yeah. After that, I'm fascinated to see what Loki has to say to Sylvie after doing that to him. Who knows? Never say never. I'm really excited to see what they come up with because it could go in so many different directions, but surely they have to come face to face again at some point.

It's like that awkward party after you've broken up with someone and you see them again. And that first conversation, whether it's in public or not, it's sorts of awful, but such a relief once it's been done.

Something that's been kind of a topic of discussion when it comes to talking about romance on screen is a quality that a lot of leading men have — for lack of a better term, the ability to give their love interest a Look. I've consulted with others and we feel like Tom Hiddleston has the look or has the ability to deliver the look. And I'm curious what it's like to be on the other side of it.

DI MARTINO: Tom's a very charming man and he could definitely make people go weak at the knees by just giving them a look. My reaction to that is always to sort of make a joke and run away. So there was probably a lot of that on set, breaking the tension by being a goofball.

I just had to react as Sylvie. And Sylvie's got these walls up. She doesn't let anyone in and that includes Loki. So sure there's a sort of, oh, this person is not as I thought they were. I'm warming to them. But Sylvie's not an easy nut to crack.

Is it fun getting to play that kind of strength?

DI MARTINO: Yeah. It's awesome because when her defenses do come down and she's vulnerable, it's really interesting. And you start to see all of the stuff that's buried underneath and that's what makes her a great character to play.

So, how do you feel about there being a second season? Do you feel like if there hadn't been a second season, you would have gotten the closure you wanted to from the story?

DI MARTINO: Probably not. I want to know what happens just like everyone else. I'm super excited and I just can't wait to see which direction they're going because it could be infinite directions.

Do you have a sense that there might've been different aspects to it, had COVID not been an issue?

DI MARTINO: I think COVID actually probably made it a lot better. We had a five months hiatus and Kate and the producers and writers worked a lot on episodes five and six during that time. And as far as I've heard, a lot changed for the better. They could rewatch what we'd already shot and just carry on working on the scripts and developing them. So I think it was great to have that time actually, as awful in most ways it was, that was the silver lining of it.

Very. Yeah. So looking forward, I imagine if there's a second season, you're on board if you get asked.

DI MARTINO: Hopefully. Hope so.

By the way, I was really excited to see the story about how your costume was designed to allow you to breastfeed during shooting. That seems like it was a really special detail.

DI MARTINO: Yeah, really, really. I'm just so grateful that that happened. It made my life so much easier and it was important to me that I carried on doing that. So it was just the little things and it's just saved a lot of time. Practically, it was a godsend.

Of course. So looking forward, what's next for you?

DI MARTINO: Lots of interviews. Lots of being able to talk about episode six finally, and then, who knows? An infinite possibility. So yeah, I'm excited to see what happens and to see people's reactions to the series because people are still catching up. People are still watching and rewatching it and probably go on.

Yeah. I mean, I imagine that you're going to be cosplayed at various conventions over the next several decades probably.

DI MARTINO: Do you think? That blows my mind.

I mean, cosplaying has a long legacy to it.

DI MARTINO: It's so cool. The way that people are already making Sylvie horns and crafting them from scratch and spraying them. And there's one woman that's just sewn a whole suit together and it looks exactly like my costume. It's so impressive, the love and attention people put into it.

Are you getting an action figure?

DI MARTINO: I don't know. Hopefully. What would I do with it? Maybe I could use it as a cake topper. Who knows? But that would be a very cool thing to have, wouldn't it?

#loki #loki series #sophia di martino #sylvie #interview #article #collider #spoilers #loki series spoilers #loki spoilers

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pla-teau · 3 years

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LOKI EPISODE FOUR : THE NEXUS EVENT

GIF CREDIT TO: @luke-skywalker SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

SYLVIE | there's a lot to process in the short time we get of young sylvie. it didn't seem like she was doing anything that caused a nexus event. when we see her, she's simply playing with her toys on asgard. sylvie asks about what her crime was later on with renslayer but it's never clear cut as to what she did. the only thing we know is that she escaped from renslayer which is why she's so hell bent on capturing and pruning sylvie. i have a certain thought on this later.

WE SURVIVE | the words loki tells sylvie just when she’s given up and accepted that she’ll die on lamentis. that’s what makes loki a loki - yes, he fails over and over again but each and every time we’ve witnessed his ‘death’ he comes back or when things seem to possibly end for his story, loki still manages to survive.

LAMENTIS | based on the namesake of the episode, this is the nexus event that caused them to be found but what was it? personally, from watching the episode and keeping in mind that this is 2012!loki, i think that the nexus event was hope and acceptance between them. i think there’s genuine hope despite being stuck on a doomed planet about to become smaller flying rocks in space. in every apocalypse so far, we’ve seen that basically anticipating and accepting the end of the world doesn’t cause a breach in the timeline because what is there to hope for? it’s all going to be destroyed anyway no matter the little fake hope you have inside yourself telling you that everything is going to be alright. loki and sylvie up to this point haven’t had that kind of hope before ever in their lives. with the acceptance part, i think it's self-acceptance and acceptance of their roles in the universe. roll with me here, loki throughout the mcu has never accepted his fate or what's supposed to happen; he's always fighting it and trying to come out on top as a ruler of people whether it's earth, asgard and sakaar. he doesn't accept to not be a ruler or on the losing side of a battle against earth's mightiest heroes and at odds with the other marvel characters. he doesn't fully accept himself either because he didn't know he was adopted until at least one thousand years later and he couldn't accept that he wasn't destined for something other than a shadow or simply his title as the god of mischief. it made a lot more sense in my head tbh. a lot of people freaking out about this moment being loki falling in love with sylvie/himself but i don't think that's it. loki for once genuinely cares about someone else and i think it's platonic cause while i have little faith in the mouse house giving us more than confirmation that loki is bisexual, i don't think they'd make loki fall in love with himself.

LOKI'S TIME CELL | a nostalgic reveal we get is sif in this looped time cell plucked from loki's memory. apparently, he cut off a chunk of her hair because he thought it would be funny. in typical sif fashion, she proceeds to beat him up in retaliation as well of sharing some biting words. it's interesting how after a few loops and knees to the nuts, loki apologizes to sif about the prank and admits that he's afraid of being alone and acts narcissistic and like a pompous asshole if you will because of this fear. i think this is a bigger break through of his character than the one we saw in the first episode because he's admitting it to someone from his life that he highly respected but acted like a child to her to get her attention even if it was negative. i wish for more vulnerable loki moments because it continues to prove that loki isn't just the god of mischief, he can be more (as thor said in ragnarok).

MOBIUS VS LOKI | honestly, this whole interrogation scene screamed mobius being jealous of loki making pals with sylvie and i loved it. what i like is that mobius does air the sentiment that we all have in our heads after realizing that loki and sylvie did somehow click to create the nexus event. it's narcissism to the max. again, i think loki truly cares for sylvie in a platonic or even a familial sense since they both don't make connections too often with others (romantic or platonic).

HUNTER B-15 | i was wondering what happened with her after her run in with sylvie at the roxxcart supermarket. clearly, sylvie unlocked a memory within her subconscious as well and is starting to doubt herself. we don't see what memory of hers it was but it's enough to make her break protocol and go against the TVA later on in the episode. in conclusion, we have no choice but to stan this queen. also seems like she wasn't reset in that final battle so we'll hopefully see her in the next episode.

RAVONNA & MOBIUS | their friendship is put to the test in this episode. while being of a higher position than mobius, ravonna does seem to care deeply for mobius. she said so herself, she wants to protect mobius...but from the truth instead of the false danger about sylvie that she's filling his head with. ravonna clearly knows a lot more than she's letting on and that the TVA is an elaborate lie. i think she wants to protect mobius from the truth because she doesn't seem to have other close friendships like the one with him. it's also clear she cares for him when he's pruned (supposedly!) by another hunter. also, there's this other analyst/field agent mobius always brings up when we see them in her office so i wonder if it's someone who also knows about the grand lie the TVA is or is even some alternate variant of kang the conqueror who we know is supposed to be introduced in the third ant-man movie. it'd be interesting to see if kang is teased one way or another in the final two episodes.

DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU DESERVE TO BE ALONE? | the question mobius poses to loki when he starts to believe that they may be telling the truth. it's an interesting question to pose because we've been hearing it and have seen it throughout the mcu with loki. the time loop loki's stuck in, sif tells him that he'll always be alone. throughout the mcu, loki has been alone in his plans and mischief despite being surrounded by his family, his future enemies, and his people. loki has known nothing but being on his own, being his own island of chaos. as sylvie put it earlier, they're a product of the universe trying to break free, chaos. mobius knows that this nexus event has something to do with the two of them, for once, accepting that they're not alone or that they're not just a cosmic mistake, there's hope for them to be whatever they want and not just confined to their mischievous roles.

RAVONNA & SYLVIE | in the elevator, sylvie confronts ravonna about her crime as a child. it's something everyone wants to know, what does a young loki have to do to be charged and reset by the TVA? ravonna seems to know that this something she can leverage and torture sylvie with so she claims to not remember. sylvie says that it must've been important and severe enough to mess up the sacred timeline. maybe she wasn't supposed to know that she was adopted until later in her life like our loki. she's supposed to be causing trouble and be this terrible villain but what if with sylvie knowing her true parentage at such an early age, she learned to accept herself/identity and made peace with it. that's another thing that could've caused the nexus event between the two, they had found self-acceptance even at just the brink of death. maybe they're supposed to do so but later in their lives in their own timelines so that's why it's enough to destroy the TVA as mobius hinted at earlier. happy that sylvie decided to keep ravonna for information so i expect the next episode to have them in ravonna's office or still in the timekeeper chambers as ravonna tells us what is going on.

THE TIMEKEEPERS | when sylvie beheads the central timekeeper, we learn that they're mindless androids. it never ends, there's no throne to sit upon after killing them so it seems. it was all just a giant hoax but this further feeds into my personal theory that kang, one way or another, is behind all of this. what i find really interesting is how the other two timekeepers laugh when sylvie beheads one. whoever is behind controlling the fake androids, they have a way to see what is happening and communicate in real time with the TVA agents and variants. hopefully in the final two episodes we see what the hell is going on and how the TVA came to be and why.

LOKI POST CREDIT SCENE | so apparently, loki isn't reset or something of the sorts. he's actually sent to another world. i believe this is an alternate new york where we'll see president loki as you can see the remains of the old avengers tower. this makes me think about mobius' fate to be similar to loki's; possibly sent to either the same place or a similar world. we see three human new lokis here. from the credits, we have classic loki (richard e. grant), kid loki (jack veal), and boastful loki (deobia oparei). apparently there's also a crocodile!loki and i'm here for it. can't wait to see how our favorite variant gets out of it next week!

oh god, this was so rusty and unorganized but hope if whoever reads this can somewhat understand the points i'm trying to get across.

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andguesswhat · 3 years

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The Fool on the Hill - Chapter 4

The secret behind the Two Gentlemen of Verona and the beginning of Lokius...

Their story on the Archive

Between the shelves

Tom’s fingers slid over the spines of the books along the shelves.

MayaAngelou...

William Blake...

Robert Frost...

Ah there we are Shakespeare's poems...

He took an edition of Shakespeare’s poems before 1640 out of the shelf and sat cross legged on the floor.

Camera and lights had to be relocated for the shoot in the library and Tom thought he might spend the break doing something useful.

“Sir?” he heard Owen’s voice imitating a stern security guard, “I’m afraid reading on the floor is prohibited. I have to ask you to get up immediately.”

Tom looked up to a smiling Owen and smiled back. “Why don’t you come down?”

And he did. Owen sat down, leaning at the book shelf opposite, his legs drawn up, smiling at Tom.

“So Shakespeare again?” his head pointed to the book Tom held in his hand.

Tom laughed softly. “Yes, the conversation yesterday got me thinking again.”

Owen nodded and smiled in amusement. “Maybe I get myself a copy of Hamlet to read before bed. What do you think?”

“Good choice, good choice,” Tom reassured him.

And he couldn’t help smiling either. They had been doing this a lot lately. Talking and constantly smiling at each other.

Owen leaned forward to search for the right book, his fingers now also sliding over the spines.

“Ah look at that!” He pulled out a copy of Two gentlemen of Verona and waved it in his hand.

“I read this in college. I always thought: this is about two bisexual guys, right? And the teacher was like,” he mimicked an older Brit, “oh no, this is Shakespearian English, it’s a bit different than you are used to, I guess. He was from England and wanted to show me that I as a stupid kid from Texas could not understand Shakespeare...”

“And oh how wrong they were about you...” Tom remarked and hoped, it didn’t sound like he was blushing.

He imagined Owen in high school and how he got underestimated just because of the way he was. Tom certainly would have loved being Owen’s friend back then.

Owen opened the book. “Aaah, I remember it now. Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus:

Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.” He looked at Tom. “That already sounded somewhat gay to me. All these sweet words they have for each other…”

Tom’s heart began to pound. He had been looking for the right moment to tell Owen.

He had talked with Owen about Loki before they began shooting and of course he had mentioned that Loki was bisexual. Owen had been surprised but not in a bad way. He had said something like “Okay, good for him.”

So Tom could assume that Owen wasn’t homophobic. But still, what would he say when he knew Tom was bisexual himself? And Tom even wondered about Owen himself?

Tom had the feeling that Owen was flirting with him. But Tom had flirted with his straight friends, too, so that could mean absolutely nothing. And he would hate it for the flirting to stop just because Owen was suddenly insecure about knowing Tom was bi.

So Tom just said, “Look, this is interesting as well,” and showed Owen the book with the poems. “These are the poems by Shakespeare. And this is an edition with the original text, where a lot of poems are directed to… men. And later they were published again by a publicist called John Benson. But he changed most of the pronouns from he and him to she and her.”

“Wow…that’s… outrageous! I didn’t even know that... You really know a lot of that stuff. Not just Hamlet.” Owen smiled at him. “Maybe we should start a new lecture, the Shakespeare lecture.”

Tom laughed in embarrassment. He knew he was a nerd and got on people’s nerves with this whole stuff.

“You know, I always could kinda relate to Shakespeare somehow.” Owen said, looking at him, intently. “I always felt we shared some similar… feelings. It felt somehow familiar.”

Tom felt a little dizzy hearing this.

He still could be misinterpreting this.

But he had heard Owen say that and he thought he just had to act on it.

So he looked a bit left and right to see if there was anyone near them and said, “I know what you mean, I always felt the same. Because he wrote for both, you know. For women and for men.”

He cried out inside. Why was this still so hard to just say it? He was 39 for Christ’s sake.

But he probably got it right after all, because Owen nodded slowly, his face all soft, his smile reassuring, knowing.

“It was nice, by the way, there at the table. I loved that," Owen said after a little pause. "That Loki would sleep in front of Mobius.”

Tom became a little embarrassed. “I just felt that it would fit. Because he trusts Mobius. That’s new for him. And there’s a scene later on with Sylvie where he says that he can’t sleep around people he can’t trust. So… I wanted this to match. I’m glad Kate went along with it.”

The look that Owen gave him was kind of mischievous…

“I think we should talk about the relationship between Loki and Mobius a bit more… dig a bit deeper. Because I think there is a lot to show that’s not necessarily in the script. You know I was lying in my bed yesterday, imagining Mobius lying in his bed, thinking about Loki. Yes, he’s obsessed with him but I think there’s so much more. He really cares for him, you know.”

And the way Owen said “he cares for him”, God, Tom’s heart immediately began racing again. And he thought he would burst. He felt so much joy and so much love and so much excitement that he was probably grinning like a clown.

Yes, they already talked about the relationship between Loki and Mobius a lot, how much these character could give to each other… but they hadn’t taken it to another level… yet. Honestly, when he first read the script, he didn’t see it either. But with Owen now here on set… it was getting better every day.

“I’d love that,” he said softly.

And Owen just smiled at him. And then something happened that Tom hadn’t expected. Owen leaned his head back on the shelf and began to talk quietly.

“You know, there was this boy. Charly. We were best friends, from a young age, you know sandbox friends. And we were doing everything together. And one day when we were like 9 or 10 or something he asked me ‘Should we kiss?´ like he would ask me `Wanna go for a ride?´, as if this was just something you just do with a best friend. So we kissed.” Owen smiled in memory of this. “And it was nice… It felt good… So now and then we would make out… And… a few years later he would ask me `Should be jerk off?´ and I again was like ´Why not´… so we jerked off together” He shook his head as if he himself couldn’t believe that really had happened. “So until we were 18 we pretty much did everything one could do in this… area. We had girlfriends from time to time. We were crazy about them. But with Charly… it felt always different, more like coming home, something you could always go back to. It was comforting. And all the time it felt like it was the most natural thing in the world.” He sighed and looked at the floor, lost in thoughts. “If there hadn’t been the people to tell you otherwise…”

Tom didn’t know how to breathe, didn’t know what to say. He was so overwhelmed about Owen’s endearing story, and the sadness behind it. And that he had shared it with him….

“TOOOM? OWEN??” Lea, the production assistant, was searching for them and calling their names until she finally found them between the shelves. “How should I find you here?” she reprimanded them. “It’s all set up!”

“Sorry…” Tom and Owen answered simultaneously and helped each other get up.

Owen straightened himself and turned to Tom.

“Meet me at section F for Fitzgerald at the next break?”

Tom laughed softly. “Sure!”

And while he said this, his heart fluttered in his chest excited about what would happen in section F.

#hiddlewow #widdlewow #rpf #loki fanfiction #widdlewow fanfiction #the fool on the hill #chapter 4 #loki series #tom hiddleston/owen wilson #tom hiddleston #owen wilson

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nymph1e · 3 years

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I've been wondering if where Sylvie and Loki diverge, was the decision to "become a girl". It's the obvious difference between Sylvie and Loki (with another potential being when Sylvie was told she was adopted), and I'm sure a lot of people believe that this is where Syvie becomes a variant.

So if this is the case, and Sylvie diverged when she decided to explore her gender, it would give interesting implications to the idea that Marvel/Disney execs = time Keepers.

Hear me out:

Clearly the whole meta of this show is about free will. The Time Keepers decide for EVERYONE in the universe what they are destined to do, and force it into fruition. It kind of reminds me of content creators who have a very solid idea of who their character are - or who they aren't, following their story down the set-in-stone canon.

What if the time Keepers, like Disney, decided that Loki had to be outwardly cis. That that was Loki's path, even if I didn't fit in with who he was/his comic counterpart. And so any version of Loki that was in some way outwardly queer was struck down - until now. In this show, something happened to allow Loki to be outwardly queer. The timelines diverged, forced by a form of Loki who wanted free will. And now Loki is allowed to be who they are.

I could be talking out my arse but, like, I just think it's neat.

#loki #loki series

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notallthosewho-wanderarelost · 3 years

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Since it’s Tuesday and we get Loki 1x05 tomorrow and then I’m seeing Black Widow the day after, and I guess I’m doing these now, some thoughts on Loki 1x04.

Hopefully this will be a shorter post due to me not knowing wtf is going on. This show is so chaotic and it’s perfect but that makes trying to predict it impossible. How VERY LOKI OF IT.

NOPE, NOPE THIS IS NOT A SHORTER POST, I have no idea what is going on plot wise but this episode gave me a lot of character stuff to talk about apparently.

Alright, let me get the big one out of the way. I’ve already said this in various places, mostly tags, but if I’m gonna make this post it’s gotta be here. I’m uncomfortable with Loki/Sylvie being romantic. Would prefer for Marvel to stay away from selfcest. PLEASE. I’m kind of hoping and wondering if it’s a fakeout for a reveal that Loki has finally learned to love or at least accept himself through his care of and admiration for Sylvie, which would be VERY Agent of Asgard-esque and I can see it being very probable.

I think giving Loki a love interest of any kind was always going to be difficult to pull off, but especially Loki as he is at the point in time when the show finds him- fresh off his attempted takeover of Earth and probably still deeply reeling from the revelation of his adoption and also likely mentally affected by any torture and/or mental manipulation Thanos might have done on him. Loki’s self-loathing is probably still close to an all-time high here and he’s questioning who he even is. I’m not saying that you have to love yourself before you can love someone else- I don’t think that at all; in fact I think loving someone else would probably encourage someone to value themselves more- but Loki as he is here I think would need to work through some of his own issues before he could get involved with anyone else. I think that Loki would need to learn to love himself first, to accept that he’s worthy of love, before he could genuinely fall in love with anyone else. (Remember this, I’ll come back to it.)

I got major sibling vibes from Loki and Sylvie on Lamentis. Like I said last post, they felt like alternate universe twins to me. They’re the same person from different universe, but also very much not the same- I feel like twins is the closest description? I can admittedly be pretty awful at picking up romantic vibes when I’m not expecting them, but I did not get romance vibes at all.

I also feel kind of annoyed that we would never be having this conversation or having this as a canonical ship option if Sylvie hadn’t been female. Loki is now officially canonically bi, (which means Sylvie is too btw) but in comics Loki is both bi and also genderfluid. Lady Loki is just Loki when Loki is identifying as female. So having Loki fall in love with a female version of himself feels both unnecessarily heteronormative and kind of...awkward in terms of 616!Loki’s genderfluidity, to put it lightly. (Note: I am not genderfluid, this is just my opinion, please prioritize actual genderfluid people’s opinions on the subject over mine.)

That said, after I finished the episode I was genuinely confused if they were actually going there and had to go look up interviews to see what the Loki team was saying about it. I found this interview with head writer Michael Waldron, also featuring quotes from director Kate Herron and from Tom Hiddleston. Relevant quotes below:

“That was one of the cruxes of my pitch [for the series], that there was going to be a love story,” head writer Michael Waldron explains to Marvel.com. “We went back and forth for a little bit about, like do we really want to have this guy fall in love with another version of himself? Is that too crazy? But in a series that, to me, is ultimately about self-love, self-reflection, and forgiving yourself, it just felt right that that would be Loki's first real love story.”

Loki reassures her that while they might lose, they don’t die — they survive. He goes on to call Sylvie “amazing” for how she almost took down the TVA on her own, and it’s clear from the look on his face that even though they’ve only been together a short while, Loki’s already come to admire and respect her. As the moon literally crumbles around them, Sylvie places a hand on Loki’s arm, and that’s when it happens: A branch on the Sacred Timeline. These two Lokis are having a moment they were never supposed to have, which as Mobius puts it, is “pure chaos.”

“The look that they share, that moment, [it started as] a blossoming friendship,” continues Waldron. “Then for the first time, they both feel that twinge of, ‘Oh, could this be something more? What is this I'm feeling?’ These are two beings of pure chaos that are the same person falling in love with one another. That's a straight-up and down branch, and exactly the sort of thing that would terrify the TVA.”

...

“Who’s a better match for Loki than himself?” director Kate Herron chimes in. “The whole show is about identity. It's about him, and he is on a very different path, and he is on a different journey. He sees things in Sylvie that he is like, ‘Oh, I've been there. I know what you feel.’ But she's like, ‘Well, I don't feel that way.’ And I think that was the kind of fun thing about it. She is him, but she's not him. They've had such different life experiences. So just from an identity perspective, it was interesting to dig into that.”

“When Loki meets Sylvie, he's inspired solely by curiosity,” reveals Hiddleston. “He wants to talk to her and understand her and try to discern what was similar about their experiences, and what was different. He keeps asking her questions because he wants to see if his experience was also her experience. I think he realizes, and she realizes, that while they're the same, they're not the same.”

Aside from the parts where Michael Waldron says “...have this guy fall in love with another version of himself...” and “the same person falling in with another version of one another,” everything they talk about in this article could be read as Loki and Sylvie caring for each other in a way that’s not necessarily romantic. Waldron even says that the series is specifically about self-love and forgiving yourself.

(Coming back to the thing from earlier about Loki needing to love himself now.) The way I’d read Loki and Sylvie’s relationship, especially from Loki’s side since we know more of his history, is that this is the first time that either of them actually cares about themselves. Because of their trust in and their love for each other, they’re each able to see themselves as a person worthy of love. I think that’s what the Nexus Event was. I think that’s why Loki and Sylvie’s moment of connection destabilized the timeline. Because Loki’s self-loathing is a deep root of his villainy, and the sacred timeline needs Loki to be a villain, two versions of Loki feeling self-worth, at the same time and place, created a HUGE nexus event. Loki even says it himself in the first episode: he doesn’t enjoy hurting people, he does it because (he feels) he has to, in a desperate play for control. He lashes out and hurts people because he thinks it’s the only way for him to have some control over things.

What Loki starts to speak to Sylvie at the end, he says, “This is new for me,” and references the nexus event on Lamentis. We never get to hear what it is that’s new for him. The episode sets it up to make us think that Loki’s about to tell Sylvie that he’s in love with her. But I think (or hope) that he was about to say something more along the lines of how the time he spent getting to know Sylvie on Lamentis helped him learn to care about himself and see his own self worth. That’s certainly a new feeling for him, since Loki seems to have always been an outsider and been looked down upon. And actually saying out loud that he’s starting to gain a sense of self worth would definitely be new for him. Loki knows that he and Sylvie will figure this out because he’s figured out the nexus event on Lamentis- that when they accept themselves and their own self worth, they can do pretty much anything.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that we never actually hear from Loki himself that he’s in love with Sylvie. We only hear it from Mobius, who’s feeling pretty betrayed by Loki and uses the entire concept to write Loki off as a huge narcissist. That way, he won’t feel as bad about Loki betraying him, or about sticking Loki in a time loop jail. Not that Loki would be the type to shout any romantic feelings to the world, especially in this situation, but the way he kept denying it didn’t seem like it was something he had to lie about.

This episode also called Loki a narcissist a lot; I assume to set up the “reveal” of his feelings for Sylvie and explain why he would fall in love with an alternate version of himself. But while Loki is many things and sure has a lot of issues, I do NOT think narcissism is one of them. When the time loops really start to get to him, he says to Sif: “I crave attention, because I’m a narcissist. And I suppose it’s because I’m scared of being alone.” But that second sentence completely contradicts the whole idea of narcissism! According to a quick google, the definition of “narcissist” is “a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.” But Loki is the exact opposite. He has such a low opinion of himself that he acts out to get attention, because he’s so used to being overshadowed, overlooked and alone that he’s afraid that if he doesn’t do things for attention then nobody will give him any. He can be arrogant, yes, but even a lot of that stems from well-earned confidence. Loki is very talented magically and is used to being the smartest person in the room. He knows what he’s good at. But he sure isn’t attention-seeking just for its own sake. Any narcissism he’s displayed, he’s done since becoming a “villain” in Thor, and it’s actually been a mask to cover up his massive inferiority complex.

I also think it’s definitely worth mentioning that when Loki calls himself a narcissist, he’s repeating what Mobius said to him earlier. Loki clearly does care about Mobius and his opinion of him and feels bad about how things have fallen out with him. He’s also been through the time loop dozens of times now, and there’s a reason the TVA picked that memory. Because what Sif says to Loki really reflects his deepest fear. He doesn’t want to be alone, but he has such little love for himself that he might very well think he deserves to be. Loki’s emotionally exhausted at that point and just wants things to stop.

Okay. I think that covered most of my character analysis of the episode. I have some theories about Sylvie and the Time Keepers/TVA, etc, but they won’t be anywhere near as long as THAT^ was.

To start at the beginning of the episode: Sylvie’s backstory is SO SAD. I want to hug her. She spent almost her entire life on the run, growing up and living in apocalypses so the TVA wouldn’t catch her again. She didn’t deserve any of that and I’m so upset on her behalf.

Especially because as I said in another post, I think that the reason Sylvie got taken by the TVA was because she was never going to be a villain. Sylvie was kind and wanted to be heroic in the clip we see of her as a child, and she knew she was adopted. She was never going to be the Loki the TVA needed her to be for the Sacred Timeline because nothing would have ever pushed her to do what our Loki did.

The scene with Sylvie and B-15 was so good. Sylvie was kind to B-15, because her natural instinct is to be kind, and I have so many feelings about that. I love Sylvie. And then B-15 coming to the rescue to uncollar Sylvie and Loki and give Sylvie her sword was EPIC. She’s so cool.

Small aside, I got emotional seeing Asgard again in Sylvie’s flashback. I miss Asgard. :(

Also, if a kid can escape the TVA just by biting the agent holding her, the TVA have really got to step up their game. That’s kind of pathetic. Good for Sylvie though, that was very clever of her. The most juvenile yet effective tactic.

The Time Keepers being fake robots was an excellent twist, and one that I kind of saw coming as soon as they didn’t show Ravonna’s conversation with them earlier in the episode. It immediately made me feel like there were no Time Keepers at all. (And I was wondering if the no-robots rule from episode 1 would be plot relevant! I wonder if it has anything to do with the Time Keepers actually being robots?) It was also really clear that Ravonna was lying about what happened to C-20. As of now I think that Ravonna might actually be the real power behind the TVA. Or possibly a designated lieutenant to the real power behind the TVA:

When I was looking up interviews about Loki/Sylvie in this episode, I stumbled across an article about Ravonna’s comic counterpart and started kicking myself so hard for not recognizing her. In comics, Ravonna Renslayer is Kang the Conqueror’s wife. (Now, in my defense, my previous exposure to Ravonna was in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, in which she spends most of her screentime in a coma.) For anyone who doesn’t know, Kang the Conqueror is a time traveling classic Avengers villain. His whole thing is that he time travels, and wants to take over all of time. So it’s possible that Ravonna runs the TVA to benefit Kang somehow (maybe because Kang needs a certain sequence of events to assure a future victory over the Avengers?) or even does it on his orders. Kang the Conqueror is also set to be in Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania. (Aka Antman 3.)

(I don’t know if it’s relevant, but Kang the Conqueror also happens to be the reason the Young Avengers form. The very first member, Iron Lad aka Nate Richards, is a teenage Kang who meets his future self and decides he doesn’t want to be evil, so he travels back in time to get the help of Kang’s nemeses, the Avengers. However, he lands when the Avengers have disbanded and winds up putting together a team of Avengers-affiliated teenagers instead. The team gets bigger over time and a later version of it notably includes Kid Loki. I’m not going to go off on a Young Avengers tangent here but I LOVE the Young Avengers, please read Young Avengers volume 1 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung and all of its associated tie-ins. It’s fantastic. Unfortunately Kid Loki is only in volume 2, which gets a very solid “no thank you” from me but ymmv. Imo if you want Loki, read Agent of Asgard instead; I keep bringing it up for a reason and that’s because it’s amazing. Kid Loki is also in Journey into Mystery prior to his appearance in Young Avengers, and I haven’t read that yet but it looks very good.)

I’m VERY curious as to what the deal is behind the TVA. This could go a lot of different ways but they all seem exciting.

This show is definitely gearing up for a finale in which the TVA no longer exists or at least no longer decides everyone’s fates, which is exactly what I predicted back in episode 1.

Final thoughts on the episode: I was just wondering after Mobius was pruned if maybe the pruning sticks are actually teleporters of some kind, instead of time tasers, and then we got THAT CREDITS SCENE. I am so confused but also VERY EXCITED. I almost screamed when I saw Kid Loki. MY CHILD. I just had this thought but oh, I would kill for a Thori reference. Best murder dog. Classic Loki’s costume looks so terrible, it’s absolutely on purpose, and I love it.

THIS SHOW HAD BETTER END WITH MOBIUS GETTING A JETSKI. AND BOTH SYLVIE AND LOKI HAPPY.

I’ve been wondering since the show was announced if this show would somehow end with a version of the comics Kid Loki + AoA Loki storyline, where this Loki gets reborn into the main MCU as Kid/Teen Loki so he can join the Young Avengers, and I still don’t know how I feel about that, but with how things are going I can still see it happening.

LET EVERYONE WE LOVE BE HAPPY AT THE END MARVEL.

#long post #loki spoilers #loki 1x04 #loki series #a rare text post appears #loki #sylvie #mobius #tva #ravonna renslayer #kang the conqueror #meta #my stuff

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vaguely-gestures-to-the-void · 3 years

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Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

Welcome back folks. Read the innocence dying inside me as I accept that this show eats my expectations for lunch and leaves me like it's going to buy milk.

As a side note from what I said in my first review, here’s an interesting article. Apparently I was clowning because the Gobi desert scene was filmed (probably? idk) with the tech from the Mandalorian. I think the studios were the same. Oh well. https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2021/06/loki-filming-locations.html

Episode 4: THE NEXUS EVENT

Pre-title scene

The new perspective of Asgard is incredible.

Oh baby Sylvie, what did they do to you. Also, RAVONNA??

The TVA through a child’s eyes is heartbreaking. The mixed use of shots that were familiar (the feet walking into the TVA) and new (the TVA logo on the floor) convey how though routine, this is an alien experience for Sylvie.

She too wants to help the man being dragged in. Maybe Sylvie was a better person than Loki, the TVA taking her away was what changed it.

We don’t see Casey, but iIt’s the same ‘sign here’ guy. The changing perspective and music really alters the mood created, contrasting the whimsical procedure we followed in episode one.

She hadn’t even said much in her life. They knew how to influence the audience’s emotions, that's for sure. Props to the actress, I felt genuine concern for her before I remembered that she’s acting.

TVA

Ravonna probably underestimated Sylvie as a Loki, a mistake that cost her greatly.

The golden doors.

Ravonna looks tense and a bit fearful.

Scattered throughout the episode are eyes watching. George Orwell’s 1984, anyone?

Big Brother is watching.

Mobius! He’s a good friend to Ravonna, but there’s a power imbalance.

Ravonna is shaken. Her past failure is haunting her.

Someone edit the “What? How?” into “Wow.” It’ll be a service.

Lamentis - 1

Loki’s apology and Sylvie reflecting on her childhood are the conclusion to the previous episode. Faced with death, Loki realises that her goals were hindered by his actions. His apology is the first time he acknowledges he had something to do with it. Sylvie’s offering her emotional vulnerability in the form of memories. Her mind and experiences are her most prized possession because they’re all she has of the person who she was as Loki, her childhood and what she was supposed to be. Her glorious purpose, what really makes a Loki a ‘Loki’ was her life.

THEY TRUST EACH OTHER. THIS WAS WHAT CAUSED THE NEXUS EVENT.

C H A R A C T E R D E V E L O P M E N T.

Ravonna pointed out that Loki will always be a “lying scourge” but they went against this. In any timeline, this could cause a nexus event. They found a middle ground.

“That should be setting off alarms if someone steps on the wrong leaf.” I had a whole idea about entropy and the timeline being an isolated system but I struggled to define an isolated system, and thus I couldn’t use the whole irreversible process causing entropy to grow causing a br- if you have a clue of what I’m going on about, or want to know more, I’ll explain my thoughts. I can understand why this isn’t scientifically accurate and I’m no physicist.

The unbranched timeline means all the things that were speculated - Wanda’s kids, what happened on Saakar, all of it - is gone.

“Any news on C - 20?”I called it! B-15 is having doubts! Her subtle unease building up throughout the ep is perfect!

Most settlements have a street design that can be from space. Sharru doesn’t.

“No. We may lose... ...you’re amazing!” Damn it literally took the end of a world for Loki to change as a person.

“Their smiles. If that isn’t people accepting their deaths I don’t know what is. Man, I just want both of them to be happy.

Please don’t let that be the love theme, it’s so pretty.

The music fading into the TVA theme as they get separated is so sad.

Time Theater 25

Back to square one in terms of trust with these two, but now they have history and hurt feelings too!

Oh Mobius.

Cycles are a part of who Loki is within Norse mythology (from what I know, correct me if I’m wrong). This scene is conflict.

Loki needs both Mobius and Sylvie to incite change. One can empathise whilst the other believes in him.

Mobius believes in Loki like no one else in the TVA. He treats him like an individual, they developed a bond in episode 2, so his disappointment and anger were genuine. This is reflected in their dialogue.

Even when Loki was going through all the Feels in ep 1, he didn’t shout at Mobius. It makes it more heartbreaking when Mobius laughs and dismisses him after the “TVA is lying to you” thing. His laugh was so bitter, it’s like his belief that Loki would be the variant to prove that variants were individuals had been shattered. What Mobius doesn’t realise is that Loki was genuinely trying to warn him. The trust between them was fragile but Mobius needed to come to his own conclusions before he could see that Loki had broken out of the mold the Time Keepers set for him.

“Just kind of an asshole and a bad friend.” Y’all, Mobius doesn’t rise to Loki’s baits. He’s so hurt.

I can’t be the only one that thought Loki was going to be brainwashed when they saw the red door. Turns out it’s just a time cell.

I love Mobius but he makes me feel so conflicted. Oh shit, he’s my problematic fave.

Watching Loki get his ass handed to him by Lady Sif shouldn’t be this funny.

This particular memory reflects what Mobius will talk about later, Loki being abandon by the people around him.

Putting Loki through a memory that was physically and emotionally painful was nasty. If you hear something horrible, over and over especially from a friend it would take a toll on your self-perception. Mobius was hurt by Loki leaving him, he’s getting revenge whilst doing his job and getting into Loki’s head.

Ravonna’s office

Ravonna has hang ups from failing with Sylvie. Who she is and what she knows is going to be interesting.

Heck I just realised are Mobius’ lapels not real? They look fake.

I wonder whether the “mastermind” thing was foreshadowing the next ep.

Am I the only one who thinks this isn’t the first Loki Mobius has dealt with? Could that mean there’s a reunion next ep?!

“Variant pet.” There’s a culture of dehumanising variants within the TVA.

The cuts showing both B-15 and Mobius’ faces reminds me of ep 1, but now there’s a new angle to things. B-15 certainly sees things differently.

Time Theatre 25

Lady Sif would kill with short hair. Or long hair. It’s Lady Sif, she’s a badass.

Loki’s exhale reminds me of how he tenses before a fight.

Notable things about this scene:

Heavy use of metaphors to trade jabs.

The lights are shifting in a consistent pattern, scanning the room almost.

Shots are constantly moving and cutting.

Loki’s speech pattern changes when he’s lying. Nice touch there.

When they start arguing in earnest, the shots are close ups of their faces, not circling around each other.

Loki was at first willing to talk to Mobius if he was treated with respect, the way they engaged in episode 2. He also wants to trust that Mobius won’t kill him. Mobius dismisses him (rightly so, his trust is gone) and Loki’s pride about ‘not working for anyone’ gets in the way rather than listening to each other. Loki’s behaviour is cyclic and his lying about Sylvie affirms Mobius’s understanding that Loki won’t (or maybe can’t) change. I wouldn’t be too surprised if Mobius is a Loki, the man’s uncannily good at reading him. He deduces that Loki and Sylvie have a bond and unsettles Loki to get answers out of him, because he knows that’s the only way he can force Loki to reveal his cards. He definitely wasn’t expecting Loki’s earlier admission to be the truth. What Mobius did was not right, but it sure was effective.

“No. Not partners.” I believe this. They had an understanding, but their goals differ. Maybe just give Sylvie her own show.

“Guess you don’t do partners.” MOBIUS WHY ARE YOU SO BUTT-HURT? Probably to make Loki feel bad ik, but it’s still funny to think Lightning McQueen is salty.

That memory really hurt Loki. He stuttered.

Loki fixates on Sylvie rather than his own freedom. This was the cue to Mobius to start interrogating.

Bruh, the feeling they were experiencing better be friendship.

This made me uncomfortable because I was so sure we weren’t gonna get a romantic subplot that I related the characters to my actual family relationships. Marvel. Why?

The music combined with Mobius’ subtle shift in demeanor from irritated to mockery was very unsettling to me. I never realised how good an actor Owen Wilson was.

“Our interests are aligned.” Once Mobius tells him the truth, Loki does the same. I really hope this is the extent of their relationship. Just let them recognise one another as equals. Please Marvel.

Mobius’ hands twitching, the slight swallow. Yeesh, he certainly doesn’t think Loki’s lying, but he’s not about to accept it.

Loki’s head shake is sad. He knows he can’t convince Mobius.

“That I can respect. I mean the lies you tell yourself.” This was the best writing imo. Loki doesn’t make any final attempts to connive his way out of the situation because telling the truth to someone he’d trusted had failed. He willingly walks into the Time Cell.

Time Theater 47

B-15 being unable to support herself, having to rely on the structures around her to stay upright. This woman deserves so much y’all.

WE NEED HER NAME MARVEL.

You better appreciate her beyond shipping her with Sylvie or istg.

The music is so mournful. It just emphasises how much everything changing is going to hurt not only the main characters. Lives change because of the TVA and the events of this episode, it’s not overlooked by the writing or music.

The poster and the 1984 parallels. Exquisite!

Sylvie not sitting straight made me snort.

Ravonna Renslayer’s office

More Theremin music! This time I’m pretty sure it’s Carnival of the Animals, XIII. Le Cygne (the Swan) : Le carnaval des animaux: No. 12, Le cygne (arr. For theremin and piano) by Clara Rockmore.

Fun fact! Clara Rockmore influenced theremin music and the instrument and was a virtuoso of the instrument. Give her a google, it’s worth it. Also look up Leon Theremin, he was (among other things) a Soviet spy. There’s a great Wiki spiral for anyone there.

Mobius was probably being lined up for a high position in the TVA. Damn.

TemPads are personal, or have different levels of clearance.

Mobius didn’t stop interrogating Ravonna throughout that scene. He knew that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

Sleight of hand wasn’t shown how Loki and Sylvie do it, they didn’t use misdirection.

Ravonna knows something is up with Mobius. Maybe he hasn’t been around for long if this is his ‘career case’.

The pacing becomes really fast like in the end of episode 2 as conflicts get resolved. Buckle up comrades.

2050 Roxxcart Disaster

I don’t have much to add, it’s a powerful scene.

They use close ups whenever a truth bombshell is dropped.

The music varies considerably between these scenes, each one has a different tone.

“We’re the same.” With what she knows of B-15, Sylvie knew not to be smug when delivering the news about B-15’s life.

B-15 crying in the rain hurts.

“I looked happy.”

TVA archives, Time Cell, Time Theater 25

The floor opposite Mobius is FE3, above it is 3FG.

Oh Mobius.

C-20 deserved better, I'd love to see her later in the series.

The music goes from mournful to harsh and we’re left in silence when it cuts to the Time Cell.

“You told me to shut up.” Loki can be salty sometimes.

“Do you really think you deserve to be alone?” Mobius is rattled, he wants to unsettle Loki.

The music starts to build somewhere between “...your connection... “ and Loki saying “‘WE?’”

The faint tinkling reminds me of the Avatar (blue people) score.

“How about the word of a friend?” This is Loki’s olive branch. When he admits Loki was right, their trust is tentatively reinstated.

The music is finally back to that chaotic theme we know. I think it’s the TVA’s theme.

“You can be whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good. I mean just in case anyone ever told you different.” Mobius corrects what he says in the first ep.

They are friends y’all I’m so sad.

Mobius can lie through his teeth like it’s nobody’s business.

Pruning hurts, Mobius’ face is in agony.

Loki’s tears. GIVE THEM ALL JETSKIS.

Ravonna takes a moment to compose herself.

Time Keepers (the final smackdown)

Why are the last 10 minutes always so insane?

Loki’s eyes only show hurt. I’ll leave.

Ravonna’s so sharp, she instantly catches Sylvie’s wet hair.

All of our expectations from the trailers always get yeeted out of a window because the scenes are never really what we think they are. I get that that should be expected but it’s refreshing that the writing is never what we think it is.

Did anyone else notice the egg timer/infinity sign murals on one of the hallways to the left of Sylvie?

Ravonna is so cold (and yet I’d simp for her).

The M.C. Escher staircases I see you set designers/CGI folks.

B-15 just gets knocked out. They better not kill her for no reason or I riot.

I’m pretty sure that Sylvie ripped off one of Ravonna’s TVA badges (or buttons) when she fought her.

Sylvie’s the better fighter, she’s had to use it more often though.

The elevator doors stay open.

It would be so funny if we get an elevator scene where Sylvie is just dragging Ravonna somewhere.

They really led us on with the Time Keepers, particularly the middle one. I was somewhat convinced there’d be something more to it. I’m interested to see where it goes.

Ep 4 review

I really don’t have much to add with these last two episodes. I’ve definitely come to appreciate that no matter whether you liked the writing of the show or not, it’s never what you expect. Is that a good thing? I guess that that remains to be seen. Nonetheless, I appreciate how much effort went into this series. It’s been a fun romp, I’ll be back with my reviews of the final episodes. I’ll also stop posting Loki content to my blog because the Gods know that my followers don’t read this lol.

I’m just going to survive until the season is over and then hopefully keep my sanity together until the next Marvel content or at least Dr. Strange.

Here's the link to my episode 3 review.

Thank you all for being here, you're wonderful my loves.

#loki #loki series #loki review #loki (2021)#loki spoilers #spoilers #man how is this fandom gonna cope? By fixating on other TV shows? Good luck lads.#I'm gonna go buy milk at this point #they better not mess with B-15 or istg #B-15 deserves none of this #give mobius a jetski #and give loki therapy #and Sylvie too pls my babies need rest.#boy if Mobius is a Loki variant I'm going to grab my popcorn because the circus that this fandom will turn into will be legendary

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ssfghfrrggf · 4 years

Note

Okay so I know your training to be a firefighter, so I’m wondering if you know about paramedics specific as well?

In fics, it’s been popular to give Sylvie a promotion and make her ambulance commander, is that realistic? I’ve tried looking it up and get so confused. Would that be the next available position?

She’s been PIC for a while now, and she’s obviously beyond competent and deserving of a promotion or accommodation. She’s been through A LOT at 51, just recently she saved and comforted the man who tried to kill her for godsakes and she was willing to sacrifice herself to protect Mackey.

Could you see that happening on the show? Someone asked Derek if it’s in her future, and he said it hasn’t been directly talked about yet, because they’re focusing on stellas promotion this season, but that’s it’s an interesting idea and definitely not off the table.

Just wanna hear your thoughts!

Short answer: i think it'd be really great of they promoted her! but i know very little about the paramedic chain of command 😂

Long answer: paramedic companies are different from fire companies (truck/engine/tower/rescue/hazmat companies). i do know paramedics can commendations for courageous acts in the field and going above and beyond in the line of duty just like fire fighters can. but i know diddly squat about there chain of command other than it goes: emt, paramedic, pic, and after that it gets fuzzy for me 😂 some places do captains and chiefs. it also depends on who the paramedics are running for. some fire departments have their own ems (emergency medical service) that runs along side their fire ops (so like in the cfd) so the two command structures are very similar and operate pretty similarly. but sometimes you have ems that isn't based with a fire department so they're not going to operate the same way. In my county where im a firefighter ems runs separately. i'm not gonna use it's actually name, but here there's Blank County EMS and the cover the whole county that is divided between 4 fire departments, none of which run their own ems. so when they dispatch us they'll dispatch blank county ems and x, y, or z fire department. some departments have agreements with private ems companies that aren't government funded entities, and i have absolutely no clue what so ever what kind of command structure they have. then you have some fire departments that require everyone be certified emts and they run their own ems, and people take turns riding the box (sorry ff slang... they take turns riding ambo, one of the paid departments im thinking about applying to does that).

that probably didn't answer your questions at all 😂 but there some fun facts in there so... ALSO firefighters who also have their paramedic lisence get payed like 30,000 more dollars a year, AND according to my chief if you're a paramedic looking to also be a firefighter than you'll actually have fire departments coming to you begging you to come work for them bc there's a paramedic shortage and everyone wants medics 😂 your girl is gonna go to college and get her paramedic lisence after she gets her emt certification

and my emergency procedures teacher/my future emt teacher is a paramedic, so i can ask her what she knows about the command structure is like, if you want? idk if she worked private or with fire tho

#ask #paramedics #this post was all over the place 😂

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pocketfulofrogers · 5 years

Text

Catch the Wind

Pairing: Otis Zvonecek x Reader

Request: … can I request an imagine where he has a massive crush on a nurse who works at Med and frequents Molly’s and he thinks she’s out of his league so Fire House 51 decides to prove him wrong and not so subtly get them together?

Summary: Molly’s got it’s name from a love had, it’s only fitting that love be found there as well.

Notes: Titled from the song by Donovan. I don’t know why I set deadlines when I’m the worst with procrastination. Also? Writer’s block? She’s real and she’s here. Come talk story ideas with me! And if you have a request, shoot me a message.

When April suggested drinks to celebrate the new girl surviving her first week at Chicago Med, you had protested. While you did enjoy your new job and the people around you, it had been an exhausting week, but April is nothing if not convincing.

She’s changed your mind before you even get the chance to step outside.

The moment Otis laid eyes on you, he could’ve sworn whatever higher power there is in this world plucked you straight from his dreams and placed you on a Molly’s barstool. He had to ask for your drink order twice because the first time he only saw stardust fall from your lips when you spoke.

He trips over his words and makes a few jokes that don’t quite make sense. You laugh anyways.

He thinks you are magic; you find him endearing.

You find yourself at Molly’s more and more over the next few months. Birthday’s and celebrations, or to mourn the end of a particularly rough day. The kind bartender with the beautiful smile and sarcastic remarks isn’t always there, but you feel warmer when he is.

You don’t think anyone notices.

They do.

It’s almost two months before you learn his name. You had lost a younger patient and you thought what you needed was a very long bath and a glass of wine, but you find yourself under the familiar string lights instead.

“You got a name, kid?” The older bartender asks. You hum a question, having missed his in your haze. “I’ve seen you around here lately, what’s your name?”

“Oh, Y/N.” You respond with a soft smile.

He nods and picks up a glass to wipe down. “Well I’m Herrmann, this guy over here is Otis.”

“Otis?”

He’s quick to jump into the conversation. “It’s just a nickname the guys at the firehouse gave me. My name is actually Brian.”

You laugh, repeat the name again, slower, and tilt your head. “I think I might prefer Brian.”

His heart drops straight to his stomach.

Otis spends the night mostly talking to you, getting as much information about you and your life that you’ll grant him. You’ve never been one to really talk about yourself, so you relish in the tidbits of him he offers up. Most nights Herrmann would bust his balls for ignoring the other customers, but he finds himself caught up the sweet image before him.

You stay until closing that night, leave with your soul a little lighter. Herrmann gives Otis the decency of waiting until the door closes before berating him with questions.

“So,” He prompts. “Did you get her number?”

Otis scrunches his face. “That girl? Uh- no. I’d rather not have my already small ego crushed.”

“She was totally in to you!” Joe exclaims.

“We had a nice conversation, there’s a difference.”

He thinks you’re untouchable; you find butterflies in your stomach.

Days and weeks and months pass with nothing more than innocent conversations and delicate fingers grazing arms. Herrmann chastises him for choosing to flirt over doing his job, Joe swears he��s going to lose his mind if he has to hear about you anymore.

It’s not for a lack of you trying, you drop the odd hint, but he doesn’t seem to pick them up. One night you leave an open invitation for him to join you at a charity event at Med, but he doesn’t seem interested. You drop it, leave with only a quiet smile soon after.

“She invited you to go with her!” Joe explodes.

“No, she said she had no one to go with.”

If Joe had any hair, he’d rip it out.

The next morning at work, he calls for an emergency meeting with Herrmann and Sylvie. They fill her in on the situation, but most of it she already knew, she wasn’t blind. They spend the next few hours devising a plan, getting input from those around the firehouse.

They rope in Kelly who ropes in April who ropes in Maggie who guilts Will into giving up his tickets to the fundraising gala. He didn’t need them as much as they did.

Sylvie presents them to Otis and feeds him a story about Med inviting paramedics as well because they’re at the hospital so often. He thinks she’s too jittery for the request and her eyes keep shifting, something she does when she lies. He’s about to turn her down when she reminds him that he owes her for shrinking her favorite sweater.

Standing there in a suit, tugging at the collar chafing the skin of his throat, he has never hated laundry day or flimsy sweaters more in his life. He also wasn’t too keen on the way too small ‘appetizers’ and pretentious drinks. He’d honestly give anything for a simple beer right about now.

He looks down at his watch, wondering what could possibly be taking Sylvie so long, looks up, and everything fades out the second he recognizes you. The five-string quartet, the small talk conversations between peppered haired men, the lingering sweet scent from the gardenias.

You with your hair pinned up, small wisps of hair framing your face, and wrapped in a swooping teal fabric that leaves your shoulders bare. When you see him, you shoot him a dazzling smile and motion for him to wait for you and it’s then he knows he’s a goner.

You give him a quick hug, hoping it’s not out of place. “Brian! I didn’t think I’d see you here!”

The smell of your perfume fogs his thoughts. “Sylvie guilted me.” He manages.

You laugh. “I wonder who she had to bribe to get the ticket. I was a neonatal nurse before, that’s how I got mine.” Otis furrows his brows in confusion and you mirror his face. “The board is trying to raise money to build a specialty wing for premature babies.” You clarify.

That’s when it clicks. The hushed whispers around the house, the silence once he’d turn a corner, Sylvie’s absence, Joe’s eagerness, Herrmann’s out of place words of encouragement. He had to give it to them, scheming wasn’t generally their strong suit, but they had truly gotten him this time.

He’d leave just to spite them, but he definitely couldn’t leave you alone, not with you smiling at him like this.

Instead, he digs into his small arsenal of confidence and starts to ask you questions. You explain the goals of the fundraiser, and what you really think they should do with the money. He shares your heartache when you speak of babies you tried your hardest to save and couldn’t. He joins you in laughter when you tell tales of drunken clowns in the ER. You listen as he tells you stories of daring rescues and witnessed miracles.

He thinks you are brilliant; you find his bravery inspiring.

You forget you were there for a purpose, but you would rather spend all night wrapped in conversation with him than stroking the egos of millionaires anyways. He forgets Sylvie was actually there, but she shoots him a thumbs up from across the room

He’s not sure how it happened. He had asked if he could walk you to your car, you took his hand and led him outside, and now you were backed up against your car trailing perfectly manicured fingers up his tie. With heavy lids, he holds his breath as you pull him closer. Soft lips and strawberry tongue, he wonders why the hell he waited so long.

You pull away and wipe the lipstick from the corner of his mouth, breathe out a soft laugh and he smiles.

“Little overdue.” He quips.

“Well worth the wait.” You add.

He’s completely smitten and so are you.

#otis x reader #brian zvonecek x reader #brian zvonecek #Chicago Fire #otis #brian zvonecek imagine #otis imagine #chicago fire imagine #Chicago PD #chicago med #joe cruz #Christopher Herrmann #sylvie brett

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aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Marvel’s Loki Episode 3 Raises Some Questions About the TVA

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains spoilers for Loki episode 3.

Back in the first episode of Marvel’s Loki, viewers get a helpful expositional rundown about the Time Variance Authority from Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), a friendly cartoon clock.

In a ‘50s style orientation video, Miss Minutes described how the Time Keepers created the TVA and all the employees within it to maintain the Sacred Timeline and avert temporal chaos. Makes sense! But in this week’s episode, “Lamentis”, we are provided some information that appears to be at odds with the “official” founding myth of the TVA.

As rogue Loki Variant Sylvie describes what it’s like to enchant people’s minds (huh, almost like she’s some kind of…enchantress?) to our lead character, she reveals that sometimes a mind is so strong that she must create a fantasy of a memory to lull them. Such is the case with Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane).

“I had to pull a memory from hundreds of years prior before she even fought for them,” Sylvie tells Loki.

Huh…before she fought for the TVA? How could C-20 have had a life before the TVA if the TVA created her for time-policing purposes? It turns out that, according to Sylvie, everyone who works at the TVA are just like her and Loki: Variants lost on the Sacred Timeline.

In classic Marvel Cinematic Universe fashion, this answer to a question leads to only more questions. Let’s endeavor to answer them.

What is the TVA’s Real Mission?

Marvel’s first Disney+ series WandaVision made it clear from the get-go that all wasn’t what it seemed to be. Conversely Loki appeared to end its first episode with all cards on the table. Sure, the science fiction premise was ambitious and at times hard to understand, but the TVA’s mission was outlined quite clearly in that aforementioned orientation video. Now one can’t help but wonder whether Loki isn’t more like WandaVision than we anticipated.

The TVA says its only mission is to protect the Sacred Timeline. As the series goes on, however, the very notion of a Sacred Timeline seems increasingly impossible. As discussed in this feature, which irreparably broke my brain, the lack of alternate universes in the TVA’s worldview is just not feasible. Where do all of these Loki Variants come from if not alternate universes or alternate timelines?

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Sylvie has a fundamentally different appearance from our Loki and, if she is to be believed, an entirely different family history. How could two such contradictory beings exist on one Sacred Timeline? The answer is that they can’t. The TVA claims that the emergence of just one alternate timeline branched off from the Sacred Timeline would have disastrous consequences. Clearly it doesn’t though as all the Variant Lokis already exist.

Perhaps when Miss Minutes and the Time Keepers say that the TVA maintains the Sacred Timeline, what they mean is that they guard it from external threats. Pruning Nexus events here and there is also part of the job, but the main goal is to make sure that the Sacred Timeline doesn’t come under attack from other timelines. If we buy into that logic, then of course the Time Keepers would bring brainwashed Variants aboard to assist in this mission.

Speaking of the Time Keepers…

Are the Time-Keepers Even Real?

Episode three brings us closer to meeting the Time-Keepers than ever before. C-20 tells Sylvie that the Time Keepers reside on the top floor of the TVA offices, accessible only through a golden elevator. Sylvie makes it quite close to invading their sanctum before Loki intervenes.

Now that a basic tenet of the TVA’s history is in question though, so too is the existence of the Time-Keepers themselves. Loki’s understanding of the deities is that they are three “space lizards” who oversee the timestream. While that would certainly be cool to see depicted onscreen, it now seems more likely that they’re a fairy tale.

The TVA’s own internal depiction of the Time-Keepers is too holy and sagacious to possibly be real. As evidenced by the bureaucratic nightmare around them, time keeping is not a sexy business. It requires hard work and determination, not ethereal space iguanas. Recall that the only character who claims to have met with the head honchos is Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).

Is Miss Minutes the Big Bad Here?

If the Time-Keepers aren’t Loki’s main foe to be vanquished then who is? It’s possible that the answer was in front of us the whole time. Simply put: there’s something off about Miss Minutes. At first glance, she was just a funny satire of the friendly cartoonish faces that corporations use to hide their dirty work. Then episode 2 revealed that Miss Minutes is actually able to achieve something resembling a corporeal form as she quizzes Loki on TVA history from a desk.

This past week, The Hollywood Reporter had a chance to interview Tara Strong, the voice of Miss Minutes, and there were some intriguing tidbits uncovered. When asked about director Kate Herron’s assertion that Miss Minutes was about to go on an “interesting” journey, Strong responded:

“I can cryptically tease that you’ll see her again. There’s much more to be revealed, and it’s fun to watch that unfold. The beautiful thing about this character is you don’t really know who she is, where she’s from, what her origin story is, how sentient she is, if she has a horse in this race at all, and what her intentions are, if any.”

Strong made good on her promise to remain cryptic there, but it’s still surprising to hear just how much Miss Minutes content is yet to come. I suppose that’s to be expected from a character with her own poster and that played by a voice acting titan. It’s not out of the question that Miss Minutes will be revealed to be an antagonist of sorts, perhaps even the main one.

For better or worse, Miss Minutes represents the TVA. What if the agency started with noble intentions before gradually becoming corrupted over centuries? And now Miss Minutes is the anthropomorphic embodiment of the flawed institution, stamping out timelines that don’t need to be stamped out. Perhaps she’s like HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

After all, does this look like the face of mercy to you?

Does Agent Mobius Know He Had A Life Before the TVA?

The biggest loser in the revelations of episode 3 might be poor Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). Back in episode 2, Mobius had a conversation with Loki about how much he appreciates order in the universe rather than the chaos that Loki prefers. That same episode reveals, however, that Mobius might not be as straight-laced as he appears.

The man loves jet skis, calling them the perfect combination of form and function. Unlike his co-worker Casey (Eugene Cordero) who doesn’t even know what a fish is, Mobius likes to spend much of his infinite time reading jet ski magazines. We should have known right then and there that the TVA did not create its employees because why would they program in a love for something from the outside world?

Mobius is probably a Variant conscripted into the TVA’s mission just like everyone else. The question is: does he know that? I’m inclined to think he does not. Though Mobius is a respected Agent in the TVA, he is continually shown to be shockingly far down on the totem pole. Judge Renslayer won’t let him meet the Time Keepers (probably because they don’t exist) and even Hunter B-15 bosses him around in the field.

Although, there’s another possibility. In the comics, many higher/executive positions in the TVA were held by Mobius. Multiple Mobiuses. The Marvel Comics TVA had a policy of cloning its managers, rather than hiring/training new people, and since Mobius was great at his job, they made more of him. Perhaps the MCU Mobius is based on a Variant, one who did his job so well that they chose to duplicate him for more work. It would mean that he isn’t necessarily lying when he tells Loki the “creation myth” of the TVA agents, it might just be the only truth he knows.

Wilson also brings a sensitivity and world-weariness to the role that suggest deep down, Mobius knows something is missing in his life. On a subconscious level, maybe that’s why he’s so taken with Loki. The only being that can take down the Time Keepers and TVA’s strict order is the God of Mischief.

The post Marvel’s Loki Episode 3 Raises Some Questions About the TVA appeared first on Den of Geek.

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brettonio-one-chicago · 7 years

Text

Holding Out For A Hero

So... This little story was in my head as soon as that sleazy doctor ‘stalked’ Brett... Let’s get Brettonio back together!!! Please let me know what you think! I knew he had to be married... it sucks that Brett had to get hurt, but maybe now she’ll see that Antonio is truly the only man for her.

Also, thank you to all the amazing people who make these incredible gifs and pics that I can use for my stories... I love it... I wish I had your gift.

Sylvie was busy doing inventory, while still fuming with Stella, when her cell began to vibrate. She put the gauze back in the cabinet and checked it. “Who the heck?” She didn’t know anyone at Lakeshore as much as she knew the nurses and doctors at Med. She answered the call. “Hello?”

“Is this Paramedic Sylvie Brett?” A familiar voice asked.

“Yeah... who is this?”

“Uh, we met earlier... Pete Calhoun...”

“Okaaaaay.”

“In the produce department... the eclamptic patient.”

“Oh, right!” Brett finally put 2 and 2 together. “The doctor.”

“Yeah.”

“Hi.”

“Hi.” He chuckled.

“How did... you get my number?” Sylvie stumbled over her words.

“I... may have called the CFD to find out who you were... and ... I may... have asked for your number.”

“Ooookay.” Sylvie had no idea where this was headed. “What can I do for you Dr. Calhoun?”

“Pete... please.” He replied. “I was... wondering if you’d like to go out for dinner tonight?” He quickly added. “If... I’m not being too forward.”

Sylvie had been single for some time, and it was getting obvious that Antonio wasn’t ever going to do that check-in they’d discussed. “Um, sure... I’m off in a few hours. Where would you like to meet?”

He rattled off the name of a new lounge that had opened up.

“Sure, um, I’ll be there say around 7?”

“That sounds good. I’ll see you then, Sylvie Brett.”

“It’s a date... Dr. Pete Calhoun.” She ended the call. She was feeling giddy. It had been the first real date she’d had since Antonio and her had taken a break. Maybe it was time for her to actually move on. She was sure Antonio had probably moved on.

She finished tidying up the ambo while making a list of what they were running low on. She checked the time. She wasn’t going to have time to deal with Stella’s over exaggeration of Hope supposedly being a thief. She’d have to high-tail home, shower, and get ready if she wanted to make it to her date. She quickly finished up her tasks and gathered her things. She also didn’t want Gaby to find out. She knew that Gaby had a thing against medics dating doctors.

Sylvie slipped into a dress she’d bought in hopes of wearing it for Antonio, but she was at the point of not being able to live in some fantasy that he’d ever come back. She’d asked Gaby earlier in the week on how Antonio had been doing and was shocked to learn he was back in Intelligence and that Eva had moved in with him. She was also surprised to learn that he’d changed apartments too. For her, these were all signs that he had moved on and it was time for her to move on too. She sighed.

While she was thrilled that someone was interested and he was a doctor, and really cute, she was still weary about the way he’d gotten her number. She shook off the feeling and headed out to catch a cab to her date.

The cab arrived in short time, so Sylvie paid him and stood outside the lounge. She was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings. She was excited but at the same time she was anxious and was feeling guilty. She looked around. She still had time to leave. She had time to go home and think about how she was being foolish. She stopped herself.

“I’ve waited long enough. I deserve to be happy.” She whispered to herself. She took a deep breath and headed inside. She checked her coat and headed to find Pete.

She saw him at one of the tables towards the back of the lounge. She made her way through all the people and waved. “Hi. Sorry, I’m late.”

He got up. “I’m just glad you showed up.”

Sylvie wasn’t sure how to take that. “Um... okay.”

“I was worried that the stalker-ish way I tracked your number at the CFD may have sent you running.”

“Oh, it still might.” She sat in the booth. “I just figured I’d get a nice meal outta you first.”

“Ah, smart woman.” He slid into the booth, across from her. “You were really impressive treating that victim on the scene.”

“Aw... thanks.” Sylvie smiled. While she knew she was good at her job, she always liked hearing others acknowledge it.

She went to ask him what kind of doctor he was while he started asking how long she’d been a paramedic. They laughed. Sylvie was still a little nervous.

“How about I order us some wine?” He asked.

“Smart man.” She smiled.

They made small talk. She quickly learned that he was an ER doc over at Lakeshore. He would ask how long she’d been a medic with the CFD. They ate, drank and laughed. By the time the bill came, Sylvie was feeling quite at ease with him. He asked her if she needed a ride home.

“I could always take a cab.” She didn’t want to push her luck.

“At this hour... I’ll give you a ride. It’s no problem.” He smiled. “Really.”

“Okay... I just need to collect my coat.”

“Sure thing.” He helped her from the booth and they headed to the coat check.

It didn’t take long for them to get back to Sylvie’s apartment. He walked her to the front of the building. Sylvie didn’t know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised when Pete kissed her. She didn’t really stop him, but she wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. She pulled back a little. “I’m not really a ‘kissing-on-the-first-date’ kinda girl.”

Pete back up a bit. “Oh. Okay.” He smiled at her. “I respect that.”

Sylvie thought she was pushing him away. She didn’t want him to leave just yet, so she told him that the way he smiled at her on the call was sort of like a first date.

“Oh, I respect that even more.” He kissed her again.

“You’re very respectful.”

He replied slyly. “Which is a good reason for you to invite me up to your apartment.”

Sylvie wasn’t sure if it was nerves or the wine, or both, but she giggled. “I have two roommates that are man-children.”

He kissed her again, whispering. “I can handle that.”

Sylvie was about to say something else but didn’t get the chance when his cell began to ring. He excused himself to take the call.

He came back. “I’m so sorry. It’s a patient emergency.” He kissed her again. “I have to go deal with this... but I had a really good time tonight.”

Sylvie nodded. “So did I.”

“Can we do this again? Like, sometime in the very near future?”

Sylvie’s cheeks filled with colour. “Sure, I’d like that.”

Pete kissed her one last time. “Bye.”

“Bye.” She whispered as he ran to his Audi. She stood there as he pulled away from the curb and headed towards Lakeshore. She gently touched her lips. Part of her felt like she was betraying Antonio and the other was wondering what happened to her to make out with a guy on their first date. She eventually went in the apartment to think about the night’s events.

It was a couple days later when Gaby and Sylvie got a call out that ended up with them heading to Lakeshore instead of Med. Sylvie was giddy. It was the perfect time to see if Pete was in and have a surprise visit. She also figured it would be easier to talk to Gaby about it if they were there.

“So, I kinda went on a date with that doctor.” Sylvie whispered as they headed to restock.

“Dr. ‘You’re just paramedics, you have to listen to me’? That doctor?”

Sylvie shook her head. “He’s not that bad.”

“Really?” Gaby arched an eyebrow. “So, why are we resupplying here, again?”

“Uh, Med’s supply of gauze was really low last time we were there.”

Gaby looked at her. “Huh.”

“I’m serious.” Sylvie filled the container with a variety of gauzes that they were running low on.

“I didn’t notice that... and we were only there a few hours ago.”

Sylvie groaned. “Come on, we better head back to the house before Casey sends squad out after us.”

“Really?”

“Gaby... he’s acting weird... you said so yourself... like 15 minutes ago.”

“It’s this thing with Severide.” Gaby countered. “And now it’s spreading everywhere.”

They were walking from the supply room past the main desk in the ED when Sylvie stopped to ask the nurse a question. “Um, hi. I was wondering if Dr. Pete Calhoun is working today?”

Gaby’s jaw dropped. The nurse nodded and paged him. Gaby turned to face Sylvie. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to swing by to see Dr. Hottie?”

“Um... I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.” Sylvie stammered. “And there really wasn’t that much gauze at Med.”

Gaby nodded. “Mhmm. Uh, Brett.” She pointed over Sylvie’s shoulder.

Sylvie spun around and saw Pete come around the corner. She had to admit, he looked really good in scrubs. “Hi.” She waved.

“Uh, Sylvie... wh... what are you doing here?” He was frozen in place.

“Oh, we were just picking up supplies, so I figured I’d say hi.”

Pete was about to speak up but was interrupted by the nurse at the desk. “Uh, Dr. Calhoun... your wife is on the phone... she can’t get a parking stall, so she’s waiting out front for you.”

Sylvie looked between the nurse and Pete. “Your... your WIFE?!”

Pete took a few steps towards Sylvie. “I’ll call you later and explain.” He was trying to prevent a scene. “Okay?”

Gaby grabbed Sylvie who was glaring at the slime ball. Sylvie was furious. She glared at Pete. “No. Not okay.”

“Sylvie, please.” Pete was coming towards them.

“What is wrong with you?!” Sylvie raised voice was causing unwanted attention.

Gaby grabbed her again, spun her around and pushed her out of the ED. “Hey, come on... let’s get the hell outta here.” She looked over her shoulder and shot Pete Calhoun a death glare.

Once they were back at the ambulance bay, Sylvie let it all out. “How could I be so wrong about that guy?!”

“I’m sorry, Sylvie.” Gaby patted her shoulder. She wasn’t sure of what else she could do. “He’s a fool.”

“It never even occured to me that he might be married.” Sylvie pounded on the gurney. “I’m a fool.”

Gaby turned Sylvie to face her. “NO. You aren’t the fool. He is.” She sighed. “You just tend to see the best in people and maybe... sometimes you ignore the rest. It’s something all your friends know and love about you.”

Sylvie’s demeanour changed. “Hmm.”

“What?”

“Uh, nothing.” Sylvie shut the back doors of 61 and went around to her side. “Let’s just go. Please.”

Gaby got in behind the wheel and pulled out of the bay. She headed back to the house. She knew something was bothering Sylvie, but she wasn’t going to force the subject. There was already too much tension in that house as it was. She only hoped that whatever was going on between Brett and Kidd would be resolved soon and that whatever was going on between Casey and Severide would be resolved peacefully because the last thing any one needed was for someone to get transferred out of 51 because of the unnecessary drama.

Sylvie was beat. She had a lot to think about. She had confronted Hope concerning Stella’s cheque. Hope swore she had nothing to do with it, but Sylvie was starting to think things over ever since Gaby had made her aware of her one flaw that anyone could try to use against her. She started to think that Stella was right about Hope and while she didn’t want to think that, she knew that there was a chance that Hope was exploiting her friendship. She thought about going to Molly’s, but at the same time, she didn’t need to hear any ‘I told you so’s from Stella or Gaby. She headed home and prayed that Otis and Cruz were nowhere to be found.

Gaby was supposed to be bartending at Molly’s tonight but she begged Stella to cover for her. She needed to talk to Antonio. She knew he’d be home. Ever since Eva had moved in with him, he made sure he spent some time with her before she had to go to bed. She headed straight to his new place. She had barely knocked when Eva opened the door.

“Tia!” Eva hugged her. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see your dad.” Gaby smiled. “Is he here?”

Eva nodded. “He’s just showering. Just came back from the gym.”

“Ah.” Gaby said. “He probably needs it then.”

“Will you stay for dinner?”

“Depends on what it is.” Gaby teased her. She knew that Eva had started to taking cooking lessons at school and from her grandmother.

“Abuela showed me how to make lasagna.”

“Okay, well... I think I could enjoy some lasagna.” Gaby followed Eva to the kitchen.

“Gaby.” Antonio said joining them in the kitchen. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you... Eva told me she made lasagna.”

Antonio smiled. “She’s a good cook. Ma says she’s a really fast learner.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Eva beamed.

“Eva, why don’t you make a salad and I’m going to talk to Tia in the family room.”

“Okay, Dad.” She went to the fridge to collect the salad ingredients.

Gaby followed Antonio into the family room.

“Okay, sis... why you really here?” Antonio leaned against the doorframe.

“Uh...” Gaby wasn’t sure where to start. “Ha... have you been seeing anyone... you know, since Brett.”

Antonio’s head jerked up. “What?!”

“Antonio, before you lose it on me... just... understand this isn’t easy for me to even be talking to you about.”

“No, Gaby. I haven’t dated once since I walked away from Sylvie. Which, by the way is a decision I’ve regretted since those words left me mouth.”

Gaby sighed. “She told me that you said you could never give her what she deserved.”

“I said that... and more.... and I wish I could take it all back.” Antonio sat on the chair across from Gaby. “What’s with asking about my love life? Or... lack thereof.”

“Do you still care about her?”

“Gaby.”

“Antonio, just answer the question.”

“Yes. I never stopped. I just... She deserves more than what I can ever give her.” He ran his hand through his hair. “So, now you wanna explain where this train is headed?”

“Uh, Dad... supper’s ready.” Eva poked her head in.

“Maybe you and I should go out after dinner... talk about this?” Gaby suggested. She knew her niece adored Sylvie and was still furious that Antonio and Sylvie had split.

Antonio nodded. “Good plan.”

After dinner, Gaby and Antonio headed over to Molly’s.

“Okay, so why did you ask about my love life?” Antonio asked after grabbing a couple beers from Stella.

“Sylvie... she... she tried to move on.”

“Gaby, she’s allowed to.” Antonio knew that while they’d agreed on a check in, it hadn’t happened yet. He knew that that meant there was a chance that she’d find someone she deserved.

“Look, what I’m about to tell you... I’m telling you because I want you two happy again... and I can’t stand seeing what happened today ever happen to her again.”

“Gaby, what the fuck are you rambling about?” Antonio took a swig from his beer.

“Look, a few days back, there was a really good looking doc on a call... he called Sylvie up and they had a date. She was thrilled and happy. Not like when you two were together, but happy.”

“Okay.” He sighed. “I’m happy for her.”

“You’re not letting me finish.” Gaby hissed. “I said she ‘was’ happy.”

“What happened, Gaby?” Antonio sat up straight. “Is Sylvie okay?”

“No, she’s not.” Gaby downed the rest of her beer. “We went to Lakeshore today... brought in a patient and then we had to restock the rig. I didn’t know this guy worked there... but, she asked if he was on shift.”

“Why do I have the feeling this bastard is a slime ball?” Antonio waved to Stella to bring them another round.

“The charge nurse paged him and let’s say the expression he had when he saw Sylvie... he wasn’t as happy to see her and she was to see him... then that same charge nurse told him that his WIFE was on the line... Sylvie almost lost it... I had to drag her to the rig... keep her mind off of it. She thinks she’s a fool.”

“That loser is the fool.” Antonio’s blood was boiling. While he had no claim over Sylvie, he cared for her. He would never wish her that kind of pain or embarrassment.

“I told her that, trust me. But... she’s too caring... to kind. She tries... she only sees the good in people. You know her. She’s... well... for a lack of a better word, she’s naive.”

Antonio sighed. “Yeah... well... I’d like to kick this doctor’s ass for what he did to her.”

“Have you ever thought about that check in?” Gaby asked.

Antonio nodded. “Every day. I just... I don’t want to hurt her. I can... I can’t go there and risk breaking her heart all over again.”

“Antonio... I don’t want to be involved in your love life... especially since Sylvie is my best friend and my partner, but... I’ve come to accept that the best thing that ever happened to either of you is each other.”

Antonio hung his head. He knew his sister had a point. “I can’t give her what she deserves.”

“And just what does she deserve that you can’t give her, Antonio?!” Gaby’s raised voice caused a few heads to turn.

Antonio stared at his sister. “I can’t give her the perfect house, and white picket fence. I can’t guarantee Laura will stay out of our lives... I have a job that’s demanding and I...”

“Stop. Antonio. Spare me the shitty excuses you give yourself from walking away from the woman who made you smiled for the first time in years. From the woman who showed you that it was okay to move on.” Her voice broke. “From the woman... who loved you.”

Antonio’s hand fell to his side. “What?”

“She loved you... Antonio. She probably still does. She dates these people who are nothing like you. I’m pretty sure it’s... it’s because she’s not over you.”

“So what do you want from me, Gabriela?” Antonio was frustrated.

“I want you to show her... that you still care... that... that you want to make it right.” Gaby wiped a tear from her eye. “I know damn well that Sylvie doesn’t give a flying fuck about the perfect house... or the white fence. She has a job that is as demanding as being a cop... different ways, but still as demanding. She would rather you stand up to Laura instead of you having the balls to tell her she knew what she was getting into. Just... please... try... I can’t stand to see either of you hurt. Neither can your kids.”

“How?”

“I talk to them. They see the change, Antonio. They know what Laura did.”

“What... what if she says no?” While Antonio didn’t want to hurt Sylvie anymore than he already had but he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to handle the heartbreak if she said no.

“Then, you did what you told you would... Look, bro, I’m not saying this is going to be a walk in the park, but Antonio... she loves you... and I can see by that look in your eyes, you love her too.”

“I...” Antonio hadn’t said it out loud. He was scared to. The last woman he loved walked out on him and took everything that mattered with her. “I do... Gaby, I do love her.”

“Then.” She took his hand. “Do something about it.”

“When?”

“We’re off for the next couple of days.” Gaby answered. “I’d try tomorrow. Just, go by her place. Cruz and Otis should be away.”

“Cruz and Otis?”

“She moved in with them.”

“What? When?” Antonio was feeling drastically behind the 8 ball.

“She needed to move... her old landlord was being ridiculous... and most apartments for her budget were no where near a safe neighbourhood... the guys had a line on a place... she offered to offset the costs by being the 3rd roomie.”

“And there’s nothing...”

“She sees them as brothers, Antonio.” Gaby chuckled. “Don’t worry about them. You and I both know that you and Sylvie belong together. So go and fix this.”

Antonio nodded. “Send me the address... I’ll go see her tomorrow.”

Antonio went to the bar and settled the tab. He then hailed a cab and headed home. He had a lot of thinking to do. He needed a plan on how to even get Sylvie to give him a chance to speak. He also knew that Otis and Cruz, if they were there, may give him a hard time seeing as they were ‘big brothers’ to Brett.

“Dad...” Eva asked Antonio when he got home. “What... what was so secretive that you and Tia had to leave?”

“You’re too curious, Eva.”

“Did it have to do with Sylvie?”

“Eva.”

“No, Dad... come on... I’m almost an adult.”

Antonio sighed. His children were much more mature than their age and he knew Eva wouldn’t leave the subject alone unless he told her. “Yeah, it was about Sylvie. Tia thinks that I should talk to her... see if she’d give me a second chance.”

“So... will you?”

“I want to, Eva... but I’m not sure how.”

“Why don’t you start with ‘I’m sorry’?”

“Yeah... maybe.” Antonio ran his hand through his hair. “Okay... bed. I’ve got some thinking to do.”

The next morning, Antonio got ready and headed out to see Brett. Eva had a volleyball tournament and she had been picked up by a friend’s mom. He looked in the mirror. He hadn’t slept, so he looked like hell. He splashed some cold water on his face. “No time like the present.” He told his reflexion before grabbing his jacket and keys.

The drive to Sylvie’s was uneventful. His hands were shaking. He knew that he had to talk to her, but at the same time he was terrified that she would just slam the door in his face. He took a deep breath and went up and rang the bell.

Sure enough, Sylvie Brett’s beaming smile was right that. “Antonio.” Sylvie was surprised to see her ex-boyfriend standing on her doorstep. “Um... what... what are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you... like I promised when we... I... when I said we should take a break.”

“Antonio.”

“Sylvie, please... hear me out?”

Sylvie sighed. She’d had enough drama lately. Hope lying and trying to ruin things at 51, a lying and cheating doctor who had used her and now her ex decided to reappear. “Sure.” She stepped back and allowed Antonio in.

He followed her to her apartment. “Nice place.”

“I’m taking Gaby told you who my roommates are?” Sylvie sat at the island in the kitchen.

Antonio nodded. “Yeah.” He sat next to her. “She also told me what’s being going on since I made the biggest mistake in my life.”

Sylvie just stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Sylvie, I told you I was horrible at apologizing and I said some pretty foolish things... and I know I hurt you and I was a fool.” He stopped himself from rambling. “I made a mistake by walking away, by not standing up for you... for being a coward.”

“Antonio, I could’ve fought too...” She whispered.

“I could see it in your eyes that night, Sylvie... you didn’t want to hear that... I saw the tears... I caused that and there’s not a thing in this world I can do to make that right or take that pain away.”

“But?”

“I’ve been avoiding the checkin... I was... I was scared you wouldn’t want it... or...”

“You were worried I would’ve moved on.” Sylvie concluded.

Antonio nodded. “I know I have no claim to you, but Sylvie... I was a coward... scared of my own feelings I had for you.”

“What feelings?”

Antonio hung his head. “Sylvie.”

“You want a check-in, I’ll give you one... I tried dating... it got nowhere... mainly because I still prayed you’d wake up and come knock on my door. When it didn’t happen, I started taking more chances. I met a guy on a call... he took me for dinner and the son-of-a-bitch is married. I’ve never been more embarrassed. I got played. Worse than when Laura appeared at 51. I’m done chasing that fantasy. Now you tell me what feelings you were so scared of.”

“I was terrified that I was falling in love with you... the feelings I felt were so strong... and I got scared. I didn’t know how to deal with Laura and my new job and those feelings... so I ran and I’ve regretted that every single day.”

Sylvie was surprised. She had been certain that Antonio had moved on. “So what are you asking... or telling me here?”

“Sylvie... if you’ll give me the second chance... I’ll do my damnedest to make it work... and I won’t run away anymore either... I want to fight for us.”

“What about Laura? Or the kids? Gaby?”

“Eva and Gaby have both talked to me.”

“And?”

“Well, Eva told me I was dumber than the boys she goes to school with for ending it with you... and Gaby smacked me, chastised me and then told me what’s been going on with you.”

“So you knew about the doctor?”

Antonio nodded. “And I personally wanna kick his ass for what he did. You’re too good of a person to be taken advantage of.” He gently reached out and pushed a stray hair behind her ear.

Sylvie sighed. She knew that deep down she prayed Antonio would come back and they could try again, but she wasn’t sure how she felt now. She was feeling like she’d betrayed him. She gasped at the touch of his skin. It still send shivers down her spine. She cursed her body for reacting so quickly. She was still mad at him but her body betrayed that anger. She gently took his hand. “I... I’m willing, Antonio, to give us a second chance... but you can’t let your past interfere with what we have...”

Antonio gently stroked her cheek. “I promise. I’m not running anymore. Laura and work will not interfere. You will be the most important thing in my life... well, other than the kids.”

“I can live with that.” Sylvie smiled. “But you know that we can’t just go back to the way things were. It’s almost been a year.”

“I know that. And I’m willing to go at your pace... And I know that I have so much to make up for what I did.”

Sylvie sighed. “You broke my heart, Antonio... I won’t lie... but I haven’t stopped hoping that you’d eventually come to your senses.”

“Gaby said that too.”

“Well, she is my partner, and I’m pretty sure she listened to all my moping and crying.”

Antonio sighed. “Yep, she told me that too.”

Sylvie took his hand. “How about we go for lunch? Catch up?”

Antonio smiled. “Sure. I’d like that.”

“So, Eva moved in with you?”

Antonio nodded. “Yeah... turns out that Eva wanted to be treated like an adult and that wasn’t happening. Also, she really didn’t get along with...”

“It’s okay, I know that Laura still will be around because of the kids.” Sylvie squeezed his hand. “I just don’t want to have her ambush me again because she does, I won’t be responsible for what happens.”

“I’ll be ready to bail you out of lock up, if it comes to that.” Antonio chuckled.

“How’s work?”

“You mean how’s it back being in Intelligence?”

Sylvie nodded. “I’m taking it’s been an adjustment?”

“Yeah... Jay’s not over Erin leaving without saying good-bye. Ruzek is acting weird. We’ve dealt with Voight’s old partner gunning for Intelligence...”

“So, same old, same old.”

Antonio chuckled. “Yeah. I wanted more action than I was getting with the State’s Attorney’s office... and I’ve got it.”

“Then, that’s good right?”

“Yeah.” Antonio took a sip of his soda. “How’s things at work for you?”

Sylvie filled him in on all the goings on.

“So, you don’t buy what your friend, Hope has been telling you?”

“Not since Gaby pointed out that I allow people to take advantage of me because I’m too nice.”

“What do you think?”

“I think Hope is threatened by Stella’s feelings for Severide... and I think she’s purposely messing with her... I’m just not sure how I can go about it to figure out the truth. I’ve known Hope forever but Stella, Kelly, everyone... they’re my family now.”

“Well, Sylvie... I’ve had my share of backstabbing... and if your gut instinct is saying something’s off... then you’re probably right.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had to do this.” Sylvie finished her meal. “I never thought horribly about people before. I’ve never thought to see the negative in humanity.”

“Sylvie, you’re the most optimistic, glass half-full person I’ve ever met, but... sadly, the world will never be unicorns and rainbows.”

“I know, Antonio... but I just try to see the best in everybody... and now all this.”

Antonio made a brave move and gently caressed her cheek. “You will always see the best in people, but remember that some people will never change... nor will they be the good people you want them to be.”

Sylvie sighed. “Is it too soon to ask for a favour?”

“No.” Antonio smiled. “I think I owe you more than one.”

“Can... can you look into my friend... see what the truth really is?”

“I can some digging.” Antonio gently kissed her hand. “But, will you be ready for whatever truth I find?”

“I’ll have to be.” Sylvie said. “I don’t wanna believe anything bad about Hope... or that she’d try to mess things up at 51, but I don’t know anymore.”

“I’ll look into it.” Antonio was going to do more than just look into Hope. He was also going to dig into the doctor that had put doubt into Sylvie’s heart about her judgement of character.

Antonio had done his share of research on Hope Jacquinot and he wasn’t impressed by what he had found. He was even less impressed by what he’d dug up on Dr. Pete Calhoun. He sighed. He didn’t know who to deal with first.

“Yo, Tonio...” Atwater said. “We gotta head to Lakeshore... pick up a suspect.”

“Where’s Ruzek?”

“Dunno.” Kevin shrugged. “Voight said to grab you and go.”

“Okay.” Antonio grabbed his car keys and jacket and followed Atwater down the stairs.

Once at Lakeshore, Antonio flashed his star to the charge nurse. “I’m Detective Dawson... this is Officer Atwater. We were told you had a suspect here?”

“Follow me.” She got up and led them to one of the trauma rooms. “Dr. Calhoun... these men are CPD... they’re here about that gunshot.”

“Thanks, Nancy.” Calhoun said.

“Dr. Pete Calhoun?” Antonio asked.

“That’s right. Have we met?”

“No, uh we haven’t.” Antonio couldn’t blow this. “My sister mentioned that a Dr. Pete Calhoun was on site for one of the calls she responded to. She’s a paramedic.”

“Ah, yeah... a couple weeks back... I was actually grocery shopping.” Pete stood up. “So, you’re here for our suspected gang related gunshot victim?”

“That’s what we were told.” Kevin said.

“Right this way.”

Antonio let Kevin handle the paperwork and transfer. He wanted to have a word with a certain ER doctor. “Uh, Dr. Calhoun?”

“Yes, Detective?”

“I know what you did.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“Sylvie Brett.” Antonio said.

Calhoun’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you’re married, but you like to still play the field... probably has something to do with the fact that your wife is pregnant... but see, I know Sylvie... I care a lot about her and what you did was lower than low.”

“I... I...” Calhoun stuttered.

Antonio wound up and delivered a clear swing at the doctor. “You stay away from Sylvie... and I won’t tell your wife that you’ve banged almost every nurse in this ER.”

Calhoun fell back onto a chair. “I... I...”

“Did I make myself clear? Leave her alone, or next time, I’ll bring a few more friends. No one takes advantage of my girl and gets away with it.” Antonio said before stalking out of the room to go meet up with Atwater.

Sylvie was freaking out, but to be fair the whole firehouse was. Stella was being transferred and there was nothing anyone could do about it. She knew that Gaby had her hands full with the things going on with Matt since he’d been made Captain. She dialled the one person who might be able to help her.

“Sylvie?” Antonio’s strong voice began to calm her.

“Hey, um... can you talk?”

“Sure... everything okay?”

Sylvie broke down. “NO! NO! Everything is not okay!” She told him everything.

“Okay... babe... just breathe... I’m going to come in... talk to Matt and Chief Boden. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Antonio promised.

“Okay... thank you... I just didn’t know who to call.”

“Hey, it’s what I’m here for.” Antonio said. “I’ll see you soon.”

It didn’t take long for Antonio, Casey and Chief to piece together what had really happened. Once Chief Mullins cleared up a few things, Antonio went and got all the evidence and information he’d been able to dig up on Hope. They’d need everything possible to make sure Hope Jacquinot would leave Chicago for good.

Antonio met Casey, Chiefs Mullins and Boden in the meeting room. Antonio presented everything his investigation had turned up.

“Hope... can you join us in here for a moment?” Chief Boden asked Hope as she passed by the meeting room.

“Uh, sure, Chief.”

“Captain Casey has something he’d like to discuss with you.”

Hope’s demeanour changed drastically as she saw who was all in the meeting room.

Casey showed her the transfer papers. “These are the papers that were sent in to have Kidd transferred to Public Relations. It was signed by Chief Mullins, which is fine... except this isn’t his signature.”

Chief Mullins stepped up to the whiteboard and signed his name. “This is my signature.”

Hope’s eyes betrayed the fake smile she had glued onto her face.

Casey held out a form that Hope had previously filled out for Connie concerning the storage closet. “This is your handwriting.”

Antonio stepped forward. “And that I can say has formally been analyzed by a CPD hand writing analyst.”

“Who are you?” Hope asked.

“Detective Antonio Dawson... I know all about you Hope... I know how you’re Sylvie’s best friend... how you abused her kindness and used her to get everything you’ve ever wanted. We’re all here to put an end to it.”

Hope tried to make excuses for what she had done. She was stammering through how she wanted to give women a better position in the CFD.

Boden put his hand up. “Stop!” He bellowed. “Just, stop.” He looked to the others before looking back to Hope. “Pack your desk.”

“What?!”

“I’m saving everyone else from having more trouble. Pack your desk and then Detective Dawson will escort you from the property. Do not come back to this firehouse.” Boden opened the door. “I strongly recommend you leave Sylvie alone... Detective Dawson will take her safety extremely personally and that means her psychological safety as well...”

Antonio took Hope by the elbow and led her out to the hallway where Connie was waiting with a box of Hope’s things.

Connie had a pleased smile on her face. “I went ahead and sped this up for you.” She dropped the box in Hope’s arms before taking the files from Hope’s hands and smugly walking back to her desk.

“This way.” Antonio led Hope to the doors to the apron. “Don’t darken Sylvie’s doorstep... trust me. That family that you just spat on and tried to ruin, they’ll never let you hurt her again. But, they’re the least of your worries. See... I love Sylvie... I never stopped... and you probably don’t know this, but we’ve started to mend our relationship. You try to come near her again... I’m gonna introduce you to my boss, and you won’t like him.”

Hope stammered as Antonio got her into a waiting cab and slammed the door. He watched and waited as the cab pulled away. He had gotten Al to be the cabbie and to make sure Hope was sent packing for good. After hearing all the mess she’d caused, he only hoped this help show Sylvie that she wasn’t naive or gullible. He had spent the morning trying to show her that she was good and that she shouldn’t feel the way she was.

“Is she gone?” Sylvie’s soft whisper broke his silent train of thought.

Antonio spun and saw her. Tears were still streaming down her face. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “Yeah. I’m so sorry, Sylvie... I never... You don’t deserve this.”

“I trusted her.” Sylvie sniffled.

Antonio rubbed her back. “I know. I know you did, but Sylvie... what she’s done isn’t on you... it’s on her.”

“I brought her here.”

“No, babe... you didn’t.” He wiped her tears away. “She came, and she burned every bridge that you and this family were willing to build for her. And when she gets back to Fowlerton, she’ll answer for the crimes that she was accused of there.”

“You called their PD?” Sylvie’s question was barely audible.

“I did... I won’t have her hurting you anymore. I’ve done enough damage for a couple lifetimes. I don’t want you to be hurt anymore. I want you to smile... and laugh... like when we first started seeing each other.”

“I don’t think I could ever be that girl again.”

“Hey, you can... you will... you need time to heal.”

“I can’t wait for this shift to be over.”

“Brett.” Chief’s voice startled them.

“Uh, Chief.” Sylvie wiped the freshest tears from her eyes.

“Go home.”

“Shift isn’t over.”

“It is for you. There’s an hour left. Gaby said she’ll do the paperwork.” Boden looked to Antonio. “Antonio, please take her home.”

“You got it, Chief.” Antonio grabbed the bag that Boden was holding out. “Come on.”

Antonio pulled up to Sylvie’s apartment and let her out while he went to park his truck.

Sylvie waited for him to come back and while she was waiting Hope made her way up to her.

“Sylvie... I’m so, so, so sorry!”

“No.” Sylvie walked away. “I don’t wanna hear it.”

“Sylvie, please... they’re all trying to turn you...” Hope tried grabbing Sylvie’s arm.

“No!” Sylvie swatted her away.

“Sylvie! You know me!” Hope kept trying to keep talking. “Connie... she had it out for me from the start...”

“STOP!” Sylvie screeched. “How could you?! How could you do this to me?!” Sylvie did something she’d only ever thought about doing. She slapped Hope. “You came here. You abused our friendship... you tried to ruin EVERYTHING... Everything I’ve ever built here.”

Hope’s hand flew to her cheek. “Syl...”

“Hey!” Antonio’s strong voice brought more strength to Sylvie.

Sylvie got right in Hope’s face. “These people... they mean more to me than anyone or anything every has. Get out of Chicago.”

When Hope just stood there, looking to say more.

Antonio had finally joined them. He grabbed her and slapped some cuffs on her wrists. “Well, since you didn’t listen to me the first time, maybe you’ll listen this time.”

Sylvie was furious. “You had a chance... the most amazing chance to have an incredible life with incredible friends... working at the best firehouse in this city. That’s a fact... and you blew it!” She stared straight into Hope’s soul. “So, you can take all your excuses... your lies... take your drama and take it all back to Fowlerton!” Sylvie stormed off into the apartment. She looked back to Antonio. “I’ll wait for you.”

Antonio nodded as Sylvie closed the door. “So, my boss is on his way... and I wasn’t kidding when I told you that you weren’t going to like him.”

Sylvie was exhausted and it wasn’t just just because she’d been on shift for 24 hours prior. She was exhausted from sobbing and having her heart stomped on so many times in such a short period of time. She was just changing laundry over when her doorbell rang. She knew that Otis and Cruz were out discussing the possibility of a second Molly’s. She went to the door and was just praying that Hope wouldn’t be on the other side of it.

“Hey.” Antonio’s smile helped ease the pain she was feeling.

“Hey.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Is it FINALLY over?!”

“It is.” He held her tightly. “Detectives from Fowlerton are on their way now to deal with her... well, negotiate what’s going to happen with her considering what she’d done here in Chicago.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably best for your emotional state if you don’t.” He stroked her arm. “I got you something.”

“Antonio... you didn’t have to.”

“Well...” He held out a grocery bag. “I figured we could watch a movie and eat some of the ice cream you like so much.”

“That... that I can live with.” She kissed him softly. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being my hero... I should’ve just kept holding out for you.”

“You did.” He closed the door behind them. “You held out, fought the dragons and now we’re here.”

“Does this mean we get a ‘happily ever after’?”

“In time.” He led her to the living room and grabbed the remote. “One day at a time.”

A/N: There you go! Okay... so it has only taken me close to 3 weeks to write it, but it’s done and I think it’s pretty fabulous. I really hate Hope... and I really hate that doctor for hurting Sylvie. Please... let me know what you think of this! I really love hearing your feedback. Until next time... Nicole

#Brettonio4ever #Brettonio #BringBackBrettonio #AntonioDawson #SylvieBrett #ChicagoFire #ChicagoPD #OneChicago #ChiHards

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multi-goodness · 7 years

Text

Say Something

Okay, this is finally the Antonio insight of the breakup story, clearly that means the breakup is in his POV. I hope you guys like it and don’t think I agree with their breakup cause I clearly don’t. But this is why I think Antonio broke things off. Enjoy as always!

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“I really don’t need this right now, I got enough going on with her and a new job, now I gotta hear it from you?”

“You know what? It’s probably better if you don’t hear it from me anymore.”

Antonio hated the words he said to Sylvie and knew if he just kept his mouth shut, he wouldn’t have been at Milton L Olive III Park deep in thought.

He wished more than anything he could rewind time and go back to a few days ago where he and Sylvie were blissfully happy and Laura didn’t screw that up. He should have realized that Sylvie watching Diego while he was working was a big mistake and Laura wouldn’t take too kindly finding that out.

As he looked out over at the water, he knew Sylvie didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve for him to yell at her like that. She didn’t make a mistake, Laura did. And of course he already did his fair share of screaming at Laura before he went to see Sylvie. Maybe that also didn’t help matters since he was already in a bad mood.

Sylvie deserved someone that could give her the world, and as much as Antonio wished he could, he just couldn’t. He tried so hard thinking that this relationship could work, that Laura would stay out of his relationship with Sylvie, but who the hell was he kidding? He may have divorced Laura years ago, but she still was the mother of his children and that would never change. How could he expect her not to use the kids to try and manipulate him? Or hell, Sylvie?

Antonio heard his phone buzzing so he took it out of his pocket. He noticed Gabby calling him and he sighed. He didn’t need to hear Gabby’s lecture right now about how Sylvie didn’t deserve this, how she deserved better. And he couldn’t argue with her, because she did. Sylvie was so pure and so innocent that he knew if he ignored what his gut was telling him and even try fighting for their relationship, he could change her. He could make her into this person that is always constantly fighting with Laura and he couldn’t do that. She loved being nice and respectful and would hate being mean to anyone, least of all, to the mother of his children.

He couldn’t leave this situation of course, he couldn’t tell Laura off and tell her where to shove it because the fact of the matter is, she could easily take him back to court or even worse, make sure she keeps the kids busy so he couldn’t see them. He hated to admit it but right now, she held the power. But Sylvie, she could leave. She could find someone who could love and treat her the way she deserved to be treated. And the way he treated her today, the way he yelled at her and made her feel inadequate.

He inhaled a sharp breath and he placed his hands on his face. He wanted to get the image of how she looked when he basically told her he couldn’t deal with her. Sylvie was the only good thing in his life right now, besides his kids, and the look of hurt on her face that was caused by him killed him. Ever since they began their romance, he was happy, something he hadn’t felt in so long, but now he ruined it just because his ex-wife knew what kind of buttons to push with people.

As much as he wanted to go and fix this with Sylvie, tell her how sorry he was, how could he? He would have to promise her that things will get better with Laura and that wasn’t a promise he felt like he could keep. Not because he didn’t want to because god, he wanted to. He wanted to go over to Sylvie and hold her in his arms and never let go, but Laura was always going to be a crazy certifiable person that she turned into when they got divorced. She didn’t want Antonio to be happy, least of all with someone like Sylvie.

Not like someone meaning looks, but like Sylvie because if he knew this thing could last with Sylvie maybe for the rest of his life, Laura knew it too. And if anyone could deal with his problems at work, it was Sylvie. She may not have someone shooting at her every day at work like Antonio does, but she still dealt with dangerous situations and knew regardless of what happened, she loved her job and would never want Antonio to give up being a detective for any reason. Something that Laura could never do.

In Laura’s eyes, Sylvie wasn’t a rebound, something to do while he was bored at his new job, she was the real thing, their relationship was real and pure and Laura hated that. Laura hated that Antonio let Sylvie meet the kids already, she hated that Sylvie wanted a bond with the kids, wanted to get to know the kids and not just because of Antonio, but also because she was interested to know them. And it made her furious that Sylvie was watching Diego until Antonio got out of work. Everyone knew that Antonio didn’t trust anyone with the kids, and not so fast, but he trusted that Sylvie would be okay with Diego for their love of chess, although he had a feeling Sylvie only enjoyed chess for Diego.

Antonio smiled softly as he thought about catching Diego and Sylvie playing chess when he was working. He had the kids for the night and since Sylvie already met the kids, she was hanging out with them while Antonio was working and would be home later that night. When Antonio walked into the house, he saw Sylvie and Diego playing chess, since it was an intense game, they didn’t notice when he walked in the apartment and he could see the look on Sylvie’s face that she wasn’t bored, but was actually enjoying her time with his kids. All he could ever ask for was to find a woman to want to be there for the kids, more than just because she was dating their father.

As much as he hated the words he said to her, he hated it even more that she could end things just because of an argument. He knew it was just because she was upset and he hit a nerve but it made him wonder if their relationship was strong enough to make it. The last thing he wanted was to make their kids fall in love with her even more than they were, make them feel like they had a family sense again, only to find out that Sylvie couldn’t handle it anymore. And not only that, but he barely survived when he divorced Laura, he wasn’t sure if he could deal with another woman he fell in love with walking out on him for whatever reason.

Antonio felt like since he has been down this road before, he knew what he had to do. It may be hard since he was happy with Sylvie and it was the first time he felt like he finally had a normal personal life outside of work, but he wanted to save them the heartache, save them the drama they would face if he chose to ignore their problems now. Sylvie wasn’t just his girlfriend but Gabby’s partner and best friend. He was doing the right thing but sometimes the right thing and the thing he wanted the most wasn’t the same.

As he stood up from the bench, he felt his phone buzzed again and he sighed. As he took it out, he noticed a text from Gabby letting him know that Sylvie was at her apartment, in case he decided he wanted to talk to her and stop being an idiot. Leave it to his sister to call him an idiot but he knew why. He also had a text from Kelly Severide letting him know to come to Molly’s tonight but not tell Gabby or Matt why or what was going on. He figured it was the perfect chance to tell Sylvie his decision before they headed to Molly’s.

-------

As Antonio drove over to Gabby’s house, he didn’t know how he wanted to say this without her thinking that this is what he wanted. He needed Sylvie to know and understand that he wanted to be with her, but also wanted her to be happy. And while he could make her happy sometimes, this was his life. Laura was always going to be a problem in their relationship, and if it wasn’t her, it was going to be his job. She deserved better, she deserved to be happy always.

Once Antonio made it to Gabby’s, he parked his car and got out. He took a deep breath, hoping he can get through with this and not think this was a mistake. He may have wanted to be with Sylvie, but the life he chose, he never really got what he wanted.

A few minutes later, Antonio stood outside of Gabby’s door and was about to lock on it when the door suddenly opened. He saw Sylvie on the other side of the door.

‘You can do this,’ he thought to himself, knowing he had to push himself to do this. “Hey, uh.” He began as he placed his hand on his chest, a habit he did when he was about to say something that either made him happy or something that broke his heart. And this time, it was the latter. He looked around in the hallway of the apartments as he tried to process really what he was about to do. He looked back at Sylvie, knowing he had to begin with apologizing to her because regardless of what happened, he was wrong.

“Listen, um, I’m not good at apologizing obviously.” He said, cracking a little smile. Antonio hated apologizing and only did it when it was absolutely necessary and this time it was. She didn’t deserve what he put her through the last few days and didn’t deserve to know if and when he would talk to her again when this wasn’t her fault to begin with.

“But I just want to say,” He looked at her face and could tell that these last few days weren’t just hard on him but also her too. He wasn’t worth it for her to be stressing and suffering over. If he could kick his own ass, he would. “I messed up. And then I---I made it worse.”

Hearing his apologizes, Sylvie realized she didn’t need to hear it, she was just happy that he showed up here. She thought maybe now they can go back to being happy with each other and forget everything that happened. “Antonio. I don’t need to--.”

Antonio placed his hand on his chest, letting her know that he wasn’t done with what he had to say. He wished more than anything all he was here to do was apologize and head over to Gabby and Matt’s reception but he couldn’t. “Wait---let me finish.” He stepped closer to her. This was the hardest thing he had to say or do, break up with someone who he didn’t want to be apart from, break up with someone who wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.

“I think---I think you deserve better than I can give you.” He said, his hands gesturing between them both, making sure she realized that it wasn’t that she wasn’t enough for him, but that he wasn’t enough for her. That the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her and knowing that was exactly what he was doing, hurting her.

His voice started stammering, the pain evident in his tone. “I got baggage that’s never going away.” He said, pointing to himself, knowing that his baggage was difficult baggage and she didn’t have any. She may have not perfect to others, but to him, she is perfect and didn’t need to deal with his problems. “I got a job that’s never gonna be able to put you first and you deserve first.”

As Antonio finished what he said, his heart screamed at him to take back everything he said, but his mind was telling him that he was doing the right thing. That this may be difficult but he was doing this to give her a better life, a more stable life. Truth was, the last few months, he was living in a fantasy world, thinking that he could make a relationship work with Sylvie. He was allowing his happiness to control his mind, control everything, but all he could think about was Sylvie sacrificing everything to be with him and he wasn’t okay with that.

Antonio searched Sylvie’s eyes and knew from the midst of her eyes that this was killing her. Just like it was killing him to make this decision and know it was the right one.

Timing, that’s what it was all about and their timing was off right now.

Sylvie stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them. As their hands joined together, Antonio kept his eyes glued to her face, her beautiful perfect face, and beautiful blue eyes.

“We were great together.” She said, her voice filling with sadness.

The sad thing about all this was they were and that was his first thought when he knew they needed to take a step back. He loved Laura and knew they had some great times, but his relationship with Sylvie was different. Maybe it was because she knew his job and the risks it came with, knew he had two kids, she knew everything and still fought to be with him. It made their relationship so good and pure and he hated putting it on hold, on a break but he needed Sylvie to be happy. And right now he wasn’t sure he could give her happiness.

“We were.” He agreed, keeping a tight hold on her hands. He wasn’t sure when the next time he would be able to hold her hands or if he was ever going to get that chance again.

As Sylvie held back her emotions, she took a deep breath. “Look, um, maybe if things with your job settles and everything settles, we could---we could just check and see.” She suggested, not wanting to know that this could be the end of them forever.

Antonio nodded his head. “I’d like that.” Although he didn’t want her to put her life on hold forever, knowing that this was only a step back from their relationship, it made him feel better, if only slightly.

“Yeah, me too.” Sylvie said, relieved that he’d agreed to it. She didn’t want to think that this was a failed attempt at their relationship when she knew how happy they made each other.

Sylvie and Antonio stood there in silence, looking at each other. Antonio was silently begging in his mind that she would put an end to this. But he knew if they had one thing in common, it was their stubbornness. Sylvie would never begged for him to change his mind if she thought he wanted this, and Antonio would never ask Sylvie to give up everything to be with him. Right now it may seem like she didn’t have to, but eventually she was going to have to give up everything she believed in to be with him and that was something he wasn’t okay with.

As the spell they had on each other broke, Sylvie wrapped her arms around Antonio as he stepped into the hug.

As they said everything they needed to, right now no words were needed as they processed everything that was said. Antonio knew he was about to endure hell with being away from Sylvie, and he was trying to savor being this close to her.

Sylvie finally let the emotions overcome her as she held onto him tightly. She never expected for Laura to be the cause of their breakup and never thought they would break up so soon.

Once the hug ended, Antonio stepped back and looked at Sylvie. He gave her a small comforting smile as she returned back the gesture. This wasn’t a bad breakup in the terms of them hating each other, but it was a bad breakup in the terms that they both didn’t want this. And they knew this, it was no point in saying that since it was obvious.

Giving her one more look, he walked away from her and headed towards the elevator. He wished he could go home and just fall asleep, knowing he made a huge mistake, but since it was for Gabby, he knew he had to make an appearance at Molly’s or else Severide may hang his head.

------

As he walked into Molly’s, he saw the huge turnout and knew he couldn’t leave for a while. He sighed as he made his way over to the table and sat down. He wasn’t even in the mood to socialize with anyone and make small time, just wanting to think about what he really done. He ruined probably the best thing he was ever going to get, especially in Chicago.

He broke out of his thoughts after a few minutes and knew he needed a beer. He stood up and made his way over to the bar and ordered one. Luckily Herrmann was busy setting everything up, that he handed Antonio a beer and just gave him a smile, one that Antonio couldn’t reciprocate right now. He thanked him and headed back to his table.

After a few minutes, he heard Gabby, Matt and Severide head into Molly’s and he tried to be happy for his sister, he truly did. He was happy for her, but the smile couldn’t make it on his face knowing that for the rest of his life he was going to be alone. Although they said they’d check in, he knew Sylvie wouldn’t wait forever and knowing how wonderful Sylvie is, it wouldn’t take long.

Antonio was barely listening to Herrmann’s speech which was now causing people to laugh and groan, which made him feel guilty, he looked over at the door and saw Sylvie entered.

For a split second, he thought about if they would came here together and how happy they would have been to celebrate Matt and Gabby’s big night together, but instead they were broken up. He sighed as he tore his eyes away from Sylvie and looked at his sister and his brother-in-law.

He smiled slightly, knowing that despite what he was feeling in the love department right now, he was happy for his sister. Happy that she finally got what she deserved, a happy ending with Matt.

As Matt was putting the ring on Gabby’s finger, he lifted his beer up as he looked at Sylvie. He knew he had to get out of here and go home because if he stayed here, he’d probably end up drunk and forgetting about what happened tonight.

As an hour passed, and some people were heading out, Antonio knew it was the perfect time to leave too. He lost his sight on Sylvie, wondering if she left already.

“Hey sis.” Antonio said, smiling slightly, hoping she wouldn’t ask him what happened between him and Sylvie.

“Tonio!” Gabby announced. “I was wondering when you were finally gonna come say hi to me.”

Gabby was clearly happy which made him happy. “I’m sorry. I wanted to give you and Matt some time to celebrate. Especially knowing how many people were coming up to you and saying congratulations, I figured I could wait.”

Gabby looked around for Sylvie. “Did Sylvie decide to meet you at your apartment? Hopefully you guys made up.”

This wasn’t the time nor the place to tell Gabby his stupid mistake. He wanted her to think that life was perfect right now. In every aspect.

“Hopefully. But uh, listen, I need to go. I have work early in the morning. Congratulations once again, I love you.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Love you too, bro.” She smiled slightly, knowing something was up but not wanting to get in the middle of it.

“And congratulations, Matt.” He shook Matt’s hand and then walked away and headed out of Molly’s.

“Are you sure he’s okay?” Matt looked over at Gabby.

“I’ll check on him tomorrow.”

#Brettonio #Sylvie Brett #Antonio Dawson #my fanfic #this was so sad to write

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hailey-halstead · 7 years

Text

Learning Experience

hi guys! here is the shorter fic i have been working on :) i don't own anything! ——————— "God do we need these shots," Antonio grumbled as Herrmann placed four glasses in front of him, Nagel, Stone, and Valdez. "Thanks." He nodded to the firefighter, who was holding a sympathetic smile on his face. Obviously he had heard from the grapevine what had gone down in the courtroom earlier today. "Total bullshit." Herrmann began to rage. "That guy should have been thrown in jail, what the hell was wrong with that judge—" Before Herrmann could continue, Stone swiftly cut in to stop him. Antonio assumed trash talking a judge wasn't viewed highly in the attorney's eyes, especially in a public place. "It's done and over with, unfortunately." He sighed, downing the shot in front of him. "One of worst people I've ever ran into though. No doubt he killed that girl." "So that's it?" Valdez spoke up, giving Stone a puzzling look. "You're not pushing for more for the bastard?" "No evidence, apparently." To Antonio's amazement, Stone was seeming the least bothered of them all. "But I plan on going in other direction so this doesn't happen again. At least in the aspect of getting justice." Antonio and Nagel exchanged looks of confusion, but Valdez knew exactly what he was talking about. "Good." She nodded her head with approval. "If we didn't have work tomorrow I would be getting so drunk right now," Nagel muttered into her glass, unlike Stone sipping it little by little. But when Herrmann returned with another round, she quickly grabbed ahold of one, as if someone else was going to take two. "Did you hear about your sister?" Herrmann asked softly, the tone of his voice immediately catching Antonio's attention. Usually Herrmann was blunt and straightforward, this side of him had him concerned. And of course, the question he asked did as well. "No, I didn't." He pushed his drinks aside, leaning more over the bar counter. "Tell me what happened." The question came out more like a demand, but he wasn't in the mood for apologizing. Why didn't Herrmann say something right when he came into the bar? "You know that they had a trainee the other day, right?" Herrmann asked. Antonio quickly nodded, wanting the older man to continue. Gabby told him about having a trainee a few days ago, just a small piece of the conversation they had. But Herrmann didn't continue, instead shifting his eyes to his right. Antonio followed them, seeing his three co-workers not hiding their interest. He couldn't blame them, he would be doing the same exact thing if he was in their shoes. He particularly didn't want to keep thinking about Jackson Clark. "It's fine, go on." He was more concerned with hearing about Gabby than having a private conversation. "The trainee ended up trying to give someone CPR, cracked one of his ribs. Brett and Dawson ended up covering for him." Herrmann took the empty shot glasses and placed them behind the bar. "They have to take retraining classes." "That's it?" Antonio couldn't hold back his surprise. By the sound of it, it seemed like Gabby was in some kind of distress. "Oh, that's not how Gabby views it." Herrmann shook his head while getting a beer for another patron. "I bet you can guess how she's taking all of this." "Not well." Gabby was probably furious. He could imagine it perfectly, and the admittedly hilarious thought made one side of his lips curl upward. "Speak of the devil..." Herrmann gestured with his chin to someone behind Antonio. Before he could turn around, an enraged Gabby plopped herself down in the stool next to him. He couldn't help but notice the blonde hair of Sylvie Brett on her other side. How was she taking all of this, he couldn't help but wonder. They broke up awhile ago, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Did she think about him too...? His inner musings were interrupted by Gabby starting to complain. He quickly snapped himself out of his thoughts of Sylvie, giving his sister his attention. "Did you hear?" She asked with a scowl. He opened his mouth to reply, but she didn't give him any time to respond. During this time, he met Sylvie's eyes. Unlike her partner, she didn't seem as ticked off. They exchanged smiles, a silent greeting. Gabby continued on ranting. "—it's ridiculous! Quite insulting actually!" Antonio decided to interrupt her, knowing that was the only way he was going to get a word in. "You could use it as a learning experience." He offered, trying to give her some big brother wisdom. "You can become a better paramedic because of this—" "I'm the best damn paramedic out there!" Gabby declared, slamming her hand on the bar counter in frustration. "I don't need any stupid classes to teach me anything!" She glanced over at Sylvie, who looked simply amused. "No offense." "None taken." She shrugged. Her easygoing demeanor made Antonio wonder why she wasn't acting the same way as Gabby. She had to have a different perspective on retaking classes. "You don't seem to be too upset." He decided to bring up, cocking his head at Sylvie. He ignored the face Gabby was making in between them. Just because she was already upset didn't mean she had to throw a fit that her brother and her partner were talking to each other. She should be able to be more relaxed now that they have been broken up for awhile. Antonio realized his mistake on assuming Gabby was bothered by them talking, as she revealed her true feelings when she began to speak. "She isn't! She's actually excited!" She exclaimed, gathering the attention of nearby patrons. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Stone, Valdez, and Nagel listening to their conversation. Normally, Gabby would lower her voice when she noticed others were listening, but she was not on that state of mind. She was on a rampage. "So it's even harder to be going through this because I'm the only one complaining—" "I'm sorry! I can't help that I love to learn! And take any opportunity possible for me to become a better paramedic!" Sylvie interrupted, flushed with both embarrassment and frustration. To his own surprise, she extended her whole arm to grab his shot, swallowing it in one attempt. "Was my drink good?" He couldn't help but ask, one eyebrow raised. His question flustered his ex even more, who he could tell was just now processing her action. "Sorry, I'll buy you another one." She brought her purse onto the counter, shuffling through for what Antonio presumed her wallet. "I just saw the drink and reacted—and yeah, it was pretty good." When she tried to hand over money, he shook his head, rejecting her offer. "No need." He said as he rose his hand to wave Herrmann over. "I'll get you two drinks, you had a rough day. Well, Gabby did." He corrected himself. "Maybe I shouldn't get you one then." "Hey, I'm not one to turn away free drinks." She smiled at him, stuffing her money back into her wallet. "But I'm afraid that Gabby has ditched us." She pointed to a table on the other side of the bar. His sister was in a booth, Matt Casey's arm over her shoulder. Hardly a surprising sight. He couldn't help but wish she had given him some type of warning that she was going to leave him alone with Sylvie, as he now felt slightly blindsided. "More for me then." He managed to get out the words, concealing his nerves. Luckily, Herrmann brought them two beers in a matter of seconds. Antonio quickly took a sip, the cold liquid going down his throat immediately soothing him. "How was your day? Any retraining classes for you?" She said a light joke. Being reminded of his frustrating day made him make a face. Her face fell, but it was her next action that surprised him more. She took Gabby's empty bar stool, now shoulder to shoulder with him. "What happened?" She asked, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. Her familiar scent wafted towards him, and he couldn't help but close his eyes as he tried to prolong the flowery smell. "Antonio?" His eyes shot back open when she called his name. She was leaning closer to him, head tilted to the side. "Are you okay? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to?" "No, no, it's fine." He allowed himself to take another sip of his beer. "It was a frustrating case. Douchebag of a guy. Jury said he was guilty of murder, judge overturned it. Never like to see people like that get to walk free." "Antonio." Stone had a warning tone in his voice. Antonio looked past Nagel to meet Stone's eyes. "That's all I was going to say." He argued with the attorney. "I know what you had just told Herrmann." When he returned his gaze back on Sylvie, she seemed uncomfortable. Apparently she hadn't realized that his co-workers were on the other side of him. "I didn't know that you had company," She apologized, beginning to get out of her seat. "I can go—" His hand shot out to grab her elbow before she could get away. "No, stay." He said, before letting go of her, wanting to not seem so desperate. "I mean, I've been enjoying spending time with you, it's been awhile." He spoke truthfully, not wanting to skirt around the topic. It's not like he expected or had a goal for them to get back into a relationship now, he simply wanted to talk to her again. And of course, let things go from there. Sylvie's face softened at his honesty. "I've been enjoying talking with you too." She said, but still didn't show any signs of staying, grabbing her beer from the counter. "But it's obvious that you are here with them," She gestured to the trio to Antonio's right. "And I don't want to intrude." She had to know that he prefers her company over his co-workers, who he sees everyday. There was no contest. Plus some feelings for Sylvie were obviously still there, so he definitely wanted to spend more time with her. "You aren't intruding—" He tried to convince her. But to no avail. She wasn't backing down. "Text me later, or call. And if you forget or get busy, I'll just do it." She tucked a small strand of hair behind her ear, the only small sign of her nerves. "Point is, we will talk again soon, right?" She boldly reached out a hand to squeeze his shoulder, and then left to go to where Matt and Gabby were residing, not looking back. He privately wondered if she didn't want to hear his answer. There was no use of pondering, he thought as he swiveled around to face the bar again. Nagel rose her eyebrows at him, the only acknowledgement of his and Sylvie's interaction, to Antonio's relief, before turning her attention back to her phone. He presumed that she was texting her daughter, judging by the look on her face and how she was acting like the device in her hand was the most important thing in the world. Antonio didn't mind being ignored, he was slightly relieved, actually. He could enjoy his beer in silence and also be alone with his thoughts of Sylvie, looking forward to their next encounter.

#my post #brettonio #brettonio fanfiction #brettonio ff #learning experience #antonio #sylvie #herrmann #gabby #stone #nagel #valdez

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homersodyssey · 7 years

Text

f o o l | Solo ft. Snow

A call came near closing time at the Tribal Outfitter boutique. It was the sort that Homer believed she would quickly learn to forget. She said hello and received no reply. One more greeting, with meaning, that could reach out if a delay had interrupted or someone hard of hearing continued to wait on the other side. Still nothing...

The chunky pale landline phone made a click sound once Homer set it back in the cradle and proceeded to lock up and return home.

This would come to be a recurring oddity, spread out far between the last attempt to reach the mystery caller. No white noise or fax buzz from the other side. Homer quickly stopped following up after an initial address. She was kind, but not stupid and on more frantic afternoons in the shop this phone call became quite the nuisance however short lived.

It wasn’t till after Homer found signs of a shoplift that she finally gave to the mute on the other side. “This is Homer Klimt. How can I help you?” She followed up after the predictable silence lingered in the air. This had gone on since the start of winter. By now, the quiet felt like words; taunting. Like it was a joke. She didn’t want to be made a fool twice in one day. “Hello? ... I know you’re there, so jus--” The click rang out and this time it wasn’t from the land line cradle, but a short static that signified another being hanging up on her.

Of course she spoke to Sylvie about it, but there was little connection to her powers and the souls that lingered at Homer’s heels day by day. It was clear now that whoever had started this prank was living. Despite the girl’s frustration, she couldn’t deny her curiosity. Homer wanted to discover who was sending the calls.

She tried most every avenue she could think of or Google, but each attempt came up dry. Just as she grew sharp the caller became sloppy.

The last calls, Homer could hear chatter of people standing inside a room, music off of a speaker, or the echo of traffic that matched the sort traveling just outside the shop’s doors. She could have sworn that one time there was a clear sound of a single breath.

Hang up.

Homer still considered this all to be a practical joke... and she was tired of it. Though the girl wished to make a statement, demand an answer once again, she didn’t want to give this person the satisfaction. She would hang up, till the calls never came again.

- The evening that followed police reports of a hunter’s body being found at the far corners of town was when the center of Klamenth Falls went still. Homer locked up early. Once the main bolt clacked shut a familiar ring blared out just behind the counter. When she picked up she didn’t say a thing. Stretching her ear to listen, there was something faint in the distance. She knew this by heart, a song, but why couldn’t the singer and lyrics stick?

--ning to... I'll never be untrue Oh baby... Let's, let's stay together Lovin' you whether, whether Times are good or bad, happy or sad...

Heart sinking, Homer’s knees sank with it and she dragged down with the wall at her back while holding the speaker to her ear just as tight.

Why, why some people break up Then turn around and make up I just can't see... You'd never do that to me--

“Who are you...?” Homer asked without a chime of interest or anger. She stared out at her shop in the cool gray darkness lit up by moonlight and listened to the Motown playlist this lost soul had set up just for her.

The list went on for at least and hour. Homer had ended up on the hardwood floor, curled upon her side and just barely clinging onto consciousness. That’s why it all seemed more like a dream, when an unnatural baritone sound disrupted the final song and words scrambled between Smokey Robinson’s lyrics, “It will be alright, Homer.”

Click.

Homer stopped mentioning the experience to anyone though she couldn’t resist thinking about the incident for the few days that followed. Many of the tracks found their way into her own personal playlist and it was then she truly had to wonder if this was something no one should find amusing. Perhaps this stranger was a stalker. She should call the cops. Report it at least, but despite it all Homer began to feel less and less threatened by what had happened. The songs were her only link and so she sought out meaning, as long as she could, before the fire struck.

It has been a week since the terror. Homer’s shop was vandalized. Most windows broken and many items burned. The fire left marks on the flooring and walls though the building and everything inside still stood without trouble. She was in one piece and this wasn’t the end. Homer had friends, people who pointed her head in the right direction, but she hadn’t reflected on just how much she relied on only herself since she was a child till the damn phone rang one last time. Conflicted with so much, Homer clasped a hand over her face and let out a hoarse breath. The ringing didn’t stop as she let it hang there. After smudging a dampness off of her lash to comb the same hand through her wild hair, Homer bolted for the phone and with face forward pressed against the wall there.

“You told me it would be alright.

Are you one of them...? Are you responsible for this mess?

Say something! Fuck...”

She struck the wall with her fist.

Her demand wasn’t met. Not at first...

“I’m sorry.” It was that voice again. She hadn’t drempt of it.

Was this a confession? A hunter. Her heart was screaming now and she whipped her head aside out of exhilaration only to stick both eyes straight onward. Outside the bare window sill, across the street, upon a corner stood a man. His frame was something Homer found familiar, but at such a distance and in the nighttime she couldn’t be sure. They faced her from where he stood. This couldn’t be coincidence.

They hesitated to speak again and Homer didn’t dare interrupt. She’d gone cold yet perspired where she stood. “I know what I said, that’s why... I’m sorry for what happened to you and your store.”

She shook her head. Confused. “S-so you’re--”

“No, I’m not a hunter.” A very faint, dry, heartbreaking chuckle hummed through the line. “You’ve probably assumed so many things

I was scared at first, but--”

“Who are you?” Her voice wasn’t empty of emotion this time. She practically cried out the question. Still, it was reserved and sharp, only meant for one another.

It went quiet again, like the first day he’d called. A shiver edged his words, “I’m still fucking scared.” He said this as if it were amusing.

Homer waited and watched the figure from afar adjust where it stood before replying.

“It’s Snow.”

“... Snow?” She knew of the local artist of course, their interactions had been few and brief, but the fleeting nature of the moments before now began to make a lot more sense. But she still didn’t understand, he hadn’t given any clear explanation for this, “Why--”

“That’s the hard part...” The struggle was very clear in his tone. “You’ve been missing... for so long, but I could have stopped that.”

The color started to drain from Homer’s cheeks.

“From your first day... I could have stopped it.”

Their conjoined breaths created static. Homer covered her mouth and shut both eyes tight. Enough to trigger a headache.

“I created you.” Another hitch. “Appearances, I know, but... it’s true, that’s what I am. Your... your father.”

A curved knuckle fit its edge against and then between Homer’s lips and blunt front teeth. She wept in silence, stray tears, while her whole body tingled with numbing cold.

“I’m a failure, I know that...” Emotion rattled through the speaker she couldn’t rip from her ear. “and you made something so good. Great. Out of that chaos, kid, you’ve gotta understand.”

“It’s to--” Homer choked on her words, they were hardly audible.

“You’re everything we weren’t.

You’re so much better...”

“It’s too late.” The girl gasped out and her eyes were open wide once again. She stared at the figure who stood in place. “Twenty years... h-how many days... --you could have found me... but we’re strangers. A stranger... that’s all you made.

Homer felt lightheaded. She set a palm atop her head and let out a gentle sob. “I-it’s too late... I wont t-take another word from you. You cold hearted... monster.

N-never call--... never.”

Click.

#solo #drabble #journal #snow #april fools task

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