#president loki acts more like loki than loki himself

[delyth88]

X-Men rewatch part 5

This round was X-Men Apocalypse.

This I definitely hadn't seen before. First impressions were that it would be pretty silly, but the villain wasn't as cartoony as I thought he might be and there was plenty enough pulling at the heart strings to keep me invested.

First up, goddammit! Why can't Erik get a break! That was horrible. And so heartbreaking because he did his very best, he did everything he could to live by the rules, and it was only an act of helping another that triggered everything. He even offered himself up peacefully, had told his wife who he was, and tried to get the police to understand his daughter was too young to be in control of her powers. And still. Agh! 💔 I think this is one of the best examples of this trope done well that I've seen. As a viewer it put me in the right place to buy his subsequent actions. Like I'm angry at the world on his behalf now! Lol

I was kinda glad that the villain came along and killed the men in the factory on Erik's behalf. It's one thing to kill in the heat of the moment, but another to do what he was about to do. Again, I know he's done worse, but it felt like this was the start again, and it would have been a line crossed. And it allowed me to continue to be sympathetic as a viewer. Later he does worse, but it's at more than arms length which just feels different. Letting him destroy Aushwitz was so good and so manipulative! Agh!

Anywho. That soul crushing misery aside...

I was a little meh about Scott, Jean, and Nightcrawler to begin with, but warmed up to them as we went along. I did think it was neat that they showed us how things might have started for Scott. What a crazy world where teenagers wake up one day and narrowly miss killing everyone in their class!

I did like seeing their first meeting. This finally gave me a reason why they are a couple. I can absolutely see them bonding over being outcasts.

Mystique. Ooh.. now I thought her story had more or less come to an end in the last film, but I loved what they did with her here! Both her still genuinely caring about Erik such that she went looking for him after she heard what had happened, and then her coming to realise that a younger generation looked up at her for her actions in saving the president years earlier. I feel like this is the first time she's realised people do look up to her. And she's not used to being respected like that. It helps add to Charles' consistent message that she might have a home amongst them, that she doesn't have to go it alone. And I didn't see her attempt to kill the villain coming. Nicely done! And with significant repercussions that actually meant something in the story!!! (Don't mind me, just still bitter about Loki in Infinity War. Sigh.)

And I liked how they tied this in to Storm's story too. ❤️

I did not like the poor woman in a leotard. Sigh. I hope that was a nod to some famous comic costume or something, because that was one stupid outfit. 🙄

I think I've watched so much X-Men in such a short time, that I absolutely felt Mysique's plea to Erik to save what family he had left. So that landed well for me. He just looked so sad and hopeless for so long. 😥 It was good to see him smile back at the school, if only briefly.

And Charles. I love how they've been having fun with the fashions in each decade, even if the actors haven't aged quite enough to match. But it was fun to see some 80s fashion and hair. I haven't quite figured out what appeals so much yet about his character, except this absurdly positive take on life that should be absolutely cheesy, yet it's done with such genuine good will that it just hits home for me. Like the scene where Scott destroys the tree Charles spent a lot of his childhood climbing, that his grandfather planted, and that was his favourite. That line was delivered with such genuine warmth that it's impossible not to like him. And when Raven shows up at the school, his eyes just light up.

When he contacts Erik through Cerebro and is hit with how Erik feels from the loss of his wife and daughter, its such a contrast. Maybe that's part of it - he feels such highs and lows. It's all the more impressive that he can retain this positivity after how low we saw him get in the Days of Future Past.

I liked how when he's forced to broadcast a message to the world its clear in his voice that he's not saying these words with conviction. And I loved his little moment of rebellion at the end of the speech. Just perfectly Charles.

I was kinda interested to see how he would be incorporated into an action film in the absence of walking or flying etc. I feel like in the original trilogy his role was more behind the scenes, whereas in these newer films he's much more a main character, and that could have been challenging. But they found an excellent way for his character to be integral to the story. And a story way from him to lose his hair early. lol I must admit I've never questioned how it happened before - just assumed it was an age thing - but I kinda like this.

As much as I hate a shoehorned romance, I also found his goofy affection for Moira quite charming, and the resolution to that thread being him returning her memories, but nothing more. "I shouldn't have taken them from you". A mix of pain and sorrow, and happiness.

I like how Mcoy and Mystique had some awkward moments. Not over the top, but not nothing either - the right amount to acknowledge their past. I love it when films bother with this sort of continuity.

The scene where every nuclear missile is launched into space was unexpected and I thought it was well done. I also particularly like that piece of music, but I can never remember what it's called. The drama!

And THERE'S the scene with Peter Maximoff rescuing people from the house! Lol! What's that meme about seeing movies through Tumblr gifs first.... 😆 I remembered him being a bit of a jerk, but now this film has softened me towards him. I'd like to know more about what he was thinking about telling/not telling Erik.

Ah, poor Wolverine. Smh. I take it in this reality he didn't escape after the adamantium was applied. But this is a reason I will buy as to why he has a thing for Jean later on. But I suppose given the title of the next film there's every chance they'll never meet in this timeline. :( (I haven't seen the next film either.)

I quite liked the villain's power to break everything down into particles and reassemble it. A different take on the telekinesis thing, and some quite spectacular visuals. The magnetic field arcs were pretty cool too!

One last movie in this era to go. And I understand it's fairly universally hated. 😞 Which is a shame, because I really would like to spend more time with these characters. And I'm afraid Charles has won my heart. Help!

[pinktwingirl]

Have you watched the one piece live action? There the show runners were brave enough to show the 1-2 episodes to the fans first and the whole season to the critics. Although the marketing tactics of Netflix is questionable, the show was made with love and care.

I felt gaslight with all this raving for Loki here and there especially on tumblr and Reddit. The reviews are making it like a masterpiece, raving Tom’s performance like it deserves an Emmy. The fact they only showed 1-4 episodes and that too critics speaks volumes.

I’m worried for the awards, Loki will steal one piece’s thunder. The cast deserves the love since they were HUMBLE ENOUGH TO THANK THE FANS IN ADVANCE . Plus they are relatively unknown too.

God only if the Loki’s finale is more than atrocious the secret invasion.

I have not watched the live action One Piece yet but I’ve heard mostly good things about it. It just goes to show the lesson that Disney/Marvel consistently fails to learn: good adaptations are born out of love and respect for the original source material. Contrast that with the Loki series, in which the writers literally said they wanted to “strip Loki of everything that makes him Loki.” Like… wtf is wrong with you??? People loved this character for a reason; why would you think we wanted to see him turned into a hollow, boring shell of himself? Also, as much as it pains me to say this because I genuinely think Tom Hiddleston is a great actor and I know he’s capable of better work, his performance in the Loki series is most definitely NOT award-worthy imo. It’s a jumbled mess of cartoonish over-acting that’s honestly painful to sit through. Like I remember watching the scene where Alligator Loki bites President Loki’s hand off and just feeling embarrassed for Tom at how cringe the whole thing was. (I haven’t seen S2 nor do I have any plans to but I’d imagine his performance is more or less the same as S1.) To be fair, though, the dialogue is so poorly written that I think anyone would have a hard time making it sound natural. Also, we’ve seen him give truly great performances as Loki in his past movies so I don’t blame him for it; I blame the direction.

[themculibrary]

Bullying Masterlist 2

Links Last Checked: May 13th, 2024

part one, part three

5 Times Ned Gave Peter His Sweatshirt (ao3) - red_to_black peter/ned T, 6k

Summary: Five times Ned Leeds gave Peter his sweatshirt, and one time Peter returned the favour.

(AKA Ned is a dork in love and Peter's a mess but someone has to take care of him. That someone is Ned.)

Caring For (ao3) - Generation_Loki (orphan_account) loki/tony T, 9k

Summary: Tony never really cared about anyone before. In fact, he had never cared for someone as much as he did for a boy that he had barely said two words to before that day. So that is why it came as a surprise that Thor's brother would be the first person that Tony would care about. A Frostiron high-school AU, in which Tony saves Loki from some bullies and it goes largely unappreciated.

Clint Has A Glasses Fetish...Don't Judge Him (ao3) - roshytsunami bruce/clint T, 6k

Summary: Clint has a thing for glasses he thinks they are the cutest devices to have ever been made. He can't help it when someone puts on a pair of glasses they look ten times hotter than they were before. So far he has been able to hide this side of him because a spy who has a thing for glasses that's just weird too bad Bruce Banner came into the picture.

Confessions of a Teenage Genius (ao3) - NamelesslyNightlock loki/tony T, 3k

Summary: Tony finds Loki hiding in the school library with a split lip, and he’s already planning how to make things right when he realises… it’s not the injury that has Loki so upset.

Dance With Me (ao3) - msraven clint/phil T, 5k

Summary: Phil is student council president and needs a date to the winter formal. He doesn't have time to date, so his BFF Clint steps in, no big deal.

Facing Bullies (ao3) - JustAnotherFan05 pepper/tony G, 4k

Summary: When Pepper Potts (Stark) gets an invitation to attend her high school reunion, she ends up facing some of her old high school bullies. And even though things got a little tense, in the end, she realizes that facing her bullies was the best closure she could ever ask for.

Guilty Always Fill In The Blanks (ao3) - AlphaKantSpell clint/natasha T, 1k

Summary: Clint gets into a fight at school and waits in the Principal's office when Natasha Romanoff, the new transfer student (and reason he got into the fight) strolls in. Phil acts as a translator.

In Which Peter Wants to Go to the Stark Expo and Clint Likes the Hunger Games (ao3) - Scotty1609 N/R, 1k

Summary: Clint is going to his favorite coffee shop for some hot chocolate when his training kicks in and he notices some cuts on a teenage boy's arm. Cue the feels.

Just A Friend (ao3) - AlexaNDYE pepper/tony T, 5k

Summary: Some old fashion High School troubles between friends.

Late nights with you and homework (ao3) - cannibalpasta bruce/tony N/R, 28k

Summary: Bruce Banner has never been popular. It didn't change after entering high school, and it didn't change after the freshman year.

Bruce Banner has also never liked Tony Stark.

So, what happens, when Bruce and Tony are made to work together for a school project?

Moments in time (ao3) - AndInThoseMoments clint/phil T, 1k

Summary: After Coulson's death, Clint is spiralling into depression, and bullying from other agents is just making things worse. Natasha tries to show him how he has changed the lives of those around him.

Never Too Busy For You (ao3) - HawkyBarton clint/phil M, 1k

Summary: Clint Barton is bullied mercilessly at school, but with the Avengers so busy, deals with it by himself

Not a Trick (ao3) - somanyfeels (orphan_account) bucky/tony T, 1k

Summary: Bucky had never seen a more beautiful human being in his life. He was perfect, if a bit jumpy, suspicious, and untrusting. Bucky wanted to treat him right, wanted to love him with everything he had, and hopefully convince Tony that he would never hurt him.

Safety Net (ao3) - HawkyBarton clint/phil G, 2k

Summary: Clint sucks his thumb.

Phil finds this adorable and will fight anyone to the death who thinks otherwise

Until we know (ao3) - LilDarkWriter steve/tony T, 30k

Summary: Steve is a sickly skinny kid. Tony is a handsome transfer student. Basically sums up the story.

Young Love (ao3) - sunshinysapphic loki/tony M, 20k

Summary: Highschool!AU Avengers. Tony's life seemed to be going just fine until the kid from Avenger Academy's main rival school decided to show up and take interest in him.

You saved me (ao3) - Stonyislife steve/tony T, 1k

Summary: Tony is the son of the famous Howard Stark. His classmates hate him and no one tries to know him. They assume that he's spoil and asshole.

You were supposed to be different (ao3) - Banashee M, 5k

Summary: Sometimes it's the people who always had your back that can hurt you the most. Clint finds that out for himself, and while he's dealing with various mental health related and other issues, he also needs to figure out if he's even wanted around anymore.

[bloodmi1k]

i feel so fckn clowned by the amount of hype “president loki” got prior to episode 5 and only got two minutes max of screentime.

on top of that my loki series playlist on spotify has president loki on the cover when he’s not even our loki, just another variant.

marvel clowned us all once again 🤡

[ashdreams2023]

Hi! So its me again😅😅 Can i request Loki variants(all) x Soft reader? Like the reader is really² soft and then have a soft voice, always gives all the variants attention even though shes doing something? And the reader is soo cutee like a cutiee! But take your time! I will not force😅

Oh wow ok! I’m going do headcanons then!

Loki variants x fem cute soft reader

You’re like a little fairy they like having around

Kid Loki would follow you around whenever you’re doing some type of chore and watch you with curiosity

Classic Loki likes listen to you talk speak, your voice is soft and gentle on the ear it’s like heaven

Boastful loves to share stories of his battles and wins especially

Then there is mcu Loki, who can’t help but give you all his attention because you make him feel safe

Alligator Loki plays with you the most, and lays on your chest when you’re relaxing

Fem Loki has a piece of your hair braided with her’s so that she has a part of you wherever she goes

President Loki wants you around whenever he has paper work because it makes it more barbel he claims

Classic Loki let’s you only put on his helmet

Kid Loki comes to you first whenever he got himself in trouble

Fem Loki definitely asks your opinion on her outfits and does perfect eyeliner for you

Mcu Loki spoils you the most out of all of them, just because he can and seeing that smile on your face when he buys you a present is more than enough

Boastful Loki tries to act tough but whenever you hold him close and whisper sweet nothings in his ear he melts

Kid Loki and alligator Loki sleep immediately when you sing lullabies for them

President Loki loves it when you fix his neck ties

When you walk into a room they all stop talking and wait for you to speak or sit down first before talking again

Fem Loki and mcu Loki make sure to at least take you once a week to somewhere nice

Classic Loki makes the best tea and makes you a cup with him whenever he makes some

Everyone gets a hug before going out to do some business, and make them promise to come back in one piece

And they know better than to break you heart

[writing-by-gayrainbowbridge]

Ketchup And Tabasco Chaos

Inspiration From This Gorgeous Fanart Made By murdermuffinloki:

⚠️Warning: Minor Language⚠️

Enjoy 💚💚💚

(Please Check The Pinned Post On My Tumblr Page To See If There Are More Parts To This Story)

"Pass the ketchup."

President Loki frowned deeply, glancing at Sylvie who was stirring the pot of...whatever it was they were making for dinner. President Loki hadn't been paying too much attention when Sylvie suggested they cook for Loki who was still upstairs asleep in their room.

Somehow, Loki had got some Midgardian illness and only Sylvie's assurances that Loki was going to be fine that stopped him from destroying the entire Midgardian population.

"Can I get a please?" President Loki said pleasantly, taking joy in the way Sylvie glared at him. It was no secret to any of them that President Loki desired to cause trouble at any given moment.

"I'll stick this spoon up your ass if you don't give me the ketchup in the next ten seconds," she told him, President Loki scowling at her copy of the pleasant smile he had given her a moment ago.

They both knew she would do it too.

President Loki snatched up the ketchup from the countertop with an aggravated sigh. But then a devious smirk spread across his, glancing at Sylvie who was looking back at the pot, hand held out for the ketchup. "Are you sure you want the ketchup?"

Sylvie clicked her tongue. "Yes, I'm sure. Now give it to me."

President Loki's smirk widened. "Well, if you insist..."

He popped the cap off and just as Sylvie turned to look at him with a frown on her face, he squeezed the bottle, ketchup sauce spraying everywhere. The cabinets, the floor and all over Sylvie's blond hair was covered in a coating of ketchup sauce who gasped, an outraged look taking over her face.

President Loki only smiled, tilting his head to the side. "Oops."

"That's it!" Sylvie hissed, grabbing the nearest ingredient which happened to be spicy tabasco sauce and President Loki's eyes went wide as he got a face full of Tabasco sauce.

He shouted as some got into his eye that felt like it was suddenly on fire and squeezed it shut, resisting the urge to rub it. That would only make it worse, he knew.

Sylvie grinned savagely. "I hope it never stops burning, you stuck up bastard!"

President Loki growled low in his throat but Sylvie didn't back down like Loki would have. She was very stubborn like that. "You have until the count of five to run."

Sylvie stepped closer, right up in President Loki's personal space. Despite her short height, she was still rather intimidating when she wanted to be, so much so that President Loki had to resist the urge to step back.

"Or else what?" She hissed out, deadly quiet.

President Loki glared but Sylvie glared right back and they were both sure a real fight was about to break out any second when a voice cut through the heavy silence.

"What in Asgard is going on in here?!"

President Loki and Sylvie turned their heads towards the sound of the voice in unison just as Loki walked around the corner and froze, staring wide eyed and speechless at the mess of the kitchen. He looked tired though and guilt rushed through both President Loki and Sylvie as they wondered if they'd woken Loki up from all their yelling.

"Well, um..." President Loki bit his lip, glancing at Sylvie.

Sylvie looked at President Loki, having no clue what to say. "We just, uh..."

Loki sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, giving them both disapproving looks. "Can you two please not use ketchup and tabasco as murder weapons?!"

"We just wanted to make dinner for you," Sylvie and President Loki stated at the same time, making them glance at each other again.

Loki's expression softened a little. "I appreciate the thought but it would be great if you two could stop trying to murder one another every minute."

That was fair. The pair did quite literally try to kill each other every other day.

"Well, he/she started it!" Sylvie and President Loki protested at the same, pointing at each other.

"Well, I'm finishing it!" Loki snapped before coughing hard, putting a hand over his mouth. He clearly still wasn't well enough to be up which only added onto the pair's guilt. "I'm going back to bed. Clean this mess up and when you're ready to be civil, come join me. I require cuddles and comfort but I will not deal with you two's banter."

With that, Loki turned and left the kitchen, leaving the pair to stare at the spot he had been standing.

"This is all your fault," Sylvie grumbled, waving her hand and vanishing the mess from all the surfaces of the kitchen and herself though she left President Loki to deal with his own mess himself.

"All you needed to do was say please," President Loki muttered. He was going to need a shower since he knew not how to vanish messes like Sylvie and Loki did.

"And that warrants you spraying ketchup all over me?" Sylvie gritted out.

"Don't act like a saint. You're just as bad, dousing me in tabasco sauce!" President Loki muttered.

Sylvie looked like she was going to strangle him any second now before she sighed, all the fight draining out of her body. "Why do we always have to fight?"

President Loki thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "We're different from one another. We're bound to clash. Though I suppose we could try harder to get along. I'd rather this relationship to not be ruined."

Sylvie nodded, leaning against President Loki who instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "Try harder. I can do that."

President Loki hummed softly, pressing a kiss to her now clean hair. "Let's not leave our god waiting. You know how fussy he gets when we leave him alone for long."

Sylvie had no arguments there.

Once they'd finished making up what President Loki found out to be pasta apparently, they headed up to their room (Sylvie had forgiven President Loki enough to clean the tabasco sauce off him thankfully).

They quietly slipped into the room and smiled at the sight of Loki under a large amount of blankets, very obviously curled up in a ball.

He blinked his eyes open when he heard them come in and narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously. "You two had better be done fighting."

"We've agreed to try harder to get along more often than not" President Loki promised as he sat on the bed and helped Loki sit up who whined and protested but brightened when he saw the bowls of pasta balanced in Sylvie's hands.

"Good. I'm glad," Loki muttered, taking the bowl Sylvie handed him eagerly. "Thank you for the dinner."

Sylvie kissed his cheek. "Just get better for us, okay?"

Loki nodded, putting a forkful of pasta into his mouth and closed his eyes as he hummed in pleasure.

President Loki and Sylvie smiled at each other from either side of Loki who leaned into President Loki's side.

Get along. They could do that.

No problem.

...

@murdermuffinloki Those two are going to give Loki a migraine, smh 😂

@girl-with-many-fandoms Hope you like Sylki (I know lots of people don't ship it so I'm like ???) with some President Loki thrown into the mix XD

[giorno-plays-piano]

Vicious

Part VII

Pairing: Steve x reader, Bucky x reader, Thor x reader, Loki x reader, Peter x reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, stalking, possessiveness, theft, mention of blackmail, all characters are adults.

Words: 1864.

Summary: Transferring to Stark Academy that has only allowed to take in female students last semester, you realize you are just one of three young women among hundreds of students. Your things are constantly being stolen, and soon you begin fearing for your safety.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

________

You wanted to slap yourself. What the hell was wrong with you today? Why did you tell Peter that?!

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...” Completely baffled with you behavior, you were deeply ashamed, unable to look the guy in the eyes and wanting nothing but fall into the earth.

“Ah, I got it. It’s Steve, isn’t it?” All of a sudden, Peter let out an irritated sigh, rolling his eyes skywards and rubbing his neck. “Of course, who else would say such nonsense. Blackmail, really? Funny he didn’t call me a stalker or anything.”

“Listen, I didn’t mean it, I’m really-”

“It’s ok.” He closed the locker, slamming its door loudly and making you jump. “It’s not your fault. If I heard that from somebody, I’d be scared too.”

He spent a couple of seconds staring into the wall until he rubbed his neck again tiredly and huffed. It took him less than a minute to regain his composure, and you heard him murmuring, “What a freak.”

He didn't return to the corridor, heading to the sports hall for his PE class, instead moving to the bench in the locker room and motioning you to sit. Feeling terribly awkward, you hoped he wasn't going to do anything out of anger, even though he had every right to be upset at your stupid behavior.

"About what he said," Peter took a deep breath, "it's nothing like that. I don't dig up some nasty stuff in the web to blackmail people. I've never done it. The reason why Mr. I-am-better-than-you said that is because I've made him take me into his little bodyguard group when I heard him talking to Loki. You're nice, and I wanted to help. Of course, Steve started acting like I was some creep, so he refused, and I had to remind him that, technically, he had to report your issue to the administration, not play a hero. I said that if I go and tell the whole story to the dean, Steve's gonna be in trouble because he knew who thieves were and didn't report them."

It was a loud off your mind. Goodness. Rogers called this a blackmail? Really? Just because Peter pushed Steve into taking him into their group?

You were less and less sure Rogers was sane. You definitely had to be careful around him.

"I can't believe he called it a blackmail." You admitted quietly, and the guy sent you a tired smile. "Peter, I'm so, so sorry. It was so stupid of me."

"Nah, don't worry. I'd freak out too if I didn't know the whole story."

You knew your apologies weren't enough, but you hoped Peter didn't take it to heart - if you can take such an accusation easily, that is. Shit, shit, shit, why did you believe everything these guys were saying? You didn't even know them in the first place! Why on Earth did you go asking them their opinions on others if all of them were biased, and every guy could twist the truth the way he liked? You shouldn't have let their words affect you that much.

"Whatever. At least now you know what Rogers is like." Peter sent you a grim smile and got up, picking his bright yellow sackpack from the floor. "Shit, I gotta go if I don't wanna be late. Let's meet in a library later, alright?"

"O-of course." You hurriedly stood up and left the lockers room after him, turning to the library: your Lit class was cancelled, so you decided to go study right away. At this time, the library was usually full, and you felt safe there.

Your thoughts were all about the guys again even when you were staring at your laptop, trying to focus on Excel numbers. Why did you feel like the atmosphere between them was so dense? If they were at such terms with each other, why did they group together to help you? What, because all of them loved you so much? It was ridiculous. There was something else to it, and you didn't know. You had a feeling no one was going to tell you the truth until you figured it all out by yourself.

Weird. It was all so weird. Steve's plan, their behavior, the relationships between them, and your nagging feeling they all were hiding something. Was it them who were actually following you?

The thought scared you to the point you started shivering. Oh shit.

"Hi there," the guy appeared behind your back so suddenly you almost jumped, looking at him wide-eyed, "sorry, did I startle you?"

"H-hi Jake! No, it's ok, I was just... studying." Both of you were talking in hushed voices, knowing the librarian would kick you out immediately if she heard some noise. "How are you?"

"I'm great, how're you?" You could hear concern in his voice: he was one of Thor's friends you met yesterday, and although you spoke briefly, Thor definitely told him more about you. "You look a bit worried."

"Oh, it's Math, I didn't really understand the topic, and we're having an exam on Monday... guess I'll be studying the whole weekend." You gave him your best smile to reassure you were totally ok, and the guy relaxed a little, smiling at you, too.

"I'm sure you'll pass. Thor said you're very smart."

What, he said that to all of them? Was he simply boasting about his girlfriend to his friends or was there something more to it?

"You're too kind. Thank you."

His smile grew wider, and he landed on the next seat to yours, resting his hands on the table. Apparently, there was something he wanted to talk to you about, and you grew uneasy.

"Listen, about these incidents... Thor told us all about it, so if you see any freaks following you around, you can message any of us, and we'll come right away." Looking at his serious expression, his bushy brows furrowed, you hoped he eas being sincere with you: you had enough with people you could no longer trust. "And also... that kid, if he's giving you troubles or anything, just let me know, and I'll tell him to keep his hands to himself"

Oh, he was talking about Peter, wasn't he? He had probably seen that silly photo. Wow, you though, Peter was totally right about Instagram: it was the best news source in the academy.

Thanking him for his concern, you laughed a little, convincing him there was nothing serious except for the theft and promising to tell him if anything weird would be going on. While it should have made you feel safer, in fact, you only grew more frustrated with this situation. You wanted to forget about these freaks and just spend you day like any normal student would, but everywhere you went people were staring at you as if you had a horn; one boyfriend or the other was always close to protect you from some unknown danger, and although you believed they tried to help, you hated the feeling they were hiding something from you. Why did you have to be going through all this? Wasn't it really better to drop off school, spend a year working and then apply to a better place?

Thinking of the faces your parents would make once you returned home, you realized it wasn't. This school with all those creeps wasn't worse than home that never felt like a safe place you wanted to come back to. Besides, all money you saved up until now were only good for buying food and things like that: you'd never afford to rent a decent place unless you found a well-paid job. It meant staying with your parents, and it wouldn't be much better than here, just different. If you wanted to drop off, you had to find a good place to stay.

Well, you could at least try, right?

When Peter met you in the library, the two of you no longer talked about anything important, simply studying together to prepare for the exams next week. It didn't feel off: from time to time you met his gaze, and the both of you smiled. You were thankful he didn’t talk about Steve or other guys or that weirdo in the lockers room.

Once you returned home, you went straight to bed, completely exhausted. Luckily, you did much more than yesterday, so you could rest now, but then you thought of Thor kissing you and bit down the pillow, angry at yourself. Why did you keep thinking of him right now?

______________

When you woke up the next morning, you felt like something was off: your body ached, your throat hurt, and your headache was only making it worse. Dammit, you caught a cold, probably. And that’s when it was finally the day to meet Steve, the guy you thought was a mastermind behind all these manipulations that were making you sick to the core. 

Anyway, it’s not like a mere cold would prevent you from doing everything you had planned. You left your bed and went to the bathroom, moving the dresser before again. 

Honestly, it felt terrible. It was definitely because of that flimsy dress you wore to school yesterday when the weather was becoming chilly. Argh. Watching your puffy eyes and swollen nose, you sneezed. Today you had to apply way more makeup to look decently.

Steve showed up earlier than either Thor or Peter: you had to skip your breakfast, hoping to buy something cheap in the cafeteria.

“Good morning.” He said with his everyday polite expression that soon shifted into a concerned one. “Are you alright?”

What, was it that bad? You did your absolute best to apply enough makeup and do your hair. Did you still look so sick?

“Good morning. Yes, I’m ok, just feeling a little sleepy.” You yawned on purpose, covering your mouth with your hand, and Steve’s face softened.

“Did you study all night?”

“Yep, exams are driving me a little crazy.”

“I understand. I also stayed late last night.”

Of course, the student council president studying all days long to be number one student in the academy. If you didn’t know of his twisted nature, you’d think he was the most typical nerd.

You spent most of the time either in silence or talking about studies, the academy, and everything related to it. Steve acted like a gentleman and a scholar, albeit a little too demonstratively. Walking with you as if he were a king of the place, he constantly replied to greetings of others, waved to his acquaintances and smiled. You felt so off you wanted to find Loki and walk with him: unlike Steve, he was considered unpleasant by the prevailing majority of students.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” America golden boy asked you for the last time, and you forced yourself to smile.

“Of course. Thanks for coming, see you later, Steve.”

As he finally left you in peace, you almost fell down into your chair, your fever only getting worse despite the fact you took some painkillers. It was going to be a long day.

_________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherub @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny @stargazingfangirl18 @dillybuggg @literate-lamb @cosicas-cuquis @sarge-barnes-sir @buckybarnesplumwhore @jaysayey @megzdoodle @gotnofucks @lux-ravenwolf @ximebebx @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123 @sourpatchspinster @biiskuitx @stupendouslovegardener @iheartsebandchris @lovelydarkdaydream @soleil-dor @illyrianprincess @vampirestrawberries @goodgodimaweirdperson @frontmanash @freya-heya @yandematic @mariatietacapitu @d3monslust @maybesandohnos @ibeatuptwinks @mangobangi @nectav @whatever-happened-to-the-ducks

[alwida10]

Why does the Loki series divide us so much?

Why are there people who are amazed by Loki’s character development in the series and some who can’t find any of it when they watch it? Why are some people mad about the ‘out of character’ behavior and some argue this had always been his ‘true’ characterization that was just buried under the hate and trauma during the earlier movies. And why are there people who want the Avengers Loki, when he was at his most hateful and worst in that movie when they could have a happy Loki who finally got friends? I have read all those takes and questions over the last weeks and it led me to the question: how do we perceive the Loki series so differently?

Answer: it is because of the structure and how it collides with pre-existent mindsets!

Ok, I admit that sounds very abstract so here the clear text: the Loki series is structured as a redemption arc and that only works if you think he needs to be redeemed.

This is the redemption arc from the series:

Episode 1 reminded us of Loki’s bad deeds. He killed his mother* by sending the dark elf prisoner up the stairs to the right. He betrayed Odin, Thor, and Asgard*, and literally stabbed people in the back like 50 times. Also, he still thinks he should have a throne.

To drive this point home and to remind u how far our Loki has come, the other Loki variants in episode 5 are as power-hungry, focused on their glorious purpose which is an expression of their innate narcissism and belief in their superiority.

But back to Episode 1: ‘Our’ Loki variant gets his own evilness demonstrated by Mobius, who acts as a savior and a friend. Unlike everyone before, he believes in Loki and that he can be better! Loki admits that his evilness results from his weakness since he only wants to inspire fear to appear strong. After being honest with him, Loki can befriend Mobius and together they solve the mystery where ‘the variant’ hides.

But despite his glimpse into self-discovery, Loki is still selfish and power-hungry. He might have gotten the first push thanks to Mobius but he didn’t change yet, and so he betrays Mobius like it is his nature. He wants to team up with Sylvie, and together they can bring down the timekeepers. Then Loki would probably betray her, too, and become ruler of the TVA.

Now he gets to know Sylvie, and most of all the fact that sets her apart from all the other variants: she doesn’t want to rule! She only wants to end the reign of terror. Her selflessness reaches Loki and he starts to change as well. He realizes there is more to life than a throne. (The romance part is mostly to drive the point home and give him additional motivation. Also, the rule of show business is: turmoil is good, it will attract more people.)

Her selflessness is why Loki joins her cause. Even after being pruned, he wants to aid her. His second-hand embarrassment of the power struggle among all his variants shows US how much our Loki has developed, since he doesn’t even want to rule himself anymore, and HIM that he never wants to go back to his former self.

@alwaysanoriginal pointed out on Twitter that it is Mobius’s influence that makes the classic Loki discover that same selflessness in himself so his sacrifice allows Loki and Sylvie to overcome Alioth and enter the world beyond. Sidenote: I recommend their meta! It’s full of positivity, detailed, and well worded! (Also, we reached the point where the series is while I am writing this, so what follows is speculation based on what I wrote up to here.)

Now, in the finale, Loki’s character development has to be tested. The narrative will tempt him to betray Sylvie to get what he always wanted: power, admiration, being the one who holds all power in his hands. The villain however will be a Loki variant who combines all the worst characteristics: the Loki will be a narcissist, power-hungry, lying, using everyone for his own personal gain etc…

Our Loki will be tempted hard (because that will have us at the edge of our seats) but at the last moment, he will realize that he doesn’t want to be this kind of person anymore. He will stay true to the oath he swore when Sylvie and he snuggled beneath his table cloth. And then Loki will finally be the hero Mobius always believed he could be.

Now, if you are enjoying the Loki series this read feels probably good for you. Now comes the other side of the coin that explains why people don't enjoy this plot:

To make this structure work, they changed Loki’s motivation retrospectively (or they didn’t realize the former films indeed did give him an honorable motivation):

- In Thor 1, Thor was shown as unfit to rule so Loki wanted to delay his coronation and give Thor time to develop work morals (which worked. At the end of the film Thor was a better person). After Loki’s origin was revealed he wanted to prove himself to Odin by the only sufficient method he was communicated: genocide. Now, his motivation is lust for power and narcism.

- in Avengers he was influenced and/or tortured by Thanos (confirmed by Marvel). Now his motivation is lust for power and narcism.

- In TDW, he acts honorable until the incident that can be either seen as Loki sacrificing himself for Thor or betraying him. With the updated characterization from the series, his motivation is now lust for power and narcism.

- in Thor Ragnarok, Loki didn’t do much that would need motivation. What little motivation was needed to turn up for the final battle is probably still Thor pointing out what a selfish and predictable person Loki was, so I guess the only change that happened here is that it might have been defiance caused by his narcism that made Loki turn back to Asgard. So the characterization from the series fits that from Ragnarok best.

So, I don’t have much more to say. All other problems I have with the series originate from this problem.

1) Characterization: They couldn’t show him as badass or in control in the beginning because that would have put his ‘bad’ characterization in a positive light. Therefore, they had to make him a clown. (Note: President Loki who is still a villain still has the badass, thirst-inducing, awesome characterization of the Avengers Loki.)

2) Sylvie does all the heavy lifting (aka the plot so far would have worked without our Loki just as well): well, unlike him, she is a good person already, so she has the motivation for all those things. The only points where he is active are when his ‘evil’ nature takes the wheel, and he wants to meet the timekeepers (motivation to find Sylvie’s hideout) or to team up against the timekeepers (motivation to chase after her and betray Mobius).

3) the representation of being genderfluid would have needed either Loki or Sylvie to change the gender they presented during the series. But the creators needed the male/female dichotomy as an outward representation of selfishness/selflessness so the representation of genderfluidity remained empty lip service.

I’m tagging a few people because I would like to know what you think about this analysis: @iamanartichoke, @worstloki, @iamnmbr3, @allaboutloki, @crazyaboutloki.

[lokiondisneyplus]

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Loki episode 5.

The penultimate episode of Loki introduced several new variations on its titular mischief-maker — including Jack Veal's Kid Loki, Deobia Oparei's Boastful Loki, and Tom Hiddleston's ill-fated President Loki. But of all these new faces, perhaps the most memorable was Richard E. Grant's aptly-named Classic Loki — an older, world-weary version of the Asgardian god we know and love.

Decked out in the familiar green-and-yellow suit from the comics, Grant's Loki is older and perhaps a bit wiser than his younger counterparts. Years of isolation have left him disillusioned and lonely, missing his brother Thor, but that spark of mischief is still buried deep underneath — and he ultimately sacrifices himself to help Loki (Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) escape the Void.

It's a delightful showcase for the 64-year-old Grant, who says he's thrilled to be able to carve out his own chaotic corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ahead of the series finale this week, EW caught up with Grant to break down his big sacrifice — as well as his newfound friendship with Owen Wilson and his pitch for a Loki spin-off series.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: To start, I have to ask about your costar: How was working with Alligator Loki?

RICHARD E. GRANT: Alligator Loki was fantastic because in reality, he was three stuffed sofa cushions that had been sewn roughly together to react to. [Laughs] The fact that I was the only person that could understand what he was saying was just fantastic. I think it's the perfect segue into having Classic Old Loki and Alligator Loki as a sub-series to go to next.

So it's safe to say that you would be willing to reprise this character down the line?

If I had a muscle suit, most certainly. I was denied that. I saw the costume design, and I was very familiar with Jack Kirby's original illustrations from the '60s, so I thought, "Ah, this guy's got muscles!" As I had been born without any, I was finally going to get in a muscle suit. I got to Atlanta [to begin filming], and they said, "There's no muscle suit! You're just wearing this!" I said, "But I look like Kermit the Frog!" They said, "Nope, you're not having a muscle suit." So I was very, very upset about that. [Laughs] Short-changed!

I was going to ask about your first impression when you first put on the costume!

That's what I asked: Where are the muscles? Where are the Stallone/Schwarzeneggers here? Because they're missing! This is what people will expect! This was in the costume drawing, and they're not here, and I don't have them! I was very upset.

When they first asked you to join the show, what was that initial pitch like?

I had known Tom Hiddleston socially for some years, and we'd always joked that we could feasibly play father and son because of our vague physical similarities and hairlines, certainly. So when I got this offer at the beginning of last year, before COVID, I thought, "Alright, this is that moment that I had hoped would come at some point." I thought I would play his father, but I'm playing a variant of him. So that's how that came about. I was thrilled.

Tom has been playing his version of Loki for a decade now. Did you get any guidance from him, or have any conversations with him that you found particularly helpful?

He is a walking Loki-pedia, so he was very, very informative about the whole etymology and the history of the Norse gods and Loki. He's also brilliant at imitating people. He goes on chat shows and imitates famous actors absolutely to the letter. I don't have that talent. So when I read the script of episode 5 that I was offered, I saw that [this older version of Loki] described himself in his backstory of being the god of outcasts — rather than the god of mischief, which is so absolutely embedded in Tom's interpretation of the role. So I thought, well, [if he's] the god of outcasts and is somebody who's been isolated for years and living on these planets and is willing to betray himself by going back and being arrested by the TVA and making the ultimate sacrifice, offering himself up to Asgard, I thought, well, this is somebody who is more in the twilight zone of his life, as am I. As opposed to a young man, who's full of mischief still.

So, I thought that was a way into interpreting this character, rather than trying to do — and something I couldn't possibly succeed at doing — a pale imitation of Tom Hiddleston.

I'd imagine that would be tricky, but it would also be a fun challenge: You're basically sharing scenes with all these different versions of the same character.

Exactly right. And I love the fact that he was the one person who could communicate with the alligator. I love that.

So would you now consider yourself fluent in alligator?

Indeed. I am the Doctor Dolittle of the Marvel universe when it comes to speaking to alligators. I speak alligator fluently. Put that in the contract of when I'm doing a series as Classic Old Loki, with muscles and the alligator. It'll have subtitles, so the audience can hear what the alligator is saying, and everyone else is saying, "What is he saying? What is he talking about?" That'll be the way.

I also wanted to ask about your big finale, where we see your Loki conjure Asgard. What do you remember most about filming that final moment?

Huge wind machines, blue screen in every direction, and following a camera on a crane that was maneuvering around the ceiling of the studio, and then swooping down. I was having to shout at it, and then finally laugh in the face of my own immolation. So it was a great thing to do, with these huge air turbine wind machines that were blowing four tons of air at me from every direction. It was exhilarating.

Did you have any practical elements around you at all, or did you have to imagine and conjure it all yourself?

Most of it you had to imagine. The actual landscape that you walked on was real grass and this sort of rocky landscape, but all the other elements — all the ships and all that stuff — was put in afterwards. We didn't see any of that.

The Loki palace that looked like a sort of bowling alley, that was all for real. Everything that you see in that scene was actually built and practical.

Was it chaotic to film in the bowling alley with all those different versions of Loki, bickering and bantering?

Because there was so much action involved, it was paint-dryingly slow, because action takes much longer to do than five pages of dialogue. I prefer talking, as I'm not exactly an action man, as you can see. [Laughs]

Was there anything about joining the Marvel universe that you weren't expecting or that really surprised you?

I didn't expect to find true love with Owen Wilson. We're having a surrogate baby together in October.

Oh, congratulations!

He was just so hilarious to work with. He's just one of the greatest characters I've ever met. He is so open and curious and amenable, with this sort of dry sense of humor. There seemed to be no divide between Owen Wilson acting his part and then just being Owen Wilson. I don't know if he was scamming me, but he was an absolute delight. I loved him.

Was there a particularly memorable day on set with him?

Yes, when we conceived our twins. [Laughs] No, my daughter encouraged me to post this thing on Twitter and Instagram, where he said, "Richard, I'm going to give you some acting advice. Put your camera on." I said, "Yes, okay!" I owe him for that because it got like 640,000 views already in a few days, which on my Instagram feed is off the chart. It's nothing for Beyoncé, but for mine, I'm pretty gobsmacked.

[small-round-and-angry]

My opinions about the Loki (2021) series. Spoilers and all that.

I took some time off the fandom until I felt it was time to make this post, if only to get it out of my system, so I can finally rest. I thought, since I was so pumped for the series to begin with, before it was launched and everything, and how I waited to expectantly for every episode that was airing weekly, that the empty feeling I was experiencing after it was all done was just because, well, it was all done.

I thought maybe it was the normal empty-chested-feeling you get when you finish a movie, series, or book that you really liked / waited a lot for.

It was not it. It didn’t pass. It got worse.

I’m going to put this under a cut, and under the anti-tags, because I know some people liked this show and not everyone has to be miserable with me.

I want to preface this by saying that I respect everyone that was involved in this project, and I know that it may be gut-wrenching to receive criticism on something that you worked in, but I feel cheated. I feel lied to. It’s one thing to work hard and be thoughtful and still receive bad reviews, but I don’t think this is the case at all.

To start it all, I was so excited to see Loki again. He’s the only character that I maintained any attachment to throughout so long, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I always considered myself a fan since I saw The Avengers (2012) with my parents in the theaters, at the ripe age of 12. To be honest, Loki was what got me into superhero movies, and into the marvel fandom at all. And I knew, or at least suspected, that they would do something different with the character. I was ready for that, after reading the comics and realizing that MCU Loki and Comics Loki are two different versions of the same character (more on that later). And I thought it was even going to be for the best, since Tom Hiddleston, bless his heart, was one of the executive producers and, I thought, would have more of a say on Loki’s character arc during the series.

What I watched was, to be completely fair with myself, not Loki. I couldn’t really pinpoint it at the time, but I keep expecting something to happen after he was captured by the TVA to show us his mind at work. A scheme, a plan, anything remotely smart that he cooked up. And yet, nothing. He kept acting…Not Loki. As time passed, I hoped he was biding his time, fooling everyone, that he would reveal his masterplan at the season finale and go back to the main timeline. The series ended and I didn’t see Loki, any of them, act as Loki once.

Maybe it’s because I am a fan of the older version of MCU Loki. The darker, more complicated one. I didn’t want a redeeming arc at all, I don’t think all villains or anti villains need a redeeming arc. That’s boring. And, to my interpretation of his character, shouldn’t be in his future at all. Loki thrives on the gray area. I love not knowing what he is to the other characters, the chaos, the lying and manipulation, the grand schemes. This new content we’ve been getting, since Ragnarok, depict him as a more comedic, campy character (which is …fine? Meh, I don’t care for it).

And of course, that’s not to say Tom Hiddleston didn’t do a good job. Poor man did his best with what was given to him by the writers. It’s hard to keep a character consistent, however, when every director and screenwriter seems to have a different idea of who they are. He kept it together fairly well when Taika attempted to assassinate Loki’s character, but Kate Herron snapped his neck harder than Thanos ever could. And for what?

Sylvie.

Now, hear me out. There’s nothing wrong with the concepts of Sylvie, Lady Loki, and a Love interest. Separately. In trying to bring everything together in one character, the writers not only could not come up with a compelling woman character, but also had to bring down an already well established character, the TITULAR character, no less, so she could look somewhat presentable, which is insulting. And they Still failed. I don’t like the pairing either, but that’s not what I’m talking about (right now). The truth is, I don’t know Sylvie. She just got here, I have no emotional attachment to her whatsoever, so I won’t feel for her the same I feel for Loki, who’ve I watched for almost a decade. And instead of trying to build an emotional connection between Sylvie and the viewer, they chose to spoon-feed us a romance between her and Loki.

Well, more between Loki and Her, and not even that. I felt like Loki was always trailing her like a lost puppy, and big eyes and expectations, and she was giving him…Absolutely nothing. All the sweet moments between them were initiated by him, all the talking about feeling were done by him, all the looks and gestures…And although I understand Sylvie grew up in apocalypses and Loki grew up in a palace, she still claimed to have romantic partners. Multiple, man and women. And still, showed no visible interest in Loki up until the kiss scene, which I suspect was more to shut him up and send him flying that anything.

Excuse me if I want Loki to have a love interest who is actually invested in him too.

And Why make her a Loki variant at all if she is adamant she isn’t Loki? Why go to the extent of dying her hair blonde (where in the apocalypse did she manage to get her hair blonde? WHY?) and then give her horns? If she was taken as a child, where did she get the very Asgardian like leather armor she used? WHERE IS THIS INFORMATION?

If they were going to go so far to alienate her from the identity of being a Loki variant just so they could pair her with Loki and it not be weird (it was), why make her a variant at all? If you’re going to make a selfcest pairing, at least commit to it. Sylvie Lushton, from where they got the name, isn’t a Loki Variant, if anything She’s an Amora Variant. Why name her Sylvie if she has no relation to Amora?

The plot has so many holes and is so disappointing. I was promising Loki playing around and causing havoc with time traveling. When I saw Richard E. Grant had been cast, I imagined the big bad would be King Loki, like in the comics! Something about Loki seeing what he becomes if he let darkness completely consume him, and finding balance in his chaos, after all. The premise of Loki healing though observing himself, or variants of himself, was honestly good. His variants, however, where so underused, poorly used, made Loki look like a fool. Even he was ashamed of their interactions. And Kid Loki apparently Killed Thor, which makes him the leader (???) and that’s never mentioned again. President Loki, who was a big part of the appeal of the trailer, is gone in two minutes. And then there’s the mirror scene from the trailer, that didn’t even make it to the series.

There are other things that bother me a lot about this too, but it’s not my place to discuss them in dept. To list, if anyone is interested in knowing: The underdevelopment of black character, and the reaction of the fandom, to my knowledge, to said black characters, in special Ravonna and Boastful Loki. The misrepresentation of gender fluid people, which if I can recall was one of the points they sold to us as something they would touch into Loki’s characterization. Some people have pointed out that it was biphobic to pair Loki with a woman after he “came out” on screen as bisexual. I am bisexual, and I disagree, but I can see why it’s an issue for a lot of people, as mlm relationships are rare in MCU canon. What I thought was Biphobic, however, was having Loki not show us he was bi, rather than telling us.

In summary, I am very disappointed, and I am mourning. This series managed to do what End Game didn’t, which was kill all hope I had to ever have Loki back. He’s gone.

[just-dreaming-marvel]

It’s Always Been You ~ 143

OUT OF TIME MASTERLIST

IT’S ALWAYS BEEN YOU MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,600ish

Summary: Surprisingly, more secrets come out. A final plan is formed.

Notes: Please read the ending note. You must read Out Of Time in order to understand this. The chapter numbers continue from Out Of Time. (gifs aren’t mine)

“She’s not the only one whose kept secrets, Steve,” Natasha said, once Y/N was clearly gone. “We all have.”

“This is different,” Steve argued, mad. “This has to do with half the universe turning into dust and the man who did it. She should have told us so that we could have—“

“Done what, Steve?!” Tony retorted. “Spent the past five years planning and waiting for something to happen?! That’s not a way to live! I know that because I’ve lived that! I’ve tried to do that!” Tony took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he backed away from everyone. “I may be the only one who feels this way, but I wouldn’t change the last five years. Yes, I miss people terribly and feel the guilt of what happened constantly. But I finally have the family I’ve always longed for. I have a daughter who is my whole world, and a wife who fights for what she loves.” 

“Her telling us everything wouldn’t have changed when Scott came back or when I put the pieces together about time travel,” Tony continued. “Keeping that a secret didn’t change anything.”

“Tony’s right,” Clint spoke up. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Tony and Clint nodded at each other. Tony knew it had to be hard for Clint to admit that, especially since he had lost his whole family. Steve clenched his jaw, frustrated.

“Steve,” Natasha called calmly, “have you ever thought about how many times you get angry at Y/N for keeping things from you?”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with anything,” Steve said.

“You freak and turn around and blame everything on her. Maybe she doesn’t tell you things because she knows that you won’t react in the best way. And you doubt her, so much.”

“How is this now about me?”

“I’m sorry, isn’t everything?” Tony retorted. The two men glared at each other in silence for a moment, the tension getting thick. “I’m going to go check on my wife.”

~~~

“Hey Pepper,” Y/N greeted, video calling her friend. 

“Hey Y/N,” Pepper replied. 

“Is Morgan up?”

“I’m sorry, I put her to bed already.”

“That’s okay.”

“Is something wrong though? You seem a little down.”

“I just… can you poke me in there for a second? I just need to see her.”

“Of course.” Pepper began heading to Morgan’s room. “She really misses you guys.”

“We miss her too.”

Pepper quietly opened Morgan’s door and reached her hand in so that Y/N could see the little girl on the phone. Morgan was sound asleep, clinging onto the Iron Man stuffy that Tony had bought her. Y/N’s eyes slowly filled with tears as she longed to hold her child.

“Thank you, Pep,” Y/N said softly. 

“Of course,” the woman replied.

“Tell her we’ll call her tomorrow. And that we love her.”

“Y/N, what’s up?”

“This is all just getting more real. And I don’t want something to happen with Morgan knowing her parents love her.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. You and Tony are going to be fine.”

Y/N gave her friend a tight lipped smile, clearly not believable. “Thanks for taking care of her for us, Pep. Good night.”

Y/N sighed after hanging up, leaning back against the headboard. She closed her eyes and sucked in her lips. She had never missed her abilities more in the last five years, then at this very moment. She wished she could simply portal herself home, to hold her child. But Y/N couldn’t, and she knew she needed to stay at the compound and finish out the mission. No matter the cost.

“Are you okay?” Tony’s voice was quiet as he leaned in the doorway, worried eyes raking over his wife.

“I’m fine,” she answered, not bothering to open her eyes.

Tony sighed before he walked over and sat himself on the bed. He made sure he wasn’t touching her, not wanting to press. “I let Steve have it after you left. It wasn’t right for him to do that. Red even had my back.” Y/N didn’t respond. “Honey… I’m sorry.” He set a comforting hand on her leg. “I know that I’ve pushed you in the past for not saying anything. But I’m beginning to see the weight that the Stones have placed on you. I’m so sorry.”

“He will never understand,” Y/N breathed out quietly. “He hasn’t been able to since he came out of the ice… I lived 5 years with believing he was dead. I changed in that time and he has never been able to accept that… but doesn’t make it hurt any less. He’s still my twin…” Y/N finally opened her eyes and met Tony’s. She reached out and took his hand from her leg. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For standing with me.”

“I made vows to do so. I never intend on breaking them.” 

She pulled him closer to her. She wrapped herself around him, earning a light chuckle. 

“Can we stay like this the rest of the night?” She whispered.

“Of course,” Tony answered, kissing her hairline. “We can stay like this as long as you like.”

~~~

In the morning, the couple ate breakfast in bed before venturing out to face the rest of the group. Everyone was seemingly trying to act normal, but Steve. Every time he glanced Y/N’s way, it was harsh. Cold and unforgiving. Tony kept himself at Y/N’s side as the group began going over the Tesseract.

“Our first major run in with the Tesseract, or Space Stone, was back in the 40’s,” Steve explained. He was standing in front of everyone, pictures, videos and information were playing on the screens behind him. “HYDRA’s then leader, Red Skull, was using it to create mass energy weapons. Y/N and I were on Red Skull’s plane when it took off to bomb major cities around the world.” Steve looked at Y/N. “Would you like to tell the rest of it?”

She pursed her lips, trying to keep her emotions in check. “Sure.” She stood up and went to the front of the room. “As Steve said, we were in the ship. I was trying to get to the controls and the Tesseract, when it could knocked loose. It portaled Red Skull away. I…” Y/N paused with a sigh. She hadn’t recounted this story since she woke up. “I grabbed the cube as it fell, burning my hand. Dropping it, it burned a hole in the floor causing both myself and the cube to fall. I grabbed onto it as a fell…” Y/N looked down at her scarred hand, rubbing it nervously. “Howard Stark later found it in his search for Steve and I.”

“After that, it was in SHIELD’s hands,” Y/N continued. “And, from what Carol has added to the record, a scientist who was trying to save the Skrull species. From their Fury began tests on it and began making weapons of his own. That’s how the Battle of New York started… Being control by the Mind Stone himself, Loki came and took the Tesseract. He used it to open a giant portal, letting the Chitauri army through.” 

More video footage began being played of that day behind her. The all watched, with those who were there remembering the day like it was yesterday.

“How long did you fight these guys?” Rocket asked.

“About, uh, two or three hours,” Natasha responded. She looked at Tony who nodded along in agreement.

“The Chitauri are the suckiest army in the galaxy. Why didn’t you just blow up the mothership?”

“We didn’t know that was a thing,” Steve said.

“You didn’t know that was a thing?” Rocket laughed. Tony stood up from his seat, shaver in hand. (He was shaving as he was listening.) He went up behind Rocket and shaved some of his hair on top of his head. “Everyone knows— Hey!”

“There we go,” Tony said. “All better.”

“Tony was the one to send the missile up through the portal, successfully destroying the mother ship,” Y/N explained. “I closed the portal.” She looked at Tony, who met her eyes. “Luckily, we all came out of it alive.”

“Not all of us,” Clint commented. “We lost a good one that day. Phil Coulson.”

“Yeah… about that… Fury actually brought him back to life.”

“What?!” Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Steve exclaimed. The four quickly noticed at Bruce and Tony weren’t phased.

“Did you two know about this?” Natasha asked.

“Yes,” Bruce answered, “but only because it was vital. We were helping Skye—“

“Daisy,” Tony and Y/N corrected together.

“—and Y/N with their new found powers. Phil was a big part in that.”

“Those missions… that base you would talk about… SHIELD suddenly resurfacing,” Steve mumbled, putting the pieces together. “You leaving to save your Team… You kept SHIELD and Coulson alive, right under our noses.”

“Again, I was only doing what was right,” Y/N defended herself. “We saved the world countless more times than anyone even realized, including the other heroes in this room…. Coulson’s team is the reason we found Loki’s scepter. And in Sokovia, the helicarrier Fury brought was from Coulson. He had found it and patched it back together.”

“Sif,” Thor whispered. “She was so very vague about the two times she was down here.”

“She was keeping the secret. If people knew that Coulson was alive, it would have changed the game.”

“How did he survive?” Natasha asked.

“It was called the TAHITI Program. Fury directed Coulson to head it. It was meant for a fall of an Avenger. To bring them back if anything were to happen in battle. After years of trials, it was disbanded. The side affects were awful… but then Coulson died. And Fury couldn’t accept that.”

“Who else knew?” Steve asked.

“Besides Fury, Tony, Bruce, Sif, and myself,  Maria Hill, our SHIELD teams, and many government officials worldwide. Including President Ellis.”

Steve scoffed. “All the secrets,” he muttered, shaking his head. “This is getting ridiculous.”

“Where is Phil now?” Natasha asked. “Did he survive?”

“He died right before the Blip,” Y/N answered. “Complications from the TAHITI Program and other things that had happened… Please don’t be angry. I understand that it seems like I’ve kept some big things from everyone. But you have to try and understand it from my point of view.”

Everyone was silent, not knowing what to say. Y/N stood in the front of the room, preparing for the attack on her. But it never came. Steve stormed out and the others from the original team followed, including Tony and Bruce. Y/N closed her eyes, trying to keep herself calm.

“I know that I’m new here and don’t know much,” Scott said, standing up to go to Y/N. “But I know that you have a good heart. And that you were only trying to protect everyone.”

She looked at him with a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you, Scott.”

~~~

“It’s just one thing after another with her!” Steve exclaimed. “Is everything a lie? It’s like I don’t even know who she is anymore!”

“Steve, I think we need to stay calm and look at this from her said,” Natasha said. “She has been trying to protect everyone, except herself. The whole time she was going from fight to fight without much of a break.”

“It’s true,” Tony agreed. “I personally witnessed the wear and tear it did to her.”

“When she got shot after SHIELD fell, was that because of Coulson?” Steve asked, marching up to Tony.

“It wasn’t because of Coulson. It was because someone on her team ended up being HYDRA.”

Steve ran a hand down her face. “I don’t know where the lies stop and the truth begins.”

“She never actually lied to you,” Natasha brought up. “She told you what she could and kept the rest to herself. To protect everyone.”

“She still should have told us about Coulson,” Clint spoke up. “He was important to all of us.”

“Coulson and Fury specifically instructed her that the team not know,” Tony explained. “She actually got in trouble for telling me and Bruce.”

“But again we had to know,” Bruce said. “Y/N and Skye—“

“Daisy.”

“—had suddenly gained powers. If anyone was going to be able to help them, it was going to be us.”

“I need some time to think,” Steve said, walking away.

“We really shouldn’t be focusing on this right now,” Bruce sighed, shaking his head. “We should be focusing on the Stones. What Y/N kept from us is not the priority.”

“As long as she tells us any other information that could be of use to us,” Natasha said. 

“She will,” Tony promised.

“I can’t imagine she’s taking this well,” Clint mentioned.

“She’s not really showing very much, trying to keep it all in. But I don’t blame her. Steve’s been going after her since he got out of the ice.”

“It’s hurting both of them,” Natasha said. “It’s like they want it to be how is was before the ice. Yet, they both have changed.”

“I don’t think Steve’s willing to see it the most,” Bruce added. “It’s going to tear them apart when we need them to work together the most right now.”

“Together, they can be one of the best teams.”

Tony sighed. “Let’s finish getting the information on the Stones. Then we can worry about the rest of it.”

~~~

They all gathered back together to go over more about the Stones. They finished all the new on the Tesseract and Space Stone before moving to the Mind Stone. It was hard to talk about that one, since Vision was a big part of it.

“Where’s Vision now?” Scott asked.

“We brought him back to the Compound, but the Accords and his own will forced us to give his body to an organization called SWORD,” Natasha explained. “They were forced to dismantle him because of the Accords.”

“We were too late in getting him to Wakanda,” Bruce explained. “So there was no way to bring him back without the Stone.”

“Hopefully that the only permanent casualty we take from all this,” Tony commented, bringing Y/N closer to his side.

“That wasn’t the only life lost,” Nebula said. “My sister, Gamora, she died too.”

They took on the Soul Stone next. There was very little information on it besides what Y/N and Nebula knew.

“Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir,” Nebula explained.

“What is Vormir?” Natasha asked, taking notes.

“A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence. It’s where… Thanos murdered my sister.”

Everyone sat there awkwardly, and saddened. Not knowing what to say or do.

“Not it,” Scott said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Y/N,” Steve called, in this stern Captain voice. “Do you know anything about the Soul Stone that could possibly help us?”

“I know that it is a very power Stone in its own right. With it I was able to conjure the spiritual representation of those who are dead.”

“What?” A few gasped. Tony reached over and grabbed her hand.

“I saw…” She paused, swallowing her emotions down. “I saw my unborn son, AJ, my parents, and Phil Coulson.”

“Our parents?” Steve questioned. Y/N responded with a simple nod. “How could you not tell me?”

“At the time we weren’t talking, and it never came up later.”

“I can’t—“

“Guys,” Natasha stood up in the middle, placing herself between the siblings. “Stop fighting. We have something bigger we need to focus on, and if you can’t see that you both can leave.”

“I’m not the one with the problem,” Steve growled.

Holding the tip of her tongue between her teeth, she silently watched Steve. She was trying to put her thoughts together when Tony decided to speak up.

“Seriously, Rogers, cut the bullshit,” Tony said. “I get you’re probably hurt that she never told you anything. But that doesn’t give you the right to make her your personal emotional punching bag. Crap happened and she didn’t tell you, but she’s telling you now.”

“You know…” Y/N began slowly. “I miss the days when it was you, Bucky, and I against the world. Just like you do. The days you trusted me and didn’t doubt me, no matter what… you blame this all on me, Steve? Fine! But communication is a two way street. Just remember that. I’m not the only one that’s kept secrets. Like the one about Howard and Bucky.” That left Steve silent. “I’ll be in the other room, trying to put a plan together if anyone needs me.” She left.

“Go work out some energy, Steve,” Natasha suggested. “We’ll take it from here.”

~~~

Tony found Y/N laying on a table with FRIDAY talking to her about the Time Stone.

“Mute,” Tony ordered, coming into the room.

“If you’re here to talk about Steve, I’m not listening,” Y/N responded, looking at the ceiling.

“I figured. That’s why I came to join you and help.” Tony leaned over Y/N and gently kissed her.

“Uh, guys,” Bruce broke in before the couple could get heated. They turned to see Bruce and Nat standing in the doorway. “We just came to see if you needed any help. Everyone else needed a break.”

“Help would be great,” Y/N responded.

Tony crawled up onto the table, sitting by Y/N, while Y/N sat up. Bruce and Nat came in further and the four of them began going through everything they knew about the Time Stone and trying to form the most logical plan to collect the Stones. After of few hours of nothing coming together, Tony and Y/N were back laying on the table. Bruce was laying on the floor with Natasha leaned up against him.

“That Time Stone guy…” Natasha began again.

“Doctor Strange,” Bruce corrected.

“Yeah, what kind of doctor was he?”

“Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit from a hat,” Tony answered, spinning his glasses in one hand while rubbing his eyes.

“Something neuro,” Y/N clarified.

“Nice place in the village, though,” Bruce added.

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Sullivan Street.”

“Hmmm… Bleecker.”

“Wait, he lived in New York?” Natasha wondered.

“No. He lived in Toronto,” Tony scoffed. “Were you even paying attention?”

“Guys, if you pick the right year, there are three Stones in New York.”

Bruce sat up in surprise saying, “Shut the front door.”

~~~

The team was quickly gathered and Y/N explained the best points for them to go.

“Okay, we will retrieve the Soul and Power Stones in space 2014; the Reality Stone on Asgard in 2013; and the Space, Mind, and Time Stones in New York City in 2012,” she told them, pulling the information up on the screens. 

“Now all we need are to assign the teams,” Tony stated. 

“I’ve sketched out a plan and would like to get everyone’s opinions.” 

They all glanced Steve’s way, waiting for the Captain to say something. He simply glared, arms crossed over his chest.

“Shoot,” Clint encouraged, when Steve didn’t speak up.

“So, due to certain knowledge of events, I believe that we need to try and stick to our own timelines, even though it could be dangerous,” Y/N explained. “We know our own timelines best. Where to avoid, where the Stones would be found, all that jazz. With that in mind, I was thinking Thor would go to Asgard, Rocket and Nebula would go to space, and the rest of us would go to New York.”

“The teams need to be evened out,” Steve spoke up, not impressed.

“I was just getting to that. I was going to see if anyone was going to volunteer to retrieve any of the Stones. I believe we need at least two people on each mission. And remember, the space mission is actually two separate missions.”

“I’ll go with Thor,” Rocket offered. “I think I could probably help the best there.”

“Thank you Rocket.”

“I can go with Nebula,” Rhodey said. “I’m not familiar with any of the spots, so I might as well.” Y/N nodded in agreement, making a note of it.”

“I should stay in 2012,” Tony said. “Being back in the Tower, I might have to break into JARVIS.”

“Agreed,” Y/N.

“I’ll stay in 2012 as well,” Steve said. “I also think Scott could be a good asset with us as well.”

“Sounds great,” Scott nodded along.

“Bruce, I was thinking that you and I could go and speak to the Ancient One and get the Time Stone,” Y/N suggested. “I have a feeling it will take some convincing to take the Stone from her.”

“Okay,” Bruce agreed.

“That leaves Clint and Natasha. Since you guys are a good team, how do you feel about hitting up Vormir for the Soul Stone?”

The two looked at each other and nodded, before looking back at Y/N.

“We can do that,” Clint said.

“Awesome,” Y/N responded. “Now we just need specifics for each mission. Break off into teams and use the information to create a specific plan.”

Everyone split off and created plans for their team. Coming back together, each plan was explained.

“Alright,” Steve claimed the attention once the final plan was laid out, “we have a plan. Six Stones, three teams. One shot. Take the night to get things together and rest, we’ll meet up and head out in the morning.”

next chapter >

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[notoyax17]

Tony Stark and Ultron

So, in Age of Ultron, Tony is pretty much automatically blamed for both Ultron’s existence and his personality.

(The fact that the AI existed within the mind stone, Tony/Bruce asking for permission to study the scepter, Bruce working with Tony the entire time, the effects of manufactured terror Wanda instilled on Tony, the real Ultron was not close to interface, the scepter wasn’t actively connected to anything and Thor’s indoor lighting bolt acting as the conductor that released the AI into Tony’s system are all specifically noted in the movie and then just... immediately forgotten???)

But the thing that bugged me, from the start, is that Ultron is actually not that similar to Tony. Unless your understanding of Tony’s personality can be summed up as “sarcastic and smart,” which may very well be the Avengers’ opinion of him.

The Maximoffs and the Avengers both are working from the assumption that Ultron learned his behaviors and thought patterns from Tony and thus would behave like him. The problem with that is... even accounting for the mind stone’s “influence” Ultron is markedly different from every. single. one of the other AI’s that Tony has built.

DUM-E and U are relatively harmless messes of AI that are always just trying their best to help. KAREN, JARVIS and FRIDAY are all also generally harmless, polite, worry deeply for their charges and are more on the teasing end of sassy than the mean end. VERONICA, IIRC isn’t given a canon personality. VISION, made from JARVIS, is serious and soft natured and also trying his best.

So, the thing is, all of the AIs have similar personalities, differing mostly in delivery and priorities. 

And that’s because they all, on some level, learn their behavior from Tony Stark. 

At least the Tony Stark as he is in his labs, usually alone. Tony, on his own, tends to be playful and teasing or just very quiet while working diligently on his projects. Because he’s basically only surrounded by his “kids.” There’s no one to put on an act for, no one that makes him uncomfortable or irritated. Literally all of the insults or threats he throws around at the bots or JARVIS lack any teeth in them.

Not only that, but Ultron’s pattern of behavior during AOU doesn’t match Tony’s either. Tony has a habit of going quiet when on the back foot, licking his wounds and then appearing out of nowhere like an exploding turtle shell glitching into existence.

I’m serious. In two of the major situations where Tony was initially “defeated” and on the back foot, he seems to (at least to his enemies) disappear for a while a pop back up suddenly destroying everything where he absolutely shouldn’t be. In IM1 it was lying low while building the first suit in the cave and then both his initial escape and his first forays in the Iron Man suit. In IM3, he’s basically presumed dead until he pops back up to take on the guys in Tennessee (who didn’t live long enough to warn others that Tony was still alive, IIRC), then Miami, and then going after the president. And at no point did his enemies seem to expect Tony Stark and His Nonsense to show up and fight them.

(Obviously, this is not the case when Tony is unaware of his enemies (Vanko both times he came after Tony) or when he is working as a team, because he often lets others make the decisions there.)

But you know whose plan Ultron’s mirrors?

Loki’s.

The prolonged grandstanding, the big showy army, the big last hurrah plan that requires a specific location to be defended, etc. All of that screams Loki. Which makes sense. Loki physically held onto the scepter for much longer than it was... in the same room as Tony.

He also takes from Thanos, a man who actually didn’t know the difference between saving the universe and destroying it. Who desired wide-spread destruction and death in the name of saving people who just weren’t wise enough to understand him yet.

Why did Ultron take that name and call himself Tony’s creation, you ask? 

Well, look at who else the scepter spent the most time in the presence of:

The Maximoffs (especially Wanda). Who were obsessed with Tony Stark. Who pretended/thought they were doing the right thing while causing untold mayhem. 

I think Ultron ended up as a weird mix of these three people. And something kinda snarled in there. 

-----

As a totally unfounded theory, I think that another thing that Ultron got from Loki was his identity/father issues. Ultron has no named father/creator. But, in fighting a truly impressive AI (JARVIS), maybe he thought that Tony was someone he could commandeer as his own. After all, Tony seems to love all of his AI unconditionally. And isn’t that just lovely? So, all he has to do is just pull a reverse, “Luke, I am your father,” on Tony and BAM, instant loving dad!

Foolproof!

Except, Tony’s not the leading expert in Artificial Intelligence for nothing. He knows his AI and his own creation process. So that shit didn’t fly. And it’s just... totally unfair and unreasonable for the guy you’re lying about your paternity to to not just take you at face value. But you totally weren’t that invested in that delusion, nope. You’re just going to move on back to your original plan.

[thezfc]

“I maintain that everything was fine during Ragnarok filming. Everything we saw coming from the set + Taika's Twitter/Insta supports that. Something changed between filming and Ragnarok reshoots/ComicCon, which overlapped.”

Nah. It started earlier than ComicCon. Filming for Ragnarok started in July 2016. Chris and Tom appeared in a panel together at Wizard World in August. They were a month into filming and Tom was 2 months into the SoT. If you watch videos of that panel, Hemsworth looks irritated and annoyed and like being on that panel is the last thing he wanted to do. Not saying that has anything to do with Tom, but you could see how Tom was nervous/anxious and working hard to compensate for Hemsworth’s lackluster appearance and responses. I remember thinking how uncomfortable it was to watch.

No one really had a clue why or what was up with Chris (this was the first appearance in a slew where he seemed really bored and done with Marvel promo). Some people said it was the travel, some people joked he was mad at Tom for dating Snake when he was dealing (at the time) with Liam dating Miley. “One crazy pop star was enough” kind of joke. Lol

It’s also clear that the whole “Loki/Tom is more popular than Thor/Chris” thing had started to get to Chris by then. He’d laughed it off before, even claimed himself as the president of Tom’s fan club, but something shifted between The Dark World and Ragnarok. And he’d finally found someone who agreed: Taika. Filming seemed to go fine, except for all the rumors that Snake was causing issues on set with security or whatever. I’m sure she was a distraction for both Tom and others on set, whether she was there or not. People were curious and there were probably fans around asking for her. But when promo came around Chris and Taika didn’t hide their disdain for Loki. They kept making it a point to highlight the fact that the name of the movie was Thor not Loki — which, yes true, but you could hear the sarcasm in their tone. Like “it’s Thor’s mocie, not Loki’s. Stop asking about Loki.” Taika referred to Loki as a goth orphan at one point and was just condescending about the character the entire time. Chris would laugh and go along with it, which is probably why it was weird when he and Tom were together.

I personally don’t like Ragnarok for many reasons, not just it’s treatment of Loki and his relationship with Thor. The movie completely wasted Cate Blanchette, Karl Urban, and Anthony Hopkins. And it seemed lazy writing to just kill off the warriors three. I don’t like Taika either. I think he’s annoying and narcissistic. While I appreciate the work he’s done in representation for indigenous people, it doesn’t detract from his very real need to place himself front and center.

As for Chris and Elsa’s marriage — yeah there’s a lot of talk about him cheating. They’ve said the same about Chris Pratt, that he’s cheated on both Anna Farris and his new wife with almost every leading lady he’s had. Elsa doesn’t have the best reputation in the industry as she’s kind of seen like a Black Widow of careers. She’s dated other actors, Adrian Brody among them (he gifted her a castle), and apparently those actors saw dips in their careers after being with her. It’s all speculation. They seem to spend a lot of time together in Australia — though that’s supposedly bc she wanted them out of LA. Because of Chris’s cheating. She hasn’t acted since her character was killed off in the Fast & Furious franchise so Chris has to keep bringing in those Marvel bucks. Time will tell I guess.

(Sorry for the long-winded post, Z)

Tldr 😆

[musclesandhammering]

Loki (2021) Positivity from an Anti

Ok so all of my mutuals know I’m extremely anti-Loki (2021), anti-sylki, and anti-sylvie. But at a certain point, even we antis get tired of all the negativity. So! Here’s some Loki series commentary in the opposite direction! This is a list of all the things about the show that I loved :)

Also adding a disclaimer that all of this is just my opinion and some of my fellow antis (or even people who liked the show) might disagree, and that’s fine! I’ve been planning this post for awhile. I always say in my other posts that I don’t entirely hate the show and I wanted to be a little more specific about what I think are its good aspects. Feel free to leave your thoughts!

• Mobius is a gem (Owen Wilson owns my whole heart) and his relationship with Loki is so so great. He’s not one-dimensional at all, he has conflicted loyalty and is morally complex, and he has the tragic backstory- which makes him a perfect choice for eventually becoming Loki’s first genuine friend.

• The casting was really really great. Lots of women and people of color. Most of the female actresses (as well as the males) are over 30, which isn’t very common and is fantastic!

• Superb acting all around. I can’t think of a single scene where the actors under or oversold it.

• Beautiful set design, incredible cgi, and gorgeous cinematography overall. It looked more like a movie than a tv show, which is really good.

• Kang being the big bad was a huge plus for me. Johnathan Majors was perfect in the role, his vibes were immaculate, and I was honestly pretty worried that the man behind the curtain would end up being another Loki variant, which imo would’ve been boring and predictable and counter-productive, so it was a big relief when that didn’t happen.

• I like that it sets up a bunch of future marvel movies, rather than being contained to its own little world. It gives it more importance and (hopefully) will encourage writers to not just toss Loki’s character aside in future projects.

• All the Loki variants were delightful. All of them except Sylvie. Kid Loki has my heart. Boastful Loki is a fashion icon. Alligator Loki is a savage. President Loki is the superior variant. Classic Loki became my fav character in less than half an episode.

• It showed some more variety in Loki’s magic. A lot of his powers we’ve seen before, but it feels like they were portrayed a bit more blatantly in the show. The energy blasts, the telekinesis, the teleportation… Outstanding.

• It also implied that Loki has the potential to be waaaay more powerful than he knows he is right now, which? Yes.

• Some of the quotes- and the themes behind them- are just profound as hell. Such as:

“I think we’re stronger than we realise.”

“It’s never too late to change.”

“You can be whoever you wanna be, even someone good.”

“We’re Lokis. We survive. It’s what we do.”

“Loki, God of Outcasts.”

“The universe wants to break free, that’s why it manifests chaos.”

• Technically Loki was Marvel’s first canon lgbt (bi) character, which is a win. His genderfluidity is also technically canon, even if it wasn’t really acknowledged on-screen.

• There were a lot of throwback references to Thor 1, Avengers, and Thor The Dark World. Which I loved.

• Sylvie’s so pretty. Her hair and makeup and costume were all perfect.

• Big fan of Loki finally getting Laevateinn.

• Sufficiently slutty imagery, courtesy of a female director (Loki in a collar, kneeling to Sif, President Loki looking down into the bunker, the hair flips)

• The music was Excellent Wonderful and Superb.

• I love that Loki being a good singer is now canon.

• I love that Asgardians having their own language is now canon (even if it’s basically just Icelandic).

• I also love that they disproved all of those “Loki was a shy nerdy wallflower pre-canon” theories in Episode 3. The drinking/eating/singing scene was fun, if a bit wacky.

• There’s a million different reasons why Loki does what he does, especially in regards to the New York attack (I’m literally writing a huge meta on them), but somehow I never considered that Loki being desperate for control was one of them. It makes a lot of sense, and I always love getting new insights into his motivations.

• I love that Loki finally outright acknowledged that he doesn’t enjoy hurting people. We Been Knew™️ but it’s still nice to hear it out loud from his own mouth.

• The TVA outfit wasn’t as hideous as some people make it out to be. It could’ve been A Look, even. You know, if he’d just accessorised a little better. And kept the jacket on. And not gotten sweaty. And not gotten dirty. And maybe had at least one other costume change… But it had potential, though!!

• Even though I despise the Obvious One, I did actually like some of the other romance crumbs they tossed us (sifki, Loki x the flight attendant).

• The whole DB Cooper thing was iconic idc idc.

• Loki’s hyper sort of overly excited puppy attitude in episode 2 was actually pretty refreshing and funny (for awhile). And now I can headcanon him as adhd, yeehaw.

• “We’re all villains here.” That quote was iconic, my favourite one in the show. And the entire theme that it summarised was really great as well. When you think about it, every single main character in this series has been the villain at one point or another. I mean, I know all marvel characters do bad things etc, but none of the Heroes are ever narratively categorised as Bad. This show did just that with all of them, though. . Loki was framed as the psychopath that attacked New York. Sylvie was framed as the murderous fugitive. The TVA/Ravonna/Mobius were framed as the murderous fascists. Kang was framed as the crazy totalitarian. It’s made clear that all the Loki variants were the villains of their stories.

However, every single main character in the series is also framed as the Hero at a certain point. Loki is framed as the main protagonist who throws a wrench in the TVA’s dastardly plans. Sylvie is framed as the persevering freedom fighter who wants to take down the fascists. The TVA/Mobius/Ravonna are framed as the ones who maintain order for the greater good. Kang is framed as the weird but ultimately benevolent wise man who’s just trying to prevent something worse from happening. The Loki variants are framed as generous allies who befriend the main character and help him on his journey.

Everyone in this equation is openly acknowledged by the narrative to be morally corrupt, but not entirely morally bankrupt. There are no Straightforward Hero Figures (like the Avengers) in this entire scenario at all, and that makes for a super interesting dynamic that marvel has never done before. So yes: “We’re all villains here.” But also: “No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good.” I loved that.

• Even if it wasn’t really enough imo, I still treasure the crumbs we got of Loki being competent and capable (him putting the collar on B-15, him figuring out Sylvie’s hiding place, him teaching himself to enchant on the fly while fighting a giant cloud beast of eldritch proportions).

• I love that B-15 was the one who stepped in and saved the day in Episode 4, when we all thought it was gonna be Mobius. What a queen.

• Marvel usually has a bit of a problem with creating compelling and memorable side characters. But aside from Sylvie, I genuinely got attached to every single character in this show. Like Casey, C-20? I was seriously emotionally invested in them and they were only in like 2 episodes. Wtf.

• Introducing the TVA storyline in the Loki series specifically was a really good move. I’m not saying they executed it well, just that it had a ton of potential. A lot of people have wondered why marvel even thought to put those two (the TVA and Loki) together, when they had literally nothing to do with each other, nothing in common, and essentially no connection at all. But when you think about it, it’s a really interesting twist on both of those stories. Forcing the embodiment of destructive chaos and the pillar of rigid order to interact could make for some seriously entertaining and compelling television. And as far as meshing these two completely unrelated entities together goes, I thought they did it pretty well- at least just the bare bones of the story (loki being arrested by the TVA and being one of their most common variants).

So that’s it! If you guys (fellow antis) wanna add stuff you liked, feel free. If anyone wants to discuss (or debate) my list, feel free to do that too!

[twh-news]

How Loki's big finale reveal failed Marvel fans | Digital Spy

Loki finale spoilers follow.

Marvel used to have a major villain problem. Throughout Phases One and Two, Earth's Mightiest Heroes fought cookie-cutter bad guys who just wanted to get rich or take over the world. Loki and Bucky were the only exceptions to this because of their personal connections to Thor and Cap.

Phase Three began to build on this idea with fan favourites like Ragnarok's Hela and Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger. Both of them committed terrible acts, sure, but their plights were also understandable to some degree, and even relatable.

With the advent of Marvel TV on Disney+, Phase Four has developed this approach even further by putting anti-heroes front and centre in each of their own shows. Even Wanda, a full-fledged Avenger, is forced to reckon with her own morality in light of what she did to Westview. And that's been integral to the success of these shows, which each unpack what it means to be a hero in ways that no other Marvel project has ever attempted on screen.

But by centring the so-called "antagonists" like this, a different kind of villain problem has risen, like a seemingly dead baddie who thrusts one hand up from the grave just as the credits start to roll.

Since Loki's very first episode, there's been endless speculation on who the Big Bad might be. The mysterious Loki variant who showed up to kill TVA soldiers was perhaps the most likely candidate at first, but things took a surprising twist with that Lady Loki reveal (although given that betrayal at the end, Sylvie certainly did make a good case for her being the show's true Big Bad).

And then of course, other villainous candidates soon raised their heads. Everyone from Ravonna and the Time Keeepers to Alioth and President Loki all played a "bad" role to some degree. Loki's willingness to tackle the greyer areas of morality has been a strength of this show. But throughout the first five episodes, there was always this idea that someone else, someone "bigger" was waiting in the wings, controlling the TVA from a distance.

The penultimate episode leaned heavily into this idea with a final shot that practically begged fans to speculate about who could be hiding away in that castle beyond time. And then the finale arrived with the big reveal of He Who Remains, "a ruler" and "a conqueror" who also refers to himself as a "jerk" of sorts.

If you're not a fan of weighty exposition, you might consider him to be a jerk as well. Jonathan Majors does everything he can to sell these scenes, but when you break it all down, the vast majority of this final episode was dedicated to explaining an entirely new character whose arrival made little or no sense to casual fans watching back home.

On the flip side of that, He Who Remains was always the number one suspect for comic book readers who know their history. Kang, as this character is called in the source material, has been hinted at throughout the series, and Marvel even announced Jonathan's casting in the role months before Loki even started.

For some, Kang was the obvious choice for this reveal, which makes it a bit less exciting because it's so predictable. And then for others, it was the complete opposite problem. If you don't read the source material, then Kang's arrival came completely out of nowhere because his character wasn't even mentioned prior to the finale. Without comic book knowledge of Kang's identity, this just doesn't work as a satisfying end.

And even if you do know exactly who Majors is playing, what is there to actually gain from a random character showing up like this last minute? Loki has no emotional attachment to Kang beyond his manipulation of the TVA, and as a result of this, there's no closure. Thematically, another Loki variant would have made for a far more satisfying villain, one who forces "our" Loki to confront himself and his notions of what it means to be good.

Logistically, Kang's debut here isn't ideal either given that it required hefty amounts of exposition which slowed the finale to a crawl. While it was refreshing to see Loki avoid the usual CGI spectacle that often plagues the end of these stories, Marvel's incessant need to focus on set-up dragged things down in a different way here, forcing Kang in at the expense of the story that's currently being told.

It's thrilling to think about how this new multiverse will impact the MCU moving forward. The possibilities are literally endless, and we tried our best to outline some of the biggest ramifications to this big reveal right here. But what about the here and now? What about Loki's arc in this season and what about the viewers who couldn't care less about the wider MCU?

The ways in which this franchise connects everything together (much like the comics it's based on) is easily one of Marvel's biggest strengths, to the point where rival studios have desperately tried to replicate this format. But when vital plot points are introduced purely as a nod and a wink to fans who constantly look forward to what lies ahead, then this connectivity also becomes one of the studio's biggest weaknesses.

For decades, comic book giants like Marvel and DC have rebooted themselves and wiped the slate clean over and over again because they eventually become too inaccessible, weighed down by the sheer volume of backstory that newbies are forced to wade through. Marvel Studios has managed to circumvent this problem for the most part due to its widespread popularity, but sooner or later, people who don't have time to watch every single movie and show will start to resent stories like this that don't end to at least some degree.

Clearly, what was once a villain problem has become symptomatic of a much larger issue. But the essence is still the same. Characterisation is still being overlooked just to move the story along in whatever way Marvel sees fit.

And if this fixation on setting up the next project continues to take precedence over character and story, then shows like Loki run the risk of existing solely to continue one ongoing saga, like a snake eating itself in an endless loop.

Of course, fan expectation does play a role in this too, but when Kang said "We're all villains here," it's hard not to think that he might be referring to something far bigger and even more powerful than himself.

[pla-teau]

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.