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percheduphere · 4 months

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LET'S TALK ABOUT WHO LOKI CHOOSES

I've previously discussed romantic tropes in the Loki series in my meta here. This meta supports the former by counting each of Loki's decisions with each of Loki's love interests (Sylvie and Mobius) and where those decisions occur in the progression of the overall story of S1 and S2 combined. The end of S1 is the midpoint of the whole story. Bear this in mind as I track how Loki's decision-making shifts. You can even choose to view Loki's decision-making with respect to Mobius as platonic if you want. It doesn't change the plot, count, or character development.

I have to give Sylvie attention and credit where it is due. To not do so would not only ignore her legitimate importance in the series and Loki's development, but it would also undermine my own credibility as an essayist. Feel free to comment, but here are my ground rules: no hate and no yucking other people's yum.

S1E1: Loki chooses himself. We could make the argument Loki chooses to trust Mobius here, but I don't think we see Loki start to like Mobius as a person until S1E2.

S1E2: Loki straddles between choosing himself and choosing to help Mobius because he actually wants to. It helps that the latter serves self-preservation. Loki most obviously chooses himself when he bullshits Mobius at the RenFaire. His choice is more gray when proposing the apocalypse theory. To be conservative, I won't count this in Mobius's favor. However, I feel fairly confident Loki chooses to help Mobius (1) sift through the possible apocalypses because of this genuine reaction:

Loki is starved for praise. He's a centuries-old god for goodness sakes.

When a third option presents itself at Roxxcart, Loki chooses himself and Sylvie (1).

S1E3: Loki chooses to: 1.) help Sylvie through "attempting diplomacy" with the widow (2), 2.) help Sylvie with his "shit plan" disguise (3), 3.) be vulnerable with Sylvie on the train (4), 4.) sing Sylvie a song (5), 5.) help Sylvie get to the arc (6).

S1E4: Loki chooses to comfort Sylvie by holding her hand; their feelings for each other trigger a giant Nexus Event (7). Loki chooses to tell Mobius the truth about the TVA; if he didn't care about Mobius, he would have withheld this information (2). Loki chooses to trust Mobius (3). Loki chooses to reciprocate Mobius’s feelings of friendship (4). Loki chooses, with Mobius, to find and rescue Sylvie (8). Loki chooses to combat Renslayer with Sylvie (9). Loki chooses to confront the Timekeepers with Sylvie and gets pruned (10).

S1E5: Loki chooses to share a blanket with Sylvie (11). Loki chooses to stay in the Void and follow Sylvie to the end of time, "Where you go, I go" (12). Loki chooses to hug Mobius (5). Loki chooses to trust Sylvie's insistence that he intrinsically knows how to enchant (13).

S1E6 (THE MIDPOINT): The confrontation with HWR is tricky. Loki chooses to slow down and think about the consequences because he's learned the value of slowing down and thinking from Mobius (6). Loki chooses to kiss Sylvie back (I realize this is debatable for many Lokius fans, but I'm not going to argue this; 14)

S2 NOTES: For the sake of my own sanity, I am not counting Loki's unconscious and conscious timeslipping. You can refer to the counts for that in my meta here. I will also not be counting the near-infinite number of loops Loki refuses to kill Sylvie for "the good of the multiverse."

S2E1: Loki chooses to seek out Mobius for help (7). Loki chooses to be vulnerable with Mobius in the hallway (8). Loki chooses to trust Mobius's judgment that they only have one shot at stopping the timeslipping (9).

S2E2: Loki chooses to protect Mobius from Brad (10). Loki chooses to help Mobius reverse-engineer Brad's TemPad (11). Loki chooses to comfort Mobius in the pie automat (12). Loki chooses to follow Mobius's intimidation plan for Brad (13). Loki chooses to convince Sylvie to join his and the TVA's cause (Sylvie declines #1; 15). Loki chooses to hold hands with Sylvie to combine their blast power (16). Loki chooses to follow Mobius back to the TVA (14). Loki chooses to ask Sylvie to stay and help (Sylvie declines #2; 17). Loki chooses to comfort Mobius in the Control Room (15).

S2E3: Loki chooses to humor Mobius's sightseeing (16). Loki chooses to try cracker jack (and hates it; 17). Loki chooses to prioritize the Loom per Mobius’s advisement (18). Loki chooses to give into Mobius's tandem bike request (19). Loki chooses to plead with Sylvie to spare Timely and asks for her help (NOTE: this is Loki's 3rd request; writers love the significance of threes and Sylvie turns Loki down all three times; 18).

S2E4: Loki chooses to defend Mobius in the Pie Automat (20). Loki chooses to compare (through implication) Thor's relationship with Jane with his relationship with Mobius (21). Loki chooses to use this same comparison to assure Sylvie that her mercy on Timely was an act of mercy for all people on all timelines (19).

S2E5: Loki chooses to look for Mobius in the Pie Automat (22). Loki chooses to look for Mobius in the Control Room (23). Loki chooses to recruit Mobius (24). Loki chooses to quote Mobius's "form and function" to Don (25), Loki chooses to help Mobius through the time door (26). Loki chooses to promise Don (Mobius) that he can return him to any point in time (27). Loki chooses to recruit Sylvie (20; she turns him down a 4th time). Loki chooses to argue with Sylvie that Mobius should have a choice (28). Loki chooses to listen to Sylvie that his friends are better off without the TVA (21). Loki chooses to let Don go for Mobius’s own good (29). Loki chooses to control timeslipping upon hearing Sylvie say "Do you think what makes a Loki a Loki is that we're destined to lose?" (22). Loki chooses to rewrite the story to save Sylvie and Mobius (23 / 30, respectively).

S2E6: Loki chooses to reenact all of Mobius's small gestures of kindness even though they cost precious time: he chooses to hold Victor's glasses (31), he chooses to compliment OB's "not to scale" model (32), he chooses to recite an abbreviated version of his and Mobius's bickering over "who's in the suit?" (33), he chooses to finish Mobius's joke about taking OB's job (34). He chooses to seek out Past Mobius for guidance and comfort (35). He chooses to shake Mobius's hand (36). He chooses to talk Sylvie out of killing HWR (24). He chooses to sacrifice himself to save Sylvie and Mobius (25 / 37, respectively). He chooses to listen (and watch?) to Mobius say, "Let time pass" (38).

Loki chooses Sylvie: 25

Loki chooses Mobius: 38

If I missed any decision points for either Sylvie or Mobius, let me know and I'll update the meta and counts accordingly.

Ultimately, Loki's sacrifice is for BOTH Mobius AND Sylvie. BOTH ships are important to the narrative and Loki. However, between the two of them, there is only one person who has consistently chosen Loki since S1E1, never rejected Loki and his requests for help, and who has, in turn, unknowingly been chosen by Loki in kind. Need a meta for Mobius’s decision-making? Here it is.

#loki #mobius #lokius #loki season 2 #loki series #loki meta #my meta #loki analysis #my analysis #sylvie

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boredintjqueen · 4 months

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I have a theory:

Here's what we know:

Our Loki, TVA Loki, is a variant. Therefore variants can affect and be affected by the Sacred Timeline even if they're not from the Sacred Timeline.

A variant simply being in a different timeline cannot cause a branch- that's why in the Pompeii apocalypse Mobius suggests making 'bird noises'. If you don't cause enough of a disturbance you can get away with it.

Loki is canonically bisexual, genderfluid, and capable of shapeshifting.

The 'Centuries' Loki spent studying had to have been spent in the Sacred Timeline because any other branch would have disappeared too quickly.

Loki would have to leave before Don's nexus event.

Loki couldn't have spent centuries on the Sacred Timeline as himself because people would recognise him and he would risk encountering the Sacred variant.

Don's wife is 'long gone', he never says he's divorced.

Don's children, Sean and Kevin are very much like Thor and Loki (one likes snakes and the other likes chaos) while Don is nothing like Odin which leads me to this conclusion:

Loki timeslipped back to the Sacred Timeline as a woman to study whatever he needed to study and during the course of that time he married and had children with Don. He couldn't stay long enough because Don is mortal and Loki probably didn't want to watch him die, so he existed in a time-loop that amounted to centuries, a time-loop that ended at a point in time where Don assumed his wife simply up and left him. Loki probably used a different name which is why Don didn't know his name when Loki timeslips to him the first time but he did find him familiar enough to trust.

I wouldn't put it past the creatives behind the show to leave these breadcrumbs for us to draw this conclusion even if they would never admit it to the higher-ups. The higher-ups couldn't even let lokius happen, so no way they were aware of these breadcrumbs.

#lokius #loki #loki series #loki season 2 #mobius m. mobius

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primewritessmut · 3 months

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my brain at 3am: what if i wrote a lokius cat au?

my fingers at 3am:

“It’s a cat.”

“I can see that,” Ravonna says, somehow managing to look down at him despite the fact that she’s sitting in her desk and Mobius is standing in front of it. With a cat.

“It’s cute, don’t you think?” he leans over the file box, tilting up one corner of the cardboard lid to peer inside at the bugger, and nearly ends up taking a fully clawed swipe to the face.

“Missed, you bloodthirsty little beast,” Mobius chuckles.

“I think the question is: Why do you have a cat?”

“I found it.”

Mobius doesn’t think Ravonna is interested in hearing just how long he’s known about the cat’s existence. Or the number of schemes he’s plotted to capture the cat. Or the fact that he’s been making shopping runs into the apocalypse for food and bedding and those little sparkly mice with the feathers for tails.

#fanfic #fic wip #lokius #cat loki

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trutrustories · 6 months

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about the "FOR YOU" scene: I wouldn't actually mind if it was meant for Sylvie, because it would supported Lokius reading anyway!

Look, He Who Remains presented Loki with two options: free timelines completely = big war = everyone dies (read Mobius dies) or kill Sylvie and they'll live.

Loki didn't consider, not even for a SECOND the option, where Mobius would die.

If he chose that first option, He and Sylvie would be both probably fine. Sylvie was ok with apocalypses. And they are both gods.

But when he was back at HWR's citadel, Loki desperately tried to come up with different options so he wouldn't have to kill Sylvie. Still, Mobius dying Is out of the question here.

Then he goes to past meet cute for advice. And while Mobius was telling him to accept a difficult decision for the greater good (not knowing it means killing sylvie) He simultaneously admitted that he himself wasn't able to do it.

Loki then goes to Sylvie and when he talks to her, he finally finds (or internally accepts) new option: to sacrifice himself instead.

So if he was indeed saying "for you" to Sylvie, I'm ok with it. Because only HER life was on the line. Everyone else (read Mobius) was always out of the question (Poor man spent centuries learning science for his Jetski-loving analyst)

anyway... this Is how I chose to read the scene:

"I know what I want" l know I want my love ones to be save and happy.

"I know what kind of god I need to be" I have to choose my burden (as Mobius said) And I chose this one

"for you" for you, Sylvie, so I don't have to kill you (but I was considering it)

"For all of us" It's the best option I could find, for everyone... (I just have to accept this burden of me spending eternity alone)

So... Yeah. If it was meant for Sylvie, I don't care. It's only because sacrificing Mobius's life never even crossed Loki's mind ☺️ ❤️

#lokius #loki #loki and mobius #loki spoilers #mobius m mobius #mobius #loki season 2 #loki series #loki spoiler

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nabu630 · 6 months

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Loki Spoilers for Finale

So we all know this

And how most of us were pissed off because most of us just wanted it to be Mobius and exclude Sylvie because we don't like Sylki.

Well even though I do not disagree with this, I think the way Marvel handled this scene was perfect.

Marvel knew that just having Mobius in there would piss off all the Sylki shippers and other groups of people and just having Sylvi in there would piss off all the Lokius shippers. They knew they couldn't make everyone happy so by putting both of them in there, people can interpret who it was for.

I was a little pissed and did go as far as to call Marvel cowards for not making Lokius canon. But then I got to thinking how this makes sense from a narrative standpoint.

Loki was doing all of this for his friends. Of course he didn't want to be alone and needed to fix the problem so then he could be with his friends. But that was the problem, he couldn't be with his friends. After trying over and over again, learning from Timley and OB for centuries and working so hard to save them, he had to face the fact that he couldn't be with them.

After confronting He-Who-Remains he realized that this was just a way to keep him in power and not wanting to play his sick game, took matters into his own hands. He rewrote the story to where He-Who-Remains was not in control and all the branches were safe.

But the rest of the story wouldn't have Loki and Loki would be alone, that was the sacrifice. All of that and for Loki to be alone, but alone knowing that Mobius, Sylvie and the rest of his friends were safe.

Mobius was able to return to the TVA and go to see his life on the timeline.

Sylvie could have a life on the timeline like she wanted, away from the TVA officers and the apocalypses.

And Loki could watch as his friends live their new lives away from the threat of the TVA exploding, and that was enough for his sad smile at the end.

That "for you" was for both of them, because he was able to give both of them something that they wanted. In the moment, he didn't understand what his absence would mean to them, but it didn't matter because they were alive and that's all he cared about.

#loki odinson #loki marvel #marvel loki #loki #lokius #loki series #loki season 2 #loki laufeyson #loki theories #loki headcanons #loki spoilers #sylki #mobius #loki finale #loki god of stories

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bat-to-da-robs · 5 months

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Am rewatching Loki as research to write some longfic. Now. I am a multishipper/polyshipper/ship and let shit/ymmv person and will continue to be until the day God personally nerfs me.

I think Sylkie shippers are valid as fuck and need to keep being funky fucks and shipping the good ships (as much as lokius is my personal primary).

But. I am rewatching ep 2. And.

The apocalypse where Sylvie and Loki meet.

Is in Alabama.

😭🤣😂😆🤪

Now, I am 99.999999% sure that the writers meant absolutely nothing by this.

But.

The Humour™.

#Loki #loki season one #loki show #loki series #lokius #sylki #loki x mobius #loki x sylvie

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dewdropreader · 30 days

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Describe your WIPs Badly

Okay so I wasn’t officially tagged on tumblr but @cha-melodius did this and it looked fun so I’m doing it anyway!

Basically the goal is to summarize your WIPs badly— some of mine are badly described plots and some are just me poking fun and making a joke about the content, some are both lol. Please feel free to send me asks asking about ones you’re curious about, I love talking about ideas and sometimes it helps me get inspiration to work on them! Some of these are newer and some are ones I’ve mentioned before, but they’re all ones that have at least one sentence/deeper idea written (not always a good one, but an idea at least lol)

The real storms were the daddy issues along the way

Tom Hiddleston called Loki a mercurial spirit one time and I ran with it, now Loki and Sylvie are ghosts gently terrorizing and falling in love with Mobius who is just trying his best

Sylvie has only known Jack 10 minutes but if anything happened to him she’d kill everyone in the room and then herself

Everyone is drunk, Loki wants to kiss that old man so bad it makes him look stupid, and Mobius wants to kiss that god so bad it makes him look even stupider

Author is a swiftie and Mastermind is so Lokius coded it hurts

No I’m not over Loki season 2 and neither are Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Croki

What if all the Lokis just loved themselves and their Jotun forms, wouldn’t that be nice? They don’t yet but they’re trying

Loki has grown so much but would snap Brad’s neck and like it if he so much as breaths wrong at Mobius again

So many hugs and softness that your teeth might fall out

All the Lokis getting the heavy dose of gender fluidity and self expression that marvel didn’t give them

Birthdays are weird for Lokis when they’re centuries old but their favorite silver fox is going to give them all the happiness regardless, dammit.

Author is also a Disney nerd and will make her blorbos experience Disney too

Sylvie is taking the end of season 2 a lot less well than it appears

Loki controls his timeslipping but really has a bad time as he thinks way too hard about “who” and what is at stake

Casey and OB are smitten, neurodivergent kings who are absolutely clueless despite being obsessed with each other, no I’m not taking criticisms at this time

The boastful origin fic that haunts me more than ever because we didn’t see more of him in season 2

Author putting two of the most attractive, badass women from marvel in a room together in an apocalypse and letting them take the reins

There are definitely other WIP docs that exist but none others (that I know of anyway) that have enough to summarize yet!

Might be double tagging but this is fun so if anyone wants to give it a shot!

@starport-seven-five @insert-witty-user-name-here @blackbirdofasgard @lgwilt and anyone else that wants to do it!

#loki #lokius #sylkius #fanfiction #fanfic #tag game #badly summarized wip

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lokiiied · 6 months

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ijk if they weren’t in a big rush to save the world, loki would have loved. to have a beer with mobius, meet his future step kids, hear mobius’ seductive sales pitch about the jetski, and take it for a joy ride.

anyways manifesting jetski date next ep when this is all over.

#why are all their dates cut short by an impending apocalypse 😭#loki #loki season 2 #lokius #mobius #mobius m mobius #loki x mobius

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circuitsofgold · 6 months

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I’ve been doing some thinking about Loki and his relationship with Sylvie. And as a disclaimer, I ship everything and nothing at the same time. Yes, I am aware that is a paradox. I ship Sylkie in a romantic sense and in a platonic sense. Same with Lokius. Although I like the idea of all three of them together in both a romantic and platonic sense.

But I think Loki wants her to be a part of his life and he wants the best for her because she's him. He sees so much of himself in her. The bitterness and the anger. The heart rending loneliness he felt everyday of his life. Yes, he had a family and "friends". ( I say "friends" because they were Thor's friends who tolerated him because he was Thor's brother. ) He had a home while she didn't. She didn't have Frigga to teach her magic. She doesn't want a throne so much as she wants a home.

As he moves away from that, he wants to help her. Wants to share his found family and home with her. But the obstacle is that that found family is the TVA. He's aware she's trying to build a life in the 1980s and I think some part of him is happy for her. But at the end of the day, he's selfish. ( Though I do like the idea of a sort of compromise. She gets her life in the '80s and he visits her. Claiming he's checking in on her and they catch up on her break. )

I saw a post earlier saying she was "emotionally stunted" and "childish". And you know what? She is. If only because she was taken from her life at an extremely young age, say around 7 or 8, by human standards. I's been long enough where she doesn't remember her life on Asgard. Has no memory of a mother? Since escaping from the TVA, she's hidden in apocalypse events, just trying to survive. That's not exactly the best place to learn social skills. ( Though she apparently has excellent customer service skills if her McDonald’s badge is anything to go by. Though coming from someone who works in customer service, you learn how to act the part very quickly. )

Loki wants the best for her because he wants the best for himself. ( I also think she reminds him a bit of Thor before Thor "went soft". ) She's a part of his "found family".

This has been an incoherent mess. But I think about these two characters a lot. Would I like to see them kiss again at some point? Sure. But only after a heck of a lot of development with both characters in that direction. But at this point, I’d be happy with them just existing together.

If you've read this whole post, thank you.

#sylvie laufeydottir #loki series #Sylvie positive #loki laufeyson #sylkie #tagging the ship name just in case #Loki + sylvie #I really wish we knew what her nexus event was #Even if the fandom theory is she wanted to be a hero/Valkyrie #But no #Renslayer just goes I don't remember

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percheduphere · 4 months

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So...Thoughts on the whole people thinking Sylvie is Aro-Ace? I can kinda see her being Aromantic, but with her mentioning she's more "hedonistic" than Loki and silently hinting that she's Bi too, can't really see her as Asexual. But what do you think?

LET'S TALK ABOUT SYLVIE'S SEXUALITY, HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOKI AND MOBIUS, & HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SERIES NARRATIVE

Before I answer this, I think it's important to acknowledge that fictional characters exist for people's comfort and pleasure. I write original fiction, and I would hope that most artists believe in the right of the audience to interpret character to meet their personal needs. To me, canon is a sandbox. Everyone should play with it as they please and not hate on each other. There are more important things in life to worry about. Therefore, if Sylvie reads as Aro-Ace to you and that reading brings you joy, then she is.

This question inherently requires the need to talk about Sylki in this post. I predominantly analyze Lokius, so please, no hate! My number one rule is never yucking someone's yum. Furthermore, Sylvie plays a critical role in Loki's development and the philosophical thrust of the series, of which Mobius also contributes to as the other half of Loki's character arc equation (selflessness and sparing life [Mobius] + free will and revolution [Sylvie]). It would be biased and disingenuous to not acknowledge her contributions to the overarching narrative.

ARO-ACE INTERPRETATION

All right, your question! I can definitely can see Sylvie as being aro-ace. That's a legitimate interpretation based on how she responds to Loki's flirtation and romantic advances. It is also possible that she's an aromantic bisexual. This second possibility is more likely based on the text the audience is given.

THE CANON TEXT

Having said that, I think you're curious about what the source material is trying to say about Sylvie's character and how that influences her sexuality. I believe it's important to remember that external behavior doesn't dictate how someone defines themselves. Closeting and disengagement from intimacy because of trauma are prime examples of this.

The train scene in S1E4 reads as earnest. Loki and Sylvie are both very lonely characters. In this moment, both are trying to connect with someone who finally understands them because they are the same. It's actually a lovely nod to the queer experience.

The dialogue, lighting, and costuming (blue, purple, pink) in this scene communicates they are both queer, specifically bisexual. The lighting and costuming combining to represent the bisexual pride flag is an example of queer subtext in film. The dialogue, while direct, is also written in such a way that it avoids explicitly stating "men and women." Sylvie later comments that the brief flings she indulges in during apocalypses helped her "keep going". She even specifies that apocalypses make people desperate. This suggests that Sylvie likely didn't need to do much wooing or charming like Loki would to obtain a sexual partner. Finally, the way Tom and Sophie play this scene is vulnerable. I therefore believe we can take this on-screen admission at face value.

So the question becomes, why does Sylvie respond to Loki's flirtations the way she does?

SYLVIE'S BACKGROUND

Sylvie was orphaned and forced to run all her life from a very young age. Her backstory is deeply tragic. To live in such a way means that she never had the opportunity to experience adolescence.

NOTE: This is honestly my favorite gif of Sylvie. She's so sweet and cute when she's happy. I can't get over the 5 stars on her employee badge. "Sylvie, can you refill the straws?" "Already did it!" The sweetheart.

Sylvie working at McDonald's accomplishes two things: it allows Disney to fulfill their advertising sponsorship agreement for the fast-food franchise, and it subtly alludes to Sylvie's need to live the adolescence she didn't get to. The TVA forced her into arrested development. She never had the chance to make friends and safely socialize on her own terms. The centuries of trauma have made trust, let alone romance, completely foreign to her.

Which is why, when Loki and Sylvie have romantic scenes, she is often awkward or, if not unreceptive, wary. Her previous flings, as she agrees with Loki, were "never real". Physical intimacy without emotional intimacy is a familiar dynamic for both characters. Their relationship with one another is their first experience of emotional intimacy (or at least attempt at it) outside of their families. The pursuit of this emotional intimacy feels safe to them because they are the same entity and thus they know each other's base nature (versus nurture!) to some degree.

The difference between them is that Sylvie has not experienced social rejection in the way Loki has (nurture!). She recognizes the wrongness with which the TVA has treated her. She knows the absolute atrocities the TVA has committed. She is determined to destroy them to free herself and all timelines. Sylvie is consequently more self-assured, more confident in what she wants and believes in, than Loki. In S2, Sylvie's clarity on desire is what allows her to help Loki articulate what he wants: his friends back, most especially Mobius.

In S1E1, Loki, still posturing before Mobius, describes himself as a "liberator". At this point in the story, we know that isn't true, but it will become true by the finale. This line of dialogue foreshadows Loki's trajectory as well as Sylvie's revealed motivation in S1E4: to liberate.

THE NEXUS EVENT

There are a variety of ways for viewers to interpret what exactly the Nexus Event was. The canon, within the text of Mobius's dialogue and verbal confirmation from the creators, is that Loki and Sylvie fell in love. Now, I'm not going to spend time arguing over other interpretations here, but I will say that regardless of whatever pairing or OT3 a viewer ships, the Nexus Event was ALSO definitively this: two Lokis in the same place, at the same time, not feeling lonely together.

And Sylvie, who had confessed to Loki she has no friends and has never really experienced joy, answers Renslayer with the number of positive memories she has:

Sylvie doesn't state it outright, but the subtext is clear that her one positive memory was her time with Loki on Lamentis. Indeed, moments later, Sylvie prunes herself in an effort to find and rescue him.

SYLVIE & MOBIUS

But being the harshly pragmatic individual she is, upon arrival and encountering Alioth, Sylvie assumes Loki didn't make it. I don't think Sylvie means what she says in a cruel way. I think she believes this because she is accustomed to disappointment and accordingly guards herself with cynicism. Sylvie's traumas, her difficulty with trust, her inexperience with intimate relationships, and her cynicism all combine to create an individual who may appear aro-ace when that may not necessarily be the case. Please note, however, that Sylvie being aro-ace or aro-bisexual may still be a possibility. My analysis here is based on what the text and subtext seem to be telling us about her character.

Notably, it is Mobius who is more optimistic about Loki's survival, wondering if Sylvie truly believes that Loki is dead.

This moment is brief, but it is significant because Mobius's optimism implies that not only does he believe in Loki, he also wants Loki to be alive. Sylvie is intelligent. She can read between the lines. We can also assume an off-screen conversation took place between them that confirmed for Sylvie Mobius's genuine care for Loki. When Sylvie informs Loki of this fact, I believe we get this:

Mobius was conservative in how Loki might interpret their relationship, extending a handshake before their goodbyes. Loki, on the heels of his conversation with Sylvie, chooses to hug him instead. The result: Mobius is delighted!

I've long pondered on why Mobius would say, "You're my favorite" to Sylvie. I believe this is why: she helped along their friendship and opened the gates for physical affection between them. This demonstrates that Sylvie cares enough for Loki to ensure he is secure in his bond with Mobius. It likely helped that Mobius did not deny the TVA's evil when she pointed it out to him, and that he did not hesitate to apologize to her for it.

Ironically, it is Mobius's optimism, especially in the potential of broken things to become something better (whether it is Loki himself or the TVA), that creates the fraught philosophical divide between Sylvie and Mobius (and Loki) with regards to the TVA in S2.

THE S1 FINALE

The S2 finale is where the narrative between Loki and Sylvie turns, and the plot pivots to the deepening relationship between Loki and Mobius. Triggering this event is Loki's desire to slow down and think about the consequences of killing HWR in the Citadel at The End of Time.

This may seem out-of-character at first glance. S1E1-E4 have demonstrated that Loki's decision making is sometimes chaotic by virtue of impulse. What was the last impulsive decision he made with heavy consequences?

He ran off after Sylvie. A good decision ultimately, as Loki learns the truth about the TVA through Sylvie, but only by luck. This decision very nearly cost Loki a friendship, one he didn't even realize he had until Mobius called him a "bad friend."

Despite the fallout, Mobius recovers relatively quickly once he confirms Loki's claims and views Ravonna's recording of C-20. He reestablishes trust with Loki as soon as possible to help Loki be with the one he loves. Why? Because Mobius is ultimately selfless and wants Loki's happiness regardless of his own feelings of jealousy.

Which circles us back to the theme of trust and Sylvie's challenges with it.

Loki and Sylvie's relationship falls apart not because of lack of mutual interest, but because Sylvie loses trust in Loki and with good reason: HWR (and thus the TVA) is the cause of all her suffering.

It is not Sylvie's fault she is this way. She hasn't had enough time to develop meaningful relationships, and the one relationship that was meaningful to her (Loki's) became, in her eyes, a profound betrayal. This experience only adds to the other traumas Sylvie carries with her, making encounters with Loki in S2 emotionally difficult if not triggering.

The relationships of Loki & Sylvie and Loki & Mobius are intentionally set side-by-side for 3 critical reasons:

1.) To demonstrate Loki's growth by developing trust and thus emotional intimacy with others.

2.) To create the Plot B emotional source of conflict in S2.

3.) To set-up Mobius and Sylvie's individual beliefs and values (selflessness and sparing life [Mobius] + free will and revolution [Sylvie]), which Loki combines into his own system of beliefs and values. This combination gives Loki the strength and wisdom to ascend the throne and become the God of Stories (and Time).

THE S2 FINALE

Loki comes to his final decision after speaking with the two halves of his character arc equation. Loki first seeks out Mobius, who shares with him the distinction between himself and Ravonna. Now, this is brainwashed Mobius. Brainwashed Mobius believed Ravonna could do the impossible while he couldn't. But Loki knows Ravonna's corruption.

Beneath Mobius's wisdom that "most purpose is more burden than glory" is also Mobius's heart: he could not prune children and that instinct was the right decision. His "failure" was not a failure of duty but rather his humanity succeeding despite the brainwashing. It's this same intrinsic compassion that drove Mobius to convince Ravonna to spare Loki. Loki articulates this to Don as such. He therefore takes the message of selflessness and sparing life from Mobius to Sylvie.

Sylvie, in turn, challenges Loki, stating they should have the freedom and right to fight whatever comes on their own terms.

She also stresses that it is all right to destroy things. Upon hearing this, Loki comes to the conclusion that what is destroyed must be replaced with something better. What needs to be destroyed? Not the TVA and the people in it (not Mobius, Verity, OB, and Casey), but the Loom.

Loki sacrificed himself (selflessness + sparing life [Mobius]) in order to save all timelines (free will + revolution [Sylvie]). Loki sparing Sylvie's life is a direct consequence of Mobius having fought to spare his.

Through this sacrifice, Loki gifts Sylvie the chance to get the type of positive experiences she wants and needs, which includes future romance, if she so chooses. That is canon and is a genuinely romantic gesture regardless of anyone's interpretation of mutual reciprocation or lack thereof.

It is also canon that Loki loves Mobius and Mobius loves Loki. Their actions for one another across both seasons demonstrate this to be true. Is it also romantic? Absolutely. Is it sexual? On screen, no, and it doesn't have to be. Romance does not require sex, let alone physical contact, to exist.

Loki loves them both.

#loki #sylvie #loki series #loki meta #my meta #loki season 2 #lokius #mobius #loki spoilers

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