#brodinsons meta

[youlackconviction]

https://www.instagram.com/youlackconviction/ (inspired by @worstloki)

[sandraharissa]

Thor and Loki’s usefulness to Odin in being heir to their respective thrones is definitely some of the main things he values them for but I get the vibe ppl only bring it up to add to the list of proof that he’s narcissistic blah blah blah, when based on how serious he treats his job and his own striving to do his job flawlessly we can tell that he has the same attitude towards himself, and likely Frigga too, it’s just that she never does anything that would make her a bad queen and likely as a woman and queen consort she doesn’t have that much responsibilities and expectations put on her, and it’s also likely the same way he was treated himself when he was heir.

And imo it’s exactly how Loki views it too, based on his speech to Sif + W3 his primary reason to disturb Thor’s coronation was that Thor was unfit to rule, conveying that he feels a deep-rooted responsibility to ppl to for example not put a guy on a throne that’d immediately start a war. He’s got to have learned this from his parents, reflecting that he really internalized the responsibility as a royal family member aka part of the government that Odin expresses many times.

That’s one of the reasons why the play scene in TR felt off to me, cos it’s ooc for Loki. Loki always wanted to prove his worth in order to prove he deserves his place in the family, and I think it partially comes from this attitude he and Odin have towards the matter, hence if Loki did succeed in doing some great deal for Asgard and very tangibly proven his worth, and he’d start getting publicly praised ect. I think it’s way more in character for Loki to find the sudden widespread positive attention from strangers awkward, he'd only find it rewarding cos it’d bring him the kind of praise from his immediate family that he always wanted, but somewhat more importantly, he’d finally live up to his own standards.

Loki was always jealous of Thor but not in the sense he wanted the throne and everything that comes with it but that he wanted to be his equal. So he always wanted private recognition and not public recognition. Part of the jealousy was that Thor fit perfectly what was expected of a prince and Loki not so much, hence ‘failing’ at being a prince. But these ppl’s identities as royals and family members are so deeply intertwined. It’s like Loki’s family never expected anything of him to prove he belongs in the family but to Loki if he’s a bad prince then he’s a bad son, with others but especially Odin showing the same attitude that him being a father and a king are inseparable. And it was all manageable being the ‘underwhelming’ prince but then he finds out he’s not even legitimate by typical rules of monarchy and he’s not even related to them and he’s actually from the race of their sworn enemies, and suddenly in his mind nothing is guaranteed, his place in the family isn’t ‘earned’ with anything and he starts fighting for it and engaging in rivalry with Thor over it. If you get rid of the competition you automatically won, if you one up Thor then you’re the more ‘accomplished’ prince and son now.

It's almost like monarchy is a bad political system or smth and part of it is that it’s inherently traumatizing to the royal family and so the nicest scene we ever get of the three interacting are the two Odin death scenes in TR where they’re just kinda chilling and Odin forgot for quite a while about being a king and just kinda doesn’t really bring this back up in their last meeting cos he’s at peace with his time as king / his time being alive being over.

[uniiiquehecrt]

It's just

It's when Loki gives Thor a little knee bump

It's when Thor is brimming with utter frustration at the coronation being indefinitely cancelled (and probably reeling with some dejection over clearly not being good enough in his father's eyes... and in the eyes of the realms re: Jotunheim) and he warns Loki "It is unwise to be in my presence brother" and Loki responds (at least, in the full scene) with "Who said I was wise?"

It's the knee tap.. it's the shoulder brushing...The subtle notes of contact... For Thor who is such a physically affectionate being, from Loki who is altogether not so physically inclined... It's the silent reciprocation by Thor in the way he opens up to Loki in his own way ("This was to be my day of triumph").

It's the huddling close with your sibling because they're upset and you love them so you scoot a little closer to share in the feeling; two siblings in solidarity.

It's the unspoken intimacy between the two brothers that speaks such volumes about who they were and what they were to each other. How Thor may not turn his head but he is painfully obviously looking to Loki for some solace, whether he asks outright or not...

It's how Loki cares enough (and i'd hope feels bad enough lmao) about the situation to sit with Thor and engage in it, even if he's wholly intending to try to steer Thor towards gaining some much-needed restraint. It's how that doesn't quite go the way Loki expects it to...

But Thor is so earnest and sincere about Loki coming along. And he gets genuinely confused (mayhaps even concerned) when Loki briefly questions whether he would even be coming along... bcloki'sjustalittledumbandinsecure and by that I mean he is a lot.

When in Thor's eyes: of course he is coming??? Why would Loki not be coming? Why wouldn't Thor want him to be alongside him for the ride? Of course Thor wants him there; in his mind it's never a question of 'if'. Thor wants and expects him to be there; they're two peas in a pod. Especially by way of adventure.

Anyone who dares say on either side that these two didn't have a close and mutually beloved bond evidently didn't watch the films correctly or in a LONG time in the very least, because this sibling energy STILL holds true even without the full scene intact. (I just feel the need to share the full scene because that is how it was written, shot, and acted out. It's not the characters' faults the editors sliced and diced out all the nuance.)

[tallseaweed]

Buddy Request: are you a Loki obsessed high fantasy lover?

I would really like to connect with fellow Loki fans who want to rant about/analyze Loki and Thor's psychology, family dynamics, Asgardian society, Jotunheim, magic/seiðr, and the Nine Realms. Ideas/thoughts that aren't canon-compliant with the MCU are more than welcome!

Here are some fics with these types of themes that I have thoroughly enjoyed and been inspired by:

Ásgarðrian Galdr by Valerie_Vancollie

Bargaining by proantagonist ( @proantagonista ) [thank you SO MUCH for the rec @alwida10!]

Frostbite by Maiden_of_Asgard

Once More With Empathy by Kairyn ( @bfaymiller )

A Fairytale Beginning by the_lady_amphitrite ( @the-lady-amphitrite )

Let me set the scene:

For the past year and a half, I've been working on developing a longfic featuring a Thor 2011 Loki and an OC Sigyn. Honestly, I don't think that I'll get around to posting it anytime soon (there's still so much work to be done on it), but it's constantly on my mind. It's sort of a hybrid concept of the MCU, Norse Mythology, my own ideas, OCs, and magic systems. It has an epic scope with multiple arcs and characters from most of the Nine Realms. Do you like characters with wings? I got you covered. An imminent threat to the Nine Realms? Check. An in-depth analysis of Ásgarðr and Jǫtunheimr's history uncovered during Loki's identity crisis? A Jǫtunn OC? A Laufey that never wanted to lose his child? Check, check, and check.

I've found it hard to talk to people about all this because it involves a LOT of worldbuilding. Epic fantasy definitely isn't for everyone and this will not be a "light" read. Some non-fanfic stories that have inspired me along the way include the Roots of Chaos series by Samantha Shannon (The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night) and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. So if you like those types of stories, you might like the ideas I come up with.

If you relate to anything I've said, I also want to mention that I would love to hear about your ideas as well! If you feel trapped inside your own head and feel hesitant to "info-dump" on people, I am the person for you. And hey, maybe we can inspire each other :) Fanfiction is not about gatekeeping, and I have been unabashedly inspired by so many different takes on Loki that I've read along the way.

Sending this out into the Tumblr void, hoping it finds the right people!

[champmorado]

i dont think enough people talk about thor's mental issues and inner turmoil and stuff when it comes to the brodinsons dynamic

[abby118]

There is one thing that I didn't quite understand about Loki in Thor 1 and that I don't think has been addressed enough. when she sent the "destroyer" to Midgard, I know she intended to stop the 3 sif warriors/ladies who even committed treason. she however was actually pushing herself to kill them. and he had even gone so far as to kill Thor. This seems extreme to me though since we know he loved Thor more than anyone else. and even though he had been abused by him and his friends for a tho

To start this off, let's focus on Heimdall - I think his treason didn't come as a surprise to Loki (it wouldn't be the first time after all, and that instance had happened under Odin's rule), though he might have hoped it wouldn't come so quick. Heimdall allowed the W3/Sif to pass and thus broke his oath to the throne. They were off to end Thor's banishment and bring him back to Asgard.

This is where Loki's plans start faling apart and I've seen someone in the fandom refer to it as him playing speed chess which I found rather fitting. He no longer has the time to think his decisions through the way it would be needed. Naturally, he opts for the action that would buy him the most time - stalling the W3/Sif/Thor and cutting off their access to Asgard. However, Heimdall attacks him and attempts to behead him. I believe Loki expected this as well; you can see that he came prepared. He used the Casket to freeze Heimdall and I take it as proof that he didn't aim to kill him. He could've used Gungnir but instead went for the relic he must've held significant resentment for, given that it is from Jotunheim. That wasn't a random choice.

In the meantime, the W3/Sif arrive to Midgard and find Thor.

Loki knew Thor would hear of his lies once reunited with his friends and he wasn't wrong. They told him the truth and were ready to take him back. Then, the Destroyer showed up and did what it was supposed to do - it stalled them.

Now, whether Loki was or wasn't trying to kill them is up for debate but he was certainly familiar with the extent of their abilities and knew they were no beginners. He had to send something that wouldn't be defeated easily. It worked up until Thor decided to intervene and the plans had to shift once again.

I don't think he wanted to kill Thor; he realised that despite everything, he did seem to change. He paused and took that into account but it wasn't enough to soothe the built up tension and hurt he felt. Yes, Thor did apologise but for once in his life, Loki wanted to be the winner.

He puts out the fire within the Destroyer but strikes him anyway. It did almost kill him and I do think would Thor have actually died, Loki would've regretted it later, once the chaos would've died down. Again, this has been brought up before, but we don't know how familiar he was with the degree of injury mortals can handle. That could've played a part. Thor becomes worthy and is able to wield Mjölnir again, which restores his powers and heals him. He defeats the Destroyer and eventually returns to Asgard.

I especially like the parallel between their situations. Both of them experienced their losses and were broken by what happened to them except for the fact that Thor regained what he'd lost whilst Loki kept falling further. I think it reflects their overall experience in life in which Thor is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them whilst Loki's attempts to prove himself, to equal, fall unseen because he was the spare, the tool to keep around would Thor need him.

[delyth88]

When Thor caught up with Loki on earth in 2012 it must have been strange for Loki. Here he is, a changed man because of his experiences over the last 12 months, and here's Thor who's had a wee bit of a holiday on Midgard and then gone back to Asgard and carried on his life almost like normal. It must be so jarring to have Thor engage with him like so little has changed.

In comparison to after Ragnarok - or even at the start of Ragnarok. At this time both Thor and Loki have been through. some. things. And while they were on different journeys, at least they had both changed and could come towards each other on a little more equal footing.

During Avengers Thor would have been a reflection of everything Loki had lost, while after Ragnarok Thor would have been a reminder of what they had left.

[musclesandhammering]

I need there to be an emotional scene in Secret Wars or Thor 5 or whatever when, after Loki’s out of the tree and the war is won etc, Thor expects Loki to stay in New Asgard with him, but Loki declines and says he’s returning to the TVA.

Something along the lines of “I’m not your Loki, your Loki is dead. This was his home, not mine. I’m sorry he never got to see it. But I have my own home, and they’re waiting for me by that time door. So..”

I just think it would annihilate me :)

[delyth88]

Okay, this is cool. I've never noticed it in the film because it all goes by so quickly, but in that last gif you can see Loki go from looking generally alarmed to very definitely scared. When Thor lands Loki isn't exactly anticipating things will go well, but it's not till he sees his face that he realises just how angry Thor is, and this makes Loki genuinely fear for his life.

[youlackconviction]

@nikkoliferous @iamnmbr3

what happens on LOKI's discord server stays on LOKI's discord server unless it doesn't

[abby118]

Some things from yesterday's discord conversation I thought were worth posting here.

(referencing this)

[iamanartichoke]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but as a creator -

I am fine with "the audience" -

downloading my fics

printing my fics

copy/pasting or screenshotting my fics

sharing your saved copy of my fics with anyone else who might want them in the unlikely but never impossible case that my fics are no longer available on ao3

making a book of my fic(s) and running your fingers across the pages while lovingly whispering my precioussss

doing these things with anything I create for fandom, such as meta, headcanons, au nonsense like 'texts from the brodinsons,' etc

I am not fine with "the audience"

doing any of the above with the purpose/intent of plagiarizing my work or passing it off as their own in any capacity

feeding my work into ai for any reason whatsoever

Save the fandom things. Preserve the fandom things. Respect the fandom things.

Enjoy the fandom things.

[indelen]

Thor's biggest flaw is not so much that he's dumb, it's that he's very impulsive (and in the first movie just plain spoiled and cocky) but he's never came off as not smart to me.

WHY DOES EVERYONE ASSUME THOR DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING??! He literally smiles every time someone falls for his “I’m just a dumb jock” routine. Guys, he grew up with Loki, he went to university, he’s been alive for over a millennia. His flaw in the first Thor movie was that he had too much hubris, not that he was stupid.

He knows that he can play dumb and get out of any situation. Do you all not see that sheepish smirk he always does? 

Thor: Ragnarok only confirms what the first two movies were hinting at - Thor is very intelligent and can even pull one over on Loki when he wants to. After the events in The Avengers, he knows Loki’s true feelings about him and that’s why he’s so emotional in The Dark World and why he’s always teasing him in Ragnarok.

[againtodreaming]

mila - she/her - 19 - infp 6w7 - esp/eng

fandoms: bsd, dc comics (batfamily, teen titans), loki (2011-2013), vanitas no carte, yuukoku no moriarty, jujutsu kaisen, death note, star wars, miraculous ladybug, fullmetal alchemist, link click, genshin

storygraph: nostalgianochecer

always open to tag games and asks :D

i don't really tag them, but a lot of posts are queued

i can be horrible with answering things on time, so sorry if i ever take too long in answering anything, it's on my mind tho (or it will return) and i'll definitely get around to it at some point! (and if i'm taking more than 2 weeks in answering a dm, feel free to remind me about it, i may be busy but it's also really probable that I just didn't realize how much time passed)

navigation (work in progress):

(usually forget to tag, but trying to get mostly everything organized bc there are a LOT of times that I either take forever or can't find whatever I'm looking for 🥲) (...apparently this is really needed bc i can't even keep my tags straight...)

#mila habla / #personal / #tag game / #asks / #ask game / #uquiz /

#analysis / #meta analysis / #useful / #save / #reminder / #quotes / #web weaving / #to read again / #for later / #resources / #reading guide / #reference /

#bsd / #japanese literature / #nakahara chuuya / #soukoku / #bsd analysis /

#dc comics / #dick grayson analysis / #dick grayson meta / #dick grayson / #dick grayson centric / #bruce wayne / #teen titans / #donna troy / #wonder twins / #koriand'r / #dickkory / #comic panels / #dick grayson & titans / #batfamily / #clark kent / #dick and bruce / #bruce & dick / #dick and clark / #dick & jason / #dick & tim / #dick and damian

#loki / #loki meta / #brodinsons /

other fandoms: #merlin / #dracula daily /

[magnusmodig]

VI TALKS ABOUT THOR/MCU / @chenshixianyou / ACCEPTING !

╰┈➤ 🔥 + brodinsons relationship (how it is portrayed either in canon or fan-portrayals, you pick)

||. I don't have many bad things to say about brodinsons in canon, that is for absolute sure. At least, I don't as far as 2011-2013 brodinsons goes. And Infinity War brodinsons. That said, I do have some nitpicks with Gag//na.rok's version of the brothers– which boils down to that they are not the same dynamic as expressed in the original three films. (Yes, I do count AVENGERS as the 2nd brodinsons film, bite me.)

As far as canon goes, Gag//na.rok does a couple of things wrong, but off the cuff the first thing that burns my biscuits is the bold claim that Loki has always had a habit of physically assaulting Thor for funzies. What started off as an improv by Ch//ri.s became a meme throughout the MCU fandom, and then from there a fanon with the brothers. It's a funny gag, I will give it that, genuinely. I chuckled when I first saw it. But having done such deep dives into both brothers in preparation for this blog in particular, I can say with absolute certainty that there is no way in hell that Loki was ever going around hurting Thor for the heck of it and I can prove it with not one but TWO meta. The first and ONLY time that Thor gets stabbed by Loki is during AVENGERS at the top of Stark Tower, and it was deliberately done on Loki's end. Thor actively stumbles out of surprise and shock that he was just harmed by his own brother— someone he once fully believed he could trust to the world's end, and whom he cherishes deeply, mind you— and is so disturbed by Loki's action that he is continues to stumble and stagger after the fact. Not because the dagger did any lasting damage to Thor (although it did draw blood, which is part of the point I'm about to elaborate on), but because it was his brother's hand who dealt the blow, and the stab itself was a symbolic gesture of severing sentiment.

(Also, because I'm sure some people will assume I'm miscounting, no Loki does not stab Thor during the Svartfalheim heist in THOR: THE DARK WORLD. It is an illusion from every moment onward after Thor and Loki share the following lines: L: You still don't trust me, brother? T: Would you? L: No, I wouldn't. Everything after that, from the moment Loki pulls out his dagger, was a ruse that both brothers were actively engaged in and had consented to. At no point is Thor caught off guard by Loki's theatrics, because the entire scene features the brothers attempting to trick Malekith (which they succeed in) to destroy the Aether (which they do not succeed in). If anything, I would go so far as to personally suggest that the brothers had designed equally elaborate schemes in the past that included similar theatrics, given the ease with which they pull this ruse off. And I say that with confidence because it is plenty clear that the brothers interactions, from the moment that Loki is released from the prison cell, and including the entirety of the escape on the Dark Elf ship, harkens back to a time long before the brothers had experienced their falling out. THOR: THE DARK WORLD does its job in showing us that the brothers, despite everything, still work well together, and they share an innate chemistry and brotherly bickering during their various adventures, including the quest to rid Jane of the Aether.)

To review the actual scene in question, I have gathered screenshots from the movie (and timestamps.)

It's important to remember 1 key detail about the brothers, and 1 key scene that ties into the moment of the Avengers tower, and that is the cliff scene, and that the brothers mostly talk in subtext.

Yes, they are talking about the overall Chutari invasion that Loki is spearheading in New York City at the exact moment in the context of which they are speaking to one another...

TO THAT END, I need to establish one other key component to fully understand the true weight behind their dynamic:

Thor and Loki's feud throughout this film has nothing to do with Earth, the threat to Earth and very rarely ever is outside of purely objective, logistical potential for harm and intergalactic war.

It's what sets Thor apart from the other Avengers from start to finish; it is what makes him the outsider. The other Avengers consider Loki an enemy. Some of them even hate him. Thor does not. He actively defends Loki and clearly loves him dearly. ("[Loki's] brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him. / "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother." 00:53:37-00:53:47) The other Avengers see Loki and other aliens as a threat to humanity to be warded off. Thor, the resident alien of the group, obviously is testament to the polar opposite of that hot take, says as much. He knows that Loki is currently acting as the rare exception, not the rule. ("Why is S.H.I.E.L.D. building weapons of mass destruction? / "Because of people like him." / "Me? [...] My people want nothing but peace with your planet.")

There is ALSO the entirety of their opening scene together to keep in mind before I go through the Stark Tower conversation:

THE CLIFF SCENE (00:44:44-00:47:07)

T: I thought you dead. (in reference to Loki tossing himself into a black hole at the end of "THOR") L: Did you mourn?

THESE LINES IN PARTICULAR set the tone for the entire conversation. Please keep in mind that this is their first conversation since their falling out, and while I can't go into every facet of the emotional damage done to the bond between the two brothers (and especially the trauma done to Thor...), what I will say is this: the last time that Thor saw Loki was when Loki threw himself into the abyss of space to be torn apart by a black hole, and this was done RIGHT IN FRONT OF THOR'S OWN EYES after an equally traumatic banishment experience. There are A LOT of emotions going on there, and it's easy to forget that in place of much of Loki's dialogue in this scene, and for the reason I'm going to highlight right below.

T: We all did. (subtext: I did [note: Loki doesn't catch the subtext.])

This is when the brothers slip from literal meaning and into subtext, and begin to bob and weave between the two. It all starts with Thor's inability (or unwillingness, depending on how you want to read it) to speak his heart plainly to his brother. Loki asks "did you mourn [me]?", and Thor diverts from "I" (personal) did, to "We" (impersonal) did. He is actively distancing himself from the topic of grief and the mourning he experienced after Loki's "death"... but it's about as close as Thor will ever get to admitting that he, personally, mourned for Loki, and mourned deeply for him.

He then attempts to continue the distancing/deflecting with the following line, although we don't know what he was going to say to finish the sentence.

T: Our father—

L: (interrupting) —YOUR. father.

Loki interrupting this is rooted in his personal grievances towards Odin. These are grievances I will not be touching on for the length of this meta as they are virtually irrelevant to the topic at hand. Just know that in interrupting Thor here, he does rob Thor of his ability to continue to distance himself from the situation... but he also robs Thor of his ability to express whatever he might have expressed about his grieving if he had been allowed to continue.

Either way:

T: We grew up together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?

Thor and Loki, despite being masters of speaking in subtext, have a shared habit of taking one another literally. When Loki says "I am not your brother" / "Odin is your father", Thor is taking Loki's meaning as something akin to "I am disowning you, Thor Odinson, very specifically, and I want nothing to do with you." As you can imagine this is an extraordinarily painful thing to hear, especially when BOTH BROTHERS were lied to about Loki's blood heritage for their whole lives, and Thor actually found out much later than Loki.

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that Thor is defending their bond as brothers. In that way, he is also defending the love they share. They grew up together. They played together. They fought together. They loved each other, because they were - and still are - brothers. Does that mean nothing to Loki? THAT is what Thor is asking here.

Loki is ... a prat and a dollop-head in this scene. I'll save a full scale line-by line + 2011 context meta for another time, but it's also worth nothing that thunder strikes multiple times throughout the length of this conversation and they are at the following intervals:

L: He did tell you my true parentage, did he not? (thunder rumbles. aka: yes, he did.) L: I remember you tossing me into an abyss (thunder rumbles. The thunder continues during:) T: So you take the world as recompense for your imagined slights? (aka: Thor is taking Loki's words to literally mean the black hole, instead of Loki's jealousy being 'an abyss'.) L: And you are doing a marvelous job of [protecting the humans and Earth] (Loki is taking a pot shot at Thor's insecurity of being a worthy, protector king here. Maybe I'll talka bout it in another meta...) L: I have grown, ODINSON! (Thunder rumbles. Loki is yet again distancing himself from Thor as a brother.)

T: You give up the tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream!

The brothers continue their argument. Notably, they are still talking to each other straight and without subtext with these lines. (For the uninitiated, they're arguing about being worthy to be king and what that entails which... is an entire meta that I really should discuss at some point...)

Thor then weaves the literal into the subtext of the conversation that Loki has been avoiding this entire time, which is their bond, their brotherhood, and Thor's grief.

T: You come home. (subtext: with/to me.)

Thor does NOT plead. He does not beg for anything, to anyone. Still here he is, pleading with his brother to come home. Why? Because Thor wants him to come home. THOR misses him. THOR wants him back. This is his heart's desire, and Thor is FINALLY making this conversation expressly about himself - about THEM - even if he doesn't say what's unspoken.

You, my brother, come home to me.

Silence.

This time, Loki DOES catch the subtext. He understands. It's why he is so, SO silent here; it's why he stares the way he does. He wasn't expecting Thor to plead with him over sentiment. He certainly wasn't expecting Thor to care enough to want him back.

So, this time, Loki pivots. Loki turns it into something far outside of himself. Loki makes it impersonal.

L: (about tesseract) I don't have it. (subtext: I won't/can't come home to you.)

Loki rejects him, and Thor understands Loki's meaning, but he misunderstands that from Loki's perspective, he feels himself far too neck deep into his own ambitions to turn tail now. It would be a disgrace on his honor, and Loki does not believe that he is truly welcome back, no matter what Thor says.

This all fuels the TOWER SCENE later on. (1:46:52-1:47:42)

T: You think this madness will end with your rule?

One again, the brothers are in conflict, and there is a literal text and a subtext. Overtly, they are speaking about the Chutari invasion and Loki's part to play in it, but make no mistake in believing that that's what this conversation is about. It is STILL about coming home, and it is still about them and their bond, because while Thor is fighting for Earth's safety.... I really do believe he's fighting for his brother even more than that. (yet another meta for future vi to worry about... Thor, bless him, is not an impartial being and he can't surrender his personal attachments for any cause. It's his most selfish trait, and his greatest strength but I digress.)

L: It's too late! (subtext: it's too late for us/for me [to go home to you].) L: (resigned) It's too late to stop it.

Remember that their conversation at the Stark Tower is a direct continuation of their conversation on the cliff. So when Loki says "it's too late", he isn't just talking about the invasion. He can stop that if he tries to. If anyone can, it's Loki, the greatest sorcerer in all of Asgard. Loki means it's too late for them. It's too late for HIM. It's too late for him to come home after everything he has done up to this point. (I'd imagine he may also be talking about the events of 2011 but that's neither here nor there.)

As you can see from Thor's expression, Thor is in tune with Loki's true meaning. He knows Loki is talking about himself. Hence:

T: No. We can. Together. (subtext: No it isn't too late for us. I want you to come home.)

We can fix this. We can go home, together. It is not too late for us. You can still give up this poisonous dream. I still want you to come home.

There's a long pause in which Loki stares at Thor exactly like on the cliff, and then he gives a weak smile and that is when Loki stabs Thor in the abdomen with a tiny dagger. It's enough to make Thor stagger, because Thor isn't expecting it. Thor is reaching out with arms wide open towards his prodigal brother, and once again, Loki rejects him. And to make it clear that Loki truly believes it's too late for him (something even he deeply regrets, btw. He's crying in this scene.), Loki does the one thing that he has NEVER done, and draws Thor's blood in combat. He actually WOUNDS him, and he does it by his own hand.

This is not something he had done before. Ever. Period. In THOR (2011), they sparred, but Loki was not going out of his way to actually harm Thor. (If anything he was trying to goad Thor to harm him.) And when Loki snapped Thor's neck with the Destroyer, nearly killing him, that was not done by Loki's own, personal hand, physically and in person. It's also possible that Loki wasn't actually intending to kill Thor with the Destroyer, especially given even Thor forgets his own limitations as a mortal being.

BUT THIS? This was deliberate. This was personal. This was done entirely by Loki's own hand, of his own volition, and in a way that neither he nor Thor can ever take back or pretend was a mistake.

L: Sentiment.

And so in this way, Loki is trying to rid himself of his sentiment; his lingering love for his family and especially his brother. And, in another way, he's likewise telling Thor that his sentiment won't save Loki; all that they share, all that love, all that sentiment is worthless. Because in Loki's eyes there is no saving Loki.

Loki can't go home to his family, he has fallen too far. (and yet, he still loves them; he too is filled with sentiment.)

T: You give up the tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home. L: I don't have it.

^^^ A screenshot of Thor's reaction to the dagger in question. It's small, it clearly does very little to Thor. It barely has any blood on it, but it did draw blood nonetheless, because Loki can get close to Thor, Loki knows Thor's weaknesses, and Loki knows Thor's sentiment.

It is after Thor throws this dagger - this manifestation of their bond's slow disintegration - onto the floor of the tower that Thor finally commits to protecting Earth as his number one priority... even if doing so and ignoring his sentiment continues to pain him and cripple him greatly.

Thor stumbles (1:50:25-1:50:40)

He isn't stumbling and staggering because the dagger did damage to him. He's stumbling and staggering because of who did it, and how much that person means to him. Thor has been betrayed, his heart has been broken, and while he knows without a doubt that he must stand against Loki and beside the Avengers to keep Earth safe from his own loved one... it comes at a great cost: sentiment.

This is also why the quintessential Avengers circling shot ONLY happens after Thor has the Tower moment with Loki, because then and ONLY THEN is Thor actually on the same page as the rest of the Avengers.

So, no. I don't think that Loki would have ever in a million years have stabbed Thor before that point. Not for a joke save the (apparently canonical now...) one time, and certainly not as much as fanon likes to say he would have. Thor trusts Loki implicitly. Loki is the only person in their Asgardian group who can effectively and consistently rein Thor's impulses in. They are a perfect match for each other; two sides of one coin. And Loki's betrayal would not mean as much to Thor in this scene if Loki had ever caused Thor physical harm (meaning: enough to draw blood) before AVENGERS' Tower Scene.

[lucianalight]

He is in so much pain. And not just physically. How many times has he imagined seeing Thor again? How many times has he dreamed about Thor coming to save him only to face the nightmare that he's alone. Did Thor not know where he is? Or does he know and not care? And here Thor has finally arrived, but not for Loki. His first words are asking about the whereabouts of the Tesseract. And try as he might not to care, Loki does, and it hurts. So Loki laughs.

"I've missed you too"

It's as much of a sarcasm as it is a truth. Sentiment.

I’ve missed you too.