#see this the problem i have with a lot of modern marvel: yall have SUCH GOOD CHARACTERS with SO MUCH POTENTIAL

[omgselinabeckendorf]

YES I LOVE THESE QUESTIONS

Okay so immediately the entire thing is a question of Fate versus Free Will in the context of Loki and where he is in the story: fresh out of defeat by the Avengers, having been Norns know where the last year or two. Was it Fate that brought him there, a universe so unwilling to let him die when he let go into the void? Or was it that he didn't want to die just yet, and so did as he's always known: create his own path?

It ends with the message that it was both. Fate and Free Will are not rivals to be pitted against each other. They are siblings meant to work together in building this elaborate tapestry sentient beings know as the universe. The discovery of this relationship parallels both Loki's relationship with Thor (as it is a relationship that is just as important to him narratively as Odin) and his relationship with himself in rediscovering he does not have to be the black to Thor's white, and it is in fact antithetical for him to only be the black to Thor's white.

(I'm putting the rest under the cut cause Goddamn I Yap lmao)

I would stay with the TVA for the overall setting/antagonist. The concept of it is fascinating from a story point of view and goes directly with what Loki had been preaching in The Avengers: that freedom is life's greatest lie. And I think he would admire the tenacity. The efficiency, the speed at which they go about their business. Until it goes badly for him. Because the TVA does not align with Loki, it aligns with the Time Keepers. And we have to remember that Loki is selfish, especially now in the midst of an emotional breakdown and existential crisis combo that's been prolonged for much longer than is healthy.

The TVA is going to act not as a breaking point, but as a breaking out point. It gives Loki the strength to break out of this vicious cycle of spiraling thoughts and warped memories he's found himself in and gets him on the journey to rediscovering himself that killing Laufey and destroying Jotunheim for Odin to reaffirm he is Odin's Son simply could not.

Mobius is the catalyst of him being able to break out of it, and for that Loki will come to be grateful, and from that moment of genuine kindness from a force meant to oppose him (after being betrayed by everyone he was supposed to trust in Asgard), a proper friendship is going to bloom. There's not gonna be any romance. Loki is not in the mental place for that, and as much as I love a good romance, it takes away from the point of this story in particular.

I actually really liked Sylvie's story in the show. Hated the "romance" with Loki (again, did not think romance would benefit this story), but I really enjoyed her overarching story in season 1. So I'm gonna take it a step farther: Sylvie is a mirror to what Loki could be if he utterly forgets himself. Sylvie is a fucking tragedy who was never given the chance to be anything but. Loki has the chance to forge a happy ending for himself, and he is going to take Sylvie by the hand (as she kicks and screams for the fucking life of her) and show her that they not only deserve a happy ending but are fully capable of it. Loki and Sylvie do not have to be one specific way because they are the personifications of chaos. Since when is chaos ever linear? Since when is it only destructive?

(As a side note: Loki's gender fluidity and bisexuality would be properly addressed. They're not easter eggs, they are central parts to his identity because they are of him and they play a role in how he experiences and presents himself in the world. And I think it could be cool on a symbolism level if Sylvie in particular forced herself into this feminine-presenting form, but as she rediscovers herself, she starts to take on that fluidness of her gender identity as a kind of metaphor for stuffing yourself into a box and neglecting who you truly are because you haven't felt safe enough to and getting to find out who you truly are once you are safe enough to. And Loki would go through similar visual symbolism, just on a less drastic scale than Sylvie.)

Overall. The story would not be about Loki "redeeming" himself and saving the multiverse by ending up on a throne he never wanted, all alone after finally having friends of his own. The story would be about Loki rediscovering himself and finding friends who like who he is and would set him up for further adventures and storylines of potentially reuniting with his family (whom he loves so goddamn much) and essentially getting to start over out of Thor's shadow. He would not be Loki, Brother of Thor, Prince of Asgard, Rightful King of Jotunheim. He would be Loki, who happens to be a friend, a sibling, a daughter and son and child.

He is Loki first and foremost.

If you yourself could’ve directed/wrote the Loki series, what would you have done differently? What would you have wanted to see in a series about Loki? What would you have focused on? Would the series take place somewhere other than the TVA? Which characters would you include? What would be the end goal? What aspects of his character would be explored?