#timepads

[bioweal]

Can You Do Yoga During Your Period?

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#YogaForPeriods #Menustration#PeriodCare #SanitaryPads #TimePads #Yoga

[gummy-wormies-blog]

mobius just stands still, sunrays warm on his skin.

he sighs quietly, not looking at anything in particular.

letting time pass.

after a couple of minutes, he looks up, determined.

"okay, enough time has passed, it's time to get loki back."

mobius mutters softly, his expression getting serious, as he pulls up the tempad.

he can't just let him go like that after all this, after all that happened. he will work it out.

he will find him. he will get to him.

he won't let loki be alone.

ever again.

[starrose17]

Here's to the timepad portal creating a rainbow in front of Don's house.

[confusedspaceotter]

Glad to see that OB is still the smartest mf in the room no matter the timeline

[ocewkia]

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Promised words and deeds

John Allerdyce x tva agent!reader

warning : emotional, hurt/comfort, revival, kissing, cuddling, fear

Summary : He had relied on the organization of time and now he was lying dead on a road, his neck broken in a universe that wasn't even likely his. But a soul in the Time Organization had promised him something, and she wouldn't let her own boss do nothing. Was there any hope for the flame tamer? Was there the peace he had always wanted in the end?

info : Soo something very angsty sad it just had to be he had experienced too much sadness not to use it. So have fun reading and have a nice day :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The TVA was an organization that only a handful of people knew about, an organization that was necessary to monitor the flow of the timelines, to correct them or to let them die.

An organization guided by duty and loyalty, each group, each team had a task to do precisely, all except for one team that was to take care of a very special universe under the supervision of Paradox.

A man who liked to hear himself talk, but most of all her boss who had made a promise to her beloved, a deal that involved John Allerdyce working as a spy to keep Cassandra in that damned void…to the point where everything broke down and the tva agent had to watch all that precision and rules end in chaos.

,,What about John!" she had shouted at her superior as he was still nursing his broken nose and looking stressed at the flickering and flashing screens, he didn't seem to hear her plea to do something to finally pull him out of the void after Wolverine had knocked him unconscious.

They had left John there for too long, it had been years since they had said goodbye, since she herself had sought him out, a lost mutant who would otherwise have strayed from his path, it was he who showed her for the first time how beautiful something without rules could be and all this freedom, this love and possibilities.

It was all a devilish creatures blown paradox who had her in his hands and wanted to do something good for John for the first time, which is why he had gone instead of her to be your pawn.

But this sacrifice now seemed to end with a blow as she saw her beloved lying unconscious on the floor, ,,Paradox! Get him out!" she called out again, rising from her seat at the desk and rushing to the larger main console, seeing the older man only now turn his gaze to her and make a puzzled expression, his hands suddenly gripping her shoulders before he shook her.

,,Are you completely stupid! If we intervene now, she'll understand what we've done!" he shouted back as they heard a flicker and bede looked at the screen in shock and worry as Cassandra had actually found some semblance of kindness when it came to her life and actually let Wolverine and Deadpool go.

It was all just a matter of time but the fear that tightened around her heart turned to panic as she realized that John was now alone ,,She's going to kill him" went through her mind and she tore herself away from the man before punching him in the nose again ignoring the yelp and grabbing the timepad that was taken from her for "reasons" so she wouldn't do anything.

She still heard the ban, heard the guards who wanted to capture her, who wanted to prevent her from doing what John had told her for the first time and disappeared into the bright golden portal.

Moments, fractions of seconds could be like years when it came to someone you loved, someone you would defend with your life. John back after the battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants was an outcast among outcasts, a wanderer who wanted to give up on his path as a villain.

She knew and he knew that he was tired of killing that he wanted to go back to the people who could truly be like a family but it wasn't meant to be and so they met, those bright eyes looking at her with interest he demonstrated his power to her and she was assigned to take care of him.

It was almost cute how he seemed puzzled by the technology as if there were hundreds of years between them, his compliments and flirting attempts as much as she tried to ignore it set her heart on fire and the hand-holding hid soon after work became kissing and more.

He was a love, a real love for them both and it could have been something if it wasn't too late this damn deal and this universe, the timeline had turned against them both.

When she had stepped through the portal nothing had happened she was in her office in the place where she had last seen him, still seeing the blood on the floor where the fight had taken place she still seemed to see him in front of her that grin she knew he had every right to freak out she blamed herself as well as Paradox that all this had happened.

The hit wouldn't kill him but Cassandra that crazy psychopath would, it was just a question she didn't want to get answered at the moment.

But he would only have to wait a moment, a moment that had passed and her gaze still saw the portal of magic, there he was there she would have to endure a moment of uncertainty and death and she would try to free herself from Cassandra's clutches all in a moment as she stepped through her own portal. She wanted to feel his warmth again, to know he was with her and to rekindle his hope, his flame of hope together in a shared future.

But the second time through the portal, arriving at the subway entrance, the underpass with the steel bars, the smoke and the bald woman who walked past her in the blink of an eye, neither noticing nor killing her, left nothing but death.

A man lying motionless on the floor she had heard the crack within a heartbeat knew what had happened as tears filled her eyes she rushed to her John and knelt beside him on the floor, ,,John…it's me-I'll-I'll bring you back" she sobbed tears blurring her vision as she shakily reached for her small device she knew she didn't have forever as she carefully lifted him with it.

It was only a moment but he was clinging to life, she was clinging to his heart and he was clinging to hers. she would not lose him even if she had a dead man in front of her. The promise of the future and life would both be hers while her apologies and tears fell on mute ears.

His body that slowly extinguished the warmth of life, the fire as she looked into his fearful expression, wishing she could warm him, wishing he could hear her as she took him back with her to the tva, directly to the center for emergency medical care.

The moment of his last life his breath was decided when she took him to her known of the ward knew it was against the rules but with her attention, the greater threat and a threat he was taken care of immediately, a matter of simplicity but it would take some time a horror as he slowly came back to consciousness while she could only be beside him.

She held his hand in state as his condition slowly improved, staying with him for hours until the doctor told her she could now take him with her, breaking the rules by stealing someone from the organization to testify against Paradox afterwards and then disappearing from her time with John, but it was all worth it when he woke up.

When she rushed out of the hospital with John her evidence had long since gone to the right places but none of this mattered when they found themselves in the apartment the agents had been given as a hideout in alternate universes it would serve as home and a new beginning she continued to hold his hand as he lay in the dark bedding his breathing calm the only sign he was alive.

She knew that at some point he would wake up, that he would be able to feel his fire again and that he would not only experience justice but also peace, ,,I'm sorry-I'm sorry I didn't act sooner," the guilt she gave herself finally burst out of her as she grabbed his hand again and kissed it, feeling the light warmth of life clinging to him.

Tears threatened to well up in her eyes again, the cracking of his neck and everything he had to suffer, all of which would not have been done sooner.

Laying her head on his stomach she tried to cuddle up to him lightly tiredness was slowly pulling at her she had barely slept the coffee was keeping her body awake but not her mind ,,I'll stay with you John" she mumbled before giving her eyes a little rest listening to his calm heartbeat before drifting off into a light sleep.

A sleep filled with memories of the past with John, of beautiful loving moments that meant everything to her and that she had looked at again and again.

His warmth seemed so close and his voice called her, he reached out his hand to her and held her close, finally lying in his arms again, it was the only thing they both wanted.

Until she saw the shadow in her dream, the dark shadow spreading over her, the fingers reaching out to destroy her, she saw those crazy eyes, the mutant who could kill her if she wanted to, the destroyer who had already killed him.

Fear flooded her body and her fingers automatically clung to John unconsciously that when she felt a hand on her head her eyes opened and she looked into a soft painful smile, ,,Hello Flame" she heard his voice slightly scratchy from the use but his warmth was back his hand caressing her head, he held her and didn't let go as she fell into his embrace.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as murmured words of apology and love left her and she felt his hand run down her back, ,,John I'm-I'm sorry I should have-" she began to stammer between tears and relief as he placed his hand on her cheek, wiped away some of the tears and pulled her into a long, deep kiss.

She saw his own devastation, the slight tears in his eyes as he realized it was past time he realized he was safe and didn't have to be afraid, ,,You saved me…it's over, isn't it?" he dared to ask, sniffling and blinking to get the tears away as she nodded hastily, hearing the relieved exhale as he dropped into the pillows and pulled her back to him.

Practically sitting on his lap, he had his arms wrapped around her again and she heard his heartbeat quicken and life was truly back with him, a quiet moment between them as she listened to John's almost relieved breathing while she was simply relieved to have him back.

The fear she had of not having his death recalled vanished, ,,We can finally have our own future," she said, feeling his hand on her cheek again as he placed a kiss on her head and reached out his other hand to feel for a source of heat until a heart flamed in his hand.

A heart like the one he had made when they parted, a heart of flames that would burn away the past to make room for a new beginning together in love in their own self-created timeline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@thefandomqueen2882 , @oceansrose2002 , @girlypieee , @paintmekala , @gingersnaps-obsessed12 , @arisja3701

[nkatr84]

Deadpool and Wolverine

I just saw this movie today and I had to give it its own post! It’s so good. Bloody and violent and vulgar but that’s Deadpool. He can do PG 13 but he shines in R rated fair. Heck even his Disneyland Avengers Campus variant is PG cracking a few sex innuendo jokes that only parents will get. But the real draw is Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine. When a rouge TVA agent tells Wade he wants him to join the Sacred Timeline but his universe will get pruned, Wade is desperate to save his universe and the people he loves. When he’s told his universe is dying because its version of Logan died, he steals a timepad to find a Wolverine to replace him. Only to find the so called Worst Wolverine. They both get pruned to the void and have to survive a delightfully crazy and dangerous Cassandra Nova, a variant twin sister to Charles Xavier. There are so many fight sequences that are incredibly insane. Plus Hugh Jackman is finally in the comic accurate suit. Including the mask! They save that bit for the third act but it’s so satisfying to see him wearing it. Speaking of which…

Lord that man is pretty…(whispers from the sidebar) What? What do you mean he’s single now!? Dang it…(thinks of that one scene at the end where his shirt literally explodes off) I’m doomed…

Here’s some other things I loved about this movie…

She may have won Britain’s Ugliest Dog Contest, but she’s still freaking adorable! 🥰 Wade Ryan Reynolds melting every time he sees Mary Puppins aka Dogpool was everything. Plus Logan cleverly uses her to get past a Deadpool Corp without getting hurt. That was good.

Paradox was a fun secondary villain. And a stand in for not only the meta commentary about the corporate merger of Disney and Fox, but also the certain kind of fan that discounts the so called “bad movies” (and tv shows) of the MCU and thinks they know better than the people in charge of the MCU…you know what I’m talking about. Whereas this movie is a love letter to the Fox Marvel Universe in all its forms.

The opening fight sequence to Bye Bye Bye made my millennial self giddy with glee.

Again Hugh Jackman’s performance as Wolverine. This variant lost his X Men to hateful humans and he went in berserker mode killing bad and good guys. He lost his whole world and then comes this guy that won’t shut up saying he needs help saving his whole world and he shows Logan a picture of his friends. The parallels man…plus Logan helping Wade ends up getting him a new purpose and friends. And Wade begins the movie wanting to matter and learning he does to the people he loves. And the bromance Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman share in real life is echoed on screen. Granted a little more reluctantly on Logan’s part…and Ryan and Hugh didn’t need a Honda Oddesty to build their relationship on…😉

The Cameos I won’t spoil here. But a few genuinely surprised me.

This bit of fan service…

Again….

Plus they gave this Logan a happy ending! With new friends and a purpose! And he moved in with Wade and Blind Al and Mary Puppins…so what I needed to see after seeing Logan. Which was good, but a little depressing. I need happy Logan in my life. And Hugh Jackman wouldn’t hurt either…

[cookies-and-music]

Ghost. - part 18: The Loop

My suggestion for this chapter is Pumped up kicks by Foster The People

Part 1 here - part 19 here

PAIRING: TVA!LokixOC

TAG LIST: @kats72 ; @mischief2sarawr ; @m3ntally-unstable ; @star-maker-rain-dancer

SUMMARY: Loki meets sombody at the TVA he once knew. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to remember him.

She grabbed her jacket and left the room. She hadn’t even reached the end of the corridor leading to the elevator when she had already opened the TimePad and set the destination: Asgard, 2017.

Having crossed the bright portal, Lydia found herself in the center of the palace of Asgard. Outside, she could hear the sounds of battle, but inside, everything was still. Motionless.

She had the sensation of being in a showcase, where all that was destruction was outside. Under different circumstances, she might have let herself be intrigued by the golden architecture surrounding her and the luxury that was the House of the Gods. But there was no time for that.

She didn't know exactly where to find the tree, but if her intuition was right, it had to be at the center of the palace, at its foundations.

Lydia ran through the palace corridors, descending every staircase she found in front of her, hoping to get as close as possible to the center of the planet.

When the stairs were finished, she passed every cell, every trophy of the gods' battles, until she reached a door.

The door should have been sealed by Odin's magic, but at that point in history, Odin was already dead. The door was just a door, and behind it, immersed in darkness and glowing with the magic that pulsed within it, was the tree.

Lydia crossed the threshold and heard her steps echo in the void of the immense room.

Her heart was pounding with a mix of fear and desire.

She approached the soul of the world and saw that from inside the bark, green light pulsed, beating just like a heart, and the closer she got, the stronger it beat, following the rhythm of her own.

Lydia drew closer and reached out a hand towards the trunk.

"Stop."

--

"I'm not entirely convinced, either" Casey, who hadn't spoken until then, could have continued to remain silent, at least according to Lydia.

"Maybe it would be better to gather some more scientific data on the possibility that all this will work," O.B. shrugged, giving Lydia a sad look.

Lydia looked from one to the other.

What the hell had happened?

"I hope you don't mind our hesitation," O.B. continued.

Lydia looked at her hands, then at all of them. A déjà-vu?

"No. It doesn't matter," Lydia shook her head, grabbing her jacket. "I need to do something, see you later."

While she was in the corridor, she opened the timepad and set it: Asgard, 2017.

She stepped through the door to the exact place she remembered. Did she remember? Or had she dreamed it?

She crossed the halls, descended the stairs, trying to remember the path she had taken. But, had she taken it? It didn't really matter. She passed the cells, the trophies of the gods' battles, and reached the massive wooden door. She opened it as if it were nothing and entered the hall.

"Stop."

She had managed to take only a few steps before the floor trembled beneath her and gave way.

--

"I'm not entirely convinced, either."

Lydia grabbed the table for support, her head spinning.

"Maybe it would be better to gather some more scientific data on the possibility that all this will work."

She looked up at Casey and O.B.

"I hope you don't mind our hesitation."

"No," she cleared her throat; her mouth felt dry.

"Lydia, are you okay?" B-15 tilted her head.

"Yes, I…," Lydia took a breath, "I have to go" she grabbed her jacket and left.

She set the timepad: Asgard, 2017.

She crossed the door, walked through the halls, descended the stairs, reached the door. She opened it. She ran towards the tree.

"Stop."

--

Being stuck in a time loop wasn't fun.

Each time, she reached a certain distance from the tree, never managing to touch it before something collapsed, or she was hurled back in time.

Clearly, the plant was resisting.

"I hope you don't mind our hesitation."

Lydia nodded at O.B.'s words; it was the seventeenth time they had repeated that conversation, and now his words reached her brain like background noise to her overlapping thoughts.

"No, of course" she shook her head, "you're right" she faked a smile and saw everyone present relax.

"Can I ask you a favor?" she turned to O.B. "Among the hundreds of trinkets in your lab, would there happen to be a chainsaw?"

He widened his eyes.

"No, I don't think so."

Lydia pursed her lips. This time, she would make a stop at the hardware store before going to Asgard.

But even with her brand new chainsaw, the path memorized, and running through the palace, when she kicked open the door, chainsaw roaring, she managed to cover only half the distance to the damn tree before the loop restarted.

--

"I hope-"

"No, I don't mind, O.B., now excuse me, I have an appointment."

Lydia ran out of the room, activating the tempad even before she crossed the door.

Earlier, she had to get there earlier. Maybe that was why it wasn't working; the TVA geniuses, Timely and O.B., had said the timing had to be perfect. Maybe that was why everything ended before she even got to Yggdrasil.

She ran as fast as she could, reached the doors, didn't even slow down there, bursting through them with a shoulder slam. Without ever stopping, she crossed the room, got within an arm's length of it.

"Stop."

Damn it.

She closed her eyes, but didn't hear Casey. Because Casey was at the TVA, and when she opened her eyes again, Lydia was still in Asgard.

The loop had stopped.

She should have grabbed the core of that damn tree and closed the matter, now that she had finally succeeded.

And instead, curiosity got the better of her.

Lydia turned to see who had been ordering her to stop all those times. It could have been anyone, any Asgardian. And yet, it was him.

"Loki."

GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN. THIS WAS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHAPTERS TO WRITE. I HAD FUN TORTURING MY OC, AS SELDOM HAPPENS AMONG WRITERS. HOPEFULLY MY READERS WILL ENJOY IT AS WELL. AS USUAL, THANKS FOR READING. CHEERS

[annachronisme]

kid loki and croki waiting in the void for loki and/or mobius to get them out but they don't know loki and mobius are busy trying to save the timelines and for some reason (im the reason) they find a timepad and since they don't know how to use it they're just gallivating along different timeline caused mayhem and mischief until someone come get them and that's it.

[skiddlylokius]

Lokius X Avengers 2012 Teaser

"what the–" The time door suddenly closed so fast that Loki barely got Mobius' feet out. He never really knows what happens if half your body gets closed by a time door. Maybe it rips your body in half, who knows?

"We're fucked." Mobius mutters under his breath as and slaps the wonky Timepad on his hand. Damn you, X-05. He really did a number on his gadget. "This thing won't work, and I don't have my own on me."

"What do you mean it won't work? give me that." Loki snatches the timepad from mobius and presses various buttons and slaps in on his hands, instead it turned off.

"That was amazing of you, Loki. Now give me that" Mobius immediately snatches it from the God's hands and slipped it inside his inner coat's pocket.

"How are we gonna go back? We're supposed to try to find Sylvie."

"Calm down. I'm sure Hunter B-15 would notice our absence and track us, for the meantime we should blend in." Mobius said before finally having the chance to actually see his surroundings and let it sink in. "What year did i put on the timepad again?"

"2012"

"That fucker." Mobius clenched his hand while looking around the complete ruins of New York. "He set us up."

"I don't understand, what do you mean he set us up."

"Look around, Loki. This place looks familiar to you?" He says while pointing the debris that scattered along the road from skyscrapers and cement.

"Oh. I get it now." Loki sucked in a breath secretly, knowing the same fiery scenes along New York. "This is definitely not the way i see myself seeing them after my manic episode."

"Agreed, but whatever can we do. There's no way out."

"Should I change my appearance now?" Loki asks, kicking a rock underneath his loafers.

"Not yet anyway, We're in the middle of a ruined city, im sure they haven't se–" Mobius stopped mid sentence as a gust of strong wind slashed between their bodies. The Mjolnir stopping midair infront of them as a warning as the clear blue skies turned gray and roared with thunder.

"So much for that camouflage." Loki whispered to himself, shielding his head from the possible onslaught of headache known as Thor.

Without a second wasted, Thor descended from the heaven like the God he is along with his little superhero friends. The hammer gravitating toward its master.

"Loki, you shall come with us." Thor's command boomed as Loki winced, reminding him of Odin with the whole 'im better than you and you will kneel' bravado.

Loki wrinkled his nose and said a resounding 'No.'

"I'm a big fan, the name's Mobius M. Mobius. Nice to meet all of you." He stretched out a hand and no one shook it. He puts his hands down and slipped it inside his pocket. "Bummer."

"You could've just left, Loki. Why would you come back?" Captain America asked Loki, earning himself a side eye from Tony Stark.

"I don't know what kind of godly etiquettes you learned but im pretty sure that's not how you welcome an escaped fugitive Cap. You're a little outdated but that's fine, all you need is a little tune up."

"Will you stop yapping, Tony?"

"This gonna be one hell of a reunion." Mobius mumbled under his breath.

ps. you can click the lokius x avengers 2012 tag to find the updates for this, thank you! send asks!

[dinurdi]

Burger joint

Fellas, we need an alternative scene at the burger joint, like with the Avengers but with Loki's team instead.

Just imagine all of them OB, B15, Casey, Loki, Sylvie and Mobius after a hard day having dinner together ☺️🤤. And at some point Loki asks them for a funny story at work place.

Casey: I remember Mobius downloaded unauthorized game on his timepad and we had a day off 😄

Mobius: Casey!

Loki: How naughty 😉❤

OB: Not funny at all! I had to work hard that week all by myself just to be sure that never gonna happen again.

B15: Aha, I remember that "day off" too. So much work had accumulated, it took a whole month to clear up the mess everywhere.

Mobius: *blushing* I am so sorry, okay? I got it! Never make same mistake twice 😡

Loki: ❤_❤

[traumadcmp]

He's tired. More than tired, he's being dragged through time. Completely untethered from everything that made him who he was and who he is. Sooner or later this would all end and maybe he was being selfish. Maybe he just wanted to pretend for five minutes that his timeline wasn't forever stained by the god damn TVA. So he'd stolen a timepad and tracked down his brother. While idiotic he wasn't planning on any interaction. Simply seeing the Asgardian walking around was enough to remind him just what was at stake. He knew that his other self, the true one preserved on the sacred timeline had stood shoulder to shoulder with Thor. And yet, he wouldn't get the chance for that growth since he wasn't the same person but born from the same branch. The bartender brings him another ale and he just watches his brother from across the room. Maybe hoping for a meeting or maybe hoping Mobius would come and drag him away from making a time altering mistake.

open starter - Anyone

[skiplo-wave]

At Mcdonald's

Loki: I'm gonna get you a Mc ice cream cone :D

Sylvie still on the clock: it's broke.

Loki: Oh..do you want something else then?

Sylvie: A higher paying job.

Loki: I have 5 bucks on me but gimme a Mcsalad and I'll make that happen!

[5ummit]

for a show supposedly about the god of mischief there certainly was very little mischief

[therese-lokidottir]

Also bringing this up, made me rethink and realize episode 3 is where Loki is at his most incompetent and it is clear the show preference is to Sylvie. Loki, in none of the prior films has been this dumb and bad at things, not even in Ragnarök. He breaks the timepad, he gets drunk, he does magic wrong, he's suddenly bad a throwing knives and he gets tossed around over and over again. He's made a clown so Sylvie can be annoyed and talk down to him.

Like, that conversation about the woman waiting for her husband. Loki who is so perceptive about people and has a lot of intense mix feelings about the people he loves needs to have it explain to him why the wife would stay. Loki should be the one who gets it.

And I've heard people tried to explain it. Oh, he's out of sorts and having an existential, so that's why he's acting different. But, no that's not it he just bad at things now. It could have worked, Loki has been suicidal. If this was a case of him giving up and letting the rocks crush him while he parties and dances, fine. But Loki is trying to fight back, he's coming up with plans it, but he keeps getting tossed around and his plans are called dumb and someone has to save him.

To bring it back to Fury Road, Max starts off only looking out for himself only reluctantly helping Furiosa and the wives to survive. When they are invading Immortan Joe and his crew one the wives just evaded getting killed, Max gives her a thumbs up and a smile, and then she immediately slips and fall from the wound Max gave her prior. It wasn't because Max incompetence, it was because of his earlier act of selfishness. Max's story is learning to care again, this is showing the consequences of his actions to only protect himself.

What is Loki's arc exactly? What drives him and what does he want? If it was learning that he's bad and selfish, well then that was covered in the first episode. If it's that his selfishness only hurts himself and others, well that doesn't work because the problems in episode 3 were cause by his sudden incompetence. If it learning to care about others, that doesn't work because there's nothing that insights that change. What the series ends up showing is Loki is naturally caring for the people around him even when they're awful to him.

We don't see Sylvie do anything do anything spectacular she kills some guards and then is quickly forced out of the TVA. Then she brainwashes someone to get on a train. There's nothing really unique her that other characters couldn't do. Sylvie has a special, but that only comes across as special because the writers have brush under the rug that Loki has shown to have similar magic. And Sylvie would seem super unimpressive standing next to Wanda. The writers don't make Sylvie clever or wise, they just make Loki dumb and all her accomplishments are through are through brute force. She's a better fighter and enchantment just does whatever the plot needs.

Loki's arc really is about seeing himself as petty and bad and saying how great Sylvie is. How she has real problems and he just how the childish need for attention. That is what the writers want us to see

Sexism is sexism.

Misogyny, Misandry - makes no difference. The degree is irrelevant. Definitions blurred (especially with genderfluid characters). If I have to pay for strong female representation on-screen with the bashing of genderfluid people or men, I’d rather not watch at all.

TW for Loki show negativity

I have now seen people claim frequently that „if you didn’t enjoy the Loki series it might be due to (internalized or subconscious) misogyny.”

You see, if you get discriminated against for a long time, ‘equality’ and ‘getting revenge’ suddenly can get hard to separate. And since Loki might be a little bit too close for many of us to stay objective I would like to tell you about the He-man reboot, that just came out. Well, a series about a guy called ‘He-Man’ sounds as it should be about a Man, right? But instead the production crew decided to kill the titular character and make the show about his female side kick, enraging the fans who thought they’d get content about he-man. Similarly, some people praise the approach as progressive. Being completely uninvolved in that franchise I must say that it reminds me of the Loki show, especially the false advertising in the name of feminism, which might be in truth rather be (possibly subconscious) misandry/genderfluidphobia.

The question if it’s rather misandry or genderfluidphobia/enbyphobia depends if you see Loki as a cis man or genderfluid. I see him as genderfluid, but the show painted him mostly as male-presenting and I could hardly find any indication of him being genderfluid beside that line of text in the opening sequence, so I assume most casual viewers will perceive him as a cis man. That’s why I decided on using “misandry”, but it’s just as much genderfluidphobia.

Until today, the film industry is dominated by men, which shows in the gender ratio before and behind the camera as well as wage gaps and many more points that stand in the way of equality. And make no mistakes, these points still need to be addressed!

But we must not forget that men are people, too! They can also be targeted by sexism, discriminated and even assaulted because of their gender. Sometimes this even happens under the pretense of „equality“, as if a new wrong could make an old wrong right.

Movies are a powerful tool for discrimination since subtle messages get absorbed and influence the audience subconsciously. In fact, the influence of those sexist narratives is higher when we don’t notice them, and the methods are many. Here is a short selection of frequently used methods.

1. Women are reduced to sex objects. Additionally, sexual assault is not be recognized by the narrative and never addressed outside of its immediate plot purpose. This adds to the normalization of assault on women. It is shockingly prevalent in older movies.

2. A lack of agency and powers: Kunsey (2018) compared the 5 highest-grossing films with male & female directors. He found that female directors told stories focused on women, and vice versa. Also, while historically women on screen were often sexualized, some female directors focus on romance from a woman’s perspective.

Additionally, he found women lacked both agency and superpowers in comparison to the male characters when the movies were directed by men. Female directors ensured women had more impact on the plot and even subverted classical male story types.

3. Flat, stereotypic characterization that shows women as incompetent: As this gets more and more called out, it’s not as obvious in recent movies. But historically the pretty, yet utterly brainless women who served only to highlight the man’s skills and appeal, were widespread. Some examples are Mary Goodnight from “The Man With The Golden Gun” (1974) or Kissy Suzuki from “You Only Live Twice” (1967).

4. Other tropes, such as the “damsel in distress”, are still to be found nowadays. This would include women who can have a three-dimensional characterization, even including some strengths, but still need to be rescued so the male hero can shine.

From one perspective it is great that the Loki series was directed by a woman. Not only is it a step toward balanced gender ratios behind the camera, but also female directors enable other women to join the casts and can impact our society by presenting stories of women.

However, the Loki series made extensive use of methods used in the past to discriminate against women, applied to men. In comparison to his female counterpart, Loki has little agency, is sexualized, the assault on him is normalized, and he is a stereotypical damsel in distress. Right in the first episode, Loki is stripped of his clothes, paving the way for excessive sexualization (point 1) by the audience. Similar to movies that downplayed the sexual assault of women, this scene never gets addressed again. The assault is not painted as unjust. In fact, the head writer referred to it as the “hottest Loki content ever seen” after it appeared first in a trailer. It’s supposed to equal bikini-spotting Bond girls, even though it’s clearly non-consensual in-universe.

Just like women, men can be victims of sexual assault. However, unlike women, men are not as easily believed when they speak out about being sexually assaulted. The shame of admitting being a victim paired with the poor chances for justice discourages men from filing charges, leading to a high number of unknown cases. I can only speculate if the wide spread denial of sexual assaults on men facilitates that so many people see the scene as “hot”. In-universe, the assault is not sexually motivated, but that makes the fact that the showrunners use an assault for sexualization is not less disturbing.

One scene of this sort could have been but an unfortunate accident that would not indicate an overarching theme. Sadly, it isn’t the only scene of this sort. In episode 4, Sif repeatedly kicks Loki in his groin. Loki repeatedly going down, wincing in pain, is supposed to be funny.

Neither the soundtrack nor the framing indicates an assault. Sif’s actions are justified by the show with the note that he cut her hair of. Natalie Holt’s additional information on preceding intercourse serve the same purpose: The attacker is justified. The victim deserved it.

Next: A lack of agency. From the first moments of the show Loki is either prisoner of the TVA or threatened by the environment, leaving him almost no agency, resulting in him having almost no impact on the plot. His discovery of Sylvie’s hiding places comes too late to avert her attack on the TVA. Since Sylvie can’t use magic in the TVA, her initial plan would have likely led to her capture. Loki’s attack and use of the TemPad led them to Lamentis, but in the end, both end up where they would have been without his interference, anyway: being prisoners of the TVA.

Even in the void at the end of all times, Loki fails to stir the plot. It is Mobius’ words that inspire Classic Loki to help them.

Loki subscribes to Sylvie’s goal of enchanting Alioth. Only in the finale does he oppose her – and gets promptly removed from the scene so he still does not influence the plot.

But the lack of agency isn’t all. While Loki shows a lot of powers during the series (illusions such as fireworks, drying his clothes, telekinesis, conjuring, arguably teleportation) they lack the power to chance anything. It’s Sylvie’s enchantment which is the key to breaking the TVA’s mind control of the variants. His part in this job is reduced to delaying her information that all employees of the TVA are variants to Mobius who takes it to Hunter B15.

Also, take a look how Sylvie and Loki are shown in the battle against Alioth.

Yet Loki’s lack of power doesn’t stop with the supernatural. In Avengers 1, Loki holds up well against Captain America who is physically enhanced by the serum. In the show, he is overpowered by normal humans, such as Hunter B15 and struggles to hold up against the time keeper’s guards.

Let’s proceed to point 3 - characterized as imcompetent: Similar to the women mentioned in the beginning, Loki is frequently depicted as unreflecting, foolish and shallow. Threatened with the disintegration of his clothes he argues for “fine Asgardian leather”. Everyone should be aware that this bears no meaning for a robot. Additionally, it depicts his priorities as short-sighted. Later on, Loki fails to notice the importance of a time travel device during an ongoing apocalypse that leads promptly to the destruction of the device. His plans generally don’t work. Neither does the disguise as a train guard nor the persuasion of the old woman on Lamentis 1. His plot to stall the minutemen in episode 2 is immediately uncovered by Mobius (who, btw, is shown similarly inconsequential and inferior to his female counterpart Ravona Renslayer. Again, this hints that the series might generally be biased against men).

Loki’s lack of intelligence paves the way for the sexist trophy ‘damsel in distress’. Loki must be saved at several points of the series: The trial (ep.1), in the train (ep.3) when he fails to lay low and summons the wrong illusion, from Lamentis and from Alioth (ep.5).

As mentioned at the beginning, it happens again and again that people label primitive acts of retaliation against men for former discrimination against women as “feminism”. Often those acts of retaliation aim at individuals who did not commit discrimination against women.

Those acts cast a poor light on feminism and only add to the injustice. Far too often people confuse the desire for justice with the desire to be the one holding the whip. As a true feminist, this actions need to be judged as hard as sexism against women! Only that can be called equality.

A positive example of feminism was Black Panter. Not only was this the only male-directed movie from Kunsey’s analysis that could compete with the female-directed movies in terms of women behind the camera, strong female characters, female agency, and the Bechdel test but also it showed that the male protagonist could both be the butt of some jokes (“[He froze] like an antelope in headlights!”) and also get recognition with badass action scenes. Of course, men can also be ridiculed and display foolishness. But jokes on the expanse of characters have to be balanced and done with the care to keep it tasteful. As soon the portrayal goes too far into one direction there might be a bias in the production team. This is especially important if more than one representative of a social group gets targeted!

And of course both the stories of women and men need to be told. To achieve this the ratio of women amongst the directors needs to increase. There is no way arguing that. And even though I cannot bring myself to like Sylvie, Kate Harron put a lot of effort into telling her story. Both the plot and the framing aim to make her the center of the plot and urge the audience to connect with her. She inspired many fans with this depiction of a strong female character. People praise the Loki show as progressive because of it.

But why did she had to pair this with the bashing of a man/genderfluid person? Can’t a woman not be strong without degrading another person? For me – a woman – such a portrayal is weakened if it is on someone’s expense. In fact, I realized one of the main points that sours her characterization for me is that harsh contrast between her and our Loki. She is competent where he is lacking, her pain validated where his is dismissed, her goal gets achieved while he fails.

Black Panther proved that a director and his team can produce an awesome story that provides decent representation for black people! But as Kunsey pointed out it did generally a wonderful job with representation, including those of women! They made an effort for equally behind the scenes. Okoye’s and Nakia’s characterizations show objective strength; they do not depend on bashing of males. In contrast, the Loki show proves female directors might not be the best choice when it comes to telling the story of a man or - as in this case - a predominantly male-presenting genderfluid person. Kate Herron was granted a rare opportunity that called for consideration.

The Loki show is named after the character Tom Hiddleston plays ever since Thor 1 (2011). Making his show about a female variant of Loki is fraudulent labeling. Using trailers where Sylvie is digitally removed is false advertising.

Perhaps Herron’s actions won’t cast poor light on other female directors. But it is undeniable that Loki has an enormous fandom and the show was watched by millions of people. Kate’s normalization of assaults against men might still contribute to abuse and aggression.

With great power comes great responsibility!

If you are given a chance like Herron was, you have the responsibility to use it wisely. And that excludes bashing of others because of their genders.

Our aim has to be equality and respect.