#tva chess

[dykesynthezoid]

As someone w PDA (pathological demand avoidance, also sometimes called persistent drive for autonomy) who is hypersensitive to having my autonomy threatened, if you’ve ever read Armand’s backstory and wondered “how much agency is he being afforded here” I can tell you it’s not a whole fucking lot. Amadeo might’ve taken an axe to that man’s door but I would’ve done worse

(Also can we discuss deeply internalized Autistic PDAer Armand… so much of Amadeo’s characterization is just a constant reaction toward equalizing behavior. And no it’s not just bc he’s a teenager, and it’s not just bc he’s desperate for Marius’s attention and affection. He is constantly trying to equalize in any way he feasibly can. When one avenue gets closed to him, or stops working, he’ll try to find another. It’s by definition an endless struggle for agency).

People who say Marius haters are just biased/haven’t read the books/simply don’t “get” his relationship w Armand are always a head scratcher bc then you read the books and you’re like well christ this is actually worse than I was expecting. Going into TVA like here I am ready to absorb the nuances of this dynamic. And then literally every consecutive moment is making it clear how badly Marius sucks

[taraljc]

I find it so odd that there are people who are watching Loki and finding the character in season 2 gormless and toothless when what has fundementally changed about the character is that his all of his smarm and smugness has been replaced by sincerity. It's the same arc that Thor went through, from entitlement to selflessness. And it's the same arc we witnessed with Loki Prime in The Dark World and Ragnarok.

He's still dangerous and he's still clever and he's still funny and he still sexy as fuck so I'm not entirely sure what it is that people are missing that they so desperately wish TVA Loki still possessed. A shallow obsession with power and status? Massive daddy issues? Unfortunate choices with regard to personal hygiene and hair care products?

What is it about the backstabbing and manipulation that was so vital to the character that is more attractive than watching him use all of his skills and intellect to protect and preserve life, when only two years prior he had been hellbent on comitting genocide to eradicate his internalized self-hatred, all so his father would look at him the same way he looked at Thor and see him as worthy?

He's hardly perfect. He's very much a work in progress. He's very messy and emotional and he's still trying to figure out how this whole found family thing works. But he knows he needs it and wants it and that it's important. He has figured out that other people are not simply a means to an end or pawns on a chess board. That everyone matters.

I guess at the end of the day, I just don't get it. I'm like Sylvie in the citadel at the end of time not understanding why she and Loki aren't seeing things the same way.

We're all watching the same show and yet coming away with completely different understandings of what we have just seen.

Nobody has defanged our favourite adversary. if nothing else episode 2 definitely drove that point home. He's still our Loki. He's just switched sides, and all of his sharp edges are now being used in the service of something bigger than his own ego.

Is it the genuine sincerity that people are rejecting? Because that feels more like a individual viewer thing than a Loki thing.

[tyrannuspitch]

okay well fine if no-one else is going to do it - I'M inventing a new ship. loki/ravonna. lokonna? frostslayer? lieslayer? still workshopping that.

anyway here's my reasoning:

i would say ravonna is the most loki character in the loki show - specifically, she's a lot like t1 loki. she's intelligent, she's a perfectionist, she's smooth and authoritative, she clearly loves deeply but she can nevertheless be calculating / ruthless / selfish, she's committed to the tva's morals, and when her world starts unravelling, she panics and does terrible things to try and salvage it/cover it up.

all of this makes ravonna an excellent rival/competitor for loki. two cautious, calculating traitors with a ruthless streak and a need for control. tell me you don't want to see them play 4d chess.

loki was a tva prisoner, now ravonna is a tva fugitive. consider the cat-and-mouse detective potential in either direction.

loki's initial scraped-together plan to rise through the ranks and potentially take over the tva would have made him a rival to ravonna - and maybe eventually a usurper she would feel obliged to rebel against.

each of these characters would have killed the other without a second thought when they first met - which adds weight, tension, and potential for tragedy to any future bond they form.

they both fundamentally want somewhere to belong - and they're each part of the reason the other doesn't have that any more.

ravonna, having been so devout, is the most likely of any of the tva staff we know to have a variant monsterhood complex to rival loki's jotun one - and coming to respect/like loki, another variant, could help her process that.

ravonna also thinks of loki as monstrous because of his sacred timeline role as a supervillain. if she went down a darker path for a while, or if she began to recognise that she'd already been on a very dark one, then, again, it could be interesting to see how her understanding of loki and herself developed in light of firsthand experience.

loki (like all variants, but especially loki) is a kind of religious figure to tva staff - specifically a demon. the tva, meanwhile, frame themselves as angels - servants of the divine plan. ravonna as a falling angel, loki as a fallen god... religious guilt, questioning faith, religious schisms and conflict... there are many kinds of potential here.

loki was part of HWR's masterplan as his successor. based on the recordings we heard in 2.01, it seems like the show might be following the comics in having HWR also have a fixation on ravonna (romantic, in her case.) so they have a common enemy-or-potential-ally, and reason for their paths and interests to potentially converge.

ummm idk man i'm not A Shipper by nature so i have a lot to say about general storytelling potential but i really don't know how to get you to see this as specifically romantic. they're both pretty? yeah that'll do. send post

[bebx]

What games do you think Mobius might have potentially tried to download? I’m imagining like…. Pong or Tetris or something really benign like Solitaire (HWRemains would play chess with Miss minutes, maybe chess is pre-installed… maybe, maybe not…. Maybe he deleted Chess when he wiped everyone’s memories 😂)

But what would some insane game options be? E.T for the Atari 2600? Did Mobius try and run Doom on a TVA tempad? Animal crossing? A dating sim 🤔

Wait omg: Wave Race 64, Nintendo, 1996

I don’t know much about video games but my first thought goes to this famous snake mobile game most kids used to play on their moms’ Nokia phones during the 90s

this actually brings back so much nostalgia :(

[gaysie]

imo of all the anne rice books i've read, i think she was just better at writing historical fiction than action-adventure plots, so the historical stuff feels like it has more life in it. her book cry to heaven (which wasn't that successful i don't think?) is similar where it succeeds as a compelling "normal story," if you can call one of her books a normal story lol

this makes sense to me like "action"-wise qotd felt like i kept waiting for something to actually happen which you know maybe it's not that kind of book i guess and i know like not every book has to fit the linear story structure beat sheet and all but it was kind of like okay so is mekare showing up (character we dgaf about) and killing akasha supposed to be the big climax here? ok. whatever. tell me more about armand playing chess while daniel lies on the floor with his headphones on next to him. yeah besides my devil's minion goggles the strongest parts of the rice novels ive read have been like the first 70% of TVL and first 70% of TVA when it's the character kind of just telling their own history and bringing you into their world

[thesimulationswarms]

if tv was good like it used to we'd have a 24 episode season and we'd get one episode of only sylvie trying to work at McDonald's, then on her break some weird shit happens time-wise but she decides to ignore it cause not her business! goes back to work as usual then she has to solve some problem with the kitchen sink and since she's pretty handy with all that she starts to fix all the stuff around the kitchen and everywhere. she has friends. she hangs out with them even. Then she goes home and watches a tv show and doesn't think about the TVA or anything like that. Post credits scene is loki and mobius playing chess with ouroboros.

But tv sucks now so we don't have this.

[gyllord]

None of this is real - Part 2

Part 2 guys !!! I hope you'll enjoy this :)

Pairing : Brad Wolfe / Hunter X-5 x fem!reader

Words : 3k (my longest fan fic yeahhh :))

You can read Part 1 right here :) :

Turns out, O.B didn't have the time to check Brad's Tempad, being too busy "preventing a Temporal meltdown". Instead, he gave you the TVA's guidebook saying "Everything you need to know about this, I wrote about it here". So you, Loki, and Mobius tried for hours to understand what this Tempad was made for, unsuccessfully. While you were still working on it, Casey and B15 came along to talk about Miss Minutes and Renslayer's cooperation. You also learned, thanks to Loki, that He Who Remains and Renslayer used to be partners. It actually explained a lot of things like why Miss Minutes disappeared all of a sudden. During the conversation, Casey saw the Tempad Loki was holding and said he didn't have any idea what it was made for, but that it was definitely not made to block any trackers. So Brad lied to you, again. Casey took the Tempad, saying he'd try to find its utility. After that, you, Loki, Mobius, and B15 all decided to go see Brad Wolfe to interrogate him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So now here you all were. Mobius decided to speak to all of you before entering the room.

-"Okay, keep it simple. "Where's Dox? Where's Sylvie? And what did he do to that Tempad ?" That's all we need to find out okay ?" Mobius said to Loki, B15, and you. "But of course, Brad knows us, and he knows our tactics. But that's what makes for an interesting chess match." Mobius continued his little speech: "Okay, most of all, Brad's an asshole, so don't let him get under your skin, all right ?" Loki turned his head to look at you and B15, B15 turned to look at Loki, while you were still focusing on Mobius who was standing in front of the orange door leading to the room Brad had been locked up in. Noticing Loki distracted, Mobius inquired "Okay? Loki ?"

-"What?" Loki said innocently to Mobius to let him know that he didn't need to worry because he was not going to do anything stupid. Mobius then turned his gaze to you.

-"Y/N, what I just mentioned doesn't really pertain to you because of, you know, his MASSIVE crush on you."

-"Oh my god", you sighed, embarrassed again.

-"But I know you're a girl who's not afraid to fight, so don't get angry at him, and don't do anything foolish if he's being mean to one of us okay?"

-"Gosh drop this crush thing already. And no I won't do anything stupid... I never did !"

-""One day, you punched me in the face," Loki said, causing you to turn and look at him. You found him already gazing down at you.

-"Yeahhh but you really deserved it... and I apologized ! " you finished your sentence pointing a finger at him like you were proving something.

-"Okay," Mobius said, giving each of you a glance before opening the door. B15 entered first, followed by you, with Loki and Mobius bringing up the rear. Brad was seated on a small white chair in the center of the orange room. He turned to face all of you upon hearing the door open.

-"Oh, welcome back. Why don't you go ahead and take this Time Collar off and start treating me like somebody who outranks you ?"

-"I don't work here" Loki simply said.

-"Oh, that's a good point. You should stop talking" Brad retorted back

Loki stood right in front of Brad, B15 was on Loki's left side and you stood on his right side. Mobius, after closing the door, decided to stand on your right.

-"Hey, what were you doing down there on the Sacred Timeline ?" Mobius asked, making Brad turn to be able to look at him.

-"Making movies" he answered like it was an obvious yet funny thing.

-"Don't waste our time, X-5" B15, ready to make him speak and fast. But Brad was in a playful mood.

-"It's Brad" You and Brad said in unison. He said it out loud while you only murmured.

-"Bradley" He tilted his head like he was correcting himself to say his full name. He was really annoyed to hear his old name all the time. He had to tell everyone that his name was now Brad because no one would call him that name. For them it was stupid, his life was in the TVA, and he was a hunter so his name is and always will be X-5.

-"Right, Brad. Let's cut to the chase, shall we ?"Loki said, pulling out the Tempad he had stashed in the inside pocket of his jacket. "What did you do to this Tempad ?" Brad turned to look at you, the only person he appreciated in this room. He didn't want to answer and he especially didn't want to answer Loki's question.

-"Answer the question" You said with a soft smile on your face. He continued to look at you before sighing and turning in his chair to look at Loki.

-"It blocks your trackers" Brad lied again.

-"No, it doesn't" Loki shaked his head.

-"Yeah, no shit" Brad said with sarcasm which annoyed even more B15. She just wanted to make it quick and have answers. In order to save the TVA, we need to be fast, no time for jokes. She asked him :

-"What is it designed for, X-5 ?"

-"It's Brad" He paused, annoyed before continuing "Under who's authority are you holding me here? Because looking around this room I do not see anyone ranking high to make that call" He looked at you for a second and you shrugged.

-"I don't need approval to detain a hunter who abandoned his post." B15 spoke confidently.

-"Oh that's good, that's good. But weren't you the one blabbering on and on about how we all had lives in the timeline? Well, I went down and got my life. What exactly are you mad at me about ?"

""There are life at stake" Loki said which made Brad pause to look at him in disbelief for a moment before talking again.

-"There are lives at stake ?" Loki nodded and Brad continued, shaking his head. "You've got some nerve". He then repeated with a lower voice: "There are lives at stake". Everyone turned to look at Loki's reaction. It's true that Loki did some REALLY bad things in the past so him saying he wanted to save people was confusing. But you knew he changed, in a positive way. You all knew that. You guessed Brad just couldn't believe or understand how Loki, a villain, could change and become a hero.

-"Everyone here knows what you're doing, you know ?" Brad said which made Loki raise his eyebrows, wondering which point Brad was trying to make. "You're just trying to make up for all the terrible, awful shit you've done in your life your pathetic little man." Loki shut his eyes while Brad spoke with a venomous tone.

-"Okay, that's enough" Mobius intervened.

-"No, no, Mobius. No, it's... riveting" He paused "Keep going I want to hear more"

What the hell is he doing? You thought

-"Good" Brad said, ready to make Loki even more uncomfortable. He wanted to push him above his edges, to see if he would break his new character and let his "real", yet old, nature. "See, everything you and Sylvie have ever done to try to help has only ever made it worse"

-"Is that right ?" Loki responded calmly but firmly, he was handling the situation..right?

-"See, I've read your file. It's you, you're the problem. Every time we've ever found a you. The problem is you think you're special but you're not. So, it doesn't matter what outfit you put on, play dress up, or what little lies you tell your friends or even the lies you tell yourself. At the end of the day, you just make everything worse. For Mobius, for B15, for Y/N" He turned to look at you for a moment before continuing. "For your mother". You could tell Loki was hurt, he was now moving back and forth. How dare Brad say something like that to Loki? His mother meant so much to him. It pained you to hear that.

-"'Cause that's what you do. You lose, you're a loser."

-"I think we get it Brad" You took a step forward

-"Loki" Mobius said and Loki sighed heavily. Brad was not holding back, he was relentlessly attacking him and had no intention of stopping. "Stop trying to be a hero, man. You're a villain and you're good at it. Do that" Loki chuckled.

-"Thank you, Brad. Very much" Loki said in a ironic tone. "I really am touched. You know, you're right. I have done some terrible, awful things. Yeah, maybe that is who I am and they know" he said talking about you and Mobius. "It's the real me." He claps his hands "A loser. Always have been, always will be. Perhaps I've been holding something back"

-"Loki" you said but that didn't stop him. He started to walk towards Brad. He walked so closely to Brad that he had to slightly back up in his chair, ensuring Loki wouldn't come any closer. Brad glanced at B15 and you, seeking reassurance that Loki would be stopped if he crossed the line, but you were so focused on Loki that you didn't see it.

-"Perhaps I've just been biding my time. Perhaps I've just been waiting for a moment like this, so I can do terrible, awful things, to you." He smiled mischievously and started to whisper at Brad. "So, let's try this one more time. Where is Sylvie ?" Loki was very close to Brad, looking down at him, causing Brad to look up. He attempted to maintain his confidence, concealing his fear, but it was evident that Brad was both nervous and afraid.

-"You're way too obsessed with her." He said to you and Mobius "He needs some therapy, I can recommend some".

-"Okay, come on" Mobius said walking towards them, pushing Loki backwards so we wouldn't do anything stupid. You approached Mobius in case he needed help.

-"...If you wanna work that out" Brad continued leaning forward in his chair now that Loki was far away enough of him. "Control your little pet, Mobius"

-"That got a little tense" You said, relieving some stress.

-"Hey, you wanna hear a good one? Knock, Knock" Mobius said to Brad.

-"Who's there ?" He played along.

-"Brad."

-"Brad who ?" Brad said, not really amused.

-"That's showbiz" Mobius laughed at his joke, and Loki smiled a little bit. "I don't want that to happen to you so, play along with us, answer our questions and we'll get you back there so they don't forget about you. How does that sound ?"

-"You would do that ?"

-"I will." Mobius confirmed.

-"You promise ?"

-"I promise". Brad looked at you and then at Loki and B15, saying a little "wow", pretending to be impressed.

-"You seeing this ?" He said pointing his finger at Mobius. He turned to look at Mobius again "Mobius, you could be an actor" He said with a determined, serious face that made Mobius laugh.

He still had a small smile on his face."I'm not an actor, I'm an analyst. But thank you."

-"You're not an analyst, I'm not a hunter." He looked around "None of this is real. I mean, who even are you, on the timeline, do you know ?"

Mobius shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

-"I think it does matter because none of this is real. The TVA is not your real home. Mobius isn't even your real name."

Mobius was not letting himself be destabilized by Brad: "Well, it's what I answer to."

-"Do you have any idea what kind of life you might have left behind? Who might be waiting for you back there? I mean, do you care ?" Mobius shook his head again. Loki glanced at Mobius. "You know they took our lives, and you're still here. I mean, it's kind of weird, man. I mean, you need to wake up."

You could tell Mobius was started to lose his temper, Brad just couldn't stop talking about how none of this was real.

-"I'm awake" Mobius stated which made Brad repeated himself :

-"Yeah, no. You're asleep." This situation was starting to make you anxious. It was just too much now.

-"I think we get it Brad." Brad didn't even hear you, instead, he continued talking.

-"You need to wake up Mobius"

-"I'm awake" Mobius repeated

-"And until you do, you're nothing" Brad continued. "She is nothing" He said, turning to B15 who he was referring to. He stood up "I don't know where to start with that" He said while looking at Loki. He paused and looked at you "Y/N, sweetie, you're nothing here and god knows you could be amazing" He said with a deeply sorrowful expression. "But no, you're all nothing here." Brad started yelling. He then looked at Mobius "And you Mobius, until you wake up, you're just a nowhere man. You're a-" Brad's speech was abruptly cut off as Mobius punched him in the face. Loki rushed to stop Mobius from landing more punches on Brad.

-"You're a nowhere man ! You're a silly little man. Silly little man." Mobius yelled at Brad before turning around and walking towards the door. Loki following him, he looked at you and you nodded at him.

-"Whoa...Whoa...Mobius !" Brad said, proud that he pushed the man to the edge. Mobius opened the door, Loki turned to look at Brad one more time before following Mobius, leaving you and B15 in the room with Brad. B15 decided to leave the room as well so she started to walk towards the door. Just as she was about to leave, she turned and asked you:

-"You're coming ?" You sighed. You really wanted Brad to cooperate so you needed to try something. You turned to look at him, finding him already looking at you. You joined B15 and whispered to her:

-"No I'm staying, I want to try and be nice to him to see if it could work... but you can go if you want." She gives you a "you'll be okay?" look so you simply nod at her.

-"Okay, but if anything, and I mean ANYTHING, happens, you leave this room okay ?" She whispers back

-"I promise"

-"Okay..."She looks at Brad quickly. "If Mobius or Loki ask, I'll tell them you're here." You thanked her as she left the room.

Behind you, Brad was smirking. "Need something babe?" Oh no, he needed to stop using nicknames, or else you will struggle to handle the situation. It's important not to get flustered every time he addresses you.

-“Quit the nicknames, Brad"

-"Why? It makes you nervous?" He asked with a larger smile as he decided to sit down again. He loved teasing you. But you were not going to play his game so you decided to not answer him.

You glared at him "You went a bit too far, don’t you think?” He scoffed and raised his hands in a defended way.

-"I simply said the truth. This is not our real life"

-“Yeah but it's not because some people like this life that they're weird or they're a bad person. Mobius likes his life here, that doesn't make him a bad guy”

-"But he doesn't even know his true life! He can't choose between this one and his real one because he never experienced it!"

-"It's his decision, end of the discussion." You said firmly.

There was a moment of silence between you two. You looked around lost in thought, while Brad kept his eyes fixed on you.

-"You could come with me" You looked at him and he had a serious expression on his face. He was not joking at all.

-"Why would I do that ?"

-"You'll have a life on your own and a very good one I would make sure of that. You've always been one of the few people who were nice to me even though.." You cut him.

-"Even though you're an asshole? Yep, that's correct, that's why I don't understand why you won't tell me anything! We just need Sylvie's location, Brad please just tell me" It was hard for him not to tell you the truth when you were begging him, looking at him with those big pleading eyes. "It's just us Brad, please tell me". His eyes drifted to the ground.

-"Only if you promise you'll come with me". You pondered. If that could save the TVA you had to agree. You could say yes and never actually do it just like Mobius who promised to bring Brad to his Timeline even though you doubt he'd actually do that. But you wanted to. You wanted to experience a life with him, and if you get tired of it, you'll still have a life in this timeline or you could even go back to the TVA. You had nothing to lose after all.

-"Okay, I promise". He lifted his face to look at you.

-"Really ?" He asked, not believing you said yes.

-"Yeah, I want to at least experience this life."

-“And you deserve it” he smiled at you before looking down again. "You'll also make sure Dox won't kill me? Because I left my post and she's kind of scary"

-"Okay I also promise you that" you chuckled and he sighed heavily.

-“Sylvie has a new life. She’s in 1984, in Oklahoma."

You had a hard time containing your joy, smiling a lot. “My god, thank you Brad, thank you so much !" He smiled back at you.

-“I’m only doing this for you”

You were still smiling “And I appreciate it” You turned to leave the room in order to find Loki and Mobius. You opened the door but turned around. “It does make me nervous” He looks at you with furrowed brows, wondering what you were talking about, so you added: “the nicknames you use for me”. He leaned back a bit, his mouth forming a little “oh”, he understood what you were talking about. He smiled before saying :

-“Yes I know, that’s why I call you like that. I only use them for you, you know ?” He smirked

-“I know” you said blushing and smiling as you closed the door, leaving Brad also smiling like an idiot. You two knew what it meant.

—————-

Okay but now I kind of what to write a third part I don’t knowww 😭

[zoeybabbling]

A short one about failure and hope

What makes a Loki Loki?

That we are destined to fail.

At the end of time, Loki saw many versions of himself. The classic Loki - him in the future; the boastful Loki - him as a dickhead; the alligator - him as, well, an alligator; and the child Loki - him who killed Thor.

To be exact, these are not him. This is where ‘defining moments’ play a part. But Loki had to admit that they are all possbilities of what he could have been, at different stages of his very long life.

And there is Sylvie. Loki went through an acceptance curve to decide if she is a Loki or not. Is she a superior version of him? She tricked them all and bombed the sacred timeline just like that and then almost got away if not for Loki. Is she not Loki at all? She is so different from all the scumbs he saw when the uprising happened at the end of time. In exactly what timeline would he run for presidency and wear a stupid badge like that? If Lokis are destined to fall into chaos like that, even at the end of the fucking time, then he would rather go with Sylvie.

But he had his doubts - doubts that stirred by He Who Remains, not from him. Is this all? He found a better version of himself or someon else and then happily ever after. Can he truly change? Would Sylvie one day be unbearable to him even this seems unlikely now? He told Sylvie, before they went for Alioth, that he has changed and would not betray her; and they both saw how much truth that promise held.

He remembered the bitterness on his tongue when he said ‘trust is for children and dogs’ to Mobius. The truth behind such venon is that he is not capable of such a nice thing. He tried but he can’t anymore. He has been let down so many times that the only person he would not betray is himself and himself only. Treating others like pawns makes him feel protected and special, like his dramatic horns.

He is committed to save the TVA. Like a newborn chick recognising the first being it sees as its mom, he only knows people from there that he may call friends in this world. He brought back Victor Timely, but too late. He then found them all but only he could time slip. And then again and again he tried; even for Gods hundreads of years is not easily passed by. He’s run out of choices, but he could not kill Sylvie like He Who Remains urges. Maybe he’s not changed, but at least he’s not treating others like chess pieces.

When he took all the overloading branches and walked toward his lonely throne in all time and space, he thought about if this is the only choice. It felt like something’s missing - an important piece. As the new and destined God of Stories, there is one particular branch that caught his attention: his branch. All of a sudden, he felt a swirl and was taken away by a strong gast. The last sight he saw was all the branches, still in their places, forming the world tree.

He woke up in Asgard.

[the-princess-elven-jedi-avenger]

The Stark & The Strange

It all happened so fast. None of this was meant to happen…and yet it did. It was meant to be a simple mission, a time heist, to get the stones back and return the millions of people who had turned into dust all by a snap of a certain California raisin alien.

I was taken out of my timeline after going after Loki who was going to ruin the timeline by taking the Tesseract and running of to only God knows where. And that's when they showed up, the TVA, who were playing God, thinking they knew what was better than the rest of us. And that's what led me on this strange journey with Loki and that TVA agent, Mobius.

And then we met the Loki Variant and a Variant of me, a male version of me that went by the name Edwin, that’s when truly all hell broke lose, and it led us on a crazy journey where we met the guy in charge who warned us that if he killed him, more of his variants, worse than him would arise and take his place, and then two Loki Variants shared a kiss, and now Sylvie, had thrown me through a portal to only God knows where where, while Edwin watched in horror, trying to stop her. I didn’t know what to feel.

I knew the neurons in my head were firing faster than I could comprehend. It was too much for me. I didn’t even know how much time had passed. I just wanted to go home, to my dad, to my little sister, to my step-mother, who had become like a mother to me, and to my friends.

I glanced around to find myself in what looked like a haunted house. In this room, there was a clutter of artifacts across the endless tables of chess pieces, but no board in sight, a piano with music sheets scattered all across the floor. I then raised my head and the sight was not…well normal. There was a huge black swirling cloud outside the window, consuming a huge chunk of the sky.

My breath hitched, staring at the sky. Why was this happening? Did we fail? Was this the consequence of messing with time? However, as I wandered out of the room and into the next room, I recognized the building. This was the New York Sanctum, but it looked different. What happened here? Or better yet, where was I transported to?

"Who are you?" A familiar baritone and soothing male voice asked.

My eyes widened. That voice…It tugged at my heartstrings. It had to be him. Please tell me it wasn’t my mind playing cruel tricks on me. I dared to turn around to see that sure enough it was him, Stephen Strange.

I ran over towards him, happy to see him. I was about to run over to him and hug him, but I saw how defensive Stephen became. He took a step back up towards the stairs, narrowing his eyes.

“Who are you?” He pressed.

His words were like a hot dagger that stung and pierced my heart. How could he forget me? I am…well, one of his good friends. I had known Stephen since before his accident, back when he was a neurosurgeon. And I developed a crush on him, one that never went away, but I kept quiet all these years, afraid he didn’t feel the same. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship…

"I am Alma Stark, Alma Maria Stark." I introduced myself.

I had hoped my full name would spark something in him, a hint of recognition. However, there was nothing. It was safe to say this wasn't my universe.

Then again I should’ve known, he looked different. He had a goatee, his hair was longer, and his robes were darker, even his eyes were a darker blue. And what happened to his cloak? Stephen stared at me, inspecting me as he finally stepped down from the stairs.

“Ah, yes, Tony Stark’s daughter.” He nodded.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“I will take a guess that you are from a different universe, so somehow transported into my universe…or what is left of it.” Stephen explained, raising a hand as he motioned to the Sanctum around him.

The walls began to creak as if demonstrating Stephen’s words. I don’t understand what happened here? Did Thanos do something worse here? Or was this something else?

“What happened?” I pressed.

Stephen let out a sigh. “An incursion. I never meant for this to happen…I just wanted to be happy, to be with Christine."

It felt like he took my heart from me, tearing it out of my chest, unable to breathe and tore it up like a piece of paper in front of me. Even in this universe, he loves Christine. Maybe we weren't destined to be together...

[thecactifindahome]

What makes you say he doesn't want one with her? He's much warmer to Bianca than she was to him, even after he saw her run from him in tva. That didn't change his feelings about her, and he hopes that it was her, he says so. He looks shocked when she shouts at him in PL. Bianca on the other hand seems more ambivalent, even in tva, where you might expect Armand’s pov to assume greater reciprocity. If anyone doesn't want to be friends, it's her.

As for why? Well, because he loves her, and he loves her despite the bad things, which is the way all the vampires love each other. Armand plays chess with Santino, why would he be angrier with Bianca than him?

I think the previous anon confused Mona with Bianca. And I agree that her importance to Armand is often downplayed by fandom. I was actually a little dissapointed that Armand never mentioned seeing her in Paris. I don't think they had any scenes together in the later books but it would be cool if they were friends on the show.

I think Armand and Bianca were quite close while still in Venice, but him seeing her in Paris... actually destroyed that.

And I think that is maybe why the show will skip her. Maybe.

Because, and I know Armand relativizes him seeing her there himself, but he never really talks about her after (outside his own story, obviously), and within the context of the story... that speaks volumes, I think.

I don't think the fandom downplays Bianca, to be honest.

Yes, she was important to him - while still mortal.

But she was turned after him, after Marius was burned and fled to her, and Marius lived with her, while Armand... was broken and brainwashed by the satanic cult.

Somewhere, deep inside, Armand holds grudge there. And I cannot blame him. He never talks to her within the remaining books, oh, she's there, even stands beside him... but they don't talk iirc, though Bianca helps to search for Armand and I would say she tries, but... Her focus is elsewhere and tbh, book canonically it is made extremely clear by the following sentence in Blood Communion:

They’ve become like two wives to Marius, Bianca and Pandora [...]

Bianca became like a second wife to Marius, and spent most of her time with Pandora and him.

Armand... does not have a relationship with her in the later books. Not really. And I don't think he wants one.

Because... think about it:

If we take the scene of him seeing her in Paris as truth, then Bianca saw him, recognized him... and fled.

And neither Bianca nor Marius then came to get Armand.

No, they instead abandoned him to his "choice". Remember, Marius literally tells Bianca that "Armand became one of them".

Why the fuck would he want her back as a friend after that?

So no, I don't see the big friendship there, sorry. IF the show will choose to bring Bianca in... then it might not be such a wholesome relationship between them. On the contrary.

But we'll see.

[forumaberto]

TVA, TVE, secundário 4° cilindro no Classic VHC E - Identificando o cilindro que falha pelo escape

TVA, TVE, secundário 4° cilindro no Classic VHC E – Identificando o cilindro que falha pelo escape

Identificando o cilindro que falha desligando um injetor e observando a pressão no escape pelo osciloscópio. Neste veículo havia uma falha intermitente, que ocorria somente em alguns momentos e deixava o condutor preocupado.Pelo TVE foi identificado o cilindro, em teste de vedação observou-se a passagem pelas válvulas.Conforme o condutor, um parente havia “trocado a junta” do cabeçote mas não…

[joey-vol2]

A big batch of backgrounds from Amphibia “The First Temple” Art direction by Phil Vose and jacob Streilein

[gffa]

Every time Loki tries to pull off some manipulation against Mobius or the TVA, it just gets funnier and funnier, when it’s so obvious what they’re all doing. Loki the series really said, “Make it like 4D Chess, Except Really Fucking Stupid” and that’s amazing.

[thevibraniumveterans]

LOKI S2E2 — Breaking Brad

Kinda late to the party here 😅 some thoughts

Great foot chase for a man who thought he didn’t do anything bad. Also, how awkward must it have been to run in formal dress shoes? 😂

B-15 looks good in a suit and tie, though.

Love that OB is the fix it guy

RENSLAYER tried to take over the TVA?! Oh, that’s new 👀

Great that Cordero has a bigger speaking part now as Casey

Mobius again with that chess reference. He must really like a challenge.

Brad / X-5 really tearing into Loki, and Loki just taking a big breath in. To Loki, it’s nothing new, just the same old shit he’s heard for centuries and is quite tired of. “Stop trying to be a hero” is more or less the exact statement that Loki wants to prove wrong. He’s come this far; why stop now? Loki going on that whole spiel about how he can turn the tides on his villainous past is kind of metaphorical, in a way 👀

Mobius, again with the piano metaphor. Just like last season.

Loki says, “Sometimes a rage build up and you just gotta… let it out.” Cathartic. He then summarizes Thor (2011) and Avengers (2012) in by saying, “Do you remember that time I was so angry with my father and my brother I went down to Earth and I held the whole of New York City hostage with an alien army? Tried to use the Mind Stone on Tony Stark. It didn’t work, so I threw him off the building. Let me tell you something- wasn’t tactical.” 😂

Mobius seems to have a case of Stockholm 🤔

A main character on a mission to find their significant other is a storyline I’m QUITE familiar with 😅

Loki messing with the Time Cube. Not the first cube he’s ever messed with 🤣

Loki’s statement “If none of this is real, I guess you aren’t real either” is STONE COLD 🥶

Casey being a fan of OB is hilarious.

Loki walking into a McDonalds and seeing Sylvie. She does not seem too happy 👀 She’s wary. Soft, mournful music plays.

They meet out back by Sylvie’s Ford pickup truck.

Brad watching Loki and Sylvie hash out their issues 😂 He just says, “what is happening right now? It’s just like, they’re going over every detail of their relationship that’s ever happened.”

Sylvie is the one in the future, is Sylvie JUDGE DOX? Wait but that can’t be, that’s weird.

A character leaving for an important mission and leaving behind their significant other is ALSO another trope I’m familiar with 😂

“It’s harder to stay” feels so painful

LOKI S2E1 - Ouroboros

I’ve just watched the episode, and here are a few basic thoughts and pointers.

Started off to a running start, but the slower pace despite the urgency was pretty nice, actually.

There were two trope/gags, literally back to back. Hilarious! So Loki lands in the car, it crashes into the main room, he gets out, car drops down, he’s like “oh she’ll be okay” and then you hear the vehicle thud, and then he’s like “I’ll be okay!” and immediately almost gets crushed by the TV monitor 😂 I was thinking, “you just HAD to say that!” Lovely comedic moment 🤣

The best thing I loved about this episode was how present!Loki was having the same conversation with past!OB while present!Mobius was having the exact same conversation with present!OB. It’s mind boggling, but the constant switching between past and present to show us that past!OB and present!OB were/are saying the exact same thing, conversing with Loki and Mobius as if though they were in the same place at the same time even though they were not. The sheer amount of mental gymnastics is hilarious, but I loved it.

B-15 looks troubled, and rightly so. Even the top judge is convinced.

The way Loki literally swings by and tackles Mobius back into the room, that’s a lot of force and a whole lot of speed.

And a mid-credits in E1! That’s new. But also great, we see Sylvie again! She walks into a McDonalds 😌

[lokitvsource]

Loki cast and crew talk doing "something crazier" than WandaVision

Exclusive: The team behind Loki on Disney Plus tell Total Film about wanting to "take chances every step of the way"

Loki is Marvel's next Disney Plus show, and if WandaVision represents a pinnacle of the audacious studio’s willingness to gamble on bold and challenging concepts, Loki is gleefully accepting the baton and running with it.

"It is a big crack of the bat, a big swing," promises lead writer Michael Waldron while talking to Total Film magazine. "Our writers’ room was next to WandaVision’s. And you’re like, ‘That show looks so fucking good. We’ve got to do something crazier! We’ve got to step on the gas, because we know that what they’re doing is so cool.’ We tried to take chances every step of the way."

In true Marvel fashion, plot specifics are being kept tightly under wraps. "There’s a propulsive momentum to [the show], which is about trying to find out more information," explains Hiddleston, obliquely. "There’s a man-on-the-run quality to Loki, and he is caught in a complex new labyrinth, and is trying to find his way around without exposing himself to vulnerability or exploitation." Part of the test for Loki involves clashing with characters who will challenge him afresh.

Up first is Mobius, a member of the TVA – that's Time Variance Authority – played by Owen Wilson. "Mobius is almost a professional academic about Loki," Hiddleston says, "and is thrilled to find the real thing sitting in front of him – a bit like an expert in some rarely seen animal in the wild, and he finally comes face-to-face with the thing he’s been studying all his life."

"Mobius is a detective in the TVA," says Wilson. "The way Mobius fits into the story is that he’s a little bit like Nick Nolte getting Eddie Murphy out of jail in 48 Hrs. to help him investigate. Working with him, of course, is a little bit of a chess match to gain his trust, and Loki seeing how far he can go with Mobius. And who’s manipulating whom? And whose purposes ultimately are going to be served?"

The person Mobius reports into is Judge Renslayer, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, The Morning Show). "It’s unlike any other character I’ve played before," Mbatha-Raw tells Total Film. "She has quite a lot of power, so that’s been interesting, because she’s somewhat of an authoritative character. But then we start to see the cracks that begin to show within that."

Acting as an enforcer for the TVA is Hunter B-15. "Mobius is in a coat and tie and almost would be like a G-Man," says Wilson. "Whereas, Hunter B-15 is a badass soldier. They have the same goals, but very different methods and ideas on how that is going to be accomplished." Wunmi Mosaku (His House) plays Hunter B-15. "She’s by the book," says Mosaku. "She’s kind of like a lead hunter. I bring [Loki] in. It’s kind of straight after [he disappears from Endgame]. We pick up immediately after that. You see I have the Tesseract in my hand, and I come in."

[bedlamsbard]

read a bunch of Endgame criticism and now I just feel feral, but not in the way where it actually helps with my IW/Endgame AU

look, since I came back to marvel last year Endgame is arguably the most influential of the films in terms of what it made me write (Yonder/Horizon/Reaches, Morning), but that’s mostly because it’s the full “makes no damn sense, compels me though” of a movie where it’s a very specific kind of 5d chess where I’m like “I can work with this.”

for Yonderverse I made a lot of assumptions rolling it back to the original IW AU (Loki lives, Thor dies) about why things go differently in this ‘verse than in canon, because in the back of my head at all times I’m aware that the canon ‘verse still played out on a different branch of the Cosmos Tree (in a different timeline if, as Loki would say, we’re going to be pedestrian about it), so the reasons things happen differently have to somehow go back to that original divergence point. well, the Snap’s random, right? well, Loki surviving and Thor (not actually dying and) getting snapped is going to have knock-on randomization effects (also, like, because Loki and Thor have different fighting styles there were probably different casualty rates in Wakanda on both Thanos’s side and Earth’s side). because of that, Yelena doesn’t get snapped, but the other two Widows there do. Loki has a completely different fight with the UN over the founding of New Asgard than Thor did in the main timeline, which is why it doesn’t look anything like main timeline New Asgard; because it’s Loki instead of Thor, Steve, Nat, and Bruce are all there rather than staying in the U.S. the way they presumably did in canon.  I don’t think the whole plot of Horizon happened in canon, because unless proven otherwise, I’m going to assume the main bad guys in Horizon got snapped in the main timeline but didn’t in this one, which means that Yonderverse Steve had a very different five years than main timeline Steve (as did, like, everyone else, but specifically Steve).

and that’s partially because the hypothetical sequel to Yonder actually does involve the main timeline Endgame characters (or some of them, anyway), but also because I like being able to logic stuff out for reasons other than “I hated thing and I wanted it to not happen.” like, that’s a totally valid way to approach fanworks, but not enough for my brain specifically because I focus a lot on cause-and-effect.

(I came very close to having what would end up being Reaches!Thor have TVA!Loki’s role in the show and decided against it, partially because the way I work TVA!Loki is out there already and that may be why this ‘verse exists at all, and I didn’t want to hobble myself by having a separate TVA. so like. it’s not come up and it may never come up, but it’s in the back of my head.)  (even though as you may or may not be aware I actually...really dislike...the way that the MCU has done the multiverse. single point divergence or gtfo, but you know, like, whatever.)