#badass loki

[distracteddream]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tags, @lgwilt, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @mobiusismycomfortcharacter, and @blackbirdofasgard. Gotta say my mental health is absolute shiiiiiiiiiiiiit right now but here y’all go.

Loki didn’t know exactly when his feelings for Mobius had grown from friendship to something even more precious. But they had. He’d realized it slowly in the little moments. Reviewing files in the Archives. Over coffee in the cafeteria. Writing reports at Mobius’ desk. The quiet liminal spaces where their lives intertwined.

And in the big moments. Sending Brad flying when he put his hands on Mobius. Hugging him before going off to fight their own battles. Mobius not recognizing him when he’d been cast out of the Citadel.

And now. Defending Mobius, not because Mobius literally held their salvation in his hands, but because Loki was not going to let any harm come to his partner.

[amethysthollis]

he’s so done with everything

[lokihzra]

loki as micky milkovich

[lowkeysambucky]

So there’s canonically a year that Loki spent in the void/clutches of thanos and I started thinking about how goddamn impressive it is that Loki held out that long before he could be “persuaded” to go to Midgard for the tessaract. And then it wouldn’t leave me alone so I wrote a Drabble whoops.

Loki. Amongst Thanos’ soldiers, the name was enough to instantly inspire throughout their ranks a feeling of grudging respect, reluctant admiration, and no small amount of fear, if they were being completely honest. He was legendary among the mad titan’s armies for his ability to withstand their most creative and brutal tortures. It had taken them over a year to break him, which was an unprecedented record amongst torturers so skillful and vindictive as they were. Even then, he hadn’t agreed to do their bidding of his own free will, and the torture had only served to make him weak enough that the mind stone was actually effective in bringing him under their master’s control. Loki had managed to withstand and repel the power of an infinity stone for over a year. And in the part of their minds where they kept their deepest, darkest secrets, Thanos’ soldiers were afraid of Loki. So afraid, in fact, that at times they had gone too far, to the point where the Asgardian’s heart had stopped beating and they were sure this was the end for them, having killed Thanos’ prized asset (the ability to Skywalk wasn’t something found every day, after all, and was highly necessary for Thanos’ plans to retrieve the tesseract). But he never stayed down, no matter how far they went with their fire and their whips and their weapons of all sorts, and while the fact that he wouldn’t stay dead was a relief (as it meant that they hadn’t accidentally broken their master’s new toy beyond repair) it terrified them a little more every time it happened.

Once they’d finally carried out their mission and Loki was under the control of Thanos and his Lieutenant, known only as The Other, they thought that surely he would not last a week after carrying out his great mission. But he’d surprised them all, even Thanos, by not only subverting the control of the mind stone enough to fail, but breaking it completely with nothing more than an (albeit fairly intense) blow to the head. It shouldn’t have been possible. Nothing that Loki did should have been possible. And so they feared him, even under their sneers and jibes and taunts in his direction as they tortured him, and even afterwards, they would look warily around the room as if to ensure he wasn’t somehow watching before they began to talk of him.

Although his children and his soldiers would never acknowledge it, he was sometimes far too arrogant for his own good, and as they watched him supposedly choke Loki to death after receiving the tesseract during their attack on the Asgardian Statesman, they could not help but fear that something wasn’t right with the way their greatest foe had gone down so easily and without circumstance. The fear prickled in the backs of their minds and they spoke of it in hushed tones when they were alone, free from the fear of being overheard by a superior officer who would no doubt discipline them severely for doubting their master.

As it turns out, they were right to worry.

[lelliefant]

Hiddleswift: A Defense in Retrospect

Two-and-a-half years later, I’m still seeing haters on Tumblr trying to trash Tom for this three-month romance. At the time (summer of 2016), I was pretty much silent on Tumblr, but I’m gonna give this argument a go now, as it appears the hate just won’t die.

A lot of people like to believe that Tom and Taylor’s relationship was just for publicity, but if you knew anything about what actually happened, and about Tom’s personality, you'd realize that makes zero sense.

First, I can confidently say that Tom had no motivation to seek out notoriety, but every reason to fall in love. It’s possible that Taylor thought about the prospect of publicity, and it might even have made him more attractive to her, but she hardly needs extra publicity.

Taylor’s known to have had a crush on his Loki character from the Avengers,* which is probably why she arranged to sit next to him at Anna Wintour's party (where they first met) and then again later at the 2016 Met Gala.

As for Tom, he fell for her like a rock. She is exactly his type; she's an amazing, beautiful, and talented young artist and a smart businesswoman; she pursued him; and he was smitten. He had no reason at the time to look for publicity (nothing to promote), and he has always otherwise avoided that kind of personal notoriety.*

In fact, he strictly avoids sharing his personal life with the Media.* He's never been an overexposed bubblegum pop culture icon; he's always pursued work as a serious, gifted dramatic actor with a lot of indie and theater cred, particularly gifted in Shakespeare.

At Cambridge (where he earned a double-first in Classics) Tom once performed as Orestes in Electra, speaking entirely in Ancient Greek:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-AmRve7EZRE

When creating Loki, he sourced his characterization on research of Norse mythology and what was familiar to him: Shakespearian characters. He returns to the stage whenever possible, between films.

Last year, he decided to take a year-long break from film. If he only cared about advancing his fame, this was not a good career move. Instead, he participated in a number of charity events, including a run as Hamlet for the tiny RADA theater to raise funds for his alma-mater. Of course, he took no payment.

Those are not life goals, accomplishments, or qualities that mesh with or demonstrate any interest in drawing the attention of the unwashed masses, or teenaged Taylor fans for that matter.

But what really makes me convinced that it was all real--at least for him--is that it fits perfectly with his personality. This is a guy who jumps headlong into life, especially in love. He is, in a word, enthusiastic. He has said many times that his only fear/regret in life is not living it to the fullest.

https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/tom-hiddleston-admitts-his-biggest-fear-mine-is-regret-looking-back-at-things-i-haven-t-done-a3356611.html

If I made quote the man on this point, "We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realize we only have one."

And he's also said many times in many ways that he just doesn't see the value in living a fake existence.* A fake, painfully public romance would simply have had no appeal for him, personally or professionally.

But people like to think the worst of others; they think it makes them seem superior, sophisticated, and smart to be cynical.* And nobody would actually be so naïve to believe two famous, beautiful, successful people could actually be genuinely attracted to each other, right?

It’s just a much more profitable story for the Media to frame these two as cold, calculating, self-promoting, deliberate liars who would actually want that type of shallow, populist, Kardashian fame. Even though they had both already earned and achieved a deeper quality of fame based on their genuine talent and professional success and acclaim. And the general public eats that stuff up, without question, because it’s what they want to believe.

All this being said, I know very little about Taylor, personally. I suspect that when she actually got to know Tom, he turned out to be an overwhelming energizer bunny, an overeducated egghead, and a giggly dork, when she had expected a dark, brooding, and mysterious bad boy.

Case in point:

Tom:

Loki:

Tom:

Loki:

I think Taylor realized her mistake and acted immediately to cut the relationship off, because she is not the type of person to stick around for something she doesn't want. And I think that totally took him by surprise, because he had jumped wholeheartedly into the relationship without a parachute. You might say he was too impetuous for his age but, like I said, that fits with his demonstrated personality traits--whereas the idea that the relationship never meant anything to him clearly does not.

Another relevant quote from Tom (this was prior to their relationship): "I gave myself permission to care, because there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of caring, or afraid of showing that they care because it's uncool. It's uncool to have passion. It's so much easier to lose when you've shown everyone how much you don't care if you win or lose. It's much harder to lose when you show that you care, but, you'll never win, unless you also stand to lose. Don't be afraid of your passion."

https://www.bustle.com/articles/122067-tom-hiddlestons-best-advice-to-his-fans-to-help-them-live-life-to-the-fullest

“Don’t be afraid of your passion.”

This is the guy I admire. A smart, erudite, accomplished man who hasn't let life beat him down or make him cynical--quite the opposite. This guy thrives on the challenge. He chooses optimism in spite of hardship; almost--weirdly--because of hardship. This deliberate fool is not afraid to risk his heart, and he grabs life with both hands, knowing the risks.

TL;DR:

Y’all can stop hating on Hiddleswift. It was real, which makes sense if you look at the evidence.

If you scoff and say I’m being naive, I have another one for you: you’re the one naively believing the trash people say and going along with it, trying to be smug and superior.

I don’t know much about her, but I know from Tom, and Tom was (and always strives to be) genuine.

Fame isn’t everything to everyone, especially not to people who already have plenty of it.

If I haven’t made this clear: tabloid noteriety is not the same as fame, much less professional acclaim.

Can we please let it go now?

Relevant Resources

https://www.bustle.com/articles/122067-tom-hiddlestons-best-advice-to-his-fans-to-help-them-live-life-to-the-fullest

https://www.bustle.com/articles/51780-tom-hiddleston-is-making-people-care-about-shakespeare-english-teachers-everywhere-should-rejoice

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/08/tom-hiddleston-interview-crimson-peak

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2015/10/tom-hiddleston-your-comfort-zones-what-youre-frightened-of

https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/tom-hiddleston-admitts-his-biggest-fear-mine-is-regret-looking-back-at-things-i-haven-t-done-a3356611.html

*Note: For some d@mn reason, Tumblr is not letting me include very many links in this post (the draft won’t save when I add them). I have a number of additional specific resources in support of the statements in this post. Additional sources are available upon request.

[khaotunng]

Ragnarock thoughts pt.3

Where is my scene where Loki beats the hell out of everyone who challenge him in the arena before the Grandmaster notices him.

Just Loki using his magic and tricks and knives and the crowd in disbilief because none thought he could survive the first fight.

[hikari-yumi]

“May I introduce myself?”, Loki questioned, causing Tony to look up in confusion. The god had risen from the armchair and taken a step away from it; now he was spreading his arms in a dramatic gesture and intoned: “I am Loki of Asgard, god of lies, mischief and”, he bowed and Tony yelped and jumped backwards as the mage just caught fire, like some sort of human torch or something, “of fire.” -"Sold to the devil" by Majinie, Chapter 12 God, screw anatomy. I had fun anyways. Badass Loki ftw.

[distracteddream]

Seven(-ish) Sentence Sunday

I'm so late with this today, but I've decided that I'm just going to use the first sentences from a new short fic I'm planning to post Thursday!

“No killing.” “Gently.” “Behave.” “Be good.” “Don’t do that.” The words were a constant mantra echoing in his head and they all amounted to Loki holding himself back. It didn’t matter what challenges they faced. Mobius had trained Loki, subconsciously at least, to always pull his proverbial punches. Even now, when their predicament was rather dire.

Thanks for the tags @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @thosegayoldmen @insomniaflarrow @elodiah

I'm late so open tag!