#but at some point he would've been younger and naiver and not known

[worstloki]

Would Loki really cry if he had a best friend who loved and cared about him unconditionally?

first of all: yes

second of all: yes

there are loads of reasons for this but the first the foremost I think is that the lad was betrayed by everyone he could’ve considered close to him in Thor 1. and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing or any kind of indicator of how he normally behaves, but he spends maybe 70-80% of the film being generally overrun by emotions and crying about it. he literally spent his whole life being drilled into thinking he was inherently lesser than others and if having everyone he thought could’ve cared ripped away from him in the span of a few days put him in a constant state of emotional inequilibrium you’d better believe gaining someone who loves for and cares for him would be an equally jarring realization albeit in the other direction. it may even be more emotionally overwhelming considering he would’ve at least suspected that people didn’t value him as much as Thor his whole life, but his self esteem doesn’t really seem to be enough that he would suspect someone would genuinely care for even some of it which is when the confusion and general ‘overwhelmed’ part comes into play when he’d realize.

second off, we’re given loads of proof that even when people prove time and time again that they don’t really care for him he still cares for them. he is still impacted by things they say and/or do even when he covers it up well. boyo’s biggest character trait and personal flaw is literally that he’s selfless and forgives people too easily for slights against him. he just doesn’t hold a grudge because he’s sentimental it’s ridiculous. not only do I think his affinity for expressing emotions would extend to people who he knows are not actively abusing him but i’m almost certain that every time he’d remember there is someone who cares he’d have a miniature crisis and have to just process that because he’d have to personally come to terms with and remember that he was actually lovable and spent his whole life surrounded by people who just didn’t. It’d mean having to process a very real traumatic event and a life-time of small comments and lesser but no less real toxic environment which he may have believed at some point that he would not be able to leave, but had stayed in, and still holds feeling for.

tldr; yes, because he hasn’t processed past trauma including being betrayed and finding out he wasn’t cared for/loved unconditionally by people he’s known his whole life. yes, because loki is a person with the self-destructive habit of caring too much for people who don’t even deserve it and I refuse to believe he wouldn’t extend that affinity towards and put that energy into people who do care.

#i'm not kidding when I say loki would cry at having a friend #i do actually think mcu loki would #after they realize they actually have one #he's just suffered so much and I blame his behaviour as Odin in Thor: Ragnarok as not thinking anything good could last for him #probably hadn't thought he'd get to stay king for more than a few weeks so thought he'd enjoy it while it lasted #but I'm assuming Avengers 1/TDW/Infinity War characterization here not Ragnarok #I apologize if I rambled a bit #but it's canon that Loki had zero friends and we're not told why but with the way he's treated I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want any #he probably thought the warriors 3 and sif were his friends at some point #by Thor 1 he knows they value Thor more than him #but at some point he would've been younger and naiver and not known #you see we see Loki in Thor 1 as ridiculously wonderously good at jumping to correct conclusions #but we're not shown how he gets to that point #we know Loki's been ignored since they were kids thanks to the vault scene #but in Thor 1 Loki still hasn't given up on being treated as an equal #he gets growled at by odin and he manipulated thor into things and he knows people won't outright listen but he TRIES #which means he never gave up on receiving love/care even though he also acknowledges the slim chances of receiving it #i'm repeating myself but he's ridiculously empathetic and generally is ridiculously patient and and has crazy strong perseverance abilities #you'd have to manage to care for him and he'd recognize it but spend time doubting it so much #it would be quite a bit to process after a lifetime of not having any friend #and depending on what part of his timeline anyone proved they cared/loved him wouldn't change the fact that he'd cry #it would just change the amounts of cups he'd be able to fill with tears #and before anyone calls me out on it: yes i know emotional responses aren't directly equivalent in the 'opposite direction' #im just saying he'd be equally overwhelmed #you'd have general undertones of the same emotions (confusion sadness maybe a touch of fear... plus happiness) #i'm not an emotionologist and I guess it'd depend on his emotional state at the time but he would definitely get a pang in his heart minimum #there would at LEAST be teary eyes even if he'd cover it by thinking ''of course someone can care for me i'm great'' by the end of TDW #he'd frankly be '?!?' at realizing someone cares for him even conditionally because he associates having a use with being appreciated #he's smart and luckily self-aware enough to recognize unconditional love even if he won't admit it to himself and has no relative comparison