Oh, boy. Well, I've had a few people show this to me today, and again, it's...yeah. A lot.
The first thing that caught my notice is that this picture seems to be from the outing Michael and AL did with Georgia and David last weekend at Lapland UK (if the matching Christmas sweaters and Michael's furry hat are any indication, at least). Why a picture from then was posted today instead of a current one, I'm not sure, but I did think that was an interesting choice.
The second thing that came to mind is something I probably don't even need to say because it seems like others are noticing it, to where I saw folks on Twitter actually commenting, "Why does he look so tired and unhappy?" It sort of boggles my mind that Anna would post a picture where this is so visibly the case, but then it's also not surprising, because it seems like yet another instance of her making sure that her hair/makeup is on point while seemingly not caring whether Michael looks good in the picture. And again, the "husky" comment would hit a lot differently if it weren't for Anna's Insta story from a month ago comparing him to a dog. As it is, it feels like another passive-aggressive jab at Michael's appearance, which as we know by now is something AL has done many times over.
But what really struck me about this picture is that she posted it shortly after Georgia posted a Christmas Eve photo of her and David. When we look at that picture--as well as the picture of Michael and David that was also taken at Lapland last weekend--the difference is stark:
All I can say is that two of these three pictures look and feel like couples...and one of them distinctly doesn't.
David's expression is so soft in the picture with Georgia, he's leaning in to her, and you can feel the connection between them and that they are a combined "unit." Michael is utterly beaming in the picture with David and leaning in to him with his whole body. Yet in the picture with Anna, it's very much a case of them standing near each other but not at all being in the same place. It also almost looks as if Michael was doing something else and she insisted on a selfie, and this was the end result. Again, if we contrast all of that to the selfie Georgia took with David, the difference truly is night and day. I don't know what that may mean (if it means anything at all), but I'm genuinely baffled at AL's decision to post that picture.
The one other intriguing piece of all this is Georgia's comment, which we can see in the screenshot above. I've had a few folks DMing me saying they think it could be an indication of some sort of poly arrangement (that "better halves" means Georgia is referring to AL as her better half, and referring to Michael as David's better half). Whether this is remotely true is something only the four of them would know, but if nothing else, I do think the wording is just ambiguous enough to make one wonder.
So yes, those are my thoughts on this new picture. Happy for folks to weigh in and share their reactions in the comments, as always, and I will keep doing my best to get through the backlog of Asks still in my inbox...
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Look, I personally lose nothing if Lokius doesn’t become explicit canon. And if that were to become the case, I’d also have no regrets for saying for years that that would happen in the show by the end ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I’ve said it before, but by now it would be Disney/Marvel’s loss, NOT mine. Whoever wasted or limited the potential would be the idiot, not me.
I’m simply never gonna feel crazy for noticing what’s happening in a story or silly for daring to hope it’ll be brought to fully satisfying narrative completion. That's just a me thing. Maybe this is because at heart I’m stubborn! But I’d like to think I’m not unreasonable. I can’t control whether writing stays consistent or censorship is overcome... But I just do my best to construct solid arguments, and as long as those arguments remain solid, I stand by them :)
I know not everyone would say the same, or they consider this to be "hope" or "optimism," but I see it as logic based in noticing what the text of a show/story is doing. And personally I also consider blatantly evident subtext to be "canon enough," so if we get my personal minimum, my happiness may still outweigh any potential disappointment for me.
However. Here's what I've come here to say today, in reaction to things I've seen floating around in the fandom:
While I do understand on some level why people worry that Lokius won’t be more explicitly canonically romantic because it could be censored by Disney.... At this point, I don’t understand how people can think Loki/Sylvie will still happen.
As of right now, there’s no way to argue for that in my opinion. (I'd like to see someone try.)
The show has set up a fun but very simple situation from basically the start:
They made romantic love a point of relevance in the show’s story. More specifically, they pointed out Loki's desire for a "real" romantic love, and had him learn the lesson that he doesn't deserve to be alone. They didn't HAVE to do all of those things and tie them together. They CHOSE to make romantic love relevant – and they have actively continued to choose to do that, to the point of including a mirrored dark love triangle in s2 ep3. That narrative thread simply has to be fulfilled.
So if they deliberately established that Loki wants and needs a “real” love, and his relationship with Sylvie was referred to as "fiction" so she cannot be a real love for him.... Who does it have to be?
Obviously it has to be Mobius. And of course, the whole show points to Lokius also, for countless more reasons than just this simple breakdown. But pointing this element out is the simplest argument one can make.
So either...
1. They take Lokius to full narrative completion with explicit canon, as they should and as I expect them to,
or
2. Loki's desire for a real love is left unfulfilled, open-ended, and/or made clear through subtext that it's Mobius.
Those are the options, if you ask me!
This is aside from how Lokius’ love story is now even at the core of the show’s themes and plot, which is an insanely strong vote in favor for their future canonicity.
But for the purposes of this post, I’m talking about whether we'll get explicit romance specifically, like a love confession or a kiss – and I do actually genuinely think we'll get both of those things. I'm not trying to force you to agree with me, but just to be clear, that's where I'm at with it and have been since 2021 lol.
So in regards to worrying about Loki/Sylvie...
They were never really a romance (yes, even in season 1) and they sure as hell aren't now. I can’t imagine they'll become one even IF Lokius is left subtextual.
So what actually remains to be seen is if the writers got to go all the way with Lokius, or if that central queer love story was censored on some level in the end.
My hot take is no one should be ~worrying~ about Sylki at this stage of the game. Free yourselves, people.
If the story starts abruptly going in a Sylki direction, even with only 3 episodes left, I will certainly be the first to say so lol. But I simply sincerely, truly doubt that'll happen.
(Hot take in the footer: this is not the post to get into this at length, but in case this comes up… In this house we do not use the word "queerbaiting." It is a useless, nearly-meaningless, insufferable term that devalues the legitimacy of subtext and queercoding more often than not; it's rooted in the idea that media must hit arbitrary and inconsistent checklists often set with cishet approval in mind; and it perpetuates a focus on the false and harmful myth that many creators are "cowards" instead of leaving room for nuance and the fact that industry censorship still exists.)
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