#tbi loki

[v-o-i-d-p-u-n-k]

Tbi doodle dump

Now with id and character design notes in alt text

#d-raw #the mechanisms #the mechanisms fanart #the mechs #the mechs fanart #the bifrost incident #the bifrost incident fanart #the mechanisms tbi #tbi #tbi loki #tbi odin #tbi thor #tbi sigyn #lyfrassir edda #lyfrassir edda fanart

[unsat-and-strange]

how am I supposed to be ok when through the pain loki kisses sigyn

#ebb rambles #the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #tbi loki #sigyn tbi

[siren-mic]

gotta be one of my favourite genders

#the mechanisms #the mechanisms tbi #the bifrost incident #tbi loki

[raine-drop-arts]

ughh art block has me in a chokehold here’s a tbi!loki doodle

#art #doodles #the mechanisms #the mechs fanart #the bifrost incident #tbi #tbi loki #loki

[spencersghostlyspookies]

#magnus chase #loki #the mechanisms #loki marvel #tbi loki

[just-some-guy-joust]

Doomed by the Narrative: Side B - Round 2

#tumblr competition #tumblr showdown #doomed by the narrative showdown #tournament poll #young wizard #wizard 101 #loki #the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #tbi loki

[checkadii]

First attempt at loki from a while back, ,, die in peace … die in honor …

#the bifrost incident #tbi loki #the mechanisms #checkadii

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Remember your wife

I don't, recall.

So they did take your life.

Not me, at all.

All the suffering strife, and sin

She's still enthralled.

I have endured,

Yet still, they win

#the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #tbi sigyn #tbi loki #it's sad lesbian hours tonight!

[justrightofanevening]

"How do I keep this part of me? How do I save what I've lost?" Your voice is shaking, and you have to shout through the rumbling noise drawing ever closer with every second. "I can't leave it behind, I can't, this is all I have!"

She grabs you by the shoulders, shaking you slightly. Her expression is stern, but you can see the fear in her eyes.

"You can't!"

"You can't keep it. I'm sorry Lyfrassir, truly I am, but what you left here is no longer yours. It's gone, and if you keep trying to recover what isn't there, you will lose yourself in the process."

Despite the constant noise now surrounding the train, her expression softens as she speaks quietly. "Promise me you will find something new. Something to live for that isn't here. Promise me you will never return."

You have no time to respond before a loud cracking noise shakes the train car, and you both stumble.

You feel yourself freeze in fear. The sight before you is one you'd hoped you'd never again see, but you chose to come back here, didn't you? You knew the risks. and now you must face them.

The dream falls apart before you in seconds, and you find yourself falling through an endless void of color and noise before sharply hitting something that shouldn't exist.

You bolt upright in bed, your heart racing and your limbs shaking. You're crying. You don't remember why.

It's still late, you can tell, but it would be impossible to go back to sleep now. There's nothing left to do but start moving, to get as far away from here as possible. You throw on your shawl, hoping to stave away the cold chill of the night.

As you wander the empty halls of the ship, you find yourself drawn to a large door with a light shining through it. Is someone else awake? You can't be alone with the thoughts swirling in your head anymore and so, in a fit of desperation, you step inside the room, bracing yourself for whoever you may find inside.

"Ah! Good evening, Inspector Lyf!"

The voice is familiar, but your thoughts are too scrambled to come up with a name.

The longer he looks at you, the more concerned he becomes. "Hey, are you...feeling okay? You look like shit."

You never checked a mirror on your way here, but you're sure he's right. You're still deeply shaken from the nightmare you had, and you honestly think it might have been more comforting to remember what had scared you so badly.

You can't shake the feeling that you just lost something deeply precious to you.

He luckily notices your current state of mind, and doesn't press the issue further. All he does is pull back the chair next to him, gesturing for you to sit. After a moment, you do.

The second you relax, you begin to cry.

It was too much, it was always too much and you never knew what to do. You feel a reassuring hand touch your shoulder, and for a moment the sensation feels familiar in a way you can't describe. No words are exchanged, but you know he understands.

There was nothing you could do but move on.

< Previous - First - Next >

#just right of an evening #act 1 #the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #the mechanisms tbi #tbi #the mechanisms the bifrost incident #lyfrassir edda #the mechanisms lyfrassir edda #the bifrost incident lyfrassir edda #the bifrost incident loki #the mechanisms loki #loki #tbi loki #marius von raum #the mechanisms marius #the mechanisms marius von raum

[harpie-raven]

Killers and Renegades, Lairs and Thieves, it’s time for

“The Bifrost Incident” !!!

(Sorry I was gone for a bit, shit’s been nuts, sunburns happen, and so does work—)

#the mechanisms #the mechanisms band #the bifrost incident #the mechanisms the bifrost incident #tbi the mechanisms #tbi loki #tbi sigyn #odin tbi #tbi #inspector lyf #lyfrassir edda #baron marius von raum #jonny d’ville #ivy alexandria #raphaella la cognizi #ashes o’reilly #gunpowder tim #the toy soldier #drumbot brian #nastya rasputina

[unsat-and-strange]

I'm still stuck on the bifrost incident. I'm still stuck on thor, finding out your former best friend, the person you saw publically executed for the murder of another friend, is still alive. Finding out that not only was she still alive, her mind is completely lost, taken by who knows what horrible means, taking any chance she had of even resting in the end. Realizing the ruler of your world, a woman you probably deeply respected at some point, was the one responsible. And not only that but she was the cause of the rapidly approaching death of your universe. Running into Loki, hating what she's contributed to, loving who she used to be to you. All you can do is wish each other a good death. Finally finding odin again, knowing you won't win this fight, all you can do is bring this woman to some semblance of justice. And the stars claim you both.

#The bifrost incident #the mechanisms #The mechs #tbi thor #ebb rambles #tbi loki #tbi odin

[graywritesoccasionally42]

So I wrote an entire essay comparing Loki from The Bifrost Incident to Loki from the Prose Edda for my Medieval Literature Class, and I figured I'd post it here in case anyone wanted to read my analysis on her character

Essay Under Cut--(my formatting got fucked up by the hellsite but what can you do?)

“Is this truly me? What have I left behind?”

A look into how The Bifrost Incident interacts with its source material

Title from “Losing Track” by The Mechanisms

In the early 1200s, Snorri Sturlson wrote his famous collection of Norse mythology called The Prose Edda. In this compilation, we met many gods, goddesses, and creatures, including one who is arguably the most popular Norse deity--Loki, the god of mischief and general shenanigans. The Prose Edda presents Loki as dishonest, violent, at times incompetent. Recently though, about 800 years later, Loki has attracted the interest of many modern writers who have adapted Loki’s story to explore contemporary problems. One particular adaptation, The Bifrost Incident by English steampunk band The Mechanisms, imagines her to be just,  intelligent, and loving. There are many striking differences between these two versions of Loki, the most significant being gender, mortality, and how their stories end. This is important because this album re-examines and redefines Loki’s identity, and how we view this Norse deity in a modern context.

To fully delve into how The Mechanisms’ adaptation works, I think some context for the band is necessary. The Mechanisms were an English steampunk band, self-described as “Storytelling Musical Cabaret'' that operated from 2010 until 2020. The Band members themselves were in character at all times as the immortal pirate crew of the Starship Aurora. They also took on the roles in the tales they told. So for example, Tim Ledsam was the guitarist for The Mechanisms, but when he was onstage he played Gunpowder Tim, Master at Arms on the Aurora, and when the band performed The Bifrost Incident, he voiced the character of Loki. The Mechanisms were best known for their clever reworking of mythologies, creating queer narratives and telling queer stories, and their love of tragedies. In their last concert (recorded as a live album), Death to The Mechanisms, Jonny D’ville--the band’s first mate/lead vocalist. played by Jonny Sims--and Ashes O'Reilly--the band’s quartermaster/bassist, played by Frank Voss--had a conversation that encapsulates the crew's relationship with unhappy endings: 

[Jonny]

"We happen to stumble across tragic situations where everyone dies. I mean, obviously there are stories where people live but we just choose not to tell them."

[Ashes]

"Yeah, 'cause they're boring."

[Jonny]

"Yeah…”

The fact that this conversation happened during some technical difficulties in the song “Terminus”, the finale of The Bifrost Incident where the entire star system is consumed by a Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror, only adds credence to their claims. 

With that bit of explanation out of the way, let’s discuss the similarities between Sturlson’s work and The Mechanisms’ adaptation of it. Loki from The Prose Edda and Loki from The Bifrost Incident share many important similarities. These similarities are important because they make the character recognizable, giving us a reference point and allowing the audience to connect the new version to the original. The Mechanisms play on the audience’s knowledge of Norse Mythology, creating an insider audience. Listeners feel like they are in on the joke, as they understand what myths or details are being referenced. The Mechanisms also use these similarities to create puns, as they often do in their albums. For example, in The Prose Edda Baldur is killed by Mistletoe, and in The Bifrost Incident Loki kills Baldur with Missile 2 (the second missile).  

Another thing The Mechanisms’ adaptation has in common with Sturlson’s work is how they develop ideas through music. The Bifrost Incident is a musical album, with each song continuing the story, much like the soundtrack to a musical. It alternates between spoken narration and songs, weaving music into the fabric of the tale. The Prose Edda does this as well! We have evidence that the original myths were probably put to music, connecting this modern work to its source. 

This being said, there are significant differences between the Loki of The Prose Edda and the Loki from The Bifrost Incident. I’ve selected just three to discuss at this time, the ones I think are the most important. The first is gender. In The Prose Edda Loki and Odin are firmly male, using exclusively male pronouns. There is a specific instance in the text where Loki turns into a mare and gives birth to Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged steed. This is seen in a negative context, as a way to shame or punish Loki. In The Bifrost Incident, however, Loki and Odin are gender-bent, using exclusively female pronouns. Loki’s gender expression in the album is further complicated by how her character is voiced. Gunpowder Tim, who as far as I can tell is a cisgender man, voices this specifically female character. The use of a more masculine-sounding voice actor for a character that not only uses feminine terms and pronouns but also is married to another woman in the album introduces a new, interesting layer of queerness to the narrative. Because of this casting decision, it’s a commonly held belief among fans that Loki is a trans woman in the album. These choices help the audience explore modern queer themes through the lens of Norse mythology. And it creates a contrast to how gender, sexuality, and queerness in general, were talked about in Snorri Sturlson’s time. 

The second difference I’d like to discuss is Loki’s mortality (or lack thereof). In The Prose Edda Loki is a god, an immortal being that could affect the world around him and cause problems on large scales. This allows many myths to happen, most strikingly the ones where Loki transforms into an animal to either cause problems or fix a problem he caused. Now this is complicated by the fact that Snorri Sturlson did not believe the characters in the myths he was compiling were gods. He lived in a Christianized world, trying to compile stories to save them for poets. Either way, Prose Edda Loki is an immortal deity. But in The Bifrost Incident, it is important that all our characters are mortal. It intensifies the tragedy of Loki and Sigyn, their sacrifice and Odin’s demise. It helps us relate to the characters in a way that we don’t get if they’re immortal. In the narration “Cold Case”, we learn that Loki was thought to be dead, and in the song “Sigyn” we get the heartbreaking reunion between Loki and her wife, Sigyn. But the reason I cry every time I listen to “Sigyn” is because of how heartrendingly happy Sigyn is to see her wife, alive and in front of her, and then see that relief ripped away as she realizes that Loki doesn’t recognize her. The humanity, the fear and permanence of death, of losing those you love, is one that we as an audience can easily relate to. 

My final difference, and possibly the most important difference, is the ending to Loki’s story. After killing Baldur in The Prose Edda, Loki is chased down by the Aesir and eternally punished: He is imprisoned below the earth, tied down with the entrails of his sons, and has a snake set above him to drip poison into his eyes. His wife, Sigyn, stays with him by choice, holding a cup above him to catch the venom, but the vessel can only hold so much before it must be emptied. So when Sigyn has to empty the cup the venom gets into his eyes, and his thrashing is the etiological myth for why earthquakes happen. Eventually, Loki is destined to escape and kick off Ragnarok (the end of the world), where he fights against the Aesir--sailing in on Naglfar and fatally injuring Heimdall before dying himself. These all add up to an ultimately evil view of Loki, even if he is a bit sympathetic. He turns against the gods and his children are the cause of much destruction. However, the Loki of The Bifrost Incident has a completely different characterization. After her memories are returned to her, she leaves Odin to her madness and goes to find Sigyn. She tells Sigyn what they must do to delay the eldritch train as long as possible, keeping the end of the world from happening for 80 years-- 

“They uncouple the [train] carriages behind [them] and Loki lays upon the altar. Sigyn pushes a single line into her wife's heart and holds it tight. All she lets through is a drip drip drip, flowing through the glyphs and gears. When Loki's heartsblood is gone, the train will arrive, but until then, they are together.”

Loki chooses to sacrifice herself to stop the end of all life in her star system. This is almost directly opposite of how Loki acts in The Prose Edda. She is noble, in contrast to his cowardice. 

I think it’s important to consider why these changes were made. Some are more obvious--The Mechanisms always committed to the bit at full throttle. It’s evident from their stage presences that they cared about the storytelling more than anything else. So many of the more minor changes are to keep to the aesthetic choices the band made--setting it in space, steampunk and cyberpunk imagery, and the puns we talked about earlier. Some choices were made to turn the original myths into queer stories. Making Loki and Sigyn a lesbian couple, as well as having Loki use feminine terms and pronouns while being voiced by a traditionally masculine voice actor, fall into The Mechanisms’ commitment to telling queer stories. Many of the band members themselves are queer, and the vast majority of their fanbase identifies as LGBTQ+. And finally, The Mechanisms only tell tragedies. We discussed this at a few earlier points, how the change from god to mortal fed into the tragedy of the story they were trying to tell. 

So why does this matter? Why should we care about a Steampunk concept album written in 2017 that no one has ever heard of? The Prose Edda was written to preserve poetry, religion, mythology, and meaning post-Christianization. Why was The Bifrost Incident written? I believe that it’s a commentary on corrupt government systems, as seen with Odin, as well as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pushing too far without the proper safety precautions. It’s also just a fun retelling of myths that most are fairly familiar with in a fun, new setting we never would have expected. The Bifrost Incident takes stories written hundreds of years ago and creates a modern narrative that is as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking. And I hope this paper, if nothing else, convinces you to listen to the Album.

#Loki #norse mythology #the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #loki tbi #tbi loki #The Prose Edda #the mechs #snorri sturluson

[pixelated-mechanisms-chaos]

I will make this announcement both here and on my Discord server!!

I wanna open mech character submissions! Which basically means i want to add characters from the mechanisms universe, but I'll use YOUR character design!! And even facesets if you feel like making those! I felt like it would be quite a neat thing to do. Incorporate the fandom into the game like this!

I will take submissions over Discord and Tumblr DMs!

The art HAS to be your own tho!

Characters i wanna definitely add:

- Briar Rose (weapon seller)

- Loki (recovery items)

- Ulysses (?)

- Hatter and Hare (who i began to love while making this list)

- Alyosha (only maybe)

- any other mechanisms character you could think of that isn't the main crew, merlin, hades, doctor pilchard, or marquis because they're already in use!

#the mechanisms #the mechanisms games #the mechs #@pixelated mechanisms chaos #game making #rpg maker mv #the mechanisms fandom #progress #downtime #the mechanisms art #briar rose #tbi loki #ulysses dies at dawn #hatter and hare #alyosha

[musical-failgirl-fight]

Preliminaries: Round 1 (Mechanisms Adjacent)

Who is the most Failgirl?

this is a preliminary poll for the Musical Failgirl Bracket - the two characters here were submitted and chosen, but do not have much propaganda to add to the bracket proper.

This poll is used to both fill the three extra spots in the main bracket, as well as gather propaganda for them. If this comes across your dash and you recognize a character and believe them to fit the messy/failure girl trope, please tell me why in an ask or reblog.

The winner will go on the main bracket alongside one propaganda paragraph of my choosing.

#musical failgirl bracket #dr carmilla #exhumed and unplugged #tbi loki #the bifrost incident

[aregebidan]

quick coloring practice with the love of my life (ID in alt)

#tbi loki #the bifrost incident #the mechanisms #my art #still can't figure out exactly what she looks like in my head but this is close enough. my best friend <3

[melted-mercury]

i am doing badly at memorising the lyrics to Loki because every time i tell my brain i need to hear it i just get Riddle Of The Sphinx instead

#theyre relatively similar so my brain just goes “eh same thing i guess” #i have to know those lyricssss #me and 2 of my friends like reenacting the songs together and while i like both they both prefer TBI over UDAD #therefore one of them is likely to spontaneously start playing Loki from their phone and im sick of yelling NOT YOUR LINE BITCH at them #the mechanisms #the mechs #the bifrost incident #the mechanisms tbi #ulysses dies at dawn #the mechanisms udad #tbi loki #loki tbi #udad oedipus #oedipus udad