Sylki

Sylki is the family/non-binary ship between Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir from the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom.

Canon
Sylvie has been killing Minutemen and stealing their reset charges, and the Time Variance Authority doesn't know anything other than that the culprit is a variant of Loki. When Loki is picked up by the TVA in 2012, he's recruited to help track down the variant. Loki figures out that the variant could be hiding throughout time in apocalypses, which the TVA wouldn't notice because the variant's presence wouldn't disrupt the timeline. Loki helps track the variant's location to an apocalyptic event in 2050, and he goes with the team to investigate. Loki and Sylvie first meet in 2050 at Roxxcart, where Sylvie fights him to stall for time. She launches her attack on the timeline and leaves through a Timedoor. Loki has a moment of conflict, with Mobius calling to him and running after him and Sylvie leaving ahead of him, and Loki steps through the Timedoor after Sylvie.

Sylvie has gone to the TVA headquarters to attack the Timekeepers, and Loki follows to try to talk to her, and they fight because he's delaying her. When they're confronted by Ravonna Renslayer and Hunters, Loki opens a Timedoor beneath himself and Sylvie to get away. This drops them onto Lamentis-1 during an apocalyptic event, which Sylvie had saved on the TemPad. The two initially continue to clash, with Sylvie wanting the TemPad back so she can proceed with her plan, but a meteor lands between them and she realizes where they are, so they run to safety. She touches Loki and tries to enchant him, but it won't work because his mind is too strong.

They begin to work together to survive the apocalyptic event and to find a power source to recharge the TemPad. They board a train to an ark, with Loki using a disguise and Sylvie enchanting a guard. On the train, they discuss love, their pasts, and their families. Loki asks Sylvie if she has any romances, but she has not since she's been running to hide in one apocalyptic event after another; Loki has, with both men and women, but nothing was ever "real". They try to define what love is, but Loki takes another drink. Sylvie doesn't remember her mother because it's been a long time, and Loki shares that his mother used to show him magic as a child, and he demonstrates some fireworks in his hand for her. Sylvie falls asleep, she wakes to find Loki has gotten drunk and has the whole train car singing. He shushes the other occupants for a moment and sings softly in Asgardian, directly to Sylvie, before proceeding with the upbeat singing again. This draws too much attention, and the guards are summoned and Loki gets kicked off the train. Sylvie follows because she still needs the TemPad, which Loki has. The TemPad is destroyed in Loki's fall from the train, and Sylvie gets upset. But they come up with a new plan: in the original timeline, the ark doesn't launch, but perhaps their presence could change that if they get aboard. So they set off toward the ark on foot, and work side-by-side in the city to make it to the ark. Before they get aboard, the ark is destroyed.

The pair are ready to accept their fate as doomed while on the Lamentis-1. They have a heart-to-heart about themselves as people, with Loki saying they would find a way to survive. The two share a longing look before Sylvie touches his arm, which initiates a Nexus Event within the timeline. They almost don’t make it out alive until the Minutemen are able to track them and bring them back to the TVA Headquarters.

Separated for interrogation, Loki and Mobius have a talk about Sylvie. Loki at first tries to come up with the charade that he was just using her to Mobius and that it was al his plan. In order to test this, Mobius cleverly implies Sylvie is dead in order to get a rise out of Loki, which in fact works, as Loki starts to become distraught and asking where she is. Mobius then assumes them an unconventional pair: falling in twisted romantic love with each other since Loki is, in Mobius’ eyes, a very narcissistic person, and it would make sense for Loki to fall for a version of himself. Mobius says that their romantic connection is what created the Nexus Event, as the chaos of two variants of the same kind falling for each other would be the exact key to the TVA and Time Keepers’ downfall.

Loki and Sylvie are brought before the Time Keepers by Ravonna Renslayer after Mobius’ failed plan to help them overthrow the TVA. After arguing with the Time Keepers, Loki and Sylvie are caught in a fight after Agent B-15 comes to their rescue. Sylvie and Loki overpower the Minutemen and the Time Keepers, soon finding out that the Time Keepers themselves are not what they seem: they are simply faux animatronics. Distraught with what to do next, Loki and Sylvie are left to try and figure out a plan for the next step. Loki, remembering what Mobius had said about their romantic connection being enough to bring the system down, prepares to tell Sylvie about his revelation. He puts his hands on her shoulders and is seemingly about to confess his romantic feelings until Ravonna, previously thought to have been incapacitated, rises from behind Loki and prunes him.

Sylvie seems in shock after seeing the person she is in love with vanish before her eyes, and then in turn lashes out at Ravonna. She overpowers Renslayer easily and demands Ravonna to explain all the secrets of the TVA.

The mid-credits scene reveals the pruned Loki to have actually survived, so where their story will end remains unknown as of now.

Quotes
Loki sings to Sylvie in Asgardian in Loki episode 3:

"To Sylvie, everybody!"

- Loki at the end of the song

Sylki
The ship name "Sylki" is generally used by fans who ship the characters romantically. The term came into usage soon after their meeting in episode 2. The ship gained more of a following after episode 3, in which Loki and Sylvie get to know each other while trying to get off a moon before it's destroyed. Fanfiction following episode 3 generally involves Loki and Sylvie becoming closer in the face of the impending apocalypse. The ship saw a surge of interest following the revelation in episode 4 that their interest in each other is canonically romantic, and Loki nearly confessed his feelings.

Loki and Sylvie essentially share a soul (called a temporal aura), and the soulmate aspect for their relationship is often brought up by fans, and even from official Disney and Marvel social media accounts. In fanfiction, Loki and Sylvie tend to understand each other in ways that are suggested to be more personal than they could share with others.

The shared-soul aspect has notably attracted many Reylo (Rey and Ben Solo from Star Wars) shippers, as a key part of Reylo was their dyad or soulmate-like connection, and Reylo fans quickly became a notable part of the fanbase and embraced the similarities. Many fans also noticed the similarities between episode 4 and The Last Jedi, with fans making direct comparisons between the two ships.

Supporters of the ship also explore the relationship metaphorically, as Loki having romantic feelings for another version of himself is also part of his journey of accepting himself in a self-love sort of way.

Fanart:
 * Her name IS Sylvie by BoomDaFunk (@lizea77) on Twitter, July 2, 2021.
 * Not alone by lindaspunk (@abigeyedowl) on Twitter, July 2, 2021.
 * tfw when. love is a dagger by isa (@voxpon) on Twitter, July 1, 2021.
 * SLAP -SLAP KISS - KISS by crumbsart (@artofcrumbs) on Twitter, July 1, 2021.
 * Let my last sight of you be smiling... by Ggendy85 (@gwendy85) on Twitter, July 1, 2021.
 * You're amazing by BoomDaFunk (@lizea77) on Twitter, July 1, 2021.
 * Self love by nana variant (@ramenana) on Twitter, June 25, 2021.
 * Summer #Loki & #Sylvie ! by nana variant (@ramenana) on Twitter, June 30, 2021.
 * The dream team by BoomDaFunk (@lizea77) on Twitter, June 29, 2021.
 * "and here it is, our final night alive" by kyria (@nightfurybucky) on Twitter, July 4, 2021.
 * Loki episode 3 spoilers by くまぬ (@kumanuk) on Twitter, June 25, 2021.
 * Narcissist by くまぬ (@kumanuk) on Twitter, July 4, 2021.
 * Romance by くまぬ (@kumanuk) on Twitter, July 4, 2021.
 * Self service shirts by yam (@yamstrange) on Twitter, July 1, 2021.
 * power couple by Loki/Hayley (@crypticloki) on Twitter, July 4, 2021.
 * Sylki comic by gwendy85 (@gwendy85) on Twitter, July 2, 2021.
 * You said we always survive, right? yuli (@starswithyou_) on Twitter, July 4, 2021.
 * Reunited by lindaspunk (@abigeyedowl) on Twitter, July 3, 2021.
 * Fighting back-to-back by Gaki (@Gakimera) on Twitter, July 4, 2021.
 * happy to see that loki and sylvie are in love by 𝐕𝐄𝐍. (@Ventricidal) on Twitter, June 30, 2021.
 * Whatever this connection is, can bring the whole place down by BoomDaFunk (@lizea77) on Twitter, July 5, 2021.
 * Hi, I love them. by Ponderosa (@ponderosa121) on Twitter, July 2, 2021.

Memes:
 * Meme of Loki looking away from the Tesseract to check out Sylvie
 * Sasa lele
 * Sylkis this entire week

Chaos Twins
The terms "Chaos Twins" is used by fans who support Loki and Sylvie having a relationship more like siblings. The term came into usage after episode 3. Some fan commentary shortly after episode 3 included:
 * "They radiate the long-lost-twin-bickering vibe".
 * "loki and sylvie’s dynamic can only be described as two siblings that were stuck in the car with each other for too long".
 * "loki and sylvie have an amazing (sibling) dynamic going on and half of that is cause sylvie has the same vibes as 2012 thor".
 * "Yes I'm going to call them "Chaos twins" and no you can't stop me."

At least a portion of support for Loki and Sylvie's relationship to be sibling-like is from Lokius fans who would prefer the two remain platonic, as some would prefer Mobius to be Loki's primary love interest. One of the quotes above is part of an anti-Sylki thread by a Lokius shipper.

Controversy
Episode 4's revelation that the romance is canon has left some members of Loki fandom with mixed feelings, particularly Lokius shippers who thought their ship had a chance at becoming canon, which would be the first onscreen queer relationship in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Queer representation - One of the criticisms of the Sylki ship is that it's a "straight" ship and thus is not good representation for the first major confirmed bisexual character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is often brought up in comparison to the possibility of Lokius, which would depict a relationship between two male-presenting characters. Supporters of the Sylki ship have pointed out that both Loki and Sylvie are bisexual, which is directly confirmed onscreen in episode 3, that Loki's sex is confirmed fluid and that both characters are likely genderfluid, so their romantic relationship is still representative of a queer relationship. Fans of the Sylki ship have also pointed out the biphobia, transphobia, and intersexphobia inherent in these criticisms.

Selfcest - Some of the controversy around the ship is the apparent "self-incestuous" nature of it, as Loki and Sylvie as variants of each other from alternative timelines. Those against the romantic relationship claim that this means that Loki and Sylvie share the same blood and DNA, although this is unconfirmed and the end of episode 4 suggests that variant Lokis don't necessarily share DNA. Antis also point out that Loki and Sylvie have the same parents (or their parents are also variants of each other) and so are essentially siblings, although Loki and Sylvie were not raised as siblings and wouldn't necessarily see each other as such. Defenders of the ship also point out that selfcest is entirely fictional and cannot exist in reality, so it should not be compared to incest. The creators and actors have also given interviews stating that Sylvie and Loki are separate individuals.

Anti backlash - Some antis have lashed out at Sylki shippers, Marvel, Disney, the series creators, and the actors on social media, even sending death threats and doing things like threatening director Kate Herron's dogs. Reylo and Thorki shippers, who are used to antis, have become notable supporters in the fan community who stand up for Sylki against anti behavior on social media.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Lists
! 3rd ! 6th
 * JUL 12th 2021
 * JUL 5th 2021

Trivia

 * Prior to Sylvie's reveal, an early BBC review got attention for stating: "The ending of episode two is fairly shocking, and will likely result in some of the most perverse fan fiction the internet has ever seen." The ending of episode two is that Sylvie and Loki finally meet and ran off through a Timedoor together. Fans speculated and mocked the prediction, with one fan calling the "normie reviewer" sheltered and saying he should "go on ao3 my dude, live a little". It got enough attention that The Mary Sue covered the fan response.