#this is a lot of jumbled thoughts

[invinciblerodent]

This is going to be very ranty and disjointed, probably borderline incomprehensible post, but with the "return" of Dragon Age Discourse (and really, did it ever go anywhere?) and me repeatedly seeing the complaints and dismissals of DA:I as a "chosen one"-type of a narrative, I just.... I keep finding myself thinking about the relationship of truth and lies within the game.

Throughout the course of DA:I, the idea of a malleable, flexible personal identity, and a painful confrontation with an uncomfortable truth replacing a soothing falsehood, follows pretty much every character throughout their respective arcs.

There are some more obvious ones, Solas, Blackwall, The Iron Bull, their identities and deceptions (of both those around them and themselves) are clearly front and center in the stories told about them, but this theme of deception (both of the self- and the outside world) is clearly present in the stories of the others as well.

Like, for example, ones that come immediately to mind are stories like that of Cullen, who presents an image of a composed and disciplined military man, a commander- all to hide the desperate and traumatized addict that he sees himself as.

Dorian grappled with the expectations of presenting the image of the perfect heir to his father's legacy, the prideful scion of his house, his entire life (he even introduces himself as the result of "careful breeding", like one might speak about a prized horse)- all while knowing that his family would rather see him lobotomized and obedient, than anything even just resembling his vibrant and passionate self.

Cassandra calls herself a Seeker of Truth, and takes pride in that identity- only to learn that in reality, she has been made a liar, a keeper of secrets, without her knowledge or consent, and it is up to her to either uproot the entire organization and painfully cut out the abscess it is to build it back from the ground up into something respectable, or let the information she had revealed sit, and continue to fester.

And this theme continues and reframes itself in, among others, things like Sera's own inner conflict between her elven heritage and her human upbringing, or in Cole being caught in this unconscionable space in-between human and spirit, between person and concept, etc.

The Inquisitor isn't exempt from this either.

I feel like this is where the core of the many misunderstandings of this plot come from, why so many people continue to believe that Inquisition is a "chosen one" or "divinely appointed" type of story, because I think many might just... not realize, that the protagonist's identity is also malleable, and what they are told in the setup/first act of the game is not necessarily the truth.

The tale of the Inquisitor is the exact opposite of that of a "chosen one" story: it's an examination and reflection of the trope, in that it is the story of an assumption that all wrongly believe to be the truth, and thrust upon you, even if you protest. The very point is that no matter who you choose to say that you are, you will be known as the Herald of a prophet you don't even necessarily believe in, and then that belief will be proven wrong, leaving you to cope with either a devastating disappointment if you believed it, or a bitter kind of vindication if you didn't.

There's a moment just after Here Lies the Abyss (when you learn of the lie you've been fed your entire journey in the game) that I don't often see mentioned, but I think it's one of the most emotionally impactful character moments, if you are playing an Andrastian Inquisitor who had actually believed themselves chosen (which I realize is a rather unpopular pick, lol): it's when Ser Ruth, a Grey Warden, realizes what she had done and is horrified by her own deeds, and turns herself in asking to be tried for the murder of another of her order. As far as she is concerned, she had spilled blood for power, and regardless of whether she was acting of her own volition at the time, whether she had agency in the moment, is irrelevant to her: she seeks no absolution, but willingly submits to any punishment you see fit.

And only if you play as an Inquisitor who, through prior dialogue choices, had established themselves as a devout Andrastian, can you offer her forgiveness, for a deed that was objectively not her fault- not really.

You can, in Andraste's name, forgive her- even though you, at that point, know that you have no real right to do so. That you're not Andraste's Herald, that Andraste may or may not even exist, and that you can't grant anyone "divine forgiveness", because you, yourself, don't have a drop of divinity within you. You know that you were no more than an unlucky idiot who stumbled their way into meddling with forces beyond their ken.

You know you're a fraud. You know. The game forces you to realize, as it slowly drip-drip-drips the memories knocked loose by the blast back into your head, that what all have been telling you that you are up to this point, is false. And yet, you can still choose to keep up the lie, and tell this woman who stands in front of you with blood on her hands and tears in her eyes, that you, with authority you don't have, grant her forgiveness for a crime that wasn't hers to commit.

Because it's the right thing to do. Because to lie to Ser Ruth is far kinder than anything else you could possibly do to her, short of refusing to make a decision altogether.

There are any number of criticisms of this game that I can accept (I may or may not agree depending on what it is, but I'm from the school of thought that any interpretation can be equally valid as long as there's text that supports it, and no text that contradicts it), but I will always continue to uphold that the Inquisitor is absolutely not- and never was a "chosen one".

They're just as small, and sad, and lost, as all the other protagonists- the only difference is that they didn't need to fight for their mantle, because instead of a symbol of honor, it acted as a straitjacket.

[vlarelythere]

Howdy y’all

*drops this and rides back off into the sunset*

[mr-urple]

phenomenon i've noticed about my speech

[theriverbeyond]

i would yearn for caitlyn's dungeons if im being honest. im yearning rn

[mikesbasementbeets]

+

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[kheprriverse]

Look familiar? Bounty Hunter and magic user turned Deity, Ko'jin. Later dubbed as the "Fierce Deity."

Other outfits are a wip. I was gonna wait until they were done but couldn't resist sharing what I was working on for a week.

Masterpost | Lineup | Ko-fi - More info under the cut! This one’s gonna be a pretty long one and the last half below will have the text on the image (coz tumblr’s probably gonna eat the quality) plus some notes sprinkled in.

Plus a look at the Moon Serpent, a common form Ko'jin takes. I'd like to think the Moon Serpent is more commonly known by his followers than the man himself. There are others he takes, like the Silver Wolf, but the dragon is the one most associated with him.

He's relatively unknown after the war before Skyloft's ascent, his image having been completely removed from history. The few traces of him by OOT/MM would be oral tradition, specifically through family members as bedtime stories and legends to tell. Stories about a curious serpent and a powerful artifact.

After the events of MM, the Moon Serpent becomes active again and the festivals dedicated to it return.

Text on the image + extra notes:

Ko’jin, Bounty hunter chosen by Goddess Farore.

“Ko’jin” is not his real name. Once a mortal becomes a god, they abandon their original name. He was never given a proper one again aside from nicknames by worshippers and other deities. Ko’jin is a nickname given to him by his future wife when they first met.

He wears facepaint which is mixed with magic to bolster strength and speed. And later he would get tattoos that did the same [seen later].

Before becoming a god he was a bounty hunter [and popular at that, often being the favorite of a neighboring town]. He would take commission to hunt down monsters many others refused to go near.

Ko’jin has a strong affinity for magic [he uses it practically every day] and often imbues the edges of his sword with darkness magic. Though, the element given to his sword can still vary depending on what or who he’s fighting.

His undersuit and white tunic are much more protective than the brass chainmail, which instead is used more for artistic liberty than function.

“Early Days Moon Serpent”

Ko’jin’s god form was often a dragon for the ease of guiding lost spirits to the afterlife [he’s a judgement god with a very strong connection to the dead and guiding those spirits became his secondary function].

[During the first war with Demise] Soldiers often saw this form as the “Spirit of Courage” and their protector. They worshipped him and gave him gifts in hopes that he’d watch over him [and guide them to a better afterlife if they were to fall in battle (that secondary function). He basically became a huge symbol for soldiers specifically and I feel like this would feed the “War God” title he was given way later on despite not actually being a War God.]

In many ancient artifacts [ones that could be found at least], the Moon Serpent would be as either a two-headed serpent or two separate beings with their horns crossed. [There’s going to be a lot of “two’s” with him. Two swords, two lives, etc. in depictions of him the two heads/bodies of the serpent would be called “the Body” and “the Spirit”. Later on he’s split into two to be sealed away in a similar theme. “Two lives” refers to the before and after his sealing as he loses his memory of his “past life” and becomes a new person (hence a different appearance). I can see Hylia having foresaw a lot of this tbh.]

[sapphicscholar]

Set out to watch an episode or two of Kevin Can F**k Himself.

Watched the entirety of season 1.

Oh.

I didn’t know how much I needed this show.

[karmathehalflander]

Why both Eddie and Venom are autistic and how the movies are actually a metaphor for neurodivergence

Includes some of my personal headcanons and concepts that I’ve been thinking about and need to share.

BE WARNED!!! This post is a bit long (and also a cringy, rambling, nonsensical mess) full thing under cut.

Some quick notes before we begin: when I have one of their names at the beginning of a section it means anything in that section only applies to one of them. (Idk, I couldn’t figure out how to organize this, you’ll see what I mean)

I don’t know much comic lore, all of this is based off of the movies. Though the movies are a different universe so I don’t think it will matter too much.

Also I use He/They/It pronouns for Venom.

In the end, Im just one guy with a hyper fixation please take everything I say with a grain of salt and feel free to add on or correct me about stuff. Especially if I say anything stereotypical or offensive about nurodivergance/autism a lot of this is based on some personal experience and I absolutely make mistakes and generalizations.

Alright enough of my yapping let’s get to it.

Overall big picture stuff

Applies to Both of them

the whole concept of them being “losers” together is kind of autistic coded. Autistic people are often viewed as incompetent or childish or useless. And I like to think they are connecting over that shared experience.

Noise sensitivity!!! Both of them have noise sensitivity! I probably don’t need to elaborate that much but that one scene in their apartment was some of the best overstimulation representation I’ve ever seen overstimulation guitar scene

Venom

Venom comes across as unfeeling because they don’t emote in a “normal” way.

They’re very blunt and literal.

Venom sometimes has a slightly higher-pitched voice when excited or angry. Which I’m going to attribute to him masking. He wants to appear tougher and scarier. This is important to its species and Venom, who is already perceived as weak by their peers, intentionally deepens his voice a bit to blend in. (This is definitely a headcanon but I love this concept so I don’t care that the real reason is that the voice modifier they use does silly things)

This is also why I think it’s so concerned about Eddie and him “looking bad” Looking weak was dangerous and they trained themself to hide “weakness”

It’s always “How does Venom affect people” and never “What does Venom need and how do other people’s actions affect them”

Venom prefers to express its thoughts and feelings through mental connection with its host and then have that person relay the information to whomever they are “speaking” to. Nonverbal communication!

Venom not understanding humans (social interaction, conventions, etc.) is kind of autistic coded.

Eddie

Edie kind of disregards a lot of social conventions. Still hangs out with his ex-fiancé AND her boyfriend. He also doesn’t seem to mind talking to Venom out loud.

Eddies is just kind of anxious in general.

Eddie struggles to find full time employment.

On that vein, he also struggles to maintain relationships.

Eddie's sense of justice. Eddie has a strong sense of justice and morals that often don’t align with generally accepted values and he follows this view of justice and morality to an absurd degree and it often gets him in trouble. Aka, the entire plot of the first movie is because Eddie has autism.

He wears the same clothes all the time.

Specific moments that I think about

Venom

Venom chewing on the tire swing (they both have oral stims btw)

Sand between his toes. Idk I just thought it was cute and chose to believe they like the sensation.

Say it with me. Tater tots are a safe food!!!

Venom rocks back and forth a lot.

This is a stretch but when Venom is like “look at all these weirdos, my kind of people” it’s a metaphor for him being queer but I’d argue it also kind of fits with neurodivergence. Neurodivergent people often connect with “weirdos” (other neurodivergent people)

Likes organization “Pile of bodies, pile of heads”

Eddie

I’ve been told Eddie chews on his necklace at the beginning of the movie but I can’t find the clip and can’t do a rewatch right now so take that with a grain of salt… (I chose to believe this happened though. Also his bracelets are stim heaven)

When he says “Oh, I have a parasite” to Mrs. Chen he had no clue what to say here. He just said the first thing that came to mind and panicked instead of explaining.

Also the way he says things funny. Ex: “✨It’s a treeeee✨” supa, supa, fhasstt” “Heee…. has. one. up. hi’s. Ass toooooo” “ET. Phone home. Aliens? 😃” I chose to believe they are vocal stims (I also attempted to find a compilation but I couldn’t find any. Maybe I’ll make one sometime)

Eddie also makes sound effects a lot.

Eddie writes notes on pen and paper instead of digitally.

He apologizes an excessive amount. Like he says “I’m sorry” to people actively trying to kill him. Which is so real.

“I just bit that guys head off” “I, uhhh, yea I’ve been there it’s not fun” 😕

Eddie also rocks back and forth. Which can be seen in this scene

Quick segment into why I think Venom was rejected by other Klyntar (it’s because he has autism)

Venom doesn’t adapt as quickly or as efficiently as other Klyntar. It doesn’t handle change well.

All of the normal Klyntar weaknesses are turned up to 1000 with them. Instead of just certain frequencies, the range that hurts him is larger and is also affected by loud noises. As shown by: “Venom” car alarm scene

instead of just fire, heat also bothers it. Also doesn’t adapt to light well. (Just a headcanon)

Can’t create weapons out of their body like other Klyntar. struggles with “simple” skills.

Much more emotional than other Klyntar and develop attachments (also purely a headcanon)

Just overall didn’t fit well into their society.

Just headcanons

Venom and Eddie are so compatible because their brains work the same way.

“I wish I could just mentally project my thoughts and feelings directly into your brain. Oh wait, we can do that!”

Venom also has temperature sensitivities. He gets hot.

Venom likes to stim to low key music, mainly jazz and lo-fi. Does the one song on repeat for three hours to wring all the happy chemicals out of it like a dish rag thing.

Venom also absolutely loves cheesy pop music (unrelated to anything here but I’m right and I needed to include it)

Venom functions as a weighted blanket for Eddie when he’s anxious. Maybe even hides under his shirt and stuff and becomes an extra weight.

Eddie stims with his jewelry.

Venom likes to sit in the freezer. Sometimes they visit Mrs. Chen's walk in just to chill (lol)

Purely my opinion but I think Venom also has some light sensitivity for a bit because it’s not used to being in such a bright environment. He gets used to it eventually but every once in awhile he finds the city lights overstimulating.

They are both very tactile. Touching things. Love a good texture.

Venom is super particular about food for someone who eats out the garbage but certain textures and flavors drive them crazy.

Venom hates vegetables. (Except for celery because it likes the crunchy and stringyness of it)

How all of this makes for a great metaphor!

Feeling like an alien in the world is probably the most relatable thing for a lot of nurodivergent people. Like there’s a manual for being human you don’t have. And just the concept of a literal alien showing up and struggling to navigate in a world not made for it is so relatable!

The way they both immediately connect to each other because they have the same weird brain stuff and weren’t accepted by their respective societies is so adorable and wholesome.

“We’re not so different, you and I” This line lives rent-free in my mind at all times. It’s my favorite quote. I think it perfectly encapsulates their relationship and why it’s special. They have autism and are bonding because the other is the first person who truly understands them! (Cries, screams, throws up)

In conclusion

They are in love and have autism. And they cling to each other because they are the first people to truly understand each other. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

Also I listened to UFO by Smith and Thell on loop while writing this. It’s very autistic symbrock coded so give it a listen if you’re a fan of inde-pop.

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

A big part of the reason why I’ve always been rather unconvinced by the theory that Rhaegar carefully and purposefully planned for Jon to fulfill or even be a part of tptwp prophecy is that it kinda goes completely against a very key but underrated theme in Jon’s arc: that he is an unfactored force that often comes in and completely upends the status quo. Jon has always occupied the space of a compromise candidate. Think of the Night’s Watch election. Jon was the compromise, not the main candidate. But because those who could’ve risen to the occasion were either dead, unavailable, incapable of coming to a stalemate, or unwilling to take up the job in the first place, Jon’s name was put forth. Even in him being the KiTN, Jon is the compromise after all his siblings are believed to be dead or unavailable. He’s never in consideration until the very last minute when there are no other options left. So it doesn’t make sense to say that Rhaegar ever planned for him because Rhaegar already had a perfect option: Aegon! Dany’s HOTU vision even shows us that Aegon was perfectly curated to be the promised prince, and he was even given a king’s name to set the stage for his heroic journey. Some people have tried to reason that Rhaegar knew that a child of ice and fire would be the promised prince, but there’s actually nothing in the text to suggest that he at any point stopped believing that Aegon was the prophesied savior. Unless stated in future installments, the text shows us that Rhaegar fully believed Aegon to be the main subject of the prophecy…but as we know, things changed. Rhaegar died, and Aegon died after him. So what else could Jon do but rise and become a compromise candidate, just as he’s always been?

[angelnumber27]

violently forcing myself to have better days

[castlebyersafterdark]

it's killing me not knowing what henry wants from will yet! i can just imagine the tense energy between them when they finally meet. it's such a long time coming

We talk so much about Byler this aspect often gets forgotten! Or, when talking about Henry it's the focus of "Vecna visions" and tormenting Will and Mike with each other - and, hmmm. Maybe we are surely getting some of that. But I don't think we're going to get as much of the now common fanon tropes as we thought over the last few years. I think we'll see divergence somehow from the Pennywise/Freddie Kruger style nightmare visions again, we've already done that. Some, but it's not going to rehash season 4 completely. It feels like most think Henry's going to be spending all his time playing Mike and Will off each other with constant visions and taunting and I just think Henry's got other shit going on other than playing sadistic Sims with the resident queers for his own amusement.

I'm really confused as to what Henry wants now that we have the Holly factor, to be honest. It's thrown me and I'm not sure what my theories are now with her in the mix, since we've seen Holly in that fancy dress as Henry appears to her in young, human form on set and with whatever happens in the scene in her bedroom.

Setting that aside because this is an admitted gap in my theories - I think it's safe to assume that Will is going to meet this version as well. What a waste if not!! It's so chilling for Will to learn it wasn't truly just some monster - that was a man. It's always been a man. I'm sure that's incredibly disturbing for someone like him, who he is, the things he's always been told/heard about himself. Wondering how far the implications will go in season 5. What a conversation will mean. Henry was after El's power as we saw in season 4, real time and flashbacks - but then Will comes into the picture in between. What did he see? Why was Will specifically targeted? What power does he hold that Henry wants? There's gotta be more. The whole theory of his victims becoming "part of him" and how in season one we saw Will kidnapped and held near death with the vine in season 1 - what is the plan, man???? Henry killed the others, but does his plans long term mean he's going to keep Will alive? It seemed Will was close to death in season one, and all the others were killed, but in season 2 through the possession it was very clear "Not me. Everyone else." Is Will to be a host, a new human form?

I still feel like Will can create things in ways that Henry or El cannot. I think Will is the Bridge, maybe?? That's an episode title, right? The link between the real world and the Upside Down, and Will is going to be what Henry uses to come into the real world and unleash what ever hell he plans - what is the plan? What physically is he going to do to the real world? He can mentally manipulate perceptions of reality and create mindscapes and control the monsters? Is Will going to be able to control the monsters as well? How would something like the shadow form of the Mindflayer work in the real world? Is this where it's going to appear like some giant dragon, or is there another creature entirely? What can that Vecna version even do on earth now? Blending the dimensions? My brain is a hurricane. I've read a lot of wild theory and cool, interesting analysis and part of my problem is that I don't necessarily agree with much I've seen, even if highly intriguing, but while having only vague ideas myself.

Anyway. On the specific. Need Henry monologuing and bothering Will. Need him haunting his visions. Need him taunting him as the attractive younger version of himself, getting into Will's head, making him promises and threats and doing so in such a way that it's agonizing, but it is tempting. I need Will to be conflicted and disgusted but he's so self-sacrificial that he does get close to caving to protect his loved ones, but he doesn't, but oooh, he might. Just. All over the place. And people constantly there to bring him back to the light, to valuing himself, learning the extent of how he's loved. All that great stuff. Mental battles between Will and Henry. He's tied up, mentally trying to break away but frozen in the real world. Need Will possessed again and the worst he feared happens - that he's a threat, he's a danger, he tried to do something to hurt - but everyone proves he's worth saving over and over, always. There's so much mileage we can get with this concept.

Do we remember all those scenes we got early on in filming I think at the radio station with the screaming and yelling run and how in the feature video we had the directors having Will go into a choking position? Forgot about all that until right now. Ready for it ready for it ready for it...

[yeonbam]

Rant ahead because I hate when people act like parents are having the worst time after being the ones that hurt their children because they can never "hate them".

funny because I'm pretty sure this person they say they can never hate already thinks they are hated, isolated and entirely abandoned.

I'm sorry but this scene hit at a spot so deep inside me. Joke did not go there to "argue". He went with food he cooked himself. It was a peace offering, it was an apology, it was a wish unsaid. Especially given how deep the language of cooking for someone and food goes in Asian culture, him saying "I saw you only eat instant food and made you something healthy" has so so much underlying meaning.

How can his father claim to be the older, the seemingly 'better' person of the two, when he can't notice this effort that literally lays the heart bare to just about anyone's eyes? Not even a "how are you?" straight up "what do you want?" Such a huge sign of how he has always seen his relationship with his son(s) as an exchange of sorts.

When Joke said ama made him want to live life the correct way, anyone can tell he was trying to tell his father that he was trying to live properly, that he does repent. But instead this man twists it into a classist comment, bringing back the fact that Joke will never be able to be reputable in his eyes and thus is undeserving of being his son.

His son can only be a man of 'reputable' bearings and not someone who is trying his best to help out a friend's dying family member by pulling all the difficult strings he can.

I'm just glad that between all this Joke could reconcile with his brother. I understand him trying to reconcile his father and brother as a third party, as he has seen his father's reaction to Joke, but I don't think he understands how deeply abandoned Joke feels; how much he thinks of himself as a burden to his family, and how isolated he has always been because of his lack of academic gift— the only acceptable characteristic in the family and it is probably the only thing he could not acquire.

Because given Joke's personality, I'm sure he once tried so, so hard to become that smart son his parents wanted and given his father's personality, his efforts were never recognised but instead he was criticised and made to feel unworthy of his own blood over and over again. and when you realise nothing you do can make you be loved, when you realise you can't earn affection the "right" way, why wouldn't you want to steal it? when you realise you can only be loved if you are someone you're not, wouldn't you hate yourself enough to want to take up disguises to hide into?

[the-bi-space-ace]

Heyyyyy not so positive vibes under the cut

I’m disappointed by this finale. It had its moments but overall it fell really flat for me. Not really sure what to say about it or if I even want to say anything more about it rn.

I have so many thoughts and I can’t keep any of them straight all I know is that I’m not really satisfied and I’m sad.

…..

I’ll be writing and ignoring canon if anybody needs me!

[murderofravens]

To be honest, I am starting to see alot of submissive and flustered Yuuji smutfics and it is irritating me because of how it truly misrepresents and mischaracterizes Yuuji's canon personality where he is blunt, honest, straightforward and perverted. It canonly states he "likes all girls with a big ass" with bold nonchalance that he isn't afraid to voice his desires and wants. He is very upbeat and initiates dialogue with people and has a perverted mind but is respectful about it and isn't afraid to call a girl a bitch or is having pms problems (which he did to Nobara in season 1, no offense to princess Nobara though😎❤️)

But Yuuji is down to try new things and experiment. He is a golden retriever with a heart of gold, but he is also a wolf in sheep's clothing and I remember reading Yuuji smut where he is properly characterized but a majority of the writers either deleted tumblr or are no longer active. I can see Yuuji as a pleasure dom/soft dom power top, with some switch tendencies but definitely not a full on sub. I have to most likely write to fill the void. (Ugh this is saddening. But what do you think? Do you see Yuuji as a pleasure dom or soft dom as well? Or alot more of a power dom?)

i agree with everything you said ! 😊 portraying him solely as a sub truly feels like mischaracterization for me. i do believe that in general yuuji is a pleasure dom and a soft dom, but after shibuya, and mostly in shinjuku showdown after being hardened with so much trauma and having changes in his personality (such as he's more motivated, stronger, always locked in, he didn't even blink when yuta/gojo fell to the ground) he gives me major power dom vibes. i feel like after being used as a vessel and having no control over his actions through shibuya, he definitely has more dominant tendencies and perhaps even a hunger for some sort of control. one thing i really think depicts this clearly was during mahito vs yuuji, when mahito was panicking and crawling away from him while he was calmly walking because he knew he had won, and how mahito kept throwing snowballs at him and he didn't even care, or during shinjuku showdown how he has literally not said a single word throughout the entire fight with sukuna except for wanting megumi to wake up— all these little things enforce that power is something he takes very seriously. even in fights you will never see him enjoying them, or smiling or cracking jokes in them like nobara, megumi, gojo or sukuna do. he is simply dedicated to fighting, and i think it would bleed into his sexual life as well.

yuuji has been shown to be blunt, straightforward, he doesn't lie because he sees no reason to, he's gambled, been in pachinko parlours and had girls swoon over him and had posters of girls on his walls all the same. and i dont like how people try to push this agenda of him being some innocent stuttering mess when he is so very clearly confident and smart and learns things so easily. it irks me a lot.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Loki's malice is very rarely geared towards Thor because Thor outranks him. Only under extenuating circumstances he targets Thor. He has no qualms in lives lost as collateral to achieve his goals and this is established early with the dead guards that no one seems to give a fuck about in that scene.

An interesting example of this is that in T1, he doesn't even verbally threaten Thor when he's trying to get him to fight him. His words to Thor are an unheeded order of "FIGHT ME!" He threatens Jane! And whenever he does antagonize Thor, it's usually with lies or omissions to keep Thor from acquiring more power or coming back. And there's an undercurrent of appeasement in Loki's actions.

He never threatens him directly, and it's interesting to think about in their dynamic. The exception being the wordless slap while inside the Destroyer and he's having a mental breakdown (extenuating circumstances). I'd also note that when Loki slaps him, Loki has acquired power and Thor has lost his, that he soon regains.

[volfoss]

i think honestly what irritates me about yoshidas work SO much is that people will tell you that banana fish is THE gay manga (ignoring the many things that came before it and were more groundbreaking, ie MW literally having on screen (or like. on panel but still.) gay sex in it and that came out like a decade before BF did) when there really isn't barely any gay rep outside of the pedophiles and the one time ash drops the f slur. like im sorry but somehow yasha, a work she wrote in 1996, has more gay rep in it but also has the same issues.

i truly do not get how people can enjoy banana fish with the rampant racism every 2 pages or the rampant sexual assault plotlines (on women and ash bc he is just... written like how yoshida writes women lmao) that are handled IMPOSSIBLY bad and sincerely i hoped yasha would be better because it had been like a decade or so between works. and then it proceeds to continue with the heres our blonde genius protagonist who everyone is weird as fuck to and will sexually harrass and everyone finds it a VERY funny joke to point out how feminine he is when theres barely any women in the work (if you exclude the ones that are being raped/killed/creepy to minors. which to be fair yasha has toned down the sa a LOT) and that its funny that hes kind of gay except not really!! and its just absurd to me how it just persists in all of her stuff because she is not an author that handles gay stuff well. like the scene in banana fish where ash is completely ok getting gang raped and did it solely to get into the hospital when its been SHOWN that he has a lot of trauma with that. and then right after his friend makes a joke at ash's expense about that. like sincerely and genuinely is this what we are hyping up as the old retro gay manga. go read some tezuka and stop reading shit that the most the main characters do is share a kiss in a nonromantic sense and is obsessed w making every gay person be evil!!