#meta discussion on romantic tropes

[percheduphere]

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHO LOKI CHOOSES

I've previously discussed romantic tropes in the Loki series in my meta here. This meta supports the former by counting each of Loki's decisions with each of Loki's love interests (Sylvie and Mobius) and where those decisions occur in the progression of the overall story of S1 and S2 combined. The end of S1 is the midpoint of the whole story. Bear this in mind as I track how Loki's decision-making shifts. You can even choose to view Loki's decision-making with respect to Mobius as platonic if you want. It doesn't change the plot, count, or character development.

I have to give Sylvie attention and credit where it is due. To not do so would not only ignore her legitimate importance in the series and Loki's development, but it would also undermine my own credibility as an essayist. Feel free to comment, but here are my ground rules: no hate and no yucking other people's yum.

S1E1: Loki chooses himself. We could make the argument Loki chooses to trust Mobius here, but I don't think we see Loki start to like Mobius as a person until S1E2.

S1E2: Loki straddles between choosing himself and choosing to help Mobius because he actually wants to. It helps that the latter serves self-preservation. Loki most obviously chooses himself when he bullshits Mobius at the RenFaire. His choice is more gray when proposing the apocalypse theory. To be conservative, I won't count this in Mobius's favor. However, I feel fairly confident Loki chooses to help Mobius (1) sift through the possible apocalypses because of this genuine reaction:

Loki is starved for praise. He's a centuries-old god for goodness sakes.

When a third option presents itself at Roxxcart, Loki chooses himself and Sylvie (1).

S1E3: Loki chooses to: 1.) help Sylvie through "attempting diplomacy" with the widow (2), 2.) help Sylvie with his "shit plan" disguise (3), 3.) be vulnerable with Sylvie on the train (4), 4.) sing Sylvie a song (5), 5.) help Sylvie get to the arc (6).

S1E4: Loki chooses to comfort Sylvie by holding her hand; their feelings for each other trigger a giant Nexus Event (7). Loki chooses to tell Mobius the truth about the TVA; if he didn't care about Mobius, he would have withheld this information (2). Loki chooses to trust Mobius (3). Loki chooses to reciprocate Mobius’s feelings of friendship (4). Loki chooses, with Mobius, to find and rescue Sylvie (8). Loki chooses to combat Renslayer with Sylvie (9). Loki chooses to confront the Timekeepers with Sylvie and gets pruned (10).

S1E5: Loki chooses to share a blanket with Sylvie (11). Loki chooses to stay in the Void and follow Sylvie to the end of time, "Where you go, I go" (12). Loki chooses to hug Mobius (5). Loki chooses to trust Sylvie's insistence that he intrinsically knows how to enchant (13).

S1E6 (THE MIDPOINT): The confrontation with HWR is tricky. Loki chooses to slow down and think about the consequences because he's learned the value of slowing down and thinking from Mobius (6). Loki chooses to kiss Sylvie back (I realize this is debatable for many Lokius fans, but I'm not going to argue this; 14)

S2 NOTES: For the sake of my own sanity, I am not counting Loki's unconscious and conscious timeslipping. You can refer to the counts for that in my meta here. I will also not be counting the near-infinite number of loops Loki refuses to kill Sylvie for "the good of the multiverse."

S2E1: Loki chooses to seek out Mobius for help (7). Loki chooses to be vulnerable with Mobius in the hallway (8). Loki chooses to trust Mobius's judgment that they only have one shot at stopping the timeslipping (9).

S2E2: Loki chooses to protect Mobius from Brad (10). Loki chooses to help Mobius reverse-engineer Brad's TemPad (11). Loki chooses to comfort Mobius in the pie automat (12). Loki chooses to follow Mobius's intimidation plan for Brad (13). Loki chooses to convince Sylvie to join his and the TVA's cause (Sylvie declines #1; 15). Loki chooses to hold hands with Sylvie to combine their blast power (16). Loki chooses to follow Mobius back to the TVA (14). Loki chooses to ask Sylvie to stay and help (Sylvie declines #2; 17). Loki chooses to comfort Mobius in the Control Room (15).

S2E3: Loki chooses to humor Mobius's sightseeing (16). Loki chooses to try cracker jack (and hates it; 17). Loki chooses to prioritize the Loom per Mobius’s advisement (18). Loki chooses to give into Mobius's tandem bike request (19). Loki chooses to plead with Sylvie to spare Timely and asks for her help (NOTE: this is Loki's 3rd request; writers love the significance of threes and Sylvie turns Loki down all three times; 18).

S2E4: Loki chooses to defend Mobius in the Pie Automat (20). Loki chooses to compare (through implication) Thor's relationship with Jane with his relationship with Mobius (21). Loki chooses to use this same comparison to assure Sylvie that her mercy on Timely was an act of mercy for all people on all timelines (19).

S2E5: Loki chooses to look for Mobius in the Pie Automat (22). Loki chooses to look for Mobius in the Control Room (23). Loki chooses to recruit Mobius (24). Loki chooses to quote Mobius's "form and function" to Don (25), Loki chooses to help Mobius through the time door (26). Loki chooses to promise Don (Mobius) that he can return him to any point in time (27). Loki chooses to recruit Sylvie (20; she turns him down a 4th time). Loki chooses to argue with Sylvie that Mobius should have a choice (28). Loki chooses to listen to Sylvie that his friends are better off without the TVA (21). Loki chooses to let Don go for Mobius’s own good (29). Loki chooses to control timeslipping upon hearing Sylvie say "Do you think what makes a Loki a Loki is that we're destined to lose?" (22). Loki chooses to rewrite the story to save Sylvie and Mobius (23 / 30, respectively).

S2E6: Loki chooses to reenact all of Mobius's small gestures of kindness even though they cost precious time: he chooses to hold Victor's glasses (31), he chooses to compliment OB's "not to scale" model (32), he chooses to recite an abbreviated version of his and Mobius's bickering over "who's in the suit?" (33), he chooses to finish Mobius's joke about taking OB's job (34). He chooses to seek out Past Mobius for guidance and comfort (35). He chooses to shake Mobius's hand (36). He chooses to talk Sylvie out of killing HWR (24). He chooses to sacrifice himself to save Sylvie and Mobius (25 / 37, respectively). He chooses to listen (and watch?) to Mobius say, "Let time pass" (38).

Loki chooses Sylvie: 25

Loki chooses Mobius: 38

If I missed any decision points for either Sylvie or Mobius, let me know and I'll update the meta and counts accordingly.

Ultimately, Loki's sacrifice is for BOTH Mobius AND Sylvie. BOTH ships are important to the narrative and Loki. However, between the two of them, there is only one person who has consistently chosen Loki since S1E1, never rejected Loki and his requests for help, and who has, in turn, unknowingly been chosen by Loki in kind. Need a meta for Mobius’s decision-making? Here it is.

#loki #mobius #lokius #loki season 2 #loki series #loki meta #my meta #loki analysis #my analysis #sylvie

[willowgifsdaily]

WELCOME TO WILLOWMONTH2023 The first event hosted by willowgifsdaily and for our first event, we decided to do something a bit different and create a month long event, spanning from July 3rd - 30th and consisting of a total of 12 prompts.

Week 1: July 3 - 9

Day 1: Favourite Character Day 2: Favourite Relationship (Romantic / Friendship / Family) Day 3: TV Show (Whole Season / Specific Episode) or Movie

Week 2: July 10 - 16

Day 4: Favourite Quote Day 5: Favourite Story Arc / Character Development Day 6: Favourite Scene

Week 3: July 17 - 23

Day 7: Musical Number (Song/Score) Day 8: Parallels / Foreshadowing   Day 9: Location / Scenery

Week 4: July 24 - 30

Day 10: Tropes Day 11: Cast Member/s Day 12: Free Choice

RULES

Please tag all posts for the event with: #willowmonth2023

We will still be keeping an eye on the tags #willow 2022, #willow 1988 & #willowedit but for the sake of this event and if you can, please use #willowmonth2023.

This event pertains to everything Willow related: 1988 movie, 2022 show, documentary, books etc.

We want this event to be for everyone and for everyone to be able to participate so we'll be accepting all fandom content: gifsets / fanart / picspam / moodboards / aesthetics / fanfic / meta analysis / discussion etc.

The days themselves and each prompt are not relegated to specific dates during the course of the week/s.

please be sure to include willowmonth2023 somewhere on the post.

If you have any questions, feel free to send any in.

Little Note: This event had already been planned before the announcement that Disney would be removing Willow (2022) and the 'Making of Willow' documentary from streaming services but with that in mind especially now, we at willowgifsdaily thought this event would be the perfect opportunity to bring the fandom together again and a way for us to celebrate Willow and how much it means to all of us.

#willow 2022 #willow 1988 #willowmonth2023 #tuserdee #tuserhan #userjack #usersem #usersavana #userelysia #userrainbow #userrobin #underbetelgeuse #userteri #userhella #userhannah #usermimsi #usertreena #usersugar #tusernicky #useradie

[orionsangel86]

I have been doing this meta analysis thing for a long time now and one thing that I have always tried to make clear in meta analysis is that for it to be taken seriously you must keep your personal biases out of it. You must come at it as objective as possible.

Rant under the cut

Its not always easy to do when you are dealing with difficult topics, or shining unfavourable lights on characters you love, or coming to conclusions that you werent expecting (recent meta discussions about Morpheus in the Sandman comics would fall into these categories).

What meta analysis should never be used for is to back up ship wars or specifically to shame fandoms for liking certain characters. If the meta isnt providing valid evidence to support the interpretations, and instead has fallen into name calling and mockery of fandom, its no longer valid meta.

I got this ALL the time in SPN fandom. Destiel was a huge fandom but as meta writers we stuck with what we were given by the source material and interpreted it with valid evidence. We understood that multiple interpretations were possible but we made sure that whatever we were analysing made sense and had some source backing. This wasnt always the case because meta writers are not a monolith, but the bigger blogs who wrote meta frequently at least understood this and would not be stretching to support their own claims if canon didnt back it up. Now no one is perfect of course, but the point is, proper meta writers understand that where they make a claim or interpretation of the source material, they have to site examples and evidence to back up their claims and also take into consideration any evidence to the contrary.

The people who hated destiel and made that their entire personalities didnt do that so much. I read a lot of their meta out of curiosity and every time I was baffled by where they were getting their claims. 'Destiel is necrophilia" was a big one which canon disproved almost straight away in season 5. "Destiel is rape" was another because Cas was using Jimmy as a vessel and yet canon confirmed Jimmy died at the end of season 4. Cas' body was remade by God in season 5 and has remained his own ever since. These are just two of the ridiculous examples supposed "meta writers" among the destiel hater communities would come up with and still use today.

I find it extremely infuriating when I see character/ship hate loosely disguised as meta analysis. I can give people the benefit of the doubt a lot of the time, as fandoms are usually highly emotional spaces, but when there is zero canon evidence to support the claims, when connections are being made on the absolute thinnest of threads, and when far more obvious interpretations are being clearly ignored to support certain viewpoints in such a stunningly obvious case of confirmation bias I have to throw in the towel and stop taking said meta seriously.

One thing I have loved about Sandman fandom so far is the meta. It's such a rich text to analyse, and the show adds an entirely new level to it which makes it all the more enjoyable. I've made no secret of my support for Dreamling and I wrote a very long meta series on Dreamling and how the show in particular uses certain tropes, symbolism, visual storytelling cues, and music, to name a few, to overload a 25 minute sequence with queer coding. It is completely understandable to me why anyone going into the show even without thinking about shipping, would feel like Dreamling hit them like a brick to the face. The creators weren't subtle with it.

Its also totally valid to find romantic interpretations of other pairings within the Sandman. I personally think Morpheus x Johanna was laid on pretty thickly. Morpheus x Lucienne is equally an interesting ship to analyse. But heres the thing, if you ship these other ships and are frustrated that Dreamling has "taken over" thats valid. I get it. I would like more focus on the other characters too. I would particularly like to talk about Lucienne x Gault and have a meta piece in progress about them.

Whats not okay however is for other shippers and people frustrated with Dreamling to go the way of the Destiel antis. Dont make shit up that has no basis in canon just because you need some moral high ground to shit all over the ship you hate. Don't call fans that see Dreamling "deluded" for seeing it. They aren't deluded. It's right there in the subtext. Dont resort to name calling and "gotchas" and use inflammatory language to bait people. And please, I'm begging you, stop claiming that people who ship Dreamling are somehow all overly fragile white racists. You're wrong.

The racism discussions about Hob's past have their place, but these things ARE being discussed, if anything I feel this fandom has done a far better job of handling the issues of slavery than another popular fandom has (looking at you OFMD). No one is forgiving Hob for his slaver past. But you have to acknowledge that the entire point of the story in The Sandman is about change, and growth, and how we can become better people. As another excellent short meta post stated recently "we are more than the sum of our transgressions". The Sandman is all about the shades of grey. No one is morally righteous, but most characters are not completely morally bankrupt either.

Hob Gadling is a controversial character who is often misunderstood by fandom but anyone with proper critical thinking skills and a decent understanding of what meta analysis is, should understand that Hob is a metaphor for humanity first and foremost. He is the average everyman from the perspective of an Englishman and therefore above all else to understand Hob you have to look to England, to Englands history, and to its current status in the world. A lot of blood on its hands yes, but also at least a century of trying to make up for it, a leader in the world in human rights and trying to do better. I have to believe that about this country, so I believe it about Hob too. Whilst I'm not interesting in getting into huge geopolitical debates about England, I hope that we can all agree that the average Englishman today is not a blood thirsty evil slaver/rapist/murderer or whatever else ive seen people accuse Hob of being even in his modern era.

We can argue the faults of the show downplaying slavery for sure. Its a valid criticsm. We can argue that not enough time was given in the show to show that Hob had changed and regretted his former actions. We can critique these things based on what the show has and has not told us, and also pepper in information provided in the comics and what we know about future Hob panels as well.

But when it comes to the blank spaces in between frames, in between cut screens, we can do whatever we like. Because that is where meta analysis ends and fanfiction begins. You wanna write about Hob joining the abolitionist movement and fighting hard to end slavery? You can. You wanna write about him ignoring Dreams advice and continuing to be a brutal slaver right up until slavery was ended in England sure, you go for it. But don't call either of these "headcanons" meta analysis.

Dont use meta analysis as a cover to shit on fandom. The minute you resort to name calling and mockery its no longer meta. No matter how frustrated or upset you are with the current fandom situation. There is always space to criticise fandom. But ask yourself what your end goal is here? What are you trying to achieve? Is it truly because you are on a righteous path to end fandom racism? Or do you just really hate a popular ship and want people to stop shipping it? If it's the former, then focus on that, ask what solutions we can put in place? Where we can truly tackle it on a larger scale, raising awareness of things that people may not realise are racist but are common tropes in fandom (like how making female characters all mothers or sassy gay best friends is misogynistic or how certain stereotypes in fantasy creatures are anti semitic) but if its the latter, then its disingenuous to use racism in fandom as a shield to hide your ship hate. It reduces an important topic to something shallow and irrelevant.

In ending this rant I will just say this. I'm not interested in engaging further on this topic. I'm legit gonna start blocking if anyone attempts to twist my words here. The civil discussions on this matter ended when people started name calling and flinging around accusations without basis. I am more than happy to engage separately in ways to improve fandom spaces for poc, because thats important, but ship hating has no place in that discussion. Drop that aspect, and there'll be less resistance in these topics.

#rant #fandom discourse #the hob gadling matter

[starlight-bread-blog]

Why Lokius Should Have Been Canon

This is a sort of combo of two metas that didn't quite get point my across. Some parts will be copied directly, but there's a lot of original content. I will discuss the ship between Loki and Mobius, their place in the show, and the MCU at large. My focus for this meta won't be parallels or motifs, because these things border on well-written friendships. But there will be some of that.

Romance in the MCU

There are a lot of straight couples in the MCU. (Almost) Every main hero is in some heterosexual relationship, Loki included.

(That's not all, not remotely).

But in the LGBTQ+ department... uh.. I think it was mentioned that Valkyrie had a girlfriend... uh... America Chavez had a pride pin... and Loki:

One line. Queer experiences are never a focal point of a show/movie the same way heterosexual experiences are. And that needs to change.

Romance In the Show

Wrong, toxic, or unsuccessfu romantic love is a recurring theme in the show.

Sylki

Sylki was an icky relationship right off the bat. They are the same person. I can't find the post at the moment, but someone has pointed out in their post that them being the same person is referenced in every episode in season 1 (edit: here it is), which is when the romance took place. This made their romance uncomfortable for many viewers.

(Some consider Sylki a toxic relationship, but for this post, the topic is too large to handle with the nuance I'd like to handle it with).

When he's drunk, Loki compares love to a dagger, stating that it hurts you, but when you try to find strength in it, it's not real.

Which is exactly what happens. Sylvie pushes Loki into a portal and they never get back together.

The Love Triangle

In 02×03, Ravonna Renslayer is infatuated with Victor Timely, but he leaves her behind and betrays her when Miss Minutes told him to. One episode later, we discover that they were indeed an item, and established the TVA together. He Who Remains deleted her memories and they never rekindle their love.

Later in the episode, is the best example of "wrong" romance in the show. Miss Minutes, the AI clock, confesses her love to Viktor Timely. He, obviously, freaks out and shuts her off. Nothing ever comes of this.

Brad and Dox

This one is small, but a big indication to romance being a theme. In 02×01, we're shown this:

The gap in the age of the actors is uncomfortable, and a character in universe has this reaction to it. It is never mentioned again.

So what does all of this leave us with? Not much. None of this properly ties to the finale, or anything really. If I were to write the show I would cut a lot of this out, since it serves no purpose. But it does make you keep romance and its shortcomings in mind. The writers want it to be there, in the back of your head.

Loki and Mobius

Finally! I got to talk about them. The two people in question. First things first, who are they, together? They became really supportive, close friends.

Fans even drew parallels to Chaos & Order, which is a very important theme in Loki. But I'm not here to unpack them. These things don't necessarily make them in love. So what does make them in love? I'll present you my evidence, and you ask yourself,

Would it be valid to suggest romantic implications if a man and a women are:

1) Extremely thouchy with each other.

2) Riding on a tandem bike together.

3) Willing to suffer a fate worst than death for another.

4) Falling on each other after that^

5) Literally the Interrupted Declaration of Love trope. (Ex)

6) Being framed in a circle.

7) Waiting & giving permission to attack.

8) Fixing themselvs before seeing the other.

Of course yes. Maybe you think some of these are a strech, but ultimately, people would point out romantic connotations across the board. And I'm here, pointing them out right now. Some scenes between Loki and Mobius have romantic implications.

Conclusion

Loki is a queer protagonist in the MCU, a universe that lacks representation of queer experiences. His show constantlty reminded us of romance, sometimes for seemigly no reason. In the second season, they wrote him and his best friend with romantic implications. And then, nothing. It should not have been nothing. Lokius should have been canon.

#loki series #anti sylki #antisylki #lokius meta #lokius gif #lokius #loki x mobius #mobius x loki #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki #loki season 2 #loki s2 #loki spoilers #loki 2 #anti loki series #anti loki show #loki series criticism #loki series critical #loki and mobius #mobius mcu #mobius marvel #mobius m mobius #tom hiddleston #tom hiddelston loki #owen wilson #marvel mcu #mcu loki #lgbt #queer

[super-paper]

Truly Yours: A Defense of "Iron Might"

"My dear, In the midst of hate, I found within me an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found within me an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found within me an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that… In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better – pushing right back "

Disclaimer: The above quote is famously misattributed to Camus-- who seemingly only wrote the midst of winter/invincible summer portion of the original piece-- and the author of the expanded quote remains unknown. Nevertheless, it fits Toshi's character perfectly.

Iron Might remains a polarizing love-or-hate-it topic within the fandom, with many fans expressing their concerns that it ruins Toshinori's character/arc. It's no secret that I fall pretty firmly on the "love" side of camp-- and as is the case with all things I love, I can't love quietly or in moderation. So here's another really really really long post on all the reasons why I love it, and why I don't feel that this was character assassination in the slightest.

Breaking the key points down, I aim to discuss:

A) How Iron Might acts as a sort of resolution to Toshi's complex relationship with his body and injuries, and reconciles the divide between Toshinori's body and soul.

B) How Iron Might embodies MHA's definition of "love" and acts as a love letter to everything Toshinori wants to protect and everything he's ever wanted to protect. Iron Might is not meant to be read as a suicide mission, but as Toshinori weaponizing the joy of living as "Yagi Toshinori" and pitting the weight of his entire existence against AFO.

C) How Iron Might further cements MHA as "meta-fiction" through discussion of what being "quirkless" means on a narrative level + the dismantling of popular but overdone tropes that people have come to expect in comics. Toshi is also fighting for his right to exist in a battle manga against a toxic comic nerd who thinks that Toshi's role ended in Kamino and that he contributes more to the story by dying.

D) How Iron Might functions as a narrative device (i.e. It gets Toshinori to Izuku and Tomura). This is the battlefield where Toshi's character was always destined to end up because this is where all his unfinished business is at. Simple as!

"The body and mind are two halves of a whole" Iron Might as Toshinori coming to terms with his injuries and his body:

Kicking things off with this point bc I feel like... understanding how Toshi's relationship and struggles with his own body have been a major part of his character arc is something that's, like, absolutely essential when it comes to getting an accurate read on what Iron Might means to Toshi's character. Iron Might ultimately functions as a reconciliation between Toshinori's wounded body and heroic soul, so it's a bit sad to see people repeatedly dismissing it as "ruining Toshinori's character arc" without ever taking Toshi's relationship with his own body into consideration. Like, this is not some "insignificant" part of his arc that's being prioritized over everything else:

A collection of very relevant panels! Side note: Tsukauchi fumbling the toshibowl so hard that Toshi's car seems like the better romantic choice in comparison will never stop being funny. Aiba ur the only person in that control room i respect btw.

For the longest time Toshinori has viewed his emaciated, ill body as something pathetic and shameful. His body was something he felt that he *had* to hide from the world, in order to maintain the illusion of being a hero who could never possibly succumb to evil. His injuries and the state of his body cleaved his identity/self-perception in two-- he begins the series treating his actual body as the "secret identity" instead of his authentic self. The story doesn't spoonfeed this to the readers because it expects its readers to have enough empathy to put two-and-two together on their own-- That Toshi doesn't simply struggle with the loss of OFA & "All Might/heroism" in the aftermath of Kamino, but also the loss of what he felt was his "true" body.

Toshinori is very easily read as someone who suffers from intense body dysmorphia-- and him forcibly changing himself back into his muscular form over and over again can also quite easily be read as Toshi attempting to cling to whatever time he has left with the body that doesn't make him feel like a stranger in his own skin. It's him holding onto the self he views as "actually him" for as long as he can.

Toshi's arc is something that resonates with a lot of people who have disabilities or suffer from dysphoria-- So it's frustrating when some fans decide to take the least gracious interpretation of his character and issues and run with it, instead attempting to frame Toshi as some washed up attention seeker who ~simply can't let go of his glory days~. Toshi's character has been hit with a lot of ableism both in-universe and out of it, with the fandom only really acknowledging that he's a disabled man when it conveniences them and otherwise disregarding how this aspect of him plays a major role in his arc.

Iron Might is built to specifically resemble Toshi's "ideal" body-- to the bitter cynics, this supports their idea that Toshi is unable to let go of "All Might" and hasn't learned to value himself or his life as Yagi Toshinori. To those who understand what Toshi's been going through and understand that his arc was never *just* about "living," though, it's a different story altogether. So much of Iron Might symbolizes Toshinori coming to terms with the fact that he is a disabled man, accepting that there was never anything shameful about this, accepting that it never needed to be "hidden away" for him to be a hero-- and ultimately, accepting that his body is 100% him and an undeniable aspect of what makes him a hero, no matter how injured.

"Who's that skinny guy?" KID, LET ME TELL YOU A STORY.

There is a noticeable shift in Toshi's relationship with his body during Act 3-- We go from practically begging that Toshi's true form not be exposed to the public during Kamino, to Toshi encouraging that this fight be broadcast to the world. In the aftermath of Kamino and after losing the last embers of OFA, we still see Toshi forcibly shifting into his muscle form multiple times whenever he wants to "reassure" others, even though this process obviously hurts him:

The implications behind this are obvious: Toshi is not coping with the loss of his body as well as he lets on, and all those implications finally come to a painful head during the dark hero arc.

During his meeting with Stain, Stain outright refuses to recognize Toshi's "Muscle form" as "All Might" and instead makes it clear that it was Toshi's heroic soul that earned him the right to call himself a "true hero"--and that this "soul" still exists in everyone Toshi has ever saved. It never went away. The embers of OFA might have vanished, but the flames of Toshi's own heroism remain all around him-- they keep him warm and allow him to keep shining.

Toshi begins to accept his own body for the first time after his meeting with Stain-- we see him starting to reassure his friends as his authentic self instead of scrambling to shift back into his muscle form. During his last stand against AFO, he boldly shows the world his injured back, and wordlessly asks that they still express their faith in it and feel protected by it. His injuries are a part of him and his lived reality, and they're part of what makes him a human.

"--Because a hero's back exists to reassure others!"

Toshinori's body itself is ultimately included among his blessings that he weaponizes against AFO: his bonds, his origin, and his body-- no matter how badly injured it may be-- are all what defines him as a hero. Even if his back is no longer "broad," it will always be something that reminds others that "he is here."

During this fight, Toshinori reconciles his fractured identity by finally embracing all the aspects of himself that he'd previously grown distant from. Reflecting on the life he's led as Yagi Toshinori-- the life he led before he ever became "All Might" and the life he led after receiving his injuries and losing OFA-- is what gives him the strength to laugh in AFO's face, and it's what causes the light to finally return to his eyes. In the midst of a battle between life and death, we witness Toshinori being reborn.

He fully embraces his humanity during this fight, and then weaponizes that humanity against AFO (and considering AFO's character/how AFO is constantly attempting to escape his own humanity... it's pr delightful to see him getting his shit wrecked by another "god" who fell to earth and was forced to live his as a mortal, but ultimately realized that he loved it).

The battle ends with "All Might's" iconic shading now being used for Toshi's true form-- symbolizing the reconciliation between Toshi's heroic soul and his wounded but nevertheless heroic body.

As an aside: I also feel the context surrounding Iron Might/Toshi's body touches on MHA's theme of "consent versus nonconsent" as something that separates true heroes from true villains (starting from AFO forcing a quirk on Yoichi, cumulating with Toshi offering Izuku OFA and later making it clear that the quirk requires Izuku's explicit consent to be passed on-- OFA being born from an act of utter violation and then turned into something that explicitly requires consent always been one of my favorite aspects of MHA's lore, but I digress). During Kamino, AFO forcibly exposed Toshi's body to the world in an effort to completely humiliate him and destroy the public's image of him. Now, Toshi taking his power back and exposing his true form to the world entirely on his own terms.

"All that I've been blessed with will bear its weight against you!"-- or, Iron Might as a love letter.

I've talked on this point a lot bc it's what enamored me immediately with this fight (which is really about the depth of Toshinori's love and the love others have for him and his willingness to BE loved by others -versus- a man who takes advantage of the love others have for him and is utterly unable to leave his fragile heart at the mercy of others out of fear of ppl perceiving him), so I'll try to keep it brief:

Iron Might embodies the essence of how MHA defines love (love is admiration, love is imitation, love is seeing/watching, etc) while also acting as Toshinori's love letter to everything he wants to protect (himself and his life as "Yagi Toshinori" included). It also embodies the essence of how MHA defines true heroism (those who have been blessed should use their blessings for those who have not been blessed, those who can still act must act, etc etc etc ).

Toshi would not have been able to pull off Class 1A's moves or found the best way to integrate them into a cohesive fighting style without love as imitation/watching/admiration. (again, versus AFO, who at this point just randomly fires off powerful quirks without any actual respect for how the quirks work or how they can support each other, & who doesn't admire his own student beyond his capacity for rage).

This battle is a celebration of the bonds Toshi has allowed himself to form. It's him using everything he's ever been given and everything he's ever been blessed with to fight against a man who only knows how to take things away. Toshi has learned that OFA was never what made him a hero, that he can live without OFA-- and he's pitting the weight of that life against a man who is convinced that OFA is everything, who can't move on from it, and who has built his entire existence around getting it back. AFO wins the physical battle, sure, but Toshi remains the clear winner in the war of existences.

"This story is still being written, Toshinori."

Another aside: Names are everything in MHA, and that's especially true in the final act. MHA treats names like incantations, and “Do your best, Toshinori!” is the magic spell Toshi is using to motivate himself. Hori frequently uses how a person chooses to refer to themselves during key scenes as a way of emphasizing a person's mental state. From this, we can deduce that Toshi doesn't view this fight as All Might vs. AFO-- he views this fight as Toshinori vs. AFO.

Toshinori has weaponized his blessings and bonds and is now hitting back at AFO with the full weight of his complete existence. In this fight, he carves the joy of living-- of being Yagi Toshinori-- into AFO's barren, empty soul. Every scene he flashes back to is a scene of the life he has lived as Toshinori, not as All Might. This fight, just like the rest of the war, is all about "love" in all its various forms. AFO's abuse of love (both of his own deeply hidden love and of the love others have for him) is why he cannot win in a war where love is the essential element-- love is what keeps motivating everyone in this war to keep getting up, to keep struggling, to keep reaching out, etc etc etc.

Moving on.

"I'm quirkless. Born without a role." or, Iron Might as an act of defiance against both the narrative and the expectations of the 'battle manga' genre.

MHA being an example of stealth meta-fiction is something I've talked about before, particularly so with these two posts (plus... basically any post about our favorite cringefail LARPer, AFO).

Horikoshi takes full advantage of the medium/the fact that MHA is a manga and uses every tool that's available to both tell and enhance the story, and these chapters have cemented him as someone who has mastered his craft-- The decision to draw Toshi's true self with thick/bold lines after his armor breaks, the dark shadows finally leaving his eyes, Toshi consistently referring to himself by his own name instead of his hero name, the chapter titles, the backgrounds, etc etc etc all of it. Absolutely everything has meaning.

Through Iron Might, we once again delve into how the series chooses to define "quirklessness"-- the idea that quirklessness is meant to be a disability allegory gets more or less debunked (thankfully, since MHA already has a fairly good track record with depicting ACTUAL mental and physical illnesses/disabilities), with the narrative instead framing the possession of a quirk as something that determines what "role" a person gets in life. The implication being that not having a quirk means you don't get a role, period. You don't get to shine brightly on stage, you don't even get to be an "extra." This fits into the previously established idea that society's biases against "villainous quirks" basically railroad a lot of people onto the path of villainy (plus, the treatment of heroes/villains as fictional characters by the masses instead of viewing them as actual people). But, quirks are just quirks-- they're neither good or evil, and they aren't what determine whether a person is a hero or a villain. And as such, having or not having a quirk isn't what determines whether or not someone is truly a hero.

Toshinori is now defying the narrative that states that not having a quirk means you don't get a role. At the same time, he stands up against AFO-- our resident toxic comic book fanboy who sincerely believes Toshi should have picked Kamino as the best time to "bow out" (read: die) as a character-- who spews all sorts of vile things about the state of Toshi's body and how this is the primary reason why Toshi has no place in the story. The satire practically writes itself.

Like so many other characters, Toshinori uses the "role" of All Might as a coping mechanism for much of the series. As already stated, there is a disconnect between Toshinori's body and his soul--Toshi begins to use All Might as a mask to hide his feelings, his fears, and his humanity from the rest of the world. The series draws attention to the fact that the people forgot about the heart and soul--that is, the person-- behind All Might and started treating him like a character instead of a real person, and it's made clear that Toshinori forgot, too.

AFO is still trying to hide his true self in the role of the demon king, but Toshinori is no longer trying to hide himself behind All Might. AFO thinks Toshinori should have died in Kamino because that's where his "role" as a "character" ended, but Toshinori refuses that end. Both men find their origins in fiction (AFO from captain hero, Toshinori from Anpanman) but only Toshi has managed to reconcile his identity, break free of the story, and meet AFO head on as a human instead of a character. AFO is still hiding and refusing to engage with this story as a real person.

Toshi's overshadowed eyes are also heavily implied to be a side effect of him completely losing himself in the role of "All Might," rather than merely being the result of the injury he got from AFO-- we see that his eyes were already overshadowed long before he ever received his fateful injury, and the emphasis on shadowed eyes is also a design quirk that ties him to AFO (whose eyes were constantly hidden by shadows bc he was constantly LARPing as a demon lord instead of being authentic-- To drive this bit of visual story telling home, Hori emphasizes AFO's eyes whenever the "demon king" mask starts to slip and we start seeing peeks of what an utter sad sap of a person AFO is beneath the mask). It's a clever bit of show-don't-tell and another testament to Hori's art direction. Eyes are forever the window to the heart and soul in MHA, and Toshi reconnecting with his heart and soul-- with what defines him as a person-- is what finally causes the light to return to his eyes. The mask is fully off.

"Midoriya Izuku and Yagi Toshinori ~ Midoriya Izuku and Shigaraki Tomura ~ Shigaraki Tomura and....?"-- Or, Iron Might as a Narrative Tool.

(reminds u that the pivotal/trajectory changing chapters known as 304 and 305 were titled "Midoriya Izuku and Yagi Toshinori" and "Midoriya Izuku and Tomura Shigaraki". These three are the key!)

Changing gears for a sec and speaking purely from a writer's perspective: Iron Might simply couldn't have been included at Gunga and Toshi simply couldn't have remained locked up in a surveillance room for the entirety of the final battle-- because Toshinori's final destination as a character was always supposed to be the Izuku and Tomura fight. That's where his role as a character was always supposed to reach fruition and find his resolution:

"--I want to save that little boy!"

Aura!Might shedding tears when he realizes that Izuku wants to save Tomura and that Izuku has redefined OFA as something that exists to save is one of those underrated character moments that deserves more attention, because it's like. Everything. One of the most important scenes in the series by a large margin.

Izuku's declaration tells us everything we need to know about the trajectory of the series. Aura!Might crying in response to that declaration gives us everything we need to anticipate where his character is heading and to understand why Toshi's arc isn't over until he finally reconciles his business/regrets with Tomura & OFA/Nana.

it's heavily implied that real!Toshi was crying, too, after he felt what vestige!Izuku said. His eyes are hidden, but we see him briefly wiping his tears away. (and this is one of the many things I love about MHA-- there are so many lovely little details that add so much to the story. You just gotta be willing to look for them.)

Anyway! This point really speaks for itself, so I won't get into it too much: Tomura/Izuku's battlefield is where Toshi was always supposed to end up-- it's where he obviously needs to be to wrap up the loose strings in his arc, hear Izuku's "I am here" moment, and "change fate" by Izuku's side (not necessarily just his own fate, but also Tomura's). Iron Might is just a way that gets Toshi from point A to Point B while allowing Toshinori's character to shine as brightly as possible.

TL;DR The stage is finally set, the main characters have finally assembled, and now we get to see how the grand finale plays out.

-- -- -- -- --

In summation: Iron Might is sappy, sentimental, and fueled entirely by heart rather than logic-- and it's everything I love about this series.

#my hero academia #yagi toshinori #mha.txt #long post

[trutrustories]

STUDY IN LOKI ROMANCE

Part 4: Heart of the TVA

Since we're only a few days away from the last episode, I decided to COUNT DOWN everything we´ve got so far ( that can be interpreted very easily as romantic ) and discuss what the actual fuck is going on with second season. Because even though I shipped lokius practically from S1E2, I absolutely did NOT expect this kind of development. (Not that I´m complaining)

Warning: This is gonna be LONG post, lots of screenshots, lots of SPOILERS, lot of "oh-my-god-they-so-cute" language, and little bit of meta.

I originally thought that this post would be everything at once, but since I have just too many screenshots this time around, I´ll have to split it. so every post will be one episode. Color coding means:

IIIIIIIIII = anything, that coud potentialy be just acting choice.

IIIIIIIIII = everything else (tzn.: whatever was written, and/or carefully prepared by filmmakers. )

side note: I already wrote, about how amazing it is, that Mobius is unable to fight but fights anyway and how beautifuly, and ridiculously brave he is HERE. But this is about Loki/Mobius interactions, so I´ll try my best not to talk about THAT. (Even when I´m really happy, that s2 continues with this formula and Mobius is still his completely defenseless while aggressively brave self. I love him, btw.)

EPISODE 1 HERE

EPISODE 2 HERE

EPISODE 3 HERE

check-list, episode 4 (my beloved): 33) changing clothes together not to be that person, but like... they always went through the door from TVA on timeline in their "camouflage disguises". So Loki couldn't use his magic to change their clothes. I mean... they even make turning off system that prevents magic plot point in this episode So unless they have some special device in TVA (which was never established) It is implied, that these two just spend some time changing clothes together, before going out. And that brings me to this specific moment: At the end of the previous episode we see them going through the time door (fairly soon after Victor Timely, in 1893 clothing) And this episodes starts with Victor ariving at TVA and wondering around the empty hallways. Alone. So let me get this straight: After we see them both walk through the time door, they end in that war room (were they met in ep1), just the two of them. Victor is.... somewhere. who knows where, who even cares? And they though: it is actualy priority number one to change our clothes. Yes, right now. Never mind, we have He Who Remains variant wondering around the TVA and everything is going to explode soon. We have to take our clothes off. RIGHT THE FUCK NOW. I´m sorry, film makers, but what the acual f-

34) Bickering like married couple (part 4) (but this time with EVERYONE else watching them with question marks above their heads. And these two idiots husbands probably didn´t even noticed xDD )

Also.... "It´s got your shape" 😳 really? really Mobius? And how would you- oh sorry, my bad, never mind. I almost forget you were changing clothes togheter MULTIPLE TIMES, so of course you would know that. ... right? 35) The "misunderstanding trope"

This whole scene is just... jeeez! Sylvie screeming at Mobius for wanting cake (while Loki already knows, that Mobius wants it, because he is in a stress.) He tries to stop Sylvie, but she continues. Loki circles around her and ends up right between them (cough...smybolism...cough) And Sylvie starts attacking Mobius because he doesn´t want to know his life on a timeline. While Loki is RIGHT THERE, knowing perfectly well Mobiuses reason´s and how bad she is hurting him, because episode 2 happened. Loki knows. And then she leaves, and Loki follows her. But Mobius doesn´t know, what we know: and that he went to her to DEFEND HIM. Jeeeeeeez writers.... thanks, for this perfect example of romantic complication. Dramatic irony 100%. I´m living for this relationship drama while everything around them collapses and explodes. 10/10 television!

Also... poor man needed pick-me-up cocoa drink immediately after 😭

36) Pie scene number two I have to say, I LOVED this scene. EVERY FUCKING WORD. philosophical conflicts? yes please. moral dilemas? give me more! but let´s focus on Loki defending Mobius. Him bringing up Thor into the coversation, and comparing his change on Earth (that he didn´t understand before) to his own change that came from spending time at TVA. spending time with Mobius. And he is standing infront of pies this whole time! basicly him low key comparing Thor´s love for Jane to his love for Mobius

And let´s not forget how obvious the difference between two pie scenes is! Because the first one is full of relaxed gestures, kindness and understanding. Just Loki and Mobius being intimite and open with each other 🥹 In glaring contrast with that, THIS scene, with Sylvie is full of conflict, tention and disagreements. The are standind, far from each other, and whole room has completely different (horror like) vibe.

37) THIS SHOT. just the two of them, right before the end.

God I love this episode so much! 💛💛💛

#lokius #loki #loki spoiler #loki spoilers #loki season 2 #mobius #mobius m mobius #loki and mobius

[ilynpilled]

due the recent discussion about the ancestral connection between these two I wanted to say something about their thematic overlaps. Brienne and Dany, among other female characters, and how their stories is in vague conversation with each other is something I really love because I do think there are a lot of parallels ingrained into their narratives. I adore how they are thrust into, or in a lot of ways choose to embody, “traditionally masculine” roles. In the meta sense too, like their narratives are about filling the role reserved for male fantasy protagonists. Brienne is the Protector and the Knight. Dany is the Conqueror and the Savior. They are a deconstruction and reconstruction of these tropes. They also have a lot of differences too, which just elevates the whole thing in my eyes because it really hones in on what it is to be gender nonconforming and how fluid that whole idea is.

Brienne’s role exploration is so clearly delineated, but it is still about duality:

“It was the gods who neglected to give you a cock, not me."

"Lady Brienne?" She looked so uncomfortable that Jaime sensed a weakness. "Or would Ser Brienne be more to your taste?"

"Give me the sword, Kingslayer." "Oh, I will."

bound them face-to-face. “The lovers," Shagwell sighed loudly, "and what a lovely sight they are. "Twould be cruel to separate the good knight and his lady." Then he laughed that high shrill laugh of his, and said, "Ah, but which one is the knight and which one is the lady?"

but the faint light revealed only Brienne of Tarth, her hands bound in heavy chains. "I swore to keep you safe," the wench said stubbornly. "I swore an oath." Naked, she raised her hands to Jaime. "Ser. Please. If you would be so good." The steel links parted like silk. "A sword,"

In this light she could almost be a beauty, he thought. In this light she could almost be a knight. Brienne's sword took flame as well, burning silvery blue. The darkness retreated a little more.

"Ser Galladon was a champion of such valor that the Maiden herself lost her heart to him. She gave him an enchanted sword as a token of her love. The Just Maid, it was called.

"I will ask after her. What is this woman to you?" “My protector."

It is still about this idea that you are not really restricted by gendered tropes. (This duality is also present in the Bear and the Maiden fair, and the BaTB reconstruction. The point is that they are both simultaneously.) She has a complicated web of motivations: love, trust (a lot on gender constructs here too), and her own altruism. You can be the romantic heroine, as well as the knight: the protector. Same with Dany. She can be conqueror, savior, and mother. The whole point is the taking apart these dichotomies and constructs.

Dany echoing Rhaegar: “I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.'"

And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. “The last dragon,” Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. “The last, the last.” Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own.

Dany takes up Viserys’s role, she takes up Rhaegar’s role, she takes up Drogo’s role. But she is still the mother of dragons. I think what George wants to emphasize with a lot of these characters is that gender and the constructs around it are very complex and you are not gonna neatly fit into the strict boxes that society forces you into. When that happens, characters often end up in ruin. People are not meant to fit into these rigid boxes. Anyways, Dany’s story is filled to the brim with this duality as well: it is present in the sun and moon symbolism (lol also Brienne’s sigil), as well as the AA prophecy subversion. The flaming swords are forged with the burning of her husband etc, again the genders become switched. But it is not about one or the other. I think really it is like: Dany must become the conqueror, the warrior, the executioner even, the butcher, because she is a mother & savior. Because she is also a protector, nurturer, and planter. For her children. Also, how “the children” represent the self for her. Like they are/were her. But she has power now. A sword/dragons. It is such a large weight on her shoulders. What does her inaction mean? What is her obligation with that kind of power? She must get blood on her hands to save her children, and to in some form save herself. What does “better to be the butcher than the meat” really mean? I read Brienne the same way. She is not a knight for glory and empty chivalry. She has some vindictive tendencies rooted in her trauma, but at the end it hurts. She is a knight to protect. It is rooted in the fact that she is a lover. They are both so selfless, they are both so strong. But their fight is also ultimately a fight for themselves too.

And to finish my little mwuah love note about my two favorite female characters in the series, this is such a cute little romantic parallel, even though they are filling opposite roles in it:

#brienne of tarth #daenerys targaryen #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls

[sunnykeysmash]

the structure in mac and dennis break up

this is gonna be a short post tbh, I just rewatched the episode and I have a couple of thoughts.

if you need a refresher on what I think the structure is in general, I talk about it here.

I think Mac and Dennis Break Up shows us an example of Mac and Dennis (and Charlie and Frank) working properly in regards to the structure, let me explain why:

First... I don't think there's a need for me to describe the plot of the episode, we all know.

What I want to focus on, is that at one point Mac moves in with Frank and Charlie, and starts bringing his way of life to them.

At first, Frank is thrilled.

"I could use a little structure in my life here." he says.

This reminds me of dialogue from Carries a Corpse.

"Nobody admit this to Mac, but... I feel like he was carrying a ton of weight."

"That would be another one of his annoying identities... the man who could carry stuff."

He's been shown carrying Dennis, on top of generally being inclined to micromanage, take care of others so they're safe, and make decisions or at least demand to be consulted in them (like which movie to watch on movie night).

That's when Mac works best, so I assume that Mac generally brings structure (or is a man of action, as he describes it).

Later on, we see Mac take this too far, and Frank doesn't like it anymore. To me, this is because what this episode tells us is that Charlie and Frank don't work well with a set structure, the way that Mac provides. They're more free.

I think this reading is important because it shows me why The Gang Gets Romantic fundamentally fails in its objective (not as an episode god forbid, I mean in the narrative, especially for Mac and Dennis).

It applies the romcom structure to Charlie and Frank, while it doesn't to Mac and Dennis, when it should be the opposite. Throughout the episode we see that Mac and Dennis keep fitting the tropes to the romcom structure, but they refuse to follow it, and thus it crumbles. It can't work.

Here's another thing.

Dennis' back broke in the S15 finale.

That is funny, yes, but what does this mean when I say that Mac is the (his) structure, then?

Well... Carries a Corpse implies that Mac was carrying most of the weight of the corpse, and the corpse is meant to be the show... and most show meta is basically the same as Dennis meta (most meta lines seem to relate to him, whether the fact he left for north dakota and came back, or the fact he's a dad, being between life and death, breaking his back aka the structure, and so on), as I have discussed better in my other post.

Point being, Mac carries Dennis. That's what he's meant to do, and what he does best in their relationship.

This makes me think of another recent scene that I think is emblematic of their dynamic... but in an interesting way.

So, in 2020: a Year in Review, Mac and Dennis work together on a song.

They seem to be in harmony, but eventually start disagreeing and stop altogether to focus on something else. Why?

Because Dennis is working on the backup vocals, and Mac is working on the words. Which means their roles are reversed. Mac is supposed to be carrying the song, like the wind beneath his wings that he is, and Dennis, like the man of words that he is, should be responsible for the lyrics. They're doing each other's job, which means any harmony they reach is still bound to crack a bit the moment the song doesn't work for them.

Their seating position on their sofa reflects this.

Compare it to Mac and Dennis Break Up, which is supposed to be our ideal.

They're in each other's places, in 2020.

This isn't new, they've been sitting in each other's places ever since Break Up. Mac was sitting in Dennis' place in MFHP, Dennis was sitting in Mac's place in Gets Romantic.

So tl;dr... Mac and Dennis work well under structure, when Mac is the one to bring it and carry Dennis. They fit a proper couple structure after all. Charlie and Frank don't work as well under structure, since their relationship is more unique and doesn't quite abide by normal rules because of that.

This does bring me to one last consideration though...

They're back in their right spots, in season 16! Only problem is... couch is different. I would argue an inflatable couch doesn't offer the same amount of support (structure) that a normal one would...

Now that Dennis' structural essence broke, is he gonna feel what it's like when Mac is absent?

Perhaps this is why in Cursed we get Mac as the lucky one while the others as so unlucky they start to believe they're cursed (according to the synopsis...).

So the whole gang needs Mac?

Well...

In Goes To Hell pt2, when they build the human pyramid, it's both Mac and Dennis that end up at the bottom, as its structure.

So maybe... Dennis needs Mac as his structure, and the gang needs them to be in sync so they can both, together, support them (or shut the hell up about it, as both madbu and s15 would argue). Maybe this realization could be what brings the gang to work together in order to get them together. But that's getting into just speculation so imma end it here.

I like these thoughts though... Mac and Dennis being the foundation, the structure of the whole thing :)

#iasip #it's always sunny in philadelphia #s16 spoilers #always sunny #macdennis #macden #analysis #meta #this is as good as ''mac is the rat dennis is the cheese and together they're the trap of macdennis'' #i do love building meta off of other meta that i pre-established... makes me feel like im citing my own research papers #if this only makes sense to me im so sorry my bad. it will happen again #this was born as a twitter thread while i rewatched madbu and things started making a bit too much sense so i had to write about it #i think if by the end of inflates they go back to their normal couch thats like golden sign that macden is going canon #cuz they maybe start experimenting different couches and none of them work for them. so they start blowing them all up #you know. like the stew!!! throwing it in the face instead of eating. using it wrong to get a thrill. #but by the end theyre like... no actually. our old one worked the best. for us. it worked. it supported us right #not flimsy like an inflatable couch is #so mark my words. if by the end of inflates we see macden sitting AT THEIR RIGHT SPOTS with THE RIGHT COUCH mirroring madbu... #then macdennis is gonna happen. period #dennis is gonna figure out that mac is his structure and theyre gonna go back. together. at the BOTTOM of the gang pyramid #getting pissed on together<3 like meerkats #dennis ''i aint goin down'' reynolds when hes destined to be part of the structural support and thus has to go down and stay down #dedicating this post to parker and joe they'll know what i mean #dennis reynolds #mac mcdonalds

[lilyspider]

Who is Afraid of Whom?

Subtitle: Korekiyo is an unreliable narrator Read as: Please for the love of god stop taking everything Korekiyo says at face value and be willing to look at the Shinguuji's dynamic with a bit more complexity instead of blaming Miyadera for everything. I've teased this for a bit but I've been working on a very long meta write up of a reading of these two following the canon text as much as possible while providing my own insights. This is Part 1 of X (I'll update this when I finish this series and add links as I continue.) Content warnings for discussions of abuse and incest.

To begin, I understand that this is a controversial topic. If you believe Korekiyo to be the victim of years of abuse, whatever I write here will probably come off as heartless apologism for the “worst Danganronpa character.” I hope that if this analysis at any point causes you genuine emotional distress or discomfort that you just close it. If you choose to continue reading it, then I hope you can give me the benefit of the doubt for where I’m coming from and save any judgment for the end. 

For the sake of simplicity, I am going to be referring to Korekiyo’s sister by the fan name Miyadera. I unfortunately do not know which individual deserves the credit for this name as it was coined back before the localization, but I do know it is an alternate reading of the characters in Shinguji, 真宮寺. 宮 is Miya and 寺 is tera. 

宮 could be literally translated to palace or shrine, but is usually only reserved for Shinto shrines. 寺 is used only for Buddhist temples. I have a post explaining more about this [here].

I’d like to start by debunking what seems to be a rumor/misreading of the text that has become canon to many people. Many fans I’ve seen believe Korekiyo is the only victim in the dynamic or that he is afraid of his sister. What is provided for evidence is usually how nervous Korekiyo seems during the trial once he’s on the ropes and the tulpa manifests. 

On that note, I want to clarify that I will be referring to the Miyadera that speaks through Korekiyo as a tulpa. I have seen some interpretations that treat their situation as more like a dissociative disorder, but I will not be touching on that or give that reading any credibility as I find it to be a bit disrespectful. The killer/villain with dissociative identity disorder is also a bit of an overplayed trope.

If you’re not familiar with what a tulpa is, I’ll provide a very simplified definition here. If anything I say seems to be unclear, you’re free to do your own research. If I get anything wrong, please don’t hesitate to correct me!

Tulpas have a Buddhist origin and were believed to be a manifestation that guides someone who has not reached nirvana yet. The simplest way to describe them would be as a spiritual guide. 

Other forms of tulpas are not from one specific religion and have a connection to theosophy. 

Theosophy is another very complex concept that I’ll simplify as a belief in a spiritual reality/separate realm that can be reached through meditation, revelations, or other states of heightened awareness and or emotions. These tulpas are believed to be connected to or have come from this other realm.

The final type of tulpa I’d like to discuss is a significantly more modern concept and is connected to groups that refer to themselves as tulpamancers. For people in this group, a tulpa is completely divorced from all spirituality and is treated more psychologically. These manifestations are much more deliberate as these individuals try to create tulpas of one specific person. It is usually done to cope with loneliness or other problems like anxiety. There are also instances of people claiming to have had romantic or sexual interactions with their tulpas. 

I believe the writers took inspiration from all potential manifestations of tulpas when they wrote the Miyadera tulpa. The most modern take and tulpamancers probably had the most influence. Korekiyo does share his experience of when the tulpa of his sister first manifested, but I would like to look into that in detail later. I plan on discussing all information about Korekiyo and Miyadera that’s revealed in FTEs, Salmon Team, and other similar events in the same section. 

Back to Korekiyo’s fear, the insistence that Korekiyo is afraid of Miyadera and even the tulpa of her never seemed to click for me. Chapter 3, especially the trial, are the parts of Danganronpa V3 I am the most familiar with. Korekiyo is most certainly panicking when his plans are unraveled, but none of that fear seemed to be caused by the presence of the tulpa. He is also able to relay his story about Miyadera after the trial with perfect clarity. For people who read Korekiyo as a victim, this probably doesn’t seem like solid proof. His erratic behavior and validating his experience could just be seen as a trauma response. 

In order to refresh my memory, I decided I’d be revisiting the trial and the scenes that follow it. I will not be looking too deeply at the first half of the trial since the tulpa has no presence, and Korekiyo does not reference his sister at all. A lot of this analysis is being done as a reaction to replaying and rewatching content in the game so my takes will be fresh. 

If I need to revisit the first half of the trial for parts later in this analysis, I will do so.

Korekiyo’s calm facade finally breaks once it becomes obvious that admitting he murdered Tenko put him into a corner and also implicated him in Angie’s killing. 

Korekiyo's specific quote when the tulpa cuts in is “I will not fear. I will not back down.” The tulpa is then revealed. I specifically attribute the above quote to Korekiyo and not Miyadera because it’s not spoken in the voice that is used for Miyadera in the rest of the trial. 

I have heard that it is easier to tell the two apart in the original Japanese text because they have different speaking styles, but I’m not familiar enough with Japanese to cite too much from the original text. I don’t want to potentially muddy the waters due to a mistranslation on my part. Thankfully, for the rest of the trial, it’s usually very clear which one of them is speaking. 

The first instance of the Miyadera tulpa appearing is when Korekiyo is under extreme stress, and her main goal is to help bring him down from this intense emotional state. It’s the first thing she does before addressing anyone else in the trial. 

If I was a bit less diligent, I’d stop this section here and say the argument that Korekiyo is afraid of the tulpa is debunked. However, I’d like to be as thorough as possible so we’ll continue on with this topic. 

Miyadera’s words encourage Korekiyo to keep arguing for his innocence in the murder case. The rebuttal that follows is done by Korekiyo alone. 

Miyadera appears once again when Korekiyo’s rebuttal isn’t enough to prove his innocence, and they have definitive proof that he murdered Angie. 

The lines that follow are somewhat controversial, and they are the ones I believe are misinterpreted the most often. Miyadera says: “You mustn’t raise your voice. You mustn’t stutter. You mustn’t lose composure. You mustn't become flustered. You mustn’t waver.” 

For some reason, this is seen as Miyadera scolding Korekiyo and as clear evidence that she abused him in the past. However, in the full context of the scene, it’s pretty obvious that Korekiyo is losing the ability to argue for his innocence without panicking. Miyadera is reassuring him that he doesn’t need to worry about everyone else in the trial, calling them a “sorry lot”. 

Miyadera is saying that as long as Korekiyo remains calm then he should be able to make an argument that will prove he’s not guilty. Her appearance is only for his benefit as he is able to continue speaking more concisely each time after she speaks.

Once he gets back on his feet, Miyadera gives him further encouragement and praises him.

One could argue this is an instance of emotional manipulation (though I’d have to wonder why she would be manipulating him for an outcome that’s in his best interest. We can return to this later), but I believe it does prove that he is not afraid of her. Without her encouragement, the latter half of the trial would have been significantly shorter. I doubt Korekiyo would have been able to argue for his innocence with the panicked state he was in. 

The next scene is another line I see as being wildly misunderstood to the point where I wonder if anyone discussing it has actually seen it in context.

In a lot of fanworks, for some reason, “Come on, apologize” is treated as something Miyadera has said to Korekiyo as another instance of scolding him or pushing him into a corner. Though it’s pretty clear in the context of the scene that Miyadera is angry at Shuichi and tells him to apologize for continuing to accuse Korekiyo. 

During the argument armament, Miyadera continues to encourage Korekiyo during his final pleas for his innocence. Even the final point that Shuichi has to prove wrong is her defending him. 

I will admit that Korekiyo’s reactions to being put on the spot are very intense. Both the English and Japanese VAs did an amazing job selling his distress! I’m just not sure how any of that is attributed to Miyadera’s presence. 

It’s a completely incorrect reading of the trial that’s unfortunately been spread around even further by the wiki and other pages making this exact claim. There are people who don’t play through the entire game themselves or rely on reading fan wikis and write-ups for refreshers if they haven’t played in a while. If it’s been a long time since you’ve played V3, and you end up relying on one of these inaccurate fan descriptions, you might remember Korekiyo’s strong emotional reactions and Miyadera’s regular cut ins. It’s possible that you won’t remember the exact specifics, but since the vibes seem to match that kind of interpretation, you'll leave the fan wiki article convinced that Korekiyo was afraid because of Miyadera’s presence. 

The trials in V3 are very long, and Miyadera doesn’t appear until the two hour mark. If someone was a bit unclear on how their interactions went or forgot the specifics, I wouldn’t blame them. The problems truly arise when it comes down to this complete misinterpretation that only works when these lines are removed from the original context. 

Before we make further progress and get to the post trial conversations, I wanted to address another theory that doesn’t really hold water. 

Some people believe that Korekiyo’s murders were actually committed by the Miyadera tulpa. This seems to be a way for them to absolve Korekiyo of blame and force it all onto his sister. It’s an interpretation pretty common if someone has already decided Korekiyo is exclusively the victim and all wrong-doing is Miyadera’s fault. 

To me, this doesn’t make sense for a few reasons. 

First of all, Danganronpa is a generally straightforward narrative that makes big or shocking reveals very obvious. If this was a case of a separate personality or tulpa being the one forcing Korekiyo to kill women, then it would have been spelled out directly. 

During the trial, Korekiyo does act a bit confused and denies all of the accusations levied against him, but isn’t that common for every culprit in the series? The killer breakdown is something that’s kind of seen as iconic. 

The over the top reactions and reveal of a new set of sprites for a character are a key part of every trial. Again, pretty much every culprit denies their guilt until they’re backed into a corner, so Korekiyo’s situation isn’t unique at all. 

If we put the tulpa back into the full context of the trial and the murders as a whole, we’ve already established Miyadera’s presence is meant to soothe and comfort Korekiyo. She appears whenever a situation is too stressful for him to handle. One might argue that committing the murders would be an intense burden, and that would probably be the case for any character except Korekiyo. 

As early as Chapter 1, Korekiyo makes references to murder and other pretty morbid topics. He comments on how Gonta’s physical strength would make it easy for him to harm someone. In the early parts of Chapter 3, he threatens to rip out Kokichi’s nerves after he mishandles the gold katana. 

I would believe that the Miyadera tulpa played a direct role in the murders if Korekiyo displayed any signs of being uncomfortable around violence or blood. Since he doesn’t and also was very invested in the mechanics of the seesaw trap, I have no reason to believe Miyadera was the true killer. 

I also believe that if she did play a bigger part, then the final image at the end of the closing argument would have shown her face or maybe both Shingujis back to back.

The Miyadera tulpa also tells Korekiyo it’s time for him to admit defeat when there are no further arguments to be made. If she was truly the one responsible, wouldn’t she apologize to Korekiyo for committing murders that led to his downfall? 

Korekiyo is the one who takes responsibility before the voting starts and is completely calm by this point. He directly says the only thing he regrets is not being able to make one hundred friends, which is a reference to how many women he killed. 

While an exact number isn’t given, he does say he was very close. That probably pushes the total number of victims to somewhere between 80 and 90 if killing Angie and Tenko wasn’t enough to reach his goal. 

My analysis of the trial basically concludes here, and I believe I’ve provided enough evidence to prove that Korekiyo doesn’t show any fear towards Miyadera. A majority of arguments meant to prove Miyadera is the abuser and Korekiyo is the victim usually rely on this point. In the next post I will breakdown the post trial conversations and then circle back to Korekiyo's behavior at the beginning of the game. If you've made it this far, thank you so much.

#drv3 #danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #danganronpa meta #korekiyo shinguji #korekiyo shinguuji #korekiyo's sister #miyadera shinguji #miyadera shinguuji #miya meta #sis meta #kiyo meta #analysis

[bluedalahorse]

August and Rousseau are functionally the same character: the serious version

On Thursday evening, at my fanfic co-author’s encouragement, I posted about August and Rousseau being functionally the same character. This post was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s always been a serious, liberal arts college analysis version of it lurking in my head. I decided to go ahead and share it because what is the point of rejoining tumblr if I can’t torture the world with my Young Royals meta? (Do we even call it meta anymore? I am Fandom Old.)

So anyway, I have now written too many words about how Rousseau the horse is a narrative shadow for August, and how horse tropes are used to communicate August’s character arc. My ~credentials~ are as follows: I’m currently doing a terminal degree in writing literature for children and teenagers, and I have re-read the Felicity Merriman American Girl Books more times than I can count. I was not a horse girl in childhood, despite my mother trying to get me to be one by buying me Breyers and an alarmingly technicolor Lisa Frank notebook with a horse on its cover. (For Not Being A Horse Girl reasons there may be some errors in equestrian terminology here, but I’m gonna do my best. I invite genuine Horse Girls to weigh in with their knowledge and insight.) I have more thoughts about August as a character than I know what to do with, to the point where those thoughts have in part inspired the critical thesis on justice and privilege in YA lit that I am going to write for my MFA. These thoughts here on tumblr are merely for a fannish intellectual experiment, however, so I will not be as aggressive with the MLA and the footnotes as I would be in thesis work.

While I am an American of Swedish descent who has celebrated her Scandinavian heritage since childhood, I am still very much an American and my native language is English. Most of my lit theory here is therefore informed by the Anglo-American Horse Girl tradition, which I know got imported to a lot of other countries in translation. At the same time, I am aware that there are Swedish Horse Girl books out there, and I do not know as much about where they overlap with the Anglo-American tropes and where they differ. If anyone has knowledge in this particular area, please feel free to chime in.

Before we begin, I feel it necessary to issue a few notes about content. The first and most obvious content note is that this meta deals with August’s character arc, so I will naturally mention his releasing of the video and his other toxic masculine behaviors that harm the people around him. I will also make reference to his drug addiction, mental health issues, and possible disordered eating. In addition, there will be discussion of abusive relationship dynamics and adults invading the privacy of teenagers with the goal of controlling their romantic, sexual, and reproductive futures (particularly in the context of a monarchy securing its lines of dynastic succession.) You have been warned.

TOPICS COVERED

Horses in Literature and their General Vibe

Cinematography and Film Language in Young Royals

August, Felice, and Sara

Bloodlines and the Line of Succession

What’s next for August and Rousseau?

Horse/Power

Horses have long been symbols of wealth, status, and nobility. While literature and folklore offer their fair share of ordinary workhorses, the prince on a fancy white horse is an iconic fairy tale image. Historically, the ability to maintain a stable full of horses, specifically bred for battle or fine riding, was (and still is) a privilege only the rich can afford. Among the Romans, the second highest ranked social group after the senatorial class were the equites, named for the fact that they were rich enough to own horses they could bring to war. Fast forwarding to the modern day Young Royals, we see the wealth of Hillerska on full display in the stables. Even Felice’s parents, who have plenty of money to burn, remind her how much they spent on Rousseau.

August, of course, defines himself by his status. When we first meet him, he’s always going on about his father’s estate, bragging about flying off to restaurants in France, separating out who is nouveau riche and who is ancien regime—and so on and so forth. So what? you may be saying. Plenty of Young Royals characters are wealthy and own land. Why single out August and make him the character shadowed by the horse, just because of his money? Probably because of the other ideas horses get associated with in popular media. Horses in fiction are often temperamental, but their humans often work to control and tame horses in spite of that. There’s a certain tension and troubledness to fictional horses that makes them dangerous. Rousseau is no exception to this—Felice and others have difficulty managing him. We know August has a temper that gets the better of him. We also know he’s obsessed with control, and the first person he tries to be strict and controlling with is himself.

To put it more briefly, horses in stories can be used to open up a lot of questions about wealth and power and how that power is, well, reined in. Thematically, having Rousseau as a shadow to August’s character arc is an obvious choice.

Framed by the Stable Doors

The cinematography of Young Royals visually links August and Rousseau from the very beginning of the series. As early on as episode 1.2, a shot of Sara taking Rousseau out for a trot is followed immediately by a shot of August out on a run. (Or maybe it happens in the opposite order? Help.) These moments mirror one another—both of them are scenes of a moment of discipline and exercise, underscored by tense background music. Throughout season 1, even when August and Rousseau aren’t paralleled by the editing, they are at least paralleled by the writing.

As we move into season 2, the shots of Rousseau become more constrained as the threat of prison looms over August’s head. Rousseau is almost always behind a fence or restricted by some other architectural features. The bars(?) of Rousseau’s stall door echo the bars of a jail cell, while the trailer belonging to the Worst Kind of Horse People (TM) suggests a police van taking August away after a future arrest. These scenes almost always include Sara somewhere, and she’s often having reaction faces. As others have noted, Sara doesn’t speak much, but these visual cues offer hints about her internal mental landscape while also foreshadowing her eventual role as the one who turns August over to law enforcement.

I’m inclined to read these “imprisoned horse” scenes as Sara having internal conflict about her relationship with August. On some level, she is attempting to grapple with the fact that they’re already doomed because of August’s prior actions with the video. I don’t necessarily think this means that Sara is always thinking these things consciously and in words. Maybe it’s just a sense of foreboding in the pit of her stomach. Instead of having Sara try to articulate this in any sort of literal way, my guess is that the YR production team wanted to convey this part of her arc through visual language and symbolism. I think it works, once you’ve decided to buy into the horse parallels.

Does this mean we’ve segued into talking about the girls now? Probably. Might as well gallop ahead…

Enter the Equestriennes

Even outside of Horse Girl books, women on horseback are a repeating motif in Western literature. As various academics will tell you, equestrian women occupy a complex and problematic (in the academic sense) space on the page. On one hand, riding horses confers status upon these women and gives them some freedom of movement. On the other hand, equestrian women are often being trained for the patriarchy in subtextual ways. One thesis I looked at explains how in Victorian literature, riding was often used to facilitate female characters’ interaction with men in ways that eventually lead to marriage. You also examine the common Horse Girl cliché of that one special teenage girl who knows how to calm down the impossible horse, and understand it as a little sister to the “I can fix him” romance genre. As bastion of literary analysis TVTropes points out, ponies and the Troubled But Cute Boyfriend sure do have a lot in common.

Young Royals knows the tropes, and it wants you to know that it knows them.

Felice Ehrencrona doesn’t want to be a horse girl. Felice’s mother wants her to ride, because riding is what archetypal rich girls from Hillerska do. Throughout season one, we see Felice struggling with her riding classes and being afraid of Rousseau. While she gains more confidence with the help of Sara, she never truly grows to love being around Rousseau (as we can see by the way she quickly abandons her hobby later.) Still, for a while, Felice maintains the public image of the happy equestrian by posting pictures of herself and Rousseau to her Instagram and making additional posts that say she’s in the stables when she isn’t. Felice’s mother, believing this to be true, is delighted—until in 1.3 it comes out that Sara has been riding Felice’s horse instead, and Felice’s positive relationship with Rousseau is just a facade.

What holds true for horses holds true for boys, too. Felice’s mother is constantly putting pressure on her about boys, specifically in the way she encourages Felice to pursue Wilhelm. The fact that Felice knows stuff about the line of succession and whose babies get what rank (something she explains to the beleaguered American Maddie) suggests that Mamma Ehrencrona isn’t just interested in Felice having a nice boyfriend, she’s actually bringing marriage and babies into it. Which… is a lot. It’s so “a lot” that Felice rebels against her mother at the end of 1.3 by hooking up with August.

Although Felice’s initial act is one of rebellion, she ends up trapped back in the same place she started from, where socioeconomic status and performative gendered nonsense is prized above all else. August, after all, is still from the nobility and still comes with all that baggage Felice is getting from her parents. Felice’s relationship with August is very bad, especially behind closed doors where he’s constantly questioning her about who she’s with and where she’s going. To Hillerska at large, however, they give off the impression of being the school power couple. During moments of characters scrolling there phones we can see that in addition to being seen together, they also included photos of themselves together on one another’s instagrams. This contrast between the image and the reality of Felice’s relationship with August echoes Felice’s selfies with Rousseau.

As for Sara… well, if you nodded along to what I said before about the special teenage girl who is the only one who can tame the troubled horse, you probably already know where I’m going with this. Sara and August’s relationship doesn’t really come out of nowhere. Rather, they’ve spent an entire season taking a step closer to one another, literally and figuratively, every few scenes. You know the cliché where the horse girl visits the troubled horse every day and gets a little bit closer each time until the horse finally trusts the girl enough to eat sugar cubes out of her hand? Yeah. Same rhythm/pacing as the Sara/August scenes, and it only gets more obvious in season 2. That scene where he’s having a panic attack and she calms him down? He is a scared horse. We’re all on the same page, right? I hope we’re all on the same page.

In some ways, it’s not a perfect analogy and doesn’t always match up in a one to one way. Most horse girl books stay wish fulfillment and there isn’t always a moment of “the horse is Bad Actually, and we will remind you that the horse released a sex video of the horse girl’s brother.” But I think the horse girl novel coding speaks to what makes a relationship with August appealing to Sara in the first place. Deep down Sara wants to be special and exceptional to someone else, and she feels she understands things about August (and how to keep his emotions regulated) that other people don’t. As Sara sees it, she’s taken time to build trust with August. It’s the two of them together against really difficult odds, and she’ll take the difficulty that comes with that.

Also, while we’re here, the first place August kisses Sara is the stables. And there’s that entire conversation Felice and Sara have when Sara comes back after having sex in 2.3. I’m just saying. It’s right there. We’re all doing the math, right? We all see it?

People Of Good Breeding

Here’s where it gets even more icky.

In season 2, Felice decides to quit riding. This makes keeping Rousseau a bad investment, so Felice plans to sell him, and Sara decides to tag along. When a particular family expresses interest in Rousseau and comes to Hillerska to assess him, Sara swiftly dubs them the Worst Kind of Horse People.

What makes the Worst Kind of Horse People so upsetting to Sara? They don’t know how to respond to Rousseau, and they don’t treat him with the compassion Sara does. They’re willing to endure Rousseau’s volatile moods, however, because of he’s a thoroughbred and has a prestigious pedigree.

Things I did not know before watching a documentary about it: apparently all the thoroughbreds that exist in the world now are descended from three historical stallions. They are inbred af. IRL people who own thoroughbred stallions now will charge ~$50,000 per insemination in like a horse breeding hookup situation. Which… what? What the literal fuck. I get that this is a hobby people feel very passionate about and find fulfillment in, so I am trying not to be judgmental… and also that is a lot of money (more than half my yearly salary) for just one instance of breeding horses. So I’m still wrapping my head around it.

It stands to reason that the Worst Kind of Horse People could want Rousseau for his, um, genetic material. Anyway, let’s talk about the monarchy and the line of succession.

At the same time that the Worst Kind of Horse People are expressing interest in Rousseau, the royal court has started to pay attention to August. According to the YR fictional family tree, August is next in line for the throne after Wilhelm. Kristina’s advisors have plans to groom (see what I did there) August as a backup heir if Wilhelm keeps insisting on having free will. (Really! The audacity! Good for Wilhelm, though, we’re all rooting for him.)

For August, the idea of being elevated to spare prince, or potentially even king one day, feels liberating. Based on how he’s acting at the shooting range after his visit to the palace, he sees a chance for himself to leave his crimes behind and not be caught in his guilt. But I want to pause for a moment and consider the scene in 2.4 where he gets the phone call from the palace. Jan-Olof asks August a series of privacy-invading questions, including ones that touch on his sexual history. The final question (and therefore the one the writers want you to notice) is simply “are you heterosexual?” to which August replies that he is.

There’s a tempting rabbit hole I could go down about what it means for August to go beyond just engaging in toxic heterosexual behavior, and actually embrace heterosexuality as a label, and because it’s a tempting rabbit hole I will save it for another meta. What I want to focus on here is how sinister this scene feels. Part of that is because we (and Sara) know how blatantly and easily August is lying, and that he’s slipping back into his old, status-loving, drug-abusing self. In light of the established Rousseau parallels, however, I can’t ignore the subtext that the royal court is interested in whether or not they can “domesticate” August just enough that they can get him to eventually marry the right girl and produce a legitimate heir to the throne. That’s it. Nothing more. They aren’t interested in helping him with his addiction or getting him into therapy for his disordered eating or helping him process his dad’s death—all of which would put him in a better emotional place, and maybe even prevent him from returning to the emotionally dangerous mindset he was in when he outed Wilhelm and Simon to the entire world. On a metaphorical level, the royal court is basically treating August as livestock. Which. Is gross, actually.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We all know that August himself perpetuates a lot of gross sexual behavior toward others. Aside from releasing the video, he’s selfish and borderline emotionally abusive toward Felice, especially about sex. He constantly eggs on his classmates to stand up on the breakfast table and brag about their “conquests.” He eventually becomes extremely sweet and tender with Sara, but that’s only after he’s tried to get her to sell him drugs, bullied her family about not being able to eat lunch on Parents’ Weekend, and kissing her without her consent in the stables. August is very much Not Someone Who Respects The Sexual And Reproductive Autonomy Of Others and yet! There is this whole entire system of hereditary monarchy behind him, aiming to control every aspect of his life and violate his privacy, and he is a teenager. It’s not okay that they do it to Wilhelm either. We know they’re trying to do it to Wilhelm even now, and we get the sense they did it to Erik too, given the lines about the OnlyFans girlfriend needing to be hushed up.

I think it’s easy to say, well, August is power hungry and amoral enough that he consents to having his privacy invaded, and he does, but I legitimately wonder if he knows what he’s getting into. (Case in point: I think August really believes that the palace crowd would let him publicly date Sara. And, no. Even if Sara weren’t Simon’s sister, I can’t imagine they’d be excited about him dating the neurodivergent daughter of an immigrant mother and a father with a shady drug past. At the very least they’d force Sara to sign some pretty hefty NDAs.) My point is, you can consent to something and still end up in a weird power dynamic that’s bad for you and doesn’t honor where your feelings are. You can be a person of privilege who harms others, while still being harmed by systems of privilege yourself. And that’s precisely part of what makes August a compelling and complicated character.

Look, I just wish more people nowadays had seen the legendary 1990s anime Revolutionary Girl Utena because they would then get what I mean when I say that August isn’t Akio, he’s Saionji.

…I’m off track. My point is that the reproductive subtext in that scene is deeply unsettling and August’s nakedness in front of the window only makes it moreso. Right. Moving on.

What’s Next? The Horse and His Boy

(Apologies for naming this last section after a problematic Narnia book.)

Man. I wish I could just write August off and clamor for his untimely and violent death without a care in the world. The reality is that I’m under a curse, and that curse makes me want to see him eventually sort his life out, one way or another.

Let me be clear about what that does and doesn’t mean: I don’t mean that I don’t want to see him face consequences for the very real crime he did. I don’t mean I think he should suddenly be perfect and woke. I don’t mean that he and Sara should get back together. I don’t mean I want to see everyone forgive him. I just mean I want August to honestly confront the truth of his life so far and go “you know what? I suck. I can do better. I’m not even sure how, and I’m gonna make mistakes along the way, but maybe I can suck less.” And maybe he takes one tiny step where you’re like, if he keeps taking steps like this, this kid could turn out okay by age 40. Maybe. I feel incredibly exposed even saying this, since I know August is so widely despised by so many people in fandom, and I know other people who are okay with letting him stay in the villain zone, but I also feel like if anyone can pull off this story, it’s Lisa Ambjörn. She gets nuance, and she gets young people their flaws and their family conflicts. If YR were a different show, with a different writer and a different morality underlying the stories it tells, I would feel differently. But I don’t, and I think Lisa can pull off a complex story like that. So here we are.

(For examples of YA novels that pull off this kind of narrative catharsis, check out the character arc of the protagonist Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley. Or pay attention to the uncle’s character arc in Randy Ribay’s Patron Saints of Nothing.)

There’s a very soft acting choice of Malte’s in 2.3, where August goes to meet Sara in the stables, to ask if she wants to come by and talk later. Sara’s getting Rousseau settled for the evening, and August reaches out and pats Rousseau on the nose. If I’m remembering the scene correctly, the usually temperamental Rousseau is calm in response.

We’ve seen August act self-aggrandizing before so he can build himself up and threaten other people. We’ve also seen him engage in escalating acts of self-harm (via excessive exercising and calorie counting) when he isn’t living up to his own strict standards. What we don’t see a lot is him having compassion for himself. If we accept that Rousseau is August’s shadow-self, then this nose pat is a rare moment of self-compassion. It’s at this point in the season that August realizes he needs to exist in community with other people, and that he needs to actually process his overwhelming emotions instead of lashing out at others. He makes an effort to try and quit using drugs, genuinely connects with Sara, and even briefly defends Simon when Vincent gets on Simon’s case after the indoor rowing match. It’s a positive trajectory and a glimmer of what could have been. That lasts until his visit to the palace, when August is offered the position as Wilhlem’s backup and starts to go back to his old ways. Moreover, the pressure of becoming the spare creates new complications for August’s mental health, and he slides back into lashing out at others again.

At the end of the season, August views Rousseau as a commodity and buys him for Sara in a Grand Gesture (TM) that’s actually pretty alarming and could be categorized as love-bombing. Sara is not impressed (I suspect she’s witnessed Micke love-bombing Linda, and all her alarm bells are going off) and continues her trip to the bus stop so she can report him to the police.

I could talk about the police call and the part where Sara is playing with a small horse keychain at the bus stop, but that might be the topic for another meta. Instead I want to take a moment to think about the practical fact that August owns a horse now. This opens up a few questions: if Rousseau continues to be August’s shadow-self, what does it mean for August to buy and own Rousseau? Is August going to have to learn to take care of Rousseau now? How much farther can we extend this metaphor?

Patience, comrades. We’re almost to the finish line.

By buying Rousseau, August has allowed himself to be bought by the aristocratic power structure that’s been trying to maneuver him into royal life. He’s started to actually use the inheritance left for him by his father—not because he’s finally started to process his grief, but because he’s doubling down on the idea that he deserves his inherited wealth and that he can use it as lavishly as he wishes. What’s interesting is the way he thinks this makes him into someone Sara will stay in love with. There’s the quid pro quo of it all, which is the obvious surface reading, but there’s also another level wherein August has been raised to believe that this is the ideal of aristocratic masculinity, and therefore what Sara would be attracted to. He assumes Sara wants the prince (even if he has to be a little bit Machiavelli’s the Prince behind the scenes to play that role.) But Sara wants the trust and care and connection, and a bond that’s a little bit weird and unique and ultimately private. She also values honesty and accountability. Sara doesn’t want the prince—she wants the horse. But not the literal one. And not necessarily in a material ownership kind of way, either.

As we move into season 3, I find myself wondering what’s next for August and Rousseau. Like. August owns a horse now. Is he going to have to take care of it? Like is he going to have to learn how to groom Rousseau and muck stalls and such? I get that he’s rich and can probably pay someone to do that for him, but given the way that Rousseau is meant to be a commentary on August’s character arc, there’s a lot of narrative potential (and dare I say… humor?) in August just having to learn to take care of the horse his own damn self in season 3. I feel like it could allow for some great moments of introspection on August’s part, if done well, and could lead him to a place of radical acceptance. We don’t even have to rule out August going to jail for his crimes, but knowing that jail is not the kind of thing that will happen in the first five minutes of the first five episodes, why not facilitate some internal character growth via horse chores first?

Alternately, August will just keep doubling down on making someone else do the horse chores. This would be consistent, if nothing else. He may just continue to be horrible, in which case I am worried for Rousseau.

(Please, Lisa Ambjörn and/or god and/or Epona. I am so desperate for this as-of-present unrepentant fuckboy to have to do symbolic horse chores that end up being about him finally coming to terms with the impact his counterrevolutionary behavior has on others. Is that so wrong?)

Anyway, I guess we won’t know until season 3. Thank you for sticking around if you’ve read this far—it ended up being way longer than intended! I’m back on tumblr after being away since 2015 or so, so this post feels like a wild way to reappear. But I’m glad I shared my thoughts all the same. Have a blessed Saturday, fandom.

#young royals #young royals meta #august young royals #sara eriksson #felice ehrencrona #unabashed horse girl propaganda #mfa musings

[siflshonen]

BNHA “Presentations” Meta Masterpost

Please review these before asking me specific questions about BNHA. This post will be updated as I feel it is relevant.

Sequencing My Hero Academia’s “Manga DNA”: A Breakdown of Katsuki Bakugo | 1.0 | 2.0 | AO3 (updated to ver. 4.0)

This “presentation” post is a primer on Katsuki Bakugo’s character, influences, character arc, and meta. This post covers topics including Kohei Horikoshi’s manga influences, basic character roles in literature, a brief history of shonen manga and the real-world conditions in which the genre as we know it came to be, Japanese social and cultural references such as honne and tatemae, and other miscellaneous anime tropes.

Sequencing My Hero Academia’s “Manga DNA” II: A Breakdown of Izuku Midoriya (formerly titled, “Izuku Midoriya is Katsuki Bakugo's Destiny And It Makes Me Nauseous”)

This “presentation” post discusses Izuku Midoriya’s character and values from a broadly “conventional” Japanese cultural perspective. It also compares and contrasts Izuku and Katsuki’s status as narrative foil leads in a shonen series to other narrative foil leads in other classic, influential shonen series.

This presentation includes an in-depth discussion on platonic and romantic BakuDeku(Baku?) as well as my candid opinion about Naruto.

Eijiro Kirishima: Positively Reclaiming National Identity and Making Masculinity More Inclusive (with surprise guest Mina Ashido!) | 1.0 | 2.0 | Ao3 (updated to ver. 3.0)

This “presentation” post discusses Eijiro Kirishima’s character and arc as well as the real-life references his character’s aesthetic and “manly” actions and credo are meant to communicate. This post includes a discussion of Japanese delinquents and bosozoku, a brief and simplified history of the relationship of Japanese hypermasculinity and military/naval power, a brief discussion of kouha and nanshoku, and a brief general analysis of how Kirishima's early-series insecurities reflect those of an “emasculated” and outdated Japan in relation to Mina’s “effeminate” Japan of today. It also compares Kirishima and Mina’s history and character growth to Katsuki and Izuku’s.

Shoto Todoroki and the Middle Way (Formerly titled, “Original Character Do Not Steal: Why Shoto Todoroki's Best Quality Is Being Lame As Hell And the Fact That It Drives Katsuki Bakugo Nuts”)

This “presentation” post gives a brief overview of Shoto Todoroki’s character and arc, particularly as it relates to Katsuki’s. It discusses eastern notions of balance in all things and how Shoto’s personal quest for balance within himself and his turbulent family reflects upon Katsuki and Izuku’s interpersonal situation.

Todoroki: The Mountain, the Hawk, and the Haunted House | Part 1 | Part 2 | Ao3 (updated to ver. 2.0)

These “presentation” posts take a detailed look at the Todoroki family members and their stories, and provides a significant chunk of meta about Keigo Takami (Hawks). It covers the basics of Japan’s postwar western envy, the modern Japanese patriarchy, and ie family system as well as how these things relate to the characters and their motivations. These posts also discuss the parallels of several sets of characters including Keigo and Toya, Keigo and Deku, Endeavor/Enji and All Might/Toshinori, and Enji and Deku.

A Practical Solution to Ochako Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugo’s Mutual Problem (with surprise guest Himiko Toga!)

This “presentation” is formulated like a joke complete with some rough ribbing towards Deku. This discusses the similarities and differences in Uraraka, Bakugo, and Toga’s plots and relationships with Izuku Midoriya.

Trauma Doesn’t Make You Wrong or Right But it Does Make You Easier to Manipulate: Tomura Shigaraki and All for One (with surprise guests Eri, Tenko Shimura’s family, and the League of Villains!) | Ao3

This “presentation” discusses the similarities and overlap between Heroes, Villains and victims. It also breaks down how All for One is a personification of fascism throughout time and how he targets individuals, as well as what social or individual qualities he considers when choosing his marks. Oh, and this one discusses the nature of trauma and PTSD, how abuse perpetuates a cycle of itself, and how Shigaraki’s destructive rampage is really a cry for help.

From Shuichi Iguchi to Tomura Shigaraki and Bakugo Katsuki to Izuku Midoriya: With Love From Your Shadow | Ao3

This “presentation” discusses Spinner and his role in the story as well as how he and his relationship with Shigaraki parallels (or doesn’t parallel) Bakugo’s relationship with Deku.

#bnha #my hero academia #mha meta #bnha meta #bakugo katsuki #izuku midoriya #kirishima eijiro #todoroki shoto #mina ashido #spinner #shuichi iguchi #shigaraki tomura #tenko shimura #all for one #bnha manga spoilers

[percheduphere]

Hi! Firstly, I wanted to say, I LOVE your analysis, and your detailed deep dive into characters!!! I love your view of Sylvie, and I especially love your metas on Mobius (my beloved). I always jump with happiness, when your new meta shows up! :D Anyway, I wanted to ask - I know, you mentioned it many times but - how do you think the timeline of falling in love for the other looked like? I was thinking about it a lot. Like when Loki started to fall for Mobius? How s2e1 and the fact, that Mobius didn't remember him impacted him? What you think, that was THE moment, when Loki fall for Mobius as heard as he could? And what was the moment he realized he loved him? (and what did he THINK ABOUT THAT????) Also how do you think he was copying with this love for Mobius for those centuries in a loop?? ... And same for Mobius :D When do you think he actually fell for THIS specific Loki? When did he had that OH moment? :D (when he realized he love him) (Also how the 1893 DATE impacted them??? xD ) And lastly, what they think the other is feeling? They seem to me, like classic IDIOTS IN LOVE trope, but I would really REALY love to see your thoughts on that!!! Once again, I thank you for all your work, you're brilliant (I fell in love with your meta on sense and sensibility) Have a great day!!! ❤️ PS: I'm sorry for mistakes (I'm terrible at English) Tru

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHEN THEY STARTED FALLING FOR EACH OTHER

As always, thank you to all the lovely gif artists who make my metas possible.

Thank you so much for your patience @trutrustories!

With respect to the individual timelines of when Mobius and Loki "fall for each other", obviously my take is subjective and there are plenty of viewers who don't see any romantic angle between them at all. That's fine because even without the romantic angle, I think the timelines I map out still demonstrates key moments in which Mobius and Loki's relationship with each other deepens.

As a warning, since this is a timeline request from the perspective of two characters, this post is MASSIVE.

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES

As a general note, the Loki series uses a few narrative techniques fairly regularly.

A.) REFRAMING / REVERSE PAY-OFF

The series has a habit of reframing the interpretation of previous episodes with the presentation of new information in future episodes. That is, reverse pay-off. Here are key examples, which I discuss in the "timelines" later:

Sylvie tells Loki she can't sleep in front of people she doesn't trust in S1E3; Loki falls asleep in front of Mobius in S1E2

Loki describes love as a dagger in S1E3; Mobius gives Loki daggers in S1E2.

Loki timeslips "uncontrollably", yet manages to timeslip back to Mobius with increasing accuracy in S2E1; Loki realizes timeslipping can be controlled by thinking about "who" in S2E5.

B.) MIRRORING

Loki mirrors Mobius's emotional trajectory from S1E1 - S2E1 (S1E3 has no Mobius). Episode 5 in BOTH seasons is when they both give each other up for the sake of the other.

Sylvie (chaos) & Ravonna (order) and Loki (chaos) & Mobius (order).

C.) REPETITION

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he wants and returns his friendship. Mobius is pruned. (S1E4)

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he and Sylvie "don't see things the same way". Mobius has no memory of him. (S2E1)

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he (Loki) loves him. Mobius (as Don) spaghettifies. (S2E5)

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he has to give him up to save everyone. Mobius is left behind. (S2E6)

Let's keep these narrative techniques in mind as we proceed!

MOBIUS

Mobius is pretty straightforward. Though I didn't perceive any romantic love in my first watch through of S1, the angle of romance feels more credible when reviewing S1 after having seen S2E1. S2E1 reframes how we can view Mobius's emotional motivations.

The inferred backstory, as the audience understands it, is that Mobius has studied Lokis for eons. Loki is his area of expertise. His pet project. His special interest. As I mentioned in another meta, it's perfectly reasonable for someone to gradually fall in love with the subject matter of their work over time. In this case, that subject matter happens to be an actual person.

By the time Loki is apprehended by the TVA, Mobius already had a plan in motion to save him from deletion. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision for him. Mobius had been preparing for this encounter for a while. Likely centuries. This is inferred through the fact another TVA agent seeks Mobius out immediately with Loki (L1130)'s file. Why bother doing that if all variants who cause a nexus event get "reset"?

And boy, is Mobius eager to have Loki by his side once he has him. In what world would anyone offer 2012 Loki a handshake? Mobius's, apparently.

Mobius also doesn't hesitate to touch Loki right off the bat. When Loki pauses to look at the TVA "world", Mobius lays a guiding hand on Loki's back. (Unfortunately couldn't find the gif for this).

It also doesn't take Mobius long to get emotionally compromised once he has Loki under his wing. I talk about the exact moment I believe this happens here.

This reaction from Loki, in response to Mobius's praise, is a big moment for both of them. They genuinely like and enjoy one another in this scene.

Moments later, Mobius absolutely gushes about Loki to his best friend boss lady, Ravonna.

He's so proud of Loki's breakthroughs and is really happy with how well they work together as a team. So much so that his judgment gets clouded and he insists on bringing Loki out into the field, where Loki's most likely to betray him.

NOTE: The moment above is when I believe he's officially compromised.

By the middle of S1E2, Mobius fell first. However, I don't think Mobius realizes the exact nature of his feelings for Loki until S1E5. From a platonic standpoint, Mobius definitely started thinking of Loki as a friend by this time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have called Loki a "bad friend" in S1E4.

In a S1 interview, Tom describes Mobius as having love for Loki, and Loki, at that point in his character development, "not wanting that" (you can see a compilation of interviews with Tom and Owen here). Based on this, I think it's safe to say that Mobius's love for Loki is not only genuine but also unconditional and abiding.

This unconditional, abiding love is what allows Mobius to want to believe in Loki despite his evident betrayal in S1E4. In the same episode, he implies via rhetorical question that Loki doesn't deserve to be alone and accepts that it's Sylvie that Loki wants to be with.

If Mobius hadn't accepted this, he wouldn't have made it his focus to bring Sylvie to Loki in S2E5.

And as I mention elsewhere, the moment below was the first instance in which I felt there could be unrequited love. I think Mobius's realizes it, too, in this scene:

Mobius maintains his acceptance of Loki's feelings for Sylvie throughout S2, however grudgingly. A microanalysis of the McDonald's scene may be reviewed here.

In S2E1, Mobius's love for Loki is demonstrated throughout. I discuss how pivotal this episode is here.

In terms of Mobius's personal perspective on their relationship. I think Mobius believes he will only ever Loki's friend and #2, as opposed to #1, a position he believes Sylvie holds.

While Mobius knows Loki will support him as a friend and can count on his protection on the field, I don't think it ever crosses his mind that Loki would prioritize him (that is, place Mobius as #1). Their last private interaction would reinforce Mobius's notion that Loki will take Sylvie's side if given the choice to choose between the two of them:

And while Mobius might not like it, while Mobius is clearly hurt by it, he doesn't allow this interaction to ruin his friendship with Loki. Because he loves Loki deeply.

It can even be argued that, in addition to personal guilt due to his role in the TVA, Mobius doesn't fight Sylvie's accusations because to do so would hurt Sylvie, and hurting Sylvie would hurt Loki, which is unacceptable. Therefore, Mobius just takes it, even though it would be very easy to point out to Sylvie that killing HWR triggered the crisis they're in.

As far as Mobius is concerned, he mostly likely thinks his love continues to be unrequited and has made peace with that since S1. His final scene could be interpreted as grief over the loss of a friend as well as grief over the loss of what could have been.

LOKI

Loki's feelings for Mobius evolve much more gradually, and the emotional journey of those feelings is accordingly more complex.

In S1E1, I believe Loki appreciates Mobius's directness. I know I've stated this multiple times, but I think it bears repeating: a lot of Loki fans absolutely hate Mobius's treatment of Loki in this episode, but I think it's important to remember where Loki's state of mind is at.

There was no way 2012 Loki would have been receptive to soft compassion. He doesn't understand soft. He sees softness as a weakness and refuses to engage with it because he doesn't want to be seen as soft. What 2012 Loki does understand is cruelty. He will listen and pay attention to cruelty because cruelty is a gesture of power, and power is control. His default mode is the desire and respect of power, which Mobius has over him. He respects that he has been bested. Crucially, Mobius balances his cruelty (to get Loki to listen) with genuine kindness. This is what allows Loki's first breakthrough of choosing to be vulnerable with Mobius. Admitting he doesn't like hurting people, that he is weak, (that he isn't happy), requires trust on Loki's part that Mobius will not mock him for it.

Unlike Mobius, Loki does not have access to files and tape recordings on Mobius's life. As such, Loki starts out with less power in their dynamic. All he knows about Mobius is what he gleans from Mobius's treatment of him and others. And Mobius, even when he is frustrated and annoyed with Loki, consistently gives Loki chances to demonstrate his ability outside of the context of being a villain. He never gives up on him.

Mobius, through his consistency of compassion and refusal to abuse his power (until he's betrayed in S1E4), proves he is trustworthy to Loki.

Nevertheless, the power imbalance puts Loki in a corner where he can't afford to place all his eggs in the Mobius basket. There's manipulation happening between them, and they both know it, so their interactions in S1, while entertaining for both of them, are also colored with mutual distrust.

For this reason, in addition to raw curiosity and poor impulse control, Loki runs after Sylvie and betrays the friendship with Mobius he didn't know he already had.

In S1E3, we have our first instance of new information paying off the meaning of a scene from a previous episode. On the train, Sylvie informs Loki she cannot sleep in front of people she doesn't trust (can't find the gif with the quote). Since Sylvie is a Loki, the audience can infer the same baseline nature may apply to "our" Loki as well.

In S1E2, we find Loki sleeping across Mobius. The significance of this is implied but not confirmed until S1E3.

When Sylvie wakes up (having fallen asleep despite herself, reinforcing the relational impact of Mobius to Loki to Sylvie, as well as affirming tentative trust on her part), she finds Loki drunk. When people are drunk, subconscious feelings come to the fore.

It is here that we have our second instance of new information paying off a scene from the previous episode. Or alternatively, Loki's interpretation of a previous moment with Mobius defined in a scene with Sylvie: "Love is a dagger."

Personally, I don't think Loki feels any love for Mobius when he makes his infamous metaphor. What I think happens in this scene, is that Loki has subconsciously interpreted the gift of daggers as an act of love.

Why?

Because daggers are for stabbing people in the back. For someone to give another a dagger implies absolute trust. That level of trust entails love.

But at this point in the story, Loki's experience with love and trust is very new. Perhaps it stands to reason, at least in Loki's hindbrain, that those feelings would be better directed at someone familiar, someone like himself: Sylvie. It certainly helps that he's immediately fascinated with her to begin with and he genuinely cares for her.

Significantly, upon Loki making the dagger disappear, Sylvie describes the dagger, love, as "it isn't real". This is an answer Loki intentionally draws out of Sylvie, because he and Sylvie are the same, which reinforces the thought that the love he subconsciously feels from Mobius cannot possibly be real. I think this may be what Tom is alluding to when he describes Loki as not wanting Mobius's love (because he isn't ready for it yet, even if it's purely platonic).

Loki and Sylvie's capture in S1E4 lead to the interrogation scene, which in turn leads to the tension of mutual distrust and mutual desire for trust snapping. This is articulated when Mobius calls Loki a "bad friend", which startles him. Within the MCU canon, no one has ever called Loki a 'friend'.

The tension breaks when Mobius returns to Loki, and they make very clear, active choices about what they want:

They choose to forgive one another

They choose to trust one another

They choose to affirm that a friendship between them exists

They choose to be on the same page and side

They talk through their fight in a very direct and healthy way. In addition to being called a 'friend' for the first time, it's highly likely this is the first time Loki has successfully mended fences with someone who isn't family. Thus, in one episode, Loki has had not 1 but 2 substantive milestones that contribute not just to his relationship with Mobius but his personal healing and growth.

But the narrative demands that as soon as the main character experiences triumph, they must experience tragedy, too.

Loki loses Mobius a total of 4 times in the series:

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he wants and returns his friendship. Mobius is pruned. (S1E4)

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he and Sylvie "don't see things the same way". Mobius has no memory of him. (S2E1)

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he (Loki) loves him. Mobius (as Don) spaghettifies. (S2E5)

Loki loses Mobius after realizing he has to give him up to save everyone. Mobius is left behind. (S2E6)

If you notice, Loki's emotional journey, at least as far as romantic reciprocation is concerned, is more or less a season behind Mobius's. Its progression is also punctuated by loss almost as soon as the personal epiphany occurs.

After Sylvie, for lack of a better word, "dumps" him, Loki has time to reflect on what has transpired, the dire consequences likely awaiting, and who has chosen to support him all along (a review of Mobius's decision-making where Loki's well-being is concerned may be read here.)

With this in mind, Loki runs in search of Mobius.

Which makes encountering a Mobius who doesn't know him, that much more devastating.

Tom's acting here is something else. Loki's desperation to have his Mobius back is visceral and foreshadows a similar desperation in S2E5. This moment, I feel, is the beginning of Loki's feelings tilting from platonic love to romantic. He's not fully there yet like Mobius already is, but it's starting.

And that gradual build-up of investment in Mobius spreads over S2E1 - S2E5. In these S2 episodes, Loki mirrors Mobius's emotional trajectory from S1E1 - S2E1 (S1E3 has no Mobius). Keep this mirroring in mind because Episode 5 in BOTH seasons is when they both give each other up for the sake of the other.

In S2E2, Loki protects Mobius physically:

And supports him emotionally:

In S2E3, Loki enjoys his magic and curbs its intensity for Mobius:

In S234, unbeknownst to Mobius, Loki defends his character and his efforts to save the timelines:

Now, S2E5 is where it all culminates.

I'm getting close to the gif threshold and the fit-check has been discussed at length, so I want to focus on this scene. Here, Loki tells Mobius that he "belongs" in the TVA and that he saved Loki's life when he first arrived. This shot of Loki saying Mobius's name echoes Mobius's look of unrequited love in S1E5's goodbye scene.

But I don't think Loki has fully articulated, in his mind, exactly what his feelings are because he's rushing. His sole focus for the time-being is getting Mobius back, and he does so, temporarily, through recruiting Don.

It's when Loki find's Sylvie that he has the time to once again reflect on the nature of his and Mobius's relationship and his regard for it as he did in S1E6. And it is, once again, Sylvie who acts as the catalyst for Loki's emotional epiphany.

When Sylvie challenges Loki to say what he actually wants, he struggles to respond. The want is too vulnerable to reveal.

I love Tom's micro-expressions in the above gifs (thank you @starrose17!) The pursed lips, the hard swallow, and the tears welling up in his eyes ... This is it, this is the moment I believe Loki finally realizes he's in love with Mobius.

He phrases his desire as wanting his friends back. That's true enough (an analysis of what the TVA means to Loki and Mobius may be read here). However, Loki later reuses the word "belong" and applies it to himself. Mobius, in his words, "belongs" in the TVA. Without his friends (the TVA) where does Loki "belong"?

This is outside of text and the sociopolitical conflict between the artists and the studio, but the case can be made that Loki doesn't entirely trust Sylvie with his feelings. Loki did, after all, witness Sylvie reprimand and humiliate Mobius. To directly admit love for the same person Sylvie harshly rebuked may not be received well, but I think Sylvie already knows and may have known as far back as when she commented "he cares about you" in S1E5.

From Loki's perspective, I think Loki knows Mobius loves him, but I am less certain if Loki knows Mobius loves him romantically. That said, prior to his sacrifice, I think Loki was emotionally ready to confess. I also believe Loki, while not 100% confident his romantic love would be reciprocated, senses his odds for reciprocation are good.

Unfortunately, their fate was to become star-crossed lovers.

(For now).

#loki #mobius #lokius #loki series #loki season 2 #loki meta #my meta #loki analysis #my analysis #asks

[esther-dot]

It seems like jonsa wasn’t a thing till season 6 happened and they hugged each other? Idk I’m wondering what some saw in that hug that others didn’t that made people start shipping them romantically? That scene was emotional for me but that’s because I saw two siblings that have been through so much and are what’s left of their family reunite. Of course since then there has been a lot of metas written from both show and book to support it. But it was after the fact. What was it about that one scene lol

Well, season six premiered in 2016, but three years prior, in 2013 there was a beautiful meta speculating that Jon and Sansa would reunite first of all the Starks (link) and marry for political reasons, so, the hug may have been the introduction to the idea for some, but the interest in/theory of romantic Jonsa preexisted it.

In addition to spec, there are Jonsa fics on AO3 dating back to 2011 (I see some that are now dated before that but those may have been backdated, not sure), I know I've reblogged artwork and meta from before the reunion, here’s a post about the ship from 2011, so, the moment anyone thought “this reunion is being filmed some kinda way”, or, “this soup scene is a little flirty”, or “why are they breathing this way in their scenes and …is Jon…panting? WTF”, or “why did they mutually cloak each other?”, or “why are the promising trust and protection?”, or “why are they cosplaying as NedCat?” they could check and find meta and fics that predicted some or several of those elements before the show did it. Some of the fics and spec even predicted Sansa in Witnerfell and Jon at the Wall, so there was a lot of foresight on the part of the og shippers!

I suppose what I’m getting at is that even when people point to the hug, there’s a context for why it so easily  snowballed. We can pinpoint that as the moment, but my tendency is to think that all the surrounding things made a foundation for it. I mean, even genre tropes played a role here. I’ve had people tell me they expected it from the first book because of the princess/secret prince idea. And, in-verse, it has connections to other ideas like a Targ prince and Stark maiden, Targcest, and the Jaime/Jon foils + the Cersei/Sansa foils situation. I mean, hundreds of thousands of words have been written about this stuff since the reunion, sure, but a lot of the elements that make it so compelling were written by book fans first, they just never carried it to an endpoint where these things could all be gathered into a single development that allowed Martin to write a shade of grey into his discussion of incest via a storyline that also addresses Jon's longing for Winterfell/children and Sansa's desire for love. If one is willing to take a step back from the preconception of what Jonsa is, why it exists as a ship, it's very easy to see it as a clever culmination of many, many threads into a heart-wrenching, possibly hopeful, development. So, I’d argue that even if those ideas were only present in someone’s subconscious, it’s why someone might watch that hug (or the mutual cloaking/chemistry of the actors/lighting and blocking etc) and have a holy shit moment.

As for the hug itself, I don’t interpret it as romantic either in the sense that, I don’t think that is at all what the characters were feeling. However, when one thinks about how it was filmed, the breathlessness of the acting and how they let that scene stretch out and take it’s time...few other moments compare. Every aspect of it worked to tell the audience how important it was, and of course, as a Stark fan, finally having two Starks reunite after near misses, well, we had spent years building up to a meaningful Stark moment. Jon and Sansa’s relief and joy was ours. And not only did we have all that catharsis and a scene that was...treated with solemnity in a show that was losing it’s depth, storywise, it was one of the few writing choices after the halfway point that carried through the last three seasons. It set a trajectory for Jon and Sansa individually, that reunion and relationship changed everything for them. However one interprets it, their bond became the most important relationship in the last three seasons, and was of the utmost importance in the finale, despite everything becoming pretty nonsensical. In hindsight, it wasn’t accidentally meaningful, incidentally a highpoint of the series, it was essential, essential to them, essential to the story, essential to the endgame.

So, not only do you have in-universe ideas that make this meaningful, not only was there speculation that called it and presents it as the beginning of a romance, not only did they film it in a far more reverential way than they filmed any other relationship (even more so than the epic romance of the series), it also was a necessary stepping stone to the endgame. Even mishandled as it ultimately was, the weight of what it meant spans the entire series, and audiences felt that. It was a turning point for Jon, for Sansa, for the North, for the fight against the Others (even more so than Jon meeting Dany because s7-s8 were so horribly written), so not only is it compelling for lovers of themes, for lovers of the overarching narrative, for lovers of the characters who simply needed their favs to smile again, the failure of the last two seasons made it even more of a high point in our minds of what GoT was and should have been, who these characters are and what they want. And you see how this leads us right back to those desires Jon and Sansa have: Winterfell and family. Again, I did not watch s6 and think it had to be interpreted romantically, but after s7 when I got online and read spec, rewatched their scenes and compared them to how Kit acted Jon with Ygritte and with Dany, I changed my mind. Jon and Sansa, their desires and fears, were never as vivid and compelling as they were in their shared scenes, every conversation developed the complexity of their emotions for each other, and all of that was established in the way they presented that first hug—disbelief, longing, relief, joy.

Also, when someone can predict what happens, I think it’s worthwhile to consider the idea that maybe there’s something to learn from their interpretation of themes, and the fact that a Jonsa reunion was long predicted, matters so much for character development as well as plot progression...well, it means something! Anyway, I can’t argue that the hug itself was romantic, but I do think, especially in comparison to how they handled every other relationship, meeting or reunion in s7-8, that D&D were doing something there, and I personally can’t be convinced they meant for the Jon and Sansa dynamic to be read as strictly familial.

#dot chat #<- tag to filter #jonsa

[orionsangel86]

Seeing criticism of Good Omens Season 2 on here is a wild ride for me because I generally seem to agree with everything gomens critical people are saying whilst at the same time still absolutely loving gomens S2.

It's like this: Okay so you have written this super popular book revolving around this precocious kid who happens to be the antichrist whose birth kickstarts the apocalypse. The four horseman turn up as well as these other strange human characters one of which is an actual witch whose great great great grandmother wrote an accurate prophecy book which predicts armaggedon. Through a series of somewhat hilarious events, the kid, his friends, and the other weird humans manage to stop the apocalypse.

Also throughout the whole thing there are these angel and demon characters fussing about getting into arguments but not actually doing anything to forward the plot or make any difference to the main storyline. For some reason everyone reading the book finds these characters far more compelling and entertaining and seems to think they are the main characters. But they are not.

Then the book gets adapted into a show and the focus shifts onto the angel and demon characters because obviously they are the popular ones that everyone loves. So what's a writer to do when the fan favourite characters basically don't have any part in the primary plot points? Give them a more coherent side plot steeped in romantic tropes and claim that they are in love. Boom. Instant fandom catnip.

But then you are presented with a problem. The show has become super successful and everyone wants more story. You may have discussed a sequel over the years with your writing partner but it never really came to anything probably because its difficult to plot out a sequel centred around two characters who weren't the protagonist of the first book, and that story is done and dusted. Whats a writer to do?

Lean into the fans thirst for more angel on demon action and write what amounts to high budget fanfiction pulling the love story b plot of season 1 into the main focus for season 2. Of course book purists are gonna hate that!

Any legitimate sequel to Good Omens should have centered around Adam. The former antichrist now coping with everything he went through growing up a normal human whilst still having a creeping sense that its not quite over, that maybe heaven and hell still have a part for you to play in their grand plan. Sure, Crowley and Aziraphale could have been involved, continuing their b plot love story, but at least this way the sequel would have been more consistent with the plot of season 1.

The problem with continuing Adam's story is that, and I mean no disrespect here, no one cares about Adam. Adam and his friends are the weakest elements of season 1. People tune into Good Omens for the Crowley and Aziraphale show, and Neil Gaiman knows this.

The plot of Gomens S2 is weak. The mystery around Gabriel is a bit silly, and is only connected to the season 1 plot in the loosest sense. The fact that he and Beelzebub speedrun an angel/demon romance is bizarre and does come out of left field... like something out of fanfiction. It also does indeed rob some of what made Crowley/Aziraphale so special - the fact that they were unique in their love and respect for each other despite being on opposite sides. Also I wish Maggie and Nina were given more development (and less clunky dialogue).

The only criticism I really don't agree with is the criticism that Aziraphale was written out of character, because quite simply, season 1 never ever resolved the fundamental issue at the center of Crowley and Aziraphales relationship. Throughout season 1 Aziraphale constantly insults and berates Crowley, claiming he's the "bad one" and refusing to accept that they aren't on opposite sides. There have been plenty of metas stating that this was all out of fear and a need to protect Crowley, and sure, you can interpret it that way, but not once in season 1 does Aziraphale actually say "yes we are on our side. Yes we are the same. I was wrong to claim you were bad when you've clearly been showing me how good you are for millennia." Its maybe implied that he has learned, but its never truly confirmed, because season 1 wasn't about Crowley and Aziraphale and their relationship. But season 2 takes its lead from that.

It's just rather amusing to me how the discourse that has built around season 2 seems to be fundamentally forgetting these points. GOS2 isn't really a sequel to Good Omens. It's a spin off. It's a spin off about Crowley and Aziraphale and their silly relationship drama whilst they deal with a silly low stakes mystery regarding Heaven and Hell (also characters that were barely involved in the book if at all!). It doesn't really tie into the first story at all.

In my opinion, all it needed to link it more closely to season 1, was to bring back Frances McDormand as God to do the narration. If that had happened, season 2 would have been just fine. As it stands, it comes across rather like a spin off fanfiction. But I love fanfiction, and I have always only ever watched Good Omens for Aziraphale and Crowley. To me, season 2 is fantastic, its like if Supernatural had a spin off show all about Castiel in which he is the lead character, and part of the main A plot is him getting together with Dean finally - Dean being the love interest in this particular show. Amazing. 10/10 would watch another 15 seasons of just that - but general Supernatural fans who aren't fandom specific would probably HATE IT.

So yeah, I do understand the criticism its receiving, but I find it funny, because ultimately Neil Gaiman gave fans exactly what they wanted, he gave them an Ineffable Husbands fanfiction - M/M Romance, F/F OC Side Pairing, Rated: Teen and Up, #Fluff, #Dancing, #Excessive Jane Austen References, #Crack Treated Seriously, #Surprise Final Pairing (check the end notes for spoilers!), #Miscommunication, #Love Confessions, #First Kiss, #Angst #Hurt/No Comfort, #Cliffhanger Ending.

Can any of us really say we wouldn't immediately click "proceed" on this fic and then stay up til 3am reading it til our eyes bled? Me neither.

#good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens season 2 spoilers #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #aziracrow #good omens discourse #honest gos2 review

[st-clements-steps]

A Greysnow Meta

Let’s be clear this is not a ship theory, I find it very unlikely Jon and Theon will become romantically involved in canon. Someone much more interested in unravelling the textual clues of canon could surely make some interesting predictions about when and how Theon and Jon will meet again, and what state they might both be in at that point. And it would be up to each of us readers whether we wanted to read those clues as foreshadowing a romantic relationship or a platonic friendship or a strategic alliance.

Instead I am interested in the dynamic possibilities of Greysnow, what does Greysnow offer as a ship? And yes I do think a modern smut one shot can offer as much (or as little) interesting character exploration as a book quoting essay. Since shipping can be a very fun way to elaborate on any complex media, including asoiaf/GoT, the forces that would come into play in the ship can tell us a lot about Theon, Jon and our own fan responses.

(This mainly a book discussion but it does discuss the show a little)

Enemies to Lovers

My feelings on this trope are a subjective thing, I know that, but the twist from anger into passion can be a very compelling one and it works with Greysnow twice over. 

As adolescents growing up together we know they have a mutual dislike: 

Theon ignored him utterly, but there was nothing new in that. Jon I AGOT

The bastard was a sullen boy, quick to sense a slight, jealous of Theon's high birth Theon I ACOK

And here can’t we read how put out they each are but by what they perceive as the other’s disregard for them? They don’t like the other and yet there is an underlying sense they wanted to be noticed, or not to be treated with sullen disdain. This is Enemies to Lovers in the fun, frisson filled state that most fanfic (and romance readers) expect of it. The romantic and sexual tension offers a myriad of possibilities.

Of course there is also a much more violent Enemies to Lovers possibility with Greysnow, Theon sees it:

Jon would take his head off in a heartbeat. A Ghost in Winterfell (ADWD)

It's a possibility in which Theon immediately confronts the reader with the way Ramsay has been set up to mirror Jon:

Plucked from the clutches of one bastard to die at the hands of another, what a jape. A Ghost in Winterfell (ADWD)

And so the Enemies to Lovers trope can offer, the shippers, the writers, the hopers, something much more complex than frisson, if that’s the road they want to take. Canon offers it up to us, we can explore Theon’s abuse at the hands of one bastard by imagining the relationship he would form with the bastard central to the text. We can explore Jon’s relationship to his birth status by viewing him through the prism of someone who has experienced a man who lives up to the very worst of Westeros’ rhetoric against baseborn children.

Misunderstandings

Misunderstandings and their resolution make a story go round, they are a fundamental part of all the best stories. And Enemies to Lovers offers misunderstanding inherently as part of its dynamic, we can see that immediately in the quotes above. The hint they don’t want to be at odds, the narrow picture they have each assumed of the other. 

And yet there is also the opposite misunderstanding, Theon believes Jon would take his head, Jon thinks:

They [Bran and Rickon] can't be dead. Theon would never do that. Jon VI (ASOS)

Whether he still believes this, come The Winds of Winter, well who knows? That’s the possibility the writer can play with, the shipper can daydream about, because there are so many different misunderstanding paths to wander off down, Jon, awakened from the dead, may not remember his previous animosity towards Theon, or he might demand the right to execute Theon himself, they may need to unravel together the mysterious intervention of the weirwood tree, or the complexities of having your own name take from you?

In a world where everyone’s identity is a slippery thing, like a flipped coin, Theon and Jon unravelling the misunderstandings of canon, either at odds or in tandem could be so interesting.

An exploration of Jon’s canonical attraction to men

Jon thinks of male characters in ways that read like he finds them attractive. GRRM may never explore this, and maybe he does not intend it, with Jaime it could be a platonic admiration I suppose:

Jon found it hard to look away from him. This is what a king should look like, he thought to himself as the man passed. Jon I (AGOT)

Try and convince me that you can dismiss his description of Satin in the same way though:

He was pretty as a girl with his dark eyes, soft skin, and raven's ringlets. Jon VII (ASOS)

And yes you could explore this attraction through writing Jon x Satin, or any number of Jon x male character ships but….

An mlm ship that explores 2 POV characters

The asoiaf (and GoT) fandom is oddly heterosexual (we have to discount HOTD here, where everything gets much more queer). I say oddly because most other fandoms appear to be much more about mlm shipping than anything else.

The five biggest mlm ships in asoiaf/GoT are all ships which include at least one non-POV character. Of course most of them are tagged with both show and book so perhaps this doesn’t matter? But as a writer, writing a character is much easier if they have a voice you can explore first. Even with show-only fics it is undeniable that the POV characters who survived to season 8 have a lot more screen time. I love side characters, even a few who are only graced with a few lines, but as a reader I can’t deny that my conception of a non-POV character could be wildly different to someone else’s. Even when someone is a thoughtful, considered writer, who has clearly used canon to build their characters. 

If you’re writing considered fanfic the foundations of writing a POV character are so much stronger. And they offer so much more opportunity to reflect on the text, to comment on and discuss canon in a way that can be gentler and much less hostile than a lot of meta ends up being.

An exploration of Theon’s complex sexuality

Interestingly despite my above analysis on Jon’s sexuality it is Theon who features in the 2 most tagged mlm relationships in asoiaf/GoT. And yes here show dynamics clearly have some influence because actually Theon’s sexuality is strangely more elusive than Jon’s despite his greater apparent interest in actual sex. 

In my mind Theon never appears to express attraction unless the other person has already clearly shown an interest (or fucked him). What he seems to like is to be wanted. 

And so he flirts. It is Cat who tells us this time and again, describes his easy confidence and his cocky smile, his vault to lift her from the boat, tells us of him:

Enjoying a horn of ale and regaling her father's garrison with an account of the slaughter in the Whispering Wood. Catelyn XI (AGOT)

Theon plays down his attachment to everyone, Patrek is not too ill a fellow, and it is only when he gives the reader the tiniest hint of the liaison with a miller’s wife (so many miller’s wives, so little time) that we hear something softer:

Would that Patrek were with me now. Theon I (ACOK)

And yet despite Theon’s ambiguity, or perhaps because of it, people are drawn to ship him in mlm relationships. 

And of course Greysnow offers the possibility that a simple cocky smile does not always work, the possibility of exploring how Theon copes when he is not overtly wanted? When the other person is as good at concealing his emotions as Theon himself is in many ways.

No one is quite what they appear in asoiaf, literally, they have identities that are taken from them, they are concealed, to abuse them on occasion, to protect them in other instances. What is more, as we get under the skin of every POV character, we see the ways in which those around them are misreading their true feelings, the ways they are dissembling to meet society’s expectations. And Greysnow is a lovely ship for peeling back the tricksiness of identity, the secrets both Jon and Theon are keeping and exposing the truths of both their characters.

#theon greyjoy #jon snow #greysnowweek #jon x theon #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #I cannot meta the show I watched the show and had feelings #My feelings were mainly right (obv) #Yes yes there should be a lot more Jon x Tyrion (at least from an exploring characters through shipping discussion and fics perspective) #more jon x sam too #fic as a way to explore characters

[trutrustories]

STUDY IN LOKI ROMANCE

Part 6: Conclusion

Since we're only a few days away from the last episode, I decided to COUNT DOWN everything we´ve got so far ( that can be interpreted very easily as romantic ) and discuss what the actual fuck is going on with second season. Because even though I shipped lokius practically from S1E2, I absolutely did NOT expect this kind of development. (Not that I´m complaining)

Warning: This is gonna be LONG post, lots of screenshots, lots of SPOILERS, lot of "oh-my-god-they-so-cute" language, and little bit of meta.

I originally thought that this post would be everything at once, but since I have just too many screenshots this time around, I´ll have to split it. so every post will be one episode. Color coding means:

IIIIIIIIII = anything, that coud potentialy be just acting choice.

IIIIIIIIII = everything else (tzn.: whatever was written, and/or carefully prepared by filmmakers. )

side note: I already wrote, about how amazing it is, that Mobius is unable to fight but fights anyway and how beautifuly, and ridiculously brave he is HERE. But this is about Loki/Mobius interactions, so I´ll try my best not to talk about THAT. (Even when I´m really happy, that s2 continues with this formula and Mobius is still his completely defenseless while aggressively brave self. I love him, btw.) Here is count down for every episode:

EPISODE 1 HERE

EPISODE 2 HERE

EPISODE 3 HERE

EPISODE 4 HERE

EPISODE 5 HERE

Sooooo 51 lokius moments, that were completely and utterly unexpected, but yet here they are. Why? Let´s start with over look at what we´ve actualy got: Things that could technically be just acting choices and Tom´s and Owen´s chemistry together:

unexpected exhibition of touches

Distressed God and his Happy Face (at O. B. office)

Loki finding Mobius´s joke amusing

Loki´s head tilt and smile at Mobius (in pie scene)

"They say opposites attract. NO."

Another exhibition of touches (ep 3)

"let´s be as close as we physically can" challange (at Timley´s spech)

Loki glow up (Loki fixing himself for Mobius/Don)

Loki being very nervous and stuttering while talking to Mobius/Don.

Loki gently helping Mobius/Don through the time door. Things that are deffinitely NOT just acting choices:

"Mobius It´s me!"

"Tell me, you recognize me!"

scene in in an elevator

Mobius and Loki talking to OB.

bickering, like married couple, part 1

"Mobius if I don´t make it back" and "You´ll make it back".

Mobius risking his life SKIN for loki and refusing to give up on him.

Loki saves Mobius in an epic fashion and they end up in a hug:

matching suits part 1

Loki defending /saving Mobius from Brad (with magic!)

Mobius and Loki struggling to assemble IKEA furniture- sorry Tapmad together

" And he knows..."

Loki being very concerned for Mobius after his outburst, saying that It´s okay, and then suggests having pie

Bickering like married couple (part 2)

The whole freaking pie scene!

Loki and Mobius: mischievous duo (Breaking Brad)

Loki, not following Sylvie (at the end of episode 2)

matching suits part 2

"And they lived happily ever after..." circle transition

Loki and Mobius enjoying popcorn:

Also... Bickering like married couple (part 3)

"You know sometimes I forget, that you are one of them... Blows my mind!"

Mobius supporting Loki in using magic...

Victor/Ravonna - the most transparent mirror ever:

THE TANDEM BIKE

Loki going with Mobius, not even thinking about it anymore.

changing clothes together

Bickering like married couple (part 4)

The "misunderstanding trope"

Pie scene number two

Shot with only two of them, right before the end of ep4

Loki looking for Mobius in PIE ROOM

Loki Time slipping to the theater room

Mobius/Don casually informing Loki, he´s a SINGLE dad and telling him his entire work schedule

Loki time slipping to Mobius again (right when he started to be hopefull and Happy, that O. B. will be able to help him.

Mobius/Don dropping everything and forgeting about his two mischievous sons so he can give Loki full attention

Wanna buy my wife´s jetski?

"A beautiful union of form and function"

"You saved my life, when I first arrived. You saw something in me, that I hadn´t seen in myself."

"I want my friends back. I don´t want to be alone."

"It was more about what I wanted."

"It´s not about where, when or why. It´s about WHO."

So... let´s scrap the theory, that romantic tention is created only by chemistry between actors (though it IS amazing and also key ingredient) and their acting choices. Because so far, screenplay, and cinematography was supporting their story as well. I feel, like I should clarify, that I do not expect Lokius kiss, or blatant confirmation to happen. I was here during Johnlock debacle. And I was here, when Destiel ended... the way it ended. And I refuse to put in creators (especially when it comes to marvel/disney) any hope, that I know can be crushed so very easily. I´m not doing this shit again. If it happens? WOW! I´m gonna be surprised. very pleasantly surprised. I will litteraly never shut up about it

But I do not expect it. Not even now, when I saw, what are creators of Loki able to put out in the world. Like this for example:

Or this, very brutal death scene:

And yeah, I am avare, Loki officialy CAN have male love interest, because it was confirmed in a text, that he´s a bi.

Also there was this (very misleading) article few years ago:

Still. I can´t bring myself to hope for anything explicit. But I absolutely understand anyone, who have that hope. And I know, how great feeling it is, while it lasts. Anyway. I´m gonna look at all possible options, I can think of. Even some, I feel, are more possible then others. And maybe answer is not just one. It could be more things at once.

Explanation number one: Creators took notes on how season 1 was received. And they saw, that Mobius is very popular, well-liked character, his interactions with Loki were favorite moments according to majority of an audience, and decided to lean more into that, for viewer´s sake.

Same with sylvie. Once they saw her romantic relationship with Loki isn´t that popular, they decided to give her her own agency, own story instead.

Explanation number two: They genuinely think, they are showing deep friendship between two bros and nothing more. I mean... Loki getting close circle of friends and wanting to stay with them is a one of the bigest themes this season. They are trying to make a point about Loki changing bacause of them (and probably making sacrifice for them) But there is still very intentional difference between his relationship with Mobius and everybody else. Mobius is obviously the most important one of the bunch.

Explanation number three:

Creators want romantic scene with Sylvie and Loki to be big surprise at the end, so they tried to show as much problems and conflicts between them, as they could and limited their screentime together.

But I personaly think, this would be stupid for many reasons:

Making Mobius and Loki focus this season caused people to rooth for them, and be invested in their relationship more.

They showed multiple times, that Sylvie wants from life very different things, then Loki and their philosophical views differ greatly.

It doesn´t look like creators put enough effort into building up this kind of ending to be satisfying. It would just feel like they´re trying to surprise / shock audience. Explanation number four: They think that what they are doing with Mobius and Loki is father/son dynamic. (I´m sorry, but this would be just hilarious. If this is the case, I would love to know, what they were thinking, when they decided to leave Owen´s line: "You´re just a little pussycat" in there. Or when they look at all those acting choices and said YES, THANK YOU. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED.)

Explanation number five: They´re queerbaiting the hell out of us. And their master plan is to make us all watch and having hope and then they will throw in the finale some last minute no homo explanation and wil laugh in our faces.

(I suppose I don't have to say how much I like this option *sarcasm*)

Explanation number six:

Creators would like to make Lokius canon, but they are restricted / they´re not allowed to. So they decided to go as far, as they can. To give us little (big) nods, to give us those beutiful scenes. To double down on everything lokius related. And they know what they can get away with before casual viewers notice that there is something gay happening. (I mean... it looks like they can get away with anything but kiss at this point :D Like seriously. I saw people talking about how beautiful Dean and Castiel´s friendship was EVEN after finale, so...)

Explanation number seven:

They are doing Love triangle thing, where they will try ultimitely "please everyone" by giving us some scene that could be potentialy seen as romantic between Loki and Sylvie AND between Loki and Mobius (while leaving it for interpretation) In Czech republic, we call it: "when the wolf ate well, but goat is still alive."

Explanation number eight: They ARE able to make Lokius canon, but they actually like podtext more, then posibility to make it transparent, and that is just the way, they want to tell this story.

Explanation number nine: They were planning to make Lokius a thing (if not from the start, then after season one) and they made whole season this way, so more people would rooth for them. And it will end with some form of confirmation of their love story. ( as I mentioned above, I can´t see this happening, but that is my bad experience talking. If it happens, I deffinitely won´t be mad about being wrong here, I can promise you that :D )

_______

I gues we will know more about their intent after episode 6. Right now, I´m actually just hoping, that story will stay consistent as much as it can. And characters won´t die. On the contrary I hope, they will end up happy, because they did earn it. I have to say, that I enjoyed this season even more then the first. And I really do hope, that finale wont make me change my mind. Regardles of intention, this show is high quality and it is obvious how much care was poured into every aspect of this season from effects, cinematography, costums, sets, music, acting... I think, that this show is a best thing marvel did in a long, LONG time.

Also please, pleaseeee let this season end at the place, where it will be possible to see Loki and Mobius in other MCU project (I would honestly watch anything, where they appear together)

And lastly: If it doesn´t end the way you wanted, please please don´t let anger to rule your actions. Do criticize as much as you want, but please don´t harrass anybody. At the end of the day, creators of this show are also just people. Don´t say anything, you wouldn´t say into their faces. If it will end badly, watch your favourite, comfort gay show, celebrate how much Lokius fix-it fanfiction we´ll have! And how much art already exists because of those first five episodes.

Or take that frustration and turn it to motivation: maybe you can create something better!

I was there in 2017.

Please just don´t let TV show ruin your whole year and your creativity.

for people who got here and read it all: I really appreciate it! Thank you! 💚

PS: Sorry for my english and all the grammer mistakes I´m aware it´s not ideal 😅

#loki spoiler #loki #lokius #loki season 2 #loki series #loki laufeyson #loki and mobius #donki #tom hiddleston #owen wilson #mobius #mobius m mobius #mcu #marvel #loki spoilers