Asgardians are jealous of Loki. The reason Loki is so belittled and gaslighted is because people like to use him, but also in order to keep gaining favours from him, they need to keep him needy of their praise and blah blah blah. I think a lot of us know how it works, so I won't explain that. On the other hand, Loki has something they don't, which is what makes him 'untrustworthy'. Loki is adaptable, curious and dedicated, as well as other amazing traits.
Loki is "burdened with a glorious purpose". He has a bright star, and people who do not have a bright star as well tend to see that star, and want to dim it. (Yes, I believe there's a spiritual side to it.)
Loki can easily acknowledge (and has) that he's jealous of Thor, but when others call him jealous they are projecting. They especially do this when Loki outwits them. They don't even have to be jealous of Loki, they must've had their ego bruised by him in one way or another.
Sif is close to Thor, but she would never be able to surpass Loki's level of closeness, which sucks, because Loki and Thor barely have any similarities. Why is Thor so insistent on attaching Loki to his side? Thor doesn't need Loki. Thor shouldn't want Loki. Sif and Loki mirror each other. Sif is a warrior lady, most likely with a mission to bring greatness back in the name of female warriors, considering the fiasco of Hela and the Valkyries. Loki is a practisioner of magic, which is seen as feminine, and can battle without magic efficiently, as is expected of a prince. Loki can go both ways, but Sif would never be able to do such a thing.
Hogun is that non-white friend in an all white friend group who's willing to forget and disregard his own ethnic background for those white friends. Excluding the whole Jotun Loki thing, Loki and Thor are both mix-raised, seeing as Frigga is from Vanaheim (according to fandom anyways). Loki clearly inherited a lot of Vanaheimian(?) traits, including the black hair, despite having an Asgardian king for a father. If Loki behaves like a Vanaheimian despite having an Asgardian upbringing, how would Asgardians perceive Hogun? Hogun is threatened by Loki and is determined to drive him out of the friend group. On the other hand of this halfblood envy, Loki makes Hogun feel ashamed. A half Asgardian managed to out-Vanaheim the full blooded Vanaheimian.
Fandral and Volstagg? I don't know, I don't care about them. Maybe Volstagg isn't a very smart person and is jealous of Loki's wit, whereas Fandral is an enabler who's there to be a soft blow. He's a reassurance to Loki's insecurity. He's nice so Loki would think "hey, at least there's one person that's okay with me" and still hangs out with them so that they can benefit from him.
I can imagine Loki has quite the reputation. And when you have a reputation, people talk. Loki is intelligent, diplomatic and pretty much has the significant traits of both Odin and Frigga. Loki is hard working, and tries different things. He's a problem solver, and adapts well to cold weather. I could see Thor views this as Loki outshining him, which is why he could never understand how Loki believed he was in Thor's shadow. Thor thought that Loki was better than him, and suspected that maybe Loki knew it too, and made sure to remind Loki which son was in charge. Which son truly had favour. Which son really mattered. Thor cares for and loves Loki, but is also jealous of how much skill and significance Loki has, even though that skill is a result of Loki's determination, trial and errors. Loki was able to butter people up with his silver tongue, but Thor put people on edge with his loudness and forwardness.
Edit: There are more reasons I can come up with for Thor to be jealous of Loki. First off, Thor felt the only significance he had as the son of Odin was that he was the first born. That's the only relevancy he has. Personality wise, he's the typical Asgardian warrior, with the brashness, light hair and being ready for battle. Loki, on the other hand, has many amazing feats, and stands out. Thor would most likely (or is expected to) become a copy paste of Odin, whereas Loki has an identity of his own. Loki can become whatever he wants, and be whoever he wants outside royalty. Thor's destiny is to be the king and remain stagnant.
What makes it worse is that being a male mage is frowned upon for sexist reasons, but Loki ultimately gets away with it. Being the 2nd prince may play a huge factor, but you'd think that Odin would try to put a stop to that. If he did, he wasn't successful, because Loki's a known seidr practitioner to all of Asgard. I don't think Thor would've been allowed, perhaps heavily discouraged from it.
Frigga is a warbride (according to fandom again), and possibly has stockholm syndrome. I guess she's jealous of Loki's freedom. Loki is technically Odin's servant, and one who can easily gain freedom by leaving the family. Thing is, he's a great employee, and they don't want to lose him. He needs to be convinced that he has no one, and has no other opportunities. She loves Loki, but is willing to have him suffer like she does. She needs someone to be trapped with her. She needs that company. She is unknowingly working as Odin's puppet as she does this, because she herself cannot leave.
Heimdall's all seeing eyes can't spot Loki, and that gets on his nerves. This guy doesn't understand that some people find it creepy to be watched, so he can only assume that Loki is up to something. He must be! Why is he hiding himself before stepping into the shower? Why is he hiding himself as he sleeps?
Odin??? I'm not sure. Every abusive, narcissistic parent is envious of their child about something. Sometimes that envy is over nothing. Odin makes declarations of peace, but Loki is the true embodiment of that (ignoring Thor Ragnarok). Odin looked for trouble, but Loki does anything in his power to make it a last resort.
Odin obviously saw Loki as lesser. To have that lesser become the person Odin claimed to be must be a giant bruise to his ego.
Reader and Shang Tsung banter (slight friendship). I don't think Chaosrealm exists in the new timeline, or is at least inaccessible, so reader is descended from a Seido outcast. Their ancestor was a bit like Darrius, so that's the closest to Chaos she's gonna go.
This prompt is for @valyrra, hope you enjoy. Sorry if there's not enough Liu Kang.
You watched Liu Kang stand next to keeper Kitana. They were talking, smiling at each other with the utmost care in their eyes. You could pull any man you wanted, but you couldn't help the worry and jealousy you felt as you stared at them. This was Liu Kang's Kitana, one where he came from.
Your titan self was almost identical to you, and when you spotted her she was standing next to her partner from her timeline, something you always did when your partner was around. And that was Liu Kang, but it wasn't the appropriate time to get his attention.
There were multiple versions of you, and yet only two were titans. There was one with Kung Lao, the other with Johnny Cage. You loved Johnny, but seeing the difference in your love life sent a punch to your gut.
You tried to distract yourself by applying makeup, keeping your attention to your mini mirror. But a certain sorcerer had to have your attention.
"Isn't it a shame. It's always the ones you hold dear."
"Shut up." you rolled your eyes at Shang Tsung. "Didn't you get your crown snatched?"
Shang frowned but waved his hand dismissively, "It wasn't a pageant crown, it wasn't as important as it was made out to be." he spoke sarcastically.
"You still lost a crown." you waved your lipstick at him.
"I'm sure he doesn't mean it like that." said a different Shang, a Light variant of him. He had a gold circlet crown that proved your point. "I'm sure he's just..." he stared hard at his other self, who returned the stare with a tiny sneer, "A bit concerned."
"Very concerned." Shang crooned, "You aren't your usual lively self."
Light Shang blinked at you, "You feel upset, why?"
You looked at them both, then at where your Liu Kang was talking with his Kitana.
"Look at them." you hissed and then pouted.
Light Shang glanced at where you were glaring and a small smile went on his face. "Princess Kitana and Lord Liu Kang. They are always good allies."
You huffed, "Sure."
Light Shang held interest in his eyes, "Is this timeline's Liu Kang courting you? He looks at you with a lot of affection."
"We are intimate."
"I doubt he gets squeamish." said your Shang, inspecting his nails.
Light Shang had a slight blush on his cheeks and avoided eye contact. "You both enjoy each other."
"We don't just enjoy each other, he takes me out to places and listens to me when I talk. And I just love the way he talks to me, you know." you playfully slapped his arm. "His voice all deep and smart sounding." you purred.
Shang rolled his eyes in disgust while his good counterpart accepted the information in stride.
"But now he's seeing his ex-girlfriend." you continued, "What if he leaves me for her? I've never been in anything long term but I don't want it to end so soon."
Light Shang was sympathetic, "I am confident Liu Kang's feelings for you haven't changed."
"It's not often for a person to find another that's fluent in yapping." your Shang supplied unhelpfully. Light Shang shot him a look of disapproval. Shang looked up and his glee returned, "I guess I spoke too soon."
You all looked up. Liu Kang was standing in front of you, his expression stern enough to match his mood.
"Comrades." he addressed both Shangs, and then his attention went solely on you. "My flower, may I speak with you?"
"Fine." you got up, walking with him to somewhere private, but you refused to touch him.
"You were speaking with Shang Tsung."
His eyes were angry looking, but two could play that game.
"I was. Weren't you speaking to Kitana?" you crossed your arms at him, "You seem close with her."
It was then Liu Kang realised where your mind was going, "That was eons ago."
"You didn't seem to be acting like it. It looks to me that eons have turned into a day." you fixed him a stern look of your own, "And Shang Tsung is my rival, there's nothing going on between us."
"Flower," he started, taking your hand, "There is nothing I'm starting with Kitana. We are simply allies now."
He was expression was soft, and the rosy parts of your heart went all gushy. "You really mean that?"
He started kissing your hand, and then his kisses went up your arm, to your shoulder and then your cheek. You giggled, and Liu Kang was pleased to have a positive response from you.
"I would never do this to Kitana."
This time his lips were on yours and you gave in. You were able to push him away before anything got serious, "Not here, Darling. We will need secure privacy."
He chuckled, "Of course, only I can see your delicate parts." he was possessive, which wasn't usual of him.
And then you realised something. "You were jealous of Shang Tsung." your heart skipped a beat, "Aww, darling." you grabbed his face, and he flushed as you delivered a bunch of kisses on it.
He has marks on his face now, but he didn't wipe them away. Not that he ever did unlike your ex boyfriends. That's another thing you loved about Liu Kang.
You hugged him eagerly, "There's nothing to be jealous of."
"I am very relieved to hear that." he admitted, returning the hug. He didn't let go.
"Are you two going to be having alone time all day?" Shang Tsung, asked. His hand was raised sass-ily in contempt.
"An hour should suffice." you answered.
Shang's face screwed up, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that and just tell everyone that you're both very busy."
He wasn't wrong. You both were about to be very busy.
I really love the Static Shock cartoon, and I love Virgil's character so much. There's just one thing about the show that I hate, because it makes me extremely uncomfortable. It's Virgil's relationship with his sister. I understand that siblings bicker, but they do it too often, and there's also the way he talks to her.
To be fair, when I was in my teens I didn't have a stable relationship with my siblings. There were a lot of things going on at home, and our personalities would clash. Now that I'm older, and nothing terrible is happening at home, we're at a much better spot. I don't know if it's maturing, but he's said a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way, and ruin his character regarding Sharon, his sister.
He said that he should buy a muzzle for her birthday, pretty much comparing her to an animal. He told Adam (para-thrasing), "I like your playstation, and you like my sister. I'm sure we can work something out." Making her out to be property. After he saved Sharon from being kidnapped he seemed more upset about her vehicle being destroyed (because it was going to be his next) than her safety.
These two can never get along for anything, and are always seen arguing. I understand that Sharon can come off as a hard ass, but I think Virgil plays a hand in making it worse.
I gotta question who was in the writing room.
Notes: I've decided to jump on the Bimbo reader bandwagon. I don't write nsfw or anything specifically 18+, so I won't be writing about short skirts or anything that has to do with revealing clothes. I grew up with Disney bimbos so my perception of them is probably warped, but I find this ship pretty damn cute and interesting so I'm writing my own.
Good grass, you loved make up. Fixated on it. That included anything that had to do with the colour pink, and whatever society decided was a girly thing. In the eyes of society you were very stupid, and it was thanks to your pretty face that you weren't bullied for it. That's what your old high school friend told you anyways, the two of you were no longer friends for a reason.
The way you walked around in your platform heels, glossed lips, painted nails, and new clothes. All of which were similar, but different. Ethan couldn't get enough of you. Granted, when the two of you first met he figured you would never give him the time of day, but you asked him to help you with your studies. He would've done your homework for you, but if helping you meant spending time with you then he would help.
You were surprisingly kind, although a bit of an airhead. A busty airhead. You were kind to everyone, kind of causing Ethan to get jealous sometimes, but you only had eyes for him. He's the one who helped you understand what was going on in class, and he's the one that protected you from Ghostface. You were his Sweet Dumb Thing.
A lot of boys you liked had a habit of getting tired of you once they clued in on how naive and high maintenance you were, but not Ethan. That's why you loved him so much. You started rewarding him with kisses, he wouldn't rub them off his face. It was your way of showing affection.
You were at his room more often. So often that your teddies and heels could be spotted. Your friends pointed out that your shirt wasn't its usual shade of pink but one of blue. Ethan's blue. It was a Tuesday, so you decided to wear blue on Tuesday, which meant a trip to the mall. Ethan carried all the shopping.
You liked pretty things so it wasn't hard to distinguish what was yours and his, but you didn't bother moving anything.
You went on frequent shopping trips with Anika, who would get Mindy to carry her stuff. All it took was a simple kiss on the cheek and they both had the strength of a thousand Hercules'.
"Ethan? That generic nerd?!"
"He's my generic nerd!"
Not saying Ice Spice is a bimbo, but if I was one I would dress like her.
My Opinions on the Barbie film that no one cares about!
+ Ken Analysis
Warning: I'm gonna say too many things at once. If you understand then you understand.
The whole 'neurodivergent people see the world differently' is starting to actually hit me. I watched the Barbie movie to celebrate my birthday and enjoyed the experience, but what I find wild is the responses from the audience and how it clashes with my response.
I read about how some people cried when Barbie had a conversation with the old woman. How the movie is super deep, when I memorised it for how wacky it is. There are a bunch of reactions I came across on the internet that I did not understand and couldn't relate to. The debate on the matriarchy and politics, and how it goes against men, I cannot be asked.
The lesson I got from Barbie is that it was a movie to enjoy but also teach young girls that Barbie is not something to look down on but cherish. She isn't a fascist nor was she created to look like any girl, which is such a breath of fresh air. Barbie is a doll, to play with and enjoy. There's nothing realistic about her when she's literally not even a real living breathing person. I left the film with priorities, and that was to compliment as many people as I can.
The only thing I did find disturbing is the dynamic between Ken and Barbie, and it only made sense once the movie was finished. Considering I had consumed the entire film by that point.
Ken tries to get Barbie's attention and pretty much follows her around, and it's very obvious that he is interested in her but she didn't show signs of that same interest. I also recall a few times that she seemed a bit dismissive towards him, which is understandable since he snuck into her car and joined her adventure without her wanting him to.
There's that party scene, well... after the party, where Ken is kissing Barbie but they aren't actually kissing. Ken is 'kissing' Barbie but Barbie isn't 'kissing' back, which I immediately found odd, because not only does it go against the point of Ken's existence, but Barbie and Ken are the canon couple to always root for. It was strange seeing a view of them where everything is one-sided. It is solidified when Barbie straight up admits that she doesn't love Ken nearing the end of the film. I was caught off guard in a way where I felt like I wasn't supposed to be, but I suddenly realised that they aren't a couple. Ken was created to be Barbie's lover, yet his fate isn't being completed because of Barbie's disinterest. Once it's recognised that he cannot complete his fate he becomes Ken-nough. Who cares about becoming a real woman when Ken's purpose wasn't being fulfilled?
I'm not going to excuse Ken's behaviour in the film, but I interpreted that he just wanted acknowledgement. He even shows off his arm muscles for Barbie to see while they are arguing. Ken says to Barbie after the discovery of the Mojo Dojo Casa house "Now you know how it feels" or something along those lines. Ken felt recognised and respected. Before he was just Ken who wasn't good at Beach Offs but now he has some kind of name for himself.
Ken's story was a messy self discovery. I mean he grew disinterested in what he created once he realised it wasn't about horses. He's a horse man, not a beach man. Horses are not in Barbie land.
Judging by his rivalry with pompadour Ken (Simu Liu) he just wanted to prove himself as a capable Ken. He sees pompadour Ken as cool despite their dislike towards one another, which may have been a foreshadow of what's to come. Ken desired respect, Barbie's respect but wasn't aware of the growing resentment he felt towards her until views from the outside world were planted into his mind.
I found Ken's identity crisis more relatable. He can live with that void in peace, knowing it's alright for it to not be fulfilled. His mission is being himself and not an accessory. He's not just Ken if his purpose hasn't been fulfilled, he is Ken-nough.
I wrote this in a Youtube comment section and realised I should've posted it here.
I would hate to be the guard that got taken out by a bucket of water. Imagine explaining that to your superiors.
The Blue Spirit putting out firebending with a bucket of water is the absolute funniest thing ever done in avatar combat. It just is.