WOOW
His inferiority complex was being fueled from so many sides. His sister holds much more power and influence than him, but as she's family, he seems tolerant of that. Personal life hits harder though. Must have been hell for Lister to be seen as a lesser man to Sylan, someone he is bigger/stronger than, because of status... lose out romantically to Gjord- someone of lesser status than him. Sucks to be Lister... I do not see a good ending for him possible in this story because he's all but sealed his own fate. I don't know what's up with Sylan, but if he's ever restored to power, Lister will have to own up for his abuse. Even if Sylan decided to play nice, there's no way Gjord won't kill him. The most Lister can hope for is a quick death.
When I first started this story, it was hard figuring out Lister, his motivations, and his relationship with our MC. At first you’re made to believe he hates him ( which he does ), but then he has his moments where he shows “concern” and “care” for the mc. Add on to that their apparent deep history with each other; it left me wondering what Lister's true feelings were. However, now that I’ve read as far as I have, I’ve come to conclude that Lister, in his own sick, twisted way, does like the MC, but he’s also an incredibly insecure asshole who’s got an intense inferiority complex. In one of the later chapters, we get a flashback scene between Mc and Lister, and I’ll try my best to summarize it, but I’ll also link it at the bottom. The flashback starts with Lister and MC in what looks like a lookout point, with MC helping to heal a bruise he caused lister when trying to fire an arrow. There’s a moment between the two that I think encapsulates one of the key aspects of their relationship. Slan is holding a rag with ointment at listers cheek, but as soon as he does, luster flinches away, which he most likely did because Slan was so close to his face. When questioned, he tries to brush it off by boasting about his intense training and how a bruise like that is really nothing, expecting praise, I assume, but in response he merely gets an indifferent response from Slan, causing him to backtrack and claim it really does hurt in order to get Slan to attend to his wounds again. Lister wants to appear a bigger man than he actually is, plus I think he also wants Slan to validate that feeling, although I imagine the guy you want praise from being a higher class than you means he is inherently more important than you, would be the root of his insecurity. I also would like to clarify that I think lister likes Slan in a ‘I like you as an idea, someone I can mold into who I want’ kind of way. Sorry if none of this made sense; I just really like the way the author writes their characters and the mystery of Slan's past and how this unknown past connects to everything. If you disagree or have anything else to add, please share it; it would be nice to hear other opinions.
As promised:
https://templetoons.com/comic/bl-antidote/chapter-41