#more seriously i do think there may be some connection that just isn't clear yet

[egophiliac]

so on the subject of the "Crowley is secretly Revaan/Laverne/Levin/please Twst give us his name" theory, I think my feelings are best summed up as "I don't really buy it, but it's funny". like, in all seriousness, I'm not opposed to it; I have enjoyed the writing in Twst so far and I'm willing to trust that whatever happens will, you know, make sense and not be terrible. but I'm just not really convinced by the current evidence! maybe that'll change once we learn more, we'll see!

with that said, may I propose a few alternate theories about the possible Crowley/Revaan connection:

[o-uncle-newt]

I'm not going to reblog Neil Gaiman's thing about how S2's episodes "don't have any fat on them" but I DO have some (spoilery) reactions to that below the cut-

OK so I already did another post here where I gave my impressions of the writing- but Gaiman mentioning this actually reminded me of something that I didn't put in there at all but kind of wish I had.

Because honestly, I don't think that the episodes not having any fat on them is a good thing.

Here's the thing- Good Omens, the book and the first season of the TV show, is a bunch of set pieces that loosely come together into a plot. The TV show less so, maybe- there's more of an effort to create a narrative- but fundamentally it's a bunch of ridiculous stuff all strung together to create the Apocalypse. (Like, there's a reason why book fans were so upset when the Four Other Horsemen of the Apocalypse didn't show up in the show- they did literally nothing for the plot but they were absolutely hilarious.)

So far, in the first 2 episodes of S2, I have to agree with Gaiman that there's no fat on them. And I think that's one of the things that kind of threw me. EVERYTHING that has happened thus far has felt like it's something that's probably going to lead to something else, like it's connective tissue for the upcoming story that will presumably make more sense later- and while there's plenty of entertainment and humor and sweetness, it's all to the point. You have to be paying attention, you have to take everything seriously (even if it's something that by rights feels inherently unserious) because it could matter later.

In S1, you didn't have to think too carefully about why a telemarketer is being eaten by maggots or even why there's still a witchfinder in the 21st century (for the show) because fundamentally it doesn't REALLY matter. Something will all come together at the end and in the meantime you can just enjoy it in the spirit in which it's given, which is of course an insane one. Each scene is just fun on its own. (I think this is in some ways truer in the book than the show- there were a lot of these scenes that I don't think worked on the show- but that was more about the execution than the concept.)

The fat in S1 was the good part, really. The plot wasn't all that important- it was all the moments along the way.

The closest thing to fat (to continue to use the metaphor) in S2, so far, is the minisode. It's the only thing where it doesn't necessarily feel like you'll be tested on it later. And it's also easily the best part of those episodes! You can just watch it and take all the ridiculousness for granted because it doesn't really matter. It's there to draw out the characters, it's there to give the world more color, and it's there to entertain.

Not that S2 isn't also there to entertain- it very much is, but it doesn't really have time to. It can be silly and random in the way that the book and S1 are, but instead of those being random throwaway moments (like Newt blacking out all of Dorking in the book- which signifies that his tech-unsavviness may be relevant to the plot later but is really mostly just there to entertain because it's so out-there), they are intrinsically tied into whatever the plot will turn out to be. That's really clear, even though we don't actually know yet exactly what the plot is going to be! The leanness of the plot is immediately evident.

I think, so far, that the main negative consequence is that it makes it so much harder to suspend disbelief. When you have a ridiculous moment in a throwaway scene, that's worldbuilding- it shows that this is the kind of world where ridiculous things happen, and then when a particular ridiculous moment ends up being important to the plot, that's fine because it's part of a whole constellation of ridiculous things in this ridiculous world- they've already deconstructed our sense of disbelief. When all you're getting is plot, when something a bit crazy happens you're like "oh, hang on, that doesn't make sense, that's a bit farfetched."

I think that that's one of the things that, so far, is giving "fanfic vibes" to the first two episodes. Maggie and Nina get locked into the cafe? In their first episode?! When we know that they're going to get together?!?! That's ridiculous. In the book and to a lesser degree S1, where like five other ridiculous things would have already happened that aren't heavily signaled to be important to the plot (Gabriel doesn't count because we know he's important to the plot too), this would just be one more ridiculous thing. In S2, it feels like something we need to suspend disbelief for because we haven't really had it suspended for us yet.

Everything I write about Good Omens here is going to come down to John Finnemore in the end because I can't help myself lol, but honestly, my first thought was "well he's really into plotting, so maybe this is part of that." But- he's also done nine and a bit seasons of a sketch show. While he was writing this he was also writing a season of JFSP (the sublime S9) where there was very minimal plot but everything was propelled by character building sketches, very much in the spirit of Good Omens. He knows exactly the power of random ridiculous moments to build the world and explain its ludicrousness. When him being a writer was announced, I saw so many people say "he's definitely got a bonkers enough brain to do this" except that it turns out that, while true, his bonkers sketch-writing brain doesn't really have a lot to do here.

That, plus the fact that I'd be really surprised from everything that I've heard over the last 2ish years if Gaiman wasn't the first and final voice behind everything written for this season, leads me to the conclusion that the issue might just be that S2 may be, as a group effort, over-plotted for its length. There's little room to breathe and live in the world. There are barely any humans, and as such there's not much time to remember that the story is set in a world where humans matter, which, as I pointed out in my previous post, is something that was really important in Good Omens the book and S1. It just doesn't have any fat.

Now- I should be clear- as I said with the other post, it is way too early to tell if GO2 is good or not, because all of the stuff in E1-2 was clearly building up to other things that haven't happened yet. I actually think S2 probably will be good. The above may not be "issues" per se. But I do think that talking about the original Good Omens like the "fat" is the problem kind of misses the point of why so many people liked it- and leaves GO2 with a pretty big burden to overcome in order to convince viewers that it is a continuation of the same world and same story they loved in S1.

[laincelebi]

A few thoughts on yukari I wanted to write down.

Some people say yukari is very mean to junpei and while yes she does bicker with him a lot it never felt mean spirited. The way they behave always makes me think they act like siblings annoying each other most of the time.

They annoy each other but neither take it seriously, except the one time in the story yukari tried to do the same "are you scared?" junpei did before to try to cheer him up and it backfired and yet it's clear it was never her intention to make fun of him she was just trying to do what they always do to make the situation less serious. It's nice instances like this happens in p3 where characters take the wrong approach to a situation it's what makes them so human.

In arena yukari is the one who warns junpei about what is going on and tells him to go to inaba and he goes right away. And during the events we can see them annoying each other to make the situation less serious. So to me they are close friends that just like annoying each other.

Pretty sure both yukari and junpei would jump to defend each other if someone was being actually mean to the other. A fun fact is that in the official design works it's stated junpei is into fashion so I can imagine them talking about that.

Another point is the need for charm to be maxed so she even thinks about giving Makoto a chance. Saw people saying she may not want to be seen with someone who isn't her level but I don't think that's the issue here.

We need to consider that you can only start her social link after yakushima trip, after she opens up to Makoto at the beach and he comforts her. Before that, she shots down any attempt of him being flirty with her. She is keeping her distance like she does with everyone else. She is hesitant to get closer to him due to her family issues even though she feels a connection to him.

I think charm being maxed is just what makes her put down her walls and talk to him. As I like to believe with charm maxed and the amount of time passed he seems more approachable than at the start.

Also love how junpei reacts if Makoto says he is interested in yukari. He is just like "I knew it!" like he was definitely shipping them the whole year.

[cartoonbabbles]

UNHINGED CONSPIRACY BABBLE TIME

The one ding dang time my account's name is accurate. Spoilers for Inside Job Parts 1 and 2 below the cut.

So... that finale broke my heart, soul, and brain. Just like the good old days of Amphibia, but that's not important. Because here we finally get to see Reagan take control of Cognito and start doing things her way. Hashtag girlboss. BUT. There is one teeny tiny little detail from the end of Part 2 Episode 8 that we all saw... the Robes saying "she's only human." And while that may appear true for now, let's think about this a little more.

Clearly, the show is setting up at least one more season, where we'll likely figure out the origin of the Robes and the ancient magic they use, all that blibber blabber. But more importantly, Reagan is going to stop whatever they have planned, because it's kind of obvious they're being set up as either the big bads or the big bads who team up with the protags when the true final boss shows up. But I digress.

"She's only human."

That line kinda flew over my head the first time I saw the season finale because I was too busy being sad about Stadler, but we'll get to him in a future post maybe. But rewatching it, and having seen the intro a few more times, I'm starting to get the feeling the Robes might be wrong.

We already know Reagan's origins are a little fucked up at least. Rand messed with her DNA, and her memories, she had a pretty abnormal childhood, but we've only seen snippets. Her in elementary school, the prom, and then suddenly Cognito. There's a whole lot of stuff we still don't know about our main protag, and I don't just say this as someone filling out a wiki. I mean there's some dead giveaway in her past that the show isn't giving out just yet. Some detail so mind blowing, it's hidden in plain sight.

Reagan Ridley is not Rand's daughter. Or Tamiko's daughter.

Or anyone's daughter.

Reagan Ridley is not human, and it's been flying under everyone's radar since episode one. Don't believe me? Keep reading.

In the intro, we see an edit of clips briefly giving some context to each of the crew at Cognito. Rand is a drunk, Andre is a doctor, Glenn gets surgery, even Alpha Beta being the robot president. And each of these points gets addressed in the show to some degree. Except for one.

Aside from all the side characters and flashy visuals, one part of the sequence stood out to me, because it hasn't been addressed yet. Reagan's.

In Reagan's sequence, her face opens Fnaf-style to reveal an even smaller Reagan piloting her. And while I'd say symbolism is a really strong suit of the show, and that it's more than likely a Men in Black reference, the rest of the intro is too blatant about future plot points to not be taken seriously. Even the flat earth was there!

So where does this put Reagan? It's likely she's not what she seems, and I could be reaching here but her robot pinkie, and association with robotic limbs and partners could be hints at something. We just don't know what. Or do we?

Let's head back to Part 2 Episode 8 shall we?

In addition to that one odd line, there's a flashback sequence where the Robes explain the simple meaning behind their origin. Humans dumb, some were smart, smart ones became the Robes. But the smart one in their flashback bore a striking resemblance to Reagan. Someone who parallels her exact motives of protecting humanity from itself, no matter the moral conundrums.

And right after that, Reagan asks if she can take a peek under the Robes, and asks if they're "even human." Interesting, to say the least.

All this being said, I can't make a solid prediction as to how or why or even what kind of nonhuman Reagan is, I can only rule out she's not human, or any of the other major races in the show. Potentially a robot, but the whole Robes thing puts a wrench in it. I'm predicting that Part 3, if and when it comes out, will start making things more and more clear that Reagan's connection to the robes goes a lot deeper than you'd think at first.

Or maybe she's a robot who can drink alcohol. Or is just a normal human. Any answer can happen in the show.

[nyanyashizun]

bruh, i just wanna talk abt bgsd and musings and have my headcanons evaluated lovingly by someone who shares in the same kind of nonsensical drabbles I do

so here we go, no tags we're going in without padding

↓ bgsd mxm thoughts (妄想), mainly ranzai 🥴 probably will only be ranzai tbh

ive only seen up to s3, spoils may be included idk

also im not even trying to write seriously, here. just flow write

angst-ish, pg

okay so dazai is in love with ranpo and totally doesnt say anything but spends most of his time just hanging around him

they often go on cases together because dazai is really skilled and ranpo doesnt mind him tagging along

they both are really skilled at what they do but also ranpo has this thing about him

it all comes natural to him but dazai isn't too different from him

so they make a good team but there is something more going on

dazai often gets jealous of how much ranpo clings to fukuzawa. it isn't a pick me, im the best employee kinda thing

he just would prefer ranpo pay attention to him more

he doesnt get why. he doesnt think about it

dazai tends to get attached to others easily, but doesnt particularly feel the same way he feels about fukuzawa as he does ranpo

does that make ranpo special? dazai doesnt want to think about it

he just wants to accompany ranpo wherever he goes, well maybe not like that

so they end up taking on a particularly perplexing case

and dazai is actually disturbed by some of the things that happen

he cant cope

ranpo is serious but tries to comfort him, is prepared to leave him behind. not because he doesnt want him along, but its clear its too much for him

so dazai waits for ranpo to come back for him, at some abandoned warehouse or something, and in ranpo's absence dazai get's antsy and calls ranpo

he starts to freak out when the man doesn't reply. time passes and he ends up calling a few more times and ranpo answers completely confused because all is good and he was about to head back with some snacks. he was chatting up a market lady

okay, but why did dazai doubt ranpo so much? doubt? no.... more like he was freaked out that the man wasn't around

he didnt feel left out, he didnt feel like they were just companions and he--

then ranpo says it, he tells dazai he picked up on his feelings

and dazai gets it without the explaination

he felt the way for ranpo he thought he'd successfully acted like he cared for all those women he tried to take with him

but.... that means, he actually felt that way for someone? he was fond of playing around, but now? no he didnt even want to do anything to put the man he quietly idolized in jeopardy

and he especially didnt want to feel this way for anyone like he once had that long gone friend of his

he felt immense pain in his heart, regretting everything until then. all the times he didnt realize what he'd been thinking was what it truly was

and all he wanted was for it all to go away

and yet ranpo seemed to see right through him, maybe knew far longer than what he admitted, -- maybe only saying something once he was sure Dazai was about to realize.... Only once it was clear he knew enough to connect those last dots himself.

and.... he did

________

lmao is this a short (unedited) fic now idk????

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

Chim: "It didn't feel right asking her about the future when it's clear she's still so much in the past."

(Eddie still making decisions that he thinks are best for Christopher but it turns out aren't really the best for himself which affects Christopher, even after Carla told him to make sure he follows his own heart and not Christopher's - we never saw his convo with Chris after Chris' yelling out that Eddie would be dead next year in 5x10, we only saw Eddie's convo with Carla where again he jumps the gun and goes full speed ahead and not slowing down one bit, a la the truck emergency in 5x11 wink wonk; it's no coincidence we didn't see his talk with Chris and then we find out in 5x11 that Chris never told Eddie to stop being a firefighter and Eddie just assumed & it's also no coincidence that he has this talk with Carla and we're shown that which connects back to 4x13, further proving he still hasn't learned which goes in line with everything Tim said about him for 5B and what we can expect for his story line)

Chim: "I just wanted to fix it for her, make everything all okay, you know?"

Eli: "Even though fixing it isn't your responsibility, though?"

Chim: "Yeah, why do I always do that?"

Eli: "Eh, it's because it's how you're wired. Helping people helps yourself. And because you love her."

(considering Buck isn't in love with Chim or Maddie and this conversation isn't about Taylor...yep, it's a mirrored conversation but Eddie isn't the buddy Eli is to Chim in their scene, Eddie becomes Maddie while Buck is Chim which is cemented by the Eddie/Maddie parallels this season)

Chim: "I'm sorry for missing the warning signs. Or ignoring them. I just wanted you to be okay."

(though I would argue that I don't think Buck has missed the warning signs with Eddie, he has tried to be there and has pushed Eddie to talk on more than one occasion, to really let him in; and I don't think Chim ignored the warning signs with Maddie either though he may not have known just how bad it was getting, and he did try to be there as much as he could; but due to circumstances happening outside of these relationships -- for Buck it's Taylor and his relationship with her & now Lucy has been introduced into the mix, for Eddie it was Christopher being scared when he left for work & his anxiety/unresolved issues, for Chim it was the blackout, for Maddie it was her falling asleep and Jee-Yun almost drowning & her PPD being left untreated -- they couldn't be there as much as their partners needed no matter how hard they tried which leads us to the road we're currently on with both relationships)

Buck:

Buck: "How are you? Really? You know you don't need to pretend with me." (5x11)

and of course:

Eddie hides

Maddie runs

Maddie has put in the work and learned to stop running while seeking treatment so she could get better

Eddie...

...well, you know where this is going

(plus, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Maddie isn't able to return to dispatching right away when she gets back to LA, that would be a perfect parallel to Eddie's prevention from being able to transfer back to the 118 right now -- and if we seriously don't get some Eddie and Maddie moments this season... these two are so heavily paralleled this season, how can we not? And I wonder how Chim's return to LA will go as well, even though we saw Bobby in 5x12 promise Chim always had a full-time gig to return to and the audience is not fully invested in Jonah yet though I know the actor was reportedly signed on for the rest of the season, but not as much as they are in Lucy)

[sebstanseabass]

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 22

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Tag: @maladaptivexxdaydreaming

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The next few weeks went by in utter bliss.

The days after the pitch presentation with the marketing team were spent shooting the models in Sam's building. When Bucky told me you'd had assistants for the shoot, you thought that he was just joking or just wanted to make you feel better but you knew now to believe everything he would tell you. It was the first time you'd had people help you work; the first time you had to order people around. You had people working for the lights, reflectors, fans, backdrops, wardrobe, and make-up. You also had people sitting behind two large desktops connected to your new camera to skim over the photos. You would head over there for every five minutes to look at the photos and if you found something that could work better, you'd have another round with the models.

Considering it was the first time you've handled professional models and athletes in photoshoots, you did excellent and handled everything smoothly. Even Sharon knew it, giving you a small reassuring smile from time to time.

Speaking of Sharon, she actually helped you with the models' wardrobe, and got every new clothing from their inventory, making sure everything and everyone were photographed. She was still walking around with her clipboard close to her chest. She never walked the grounds without it.

Sam would go in and out from time to time. With the other matters he had in his hands, countless partnership meetings on-site and online, it was understandable.

But you knew he trusted me in this. After all, you were partners in this project.

Meanwhile, Bucky had made himself comfortable watching you from the corner of the studio. He made himself too comfortable watching you the whole time you were working that the models thought he was planning something heinous. You laughed them off and told them you were dating.

"Isn't he too old for you?" One model had asked.

"Doesn't really matter to me." You turned your head and glanced at Bucky, his eyes glistening as he stared at you. You bit your lip and faced the model. "Plus, he's hot. I would be crazy not to jump on that."

If only Nat could hear you, you knew she'd be proud.

Even though the two-day shoots were brutal, you felt a sense of satisfaction wash over you. More when you finally had to do post-production the following week which meant editing the photos.

As promised, you spent your break time over at Bucky's penthouse, naked in his living room, his master bedroom, the kitchen, and his home office. Your legs would be trembling during the shoot but you persevered. You didn't want Bucky to see you weak while working, even though it turned him on. It wasn't helping that he was watching you the whole time. You couldn't see him but you always felt his eyes on you.

The Falcons' new release was set to be launched a month and a half later, just weeks after Bucky's birthday (I'll get to Bucky's birthday in a bit, 'cause that was a whole other thing kept at the back of my mind, you thought). There were still a lot of things happening with advertising and marketing such as the new website, and pages on social media platforms and new packaging.

After the project with Sam, your paycheck came one Monday morning in the mail. Peter kept asking you how much you were paid but you never told him because if you did, he'd let you pay the next six month's rent — and that wasn't even just for your half. It would be for the both of you. You would gladly pay of course, seeing that he's helped you enough financially but you wanted to invest this money to earn more. The paycheck wouldn't stop there, of course. Sam would still pay you if your photos ever get on billboards across any city or when he opens up a new branch.

Sam referred you to a couple more guys he knew. One who needed to photograph models for a skincare brand he'd been rebranding for the past couple of weeks and one who needed to photograph paintings to be sold online. They weren't as big as Sam's business but were big enough in the industry. The production of both were still in the talk.

The next day, you and Bucky went studio hunting downtown. Obviously, your little home studio wasn't fit for incoming clients and this was surely an investment you couldn't pass upon. After renting and earning more profit, you figured you could move into another studio and buy it; a permanent place where you could freely work.

While studio hunting, Bucky insisted to buy the place that you wanted — or better yet, buy a much bigger place so you wouldn't have to move to another studio. But you've already made up your mind. You told him you wanted to do this your own way, with the money you've earned. After signing the contract and lease with your name on it, Bucky hugged you from behind. The property agent eyed you.

"At least let me buy you something, doll." He whispered in your hair as soon as you were left alone. You stood at the center of the empty office, overlooking the busy streets of New York City through the glass walls.  "Please."

You met his arms with your hands, pulling him closer. You leaned on his chest, sighing at the comfort his arms gave you. "Even if I tell you no, I know you're still going to do it."

"You're damn right. Do you have anything in mind you might like?"

You turned around and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Surprise me."

He chewed his inner cheeks before dipping his head to yours, your lips meeting each other. "Oh, I definitely will."

The next day, a whole studio setup filled the used-to-be-empty studio. Complete with backdrops, lights, light boxes, and reflectors. In your new office was a fully furnished desk, complete with a desktop setup where you could edit photos.

You looked at him with wide eyes, ready to lecture him that this was all too much and that you definitely made it clear that you wanted to do all of this by yourself.

Bucky had caught your expression early on, scared that you might have our first argument.

"Before you say anything, this wasn't all me. I figured out a loophole on how I could buy you the things you need for this studio and at the same time, still make you like me and would still make you want to rip my clothes off."

"What did you do this time, James?"

"All of this," he said, gesturing to all the equipment in the studio, "was both me and Sam. Think of it as an investment. If you can get more work and clients, then you can keep everything but if you can't, we'll pull them all out. When you afford to buy everything here, only then can you pay us. This little string here," he pointed to the both of you, "is just business."

You looked at him in disbelief. "Just business?"

He bit his lip. "Okay, maybe a bit of pleasure too."

"A bit?"

"Maybe a whole lot." He shrugged.

"And the whole idea was... just you?"

"Just me, sweetheart. Plain James Buchanan Barnes. You get me, you get the whole package."

"And besides money what will you get out of this little investment idea of yours?"

"I have little care about the money, honestly." He said. "But I'm doing all this for you and you is all I care about."

"You're damn lucky I like you, James."

"Like me enough to have some hot sex right here, right now?"

You smirked, pressing your crotch against his, teasing him. "I get the whole package, right?"

Bucky took you from behind. Your tight skirt hiked up to your waist. Your tits bouncing against the fabric of the beige curtains, your hands gripping them as hard as you could as Bucky thrusted himself hard and deep behind you, his hands either on your hips, your hair, your neck or your breasts. And as you both finished, the curtain rod broke in half, making you and Bucky topple on the ground, the huge curtains falling down on your bodies. The bright sun radiating across the room, the view of the streets startling you.

Laughter filled the room as you stared at each other. The look of exhaustion still evident in your faces and body.

"You're buying me new curtains." You breathed out.

"Me?" He chuckled. "You're the one who pulled them off!"

"The reason why was you."

"I have a better idea."

"I doubt that."

"We should just get these windows tinted." He smirked under the curtains and rolled over towards you, his arms wrapped around your waist. "That way we could just ravish each other in front of this goddamn city without anyone ever seeing us. How does that sound, doll?"

You hummed, brushing your nose against his. "Tempting."

"Is that a yes?"

You shrugged, pulling away from him. "You have to convince me more, Mr. Barnes."

"Oh babydoll, you're gonna regret saying those words."

The following weeks with Bucky was all you could ever ask for but it was getting harder and harder to hide all of this from Peter. Your time together was spent in the confines of Bucky's expensive penthouse when he wasn't in meetings and when you weren't busy finishing the setup in your new studio.

All day you'd cuddle up, watch movies, read books, and just talk more about the beauty and perils of life.

You couldn't go out that much because you couldn't risk Peter or any of Peter's friends to see you and Bucky around. When you visited the bar one day and told Nat all about it, she told you to go to places Peter and any of his friends will never be at.

"Besides, isn't Peter always working?" She asked as you sat down on the booth.

"We still don't want to risk it."

"So, go with my plan."

"Hey," you said, finally thinking her idea was a good one, "how's it going with Steve?"

She shrugged, chewing on her lower lip. You eyed her suspiciously. "Uh-oh, what's wrong?"

"It's still good but..." she paused, her eyes strained. "He's been acting strange lately."

"Isn't he always?" You chuckled. "You may not notice this 'cause you're sleeping with him but he's a bit peculiar for a man his age. Always cramped up in that little office of his. Seriously, how on earth do you have sex in there?"

"I'm bendy, bitch."

"Never should've asked." You mumbled, getting the picture of Nat, well, bending, out of your head.

"Anyway," she sighed, "it's just... he's acting really weird. I can't even begin to explain it. I think something happened."

"Do you think it's about you two?"

"I doubt that." She frowned. "I just know it's something else."

"You want me to talk to him? I'm like a little sister to him." You replied. "Sorta. It's a weird dynamic, I know."

"Sure, if you ever catch him in the office. He's barely even here."

You nodded, taking the new information in. "Now, that's a whole level of weird for Steve."

"Maybe he's just having problems with the bar or something." You shrugged.

"If he did, he'd be here in the bar. I tried talking to him but he says he's just fine. I don't know, I'm just letting him be. It's not like we're in a relationship."

You and Nat talked a bit more about Steve right before her shift started. Then the next day, you gave Bucky a map and marked all the places you could go to without risking being seen. Brooklyn was the only place Peter would never go to. You thought about Queens but May, Peter's aunt, lives around that area.

Brooklyn was no Upper West or Upper East side but it didn't matter to you or to Bucky. You had each other; just the two of us — in the restaurant & lounge, movie theater (where we always end up making out), Barnes & Noble, local coffee shops (where we read the books we've bought), and in the streets of Brooklyn. Strolling hand in hand, stealing kisses on every empty corner, and you taking photos and videos of the beautiful landscape, and the beautiful man who managed to steal your heart.

All the rendezvous with Bucky felt like you were a married woman having an affair — without the secret handwritten letters.

But everything was in place and your heart was full. It was so full it could almost explode.

Spending all the time in his penthouse, in Brooklyn and your studio made me miss your rooftop. A place you've claimed yours and Bucky's; a place he'd claimed you his, and he, yours. You wished we could just go there freely, without having to worry Peter seeing you together doing unspeakable things to one another.

And yes, telling Peter was getting much harder as the month went by.

Back in the Upper West Side, nothing much was going on in the bar. You barely see Steve (though according to Nat, he comes in the bar every now and then), Nat was still Nat of course (and nothing much had changed in whatever was going on between her and Steve), Nick got better at making drinks (thank the heavens for that), Sam would give you constant updates whenever he came with Bucky in the bar, and Peter had been having problems with his marketing team and Wanda's vision for the clothing line they landed.

Now that was something you couldn't believe and was the reason you and Bucky kept postponing on telling him.

Peter was constantly in a bad mood. It got to one point where he wanted to quit the team.

After that, you went to pay Wanda a visit at her studio. You found her sitting in her office in deep thoughts. She was surprised to see you but managed to put on a smile when she approached you with a hug. You offered if you could get coffee from a coffee shop down the block and there you talked about the conflict happening between her and Peter's team.

Boy, when you and Sharon had had an argument, you thought that was already big. But Wanda's case was much bigger.

"This isn't a collaboration anymore. It feels like my artistic vision has no place in it. It's like they're telling me, 'hey, you have a camera just shoot whatever we want you to shoot the way we want it to be shot.' I keep telling them that's not how it works. They keep throwing in my face that they hired me, that they're paying me." Wanda being Wanda, kept on and on and on. "... and that roommate of yours is no help either. He just stays silent the whole time during those god awful meetings. We're already behind track and apparently it's my fault. Can you believe it? God, I don't know what to do. I've never had a marketing team work alongside me before! Have you at least talked to Peter about it?"

You raised your eyebrows, taking a sip of the coffee. "Oh, I wouldn't wanna talk to Parker. He's been in quite a mood."

"Too bad, I was kind of hoping you could knock some sense into him. Should I just quit?"

You talked for about two hours in the coffee shop catching up. It felt kind of rude to talk to her about The Falcons but she insisted. And she genuinely looked and sounded so happy for you, which made you feel a bit guilty for being so envious of her success.

You parted ways in her studio but before you could even get out of her office and go to Brooklyn to meet with Bucky, Wanda called out your name and handed you a film camera.

And it wasn't just any film camera. It was yours — the one that she borrowed back in college.

"It's long overdue, y/n. I was just finding the right time to give it back to you."

You gave her a reassuring smile, telling her it's okay. Hell, you even forgot you lended it to her until today. "Thanks, Wanda."

"I haven't had the film developed, by the way. I took a couple of photos before realizing I've run out. I didn't want to get them developed since most of the photos are yours."

After that, you convinced Bucky to go to some shops in Brooklyn where you could get them developed but he insisted you should just make the little spare room in the studio into a dark room. You didn't know why you agreed but you did, anyway. Bucky always had a way with words. Or perhaps it was because of his intoxicating voice. Either way, you were addicted to every part of him. He could try to persuade you in gibberish and you'd still say yes.

It was already the week before Bucky's birthday. You've already met with your new clients, began planning pre-production, and almost finished setting up the studio, yet your brain was still racking what on earth to get Bucky for his birthday.

Howard picked you up in your studio an hour after your meetings and thanked him as you got out. Leonard greeted you inside and led you towards the elevator that goes right up to Bucky's penthouse.

Bucky just came out of his study when you greeted him with a kiss, his phone in his hand.

"So, who was on the phone? Parker?" You asked as soon as you sat down on the couch.

"That was Tony."

You pursed your lips and nodded, caressing the top of his head. "Tony's been calling you a lot lately." You commented, recalling the times you've seen Tony's name on Bucky's phone screen. "Is everything fine?"

"It's kind of weirding me out too, doll but this time, I kind of figured why he called."

You frowned and stopped playing with his hair. "What do you mean?"

"It's the first time in five years I'm in New York for my birthday and knowing him, I know he'd throw me this huge party." Bucky chuckled. "And I couldn't say no because well... It's Tony — "

You smiled at him. "That's really sweet of him! He must've been missing you a lot."

"I'm not done yet, doll." He placed his finger on your lips.

You giggled and hid how easily that gesture turned you on.

"The birthday party has a theme." With his finger still on your lips, you waited for him to finish. Something you always anticipated in bed. "It's the Great Gatsby."

Your mouth fell agape, smiling at him. In your head, you were already seeing him in a neat, dazzling vintage suit. "Oh my god, why do you look so glum? It sounds like a great party!"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I just want to spend my birthday with you." He pecked your lips then whispered. "No fancy party. Just you."

You kissed him back, then placed your head on his shoulder. "I'd love that too, boo but I'm nothing compared to a Great Gatsby party."

"You couldn't be more wrong, sweetheart." He sighed, pulling you up to his lap. "I'd choose you over any fancy party. I just want you."

"You still have to go, Bucky."

He groaned, dipping his head on your shoulder as he pulled you closer, his hands tight on the sides of your thighs. "I don't want to."

"You have to." You giggled, lifting his head. You put your hands on his jaws, looking straight at him. "Okay?"

"I'm turning thirty-nine in a week, y/n. I'm too old for a costume party."

"Puh-lease." You scoffed. "You streaked in the streets of Greece when you turned thirty-four and you're telling me you're too old for a costume party?"

He groaned, throwing his head back. "Why do you always bring that up, doll?"

"It's one of my favorite stories I've been told about my boyfriend." You smirked, bringing his head back in between his shoulders. "It would be my favorite if I were with you."

Bucky sent you a glare. "No way am I letting other people see you naked. Never in a million years."

You shrugged. "You almost did when we had sex that one time in my office, Buck. Come on, go to the party. It's your party, anyway."

He chuckled, brushing a strand of hair away from your face. He tucked it behind your ear. You smiled at the gesture. "If anything, it's Tony's party, Not mine. He's sort of a diva."

"He's still throwing it because of you. Come on, boo."

A moment of silence occurred.

"You're coming with me, then." He replied. "I'm not going if you're not going."

You hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "Let's see... A party with my boyfriend, his adoptive father who's one of the richest people ever to exist on this planet, and his stepbrother. Well, it's a party but not that fancy."

He moaned. "Then be my date in secret. Come on, doll, we've been really good at it. We can sneak out for a few minutes and make out. That way, I could still be with you."

You knitted your brows. "That sounds more like Romeo and Juliet. Not the Great Gatsby."

He chuckled, kissing the tip of your nose. "Come on, y/n. It's my birthday. Don't I get special treatment on my special day?"

You looked at him with narrowed eyes, knowing he would never drop this. The worry of a party with the person you had been avoiding the past month was settling inside but Bucky's arms around your waist made that all disappear.

"Fine." You sighed. "Your wish is my command, Mr. Barnes."

Bucky smiled in victory, leaning in closer to your face. His lips brushed against yours. "Wishes, baby. That's not the only wish I want."

"You have two more then."

"Oh wait, I should rub you first after making a wish, right?"

You shook your head. "Don't push it."

He sneered, carefully rubbing your thighs. "My second wish would be me buying you a dress but don't let me see it until my birthday comes."

You hadn't had any chance to argue because well, it would be his birthday. And you couldn't resist Bucky.

I don't think I ever could.

"Deal." You sealed it with a small kiss then stood up from his lap. "Only if you let me go shopping now,"

"Now? Like, right now? It's a bit too early, don't you think?"

You nodded and gave him a playful smile. "It is. I just wanted to tease you with a little secret I'll be bringing home with me tonight."

"Oh no," he reached out his arms, "don't do that to me. Come on, get back here. I have a better idea."

You sighed, getting back on his lap, straddling him. "Of course, you do."

"I'll have someone over here tomorrow. I'll have one of the best dressmakers here to make you something gorgeous. How does that sound?"

"It sounds expensive." You warned. "But wonderful. I'll be here in the morning."

After spending another hour at Bucky's, discussing what could've been his birthday plans with me (a simple rooftop dinner, where we could get drunk and have drunk sex underneath the tent — that was just one of the crazy options he offered), you went straight to the bar and looked for Nat, hoping she could help me what to get for Bucky on his birthday.

As you got there, you barged inside only to find the bar empty. You looked around, wondering why there were no people inside only to realize it was two in the afternoon and it was a Monday. You looked back on the door, wondering why it was open. Then, it hit you: Steve. He must be here.

"Steve?" You called out as you neared his office. "Steve, you here?"

No answer.

You knocked on the door and called out his name one more time but you were only met with silence. Without hesitation, you opened Steve's door. You were greeted with a pile of papers. It was like they were growing from the ground.

"Steve?" You called out once more but there was still no answer. You walked around the room to find more papers. You picked one up, seeing it was a newspaper dated back 2012. It was an article about an explosion that happened in the Upper East Side. But you couldn't see the details since only the headline was in sight. It seemed like the whole article had been cut or shredded.

You wondered if Steve was the one who wrote it.

It was the first time you ever got a good look in his office. Inside were dusty. To think that he spends most of his time here, he'd bother to clean once in a while.

On the back of his table were a bunch of photographs lined up. Some of his family, you assumed, fishing on a lake. Then, something caught your eye: a small framed picture that was facing down.

Curious, you slowly picked it up.

An audible gasp came out of your mouth when you saw the photo.

It was Bucky and Steve.

[sserpente]

Ok, i dont have anyone to talk to about the new episode of Loki, so imma dump my thoughts here (please), what are your thoughts?(thank you)

I just wanna say that I aint here to gatekeep or hate on any thought, my feelings and opinions are my own.

Ok, the first thing I gotta say is: why did, whatever moment Loki and Sylvie had, make a nexus? By the TVAs own rules, nothing they did should have made a blip cause they were still on/at an apocalypse.

Next bit is that i dont understand the hardcore leaning the episode had to ship Loki and Sylvie. Like, personally i dont think the ship makes sense, but that aside, why would Loki, a dude who keeps his emotions close to the vest, fall in love with anyone in a 12 hour period. Thats like a fanfic oneshot writing right there.

And even *if* they did have a romantic relationship, why does that matter? Loki has love. He loves his mom, brother, and even jerk face Odin. So platonic love isn't enough? It *has* to be romantic love for it to mean something?

Good on Mobius and 15 for taking a step towards rocking the boat.

And while I did think that the Sif bit was a bit harsh (again being told he is alone AND physical pain), it was nice to see a reference to mythology stories.

I heard rumors that a season two could already be green lit. If its true, i hope Tom can come back so we can have more of his take on the character.

Okay, I'll go through this because I've seen quite a few reactions like yours to this episode, so here are my thoughts and I hope they'll help! ♥

So, I assume that their connection and feelings for one another (whether they're romantic or not) are so strong they could create that Nexus Event. Loki also said that they may lose but never die so maybe that hope and strength also helped with the Nexus event--it was so strong that it actually created a branch even though they were in an apocalypse! But maybe we'll got more information on that in the next episode!

I freaked out about it and I seriously thought he was going to kiss her. It makes sense to me, somehow. While Sylvie is the Goddess of Mischief and hypothetically a Loki Variant, technically she was born as the Goddess of Mischief because of an event that we still don't know about--so there's still some secrets around her character. So what I'm trying to say is that Sylvie has always been her own person and never just a "photocopy" of Loki himself. So technically, just because Mobius claims he fell in love with another version of himself, that doesn't necessarily mean that's 100% what it is.

I don't see what's wrong with fanfic oneshots? 😅 I must say, I don't really like that comparison, love. That makes it sound like fanfiction is some low-quality fangirly work to quench our Loki thirst. You probably didn't mean it that way but MEEEH, I disagree with that comparison completely!

Listen, I completely understand your point. It happened so fast. But you know what? I bought it. 100% I bought it. Maybe that's purely because of Tom's marvellous acting but it's actually more than that. I write romance novels myself and yes, in most cases it doesn't make much sense to have the protagonist(s) fall in love within a day and kiss and live happily ever after. But it always depends on the situation and when I watched the episode I did not once get the feeling "how did this happen so fast". So I sat down and thought about it and the conclusion I came to is the following: Yes, Loki has only known Sylvie for a very short time. But she is the Goddess of Mischief. She is just like him but different. Loki has finally met someone who resonates with him, someone who went through similar things. I feel like part of Loki feels like he has known Sylvie for much longer (and he has because she's ALSO the Goddess of Mischief) which is how he could develop feelings for her so quickly (plus, Loki admitted that this is new to him, that he's never had anything "real"... I think it's overwhelming for him. If Sylvie turns out to be his love interest then it's probably the first time for Loki that he feels this way which also explains his strong reactions). Now I say feelings and I definitely got that romantic vibe from them and it does look like he's in love with her and I'd be SO here for that (if you've seen my reaction to the episode you'll know how excited I was) but ultimately, we don't know yet if this will take off in a romantic direction after all. It might as well be that through Sylvie, Loki finally learns to love himself (not in a narcissistic way--if anything, him "admitting" that he's a narcissist proved how much he struggles with himself; that narcissistic side of him is part of the show, part of the mask he wears to protect himself--and he seems so broken and sad now that he actually started believing it, especially since others, including Mobius, kept telling him that as well; I mean that's just one theory but there's 100% more to Loki believing that he's a narcissist) which would be equally beautiful.

I mean... sure he loves his family but ultimately and even though they all love him back in their very own somewhat twisted way, they are one of the main reasons why Loki suffers so much. Odin treated him like the second fiddle all his life, never told him about his Frost Giant heritage until it was inevitable and Thor? Remember when Loki told him "I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness" in The Avengers? The romance, whether it is one or not, doesn't overpower the plot to me, it's part of Loki's self-discovery. So it's not so much about the "it has to be romantic love" aspect. Loki's family was pretty toxic, you can't deny that. It's about him feeling for a person who accepts him just the way he is (including the fact that Loki himself doesn't quite know what he actually wants) and Frigga (don't get me wrong she's a wonderful mother and I like her very much but she too kept that secret from Loki and helped gaslighting him in TDW, she's not perfect), Odin and Thor all failed to do that. Not to mention that this Loki doesn't have a timeline and is, in fact, COMPLETELY alone. No one he loves is here anymore. So it's not far-fetched that he'd get attached to Sylvie (and fast too), in whatever way that may be.

Mobius and B-15 going against the TVA were a HIGHLIGHT for sure!

I loved that reference too and yes, it was very harsh, I agree on that. Sif acted like he cut off her nose and not her hair, so she must have been REALLY angry.

I thought it was already confirmed? Either way, I am 100% certain there will be more seasons! I mean, it was clear from the beginning to me that if they're making a Loki series, there will be more than one season! 😅

[yourladystar]

Book VI (And Awakening Banner) Thoughts

Well, since I did this for Book V, may as well do it for Book VI. And I'm not really covering Summoner Duel. It looks cool, but I've never been big into the PVP aspect of Heroes, or gaming in general. So let's just focus on the important stuff.

Starting off with my first impressions of the new characters:

I really hope this was just for a joke and to showcase her clumsiness, because I don't need another main female lead who's in love with the summoner just because.

And yeah, I was hoping we would get a male lead as much as you, but I'm willing to be optimistic about Ash. She's mega cute and the trailer helped to establish her personality right away. And with how great they did with Reginn, I think they'll do well with her.

Also

Da F*ck is this transformation?!

I thought the dream goats were weird, but having the retainer of a God who's a beast unit, yet still carries a staff (seriously, why do you have that?), that transforms into a cow who shoots lasers from her tail? What the f*ck do these designers smoke to come up with this?!

Ok... I can't be the only one who gets major NB vibes from Elm. That hair and facial structure. The V-neck exposing all of the collarbone. The body shape. The one thigh being exposed for no reason. I legit couldn't tell that this was a man until they straight up said it. Like... Damn. Talk about saying "f*ck it" to gender conformity.

For real though, he looks like he's going to be the sassiest twink ever. And I'm probably gonna end up loving him. I can't help myself. These kinds of characters just click for me.

Hello!

Ma'am!!!

Joking aside, I am wondering what Letizia's connection to Veronica is since they already said they're "like sisters." My current theory is that she is part of the royal family, but doesn't have as much influence as Veronica. And it seems like she's enacting the will of Embla and forcing Veronica to turn against the Askr crew and stop being friends with them. We did learn a while back that she and Zacharias are bound to this God to become a mindless destructive, so it seems like it's finally coming into play.

It's pretty surprising to see only 3 new characters teased for this book. I'm assuming they don't want to spoil everything out of the gate, but I am hoping they keep the new cast small. The fewer newcomers are introduced, the less bloated the cast will feel. Though I am expecting an appearance from Askr and/or Embla. Oh, and Zacharias has to show up. You can't put this much focus on Veronica and not have her brother play a role in the story. And have Xander as well, he's basically her brother at this point.

On the note of Veronica,

I really am happy to see her again. I've begun to like her more over the past 2 years, and it's nice to see her story getting a possible resolution. I just want her to be happy. Like, if this book ends with her and Alfonse becoming besties, that will be enough for me. Just... My God, this child deserves it.

So yeah, pretty excited to see where this goes. And given that Book V was a MASSIVE improvement over Book IV, we're definitely in the clear.

And yeah, obligatory mention of how little Sharena matters at this for once more not appearing in the trailer or poster. And this time, there isn't even a similar-looking character to keep me guessing. Like, wow. They really know just how pointless she is!

Onto the Awakening Banner!

And... yeah, let's just get through this first one.

Oh boy... Him. I have several problems.

One- why that pronunciation? Did anyone before today ever call him Pry-am? No! Of course, you didn't! Every person I've ever seen say his name has always said Pre-am. It rolls off the tongue better and sounds significantly less stupid.

Two- of the Awakening characters not yet in Heroes *cough*Laurent*cough*, why him? Has Priam ever been a highly requested character? I've never seen him be commonly brought up when it came to characters people want to summon, and while I'm sure he's on some people's wish list, it's never been to the extent of having a blog dedicated to him.

And third- Wow, the amount of straight washing with this character! Radiant Hero? Descendant of Ike? Wielding the Ragnell? Like, way to say "Ike's not gay" without directly saying "Ike's not gay." The fact that people are already dreading what his forging bond events will be is a pretty big sign of how unenthusiastic most fans are for this.

Damn, I nearly forgot how hot Basilio is. And I don't even mind the name pronunciation, cause it still works and makes him feel even grander.

I don't know why it took me until now to realize how great Flavia's design is. It's a perfect mix of powerful, elegant, and tasteful. Man, Awakening really had a lot of great designs we've been sleeping on.

Case in point! I knew we were bound to get Yen'fay once Say'ri was added, and I'm glad with how he looks. Another really great design I haven't appreciated until now.

Oh, and... She's here.

I'm just hoping with her addition, Laurent will come soon.

Give me my son, IS!

Overall, I'd say this banner is... Good. I'm not gonna be pulling hardcore for any of them (especially Priam), but they're welcome additions.

And that's that’s my thoughts on this trailer and banner. Not anywhere near as much of a mindf*ck as Book V's trailer, but I'm looking forward to what will happen.

Here's to another year, FEH!

[jillianreneewriting]

Ok, Hear Me Out...

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST RANT AHEAD (specifically about Emma Watson and Dan Stevens 2017 remake).

Ok. So. I think I do this rant much better justice in my podcast (yes I plan on being more active again and uploading my podcast episodes as they come out here as well, though in the meantime they are available on Patreon and Spotify but I'll make a separate post about that later), but I still want to impart this wisdom upon others ASAP.

So for background, yesterday in my open discussion creative writing workshop course (we haven't started workshops yet so we're just discussing different topics each week, example this week was mostly characters) and we came upon the topic of tropes and how we raise the stakes, and suddenly I made a GIANT connection that I hadn't made in the past 4 years about this one movie. And now I can't get it out of my head - hence this post.

Before I explain where I'm going with this, please listen to just this snippet of Days in the Sun from Beauty and the Beast (2017), and keep it in mind as you continue to read onwards. (skip to 1:27 to get to the lines I'm talking about here. The segment ends at 1:55)

"I was innocent and certain, now I'm wiser - but unsure.

I can't go back into my childhood, one that my father made secure...

I can feel a change in me, I'm stronger now but still not free..."

A bit more background... as a reminder, this song begins, as Belle is tending to Prince Adam/The Beast's wounds after he saved her from the wolves. This is the turning point of the entire story, this is when she starts to notice that he isn't all roughness and rudeness. This is not entirely where I am going with this though.

We have all grown up knowing that Beauty and the Beast was a beautiful love story. There have been many adaptations for books, movies, musicals, and television shows, but one thing remains the same - that it is a romance. Period. Why do I bring this up? Because of having this knowledge going into this movie every time I've watched it for the past four years, I never noticed what I finally did yesterday.

Perhaps no other telling of this story is supposed to be like this (though I'm definitely going to do some digging and see if there's anyone else with similar thoughts and if so what their thoughts are on other popular remakes/adaptations), but even without this song, without these three specific lines being written by Alan Menken, it is clear that this telling is no longer the simple romance that we see the original story as, but instead, something much - much deeper, that anyone of any age can connect incredibly deeply with.

No, instead I think its main theme is the crossing of the threshold from being a girl, from being a child, to being an adult and young woman. This song merely reinforces it, if not screams at the audience "hey, pay attention to me, listen to my words, LOOK I'M NOT JUST A ROMANCE, I'M IMPORTANT." It quite literally in this regard, is a coming of age story, a coming of age romance.

Yes, Belle is supposed to be 17 according to Disney. She is an adult already age wise when the story starts, especially according to the time period this remake is set in - supposedly in the mid 1700s. But according to everyone around her, she is far from an adult. She lives alone with her father, she spends her time reading and inventing, and trying to teach children to read. She rebukes every advance from Gaston, seemingly the only "eligible bachelor" in their little town, their quiet village. None of this is what people would think of an adult woman would act like. She is far from considered to be an adult in their society.

In Days in the Sun, she addresses this herself when she refers to everything that had happened before that point in time, before she arrived at the castle, before her father left their home, as her childhood. She has stepped into the unknown, she has left her home, her father, everything she's ever known. Due to her forced separation from her father and her "provincial life," she is forced to grow up - and with that, we see her own character development, alongside Prince Adam's. When Gaston rounds up the villagers and goes to kill Adam, and Belle finally is able to get to the castle, she isn't just rebuking Gaston anymore, she is completely standing up to him, snapping his arrows in half - she is fending for both herself and for Adam, which is something she may not have had the instinct to do before her "crossing the threshold" into adulthood, into womanhood.

She never fully conforms to how most would expect a woman to act as an adult would. She continues her reading, Emma Watson herself had gripes about the lack of a scene she had wanted to end the movie, of them opening up the library to the public and her teaching young girls to read. She never gives up her passions, but instead embraces both the change, the uncertainty, alongside the interests she clearly displayed since the first mere minutes of the movie.

Moral of the story: 2017's Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, Kevin Kline, Luke Evans, and Dan Stevens, isn't *just* a romance. Instead its main theme or focal point may indeed be the crossing of the threshold between childhood innocence and surety, to adulthood, loss of innocence, and uncertainty - the fear of the unknown. Just with a healthy sprinkling of romance thrown into the mix.

"I was innocent, and certain, now I'm wiser - but unsure,

I can't go back into my childhood, one that my father made secure,

I can feel a change in me, I'm stronger now but still not free..."

- sincerely, an English major who might be taking critique and reviews a bit too seriously...

[smartzelda]

Okay *Demyx voice* Arendelle time!

Poor Sora😂

That gust of snow just moves in and he's like "Coat! Please! I'm an islander!"

Donald just shrugs it off like "That's not how it works. Go and freeze."

This is where I bring up the "kh3 is self aware thing" again because now we actually have Sora dying from the snowy area, and then when Sora just like completely forgets about it, Donald and Goofy are like, "Islander my butt. He's not even feeling it anymore, is he?"

Sora getting the first puzzle piece to the situation when Elsa runs away, a sad look on her face. Y'know, the beginning of that Riku to Elsa and Sora to Anna parallel, Elsa running away because Anna and the whole Kingdom are better off without her

Elsa: *uses magic*

Sora, Donald, and Goofy: *surprised pikachu face and slightly fearing for their lives*

If I'm remembering correctly, there's a section right here where you basically fight a bunch of enemies in the huge area

I distinctly remember running around, (and Xion could vouch for this) fighting the enemies, and very monotonely voicing that I was about to die

So...ice maze.

In my proud runthrough I really had to get to a save point so I zoomed through the ice maze as fast as possible. This time I took the time to explore every room and beat all the enemies. I still hate light rails with a passion.

So, the avalanche gets started at the top once we reach the palace, pushing Sora, Donald, and Goofy off

I... The ice dragon thing was so bad. I spent forever, dying and dying and dying to their stupid laser beams. It happened so many times that I had to go to bed and try it again the next day. I would get to the part where all three flew in the air and shot beams, and it felt so unpredictable and stupid and impossible because I would dodge beams from two, and the third's would appear right under where I was landing, which was impossible to judge. It was here I learned a lesson: Use the Kupo Coin when you need it

Bless the kupo coin for saving my stupid butt

The sled part after that stressed me out cause it wasn't hard, but I had a bad habit of bumping into things, so...😂

I pretty much just abused shotlocks, ultimate form, light form/double form okp, and thunder or thundara or whichever I had at the time and I finished those dragons off

Spiky brown grass 😂😂😂😂

Poor Sora is so frustrated that he didn't get a color like green or blue like Donald and Goofy

The part where Anna talks to Sora about Elsa and he finally puts some pieces together and relates it to him and Riku really gets me every time because their situation is a big Soriku parallel. I know this is one of the scenes that's probably been soriku analyzed to death, but like

Elsa and Anna used to play all the time when they were really little like best friends

Baby Sora and Riku, best friends, used to play together all the time

One day, Elsa shuts Anna out because she doesn't want to hurt her

Kairi enters the scene, Sora starts paying a little more attention to her, Sora and Riku's duo relationship isn't terrible, it just does a little decrease. The literal shutting out in which Riku and Sora close the Door to Darkness. Then, the shutting out when Sora wakes up in kh2 and Riku alienates himself because of his guilt over what he did, and what leads into the next part of the parallel

Elsa accidentally uses her ice magic and flees the kingdom to the north mountain. She alienates herself so she can't hurt anyone (especially Anna) and because she thinks the kingdom and Anna are better off without her

Riku feels like he can't win without using the power of darkness and is weak. He is ashsmed that he relied on darkness and it showed in his appearance as Ansem. He alienates himself from Sora and everyone because he feels like he can't show his face as Ansem and because he thinks Sora is better off without him.

Sora, of course, puts these pieces together with Anna's story and makes the parallel connection between him and Anna, then Elsa and Riku in his head. I like how he says, "If anyone can help her, it's you," because I feel like that's him remembering his situation with Riku when he wanted to find him and that because of the reason for Riku's actions, only he could help.

And I think it's interesting that it's first Anna saying "I have to bring her home" and then Sora saying "I'm sure she knows now much you love her" for him to make these parallels. I think that implies that Sora gets that Elsa and Anna are siblings that love each other and he's thinking over what Riku means to him and even what he means to Riku.

Also Sora (in jap ver dialogue) realizing that maybe Riku pushed him away because he's someone precious to Riku is like...

My heart bro...

Ngl, so many times here I moved up the mountain fighting enemies and died that I'd go halfway up the mountain, then backtrack all the way back to the save so I wouldn't have to keep completely starting over every time I got oneshotted by an armored body. I did that multiple times for this area.

So, we get to the point where Sora finally reaches the top of the mountain again. For whatever reason I couldn't remember if it was like that before, but the Elsa freezing Anna's heart scene and it flashing between that and Sora, and then Sora holding a hand to his heart in pain right after we see the shot of Elsa putting ice into Anna's heart.

I think it's a parallel and Nomura's tryna tell us/foreshadow something

Okay, so big oof on the Marshmallow fight. I think on my proud run I got a bunch of times to use the team attack with the tree. I swear I only got to use it twice counted up from all my attempts on this run

The suckiest part was armored mode. I did a lot of trying to let Donald and Goofy do the work here cause I didn't wanna get oneshotted, but that didn't always quite work out... I eventually did it though, snd of course Sora, Donald, and Goofy are knocked off the mountain again

Idk how mant times I'm gonna keep saying this, but poor Sora. He's just so done and frustrated. "I could do this a hundred times."

And then Donald and Goofy both take him seriously 😂

"Please don't."

"Yeah, we should do it again!"

Awwww, Marshmallow. He just wanted to protect Elsa. I know that's what he was created to do, but that's still sweet

Sweet Sora boy making friends with anything that moves and we love him for it

Marshmallow made my life with enemies a little easier ngl

At the save point right before seeing Kristoff, I did some meteorite farming in gummi space and took a trip to the bistro. By this point I had excellents on all but 3 dishes because I didn't have the ingredients yet.

Also, by this point I was blessed with adorable remmy and Sora getting presents. Remmy got his own tiny present!

And I'm sure you know this already, but like...I have a soriku obsession right now, so I enjoy making things into little personal Soriku references

Exhibit A: My gummi and Teeny Ships

They are both named after Yozora and contain the colors for Sora, Riku, and Yozora

Okay, so back in Arendelle, Sora, Donald, and Goofy temporarily leave Marshmallow behind, and we come upon Kristoff and another Soriku parallel

Kristoff: "No, Sven! We're not going back. She's with her true love."

Riku: "You mean Kairi. To Sora, she's someone very special."

Sora: "Where'd Anna go?"

Kristoff: "She's back at home."

Sora: "Something happen?"

Kristoff: "Anna was struck in the heart by Elsa's ice magic. If the ice isn't removed, she'll freeze forever. Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart. So I took her back to Arendelle and to her true love, Hans."

Xion: "Do you know where Sora is now?"

Riku: "That secret stays with me."

Xion: "Why's that?"

Riku: "Xion...your memories...they really belong to Sora."

Xion: "So you mean...I'm like a part of him?"

Riku: "When his memories were scattered, some of them...found their way inside you. Now, Sora has been put to sleep so that we can piece together his memory."

Sora: "But...what about you?"

Kristoff: "What about me?"

Sora: "Uh, I sorta assumed you guys were..."

Kristoff: "Nooo! I just keep her from getting lost."

Xion: "So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?"

Riku: "Nah, I guess...I'm just sad.

Sora: "Really? Oh, but you seem so..."

Goofy: "Perfect together!"

Donald: "Yeah, like me and Daisy!"

So let's talk this over.

Point one, both assumptions on who the person in question's (Sora and Anna) true love/most important person is. This may have to do in part with some surface level stuff and Kristoff/Riku's anxiety that the person in question (Anna and Sora) probably doesn't like them like that.

Point two, the person in question has had something bad happen to them such as their memories being "erased" or their heart being frozen, needing some sort of action to save that person.

Point three, neither Riku nor Kristoff factor their feelings into the situation, Kristoff because he just feels the duty to save Anna and doesn't believe he is her true love, and Riku because he feels the duty to save Sora snd similarly does not believe himself to be Sora's special person (which didn't exactly factor in in Riku's case, but it's true he too pushed his feelings aside in all areas except saving Sora).

Point four, "I just keep [him] from getting lost" is totally something Riku or Sora would say about the other.

Point five, I added the last part because despite the insistence that Hans is Anna's true love, Sora, Donald, and Goofy agree that it seems Anna and Kristoff are perfect together, and it especially helps to know that on their side, they've seen that Anna and Kristoff work well together. They haven't seen her with Hans, and even in the movie, she and Hans don't get much screentime development. This is a parallel more to the soriku experience. On our side, we see Sora and Riku get a lot of screentime and development together, and it's clear that they care for each other. So when someone, even in game, insists that Kairi is most important to Sora, it feels like, "Oh, but Sora and Riku seem perfect together" and "But Kairi and Sora don't really get development like that or really much screentime together."

So, resuming the story (and the parallel), there's a gust of wind amd Kristoff looks towards Arendelle. He obviously feels something is wrong and says Anna's name before rushing off. I'm being completely honest, we've seen Riku too rush off, feeling that Sora's in danger. Prime example I remember though would be in the keyblade graveyard when Riku just gets a feeling and runs over to Sora, giving him a pep talk sorta just before everyone else gets swept up.

So, Marshmallow too, just like Kristoff, feels something is wrong, and gestures in the direction of Arendelle, saying Elsa's name, and the group is off to save Elsa and Anna.

And then, another parallel! Yes, Arendelle is Soriku parallel city over here!

Before Hans' sword reaches Elsa

Before the demon tide reaches Sora and Riku

Anna stands between the sword and Elsa

Riku stands between the demon tornado and Sora

Anna puts her right hand out to block the blow

Riku thrusts the keyblade in his right hand forward, directing the darkness around him and Sora into a tunnel

Anna completely turns to ice and saves Elsa, an act of true love

Riku attempts to save Sora at the expense of his own life, an act of true love, and is swallowed by the darkness

Anna gives one clear final breath

Riku gives one clear final breath

Elsa, alive due to her sister's act of true love, realizes the power of love and is able to save/unfreeze Anna

Sora's heart and body persist, arriving in the final world, his heart likely persisting due to Riku's act of true love, and his body due to Kairi, and he believes in himself and is able to go save Riku's heart

Just...ya know...food for thought...

And now, boss battle time! I believe I didn't have too much trouble on it when I dodged correctly. I beat it fine. One of my favorite shots I saw though was Sora using subzero impact with Ultima, but his clothes were the formchange color because I had just hit Ultima form right before. It was literally so epic!!

No, Marshmallow! You can't die this way! I need you to battle things for me-! Uh, I mean, you need to be alive because we care about you!

Just kidding Marshmallow! I love you and you're actually a nice snow giant with a big heart!

Cue Sora getting the example of the power of true love when Anna unfreezes.

THE PRETTY ANIMATION

Pretty animation Sora, I looooove you

Poor boy caring so much about everyone. He just wants to keep everyone safe.

And after Elsa gives another demonstration of the power of love, Arendelle is over.

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

Movie Night (ft. Cas's t-shirt)

THANK YOU for the ask, Dear Anon! I'm very flattered that you enjoyed the last one, and hope this meets your expectations! I WISH I could tag you in this, but you're on anon so.. Anyways, I went for Tuesday movie night idea, and clubbed it with a 'cute t-shirt prompt' I received and it got long AF but please leave a comment if you read and like!

*

"Ahh," Dean let out a perfect sound of exhaustion meeting the plush comfort of his couch. "It's finally Tuesday."

Sam snorted from the side, because his relationship with tuesdays had been kind of a love-hate. Not that Dean ever took him seriously - he doesn't blame his brother, really, because he wouldn't believe Dean either if he told him 'a piano crushed you to death' or any of those other ridiculous ways in which he'd died.

"If you like movie nights that much," Jack added, from the side - he was settled in one of the big chairs, looking more like a kid than he usually did. "Why don't we watch movies on other nights, too?"

Sam leaped to answer, ever ready to squeeze in a lesson for the nephilim. Good values needed to be a part of the upbringing. Children need to be taught by example. "There's an analogy we can use for this, Jack. Say, uh, Dean loves his birthday very much." Dean frowned at his brother. "Because of the pie, and the gifts, and all the beer." Dean shrugged. "So, he wishes on his birthday candles that everyday be his birthday!" Sam paused, and Dean wondered why he spoke as if he was talking to a kid, and not the strongest 2-year-old ever. "But, what happens then, is that he keeps growing a year older on each birthday - that is, everyday!"

Jack looked alarmed. "That's - bad."

"Yeah, because then I'd grow to be 60 in like a month and die." Dean added, in a deadpan.

"It won't take you thirty years to get to sixty." Sam reminded him.

"Shut up, Sam." Dean scowled and turned back to Jack. "Listen, kid, this isn't about all the good movies in the world getting finished too soon, if we watch 'em everyday. It's more about the attitude."

Jack nodded.

"Like, uh," Dean swallowed. "Like our dad always taught me and Sammy, hunters need to live a disciplined life. Can't just start watching a movie whenever, because that'll make your head feel like you're giving it permission to do crap, just like that, without a routine. That's never good for a hunter - even less so, he'd say, for the sons of an ex-Marine. Messes your head up, and takes away your ability to fixate on your decisions." Dean paused. "It's not like I've not watched movies on a Saturday because I wanted to, but the old man made sense - it's just, a routine is better to stick to."

"That sounds like a horrible amount of behavioral psychology to associate to an activity as trivial as watching a movie." Came a new voice, as Cas stood in the doorframe, his head just slightly tilted as his eyes looked straight at Dean.

Dean's exhale was caught in his lungs, and he blinked, staring at Cas with a chest full of air, and still feeling like he'd sink instead of buoyant. Cas was no longer in the trenchcoat and pants - he wore grey pyjamas which fit snug over his thighs, and a t-shirt which had to be new, because holy fucking shit.

He'd have noticed the angel walking around their bunker, wearing a black AC/DC shirt like that - simple, to someone else, perhaps - yet the way it fit over his biceps, widened his shoulders a bit more, and gave an elevated look to his chest because of the smooth descent to a toned abdomen - rendered Dean incapable of looking away. Complete with his hair sticking up at odd angles, hints of a stubble and inspecting eyes focussed on Dean, he looked like the stuff of Dean's (guilty, oh so guilty) dreams.

"H-hey, Cas." Dean cleared his throat, shifting on the larger couch to make space for him. He waved his hand dismissively to disregard all that he'd just said. "Forget about that, it was crap - come sit down." He suggested, breathlessly.

"Look who finally joined us," Sam addressed, in a normal voice and not even bothering to look up again - making Dean wonder why he didn't get all caught up in Cas's t-shirt, like Dean just had. He was unfairly attractive - but not just to Dean, right?

"I'm sorry," Cas replied, as he sat down next to Dean. Not a single part of them touched, since they were on opposite edges of a large couch Dean originally got for Sam and him - but there was still a tingling under Dean's skin, which had to be Cas's fault. "I couldn't find any socks." He turned to Dean, suddenly smiled, and tugged his pyjama up a little to show him the socks he wore. A pair of fucking novelty socks, they were - but Dean found himself grinning mindlessly, as Cas crossed his legs under him, and the visual was taken away from him.

"Of course, you couldn't." Sam inputted. "Dean hasn't been doing the laundry lately."

"Why am I the only one supposed to do it?" Dean threw back, and Sam didn't say anything to it.

"Nevermind." Cas declared. "I found socks, unwashed though they may be. Let us start." He referred to the movie.

Jack had fell silent for a moment, and he spoke up again. "Yeah! What are we watching today?"

At the same time that Sam opened his mouth - probably to drag Dean on how they better not watch something they'd just watched - Dean spoke up. "We're watching The Fellowship of The Ring, today."

"We just watched that on literally the third Tuesday of March -" Sam complained.

"Listen." Dean threw back. "Don't shove your crazy awesome memory with movies and dates, in my face - 'cause my brain forgot the movie already."

"Forgot? You probably can quote it line by line, Dean." Sam frowned. "But I guess you're not satisfied until you flawlessly recite it in your sleep, like Lost Boys."

Dean flashed his best shit-eating grin, and if that's what he was gonna do, he wasn't gonna agree with Sam. "Well, it's what we're watching, Sammy. Deal with it."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "What about Jack? Or Cas? Why don't you ask them if they want to watch Lord of the Rings again?"

"I do." Jack announced, brightly. "I like Frodo and Samwise Gamgee." Sam rolled his eyes. "But, I could also watch something else. I trust Sam's recommendations, after Harry Potter." He added, faithfully.

"Careful, buddy, Sammy's raising your son to be a nerd." Dean muttered to Cas, and he nodded, as if it was a line that needed to be answered with a nod.

Sam grinned like it was victory handed to him on a platter. "He said he could watch something else, Dean."

"What about Cas?" Dean turned to him, rotating in his seat. "Whadd'ya wanna watch, buddy?"

Cas pursed his lips, as if in deep thought. The deciding element. The one who'd tip the scales in the favor of one of the Winchesters.

"It's not Sophie's Choice," Sam grumbled sourly, as if he already knew what Cas would choose.

"Let him think!" Dean shushed his brother.

"I have reached a decision." Cas informed everyone, looking solemnly at the TV, instead of their faces. "We shall watch The Fellowship Of The Ring, tonight." He turned to Sam. "And if there's no hunts and we're at the bunker tomorrow too, Sam's choice shall prevail - that is, if Dean agrees to go against John's sayings and watch a movie on a Wednesday."

"That's fair." Jack grinned.

Dean beamed at Cas, with his little smile and his goddamn t-shirt, which was gonna drive Dean crazy in due time, he was sure. "See, Sam?" He ignored the comment on his father, because it was rare stilted humor, and in a perfect deadpan.

Sam muttered something under his breath which sounded a little bit like 'profound bond' for some reason, and rolled his eyes in defeated agreement, as Dean began to look for the movie.

"Whatever," Sam substituted, not looking up from his phone as the opening credits began to play. "The three of you can rewatch the entire LOTR series if you want, I'll just leave you to it." He shrugged.

"Hey!" Dean was annoyed. This was family movie night. Sam was supposed to be a part of it too. "Lord of the Rings is right up your alley, nerd. Why're you bitch-facing so hard tonight?"

"Well," Sam chewed on his lip. "It's very long, and I wanted to get to bed for an early night."

Dean narrowed his eyes, and hit pause on the remote just as the elves began to narrate. "Why?"

"No reason." Sam stalled. There was an almost familiar edge to his voice and -

Suddenly, it all made sense to Dean. The dots connected in his head, and Sam's reluctance to watch a three hours long movie was suddenly reasoned.

"Why, Sam?" Cas repeated, intrigued. "Are you alright? Do you not feel well?"

"He feels fine. I know," Dean cut in. "He's got a date." Sam's eyes widened before he vigorously shook his head in denial. "Some virtual crap, I bet, because you don't like to get laid, and an actual date may've involved that - but whatever is your idea of a fun time, hey, I'm not judging."

"It's not a date!" He declared.

"Then it's something like it." Dean shrugged, getting surer, with Sam's panicked expression. He knew his brother well enough to read through this cover. "Tell me Sammy, is this a video call with some chick you met online on those awful sites?"

"Dude, no." Sam balked. "I'm on no such awful site to meet chicks."

"Sure, you're not." Dean narrowed his eyes. "Then, who? Because clearly I'm right about the rest of it."

"It's," Sam looked like he didn't wanna continue, would like nothing better than to not finish the sentence. But with Cas joining in on the stare, he let out a subdued, "Uh, Rowena."

There was a stillness in the room. Dean and Cas slowly exchanged a look, and Sam flushed. "Who?"

"We know her, Dean!" Jack corrected, promptly.

"Not like Sam does," Dean shot at his brother, who looked flustered as crap, and it was all Dean had ever wanted from this conversation.

"Dean!" Sam looked grossed out, while it should've been them. He was the one dating a three hundred years old witch. "We're gonna discuss -"

"- if you're about to tell me you'll discuss a case, I swear to call you on your bullshit by calling Rowena right away." Dean challenged, definitely.

"I -" Sam pursed his lips. "I don't need to have this conversation with you, jerk."

"What about the rest of us?" Cas asked, and there was a smirk playing on his lips, which made him all the more attractive.

"None of you." Sam declared, standing up, looking offended. "You are literally infants! Don't breathe a word of this to anyone, Dean, or I'll - whatever, just watch your frigging movie, I'm out of here."

"If you're gonna do stuff, use headphones!" Dean waited until Sam was far enough to not hit Dean for it and yelled after him, as the latter marched out of the room, embarrassed. It was his duty as the older brother to make that happen, so no issues there. He turned back to Cas, grinning at him - and Jack, of course.

"The rest of us are here without the intention of leaving halfway to call a chick, right?" Dean asked, though it was a pretty stupid question for Jack - and if the answer were yes for Cas, he'd have a major-ass freak out right there.

"Right." Cas confirmed, for some reason; his voice rich and gravelly, and Dean's attention was once again taken by Cas's t-shirt - now that his kid brother was sufficiently out of the picture. True, Jack was still there, but that's a different issue. Dean had to hold a reputation in front of Sam, that he could control his senses in the presence of Cas, and that he could rein it in, and that he could do a lot of things which he was very far from, in reality.

"Me too." Jack announced, brightly, and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Jack, you're two." Cas informed him, and Dean had to stifle a snort at the very notion. Nevertheless, he toned down the weird, made himself comfortable in the couch - maybe shifting a little towards the middle, and let out a small, content sigh, for the second time this evening.

He hit play.

*

“Why do we keep making the same mistake?” Dean groaned, his head falling back on the sofa. Once again, like every tuesday ever - they’d forgotten to get food before they sat to watch the movie. Now, around half an hour in, it was all Dean could think about. But getting up seemed like an awful chore.

Cas nodded his head in agreement, grave and earnest. “It’s because we don’t learn our lesson.”

“Dean, do you want to learn said lesson tonight, by not eating?” Jack asked.

“No.” Dean glared at him. “I may be around Mr. No-Food, and Little-to-no-food, but it isn’t wearing off on me.” They’d not paused the movie to have this discussion, so he kept his eyes on the screen as he spoke. “As a human, I have a few simple needs. Such as beer and something like popcorn to chew as I watch a classic with my - I mean, with you guys.”

“Okay." Cas shuffled in his seat, beginning to stand up. Dean frowned instantly, and pulled him down, gripping his wrist. Cas easily succumbed, and was back on the couch with a surprised little bounce - looking at Dean, confused. "What? I'll get you the beer and popcorn, so that you don't have to get up. I can obviously see you don't want to."

Aww, Dean's brain melted.

"Nope." He said, out loud, popping the 'p'. "You don't need to do that. I'll go."

"I volunteer, Dean. It's not about need," Cas protested. "And you enjoy this movie more than I do."

"Sure, but I've watched it a helluva lot more too." Dean raised his eyebrows, and Cas smiled a little, one of those smiles that he reserved for Dean, and made his insides flutter.

"We could just pause it." Jack suggested, not looking away from the TV yet, for the entirety of the conversation.

"No, you keep watching, there's no need," Dean excused, standing up himself, smiling in spite of himself. Cas looked at him, and not at the screen.

"Dean," And that wonderful voice of his swept over Dean's brain and made the puddle vaporize or some shit.

"Yeah, Cas?"

"I could keep telling you what's happening, while you're in the kitchen." Cas proposed, breaking into a wider smile, all crinkly and toothy.

"Aww, Cas," Dean couldn't stop himself in time, staring blindly at Cas's face and short-circuiting in his head. And instantly cleared his throat, and added in a more composed tone. "Okay, you do that. Thanks, I guess."

Dean wondered, as he walked into the kitchen and went looking for the bacon he'd made earlier, what was up with him tonight. He was usually able to hold his tongue in front of Cas - he was usually able to look away from him, even though it took some persuasion. But there was something today, that had taken away his brain-to-mouth-and-eyes filter.

Must be the new shirt.

Dean knocked, obnoxiously loud, at Sam's door before barging in with a plate of bacon and a beer. He saw Sam fast asleep, on his front, and did not know where to go with that, so he left the table at his bedside in case he was going to wake up and resume his midnight call or something.

Then he took the rest of the food and two beers and went back to the movie room.

All through his venture, Cas had kept yelling updates through the door. "Merry and Pippin just hugged Frodo!", "And now, Frodo just met Bilbo again!", "Arwen is speaking with Frodo now!" This had made Dean grin so hard, that he almost dropped the dishes. Damn, Cas was awesome.

As Dean handed him a beer, and put the plate of bacon between them on the couch, Cas whispered to him. "And Arwen just kissed Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

And Dean stared at Cas, his blue, blue eyes and his eyebrows pinched together in concentration, and his crinkled nose - and his goddamn voice, and his way of speaking, and how he just said the words 'Aragorn, son of Arathorn' like an entire fucking dork, and how adorable it was that he'd been doing a live-commentary for Dean, and just - he was almost overpowered by a desire to kiss the perfect little smile tugging at his lips, and palm the stubble-covered cheeks, and maybe, if Jack weren't here, pull that gorgeous fucking t-shirt over his head, because it was distracting.

Dean was instantly taken aback by his own stream of thoughts. He was clearly going crazy.

He could bet it was the fault of the shirt.

*

Okay, but at this moment, Dean needs the remote.

And it's not just because the remote is on the other side, next to Cas, and Dean's brain instantly launches into a scene in his head, when Dean asks for the remote and Cas is too comfortable (he's already holding onto a large cushion like it's a blanket) to move, and he tells Dean to take it himself - and then Dean will have to lean over Cas to get it, and there'll be a moment where he's almost on top of him, and they'll happen to look at each other, and Cas's eyes will flit down to Dean's lips as Dean adjusts himself to reach the remote, on Cas's lap, and maybe Cas says something like -

That's enough.

Dean doesn't need the remote so that something like that plays out in reality. He only needs the remote to lower the volume, because Jack is asleep and he'll wake up otherwise in the war scene and noise that'll follow.

But this way or that, he can see the said scene happening.

Maybe there's a part of him which wants it to happen exactly how it happened in his head.

Maybe it will.

So, with more energy than the sentence needed, he says, "Cas! I need the remote!"

And Cas turns his head to look at Dean, an incomprehensible expression.

But instead of saying a variation of, 'take it yourself' like he was really, really supposed to -

He picks up the remote with his left hand and hands it to Dean simply.

Dean stares at it for a moment, everything forgotten, especially the reason why he needed the remote in the first place. And then he kicks himself for being a goddamn teenage girl about this, and plays off the disappointment with a 'thank you' in the manliest voice he can conjure, and he's pretty sure it makes up for the kind-of-but-not-really pornography he'd been dreaming up. Sam's irritating voice nags in his head, you're confusing reality with porn again.

Of course, Dean is too lost thinking and staring at Cas sideways when he's sure Cas can't see him - to remember to lower the volume, and Jack wakes up with a jolt at the Uruk-Hai screeching at Gimli the dwarf.

*

Jack's going off to his room. The movie isn't finished yet, but he's been dosing off throughout and Dean can't tolerate the insult to the Classic, so he tells him to just go off to sleep. It's been a long day.

"Will you both watch it whole?" Jack asks groggily, before leaving and Dean looks enquiringly at Cas. He only has to turn his head a little, because Cas is much closer to him now. They've both gravitated towards the middle.

"Of course." Cas answers. "Unless Dean needs to sleep." Dean shakes his head confidently, and Jack nods.

"Okay, goodnight dads." He mutters, at least it sounds like it, and Dean would've lost it if Cas's slight weight leaning on his arm weren't grounding him to his current location instead of somewhere panicky in his head.

"Goodnight, Jack." Dean lets out, and he's aware it doesn't sound as constipated as he thought it would, and he's proud of it.

"Dean." Cas speaks up, a moment later. "I think we should turn off the lights."

"What?" Dean blinks, mildly.

"I know neither of us will want to get up later." Cas justifies. "So we might as well do it now."

"Can't you," Dean grumbles. "Can't you use your mojo to push the switch, or..?"

Cas sighs. Then blinks, and the entire room goes dark. Cas's eyes open, and they're gleaming like blue halos of light in the suddenly dark room - and Dean can still make out his face, in the light of it. It's all hard lines and small smiles, from the little he sees. "I need to remember I can do these things, don't I?" He mumbles.

"Yeah, our human incapabilities are wearing off on ya." Dean tells him and they start looking at the screen again.

"You're not incapable if you have to stand up to turn off the lights." Cas replies, and Dean just hums in response.

A little later, Cas speaks again, and he sounds happier almost. "Dean."

"Uh-huh?" Dean looks away from Gandalf on the screen, to look at the angel.

"Did you notice Jack kept falling asleep?"

Dean pauses. "Oh." He smiles too, it coming over him all of a sudden. "Yeah."

"That means," Cas's tone is bright, and Dean can hear his smile. "He's enough human to fall asleep in the middle of a movie, again."

"Human incapabilities strike again," Dean teases, and Cas chuckles audibly and it's a really, really good moment. Although yeah, it's a bit too domestic for Dean to be perfectly at calm - Cas and he are sitting in the dark, watching a movie they've watched so many times before, discussing the progress of the nephilim they've been raising (with Sam, of course) and Dean has his hand around Cas's seat - in what he now feels guilty on realizing is the oldest trick in every guy's playbook. They're both more in the middle of the couch than not, and the beers have been drained to the last drop. One of them doesn't sleep, the other won't - and then there's Cas's perfect t-shirt, which shall drive Dean to madness each time he sees it, and beyond.

*

Slowly, the arm which is on the couch, falls on Cas's shoulder - and it's a rather rapid course from there to it being slung around Cas, with Cas tucked under it and leaning into Dean so that it's comfortable.

It's not that Cas's head is on Dean's chest, or not even that his fingers are playing with the fabric of Cas's shirt - its just that they're so close to doing that, and somehow Dean can't pull back this time.

Like, he suddenly realizes, he's been doing forever.

It's again, a good thing that he pretty much knows LOTR scene by scene, and in spite of almost completely being distracted by everything Cas, he answers all trivial questions Cas mumbles at him in that deep, deep baritone - and there's a heat pooling in Dean's insides, and he can't quite place if its the spot behind his ribs, or further south.

Both sounds most appropriate.

*

Dean is not proud of this, but he fell asleep.

It's not that he didn't finish the movie, because he did - he remembers the last scene (or it could be from a previous watching that he recalls it) but it's just that he fell asleep right there. Next to Cas.

No, not even next to him. Pretty much wrapped around him. And somehow that's - not so wild, after all. It kinda feels awesome. Its not even morning yet, so he has more hours.

He wakes up with his hair tickling his breath and coughs mildly when he realizes that he'd buried his nose in Cas's hair - and his lips on his head, apparently. He straightens, but is sure to not make much movement - because Cas doesn't sleep like they do, he rather drifts off to a sorta-catatonic state but stays very much awake and alert. He doesn't want to wake Cas up, because the angel looks so comfortable, nestled on Dean's chest - that it somehow invokes a feeling of pride in him.

And love.

And that's that. The not-freaking-out segment of this story abruptly comes to an end, and Dean clenches his fist to stop himself from beginning to tremble.

He ends up with a fistful of that goddamn shirt which Dean blames for everything in that night, and Cas stirring awake, and straightening. The weight rested on Dean's abdomen is lost, and it feels weird and colder.

"It's seven minutes to four. Ante Meridiem." Cas announces, in a voice which is roughened by lack of use.

"You should go back to sleep." Dean begs, because Cas doesn't need to see Dean get anxious about the whole pile of feelings he's beginning to feel crushed under.

"Dean." Cas says, in that voice, and straightens some more. He's at Dean's height again, and their noses are inches apart, and Cas looks worried about him. "Dean?" He repeats, and he's concerned, and he's perfect, and his voice is something else, and the way he looks at him is something else like Dean is worthy of all his attention somehow - and the emotions are brimming and he doesn't know what to do with them until he -

He jerks himself ahead, and grabs Cas's shirt for good measures, pressing his lips against Cas's.

It's a moment of bravery, it's a moment of impulse, and it's a moment of utter stupidity because Cas doesn't react -

Until he does, and he kisses back, and he's excited and into it and Dean's taken aback by his vigor and in awe of his own hands which are grappling at Cas's t-shirt for friction as he moans into Cas's mouth.

"I blame the t-shirt," He whines, when they pull away, to look at each other better. And he does.

Of course, he's not an idiot (except for the many times that he is). But what he definitely isn't, is dense enough to not realize that this had been over ten years in the making.

These urges were familiar, and suppressed each time - the sudden feelings were overpowering, except he'd learn to deal with them tactfully, by crushing them with every means possible.

But what had changed today and he'd actually acted on it instead of swallowing it, had to be the tee. It fit like magic, and it perfectly showcased his lean, muscled chest - and gave a peak of his collarbones, and if he stretched, his obliques - and it was as black as his hair in the dark, and ah, it had to be the shirt.

Because otherwise, he didn't know what it could be, that had made tonight - today - this.

Cas still had his hand on Dean's bicep. "This one?" He looks down at himself. "I got it from your closet months ago."

"What -"

"And, you blame it?" He repeats.

"No," Dean shakes his head, anxiously, truthfully as he captures his lips in a kiss again. Slotting in place against each other, and as loving as they were passionate - he had had no idea that kissing Cas would be this amazing. "I love it. I'm gonna need you to keep wearing it. On Thanksgiving, I'm gonna be thankful for it."

Cas laughs against Dean's lips, and says something which is lost in the bliss of the moment.

Nevermind. He has all the moments after this, to listen to him. But he only has this one, at the end of a Tuesday movie night, to enjoy their first kiss (he's pretty sure all the short, little kisses just make up one major kiss). So he does.

*

Edit: Thank you for reading! Would like to tag @iamcharliebradburylevelperfect @awkward-penguin-in-a-trenchcoat @all-or-nothing-baby @styggtroll @notyoursweetbaboo @moderatelypanickedbisexual @but-for-the-gods-three-days and @emmii4 ! If you don't wanna be tagged, I'll remove you from the list, just ask! Have an awesome day!

[phoneismybf]

TharnType the Series Ep. 8 Review

I'm not ready for this episode yet people are very exited for the torture (?). Lol.

#TharnTypeEp8 #TharnTypeS #TharnTypetheSeries

It is unsual to see TumTar at the beginning but it is good to see them smile like that. Do you see that big smile from Tar when Tum plays the certain melody? Finally he can smile that free. Well suddenly sad again because of the birthday notification. Hurry up both of you need to clear everything.

Watch TharnType the Series Ep. 8 Engsub

Okay Ai Tharn we knew that you like dark chocolate now but don't emphasis it. We knew who has a darker skin. Yes, khun mom want to see him, why you don't say that he is yours. Hahaha. (I think he remembers what Type said about he is not ready yet, yes, okay, gentleman) Now here he is, the P'San Khrap. Seems he really close to this family already. Liau, wait, Tharn isn't that happy receiving the gift from him. What is this, miss the 14 of Tharn, may be he was a cry baby back then but not now P'. Yes, no more cute little boy, he already have a daddy's little boy at the dorm. Oiiii, such a supportive big bro, yes Tharn is more handsome than him and look at Tharn's smile. He probably said "I love you big bro" in silence.

Ai No.... Euuuu he should go with Tharn to his house so Tharn could introduce him to everyone there. SEE...... EVERYONE HEAR THAT, THIS IS THE REASON WHY TYPE WANTED TO TELL NO ONLY BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL SPILL THE TEA. SO TYPE DOSEN'T NEED TO EXPLAIN OR DECLARE ANYTHING. LMAO. KEEP ASKING PEUN.... KEEP ASKING CHAMP, COME ON CORNER BOTH OF THEM. DAMN not this time guys... Let them "kin" each other, I mean kin the grilled meats. Look at No's apologies, how cute he is. Hahaha

Got an Audy bae... Ready to pick you up. Have a car but live in a condo. What else you could think Ai No beside it is more convenient for practice music, of course to let Type scream without anyone knows what they are doing. LOL.

Peun... Don't judge a book by its cover. The one who know the real Tharn is Type only between all of you. Also he is his wify so don't ever think to say anything bad about Tharn.

Techno really digs everything on Type, he is curious now about their relationship. Ai No... You are a good friend but I'm worry you will spill more. See, even he is the one who mention about P'San first to Type. Meung maeng....

Type.... make a wish for Tharn, please. You never make a wish on your birthday or never wish or pray for other for their own goodness? Why he can't understand? Yes, the bed is all yours don't feel ngao/lonely.

Yes, Long always remember his crush's birthday. I want to dig information from him. I'm sure that he likes Tharn. No excuses with those facebook updates. P'San was Tharn first love, O.K. may the war come then.

WHAT THE F*CKKKKKK. WHAT DID TYPE GIVE? WHAT THE, BAD, YOU BAD BOY. YOU ARE NOT DADDY'S LITTLE BOY ANYMORE. HOW MANY TIMES BOTH OF YOU WILL DO IT? MY RATIONAL THINKING HAS STOP WORKING. CUTE BUT NO NO NO... YOU WERE GOOD TO NOT TELLING AI NO ABOUT THE PRESENTS. "hurry up come, I'm already dying to use the presents" Tharn. WHATEVER LA MEUNG....

YES, YOU HAVE ALL THE FLAVORS, WE KNEW YOUR FAVORITE IS C.H.O.C.H.O.L.A.T.E. He is starving for food not for S yet. Hurry up get him one then do the rounds later. Look at that satisfying smile on Type's face. Why I can't resist his cuteness though. Wow he opened the wraped present, not good boy not good, the owner didn't know it yet. Just say it you just got jealous. I smell something after this, what will Tharn do? Ai Tharn what will you do? Don't tell me that you the one who will start a fire between Type and P'San.

SEE.... TECHNO SPILLED IT AGAIN TO HIS FRIENDS, THE QUEENS. OIII AI NOO..... a little bit but (sigh). "I think he wants to keep it secret to" Type. Hell no, we all know the truth. "then why you still upset, shouldn't you be crazy in love with your boyfriend?" Techno. They were intended to be crazy in love but were canceled Ai No. Yes, help them make up so they can make love later. Mmmm... What?

Ow that smile comes from Tharn. I know there is something odd. Not funny Tharn, if you make, what I think, come true. Type really such an honest person, he keeps the emotion on his face while greeting P'San. YOU ARE JEALOUS AI TYPE. P'San's radar is on, get over that hand P, don't let people burn in jealousy. AI TECHNOOO WHY HE IS SUCH A J*RK. YOU SAID YOU WANNA HELP THEM TO MAKE UP. I can see Tharn don't want him to join too. Ai No... Why? Even Tharn is worry now about Type. I really want to punch this PEUN on his face, WHY HE MENTIONED THAT GIRL. SUCH A TRIAL FRIEND. That hand P' yud leui... Stop it... Now you understand right? Ai No... I can see your reaction, I'll punch you if you still act innocent. F*CK OFF BRO YOU GET ON MY NERVE. STOP BEING CURIOUS AND YOU STILL CAN LAUGH LIKE THAT. DONE WITH YOU. BYE... BETRAYAL. SEE..... I know he doesn't like raw food that's why he ordered the grilled one. But he never tells Tharn because he feels uneasy to say it when Type ordered a lot of raw food. But, it will become another problem if both of them don't talk about it. Bad situation, bad friend. Say it that he is your, Type, or silence and talk later with your present doing (coughing).

A mature and a childish. This will happen. Now Tharn take control, he is upset not to Type but P'San, to much spoiler. Yes, he didn't spit it because his boyfriend fed him and now he is a mature one he can eat raw as he likes at least he doesn't have an allergic. If he has an allergic and never tell Type, this will be problematic. So, just forget the past and go on. Hahhhh, this P'San, he never gives up. I think he still hoping for Tharn to be his again. That's why he always come every year to get more chances. That's what will happen Type, if you never tell other who Tharn is, people will keep coming to bother both of you except you are mature enough to not think about it and live what you both should live.

I'm speechless.... Type, you are more complicated than a girl who say "whatever" when she is asked what she want to eat and go for a war later because she doesn't give any clue. Jebb, why my heart hurt, this is not my problem, this is yours. You are tiring even Tharn said that too to his brother. Yes, you never listen, everything he said those are what he likes and what he hates, you are the one who never learn, you are the one who never understand, never ask, never curious about something might he likes or hate the most. What you think is only those c*ndoms. You even don't know that he likes chocolate. Stubborn, childish, stupid, heartless, what else guys? It is hurting me to see Tharn crying again. He always be honest, he knew you really like that restaurant, he ate and didn't spit. Appreciate it bro. Now he said, P'San is more understand him, Think bro think, don't be so emotional, you look like a girl on their period. LOL. He even said he hate "break up" the most. He already tired, give him more happiness. Don't make him like me, I already tired to find one, I even think to live my life alone. So don't ever make him to freeze his heart. A frozen heart will be very hard to melt. Meung maeng.... Assh*le.

Arghhh I hate this rollercoaster. Yes Type yess I forgive you such adorable human being. But Tharn seems thinking about your words na. So, be careful. His heart is weak, he might be through a hardest path before that you would never think. "You won't never suffer as much as I do anyway" Tharn. Jebb mak Ai Tharn. You stabbing my heart, we are the same don't say that.

So that is the real story about P'San and Tharn. Why it reminds me something. Team up with Type, yes, I hate him too. Thorn was took care of Thanya to hospital and he banged Tharn, he has a thick face seriously even Thorn was hit him that much. Of course he was that cute when he was 14 but it wasn't the right way to bang an under age. Poor Tharn, he was innocent that is why he gave P'San in. We talk about the comfort not the rational. Suddenly blow my emotion, it seriously reminds me something that I don't want to recall. F*ck. I can see something in Thorn's eyes, he knew that his friend is good but also dangerous. Thorn knew his goodness and badness, yet Tharn knew only his goodness. Ironic. Why we are so connected Ai Tharn. (take a deep breath). Marked, P'San.

"If a woman ask you to sleep with her, don't you want to do it too?" Tharn. Bro, mind your age! May be I'm an old fashioned but I'm agree with the statement that we can't do these kind of stuff under 17. I mean take a look on the safest age. If something happen, you will lose your teenage time while you can play and hangout with friends as much as you like before you are busy with those time consuming work. Well if you are gay yes that pregnant will never happen yet it concerns to moral lessons. Others may think were born to be a gay or trapped in a wrong gender. In my situation it is not about you were born to be a gay but it is because you were experienced with a guy in that young age. The age where you were build your pesonality who you want to become. And may be Tharn did the same thing to Tar like P'San did to him. Experience lead him to be like P'San but thanks God that he is mature enough to differentiate what is good and what is bad. The comfort lead him to a guy, first thing that will stuck forever in mind, that's why he couldn't do it with a girl. The feeling and the comfort for man and woman are different. Some people easily to change it but for people like Tharn, me and Type, we already had the experience since the younger age, and we can't change it easily. It already stucked in the heart and mind. More complicated if you bring a word 'sin' to here for people who have religion like me, man, frustrating. I had what Tharn had, I did what P'San did and it has been lead me to live a life full of guilty. But, gratefully they did with girl. I don't want them to be influenced by me about this thing. That's why I whised for a frozen heart, I don't want others to be influenced, until he came melt the ice only by his attitude and went away after he knew me. Then it freezing again. But thanks to him that I can felt the warm again even though it was short and wasn't influenced. That's why I love to see Tharn and Type or every couple in a drama having good relationship, let them be happy even it is a forbidden love. They have a right to be happy.

I do really love the way of Type for making up. I can't resist. He is so, cute. Sugar rush.... Yes Type, P'San is great to be hated. Why don't you tell him that Tharn is yours? See, Tharn also ask the same question. But you're not ready yet. Fine... Slowly, I understand, he also understand. "Don't forget what you have said" Type. He will never forget, Type, as long as you can have a good talk if both of you facing another problem.

MY GOD SUCH A TRIAL SENIOR. I'm done with P'San. Bad ending, next episode will full of tension again. This drama is complicated and tiring, even it just about a story of two persons.

See you soon pal.... I hope you like reading my review. I'm sorry if I sometimes put my personal matter in it. Hopefully it may help you to understand the situation or people like us. Or may be one of you have the same problem. Don't hesitate to tell me. We are at the same wheel. Cheer up...

[ganymedesclock]

What do you think of a theory floating around that Shiro dislikes Lance? Because honestly, I'm stumped how anyone can come to that conclusion because we were given examples of how Shiro acts around people he doesn't like and how Lance would behave if he was around someone who he's aware of either doesn't like, trust, or isn't too fond of him and the interactions between Lance and Shiro just doesn't seem anywhere comparable to the scenarios I'm talking about.

I think it’s a pretty clear juxtaposition of two fandom trends.

1. There’s a very robust group of people who are very fond of victimizing Lance.

I kind of refer to this as the “langst party” but I think that’s not entirely true because some people write “langst” purely for the sake of enjoying frolicking in dark places and that’s, y’know, can’t fault them.

But roughly, there’s a very vested interest in sections of the fandom in seeing Lance not as one of the most emotionally savvy people on the team and overall a hero who is able to take care of himself and meaningfully deal with his own insecurities, but as a defenseless and intensely vulnerable person, to the point of giving him a character flaw of internalizing things without discussing them with people (a character flaw markedly held by Shiro, and Keith, and to a lesser degree Allura, but definitely not by Lance).

Because the point of this exercise is nobody loves Lance more than them, and in fact, everybody else hates Lance. His team hates him, his friends hate him, random people at the Garrison hated him, the writers hate him…

Which is… manifestly not true. But it needs to be true to see Lance as an unloved victim which is very important for, I think, flattering themselves (or whoever they want to ship Lance with) as the one person who can see his real worth.

Which, being fair- if there’s one trait here that is authentically Lance, it’s the concept of hidden worthiness. Lance out of the team has a conflicted relationship with his specific “heroic identity”. He first specifically, strategically interrupts Allura so as not to hear it, and then when it is finally stated in the open- that the Blue Lion is the heart of the team- it’s Lance saying it with certainty and confidence… about Allura.

Lance worries his contributions aren’t enough and then when he realizes they are important he assumes Allura can do it better, which… he’s wrong. And this is frustrating.

But Lance is not hated, by Shiro or otherwise- this perception of Lance as an interpersonal underdog is frankly, morbidly hilarious to me because Lance is the interpersonal champion of the team. His major successes- s2e2, s4e6, to name examples- come from connecting with other people and knowing his feelings. He did the best during the Lion Swap- a few embarrassing near-collisions in Red but other than that almost immediately settling in and working the kinks out- because he’s good at knowing where he is emotionally.

And yet, the attitude is out there- because the ultimate point of this exercise is it has nothing to do with Lance the character’s feelings- it has everything to do with the fans who want to consume the feeling that they’re the only one who cares about him, that they’re lifting up this wounded soul. And in that case, pointing out that canonically Lance is manifestly not a wounded soul, and doesn’t need to be fawned over, and has friends who are there to support him, doesn’t appeal. It’s not what they’re getting out of it.

The other side of it, with Shiro in particular:

2. Shiro is mistaken for an ideal person and judged harshly when he doesn’t live up to that ideal.

Shiro adores his team. Compassion and empathy are traits he places a very high value on. In Shiro’s eyes, a leader who fails to support, nurture, and care for their subordinates is the lowest form of filth- they have failed the fundamental thing that makes them worth following. As a leader, he thinks that it’s his job to take care of these people. It’s one of the first things he says about the idea in s1e1: “My team was captured by aliens once, I’m not going to let it happen again.”

Shiro reflexively takes charge, not in that he starts bossing people around but in that he immediately feels responsible for other people’s welfare. And this is a charming and heroic trait- this is the worthiness the Black Lion sees in him.

It’s also a product of the fact that Shiro lives his life ruled by a sense of responsibility and anyone he views as in a situation comparable to his- Zarkon, Lubos, Slav, Keith in s3/early s4- Shiro feels comfortable projecting the unrelenting sledgehammer of his own personal standards on them.

As I just made a post about, Shiro reads as someone with PTSD and OCPD. In short, he’s got a lot on his plate while already being naturally kind of high-strung and prone to internalizing struggles as personal failings. He’s under a lot of pressure and its inevitable not all of his interactions with the team are going to be perfect. He’s going to mess up, he’s going to yell at people, he’s going to regret it and try to do better. This is all pretty standard- it’s the behavior we see from the rest of the cast, and, people in general, especially people like Shiro who, again, have a massive load of stress they’re dealing with.

However, there’s a pervasive perception of Shiro as the completely well-adjusted, infinitely more mature than the rest of the cast, flat-out father figure- which is through and through not who he is. Because of this, completely understandable instances of Shiro losing his temper are viewed out of universe either as complete jokes (s2e10 and its fandom reaction) or suddenly not funny any more because now he’s losing patience with Keith, and this must be evidence that Shiro is sinister and evil somehow now.

As much as the fandom has a bad habit of treating Lance like a victim, the fandom has an equally bad habit of either treating Shiro like a saint who can do no wrong or- when he fails to live up to that- like a demon out to ruin everyone’s lives, especially Lance’s.

Roughly, Shiro has had some imperfect interactions, with Lance and with others. This is because he’s an imperfect person. The problem is, with the expectation he should be, or that he’s presenting himself as such, it means that his imperfect interactions are seen as an act of malice, rather than again, a stressed person with a lot on his plate not always knowing the right thing to say. The perception that Shiro is actively or maliciously disregarding Lance, rather than the fact that even out as far as season 4, our heroes are still growing and getting to know each other.

The truth of it..?

In s1e1, Shiro is contextualized as Lance’s personal hero, and his first interaction towards Lance is remembering his name unprompted, thanking Lance for helping him, and offering Lance his hand. Lance eyes the mechanical prosthetic, unsure of how to feel about alien technology, but then looks up at Shiro’s face- smiles, and clasps it. The implication is thus that Lance is slightly uncomfortable at first with the implications of what happened to Shiro, but he trusts Shiro.

Shiro is shown in this scene to live up to Lance’s admiration of him. He’s, at the core, a good person.

Now, there are also a few scenes in early season 1 of Shiro sort of rolling his eyes, expressing frustration, or shutting Lance down. Again, Shiro is a perfectionist who’s very concerned with making a good impression, and Lance is the kind of guy who’s much more inclined to wing it. In that sense, Lance is more confident than Shiro- he’s not afraid to look goofy. This contrast is shown big time in s4e4, when Shiro is positively wooden and painfully uncomfortable the entire time, while Lance is hamming up his lines and dangling from the Red Lion striking poses for strangers.

(Seriously, consider Lance basically doing the clothed equivalent of a pole dance in front of an audience full of strangers compared to Shiro’s look of visceral discomfort when Worm Coran presents him with a tight shirt to wear)

This initially leads to conflict (s1e1, “Girl, you’ve already activated my-” “LANCE.”, s1e6 and “Nope, not doing that.”) but we never see anything I would call a major falling out between Shiro and Lance- and Shiro relaxes a lot around Lance as the series goes on.

As you say, anon, Shiro doesn’t treat Lance like someone he doesn’t like, because Shiro is someone of incredibly pointed standards- if he doesn’t like someone, he verbally lays into them with an intensity that makes it very clear. Even the early stress between them is not because Shiro dislikes Lance- he likes Lance, and sees him as someone he wants to take responsibility for/take care of. It takes Shiro a while to come to trust Lance as someone who can take care of himself, but that’s very much present by the time of s2e10- the point at which Lance confidently states he can make an incredibly difficult shot and Shiro- despite not knowing much of Lance’s marksmanship- hangs back and trusts Lance to make that shot.

This is a big deal for Shiro, who really dislikes being hands-off. And when Lance makes that shot, Shiro praises him in a way that suggests he was very impressed.

Shiro sees Lance as someone he can be proud of to have on his team. They may not always agree, but Shiro trusts Lance. He does override him in s4e6, however, at the same time, as soon as it becomes clear Lance is right, they need to get out of there, Shiro reverses that call and agrees with him.

And Lance trusts Shiro. I think the clearest example of that is s2e8, where Lance is willing to pointedly disagree with Shiro to his face. That might not sound like respect, but it is- you have to remember Lance looked up to Commander Iverson, but didn’t really trust him, and this was exemplified in s1e1 by the fact that Lance had zero hesitations doing things behind Iverson’s back. If he disagreed with Iverson, he’d just work around him.

We have never seen Lance go behind Shiro’s back like that, and that, to me, is the nail in the coffin. Lance expects, and is used to getting, that if he has a genuine concern he can go to Shiro and bring it up and even if Shiro disagrees, he’ll at bare minimum lay out his reasons for doing so (as he did in s2e8). When Lance argues in s3e1 against Keith leading, he never once says “well, I disagree with Shiro’s call”- his rebuttal instead is “well, I never heard Shiro say that,” and when Black, Shiro’s Lion, corroborates the decision, Lance’s response is that even if he’s disappointed, that this is fair and he can trust that.

The one time Lance accuses the Black Lion of hating him- the closest I think he’s possibly come to suggesting he thinks Shiro resents him- he very clearly changes his mind seconds later to, again, “We should trust Black’s decision because he wouldn’t make it without a good reason.”

“The Black Lion hates all of us!” is petty venting, and deeper down, Lance trusts Black- just like he trusts Shiro if they might not always agree. I don’t think Lance still holds Shiro as a distant personal hero the way that he did at the beginning, but Shiro came off that pedestal to instead become Lance’s friend. That Lance doesn’t have stars in his eyes when it comes to Shiro any more is a testament to the fact that they’ve become closer, and Lance now has a better sense of the real Shiro.

So I think that’s about what it comes down to- Lance can get mad at Shiro, he might grumble at some of Shiro’s calls, but, ultimately, he trusts Shiro, and cares about him. Lance doesn’t dislike Shiro, and Shiro doesn’t dislike Lance. They definitely have room to be closer, and, given this picture by Lauren Montgomery:

I think that we have damning evidence they’re going to get closer if I’m correct in my theory about Lance having an arc about sexuality, that it’s going to be mostly Shiro supporting him through that.

Much the way Hunk was the main person trying to help Keith process the immediate ramifications of his revealed galra heritage, much like Allura’s immediate reaction to finding out Pidge was a girl was to try to connect with her (which, if there’s something to the theory that Pidge is a trans girl, it’s actually rather sweet of Allura to immediately hail her as a kindred spirit in that sense), Shiro is depicted with a fond hand on Lance’s shoulder and standing with him for support. Lance is a little uncertain, like Keith and Pidge, but he’s there, and he’s smiling.

The implication from the picture, if we indeed take it as foreshadowing, is that we’re due for an arc of Shiro being there for Lance in a period of introspection or self-exploration. And this is flat-out not the interaction of people who dislike each other. It’s very hard not to read this picture as Lance is drawing strength and confidence from Shiro’s presence, and Shiro is making an effort to be here for Lance.

Even if it’s not meant to be taken as foreshadowing, this is how one of the formative minds behind VLD views Shiro and Lance.

It’s also worth noting that Sven’s fate in s3e4 is mirroring the death of Shirogane in the original series, GoLion, and Sven’s hospitalization in DotU (which is an adaptation of the same event)

Both times, for a bit of context, the reason why Shirogane/Sven is trapped in single combat with Haggar is because Haggar’s target is originally Lance- (again, just like in s3e4 Sven takes the bullet to protect Lance). Haggar isolates Lance, attacks him, and traps him in a net, intending to kill him. Sven realizes Lance is missing, goes after him, cuts the net and tells him to run while he holds off Haggar.

That in s3e4, they remind us specifically of this event- Shirogane dying to save Lance’s life- suggest that while Shiro is almost definitely not gonna bite it, that connection between Shiro and Lance is important to the writers. They could’ve put in a lot of other DotU or GoLion homages in s3e4, but in an episode mostly original, it’s Sven, and his selfless sacrifice for Lance, that made it in.