#/what facts & opinions i need to establish as context for the stuff i'm actually trying to talk about

[iridescentoracle]

@eglerieth replied to your post: Hello! I am here to ask about your Dior headcanons…

What’s your Galadriel headcanon?

Oh man, I didn’t see this!! Thank you for asking, i fully did not expect anyone to actually get far enough into the Dior post to see that let alone actually want to know. Sorry I’m two days late!

So! What we know about Galadriel in the Silmarillion:

She hated Fëanor but thought being a queen sounded pretty sweet/desired power

She’s named as one of the leaders of the Noldor across the Helcaraxë

Instead of founding her own kingdom (like she’d explicitly originally wanted) or moving in with her brother she got married and stayed in Doriath and learned a lot from Melian

Eventually Melian was like “hey so you should explain the weird ominous evil metaphysical cloud i can see hanging over the Noldor so i can explain about it to my husband bc he should really learn about whatever happened before it blows up in everybody’s faces” and Galadriel was like “yeah he probably should but i’m not telling”

At some point Galadriel asked Finrod why he wasn’t married yet

One time Melian casually foreshadowed Beren’s existence to Galadriel, who has no recorded response

That’s it. That’s literally all we know about what she was up to. She was super jazzed about the prospect of Ruling A Kingdom and then made friends with a queen and learned a bunch from her and… was still alive after the War of Wrath, and in between we have nothing.

We don’t know how she survived the Second Kinslaying, we can assume she made it to the Havens of Sirion but don’t know how she survived the Third Kinslaying let alone what she did/where she went after that… we don’t know what her reaction was to the death of her only remaining family member in Middle-earth, for which her cousins and the great-uncle in whose kingdom she lived were both partially responsible…

Like, that's weird, right? Galadriel is firmly established as someone bold and interested in being a ruler and stubborn as all get out, and then she… does nothing and everybody seems to forget she exists for several hundred years and some major political upheavals that should have personally affected her? It's not just me? That's really weird?

So, my Galadriel headcanon is that she’s inexplicably absent for most of the Quenta Silmarillion because she was deliberately erased/left out by the scribes writing things down because there was no way to acknowledge her presence in Doriath during and after Beren & Lúthien’s whole everything without getting into the messiest bit of Sindar-Noldor political tension that didn’t involve the Fëanorioni, because (again, headcanon) Galadriel Did Not Respond Well to her uncle getting her brother killed as a side effect of trying to get her cousin’s boyfriend killed and there was A Lot Of Tension for a while there (when you’ve got that kind of interpersonal tension between people who are both essentially Political Figures, i figure it’s probably going to turn into political tension unless they’re both trying very very hard to avoid that and potentially even then)

…and then after Thingol’s death a few years later, I think one of the primary contenders for Next Ruler of Doriath was Galadriel “Well I Came Here For A Kingdom In The First Place” Granddaughter-of-Olwë and also her husband is related to Thingol* and Lúthien’s clearly removed herself from contention so if the Sindar want a monarch who’s actually related to the last one they both qualify, it’s perfect and obviously Galadriel should be the next queen of Doriath (it is not obvious to everyone)

* on a side note, Celeborn is mentioned twice in the Quenta Silm: #1, Galadriel stays in Doriath because she’s marrying a “kinsman of Thingol,” while #2, shortly after Thingol’s death, Celeborn is referred to as a “prince of Doriath.” Not actual evidence, but it sure fits in nicely!

Like I said in the Dior post, I don’t think anything ever came to outright surface-level conflict; a civil war in Doriath is not getting left out of the Silmarillion. Tension between Galadriel and Thingol, though? and then between Galadriel and [various other contenders for the throne after Thingol, potentially including Dior himself when he arrived] that had everyone a little nervous? when she didn’t become queen and did (however begrudgingly) accept that Dior was the closest thing to a consensus pick and did survive the next several thousand years only to finally wind up as functional queen of most of the remaining Sindar despite eschewing the actual title? That I can see getting diplomatically left out of the histories, and explaining why she’s completely during the parts of the story where you’d think she’d be most involved.

[eluxcastar]

Small disclaimer - This isn't a hate piece on Kagami; this is just my opinion. It's ok the criticise a person's work if it comes from good intentions and isn't meant to outright bash the series. I try several times throughout to provide some suggestions for ways I think the things I take issue with could've been done differently, because I'm trying to provide critique that's actually helpful instead of just "Idk he should've figured it out himself lol"

Look I love fluff and backstory and reveals but fluff and especially backstory in an overarching story has to make sense to be reasonable. Why didn't we get all the MikaYū out of our systems back when it would've MADE SENSE FOR THE STORY when they were reconnecting and reforming their bond??? We got a bit, but all of this stuff should've been sprinkled in during those times.

Why didn't we get a scene of them talking and reminiscing on the bus instead of a random flashback in the middle of plot important conversations? More than just on top of the car. These people haven't been in close contact with each other in four years and only a few months has passed since they reunited, and they clearly weren't doing much considering we had time to throw Ferid out of a window.

Why not have them bond over their shared goals and talk more about Mika's dwindling emotions in Ferid's house after it was revealed and they clearly had a lot of time?

Why weren't some of the orphanage flashbacks included just after it was revealed 'Mr Saito' (who Mika was said to like because he gave him drug money to buy lollies) was using them? It could've been a great opportunity to establish the kind of role Rígr had in their lives and give Yū some insight on what life in the orphanage was actually supposed to be like.

Why not include a scene after Mika's death as a Vampire for Yū to grieve and possibly think about the fact he's now lost his entire Hyakuaya Orphanage family? Whatever happened to the nightmares he was having about losing Mika? And back to a different point why didn't the idea of being in Ferid's house again spark any memories of one of the most traumatic events of his life?

Yes I can hear the BuT RiRi it'S NoT jUsT miKaYū and yes I am aware, but the flashbacks regarding them just seem to make the least sense??? Crowley's singular page where he explained what he was in his Human life helped put into perspective the kind of emotional damage that caused him for even people who didn't read Vampire Michaela. 105 gave us a flashback to explain Urd and Rígr's several conflicts and the animosity between them that had yet to be clarified. Shinoa's past gave us a better idea of what she experienced in her childhood as a result of just being born, and why she even goes along with all this stuff when she's supposed to be logical.

Then we get a MikaYū flashback and it's like "Oh Mika? He's taking a dump rn" AND WHY DID I NEED TO KNOW THAT EXACTLY?? Not everything had to be plot centric but if memory serves it directly interrupted the plot. Mika could go take a dump in the WOODS for all I care. No I don't like the placement of Ashera's flashback, even if the contents is good.

There is also a lot to say about Shinoa (outside of her love for Yū), which while I liked the little we learned in the manga the light novels definitely portrayed something different to what we have now. Yes, I know, that's dumb out of context because I am definitely NOT the same person I was eight years ago I still had a Father back then ffs but Shinoa was shown to be very resourceful—she used many aspects of all of her abilities like spells. Now she relies heavily on cursed gear, which is great and I adore how it was animated in the adaptation, but variety wise it would've been a lot more interesting for her to be shown using the many aspects of her knowledge to support her and her teammates attacks (not I'm not saying I wish she was EXCLUSIVELY support but like there are many ways she could boost her own attacks, help her teammates in a pinch, get herself out of tough situations, especially now that she doesn't have cursed gear I want to see an actual impact of that).

There are many other things I could say too, like the lack of weight I feel to many of the characters' trauma and the things they got through. Why didn't we learn anything about Mirai and Shiho before or after her death? How am I supposed to care about him when I know next to nothing about his relationship to Mirai? I know they're siblings and he loves her, but he was going to ignore seeing her when she was possibly going to die to finish a school test. Where is she now? He left her in a freezer last we saw. If there was any time for a flashback it would be now.

Mitsuba's first conflicts have never come back up again about how she accidentally 'killed' her squad leader. That too feels trivial now, I can't see the affect it has on her beyond her just giving up and letting Yū do what he wants because he saved her once and she has a crush on him?? I don't need his address or anything but what was their relationship like? How long had she known him? Her experience? Had they previously fought over the issue? How am I supposed to understand why this has impacted her beyond the obvious of causing the death of another Human being when I don't know anything about how they were as subordinate and superior?

Yoichi's revenge on Lacus and the personality he's keeping hidden feels like a late addition, and not in a good way, there was nothing to indicate it or even hint at it. Why not have Yūichirō lose control of his demon instead and have it be a point of suspicion how effectively Yoichi dealt with the process despite the doubts surrounding him? It would've also brought Yū's ability down a notch to feel more Human, more inexperienced (like he is) because if I recall someone with that much ambition and desire is easier to overwhelm. SHOW that instead of telling it and then saying 'Oh this guy is just the exception'. Yoichi showing hidden strength and wit (in dealing with Yū in that state) from day one would've made it marginally more believable that maybe that personality always existed in him.

[i-did]

Ok ok this may be a dumb question but we'll see, what are your thoughts on bdsm + andreil? The vast vast majority of these types of fics have Andrew as the dom (and I get why) BUT theres 1 dom Neil fic and I'm like 99% sure I think I saw u comment on it so I'm assuming ur reading it and enjoying it too. And tbh, I find it much better than pretty much all the dom Andrew stuff, I hadnt realised the potential dom Neil could have until I read it. But anyway, I wanted ur thoughts? 🤲 (this is so badly phrased I apologise)

Lmfaooo being perceived is so weird. I hope I didn't say anything because I remember commenting on that fic and thinking about commenting something about my personal sex life, but I don't remember if I did lmfaooo. Omg okay, all that aside–time to now respond to this seriously.

Okay regarding that specific fic, yeah I read a lot of AFTG fics of all types, I haven't read something NSFW in a while, but when I saw the ‘Dom!Neil’ tag I decided to give it a shot. It’s interesting seeing how other authors go about their ideas and just enjoying their story. It doesn’t align with my personal ideas of everything obviously, but those are my personal HC and that fic is that authors personal HC. I like that they’re exploring something that this fandom doesn’t see explored a lot and is just a fun read, lol. Honestly I give up on most BDSM fandom fics because the depiction of Neil makes me uncomfortable ...almost always. I agree a lot more with this fics concept of how they would explore power vs control in a BDSM sexual sense, than most Dom!Andrew Sub!Neil fics– which I have long ago stopped trying to read.

Okay here are my personal ideas about Andrew and Neil, and how they would explore sex.

Many NSFW HC below the cut:

I personally don’t think canon Andrew and Neil would go into BDSM culture or ascribe to either roll strictly. I feel they wouldn’t like established dynamics like that and would get turned off by that aspect, especially since Andrew both craves control of situations but fears ‘being like them’ and a lot of Dom play is about power dynamics that he wouldn't be comfortable with. Andrew sees power in sex as different as control during sex. He needs a controlled environment, and be in control of the other by having them listen to his boundaries, but he can’t feel he’s overpowering the other person. I don’t think he could do a lot of strictly Sub things either for similar reasons, he would feel like he's giving up control of the situation in a way that could make him very uncomfortable.

Neil on the other hand is also often portrayed as a very textbook sub, but I don't think he is. I see him written as a brat a lot, but personally I don’t see him doing that since a lot of what playing with a brat is, is giving them what they want and denying them what they want and them ‘defying you’ and stuff. It's like a form of playful miscommunication I don't see Andrew or Neil ever actually doing. Obviously all healthy and proper play is outlined and discussed beforehand, but I see Andrew and Neil as needing the actions themselves to be clear and cut and dry.

Neil also gets off on Andrews pleasure, Andrew is the same about Neil, they're almost like a feedback loop of “the other enjoying themselves is inherently hot.” to me, Neil getting off on other people (Andrew) getting off is a very Dom like quality. In turn, Andrew is very turned on by pleasuring Neil, but from the point of his knees, which is almost sub like, he is turned on by sucking someone else off and seeing how into it they are. Either way, I think they both wouldn’t be into hardcore BDSM or BDSM culture but also aren’t vanilla. I don’t see either of them going to leather clubs instead of Edens and going to Folsom Fair and joining BDSM social groups and stuff.

I also don’t think either would ever use titles for the other, I think they don’t call each other by their names often on a day-to-day basis, since usually the people were talking to already know their name, and we don’t need to use it for clarification. I do think–just like in canon with emotionally charged moments–names will be used with more emphasis, especially Abram which is not used frequently.

Side note about my Jewish Neil HC: Judaism rocks because sex isn’t shamed, but rather considered a blessing and a holy act. In fact, it’s a good thing to have sex on Shabbat, G-d is actively like ‘fuck yeah you little humans, enjoy life’s pleasures and each other's company’ sex was designed to feel good and a way to connect. Shabbat is all about human connection with those important to us, and a day of rest away from work, so sex on Shabbat is actually actively a good thing. I don’t think Neil is ever religiously Jewish, but Andrew making a joke about this once would be peak to me. Which also fits Abram, a very Jewish name I HC to be not just Neil’s middle name but his Jewish name, and is used in said holy context of sex.

I think like a lot of healthy adults who are sexually active, they will explore and will be more adventurous to try new and other things, especially when dealing with issues like waning to get off but having touch aversion and issues like that. I have a lot of sex life HC about them actually, ways they navigate erectile dysfunction, mental health, and what they like in a safe environment. They trust each other, and I like imagining different ways aspects of their relationship would change or evolve in my head in all different types of ways, including sexual. I also enjoy giving them kinks and inclinations I specifically don’t have, because it’s like me exploring the concept of why someone else might like something even though I personally don’t. I’m not imagining things that make me uncomfortable necessarily, just things I'm neutral on or don’t see the appeal of, but know why they appeal to others and try to imagine what these characters might think.

I feel canon Andrew and Neil explore sex and dynamics that make them comfortable, I have HC about Andrew possibly exploring pup play and wearing a collar for Neil partially as a “joke” in the beginning, but discovering they really like it. I also HC Neil is really into athletic stuff sexually, he thinks Andrew half dressed with his padding still on and a jock strap is just peak sex appeal. I also think Neil is very sensory, and makes associations with smells and senses easily, so he develops a sweat kink, which leads into his armpit kink. Neil isn't turned on by ‘the bad smell of sweat’ but rather the fact that when Andrew is sweaty he smells like Andrew a lot, rather than after a shower he smells more like soap, and he can’t smell Andrew as much. Andrew on the other hand prefers cleaner sex. He’s not triggered by dirty sex though– he used to suck guys off at an alt dance club and is used to the smell of sweaty balls, it's just not an active turn on. Neil has ‘nothing is hotter than Andrew wearing running shoes and socks, and only running shoes and socks’ energy to me too. I think Andrew feels good about himself in leather, but isn't going to be a leather daddy and wear the leather assless chaps and the cap, he will wear the leather harness that every gay wears to pride, but he wears it just for Neil. Also, Neil loves Andrews pecs, Neil’s kinda a boob guy, but for Andrew’s pecs specifically.

I personally think Andrew and Neil typically don’t have penetrative sex. They do it sometimes–and when Andrew is ready he will bottom more as a way to prove something to himself than anything–but it’s not their preferred way or their ‘go to’. When they finally do, they don’t see it as ‘finally having sex for the first time’, since all the sex they've been having is real sex, even if its oral, hand jobs, etc. I don’t think Neil is naturally inclined to bottoming, and since even the visual of topping can make Andrew uncomfortable, they enjoy sex in any other ways, thigh fucking, docking, Andrew fucking Neil’s ass cheeks, sucking each other off, mutual masturbation, frottage, etc. and it leads to stronger orgasms when they don’t have to hope ever second will be a cliff edge and turn into a panic attack. Safer waters are simply more comfortable for them to swim in, and they deem all sex as equal in ‘value.’ that being said, Andrew likes his ass being ate, as long as its just Neil’s tongue, while Neil is neutral on his ass being ate, but loves doing it to Andrew.

I also think they would explore toys, but not in the way they're often explored in fics, which is very vibrator and dildo centric. I think they would use jacking off toys, the disposable egg kind or some more long term ones, maybe even something they could use at the same time. I don’t see them ever actually using handcuffs or restraints really either. Andrew would see Neil tied up as an equivalent statement of ‘I don't trust you not to touch me’ when he wants to actively progress past that, and shows he trusts Neil by not holding his arms back or letting him touch him. Andrew had to hold down previous partners, but Neil is different, Neil listens. This isn’t my personal opinion about restraint, but it is what I think Andrew would think.

I have no idea if this is what you meant by ‘my thoughts’ but here they are. *puts something in your open palms,* idk what emoji that would be

[terulakimban]

Hey, I saw your post about stopping teenage boys from making racist jokes and I was wondering how I could get my brother to stop. He's 13 and I'm 16 and I don't think he cares about what I think of him all that much. How can I get him to stop?

A few points of clarity here. When I made my addition before reblogging that post, I had no idea what kind of traction it was going to get or how far past the handful of people I interacted with it was going to go. Had I known those things, I would have phrased things different, added the additional context I added in a later reblog, or, most likely, not added my own commentary at all. Other relevant bits for my situation. I was, in these contexts, the only adult in the room, I was very new to the whole “being an adult” thing, I had no formal training as an educator and much of what was being said was actively harmful to other children present who were also my responsibility. Some of those points are still applicable. Furthermore, I am one stranger on the internet, I do not know you, your brother, or child psychology, and you should not take my advice as gospel.  My goal in “shut down the racist/sexist crap” was not “change this child’s mind” it was “there are other children who are legitimately threatened by some of what is being said who should not be subjected to the discussion of why this behavior is inappropriate because they live it.” I also note in that post that I already had a working relationship as mentor-figure with the kids who listened. That’s important, but that relationship has to be allowed to develop organically and not with the goal of “eventually mold the child.” These were kids who liked and looked up to me not because I wanted them to but because I treated them respectfully and we did not have extreme conflicts of personality. You’re a kid yourself. I hope, for your sake, that there are adults in your life who are good at establishing that kind of relationship (additional note, I am using ‘relationship’ in this post exclusively in the “general pattern of interactions between two people” sense), but in case they aren’t, I’m going to touch on that in here too.  The last thing I had going for me was that every single one of these boys 1) did not actually believe most of the crap he was spouting 2) really did want approval and attention from an authority figure and 3) was saying it to fit in with other children who routinely threw similar back at him and were not present. (Relevant context there, these incidents were primarily in a Jewish education environment.) I also had the advantage of being able to pull the kid aside after the fact and essentially have a “dude, what gives, I’m not going to call you out in class but where is all that coming from” talk. So, with context out of the way, advice as relating to your brother: the short answer is that “you can’t.” At least not if the goal is just “make him stop” on its own and you two aren’t friends and he doesn’t look up to you in any capacity. Elephant in the room first: if he actually believes what he’s saying, that’s out of your paygrade; that’s when you rope in your applicable trusted grownups and contact an organization like Life After Hate for advice. The rest of this post is written with the assumption that he probably doesn’t believe most of the bigoted things he says but he’s either learned that saying them gets responses or just picked them up somewhere and never thought about it. No matter what, if you’re the only person in his life saying “that’s not acceptable”, you are fighting an uphill battle. It might well be a hill worth dying on, but it won’t be easy.  The long answer is: “does he have a reason to care about what you think”. Is your relationship with him generally positive? Negative? Neutral? Do you just kind of inhabit the same space and not interact? Based on the relationship you currently have, do you see the two of you still being in touch of your own volition and not because other relative demand it once you’re both adults and not living together? It’s perfectly fine to say “nah, we’re not close and we’ll probably go our separate ways once we can”. That is a thing that happens sometimes and it is not inherently a question of fault or blame. But if you’d rather not have that happen, if he’s generally someone you like being around who just... sometimes says out of line crap that you don’t want to hear or is annoying or... I dunno, eats the leftovers you were saving, then focus on your relationship with him, not a one-way thing where you try to fix his behavior and he ignores you for being annoying.  Things kids should hear, when appropriate, from older people in their lives: “I’m sorry.” “You were right and I wasn’t, it’s [XYZ].” “Can you tell me more about/explain [thing kid is interested in that older person knows less about].” “Y’know, I haven’t considered that before.” “Good idea.” “Well done.” “I’m proud of you.” “Please.” “Thank you.” “That’s a good question.” And those things should be said sincerely -and without making a big deal of them. In other words, kids need to be treated like people. Y’all deserve to have your feelings acknowledged. You know adults aren’t perfect. You know we screw up. It does you and us no favors to pretend otherwise most of the time. (Disclaimer: I have never worked with children under the age of six, and even my experience with kids that young is limited. I don’t know if it’s actually good for preschoolers to pretend adults are infallible.) You deserve encouragement, not just criticism, and you deserve to have your effort acknowledged, even when you fail. And here’s the thing: if your relationship with someone is an entirely unilateral thing where they list off what’s wrong about you and you are expected to sit there and take it, eventually, they will snap. They might snap towards anger and they might snap towards anxiety and they might snap in some other way entirely, but it is not sustainable in the long-term.  So with all of that in mind, the actual answer? “Put that aside for now and focus on being a reliable friend-figure to your brother, if that (the relationship) is actually a thing you want.” Spend a bit more time together (or less if you two are stuck with waaaaay too much family time right now). Ask him about a hobby or interest of his that you don’t share. Ask to join him with one you do. If he thinks your friends are generally cool and it’s just that you, personally, have sibling-ick, include him periodically when y’all do stuff. You don’t have the authority to just make him stop doing objectionable things. More importantly, as another child in his life, that’s not your job. Down the road, if you’ve got a working relationship going and he says something bigoted, you can ask -and I do mean ask (as in, as sincerely and non-judgmentally as you can) -where he got that from/why he says it/if he believes it and then listen to his answer and let the conversation flow from there. And that conversation is hard, and that conversation is scary and the first time I had it as the adult, I had a shitload of internal panic of “oh god what if I say the wrong thing” going on that I very carefully did not express because that was my problem, not the kid’s, and at that point the kid needed a grown-up to listen to what was going on in his life and I was the one who’d gotten picked. But there’s no easy mute button in real life. (Fact.) Authoritarian “because I said so” is usually not going to work and tends to backfire. (Opinion.)

[ganymedesclock]

Your meta is singlehandedly responsible for all my opinions and characterization of Shiro tbh and I kinda just realized something. Tell me if I'm wrong but I get the feeling what you're trying to say about after-s2 Shiro is just: This is Shiro, except now all his stressors are Worse.

I mean, Shiro’s not the same person he was in the first two seasons just as much as none of the other paladins are the same person they were in the first two seasons, but, I definitely think Shiro since then has built on what was established as his essential character that’s growing and changing.

Part of it is he’s under a lot more pressure. Part of it is, when Shiro first came to the position in s1 he basically took all of his trauma and survivalism and tried to stuff it back into the mold of the Garrison’s Golden Boy. And ironically, I think it’s s1 Shiro who’s a lot more callous- look through the early episodes and see how many times Shiro interrupts, corrects, shoves or silences Lance in particular.

He’s determined to make a good impression early on, and, frankly, Shiro’s first impression of Lance is not favorable- he seems to regard him as just fooling around when the paladins need to be serious, they need to commit to this. 

He’s also the one to chew out Keith for demanding Pidge can’t leave and was about to make, frankly, a very bad decision by letting Pidge wander off alone into the universe without even questioning how even a very resourceful and clever fifteen year old intends to survive in a hostile spacefaring empire they know almost nothing about. And it’s pretty clear, I think, rather than fair judgment, Shiro’s letting his personal sense of guilt, believing he failed the Holts, rule in this context. 

Yes, people shouldn’t be shackled to paladin duty, but given Pidge’s custom jet booster had a good chance of making the pod explode (and by good, seemingly as high as 50% since it was used twice and the second time it detonated) on top of everything else, it’s clear if she’d gone off alone the way she meant to, she would have died.

Shiro in s1 is trying to be a perfect leader for everyone and frankly, who he’s become since then is better. It stands that he’s come a long way that Hunk, Lance, and Shiro himself all agree it’s unlike him to snap at people and bark orders.

At a glance, Shiro might seem as if he’s doing worse, but to me, I think it’s an incredibly heartening sign that Shiro’s character development appears to be an exercise in learning to ask for help.

Because while Shiro’s not a tyrant of a leader the way Zarkon leaned alarmingly close to in s3e7 on multiple occasions- it stands that Shiro, too, especially early on, suffered from that disconnect. He kept his own problems incredibly close to his chest. It’s obvious that he desperately latched onto being Black Paladin as a way to cope- as a way to redefine himself by something other than what had just happened to him.

Shiro in s1 is a tight-coiled spring. He’s uptight, he argues with Lance over the littlest things, in s1e1 on two separate occasions he breaks up arguments just by yelling for them to stop or “Stow it, cadets!”

Shiro’s growth as a character involves climbing off the pedestal he was sitting on at the beginning of the show. And he’s not the only one who was enforcing it, either- Lance flat-out says Shiro was his personal hero. 

In the comics, Pidge can’t conceive the idea of defeating Shiro at all even though he’s really not that much a better fighter than the other paladins- before she gets her head in gear and is able to knock him out, she just reflexively looks to him as an invincible paragon which is a pretty big cognitive slip in an issue all about Pidge’s ability to gather and keep data.

In s3e1, none of the team can really see themselves conceptualizing Shiro and a lot of their overtures seem to suggest, more than none of them are suited to the Black Lion like Shiro is (fair!) that... not a lot of them really understand what Shiro was doing. Even Keith, the closest to Shiro, leads as a Red Paladin. He says he can’t do this like Shiro can but he never seems to clarify what that entails.

What I personally think began in earnest in s3, though there were small things building towards it all along, is the systematic demystification of Shiro as the perfect leader, as the team’s paragon.

There’s kind of a point that, as Zarkon’s specific counterpart, enemy, and successor, Shiro is going to be called upon to succeed where Zarkon failed.

And Zarkon’s failure, what led to his death and downfall as a paladin, was twofold: he failed to listen to his team when they had valid points, and he kept all of his personal suffering privately away from them.

Zarkon gambles everything to rescue Honerva in s3e7, and it goes disastrously because he lies to his team the entire way leaving them completely unprepared- so when he ends up outside of his Lion and faced with a devastatingly powerful opponent, he’s surrounded and killed while the rest of the team is not in a position to do anything to help him.

Shiro in s1e11 leads the team in an equally desperate gamble to rescue Allura, and it works out. It works out because Shiro has the team’s consent beforehand, and even people who disagree (Keith) still consent to go. So when Shiro ends up outside his Lion and faced with a devastatingly powerful opponent on two fronts, it’s not his personal skill as a fighter that keeps him alive.

It’s Keith going toe to toe with Zarkon to buy Shiro time to get back to the Black Lion.

It’s Lance, Pidge, and Coran holding off the majority of the empire’s forces.

It’s Hunk smashing in to break Allura out, and it’s her and him together that come to save Shiro’s bacon from Haggar who had already seriously injured him and could easily have killed him in that moment.

It’s pretty obvious that Shiro being honest and transparent with his team is what’s keeping him from getting killed. They’re his saving grace, time and time again, Keith especially- which is a big deal, when Keith is Alfor’s successor, and while Zarkon broke with the entire team, it was his refusal to listen to Alfor that was the nail in his coffin.

And in s5e3 and s5e6, what’s steadily moving into position to save his bacon from Kuron? It’s not just Lance being the team’s interpersonal Heart as usual- but rather, that Shiro is finally, decisively, opening up and connecting to the person he’s been at odds with from the start. 

And while a lot of people take that as a “boo hoo, poor Lance”... it’s really more to Shiro’s detriment than Lance’s. After Shiro and Lance argue, Lance is the one who has multiple people verbally taking his side (Hunk, twice, and Allura personally talking to him about it with her concerns, and Shiro himself apologizing)- while Shiro clearly is falling back on bad habits and withdrawing from the team about his issues.

Because Shiro, in a very catlike manner, starts avoiding people when he’s feeling awful. Which is why I think it’s such an unsung glorious moment when in s5e6, when Lance hasn’t even brought it up again or prompted it- Shiro is the one to bring it up and basically tell Lance to keep looking into this because something’s really wrong.

S5e6 is a glorious day for Shiro’s character because, some time before the car has set on fire, Shiro’s actually rolling down the window and telling someone “hey, the door’s locked and I don’t know where this thing is going, and this is kind of a problem. Can you... get help, please, I’m terrified”

So in that sense, much as I purport to be take it or leave it about clone theory, that’s why I really hope this is the original Shiro at hand... because everything he’s learning here is incredibly good and important for his long term emotional health and I’m pretty sure what we’re gonna get out of Kuron is a strong positive emotional arc for Shiro and Lance. 

Shiro’s moving away from being the team’s perfect leader, but that’s nothing to mourn, because instead of a perfect leader he’s becoming an honest, emotionally healthy person who knows he can actually trust his team. And my multiple posts talking about how Shiro really wasn’t that perfect once you take the rose-tinted glasses off isn’t dunking on him or calling him lame-

it’s pointing out that he really wasn’t doing anybody a favor by pretending to be ideal leader. In s1e9 he had a full-tilt panic attack and immediately jumped into realizing Allura was still in danger and they had to act fast to prevent them all from being destroyed- which is fine, except the part where... he didn’t unpack or process any of that afterwards.

Sendak dug up a huge volume of Shiro’s insecurities, trauma, and frankly fear of himself, of the idea of being irreconcilably changed by what the empire did to him. This is a big problem. The implication is on some level Shiro is genuinely not comfortable in his own skin and that... wasn’t the only allusion to it. 

S4e4 is basically a whole exercise in the paladins and how they relate to image (and how they really don’t) and with Shiro, the main thing Worm!Coran focuses on is Shiro’s body.

Shiro’s body, that, seemingly, he prefers to keep covered as much as possible given even though he prefers pretty close-fitting attire, he’s also pretty consistently one of the most modestly dressed of the paladins. That, as mentioned, Sendak was able to maliciously play on the fact that Shiro has some lingering anxieties of what was done to it, and that pervades his flashbacks and reactions to his missing year- the repeated implications of medical torture emphasized less by pain (sedatives are frequently shown) and more that things were done to him, that he doesn’t know the extent of, and he was powerless to stop.

And Shiro- perfectionist, anxious about how people see him (s1e6 for example), with these very serious insecurities about bodily autonomy and the aftermath that he’s been living with...

(he has a large facial scar, lost color in part of his hair, and is missing an arm, to say nothing of any other scars he might have that we as an audience haven’t seen, and, personally, his body type to me suggests that he lost weight in prison and his super-defined musculature is less about athletics and more a lack of proper subcutaneous fat)

...has Worm Coran repeatedly telling him to show off his body. The relatively innocuous (before Coran gets brain-wormed) start of it all even has the script make a joke about how Shiro only has one hand, that he gives a “really?” aside look at.

I can’t help but feel like the implication there, when all of the other prompts poke at existing insecurities- 

Allura feeling like she’s just an ineffective replacement for the person no longer with the team when she was one of the loudest unhappy voices about him drifting away, Hunk being relegated to his gastrointestinal problems and his genuine quick wit and keen sense of humor ignored, Pidge being ignored because “nobody cares what you’re saying anyway!”, and Lance the actor basically spending the entire time indulging the fake, flashy casanova persona he uses to cover all of his own insecurities

-that there’s something significant that, again, all of s4e4 for Shiro is talking about his body, especially his muscles, which is seemingly another change after the missing year- he doesn’t seem nearly that built in the Garrison pictures, though it could be that he’s just wearing more modest clothing, it’s still very suspicious especially when Haggar’s endeavor was to turn Shiro into her personal fighting machine.

Shiro’s got a huge amount of things that have been quietly eating him from the start, and the good news is, they’re actually starting to bubble to the surface- he’s actually breaking down and talking about them with less and less impetus, which is important, because back in s2e7, Shiro made it clear that his connection with Black, that any ideal connection, needs to be rooted in trust. And while he’s heavily spun that as, he needs to be trustworthy to others...

If Shiro never talks to the team about his problems, no matter how he might spin that as not wanting to burden them or that he’s able to deal with it on his own, he’s not trusting them.

And again, that Lance is seemingly the catalyst for this is amazing to me, because Lance?

Lance is the trust guy. Lance is the feelings guy. Lance is the uncrowned king of literally every thing Shiro has been struggling with the absence of here.

Lance is both the guy who genuinely gets in Shiro’s face when he feels like Shiro isn’t listening to him, but he’s also the guy talking about how Keith needs to trust the Black Lion because Black wouldn’t ask him to do this for no reason (when Black is Shiro’s Lion, and Keith draws many obvious explicit parallels between Shiro’s requesting him to fly Black and Black taking Keith as their replacement paladin).

Lance is the one who tells Allura that Shiro is ultimately not their enemy, that they’re on the same side, and who’s vindicated when Shiro is now clearly working with Lance against Haggar, telling him that something’s wrong and that he doesn’t feel right, hasn’t felt right for a while, which is the last thing Haggar wants Shiro to do.

Lance trusts Shiro, but not blindly. He’s compassionate, but not to the point of self-neglect. He is exactly the head that Shiro needs on his team right now. And that experience is gonna mean a hell of a lot to Lance, as well.