#except not so platonic

[ladylilithprime]

60 + 62 Casaraph 🪿

60. Poorly Timed Confession

62. Love Confessor (Character A confessing their love for Character B to Character C)

Ohhh, this... this sent me places.....

Sequel to With A Touch Of Your Hand

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL was perhaps the flimsiest excuse that anyone could think of to have an Archangel and an Angelic renegade who were technically running opposite sides of a Heavenly civil war to meet up in declared neutral territory once a week. Unsurprisingly, it was Dean who had come up with it after Sam had first announced his invitation to Raphael to come back for regular breaks that oh so coincidentally might also have Castiel in attendance taking a break of his own. When Sam questioned why football, Dean had muttered something about "proving Rachel wrong" and asked Castiel what kind of game day snacks would be best to serve to an Angel or Archangel and huffed in offense when Castiel had deadpanned, "Not pork rinds."

Of course, given that the two celestial beings who were invited to these suddenly "traditional and sacred" game nights were, in fact, leading two sides of a supposed civil war as part of an elaborate ruse to flush out the root cause of the corruption of the Host that had led to the attempt at kicking off the Apocalypse early, it was not often that both of them could be there at the same time. Dean had declared that since Sam wanted to play Switzerland then he was responsible for entertaining Angels outside of the actual air time of the game, which led to several very interesting conversations between Sam and Castiel or Sam and Raphael, or even all three of them with Sam acting as both mediator and sounding board to the pair as they tried to sort through their respective avenues of investigation.

Currently, Sam was sitting on the couch with Raphael indulging in a casual intimacy that he hadn't had the opportunity for since Jess's death: he was painting Raphael's vessel's nails with a luminescent shade of golden yellow-orange called "Temple" from a brand that purported to be one hundred percent vegan and cruelty free. The nail polish itself had been found by Castiel, after a stray comment the week before last had led to a discussion of casual intimacies that were safe for angels to carry out among or even with humans. He had brought the bottle of polish, and a further two bottles of clear polish which were intended as "base coat" and "top coat" respectively, the next week and left them in Sam's keeping when Raphael had been unable to attend. Now Raphael was sat sideways on the couch with their left hand resting in Sam's own as his right hand carefully drew the polish-laden brush over each nail to create an even coat of color.

"The delicacy is not unlike wing grooming," Raphael remarked after several minutes of scrutiny as Sam worked. At Sam's encouraging hum, the Archangel continued, "Our wings are the one part of our being that cannot be compressed inside of a vessel requiring us to hold them constantly on a parallel plane of existence to maintain discretion in our movements and protect mortals and ourselves from certain... unwise interactions."

"Like what?" Sam asked, then added quickly, "If you don't mind telling me. I'll understand if it's not something I need to know or shouldn't know."

"There is no harm in you knowing," Raphael assured him. A bit more thoughtfully, they added, "Frankly, it will likely be better for you to have this knowledge in the long run. Firstly, I trust that I do not need to explain the vulnerability that being unable to conceal our wings, this singular aspect of our true forms that can be perceived and manipulated on the physical plane, brings?"

"Yeah, I get that part," Sam nodded, willing his cheeks to stop burning as his mind drew the obvious parallels between Angel wings and human genitals, sensitive and kept covered to avoid them hanging out and being a point of vulnerability to both pleasure and pain.

"Hm," Raphael hummed softly, looking amused. "Yes, that is an apt analogy, and a similar level of intimacy is involved with deliberate touch of wings, whether it be wings to wings or wings to angelic appendages or human hands. Between two Angels, touching another's wings is only ever done between the closest of brethren, most especially between mated pairs, and there is a... structure to those touches and wing movements not unlike human body language and courtship motions. It forms bonds between our Grace, strengthening with repeated contact, and solemnized by exchanging feathers the way your culture would have two humans exchange rings."

"Wow," Sam blinked, amazed and intrigued. He almost voiced the thought that he wished he could see Angel wings in order to be able to watch the way they moved, maybe gain insight into Angelic culture by watching this whole facet of body language he had been unaware of, but held back the words just in time. Instead, he said carefully, "I take it that it's different for humans touching Angel wings? Other hand."

"In one very specific way," Raphael agreed, withdrawing their left hand to rest on their thigh as they presented their right hand to Sam's attentions. "When a human, whose soul is threaded so closely throughout their body, makes skin contact with an Angel's wing, the bond formed between that human and that Angel is much stronger than the light bonds formed between Angels, closer in strength to a fully solemnized mateship bond, and it snaps into being instantaneously with the first touch. This can have some rather awkward and uncomfortable consequences for both the human and the Angel, particularly if either one were unwilling to be mated - married - to the other."

"Yikes," Sam winced, making a mental note to warn Dean away from ever getting handsy with an any Angel wings unless he and the Angel were both ready for a big time eternal commitment. "Definitely a good reason to keep your wings off the physical plane if one accidental touch could trap you into a marriage with a stranger."

"Indeed," Raphael chuckled, smiling at Sam with approval and a bit of fondness. "You understand the issue well. Fortunately, the risk of bonding does not carry over to our shed feathers, otherwise any human who got their hands on one would shortly have to contend with an unhappy Angelic spouse and vice versa. Naturally, a human who is willingly bonded with an Angel or even Angels is in a better position to acquire said shed feathers, but I understand they are regarded highly as spell components down here among those knowledgeable in the magickal arts and fetch a high price."

"Er, yeah," Sam mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on his careful painting. "Angel feathers are an expensive commodity in the magick user crowd, at least according to Bobby. Scarcity and all that, since Angels weren't coming down here much."

Raphael hummed a little in acknowledgement, and Sam remembered suddenly that Castiel had once said Raphael had been one of the most outspoken in Heaven for keeping Angels and Angelic affairs off of Earth until such time as it could no longer be avoided.

Before either one of them could say anything further, Raphael straightened a millisecond before Sam heard the woosh and rustle of displaced air and wingbeats of an incoming Angel's flight. The Archangel didn't move to stand or withdraw their hands, however, so Sam kept working, assuming that it was likely someone expected. He was right, as barely a heartbeat later the familiar tan trenchcoat entered the edge of his field of view. "Hey, Cas. Glad you could make it."

"Hello, Sam," Castiel greeted him easily before he visibly and audibly turned his attention to Sam's present company with his usual deference and warmth. "Raphael. I am glad you are here. I have made a momentous discovery since last we met."

"I, too, have made a discovery, Castiel," Raphael murmured, before seeming to shake themself a bit and beckoned him forward to join them and Sam on the couch. "You may report your discovery first, if you wish."

"Thank you," Castiel returned, coming to sit on Sam's other side. Sam guessed it was so he and Raphael could face each other without interrupting Sam's attention to Raphael's nails. "I found the demon dealing in souls that don't end up earmarked for the hellhounds, and it isn't a demon at all. It's Balthazar."

"Balthazar?" Raphael repeated, clearly startled, which quickly turned to consternation. "Is he not meant to be guarding the Armoury of Heaven?"

"Indeed he is, and I questioned him to that effect," Castiel answered. "At first he attempted to put me off by declaiming responsibility and blaming me for my 'bad influence' in 'throwing over duty to go off the rails and do whatever the hell you want'. His words."

"Balthazar would never be so crude," Raphael murmured thoughtfully. "A ploy?"

"Indeed," Castiel said, and actually smiled. To Sam, he explained, "Balthazar is unconventional at times, but his loyalty to Heaven is absolute. Once I was able to impress upon him the current state of affairs, he let slip that his true intent was stealing the entire armoury from Heaven and hiding it on Earth so that neither side would be able to use those weapons to devastate Heaven. He was quite taken aback when I approved of his caution and bid him not to tell me anything of where they have been hidden."

"Well, the does bode well for the success of our ruse," Raphael said, frowning slightly. "That is not all you discovered, is it? You are still vibrating."

Sam, who hadn't noticed any actual movement from Castiel at all, blinked. "Vibrating?"

"His wings," Raphael clarified, nodding to the apparently not actually empty space at Castiel's side. "I am aware that you cannot see them, so you will have to trust me that they are quite animated with excitement."

"It might be nothing," Castiel temporized, "but it was something Balthazar said when he thought I wanted the weapons. He said that he had hidden them so well that not even Naomi's pet butcher could dig the location out of him."

"Naomi," Raphael breathed, eyes going wide. "Of all the angels... of course she would be the best positioned to compel and influence members of the Host into dissent and rebellion even while claiming otherwise, and so trusted snd respected as to be considered beyond reproach! But who did he mean by her butcher...?"

"If I may hazard a guess? Thaddeus," Castiel replied grimly. "He is never far from Naomi, and the way he watches some of us... particularly those of us whom Michael tapped as needing correction and reeducation in the past...."

"I see," Raphael grimaced, their expression going briefly ill before settling on apologetic. "Castiel...."

"I know," Castiel murmured back, shifting slightly. Whatever he did, it made Raphael's eyelids flutter briefly in pleasure before going wide with surprise. "It is, as the humans say, water under the dock."

"Bridge," Sam couldn't help but correct, a bit absently as he carefully capped the bottle of clear coat. "The expression is water under the bridge, referring to a bridge of forgiveness between two people or groups built over the troubled waters of whatever argument had separated them into opposing sides."

"An apt metaphor," Raphael said, nodding. "You are done with my nails, then?"

"Yep," Sam nodded, gathering up all three bottles and twisting to hand them to Castiel since he had been the one to get the polish in the first place. "They just need to dry now, and that'll only take about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes tops."

"With the time differential between Earth and Heaven, we can still remain for the game before leaving to act on this intelligence," Castiel offered. "Did you wish to discuss your own discovery?"

"Oh!" Raphael blinked, then blinked again, and then inexplicably began to blush. "Yes, I... It is not so monumentous or relevant to our efforts as your information, more personal, but it was... impactful and will likely bear some discussion."

"I will endeavor to assist you in any way that I can, my Prince," Castiel said, and Sam was definitely not imagining the warmth and affection in the Angel's tone that turned such a formal address into what sounded like an endearment. "What have you discovered?"

"I believe I am falling in love with Sam," Raphael announced.

.....Wait, what?!

[ameliadoesstuff]

something about s1-3 zane is just. oh this guy is so silly and friend-shaped. look at his friendly boy swag. like????? how could you ever hate him. the ultimate silly

not to hate on his titanium era because frankly it is very cool. but the essence of s1-3 zane is unique and uncapturable. he is just a little guy you can put in your pocket. his default facial expression is so inherently funny. there are no thoughts behind these eyes. i would trust him with my life.

[bbq-potato-chip]

thinking about saiura

[steddiehyperfixation]

so you don't get lost (steddie ficlet)

written for @steddielovemonth day 17 rating: T cw: alcohol tags: first kiss, clubbing, college au, platonic stobin prompt: Love is about a hand reaching out to you so you don't get lost

“She’s totally into me, right?” Robin asks as they wait for their drinks at the bar, her smile a mile wide, and it’s been a minute since Steve’s seen her smile like that. 

“Yeah, totally,” Steve agrees. The girl Robin’s been talking to all night is drifting back over to them even as they speak, the two of them like magnets since they first traded smiles on the dance floor earlier that night. 

Robin glances back at her and bites back a wider grin. She bounces on her tippy toes and whispers to Steve, “If I make out with her it’s not gonna make you feel awkward, is it?” 

Steve shakes his head. “Go ahead,” he encourages. 

It had been a group effort to get Robin out tonight. Her university friends had enlisted Steve to help drag her out of the mopey funk she’d been in since getting broken up with two weeks ago, and it had taken an hour of Steve hyping her up while she kept crying off her attempts to do her makeup before she finally managed to make it to the club. He’s just glad it had been worth it. 

“I don’t even know if I remember how to do this,” Robin mutters, a little nervously, as she and Steve grab their drinks and rejoin her friends on the dance floor. But it turns out, she has nothing to worry about. The two girls resume their orbit around each other, and the second the next beat drops and the lights strobe, the other girl finally pulls Robin into a heated kiss. Steve watches this, and he smiles fondly. She deserves it. He’s happy for her. 

And he’s totally not jealous. Not necessarily of Robin, obviously, or the girl she’s kissing, but simply of the fact that they’ve so easily found a hot drunk stranger to make out with at the club and he…hasn’t. He can’t even remember the last time he’s had a decent kiss, much less scored at a club, though not for not wanting to. 

Steve finds himself glancing at Robin’s friend Eddie, the tatted-up metalhead Steve’s felt a pull towards since the first time they’d met. He thinks about kissing him every time they’re out together, and maybe there was a time when Steve would’ve just gone for it, a time before he’d taken a few too many hits to the ego and developed doubts and insecurities, but now the thought just makes him nervous. Eddie makes him nervous. 

He feels that nervousness now as Eddie catches him staring and he shakes those lovely dark curls out of his face and smiles at him. It bubbles in his stomach, flutters in his chest. Steve downs the rest of his drink and looks away. The alcohol floods heat through his veins and blurs his vision, but the ever-present thrum of anxiety just from being in Eddie’s proximity still isn’t dulled. He bobs numbly to the music, avoiding looking at anybody at all now, only staring at the floor or the wall or some super fascinating point just above everyone’s heads, sure he looks like an absolute freak. 

It goes beyond just wanting to kiss Eddie; Steve’s not stupid, he knows the only explanation for this sheer amount of nervousness he feels around him is that he’s got an actual, proper crush. Because not only is Eddie super fucking hot, he’s also sweet. Steve is an outsider in this group and he knows it, the college dropout who only tags along because Robin insists on it, but Eddie never makes him feel like that. It’s always Eddie who makes sure he’s included in conversations, always Eddie who makes a point to loop Steve into the context of inside jokes and stories whenever Robin is too distracted to. Steve craves those interactions, gets a thrill every time Eddie so much as speaks to him. So he doesn’t only want to kiss him, he also just wants Eddie to like him, wants him to see him as a friend at the very least. But it’s not like they’ve ever even hung out outside of a group setting, and sometimes Steve fears Eddie’s just being nice and he doesn’t actually see him as anything at all. 

Steve’s drifted so far into his own head he doesn’t realize his group is on the move, pushing deeper into the dance floor and leaving him behind. 

“Steve!” Eddie’s voice calls out to him and snaps him out of it. Everyone else has been taken by the crowd, but Eddie hangs back, reaching his hand out to Steve. 

Steve takes it, swallowing down the way his heart pounds as Eddie’s fingers curl around his hand. Eddie pulls him through the throng of jostling, sweaty bodies, and even though he maintains a tight grip on Steve’s hand, he still keeps looking back at him like he’s making extra sure Steve doesn’t get lost. Warmth blooms in Steve’s chest. Maybe he’s just drunk, maybe he’s just delusional, but all of the sudden he feels so very very cared for. 

“Thanks,” Steve says, nearly shouting to be heard over the music. 

“‘Course.” Eddie smiles as he turns around to face him. They’ve caught up to their friends now, but he’s still holding Steve’s hand. “I’d never just leave you stranded.” 

Of course he wouldn’t. He never has before. Steve just smiles back and squeezes Eddie’s hand. 

They’ve only just let go of each other when Robin and her girl, still kissing clumsily and staggering about the dance floor, stumble straight into Steve and knock him off balance. “Woah!” Eddie reaches for him again instantly, looping an arm around Steve’s waist to keep him from toppling over or careening into the crowd. 

“Ah! Sorry!” Robin giggles before she’s whisked away again. 

Eddie laughs. “Good for her, right?” 

“Yeah, good for her,” Steve says, watching his best friend spin out of sight, and when he looks back he startles at how close he and Eddie are, suddenly very aware of Eddie’s arm around his waist and his hands on Eddie’s chest. 

“You okay?” Eddie asks, his grip on Steve tightening like he means to steady him. 

“Yeah, thanks again.” Steve regains his footing, but he doesn’t pull away. There’s something there, he thinks, in the way Eddie’s always reaching out to him so he doesn’t get lost, literally and figuratively, in crowds and conversations. It could just be friendly, it could just be nothing, but for the first time, Steve lets himself hope. He even thinks about leaning in right now, but then he thinks about it too much, and he doesn’t. 

Instead, there’s a weird moment where they’re both just staring at each other. Eddie’s got this confused little smile on his face like he’s waiting to see what Steve will do, and when Steve doesn’t do anything, Eddie’s smile abruptly becomes more playful as if he’s trying to break the tension, and he starts theatrically swaying them to the music, even though it is most definitely not the swaying sort of beat. Steve laughs, his racing heart making it come out giddy and giggly, especially when Eddie drops his waist to grab his hand and twirl him around. 

Eddie pulls him in close again then, and this time Steve doesn’t think at all. In fact, it’s unclear which one of them leans in first; all Steve knows is that their lips finally, finally meet in the middle and he finally, finally gets to tangle his hands in Eddie’s hair, and it’s sweet and it’s hungry and it’s absolutely perfect. Steve holds onto Eddie and he gets lost in him. 

When Steve meets back up with Robin outside after the club closes, they exchange a celebratory, congratulatory high five, the both of them with matching kiss-swollen lips and dates set for next week. 

[skyxiiocrkblog]

Listener and Yapper

[idrawvocaloid]

some of my favs from evillious chronicles :)

[iridiss]

mcd!aphmau may be an incredibly good person and a massive pacifist with more wisdom than anger but. i think she should be allowed to tell people to eat shit and fuck off. you’d have to push her pretty far to get her to do it but she should still tell people to eat shit and fuck off. i think she’s more annoyed with people than she shows

In my mind, MCD!Aphmau and Zane have a very special unique relationship in that Zane is the only person on earth that Aphmau hates more than anything. Like, this is a woman born from the mercy of Christ. And she fucking hates his guts so bad. He’s done far too much damage to everyone she’s loved for her to ever see him as more than pure evil. She is a woman of redemption and even i think she would see a Zane redemption arc as utterly impossible to ever achieve. She has a “kill on sight” policy that ONLY applies to him and NO ONE ELSE. Her and Zane could go back and forth bickering and telling each other “fuck you” over and over again. Even Shad earns more sympathy and mercy and empathetic understanding from Aphmau than Zane does. Aphmau would sooner befriend The Shadow Lord himself than EVER side with Zane.

And on Zane’s side of things, Aphmau is special because no one has ever thwarted him as much as her. He absolutely underestimated her at the beginning, thinking she’s just some random peasant girl in a shitty old town that no one’s ever heard of. And then she turns out to be his enemy nm. 1. The arch nemesis. I very much picture their dynamic in my head as a constant chess match going on between Zane and Aphmau. Zane is normally the king of chess, he gets everything he wants and the whole world cowers before him, but Aphmau has never cowered before in her life and she is most certainly not going to start now. She doesn’t quit. He can back her into a corner, he can take away her loved ones, he can put her in impossible dilemmas and threaten the lives of everyone she cares about with certain doom, all scenarios that would normally crush the average opponent and get them to cave under their own fear and beg him for mercy. But Aphmau doesn’t. She keeps fucking going and she never stops, she just can’t be held down, no matter what he tries. And in the end, he loses. They end up in the Irene dimension and he loses.

There’s something to be said that the High Priest of the Church of Irene’s worst nemesis is Irene herself. The very woman he’s supposed to worship with utter devotion, but once he actually meets the object of his religious faith, he REFUSES TO. He HATES her. He has met his own God and has decided he’d rather punch her square in the face than pledge himself to her. No one hates Aphmau more than Zane, and no one hates Zane more than Aphmau.

anyway i think she would tell him to fuck off and die all of the time and he’d tell her right back at you bitch

[fumifooms]

"Marchil? I guess I can see it on Chilchuck’s end, but what about Marcille’s? What makes you think she could develop feelings for him?" I’m glad you asked!

The first thing to note is that she does think highly of him

In the page on the right, literally defending his virtues and literally comparing him to Dalclan. And oh…

She does love a brooding mysterious guy who closes himself to love. But surely, Chilchuck isn’t her type at all, right? He’s not princely or knightly at all. In apperances certainly not, both looks wise and demeanor wise, but then that’s why she seeks to know him on a deeper level, to not only look shallowly.

And hmm. Chilchuck really is quite selfless isn’t he? Always looking out for others, and saving specifically her often, always making sure himself and, staying in or even running towards danger for her sometimes. Modesty is often considered heroic…

And can we talk about that drowning one… You can definitely frame the special attention as him knowing she tends to hesitate or be clumsy, and then his insistance on pulling her out of danger that she’s the healer aka the most important to keep alive, but. From the one who says that he just keeps his ass out of fights and won’t help this is a lot of risk to take, and he does die trying to pull her to safety in the dungeon rabbits chapter. And the drowning bit??? That’s when the dungeon collapses. The only reason they DON’T die of drowning here is that the water then gives way to outside. There was NO hope of pulling her to safety here and resurrections would likely not work either, he truly preferred to die with her than try to survive himself.

Sit your ass back DOWN you are in no state, self-sacrifical hero much damn

And Marcille definitely noticed this imo, after all she loves learning all she can about him, remembering things like how he hates waiting on people too. She pays attention to him and what he does and what he says. This to say that it’s notable, whatever reason for it you may think (though we know by this point at least she was already aware he was an adult though it wasn’t internalized), out of everyone it’s Chilchuck’s bed that she wants to sleep in during the Golden Kingdom stay. He’s safe and comforting to her: dependable, the defining trait in her view of him as is shown by the relationship chart in the Adventurer’s Bible.

^ Lending handkerchiefs is a romance trope btw and handkerchiefs have irl history of being used for courting. Especially in old English literature and plays like Shakespeare’s Othello, and personally I do see a lot of Shakespeare in Dalclan (nobility political drama with some romance). There’s how his cowl is a dearly beloved souvenir from his family too, there’s a lot of aesthetic tropes you can apply to him.

All this to say you can 100% romanticize Chilchuck into a princely noble guy if you try and that’s exactly what Marcille does with the wife roleplay. She doesn’t need much in the first place, she latches onto crumbs and makes aesthetic narratives out of details, give her an inch she’ll take a mile.

But what’s interesting about the shift throughout the arc of her and his relationship is that she starts out idealizing him into a little angel of a kid (shapeshifter), and she ends it idealizing him as a virtuous husband and family man instead.

And what’s doubly interesting is that in the former, she’s actively warping who he is personality and demeanor wise to fit the aesthetic, he doesn’t have that bitter pride of not asking for help and the edges have been smoothened. But what she does during the wife roleplay is something else, she acknowledges the flaws and just… Accepts them, rolls with them. She’s aware of his flaws and implements them into the narrative, but the reason why his wife left doesn’t capitalize on them even, rather Chil is chilblivious and his wife loves him very much still, she’s just testing him after having had a night of feeling out of place at his side.

And this is what separates the idealization vs romanticization, she’s not twisting him into someone else she’s just uplifting what he is and focusing on the good sides.

Marcille: "he has a shitty personality sometimes but if he was my husband I’d still cherish him" "If I were your wife I’d be overjoyed to go out with you and would get myself prettied up while you complain about me taking a long time, your friends would tell me that I’m nice and that’d make me happy, but I’d also be sad because you wouldn’t tell me that you love me enough"

He’s angry and his wife left him, he’s *flawed*, but he’s still worth hyping up, still worth having his own romance story, still has a shot of winning back his beloved. She sees him for what he is, human and real and not a carefully scripted character that fits an aesthetic, and she thinks it’s still worthy of love and admiration and fighting for

And what’s funny too is that you might expect her to cool down on him once she learns more about him but actually she only gets increasingly into his business. You tell her your age and next thing you know you promise to introduce her to your family. Give her an inch she takes a mile. And too the thing is, Senshi is equally mysterious but she doesn’t pester him like at all, asks him ONCE about his succubus and he doesn’t even answer and that’s like… It. With Chilchuck it starts off innocently enough with her wanting to know his age, hometown, the stuff she mentions having asked pre-canon. But it just keeps and keeps going and escalating. Think she’ll be satisfied now knowing you have a wife and kids, maybe she’s disillusioned now? Wrong! She wants to know their names and ages and occupations and hey how did you propose to your wife? Do you think she’ll stop after meeting them? What’s next? What will she want to know next????

She’s… Like it’s not a reach that Marcille is all over him. Like it doesn’t mean it’s romantic but she just is. She is not normal about him idk. Can you not ask him about what tongue technique he used when first kissing his wife, give the man breathing room

Marcille could literally go "if I was Chilchuck’s wife" having deeply pondered and thought out the hypothetical and people would still ask where anyone sees any romantic potential between them. Oh wait

There’s a platonic explanation for everything (almost?) in Dungeon Meshi don’t say I’m saying otherwise, but it’s definitely not like there’s nothing here to read into lol

Going off a bit more under read bc it’s my fave topic

Marcille has a whole theme with the charming prince trope with her idealization and storybook motif and Chil is kinda the "Well someone perfect like that isn’t very realistic and romance is usually more complex and that’s ok and good and flawed people can still be ✨virtuous✨" catalyst

Do you see do you see she starts canon thinking the most romantic thing is a prince charming but her arc in the end has her romanticizing an average, flawed, real and realistic family man, who’s on the poorer side and is on the verge of divorce. And that’s what he needed, too, seeing the positive of himself and the situation instead of focusing on the negative is explicitly what inspires him to hope that he might be able to reconcile with his wife, gives him the courage and self-esteem to shoot his shot.

He IS a prince figure instead that now it’s not about idealizing the grand and overt it’s about romanticizing the small things in real life!! About finding joy and beauty in things that seem normal or mundane and uplifting them to make the world feel kinder!!!!

He’s the devoted virtuous man that she wantsss not the storybook prince that’s unrealistic and could crumble like a script at any time. He’s the perfect example of a flawed realistic but virtuous & devoted & loving man. Far from a prince charming, but not fully detached from it either. Something worth fighting for despite the flawed cracks. Like literally, flawed romance being worth fighting for is literally the finale of Chilchuck and Marcille’s arc on the matter, where their separate arcs and issues intersect at the most crucial moment.

Marcille is important to Chil’s arc not only because of her optimism, but also because of her interest and knowledge in romance & matters of the heart, and that’s what he needs to both open his heart up to hope and to try to reconcile with his wife, like idk sounds gay

Their arc together is literally learning to 1) see each other for how they are and not undermining their qualities capacities etc etc while still not leaving flaws unchecked either and 2) opening up to people. Marcille LITERALLY makes Chil open his heart up to hope like idk man. What do you want from me. He’s literally the guy helping her through deconstructing novels and fantasy and rose tinted glasses and like. Deconstructing the prince charming figure into something more real but still romantically beautiful like KUI KUI STOOOOP STOP I’M ALREADY HOOKED I’M ALREADY-

 Ok fine that’s me reading into the tropes too much forgive me for being storybook brained but like. Speaking his heart out to a lone woman on a balcony, Romeo and Juliette shit, asking if she, too, doesn’t want to meet his family, madly blushing. And like she’s learned with Chilchuck it’s all in the little things, all the implications he cannot speak aloud. She does reciprocate, does blush madly back, and the first thing she does is shower him in flowers and jewelry and what in her heart is coded as romantic gifts

A lady, stashed away in a high tower by her lonesome, waiting for someone to call out to her from below… Romeo courting type shit with an offer, a heartfelt spiel, implicit confession from underneath her balcony. Offering him flowers because he succeeded in calling out to her heart…….. And they have to climb to her too…. Crazy

Doesn’t it sound like a proposal. One that’s both so storybook-like and not, contrastedly real and grounded, all about the implications rather than in your face grand gestures, "Don’t you want to meet my family?". They literally have an arc about the topic of romance and this is the climax/pinnacle of it like god?? This is @ the woman who said "Chilchuck is a shy/bashful man so I know he wouldn’t tell me he loves me, but…" btw

To quote a friend, truly the shiny secret unlockable dating sim capture target : THE DUNGEON LORD BIT WAS SO FUNNY BECAUSE HE KNEW SHE'D TAKE IT HOOK LINE AND SINKER HES THE ONE WHO GOT HER TO TURN AROUND COMPLETELY SHES LIKE. WIDE EYED FLAG RAISED???? FLAG RAISED WITH CHILCHUCK 👀👀👀‼️👀👀‼️👀

And the way that this is the culmination of their arc together… Like people are not ready for the ‘Chil calling out to dunlord Marcille on the balcony has Romeo and Juliette romance novels imagery’ take. Or the ‘their arc is about growing to see beauty even in the non-idealized, in the flawed and in the real’ take which makes it so so perfect if she were to lower her ideal from a charming elven prince to a virtuous halfling man (which she does end up romanticizing)

So there, you got to witness in real time what happens when I think about marchil for longer than 2 minutes, there are so many layers it’s a deranged rabbithole. I saw the necronomicon of subtext and it’s driving me to madness with forbidden knowledge that no one else sees

……. Like what if I told you she implicitly picked Chilchuck over a "unrealistic prince charming who’s actually disingenuous" much earlier in the story already. If she was given the choice to think through going with a guy that seems perfect and chivalrous like her succubus she’d pick Chilchuck over the other actually. If I sound insane rn tune in for my full analysis on them coming this month hopefully thank youu. Interwoven arcs of fantasy vs reality and idealization vs pessimism I love youuu

So now you know the general thesis of my planned analysis about the importance of the prince charming figure in Marcille and Chilchuck’s arc, where she romanticizes things to a sometimes worrying degree or idealize people into something easy and digestible and poetic (like Chil being a kid, and then him being a virtuous ✨✨✨husband), and how she needs to value aesthetics less and actual acts and facts more, be more grounded (like seeing people for what they are flaws and all, and accepting that people need money and not pulling through on principles of honor or unity shouldn’t get Namari shamed) and a part of that is accepting that Chilchuck is BOTH flawed and virtuous, a loving husband that still has shitty moods and fumbled his marriage so bad etc etc. So it’s like, her image of perfect prince charming that will whisk you away on an ethereal romance -> realistic flawed middle aged dad with personality issues and a failing marriage but he still is worthy of love and having his cute grand romance story and his happy ending. Ik I keep repeating the same point through this but I need it to be burned into everyone’s brains it has its grip on me I can’t do this. They are so special……

[pondunderscore]

Some EXTREMELY SILLY mostly vyncent-centric doodles :D I love that guy so much I'm actually ill

[wild-walking]

Despite detesting love is blind, I’ve been thinking of a steddie au set within the show with a lot of extra pairings:

Steve and Robin are platonic soulmates who both decide to apply despite Robin being a lesbian. They mainly just want a vacation and figure why not get lavender married at the end of it. Though, of course, if Steve does fall in love with someone he should follow his heart.

They are both chosen for an Indianapolis season (or maybe Chicago, I don’t necessarily want to force them to stay in Indiana) along with Eddie, Jonathan, Argyle, Dustin, Lucas, Tommy, Jason, Dan on the men’s side and Nancy, Barb, Chrissy, Vickie, Suzie, Max, El, Tammy, Carol on the women’s side. Plus whichever unimportant extra characters to just fill however many pods they start out with.

Steve immediately thinks Nancy is the one. He’s still seeing Robin regularly but they do a lot of talking about how hard his decision is between the two of them and the producers think they’re really strange.

Steve is also often chatting with Dustin and Lucas who he has taken under his wing and Eddie who the other boys really like but Steve just doesn’t understand.

Robin is struggling quite a bit with her decision to enter this. Sure, any of these ladies could be bi or secretly a lesbian, like her, but she can’t outright ask them when they’re supposed to be here to find their male soulmate. She’s often in groups chatting with Vickie, Barb, Nancy, and Chrissy, pining as Vickie starts to fall for Dan.

The producers expect Nancy and Robin to be really catty, but Robin just keeps talking about what an amazing guys Steve is to Nancy and how any girl would be lucky to have him.

Nancy is struggling between Steve and Jonathan. Steve is definitely a solid choice, but would he challenge her, would he excite her? She isn’t sure. Jonathan feels different. Like he gets the parts of her she has to hide.

When Steve proposes to Nancy, she ends up saying maybe a tad more of what’s on her mind than she would’ve said if she could actually see Steve’s face, basically coming to the conclusion that she’s rather be with Jonathan directly in front of him.

Steve comes back to the men’s living area and Dustin and Lucas are both on dates. Eddie is sitting there and can clearly tell something has gone wrong. He makes Steve sit with him and tell him everything and is very supportive of Steve, making it clear that he shouldn’t let what Nancy say get to his head. Something in this just clicks for Steve and he gets why Dustin and Lucas both like hanging around with Eddie.

Eddie meanwhile has been dating Chrissy, who has also been dating Jason. Jason is an ass though which is slowly revealed and Chrissy decides she wants to go for the guy who makes her laugh but maybe isn’t who her parents pictured her with based on everything she’s learned about Eddie.

Eddie also hangs out quite often with Jonathan and Argyle and he thinks Steve got screwed over by the show’s premise. Who in their right mind would pick Jonathan over Steve? Like Jonathan is a good guy, but Steve is so nice and a complete smoke show.

The couples who end up moving to the next stage are Steve & Robin, Eddie & Chrissy, Jonathan & Nancy, Dan & Vickie, Dustin & Suzie, Lucas & Max, and Tommy & Carol.

When Steve and Robin are revealed to each other, Robin puts on her most theater club energy performance to give Steve a huge stage kiss. Steve can’t help but laugh through it, glad to be reunited with Robin in person.

Okay there’s more to this, but I didn’t realize how long this would get. Part 2 coming soon!

[glazeliights]

touch

[prentissluvr]

need sam winchester biblically and its such a crime i can't be binging spn rn, but that does mean i will be thinking about him all the time without spending said time watching him which means i will have thoughts about him which means i will have time to write for him which means that folks should send me sam requests i promise i'm nice and a decent writer heheheh

[hamofjustice]

nemona feels like an obscure blorbo instead of the main rival character from the latest pokemon game because to get to her really good content from people who really get it, you first have to wade through the ocean of yandere pervert obsessive stalker annoying punchable bimbo amazon goddess interpretations of...

... a neurodivergent and possibly disabled high schooler who's desperately trying to make any friends or get any support from her rich neglectful family - while everyone in her school is jealous of their own imagined version of a privileged asshole version of her they made up - who deeply and platonically loves and supports the one new kid who agreed to take the time to get to know and respect her and her special interest without having to hold back her true self

unlike her, it's not great!

kinda feels like she has the same problem in our world that she does in hers.

[didiwaffles]

"Time goes by, everything changes, yet our bond remains unwavered. You once promised me that you will always be by my side, no matter what. And now, when it is time for you to leave, I must follow you to where no human can even dream to step. This way only will your promise remain unchanged. And may my curse once again be a blessing."

[thelaurenshippen]

the way joel and ellie are perfect unhinged feral soulmates—balls of rage and violence that turn soft for each other and simultaneously would murder the world for each other….I…..

[aq2003]

my personal hot take of the day is that you cannot fully appreciate ten if you don't also appreciate martha and the dynamic they have