#idk but... i'd go on a date with him if he were real just sayin' SKSKS and if i didn't know that it was morally bankrupt as well ofc

[lususnatura]

[tasty-littl-snack]

I try to go about my day peacefully until the thought of Ryan saying he pictured Shane and their ghost hunting trips while saying his wedding vows makes me go insane

This is something I think about a lot because on the first glance it sounds like those fake scenarios in sci-fi movies when a character is trapped in an alternate reality and marrying someone he doesn't want to. In those cases they usually have a vision of their true love that break the fake reality or whatever. (and I would love to read a fic like this tbh, might even write one myself with how much I thought about this for the past year. Most people do not picture someone else while marrying the love of their lives just sayin)

But this is a real situation that happened to a real person so I think it's more complex than that.

The first thing we have to consider is why did Ryan say that? In front of a live audience on one of their first shows for season 2? I don't think there's an answer besides "he says stuff like that sometimes". Of course, if it were me I would simply not say such things in front of a live audience (then again he repeats stuff like "people passing by thought we were on a date on goatmans bridge" something most casual viewers don't think about that episode. There's also the many things he says about Shane how they have a bond that can't be broken etc, and while all that's in jest I think there might be a hetsplanation for this particular one, and later episodes of pod watcher come in handy.

See this was in the middle of 2022 when ghost files didn't premiere yet and watcher was about to go down, as they later admitted in making watcher and the first ep of the pod. Ryan mentioned that the very sight of Steven made him stressed out because he was worrying about their company and associated all the stress with that. They had four eps of ghost files shot at that point (we know this because Shane went blonde after Ryan's wedding), but the show wasn't out yet. It was also the same year he planned his wedding so I'd imagine the stress of planning it and trying to make a new show that might save their company might be overwhelming.

From the later eps of pod watcher especially the one after Steven's wedding we learn that the guys tend to get nervous when they have to perform in front of smaller crowds that know them, like say... saying wedding speeches to their soon to be wives in front of their friends and family. So what does this all have to do with Ryan picturing Shane, or as he put it "Briefly catching Shane's eye and being reminded of all the times they shot ghost files while saying his vows?"

Besides the obvious thing that my shipper heart would like I think there's something else.

See. Shane brings Ryan a certain level of comfort on the ghost hunts. (as per that old winchester post mortem) He's also the person Ryan spends the most time in the last five years (especially since they made their company together and including all the travelling for ghost files). And we will probably never know what he actually said when he pictured Shane. It probably had something to do with having to stare directly into his wife's eyes while saying the things he wrote (I'm not american so idk what you're saying then probably how much you love the person you're marrying.). And since his job is to spend time with Shane in supposedly haunted places they stare at each other a lot. (and into each other's eyes? he also mentioned that when saying this iirc but don't take my word for this I wasn't there).

As I said, Shane's very prescence is calming to Ryan, so I'd imagine if he thought of him while being nervous during his wedding to his wife, that also tells me that even Ryan's imagined version of Shane (because they could not catch each other's eye as he clams, he'd have to turn around since the groom's wedding party is standing behind him, and I doubt he'd noticeably turn around to catch his eye), is enough to calm his anxiety somewhat.

What does it all mean? We'll never know. This will continue to be my roman empire for sure and is one of the most "things you think sound normal and then turns out to be extremely gay in context".

Like he pictured Shane. During his wedding to his wife. Because he looks into Shane's eyes a lot during their ghost hunts.

I think that's love.