shoma reads gift of the magi, asks sachika about it

after she explains, he asks if there's anything she wants; she demurs and says he should give Hanto a gift instead

he gives hanto the buche de noel gochizo

and then

like. they're doing this on purpose now, right?

im in pain

I AM IN PAIN

the plot is moving at a fair clip and yet every episode ends Too Soon

i hurt

I just had... a dreadful thought

Gift of the Magi is conspicuously spotlighted when Hanto leaves after that scene

and Shoma's earlier dissatisfaction with just giving him a regular gift is not resolved

Gift of the Magi is specifically about the two characters each sacrificing their most valued possession to make the other happy, because that person's happiness is more valuable to them than the thing they have

so i guess if shoma's giving him the bushel gochizo, to follow the theme of the book, hanto has to give shoma... the valenbuster? his granute organ?

no it's worse than that

what if Shoma comes clean to Hanto about being a granute

because Hanto knowing the truth is more important to him than keeping his friendship with Hanto

like. the spotlighting COULD just be a way of communicating that there's still a distance between them because there's still something selfish there, vs. the selfless love in the book

but what if it's foreshadowing Pain

it seems dreadfully plausible to me because if there's one thing Shoma has that he values above anything else, it's the happiness he's found with Sachika and Hanto

i don't think it'll happen, and the reason why i think that is stupid.

but.

shoma gave hanto the bushel gochizo for this. the gift of the magi thing is for the christmas season. so if it's gonna be part of the gift of the magi whole, Foreshadowing Theme Thing, it has to happen soon.

but we ain't got magazine or toy promos for Dark Valen yet.

honestly, valid point. there's no way we're going to NOT get an enemy arc from Hanto before he comes to terms with Shoma being a granute.

i DO think the the bushel gochizo might be a red herring, at least in terms of the emotional arc

just because Shoma explicitly didn't feel like that was a good enough gift to show how much he cares for Hanto

Kamen Rider Decade (@kadoyatsukasa100) on Threadsthis shit is hanging over my head like the sword of damocles

Bitter Gavv tho

bitter gavv gives me fear

Such fear

our soft snacky boy is going to be Going Through It in ways I don't have enough information to anticipate

My poor poor boy ;;;;;;

also, god

when Hanto DOES have his inevitable enemy arc

poor fuckin Sachika

she is not going to have any FUCKING idea why Hanty suddenly hates Umasho and broke his heart after they got so close

like what the fuck is going on with her poor sweet part-timer

She will fix it even if she has to force them to hug it out at bat point

I believe in her

Spandex sitesoft fanart keeps me strong for the horrors to come

oh no i need it

oh I had. a frightful thought about how the gift of the magi thing COULD pan out

judging from the extended preview it looks like they might be letting themselves get captured by crabfucker

and I can. very much envision a scenario in which Shoma bargains with his family for Hanto's life, revealing the truth to Hanto in the process

I don't think it would happen next ep, if something like that does go down, but it's a bullet I can believe might be loaded in the chekhov's gun

talking about gavv to some non-rider-watching friends on discord like