*me looking for practically non-existent parallels between jean and porco since they have practically the same dynamic with the assigned leader of their group (eren and reiner respectively) even though jean is a fully-fledged character with an arc stretching over 4 seasons meanwhile porco is a very minor character and merely serves as the means to further reiner's character even more*

OHMYFORK THE TRAVIS CAST ADFSDFGDF OMGOMGOMG

YES I AGREE THAT MATT AND CHRIS DONT MAKE SENSE CS THEYRE N O T T W I N S ! ! ! ! ! !! !! !

also i js started checking out bladesteezy on tiktok/instagram aND OMG THIS PERSON. LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE TRAVIS I CANNOT ACFDSGFZSDZ

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP THEY ARE LITERALLY SO ALIKE ISTG IM GONNA FOLLOW THEM IDC JS FOR THE TRAVIS EFFECT

(and yes ive made my mark *sigh* I FIND IT SO NICE THAT YOU THOUGHT OF ME LIKE OMG THATS SO AFWDASFS SUPER NICE OF YOU AHHH <333)

AND OMG?????? TRAVIS LISTENING TO DRAKE???????////// HELLP??????????????????? THATS SO ACCURATE OHMY

GASP HE WOULD LISTEN TO ARCTIC MONKEYS AND THE WEEKND TOO IDONTMAKETHERULESIDC-

(ALSO THERES A NEW DRAKE ALBUM COMING I FEAR??? IMAGINING TRAVIS DRAGGING READER TO A CONCERT JUST TO GET DISTRACTED BY HOW GOOD WE LOOK IN THE BAND'S MERCH OR SOMETHING SIMILAR IDK im so delulu help)

AND HELP PERCY LISTENING TO DRAKE AND TAYLOR IS SO REAL HELP

IM PRETTY SURE HED VIBE TO What Makes You Beautiful - 1D LIKE IMAGINE ANNABETH JS BURSTING IN CABIN 3 ONLY TO FIND HER BF BLASTING WMYB AT FULL VOLUME AHHH

ALSO ALSO (help this is already so long im sorry i should probably start writing actual letters to you atp 😭💗 ty for putting up with my shenanigans) THE LEO CAST??????/ I LOVE HOW WE ALL AGREE COLLECTIVELY AS A FANDOM THAT LEO VALDEZ I S BENOFTHEWEEK BECAUSE HOW CAN A MAN LOOK AND ACT THAT MUCH LIKE A FICTIONAL CHARACTER

LIKE IT LITERALLY RADIATES OFF OF HIM IM SORRY HES JS LEO IN MY HEAD ATP NO CAST CAN CHANGE MY MIND

-🦋anon <33 ( im so sorry for this huge letter 😭)

NEVER BE SORRY I LOVE RECIEVING ASKS LOL NO MATTER HOW LONG

and omg ur so right except for me its not even the twin thing i just Cant see it 😭 honestly tho i think its j cz theyre a little too mainstream for me to assign characters to yk .... IM SO GLAD U AGREE W MY FANCAST THO AAAA!!!!!

omg also i just wanna say my friend was texting me ab travis kelce (taylor swifts bf) except she just said travis and i immediately thought what does travis stoll have to do w this LOL 😭 it took me a second fr

AND HE SOOOOO WOULD !!! im listening to virginia beach ik he'd LOVE it ... that whole album tbh 🙏🏼 AND OMG THERE IS ???? rip travis stoll u wouldve loved this ... (AND UR SO RIGHT AB THE CONCERT THING LOLLLL HED DO A TRANSITION THING W THE "THE SPIDERMAN MEME IS ME LOOKING AT DRAKE" LINE FROM FIRST PERSON SHOOTER LMAOOO)

and omg ur so right percy would LOVE 1d (annabeth def introduced him to them too LOL)

AND YESSS BEN IS SO LEO EVEN HIS CONTENT GIVES MAJOR LEO 😭 literally leo of our universe

okay hold on hold up just wait a fucking second

analogical makes the most logical sense cause theyre so alike and are the two that most often work together in the videos

moxiety makes the most sense emotionally because pattons the nicest to virgil and they have the cutest moments

prinxiety makes the most sense when it comes to passion cause theyre the ones with the most chemistry and their whole thing screams enemies to lovers

im gonna fucking scream

(this is just including the ships with virgil because hes my favorite character and im biased, and mostly pertaining to the videos before can lying be good lol)

UWU I'm in the mood for some Raphael talk, I love the headcanon you've talked about in the chat about Raphael tolerating Alec only because he makes his dad happy (which is so damn valid of him), and it's one of my most fave things do you have more slightly silly headcanons about it?

you really want me to be beaten up huh may. you want them to come for me again. you want to ruin my life

okay disclaimer Alec stans pwease dont hate me uwu I'm not saying i hate Alec I'm saying that i dont think Raphael would vibe with him. especially after the whole punch which I'll never get over cuz like i KNOW rationally that alec didnt have the full story and if izzy was hurt and sitting beside a white shadowhunter he would go there and beat them up all the same cuz alec's like this, but I'm still upset eidndidjdid my boy doesnt deserve this okay

anyway with that being said

i dont think its Raphael like, genuinely hating him as much as them having nothing in common besides their mutual love for Magnus and desire to see him happy. so Raphael can tolerate him fine, but he's not exactly dying to be best friends. besides, alec's like, all of the most annoying things about shadowhunters (all serious, never fucking relaxes, must have a weapon close at all times, doesn't understand food, doesn't listen to music, doesnt-) that arent like straight up nazist bigotry. so hes just like. ugh. whatever. I'm here for Magnus. leave pls

i can absolutely see that tbh Raphael just goes to their house and is all like "Alec leave i want to talk to Magnus" and alec's like "this is my house?" and raphael's like "and?" and alec's like "Fine, ill take a walk. Magnus, Raphael is here." but he also kisses Magnus goodbye in front of Raphael because he can, in fact, be an ass

also i know i told u about that already but Raphael lowkey challenges him every time like. he'll come by Magnus' and bring food, and of course theres food for 3 because Raphael is not gonna be that rude and he doesn't want to make Magnus feel like Raphael wants him to choose between Raphael and Alec. Alec makes Magnus happy and Raphael would never want to make Magnus feel like his love or presence in his life is conditional. Plus, he doesn't actually hate him. Just a little.

anyway so he brings the food and he's like (clearly judgemental tone) "i brought hot sauce because i figured Alec doesn't usually eat spicy food" and he's obviously correct, Alec had never eaten anything with season in his life before he met Magnus, much less pepper. he's the kind of ultimate, boss-level gringo who puts salt on his food when he's feeling adventurous

so Raphael sits down and puts the food on his plate and he pours hot sauce into his plate while making unwavering eye contact with Alec (yeah raphael can eat in this because he deserves it and i said so) and it's an obvious challenge and it evidently works because Alec 1- is competitive, and 2- actually wants Raphael's respect because he knows how important he is to Magnus. so he takes the salsa from Raphael and starts pouring it too while maintaining eye contact right back, jaw clenched in challenge, looking all serious and Magnus is like "children, please" and raphael's all like "oh no no no, let him" but Alec considers that a win because Raphael is clearly trying to contain a smile and thats the first step to winning him over

so anyway Alec sweats and grimaces through the whole meal, cuz like, look yes he may have pain tolerance because he's a shadowhunter but he's also the bitch who reacted to taking a sip of beer like someone had farted on his face. he can't hide his reactions for shit, but fuck if he doesn't lick the plate clean (not literally like gross) and doesn't shed a single tear, even as he clearly can't keep his eyes open with the effort

Magnus is like "Alexander, you dont have to do this" and alec's like "(eyes squeezed shut, grimacing, drenched in sweat) do what? this is very good" and Raphael is smiling into his plate even as Magnus shoots him dirty looks

then Alec is like "i won. i ate it all" and Raphael is like "(looking at his red sweaty face and puffy eyes) really?"

also look ill always love the hc that Raphael resents Alec for his height and Alec doesnt even notice. Raphael is not short, god damn it, hes 175! thats TEN whole centimeters above the mexican average! he was the tallest boy in Guadalajara! RAPHAEL IS TALL, OKAY

EXCEPT everyone in the goddamn shadow world is apparently a god damn giant. Its humiliating enough that Magnus is 180. but Magnus is his dad, so whatever. but Alec is FUCKING 190. no one needs that much tall. no one! Raphael went from being the tallest boy in the neighborhood to the shortest, and boy he is so not pleased about it

but Alec has no idea because who cares? (Raphael. Raphael cares. deeply. he cares so much) it's not even good to be that tall, he keeps banging his head on things. so there will be moments like. Raphael is standing in front of the bookshelf, seeming very focused. Alec shrugs, figures he's looking for something, and puts the book he was going to put there up. Raphael shoots him a dirty look that might as well be a stab, and Alec's like ???????? did i disrupt you? sorry? and Raphael just crosses his arms like "you didnt do anything, i dont know what you're talking about"

in reality the shelf was too high up because Magnus adjusted his shelves to his and Alec's height, and Raphael refused to stand on his tiptoes or god forbid, a stool, to grab his book, so he was just glaring at the shelf until the book came to him or something. and when Alec put the book up he was mad cuz Alec could reach it fjdndid

later Alec tells Magnus about it like "i dont get what i did. is he just that private?" and Magnus is like "hmm. i have no idea, darling" but next time Raphael comes, the shelves have been spelled to adjust to the book picker's height

also this always makes me think of that scene in hsm where zeke tries to talk to sharpay and she goes "evaporate, tall person!" and leaves and i love that mental image tbh

also like. eventually Alec apologizes for the punching thing (look. look. Im still salty and Raphael deserves it okay) and Raphael is like. moved because something deep inside of him still believed it was his fault and he was a monster, and it's. nice. and Alec kind of extends his arms and Raphael is like "dont think so" and crosses his arms and Alec kind of very very slowly lifts his arm and pats Raphael's head once and Raphael wants to scream and Alec looks very awkward and sheepish and Magnus bursts out laughing

(Raphael doesnt mind, though, because Magnus is genuinely so happy all day that they had a good interaction. so happy. and Raphael thinks, okay, this is okay. it's good if it makes Magnus happy.)

(Magnus also pats his head and plays with his hair, but its okay because Magnus has always done that and Raphael doesnt mind. only from him though. and raphael's partners. but anyway)

plus whenever Magnus is like, upset, or sick or something, theyre like. an unit. because for all they have no common interests they do think very alike (autistic solidarity i guess) and are very practical when it comes to taking care of others, and they both just. adore Magnus, okay. so Raphael will arrive, make Magnus soup. while he makes soup, Alec stays with him and takes his temperature. once Raphael is back with the soup, Alec goes out to buy medicine, and Raphael stays with him to make him company. and so on. at some point Alec is almost falling asleep by Magnus' side and Raphael taps his shoulder and points to the chair nearby, and Alec nods and dozes off for a while. then its the other way around. Magnus isnt seriously sick, of course, but he doesn't usually get sick so it's an event, plus they're both Like This. and for all the grief they give each other, they trust each other to take care of Magnus. theres no argument about that

(Magnus was resting, but he did see some of these moments, and smiled a bit to himself before dozing off again)

also Raphael and Ragnor gave Alec the ultimate shovel talk (Ragnor doesn't trust anyone after Camille, and while neither do cat and dot, they were more chill), but it lowkey backfired because they were like "if you ever hurt him, we'll remove your kneecaps" and Alec was like "(nodding seriously) thats fair"

also i know we've talked about this already but i also love the idea that Raphael goes to their house and is all absentmindedly like "hm can i have some coffee" and alec's like "sure, ill make it :) you stay here and talk to Magnus" and when Alec comes back he hands Raphael his coffee in a "best. bonus son. ever" mug and then he leans back against the wall, sipping his own coffee from his "world's #1 stepdad" mug that he bought himself, trying to hide his shit eating grin, and Raphael scowls and deliberately holds it so his hand covers the words, and Magnus laughs and his eyes shine as he sips his tea.

(later, Raphael is like. guess me and lightwood have a dynamic now. gross. but he still rolls with it)

in short Raphael and Alec being little shits to each other but still building something of a relationship for Magnus and always taking care of him..... ultimate trope

u mak me unconfortable idc keep things to yourself youre ruining my mood toxic masculinity is from transphobic radfems terfs and toxic people. i am being serious. saying toxic masculinity is actually negative and toxic. that is a form of inflicting verbal and mental distres and pain. idc what you think it all is. enjoy your uniqueness, hate the dumbasses but do not fucking call it toxic masculinity. is radfem terf material. it is boxing groups of people who are not all alike. ignorance is showing.

sorry i make u uncomfortable?? i use this blog as a place 4 me to rant and jus fucking scream into a void, im actually trying to learn other strategies to vent, but with my concussion and brain damage blablabla its taking longer than id like it to. if im ruining your mood, id suggest you unfollow? ive never heard of toxic masculinity, like, that term being from radfems and terfs, i am very much against radfems and terfs, do you have any sources for this?? im gonna look into it more but im preeeetty sure thats wrong. this is also, like, a very disjointed message. your reasoning isnt clear, so, i cant actually just take this as truth. also - i have a therapist, shes very much pro-decolonization, anti-terf, etc, ive discussed toxic masculinity with her numerous times, im fairly certain that if the term toxic masculinity was actually rooted in transphobia she would have mentioned it by now. id like to know how you got to this conclusion though, even though i disagree.

if anyone who isnt this anon sees this and agrees with them and has some sources or sees their reasoning, comment on this? or reblog it with a source or something? i really have no idea where in the world theyre coming from but i dont want terfs to think im aligned with them

Stan: invites ONLY Richie to his thing, sarcastically pulls his hand down and gives remarks to his jokes. Richie: literally called him the best, they’re best friends, just a perfect friendship overall (knew stan longer than Eddie) the reddie/stenbrough shippers: no they hate each other, it’s just reddie with different flavor. literally saw that comment and I almost screamed. they’re not the same LOL stan and Eddie are just similar.

1. they dont hate each other thats OBVIOUS. BUT 2. OK alSO to talk about eddie and stan being similar like i honestly wonder to what extent are they???? like i think eddie and richie are both quite abrasive but i always think of richie as the bigger personality (dont come at me everyone lol) and like i think probably the biggest rival ship on the stan side is stenbrough and i used to just automatically be like ok bill/richie are in similar positions and stan/eddie are in similar positions in the relationship BUT like if u really think about it for ONE milisecond like i would hesitate to say bill is the bigger personality in stenbrough. at least in like fic, i think theres a huge majority of people who would say richie is pretty much the dominant one in reddie, but like with stan and bill i would say the fics shake out pretty darn equally on which one of them is the leader/snarker/flirt whatever language you want to use that contributes to the thought that one of them might be a bigger personality. and so like, then you take stozier and it’s like honestly i think at least in terms of the fic people write and the way the fandom chooses to portray their personalities, stan gives WAY WAY like infinitely more pushback than eddie in terms of who is going to sort of be the dominant energy in the relationship and like honestly i think stan is even more extreme in terms of the things that might make him similar to eddie (being like ew richie ur gross, that kind of thing) so like stozier you get these people who are both SO EXTREME imo honestly way more extreme opposites than reddie or stenbrough but theyre alike in the fact that they ARE SO SO EXTREME (and obvi other inner issues ive mentioned b4 in this thread) and like idk to me thats VERY interesting and makes it so much more of an unsettled dynamic but also so much FUN like to see where we can take this energy? how can both of u be this intense and how's that gonna shake out?? this is such a brain dump idk if it makes sense lol but if u want i can direct u to other posts where i elaborated a lil more on this if it makes no sense lol. ps thank u anon for talking to me i love this stozier rapport we got goin on lol im so thankful to air my thoughts i hope u r 2

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Even after this movie i see people either saying that reylo is finished now or just straight up denying that their force bond had romantic coding in it and im just like ??? I have no clue where theyre gonna go from here but i wouldnt say the ending is a nail in the coffin. Theyve established kylo as the main antagonist now but i dont think redemption is out of the realm. People forget vader wasnt redeemed till the last possible second i guess lol. Nothings impossible

The ending is the opposite of a nail in the coffin. 

We should be more worried if Rey and Kylo had ended TLJ on a high note (such as defecting together, which was often misconstrued by the reylo fandom as a sufficiently “bleak” ending for the second act of the trilogy… but it’s not. It’s not bleak, because we are supposed to root for Rey and Kylo, not dread their union. So them defecting together would be a high point, which of course is why we’re getting the opposite of that).

There’s going to be a whole movie after TLJ, a movie that will subvert the status quo and change the dynamics again, just as TLJ did with TFA. As others put it, saying that Reylo is over is just as stupid as saying that Han/Leia was over at the end of Empire because Han was stuck in carbonite. Stupid and ignorant of how storytelling works. Storytelling is based on cycles of ups and downs. If the story sinks and reaches the bottom, the only direction it can go in the next installment is up. And viceversa (this is why TFA destroyed the original trilogy’s happy ending. It had to).

Antis are going to desperately cling to the idea that TLJ was written to “deal” with Reylo, as in “sink” it and move on (presumably reverting to less compelling dynamics like f nnr y and d am r  ey). Not only they seem to think that dropping the central dynamic between the hero and the villain would be good storytelling, they’re still willfully blind to the fact that The Force Awakens established Reylo in the first place—-Rian Johnson didn’t “come up with Reylo” from nowhere. The Last Jedi developed the first part of a central relationship whose seeds were CLEARLY planted in the first chapter of the trilogy. (People need to realize that the films of this trilogy are following a basic structure that was conceived YEARS ago—otherwise it wouldn’t be possible for JJ Abrams to pitch the script for IX when VIII has been barely released, and for Rian to be writing the script for TLJ while TFA WAS STILL BEING FILMED.)So we have:

first movie: set up. Rey and Kylo are introduced, the major conflict between them is created, the seed for a future attraction is planted, while the two are developed as individual characters because they’re complete strangers to the audience and the audience needs to learn who they are, see them as people. So we have Kylo dealing with San Tekka, Snoke, Hux, and Han while Rey develops a great friendship with Finn and finds a surrogate father in Han. Because it’s important that we see Kylo and Rey as full fledged people independently of their interactions, in order to make their actual interactions great;

second movie: development. the dynamic, so far only suggested / subtextual, becomes finally text. We’re doing the enemies to friends at this stage, but with more than a spark of romantic, even sexual tension. Basically, it’s the dynamic of our dreams, the way anidala should have been done, the way EVERYTHING should be done. And then it comes to a brutal halt. Because THAT’S WHAT YOU DO TO KEEP YOUR AUDIENCE HOOKED. Literally every good fanfic author knows this! The heart of this dynamic is the tension between opposites, between good and evil, damnation and redemption, compassion and hatred. To keep that tension alive and sizzling, we’re temporary reverting to the /mutual hatred/ stage, which is what left us wanting more at the end of TFA. Except a) it’s different now because they tasted each other (they really did, even if just metaphorically), and b) the audience is now more hooked than ever, thanks to this beautiful thing named Force Bond that is still alive even though they broke up in the worst possible way and to a fight scene that was basically a Giant Sexual Metaphor.

and that’s already 2/3 of the trilogy. That’s a LOT of narrative capital invested in these two, and it became EVIDENT in TLJ but, again, it was already there in TFA. There’s no way IX isn’t going to deliver more development and a resolution. Their outrageous break up in TLJ is not a resolution, because so much between then remains unresolved. The Force Bond. Their mutual thirst attraction. The visions they had of each other. The reason why the Force keeps binding them (it was always the Force, Snoke be damned. Their bond was born during the interrogation, and they created by penetrating each other’s mind at the same time). The fact that Rey almost succeeded where everyone failed (as acknowledged by Luke, eventually). THEIR LAST SCENE. Do you know when in horror movies you get a happy ending and it’s almost too good and then when peace seems to be restored, you realize that the demon only faked its death and IT TAKES YOU? That’s Reylo at the end of the movie. 

What Rian did, his vision, was making sure that at the end of the central movie Kylo would be his own master, in charge and being able to make independent decisions (and also: fully, unambiguously responsible for his actions), while ALSO having a complex relationship with our hero, Rey, one that isn’t simply hatred and antagonism (x). That’s a lot to unpack for JJ, admittedly, but it’s also explosive material; it makes Kylo’s redemption both harder to achieve (with Snoke out of the picture, there will probably be no “redemption by destroying a greater evil” cop out. There’s no ~~greater evil~~ than Kylo now, and while this definitely makes me anxious and confused, I also have faith in the story because the people who are writing it are FAR BETTER STORYTELLERS THAN ME), and potentially more convincing (whatever good Kylo starts doing from this point on, it will be his doing, and a free choice, not a reaction against his former abuser, not a way to seek agency for himself—not that those things aren’t good, but they aren’t necessarily redemptive in the truest sense, which is often the objection you have to most villains’ redemption arcs).

In short: it’s always darkest before the dawn, and a huge franchise like Star Wars doesn’t drop the central dynamic between the hero and the villain like a sack of potatoes, especially as it has been made clear over and over again how much of a protagonist—though a villainous one—Kylo Ren is.

Seriously, they’ve invested too much (money, narrative capital) in him and in this relationship with Rey, and they wouldn’t be backpedaling even if the audience and the critics alike weren’t head over heels over this dynamic and literally screaming from every media outlet how HOT their interactions were, lol. This story has already been written.

Okay but hear me out: Stranger Things Monster/Ghost Hunting AU

Lucas is the skeptic who's always like "guys this is so stupid we're there's no such things as ghosts" but he goes along with his friends always because he's not gonna let them go alone to a "haunted" house to die

"Lucas did you hear that??" "That was the wind Mike" "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT" "That was a— get offa me— that was a fucking squirrel"

He's usually rlly creeped out by things like creepy dolls and anything to do with demons but other than that that kid has a heart of stone and an ever-present bitchface

He carries all the weapons like guns and knives and shit

Dustin is the cameraman half the time and he's always making funny comments and prompting the others to scream by scaring them. He doesn't seem to take anything seriously?? Like he knows he could probably die rn but like he's there for a good time not a long time

"Aw man this is getting intense good thing I brought some popcorn" "DUSTIN WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF ASKING A OUIJA BOARD HOW IM GOING TO DIE" "You want some?" "....yes"

[entering a house haunted by demons] "COME AT ME YOU COWARDS" "DUSTIN SHUT UP THEYRE GOING TO EAT US"

But all jokes aside Dustin does like 60% of the research and knows when something is getting out of hand and (with the help of a totally-NOT-scared Lucas) he gets his friends out of dangerous situations

And yes he carries snacks but in all honesty they have been proven to be useful more than a couple of times

Mike is the one who takes the whole thing seriously like he does the rest of the research and he's super excited about monster-hunting but ironically? He's the biggest fucking coward like that boy will hear a twig snap and he will jump on to the person closest to him a la Scooby Doo

He does that Narrating Voice and he's always carrying devices like EMF meters and voice recorders and static meters

Always tries to come up with names for their group

(Rustling in another room) "ITS THE GHOST" (Will comes stumbling out) "hey guys guess what some ghost tried to lock me in there but I'm okay"

Will is just there to have fun and he's the other cameraman. He believes in all that supernatural stuff but he doesn't believe it's all inherently evil. Hes always carrying a pencil and notepad to write anything noteworthy down so they don't forget and he's also the one who usually gets the short end of the stick

Like this kid is always bait for monsters, he's always getting stuck in locked rooms with spirits and shit, he's the one with the most near death experiences, ghosts and poltergeists alike have flirted with him, hell he was even possessed by a ducking demon once

"Guys I feel like we're forgetting something" (over walkie talkie) "uh guys???? Where are you??" "FUCK WE FORGOT WILL"

But like it's all good bc they all love Will and would literally kill anything that even so much looks at will the wrong way

BONUS

Mike forces them to all wear matching tshirts and to carry walkie talkies always

Dustin is lowkey the mom friend like he's always asking the others if the have drunk water, forces them to eat and drink water

Lucas "no we're not doing that" Sinclair is the dad friend

Lucas and Dustin are always bickering

Will tries to make friends with the monsters

They bring Eleven and Max along once or twice to scare them

but it turns out that Max doesn't get scared at anything (once she had a fistfight with a fucking poltergeist— and she won) and she's fucking cool driver??

And she's super good with a bat and Lucas MAY OR MAY NOT have a tiny minuscule crush on her that leads to him doing embarrassing thing in his attempts to impress her

And then Eleven might get scared at some things but then they die when she looks at them? Turns she has powers and the boys (especially mike) are like HOLY SHIT I HAVE SUPERNATURAL FRIEND WITH POWERS

But she's also like Will in the sense that she tries to befriend the creatures

Eventually they just become part of the group with max there ready to bail them the fuck out in a pick up truck and Eleven with her powers if things get too out of hand :,)

.

more random thoughts as i finish season 2....

some of my favorite moments are when the kids are cheering each other on, its the cutest thing!!! 

he yifan and zuo qibo fanboy screaming over liu ye’s rap in ‘boy in luv’ and yu gengyin and cai xukun’s relay chanting “jin ming!” “jia you!’ and ofc “dai jing” “yao na ka!!!!!” hahahahhaha i love their friendship and i love silly gengyin!!! literally even when getting off the car this ep he was so silly and when he was about to go on stage and he was like aight kids i got this, i love seeing him being less stressed ahhhh

OOF THEY LABELED IT AGAIN 

awww HE WONNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH when it got announced, i literally clutched my chest and was like ‘my childdddddddddd’ aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh honestly i wasnt gonna be surprised if zuo qibo won this round but IM SO PROUD OF XIAO YU awwwwww he did so well!!!! he like worked really hard to give off a mischievous/ bad boy aura and i think it was such a refreshing and well-executed change for him that it left a strong impression c: whereas qibo is normally already very flower boy / nice guy so i dont think it was as impactful for him to continue playing a role he already embodies normally, altho he was very good-looking on this stage!! but gengyin really went out of his way to try to act cool and carry himself with that kind of aura of handsomeness / arrogance that he’s not really used to portraying and im super proud of him for pulling it off :’) continuously saying ‘我不夠壞’ hahhahhaa but similar to in the sakura stage where he was commended for his powerful stage presence, he’s continuing to build on his new improvements and im super happy he’s still riding on this high c: last ep ‘on rainy days’ i was thriving on hearing his voice smooth over those high notes and this ep’s song wasnt as lyrical, but he still managed to get some vocalizations in and im loving all this extra camera time and focus on his eye smiles. watching gengyin just smile and seeing his eyes crinkle up just makes me so happy inside c: oh! and then when he walks back into the waiting room and hes like “yaayy 努力沒有白費 yaaaaayy!!!!!” im just ooof my heart im so happy for him :’) 

also i gotta say, huadi’s attitude towards liuye is kinda scary? I know theyre all being competitive and thats the nature of this show but like liu ye kept telling him to back off basically (and not even for his own sake, but bc he knew huadi’s dancing intensity was negatively affecting jin ming and also the cohesiveness of their group overall) and huadi was still like ‘i need to show myself off so i can win’ and i felt like his attitude was off, like ‘obviously im the best, thanks’ which later became ‘i cant believe i lost, what did he do better’ whereas liu ye was also very confident but to me he came off as less intense and more calm. like ‘i know im the best, so you can go ahead and try to upstage me, but ill just do my best on my end and quietly watch you sabotage yourself’ at least thats how i perceived it .-. but idk yea i enjoyed watching liu ye more and it felt like huadi was trying too hard. but i am glad that huadi and muti resolved their issues last ep 

daidai’s stage presence during ‘overdose’ tho? he was really handsome!!! i dont normally react much to daidai’s performances but idk this time i really noticed him in contrast to jeffrey and yongju. i think he just seemed more confident than usual and all the little smiles helped. his hair flipping reminded me of muti and his sass LOL 

its really interesting to see cai xukun’s progression through this show and how everyone around him reacts as he goes through this growth process. i would say he wasnt given an absurdly greater amount of screentime but you can tell hes been building up credibility and holds a strong rank among the rest. i would say its not realllyy until the last few eps of season 2 that he pulls ahead of the rest by a significant amount. i was always thinking wu muti was a strong competitor to him but after seeing them and he yifan’s stage, it was pretty clear to me that cxk had successfully exceeded everyone else and ascended to his own level. watching the process through which he gradually builds his now-signature stage presence and now-signature voice is really fascinating and near the end of the season, he already can overshadow everyone else. it seems like huadi is very vocal about how handsome kun has become on stage, yifan doesnt hesitate to admit how good kun is, and gengyin has already admitted early on that they all should learn from kun. zuo qibo is also quick to commend kun but then it seems like muti avoids it? i can kinda guess he might be a bit jealous bc hes always been complimented and lauded on stage but then after he lost so significantly to cxk, im guessing that would be a blow to him. on the show, cxk and wmt both seem very very eager to promote themselves and are very willing to fight for opportunities that they each deem best for themselves. unlike some of the other kids who are more willing to work for the team as a whole more. not that the two of them are bad at teamwork, but i think they definitely arent afraid to demonstrate that they want to stand out and i think thats important in this industry and likely part of how cxk got so ahead. its just interesting to compare this cxk to the cxk on idol producer who knew at that point that he didnt need to fight to stand out because he already did, and he tried so hard to help the other kids around him. 

i feel like i should redo my current ranking list, but i guess with the kids who are on the show this time? (minus the s2 kids, bc lets face it, theyd be at the very bottom anyway) rn its mostly tiered like 1, then 2-7, then 8-10. i appreciate liu ye being a good teacher and leader and the way he yifan seems to be able to joke around with everyone and keep their spirits up. muti’s fireiness kinda scared me in the last few eps but i appreciate that he was mature enough to talk it out with huadi and admit he had been too stressed/riled up lately.

gengyin 

muti 

liu ye

cai xukun

he yifan 

zuo qibo

zhao pinlin (gosh im sad hes so injured) 

dai jingyao

huadi 

yongju

HAHAHAHHA THE PART WHERE ZFZ CHALLENGES THEM TO AN AB BATTLE AND YGY STEPS UP AND EVERYONES IN SHOCK BUT HE JUST RUNS DOWN THE LINE TO PUSH DAIDAI TO THE FRONT HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA i love a true silly boy 

its just so interesting bc the latter half of this season (after ygy gets nominated for elimination i guess) feels like they enjoy giving ygy camera time and attention and esp ep 8 onward hes gotten so much positive feedback ive just been amazed and so happy. and now at the end... you can tell hes really pushing himself bc hes seen that he can do well and that if he really goes above and beyond he really does have a good chance, and seeing his confidence go up with each stage that he performs well is really gratifying and im so proud of him, seeing how determined and driven he is. i just find it funny how confident he is about rap all of a sudden HAHHAHA i mean he did do very well rapping during the sakura stage and the judges did compliment him a lot for it so i cant blame him. 

omgosh the part where the teacher tells muti that he’s already lost to cxk bc cxk got picked during the first round and he hasnt yet....... oof if this is how they talk to him and they keep comparing him to cxk saying their styles are alike but cxk is better, i can see why he’d have some negative feelings towards the matter. the kid’s literally a child, i dont think this is the right way to motivate him....... liu ye patting his head to comfort a pouting muti aw 

because now its my duty to screenshot every time they label his smile !!! and this one even labels it as his “cute signature smile” ahhhHHHH THEY KNOW 

HAHAHHAHA SO I WAS TALKING TO MY SISTER and she sent us pics of her new boyfriend and i was like lol im still single BUT ive been watching a new show and i have a new bias HAHAHAH and i proceeded to show her pictures of yu gengyin i have saved on my phone HAHAHAHHA and she was like “he looks just like your type” HAHHAHAHAHAHA SHE KNOWSSS but yea i was like ‘LOOK HOW SMILEY HE IS!!!” and she was like “the dog is cuter” AHAHAHAHHAHA but its ok shes used to this. and it just reminded me of the time i showed her the ip PPAP perf with zhengting and she like straight up guessed zhengting was my fav in that perf and i was like LOL YES and she was like hE LOOKS LIKE YOUR TYPE hahahHHAHHAHahahhaAHAHAHAH my type is somewhere along the lines of zhengting and gengyin yes. 

huadi’s never-ending battle of fighting to be seen as more than a dancer... to be continued during afo :(

zuo qibo’s struggle of feeling the pressure of being an old man..... feels bad :(

aw he yifan is really so cute. hes def really improved and really doing well, but i feel like his stage presence could still be stronger. its nice to know that during afo he does really shine stage presence-wise and grows to become more mature, more respected, and a group leader as well. 

man its so nice to see daidai really thriving and confident and owning these stages because honestly i feel like on the shows ive seen him in since, including produce camp, hes given me the impression of someone whos lost his confidence and doesnt get to show his skills. i really hope he still has this super-idol version of himself in him because he really shines here, and i think it makes him seem even more handsome than just his appearance alone. oof its just hard bc this show really loves him and the judges really love him and hes so well-supported and encouraged and i think it makes a big difference in his confidence level. i feel like on other shows he hasnt been valued nearly as much and its really sad bc the kid just seems so much less confident. 

HAHAHAHA IM SORRY EVEN THO I KNEW IT WAS COMING BC OBVIOUSLY I KNOW THE FINAL LINEUP OF SWIN BUT OMG EVERYONE WAS SOOOOO SURPRISED HE YIFAN MADE IT OVER ZUO QIBO AND IM LAUGHING AHHAHAHHAHAHAH EVERYONE’S LOOK OF ASTONISHMENT IS TOO MUCH AHAHHAHAHA NO ONE HAD FAITH IN HE YIFAN ISTG HAHAHAHHAHA EVEN HE YIFAN HIMSELF IS LIKE WAT HAHAHHAAHHHAAH BUT THEN HIS ADORABLY BRIGHT SMILE IN CONTRAST WITH EVERYONE’S SHOCKED FACES IS ALSO HILARIOUS HAHAHHAHA this situation is just terrible but hilarious at the same time /sigh/ rip zuo qibo im sorry youre old but cant win :( honestly tho i can understand why they picked he yifan bc he does have more to offer the group than qibo :( considering they put daidai in and they already have yongju (and im assuming yu gengyin will be the last one) and even muti and liu ye sing (and i guess pinlin can also be considered a backup lol).... having another lead vocal isnt gonna to contribute much versus he yifan’s low tone rap. he yifan is really a cute little bean tho. oof the way he runs straight into cai xukun’s arms oof friendship

sigh so i guess its after this that yongju gets kicked out bc china (poor kid...) and then at some point daidai leaves and they randomly add in pinlin after he recovers? even tho he wasnt in like half of season 2? lol but i guess he was never eliminated.... so technically that puts him ahead of zuo qibo in terms of next-in-line to be a vocalist? but i guess honestly everyone knows that if pinlin hadnt left the show due to his injury, he wouldve been the main vocal of leo’s group, not zuo qibo. so i guess in a way as long as pinlin recovered in time, he would be considered the best vocalist to add to swin-s. and then they pull some eliminated kids to become swin-e..... going back to watch the “new world” mv is really a trip every single time. i feel like i watched it for the first time after watching ip and literally only recognized cai xukun, and every time after, i recognized a few more kids, after afo, after pdc, and after finishing super idol 1, i finally recognized all of them. but now, after watching season 2, it feels like i finally actually understand why they got picked and i truly appreciate all 6 of them. I think its really amazing to see yu gengyin go from being ranked #1 in the very first audition on the first season, to being so close to getting eliminated in season 2, to being the last one chosen to get a super card at the end of s2, to being a main vocal in “new world”, and truly truly owning that song. i mean besides cai xukun obviously upstaging everyone with his stage presence as usual, but i mean now when i listen to the song (not even watching the mv) and im really paying attention to who’s singing what part, whose voice really gets to shine and gets to dominate the song, its yu gengyin. maybe im biased or maybe its just expected since he is the main vocal, but i guess it just amuses me that i never noticed that before when i watched this mv without knowing him. now i know whose voice it is that is carrying their debut song and it makes it so special. from listening to later swin songs, i feel like zhao pinlin eventually gets himself a much larger cut of the main vocal position (to the point of surpassing gengyin even?), but i mean that is a whole other story, and i think it does flow into zhao pinlin becoming the ultimate main vocal once gengyin leaves. interestingly zuo qibo never does seem to redeem himself from being any more relevant of a vocal within the group, even tho he was def main vocal of leo’s group on s2 after zhao pinlin left... its like as soon as pinlin leaves he’s needed but when pinlin is there, he’s ignored :( gosh as soon as they announced all the winners and qibo wasnt included, his eyes just became so empty you could see his pain. 

but yes this ends my essay about the last few eps of super idol s2. LOLL i just started compiling my thoughts into larger rant posts bc i didnt want my whole dash to be littered with a bunch of small random posts, so i started collecting my thoughts on a draft as i watched and waited until it got unbearably long to post, such as now. but watching super idol 1 & 2 has been really an eye-opening experience. ive learned a lot about these kids and its truly made me appreciate the year long training they had in korea and the many many struggles and setbacks and unique experiences they had. honestly i feel like swin couldve easily been 8 people aka swin-s plus huadi and zuo qibo, because honestly theyre all very skilled and capable at this point, and huadi and zuo qibo are really on a different level from gouhao and zhu yunlong (sorry kids, i still appreciate yall tho!) since they werent on like a majority of season 2, but i guess it really doesnt matter in the very long run bc of what happened to swin anyway. such a sad sad history for them to bear, but i do hope they can all achieve some kind of success in the future, because theyve really suffered and worked so hard. ill look forward to watching old swin clips for the time being, as i wait not-so-patiently for afo2 

ps: random update, i did in fact make a gengyin gif into my phone lock screen HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH i gave in to the feels. but its the hair flip from that one ikon song he won his individual battle for, and its a historic and important moment okay HAHAHAH 

you know.... with all said and done... there’s not a single thing I’d change about the ending of Vale. it’s really how it was supposed to end. and once again, if you have any plans of reading it do not read this post cause im going to literally spell out the ending okay. this was especially a warning to my sister x)

so im not exactly good at character development but i am good at relationship developments which might be weird like if i know how to do one thing how cant i know how to do the other... but oh well i dont want to lament more on that i just really like how i did the relationships in the story though not so many of them change.

morlene and vale don’t change too much but i feel like everything that was going to happen between them happened before the story. they weren’t going to love each other any more after anything that happened in the story. morlene’s last words to vale are “i love you, i don’t regret anything” but they weren’t brought on by character growth, she said them because it was her last chance to reassure vale that she shouldn’t feel guilty about anything.

cephas’ character doesn’t really have time to change in a nuanced way though id like to think i gave his moments of growth enough motivation. sure he gets dragged into this whole mess by a complete stranger but the biggest step for him is when he almost causes his and vale’s death by getting themselves tangled up with vera talbot. that’s when he shows vale his house (and when in reac vale tells him her name so that’s a twofer right there). but he and vale are inseparable long before they find out who they are. after all, vale gives up her plans to move to the mainland to help him (not even to save him because at this point cephas isnt even in danger) and then sweet cephas who looks so awkward with a weapon and whose custom-made switch-sword has never seen blood kills, gruesomely, just to get to vale.

cephas and morlene are kind of on the same wavelength and if you think about it, morlene not telling her two best friends about her role in the rebellion just so she wouldn’t interrupt their personal shenanigans is very in-line with how cephas used to be so inward that he never had a single friend in thirty years of his life. and in the end they’re in very similar situations too. cephas lost his sister and morlene lost her love, and though mason will miss vale too, they’re the only two people who feel that way because mason’s love for vale is quite different.

now, mason is the character thats the most alike in both worlds and even though we only see the ending of mason #2′s character arc i can pretty much tell you it’s very similar in both worlds.

mason’s character development also kicked off long before the story started. her journey leads from deciding to be part of the very thing she’s trying to stop just so she can work from close to the fire and eventually end the royal guard’s rule and save the people. the very people who she’s forced to hurt and the very people that don’t know and can’t know that she’s doing all this for them. was there a better way to help them? angel would probably say there was, after all they were a royal witch at one point too but left when they saw what they were being used for.

but in the same time, in the other world the other angel pretty much spells out that they stayed in the guard and helped that way. so clearly, there are situations where that seems like the only option.

so mason’s journey leads from having to work from the shadows to being able to take control from the royal guard and being able to stand in front of the people of caelmoor and telling them exactly how shits gonna fly from now on. to finally be able to communicate with the people and prove to them that she only ever wanted to help. i love her speech so much (i know i wrote it x)) because it’s just so Mason. She doesn’t talk like Zavier used to hold his speeches. She curses, calls Zavier a dickhead, she’s done with having to appear one way when she’s the other.

"This is a democracy," she bellows over a wind-swept land. "And I'm not a king. I'm a guard. My council is guards, scientists, architects, mechanics, engineers, and civilians."

Here we go, I think with childish excitement, compelled to physically rub my hands together.

"And as such, we don't need a castle," Mason says, and I can see from where I sit that she raises both hands in the air.

At her cue, what I assume must be dozens of people standing by the ends of mile-long ropes, drop the tarps covering the mountainside to reveal the high castle, the mountainside, and the entirety of the lower castle covered in scaffoldings from top to bottom and side to side.

"We don't need marble statues," Mason yells and movement starts behind her as a squad of carts ride out from the castle yard, packed full of stuff. I can't see that from this far but it's pretty obvious what's happening. "We don't need golden chandeliers. We don't need velvet curtains, leather armchairs, crystal windows, platinum, silver, diamond, we don't need any of that crap!"

Along with the row of carts riding at walking speed from the castle along the set path, a group of people start following them on foot, each holding an instrument, playing music, marching enthusiastically by the rally that I can hear even without loud speakers.

"The new building will be enough for us to govern the island from, but we'll tear this whole place down bit-by-bit over the next few weeks and sell all of our precious white stone to the mainland if that means every citizen of Caelmoor gets to live in peace and prosperity. I'll tear the whole mountain down if I have to before dooming another person to death because the king likes his castles high, welcome to the fucking parade!"

Loud bumps in the loud speakers and what little movement I can make out imply that Mason literally kicked over her microphone stand as her last words are drowned out by deafening screams and cheers from all over downtown.

what an icon.

and bitch. think of that. before this part she says the landfill in the shanty town will be filled up and the residential cemetery will be extended so nobody has to toss their loved ones in a hole anymore. just imagine the catharsis this woman felt when she realised she can finally do this. i realise that if this was a famous book a lot of people would probably immediately draw parallels between shit like X-Men like “she was just following orders” or whatever but she was saving people. she really was. a lot more people would’ve died if someone else is guard commander instead of mason. yes it sucks and you can blame her, vale did too, but she did the only thing she had the chance to which was minimising casualties.

so thats mason. her main relationship arc is just with the general population of caelmoor. she also has a problem with vale’s neutrality in the beginning which is why they broke up in the first place. when morlene moves the rebellion forward and use it as an opportunity to save cephas and mason tells vale to pick a side finally, she answers “you would be surprised”. thats their growth moment.

now, we covered that morlene doesnt (need to) change much, and that cephas changes in that he finally finds his people. vale warns him not to get stuck in another cage (first his mansion, then ecklehold, then his mission to find a way back to vale) and he’s not. i also love it when he insists that he gets to say goodbye to vale though its at a really unfortunate time. but thats pretty much the first selfish thing you see him do in the whole story and thats vale’s influence.

and how vale changes is also cephas’ influence. they muse quite a bit about how they’re supposed to be the same person and how thats weird because theyre so different but i dont think theyre that different at all, their lives just started in different ways that brought different sides of them. cephas was brought up by neglectful parents who then “left him” completely, of course he grew into an adult all on his own, became a thief and lived in a house all by himself. vale grew up in a loving family even if they were assassin grandparents and sort of absentee parents. she was trained to be social, a chameleon, a conwoman, and extrovert, fit to adapt to any situation.

but whether they’re technically twins, or literally the same person but just different genders, it really doesnt matter. cephas makes vale laugh the first time they meet, then vale reads cephas like an open book later that very same day. they joke and mess around like old friends do when vale is still debating whether she shouldve saved the guy in the first place and cephas has no idea why caelmoor’s most famous assassin would take a liking to him. why anyone would. they just have this instant connection and they open up parts of each other through what they share with each other of themselves after all the traumatic shit that happens to them.

so vale... a thousand identities and faces she shows to the people she uses to get what she wants, tries (and fails) to keep a distance from the only person she ever truly loved then this loser shows up in her life and she realises life can be just like that. you can have friends and its normal. towards the endgame shes at a point where she would rather die than to be separated from them. and then she is.

despite promising cephas that she would live she spends the next few weeks of her new life in her old world preparing to die. when she goes to see zavier #2 before his execution she goes there with the intention to die. she spent her whole life preparing to kill zavier and now she would free him and let him live if it only meant she gets to die. 

"This door leads outside, behind Ecklehold where the stands can't see. I have a bunch of smoke bombs in my bag, you can evade the guards before they know where to look for you. There's a boat by the residential docks that will take you to the mainland. You can disappear and start a new life, just like you planned before. I can give you about seventy-five silvers but I expect you know how to fend for yourself."

I haven't spoken this much since I made the deal with the damn boatman, and boy, my throat is sore.

For a few seconds Zavier can only look at me in disbelief, his wrists held slightly together like he hasn't noticed that I cut him loose.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I need something from you in return," I say and turn the pistol around, so the handle is facing Zavier. "You have to kill me."

The guards outside have started to look for which route Zavier could've take and it's only a matter of seconds before they try getting in here. They might think it's just a locked door so they might not dedicate a whole squad to getting it open but they will get it open.

Zavier looks at the gun then back at me, his forehead wrinkling above his eyebrows.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because they won't do it," I snap at him, but I can't keep my facial muscles from spasming. "And I can't do it. And somebody fucking has to."

Zavier exhales a gentle oh and puts one hand on the handle and another one on my hands. His fingers envelope mine and I can't let go. He keeps eye contact, his light blue iris drawing my glance to him like a magnet, and his dreadful coldness creeps into my head and burns me from the inside.

"Too bad, Vale Callaghan," he whispers, his face so close and his voice so overwhelming to my senses I can no longer see the room around us. "Nobody can save you now."

(in my brain, by the way, patrick warburton is zavier x)) if zavier takes the gun from her and shoots her she wouldnt fight to survive. she wants him to finish it. but then he doesnt and shes now forever doomed to live. even mason #2 acknowledged that being left alive is a punishment for her. so what does vale do? the vale that was asked a thousand and one times to just stay with her friends and the vale that chose to walk away every time. she actively and willingly asks for help, the most selfish thing she can imagine to do as undeserving as she thinks she is of any help. she goes to morlene #2 and tells her everything. and when morlene #2 inevitably asks her to stay because even though theyre different people she’s still morlene, she stays.

and she’s going to be okay.

initially the ending of vale included vale being able to see and talk to cephas every time the blightning happens and the gate opens for a bit even if they cant cross over to hug and stuff. but then i wanted to be cruel(er) and decided celia and eamon would totally invent a way to stop the beacons from creating a gateway, so it does. the fact that the lunar bronze, the same material the beacon is from can cross over the gate was absolute bullshit from my part and its kind of just a reward i wanted to give vale for finally learning her lesson, to not hate herself for letting people help her.

also i really love that she doesnt just stay an assassin in the new world but she also finds a job at tulip’s store AND offers to train the new guard :’D 

oh tulip. speaks the best line in the whole story. he’s the only man i trust.

"I give advice, here," he says and leans in close, almost having to stand on his tiptoes. His breath stinks of spices. "Morlene tell me other world and Caelmoor. Same people but other people."

"You really have this whole multiverse theory down, don't you?"       

"If other Caelmoor Tulip is Tulip, you go find Tulip you ask for help. He help. Ask him to no questions, he will no questions. You are no lonely."

This is literally the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

"Thanks, man," I pat him on the shoulder. "Stay sharp, yeah?"

"Ahha!" he laughs while doing the finger guns at me. "I see you did there!"

"Because you have a blade sharpening business?"

"Very smart!"