#show thoughts

[nereidprinc3ss]

I often think abt how sexy it is of him to have his apartment decorated like this…. He’s a single man who lives alone and honestly isn’t home that much but he managed to defeat the bachelor pad queen sized bed with dark blue sheets and one pillow and a flatscreen tv with a singular leather chair in front of it and literally no other furniture or decor and kitchen empty aside from giant container of protein powder stereotype

[mynerathemystic]

folks who don't understand why jace is just now choosing to bring up his parentage, don't realize he feels rhaenyra is inadvertently putting him in a similar situation viserys put her in.

by questioning the qualifications of succession (gender in rhaenyra's case and lineage in jace's) it puts his claim to the throne in jeopardy, regardless of what rhaenyra's wishes are or what oaths are made before she dies.

because once she's gone, as we've seen with viserys, not every house will necessarily honor that pledge. he doesn't want to fight a war to protect his claim, especially after witnessing what toll it has taken on his mother.

[emotional-support-demon-crowley]

Alright, here's my final 15 Aziraphale take if anyone's interested.

I want to start off by saying this is a no hate post. I feel like I understand both sides and I don't blame either anymore. There's just a side to this that it feels like I haven't seen a lot of people mentioning, which is religious trauma and the journey through deconstruction, specifically the step right before you admit to yourself that you no longer believe.

For me personally, there was this phase where I was completely disillusioned with the people part of religion but still convinced there was something worthwhile at the core of what I had spent a lifetime being taught to believe. And I think that's where Aziraphale is. He has fully accepted that there are bad angels. And they're making things bad for everyone around them. But he still thinks Heaven is good. He says it several different ways when he's speaking to Crowley at the end.

And I GET that. Because admitting that this thing that has been his compass, his belief system, a core part of who he is back to the beginning of time and even before could be flawed... that's a terrible thing to come to terms with.

If he accepts that Heaven isn't infallibly righteous, that the system hurts more than it helps, it means every time he proclaimed himself to be on the side of right and good, he now knows he was wrong. It means every time he drew a line in the sand and pushed Crowley to the other side of it, even if he didn't really mean it, he still never had a leg to stand on. And that is a very, very hard reckoning to process.

When he's stood for so long on the supposedly unshakable faith and the belief that he's serving a higher, deserving purpose, admitting to himself that he might have been wrong, that he built his sense of self up on something that he's struggling to believe now, that fucking hurts.

I think Aziraphale came back into that bookshop knowing that they were in danger, but he also had this bright, shining hope. His relationship with Crowley has been rigidly defined by sides for so long. From Aziraphale's perspective, it's been angels and demons; from Crowley's it's been us and them if he can only manage to convince Aziraphale about the us part. But now they have an opportunity to go to Heaven on the same side. And Crowley, he's crafty. He's clever. He's chaotic and brilliant, and he has never once failed to show up when Aziraphale needed him. If they're both on the same side again, the main obstacle that has stood between them, the fact that Crowley might be destroyed if they're together-Aziraphale expresses that fear over and over and over again, it's suddenly gone. And together, they can fix what's wrong in Heaven. They can make it the glorious, perfect thing it was always meant to be.

It must have felt amazing for Aziraphale. In those few moment it took to cross the street. The danger was still very real, but the possibilities of what they could accomplish together were endless.

He just never accounted for the fact that Crowley doesn't look at Heaven and see a redeemable system run by individuals with ill intent. He sees something that was built to hurt and oppress from the very beginning and he can't allow it to have power over him ever again.

[serenagrey]

I understand Cinta’s death from a storytelling perspective—the frivolity of war, death doesn’t have to make narrative sense etc

But killing her 30 minutes after Star Wars’ first (named characters) lesbian kiss..killing her before we got to know her more deeply as a character and using Vel’s eulogy as a post mortem for said character development, no

[impressionism]

Mmmmmmajor puppeteering in this season so far. That’s MY hunch! I know we’re 2, about to be 3 episodes in but clearly I think things aren’t being presented truthfully to us. Again. How things are said, done, etc…. Just watching and listening closely.

[hansrillow]

ok. here are my outsiders tour thoughts (finally)

i saw the show twice in Chicago and like. wow. i saw the show once on broadway beforehand and i think i genuinely might like tour better. put the pitchforks down (jk). i say this because I think I like this overall cast and their takes/chemistry together more? like i have individuals on broadway that i adore and who knock it out of the park, but this one felt more.. cohesive with the book to me

ok now for some more specific stuff. putting under the cut because it gets long

iI had bonale as johnny both nights. jesus christ. the maturity he brings to johnny is crazy, both vocally and the way he acts. he's still a kid though, he just... watching him switch from "im with my friends and hanging out :D" to "those guys with the rings are right there" to "holy shit I just killed someone and we gotta Go" was so interesting

also a big fan of continued native johnny. as always

bonale also to me really embodied the johnny gets quiet and stays kinda calm and collected when shit goes down. I liked the fact that he never really screamed at ponyboy, only yelled to get his attention

on that note all the soc violence looked really good, I felt like I was just always watching bonale when he and pony get jumped. it looks good

another MAJOR win for me. jally is real, across multiple dallys (Tyler and Seth, more on that later). overall Johnny felt like a true equal to dally. this goes hand in hand with the maturity to me, because Johnny was also very accurate in the caretaking sense for pony, which I didn't totally get on broadway. this felt more like pony was genuinely younger and less mature rather than on the same level os Johnny right off the bat. and with caretaking, like, Johnny finishes cleaning up ponyboy after he gets jumped, and

but no jally was real and true and I loved it. like those were two boys who were in love with each other and won't talk about it

on that note. both Tyler and Seth were crazy good. like I was not well, they were soooooooo. they were also very distinct, which I love

Seth was a little too emotionally open/vulnerable for dally for me? but I didn't *not* enjoy it its just more open than I think dally usually would be with most people

im saying this, also saying im excited to relisten to my audio and see if a second listen/rewatch in my brain changes my perspective at all

something they both did was when they jump in front of the train, they sink to their knees and sit there while pony does his monologue about how dally took off. Tyler sits there and stares upstage during it, but Seth falls completely down on his hands and knees and sits there like that. and I was soooo. I felt like I was punched in the chest man

one thing I liked like I said was Tyler and Seth's dallys felt very distinct to me. like when Johnny dies- Tyler when hes standing in front of the train is almost challenging until the very last moment where he sorta.. drops the tough guy stuff. Seth though as soon as Johnny dies becomes a kid who very clearly believes there's nothing left to live for. I liked both of those a lot

both of them also realistically read like they were a kid. like I believed that they were young

jaydon was two-bit both times, loved him. very morally weird. a+

I saw Nolan/travis/Corbin as pony Darry and soda both times and they were great as a trio. travis's Darry makes me crazy hes mean and jealous and caring and stoic and

idk. it was really compelling to me especially the way he.. didn't cry. the closest he came was while he and soda were trying to get pony out of his funk, he got choked up, and then he stuffed it all down and did not cry at all. fucked up /pos

speaking of travis. his aversion to touch when he's emotional -> initiating the hug with soda at the end of throwing in the towel. I was unwell

he also had SUCH a country sound to his voice when he was singing alone, especially runs in the family/reprise. I was like yeeessss give me more country...

Nolan also I thought brought ponyboys youngness mixed with his thoughtfulness together sooo well

Brandon was hard not to watch when he was on stage. he's so funny and so Steve to me ngl. he also did a lot of cool acro tricks <3333

I think im gonna make a whole separate post about East Asian Bev and south asian two. and how much more interesting Bev being a girl of color makes her since she doesn't get a lot textually. but the asian politics are also really compelling and idk if its was intentional or not on casting's part

but basically it rocked. it was so much more interesting to me than when Bev is a white girl. and it ALSO makes it more interesting that Ryo was in as trip both times. I haven't fully formed my thoughts to articulate on that end but I just think. im gonna need to make a whole separate post on socness+conditional whiteness+the politics that an East Asian Bev specifically brings to the show

I need more people to talk about Emma Hearn's cherry! again, felt very...accurate to the book imo. like she starts with room to grow, and she goes on that journey throughout the show, and I genuinely could believe that she was upset to see ponyboy in such bad condition at the end of the show

the socs generally were really touchy with Johnny, especially at the drive in and then when he and pony get jumped. like....yeah, they were so targeting him :(

Dante bob was really good. like.. both times I found him sooo compelling in the sense that he's a boy who hasn't been told no. and I felt like it was obvious that he was spiraling out of control

this is getting really long. maybe I'll make a post about show-specific things/mishaps/other things I didn't talk about at a later time LMAO

[actuallyjdanielatlas]

I have another Salvatore brother yap bear with me.

One of TVD’s greatest lies is the idea that Stefan and Damon could ever truly hate one another.

They threaten each other with death.

They betray each other.

They choose opposite sides, opposite morals, opposite lives. ‘Good cop, bad cop.’

Buuuut none of it ever sticks, obviously.

Because hatred, real hatred, requires indifference. And the Salvatore brothers are anything but indifferent when it comes to each other.

From the very beginning their relationship is framed not as enemies but as brothers locked in an endless, doomed, orbit. Every argument carries history. Every act of violence is personal. Every “I hate you” is loaded with a century and a half of grief, guilt, and love that they just don’t know how to put down.

Honestly Rebekah says it best.

‘The Salvatores may fight like dogs, but in the end, they would die for each other.’

And they do.

Stefan, in the end, does.

Stefan spends his entire existence atoning and not just for his own sins, but also for Damon’s. He saves Damon again and again, even when Damon doesn’t ask him to, even when Damon doesn’t deserve it, even when Damon completely resents him for it. Because Stefan’s love is not conditional and it never was.

And Damon pretends he doesn’t care. He buries it deep under cruelty and sarcasm and rage. But every time Stefan is gone, Damon unravels, his impulses always surface in Stefan’s absence. His humanity is tethered to his brother whether he wants to admit it or not.

That’s the tragedy of them that I’ve always loved.

They hurt each other because they care too much, they fight because they matter to each other, they can’t walk alway because the other is home.

Even hatred is still a feeling. It’s still an emotional investment. It still means the other person has power over you. And the Salvatores never stop giving each other that power. You cannot hate unless you care enough to hate, somewhere.

You don’t mourn someone you don’t love.

You don’t spend 150 years punishing yourself over someone you don’t love.

And they wouldn’t threaten if they did not love.

Their story was never about reconciliation and peace. Their story was about endurance, about loving someone so deeply even when it rots into resentment, even when it curdles into anger, it never disappears. Their love to each other is their commitment as brothers, no matter what happens to it.

They can fight like dogs, ruin each other, say they hate each other until the words lose meaning.

But in the end?? They would die for each other. Again, Stefan did.

Stefan died in sacrifice. Stefan died and allowed Damon to live a human life with Elena.

Honestly, as someone with siblings, the Salvatore brothers are painfully relatable.

Loving your sibling doesn’t mean liking them. It doesn’t mean having peace or understanding or even forgiveness. Sometimes it means screaming matches, even over something stupid. Sometimes it means saying some things that you cannot take back. Sometimes it means knowing exactly how to hurt each other because no one else knows you better.

But it also means no matter how bad it gets, there’s a like you won’t cross. A place you’ll always come back to. A loyalty that exists even when you don’t want it to.

You can walk away from lovers.

You can abandon friends.

But, at least in my case, siblings are practically stitched into you. My siblings are one of the only constants I can rely on, and I believe that to be the same for the Salvatore brothers in their own little fucked up way.

And that’s why they’ll truly never hate each other.

Because that kind of hatred requires distance that they would never allow.

They are, and have always been, brothers first and enemies second.

I love analyzing sibling relationships in media, especially as someone with multiple.