#— meena rants

[nastasya--filippovna]

WHO IS CROWLEY AFTER THE FALL?

so there is a LOT of debate over who Crowley was before The Fall. I have seen a lot of headcanons going around the place saying he was Raphael or Kokabiel or Baraqiel.

I mean this is the Exhibit A for saying that Crowley is Baraqiel. I think NOT.

Because this is a handbook written by demons for demons. The title is literally (if my memory serves me right) a guide to angelic beings that walk the earth. SO Crowley is not That..

Other than the red hair thing, no other physical characteristic matches. This Baraqiel guy sounds like an absolute gremlin. grisly slug, occasionally damp. NOT CROWLEY. I mean she's the most dashing thing around.

NO. #3 It says CROWLEY one line above the name Baraqiel. If Crowley is Baraqiel then why would his demon name appear right under that?????

And I think somewhere Neil Gaiman refuted this theory (I'm not really sure but I think so plz don't come at me with pitchforks if I got it wrong). So.......

But this is all beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that too much has been said about who Crowley was before he fell. There is very little, if not none, that has been said about who he was After.

Some say that he's an insignificant demon or some loser guy in Hell or whatever the equivalent of an angel principality deputy on Earth is.

I BEG TO DIFFER.

He is Important. Just look at the kind of assignments he's given. Original Sin, Major Historical Temptations and Evil Acts, Delivering the Antichrist and bringing about Armageddidn't.

But who is he exactly??????????

So canonically we're never told what Crowley's rank in Hell is. But there are more that enough hints for us to figure that out for ourselves.

But where does one place him when the hierarchy is so complex and varying across different historical and theological sources.

Such as here:

I have been thinking about this and I have two current theories

Crowley is Astaroth

Crowley is The Leviathan

I'll discuss only one in this post. I'll save the other for the next post.

Now book!Omens clearly tells us that Crowley or Crawley is not his real demonic name. For those who haven't read the book this happens when Hastur Lavista and Ligur come to hand over the antichrist to Crowley in the churchyard and as he's about to sign his name as "Crowley" they tell him to sign his real demonic name.

Are you with me?!!!!!

NANNY ASHTORETH!

Why did she use this particular name for her nanny disguise. What if...... what if this IS her real demon name.

A lot of my real life friends are annoyed beyond measure by my constant ranting about etymologies, origin and construction of discourse and epistemology, especially when it comes to presenting my thesis over how all Abrahamic religions and their symbology and iconography is, how do I put it, inspired from pagan religions that they expunged. I mean the concept of angles, the man shaped being with wings that is actually just a ball of fire or eyes or hale discs or sth is a pagan Persian concept.

Back to the matter at hand.

Ashtoreth, Astaroth, Astarte, Ishtar, are all the same name in different dialects and languages. All of these refer to a certain Babylonian goddess. When the People of God probably cleansed off all the infidels they decided to literally demonize their god and name a demon after her. In Milton's Paradise Lost Astaroth is one of the three princes or Grand Dukes of Hell alongside Beelz and Lucifer. If this theory might be true Crowley is a Prince/Grand Duke of Hell.

Now this gets even more interesting. Ashtoreth, Astarte, whatever you may, is a goddess of fertility and is associated with childcare. I mean at this point I just stopped to marvel at the attention to detail that Mr. Gaiman's work hold, the smallest hidden meanings in the storytelling.

Another thing. The Babylonians built these temples called ziggurats to worship Astarte and they looked something like this

and this

they were also known as sky temples.

Because Astaroth was first and foremost the goddess of stars and the Babylonians were stargazers and the temples were constructed as a stairway to heaven to take them closer to the stars and functioned as an observatory at times.

I'm just imagining Crowley turning up in ancient Babylon and with her other-worldly looks, knowledge of the stars and compassion for children they just..... started to worship her.

Before the Christians came and declared them pagans and the rest is history.

Continued in next post for the second theory......

[mistywaves98]

Ngl this idea has been plaguing my mind for sooo long

Like basically a modern au and it's scara and a reader who's a nerd and also a creep (for him). Basically he's a student that you're obsessed with and that obsession goes deep like you've done horrendous or downright perverted things because of your 'love' for him.

And the thing is that he's actually very aware of your little 'crush' on him and he knows how badly you want him (you suck at hiding your feelings). And he likes to tease you abt it likeee he'll purposely wear his clothes in a way where you can glimpse his skin underneath or he's drinking something and he makes a show of his lips wrapping around the straw and sucking the liquid out and then smirks when he sees your mesmerized, blushing face. And he likes to bully tease you for it, making you more and more desperate for his cock until he finally corners you and rails your brains out 🥰🥰

Damn this is way longer than I intended it to be

[meenawrites]

Seo Yul Deep Dive–Part 2

SO I am back while in class but the professor's not here yet so whatever.

I've clearly been browsing the Seo Yul tag here and I've seen some opinions that really shock me so I hope I can address them here and in future posts.

First of all, we start Part 2 with Yul finally returning from Seoho Fortress after having been forced to leave three years ago.

Guys, he has been SUFFERING from this blood parasite FOR THREE YEARS! So of course, he looks kind of sickly when he arrives. I honestly don't know how he's been holding in there this long.

We also find out that So-I, despite being able to escape now that the blood parasite is no longer in her, is actually opting to stay Jin Mu's little puppet or pawn and let him believe she still has the blood parasite all so she can continue to receive medicine for said parasite and send it to Yul, which is kind of heartbreaking actually and kind of redeeming for her character. (I have a lot to say about her but that may be for another post, we'll see).

So Seo Yul comes back to Daeho Fortress, reunites with his friends, and it's like something clicks back into place for our favorite trio.

We know that Danggu was feeling kind of uncomfortable with Uk not because of the ice stone exactly but he just doesn't know how to talk to him with everything that happened three years ago weighing on their shoulders; which is fair, it was A LOT. But as soon as Yul comes back, it's like they all know how to act together once again.

I really wanted to point this out because I think traditionally a lot of people might find Yul's character kind of boring because of how quiet and strict he is with himself AND HE'S NOT. And we can see that by how his mere presence brings the trio back together, that they start to talk and joke around again as soon as he just makes an appearance. It really highlights how core he is to their friendship, not just an accessory. Yes, his two friends are louder and more lively than him, but because Seo Yul is so quiet and reserved, when he does choose to make a joke or tease it has that much more impact. To top it off you can just FEEL how much he loves his friends and I really think these are two main factors in why Uk and Danggu love him so much. Seo Yul is central to their group, always has been, and he has been looking out for Danggu and Uk his entire life.

Moving on though, we have Seo Yul meeting Jin Buyeon/Naksu, and all of their interactions in the show (prior to him finding out she's Naksu) are ADORABLE! I think they really highlighted once more that Yul and Naksu would always gravitate towards each other in some way because their relationship/bond goes way deeper than anything romantic.

Like yes Yul's care for Naksu has always had a romantic connotation, but his regard for her went way deeper than that. I don't quite know how to articulate it but I think overall he really respected and cared about her as a PERSON just with romantic undertones, not necessarily an all consuming romance. And I think Naksu feels the same way. There is something in Yul that brings her comfort and she likes spending time with him, but it's also never been precisely defined that she loves him romantically. Again, I think there are definitely romantic undertones, even on Naksu's side (made clear by how often she emphasizes how handsome he is) but I think above all her regard for Yul is a lot deeper and purer than that. He is someone who gave her shiny and happy memories in the midst of a life that was anything but happy. This kid showed her that people CAN be unconditionally kind, that people could still be good at a time I think was very important for her, and I think frankly Seo Yul does that for a lot of people. He just constantly reminds people in his attitude and actions that unconditional kindness and care does still exist and he's a prime example of that.

So yes they gravitate towards each other again without remembering the other for a while and it's precious to watch. They frankly just enjoy each other's company, and I absolutely love the scene of them agreeing to be "foolish friends". Might do a whole other post on that scene but yeah.

Let's move on to the agony of Yul's character arc this season.

As we know, the aftermath of the tragedy of season 1 DEEPLY affected Yul. He has no idea that Naksu/Mudeok was controlled into going wild and killing so many people. All he knows is that she went wild, killed Jang Uk and ruined Danggu and Choyeon's happiness. It's his ultimate failure in his point of view. It's been drilled into him that soul shifters are unnatural, that they will inevitably cause great harm, but he elected to ignore that not only for Naksu's sake but also for Jang Uk's sake. He had been watching over her actions all of season 1 both because he cannot stay away from her but also probably to ascertain whether she would really be a threat.

And right when he'd made the decision to leave her alone, to let her and Jang Uk be happy, that maybe the absolute rules he's been taught to believe in unconditionally can be broken, everything he'd feared in letting Naksu/Mudeok continue to live came true.

So OBVIOUSLY he's consumed with guilt. Because he knew exactly who she was for so long, knew that she was a soul shifter, knew the risks and his duties that weigh so heavily upon him, but elected to ignore them for his own feelings, his own moral compass that for once was disagreeing with this set of absolute rules he abides by. And in his view, everyone he loves has paid for his inaction and his decision to let her be.

Like just think about it from his POV, he feels like it's all his fault, especially more so because we know that Yul (and literally every adult around him) holds himself to a very high standard, so his guilt is just that much more intense.

This is why he's letting himself die silently by the blood parasite. This is why he never took the medication even though his pain throughout the last three years must have been so so bad. Because he feels like he deserves it. He's punishing himself, and he thinks he should die for the role he played in the tragedy of season 1.

Yul is someone who feels everything very deeply, and from the way he takes everything upon himself, we can infer that Yul's never had anyone who actually takes care of HIS inner world and HIS feelings. We don't know much about his parents, but from the few family members we have seen –his aunt and uncle – no one seems to care much for him and his feelings. Reinforced by the fact that he's the only heir and the way all the adults treat him, I have to believe that Yul grew up largely having to take care of himself in the emotional aspect. An he grew up, emphasis was heavily put on responsibility and duty as the next head of the Seo family. Combine that with what usually happens with children who act more mature and are more obedient than others -> adults LOVE you. And for someone like Yul who I have to believe didn't really have that emotional support that any child should have from their parents and adults in their life, I think that was just more incentive to cling to this good boy title of his, to foster his absolutist sense of morality that he was being taught, and striving to be as responsible as possible.

That's where his self-flagelating attitude comes from, and that's the kind of background we can infer from the way he acts and reasons through his feelings.

So yes, he was going to let himself die no matter how stupid that is because he thought it was only right.

When he discovers that Jin Buyeon is really Naksu but without her memories, he's in moral agony once again. Because on the one hand he is so so happy she is still alive, but on the other, all that trauma from what happened when she went wild last season is brought right back to the surface (as if he isn't constantly thinking about it already).

And we can see that in the scene where upon discovering it, he just hugs her and asks to stay like that for a while. He cannot believe she is standing in front of him but he is also deeply sad because he feels like she and Uk are destined for tragedy once again (especially with him again not knowing that Mudeok/Naksu was hypnotized last season into going wild, it now feels like an inevitability, a certified truth that the tragedy will repeat itself eventually).

And this time, Uk DOESN'T KNOW. So in Yul's mind, he thinks that that's better, that this is an opportunity afforded him to correct his mistake from last season, and again take care of everyone else's happiness aside from his own.

This combined with how sick he is from the blood parasite I believe largely contribute to his plan to kill Jin Buyeon/Naksu in Danhyangeok. But he also cannot live knowing he did that to her and also Jang Uk. He feels like this is the right choice for everyone's future happiness in the long term, but it will destroy him. So instead of killing her and then just waiting to die, he plans to kill both of them. Infuriating from the viewer's side but totally understandable from his perspective and disposition.

But then we have So-I who is ready to do anything to save Yul, and he ends up being not only discovered but on the verge of death. And So-I dies trying to protect him. Once again, he's just in moral agony because someone has died for him when he was resolute on killing himself. He thought that would be the best course of action for everyone, was convinced, but then someone new dies specifically for him and he's in distress again. What is the right choice? What should I have done?

And when Uk comes to his rescue and grabs him by the back of his neck, we can see just how in despair he is. His "I'm sorry" to Uk is an apology not for dying here and needing to be rescued but for so many other things. For his inaction last season, for having run like a coward to Seoho Fortress for 3 years (in his opinion), for knowing that Jin Buyeon is Naksu and not being able to tell him, for knowing who she is and not being able to protect Uk from pain at her side. For so many things and it's so so heartbreaking.

When Yul is healed and saved, he honestly just doesn't even know what to do anymore, what the right thing to do is. Jin Buyeon/Naksu has saved him, which then makes him feel guilty for planning to kill her in the first place. But he also can't see any way out of a repeat tragedy. Basically his moral compass is going haywire.

Side note: we were totally robbed of the trio reuniting with Seo Yul and then scolding him for being an idiot. Might fuck around and write another Missing Scene oneshot for that.

But then he finds out that Naksu's soul is going to disappear anyway. And he's again conflicted (I swear my man can never catch a break). On the one hand, he's very sad that Naksu is going to disappear out of this world, just gone without ever having been happy. On the other hand, he's relieved because he thinks that with her disappearance no tragedy will occur. Furthermore, the body will be returning to the soul of its original owner which is morally correct by all standards.

So all he can hope for now is for Naksu to be happy with the time she has left with the person she loves. He even goes and threatens Jin Hogyeong (which is not something he would ever normally do) just to give her the chance to be happy with the time she has left. (I'm sobbing yall, I love him).

But then, thanks to Heo Yunok (was very upset with her this season), that all goes to shit because she exposes Naksu right when Uk is finally admitting he's fallen for Jin Buyeon/Naksu, that she's finally going to be happy. And now she remembers everything and how she essentially screwed up the happiness of not only the love of her life Jang Uk (who she LITERALLY KILLED like I can't imagine having to deal with that) but also everyone else she cared about. So she decides to distance herself.

And Seo Yul is just there talking to both of them like won't you use your disappearance as an excuse to be together? Even for a little while? Because damn it they deserve to be happy and they're both so dear to him. And he's just sad once again because the world seems intent on hurting these two people he loves so much.

Now lowkey this is where I feel like the writers kind of failed Seo Yul. Take this with a grain of salt though because they had a limited amount of episodes, so all things considered, they did a great job.

But after all his suffering, Seo Yul didn't really get an emotional payoff. Like yes we see him become in charge of the training center in Songrim and he's going to institute a new and fairer system for training mages. But what really would have been good for him and his character would be for it to be pounded into his head how much his friends care about him, how he doesn't have to suffer alone, how he's not guilty of everything he feels guilty of. For someone to recognize finally how much of a burden he has on his shoulders and show him that he doesn't have to shoulder it alone.

I don't think I'm articulating this properly, but I wanted and needed everyone important to Yul to step up after him almost dying to knock some sense into him, to realize how truly fucked up it is for someone to feel so responsible and guilty and self-sacrificing as to just be willing to die in silence. That's why a scene where Danggu and Uk scold the shit out of him would have been necessary, should definitely have happened. He needs some emotional healing and to realize that people in his life are ready to be aggressively there for him.

Just after this incident, his friends constantly coming to check up on him. Like are you good? Your feelings aren't going crazy, right? You don't feel irrationally guilty for something out of your control, right?

I lowkey have way more to say about Yul and his relationship with other people but that's for a different post.

All in all, I'm super glad that Seo Yul found his own path at the end of the season. I think reforming Jeojjingak (if that's what it's called) is his own way of paving the future so that people like Cho Yeon and So-I who had unlucky lots in life have more of a fair chance in the future.

I clearly love this character A LOT.

Congrats to anyone who actually made it this far.

[juneviews]

nah bro, I still can't believe show me love actually delivered me a femme bi4bi sapphic show where they're actually a super healthy & adorable ship... and the main actress is openly bisexual????? I cannot help but stan!!!

[vixx-ari]

no body can tell me Meena Abigail Elephant, the same gal who was literally nervous to perform infront of her own FAMILY at the beginning of Sing (2016)

The same gal who froze and was close to hyperventilating because she missed her cue in an audition to a talent show she ACTUALLY wanted to do

The same gal who was willing to bake pastries to ask for another chance to achieve her dream because she actually REALLY wants to do it.

The same gal who got a second chance of achieving her dream and still was held back by her fear of performing, even though she REALLY wants to do it.

The same gal that tried to enlighten the spark in Buster again that he enlightened in HER after everything that happend like, a week before??

The SAME gal who ENLIGHTENED the spark in Buster again COMPLETELY unintentionally by just doing what she loved without shame despite the same guy who enlightened her spark discouraged her after everything that happend (because she actually really wanted to do it)

THE same gal who after everything was still genuinely petrified and froze with the idea of performing to 100s of animals live (even though she really wants to do it)

THE SAME GAL who after EVERYTHING took her boss' (father figure's) hand, took his advice, got up on that fragile stage, still really scared as hell, starts singing and blows the whole place AWAY(literally)

THE SAME EFFING GAL who kept on pursuing her dream, stuck with the theatre fam, got herself in Redshore City, was expected to perform in a romance song without having "a boyfriend or anything like that", expected to do said romance with a guy who seems like a self centered and stupid dickhead, meets a cute ice-cream guy, is still a bit awkward and shy so she can't really talk to him, said icecream guy sits in the front row of her big performance IN Redshore City, imagines self centered and dumb dick head as a completely different guy who is actually her ice cream guy so she can go on with the performance while also really enjoying it, actually asks cute ice cream guy out finally, left Red Shore City with a brand new potential BF AND getting to perform at the Majestic Theatre, all in number 3 weeks.

Look me in the eye and tell me she is a pick me girl. Look at me, genuinely and TELL ME she's a pick me girl. Tell me this lovely elephant, this absolute goddess, this wonderful girl is a pick me girl. Tell me she's stupid, cringe, annoying, whatever bad insult that's in the human vocab. Sit here and tell me that Meena isn't the immaculate goddess she is:

[otakugoddes]

You know...if you look really closely at the main characters of Sing and know their personalities and how their everyday life was before they competed in the competition, you'd find that the songs they sang were perfect for them.

Rosita and Gunther- Shake It Off (Taylor Swift)

Johnny- I'm Still Standing (Elton John)

Mike- I Did It My Way (Frank Sinatra)

Ash- Set It All Free (btw best comeback for her after her bf cheated. Asshole)

Meena- Don't You Worry Bout A Thing (Tori Kelly)

And Moon knew of their potential, especially Meena, Rosita, Ash and Johnny...who all needed to break free and see it themselves.

Moon fr the best.

[alhaithamhabibi]

.

[hoperays-song]

Random Brain Dump Style World Building PT.3

Clay likes astronomy and all things space related. He was super excited when he found out the show was sci-fi and set in space.

In Sing 2, Johnny is taking a gap year after graduating High School.

Rosita and Norman are registered foster parents but Johnny was the only child they had been able to take in for a few years due to their own kids being so young.

Ash’s middle name is Gabriella, which so happens to have also been the name of Clay’s sister.

Stan has a degree in Communications and has worked in HR (AR? IDK) before.

Barry is the most protective over Johnny out of the two uncles because Johnny reminds him of a younger version of himself.

Ryan loves books and literature and will go on rants about them if he’s given the chance.

Darius and Harry the Hypnotist are roommates and have been dating for two years by Sing 2.

Nooshy has an older bio brother who moved back to Canada and is currently raising their two younger siblings. Nooshy is still in contact with them.

Nana Noodleman has essentially honorarily adopted the Moon Theatre Trio (Ash, Johnny, and Meena) as her Great-Grandchildren and treats them as such.

Hobbs, Nana’s butler, is treated much more like her little brother by her and they are pretty close.

During Pride Month, the entire theatre is covered in decorations and Mrs. Crawly puts rainbows and each person’s specific pride flags on all the handouts and pamphlets for the theatre (with their permission of course).

Nancy and Mike got married after Sing 1 and moved away. They now have a newborn son named Francesco or Frankie for short.

Darius’s middle name is Jetsan, which is a Tibetan name that means king or emperor.

Nancy actually keeps somewhat in contact with the troupe on behalf of her family, which is mostly sending them updates on Frankie, but she does actually know all their names and sends them Christmas Cards.

After Sing 2. Meena chooses to finish High School online so she could do the show.

Both Buster and Ash are Lactose Intolerant.

While the troupe all met Eddie during the Sing 1 performance, they did not know him and Buster were dating until they got engaged later in the year because Buster just forgot he never said anything.

Rosita met Norman in college and got married three years afterwards.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

How on earth can these producers think these episodes are a worthy way to celebrate the shows 50th! It's honestly embarrassing. From the bypass crash to this!

It's so bad. They just do not know how to do big weeks.

Home Farm Week when Kim returned? Awful The actual Big Night Out episode? So boring The boat explosion for the Nate reveal? Absurd The Meena SSW? I mean...vaguely amusing because camp Meena is fun but as far as actual stunts and storytelling go? Not good

Graham's death week might be the only halfway decent big week they did and they ruined that by spoiling who it was.

to quote scrapyard rant Robert, "Literally a failure at everything"

It's just so poorly set up. All of these isolated groups and pairs of people, all of these isolated stunts. It's too scattered. There's no through line or big story to anchor it. It's all just random occurrences. Nothing feels cohesive. And you're never spending enough time with one set of characters to really feel any kind of tension or impact.

They would have been better off having everyone gather for Faith's funeral or something and having the storm hit. That would have gotten the most varied set of characters in one place and you could have had multiple stories reach a climax. The Chas and Al affair, the Mac cheating story, Amelia having her baby, Naomi saving Nicola or something, Will ultimately choosing Harriet and they die together, Liv dying. It could have worked fairly well if they were all in one location. Or maybe like one of those groups was out in the storm but at least not having all of these different random things going on at once.

Like the 40th live episode. You had two dueling weddings where all of the characters were and you had the Chas/Cameron affair driving the action with Carl trying to expose them and one big death. You can argue that they shouldn't have killed Carl but the episode itself was really well done and all the tension leading up to Carl's death was so good.

Hell, they could have had Faith's funeral and Kim and Will's wedding on the same day and done it that way. Something to anchor it. 

Ughhhh...I hate these producers so much.

eta: I do feel like the Leanna death stuff was mostly well done too. But that was largely related to Jonny McPherson’s preformance as Liam. 

[blazlngblade]

Still really hate that someone like Nicola was listed to be Mid Teens (~14-16) in the recent radio show. (I follow a twitter who is a Nicola fan, and they've been going off on how great it is that she's this young, hence why I am ranting about this on tumblr, not twitter)

Basically, I cannot take it seriously when we got these ones at "Late Teens" (~17-19) that are older than Nicola.

Or that characters like the octuplets, Meena, or Largo that are around the same age as Nicola, apparently.

I just can't... Ages, they are so frustrating. On one hand, I love to know them, on the other, gosh... Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

[hushabye10101lunacy]

So got around to see the new sing movie and uhhh...why did buster moon had meena partnered with a 30 year old man?

The script in the show said that Meena's part is a romance scene and they couldn't get a guy her age? Dude didn't even bothered to know her name or seem bothered in general that's he's probably gonna kiss a teenager.

They didn't thankfully in the end but it's still weird

[nastasya--filippovna]

Reading again for the ineffablenth time.

Hits different after season 2.

I needs a hard copy. I needs it. Weird that I have the beautiful TV Companion but I don't have a hard copy of my favoritest book of all time.

[tirsu]

Aaaand Meena’s back. Of course. Fuck, it was too good to be true that she left.

Anyhoo. I don’t really ship Mack and Charity anymore. Now that Vanessa’s back Charity has made it clear that she’s just using Mack. I really like Mack and I want him to be happy. But I don’t want to Charity and Vanessa back together anymore. Charity seems to forget other people when trying to win Vanessa back. Ignoring Ryan’s calls... and then being mad when nobody told her sooner that Irene died. Geez, it’s not like they didn’t try but you were so focused on Vanessa that you weren’t interested.

Also, plese Emmerdale. Don’t put Vinny and Liv back together. Vinny had to deal with one addict (who almost killed him), he doesn’t need to deal with another. They can be friends, but couple - no.

I’m not even starting with Manpreet and Charles. I’ll say two things: big nope to that pairing and Manpreet’s stupid letting Rishi go - he was only one who thought her missing was suspicion.

I’m hoping that Billy and Dawn will work out all the things and get happily married. They’re cute and lovely couple. But damn, am I afraid that Meena will kill one or the other.

[bareillykibarfis]

finished “kota factory”, and i just.. cannot stop crying. it’s such a beautiful series, and shows what goes in the lives of students who are preparing for entrance exam perfectly. the casting is A+. just.. wow. an absolute must watch.

[yejiroh]

Idk man I just really hate the feeling of nostalgia.

[nesorune]

headcanon that ryan follows buster & family to the moon theater and asks to join

however his singing needs work. and guess who walks in at the perfect time? johnny. so, after the initial surprise of seeing each other, moon asks johnny to help ryan with his singing and they bond through their shared love for both singing and dancing

obviously, johnny is elated to help teach his former dance partner, and is eager to start right away. the two get close fairly easily, and ryan is quickly accepted into the group. however, after a while, johnny and ryan’s friendship spawns some complicated feelings among the two

johnny falls in love first but ryan realizes first. johnny just thinks that these feelings he’s having are natural with someone you’re close to - while ryan, although falling in love later, realizes almost immediately that he’s crushing on his best friend

the two end up asking nooshy about these feelings 1 by 1. johnny asks what they are and ryan asks if he should act on them; nooshy immediately connects the dots and starts playing cupid, getting the others to help as well. eventually it gets to the point where they become blushing messes when someone even mentions the other

so now they’ve started avoiding each other. eventually the others realize and nooshy conspires to get them back together with a group outing to a carnival (with meena, alfonso, porsha, ash, ryan, johnny and herself). after meeting up and hanging out for a while, johnny sees meena and alfonso being all lovey dovey and is like. i want that

thats when it clicks for johnny. he imagines himself and ryan holding hands, hugging, you name it; and he can’t get his mind off of it. he eventually wanders off for a bit in an attempt to clear his mind and starts singing some love song in an empty skate park. the group sends ryan to find him

ryan knows where johnny is already, but when he hears singing, he’s drawn in. eventually, ryan ends up singing along, and johnny doesn’t notice until he opens his eyes and sees ryan next to him. startled, he tries to play it cool (failing miserably) and ryan sees through it easy

the sun’s setting. ryan asks why johnny left so suddenly, and johnny ends up ranting to ryan about these feelings he has and what he’s realized. ryan, feeling the same, empathizes with johnny (at this point they both know the other’s in love but johnny doesn’t know that ryan is in love with HIM and vice versa)

after talking for about 30 minutes, johnny (obliviously) asks ryan who his feelings are for. ryan gets tired of having to deal with keeping it from johnny and outright tells him

“i’m in love with you, johnny.” a million things start running through johnny’s mind.

(he’s in love with me? what will the others say? what will my dad think?) johnny is a wreck at this point, and the only word he can get out is “me?” he turns to look at ryan and realizes this is exactly what he wanted. for a moment he’s silent. then johnny gathers his courage and responds -

“…i think i’m in love with you too.”

it feels almost natural for johnny to say that, and for a moment it feels like a giant weight is lifted off his back - until he realizes what he’s said. “i mean, you know, i’ve been thinking about it and it’s okay if you don’t want to do anything but-”

ryan stops him quickly by standing up and holding out his hand, looking at johnny so lovingly. johnny hesitantly takes it and they walk back to the group hand in hand. now porsha, who came searching for the two (they were taking ages to return!), informs the group about it and tells them to stay chill

the group ends up coming back together and getting on a ferris wheel; at the top, the boys share a kiss. it’s dark by then, so the gang leaves after that. the two fall asleep together during the car ride and nooshy snaps a picture or two of them before waking them up when they’ve made it home