darkmoonjay

[darkmoonjay]

// The KATSEYE collaboration with Mattel / Monster High is sending me straight back to my middle school / high school days, ooof.

Anyway, uh... DARK MOON x Monster High crossover AU, possibly?

Hit me up if that's something you'd be interested in writing.

[darkmoonjay]

// I want to start writing threads on here very soon, y'all. I promise. I'm just still in the process of catching up on ENYPEN's in-universe lore and everything they've put out in the past 4/5 years.

Surprisingly, it's a lot.

[darkmoonjay]

// Tbh, after finishing The Blood Altar earlier this week and starting Children of Vamfield...

I think I'm going to be going more off the lore in the MVs and concept trailers/cinemas, with The Blood Altar as broad strokes.

IDK, the more I think about the webtoon, the more issues I have with how the story was handled. I know there's a webnovel version on Wattpad that's an alternate continuity, but it's locked behind a paywall and I'm not paying for Wattpad coins when I don't have the money for it.

Specifically: I'm more of an OT7 fan with Jay as my bias, so the focus on Heli and Sooha in the webtoon was incredibly annoying. Let the other boys get characterization and their time to shine!

And the more I think about it, the weirder it is that Heli/Heeseung is the leader in Dark Moon, when IRL it's Jungwon (Jakah). I mean, I get why the writers did this, sort of, because Heeseung is the oldest, but... Heeseung didn't want to be leader (he had enough of that during I-LAND and didn't want the pressure, so Jungwon was chosen).

Also, ehhhh, I wish they'd leaned more into the whole Sailor Moon angle than the Twilight Saga vampire-human-werewolf triangle (I hate Khan imprinting on Sooha during a lunar eclipse so, so very much when they'd barely interacted before then). I'm neutral on Sooha as a character (she's more a plot device than a character, tbh).

Admittedly, I'm also here for more of an equal focus on the ENHYPEN guys and them kicking ass and taking names with or without their powers (like they do more in their MVs and concept trailers/cinemas than the webtoon).

[darkmoonjay]

// a few things:

I absolutely love the thumbnail being a transformation sequence straight out of Sailor Moon, lmao

Jay randomly singing the Korean version of "My Heart Will Go On" every single time he gets a flying yoga pose right, lmao

Jake: "Focus, Jay." Jay: "Yes, sir." (I'm deceased.)

Heeseung hiding in the back before getting caught, lol

Ni-ki giving up after he falls out of the hammock once and spends the rest of the time watching from the sidelines

even the instructor is getting tired and out of breath dealing with these guys, lol

[darkmoonjay]

// Finally finished reading DARK MOON: The Blood Altar.

Now very tempted to try to put together a timeline using both the webtoon and the music videos and concept cinemas. (Since the webtoon clarifies on events that were shown in the MVs. Or... one interpretation of them, maybe?)

I still need to read the prequel Children of Vamfield. I'm pretty sure DARK MOON: The Grey City focuses specifically on &TEAM and their lore, which I haven't gotten into yet.

[darkmoonjay]

At the beginning of time, seven knights, sworn brothers under one moon, were cast out into the darkness. After endless years of exile, when the brothers finally reunite to choose the path of the moon, a dark green shadow shall blanket the field of river once again.

Vargr Mythology: Chapter 3: Prophesy (Dark Moon: The Blood Altar - Chapter 70: Series Finale)

[darkmoonjay]

[darkmoonjay]

This is drawing more on their RL dynamic, but Jay/Jaan is 100% the team dad of the group despite not being the leader (Dark Moon verse, that’s Heli/Heeseung; Idol/KPDH verse, that’s Jungwon/Jakah).

Since they only drink blood on their “bloody birthday” (usually; there’s been times where they laxed on that rule), Jay/Jaan tends to be responsible for cooking meals, making sure Ni-ki/Noa and Sunoo/Shion don’t ruin their appetites by snacking before lunch or dinner, and keeping their current house clean.

He doesn’t have it when Ni-ki/Noa plays the foreigner card—since he’s Korean-American himself and Ni-ki is Japanese.

[darkmoonjay]

// Last night I came across a video that argued “K-Pop Demon Hunters is a Christian movie, actually”, and…. I’m sorry, no.

Just… no.

The video creator was a white Christian from Canada, arguing this because the movie deals with shame and demons and viewed Gwi-Ma as a Satanic figure (while mispronouncing all the Korean names), and claiming that the universal concepts of shame and guilt and acceptance are automatically Christian in nature.

Fuck that.

This is an American movie set in Korea, with Korean diaspora and Koreans heavily involved in the writing, directing, production, and acting. There is heavy focus on Korean culture, folklore, and the K-pop industry. All the characters are Korean or are drawn from Korean folklore pre-dating Christianity.

The Hunters, specifically, originated as shamans—and were highly respected. They were not seen as evil (as I saw Christians claiming in the comments section that they were evil), and in fact these women used song and dance to protect the villages they lived in.

Gwi-Ma and the Saja Boys represent the darker, exploitative side of the K-pop industry. This was made pretty damn clear in the text of the movie itself.

Christianity is a minority religion in South Korea. 31% of the population identify as Christian. 11% of that are Catholic, with the remaining 20% as Protestant. Most of the South Korean population do not identify with any religion at all.

There is zero indication any of the main characters are Christian. Rumi struggles enough with her half-demon heritage before she finally accepts herself during "What It Sounds Like". Jinu himself became a demon in the 1600s, pre-dating the arrival of Christianity in South Korea during the late 1800s by at least 200 years.

Co-songwriter for "Your Idol", Ejae, deliberately drew on her experiences as a K-pop trainee for the song. During the sequence in the movie, the Saja Boys are dressed up as jeoseung saja, the Korean equivalent of the grim reaper. The lyrics have a modified version of the Dies irae and the line "Listen, cuz I'm preachin' to the choir, can I get the mic a little higher?", but this is nothing new for K-pop or K-dramas, which incorporate the aesthetics of Christianity for plot/drama and/or blend it with folklore. And, again, this film was made by a Western company for a primarily Western audience, who would automatically understand those two particular references. Idols in general pre-date Christianity and are used in several other religions as objects of worship to connect to the deities or spirits in question.

Christians in the comments section were saying that in interviews, people involved in the movie identified as Christian and that they had drawn on their experiences for writing the film, while never linking to these interviews. Everything I've been able to find online says that Maggie Kang (head writer) drew on Korean folklore, wanted to make a film deeply rooted in Korean culture, a love-letter to the K-pop industry, and they took great care to make sure that the details they included were culturally accurate. Absolutely fucking nowhere does Christianity as a religion or influence on the movie come up (that I've seen, anyway).

Just to be incredibly pedantic and petty: Netflix didn't make this movie (like the title of the video claims); SONY Animation Studios did. Netflix bought the rights and distributed it.

TL;DR: Christians living in the West do not get to claim this movie. It is not a Christian movie. Anybody who claims so is reaching and imposing their religion on a completely different culture, and I am so, so fucking tired of Christians forcing themselves on everything and anything that is Not Overtly Christian. "I am very uncomfortable when not about me."

[darkmoonjay]

// It’s very funny to me how Enha avoid graveyards, but they’ll go poking around abandoned building complexes no problem. 😂

And Heeseung, Jake, and Ni-ki have no problem with sacrificing their cameraman to the ghosts first. 💀

[darkmoonjay]

Some NSFW headcanons in honor of Sunday.

Jay is a soft Dom. He’ll only switch and be submissive with a partner he absolutely trusts.

Bisexual, leaning toward women.

His relationships with his adopted vampire brothers are… complicated, since they’re so close and have such a tight bond due to relying on only each other for over 220 years. (From the outside, people can’t tell if they’re a polycule or adopted siblings or what.)

Has done Shibari—prefers being the one tied up, but he knows how to safely tie someone, too.

Struggles with the desire to turn his lover into a vampire—though this depends on the closeness of their relationship.

[darkmoonjay]

Some random Jay / Jaan headcanons, because I felt like it and I'm still slowly reading through the DARK MOON: The Blood Altar webtoon. These are a mix of The Blood Altar canon and MV/concept cinemas canon.

While the vampire princes/lords allow themselves to feed only during their "bloody birthday" or a lunar eclipse, they have fed from humans before (sometimes their victims are transformed into vampires; other times they're left alive, and others? the boys will accidentally take too much and kill them). In the meantime, they have blood pouches that they have with them at all times. Sometimes it's animal blood; other times it's human blood they've stolen from a clinic.

Jay and the others are incredibly protective of Ni-ki/Noa, since he's the youngest. The quickest way to piss the group off and get them to kick your ass is by targeting their maknae.

Once Sooha arrives at Decelis Academy, he’s immediately drawn to her the same way the others are—but his feelings for her aren’t romantic. Once the guys discover their past as knights, Jay’s determined to protect her as best he can. He also bonds with her over them having the same ability of super strength.

He’s primarily worked as a taxi driver in the past, but the guys have also owned at least two different companies (and have their own private jet).

Jay has a temper, but it usually flares when he’s irritated by the others’ antics. He also doesn’t let his temper get away from him in a fight; instead, he channels his anger.

Loves music, and taught himself how to play the guitar when they were all holed up in Chloe’s house writing and preforming their songs for her.

[darkmoonjay]

ENHYPEN JAY 250607 Bad Desire @ Show! Music Core

[darkmoonjay]

Jay/Jaan + Decelis Academy uniform

[darkmoonjay]