#Will definitely reflect in forming my own opinions and I don't want that

[theultracharmingladynoire]

This has been a rant building up for a while now and I just need to put it in here but it's that. I remember the joy and excitement I felt when I watched y/o/i ep 1 - 10 because I literally. Knew nothing about the show except for the fact it was gay?? dvsjgshd but it just was so GOOD but then I. Came across a couple of interpretations of ep 11-12 (which I hadn't watched by then so I had no idea what went down) which was just people being disappointed, people thinking the ending was changed for a season 2, people thinking it was out of nowhere (especially V/ictor's comeback?? I guess??) And that really. messed up my perception of the show?? Like upto then I was forming my own interpretations of the characters and after this I. Was lowkey scared to watch the last two episodes because I was afraid of it being bad™ (if that even makes sense) and then one day even when I did watch them I didn't watch them properly?? Like I even missed a lot of scene and dialogue because I was too nervous about what I had read about it before.

And like. I don't even think those interpretations are entirely wrong for record. I understand that especially when there was a whole week between episodes and when the fandom was so huge and active people might have a very different viewing experience which directly plays into how they interpreted the character arcs! And those interpretation are extremely valid even though I disagree with them. The show definitely leaves a lot upto intrepretation of the viewers so there isn't any interpretation that is necessarily wrong™ (Idk how to phrase this sorry)

But it's just that I wasn't able to form MY own interpretation properly because I was influenced by others' ?? (In lack of a better way to word it) and I just. I've been mulling over this for a whole MONTH and going back and forth and back about the ending. And it just feels very draining when I go out to look for meta and people who had opinions similar to mine and find...like what ten people?? it kind of makes me feel like I am looking at things wrong, and that probably the finale WAS just bad or whatever (which seems to be a more common idea in what I've seen)

I do think there were pacing issues, and I do think the character arcs CAN be interpreted differently than what they are in the finale but I also am a bit sad that not many people tried to recontextualise the show in light of the finale (again, it isn't a MUST But I really wish people tried to if I am making sense?)

And it's sad because I know this can be fun if I just created my own bubble without all the meta and opinions I disagree with but it's hard when that is somehow always what I come across? And I KNOW I should stop reading a post when I see that it may suggest something towards the opinions that I disagree with (because that'll just waste my energy), but then what if I AM wrong? What if those posts are right and I am willingly closing my eye towards what the characters originally are or something?? Is what perplexes me out and really makes me sort of nervous and uneasy(?)

And now it is getting worse and I feel like I am slowly losing all the love I had for this show and it absolutely SUCKS because I just want to enjoy this silly little show and now this is all....just a mess

[justanotherwriter140]

Kung Fu Panda 4 - The Movie

The last really, really long discussion post (for now).

Major spoilers ahead!

This review is full of spoilers, so please refrain from reading through it until you've watched KFP4. I would highly suggest doing so, as I want everyone to form their own opinions without my influence. The movie has its flaws (some of which admittedly being a bit distracting), but it's a fun film that has things to offer.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is a fun movie (take that as you will) that takes its audience on an action-packed, surprisingly funny, yet relatively contained adventure on which Po doesn't really do much. It's an inconsequential, safe sequel that doesn't really hurt the franchise but adds close to nothing.

I had a good time watching the movie. It was obviously produced with its theater experience in mind and the action scenes especially reflected that priority. The humor was actually funny sometimes and I enjoyed Po and Zhen's dynamic. During the film, I was able to put most (most!) of my grievances aside and take the movie for what it is. I've discovered that the best way to watch KFP4 is with low expectations and an open mind.

I have a lot of things to say about KFP4, both complaints and compliments (though the former might be taking the forefront in this review), and I hope this review can help those of you who have seen the movie organize your thoughts. I've been having a lot of trouble with that specific aspect of things myself. Those who get it get it.

With that said, let's get into my full review of KFP4! I've been waiting for nearly 2 years to write this and I'm so excited to share every single thought.

I'm going to follow the format of my first discussion post and curate a bulleted list of my thoughts, followed by an analysis of each of these points. Keep in mind that everything I say is IMO and this is more of a rant post than anything else.

Here are my main points:

The Furious Five's role is comically minuscule in the context of the film. Their actions are inconsequential and add nothing to the plot (a confirmed last-minute add), and they have 30~ seconds of screen time. Shifu is also largely irrelevant.

Mr. Ping and Li's presence has little to no effect on the movie (though I won't complain too much because they were pretty fun to watch and this movie has bigger problems). In almost any scenario, I am adamantly against having characters present that don't add anything to the narrative; however, Mr. Ping is an exception. I love Mr. Ping. James Hong is a gem.

Zhen's screen time is not utilized well and her character is underdeveloped. She definitely wasn't annoying, but I didn't find her either compelling or funny enough to warrant the screen time she was given, especially considering it wasn't used to establish a backstory/strong motives. This makes me feel bad for the character because the movie kind of screwed her out of any substantial development.

The Chameleon, while complimented greatly by Viola Davis, is an underwhelming villain. Viola Davis is amazing in this film and I would suggest watching it for her performance if for nothing else, but the Chameleon is underwhelming considering the super cool concept behind the character.

The film feels very rushed. Apologies to those who disagree, but I think the pacing is atrocious and the final fight is anticlimactic. The movie felt like a word-vomit with no discernible intermissions that stops abruptly when the film ends.

I felt as though Po didn't change/grow as a person and the audience never had a chance to either bond with or relate to his character. His internal struggle is kept to a minimum and we don't spend a moment alone with him as an audience, which is disorienting and distracting. Watching the film felt like running into an old friend at the store who's too in a rush to have a real conversation.

The action scenes were strong with few exceptions. Creative art direction was utilized and I thought the martial arts choreography was entertaining and dynamic. I love the color palette of the film and many scenes were very impressive visually.

With my main points established, I do believe it's ranting time. Strap in, folks.

Let's start strong with the Furious Five: I'm gutted. Chagrined, despondent, crestfallen, etc.

The lack of the Furious Five negatively affects KFP4 so much, because not only does their absence hurt the atmospheric integrity of KFP as a franchise, it also forces KFP4 to bring in a slew of different characters—all while still noncommittally including the FF at the very end because I believe the marketing team required it—that clog up the cast a bit. It all goes to show how important strong, established side characters are.

The Furious Five are side characters, but the role of "side character" does not equate to being irrelevant, expendable, or exchangeable. I recognize that the Furious Five aren't super developed as characters beyond a handful of lines that allude to traits sprinkled sparingly among the members; however, I believe that the tiny bits of development we have been given have proved impactful in the past. Tigress's development in KFP2 is a prime example of how much narratively conscious changes (however small they may be) can positively affect these movies.

Because of limited runtimes, the Furious Five often operate as more of a singular unit than five individuals. Even so, I don't think discarding them is valid. They're so important to the KFP universe (to Po's universe!) and not having them with him feels so wrong. The Furious Five are fully integral to the heart of Kung Fu Panda, which is why I believe a lot of those who have seen the new movie have expressed something feeling "off" or something being missing.

I agree with this sentiment. To me, KFP4 didn't feel like a KFP movie. I don't need a Furious Five spin-off movie and I can be fully content with a KFP5 centered around Po's journey as an individual as was intended from the beginning, but he can't carry an entire movie on his back. As strong as he is in every sense of the word, he is only one character. He's the centerpiece of the franchise, but a centerpiece can only go so far without the rest of the design, so to speak.

For me, the Furious Five's absence is one of this film's biggest faults. It's huge and glaring. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, either, because the friends with whom I saw the film refused to talk about any other aspect of the movie after seeing it. Seeing them at the end was better than nothing, of course, but it was a disappointing culmination after eight years of waiting.

That all is to say I feel robbed. Despite all of this, though, I understand that there were reasons why the Furious Five weren't included in the movie. I don't believe the production team would exclude the Furious Five unless they weren't given a choice.

Shifu and Po's dynamic continues to be thoroughly delightful but their interactions are short and simplified. I would have loved to see more of them in this film, especially considering the extreme relevance of teacher-student relationships in KFP4. I (somewhat) digress, though, because the idea of Shifu having to live at the Jade Palace with only Po for an extended period of time is hilarious enough on its own. Maybe that's what the short film is about!

The comedy is odd but has some jokes that stand out. Po maintains a healthy relationship with his inner sass, which I think makes him more fun to watch and kind of eradicates the man-child verdict. Some jokes don't land, of course, but I genuinely thought KFP4 had some funny moments. Mr. Ping was consistently awesome and Po had some good lines sprinkled throughout the film.

As for Mr. Ping, he and Li Shan are the subjects of the film's B-plot as they follow Po to Juniper City out of shared concern for their son's safety. In my mind, they don't add anything to the story that couldn't have been brought about by other characters, but they had their moments of being entertaining. I enjoyed their silliness and thought they had a cute dynamic if nothing else.

Speaking of other characters, I want to discuss KFP4's deuteragonist and why I genuinely feel bad about the way her character was treated.

I want to let it be known that I'm still not on board with Po passing the Dragon Warrior torch to another character. While I agree that his arc is now calling for him to have a student, I disagree with the notion of him retiring from his DW role.

As I stated in my first discussion post:

Didn’t the initial significance and nuance of the title come from the fact that there is only one person who can be the Dragon Warrior, because the concept of the “Dragon Warrior” isn’t so much a title as it is Po himself? The universe (Oogway) must choose the Dragon Warrior because they are a singular being of legend. It is one person, and that person is Po. Wasn’t the point of the first film that the title ultimately doesn’t really matter because there is no “secret ingredient,” so to speak? The title doesn’t actually give Po anything. “It’s just you,” Po says, and that was the resolution.

When it comes to Zhen as a character, contrary to what I predicted I would think of her, I thought she was okay. While I was still a bit distracted by how out-of-place her design looks, I wasn't truly annoyed by her at any point and she and Po had some cute moments. Even so, I think their relationship could have been a bit more refined and developed.

While it's evident that Po and Zhen are meant to have a teacher-student/mentor-apprentice dynamic, I think their relationship feels half-baked. There were parallels that contradicted one another and ended up being confusing come the film's conclusion, and the nature of their relationship seems to vacillate depending on the scene. Additionally, the strength of their bond goes from zero to one hundred within thirty-ish minutes and left me with a bit of whiplash.

We're shown that Po and Zhen care about one another, but we're never shown why. They have a brief conversation during which they bond over being orphans, and Zhen says at one point, "You're actually a good guy," but that's it. This obvious lack of development is a bit disorienting because we're later led to believe that Zhen and Po care very deeply for one another when there's almost nothing to back it up.

A scene that sticks out to me when discussing this is when Zhen attack-hugs Po in a way that explicitly mirrors Tigress's hug from KFP2. This happens around the beginning of the third act, and while it had the potential to be an endearing moment, I think it fell flat.

The impact of Tigress's hug was brought on by her character's hardcore nature and reputation of being heartless, further strengthened with the knowledge that she was hugging Po (which was obviously way outside her comfort zone) as a show of companionship and fundamental understanding. Tigress hugged Po because he needed someone to recognize his strive for closure.

Zhen's hug had little to no impact because she had no reason to do it and it didn't indicate growth. She hugs Po because she's sorry for betraying him and doesn't want him to be killed by the Chameleon, but neither of these things are newly-established via this hug; we have already gathered by now that Zhen regrets betraying Po and doesn't want him to get hurt.

The hug is far from the movie's weakest point, but I think it's unnecessary given the context. I'm big on hugs in movies (an underutilized form of platonic affection, in my opinion), but it didn't fit here. I don't hate it, and I see it as an honest effort to bring emotionality to Po and Zhen's relationship, but it seems arbitrary.

Zhen and Po's relationship has a lot of potential and I'd be open to seeing more of them in the future, but I think some more thoughtful development needs to occur before I can humor it further. Even so, I can see myself featuring Zhen in some future post-KFP4 one-shots—sparingly, of course, because we have a lot of Furious Five content to compensate for.

Overall, they had a cute dynamic and some sweet moments but I'm not attached. I'm on board with Po having a student but I think their relationship needs a lot more development, something that this film unfortunately didn't give them time to either accomplish or earn.

Now, onto the Chameleon!

The concept of the Chameleon's character is admittedly super interesting. She's the deuteragonist's fastidious mother figure who feels that Zhen owes her a debt and as a result holds her to an impossible standard. That dynamic had the potential to be so interesting but I didn't think it was explored at all. There is no indication of Zhen having any internal conflict about fighting the Chameleon, no emotional complexity between them at all; it's disappointing because I think it would've added a bit of earnestness to the film.

Additionally, the idea of a shape-shifting villain is versatile. A shape-shifting villain gives those telling the story a lot of room to experiment with the protagonist and different ways in which the main character can be challenged and tested. It's yet another good idea utilized poorly. Just one idea: the Chameleon could have disguised herself as one (or several) of Po's family, friends, etc. and brought to fruition a new arc with his character (seeing as he arguably doesn't have one in this film), but she only disguises herself as Zhen very briefly in the movie.

Furthermore, the Chameleon completely relies on the powers of previous villains to pose any sort of threat to the main characters. She summons Po's former nemeses from the Spirit Realm (despite there being little logic in doing so considering Kai's literal evisceration) and takes their kung fu abilities for herself.

An excerpt from my first KFP4 discussion post that I think is relevant to the point I'm trying to make:

I don’t think it would be in the best interest of anyone if the past villains were to come back in any way that’s not a flashback (even then, I’m not sure I’d see the point). In all honesty, I thought that the whole point of the villains was that they died and stayed dead. They were defeated by Po once and for all as a testament to the idea of establishing Po's character growth and journey as a person through the bad things he’s able to overcome. It’d be highly contradictory to the messages of the other films if these villains were to suddenly come back.

While there was an honest effort made to portray the Chameleon as intimidating, I never felt as though any of the characters were endangered by either her or her army of lizard henchman. She's a visually appealing character (aside from her eyes, which I thought more resembled those of a gecko than a chameleon) and I greatly enjoyed Davis's performance, but overall I don't see the Chameleon as a notable villain.

The return of Tai Lung (had he been on his own) had the makings to be an excellent story, especially considering the importance of teacher-student dynamics in KFP4. To see him interacting with Shifu would have been incredible and could have led to further closure on Tai Lung's end (because I think that's kind of what the team was going for anyway), but it didn't happen.

It was nice to see Ian McShane reprise his role, but I wish Tai Lung's characterization had been more reminiscent of the way he was in the first film and more complimentary of his overall character arc. Tai Lung isn't a one-dimensional villain with a singular goal and motivation, and I couldn't help but feel as though the complexity of his character was simplified for the sake of KFP4's narrative.

Tai Lung's presence in KFP4 may be odd, but Shen and Kai's appearances are even more so. Kai, if I remember correctly, was fully obliterated by Po, reduced to literal particles on screen (which is kind of wild now that I think about it). Shen being in the Spirit Realm makes sense all things considered; however, Po and Li had no visible reaction to his presence, which seemed a bit unlikely considering Shen's deeds. This plot hole can likely be attributed to the fact that Shen and Kai's cameos (to my knowledge) were last-minute additions to the movie.

I have to talk about the pacing. I have to. I'm sorry, bear with me.

To me, the film's pacing is erratic and disconcerting. While I can appreciate a quick-moving narrative that doesn't dawdle on storylines that aren't interesting/important, KFP4 kind of flings itself too far in the opposite direction and ends up being frighteningly fast-paced. Once the credits began, I felt like I had been holding my breath for the entire movie.

KFP4 is confusing because while the runtime is standard for a KFP movie, it feels incredibly short. At the same time, the film's story moves at a breakneck speed and leaves little time for heart and development. These things culminate into a barreling boulder of a movie that simply doesn't have time to let its characters, story, or audience take a breath.

A fast pace is not inherently negative, but I don't think it worked in the favor of KFP4. The KFP franchise has always been very emotionally grounded (and just very grounded in general), so to see a film in which emotion/heart takes an aggressive backseat in comparison to action and comedy is jarring. While I think it's unreasonable for fans to expect the same emotional integrity as the original films to be present in the current and upcoming ones, I still think there's room for Po to grow and I felt as though the notion of him developing further was brushed aside in this film.

As for Po's growth, I felt it was nearly nonexistent. The previous trilogy wrapped up his character's journey beautifully and I know that KFP4 was bound to struggle with this particular aspect of making another KFP film; however, just because the strongest pillars of Po's character are established doesn't serve as a valid excuse to reverse his development and repeat what he learned in KFP3.

In KFP3, Po learned firsthand that he is capable of spreading wisdom and teaching kung fu. He also learns that he is constantly growing and that change is inevitable; there is always something more to learn.

"If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now."

"I don't want to be anything more, I like who I am!"

In KFP4, Po pushes against this narrative despite fully accepting it in KFP3, actively reversing crucial parts of his character development achieved in the latter. KFP3 was non-ambiguously about learning to cope with change and responsibility, and I can't help but feel like KFP4 is simply copying this message while not adding anything to it.

Additionally, I felt that KFP4's Po generally felt less personal than he has in the past. In every KFP movie up to the franchise's most recent addition, I felt very connected to Po as an audience member. I felt like I was truly seeing the world of KFP through his eyes. I consider this to be one of the franchise's most impressive feats; it's incredibly difficult to build a universe around a character without making the audience feel limited to one perspective and one part of the world.

With KFP4, I felt both limited and disconnected. The world didn't feel as vast and all-encompassing as it has in the past and Po didn't seem fully like himself. This could be me nitpicking (as I'm prone to do), but I can't recall a single moment in the movie in which Po was alone on screen. Scenes like these are crucial for me because I see them as a meet-cute between the character and the audience, a moment for us to cross the bridge into their world in a way that's silent and intuitive. These little bonding moments are absolutely integral to feeling connected to a character.

Po's dream sequence in the first KFP movie is one of the best examples of this. It presents his aspirations, alludes to his way of life up to the point of the movie, and showcases his personality. During Po's dream sequence, the audience is quite literally inside Po's mind; we're there with him, seeing what he sees, subsequently feeling what he feels. Po is a dreamer at heart and makes the audience feel like dreamers, too.

In KFP4, I felt like I little to no point of reference when it comes to how Po was feeling. I didn't feel immersed in him and his world.

I know I've been very "doom and gloom" throughout this post, which is an exhausting mindset for everyone involved. I want to end my critique with something positive because I think some praise is deserved. Let's just say the movie could have been a lot worse, the details of which I'm sure you're all well aware.

The color palette of the movie is beautiful and somewhat reminiscent of the first film. While the animation style of KFP4 is far more simplistic than its predecessors, I was very impressed with its use of shadow and light. Po's many faces were also hysterical, props to those who helped make him as expressive as he is.

Additionally, the movie's action sequences were clearly thought out and discussed in great detail. The experimentation with camera angles was really fun to watch and I enjoyed the majority of the film's fight scenes. They were fun, bouncy, and entertaining, and quite likely reinstated audiences's love of watching a cuddly panda kick butt.

Congratulations, you've reached the end! Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to read this unnecessarily long and detailed review. As long as I help someone translate their conflicted feelings into coherent thoughts, I'll call it a win.

I want to reiterate that I don't hate Kung Fu Panda 4 and I had fun while watching the film. It has its flaws and there are a lot of aspects that I dislike, but the effort of the crew is obvious and I greatly admire and respect the hard work put into the film by those who worked on it. This does not at all excuse my issues with the movie, but it's worth saying.

As for the future of the series, I only hope that the next installment is more considerate of the franchise's origins and why Po's story is being told in the first place. I fully believe that another sequel could be good given a strong, passionate crew with a great understanding of the characters and world (and I wouldn't be averse to some previous directors returning, just to put it out there).

Thanks again to those who took the time to read this crazy excuse for a movie review. Feel free to either disagree with me or add things in the replies/reblogs, I'm always looking for more thoughts to think.

Until next time!

[bthump]

Do you think that so many berserk fans glaze guts to such an extend that they overlook griffiths feelings ? is the hate griffith receives like a trend hopper thing (on the sense of "Oh everyone hates him now I hate him too) or may it even be that majority of the berserk fans are homophobic?

My guess is the fandom's rampant Griffith hate is due to a combination of factors, including homophobia and peer pressure lol. I wouldn't say it's solely homophobia, especially since the gay stuff in Berserk is subtext - but it can't be denied that it plays a role. I mean that just becomes obvious when you see how so many straight fans talk about Griffith.

But yeah a lot of it is also because so much of fandom hates Griffith and, a lot of people are influenced by general opinion when it comes to forming their own thoughts on a story. Like I'm sure plenty of people start out torn about Griffith or maybe somewhat sympathetic, then they see someone authoritatively describing Griffith as evil and manipulative from the start and everyone in a forum like Skull Knight or Reddit agreeing, and they figure it must be true without really considering the evidence themselves. Considering how often I've seen that happen in real time (eg someone suggesting Griffith cares about Guts because he risked his life for him, getting the 'he only wants to control Guts' explanation, and just agreeing rather than pushing back) I definitely think it's another big factor.

Then there's differing audience expectations between cultures. I don't want to comment on this too in depth because I'm not here for cultural studies and I'm not qualified for that, but I think a reader who's more influenced by, eg, Hollywood tropes, might be more inclined to see Griffith as evil all along because human Griffith hits a lot of Hollywood villain traits (gender nonconforming, introduced antagonistically, opposed to the established social order, ambitious, etc), so despite the narrative not framing him as evil at all, people still see him as evil because of the associated tropes.

And finally black and white moralistic thinking can be blamed for a lot of Griffith hate too. He becomes a villain, therefore for many it's morally easier to believe he was always secretly evil than to believe a "good" person can choose to become evil, or to believe that good and evil are relative and subjective, or useless descriptors entirely. Some people believe good and evil are like, innate personality traits lol, and those people are simply not gonna be able to comprehend Berserk's themes and Griffith as a character, because Berserk takes the opposite stance - that your actions effect and change you rather than reflect your innate "true self."

Anyway yeah, that's my take on the english side of fandom's response to Griffith. Thanks for the ask!

[sophieinwonderland]

pissgenic changed their URL to syscourser-against-misinfo jsyk.

they posted something about DID being trauma based when (shocking ik /s) that's fact and what people are arguing is that one part of the disorder of DID is not exclusive to DID (aka SYSTEMHOOD).

like, yeah, no shit ofc trauma makes you have worse memory and big amnesia barriers that give you the criteria of DID. if you're a system but dont have trauma then you dont have the disorder.

i want to scream atp

Yeah, even as someone who believes DID can exist without trauma, my own opinion is that it's going to be so rare as to be statistically insignificant.

I do think the biggest stickler there is going to be the amnesia criterion as you say. There just isn't any research into systems, including OSDD systems, who don't meet that criterion.

I want to note a few things myself from that post in addition to your points.

Math Stuff

The percentage here is 1% of the general population. If we assume Tiktok as a perfect representative sample of the general population...

There should be 1.35 million Tiktok users with DID from the United States alone. This isn't including OSDD or Partial DID. Nor other forms of plurality.

Between January and March of 2023, 14 billion videos were uploaded.

This means, statistically, 144 million TikTok videos should have been made by DID systems in that three month period.

Putting this into perspective, the number of Tiktok videos made by people with DID (assuming that 1% of Tiktoks are made by people with DID) would be the equivalent to the entire population of Russia. In that three month period

"AFABs"

I don't understand why they pointed out this demographic when that's the demo most likely to have DID.

Different studies show different ratios, but with women (most of whom are AFAB) always being more likely to develop it.

By the way, Tiktok also leans female!

This means that this variable should increase the percentage of TikTokers with DID compared to the general population.

The Big Bang

I'd argue the only big bang is in awareness. If 1% of people have DID, then I think DID systems might be underrepresented.

If there's an increase in the number of people identifying as having DID, but that's still less than the 1% of the population who have it, then maybe that just means more people with the disorder are becoming aware earlier and more willing to talk about it openly.

And if a disproportionate amount of what you see on your home page is system content, as you suggest, this can easily be attributed to the algorithm.

People not in the system community would probably see little to no DID content.

This is really semantics.

John Locke defines a person as "a thinking intelligent Being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider it self as itself, the same thinking thing in different times and places."

I believe the explanation of alters in the above quotes meet that definition of a person under Lockian philosophy.

I also disagree with the idea that viewing alters as people is harmful. Viewing them as separate people can hypothetically foster both increased communication and empathy. (People tend to be kinder to others than they are to themselves.) This could aid in treating down dissociative barriers with the right mindset.

Current treatment does push parts philosophy, but treatment that leans into using person-philosophy to build empathy between members of the system hasn't yet been tested against it.

Personally, I'd love to see a person-based treatment plan devised, and an experiment conducted to determine which was most effective for the most people. As of this moment, any speculation as to which is healthier is based on opinion.

What?

The paper isn't supporting the sociocognitive model???

The sociocognitive model is the opposite of the trauma model, claiming all DID is created through fantasy! And it's clear from the moment this quote starts off calling it the "so-called" sociocognitive model that the paper isn't supporting it.

What I think they're thinking this is about is so-called "Imitated DID", which I've discussed the numerous flaws of extensively and in great detail:

Both of these are deeply flawed constructs. But DO NOT GET THEM CONFUSED!

They are incredibly different beasts!

The former claims DID isn't caused by trauma, while the latter was invented by psychiatrists to protect themselves from lawsuits from misdiagnosed patients.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Reflections in Last Twilight

Alright, I was not really planning on writing analysis on for Last Twilight, at least not this early in the game. But my dearly beloved @dribs-and-drabbles has called to me like Beetlejuice to analyze the use of reflections in this show. Which means i have been summoned, which means, it is time to bust out the meta. 

Now, having just looked back through both Episode 1 and Episode 2, there have not been that many instances of reflections in Last Twilight so far, though the ones we have had already are definitely memorable. So let’s get in to it. 

Episode 1

Intro Sequence

I’m not going to talk about the reflections off the fish tank here because the actual scene they are tied to comes in Episode 2 and I think there will be a whole lot more to say then. But I do want to acknowledge that we will be getting reflections at the beginning of every episode, and that Aof is already establishing the important symbolism of fish and jasmine. 

The first actual reflection we get in Last Twilight comes in the form of Mhok in the side mirror of  his sister Rung’s car.

Rung's car has been sitting in Pae's garage for a year at this point. It would be gathering dust if Pae hadn't spent time over the course of that year meticulously maintaining her vehicle. In fact, that is the very first thing we see happen in this workshop. Pae taking car of Rung's car in her and Mhok's sted. Taking care of this car was not his job, we can assume that he did not anticipate the time commitment that would come with maintaining possession of Rung's car while Mhok was in jail, but he has set himself up to task and gone, in my opinion, above and beyond what was expected of him by continuing to maintain her car.

Pae is surprised when Mhok hands him the spare key and says Pae can sell the car. Mhok at this point is in the anger stage of grief. He blames Rung for her death, and wants to absolve himself of the grief and guilt by maintaining the idea that Rung was to blame and to try to rid himself of any and all reminders of his sister. Mhok, as we know, is incredibly alone. His mother died when they were young, his sister has died, he is no longer associated with his friends/coworkers from his old shop after they all got arrested, and he hides as much as he can from Pae. Mhok has Phorjai and Phorjai only as any sort of support system, and she's his ex-girlfriend, so I don't think we need to go too in depth to acknowledge the complications there.

Mhok wants to forget his grief, his pain, and I appreciate greatly that Pae won't let him do that. That Pae knows Mhok enough to understand that the second that Pae sells that car, Mhok is going to regret letting it go. So he extends another six months grace period to let Mhok actually think it over. Mhok looks over the car, at the bandaid that Rung put on the little scratch she got her first day owning the car, in the glove compartment where all the handouts for her failed budiness are. And Pae allows Mhok a minute alone, in the dark of his sister's car.

At which point we get the reflection. Now, personally I think Jimmy has some work to do as an actor, which means it feels harder for me to accurately read Mhok's face/emotional state. But, for me, here, Mhok looks *tired*, but most importantly, he is trapped in the frame of the side mirror, he is stuck in the dark, and he is alone. In just one small frame, Aof is showing us the aspects of Mhok's character that will help him recognize himself in Day, and tell us why Mhok needs the relationship he has (or will have) to Day.

This is the only actual reflection we see in Episode 1. 

But I do want to comment on the end of the episode, like everyone else has, about part of the *The Little Prince* reading that Mhok does at the end. Namely the line "what is essential is invisible to the eye". 

I don't think, in a show with going blind as a part of its central theme that we really *need* to look deeper in to the significance/meaning of this line. But because I have been asked to talk about reflections, I want to go a little overboard on the line reading here. Because, day to day we can't see ourselves, right? We wouldn't know exactly what we look like if we couldn't look in to a mirror. Mirrors, reflections, are often a subject of insecurity, providing us the opportunity to pick at every flaw. In mirrors, dancers can watch and correct themselves, their body positions, tweak their choreography based on what they see that they normally would not be able to. Actors can practice facial expressions in the mirror, figure out how they have to hold themselves to make their emotions believable. In horror movies, mirrors show us what lurks in the background, in spy movies it shows us what exists around the corner. And in our deepest moments of guilt or shame, facing ourselves in the mirror becomes a challenge.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself on predictions about this show and what Aof is planning on doing with it, but personally I think the use of mirrors/reflections is a perfect way to show what is essential and invisible to the eye. Mhok is not looking at himself in the mirror here, and if we were standing in the room with him, we would not be able to see his face at all. But the side mirror of Rung's car allows us to see what Mhok is thinking and feeling. But he isn't looking in the mirror himself. He isn't and hasn't started facing or confronting his own grief, isolation, or pain. I don't know that Mhok is as of yet capable of seeing what he needs to change in his own life, because he hasn't reflected on his own life.

Episode 2

The first "reflection" we get in Episode 2 is not really a reflection, at least in the traditional sense, but I do still want to talk about it. I am of course talking about the selfie with Aon. 

Mostly because I wanted to acknowledge that to me, a photo is a kind of reflection in that you can both look back at yourself and also reflect on the memory of the time. To be honest, I don’t know exactly how I feel about Aon taking this picture of Mhok, because he takes it for the Society for the Blind. But how are they using it? Is this evidence that Mhok is here and doing what he said he will, or is this going to be used in marketing of some sort? Either way, it is capturing a moment in time that Mhok could one day look back on to reminisce about the beginning of his relationship with Day. 

And here Mhok is with someone else, a second person to accompany him where before he just had himself. But this is fake, this is quick, this is right after Mhok has just been shut out of all proceedings between Aon and Day. Mhok doesn’t know what’s happening before he is being told to smile for the camera. And if anyone were to see this photo, they would see a very happy Aon and a decently confused Mhok, but they would have no idea how limited a connection to Aon, Mhok would have had at this point. 

The next reflection is a bit difficult to see, but it comes during the conversation Day has with Mhok about the eye drops, where he explains he can see more clearly right after he uses them. In this scene, Day is talking to Mhok while keeping his gaze affixed to the lone goldfish in his increasingly grimier tank. 

Mhok and Day have a brief conversation about whether or not the fish is lonely since it is the only one in the tank, and Day brushes it off by saying that goldfish have short memory and that it couldn’t possibly be lonely. 

But, whenever we see Day on screen here, we see his reflection in the glass of the tank. And there are a few great moments during this conversation where the goldfish sits directly in front of Day’s reflection. To me it feels like a memory, a ghost, or a projection, and we know by the end of Episode 2, (if we haven’t picked up on it already from the title sequence or how heavily goldfish imagery has features in the promotional material for this show) that the goldfish is a stand in for Day himself. 

So I love the fact that we get this wisp of an image of Day’s face in the tank, like he’s trapped inside of it. Because we know that in a way he is. And the other thing I love about this, or rather about the fact that this goldfish is meant to symbolize Day himself, is that watching this goldfish is what brings Day the most joy at the moment. 

I love that because it shows me that there is hope and joy still left in Day, if he can just take the time to look at himself a little differently.

OKAY it’s time for the Big Boys. 

Our first instance of an actual reflection off a mirror in Episode 2 happens when Mhok is trying to check in with Day after Day runs away from Night’s friends. Mhok has said that he understands Day, and Day Does Not Like That™.

Day’s response to Mhok’s monologue is to say that Mhok has no idea what it is like to look in the mirror and not see your old self. And of course, we see Day’s reflection in his full body mirror. Now, again, Aof is being pretty heavy handed with his metaphors here. But that doesn’t mean I don’t absolutely love the double meaning of these words. Day is going blind so he literally can’t see himself in the mirror anymore. 

But also, Day is deep in his grief for the things he has lost. His freedom, his career, his confidence that I think he has morphed in to a completely different person. One who is bitter, and self-conscious, and more comfortable hiding away where he can wallow in misery over his condition and not have to confront the new world he is living in. Day is running from connection, I mean not a minute before this scene Day legitimately ran away from Night’s friends rather than have to explain his blindness. 

The scene continues, and Day shuts himself off even further from the world around him, by putting in his headphones. Now he can drown out Mhok’s attempts to comfort him, but in the long run what is that going to do? As @shortpplfedup said to me earlier “the set dressers did not come to play” when it came to designing Day’s room. When the curtains aren’t drawn there is so much natural light in Day’s room. His walls are bright and colorful, there are photos and awards all over the place. Day’s room has so much personality in it, so much life within it. But the mirror shows nothing. It shows Day alone, surrounded by blank walls in grayscale.

The costume designer made an excellent choice of shirt for this scene, by the way. Because the yellow blends in enough with the wall in Day’s room, that (especially) when coupled with the camera’s focus in this scene. The real Day almost fades in to the background, and your eye is naturally drawn to this spot of yellow in the mirror. 

The mirror highlights his isolation while at the same time showing the audience how much Day can and does stand out. 

AND it parallels the reflection of Mhok in Episode 1 so well, not just in the emotions that we see from Mhok and Day, but in the sense that Mhok’s reflection is in Rung’s car because he is currently trapping himself in the darker, meaner thoughts about his sister, rather than processing his grief. While Day’s reflection is in his room because he is currently trapping himself in the darker, meaner thoughts about himself, rather than giving himself enough compassion to start moving forward.

When Day does not respond to Mhok’s conversation, Mhok is triggered at the thought of his sister’s death and he breaks down the door to make sure Day is okay, and gets fired for it. Mhok does not argue, he does not put up a fight, he does not try to explain, he just honors Day’s request and gets the fuck out. And I love the way that Mhok is already starting to change Day’s outlook. Because we see how mopey Day is after Mhok leaves, and how much hope there is in him when Night tells him there is someone at the door who wants to see him and he so obviously thinks it’s Mhok. 

Mhok gives him the gift of the fish slippers, and Day goes to visit Mhok at the market, only to find out that Mhok has spent time reflecting on what Day told him about not understanding him, and making a fool out of himself in the eyes of the other market patrons by blindfolding himself. 

Mhok is doing what no one else has really done and is making a concerted effort to truly understand where Day is coming from, the fears that he is carrying, and the challenges he faces as a blind man. 

But of course, we know by now that while there are definitely things Mhok is had not or might never understand about the physical realities of Day’s life, he can understand loneliness, and he can understand rage, pain, and anger. There are parts of himself that have grown within him over the past year that recognizes parts of Day that have grown within him over the past year. 

And we have already been seeing the impact of Mhok on Day’s life, in the fact that Day has smiled more, Day has left his room, Day has eaten at the table, and agreed to watch a movie. And that singular day where Day did not wallow in his own misery, but left his room, went out in the sun, etc stuck with him because he is in the living room watching a movie the day Phorjai comes to visit. 

Culminating in the second real reflection of Episode 2, where Mhok, via the side mirror, sees Day smiling on the back of his scooter. And what I love about this moment is that the focus is entirely on Day. I don’t want Last Twilight to strip Day’s healing processes from him and give them to Mhok. I think it is totally fine for Mhok to contribute to Day’s increasing happiness, but ultimately I want Day to have enough autonomy in this narrative that these decisions that lead to him enjoying his life again are primarily comprised of Day’s own choices. And I think that we can get something visually from that by the fact that we don’t see a lot of Mhok in this reflection, only one small portion of his chin. 

Day made the choice to have Phorjai take him to see Mhok, Day made the choice to rehire Mhok, and Day is the one having a moment on the back of this scooter just reveling in the feeling of the wind on his face. I love that this reflection shows just enough of Mhok to show that Day is not alone, while still putting all of the attention in the reflection on to Day and the joy he is feeling. 

The idea that Day is no longer alone is reinforced after Mhok makes a pit stop to purchase a companion for the goldfish in Day’s room. And again we get in to some of my favorite instances of reflection in Last Twilight, where we place the boys’ reflections in the fish tank. 

And this is where the images from the intro sequence come from. Day looking at Day Noi and Big Mhok interacting with each other in the tank. Here we still have Day alone in the reflection, with the goldfish tying him to this symbolism. But Day’s reflection is so much clearer now that the tank has been cleaned. Now Day’s reflection in the water tank is far more obvious, and hey, since it’s me, I’ll overanalyze this moment to say that as Day has gotten to know Mhok a bit and has started venturing outside of his room more, that Day is getting a clearer vision of himself as a person. Regardless, we as the audience can see Day’s reflection in the tank all the more clearly and that reflection is vibrant and bright, because Day is becoming more vibrant and bright. 

“No More Loneliness Little Day” Mhok says and we get MY FAVORITE SHOT OF THE SHOW THUS FAR

The split screen. It’s not even a reflection, but I am talking about it here, because I think the absence of reflection is just as important as its presence, and I love that we have this moment where half of Day’s face is crystal clear and the other half is completely obscured. There is no trace of it. Considering how much Aof has been turning the camera on Day’s vision, we aren’t that far off of what Day sees in this shot. I like that this image has Day straddling these two worlds. 

And we get the final reflection of Episode 2, Mhok’s face in the fish tank. 

Again, I don’t even know that this is really intentional or it is just the way the reflection happened to have occurred, but I love the fact that not all of Mhok’s face is present within the fish tank. I like that Mhok is slowly encroaching on Day’s space, that Mhok is slowly starting to appear in the parts of Day’s life that Day actually cares about. Mhok is lonely and Day is lonely, and they have finally found someone they might be able to connect to. Big Mhok is there for Day Noi and Mhok is there for Day. 

I love that while the fish themselves are able to cross those barriers and that we get to see the fish swimming up and next to each other, that we have yet to see Mhok and Day’s reflections fully together. Even here, Mhok’s reflection in the fish tank is alone, just like Day’s reflection in the fish tank was alone. But they are in the same place, they are in the same room, they are in the same tank, they are in the same stage of their grief (anger) and there is no way in hell we don’t get one or more reflections in the mirror or in the fish tank by the end of this show where Mhok and Day are both fully present.

[xinnabon]

he's the type to...!!!

#kazuha & albedo x gn!reader

note; "he's the type to" edition!!! but these are basically just wholesome, on crack, short, and definitely hcs that don't make sense at all.

requests are allowed to be sent but do take in mind that i will take longer than expected since i would require your patience over this. also no nsfw, i'm a minor.

i don't think this is proof read since i just wanted to post after months.

+KAZUHA

he's the type to dance like old married couples with you. life awaits him and now that you're here, many outcomes behold in the future to the two of you as time comes, as he wants you to be a part of it.

he's the type to wait for you. if you're going to be gone long, he'll support you and still stay loyal. why is that?

he's the type to sing for you. the questionable thing is, its like he's alluring you to sleep after a hard day. he has some poems he made and just make it in song form to just make you more sleepier just trying to understand what it means. i do wonder if it does matter.

he's the type to be like a knight. even though he is a noble himself, it is never a burden to sweep you up your feet. saving you and saving himself.

he's the type to lift your stuff. maybe when you try moving in with him, he'd do all sorts of things just to make you feel welcomed enough, or its just simply carrying certain grocery. who knows.

he's the type to write about you ACCIDENTALLY. maybe he'd reflect it over something he foresaw or just something he takes value of and inspired him. as he progresses, it eventually turns about you.

(previous bullet extended) "a promise is made out of true loyalty and devotion in committing to someone. either you spouse, friend, family, or even to someone as hard as rock to figure out, it is still a must to be able to harnest your ability and fulfil it. someday, somewhere, somehow, i'll have the will to promise to my own spouse. to make due with at the end of " he scraps it off. (bonus if he just keeps it somewhere instead)

he's the type to save drafts from his writing. he probably has a lot and likes looking at it since it sounds so direct and a few mistakes... just often poorly written or not understandable enough to comprehend.

he's the type to be caught rambling too much about a certain topic or interest by "reflection". he'd go all out and get sympathetic, just by thinking as well what other people would think about it. you sometimes tell him over and over again but maybe he can't stop because it may take advantage of him.

+ALBEDO

he's the type to never judge. even at times of being reckless, he wouldn't bother to pressure you further. he is someone to trust whenever you fear of one's opinion or possible judgement that can lead as an offense. no. he would never.

he's the type to doodle. whenever you come by while he is working or watching him work, he does horrible but cute doodles of the both of you while writing specific formulas or other materials he does. he thinks that it serves as entertainment for you.

he's the type to ramble and fidget around. again, working. you can hear him spitting out certain hypothesis, possibilities, formulas, or literally... anything. he likes it just because he thinks that it can help progress his mind more.

he's the type to be clueless. maybe the first time you were trying to court him, he thought you were just trying to hell regardless of the weird pick up lines you did to get his attention. you literally told him off that you liked him and the fact he only knew now at that moment.

he's the type to accidentally baby you. he's pretty much used to being with klee all the time to the point he is overly protective even if you doubt it. as in, he would ask if you are comfortable with him or not. maybe he does need a break.

he's the type to generally not know how to cook. he'd kept asking you how to just to spend some time and improve. all he probably knows is just to make daily every morning coffee.

he's the type to be less self-conscious around you. people are horribly terrifying to be with because it's either they'd want to test you or even aggravate you to your limit. not you. no. you'd never do that to him. he did thought about it but as timed leaned and further passed, with you, nothing will interfere.

he's the type to be your tutor. history or chemistry, he'd know. instant head aches just hearing him teach you but he doesn't bother to make an issue out of it. but of course, he'll be cut out in trying to go a more simpler level for you. (not an insult...)

he's the type to do crossword puzzles or just puzzles in general. he can be bored or just in a burnt out, and you know all about the cerebrum and testing your brain to become more knowledgeable per puzzle or anything. he liked asking you if you ever want to do some with him but maybe that's your fault for the lack of capacity you contain in your head that you refuse to at times.

[genericpuff]

I get asks like these a lot asking for my opinion about other webtoons outside of LO and Let's Play and ima be honest with y'all, if I haven't talked about it on this blog already, I probably don't read it. It's not for any lack of wanting to read comics, but it's sort of the nature of the beast - once you start making the medium you consume, you wind up with a lot less time to actually consume it. I don't keep up on nearly as many webtoons/webcomics as I used to, and it's partially because 1.) I'm too busy making them, 2.) the current oversaturation of the market means I'm not gonna really be compelled to try and read things unless it's something I'm really interested in, and 3.) I have ADHD so I already have a hard time starting new stories as it is, I often prefer just keeping up on comfort series that I know I like even if there are only a few of them LOL I know that means I'm likely missing out on a lot of great stories out there, but I can only keep up on so much stuff :')

Most of the comics I read nowadays aren't even on the WT app, it's stuff like Tale of Two Lovers, Alfie, Tamberlane, and Awkward Zombie. And whatever I DO read that's on the app, it's stuff that's being made by friends or stuff that fits a special interest that I've been following for a while. So webcomics like Time and Time Again, City of Blank, SHE MAKES HUNGRY, Growing Up Gerudo, Loving Reaper, and Zelda's Lullaby.

I'm frankly a bit old school so a lot of the stuff I read tends to be stuff that has its own independent site OR completely outside of the realm of webtoons and more into traditional publishing like manga.

That said, I do try to stay up to date on webtoons and newer series as much as I can as it's good for me to stay updated on what's going on in the industry and it means I'm exposing myself to new ideas and techniques, but I struggle with just picking up a webtoon and bingeing it for 10-20 episodes to see if I like it. So many of them now tend to just be the same thing with slightly different coats of paint. And I'm definitely not gonna pick up a webtoon just because people want my opinion of it, sorry but that's just not how this works LMAO Especially if it's a webtoon that people are expecting me to be critical of because it's written poorly, like why would I subject myself to reading something that I know right off the bat probably isn't gonna be enjoyable? Sure, if it's something REALLY bad I'll check them out to see what people are going off about or so I can form my own opinion, but I also don't want to be regularly subjecting myself to garbage that pisses me off when I could be reading stuff that brings me joy, I spend enough time being pissed off at LO and Let's Play as it is. I know, that's likely wild coming from me of all people, but I do like to enjoy things LOL It's not like I went into comics like LO and Let's Play hating them right off the bat, I actually used to really like those comics, until they either fell off or I spent more time reflecting on them and I realized how poorly written and drawn they were.

So no, sorry, but I don't have an opinion about webtoons like Unordinary or I Love Yoo or whatever have you and I can't guarantee I'll ever get around to reading them. If I do have an opinion about a webtoon, believe me, I'll post about them unprovoked, you won't need to ask me for them LMAO

[songmingisthighs]

Everything said and done, there's a saying in my country that if you have problems with so many people, instead of pointing fingers, first reflect upon your own behaviour. The way I've heard things about *you* from so many people vs hearing you say things about so many people, I'd rather believe 5 people instead of one. After all, you can't highfive with on hand. :)

as someone who was cowardly enough to judge me as an anon, your opinion means less than the soupy shit toothless dumped

you most likely don't know me and since you're a lil narcissistic bitchass pussy with an audacity of zeus's dick and the personality of a new york sewer rat, i obviously don't know you. you don't know my process, you don't know my improvement, and you definitely don't know the self reflection i've done. i have no problem with "so many people" heck i have no problem with anyone. just because i criticize and vent doesn't mean i have "problems" with people, i take issue with what happened and i use my platform to voice myself out because i was silenced

"i'd rather believe 5 people instead of one" bitch i don't care about your preference but that sentence lets me know that you're a clique-y type of coward who peaked in high school and judges people you've never personally interact with because you're stupid enough not to form your own opinion because let's face it you don't have the personality nor capabilities to leave a good impression on your own. you bandwagon on relations and you jump ship when your "group" of "friends" decide to ditch someone because you'd rather be a toxic wannabe than your own person. self reflect yourself lmao

and ofc you can high five with one hand but that would be me smacking your stupid face but you're too much of a self righteous pussy to show yourself lmaoooooo do yourself a favour and stop being so obsessed with me i don't want your stench wafting or get your dumbass virus. look at you and those 5 people talking about me. tell me you're my fan without telling me you're my fan pffffttt is this what idols feel with sasaeng? bc i understand the disgust

[eunkitarot]

Hi could you do a reading about how kazuha and sunghoon view each other please? I'm curious, specially since they both have kinda similar stories before debut and all

This is interesting. Lemme pull some cards and see,

Kazuha To Sunghoon:

Ace of cups,9 of wands reversed, the hanged man, ace of pentacles,8 of pentacles

Okay so overall a very positive impression on Sunghoon. I think she sees him as someone that is good at his job. With the aces cards coming out, I think she is impressed with how far Sunghoon have come. She knows he transitioned from a different career to becoming an idol and that is something that is not easy. So being able to thrive in a completely new opportunity and new environment is something that is very impressive. She also thinks something about him is so paused. His demeanor maybe to her is like someone that is physically there, mentally elsewhere. Someone reflecting, in his own world. She also have this impression that Sunghoon is defensive, can be stubborn and obstinate (refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course of action, despite attempts to persuade one to do so). Kazuha thinks he is hardworking though. Someone that is patiently improving over time.

Sunghoon to Kazuha:

The Lovers Reversed,4 of pentacles,9 of cups, page of cups reversed, king of swords

Okay lovers reversed straight away not Sunghoon's type romantically. "Not my type". (ngl this took me aback) She appears disconnected or aloof to him. She seems to have barrier when it comes to forming close relationships. To Sunghoon she seems to be very protective of her space. Someone that is not easy to get close to. But she is someone that has stability is her life. To him she just seems very guarded. However she seems like a person that is happy and content at where she is. She has this self-assuring demeanor. Someone that is confident in her own skin. He likes to see that. He thinks someone like that is attractive. Sunghoon also thinks something about her that is struggling to express herself more. Maybe its the language barrier or something, but he feels Kazuha is unable to express herself in a way she wants to or to the extend that she wants to. Maybe in her music or even day to day ideas. With the king of Swords , he thinks she is someone that is logical. Again someone that is confident. She is someone that is controlled but determined in trying to achieve her goals.

Overall, I think its a positive view of each other and I don't think they are close AT ALL. This impression seems like a lot of assumptions of each other. Like how they think the other is. So not something definitive. There are some negative assumptions obviously here. Skepticism. The funny thing to me, is that they both have similar impression of each other, being aloof smh.

So yeah I hope you enjoy my read💗💗

[thesherrinfordfacility]

I would like to know how Neil's interpretation of a scene he didn't write as not being a sex metaphor somehow means he's suddenly decided Aziracrow aren't in love. With how much the Good Omens fandom insists that all headcanons are valid, why does Neil sharing his for one scene suddenly mean he needs to be tricked and bullied into having Crowley and Aziraphale kiss or be otherwise romantic?

Is it because he said a dramatic last ditch attempt at communication in the form of a completely non-sexy kiss is just that? He didn't say it wasn't a romantic kiss, he said it was a non-sexual kiss. He said, to him, the oxrib scene was not a sexual metaphor. He has not said, anywhere, that Aziraphale and Crowley are not romantically in love.

Neil does not need to be bullied or tricked by Michael and David or anyone else to make Crowley and Aziraphale be and show they are in love. He's doing a remarkable job of making them that way all on his own.

hi anon!!!✨ okay, so ive pondered over this ask, and i can't quite parse out from the tone if you might be generally asking/ranting, or if you believe that im - put simply - anti-neil in this whole discourse fiasco? because if it's the latter, i'll happily share my personal thoughts on the matter as to why that is definitely not the case. initially, just to support my point, take a look at my tags on this and this post, because that will give you a little flavour as to my opinion.

essentially, i completely agree with you. first, for full disclosure - i know that there have been quite a few comments that neil has made (in interviews, tweets etc) over the years that have fed into this discourse that i do not have receipts for; so anyone that wants me to take these into account, please feel free to send me them.

okay, now i'll try and summarise my thoughts on this (and some may repeat points you have very rightly - imo - already made):

good omens, and in particular the show, is very diverse, and inclusive. it is a triumph in this respect. specifically, i think aziraphale and crowley's story has been written very cleverly and quite sensitively to provide or reflect representation for a wide array of sexualities, gender identifications, and in general queer experiences.

my second main thought is that there is a difference between author/writer original intent, author/writer interpretation of their own work (retrospectively, as a consumer or critic in their own right), and audience interpretation. none of them have to perish for others to exist; they can exist together, even if they can conflict each other in their conclusion/s. the best stories imo are those that can be read multiple ways.

the ox-scene in ep2 (and im also going to lump 40s minisode in this too... plus multiple other specific Acting Choices throughout the season) can be interpreted sexually. i don't think there are two ways about it, it definitely can. it may not be the author's intent (bearing in mind, whilst likely overseen by neil, ACtO was written by john) to write it sexually, but the direction/acting choices are, i think, undeniably sexual in subtext and tone.

that being said, whether or not this is what the writers had in mind when writing the episode (and im not saying they absolutely did, im not psychic), the literal written narrative is not sexual at all. it's crowley tempting aziraphale into eating, an earthly pleasure that we know aziraphale later enjoys. it is therefore perfectly reasonable for some people, i imagine particularly those that are aspec, to read this scene non-sexually. whether metaphorical for sex or just a complete mukbang on aziraphale's part, i read it as an uncomfortable, intimate, eldritch-like scene. all interpretations are correct, and none are wrong. it caters for many.

the kiss scene is, to my mind, not particularly romantic, and it's certainly not sexual. crowley meant it out of love, no doubt, and hand-in-hand with that love, out of desperation and as an 'everything else has failed' way of communicating. i personally read it as a temptation, as something desperate but almost on the cusp of being possessive and cruel - thats my personal opinion/interpretation. i'll be completely honest, i don't personally see how anyone can possibly read this scene as sexual (imo kisses are not and should not be gatekept by those that are sex-inclined), but where someone does, id be happy to learn why, to try to understand that interpretation. the romantic element is a little more questionable - technically speaking, yes, it probably is romantic, and i do understand how/why people read it as that, but for me it isn't.

the story in totality is however, to my mind, romantic; in my opinion, there is love of the romantic kind between aziraphale and crowley. furthermore, neil has stated that that is the writer's intent; he intends for it to be romantic.

taking the writer intent out of the equation however, for a moment, admittedly i think their story even throughout s2 could be seen as very lovingly platonic, right up until the kiss. but even then - as I said before - the kiss for me doesn't read as completely romantic. i think one could argue that crowley just simply saw it as something he could do because 'humans do it!'. the script itself doesn't confirm outright it is romantic - it strongly alludes to it, sure, but there has been no indisputable declaration of romantic love. therefore (whilst, again, i do not personally think this to be the case - i do see romantic love here) it is entirely possible to interpret the narrative, text and subtext, in completely different ways and those interpretations still be valid.

where the story, and their relationship itself, goes and concludes is unknown. they could have multiple kisses of the romantic variety in s3, or they may never kiss again. they could just hug, or hold hands. they could have a full-on sex scene, or potentially have a scene that could be interpreted as leading to one. they could even have a conversation about being willing to try sex, another human experience, but agree that if neither of them like it, they don't do it again (but will still love each other), and the conclusion is left purposefully ambiguous. there may be a love confession, an outright declaration, or something could be said in a subtle way such that can be interpreted as both platonic and romantic.

i agree that neil doesn't need to be bullied by anyone into writing the story he's going to write... there will however be jokes about it, mainly from the hyperbolic perspective of michael being quite vocal that he too sees aziraphale as being in love with crowley. michael has admitted (jokingly? professional research?) to reading fanfiction that helped inform him on this personal confirmation, and this may have informed him on his acting. there are some of us that joke about the 'feral-ness that is michael in being hellbent on getting a sex scene' etc., and i know some have taken that joke further in saying that michael should essentially campaign for one, but i think we can all safely say that neil will write what he writes, and michael will continue to play aziraphale absolutely perfectly, and according to the script and direction offered to him. they are professionals, colleagues, and im fairly certain are definitely friends; the jokes are jokes (on this blog at least, anyway).

final point; i think neil has a fairly difficult task - whether he actively pays a deliberate mind to this or not, or it just comes naturally - in continuing to write a story that can be representative of everyone. he has his intent, sure, and his later own interpretation, but he has provided something amazing; characters and a story that is supernatural in setting, but entirely human in nature. that can speak to so many people, of so many different walks of life. that everyone can see a bit of themselves in these characters, can recognise parts of them in their own spirit. sees them go through decisions and experiences and joy and pain that each of us have at some point probably encountered ourselves.

that balancing act - again, whether he purposefully does pay this any mind or not - cannot be easy. i do not personally see him as homophobic for what he said in that tweet. i do not personally think he has queerbaited, or led anyone on to think that the characters/narrative is something that it's not. that's my opinion, and i fully respect that others will have theirs (and id be happy to hear them!), but i think he is respectful that people will have their individual interpretations, and leave it at that. he may even agree with some of them - he has said that he has liked metas etc based on merit and effort, out of respect too i imagine, but not necessarily as a veritable stamp of approval that the post agrees outright with his original intent or personal interpretation.

in any case - why would he agree to one interpretation if that could mean that that could upset someone else with a different one? that's not fair on anyone, so i think it's more than fair that he sticks to confirming what he intended in what he wrote, and not comment on how it should be interpreted. its because of this - brass tacks time - that i think any questions about interpretation should be kept out of his askbox... sure, ask about what is literally in the script, or what physically happens on screen, or background 'canon' info, but don't ask him for how you should interpret it, because i think it's fair to say he is only ever going to give back his original intention, or how he personally interprets it.

that doesn't automatically mean that he thinks any other interpretation is ridiculous or inaccurate, or not valid; everyone else's interpretation can exist at the same time too. he might disagree privately, but that's up to him - same as the rest of us✨

[gakehc]

My Sweet Enkeli: Chapter 6

"Enkeli": finnish word for "angel".

When Noah Sebastian met Nori Nurmi for the first time, he knew he wanted her more than anything. She was beautiful like an angel and dangerous like the devil.

♡ Author's note: Here they are: Blind Channel. If you don't know them please go check their music, but it's not totally necessary if you don't want to, you can totally understand the story without knowing them. Please let me know your opinions, I would love to know your thoughts 🖤 don't forget to repost so more people can read it! If you want to be tagged in the next chapter please let me know. CHAPTER FIVE HERE.

♡ Warnings:  This is a work involving real people but it's 100% fiction written. Please remember that this is only for fun purposes and it doesn't reflect their real thoughts and behaviors. Don't take this work too seriously. +18 only. Nothing too serious to worry about.

♡ Characters: Noah Sebastian × Nori Nurmi (OFC).

♡ Words: 3.364

♡ MASTERLIST HERE.

The bands just arrived at the last city of the european tour: Helsinki, Finland. The girls are finally home; even though they love to tour around the world, they also miss their friends and family. The day it's going to be busy for both bands since it's the first time that Bad Omens is going to play in Finland and the press wants to know everything about the tour that is coming to its end. There were three interviews booked for today's afternoon before their debut and a party at night to welcome the boys to the land of a thousand lakes.

To Nori, this tour will be forever in her heart. Meeting Noah and the other guys of Bad Omens was something really special for her. They are together at a radio station, recording an interview for youtube - the last of the day. Her big green eyes shine with admiration as she watches Noah talk about the tour and how he is happy, her lips trying to open a smile but she is holding herself so she doesn't look like a teenage fangirl or something. When the interviewer asks her about the relationship between the two bands, Noah stares at her with curiosity, a smirk on his face as he wonders what she will say. 

“We got along from the beginning. They are very funny and professional guys so it was easy for us. We definitely grew a beautiful friendship” she says, trying not to laugh at her own lie. No one needs to know that she and Noah had some hard times in the beginning.

“Yeah, we are all good friends now” he adds, trying to keep his posture.

Their eyes meet as they try to look as chill as possible, Nori's cheeks getting red as she turns her gaze away from him, trying to focus on the interview again. She knows she can get lost in Noah's smile and there's no way back, the way he keeps gesturing with his hands while he speaks makes her hold a huge sigh just thinking about how good it feels when he is using them to grab her ass. 

When the interview ends, they pose for some photos together. Noah can smell Nori's perfume as she stands next to him, her eyes looking at the camera while she makes a peace sign with one hand, the other one resting inside the pocket of her jeans. It's like her smell keeps calling him, his body urging to feel her as he comes closer to her. Their arms touch while he also does the peace sign and smiles, the feeling of their skin touching makes Nori's whole body shiver, his skin is warm and soft against her, a heat growing inside of her and making her throb.

“Thank you guys, that's all” the photographer says. 

They don't have too much time to hang out at the radio station: there's anxious fans waiting for Bad Omens at tonight's venue, the V.I.P. tickets sold very quickly so the meet&greet will be long. They drive as fast as they can to the venue and they can see a line forming at the entrance, so they use the backdoor to access the green room with more privacy. The place it's nice, there's a lot of graffiti and almost no spot without a writing on the wall, some mirrors and black leather couches. The table is settled with foods and drinks, everything ready for Bad Omens and Forever Damned to chill before their concert. There's a lot of people hanging out and talking in Finnish, what Noah presumes to be the girls’ friends and family, but one person catches his attention. It's a tall guy with some tattoos and very white skin, his hair is light blonde with some black highlights almost shoulder length. His ice blue eyes wanders through the room while he holds a can of beer, his outfit is all black matching his dark aurea. Noah knows it must be him. 

“There you are!” Lara seems excited “I want to introduce you to our friends from Blind Channel” she places a hand on Noah's back “This is Niko, Joonas and Joel”.

“Nice to meet you” Noah is polite. 

He handshakes Niko and Joonas, but when it comes to Joel, he is more tough and rude, using all his strength like he wants to crush the blonde one's fingers. They stare at each other for five long seconds, the tension between them building and making Nori freak out while she sees both of them in the same room. 

There's a strange energy in the air and everyone can feel it, they all know what happened between Nori and Joel, they witnessed everything: how they had a huge fight in the bus and how Nori became her saddest version, even her sister was surprised to see how she was suffering because it didn't fit her personality at all. Some people didn't understand, but that's because they never loved anyone who didn't love them back; they never got their hearts crushed by someone; they never felt so pathetic to suffer because of a man. 

For Nori, it's impossible to see Joel and not remembering what they lived together, the way they couldn't keep their hands off each other and suddenly everything changed. Joel seemed to like and care for her, but he started to act strange out of nothing. It's like something changed in his mind from night to day and Nori still doesn't understand why, she doesn't know if it was her fault. The way he touched her and looked at her, she could see in his eyes that he had feelings for her, but it all ended just like that; like a snap of fingers. As much as she tries to, she can't accept this.

Soon, Noah's eyes go to another person: a very handsome guy with wavy brown hair and familiar green eyes. He approaches Nori and gives her a tight hug, seeming like they are very intimate.

“Noah!” She calls him “I want you to meet my brother. This is Tuomas”.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie told me a lot about you” he says, a baritone voice making Noah wonder if everyone in this family is perfect. Now the familiar green eyes make sense.

“Ellie? Nori didn't tell me she had a brother” he arches an eyebrow. 

“And I didn't tell you that my name is Eleonoore” she smiles coyly. 

“It seems that there's a lot of stuff you didn't tell me, huh?” He smirks. 

“Meet & Greet in five minutes” Max says, Bad Omens’ tour manager.

“It seems that I need to go, are you ok?” Noah asks in a low tone, looking Nori in the eye so he can see if she is going to lie to him.

“Yes, I will be alright” she tries to be sincere. 

“Let's go, bro” Nicholas holds Noah by the shoulders.

It's been a while since Nori saw Joel for the last time. Forever Damned and Blind Channel started their friendship before they toured together. All finnish bands are very close and bonded since they are all trying to make things happen for them, it's not easy to achieve success outside Finland being so far from the most popular countries in Europe; it's like they are isolated. That's why Nori and the other girls have so much love for their friends of Blind Channel. She still loves Niko and Joonas and she's happy to see them here. She just wishes that she could have some protection against Joel and his effects on her.

It's almost impossible to hold the urge to look at him while he is still standing next to the table, his lips sipping some beer while he seems to pay attention to whatever Lara is saying. He doesn't care about what the guitarist is telling him, he wants to go after Nori and talk to her, explain himself and his reasons to suddenly change, but she knows that Nori needs to focus on tonight's concert; if she gets stressed she will get really nervous and her performance can be ruined. It's better if they talk later, maybe at the party that is booked for after the show. 

Nori quickly grabbed her make-up bag before sitting next to her brother. He is two years older than her and they are close but not as much as she is with her sister. Tuomas always travel with the band but this time he couldn't make it. He always acts as a guardian angel for her, he was touring with her when she fell in love with Joel and he didn't like at all how the blonde one made her suffer; he is still trying to be at peace with him. It's not like Tuomas is one of those older brothers that would beat a guy's ass if he makes one of his sisters suffer, he understands that they are grown women and owners of their own lifes. But he wishes he could protect them more. 

As much as Nori tries to mind her own business as she starts to do her make-up, she can't concentrate - not with Joel staring at her, eyes piercing on her while she tries to keep her eyes on the small mirror that's in front of her. She can feel her soul being called by his eyes and slowly exiting her body. She needs protection against Joel and she can't find it on her brother. It would be perfect if Noah could be here with her, holding the mirror so she can use both her hands and, by this, being her angel and shield against Joel's mischievous looks towards her. Deep inside, Nori knows that all those fans waited such a long time to meet their favorite band and deserves to spend as much time as possible with them, but she is allowing herself to be selfish enough to wish that the meet & greet ends fast so Noah can be by her side. The boys will leave Finland tomorrow morning so only the gods know when they will have the opportunity to be together again so she wants to spend a lot of time with Noah before he goes home. She knows that this is not supposed to happen, they promised that there would not be feelings attached, but it's how she feels and she can't help it. It doesn't mean that she is in love with him, right?

•

Forever Damned it's playing for the last time in this tour and the last song of the setlist it's about to start. At the side of the stage, there's a mesmerized Noah. He could watch her every single night for a whole year and he would still get so amazed by her, how pretty she is with the lights on her, the black corset making her curves even more sharp, her posture so confident while her hands roams through the microphone stand. Noah wishes he could capture this moment forever in his mind so he could never forget and he quickly grabs his cell phone to record a video so he can watch her anytime he wants when he goes home. Of course he could just search for videos on YouTube but none of them would have been recorded by him; this is his own pov. 

The large smile on Noah's face disappears in the same second he realizes that Joel is also there, a few steps behind him. It's like waking up from the best dream ever and having to deal with a fucked up life. It's impossible not to see the lust in Joel's eyes as he stares at Nori like an animal facing its poor and defenseless hunt. This makes Noah so angry that he wishes he could hit Joel's face with a high kick; it would be so good to see his scandinavian vampire look-alike face bleeding. 

Soon, the show comes to its end. The girls are saying goodbye to their loyal Finnish fans - even though Bad Omens it's the main event of the night, there's a lot of Forever Damned fans in the crowd screaming for them and they sang every song they played. Nori is so happy while she greets the fans at the barricade, she even seems to know some of them. Seeing her with a huge smile on her face almost exploding with happiness makes Noah's heart really warm and proud of her - like he always did on this tour, but this time it's different: she is at home, with the ones she loves, confident like never before. To Nori, it's always special to play for those people who have always been there for the band since the beginning of their journey. 

She goes to the side of the stage, some people are waiting to greet the girls and celebrate their success. The first person that she sees is Noah, and she runs to his direction. She opens her arms for him and Noah grabs her in his arms, lifting her up from the ground while he hugs her like a bear. Suddenly, he feels an urge to kiss her and that's what he does. His lips touch her wine colored lips, his hands holding her cheeks while her feets slowly touch the ground again. Everybody around them froze. Their affair was like a forbidden subject and now they are simply kissing in front of everyone? 

Nori can feel a lot of pairs of eyes staring at them, her bandmates just waiting for her next move while she is motionless, not able to move a single muscle. Noah is starting to get nervous, he hopes that he didn't pissed her off with his jealous act, but he also enjoys to see that Joel is bothered by the scene. He wanted to show the Finnish one that Nori is with him now - well, kind off. 

Without saying a word, Nori walks towards the green room where she grabs a bottle of water and pours it on her head. What the fuck did just happened? Noah kissed her in front of the man she is in love with. Her mind keeps playing the scene where Joel looks at her - so much jealousy and confusion on his face - and then there's Noah, looking at her and waiting for her to do something but she couldn't think straight at that moment. She wishes she had done or said something instead of walking away like a coward, but she was so confused that she needed to breathe and stop to think about the kiss and how Joel was looking at her. 

With a hurry, Nori gets rid of her boots and walks towards the exit, trying to find a place where she can be alone for some minutes. She knows the place very well so she quickly finds the dark hallway that leads to the deposit. She leans her back against the wall, closing her eyes to assimilate her own feelings. Nori definitely never felt so confused in her entire life: part of her is worried about what Joel might think, and the other part is happy to make him jealous. The way Noah was so happy for her makes she wonder if that kiss was an act of jealousy or happiness. She can remember how his brown eyes were shining a second before he kissed her, how beautiful he was with that gorgeous smile on his face. It was so good to be in his arms in front of everyone without worrying about others opinions - at least for only five seconds.

Her skin shivers when she feels a presence near her and she immediately knows that it's not Noah. It's like the place is getting even darker and the air is heavier making it hard to breathe. 

“Nori” Joel says as he approaches her.

“Joel” her voice is weak. She feels so vulnerable near him.

“It's been a long time…” he faces her. 

The hallway is slowly turning into a small room with no exit, not a single window or light. Nori feels claustrophobic while Joel places a hand on the wall, just a few centimeters of her body. He gets closer at each second and soon he is touching her, holding her chin to make her look up at him.

“I don't know what you and that guy Noah have, I honestly don't care. I just want you to know that I missed you and I have been thinking about us lately” he says.

“It's kinda late for that, don't you think?” she tries to get away from his touch.

“I got confused. No one ever loved me the way you do. I was trying to protect you from me”.

Just a woman like Nori could break the shell around Joel Hokka and she did it, but he couldn't live with the fact that someone actually loves him and wants to be with him. It's not something easy to understand, but Joel doesn't feel good enough for anyone - especially for a woman like Nori - so he just ran away and closed himself inside his shell again - even though he has feelings for her. For him, it's better to suffer and live without the woman he loves instead of being a burden in her life, he could never be the man that she deserves. But what he doesn't see is that he is making her suffer even more. All he has to offer her is the darkness that surrounds him.

“I don't want to play games, Joel. You knew I loved every single part of you, even the bad ones, but you didn't care” she tries to hold back the tears.

“I was a coward”.

“Yeah, you were. And now what happened?”.

“I think I realized that I was losing the most amazing woman that I ever met”.

“Or did you realize that I found someone better than you?”.

“Like you and Noah could possibly have a relationship. I know you, Nori. I know you don't like instability, you need security". 

“You think you know me but you don't know shit!”.

For the first time in months, Nori is feeling Joel's lips on hers again. They still soft like she remembered, his tongue roaming inside her mouth with ease and dominating her entirely. One of his hands holds her cheek while the other grabs her by her waist, making her feel his bulge against her lower belly. When she allows herself to close her eyes, the only thing that comes to her mind is a beautiful pair of brown eyes and a large smile that can light up the whole world. Even though Joel is a good kisser and knows where she likes to be touched, it's not the same anymore. The kiss doesn't have the same magic, the same capability of making her feel like she is floating in the sky and touching the clouds. In her mind, everything is very clear now: this pair of lips isn't Noah's.

Meanwhile, the pair of brown eyes are staring at them from afar, getting darker with anger and sadness. Seeing Nori in someone else's arms is destroying Noah in a very slow and torturing way, but he can't do anything. They have agreed that they wouldn't fall in love, she trusted him. He knew right in the beginning that she loved Joel and even though he let himself fall for her so it's his fault that he is suffering now. She is not his girl and probably will never be. 

[wishbonedean]

One thing of note is Dean's conversation with Jo.

JO Shut up. You carry all kinds of crap you don't have to, Dean. It kinda gets clearer when you're dead. DEAN Well, in that case, you should be able to see that I am 90%... crap. I get rid of that, what then? JO You really want to die not knowing?

Dean rarely gives himself the opportunity to be self-reflective except, often, when he or another is about to die. He's self-aware. He knows he's performing, and what gets me is that he doesn't even know what he's covering up, and he literally does not know *what* he's missing out on, and he's prepared to die not knowing (bc he feels guilty enough to think he doesn't even deserve the opportunity to get to know himself on a deeper level). I love that Jo calls him out on this and encourages him to let go of the "crap" - including a clear acknowledgement that she does not blame him at all for her death - so he can experience himself without all of that weighing him down. His is spending 90% of the time playing this role that has mostly been cultivated for him by John, and Jo prompts him to recognize he is living a half life - how can you know what's missing if you never knew what was there, you never were brave enough to look?

This conversation highlights that Dean has *not* achieved his final form - far from it, he's admitted he's 90% performative bs. He is *not* the Dean we see on screen for nearly half the run-time of the show, or at least he doesn't feel like it, bc while he definitely *is* that Dean, it's not the complete picture, we only see the 10% of him that manages to shine through. And thanks to all the wonderful Jacting Joices, we know that Dean has *plenty* of feelings that he doesn't let on to even those closest to him - there's never *time* to navigate his own feelings bc the hits keep coming relentlessly, not to mention he's on the heels of season 6 where literally all of his closest loved ones have lied to and belittled him, and made choices on his behalf without his say so. So he takes the path of least resistance and locks up his identity/exploration behind a persona he can be safe in, but in taking the path of least resistance, he resigns himself to living a life *of* resistance, the mask *must* be maintained, and he can *not* explore until it is safe to do so (but how can he ever know if it's safe?). It just break my heart to see Dean *aware* that he has barely scratched the surface of who he really is - he mentions never getting to be a kid in this episode as well - and yet he's ready to accept such a painfully short and unfulfilled life as though he doesn't deserve his life. He is not okay, not at all.

Also (not necessarily related to the above), Sam tells Dean that his time in Hell helps him to not feel guilty because he's paid for it already. But the difference in their hell experiences is that Sam never tortured anyone. In this episode, it doesn't *matter* of Dean is guilty or not, it's about whether *he* thinks he's guilty, and there's no way this guy can treat his time in hell as penance when he "chose" to torture others to spare himself. He is not sold on this and jokes with Sam a bit about it, but we end the episode with him not really achieving any sort of respite. He continues to lie to Sam about killing Amy in the previous episode, the most recent kill he feels most guilty about, and unlike Jo and Sam whose deaths he could acknowledge weren't necessarily on his head, there was no working around Amy's death - he killed her, *in front of her child*. I have my own opinions about Amy, but regardless, Dean feels guilty and that's all that really matters.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

No wonder ARMY doesn't bother listening to other kpop groups. Idk what I was expecting but I heard this was THEE Taeyang of THEE BigBang but then, side by side with Jimin he just looked so mediocre and I'm not even hating.

Jimin sounded better, danced better, had better stage presence, ON TAEYANG'S OWN SONG.

How did BigBang even become so big? How are they considered legends of kpop? Why do kpop stans hate on BTS so much when even 2015 BTS surpassed BB by any objective metric?

***

Hi Anon,

Like I've said before, a lot of ARMYs listen mostly to BTS not because they don't know what other k-pop groups are doing, but because they've heard it all and decided BTS is more their taste and, some would argue, better than a lot of what's out there.

BTS has Jimin, BigBang does not.

And again, like I've said before, k-pop is so inherently hyper-competitive that good talent is what will eventually come out on top though the Big3 definitely still leverage their privilege to enjoy momentous success from time to time, and often rely on the confirmation bias of k-pop stans to try to create a moat around their groups.

A very good case study will be YG's new girl group, Baby Monster, and NewJeans - compare the response of k-pop stans to both groups over the next 12 months (though Baemon hasn't debuted yet, there's enough chatter to begin forming an opinion). Baemon's debut will be incredibly successful because of the buy-in from the rest of k-pop fandom that is ideologically opposed to anything related to BTS. It's a bit hilarious but it's a dynamic I've seen play out in real time, at several points over the years. Baemon's debut will be an excellent opportunity to check if I've just been talking outta my ass lmao.

*

"...even 2015 BTS surpassed BB by any objective metric?"

You've answered your own question.

I actually disagree with you that 2015 BTS surpassed BigBang "by any objective metric". At least in terms of concert showings or audiences, BigBang was still better than BTS on that note. But in terms of the quality of music output, BTS was already ahead of many of their peers and seniors by 2015 - so it was only a matter of time before the size of concert audiences reflected that. It's cute that Jimin liked Taeyang at debut and maintained that good-natured view till now, and on a practical note, if BTS want to maintain their social license to operate in k-pop at their current scale of success, these sorts of collaborations are necessary.

I'm not going to dwell on any more comparisons between the two groups because I don't see the point. Those who view BB as legends are sentimental k-pop stans, and I'm not going to begin to argue against sentimentality.

[melloncreamsoda]

hii can i just say i LOVED ur recent post about the twst boys reacting to reader’s near death experience !! since reqs are opening i was wondering if i could req how the heartslabyul guys plan to propose to their s/o in the future? as always i live for your work and I’m looking forward to reading more of your writing !!!

Heartslabyul boys proposing to their S/O

TW/CW: Gn!Reader, fluff, headcanons, not proofread

extra; AAA THANK U SM FR REQUESTING THIS i remember i got so excited when i first saw your request LMAO then iforgot aboutit and i just saw it again so im doing this at midnigh lolzieS. anyway THANK YOU??? youre too kind and generous with your feedback on my witing it means so much to me omg u sweet anon AAAA I hope u enjoy this piece!! <33

Riddle Rosehearts

He's losing his mind over it, panicking in every manner known to mankind. 'Are they gonna like this? Is it too extravagant, or too simple?' He's running around, asking everyone on their opinions of his idea. He wants to make sure it's perfect, and even though everyone from Ace to Trey gives him the green light, he somehow still doubts himself. I mean, it's not every day you get to propose to the love of your life.

In the end, he settles for something simple, proposing to you in private, preferably with his friends and yours surrounding him. He keeps his little speech short and sweet, but not directly to the point — he'd be damned if he messes up his own proposal due to how shy he is about it. He starts tearing up in the middle of it because he realises that in the middle of it, he really was willing to throw all his doubts about love out the window for his beloved; he was finally ready to make a commitment that he was sure he wouldn't regret, and one that would definitely be rewarding

Don't be surprised if he stutters or tries to beat around the bush; he promises he's prepared mentally but the words might just seem to fail to fall out of his mouth, let alone even form coherently in his head. It's just a mixture of nerves and excitement, because he knows that he'll never forgive himself if even the slightest thing goes wrong.

"I'd throw away all my issues just for you!"

Trey Clover

He too, is one to keep it simple! In terms of the overall proposal and privacy, that is. To him, proposing to you is something intimate and emotional, and he rather not have the public swooning over something he'd much prefer to share with you, and you only in private!

He keeps the preparations on the down low, mostly consulting Cater and Riddle for their opinions on his ideas. However, he does let Ace and Deuce chip in if they happen to hear of it, under the condition that they keep their mouths wired shut; because otherwise, he might just have to do it himself!

He tries to remain suave and smooth when it comes to proposing, but you can see the way he wears his heart on his sleeve, and how his extended hand is trembling ever so slightly. You can hear him sigh while he smiles to himself mid-sentence, blush creeping up his cheeks as he struggles to form a coherent sentence.

He does the classic 'propose on one knee' thing because really what else do you expect from this man. After he slips on the ring, you can feel the way his arms linger around your waist for just a little longer, giving the slightest of squeezes, before placing a chaste kiss on your nose.

"... this is kinda embarrassing, but would you?"

Cater Diamond

Initially, he'd wanted to propose in public — in a restaurant, cafe. However, he didn't want to put you on the spot and make you feel pressured to say yes. So that's why he decided on a private proposal in a room full of your friends and his, recording your reaction from corners of the room.

The way he goes about it is rather interesting — he brings about the idea of marriage mid-conversation, testing the water of sorts. Until suddenly, he pulls out a rose gold ring, the reflection of the diamond stud catching your attention from your peripheral vision.

He doesn't ramble, but reassures you of how much you mean to him, and how he's willing to throw anything out of the way for you while maintaining eye-contact. You've never seen him this serious and you can tell from the rush of words coming out that he's desperate for you to stay by his side; his fear of losing you.

So he's surprised when you say yes to him. You seriously are confident that you want to spend the rest of your life with him? He's never felt such a sense of self-worth before, that being himself is actually enough for someone. And he's even more excited that it's you.

He's quick to throw himself over you, burying his face in your neck while he smothers you in kisses, and you swear that you could feel a few tears trickle down your neck.

"Ahhh— I can't believe you really said yes.."

Ace Trappola

He'd prepared really hard prior to the actual proposal, even going to the extent of practising with Deuce to get his honest feedback. He'd memorised every word of what he was to say, but obviously with them, even when you put two and two together you'd still end up with a negative... anyway

All his preparations were thrown out the window the moment he realised what he was actually about to do, he says that 'keeping it casual would make it easier for him to get his feelings across' but really it's the nerves. Even you could tell from the way his voice trembled as he spoke.

You two would be relaxing on the couch until Ace decided that that moment would be the prime time to propose, even if you were busy doing work. You would think he was joking at first, but what first seemed like an immature prank soon became a full-fledged proclamation of his love for you and how much you meant to him.

He tries to brush it off as no big deal at the though of you rejecting him, but he also wasn't exactly caught off guard when you said yes; definitely surprised though. You could see the way his brain forgot to function properly, still busy processing whether or not you truly said yes.

He'd simply slip the ring onto your finger with jittery hands, nearly dropping the ring. To you, it may seem like he's just blanked out, but inside he's just letting your futures play out in his head like a tape.

"Hehe, the ring really fits your hand huh?"

Deuce Spade

He is literally tearing his hair out. bending over backwards to think of the perfect things to tell you. Was he sure that you'd want to spend your life with this clammy man? A jittery boy with a cringe bully backstory? Regardless, he does it anyway.

When it comes to the proposal, it's everything you'd expect; a run-of-the-mill, cheesy one, similar to Trey's! He proposes wherever you shared your first date, which is probably NRC tbh. He's soft, squishy and everything inbetween, and might even end up crying before you do.

When you say yes, he begins cheering himself, nearly forgetting to pass the ring to you. It's quite the adorable sight, but only for a man who'd just propose to his partner — otherwise it would be cringe. He becomes extra jittery, so excited that the slightest touch would set him exploding into oblivion. Bouncing up and down, hyping himself up and congratulating himself for doing well.

He throws himself onto you, smiling into your shoulder, imagining how the wedding reception would go. He's so glad you said yes because he was going to treat you like absolute fucking royalty brah.

"Are you sure you don't want to rethink it? I mean, it's me we're talking about.."

@rinnelovebot & @shiemori a few hours = the next day haha

[aajjks]

To that anonymous coward who keeps pestering Alina and saying that she doesn't deserve Jungkook:

Listen up and listen well.

Do you think you deserve Jungkook, you asshole? If so, sorry to break it to you, but very few people do, and you're definitely not one of them. He deserves someone with a heart of gold just like him. He deserves someone that won't hurt other people's feelings, because he would certainly never do that intentionally. He deserves someone that knows how to keep their cool and stay chilled, instead of lashing out on the internet.

Imagine what Jungkook would think if he saw you pestering Alina. You should be ashamed of yourself. You sound like a spoiled brat whose mother didn't teach them manners. And if your mother tried teaching you manners, she clearly didn't succeed, so I pity her. (Sorry if you take that as an insult to your mother. I don't intend to stoop as low as you.)

What would Jungkook do in your situation, huh? If he saw something that he didn't like on the internet, he wouldn't be bothered by it. He would just keep scrolling and move on with his life. He doesn't care about his haters, to the point that he doesn't even bother to sue them. So why are you so bothered with a blog on Tumblr?

I'm sure you've heard about that person who spread false rumors and spoke shit about Taehyung. Yeah, well, they're sitting with a lawsuit on their hands and pleading for forgiveness at the moment. They were trying to be a big bad bully, but now they're probably sitting somewhere fearing for their life in the future because they don't want a criminal record to prevent them from studies and jobs. They tried to wreck someone else's reputation before considering the consequences on their own.

Alina might not sue you, although it would be entirely reasonable if she did. You totally deserve it at this point, after all you've said and done. You're hiding under the banner of anonymity, so she couldn't sue you even if she wanted to. Regardless, I wouldn't blame her if she did want to. Even if she had the chance to, and chose to show mercy on you for some weird but admirable reason, you're still heading down a similar destructive path with the attitude that you currently have. I suggest that you take some time to reflect on how you're affecting another person's life before something drastic happens in your life and you find yourself dealing with a legal case. Rather learn the easy way now, before life has to teach you the hard way. Learn now while you're just harassing some strangers on the internet, before your immaturity costs you in your real personal capacity.

It's going to come back to you in some form of karma, just try and minimize the severity of it while you still stand a chance. One day, you'll regret it. So start regretting it now and have some human decency to leave Alina alone and let her be. It's her blog. She can do what she wants to with it. Let her feel comfortable in her own space just like she's made us feel so welcome. Stop looking at her blog if it makes you frustrated.

If you're so hell bent on 'Alina not deserving Jungkook' and insisting that she 'deletes every trace of him off her blog,' then I'm guessing that you probably have some sort of obsession or possessiveness over the real Jungkook based on your obvious need to defend or protect him in your own psychotic way. If you don't find yourself emotionally attached to him (which I'd find hard to believe), then, surely you have some form of awareness about Jungkook. Not a fictional Jungkook. The real one that doesn't give a fuck. One that let's haters be and doesn't retaliate against him.

I'm not saying that Alina is a hater. She is not. She's an amazing, creative and caring soul that would be so sweet and nice to you if you didn't try to bring her down all the time. However, if for some reason, you see Alina as a hater in your opinion (which in my opinion, she is not), just take Jungkook's example and move on with your life.

Even if Alina were guilty of all the things you accuse her of like being a hater (which she's not), just move on with your life. Please. Thank you.

I hope you find peace or go fuck off. Either one will do. Whether you come around, change your attitude, join the party and actually participate and have fun on this blog, or whether you go cry and curl up in a hole with the guilt and embarrassment of what you've done, either one will do the trick. The job is done if you bid farewell to your current attitude. People have the capability to change, so rather change for the good, because surely you weren't born this bitter.

So, for whichever one you choose, good riddance or welcome to the family bitch!

Oh my goodness, you have no idea how happy I am right now at least some people are intelligent on this blog, let me clarify something because a lot of people are misunderstanding.

I do not hate him I can never. I guess that I used to have a crush on him and it was hard for me to deal with all of the changes but I’m slowly starting to get used to them and I’m trying my best because I know it is very immature of me to be behave like that and I’m ashamed of my behavior.

But this bitch keeps on bothering me. I fucking hate this anonymous bitch. There are obsessed with the idea of me being obsessed with him.

I shouldn’t have to clarify anything to anyone. This is so frustrating and trust me if I could sue this person I would I’m still looking for ways to do that though.

Maybe one day I’ll find something and teach them a good fucking lesson.

It’s really easy for people to hide behind anonymity and threaten others, it’s very very easy I could do that too. I mean I could just turn the anon button off and they would fuck off.

Which i choose not to do because I know a lot of people love to interact with me behind the protection of anonymity. But I do not like being lectured on how I should react to something.

I’m working on my flaws.

I love you so much. Thank you for taking our time for writing all of this and sending this to me. Your support means so much to me. I appreciate you so much. I’ll always remember this.

[alovelyburn]

Was Guts actually in love with Casca? I can’t recall him having any moment thinking of what he feels towards her in the golden age, just like he did so many times with Griffith. Do you think it could have been better if they never were a thing and just being friends by seeing how similar they are?

I watched the 1997 anime and read until the Lost Children arc, and hated everything surrounding Casca’s sa during the eclipse. Because she isn’t actually a character during a long time, her rape isn’t brought up in a way that isn’t because she was Guts’ “woman”. Guts doesn’t make any conciousness about how horrible it was for her, and even though he chose to stay with Gambino and Griffith when they were disabled, he didn’t wanted to when it was her and that’s sad

Oho!

Guts' feelings for Casca are an interesting topic to me - I feel like the mainstream english speaking fandom really heavily romanticizes the relationship whereas the GxG corner doesn't usually put much weight in it at all. As in most things I tend to fall in the middle somewhere.

Anyway I can only really give my opinion/perception of things, so here it is:

My read on Gutsca is and has always been.... that they were both fixated on Griffith but felt they couldn't really get as close to him as they wanted to and their pain and frustration over that led to them finally finding a way to relate to each other, which turned into friendship, which turned into attraction.

The thing is, though, even while that was going on they were still both primarily focused on their feelings for Griffith. In Casca's case this entailed just kind of aggressively ignoring it because she was deeply uncomfortable with the idea that she could have feelings for anyone but Griffith. In Guts' case, you may remember at the time he was actively trying to matchmaker Casca and Griffith into becoming a couple so I imagine he was trying to stay out of their way regardless of his feelings about either of them.

That said....

...I do think the feelings are definitely there. It's evident because when Judeau starts asking about them, Guts gets super awkward and sweat droppy...

And in the defensive way he reacts/the way he tries to deflect when asked why he doesn't try to get with her.

If you watch his reactions as Judeau is going over things, his demeanor on the subject of her changes completely as he starts tor realize that the future he was envisioning for her and Griffith - the one where they get together and live happily ever after - isn't ever going to happen.He kind of goes from being aggressively defensive to quietly reflective.

Plus the way he tries to dodge when asked if he's ever thought about being with her IMO indicates that he has, but probably only in a sort of half-formed way that he never thought that deeply into due to his assumptions about her and Griffith.

And of course in the end, even though he tried to deny it, he did ultimately admit it, and arrived at something more like "I'm not ready for that kind of thing" than "I don't want that kind of thing."

Casca's got her own issues which you didn't ask about so I'm not getting that far into it, rofl, but I will say I think this:

is the precise moment when she realized she can't do anything for Griffith. Because she tries to reach out to him and he doesn't even respond to her, like he doesn't even acknowledge that she’s there. And she pulls back like something burned her fingers before she starts wildly vacillating and then ultimately calls Guts' name.

And of course...

Whatever Guts was feeling about her, it was enough to make him hesitate when she called his name. It wasn’t enough to override his desire to chase Griffith’s friendship and respect, but it was enough to make him pause.

Now all that said, do I think Guts was actually full-chested in love with Casca?

No. I mean for one thing, Miura said they were forever stuck at the stage before falling in love, which implies they aren't actually actively in love - more that they perhaps could have been if the relationship had continued.

But even if you ignore the authorial intent aspect, their one "good" moment as a couple - the meadow scene - doesn't really showcase what I would call full-on in-loveness. Casca has to decide that her feelings are real and only decides to commit to it once Guts turns out to be needier than Griffith where she's concerned. and Guts' decision to ask her to go with him is kind of...

...random and spontaneous? What I mean is, he wasn't proposing to her - there was no “let’s start a new life together because I love you and we’re going to be together 5ever,” not even in his head. In fact, he said he wasn't sure if it would work out or if she'd end up getting in the way. But he was feeling it in the moment and he was willing to give it a shot. It reminds me a bit of Casca's line - I'll believe it, that my feelings for this man are real. It's an active decision on their parts to believe in that connection and its potential to grow and take root even though it's still just beginning at that moment.

And of course, if they were truly madly deeply in love then they wouldn't have started fracturing the second Griffith's shadow returned to their lives. In the end, I do think they were only able to develop the feelings they had for each other because they felt like Griffith was untouchable, and when he wasn't anymore, Casca started backpedaling and complaining to Guts about how jealous she was of Charlotte, and Guts was like, WELL I GUESS I'LL JUST LET HER GO BACK TO GRIFFITH IDEK WHO AM I TO JUDGE IM JUST AS BAD, and ultimately they both independently decided to stay with Griffith without bothering to ask how the other felt about it, or about giving up their plans. Guts wasn’t even upset about changing his mind, really.

...plus obviously when the Eclipse went down, Guts literally just ignored whatever was going on with her and the other Hawks so he could stand on the alter and try to chip Griffith out of the incubation egg. Even when he realized Griffith really did accept that deal...

He could barely make himself pull away.

After the Eclipse, every time he decides to go after her or protect her, it's catalyzed by remembering that he abandoned Griffith and feels like shit about it and/or pondering how his mistakes lost him everyone he loves, which frames it as being as much his regret and guilt as anything else (and Miura did say guilt is one of the primary things she makes him feel).  It also seems to be more about her representing the last of the Hawks than about his romantic feelings about her - to this day he barely thinks about the relationship itself. When he misses her he usually imagines her in her glory as the Band of the Hawks' unit commander. And in the more recent chapters, he infamously hasn't thought about her even once since [a thing] happened.

Err, so long ramble less long:

In the end, more than a romance in full bloom it is presented, I think, as the seed of a relationship that never had a chance to grow. I do think Guts loved her - as a friend, as a person, as a fellow Hawk - and I do think they had "feelings” for each other, but I do not think they were literally at the point of being in love. I also think it never would have come up if they didn't feel so separated from Griffith - it was his absence that created the space where their connection developed, and ultimately neither one's feelings for the other could really stand up in the face of their feelings for Griffith.

All that being the case, I would say the reason he doesn't go on about his feelings about her during the Golden Age (...or at any other point if we're being honest) the way he does about his feelings for Griffith kind of split down two paths.

First, his feelings for Griffith are just more intense and demanding - both the love and, eventually, the complicated stew of love and hate. Miura once said that Griffith is the one who gives Guts the sustenance he needs to live, and that's the way it's always been.

The other thing is, from a Doylist perspective, Miura himself did not appear to have much of a connection to the romance. He based Guts and Griffith's intense bond on his relationship with Koji Mori, his lifelong best friend. In a memorial manga by Mori's wife, she said that they were so close that it seemed that there was no room in their lives for anyone but each other. And he always said Berserk was about Guts and Griffith and their relationship at its core.

By contrast, Guts and Casca's relationship was a late-stage decision intended to up the stakes and increase the drama... and everything that's been done with her since has been consistent with that. Casca became something of a plot enabler - a McGuffin. She survived just as a means to motivate Guts, and lost her mind so that she wouldn’t take up too much room in the narrative, and while the friendship was pretty well-done, the romance itself has very little substance because it (and Casca herself once she becomes relegated to Love Interest) exists to catalyze whatever is going on between Guts and Griffith - to motivate them, to make them anxious and jealous, to make them angry at each other, to give them something to focus on besides each other, to use to hurt each other.

Also Miura did say that if he could, he wouldn’t have women in the series at all. So there you go.

As for whether it would have been better if they stayed friends... that's kind of a tough question because I have no idea what that would have looked like. I want to say I'm not sure how much it would have really changed - he's more motivated by his regrets over the Hawks than he is by the romance anyway, so I guess if she survived as his friend the story could have remained more or less the same. But... while that's theoretically true, I don’t think it would have remained the same. Because I think even though the romance isn't GUTS' primary motivation, it was probably MIURA'S primary reason for keeping her alive. And if she weren't alive then I have no idea what the past 20 volumes would even be about. So while I don't really have any interest in Gutsca, I'd be reluctant to say the romance shouldn't have happened, because there's not much about Berserk I'd change - some things, sure, but not enough for me to feel comfortable saying the past 20 volumes should be something else entirely. I do think Casca herself should have been better handled.

As for Guts leaving Casca, I mean that comes back to the Watsonian approach and the Doylist approach again.

From the Watsonian perspective it does strike me as internally consistent with the way Guts acts and how he would manage those specific situations. Gambino losing a leg or Griffith becoming mute and seriously disabled is kind of a different situation vs Casca losing her mind, because even if Gambino and Griffith weren't the same physically they were still the people he loved. Their bodies changed, but they themselves did not. Casca's entire personality - her memories, their connection - it's all just gone. I don't think he could handle that emotionally, nor did he have any idea what to do with it. When he finally did go back for her he ended up dragging her around on a rope; he was absolutely not equipped to manage her situation at all. I also think it makes sense because despite how he felt about Casca, he’s never prioritized her the way he did Griffith or Gambino. Those two are on a completely different level in his life vs. anyone else, even her.

From the Doylist perspective, though? I mean, Miura didn't even know she existed when he had Guts solo adventuring in the Black Swordsman arc, so I guess he had to retroactively explain why she never came up or appeared. There were a couple of ways he could have handled that - he could have had Guts drop into the cave like, yeah ITS BEEN A FEW WEEKS SINCE I SAW YOU GUYS, HOWS LIFE?

...but I think he decided to have Guts abandon her because it kind of fits into the larger theme of Guts treating the people he cares about the most sort of carelessly/letting them fall through his fingers and losing them as a result. The fact that she's the last thing he has - the only thing he hasn't lost yet - lends narrative weight to his decision to stand with her and advances his personal arc, while making his inability to truly commit to doing that - the way he vacillates and still thinks about ditching to go find Griffith - stand out, because even in the face of all those lessons and his own decisions he still can't quite let it go.