#also jisu's role is just very interesting

[s00nyoungie]

unpopular aslfua opinions

i cant actually imagine a scenario where miae and cheol end up dating, at least as teenagers. like just think about stereotypical teenage dating tropes from back in the day. for example, I cannot fathom cheol putting up with aegyo from miae. I can imagine her trying, oh for sure, but it's gonna be weird and offputting. miae bugs cheol enough already without trying to be ultra feminine and cute.

(im mostly thinking abt the main duo in Hometown ChaChaCha and how their attitudes towards each other drastically changed after they became official. no joke i quit the show that ep when they got together because it was too much secondhand embarrassment and whiplash how OOC they felt)

anyway my other unpopular opinion is that i can see miae and jisu dating in their youth because jisu is currently more willing to see miae as an equal he can play with but also get to reason with. whereas cheol sees her as a smaller kid he needs to protect despite all of them being the same age. and maybe miae and jisu don't last the long term and miae finds her way back to cheol once they're both a little more mature and the expectations of peers and family arent in the way. miae's friends keep egging her on. the other female classmates aren't happy with how close they are. their parents seem to expect something too, especially miae's mom. but neither of them are ready.

[lej222]

Please please please make a prediction about how the story will unfold starting from chapter 127 in Aslfua. I am a big fan of your theorie

Well, this is a difficult quiestion, but I will try to answer it. First of all, I believe everything depends on the author's intentions. I've read her previous webtoon, Cheese in the Trap, and I must say she has grown a lot as a storyteller and artist. Unripe Apples, in my opinion, is her best work so far in terms of characters, storytelling and symbolism. From the very start the ending had two different outcomes, at least the part of the ending most readers seem to care about - whether Cheol and Miae will end up together. The author has hinted the possibility of them parting ways since the very first chapters; in fact, when I read the narrator's parts it always feels like the narrator is looking back at the past, recalling fleeting moments that were important to the characters once. It's deliberately like an adult talking to children, noting how their age and inexperience about the world shape who they are in the storyline. Of course, the creator might have wanted them to end up together from the start, or maybe fan reactions and personal opinions could have changed her mind, maybe she always wanted a bittersweet ending and will stick with it - who knows. It will all depend on what she will emphasize in the upcoming part of the story, either way it will be fine.

As for other aspects of the story, I have lots of theories and have read other interesting ones as well.

In my previous post I talked about how ASLFUA should be read as a growth story instead of a romance. Like there are certain people we have to meet in our lives as if it was fated in order to learn from them. If we use this mindset, we can say that differents parts of the story are about the struggles and emotional growth of different characters. Part 1, ending with Miae's birthday, is mainly Cheol's story. It deals with his insecurities, problems and he matures significantly by the end of the first part. One of my personal favourite scenes is when he's just sitting next to the trash, broken, without any hope for the future - it's a visually impressive and tragic scene about a teenager who carries a heavy weight too big for a child. Part two, ending with ch126, is mostly about the changing friendship between Cheol and Miae, and the start of Miae's growth as a person. It is also the first time Jisu gets a center role in the story. Interestingly, characters who are acknowledged by the main characters and start to be a significant presence in their lives get their faces revealed. It's a funny visual solution, because it shows the focus of these kids - one who can expand their world and be a part of it is treated differently than those who are not. Jisu's face wasn't shown before simply because he wasn't the focus of Miae's limited world, once she acknowledged him as a person and learned his name his face was revealed. Part 3, in my opinion, starting from 127 will put more focus on Jisu as a character. There are multiple signs of him being a significant character from the very first chapter.

Jisu is an interesting case though, because we know almost nothing about him. It's pretty obvious that he parallels Cheol in many ways, they are opposites in almost everything. If the story becomes darker as the end of the year approaches, Jisu's backstory might not be as happy as some might first believed. There are numerous theories about him, I've also mentioned some of them before, like how he might be neurodivergent, a son of divorced parents, or maybe even abused. Some of these might be present at the same time, e.g. if he's on the spectrum he might be abused and bullied because of it, people who are different are always easy targets for those who want to abuse their power. Let's not forget his reactions when he was hit by the teacher and it became a running gag with Miae thinking he enjoys the pain - but if you reaaaaaally look at his expression and what he says about it the signs are all there, especially for those who have experienced similar treatment in the past. Jisu enduring all that might be his way of defiance for all we know. Considering that he has started to appear more since part2 and has been featured in ads and promotional arts, I would say his story will take central stage in part3 and will be the catalyst to Miae's growth as a person, in what exact way it remains to be seen.

Cheol and Miae will probably have an awkard relationship after the kiss without real resolution, but will still see each other in the summer. The bully from Cheol's old school will be back for sure, hopefully this time Cheol will ask help from his family and not act alone on the matter. I don't believe the academy kids will be featured that much, but I can imagine a Sora miniarc which could also take a darker turn. They will all have to say goodbye very soon with the end of the year approaching. I don't believe many of them will go to the same high school which ties to my theory that the story is about making connections in different parts of our lives. If Cheol chooses to go back to the countryside it won't be because he's still afraid and wants to hide from others - it will be because he likes being there. About Cheol and Miae the real question is whether they can grow together or if they have a different path they have to take. If it's not in the cards, it's not their fault, they are still kids after all. But if they are destined to be together I think the author will make them both mature together and communicate more about their feelings. I will be able to say more once the new season starts, but I guess these are the most important thematic points the story needs to address. :)

[junker-town]

Mystics hit the weight room, send Aces to the waiting room

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

We have that and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.

After Liz Cambage dominated the Washington Mystics in the Las Vegas Aces’ Game 3 win in their epic WNBA semifinal series on Sunday, Cambage insisted that the Mystics “get in the weight room or get out of the post.” This is just a tremendous line, as Matt Ellentuck notes in his piece celebrating Cambage’s penchant for trash talk. It’s essentially an updated version of “do you even lift, sis?” It should win a literary prize.

But the Mystics, to their credit, chuckled right along with Cambage, mocking the declaration immediately and preserving some retorts for Washington’s eventual triumph. That triumph came on Tuesday, as the Mystics won 94-90 to clinch a 3-1 series victory. And then Natasha Cloud, who led the response to Cambage all along, got the last laugh by doing pushups on the Aces’ home court after eliminating them. It’s Dame Lillard waving goodbye to Russell Westbrook, with a little bit more of an edge.

For the record, Cambage had a helluva game. The Mystics are just too much. Elena Delle Donne is too much. Emma Meessemann was too much. The Mystics now go on to face the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Finals. The Mystics are a lot, but they may not be too much for the Sun, who are also a lot. Just ask the Sparks, who Connecticut knocked so far off their axis that L.A. basically gave up midway through Game 3 in a best-of-5 series.

The WNBA Finals begin Sunday.

Now You Love LaMelo

Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes that NBA teams now think LaMelo Ball is worthy of a top-5 NBA draft pick. This comes as LaMelo performs exceptionally well in Australian league play for the Illawara Hawks.

These teams and analysts could have just read Ricky O’Donnell’s piece from a month ago, where he broke down Ball’s performance on the prep school circuit last spring and came to the conclusion that ... LaMelo is a top-5 NBA draft prospect.

It’s interesting to see how opinions change on teenagers’ skills and potential.

Links

Michael Pina on Pascal Siakam’s outsized role for the Raptors this season, either as a star or trade chip.

Shouts to Zach Lowe for pointing out this incredible admission or lie from Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak, who told the Charlotte Observer that the team was somewhat blindsided by Kemba Walker making the All-NBA team, thus leading to an enormous gap between Kemba’s potential salary and what Charlotte was willing to offer. If Kupchak is being honest, this is an inexcusable offense given the stakes of losing a player like that with no real compensation in the summer.

Kyle Kuzma might miss training camp.

Dan Devine asks whether the Heat should trade for Chris Paul.

The NBA tampering cops fined the Bucks because their GM said he will be offering Giannis the supermax next summer. Really.

Jonathan Tjarks suggests Kawhi vs. Giannis is the next version of LeBron vs. Durant.

Very good job, Sixers.

Want a taste of what Kelly Dwyer offers up? His Bulls preview for The Second Arrangement is available to all.

Really cool effort by Buddy Hield and his mom to raise money for Bahamas hurricane relief.

How JiSu Park, a Korean superstar, is struggling to find her way in the WNBA.

Why the Lakers will probably not trade for Andre Iguodala.

Be excellent to each other, my friends.

[lej222]

Finally someone who loves Jisu!!!! So sad to see how much KR fandom loves him while the international readers hate on him.

Do you have a favourite Jisu theory? have a nice day!🙂

Yes, Naver readers love him🙂 you should also ignore the international readers, lots of them only care about the romance part and that's why they hate him for no reason in my opinion.

Yes, I do have one favourite theory from the Korean fandom! I have seen it quite a few times actually. So, we all know that the relationship between Cheol&Miae and Miae&Jisu keep mirroring each other, like they are two parallel lines in the universe. Which is super interesting because there's some higher power involved in the story that now keeps on taking an active voice. As for now, we can only speculate what it is- fate? the universe? the stone deity? All in all, there's a strong theme in the series that suggests that you have to meet certain people in your life for reasons you might not realize.

This connects to one of my favourite theories that Jisu is connected to the airplanes. So far we've seen different types of wish-making. We have the scene where Miae's mother takes her to the Buddha statue to pray. We had a flashback of Cheol showing young Miae the stone tower where she could make a wish. And we have Miae counting airplanes, even though her wish doesn't seem to come true when it comes to Cheol with the airplanes.

So: Buddha statue->Miae's mother

Stone tower-> Cheol

Airplanes-> Miae?? But do we know where she learned it from? No! And what do Jisu's eyes look like? Like white airplanes in the blue sky! Does it mean he showed Miae how to wish on airplanes? Maybe?

I think Miae remembering Jisu is a very important part of the story. Otherwise his character wouldn't have been foreshadowed since the first chapter. It would have been easy to write him out of the story - have Miae remember him and then move on. But it would be interesting if his memories were integral later on, and the airplane theory just might be true in that case. This is not a shipping post btw!! Character roles can be important without them being love interests!! We will have to wait and see why Jisu parallels the main characters in the story so much.

Good day to you as well anon, thank you for your question!🙂

[lej222]

ASLFUA Rant//

So I was informed that my very first theory posted on here was shared on another platform. While I'm always open to civil discussion and sharing ideas, I was sad to see just how much my words were taken out of context. I want to thank the person who sent me the screenshots and I want to take this opportunity to address and clarify some things that were written about me and my posts:

First of all, a theory is called a theory for a reason. It does not mean I think what I post will 100% happen or it has to happen in the story. I write about possibilities, and I try to support my ideas by using the webtoon as the primary source. Reader interpretation can vary among different people, that's the fun of reading and the very reason why I started posting in this fandom after seeing that these theories hadn't been discussed before.

I have repeatedly emphasized that I do not care about romantic outcomes in this work because I view the webtoon as a growth story. In my ASLFUA ending theory I wrote about the possibility of Jisu ending up together with Miae. At that time, it wasn't a popular theory, that's why I raised the possiblity of it happening. It doesn't mean I won't like the ending if it doesn't come true. It was a theory for a reason. I wrote that if Jisu was only added to the story to create tension between the two main characters, it would mean bad writing. I never said Cheol ending up with Miae would be bad writing. What I meant was that I want Jisu to have his own character development outside of the Cheol-Miae romantic storyline. I firmly believe he will be an important character because there was no way the creator has left clues about him since the beginning if he wasn't going to be relevant to the main plot. Ever since then, I have made many theories about his role in the story, and I never said he definitely has to be a love interest. Please stop taking my words out of context.

Someone accused me of spreading mistranslations, referring to the lines in ch 2 and 4 about how Cheol will be a special person to Miae whom she'll never forget. The official English translation here is not wrong, it's the same in Korean. If you don't believe me, read the comment section on Naver under episode 2. There are a lot of readers who went back to that episode trying to understand why that line was there. It had a very important placement because it was at the end of the episode, right before the cover of the series which itself was also very symbolic. In the comment section readers have made theories about that line and many expressed their sadness over the possibility of the main characters not ending up together. About the emoji added in episode 4 after the same line, it really depends on your interpretation. I have written several posts where I mention how the narrator treats the characters as kids and uses a playful tone reflecting their age and inexperience about the world. This could be one interpretation - the narrator is looking back on these moments, knowing full well what's going to happen, and even if they don't end up together the tone is playful because those feelings are nostalgic (because with time you grow and look back differently on sad memories). Or you could say the narrator is playful because they are lying and the main characters will actually end up together. As of now, we don't know the answer, so anything is possible. The English translation is not wrong, one question about the series is why that sentence was added in the first place, which opens the door to many interesting theories.

Just my personal opinion, but I do not understand why Cheol and Miae not ending up together would ruin the story when they are 14/15 years old. I don't think many people stay with their first loves, especially if they start dating as teenagers. Then would you guys say that your first relationship was meaningless? Every social encounter, especially romantic relationships, are meaningful because they change us in many ways. We always learn from our experiences. Although, if they end up together, that's also good because some people only date once and stay with them for the rest of their lives, it's not impossible, and those people are lucky. I'm just saying for me a bittersweet ending wouldn't cheapen the story. And I don't understand why it would be a copy of 25 21 when ASLFUA was published before that tv series and likely had its ending planned out by that time.

Last of all, every one of us is entitled to our own opinion, I always ephasize that my theories might be totally wrong, they are theories for a reason. I never try to force my opinions on others, that's why I would happy if even if you share my posts, you wouldn't attack me because we have different theories or interpretations about the series. I won't take down my posts because I have very kind readers who might want to read them again, but I wanted to clarify my stance on this whole issue.