#because people often only interact with media they agree with already

[thelostconsultant]

Soft launch vs. hard launch

pairing: Charles Leclerc x reader

type: smau

summary: Oscar and Logan are very protective of you, so you and Charles have to get through them before making your relationship public.

liked by logansargeant, charles_leclerc and 35,133 others

yourusername: I wanted to start the day at the gym, but someone knows the way to my heart ☕ logansargeant ❤️

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user1: You’re in Belgium? On an F1 race weekend?

↳ user2: Can’t wait for the posts about her shenanigans with Logan. 

oscarpiastri: And where’s my coffee?

↳ logansargeant: Get your own.

↳ oscarpiastri: Good to know I can count on my friend.

↳ yourusername: Stop flirting under my post! It will be flooded with shippers in seconds. 

↳ logansargeant: Shhhh, don’t tell him.

↳ oscarpiastri: Tell me what?

↳ yourusername: Nothing. 

↳ oscarpiastri: I hate you both.

↳ oscarpiastri: And see you at the track.

user3: I love these three. They should do a podcast together during the break. 

user4: I wonder who’s dating who. 

↳ user5: It’s a poly relationship, I’m calling it now. 

↳ yourusername: Wrong. 

↳ user4: Then what’s the truth? The suspense is killing us!!!!

↳ yourusername: 🤷‍♀️

charles_leclerc: Photos I can taste in my mouth...

↳ oscarpiastri: What?

↳ charles_leclerc: Her coffee.

liked by oscarpiastri, vancityreynolds and 673,677 others

yourusername: So you wanna know what’s my favorite position? Here, now you know (credit to Debbie Ridpath Ohi)

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logansargeant: Look, there’s Oscar! 😼

↳ oscarpiastri: Haha…

user6: Sometimes I look at her weird posts and I have to remind myself what an amazing fashion model she is beside everything else she does.

user7: You should have taken a photo of yourself doing that. Preferably in a short skirt. 

↳ user8: Dude, gross, fuck off!

↳ logansargeant: Yeah, fuck off.

↳ user9: I love how Logan always shows up to tell assholes off. 

charles_leclerc: Guess the interview didn’t go as planned.

↳ yourusername: Never again. You were right.

↳ oscarpiastri: Wait, what interview?

↳ logansargeant: Hello? Care to answer your phone? 

↳ yourusername: Chill, boys, it’s ok. Already had my rant session with someone. 

↳ charles_leclerc: Anytime.

user10: When did this happen? Can’t remember Charles ever commenting under her posts. 

↳ user11: He has left comments before, but I gotta agree that he’s been suspiciously active lately.

liked by yourusername, heidiklum and 291,329 others

charles_leclerc: Thank you for having me, verawang, I had a good time. Anyway, what do you think, would this one look good on me?

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user12: Considering how often he interacts with yourusername on social media, I'm not even surprised to see he happened to pick her photo.

logansargeant: You're talking about the clothes, right? Because if you're not talking about the clothes, we will have to talk.

↳ charles_leclerc: Am I in trouble?

↳ oscarpiastri: After writing, "would this one look good on me?" Yeah, you are. Pervert.

↳ charles_leclerc: I'll send you to your room, son.

↳ logansargeant: Pulling the adoption card? Tsk, you can't pull that on me. Confess.

yourusername: *pulls out the popcorn*

↳ logansargeant: Put that down, I sent you a message.

↳ yourusername: No.

↳ user13: LOL, I love that she's only here for the chaos.

user14: Charles, what's going on between the two of you? This is suspicious.

liked by yourusername, danielricciardo and 1,754 others

charles_leclerc: Our first kiss captured by the one and only danielricciardo. #tbt

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user15: Soft launch on this average Thursday? Who is she?

user16: HOLY SHIT IS THIS YOURUSERNAME??????

↳ user17: This photo is so dark, how could you possibly tell?

↳ user16: Trust me, I'd recognize her anywhere. (Don't ask how.)

↳ oscarpiastri: I'd like to ask though.

↳ logansargeant: It's definitely concerning.

danielricciardo: You're welcome.

↳ logansargeant: Why are you randomly taking photos of other people making out?

↳ danielricciardo: I have a natural talent to recognize historical moments.

liked by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1 and 1,932 others

yourusername: Someone came home from the party with a fake beard and fell asleep with it still on his face. No kiss for you until you get rid of it.

tagged: charles_leclerc

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user18: Are you a "soft launch by Charles" son or a "hard launch by Y/N" daughter?

↳ user19: And she hard launched it with this? She's so chaotic, I love her. She could've chosen some sweet photo, but instead she chose this.

user16: I told you all it's her. I knew it!

logansargeant: If you ever want to complain about him, you know where to find me.

↳ oscarpiastri: And me. I'm ready to trash talk my father.

↳ charles_leclerc: Thanks for the vote of confidence.

user20: Not Max liking this. Dude, just follow Charles!

oscarpiastri: Okay, reacting to Charles's photo now that you made this public: Keep it PG!

↳ yourusername: Osc, don't freak out, that's just a kiss.

↳ logansargeant: Yeah, but the rules.

↳ charles_leclerc: That's a photo, it's not happening in front of you.

↳ oscarpiastri: It was on my screen, so now it's burned into my brain.

[tbaluver]

Hey! I’m the anon who request the idol!reader, I really liked it and I wanted to request hcs for a reader who does streaming?

When You're A Streamer- The Love And DeepSpace Men

parings in order: Xavier x Reader, Zayne x Reader, Rafayel x Reader, Sylus x Reader genre: fluff fluff a/n: hihi again anonnie ! sorry this took a while to post this was sitting in my drafts until some ideas sparked up .·°՞(¯□¯)՞°·. this was such a cute and fun concept to write i hope this was okay and you enjoy ! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ any likes and reblogs are always appreciated! enjoy!

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

Xavier:

Your audience would already be familiar with Xavier. He would occasionally pop up in the background of your stream with snacks and water when you've been streaming for too long. He'll softly smile and wave at the webcam, give you a sweet kiss on the top of your head, and then quietly slip out of the room. Sometimes he'll be sleeping in the background of your stream.

Sometimes he'll fall asleep with your stream in the background which resulted to him having a ton of channel points.

You tried to do a cooking/ baking stream with him one time and it ended up in a disaster. Flour and other ingredients everywhere but the bowl. Your audience thought it was hilarious and wanted more content of you two doing that more often.

He would get jealous when he would see a lot of people simping in your chat but it would be okay because you'd ban them. Anything to keep your lovers mind at peace!

He loves it when you include him in your streams to play games or do other challenges. He does not get scared playing any horror games but if you do, he'll reassure you that he's right here to protect you. Your chat would be a mix of awe and jealously at you two in stream. He's also your good luck charm whenever you stream a gacha game.

Zayne:

You two would have the worst sleep schedules ever. He would come home late at night and you would still be streaming when he came home. Eventually he'll tell you to stop streaming for the day so you guys can rest together.

He loves it when you do a baking stream. He'll get to try all the sweet treats you try to make behind the camera.

His face never makes an appearance because he doesn't want to be in the spotlight but his lower half would be seen. Your chat would be down bad for his hands and you can't help but agree.

The type of partner that would make you yummy home made food and bring it to you while you're streaming.

He finds it endearing that you're helping out the hospital when you do charity streams or any charity streams in general. He'll bring you a ton of snacks and water to make sure you're energized because he knows those can be lengthy.

When he's comfortable, he'll join you for some games on stream, but the chat would only hear his voice as his face will stay off camera. You guys would play games like Overcooked or It Takes Two or Bread and Fred. Your chat would absolutely love his dry humor and would want you two to play or interact more during stream often.

Rafayel:

He would have a streaming set up for you somewhere in his studio so you're still near him. Your streaming room would be so cute. You two would have designed it together and your fans would end up wanting a room tour.

He would have your stream open on his phone or any device and he'll play it in the background so he can listen to your voice as he paints.

Rafayel loves to be included in general in your streamer career. He'll help you design any of your custom merch or help manage your social media posts, thumbnails, and anything that was creative.

You would do a variety of things on stream depending on what you planned out for that day. Sometimes he'll help you plan and give you ideas! You could play different games, reaction, and challenges. He would love it when you included him in stream and sometimes you guys would get to do couple challenges.

If you were to include him in stream to be your 'good luck charm' when you played a gacha game, he would be so cocky. If you ended up losing your 50/50, he would look at you as if it was YOUR fault.

Sometimes he'll appear in your stream by 'mistake' and your chat would be freaking out. He would bask in all the compliments about him in your chat and you would have to usher him to leave.

There would be a ton of fan edits of you two online. Your fans would eat up any of the content that you guys post together, things like outfit of the day posts with him or you posting his artwork. They just think you guys are so cute. He would also lowkey be judgmental of your fans fanart of you two.

Sylus:

When he found out you were a streamer, he would upgrade your streaming set up with the best materials.

Your chat definitely knew you had a partner. You'd say hi to him in chat and they would hear him in the background as you talk to him. Your chat would be so down bad for his voice and would want him to do a reveal.

He secretly wants to be part of your stream sometimes because they seem like fun, but unfortunately he has to keep his identity hidden. That doesn't stop him from supporting you though.

He's genuinely interested in your job and understands how important it is to you. He's also really impressed by how much you gain followers and in awe with how much your fans love you.

He would be your number 1 fan and your number 1 viewer on all your streaming platforms. He would gift you so much anytime you stream. He would also have so much channel points and would make you do the silliest things. He'll make you sing or dance and sometimes he'll end the stream so he can have you all to himself.

He'll text you to ask if you want this or that to eat or drink and he'll slide it to you off camera so you're well-fed and hydrated.

Will be your rock when you face an criticism or any rough patches in your streaming career. He'll provide a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on while offering supportive words to help you maintain confidence in your career.

[qqueenofhades]

I frankly sometimes feel like social media has ultimately given a lot of people the illusion of power, while also causing them to become corrupted in a similar way to traditional forms of power, only without any actual power that goes with it. The similarities in their behavior to the latter is disturbing as hell, ESPECIALLY given the horrid behavior of online types the past few months.

I really can't emphasize enough how much of a constructed and artificial environment social media is, especially these days, and especially the Social Media Platform Formerly Known as Twitter, which is still the main avenue by which a lot of people attempt to "do" social justice. Once upon a time, Twitter was a moderately beneficial public communication service because everyone and God was on it and you could therefore get communiques directly from the source, there was a blue-check verification service that actually helped you understand who was real and who was not, and while there were serious and ongoing flaws such as there is when useful public discourse is sacrificed on the Great Altar of Profit, there was at least some attempt to monitor or ban Nazis, white supremacists, bad actors, and eventually Trump himself. All of that changed and/or was directly destroyed when Apartheid Clyde took over and turned it into a revenue-generating service for Russian propaganda, alt-right cranks, bots, and the rest of the Elon Fanclub willing to pay $8 for a meaningless blue checkmark, while trashing the site's guardrails and any other useful features. It basically exists for Elon to fanboy Putin, Trump, white supremacy, his 4chan trolls, and anything else that makes his money (while Mr. Free Speech Absolutist arbitrarily bans anyone who hurts his man-child fee-fees). This is not an unbiased, neutral, or constructive environment to start with. You don't have any certainty about who you're interacting with or who is amplifying your messages, and only a hardcore-radicalized (of whatever persuasion) base of human users remain, while a lot of casual users have left.

As such, if you're basing anything (hypothesis, claim, source, evidence, opinion) on "what everyone on Twitter thinks," that is fatally flawed data to start with. Even at the peak of its popularity, something like 24% of all American adults regularly used Twitter. That still means 76% of the country who doesn't (and the number is larger now as Chucklefuck McGee has continued driving it into the ground). If you're forming your ideas or looking for "what America thinks" just by quoting or relying on the tweets of people who already agree with you, you've done basically nothing and you certainly haven't proved it, you've stunted your own critical thinking skills, and you are selecting from a data source that is already fatally poisoned and limited in any number of ways. Adding to the echo chamber of similar opinions on Twitter is not going to actually influence public policy or make lasting change. Yes, the interns and/or public relations staff of the public figures still on there will probably check the feed every so often and make note of things that come up, but couching it as mindless vitriolic abuse and/or demonstrably nonsensical things is not going to get back to their boss. It will just be ignored and/or given less weight in the limited space available for things that are deemed important enough to actually follow up on/make policy around.

Also, a lot of people saw Trump tweeting insane things at 3am for four years, and somehow decided that was actually how US/American presidential and governmental policy was made, rather than that he was a fucking narcissistic-personality-disorder psychopathic lunatic. But uh, and it should go without saying, it didn't work. Just because Trump posted something absolutely unhinged and announced it was now policy, that doesn't mean it was. Half the time he didn't even do so much as issue an executive order, those can be and regularly are challenged in courts, and so forth, because despite all its flaws, America is not an absolute monarchy where the king can rule by fiat and have it totally done, no questions, the end. That's also why Trump's second term would be even more dangerous than his first. In his first, he was flailing around and yelling on Twitter and not really paying attention to anything. In his second, the administration will be staffed top to bottom with dedicated fascists like the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 people, who have spent the last four years brooding on revenge and drawing up detailed plans to actually co-opt and suborn all the levers, checks, balances, controls, and functions of government directly to Trump's personal will (and/or the outrageously evil people pulling strings behind the scenes, because Trump is now basically a gibbering orange vegetable and the media is still far too beholden to the Biden Old!!! narrative to accurately report this).

In short, another Trump term (God fucking forbid) would be run by the kind of methodical and careful evildoers who know that policy isn't made by tweet, and would act accordingly. That would be much, much harder to remove, counteract, or fix, it would almost certainly lead to the end of American democracy at least for most of our lifetimes, and the repercussions of that would be absolutely terrible. But because we still have people who act like Trump is somehow a preferable option, who think that it's bad that Biden is trying to work through established and long-term channels to make sustainable policy and not just get short-term chuckles from an internet dopamine approval rush, that is the risk we are running from now until November 2024. After that, either way, we'll know for sure: we'll finally have a measure of safety, or we will be comprehensively fucked for generations. We all have the power to influence which of those outcomes come to pass. I suggest we use it.

[justrustandstardust]

Can I ask your opinion on answer to this : https://www.tumblr.com/gojuo/742796780522061824/is-satosugu-a-queerbaiting-ship?source=share ?

for reference, this is the post anon is talking about. feel free to check it out for context before reading my response.

this person is basically saying that stsg cannot be romantic because there is no romance depicted between them onscreen; all of their interactions are meant to be regarded through a platonic lens because it's never explicitly indicated (in canon) to do otherwise.

this goes back to the whole idea of "projecting" queerness onto geto and gojo despite them being queered already, which i've touched on before. i'm going to respond to this person's ideas in two main parts: 1) queerbaiting and 2) canon, alongside the idea of "shipping".

as an idea, queerbaiting refers to the marketing technique employed by creators and publishers to increase a media's appeal, achieved through teasing a queer connection between two characters romantically unentangled in canon. queerbaiting dangles the proverbial carrot in front of the audience only to snatch it back with forced love interests or open declarations of brotherhood. it operates along the binary of friends/heterosexuals and queered/romance, dangling the carrot in front of the latter only to resolutely plant their feet in the former.

shockingly, i actually agree with this person— gojo and geto are not queerbaiting because they are queer-coded. the blatant difference between baiting and coding is that the former uses the appeal of fetishism as a marketing mechanism and the latter employs subtextual traits, literary devices and narratorial mechanisms that are recognizable as queer without being stated outright.

queerbaiting is always negative; it operates through stereotypes and functions to create the illusion of representation to ultimately reify the sex/gender binary. queercoding, on the other hand, functions in a more neutral space to create all forms of representation. (although western media has historically queercoded villains, which is an example of negative mechanization).

when engaging in discourse around queerbaiting, it's important to remember that queerness does not present uniformly across borders and time periods. when we seek open declarations of love as affirmations of queerness, we are seeking western representations of queerness, which are often founded in romantic love. the person who wrote this post is engaging in a solipsistic analysis from a western perspective, a perspective of which too often assumes the 'default' in anglophone fan spaces.

gojo and geto are not meant to be interpreted through a western lens because they are not borne of the west. applying a western conception of queerness to them as a barometer is unfair, incongruous and downright disrespectful to their characters. it's akin to shoving a box into a circular hole and declaring the box at fault for not being able to fit. simply because gojo and geto do not fit your static conception of queerness does not negate the core tenets of their characters that can only be understood through a queered lens, albeit a non-western one.

this brings me to my second point, which regards conceptions of canon and the practice of shipping. this person applies the same binary to fandom/canon spaces as they do sex/gender, dichotomizing jjk media into 'source' materials and 'fan-generated' content, much of which they relegate to the "stsg shippers [that] forc[e]their headcanons down your throat and manipulat[e] you into believing that shit".

a guiding principle amongst purists of any media is that there is "original" and "unbastardized" content, and then there are fan "mutilations" of said content that come after. they maintain a sanctimonious attitude and imply that people who engage in bastardizing media therefore understand the "source" content to a lesser degree (a requisite qualification to engage in mutilation).

in polarizing fan content and 'source' content, purists willfully blind themselves to the true essence of media— it does not exist independently of the imagination of the populous, it is made and continues to be made of the populous' imagination itself. once created, each re-imagination is not adjunct to the 'source' material but rather an extension of it on an equal ontological plane.

functioning less like an island in the ocean of our worldly milieu, media is more of a current, pushing and pulling on different sociocultural forces and being shaped by them in return. regarding it in a puritanical manner is a perversion of its nature because media does not merely live in the world, it becomes the world around it.

this person divorces so-called 'fan' content from 'original' material, and derisively declares that "Theories you read? That's fandom. Art you reblog? Fandom. Memes you consume and regurgitate? Fandom. Sending me asks about JJK? You're engaging in fandom". in doing this, they fundamentally do not understand that the two are inseparable because they are co-constitutive. jjk is fandom, and fandom is jjk.

fan culture is not supplemental to 'source' content; it a manifestation of media achieving its intended purpose, which is to join the world that bred it. fandom is perhaps the highest form of intellectual engagement with jjk because it executes the understanding that media exists within the world and not outside of it.

the things fans create are not inferior or antithetical to the 'source' media; however, i'm not saying that they're all inherently favourable either— they can be anything because they can just be. media invites itself into our world and in doing so, sends an amorphous invitation back. when you pompously declare that "in canon there is no romantic love between those two and there never has been", you slap the hand that extends itself to you and defy the maxim of media: it is not prescriptive, it is participatory.

when people acknowledge that gojo and geto are queercoded and choose to understand their coding in a romantic context, they are not "forc[ing] their headcanons and misinterpretations of the material down everyone's throats". they optimize media's purpose and reach back towards the waiting hand of fiction instead of isolating jjk and forcing it out of the creative medium that birthed it. "shipping" is one form of engagement amongst many, and is a reductive term that belies the intricate textual analysis required to arrive at its conclusion.

one key dimension of the "shipping" discourse is that it's mainly conducted by people who aren't men. men, in principle, are used to dominating every discursive space. to them, it is utterly flabbergasting that people who aren't them might have more insight into their favourite media than they do; nuanced and complex insight at that. compressing the discourse about stsg into "shipping" is reductive and disregards the complex conceptual and narrative analysis conducted to reach the so-called "shipping" conclusion, a practice which requires analytical capabilities that elude the men who deride them.

maybe the people who are "annoying as fuck" are not the "stsg shippers" but the people who insist on interacting with jjk in a purely prescriptive context, clinging to a vacuous relationship with their favourite media and removing themselves from its most authentic, intellectual and enjoyable facet in the process.

[s10127470]

If the Disney Characters actually got to be important in Kingdom Hearts: Part 1

So recently, I've been seeing some discussion about Kingdom Hearts on social media.

Or more specifically, the way the Disney properties have been utilized in the games.

And many people have said how much they've wished the Disney characters got to play a much bigger role in the series.

And although there are several people who wish for less Disney in the games, I don't think they're saying they don't want anything Disney in the games.

Since let's be real, Disney plays a major role in the identity of the series.

And if you took that away, the series just wouldn't feel the same.

I think those people are referring more to that they don't want to sit through an entire shot-to-shot recreation of "Let it Go", while Sora, Donald and Goofy just stare on completely confused.

As someone who's really into Kingdom Hearts, I really do agree with these people.

This is a crossover series. Most people want to see the Disney characters interacting with each other and the original characters in unique ways.

But unfortunately, we rarely ever get that.

Hell, during the production of the first game, Square Enix themselves stated that they wanted to have the Disney characters to play a much bigger role in the story, particularly the villains.

Unfortunately, this never came to fruition because of one entity....

Apparently, Disney is really protective of their characters, which is why the Disney characters never got to play major roles in the series.

And I can definitely believe that, especially when looking at stuff like Kingdom Hearts III.

But being the idea man that I am, I started thinking about a version of the Kingdom Hearts where the Disney characters got to actually be utilized in unique ways.

So I figured I start a multi-part series, where I actually look at the Kingdom Hearts games and discuss how I think the Disney properties could've been utilized if Square Enix was allowed to go all out with the crossover aspect.

Before we start, one major to note is that I'll also be going over the how the worlds would be presented and executed.

Since for this little AU, I'd like to imagine that many of the KH games got legitimate remasters for the PlayStation 3, not just slightly enhanced ports, utilizing the much stronger technology and graphical achievements of the console.

It's actually kind of funny how Kingdom Hearts never released a game officially for the PS3 that wasn't just a port of an already-existing game.

But with that being said, let's get this party started!

Kingdom Hearts:

The game that started it all!

Among the Kingdom Hearts game, the original is often considered to be the one with the best utilization of the Disney properties.

From the Council of Disney Villains, to having characters like Triton actually knowing about the existence of other worlds and the Keyholes.

The first thing we need to get straight is that The World Order is going straight to the Shadow Realm.

Many people, myself included, have always found that incredibly dumb and just felt like it was an forced in-universe reason for not going all-out with the crossover aspect.

But here, there'll be more Disney characters who are well aware of the existence of other worlds.

Now that we got that out of way, let's get to biggest draw of this concept....

THE DISNEY PARTY MEMBERS WILL ACTUALLY JOIN YOU!

Yep! Tarzan, Aladdin, Jack Skellington, Ariel and Peter Pan will actually be accompanying Sora, Donald and Goofy on the journey through the worlds.

You know, what everyone who has played this series have been wanting since the damn beginning!

The highlight of this game would definitely be seeing how our heroes play off each other.

There are some of the interactions I can think of.

-Besides Donald and Goofy, Sora would definitely be the closest to Aladdin and Ariel. Not only because they're the only members of the team around his age (only being like 2 years older than him), but they also kind of remind him of Riku and Kairi. Aladdin through his quick-witted and confident nature, and Ariel through her bubbly nature and somewhat tomboyish side.

-Tarzan and Jack would just be in awe at practically everything they see, and the other would have to make sure they don't constantly wander off.

-Peter would take every chance he gets to pester the hell out of Donald....and the others would have to constantly remind him why it's not morally right to strangle a child. Also, you can't help but feel bad for Donald. I mean, he already has to look after three teenagers, a talking skeleton with the excitable nature of a kid, and a young ape man who can barely even talk. He does not need Peter to make this even more stressful.

-And Goofy, in typical Kingdom Hearts fashion, is the only member of this team with a braincell.

Sadly, Beast wouldn't really get in on the interactions due to him coming in at the tail-end of the game.

Luckily, you are able to take to previous worlds once you obtain him.

Also, since I know some people are probably gonna ask this, Ariel would still be a mage fighter, using spells to attack her opponents via a bag of potions.

Story-wise, this game would be largely the same.

Expect that you now have the Disney characters joining you on your quest across the worlds.....

As for their reasoning for joining the trio.

Aladdin and Peter join in order to rescue Jasmine and Wendy, since they were both kidnapped due to them being two of the Seven Princesses of Heart.

Ariel would be sent to join the heroes as Triton feels she would be much safer with them, since if I remember correctly, they actually mentioned that there could a possibly that she's one of the Seven Hearts.

And as for Tarzan and Jack....

Honestly they're just there for vibes.

However, the Disney heroes would bid farewell to Sora, Donald and Goofy just before their final battle against Ansem and hope to one day see them again.

Okay! Now that we cover the story, let's go on to the worlds.

Traverse Town:

This world is largely the same in terms of layout.

The real major difference between this and the original version would be that it would be a lot more lively.

Yep! Traverse Town would actually have far more NPCs than just the Disney and Final Fantasy characters.

Since I'm coming at this from the mindset of those PS3 remasters I mentioned, I could imagine Square Enix would be able to add more NPCs into the worlds with the much stronger technology of the console.

As for the characters, there would be a few additions.

This would include Archimedes (Merlin's owl) and The Radcliffes from 101 Dalmatians.

Speaking of 101 Dalmatians, there would a sub-plot involving Cruella De Vil, along with her henchman, Jasper and Horace.

The sub-plot would involve Cruella trying to swindle the puppies our heroes keep finding throughout their journey from them.

Luckily, it doesn't work.

However, with each failed attempt, Cruella becomes more angry and angry.

And this eventually accumulates in Cruella summoning a Heartless version of her trademark car that I like to call Crazy Cabby, which she would use to try and run over our heroes.

Luckily, they manage to defeat Cruella and send her running for the hills.

Also, one last thing to note is that this world would be one of the few to have the characters in their usual outfits.

I'm sure some of you are asking what do I mean by that?

Well, you're about to see!

Wonderland:

Layout-wise, this world is practically the same as in the original. Just a little more spacious.

Also, this would be the very first world where the characters actually change their looks.

Yep! In this version of the game, in nearly every world, our heroes get completely different outfits in order to fit with their new setting.

Many people have wanted to see the games do this with every world and not just some since it would help our trios not stick out like sore thumbs 90% of the time.

Fun Fact: This was actually suppose to be in the original game, as you can see from this concept art right below.

As for the looks of this world, our heroes would be wearing colorful Victorian English attire, to match with the look of Alice herself.

Funnily enough, I think Jack would be the one whose outfit changes the least in this world since it's already a fancy suit.

Speaking of which, Wonderland is pretty famous for having some major characters from Alice in Wonderland missing.

Most notably, The Mad Hatter and The March Hare, who only appeared in the original game as being imprisoned in a portrait.

But here, they're actual characters you can interact with.

Other characters from the film who didn't appear in the original game would include Tweedledum and Tweedledee and The Caterpillar.

There would also be plenty of Card Soldiers hanging around The Queen's Castle.

Olympus Coliseum:

Not much to say about this world.

It's pretty much the same both layout and character-wise.

The only thing of note is the look of the characters.

Sora, Tarzan and Aladdin would be wearing ancient Greek civilian attire.

Donald and Ariel would be wearing the attire of a hierei, which were what priests back in ancient Greece were known as.

Goofy and Jack would both be in Greek soldier attire.

Peter would be a satyr.

And Beast would be a really furry minotaur.

Deep Jungle:

We now come to the first world with changes to....just about everything.

Layout-wise, the world would have the same areas featured in the original game and some new ones as well.

These would include Pathways (A series of paths in the middle of the jungle that can lead to the different areas), The Nesting Grounds (where Tarzan's gorilla family reside), and The Watering Hole (where the elephants were hanging out in the original film).

Actually, The Watering Hole would be replacing Hippo's Lagoon.

And as you would expect, the world would feel much more spacious than before.

As for the characters featured, in addition to the ones shown in the original game, it would also feature those from the film that never made it.

Those characters being none other than Professor Porter, Tantor, and Manu.

Speaking of Porter, he'll be among the group of Disney characters to know about the existence of other worlds prior to the events of the game.

As for other NPCs, Deep Jungle would be one of the most unique among the worlds when it comes to that as nearly all its NPCS are animals.

And those animals would consist of gorillas, elephants, baboons, leopards, Fischer's lovebirds, grey parrots, fish eagles, butterflies, hippos, bongos, rhinos, giant forest hogs, marabou storks, peafowls, chimpanzees, pythons, frogs, crocodiles, colobus monkeys, okapis and forest buffalos.

As you would probably expect, some of these animals (like leopards, baboons, pythons and crocodiles) will attack you if you get close of them.

(For this version of the series, I actually want some of the worlds to have specific enemies besides the Heartless to fight)

But there are others that are not only friendly, but you can also ride as well (like elephants, rhinos and marabou storks).

Yep! Riding animals is essentially the special feature of this world.

As for the character looks, excluding Tarzan obviously....

Sora, Donald and Goofy would be dressed as safari explorers from the early 20th century.

Aladdin would be dressed as a North African merchant from around the time as well.

Ariel and Jack would be dressed as African tribal shamans.

Peter would be dressed as a wild boy, similar to Tarzan.

And Beast would be an ape.

Agrabah:

Layout-wise, this world would be largely the same, with the addition of another region.

That region being the Palace itself, which consist of the follwing areas: The Courtyard, The Throne Room, The Dungeon, and The Garden.

As for new characters, we would be seeing The Sultan, Rajah, Razoul, and the Royal Guards.

Speaking of The Sultan, he'll be another Disney character aware of the existence of other worlds.

Actually, Donald and Goofy would already personally know the Sultan as he's an old friend of Mickey this time around!

In terms of NPCs, they'll be plenty of more townsfolk to see this time around and a few animals like camels, goats and sheep.

As for world-specific enemies, this would include scimitar-wielding skeletons, bats, scorpions, cobras, and living Shiva statues.

As for the looks this time, excluding Aladdin....

Sora, Tarzan, Ariel and Peter would all be wearing Arabian civilian attire, but with some variations between them.

Like Sora and Ariel's outfits would be pretty similar to Aladdin and Jasmine's.

And Tarzan definitely wouldn't be wearing shirt.

Donald and Jack would be dressed like viziers, similar to Jafar.

Goofy would be dressed like a royal guard, similar to Razoul and his men.

And Beast would be a big-ass lion.

Monstro:

I don't really have a whole lot to say for this world.

It's pretty the same as it was in the original game.

The only real change would be the addition of Figaro.

And after thinking long and hard about this, I think the group would be keeping their usual looks for this world.

Since it would be kinda awkward for them to change their looks.....inside a giant whale of all things.

Also, I can't think of any world-specific enemies this one would have as well.

Atlantica:

Layout-wise, it's pretty much the same.

The same can be said for the selection of characters from the movies.

As for NPCs, there would plenty of merpeople swimming about this time.

Along with many sea creatures including starfish, crabs, lobsters, seahorses, stingrays, octopuses, sea urchins, jellyfish, squids, clams, swordfish, sea turtles, dolphins, sea lions, whales and a whole lot of fish.

As for world-specific enemies, we'd have sharks, eels and barracudas.

As for looks, excluding Ariel....

We already know what Sora, Donald and Goofy are gonna look like here.

Aladdin, Tarzan and Peter would all be mermen (well, boys in Aladdin and Peter's case).

Beast would be a huge sea lion.

And Jack....

Honestly, he would be an undead pirate captain.

In all honesty, Jack would probably look real weird as merman.

Plus, the pirate captain attire would still fit the setting of this world thanks to the Sunken Ship being one of the areas here.

Not only that, but it would also serve as a cute little Easter Egg to Jack's cameo in the film: James and the Giant Peach.

Halloween Town:

Layout-wise, it's pretty much the same as in the original game.

Same goes for the selection of characters as well.

In terms of NPCS, the civilians of Halloween Town shown in the film would be taking that role.

As for world-specific enemies, this would include elemental skeletons (coming in Fire, Blizzard and Thunder variations), ghosts and spiders.

Now for the looks of the group this, excluding Jack....

Just like with Atlantica, we already know what Sora, Donald and Goofy will look like in this world.

Beast would essentially look exactly the same as he usually does.

I can't tell if this would be funny or kinda cruel....

As for the others.

Tarzan would be a were-ape (essentially the same concept as a werewolf, except the individual turns into a monstrous ape instead of a monstrous wolf).

Aladdin would be living Shiva-like statue with four arms (and scimitars to go with).

Ariel would be a swamp monster ala the Creature of the Black Lagoon.

And Peter would be a ghost.

Neverland:

Layout-wise, this world would see a massive overhaul.

One of the things I was not a fan of with the original Kingdom Hearts was that in Neverland, we didn't really get to go to....you know, Neverland.

It's was largely set on the seas surrounding the island, mainly on Captain Hook's ship, The Jolly Roger.

But here, we actually would get to explore the island of Neverland, and it would feature the same layout and areas as it did in Birth by Sleep.

Not only that, but the original Neverland also had pretty major characters from the film completely missing.

Most notably Michael and John Darling and The Lost Boys.

But here, they'll actually be present here.

Other characters featured (essentially serving as the NPCs of this world) would include the mermaids and.....*sigh*.....the Indian Tribe.

But don't worry.

They appeared in quite a bit in the game Peter Pan: Adventures in Never Land, and believe it or not, they weren't racist caricatures!

Basically, this game will be doing what that game did.

That being portraying the Indian Tribe as....not racist.

Other NPCs would include animals such as rabbits, racoons, skunks, foxes, bears, wolves, woodpeckers, turtles, squirrels, cardinals, owls, porcupines, deer, otters, moose, beavers, badgers, turkeys, monkeys, snakes, parrots, frogs, crabs, tropical fish and geckos.

As for world-specific enemies, it would essentially be Hook's pirate crew.

And with this overhaul in layout and featured characters, there would be a rewrite in the story of this world as well.

The story at the start would have the group helping Michael, John and The Lost Boys find Wendy, who was kidnapped Hook and taken to his ship.

Eventually, the group do find out about Wendy's whereabouts, which would lead them to The Jolly Roger, where they would meet Peter.

As for looks of our heroes this time, excluding Peter....

Sora, Aladdin, Tarzan and Ariel would be wearing animal-themed onesies similar to The Lost Boys

Sora's would be a lion.

Tarzan's a gorilla.

Aladdin's a monkey.

And Ariel's a fish.

Dude, that's probably gonna be brutal for hook.

I mean, the dude already has it rough losing to a 12-year old who fights with a small-ass dagger on a regular basis.

But now he's about get his ass kicked by a three teenagers and a young man, rolling up looking like this.....

Donald, Goofy and Jack would be wearing outfits similar to Peter's.

And Beast would look how he usually does, but with some raggedy clothes to fit with the island setting.

100 Acre Wood:

I don't really have anything to say for this world.

The only thing is that Sora would be wearing an outfit similar to Christopher Robin's

Well, I think I've talked about everything I wanted to about this game.

So let's move on to the last game I wanted to discuss before I wrap this post up....

Chain of Memories:

This game is pretty much fine the way it is.

The only real difference would be that Deep Jungle would actually be featured like it was initially intended to.

And Tarzan would be the Friend Card for that world.

His signature is Raging Boar, where he charges towards enemies and wildly thrashes them with his spear.

Well that's all I have for now!

I hope you guys like this idea of mine's and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Part 2 should be coming out in a few days!

Before I head off, I wanna ask you guys two things.

If Square Enix were able to utilize the Disney properties more in the games, in your opinion, how would YOU see the games (specifically 1 and Chain of Memories) playing out? Would it similar to my idea, or would it be a little different?

I initially wanted to use this concept in my discussion for 1, but I was not sure about it. That concept being having the summons obtain different looks in each world, to fit with settings and the looks of our heroes. Do you guys think that should've been done? Or do you think the summons should just keep their usual looks, no matter the world?

Anyway, I'm going off to bed.....

[amethystina]

I wonder how Gaon and Yohan are going to explain the change in their interactions to Elijah, since it's going to be obvious to her that something has happened between them. Since Elijah knows that there's nothing between Gaon and Soo hyun, I wonder if she will play a role in clearing Yohan's misconception? Thanks for the update! I can't stop thinking how many ways this story can play out😅 Btw i really appreciate the time and effort you put into responding to our questions with such detail.

That definitely depends on who's doing the explaining xD Yo Han would just brush it off and pretend that nothing is happening — which would just piss her off — while Ga On would make a stilted effort to explain without making it too obvious what it's actually about. Which would also annoy her.

That poor girl, seriously. She doesn't deserve to get caught between these two idiots.

I'm not sure I agree that Elijah "knows" that there was nothing between Ga On and Soo Hyun, though. I think she very much thinks there was something between them. I mean, sure, they denied it when she asked if they were dating, but THE WAY they did so was pretty telling (especially in Soo Hyun's case). Even more so since Elijah is a bit... well, innocent? I think most of her experience with love comes from media, books etc. and how Ga On and Soo Hyun behaved is, well, straight from a drama xD

And Elijah also had that talk with Soo Hyun when they were eating ice cream on Ga On's terrace, where it became pretty obvious that Soo Hyun is in love with Ga On and has already confessed to him several times.

So I think Elijah very much believes they were in love. Which means she won't really play a role in convincing Yo Han otherwise — if asked, she'd probably only make it worse, even. Because her understanding of love is a bit superficial and probably pretty geared towards straightness. That's not to say that she's not aware of gay people (I think she might actually know more about that than Ga On does xD) but from the evidence she's seen both Ga On and Yo Han seem straight to her (because I can't imagine that Yo Han has flaunted his dalliances with other men in front of her).

I know I'm very, very firm about this but Elijah doesn't know that Yo Han and Ga On have the hots for each other. And not because she's stupid, but because she's grown up in a country where straightness is the norm and Yo Han has done everything he can to hide the depth of his and Ga On's relationship from her. Also, she's a self-centred teenager x'D

Like, take me for an example. I was around 23-24 and very comfortable in my own pansexuality but was still IN NO WAY PREPARED when my mum basically went: "I may only have had sex with two women in my life but, let me tell you — 10/10, would recommend." Because I had only ever seen her date and talk about men before and therefore assumed she had no interest in anything else. That's how easy it is to miss that someone close to you isn't entirely straight — especially if it's a parent/guardian.

So I really don't think that Elijah would notice until it gets a lot more obvious than this xD

Which wasn't technically what your ask was about (sorry for the tangent xD), but still important to know because Elijah really won't be all that helpful when it comes to Yo Han and Ga On figuring out their feelings for each other. In fact, she might just end up making things harder for them without meaning to. But more about that in later chapters ;)

ANYWAY. Thank you so much for the lovely ask! I'm so happy to hear that people are this excited and involved in my story! And, tbh, I can't help replying because I'm very excited, too, and love talking about my writing, my thoughts, and my takes on these characters. How could I resist? More often than not, I have to cut my answers short because I keep writing longer and longer ones.

Like, you guys have no idea how long the first drafts of my author's notes usually are. One time I had to cut half of it because it was reaching truly spectacular lengths. And sure, I know that some of you probably wouldn't complain if I had posted that first draft, but I'm trying to contain myself, okay? And also not reveal too much since it might end up spoiling future plot points. It's a constant struggle.

So yeah. I'm actually consciously holding back a lot of the time because I'm trying to not come off as completely unhinged x'D

[lyncirenzei]

I just really wanted to respond to the assignment outlined in this tweet...

Why can't I watch Sydney and Carmy be in a friendship with tenderness and obvious chemistry without pushing for romance?

The short answer is, I can watch without pushing for romance.

The extended answer is, I AM watching without PUSHING for romance.

Yes, they both have chemistry and they are both actively trying to deal with each other with care and tenderness because they are in an intimate relationship with each other already. They are business partners.

Intimate Definition:

So because Carmy allowed a close connection to start with Sydney by not only hiring Sydney but making her his number 1 in HIS family business, it would be wise for them both to exercise tenderness as much as possible when dealing with each other. Now I can go on a tangent about WHY he made her his number 1, but that's for another time. But just to add to the fact I won't discuss now, let me leave this here: Carmy checks often to make sure Syd is on board while Syd checks often to make sure Sugar, Carmy's own sister who he SHOULD be checking on, is on board. But I mean, Carmy said he can't even ask Sugar how she doing cause he don't know how he is doing most of the time, while constantly asking Syd how she is doing, so we know the "Men will do it (make it happen) if they WANT to" applies directly to Carmy... (and we ALSO know how and when that statement is usually used-and if you want to act dense, that usually is applied when a man is attracted to a woman and wants to make something romantic happen with her) but I digress.

Now, from what I see, people are picking up on what I noticed the minute Syd came on the scene in Ep. 1 Season 1, that there COULD BE something between Carmy and Syd. The writers and if not them, then the editors keep putting little plot devices in our face and making the COULD BE even more of a thing than what I initially picked up on. And there are so many great post that point out what those moments, interactions, conversations, scenes are. So I will not include them here.

Now it was stated in the post that chemistry isn't the only reason two people should start dating. And to that I say, you don't say? Really? I'm glad you know that and shared with the rest of us. Cause once again, what most people are commenting on is what COULD BE. Not what CURRENTLY IS.

You see, CURRENTLY, we are in season 2 and are still getting to know everyone and what makes them tick. We, the audience, who has a bird eye view, is STILL getting to know everyone. So if we're still doing that then naturally so are the characters with one another. They know less about one another than we know because they dont have the bird eye, omnipresent view. And all of this is controlled by the writers and editors. So no, currently I and I think most people who see Carmy and Syd as being a viable option for one another is wanting to see them start dating now.

When will they have time to establish a REAL romantic connection that doesn't take away from our thirty viewing minutes of the plot? Not anytime soon, that's for sure. But can they continue to give us 5 second moments that continue to build up what could be? Yes.

Now the question does remain, can they actually establish a real romantic connection? Yes. They definitely can. However, not in the way I am interested in seeing on THIS show with THIS plot. This is not Bridgerton, so I'm not interested in seeing Bridgerton type romance on The Bear. And I think most people will agree with me. You see, we already know this show isn't about romance. It deals with serious topics regarding business, family, mental illness, and human connection. And many people feel showing a romance would disregard those topics because of how romance is traditionally handled in media. Does that mean romance is not serious? No. It just means the way it is portrayed many times within a plot not needing romance, leaves one wanting...

However, The Bear may not be about romance, but as mentioned above, it is about Human Connection. And holding onto, and building on that human connection despite flaws, hurtful words/actions, because the people who portray them and suffer them are willing to change, improve, and do better.

I mentioned above that Syd and Carmy already have an intimate relationship. And THIS is what can potentially makes them Endgame.

Romance can be fleeting, it can be just like we witnessed between Carmy and Claire. Claire clearly had butterflies (idk about Carmy so much. He was very closed off with her and the moments he wasn't was told to us rather than shown to us) but their situation was the type of thing that we could have done without. Though, I believe Claire was needed, not only as a foil character, but as a plot devices as well.

However, in contrast (something the editors also wanted us to do with all there three-way contrasting scenes involving Claire, Carmy, and Syd) what Carmy has and is developing that will only get stronger the longer Syd sticks around and vice versa that Syd will develop the longer Carmy improves and sticks around is a deep respect and a deep love.

They are already intimate because of the business. They speak to each other intimately (also because of the business while some kind of way NEVER mentioning the business) personally, vulnerably. Carmy wants to hear Syd speak about her feelings, dreams and ideas. He even wants to hear her speak about her personal business though that part is hard for her to do. And Syd wants to speak about those things to Carmy even when it's difficult to do so.

THAT is the kind of intimacy I want to continue seeing on my TV screen. I don't need 5 minutes dedicated to them on a date, giggling and laughing about nothing! I need 5 minutes of them sitting closely, talking lowly about deep personal things that they can later laugh about together. I need the eye connections from across the room cause they GET each other and know what the other is thinking. I need small smiles of flattery that never get to be too much because they are in a professional setting. And at the end of the night, after they've worked another successful day at a restaurant that runs itself cause it's that successful (like Terry's restaurant) and they are just showing up to work cause they "still love to cook" but don't have to if they don't want to, they close down shop, walk out hand in hand down the street bumping shoulders like two best friends on their way to their SHARED home where private things happen privately (cause seeing all that is not important to the main plot. Though I wouldn't mind 😏).

That is Endgame.

That is slowburn

(And that ain't happening next season folks. I do not want them getting together sexually or otherwise next season. They have a lot of work to do not only on their restaurant but also on themselves). That is what I'd call an intimate relationship that hasn't distracted from the main plot, but that is still very real.

Now for those who think that possibility is "forced" that's most likely because Syd is a dark skinned black woman. Not actually because you can't see Carmy and Syd happening.

And for those who only see her with Marcus, that also may be because she is a dark skinned black woman and you really want to see her with a black man. Not actually because you can't see Carmy and Syd happening.

The same way I can see them remaining professional partners, only cause the writers and editors may decide to stop playing in our face with the hints regarding their already established intimacy, is the same way you should be able to see what is literally playing in your face when it comes to Carmy and Syd interactions, or the way they think/speak about/to each other.

So now I'm asking you to examine why you can't watch Sydney and Carmy be in a friendship with tenderness and obvious chemistry without admitting that the writers may decide to take it in an even more intimate direction, and being OK with that if they do?

[thv-jk97]

Hi anons! Thank you for your questions and forgive me for lumping them together, and using these asks as a response to some of the accusations that are being thrown my way at the moment lol

There was a 🃏 that was pretty triggered in the comment section of one of @dearweirdme’s responses about GCF, so I figured I would piggyback off what I was saying in there lol

My thoughts on GCF are pretty simple. I love them all because it’s something that JK created and I am grateful for anything that he chooses to share with us. What I don’t love is people using those gifts as some sort of proof that he’s in love with one of the members. Without being vague, I obviously mean jkkrs and their penchant for using GCFT as some sort of love declaration to JM. And then doubling down on the notion that JM is the “most featured” member, so that must mean something. And sure, I think it does mean something; that he loves JM platonically and is happy to use any footage that he has of him lol.

A lot of the arguments that were being thrown my way were reliant on literal logical fallacies. One thing being true (JM asking JK to film him a lot/jumps into the footage) does not mean that another thing is also true (JK was forced to use the footage). Why are those the only two options? Same logic applies to idea that JM being featured often in GCFs because he’s around a lot must also prove that Tae being featured less often means that he isn’t around as much. The idea that JM getting the most screentime in GCF (and I probably agree with this because of GCFT and the 3J GCF) must then mean that 1) JK is in love with JM and 2) Tae not being in them as must means that TK don’t hang out, is such a silly and illogical conclusion come to. And realistically speaking, the tkkr in me wants to argue that Tae is heavily featured in a lot of GCFs as well lol.

However, I’d much rather we take JK’s GCFs for what I think they’re meant to be. JK is the main character and he was showing us a documentation of his life and his POV. I don’t think they’re meant to highlight whatever city/country he’s in, nor are they meant to showcase any one specific member. Just that he’s surrounded by the people he loves and is doing what he loves, if that makes sense. I can’t remember where I read this, but someone once mentioned that GCFs are like love letters to the moments in his life and I genuinely love that idea.

Moving onto the ITS talk. Do I think the talk was scripted? Yes. Though I should clarify that I don’t think every word was scripted, just that this interaction and what they talked about was pre-planned. And that’s not me talking as a tkkr, but as someone who also has the knowledge that there was a nearly identical conversation that was shot and recorded in incredibly similar ways for another group under H*BE.

And even if I weren’t claiming that it’s scripted (or at the very least, they were given specific talking points), what exactly am I supposed to be taking at face value? The awkward narrative? I know it requires a tiny bit of media literacy, but that specific narrative is driven less by what TK actually talk about and relies heavily on the fun, descriptive subtitles that the company loves adding. Less than three minutes into the scene, BH already used the word “awkward” four times to describe their interaction, despite Tae or JK never discussing feeling awkward/struggling in their relationship – in fact, they mostly talked about how close they were as kids lol (which is something we’ve all heard before). The only time “awkward” comes from one of them is during JK’s private interview where he said that there started to be “a side of things” with Tae that became awkward, which also feels like intentional vagueness. A lot of fandom took that statement and ran with it to mean that “my relationship with Tae is awkward” but again, that’s not what he said? I’m making zero assumptions here when I say that JK’s statement was vague as all fuck, and we literally have no clue what exactly he could be referring to. Relationships are complex, so do I think he might’ve been referring to something real between them? Absolutely. But I don’t know what lol.

Ultimately, I know that a lot of fandom doesn’t like to engage with the idea that some BTS moments are scripted because it makes them seem less genuine, but I do think that their reactions and interactions are still genuine in the moment. Just that some the moments are pre-planned. And lbr, we have literal footage of moments being pre-planned/scripted. So given all the additional context, I have very little doubt that the ITS conversation between TK was scripted.

There’s a lot of nuance and context that’s required when it comes to these sort of discussions. So it’s hard to have a proper conversation in the comments of a post 😅 forgive me for how long this is.

[animentality]

I like Hunger Games and all, but can we admit now that it didn't really "spark" any revolution, when the white teens that read it just grew up to be government bureaucrats or corporate lackeys just like their parents wanted them to be, and now they actually complain about like, BLM protestors disrupting the traffic to their dead end careers?

Consuming a popular product does not matter nearly as much as how you actually interact with it.

Elon Musk was a fucking fan of Parasite. You know. The fucking union buster.

Simply seeing or consuming a piece of media does not mean you understand it or actually were changed enough by it to make a difference in your own life or the lives of others.

Sometimes media is just a symptom of the disease, and not the disease itself. Sometimes media becomes more progressive, rather than being the act of progress itself. Sometimes, an idea is addictive and defines a generation...without actually changing a generation.

Now I'm not digging on Hunger Games.

I think Hunger Games is great.

But I wanna beat Harry Potter fans over the head with a frying pan, because there was a brief time in the 2000s where adults were glowingly talking about how Harry Potter was raising a generation of children who would grow up to be "less" bigoted and more understanding...

And now I want you to take a look around and tell me what has become of Harry Potter fans, and THEN tell me how media determines a person's morality.

When really, it's more that a person's morality is totally separate from the media they consume, 99999% of the time, but maybe occasionally, it opens their eyes to certain class struggles or to certain ideologies that they already mostly agreed with.

I then want to further point out another example: Twilight.

Did it really teach a new generation of girls to seek out abusive boyfriends?

I don't think so.

No more than any goddamn trashy YA romance where the guy is stalking you.

I love media, ok, I love books and TV shows and movies, they matter to me personally, but only when I feel it is relevant.

And that's why you need to understand, that for other people, it is the same.

Most people will prioritize their money and their wellbeing over the messages that their media is giving them. It's only natural. It's a survival instinct, after all.

I just warn you all, to keep your eyes open and see that media often is clouded and warped by much more powerful societal forces.

You can't think that the same 40 or so middle class white men and women writing books and scripts and carefully curated TV episodes in Los Angeles, CA are the only instigators of change.

[pharahsgf]

This is the fella that sent an ask in about modern AUs and yeah, you hit the nail on the head w “cultural diversity and creativity are completely lost on ppl who consume stories looking only for 'relatability'” bc way wayyyyy too often I see like modern AUs set in America (when the original setting was... definitely Not America), Japanese characters shown celebrating Thanksgiving, even if the country that the modern AU is set in isn't named explicitly it can still be deduced as America, it's kinda... I don't know, man, I guess it's the “relatability” for the majority but I can't feel it since I'm, well, not American. Maybe that's why modern AUs tend to not resonate with me— being Asian, that stuff is deeply unrelatable to me. Tf is a sophomore?

exactly... modern aus are fun to experiment with but you'll quickly reach a point where you're just talking about original characters with your faves' names slapped on them. and if that's your primary way of interacting w the material then what's the point of getting into any media besides bland modern sitcoms and teen dramas?

Maybe it's just because I'm a chronic overthinker, but if an aspect of a character's backstory is taken away surely something will change within the character, right? That's the entire premise of the For The Want Of A Nail AUs. Maybe it's just me, many people seem to be able to smooth out the wrinkles just fine, but if someone were to hold a gun to my head and force me to write a modern AU I'd just... crumble. I'd be stumped with the first damn step bc in my mind “I was an illegitimate child born of a slave woman and my mother and I were abandoned to die to eliminate the threat I pose to the firstborn lawful son but he raced up the mountains to save us and it was too late for my mother but I survived and he raised me singlehandedly and so I want to make him proud and be a worthy successor after him and that's why my sense of worth is so intrinsically tied to how useful I am in battle as a warrior and commander” is like... I dunno man it's a keystone to that character's everything and if I remove that, if I remove the cultural context of a world that created his circumstances in the first place, what the hell am I gonna be left with, it'd change his character, and perhaps to an absurdly unrecognizable degree that he becomes an empty husk wearing that character's name and skin. I'm sure some other folk could pull it off but... not me. I can't. Because then what's the point?

This is not to say people aren't allowed to write or enjoy what they like but man, why? I can't really understand.

i've said this before but i'm not surprised so many people cite 'less research' as the primary reason they write modern aus, because nine times out of ten characters appear completely disconnected from their canon native cultures and will instead reflect the habits and values of young white usamericans. and i don't even think it's a 'relatability > everything' issue as much as it's just... people being a little oblivious to cultural differences regarding things like food, marriage, family, school, social etiquette, home ownership, car ownership, what apps and brands people use, etc. like it's just a little off putting to see chinese characters in a supposedly chinese setting do or say something distinctly american bc the author thought it was universal. ykwim.

+ yeah agreed w the last bit, writing characters accurately is already such a fucking struggle and completely changing their environments often renders them unrecognizable. it's fun to play around with who would be what in some other setting but if that's all you ever create or consume then you're probably more into the character archetypes than the characters themselves rip

[mdhwrites]

Jumbled Thoughts: Dream Sequences, Featuring Luz’s Nightmare From The Owl House

“It was just a dream.”

...Was it though? In reality, dreams are one of the few times we get to interact with our subconscious without the active conscious getting in the way of whatever it’s trying tell us. This is often confusing and weird though because, well, our brains are commonly confusing and weird. They can’t always properly voice their anxieties so it can often be a mess of imagery and scenes that follow a general theme but the point of it is lost. It is TRYING to say something though.

And for most media, that’s also the point. Now don’t get me wrong: A LOT of dream sequences out there are bad mouthed for good reason. Their points can commonly end up being just “Look at this shocking imagery!” before snapping back to reality. At best, these sequences are actually just reinforcing a character conflict we already had at least some inkling about, like when Zuko in Avatar sees himself as Aang in the mirror. It is mirroring how he effectively is trying to decide between himself and following the path of the Avatar.

That showcases the strength and temptation of the dream sequence though. Not only do you get imagery that otherwise would be impossible but you get to say a LOT about the character experiencing the dream through that imagery. Through their reactions. The imagery might be muddled but the character comes out clearer than ever. LOTS of great dream sequences have managed this, like Superman from The Justice League Cartoon or Batman The Animated series when both explored what a perfect life to the character was and their reaction to it being shattered. We’re not here to talk about a good example though. I could honestly theoretically stop this blog here if I wanted to just talk about the strengths. Clark Kent comforting his fake son, Bruce deciding to give up on a happy lie so he can continue pursuing justice and Zuko battling his inner demons all really highlight the strengths of this trope. Shocking imagery contrasted by inner conflict, clarity and even chaos. Images you couldn’t do otherwise that help reinforce the character, much like what a good backstory will do. It gives context for who they are and what is to come, even if none of it’s real.

I think most people would agree that those are the EXCEPTIONS though and that’s why I think it’s actually more important to talk about why so many of them suck. Because most people hear ‘dream sequence’ and expect it to mean nothing. That it’s just pointless fluff or a chance to give backstory. Hell, I’m going to be talking one dream sequence of The Owl House, also abbreviated as TOH, but they have a second one that is very little more than a flashback sequence with a commentary track until its end where it hardly feels like a dream and more like meditation, which are different in narrative structure and execution. Dreams aren’t the worst way to get backstory across but... It’s also a very blunt way because usually it feels less like and more like a flashback because the writer is just getting the job done.

And this is the crucial problem with most dream sequences. They’re... kind of lazy for most writers. Because you can say “It’s not real so there are no rules”, most writers will use it as a get out of jail free card to do whatever the fuck they want, regardless of the effort needed to sell it. Because there’s a key component those good examples have that most bad dream sequences lack.

Patience. And if we’re gonna talk about a lack of patience, let’s talk about Luz’s Nightmare in the finale for The Owl House. This would be the point where I say SPOILERS but... It’s a dream sequence. And a pretty shitty one at that because the writers, not the character, have ZERO patience for this. And if you’re expecting “They got shortened” because you’re more familiar with it: No. They had a lot of other options they could have gone with. This is literally just seven minutes of wasted time for the sake of shocking imagery. I need to have some patience though. First let’s just cover what happens in those seven minutes. The characters are pulled into the sky, darkness envelops the screen, Luz shows confusion, is told to wake up by a mysterious figure wakes up in the robes of the main villain, questions if this is a dream finds everyone turned to stone except her girlfriend who now wants to kill her. Luz says the line “This isn’t a dream, it’s a nightmare,” then cuts to two other characters also experiencing what are obviously nightmares, moves back to Luz who has a moment with each of her friends trying to judge her actions harshly before trying to kill her, then all together her girlfriend misquotes a book they both like, this confirms to Luz it’s a dream, the OTHER CHARACTERS also wake up, give Luz the answer to what she needs to do to get out, and then it’s over.

For a temporal anchor, the line “This isn’t a dream, it’s a nightmare” comes RIGHT at the two minute mark of this entire sequence. Even before then, we’ve had one reference by the character that this is a dream and a voice telling her to wake up. It then spends FIVE. MORE. MINUTES pretending like it’s a real dream sequence where Luz keeps finding a friend and acting like they’re just not acting like themselves instead of, you know... The fact that she’s already figured out what’s going on, and the show has explicitly stated, to the audience THREE TIMES that this isn’t reality.

Here’s the thing: From a structural standpoint, questioning the dream IS a good idea. It happens in a lot of dream sequences because it creates an arc. First there is the uncertainty caused by things suddenly being different, then a slow possibility that this may just be real and the character may just have to live in this new status quote and then something fractures or even shatters that, especially for the audience. This is when the fight to free Superman in Justice League begins because now the trick of “IF this is a dream” is gone, it’s time to start working to fixing that. This is also when usually the dream might start breaking down and so the characters get a line like “This isn’t a dream, it’s a nightmare.” TOH literally plays this backwards. It wants the line before cutting away from Luz to the other nightmares, who only get one weak appearance each that just destroys credibility further, without understanding that the point is to NOT cut away from the dream. Not until you as the writer have given up on selling this as reality. But then it explicitly goes on to have Luz act like she hasn’t figured out what’s going on. Which brings up the next issue: Clarity. If a character starts acting inconsistently, you start to lose the strength of the sequence. How are we supposed to learn from how they react to the dream, or even the imagery their mind chose (put a pin in that for a moment) if their actions aren’t clear? It’s a problem in general but when the strength of the trope is explicitly about providing character clarity... It’s a death knell. After all, even if the audience never buys into the reality, they might buy into the emotions or the ability to learn about the character in ways they wouldn’t otherwise.

But if Luz isn’t acting clear, well, the show brings in a lot of other characters during the sequence too. If they’re clear, even blunt, doesn’t THAT say something about Luz? Absolutely! That is a great call because it allows a chance to see what the character either thinks of other characters or what they perceive they think of them. So do the words stick in this sequence? Well, this is where the framing of a dream sequence is important and this is also where we need to pull that pin back out. For Superman, he is literally being made to live out his most ideal fantasy from something that is non-judgemental and so the fantasy is entirely his. Anything we see here is presenting things that Clark himself would want. Zuko is literally having a fever dream but there’s no supernatural force so those are his thoughts. As such, all the imagery and words are theirs. They’re a reflection of their psyche. For TOH, the frame is that the big villain, through another villain, is literally doing this to fuck with her. So... Nope! It isn’t organic in anyway. That’s why the fuck up is made actually that breaks the illusion. If this was based on Luz’s mind... Her girlfriend wouldn’t have gotten the reference wrong. Because Luz wouldn’t. But it’s a fabrication so the lines and reactions aren’t made by Luz’s subconscious, they aren’t a reflection of her, but whatever the big bad asshole (or someone being controlled by the big bad asshole technically) thinks will make her give up.

It causes the whole thing to be LITERALLY pointless. Seven minutes of wasted time that don’t even really say anything about the character. What’s worse... Is that it commits the other cardinal sin of a bad dream sequence: It presents something the viewer WANTS.

The idea of her friends finally snapping and actually putting Luz to task fits in with the theme of the show of “Fantasy vs Reality.” These are the consequences of her actions. Even if it were entirely internal, it’d still be satisfying to know the little ball of sunshine who wants to be the hero truly does fear the consequences of her actions as a root part of herself. Instead... She makes a joke based on another character getting a reference wrong and is immediately ready to fight. Even the cruel words haven’t shaken her properly so that she can’t let her nerd self get annoyed at a continuity error.

Then again, why would they? She has no reason to believe any of this and her reaction first was to call it a nightmare. To state explicitly that she knows it’s a lie. It’s almost like character consistency MATTERS.

This is almost a textbook example of the sort of scene that makes audiences go “It was just a dream.” It’s not something to think about. It says nothing. It accomplishes nothing. It’s just there for shock value. To get to do whatever you want while knowing the audience is probably waiting for something to actually happen that they need to care about.

And for a writer, that shouldn’t be a dream. It should be the greatest nightmare of all.

[ingravinoveritas]

u know michael has spoken out against people bashing/speculating about his relationship and anna multiple times right? even blocking some “fans” for doing so

Hello, Anon. I'm guessing this is in response to this Anon, which I answered recently.

I'd first like to clarify one point, which is that I don't consider what I wrote to be "bashing" Michael's relationship. I've noticed that people seem to characterize any commentary that isn't enthusiastic, over-the-top praise as "bashing," which in turn leaves no room for nuanced conversation, which is what I was trying to do with that post, by responding to a question that I felt I could answer.

Second, there are only two instances I am aware of involving Michael speaking out about or blocking people for talking about his relationship with AL. One occurred four years ago and sounds as if he was under tremendous pressure/had no other choice. The other took place three years ago, and what I think often gets overlooked is that this was during lockdown, when Michael was already not in the best frame of mind. It was a time I seem to keep seeing folks on Twitter refer to as "feral Michael" (such as the incident where he had an interaction with a fan over the bees in his house), but that I think is more accurately described as "unhinged."

The distinction between the two is that "feral Michael" is the Michael who was on the GO press tour making cheeky comments about Aziraphale and Crowley and brazenly flirting with David and basically being the world's biggest Ineffable Husbands shipper. "Unhinged" Michael was the side of him we saw during the pandemic, and the very difficult time we were all having. He was clearly, visibly depressed and struggling (it was especially noticeable during the second season of Staged), and it was frustrating to see everyone ignore that, and seemingly still ignoring it three years later.

That being said, aside from the above mentioned incidents, I'm having a difficult time recalling Michael ever speaking about his relationship with Anna, let alone defending it. He's talked about her during paid interviews, where the interviewer prompts him to do so (such as in the PR pieces that were published in the Australian media ahead of him appearing in Amadeus a few months ago, and this interview promoting LTTC at the end of 2021), but he has not and does not bring her up unprompted. (Again, in sharp contrast to how he constantly brings up David in multiple interviews without the interviewer even saying a word.)

There were also multiple opportunities for Michael to talk about AL publicly on social media over the past few years, and yet he's seemingly chosen not to do that. He didn't promote LTTC with her (and in fact if you look at their tweets promoting the film side-by-side, there is a stark difference). He didn't mention her or their appearance together in that one episode of Sandman, and he didn't at all promote Staged 3, which was released with almost no advanced notice in November of last year and has barely been talked about since.

I have to admit something, Anon: I am disappointed. You could have come in here and said you disagreed with me, and that would've been absolutely fine. I'm always open to hearing other opinions and people who don't agree with me, and we could have had a discussion and shared opinions in a constructive way. But when you come in here without any receipts and make comments that sound a lot like barely veiled threats, I know that your aim is to intimidate and shut me down, because you want me to stop talking.

I believe that Michael is welcome to cultivate his online space, and so are we all. My intention is to keep a respectful dialogue going because I don't believe shutting people down is the answer. I'd love for you to be a part of that, Anon...but if you don't happen to like what I am writing, it costs nothing at all just to block me and move on.

[mothmvn]

uuuugh intellectual property rant i think about a lot because i can't bear to try the Artist career in current conditions

unfortunately digital media reality interacts really stupid with the concept of "intellectual property"

we can often secretly agree intellectual property is a bad thing because sharing and iterating upon ideas is a good thing, because for eons and eons that's been living creatures' method for moving forward. however, since you cannot actually own a digital or online object (it gets reproduced! that's how it's viewed on a new device! it exists by being copied and re-shared!), the intellectual property becomes the only thing underpinning the collection of pixels produced in digital art shared online

so then generally left-wing people still end up arguing for their inherent, capitalism-given right to restrict access to new or unique ideas. because this is already a system they exploit for money. not necessarily in a malicious way, but like, they have already built their careers on the current legal/tech platform, which depends on the idea that humans are not just legally, but morally wrong to steal and re-publish information. in a world where "information gets duplicated for free for the person to view your work" is the bones of the main communication system. am i going crazy here

idk, like it's difficult for me to even argue that people producing digital items have a property-like right to them. you have a layered PSD or Premiere file or whatever that you don't share (on some level this is "the artwork" in ALL its dimensions), and you share thousands of flat copies you can't claim to own (you hand them over to apps and websites). in practice, you "own" the right to sue someone else, if they use one of the many auto-generated copies in a way you personally dislike (e.g. they earn money that you believe you would have earned otherwise)

which like. that's still not "owning your art", in my understanding. what you "own" is the right to link endlessly multiplying copies to yourself - much like a book author over all copies printed anywhere and everywhere. but book copies are solid objects that can be stolen, at least! this falls apart with e-books just like it falls apart with digital artwork! we're all trying to fake some kind of monetisable scarcity with digital files!! ! am i going crazy here!!!!

(and the only way you can logic your way into scarcity is by believing in your own legally-reinforced superpower of Intellectual Property, an ephemeral flavour you create that no one else has the right to replicate. how recently in history did we invent this authorial overreach vs how long have we been iterating on shit in spite of our friend saying loudly in the background "Hey What the fuck I painted that kind of thing first")

so like, the entire argument put forth by anti-AI digital artists completely falls apart for me if i level with it morally, genuinely

i can't stop mulling this over because i Hate that the premise of "art for fun, for me" as a career, its financial security, is staked on me becoming a digital cop. i dont want to do that! and non-digital materials aren't the medium most actual art Work is done in (because again, that work takes place in the realm where we practise monetising IP & being an e-cop about people re-using my art). so the only role i can see art playing in my life is a hobby.

and i guess on an interpersonal level it sucks that I'm separated from most "real artists" just by this refusal to utilise "IP powers" in real life. refusal to rely on money i "should have earned" from someone else's re-iteration or re-share to a different audience. god just saying that makes me feel nasty - yeah, i the original artist coulda done that hypothetical re-iteration too, but DID I?! isn't that the argument we use to value art - "you coulda done it but DID YOU" ?!

i dont know. am i going crazy here.

[relaxxattack]

Person who sent the Vriska ableism ask. I am currently rereading and at least up through act 5 Vriska is the only one to be Horrifically ableist to Tavros. Alot of the troll characters *are* ableist but they're not vicious about it in the way she is, she actively seeks out excuses to call him useless and better off dead and like. While other characters do make ableist remarks about them they're both significantly toned down and also not usually to his face. I'm saying this as a disabled person- Vriska is ableist to Tavros beyond what we see as "normal" on Alternia. (This isn't me trying to accuse you of downplaying it btw. I wouldn't remember exactly how bad she was if I wasn't rereading rn and also hyperaware of it as a wheelchair user)

(CONT.) The actual reason Vriska's ableism bothers me so much is partially bc I read with the directors commentary mod that lets me see what Hussie wrote for the books and Hussie repeatedly agrees with alot of the horrific shit Vriska says about Tavros so like. When people try to defend Vriska saying that shit it feels in a roundabout way like trying to defang REAL OPINIONS Hussie has about one of their only canonically disabled characters

if it makes you feel at all better, i don't think you can trust literally anything hussie says to actually be their 'real' opinion on anything ever (motherfucker thinks they're the dave strider of real life), but it seriously doesn't excuse any of that shit regardless, just because it's uncomfortable and terrible to have to watch, hear, or sit through.

i distinctly remember being incredibly uncomfortable whenever vriska was talking with or interacting with tavros, so i don't think you're wrong for saying that (it must be exceptionally worse for you, actually). also, as someone who often likes to take a dive into older fandom history-- i think you're completely right that the people who say that shit are trying to defang that stuff. worse, actually, i think they don't see what's wrong with it; there were a LOT of fucked up memes and posts and in-jokes that went around back in the day that people thought were fine just because they were 'funny'. like "oh no i'm not making fun of disability, i'm making fun of tavros, which is fine because he's a joke character in a webcomic", and then they refuse to unpack in their brains what that could possibly mean.

not that i'm saying older fandom was intentionally malicious, i'm well aware that 2012 was a different time in which rigorous self-examination and outspoken empathy wasn't as popular as it is now, and that sometimes when memes get really big people don't think about the message being sent behind them; but i also don't think it can really be excused with "oh it was 2012 and people made jokes like that". like, no, people (mostly hussie) can be aware of the sort of thing they're putting out into the world. it's not anything except deeply uncomfortable to write a series-wide extended joke about how a disabled character is useless/worthless and deserves abuse.

i guess basically what i'm saying (to people far in the past who probably already know this now, not to you, anon) is: critical media consumption, people. learn it.

you need to be able to examine the things you're reading/watching to see what it's saying to you, and what sort of things it's making you think or be comfortable with, what sort of person it's helping you become.

[fakeoldmanfucker]

since i saw you have so many zuck post and i'm a little bit invest in it like you so i want to ask some question about threads since i don't want to have another social media because i have so much now

1. does moskovitz actually interact with zuck there? i saw them following each other

2. does saverin made an account and followed zuck?? since i don't know if that is his real account, tbh if he actually followed zuck, became one of the new users on threads i'd be surprised because i thought he already didn't care much about either fb or meta in general

also I saw zuck posting tsn reference there for threads and commenting gif of tsn too

sorry for my sloppy english, hope you reply

Hi anon! Thank you for your ask!

What I need everyone on Tumblr to know is that Mark is basically trying to reinvent himself. He's been the butt of a lot of jokes for about a decade now, and this bout with Elon, and Elon's fumbling of Twitter, has presented a prime opportunity for Mark to reboot his public image. This means he's responding to people's posts on Threads, making jokes, and yes, referencing The Social Network.

Now to your questions:

Yes! Dustin and Mark are actually still really close. Dustin's mentioned going on vacation with Mark fairly regularly (for whatever that means for them). Dustin had access to the pre-release launch of Threads and was user # 3037 (as indicated on his Instagram account), and he generally talks about Mark a lot, mostly to defend him/hype him up. He's been talking about Mark a lot lately, because of the drama with Musk and with the launch of Threads, but Mark has been pretty consistently mentioned in his Twitter posts, going back for years. Dustin seems to be particularly excited about Threads, probably because he feels let down by Twitter and the promise of Bluesky, and also because Dustin still owns a 0.6% stake in Meta, which is worth something like $5 billion. Dustin as well as other early Facebook employees have expressed a feeling of nostalgia and excitement akin to the early days of the company, both from the product development side as well as from the consumer side. Anyway, it seems that Dustin's penchant for micro-blogging and Mark's role to promote Meta's new app have combined and allowed them to publicly communicate for the first time in at least a decade. It has been, honestly, delightful to watch. See the bottom of the post for screenshots of their interactions.

Judging by the Instagram account linked to the Threads account, Saverin really is following Mark. (I judged whether or not the Insta account was real by scrolling through who he follows: some weather accounts, someone with the last name that's the same as his wife, someone who's either a sister or cousin, Fox News. These interests correspond with the types of accounts he follows on Twitter; it's most likely really him.) I agree, it is kinda of insane that Saverin joined so early; it's possible he sold the rest of his shares because B Capital got a big infusion of money at the end of 2022, which corresponds with the fund they raised earlier this year. It's also possible he converted his shares from Class A to Class B, but this move still loses him power. He doesn't really have any incentive to be interested in Meta, not anymore. And yet, Saverin was just under the 2 millionth member to join Threads (1,920,187). Taking into account that 30 million people(/brands) joined Threads in the first day, Saverin was an early adopter. At the same time however, in addition to likely not having any financial interest in the company, Saverin doesn't post very often on Twitter (most of which are reposts of articles) and has only ever posted to Instagram twice, and not since 2014 at that. It's interesting to me that he apparently cares so much to be on Threads so early since he doesn't seem to be that fond of micro-blogging or Instagram anyway. At the least, he is a private person, more private than even Mark has ever been, and he is likely on Threads to lurk rather than to post. Which brings me to the point that Saverin is following Mark. He's also following a number of influential Meta people, including important early employees (none of them follow him back). Combined with the fact that Saverin consistently puts "Facebook co-founder" at the top of all of his bios, regardless of his current projects and investments, this paints an image of a petty man who wants to be relevant. It may be interesting that Saverin follows Mark, but don't expect anything to come of it. Saverin lost his chance to make any amends with Mark and anyone else a long time ago.

Bonus: Mark posting a TSN gif? For some reason?? Even though the post he was replying to didn't even mention TSN? (it's a screenshot of the gif of the moment when Eduardo gives Mark the money to go to Palo Alto for the summer while they're hiring interns)

[theangryjikooker]

Hi, I've come across your blog recently and I must tell you that I love it since you're one of the few sane people in this fandom who appreciates the bond between the boys without overanalyzing often baseless and delusional theories.

Although I love their bond and think there is dating potential there, I'm also leaning towards the opinion that Jikook may be single nowadays. However, I'm also leaning towards the opinion that they MAY have had something in the past, possibly something casual like occasional hookups since I believe (sexual) attraction between the two does exist (emphasis on may since this is an assumption like everything else as we have a glimpse into the 1/1000 of their private lives), and this is based solely on two incidents - the hickey and the Rose Bowl one. The Rose Bowl one I can overlook, but the hickey one is difficult for me to put within the scope of pure friendship (especially when it comes to their/other memebers' reactions in the clip to the entire thing).

So my question is - how do you perceive these two events (and I'm sure you've already got this question, but as I'd already said, I've only come across your blog recently). :)

Have a great day!

Me: I’m going to take a break and stay on Twitter.

Also Me: No.

Listen, I can’t make up my mind. I like the idea of being able to say things that would have me nailed to a cross “out loud” without being burdened by other people’s sensitivities and not having to explain myself either, but now I have (5) social media accounts, and I am overwhelmed. I don’t want to talk about it lol. I’ll approve a few people eventually, but the less eyes the better.

Anyway, neither here nor there.

Hey, anon—thanks!

I don’t agree with you on whether they were once dating or fooling around, but it’s well-known here that I’ve never thought that at all. You do you; many others would agree with you, too.

My opinion on Rose Bowl and the “hickey” is that they could be looked at in two different ways. I really don’t care for what most Jkkrs think about them, but really the bottom line is that even if those two events were taken at face value and nothing deeper, it’s unique behavior either way.

Outliers exist in every aspect of life. There are generalizations that apply to a population, culture, generation, gender, sexuality, personality types, etc., but those generalizations will never apply to every single person. And it’s especially so in human behavior and social interaction.

Just because you or “most people” wouldn’t do [action] with a friend doesn’t mean that those people don’t exist. And sure, it would absolutely make sense that this generalization might apply to Jungkook and Jimin when they do something out of pocket, but they’re not only not the average Joes with a normal upbringing, the biggest factor is that RPS is inherently unusual, unsolicited, and toeing the line of disrespect. It’s why RPS is widely frowned upon. It comes with the territory of being in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable or encouraged by those being shipped.

It’s the fact that they are real people, who never asked to be shipped in that way, that explains why I will never assume that anything they do or say means anything deeper than how it looks on the surface—or if, in the case of the “hickey,” Jimin says he was getting dizzy and bit Jungkook as retribution, then that’s really all it was (also, I can believe that, but I have an anecdotal experience that allows me to accept it as is).

The only time I’ll ever entertain narratives is if there’s legitimately no context for it or there’s a dissonance between the context and what’s actually happening; for example, the Feb 2021 live where Jungkook continues staring at Jimin long after he’s done talking or doing anything interesting. Yes, I’ll say that it’s a little suspect and explain why, but that’s generally as far as I’ll take it (and I think I’ve even tried to play devil’s advocate with it too, but it’s a little weak). But as I say all the time, these moments are incredibly few and far between.

In the case of Rose Bowl, Jimin was very obviously emotional and Jungkook was comforting him. I personally wouldn’t suck my friend’s ear, but as I had passively mentioned in a really old post, I watched this compilation of idols doing the same thing to one another, and I remember thinking at the time that the ear fixation among idols was baffling. I tried to find it again, but it doesn’t seem to exist anymore (it was a much older video that I found ~2 years ago). After seeing that, I was more convinced that Rose Bowl could’ve easily been a comfort thing—weird, but comforting.

I’ve had time to ruminate over it, and I can also see how that action might actually be grounding to someone.

Regarding these two events, I can understand why shippers would think they could indicate something deeper between Jikook. Where I start to have a problem is when shippers abuse their platform and start talking so assuredly for Jungkook and Jimin. Shippers are not omniscient, but they pretend to be and they talk like they are, and those are the ones I don’t respect at all.

Mind you, I’m not stopping anyone else from flouting those boundaries if that’s how you have your fun, but I won’t have anything nice to say about people who do this, and that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, thanks for the ask. This was longer than intended, but I am tagging this post for future reference so I never have to talk about it ever again. ✌🏻