serenesns

[serenesns]

I'll drown in you consume me

[serenesns]

The summer ivan died.

[serenesns]

I just think it's really beautiful how, for such a bleak setting, ultimately Till is alive only thanks to the intervention of those who loved him. Ivan sacrificed himself to keep him alive in their round, Mizi saved him last second despite wanting to blow up the stage.

His new short haircut also seems to be a throwback to his mother who's the main reason he even got to experience love and affection under such awful circumstances in the first place 🥹

Basically, he's part of a cycle of love and affection throughout the story and he perpetuates it by saving those kids the aliens created using his and his friends' genes.

I just really appreciate how despite all the tragedy and ugliness of the world they live in, and the failure to completely disrupt the status quo, there is still this underlying hopeful feeling that survives thanks to his own survival.

[serenesns]

It was unhealthy,

It was controlling,

It was immature,

It was doomed from the start.

But goddammit, the love was there!

And more than anything, it was cherished.

[serenesns]

Live in memory

[serenesns]

I really love their "doomed demon couple" moment

[serenesns]

anyways i just love the way kpop demon hunters stayed true to its roots in korean/asian culture, especially around the core theme of community vs individualism

the fact that it's not a single chosen one but a group of three

the fact that the honmoon is not powered by the hunters themselves but by the energy and love of the fans

the fact that gwi-ma turns people into demons by promising that he is the only one who can help them when he is in fact reliant on his army of demons to collect souls for him

the fact that "your idol" is about surrendering yourself to a single higher power while "golden" is about soaring to new heights together

the fact that gwi-ma preys on people's individual insecurities and shame to get inside their heads while rumi, mira, and zoey set them free in the end by encouraging them to embrace their differences and reminding them that they're not alone

the fact that you can see the audience cheering individually and even pushing into each other to get closer to the stage during "your idol"

while they're linking arms and cheering together and hugging during "what it feels like"

i have not seen the live action lilo and stitch but it feels like that movie sits on the opposite end of the spectrum from kpop demon hunters as a case study for how to tell a story in way that is culturally authentic and still resonates with a broader audience

and i think given that the core theme of the movie is all about community over individualism, the ending, particularly as it relates to rumi and jinu's budding romance, is really the perfect culmination of that broader theme

rumi and jinu's connection has all the hallmarks of that all-encompassing, all-consuming, borderline co-dependent first love where you keep your relationship a secret and sneak out of the house to meet up and feel like the other person is the ONLY person who really gets you

i'm the only one who can understand you, i'm the only one who will love you is the kind of thing that sounds romantic when you're 16 until you get older and realize how toxic it actually is and i love that the movie counters that in "what it sounds like" with rumi realizing that she had that love and support all along from her girls, and later, from the fans who continue to cheer them on through their comeback

it's about connection and sisterhood and love and sharing your fears and lifting each other up and becoming stronger and better together

and as compelling as i found rumi/jinu and as much as i would like to see their relationship explored more in a sequel/series, i just really love that this movie, which is clearly targeted at young women, ends on the message that romantic love is not the end all be all, that friendship is just as important if not more so than a romantic partner, that single women can lead successful, fulfilling lives, that true happiness and freedom start from within

it's crazy that this message still seems revolutionary in 2025 but given the current state of the world, it feels more necessary than ever

[serenesns]

Some JinuRumi for the soul AUGGGGGH ✨️

[serenesns]

It's okay, we're same now

[serenesns]

i wish we got to see how the saja boys got together

[serenesns]

writing isn’t hard it’s just emotionally devastating and time-consuming and requires full body possession by an idea

[serenesns]

I LOVE THEM!!!

[serenesns]

nico “you can’t abandon me if i run away first” di angelo and percy “i would go to the ends of the earth for the people i love” jackson ougHhhh the fanfics write THEMSELVES

[serenesns]

Just like Hades fell in love with Persephone, whose name means ‘bringer of destruction’, Nico di Angelo fell in love with Perseus, whose name means ‘destroyer’.

[serenesns]

Had a thought

Percy and Annabeth having a date in the Argo II's stables getting all cuddly while they look at the night below them, meanwhile Nico is inside a jar on the brink of death.

It's like a PG version of Mel and Jayce getting together while Viktor is fucking dying.

Why does my head make these connections?

[serenesns]

the perachel-percico shipper solidarity has got to be one of my favorite things in the world

[serenesns]

What are your top 10 killugon moments?

this took a lot of thought. i’m gonna go by chronological order rather than ranking bc i don’t think i could actually number them but here goes!

-the entirety of episode 7, tbh

this is kind of an odd one, but hear me out.

gon and killua have a lot of really great moments early on (especially in the 2011 anime), but this episdoe stands out. gon finding out about killua’s background as an assassin, but taking him at totally face value, and killua saying no one’s done that before. not only that, but gon not judging him. gon and killua vs. netero, which is really the first time they work together in a fight. the whole contrast between gon and killua’s personalities and fighting styles as set up by the episode - gon is persistent and won’t give up, no matter what; killua is prudent and tactical but prone to giving up when a situation looks hopeless, and can be temperamental. and just…the way gon is so earnestly impressed by watching killua fight, even immediately after netero just talked about their negative implications

not one of their “best” scenes, maybe, but it’s interesting insight to their early relationship + foreshadowing for how all of it ends up developing in the future (plus, scenes where gon is just really earnestly impressed by everything killua does are always fantastic)

-and on a more heartbreaking note, this scene

the first of many heartbreaking scenes that are very good, to be fair. this whole scene, for one so early on in the series, is legitimately upsetting to watch, given the blatant emotional abuse/gaslighting illumi is directing toward killua, and the sheer strength of will killua has to even stand up to it as much as he does - to pull strength from his desire for friendship with gon - it’s so fucking good. and then leorio and kurapika getting upset on his behalf, also, and leorio telling him he’s an idiot and gon’s already his friend…gon getting PISSED THE HELL OFF when he hears about all of it after he wakes up and BREAKING ILLUMI’S FUCKING ARM ON KILLUA’S BEHALF, his whole dedication to rescuing killua…UGH (clutches chest) these kids…..

-the fucking shit with sadaso and his shitty squad

i know it’s another oddball choice but hear me out. there’s something i just really appreciate about this whole part. killua genuinely trying to deal with this situation like a somewhat more normal person would rather than The Assassin Way (i will never not be amused by “not killing people sure is hard. clean living is tough” lmao). his willingness to throw his fights since it’s not like he’s interested in winning heaven’s arena, anyway…so long as they leave gon alone. his utter fury when he finds out they did anyway. It’s Good.

-together on whale island, under the stars

listen i had to include this scene. this whole part was sweet, but this scene especially so. the 2011 anime always looked pretty good, but this is probably the first scene where they pull out all the stops and prove how utterly gorgeous it can be?? and just. aaaaaah. this is kind of the turning point for their friendship and the Defining Moment for killua’s characterization from here on until, like, the election arc. it’s so good.

(this is probably when killua fell in love with gon tbh)

-this mess

LIKE it’s a very funny scene, but ugh the foreshadowing…for the needle thing (more on that later), but also just in general. you could write so much about their different modes of self-sacrifice/self destructive tendencies…and about what all of this says about their relationship as a whole (and the fact that they’re both a couple of self-sacrificial dumbasses, especially where the other’s concerned.)

they’re good kids, brent

…but also they need a ton of therapy

-I HAD TO INCLUDE THIS SCENE OKAY

there’s lots that could be said here about like. killua’s inability to accept gon’s praise at face value, or his inability to express his own feelings out loud, or even the fact that they have two different impressions of why killua is there (and killua’s thoughts trail off, so we don’t get to hear how he’d finish that thought directly…but we can sure make some educated guesses)

but i just want to bask in what a sweet scene it was okay

-it has to be killua

UGH THIS SCENE

on the one hand, it’s REALLY SWEET and speaks volumes for the level of trust between them and it’s good

on the other hand, hello there, self destructive tendencies, remember how i was talking about those coming up in the last arc bc Hoo Boy. again, BIG FORESHADOWING here - in this particular scene, for killua, but then it’s paralleled AGAIN with the way gon ends up destroying his own hands later on in the arc GOD DAMN IT TOGASHI

destroy me

-REMEMBER WHAT I WAS SAYING ABOUT THE NEEDLE BC…

UGH

so herein we get to the point where i’m not sure i can even talk about these scenes without becoming a wreck

the needle thing is SUCH a good metaphor for abuse and the way it’s foreshadowed throughout the series, and then how it becomes such a roadblock here

it’s not totally a great or healthy thing that so much of what killua does is for other people’s sake rather than his own, but it’s realistic for his situation and up to a certain point, anything that can motivate you is better than not being motivated at all. and killua managing to push through that wall that is his family brainwashing him and manipulating him and conditioning him to run away, in order to save gon

ugh

-ARE YOU CRYING BECAUSE I’M CRYING (so is killua)

DESTROY. ME.

UGH mariya ise’s voice acting in this scene is so good. i am wrecked. i don’t know what to say about this scene, honestly, except that it’s DEVASTATING

and also aaah i just noticed the parallel between palm talking about the wall inside her head and killua removing it and the needle thing, fuck

-KILLUA DEMANDING AN APOLOGY

like. i’m not going to defame gon for what he said to killua in 116 bc obvs he was in a very fragile emotional state and a lot of people get way too hard on him about that

but also it was FUCKED UP and VERY OUT OF LINE

and damn right killua was owed an apology for that

he’s hurt, he’s deeply upset because his best friend is in a COMA and it’s an incredibly fucked up situation for kids their age to be in

but also like speaking of killua’s tendency to do things for other people’s sake…i think this is really the first time we’ve seen him stand up for himself like this. aaaaa

and i know we all feel cheated that we didn’t actually see the apology scene, but given all the leadup to it i can’t imagine that wasn’t deliberate on togashi’s fault, like…assuming the series goes on for long enough, i’m sure he intends to come back to that

honorable mentions: “i want to introduce him to my best friend killua wearing a salmon suit”, “gon, you are light”, THE FUCKING SCENE WHERE KILLUA HOLDS GON’S WITHERED HAND RIGHT BEFORE HAVING NANIKA HEAL HIM JESUS CHRIST TOGASHI

bonus:

that is the face of someone who knows, that is a knowing look if i have ever seen one in my life