#Like I feel like there’s so much depth to characters but the simplification on both side can be a bit frustrating

[mint-termsandconditions]

Random subject,

but I need someone to make a video essay about the bastardization of female characters and the woobification of male characters in media/fandom spaces

because I think it’s a really interesting subject that probably stems from biases that plague our society

from

“He’s such a silly little guy.”

to

Literally calling fictional female characters worse than Hitler or something

Like, I feel like people talk about specific characters but not the topic as a broader subject

I feel like there’s so much to talk about

but I don’t have the elegance, critical thinking skills, the experience, or consume enough media to talk about this

So anyone who’s reading this please, please make a video essay about it

Or make one arguing against it idk

I just need a good video essay to watch while doing homework

[wellcomeoneileen]

So I’ve said the marriage/monogamy thing felt like a proxy battle in seasons 1-4 and assumed season 5 would do the final bit of exploration then restoration, and I don’t feel it did, and upon reflection I think it’s because they show us two plausible explanations, one told to the audience and was “good” and one shown to the audience and as “bad” then ignore them both, so the audience doesn’t know if it’s “good” or “bad” that Brian still wants to fuck around. In ultra simplified terms.

Brian says that it’s because it’s who he is, and how he wants to live his life. This was (and could have been even more!) interesting bc his friends and chosen family are ALREADY living life outside societal norms, and his non-monogamy being where their line is drawn shows that every community struggles with acceptance and “too far”ness. Thus, his non-monog lifestyle is central to his core self and he just needs to not be a dick, and his friends to accept him in order for this aspect of his character to be “resolved.”

However, we are ALSO shown he was raised in an abusive household, and Brian honestly seems more hung-up in his mother’s detachment than his father’s physical abuse, which is a big neon sign pointing to intimacy issues wanting to be healed. Thus, his non-monog lifestyle is a coping mechanism from which he can address deep seated issues and then develop towards healthier alternatives in order for this character aspect to be “resolved”.

I think option 1 is super interesting/unique actually, but since it’s more the told option and not the shown option, it feels less plausible.

Now, this isn’t an either or, he could be non-monog bc he’s born like that and is a jerk about it bc he was abused and is thus a general jerk, or any other combo of the two (keeping it at two reasons only for simplification).

It felt like all of S5 Brian was like hmm I don’t feel like my friends do (born different please just accept me option) but ALSO I am driven to leave before left and I’m getting old and not useful to my loved ones (abandonment issues I’m only fucking around out of fear option).

But since the final season never really dives into either option, and ends by one final telling the audience Brian is Just Like That, without much depth or touching their shown second option of childhood trauma, it still feels totally unresolved.

In psychology terms lol at the end of the show I still don’t know if brian has an approach mindset (fucking random guys is bringing me towards a goal good for myself) or has an avoidant mindset (fucking random guys is taking me away from bad situations)

So I personally watched the end and was like um should I be happy that brian is finally accepted for his unique ways, or sad that he hasn’t adapted healthier coping mechanisms?

In my dream job of story editor I would have pointed out they had a big descprecy between their showing and telling, which automatically makes an audience doubt what they’re told, and suggested picking an option to explore and resolve, or finding a way to show they are both true, and the resolution is making them at peace with each other :)

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

first off, thanks for this wonderful addition to my post! you’ve brought up so many examples of how jon got completely screwed over in the show and went well in depth about how nonsensical the world building in GOT is. i really appreciate it!

i completely agree that white and black are not treated as representations of good and evil in asoiaf. however, i feel as though they were kind of used this way in GOT at some points, especially in regards to show jon. that’s what i meant in my tags when i said the ‘white wolf’ moniker depicted moral goodness. i meant it in the sense that GOT refused to engage with jon’s complexity, and played into the elementary idea of ‘white = good,’ and used this stereotype to push the agenda that the starks, aka the wolves, were the only good guys. essentially, the show labeled their jon, and the rest of the starks by association, as the paragon of virtue and the right side through little details like this.

the show’s version of moral goodness was a stagnant, passive trait—where being ‘good’ meant doing nothing, wanting nothing, and giving everything to sansa. it’s all practically antithetical to book jon, who is always surrounded by duality imagery and dual concepts. they basically villainized active characters to, as you mentioned, prop up their fav and get away with their illogical nonsense.

so d&d disregarding ‘the black bastard of the wall’ was basically disregarding jon’s political arc and his moral complexity in favor of their simplification and agenda pushing. jon basically became a prop, and if he was on your side that meant your side was the good side. they did this by keeping jon’s storyline simple, by not correctly adapting his black/grey/white imagery, and by only including the ‘white wolf’ moniker to mark him as only good because d&d didn’t challenge stereotypes; instead, they played into them, which is why i believe they were seriously using ‘white wolf’ to imply moral goodness. it was to not so subtly imply/put the idea in people’s heads that their jon always stood on the side of good and that his choices were the right choices (even if they logically weren’t), and they reinforced this idea through other means as well, like by using other characters as mouthpieces. to me, it seems like their goal was to always reinforce the ‘stark good (and targaryen bad)’ belief within the fandom to get away with doing the bare minimum/stripping away complexity/creating completely illogical scenes.

also, thank you so much for reminding me about the stark’s inverse colors being white on grey. it makes me appreciate the duality imagery surrounding jon even more than i did before.

i suppose in my original tags i made it seem like the ‘white’ side of jon was more separate than the ‘black’ side, and i wish i worded my thoughts better because i absolutely agree that jon’s white imagery is just as important as the black in his story. jon is a snow, his soul is intertwined with his white wolf, and he currently lives very far north right next to a giant wall of ice. this part of him is just as important as his dark coloring, the black clothes he wears, his black heart, the black castle he lives in, and his moniker. and it’s also important that winterfell, where he grew up, is made of grey granite, that he has grey eyes, and that his sword is grey—even if his eyes and sword are both on the darker side of grey. the entire spectrum from black to white, including the grey mid point, is essential imagery surrounding his character.

i definitely digressed a few times, but in my original post i was basically just poking fun at the differences between book vs show jon and how it was almost perfectly represented by his opposite monikers, but in my tags i definitely disregarded the importance of the ‘white wolf’ moniker to jon’s themes, imagery, and symbolism. i suppose i let GOTs mishandling of the moniker affect my view of its relevance to book jon’s storyline, so thank you for reminding me of its importance. i seriously appreciate your addition to my post :)

‘the black bastard of the wall’ moniker is the exact opposite of the ‘white wolf’ moniker and this perfectly highlights the irreconcilable differences between book Jon and show Jon

[magnetic-rose]

Why Spones is a top-tier ship

AKA “the inherent homoeroticism of annoying the shit out of your co-worker.”

Spock and McCoy have a complicated relationship. A lot of their bickering and ideological differences lead fans to believe that they hate each other, but that’s an over-simplification of the truth. The reality is that Spock and McCoy are extremely close friends who care about each other deeply. Though sometimes their bickering turns serious during stressful situations, for the most time they seem to enjoy the banter. A common mischaracterization of their relationship seems to put McCoy as the bully and Spock as the victim. In truth, there are many times where Spock will say something specifically to get a rise out of McCoy. They fight. That’s how they show affection, not disdain. In fact, one could argue that some of their bantering have a flirtatious tone to it.

Kirk: Mister Spock, regaining eyesight would be an emotional experience for most. You, I assume, felt nothing.

Spock: On the contrary Captain. I had a very strong reaction. My first sight was the face of Doctor McCoy bending over me.

McCoy: ‘Tis a pity brief blindness didn’t increase your appreciation for beauty, Spock. (Operation -- Annihilate!)

Spock is a half-Vulcan, half-Human who has mostly chosen to follow his Vulcan heritage. As such, he is a being of almost pure logic. The truth about Vulcans are that they are secretly beings who feel things very deeply and intensely, and they feel the need to keep a tight lid on their emotions as to not succumb to them. McCoy, on the other hand, is a regular human. He’s a deeply emotional man who cares about others. One could argue that McCoy is almost too empathetic, as he lets his emotions rule him. Spock and McCoy are polar opposites; the brain and the heart, the logic and the emotion, the super-ego and the id.

Despite these differences, the two men are similar in a lot of ways. They’re both men of science, men of peace, and they both care very deeply for their Captain. They’re both self-sacrificing morons, to the chagrin of the other. Spock will prioritize McCoy’s life even when both of them know it’s not the logical choice to do so. Likewise, McCoy will take a hit for Spock even when they both know the Vulcan is stronger and better equipped to deal with pain than the doctor.

Spock: (In the middle of a blizzard) In this severe cold, we cannot survive much longer.

McCoy: Leave me here, Spock.

Spock: We go together or not at all.

McCoy: Don’t be a fool. My hands and face are frostbitten. I can’t feel my feet. Alone, you have a chance. Now do what I say. Go try to find Jim.

Spock: We go together! (All of Yesterdays)

In the episode, “The Empath,” Kirk, Spock and McCoy have to choose someone to be offered as sacrifice to be tortured by a group of aliens. Kirk obviously volunteers, but gets put to sleep by McCoy with a tranquilizer. Spock then states that he’ll offer himself up, as he has the higher chance of surviving the torture. McCoy then proceeds to sedate Spock as well, and sacrifices himself to be tortured by the aliens.

Spock: While the captain is asleep, I am in command. When the Vians return, I shall go with them.

McCoy: You mean, if I hadn't given him that shot

Spock: Precisely. The choice would have been the captain's. Now it is mine.

(McCoy turns away. Spock sits to carry on working. Gem puts her hand on Spock's shoulder, and smiles. McCoy comes up behind him and gives him an injection.)

Spock: Your action is highly unethical. My decision stands. (Spock falls asleep next to Kirk.)

McCoy: Not this time, Spock.

Underneath all the fighting and disagreements, there is a deep caring between Spock and McCoy that manifests itself into protectiveness towards each other. In “All of Yesterdays,” Spock is constantly showing concern for McCoy after he almost died of hypothermia. In aftermath of McCoy’s torture in “The Empath,” Spock is seen hovering over his body and caressing his face, worry written into his features. On the other hand, while McCoy constantly makes fun of Spock for his lack of emotions, he’s also highly aware of the Vulcan’s mental state and protective of it when others threaten to shatter his resilience.

McCoy: He's a Vulcan. You can't force emotion out of him.

Philana: You must be joking, Doctor.

McCoy: You'll destroy him.

Parmen: We can't let him die laughing, can we?

McCoy: (Watching as Spock starts to cry) I beg you! (Plato’s Stepchildren)

The episode “Amok Time” also demonstrates McCoy’s perceptiveness of Spock and Spock’s true feelings of friendship towards McCoy. McCoy is in fact the first person to notice that something is wrong with Spock:

McCoy: Oh, captain. Got a minute? It's Spock. Have you noticed anything strange about him?

Kirk: No, nothing in particular. Why ?

McCoy: Well, it's nothing I can pinpoint without an examination, but he's become increasingly restive. If he were not a Vulcan, I'd almost say nervous. And for another thing, he's avoiding food. I checked and he hasn't eaten at all in three days.

Kirk: That just sounds like Mister Spock in one of his contemplative phases.

Kirk doesn’t notice anything wrong with Spock, and initially dismisses McCoy’s concern, but McCoy immediately picked up on Spock’s mental turmoil. Despite his cantankerousness, McCoy not only cares about Spock but goes out of his way to look out for his mental state. Part of it might be because he’s his doctor, but how many doctors go so far as to monitor someone’s eating habits because they notice that person’s suddenly being fidgety? On Spock’s end, when it comes time for him to beam down to Vulcan to complete his marriage ceremony, he specifically asks for McCoy to be there:

Spock: By tradition, the male is accompanied by his closest friends.

Kirk: Thank you, Mister Spock.

Spock: I also request McCoy accompany me.

McCoy: I shall be honoured, sir.

One episode I find extremely fascinating in terms of McCoy/Spock moments is “Mirror, Mirror.” In this famous episode, half of the Enterprise crew get transported into an alternate universe dubbed The Mirror Verse, in which evil versions of the characters exist and terrorize space as a fearsome military force. McCoy is part of the team that gets transported in the Mirror Verse, while Spock stays in their regular universe. Mirror Spock immediately realizes that half of the crew, including Kirk and McCoy, are acting strangely. When he corners Kirk to question him, he does so by threatening McCoy: “I shall not waste time with you. You’re too inflexible, too disciplined, once you’ve made up your mind. But Doctor McCoy has a plenitude of human weaknesses, sentimental, soft. You may not tell me what I want to know, but he will.” This Spock seems to have a intimate knowledge of McCoy’s mind.  When the party decides to attack Mirror Spock, he fights all of them except for Uhura and McCoy, who he simply pushes out of harm’s way.

When Mirror Spock gets hurt as the crew is trying to escape back to their own universe, McCoy is suddenly unable to leave his side. Kirk allows him to stay to nurse Spock back to health, and McCoy risks almost staying in the Mirror Verse forever for him. When Mirror Spock awakes, he backs McCoy into a wall and initiates a forced mind meld onto the doctor. The next scene has Mirror Spock holding a disoriented McCoy up and bringing him back to his crew; he now understands what is happening and he wants his regular crew back, and thus he allows Kirk and company to make the switch back to their own universe.

Other Star Trek properties have gone more in depth on how a forced mind meld can be extremely traumatizing on the person receiving it. Star Trek: Enterprise has an entire story arc dedicated to the Vulcan T’Pol trying to heal from a forced mind meld. Unfortunately, because the nature of TOS episodes were episodic, we never got the chance to explore the emotional fallout of McCoy’s forced mind meld and how that might have affected his relationship with Spock. The franchise also never went in depth on Mirror McCoy outside of what Mirror Spock speaks of him, since Mirror McCoy died of xenopolycythemia in 2269.

Closing the list of evidence of Spock and McCoy’s affections towards each other are the Star Trek movies “The Wrath of Khan” and “The Search for Spock.” Towards the end of Wrath of Khan, Spock sacrifices himself to save The Enterprise in one of the franchises most heart-wrenching scenes. Moments before his sacrifice, he knocks McCoy unconscious, touches his face and whispers “remember.” What happened in this scene was that Spock, knowing he was about to die, transferred his Katra to McCoy. The katra being the Vulcan equivalent of a soul. This speaks to the amount of trust that Spock has in McCoy. For someone who keeps most of his emotions under a tight lid, it’s a huge gesture to entrust another with the essence of their entire being. The next movie, The Search for Spock, is a journey as the Enterprise crew fight to return to Vulcan so they can reunite Spock with his body. When they finally arrive, the Vulcans warn McCoy that the process is extremely dangerous and could even result in his death. McCoy calmly replies that he “chooses the danger.” He cannot fathom living his life without Spock.

McCoy: (Speaking to Spock) I'm going to tell you something that I... I never thought I'd hear myself say...But it seems I've missed you. I don't know if I could stand to lose you again.

So in conclusion, Spock and McCoy have a rich and complex relationship that is much more than simply just “they dislike each other because they bicker a lot.” Their bickering is more akin to that of an old married couple. There are plenty of examples not even included in this post of how deeply they care for each other. Despite their ideological differences, they balance each other out quite nicely. McCoy is finely attuned to Spock’s emotions, arguably better than anyone else on the ship. Spock in turn is protective and gentle with McCoy. Once you stop looking at their interactions solely on the surface level, you’ll be able to see the tenderness and years of love and friendship between them. This is why I think Spock/McCoy is one of the most underrated and misunderstood relationships of TOS. Don’t let the constant arguing fool you into believing these two dummies don’t adore each other.

Shout-out to Tempest for their extremely lengthy ship manifesto on Spones called “Spiced Peaches,” which goes even more in depth on why Spones is a great couple. Using their manifesto as a reference was key to remembering Spock/McCoy moments. Also shout-out to the site chakoteya for having full transcripts of TOS episodes, so I could easily find quotes for this. If you’ve come this far, thanks for reading!

[diverse-writing]

Pt. 1-Hi! I'm a Black woman writing a Fanfiction for an anime series called Food Wars and I'm creating a sister and brother who are half-Lakota (Itazipcola Band) and half-Black American. They're going to a Japanese Culinary High School, the same school their great-uncle (Kiowa) went to when America was in Japan, post-WWII for a few years as his father was in the army. It's a very competitive school with diverse characters and cooking styles/types. They both want to travel and see a new country.

(continued) They live in Sioux Falls, SD after moving from the Cheyenne River Rez years ago. The family owns a Catering company with Native, African, and American Southern food (Mom is from VA) that does Showcasings, Chef Demos, and feeding the people within both communities while mentoring the youth. Annie (Older sis) wants to be a Pastry Chef as Andrew (little bro) does mostly savory, especially BBQ. Annie was on a kid's baking show as Andrew won kid's BBQ competitions. Both siblings want to help their communities by spreading awareness about poverty, suicide, and other stuff. They are active in their Native heritage. I did research in Natives in Japan, and I found that it's a bit mixed. Some people don't know about Natives, or that they do but only through the news and old western films. There's this one guy who went to a tribe to learn about the culture and he went back to Japan to teach his students about how the Natives truly lived. There's a Native jewelry store in Tokyo So some Japanese do know about Natives, I want to write a few small scenes where the Japanese students ask questions that are stereotypical about Natives and Black people, but they learn from the siblings. Annie begins to have a crush on a boy who is mixed indigenous (Ainu/Saami), but isn't connected to those cultures, because of his Ainu dad dying and Saami mom leaving him. He was adopted by a rich Japanese/Danish family. I want him to learn more about his heritage after falling for Annie and begins to heal from his past through learning about the Saami. Before he didn't want to do anything with them due to his mom. Andrew falls for a Japanese girl who does Medicine Cuisine. He's a expert in Nutrition and tries to help his people's health issues. They have a cute relationship. I thought of these characters just like any other person. I'm Black and I don't like seeing stereotypes. Annie and Andrew love music due to their dad formerly being in a band with only one album. They're both crafty with the Arts due to their grandparents on both sides teaching them. Annie is more outgoing, goofy, and blunt than Andrew but she enjoys the simple stuff in life and loves fashion (Vintage 60s/70s and Punk) Andrew is more quiet and shy, but not antisocial. He just likes doing his own thing while teasing his sis on her shortness and crush. He likes comfy, Punk clothing. I was just wondering what is offensive and not. I want to show their food and aspects of culture, like Powwows (I've been watching videos on Lakota Powwows) and I've been wondering if there's a coming of age ceremony. I don't want to show it just mention it. Is this where people get their Lakota name? I don't want to do religious ceremonies since that's sacred and also I'm not really religious, but what if I want to allude about it? Sorry that this was way too long!

Okay, this is a huge question but I’ll do my best to answer it with the GIANT caveat that I’m not indigenous and am only answering to the best of my knowledge. If any indigenous followers--particularly those with experience in Japan/with Japanese culture, though of course all are welcome--have thoughts or feelings, as always feel free to add more information and/or correct me!

A few observations that jump out, based on your description of your narrative framework:

Their food. Okay, while I know absolutely nothing about the food cultures you describe, I’m a huge fan of connecting with your culture through your food (and your stomach!) so I love this framing. That being said, to my knowledge African American food is fairly distinct from African food, with the former more likely to be in their cultural background given your description (obviously, in this situation you’re the expert on Black culture so feel free to totally ignore me here). 

Andrew’s food interests. Related to the previous bullet point, based on my understanding Medicine Cuisine and Nutrition would be super interesting focuses for him given his cultural background. It’d be super cool to seem him integrate his various cooking specialties and heritages into nourishing food to support his people. 

Knowledge about Native Americans in Japan. I do think it’s likely accurate that unless someone in Japan has personally done research, the average Japanese citizen probably knows very little about indigenous Native Americans in the same way the average American knows very little about Japanese indigenous ethnic groups. 

Relatedly, I think it makes sense for their Japanese classmates to ask stereotypical questions, but you should steer clear of just plain offensive questions. As you likely know, answering stereotypical questions about your identity and heritage is exhausting and should be treated as such within the narrative. Your characters are in school to educate themselves, not to educate their classmates, so while the latter may occur sometimes I don’t think it should be their focus. So while the intent of the questioning scene may partially be to help answer readers’ questions about Annie and Andrew’s heritage (and Black and Lakota culture to an extent), remember that the ultimate goal of representation is not to educate others but to help people within those demographics see themselves on the page. And more likely than not, Black and Lakota readers won’t want to see characters representing themselves having to answer the same repetitive questions they face down all the time.

I know you only mentioned him in passing, but I have a lot more thoughts specifically about Annie’s mixed Ainu/Saami crush. I don’t want to tell you *not* to write him but I do think there are several pitfalls you need to carefully avoid moving forward.

His Saami mother. There’s a big stereotype around POC abandoning their children, being absent or flighty parents, or otherwise just failing to properly nuture their children. While I’m unaware of any specific stereotype regarding indigenous  parents, I would tentatively say that doesn’t mean those stereotypes don’t exist, so tread carefully. That being said, I do know there’s a stereotype about indigenous people being alcoholics, so you should absolutely avoid characterizing his mother as such because as an outsider, you don’t have the power to subvert that stereotype. 

His relationship with his heritage. I would also be very cautious while writing his arc of reconnecting to his heritage. While reconnecting is unfortunately a very real (and very under represented) process for indigenous people, it’s an extremely difficult and personal process that I don’t think outsiders are qualified to write in-depth about. Though I don’t think you should necessarily gloss over his reconnecting process, I do think it should perhaps be a side character arc, rather than his defining character arc. For example, he might mention to Annie that her passion for her heritage has inspired him to research his own family, or else maybe he’s pictured buying a book on the Saami language. (The current discussion around Rick Riordan’s portrayal of Piper’s imperfect reconnection to her Cherokee heritage makes some really good points, so I’d check that out if you’re familiar with his books. I’d be happy to link you if you’re curious.)

His adopted family. I have to admit--as the daughter of a transracial adoptee in a family full of transracial adoptees, this framing makes me very wary. While I know transracial adoption parents likely have only the best intentions, the adopted child themselves often end up hugely disconnected from their birth cultures. It’s often an extremely stressful and traumatic event, especially in cases where the adopted parents don’t learn about their child’s birth culture themselves and/or only teach the child their own cultures (in this case, Japanese and Dutch). Honestly, with all due respect, I have yet to see any fictional narratives that properly address the trauma of transracial adoptions and given everything else going on in your writing, I’m not sure how well you would be able to write about it. More in the next bullet point.

His extremely mixed heritage. While I don’t want to come across as rude, I do have to ask: what’s your intention behind making a single side character with four different cultural backgrounds, especially backgrounds that you the author don’t share? The reality is that, no matter how much research you may do, these four cultures--Ainu, Saami, Japanese, and Dutch--are very rarely found in combination, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find any #ownvoices accounts from similar scenarios that you could hypothetically draw on to write more accurately. As a result, you’d know very little about how these different cultures meld together, and you’d have almost nothing to go on to write about his mixed multicultural background and the tensions that come with it. While I understand you may be attached to his parental setup and his backstory, I would highly advise simplification to avoid straying into territory you neither understand or are qualified to write about. Given your focus on his reconnecting, I would probably recommend keeping his Ainu father alive and cutting his adopted family. That way, you cut the number of unknown cultures in half and you can truly dedicate yourself to writing his Ainu heritage and his reconnecting process well.

With regards to your actual question about Lakota religious ceremonies, as a non-indigenous person I’m definitely not qualified to answer specifics about Lakota coming of age and naming ceremonies. That being said, I know this: Native American ceremonies, rituals, traditions, and lore are often closely guarded and not shared with outsiders. And I don’t just mean outsiders don’t share in the ceremonies themselves--outsiders often can’t even learn about the ceremonies because the knowledge itself is guarded. (This information is secondhand from my Blackfoot professor last year. If I’m wrong or if any indigenous followers have more accurate information, as always I’m open to critiques and suggestions!) As you continue researching this, I’d definitely be mindful of the source; if it comes from an official Lakota or indigenous source, it’s likely okay to share or discuss, but if all you can find about Lakota religious ceremonies is from, like, someone’s blog or Facebook post or something, then that information likely wasn’t approved to share and you shouldn’t write it into your story. Given that this seems to only be a character detail mentioned briefly, you may be able to simply mention the characters’ Lakota names in passing without referencing the ceremony itself.

Sorry for the long response, and I hope at least some of this information helps!

(Also, if you read this post, this is a good example of a really well researched and thought out ISO Sensitivity Reader question. Obviously, I’ve provided what information I can and this individual seems to have done lots of research, but the execution comes down to... well, the actual execution.)

[clownery-and-fuckery]

Of course its okay to share your commentary!! I'm glad to see other people's thoughts on this!! :D

The singular language use in the second episode was the main reason I made this post, tbh. I had held my tongue about it up until this point considering everything about Crosshair and his choices (I'll get into that in a second) but hearing him actually ignore his siblings (in a way) really annoyed me-

Wrecker used words like "people" and mentioned them throughout the episode, and while i can't pull the quotes directly from my head, it shows that there WAS consideration for the other two, but Hunter chose specifically not to acknowledge them?

The justification behind that could be that this is his way of grieving Tech (which, fair but still VERY frustrating that he still doesn't acknowledge it even when Wrecker DIRECTLY brings him up) and at this point, Hunter knows Crosshair turned against the Empire- like you said, he (might) have been able to come home with them if they had pushed- I find it really odd that despite that knowledge, he not only forgot about him, he pushed to not look for him- that's my own personal problem with that aspect, even if I understand the hesitating

Hunter being the "oldest" is definitely heavily a fannon decision, but it was confirmed in my head listening to them talk to each other over comms- Hunter is referred to as "Havoc 1" which would have been assigned to the oldest/one in charge imo- (it also disproved my theory on Tech being the youngest because he's Havoc 2 but I can dream !!) With Echo being older, its probably a case of the others listening to Hunter over him because he's the squad leader?

And the point that Hunter doesn't want to be a solider is a great one to remember!! I really liked seeing Pabu/the particular argument between Echo and Hunter about ideology, it was a dynamic that was a constant, consistent and gave both Echo and Hunter more depth- my only issue with this on Hunter's part (and- by extension, Echo but that's a whole separate point) was that Hunter made this major decision for Omega

It brings me back to my own frustrations as a younger sibling, it comes down to the standards. Hunter doesn't want to be a soldier, it's one of his main drives as a character- but why didn't it happen sooner? I know his brothers may have had mixed feelings about the war, especially once Echo appeared- the only instance of anyone in the Bad 'liking' the war was Wrecker's "We're just in it for the thrill"

But if they were "in it for the thrill" they could have had that adrenaline rush as mercenaries. Or bounty hunters. They didn't need the war for thrill- maybe it was conditioning, maybe there was a time where Hunter did enjoy the war in TCW and they scrapped it for TBB- but it frustrated me that Hunter wanted to act on leaving as soon as Omega came around, not before

Sure, if he hadn't met Omega, I'm sure he would have pushed for a quiet life, too. And the others would have followed- I just found that Hunter- the guy who fought in a war basically for his brothers, who never really wanted to stay- took so long to finally go

I'm definitely being biased on this point, but I don't really understand this part? He was a sibling(older or not) before Omega came around- he cared about his brothers, it doesn't make much sense to me outside of him not wanting to break rules (which we know isn't a problem for them..)

And the simplification of Hunter's whole character was understandably expected in fannon, at least at first, but seeing it in cannon too really got to me. He's so much more than that, and while the point was made that parent/child connections are very hard to navigate at first- Hunter is the only one who really latched onto that? It bothered me, especially after S2 where we were shown Omega to be fully capable

And the glossing over his siblings- Tech, may be down to grief, may be down to guilt- I hope we figure it out, instead of never talking about it. But Crosshair- I very much jumped the gun on that point

Crosshair did make his choice after Kamino fell, to stay- I had made this point thinking about the first time they left him, after the first episode, it hadn't even occurred to me that Crosshair made his own choice to stay the second time. Chip or no chip, the decision had to be respected, which I understand

But they knew he had turned. He had warned them, and while the hesitation was partially understood- had it not occurred to Hunter that the only reason they stayed off the Empire's radar was because Crosshair has lied for them? If he didn't, I'd be really angry tbh- if Crosshair lived, which they knew, if he had really been loyal to the Empire, he would have turned them in. He didn't. Hunter picking to ignore that and suggest it's a trap that Crosshair warned them to leave just– bothered me?? Because Hunter fought so hard to give him one chance, but having it rejected closed the door on him forever? Even after he knew he was a prisoner? Even after everything Tech did to try save him?

That was a major low blow, but I really can't comprehend how Hunter can justify ignoring Crosshair after all of that. He wanted to give up entirely after Tech, which is absolutely fine- but he's not given up yet. He's going to free Omega- if he had figured out Crosshair was with her this whole time, would he even bat an eye? Or would he leave as soon as he had Omega.

I hope season three proves me wrong about Hunter. I hope it shows me plain as day that I'm totally wrong and laughs at me for it. I loved who Hunter's character was, and I hope we see more of him being him, I hope we get to see him realise he isn't an extension of Omega, and I hope we get to see him mourn who he's lost, because he deserves to greive all his siblings.

Thank you so much for sharing your response!! This was really interesting to read, it gave me more insight on other aspects of Hunter I hadn't considered!! The anger is definitely still there, but I'm not overly frustrated about him anymore- just hoping for development in s3!!! It'll definitely be an interesting arc.

As promised, my commentary on Hunter.... to the people that like him, im sorry.

Spoiler warnings and the like, this is pretty negative aside from like maybe three sentences?? Feel free to leave you're own opinions on this too ofc !!! >:)

I dont like Hunter.

Actually, that's not entirely true, I liked him in TCW season 7, when he was that silly man who fucked droids around the place, took no shit, and loved his brothers. I like the Hunter who, not putting this nicely, had a personality.

This is not a dig on him as a character, it's a dig on how he was handled, writing wise

Listen, I totally get that the "rugged-man-adopts-a-star-child" trope is popular, and I do LOVE that trope, really I do- I just don't really think it was done that well here? It's bothered me since s1 of the Bad Batch, and I don't think it's going to get any better this season....

My only real problem with the writing inconsistency of Hunter being an older brother of three to "Omega this, Omega that" and while I agree childcare is SUPER difficult at the best of times, Hunter had four brothers who were equally capable of taking care of Omega, too. It just never sat right with me that taking care of her became his ENTIRE personality

Hes a soldier, who despite being completely out of his element, had a routine he strictly followed for the whole war. Yet he seemed to completely forget about that ?? Stressed or not stressed, that worn in routines and LIFELONG LESSONS should not have left his head as quickly as they seemed to.

The most obvious and frustrating example of the oversimplification of Hunter's character is with Crosshair. I cannot even BEGIN to describe my anger when it comes to Hunter and Crosshair. It mainly stems from the way he just FORGETS his brother is with the Empire. Conveniently never bringing it up unless someone else did it first.

As the oldest sibling and squad leader, I personally think Hunter should have been the one to bring him up. It should not have had to be specifically mentioned by another character for Hunter to discuss it. He loves his brothers, he loved Crosshair, broody or not, he should have brought it up AT LEAST once, imo.

We also see this complete disregard for Crosshair AGAIN in s3, now that we have seen Hunter looking for Omega and not ONCE mentioning Crosshair. Has he forgotten that they were originally going to find Crosshair??? That they never actually FOUND their brother ??????? Annoyed me so much, tbh.

What else annoyed me was the singular language he used during the whole episode. "She's part of our squad." "Hemlock took SOMEONE from us." He's completely and utterly disregarding the OTHER TWO SIBLINGS that the Empire took away from him !!!!! It genuinely frustrates me so much.

I know I'm DEFINITELY nit-picking here, but even when Hunter looked to Tech's goggles, it was in a "He should've been here to do this." Way, not a "He should be here." Way. That's his brother, who died looking for another that Hunter has forgotten.

Hunter's tunnel vision is probably one my least favourite things about the Bad Batch, if I dare even MENTION that- and I love this show. It means so much to me, but I just can't handle this particular part of it...

I have so SO much anger directed towards the treatment of Hunter by the writers. I want the Hunter who was devoted to his WHOLE family, who fought for ALL of them, who would have NEVER allowed Crosshair to leave in the first place. Give me that Hunter back.

(Saying this- I do not mind Hunter and Omega's father/daughter and brother/sister relationship !!! I do really enjoy it- in small amounts. The fact that Hunter became nearly an extention of Omega really just- threw me off his whole character, really)

I specifically pick to ignore this when I'm making anything. Hunter has been a sergeant of three idiots(named endearingly) for the entirety of the war. One child who wanders around should not have taken up 100% of Hunter's attention, ESPECIALLY when he was surrounded and supported. It just bothers me, idk

Anyway, thats my rant !!! Back to some positives soon, promise !! I just had to get this off my chest, it's been BOTHERING me.

[mst3kproject]

Goliath and the Dragon

I promised you colour, and here it is, with a side of My Cheese Steak!  It was produced by our old friend Samuel Z. Arkoff, and actor Salvatore Furnari played an elf in The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t and Timotheus in Hercules and the Captive Women.  The rest of the cast may not have been on MST3K, but they still have distinguished bad movie pedigrees of their own.  Philippe Hersent was in Film Crew feature The Giant of Marathon, and a lot of the other actors, including star Mark Forest and leading lady Leonora Ruffo, were in other sword-and-sandal movies I’ve featured as Episodes that Never Were.  In fact, looking at the cast list right now, I discovered that Gaby Andre was also in my previous movie, The Strange World of Planet X.  I hope she’s better in this one.

Once Upon a Time there lived Emilius the Mighty, who was so brawny and manly he was called the Goliath of Thebes.  He gets back from the pits of hell to find that his much skinnier brother Illus is in love with Princess Thea, the daughter of Goliath’s sworn enemy.  Goliath of course disapproves, but Illus thinks it’s because Goliath is in love with Thea herself, and spends much of the running time moping and whining. Meanwhile the villain, Eurytus, has decided to marry Thea in order to become the next king – although he’s also promised to marry a woman named Arsinoe in exchange for her assassinating Goliath.  Arsinoe, however, falls in love with Goliath after he saves her from a bear.  It takes most of the movie to sort out the six layers of scheming, misunderstanding, and general idiot picture going on here, and then it’s finally ass-kicking time.  I think the titular dragon gets about thirty seconds of total screen time.

I said this was a Maciste movie, but that’s an over-simplification.  American International Pictures had previously distributed a movie called Goliath and the Barbarians (which had Steve Reeves in it!), and it did well enough that they wanted a sequel.  They thus purchased the totally unrelated film The Revenge of Hercules (which does not have Steve Reeves in it, although Mark Forest might kinda look like him if you squint), dubbed over the characters’ names, added a dragon, and crossed their fingers hoping that nobody would notice the whole cast was different.  So while MST3K gave us a couple of Maciste movies turned into Hercules movies, here we have a Hercules movie changed into a Maciste movie.

The plot is rather complicated, with multiple people and gods all conspiracizing at cross-purposes.  The summary I gave above is only about the first half of the movie. A lot of this ends up coming to naught, since the guy whose position seems to be King Eurytus’ Royal Schemer is very bad at scheming.  All his plots seem to consist of ‘just do nothing and they’ll die on their own’.  I guess we’re supposed to cheer on Goliath and Illus through this series of victories on their part, but instead it just feels like a waste of the audience’s time, with no real progress made on either side.  Things don’t really start happening until an oracle gives Goliath a prophecy – but like all Greek prophecies, it’s confusingly worded and just muddles things up further, leading characters to make decisions that undermine their own goals.  It’s kind of a frustrating film to watch.

Even worse, a lot of these plot threads don’t get tied up.  Eurytus has a history with both Goliath’s family and with Thea’s dead parents… what is that all about?  It sounds like it ought to be important but we never find out.  It can’t even be something that was explained in the first movie because the first movie was, remember, completely unrelated.  Illus and Goliath eventually make up but I can’t tell if Illus ever actually realizes that Goliath wasn’t interested in Thea and that the people who told him otherwise were lying.  The whole thing just kind of drops.  Arsinoe has some personal claim on the throne but that’s only described in the vaguest of terms, and the actress playing her looks just like the one playing Dejanira, so that gets confusing.  Goliath knocks down a temple at one point but this never seems to have any consequences, unless the confusing prophecy was the gods’ revenge for that… in which case it was a pretty weak revenge coming from beings known for turning people into trees because of a mild inconvenience.

Was this supposed to be Goliath defying the gods and winning?  It doesn’t seem that way, because things turn out exactly the way the gods prophesized – Illus marries Thea and becomes king, and a woman who loves Goliath dies.  This was all set up from the beginning and the audience saw it coming from a mile away even if Goliath didn’t, and it’s with the help of the wind goddess that Goliath wins the day.  So it seems that even after razing their temple, he’s still their favourite?  What sense does that make?

It doesn’t help that we don’t like any of the characters. The bad guys have no particular personalities besides being evil.  Goliath is kind of a dick who tears down the gods’ statues when their decisions displease him, and ties his grown-ass brother to a tree to keep him from running off to suck face with Thea (in the original, Hercules version of the movie, Illus is his son, which makes it even worse).  Illus is a lovesick whiny dope who spends a lot of time staring into the camera with a vaguely confused expression.

The women, meanwhile, are absolute ciphers, with nothing to do but further the plot.  Thea is here to be pined over and coveted.  Goliath’s wife Dejanira is here to be the subject of the dire prophecy, and Arsinoe exists to provide a loophole in it.  All three are totally bland, as are the two or three little kids who represent Goliath and Dejanira’s children.  Not a single member of the cast has any depth or any redeeming characteristics.

Thank goodness for the monsters.  The creatures in Goliath and the Dragon manage to walk that perfect line between ambition and cheapness where they become downright delightful.  There’s an amazingly silly three-headed fire-breathing dog guarding the gates of hell, hilarious papier-mâché skeletons hanging around in a dungeon, and a guy in a ridiculous bat costume flailing on the end of a string, and that’s just the first ten minutes.  The movie goes on to give us an even worse bear costume than the one in the Lou Ferrigno Hercules, and of course the dragon, which is a combination of a puppet head on a stick and a lousy Claymation dinosaur.  The two do not particularly look like the same creature. Were it not for these beasties the movie would be downright unwatchable.

The real animals here don’t fare as well.  There’s a snake pit, which is pretty standard issue for this kind of movie, and they actually found some fairly large pythons instead of resorting to adorable little corn snakes.  The problem is that if you know anything about snakes, these ones are clearly very stressed by the conditions of the shoot and rather worried about sacrificial victims falling on top of them.  Even worse is Eurytus’ pet elephant, whose job is stomping prisoners to death. Goliath’s stunt double wrestles with what is clearly the real elephant – dangerous for the man, but also bad for the pachyderm, who was just as likely to get injured and far less likely to receive medical care if she was.  The computer-generated animals of modern movies kinda suck, but at least we no longer have to torture real ones on camera!

Since its original title is The Revenge of Hercules, this is obviously a movie about revenge, and it’s a motif throughout the narrative.  One of the gods Goliath serves is the God of Vengeance (in ancient Greece revenge was actually a goddess, Nemesis), and the first heroic task he does in the movie is retrieve the god’s blood diamond (shame on the god – revenge is supposed to be honourable and should therefore rely on only ethically sourced gems!) from the underworld.  Later, when he feels the god has betrayed him, he smashes the diamond and destroys the statue.  Goliath takes revenge on vengeance itself!

Goliath also takes revenge on King Eurytus.  We are told that Eurytus killed Goliath’s parents, and appears to have taken out Thea’s as well, making him a fine target for revenge. We also get some idea that he’s in charge of the dragon that pops up at the beginning and end of the movie and never does much because it wasn’t in the script.  Exactly how this all works, however, is murky, and Goliath never even seems aware that Eurytus’ ultimate plan is to conquer Goliath’s home city of Thebes.  Plenty of cause for revenge, then… but all this backstory is only told to us, not shown.  The audience is thrown into the middle of this situation without really knowing what’s going on, and we never quire recover from it.  There’s no excuse for this, either.  A movie that could afford a three-headed fire-breathing dog could definitely afford a flashback!

Maciste movies and their ilk are usually a lot of fun, and this one has its charms.  Between the stupid monsters and Illus gazing vapidly into the void, there’s plenty of material that Joel and the bots could have worked with.  Goliath and the Dragon isn’t good enough to really enjoy but it’s also not bad enough to hate (even if the animal cruelty leaves a bad taste).  It really could use some riffing to spice it up.

[cowtale-utau]

Sans/Ace INTJ vs ENTP

Welp this is not the full breakdown I’m working on but. This is contributing to that? I was asked about my type choice (which I super don’t mind! I love a good debate) and this will help in breaking down that part of the full work up. It’s super friggin long. I’d apologize, but I wouldn’t really mean it. Anyway, here we go.

First lets look at the functional stacks

INTJ / NiFeTiSe (NiTe) vs ENTP / NeTiFeSi (NeTi)

Ni – Internal intuition vs Ne – Extroverted intuition

Sans is suspiciously intuitive. There was no argument that Intuitive was going to be part of his typing. How the intuition functions and is used is where we have some point of potential debate. This comes down in many ways to how Jung viewed extroversion vs introversion. Extroverts are characterized as expansive and expressive, with short attention spans and rapidly shifting focus. They also tend to have relationships characterized by breath as opposed to depth. That is, many, more “shallow” relationships, rather than fewer, “deeper” connections. Conversely introverts are more focused and narrow, spending more time and energy on fewer things they give more value. Ne tends to have a wider range of hobbies and skills, while never focusing enough to master any, while Ni tends to develop mastery in fewer, selected areas. Ne also tends to want to bounce topics and visit many areas of conversation, while Ni wants to focus in on a singular topic to explore as deeply as possible. Ne wants to have many options while Ni wants to zero in on one singular answer.

Honestly, you can see traces of both Ne and Ni in Sans personality. He has a broad range of skills, and a pretty large number of arguably shallow “friendships”. He also keeps a very small number of deeper, more developed relationships, and there is evidence of him having a few areas he has a much deeper knowledge of.

Getting into the real differences is easier when you pair Ni/Ne with their respective sidekicks. Thus we have NiSe and NeSi. If we go by type theory Ni uses information Se has subconsciously gathered to find patterns and themes in their environment. They cast a wide sensory net to take clues from all possible inputs, visual, auditory, etc. They then use this data to compile a narrow underlying pattern. Conversely NeSi, draws on repeated snapshots of experiences to compile an established pattern to put forth a range of possible “what ifs”.

A simplification of what separates Ni from Ne can be put as such; Ni  is insight, Ne is ingenuity. Both E and I express intuition in their focus on the metaphysical and theoretical. NJ's can be seen as less creative while NP's are less able to come up with convergent ideas. ENPs see several potentials in everything, they struggle to trace back to a single causality. ENPs often take a “spray and pray” method, and are surprised should they hit upon the correct answer. They won't likely trust this as the true answer until they've tested and exhausted all possibilities.

INTJ and ENTP functions are perfect flips of one another and are often mis-typed. 

INTJ: Dominant: Introverted Intuition Auxilliary: Extraverted Thinking Tertiary: Introverted Feeling Inferior: Extraverted Sensing ENTP: Dominant: Extraverted Intuition Auxiliary: Introverted Thinking Tertiary: Extraverted Feeling Inferior: Introverted Sensing

Personally I'm inclined to lean towards Ni for Sans, but both are viable options. In fact both are so viable, that this breakdown wasn't particularly helpful. But it was interesting, and fun so I'm not mad I did it. So lets try this from a different angle. This time I'm going to ignore “stacks” and look at the purely E vs I, T vs P, etc break downs, and include my personal opinions on them, and how I got to the choice I did for Sans.

Introversion vs Extroversion

E – Energy is outward, towards people and things. Gains energy by being with people, batteries drain when alone. Need stimulation and are expressive. Like variety, action, and achievement. Communicate openly without censure. Allow conversation without conclusion. Take words at face value.

I – Energy focused inwards, towards ideas and concepts. Recharge with “me time”, drained by crowds and company. Tend to be reserved, and can seem subtle or “impenetrable”. Think before they act, often taking time to make a decision.

When I first typed Sans I had to ask, is he an introvert, or just depressed. I think it cannot be argued whether or not Sans suffers from depression. The indicators are there. It is a widely accepted view. However, I do not believe this excludes him from being an introvert. I see Sans as a social introvert. He likes people in general, enjoys crowds, from a comfortable distance. He keeps most relationships at arms length, and needs time alone to recoup. Sans is a very guarded and reserved individual, who can play at being an open book. He deflects with jokes and entertainment, but how many can say they are genuinely close to Sans. Even Papyrus is kept at a certain distance despite Sans clear love for his brother. I think Sans is kinda the poster child for the misconception that introverts are isolationists that hate people. They (cough we cough) aren't. They just need time to themselves to reorient, and re-energize. And that doesn't necessarily mean complete isolation either. This can often be achieved in the company of those held especially dear, or by simply withdrawing, even around company. This can be seen in Sans choosing to be at Grillby's but choosing a somewhat “closed” location. Yes he's towards the center of the room, but he's at the corner of the bar. He directly faces only Grillby. Or a common fanon example, Sans shutting down and allowing himself to be lugged around by Papyrus. He stays physically present, and is likely taking in the going ons, but has disengaged on a personal/social level.

Intuiting vs Sensing

S – Focus on immediate thought and sensory input. Trust conscious, limiting to facts and solid data. Pay attention to immediate, material, practical and “real”.  Work on a clear schedule and use logic to work in a direct sequence. Practical, realistic, grounded, direct.

N – Process data on a deep, subconscious level, trusting “gut feelings”. Spot patterns and take broad high level “big picture” views. Enjoy ideas and theories, are willing to work with factual evidence on a “instinct”. Change and adapt plans as information changes.

While I suppose an argument could be made for either I'm inclined to pin Sans as an N. Especially if one dismisses the “Sans remembers resets” theory. One cannot deny he uses facial cues and behaviors to make “gut” predictions about the player character/Frisk. Sans does not strike me as one to stick to any schedule not externally enforced by others (Papyrus). He doesn't need solid proof to make an accurate assessment, and trusts his own instincts. Somewhat unrelated to current discussion but one could argue a case for Sans having some almost... Arrogance in this regard. He is so confident in his assessment that he calls you on it, despite having no solid, in hand, proof of any of his accusations. This is a man who trusts his own mind.

Thinking vs Feeling

T – Thing logically and with reason. Desire fairness and objectivity. Black/White mentality. Seek truth and clear use of the rules. Sometimes forget or dismiss the “person” variable. Prefer truth over tact. Analyze pros and cons, and when a decision is made, consider it done.

F – Make decisions based on the feelings and considerations of others. The 'person' element is the first and primary considered. Value harmony, and try to be tactful even at the cost of some truth. Some times overlook the “hard” facts and can come off idealistic.

Here's another area where both typings agree. Sans is very much to me a T. Despite his apparent “easy to get along with” nature he can clearly lack tact (as seen in his 'you'd be dead where you stand' line). It's clear he is capable of dismissing the “people” component as seen in a neutral run. Even if you are to kill his brother there is little reaction beyond a few (or single, I'm slightly tipsy and my memory sucks) lines about his upset. This could theoretically be blamed on the nihilism/depression we see present, but could also be tied into his objective way of thinking (and if one considers that he's at least distantly aware that the outcome isn't permanent than this way further leans into T type. He knows it isn't the end, and so can accept that even if his brother is dead now, he won't be later, allowing him to remove emotion from the equation). If his magic coloring is tied into the presented soul traits the desire for fairness and objectivity is clearly seen in his secondary (?) Justice trait. I also believe Sans very much has a Black/White view of morality/the world. You can see this in the neutral run. While he may not attack you in anything less than No Mercy/Genocide, he definitely calls you out. Even just reaching LV of 2 is enough for Sans to express disgust in both you and your actions. This suggests he has absolutely no leniency in his views.

Judging vs Perceiving

J – Decisive and controlled. Are rigid and take charge of their environments, making choices early. Specific in what they ask, and expect others to do as told. Seek order and closure. Like to have time for preparation. Enjoy being experts.

P – Feel limited by structure. Feel more in control when options are left open. Thrive with the unexpected and are open to change. Tend to be loose and casual. Work in bursts. Are tolerant of people differences and will adapt to fit a situation.

And here's the other where the two potential types vary. And I can see a case for either. Its when all the parts are taken in together that I lean towards J over P. (although if we went with the percentages system I could see him as being fairly close, and sometimes slipping one way or the other over the line. I've know a couple of people personally who do so every now and then. A close friend of mine regularly tests at 51/49 in their J/P alternating between INFJ and INFP) I think when balancing Sans' N and T it comes together more comfortably in J. His rigid morality suggests a lack of tolerance and adaptability. Once he starts something, he sees it through to completion. His desire for the cycle of resets to be stopped can be seen as a need for closure, but I think we can dismiss it as extenuating circumstances. Anyone would want it to stop after a fashion, even if they are only distantly aware of the occurrence.  I think Sans straddles the J/P line leaning slightly more into J. He needs order and routine, but is stiffed by too rigid of a structure. I think for me this ultimately came down to me viewing Sans (or perhaps Ace in this case) as an ultimately science leaning mind. He needs answers. He needs clear, clean answers, and not getting them is distressing. While he may like to keep his options open in some areas of his life, overall he prefers to know what he's getting into, and how he's going to handle it. He's a free personality, that dislikes an unpredictable world. He wants to know where the end is, and have several methods of getting there. Not knowing the answers is scary, and Sans/Ace hates being scared.

So there's that. I don't know if any of it made any sense, but there you have it. How I typed Sans and why. Bare in mind, that this is also a half fanon typing. This is at least in part, based on occurrences after the events of canon Undertale, and how Sans/Ace behaved then. (you’ll see more of that in his full workup) As well as being based on some headcanons, though I tried to be fairly sparing with them. I also find myself frustrated as to the lack of information on Sans behavior/personality prior to the events of the game. What was Sans like, before the resets, before the depression. I would love to see what Sans had been like when he was younger. Alas, this is unlikely to ever happen. But anywho, this got way long, and if you manage to actually get through the whole thing I would love to hear your opinions. How do you type Sans, and why? Is there some glaring in game clue I missed? I'm totally open to friendly discussion on the topic, if you want. I included a couple links that give a pretty good rundown of the different functions and how they come together.

https://www.typeinmind.com/nite

https://www.typeinmind.com/neti

[tyrantisterror]

TT Liveblogs Evangelion Masterpost & Final Thoughts

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Final Thoughts after the cut!

By reputation, I had a strong feeling that Evangelion was not going to be my kind of story, and now that I’ve seen it I can say that both kind of is and kind of isn’t the case.  The character writing is incredibly strong (even if I feel End of Evangelion has a few major wobbles), its approach to its cosmic horror conflict and uncanny monsters is incredibly interesting, the animation is gorgeous, and the plot is compelling.  It’s way more tragic than I usually prefer my stories of this length to be, but I feel it earns that tragedy and has a point to it.  At the very least, it ranks among works like Heart of Darkness and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which I respect for their artistry even if I struggle to stomach their content.  I would say it’s objectively great, even if subjectively it doesn’t always suit my personal tastes as far as stories go.

Given the two endings Evangelion (both the original show’s last episodes and the alternate ending offered by End of Evangelion) has both explore the idea of there being different realities than the one we’ve watched, I almost wonder if my discontent is a feature rather than a flaw.  I feel like Evangelion invites you to consider the possibility of this story going very different ways - if we’re supposed to leave it longing for a better version of these events, like a player hoping there’s a new game plus after watching the depressing ending of a JRPG.

 As a person who’s struggled with self loathing his entire life, this series spoke to me in its analysis of that particular psychological problem.  As the final episodes of the show take great pains to make clear, this is a show about how we understand and define ourselves in the context of others, and the myriad reasons why our self definitions can become toxic and hateful.  Hating oneself should, after all, be rather counter-intuitive, so why are we prone to it?

Evangelion posits that it comes down to the Hedgehog’s Dilemma - this (probably not biologically accurate) idea that hedgehogs want to huddle together for warmth when it’s cold, but can’t because their spikes will stab each other if they do.  They need their spikes for defense, of course, but those same spikes can also hurt people trying to help them, and thus the hedgehogs suffer alone in the cold.  Every character in this show - human and, I would argue, angel alike - is this allegorical hedgehog: they crave warmth and affection, but are kept lonely and cold by the defenses they deem necessary.  The problem isn’t just that they’re denied warmth by others, but that they also fear hurting others in the process of seeking that closeness - that they are both helpless and incapable of helping those they wish to protect.

Every character in this show has different spikes, and every character is desperately hoping that someone will reach out and understand them despite their defenses, or that maybe, just maybe, if they reach out to someone they won’t end up stabbing them in the process.  That’s the real crux of this two-fold problem: people hate themselves both because they have been denied both love and the act of giving love to others in turn, all while knowing deep down that they are the reason they have these damn spikes in the first place.

And yes, I extend this to the monsters as well.  While most of the angels in this series are destructive and openly antagonistic , three actually try to communicate with humanity in their “attacks.��  The first two are unsuccessful because the humans are incapable of understanding them, but the third actually manages to speak humanity’s language.  He expresses regret at the fact that angels and humans can’t coexist, and even urges Shinji to destroy him because it’s the only way Shinji can live - and the angel, despite knowing it means his death, prefers the idea of Shinji surviving their conflict.  While we ultimately don’t learn enough about the angels to say anything concrete about their motives, the glimpse that Kaworu gives into their psyche paints them in a similarly depressing light as humanity.  They lash out with their figurative (and sometimes literal) spikes not because they hate humanity, but because they believe they have no option.  They can’t have warmth.  There is only the path of spikes, the act of violence.  Whether they want to or not, only one can survive.  They have succumbed to the bleakness of the hedgehog’s dilemma.

I love the ending of the show because it focuses on its psychological problem which, ultimately, is the true conflict of the story, and examines it in depth with all the main characters, and especially Shinji (which makes sense, as his psycholgical state is the most detailed and well developed of the entire cast).  In the final episode, Shinji finds the solution to the hedgehog’s dilemma that no one else was brave enough to come to.  He realizes that, yes, it is impossible to interact with others without both getting hurt and hurting others in turn - that he can’t get rid of his spikes, nor can anyone else get rid of theirs.  But as much as he hates the pain he’ll both experience and inflict, he realizes that he has the courage to try to reach out anyway - that though he may hate himself now, he might be able to love himself as he loves others, and that being imperfect doesn’t mean he’s worthless.  Despite all the pain and the guilt, despite the prick of the spikes, Shinji decides to keep trying to find the warmth that he and those around him need, because if they all keep trying together they can find it.

Evangelion ends with Shinji, surrounded by his peers, determined to recover.  He refuses to be destroyed by his depression.  He refuses to die in the cold, and everyone is there with him when he does.  It’s not an incongruous moment - for all the angst that people tend to define this show by, there are always moments, small but notable, impactful moments, where they come together.  Few people on this show are beyond saving, and in at least one ending - esoteric and weird as it is - they have that chance.

I’m less keen on End of Evangelion as an alternate ending.  Where the original show gave Shinji that moment of recovery, End of Evangelion seems deadset on destroying him and every other character in the show as utterly as possible.  Shinji gives in to his absolute worst impulses in this movie, and every other character is similarly destroyed by their faults - Misato tries her hardest but fails to ultimately protect Shinji from doom, Rei is used as a tool for someone else’s designs without ever truly understanding what they are or claiming her own independence, Asuka dies trying and failing to prove her worth as a warrior, and on and on it goes.  The most iconic scene of the film is scored with a song whose lyrics are a suicide note, which is fitting for a movie about depressed characters succumbing to their worst impulses and being destroyed for it.  Though Shinji once again gets to survive the end of the world and create something new from the ashes, it’s not uplifting as it was in the show - instead, with only Asuka by his side (who he then tries to strangle), he slumps down into a puddle of self misery.  The last word he hears isn’t “congratulations” this time around - it’s “disgusting.”

I’m not saying this is a wrong ending, or an objectively bad one.  You could argue this is just as much where the story might have been heading as the show’s ending - or even that it’s more congruous, that this was always going to be a story about failure and self destruction, and that any hope these characters could have for a better life could only be achieved by fucking with the nature of their reality on a fundamental level.  Objectively, End of Evangelion is valid.  But for my personal tastes... I liked those kernels of hope.  I’ll take Congratulations over Digusting.  I want these kids to heal.

One final bit: a common thing I’ve heard about this series is that the allusions to Abrahamic religion and folklore are purely aesthetic and have no actual deeper meaning, and having watched the series I think this is at best an over-simplification and at worst completely wrong.  Like most allusions in literature, I don’t think they work as a direct 1:1 comparisons - Adam in Evangelion is not literally the same as Adam in the Bible, Angels in Evangelion are not literally the same as in the Bible, etc.  But there’s still a lot of meaning behind how these Biblical references are used that can’t be mere coincidence.  For example, towards the end of the series it’s revealed that human being are actually half angel (or rather the spawn of a different angelic being than the angels in canon, it’s a bit more complicated than this but let’s simplify it for the sake of making this intelligible), which is why the “pure” angels are trying to wipe us out.  In the book of Enoch, a fairly obscure non-canonical Biblical text, some rebel angels come to earth and crossbreed with humanity, creating the nephilim, a race of half human/half angels.  Enoch posits that this is the specific crime that makes God destroy the earth in a flood.  Now, how does End of Evangelion end?  With humanity being destroyed and the earth flooded with their liquid remains, save for one surviving pair that is composed of one boy and one girl.  It’s not a 1:1 allusion, but it would be one HELL of a coincidence that this story is so similar to an obscure non-canonical Biblical work.

And if we do accept the allusions as having some meaning, they actually work with the show’s themes fairly well.  The Book of Enoch’s whole purpose is to explain why God hated humanity enough to destroy it, and the feeling that a higher, cosmic power hates us for some inexplicable reason is at the core of Evangelion.  Evangelion’s whole purpose is to find an answer for why we hate and destroy ourselves, and how we, like Noah, might find a way to save ourselves from this seemingly inevitable flood of doom.  Making an allusion to another stories that try to explain that - not just the Book of Enoch, but to similar Biblical stories about the origin and nature of humanity’s sin and God’s scorn, like the Genesis tale of Adam and Eve (or, as Evangelion substitutes, Adam and his semi-canonical first wife, Lilith) - is inherently meaningful.  It’s on topic, and in the context of these allusions we get a clearer view of what Evangelion is trying to say about human nature.  It’s not necessarily a Christian story, but its allusions to Abrahamic religion aren’t devoid of meaning.

[gg-astrology]

Park Jimin: Inner Planet Natal Reading

💕Hello today we’ll be trying to clarify/explain what it is his natal placement implies (and why people call him a demon-- which I disapprove of). As a full Scorpio/Gemini sympathizer I can’t let this go on anymore. We need to appreciate them, and not just for their sex appeal/attractioneither! Today, we love Jimin fully and completely as much as we can! 💕

Other Posts 💕 

Taehyung Inner Planet Natal Reading | Taehyung - Members: Relationship Dynamics

Jungkook Inner Planet Natal Reading

Namjoon Inner Planet Natal Reading

BTS Rapline Mini Analysis | BTS Summary: Mars - Destressing

Virgo Boys (Namjoon - Jungkook) Masterlist

Masterlist (other groups, gg, soloist, co-eds)

*answered asks about BTS members romantic stuff is at the bottom of the masterlist

Park Jimin 

October 13 1995 (Busan, South Korea)

💕Disclaimer: I’m not claiming to be an expert astrologer nor do I know these people personally. These are my interpretations and how they’re working based on my experiences/studies on them. Everyone has different opinions/studies in astrology, please be mindful of others and all interpretation/experiences is valid to an extent. However, feel free to make your own post or skip if you strongly disagree. There might be inaccuracy and difference in opinions. But the point of this post is to entertain and relate. I’m hoping to help people with similar experiences and get people excited about astrology. Also, since we don’t know most of their birth times, I’m using the standard 12.00pm💕

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

As I was going editing this, I realized that a lot of things tends to build up together to show how complex he really is as a person. A lot of the description below is ‘he can be this -at his primal level- but because of this -other thing- it depends on context of what the situation is/how he feels’ 

I’ve tried to clarify it as much as possible, but I just wanted to let you know that the depth of his character can’t be simplified to just these alone-- so please read with your own discretion! I’ve tried my best, and I think I’m happy with the result (for now). We’re going to be chewing a lot, so I hope you have an empty stomach.

  Libra Sun | 19′ Degrees | 2nd Decan Aquarius/Uranus

Let’s start off this Libra season fully loving, and appreciating our local Libras today!

There’s a lot of hype around having Libra placements in ones chart, mostly because it makes one more ‘attractive’

But Local Libra Sun Natives needs some of that love too!

Over-simplification that ALL Libras are attractive because they’re ruled by Venus just makes Libra Natives feels abit nervous trying to figure out ‘what’ part of themselves is this attractive qualities-- this is because all their other qualities are under-looked, especially their hard-working nature, subtle tact and forward working traits (cardinal/air sign)

Least we forget Libra is a ‘masculine’ sign (polarity) and when it’s ruled by Venus --  Libra boys are especially under-looked and hyper-feminized because of association to Venus (let’s not do that anymore!)

In fact, the fact that Venus has this duality to it’s planet is pretty pointing that you can’t gender planets in the context of signs

Libra possesses this duality to them. Rather than shifting or switching between ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ they encompass both at the same time

Thus why, they are associated with ‘balance’ and part of the cardinal signs

Instead of limiting/restricting themselves to being at the center of the scale (taking up as less space as possible) they become all parts of the scale (the mechanics as well)

Libra natives might find themselves pulling the all-or-nothing kind of thinking, but instead of gobbling everything all at once-- they swallow things in increments (pace themselves, stead-fast approach)

They’re air signs, and this part of natural inclination, tactical thinking is just part of how they go about achieving their goals

Measurements of success comes from progress (seeable/observable) the shift that it makes to other people’s reaction/lives (noticing the subtle change in other people’s behaviour around them) and planning their next step (setting up/preparations)

There’s ambition inside of them, not for anything particularly materialistic, but rather to fully unfold their own potential and make something out of themselves from the inside out

Like-- there’s this innate appreciation for a certain qualities inside of themselves, and seeing how it affects people when brought out-- as well as how they could potentially take it to the next level drives them on

It’s not like a staggering overwhelming desire for ambition, but rather just a manifestation of themselves outward

That they can control and see to a level of satisfaction

Libra Natives-- rather than letting something fall into their lap, enjoys working within their own capabilities/potential in order to bring that out

They’re methodical like that, in just their initial approach to certain things about themselves-- there’s a sense of self-awareness and understanding to a certain scale here (haha)

Pretty much self-acceptance to a certain extent (standard/level), just enough to motivate themselves to work harder on those things and see it reach it’s full potential

See its not compromising, it’s acceptance. In imperfections (to a certain extent) they’re quick to pick up on these things, be alright with them but see/knows the full potential of what it could become if they work on it.

That’s what they apply to themselves, but also to others at the same time

Everything is one big ‘potential’ --people, traits, behaviors-- there’s always room for improvement and Libras are tuned into that

They can say harsh things, sometimes-- just trying to figure someone/something out, it’s not meant to be like-- malicious or anything, they’re just investigating something out loud and seeing how it shifts/change people around them through the reaction it gathers

It’s like-- prodding something, to see how much give/stiffness it has-- and if it’s resilient to all kinds of change, they just kind of leave it alone

If there’s no ‘give’ at all (again, pushing things into it’s fullest potential-- if it’s already ‘full’ then there’s nothing they can do about it/not interested in it)

There’s nothing malicious about it, but if your Libra friend happens to hurt your feelings (unsusceptible when they’re in this zone) -- be patient with them, let them know and then clarify/explain things to them. They’re learning too, and they’ll appreciate it a lot.

You might want to think of the Libra self-acceptance as this: without the ability to accept themselves they’re never going to be satisfied with what they’ve got, and the ability to really tune in with certain traits of themselves-- that they want to accentuate/emphasize outwardly-- helps them cope with the inherent need to please others and the lack of security/satisfaction within themselves as well

Let’s remember that if you’re using traditional astrology-- Libra is Fall in the Sun. 

It’s not like they’re exempted from the deep need to constantly improve themselves, not feeling like they’re at the top of their ability/skill set yet, or the constant comparison to social communities or those around them either.

In fact, the Libra is so self-critical they tend to feel like they can’t move forward without a certain dissatisfaction with themselves. 

This alertness and grind pushes them to help serve others, or other people who sees the value and motivation in the Libra-- which is what makes them attractive. (awareness, is part of what makes them attractive)

They’re aware of things that matters, intuitively and overlooked in society. At least when it comes to what other people tend to overlook/under-appreciate within themselves. Looking at a Libra makes other people realize the things they’ve been missing all these time.

Whether they’re conscious of it or not-- that acute proactiveness that they have in accentuating parts of their personality/features/skillset is what motivates others. And that’s where attraction comes from. It’s from reflecting things others are missing, in themselves (The Libra).  

Libra is like a self-reflection, but rather than being aware of themselves and things that will personally help them (the natives-- again, Libra is Fall in the Sun) they help other people around them realize/interact with their own skillset/self.

But like a mirror-- there’s no way for them to see that in their own self too (thus, why they still suffer from forms of insecurities/ indecisiveness sometimes)

There’s a difference between mirrors and glass, and Libras are specifically mirrors because they reflect others but doesn’t reflect themselves. 

They’re not like-- double sided mirrors. The things they project, shows and interact with others doesn’t directly correlate to helping themselves sometimes (hence the wishy-washy, indecisive traits)

The lack of transparency (like with glass) means there’s a processing of information that has to go through the Libra (mirror). Because there’s a reflectivity (quality) to them that needs to be translated-- in order to help themselves.

That’s why a pool of people to reflect these things off of (people using the mirror), and gather information from is important.

The more ‘materials’ they have to work with (their interactions they get from others after projection) --- the more concentrated/focused the solution is going to be (for themselves)

It’s like having sea water and the Libra is actively going through the process of purifying/distilling the particles--- separation in order to understand things fundamentally (away from each other) is important, before the overall picture/combination could be understood. 

(Again, part of their hesitant/indecisiveness-- needs to pull things apart and put it back together--- understanding things in term of relativity: Libra Mercury see below)

Observations are made, analysis are linked together several times through edits in order to find a conclusive solution.

The larger the pool is, the more time it takes (and with that comes indecisiveness). But with more materials, comes one singular process of long-term editing.

Imagine if a Libra has a smaller pool-- the materials (people) around them are smaller and the solution is more concentrated, right? 

That’s a good short-term plan, because they proceed forward with that solution and utilizes it until they need to further it (again, fulfilling the fullest potential) -- less indecisiveness, but with that comes stronger opinions/less tolerance for other people’s ideas/ability to emphasize with others fully as well.

Libras at the fullest potential are diplomatic people, but they need the experience/full exposure to large pool of materials in order to do that.

Short-concentrated pool only helps them at the beginning, it helps their ability to minimize the indecisive factor-- makes up their mind faster, proceed with action faster. 

Utilize all the skillsets they have (tact, sociability, engagement, observation, diplomacy) in order to take in new information and proceed with the editing process to their last ‘solution’ (it’s like an upgrade)

Consequences of short-concentrated pool means the Libra tries to manage and control what the outcome/solution to the problem is. To what they already know. 

Libras become increasingly critical of themselves and others, and thus can lead to a long arduous journey of second-guessing themselves, being hypocritical and a few self-sabotages because they’re not expanding their pool of possibilities/solution.

Large pool of materials comes with consequences as well, if they expose themselves too much to materials they have a hard time digesting everything all at once. 

It leads to limitless insecurities, staggering self-doubt and constantly feeling like they’re washed out/drowned out by others around them.

Thus why Libra is the sign of balance, being able to conquer/use both of these skillsets will help them adapt/overcome challenges/difficulties better.

(Not trying to compromise between the two, they need both of these skillsets to work together-- so it’s conquering both of them at once)

They feel a lot, and most of the time it’s not --- like, positive energy. From within themselves-- particularly in the Sun--they’re analytical by nature and are constantly trying to sink in information/synthesize them in order to adapt/utilize them better. For other people, and for themselves.

Libras sometimes find themselves being cornered or stuck in a rut, mostly because they’re one of the most-- deliberate and systematic signs out there. The things they do are concentrated and diagnosed into a system, whether they realize this or not.

Thus why when it comes to -- bigger solutions, bigger picture. They don’t tend to try to overachieve themselves that much into the future (project themselves into the far future-- think years, there’s nothing concrete or rational to stand on/climb to)

The balls they pitch are hard and fast, aimed to hit a certain spot and it’s strategic (for them-- artistically placed). 

So when it comes to loosening up their arms and trying for an outer-field pitch, they have a hard time understanding how to do an arc/curve to push it further into the future (like see everything manifest so far into their future goals/life).

Because they’re so thorough with everything right now (currently/present day->relatively close future) a lot of the intimidation that the years brings (far future) can also pull out insecurities in themselves as well.

Stability is something inherently wanted in most signs, and in Libra it’s there in their subconscious

It’s instinctive, to want stability in their life. Which is supported by how rational they seem to be with their methods/process of getting things that they want in the world.

Everything they climb and find potential to do-- is all for the sake of stabilizing themselves in the future. (Counteracting that fear)

Libra as the natural ruler of Venus find themselves using diplomacy and sociability as a way to garner respectability and up-hold their footing in the future.

Work hard now so that you can take in the scene in the future

(They’re never going to stop working, but being able to afford a little luxury is part of the goal here).      

Venus as the ruler of Libra adds a distinctive trait to the sign (much like how other signs can be contextualized/accentuated by their natural ruler for better understanding of their traits as well)

It shows how social relationships are served for other’s benefit more so than the Libra themselves sometimes (in terms of personal benefit-- they have a desire for it, and a need to serve it’s cause-- but for what?)

Sure, there’s the profit they gain from responses and being around others as well (collecting pool/material) but it’s almost 80-20 on how people-serving everything is (whether they realize this or not-- they inspire people more than they inspire themselves sometimes)

The energy is split if you look at it from an outsider’s perspective, the Libra Natives goals are focused, pin-point accuracy and concentrated. Yet their impact and effect on others are diverse, varies and on multiple different levels.

It’s not just skin-deep, it’s also on a level that has to do with personal motivation, goals, integrity and social conduct/habits as well. Libra’s focus has a range/impact on others more so than they tend to realize.

They’re an astoundingly motivated sign, although they have their faults and falters-- they always try their hardest/best to learn more and discover themselves as best as they can.

I hope you can see these traits reflected in Jimin. As a Libra Sun, he inspires others more so than just the attractive charm that he has. He’s motivational, inspirational and socially-serving.

He has his personal struggle, seeks empathy within others and within himself, but ultimately tries to drive himself forward anyways.

He faces consequences and fears of the unknown (future/small-large pools) his own internal struggle and motivation to build his own ego (Sun) and esteem up. 

He wants stability in his life in the future through future social relationships and upstanding skill-sets he accentuates within himself.

He drives forth and pushes his own focused, concentrated traits/skill-sets in order to collect material pools from people-- and use that, ultimately to conquer himself instead of choosing between one or the other (of what he wants to do)

Again, like all Sun Signs-- these struggles will come time and time again for us to manifest, see and face ourselves. 

Jimin has to learn, over and over again, how to fully feel comfortable with all the mechanics, and technical aspects of his Libra Sun in order to fully realize and feel comfortable within himself as he ages (and changes comes and goes)        

Aspects

Sun (Libra) - Trine - Moon (Gemini) | 3′ Degrees

Aaaah what a good dude

Wanted to emphasize, after all the heavy foundation stuff earlier-- on the better traits in Libra as well.

Jimin’s more soft-spoken nature (his shyness i guess??) is a part of his charm, it’s a combination of his Sun and Moon (Libra and Gemini) working together to fully think an idea through before he expresses it to others (like in bv3 ep. 3 --where he’s hesitant to share about his composition on camera until it’s fully hatched out)

Deliberate tactfulness and uplifting charm is a part of this aspect as well, which is why he’s so refreshing to be around (and considered to be part of the mediator/glue to the group-- this air-combination within him allows communication to rapidly pass between others in his social circle-- but not necessarily within himself/asserting himself.

He only clarifies and mediate, but doesn’t assert himself into the scenario necessarily)

When his ego/need (Sun) is combined with his emotionality/desire (Moon) -- he finds himself wanting to express himself more because it fuels his need/desires (both at the same time-- Sun-trine-Moon).

This makes communication a big part of his ego/goals (Libra/Gemini- air), and thus he works harder to be better at it (emphasis on learning languages to connect with others, difficulties comes from challenging aspects/Mercury rx-- but let’s quit the ‘jimin hates us’ jokes, he just wants to express himself well but he has a hard time doing so because it’s so personal to his desire/need)

This also means he wants to verbalize/express his better traits as well, when you have a lot of air in your luminaries (particularly with Libra-Gemini who are more sociable of the bunch) there’s a distinctive need to have some sort of stimuli/affirmation from others in order to fuel themselves (as a stimuli, something to bounce off from, externalizing themselves outwards--_

(Libra- sociability, in the sun it’s a need to be perceived-well by people they respect/admire, respectability is a pretty prominent deal, Gemini- mercury, wants to hear others say it verbally in order to re-affirm their affections/sentiments, self-connectivity as well as emotional gratification)

With air combo (especially in a trine) the natural affinity to serve others (communication/sociability) through their own skillsets/capabilities (like acting as a wire between channels) may become more prominent/enhanced because of this aspect (because it’s their luminary)

Since it’s in a trine, the natural asset/self-assertion becomes something the person themselves may lack awareness of (mirror reflection: see Libra Sun above)

Thus-- the responses they get from others helps them see this part of themselves, (re-affirmation but also guidance/mirroring back)

And that’s why it’s so important for them to get this reaction from others because it makes them happy to get certain things right

Having this air-air combo also helps him with externalizing/emphasizing with others because it’s in his luminaries (Libra desire, Gemini emotionality) he’s quick to point out other people’s experiences  (not necessarily good traits, just their genuinity through what he’s observed) and making a point to communicate other people’s experiences to an audience (public or a smaller groups of people: more as a prompter-- so the other person could retell the story themselves/mention it briefly-- instead of a story-teller)  

It’s a part of his charm, he’s more lovable because he’s able to communication/self-express his needs/desire to others as well (not for others, but to others--like his whining, unintentional aegyo and general playfulness that Jimin has)

Air signs have that charisma to them that makes them responsive to others, but also moodiness when they’re not open to receiving new information (*context is important: in situations where information in this case, doesn’t serve them well-- especially in the Moon (hurts his feelings), or if his Sun is agitated by someone (pre-formed opinions)

Because his Sun-Moon are aspected, he can find himself expressing emotions that comes through faster (such as anger, self-righteousness, intolerant of ‘selfishness’) and tends to expresses things in one big burst of verbal explosion rather than let it drag on for too long (from a social group he’s not that invested in/familiar with)

When things gets to him (short-term explosion/irritation) he can tend to sort it out through sharpness (wit) and being blunt/straight forward (*again, depends on context-- usually he’s nice and compassionate)

This is with the intention to reflect on another person’s emotionally/consciousness/integrity (Scorpio Venus/Mars) as well as just a reminder that this action (or inaction) shouldn’t be taken (again, self-righteousness- Libra Sun)

BV2 when he told Tae off for letting JK clean up alone, that’s a good example of how Jimin tells people off.

When he himself is nagged at-- Jimin can tend to find it harder to emphasize with what’s being told-off about emotionally (gemini-moon), thus playing up the ‘ok ok i won’t do it again’ but not fully understanding where the frustration is coming from (say compared to more receptive water signs like Hoseok or Yoongi)

He understands it logically, but in order to truly change (like how he directs his anger/intention on other people) he needs to have that emotionality (not built, but found within himself/locate inside) that comes from feeling truly ashamed of himself for it (if it’s not self-imposed by his own self-worth/understanding)

Thus why it can be a bit harder to get to him (*in certain context, he’s usually an empathetic and emotional person already-- Scorpio Mars: see below) it serves as a natural barrier as well.

He’s able to redirect and communicate what he potentially wants to achieve/fulfill/‘feel’ at necessary moments-- often with tact and through discretion -- showing that he’s graceful with maneuvering and expressing himself with sincerity to others (forthcoming) .

With an air-sign combo he has a need/want to think things through, fully, in order to express them out well. This is because he wants to do well.  There’s honestly nothing complicated than that (again, direct and forthcoming)

The end result matters to seeing his progress (Gemini Moon) and ability to affluent/reach out to others. (Libra Sun) It fuels him inside (personally) that much.

Thus why he’s a good communicator between the maknaes and the older members in the team, and part of why he seems responsible. With this innate need sated, he knows his positions and what he could use his potential to do for the team. It gives his sociability a purpose (Libra Sun) but also fuels him emotionally as well (to an extent-- a certain emotional gratification for his Gemini Moon)  

He’s easily more co-operative when offered the opportunity. Even if he doesn’t necessarily ‘feel’ up for it-- he’s going to try his best to use his rational/logical thinking (Libra Sun) to make sense of things anyways (’it’ll come in handy later’)

Anyways let’s talk more about the good stuff

Having his Sun and Moon trine doesn’t just means he exerts himself/his desire/needs easier than most (compared to like, opposition or squares who can have a hard time even identifying what they feel/need at all) --Jimin makes clear what his distinctions are, what he approves of and what he disapproves of-- it serves him to be respectable and seen as somewhat ‘level-headed’ in his larger circle (outside of his group/members) as well.

He can quickly read people, assess their motives and integrity (Gemini/Libra)  and also assimilate himself easily to them (communicative and playfulness) when he approves of them

This adaptability/changeability to his character (Gemini Moon), as well as assertiveness (Libra Sun) makes him high key such a nurturing person to be around-- but in a way that’s less serious/heavy and more willing to co-operate than others (say like a water sign in the luminaries)

Like after his initial ‘threat’ assessment, and when he adopts/adapt to someone he quickly picks up on things they lack and provide support for them in forms of co-operation, motivation and verbal affirmation (things he uses for himself/his own fulfillment as well)

Thus why he learns/adapts himself naturally to others-- with Yoongi, with Jungkook and with Hoseok.

He learns what they lack/need and what they project/desire (outwardly) supports them in a way that’s co-operative to them (for their own benefit).

With Yoongi and Jungkook-- their Virgo traits/strong placement, it’s catered to helping them with things they lack, or want to get better at or acknowledged for. With Hoseok who’s more about needing tactile support (Taurus Moon) and Taehyung who’s more about familiarity/stability (Capricorn) -- Jimin learns how to adapt to these people he’s ‘accepted’ and quickly utilize his skill-sets/capabilities to co-operate and provide for them (in order to gain stimuli for himself as well.)

(highkey-- sometimes, especially with double air signs luminaries-- there can be an over-exertion of themselves for others that they tend to lose sight of themselves too.

This nagging feeling of moving/changing too much and not feeling connected to their core/initial values stresses them out--it demotivates them, allows the deeper part of their psyche to come forth and be more vulnerable during times. Thus why Gemini Moon can tend to shift away from things in order to find that ‘inner connective-ness’ again.)

Having this particular Sun-trine-Moon combination (Libra Sun/Gemini Moon) may also come with a shift of moodiness and over-compromising themselves (again, over-exertion of co-operation) -- especially since Jimin is the one who’s usually laid back or at peace with himself in these instances (esp. in social context/interactions) he can tend to be too accepting/giving too much to others around him with less discretion (deceived, once he ‘accepted’ them-- or taken advantage of sometimes)

Sun (Libra) - Square - Uranus (Capricorn) 

Stubbornness, present in both Libra and Capricorn. But more so than that is critical.

Being particularly critical of others around him, especially when it comes to being doubtful -- he can tend to low-key side eye people sometimes even if he keeps his mouth shut about it

Because Libra and Capricorn are present here, he is somewhat tactful of what he says/put out-- but with both Cardinal Sign there’s also an assertiveness/directness to how he expresses his desire/expression (won’t stand down-- makes for a sassy person unintentionally)

The kind of person who smiles tightly and nods but you can tell they’re clearly displeased with something because they just exudes it (Sun-aspect)

If he doesn’t want to do something, he can be pretty adamant about it. His expression/discontentment is absolutely readable to others especially if it’s something that has to do with his personal values (Libra Sun) integrity or social standard/change (Capricorn Uranus)

On one hand, with that Capricorn Uranus he has an understanding/sympathy for establishing things externally (socially/ so social structure) but on the other hand-- he absolutely won’t tolerate any threat/imposing on integrity/personal freedom-rights of others (Libra Sun)

Basically just imagine a bitchier, more aggravated Libra Sun side eyeing you with their arms folded, about to chew you out.

It’s refreshing because it’s direct, you know exactly when they’re displeased with something and you can kind of link it to what their personal integrity are (social balance is being ‘threatened’ by your choice of action, usually)

He sees flaws in others (Libra Sun/Mercury-Gemini Moon), and wants others to challenge their own way--- yet at the same time he remains stubborn in his own -- it can seem kind of hypocritical/self-righteous sometimes.

Despite not wanting to appear attached (‘too sentimental’) to things that ‘dont matter’ (things he’s not personally/emotionally invested in) he can sometimes be insensitive to other people’s feelings as well (best example: see Jimin-Taehyung and what they fight about/difference in interests --- but still managing to come together in the end, confronting their own faults/pasts)

This --- semi-hypocrisy (not wanting to commit fully to rebellion but wanting others to do it at the same time) can lead to a lot of passive-aggressive tendency, defensiveness or aggravated need to dominant others to be seen as ‘right’ sometimes.

It’s about wanting others to change but also wanting to be in control of themselves (of others) and of the situation at the same time.

Like as much as it’s about ‘not rocking the boat’ or whatever -- it’s also about keeping control of their life and things they can do (which sometimes over-extend or spill onto others/trying to control others as well)

Keeping a schedule, being on top of things, not having any ammunition another person can use against them (personal flaw) and remedying those flaws (see: when he works out so extremely in order to be ‘attractive’ around debut) helps expel their nervous energy/anxiety/stress but also lowers their defensiveness (not spill onto others) as well.

It’s also posing some difficulties to him in terms of -- learning languages or connecting to others at a cultural level? - because he understands things intellectually-- but occasionally not emotionally -- sometimes learning/connecting to others (Uranus) can be hard to establish for him.

There’s desire for sure, for his job, to be capable of talking to another and communicating himself/coming off well-- but at the same time he’s faced with challenges inside of himself on multiple fronts (this one, and also Moon-opposition-Jupiter below) -- so it might take time to turn this around.

Truly if he tackles this and tries to input some creativity, personal touch, inventiveness into his approach (to learning language/others-- like, what drives him on personally-- in order to learn this language, outside of the necessity for it in his job?) it’ll serve him well to be more adaptable/spread out evenly as well.

Sun (Libra) - Square - Neptune (Capricorn) 

To get weirdly specific: Capricorn representing the father figure in the house of Neptune shows some idealism/expectation that may not reflect on reality for Jimin of himself (as a father, we all know we talks about being a father/family man sometimes)

We all know Jimin respects and admires his father greatly. He mentions him all the time, on variety show (Knowing Brothers) on his birthday (when he got the bouquet,etc.) he has a clearly positive image of his father and it’s reflective on how it affects his own expectation/inner self (Sun) as well

His father plays a role in who he is today, but because his Sun is in a square to his Neptune-- a part of it can be hyped up or be a little bit exaggerated (a little self-delusion) that he might have to truly confront this when he wants to reach a reality with himself (like, expecting himself as a father-- he’ll be a great father I’m sure, just that certain problems might be totally unprepared even though he thinks he’s thorough/prepared-- Libra Sun/ego-self confidence) as well.

Anyways, Sun-square-Neptune also talks about having certain expectations for himself that’s beyond reality of what he is/has. Something that is inspired by comic books, novels, web-toons, etc.

In terms of his drive/ambition-- it certainly helps him reach beyond what is ordinarily expected or someone. Possibly, reaching out to become an idol/dancer in the group is part of this Sun driving his Neptune to fulfillment.

Which is why sometimes it feels totally unreal or out of his own personal limit-- Neptune talks about subconscious, and seeing it actually becomes reality causes a bit of dissonance inside of himself that he has to confront sometimes.

Emotionally, and just-- the connective-ness of reality to his dream-scape is differently perceived. Thus why sometimes, to not overwhelm himself (through confrontation) he might find himself repressing certain things in order to truly let it sink in/cherish it later.

Remember when Jimin asked Namjoon to re-affirm that ‘billboard is something not anyone can just go to right’ (prestige/beyond the dream) -- he’s the type to suppress things a little in order to process them (Capricorn Neptune -- has to somewhat be functional in reality even if it’s their biggest dream)-- but later, with a glass of alcohol in hand, he probably has to Go Through It alone or with someone close to him in order to truly understand how it’s really reality for him as well.

His Sun (Libra) and the need to please others when aspected with Neptune also points to a possibly tendency to rely on bad habits in order to help himself. Whether it’s his initial extreme diet, or him being particularly hard on himself (Burn The Stage, just last year)

Even small things like just drinking on the regular or staying up late in the early mornings -- these are considered part of the ‘bad’ habits that comes with the activeness Libra (as an air sign) has over his need/desire.

Because Neptune brings escapist and semi-self destructive behaviors even if it’s used in moderation or for celebration (drinking for example) there’s always the susceptible harm of it escalating into over-compassing his life if he’s not careful.

This is because it’s aspected to the Sun, as part of his ego/sense of self when there are blows made to those reality/dreams he can become incredibly sensitive and thus defensive/aggravated at the same time (think: Jimin-Tae fights, Taehyung tends to be brasher than Jimin even though Jimin is much more directly aggressive/aggravated -- thus, with Jimin’s Sun in Fall -- his ego can tend to take a more emotional hit than Taehyung does sometimes )

Gemini Moon | 15′ Degrees | 2nd Decan Libra/Venus 

A lot of people give Gemini-Libra placement a lot of crap but for what??

Expressiveness and supportiveness is one of the Gemini Moon’s best traits!

Honestly there’s no one else more supportive of you than Gemini Moons-- this is because there’s an innate need to learn/understand others, but NOT in a way that’s detrimental to themselves so it’s healthily supportive

Having a Gemini Moon makes a person much more accepting of co-operation between people, rather than like-- a mess of egos clashing, they’re one of the few True MVPS who will not bat an eye when it comes to actively helping others out if they care/approve of them

Let’s just be clear, that a part of what makes them healthy is because they exert their autonomy/independency across everyone’s face FIRST-- really upfront about it, like a ‘take it or leave it’ kind of way--- and if people can accept that and respect them for it (especially if they have their own independence too)-- they’re all in with sympathizing and supporting others as well.

They can be coy and shy about it, like a touch-and-go kind of vibing others out if they have certain placements leading up to that (like Jimin, which contributes to their ‘flightiness’ I guess)

It’s not antipathy on their part-- it’s just, they gotta make sure you can accept multi-faceted-ness/you’re not shallow as well.  

Gemini Moon with a Libra Sun are the type of people who sits with you when you’re down and rub your back for you

They’re also the type of people who will make faces with you (supportive faces, expressive) and motivate you/support you when you need them to

Because Gemini Moons (ruler Mercury) are rather fast-paced (whether they realize this or not) they’re quick to motivate you to get up off your ass and do something if they feel like you’re wasting time with a pity party that’s unnecessary

Blunt-- and straightforward are their best traits, at least when it comes to their own opinions, thoughts and feelings.

But combined with Libra Sun | Mercury, there are times when he is more soothing/supportive in a way that’s not as --- abrasive

See, Gemini Moon is the way he’s quick to point out how other people makes him feel (when it’s positive)

It’s also when he soothes them, typically through skinship or falling on top of them (like what he does to Namjoon-- stick his face close to him, or pull his cheeks)

It’s how they show affection, because believe it or not they’re quite affectionate people

Proud affectionate, it’s not exactly the sentimental kind but rather the extroverted/outwardly proud expressions of affection for another person?

With Gemini Moon it’s not soft touches or slow soothing words full of sentimental affection (Capricorn/Taurus) -- it’s comfort with someone else, being confident in themselves and maneuvering others to fit them the way things are supposed to be fitted.

That’s what proud affection means, like they’re proud to be seen with you and they’re proud to show off your relationship. Whether it’s subconscious (touchy) or not

There’s just-- a certain confident that they exude to relationship that gives it strengths. They’re the type to do things so nonchalantly (again, true MVPS) but touches others in a way that they’re oblivious to

Small things like holding someone’s hands, might mean so much more to introverted person. Or just being able to accept different opinions, when others tell them how grateful/appreciative they are of them-- the Gemini Moon is genuinely confused because ‘that’s literally basic stuff??’

They can sometimes be oblivious to their own strengths, or the aspiration they give to others (slow moving people, earth signs) -- mostly because they’re at a pace that is different and doesn’t tend to notice these sorts of thing.

It’s a good thing, but that also means some of their problems are harder to understand (different wavelengths) to others as well (like to earth signs, some water signs, a few fire signs)

What people don’t tend to realize/understand is that Gemini Moon also has lows. And they tend to be harder on themselves -- just as much as Capricorns, Virgos, Leos and Scorpios.

Because what they exude, how they act/say is categorized (stereotyped) by some people as ‘shallow’, the deeper parts of the Gemini (+ the different wavelengths at the beginning) tends to lengthen the rift even more.

Causes a lot of misunderstanding, especially since they’re partially confused/hard on themselves as well.

The deeper part of the Gemini (as its symbolized by a set of twins) is mercurial, cunning and sometimes a lot more paranoid

Because it is harder to control, and Geminis are supposed to go through constant change (versatility) coping with these traits-- amongst others potentially powerful ones (hence harder to control) can overwhelm the Gemini easily

Thus why sometimes Gemini Moon may seem so confused and contradictory inside of themselves-- it causes this deeper part to be repressed (when you don’t know what to do with all that) and thus-- sometimes the ‘lows’ tends to last longer than the ‘highs’

Repressing their deeper part (out of fear, out of not knowing how to start understanding them/fear that they’re going to use it for evil) means snubbing that part of them out in order to keep the happy, upbeat front.

That’s not the case, the repression causes their change cycle to stop. It causes a lot of harm to the normally versatile and changeable Gemini to go back into themselves and can suffer from longer lasting ‘low’s and self-destructive cycles even more

Everything has to come out, especially with the Gemini. Including learning how to wield and balance between the two parts of themselves.

Because the ultimate goal is to change (go through cycles) by balancing both at once (at the same time) only the deeper part can bounce the highs, and only the highs can make the deeper part more tolerable (to the Gemini themselves)

Much like how they treat people/world around them, the Gemini is forced to treat their own subconscious the same way. This can be parrying for the Gemini (because it tends to be a bit blunt/brutal emotionally) but it leads to certain self-awareness that can be used to improve, if they’re not fraught or fearful of who they are (during the backlash).

Gemini Moon-- when unable to cope with the depth of their own ‘low’s starts to question themselves. A lot of nervous energy (mutable/air) leads to paranoia, but also lowered self-confidence and vulnerability in the Moon.

They start noticing these things about themselves, their disorganization, their inconsistency, their superficial means (again, self awareness that comes from being forced to confront their subconscious) but they’re aggravated/frustrated with themselves about it-- and tends to verbally put themselves down

It’s like-- they put themselves down because if they do that first-- it gives them some sort of control. Other people can’t put them down because they already know all their flaws, but that’s not a thing they should be focusing on.

It comes from a place of deep-rooted fear, somewhat paranoia. Gemini Moon has to watch themselves not to make a habit of manipulating others, themselves or the situation-- because they’re only going to be self-critical (harder on themselves) even more when they realize what they’re doing. (A cycle that’s not necessary and only self-destructive)

It’s not self-deprecation at this point, it’s self-destructive because they rely on this cycle to keep them going/moving. And when the cycle is tainted by their feelings/bad thoughts -- they constantly engage in a systematic flaw that would recycle all their self-awareness/self-critical, paranoid nature right back at them again.

Cleaning out the system helps, learning how to tackle things-- stop the clog and totally do a deep cleanse of their entire cycle would help a lot.

With the Gemini, it’s not just a matter of ‘oh ok then i’ll just run away from it/drop it’ it’s a matter of actually sitting down and thinking/pushing ‘what can i do to make this better-- long term goals’ and self-motivation

Think of it as like, borrowing some Sagittarius trait in order to help their own flaw. Opposite signs tends to help with balancing each other out, so borrowing some of the things Sagittarius has/deals with would help the Gemini understand what it is they might need to implement/change to get back on track as well.

Gemini Moon also seems to have varying interests; sometimes one at a time and other times-- all at once.

With Jimin in particular (Libra Sun|Gemini Moon) it’s about social consciousness combined with pure curiosity/inquisitiveness.

Because Gemini Moon can tend to bounce from things to things, the emotional aspect of wanting to put 100% into something versus their lack of motivation serves as a problem.

It causes delineation of the mind that tries to compartmentalize emotionality away from logic-- in this case, it provides tact-- but also serves to make understanding himself (empathizing/loving himself) a lot harder as well.

When your emotions (demotivation) is separated away from the logic, you find yourself pursuing things on the principle of curiosity and ambition ( both air signs when combined accentuate these traits-- curiosity/Gemini, Ambition/Libra)

He might find himself having multiple enthusiastic interests in topics/subjects that helps him uncover answers he’s interested in. Discovery is a big part of this curiosity, it satiates his needs/desire to an extent.

This excitable and passionate drive, that is in combination with personal ambition (to potentially become more socially conscious)-- makes him seem like a confident dependable person, reliable and independent even if it doesn’t feel that way all the time.

Having your emotions separated from your logic can have certain benefits-- but for long term goals, as well as what really matters-- it might not serve to give him the satisfaction he needs (emotionally) nor will it help him empathize/pursue his true desire/need (social consciousness) on a level that he wants to be at (is supposed to be at)

See, when things are separated-- it keeps the person from a distance to their goals. That distance, emotionally and desire/need-- will make adjustment hard to pursue once they reach the end.

It builds up an ego that finds themselves confident and proud, yet the core of the problem is still unsolved. These tiny misalignment frustrates the Gemini-- so close to being who/where they needed to be-- and tries to force themselves to align without going back to fix the core of the problem.

Again-- it’s just, cleaning out the clogs. Geminis aren’t the type of people who are going to ‘sweat the small stuff’ but these ‘small stuff’ are things that they need to deliberate on, and truly conquer/swallow up in order to get to where they want in the end.

That’s why they’re self-destructive instead of self-deprecating, self-deprecating signs deliberate too much on the small stuff that they don’t tend to move enough. Gemini doesn’t deliberate enough on the ‘small stuff’ that they breeze through life and then go through a cycle of frustration with themselves (self-destructive) when the ‘small stuff’ comes to bit them in the ass.  

Personal freedom in the context of who he is/what he provides socially is important to him

With Gemini Moon-- their creativity/emotionality input can come in spurts so having control over that-- autonomy/freedom is important to them

Because it’s not consistent as like, a Capricorn or some other signs-- they have to create that control/freedom/space for themselves to work the way they do best (their own style of working) in order to feel conductive and not like-- they’re working any lesser than anyone around them (which is important to their self esteem as well - Sun-moon aspect)

Because they understand that things can come and go (without their control sometimes) they can react pretty temperamentally to themselves.

Again, Gemini Moons don’t get talked about for their lows and highs, which is actually a crucial part in understanding what Geminis go through specifically (we place the blame on Scorpio, or over-simplify it as ‘flightiness’ when its not just that)

He’s fully capable of staying committed, that’s not the issue here. Geminis (when they are committed to something) have an abundance of power/surge in order to fulfill/understand it completely.

It wasn’t about-- figuring something out and then leaving it, that’s not Gemini (that’s lowkey Aries). It’s about being able to create a ‘space’ for themselves within their commitment where they can let the ebb and flow of their emotionality run independently-- without feeling like it’s imposing on other aspects of their lives.

Like say a relationship, Gemini Moons can commit. When they hit their lows, they might need time/space to work/operate independently/work different than when they do in their highs. Doesn’t mean they switch from people to people -- it just means they need that-- space, for autonomy. They can be trusted, and they should be trusted.

Understanding and acknowledging that people do have drastic high-lows are important, and those who can accept this side of them (see; Taehyung who has his own struggle with Capricorn Sun | Aries Moon dynamic) helps the Gemini Moon immensely in staying committed in a relationship without feeling like they’re stifled or being pressured into something they’re not ready to give (which is-- honestly, kind of abusive cause?? you can’t force someone to give up something they adamantly don’t want to give up/autonomy-space in this case-- what the fuck??)

Gemini Moons are capable of pouring everything they have into something they place value in, and it’s not-- it’s not all or nothing it’s just-- an investment in their part.

Think of it as like, building layers. You pour one layer of your feelings and wait for it to dry, come back again and pour another layer so everything is set and stable and ready. Instead of like, everything sinking and being uneven-- by waiting for things to dry (going away for a hot second) everything becomes more even and stable.

That’s how they approach people/relationship and interests as well. Because ultimately the things that bothers them the most is their inability to fully concentrate on something for long-period of time even if they want to/know they have potential for (Scorpio Venus/Mars)

With Jimin it’s almost like--- he identifies himself with this Gemini Moon but he also finds it hard to cope with all the faults/difficulties that the placement has.

It’s like he’s not-- aware of all the hurdles he just crashes into it? If this was a hurdling race, he’s the one who realizes there are hurdles but doesn’t get through all of them without crashing a few down (or all of them-- sometimes, when he’s feeling extra vulnerable/self-frustrated)

It’s mostly just-- difficult aspects to his Moon itself (see below) besides that one fantastic Sun-Moon trine earlier that’s bringing a bit of self-awareness, it’s like tempering him or teasing him by not allowing him to fully handle/tackle these foreseen problems

(theoretically, he gets it. execution/applicability wise, he’s frustrated with his inability to deal with it.)

Let’s talk about some of the good stuff sdkjfns

Jimin actually makes a lot of silly faces in photos and this is part of the Gemini Moon being able to express themselves. (concert photo, chuseok 2018 photo)

Gemini Moon helps sharpen his keen wit, but also easily pick up on other’s mood and tends to tease others alot (see this gif of the recent iheartradio show and the gcf in newark when he teases Jin)

His analytical ability sky-rockets as well, with aspects from his Sun-Moon-- he can tend to read people easily and verbalize his own emotions/expressions outwards as well.

Feeling what he feels is a different thing all together, sometimes its like he soundboards/steam things out to figure out how he feels along the way (in contrast to water signs-- who feels things first and verbalize it outwards. This is like, talking things out to figure out how he feels.)

Because there’s a natural nervous/worry that they tend to carry with them, they tend to get restless when they’re doing nothing.

We know Jimin stays up later than normal, and he likes to read when he has the time (or play games). This is attributes of the normal Gemini Moon restlessness-- it makes the individual read, talk and think a lot more when it’s in their Moon.

This restlessness isn’t like a Virgo however, with Gemini their domestic scene can be a bit more scattered than what the typical Virgo would have placed their restlessness into doing. While Virgo is focused on doing something with their hands (mindlessly) for their environment because it helps them relax.

A Gemini is focused on the self (they share the same ruler-- Mercury) and while their living situation can be a bit looser than Virgo (a good sign since a Virgo cleaning means they might be stressed out about something else) they tend to put some effort in keeping things messily organized -- at least for their own benefit.  

Jimin as the glue of the group-- can provide for the team in what he knows (intellectually) as a need rather than feeling like they all need it.

Get-togethers and heart to hearts, without the influence of Scorpio Venus involved (*depends on context) can tend to be geared towards productivity and helping people rather than what they want to hear/need emotional support for.

There’s a natural buoyancy (again, combining their highs and lows) and quirky optimistic attitude that comes with Gemini Moons

Even if he’s feeling all sorts of lows, this natural attribute will still come through -- it serves as a fuel for misunderstanding, because other people tend to think ‘oh its a one time thing’ or ‘oh its not that bad’ (it is, you shouldn’t take someone at face value all the time as well, not everyone is the same-- and this is just how the Gemini Moon copes, please try to be consistently conscious of their feelings even if they don’t show it!!)

When they’re in their ‘lows’ sometimes they’re irritable, this means they snap at people with vicious words (mercurial sign)

But just as easily they’re often too afraid to even confront others when they’re in their highs. (due to their own insecurities ‘oh if they’re not saying anything about me then maybe I shouldn’t say something about them?’ again-- selective self-aware of their own flaws)  

Because of this double air placement, there’s a natural tendency to cope with humour (verbalizing their needs/feelings) even if it’s dark or stark sometimes (at themselves and with unfortunate circumstances-- to lighten up the mood)

Libra’s diplomacy is accentuated by the Gemini, and Gemini’s emotionality may tend to make him quick to reach out to solve things for others, or help smoothen things out because ‘rocking the boat’ (strain/conflicts in the norm-- disruption) amplifies the uneasiness his Gemini feels (nervousness/energy-- Sun-Moon aspect-- dictated by Libra’s need that is amplified through this aspect)

Because of this heightened need to please-- there’s also some disillusionment/idealism (Sun-Neptune aspect) along with the ability to ‘play roles’ for others or become completely detached (again-- emotionality separated from logic)

It doesn’t help with the frantic trying to figure out their own self-awareness, or identifying their individuality (especially with the Sun in Fall-- ‘weak’ sense of self) -- figuring out who he is when he’s not pleasing people and what part of him is his ego/individuality can be hard. Specifically finding balance, and conquering both the sides of his Gemini makes it harder.

There’s nothing wrong with learning from others, or taking information from others in order to build yourself (Libra sun- social relationships) and figure out who you are. Working with what’s already given is fine-- there’s nothing terminally wrong with the conduct of neither Libra nor Gemini.

It’s just a matter of cleaning out the clogs, making sure the equipments and system is squeaky clean. It can be hard, but by doing so consistently and constantly, he can gleam what he needs to reap in the end.

Don’t be frustrated with yourself if you have similar problems, or share the same placement/problems. Don’t hate yourself for your own traits, and don’t think that you can’t possibly push yourself to be the best version of yourself because of all your ‘flaws’ (like indecisiveness, inconsistency, etc.)

Change the things that needs changing-- that is, the oil you use, the system you’re using. Do a deep cleanse once in a while.

Think of it like this-- a clock is working perfectly fine with all the mechanics it has. It just needs tweaking sometimes, an extra help with a screwdriver on a loose nut, shaping of the system, minor part replacements. You only need to change one tiny thing in order to make everything work-- nobody goes around dismantling random parts.

(Change the things you can change, not the traits that you have basically-- learn to maximize it instead of just living with it/pulling yourself down because of it-- be a little more ambitious with yourself/your own self-confidence internally, instead of just for external things-- if that makes sense.)

Aspects

Moon (Gemini) - Opposition - Jupiter (Sagittarius) | 3′ Degrees 

One of his tightest aspect (without the birth time therefore, no angles we know of), which is also not helping his Gemini Moon and Libra Sun.

Because the Moon is part of our securities (how we feel secure/insecurities in our lives) having opposition aspect to Jupiter (Sagittarius) tends to dwindle and weaken the self-esteem/confidence (luminary-personal self/inner sense of self).

It’s like waiting for the ball to drop, for something to go wrong and people to barge in arms up in flames with whatever it is you’ve done.

It’s a feeling of constantly watching your back nervously (Gemini) and having your feelings/sense of self questioned and doubted by the public--- even if the majority of this feelings are imaginary scenarios sometimes.

One bad circumstance can have a long lasting effect on a person. The psyche (Moon)  can sustain this trauma for a long time, especially since they’re trying to be more self-conscious/aware of what they put out/what they do-- in order to not evoke the circumstances again.

When the personal Moon is in opposition to Jupiter, there’s a restriction placed on their hopes/dreams, that results in in-productivity of their tangible work/outcome (what they put out in the world/not exploiting their own full potential because they’re afraid they won’t be enough)

It strengthen indecisiveness, but indecisiveness is littered with self-doubt, and insecurities that comes from not thinking they’re good enough or not doing enough compared to others.

Things they hold personal/dear to them, things that fuels their self-confidence (in this case, his creative output/expression) tend to be worked on tediously (bv3 when he mentioned song writing to Namjoon) yet has a hard time coming out because the self-esteem/sense of self (Moon) suffers from thinking about their own potential/reach/public reception (Jupiter)

Jimin doesn’t release a lot of solo projects himself, but the effort he puts onto them are enormous. His emotional value to them are also deeply personal, the reception of others around him (again-- remember, air signs) are so important that he feels muddled.

Is it actually good? What will other people think? Is ‘good’ really good enough? All these decisions and muddled feelings leads him to possibly believe he might be unable to think clearly about himself, or evaluate his own work without emotions reasoning his logic (in this case, being too prone to separating the two serves as a factor in furthering this rift)

Being personally involved and emotionally invested in something scares him, for the first time it’s almost like he’s putting his own self (Moon) out there for the public to receive (Jupiter) -- and the fear of them hurting, the fear of not being ‘good’ enough or just ‘enough’ --is enough to make him second guess himself.

It’s not like he can just-- ok yes, a part of it is just him placing himself on a platter for the audience to take what they will from it. But with the Gemini Moon (and Libra Sun) he gains something/feels something from it as well.  Both of these prospect -- of laying himself out without expectations (good will) and the emotional responses he knows he’ll receive from it (internally/personally) scares him so much.

Overthinking, anytime during the process drains his energy. It demotivates him, Gemini Moon already works in a cycle and staying tedious/aligned with their cycle only serves to make the ‘want’ to work but ‘low’ part of their cycle even harder to bear. (self-frustrations, waiting “pointlessly” for their block to be removed again-- again, leads to separating emotions from logic to ‘motivate’ self)

Having Moon-opposition-Jupiter causes his vulnerabilities to feel even more exposed to him, like other people can see where he flaws at and increases sensitivity to his own emotions.

However it also causes him to be particularly protective over his vulnerabilities, in order to control this deeply personal emotionality he tends to give a lot to others (benefit of the doubt) -- even if it results in deception or being taken advantage of, at least it’s hurting on a part that’s NOT something he already feels insecure about (diversion of pain/vulnerabilities).

It’s a tactic that recycles hurt in case it happens, expecting things to hurt shouldn’t be the go-to method.

It’s not going to help him tackle how to be more forthcoming, or cope with his vulnerabilities better. Learning how to deal with this, and do his own thing with all of his vulnerabilities (not cutting it out) can help him conquer this aspect.    

Also, having this aspect in opposition and considering the Gemini-Sagittarius sister signs, he can tend to be ‘too much’ of something

In this case it’s probably too giving to others, or being too generous sometimes to the benefit of others more than himself.

Giving too much away is accentuated when Gemini-Sagittarius are aspected to each other, especially with Sagittarius Jupiter.

Moon (Gemini) - Square - Saturn (Pisces) rx | 3′ Degrees 

Another challenging aspect, even though it’s squared, the prospect of this adds onto the earlier section (Moon-Jupiter)

When their inner self/emotionality feels vulnerable, it becomes protective/defensive of itself (Saturn)

This can lead to emotional distance from others in order to protect themselves, which if used chronically can lead to a general mistrust of those around them

Social relationship is important to Jimin, it fuels his Sun (Libra) -- but if he feels that he can only trust others with certain things about himself (burnt too many times) that fulfillment will have a difficult time truly manifesting

Thus, it’s a blow to his self-confidence/esteem as well. His Sun is already in Fall, when it comes to accepting compliments/genuine words of encouragement-- he tends to disregard them in lure of his own personal feelings (burn the stage; when he thinks he messed up)

It’s kind of like, when he becomes personally attached or feels vulnerable about something (in this case, his artistry)--- he’s overwhelmed with emotions for them he can tend to disregard others (selective hearing)

He’s quick to pick up on the wrongs or constructive criticism, but when it comes to compliment it’s hard to come by when he’s in this state (*again, context matters-- he isn’t like this all the time)

It makes the value of compliments/encouragement when he’s NOT vulnerable all the more valuable to him, but ‘fueling’ up on compliments isn’t going to help him resolve the issue of not listening to other people during his low-- it’ll help with balancing him out, but it doesn’t solve the issue.

Moon-Saturn manifesting in a person also shows some stiffness in reciprocating or totally showing vulnerabilities/affections with others sometimes. Most commonly it’s just-- not knowing what to do with it or how to reciprocate, abrupt movement and sometimes side-eyes.

As much as he tries his hardest to remedy this when he’s in a healthier state of mind, it might just come down to how he resolve the problem at it’s core as well.

Again, accepting both his duality will help. Instead of looking for short-term method, it’s about really reaching into themselves and fixing this by deep-cleaning their system (internally-- but not changing their core, just their system).

Sometimes Gemini Moon has a hard time just going back to do what they should do, and tend to try to resolve things moving forward only. Introspection and active work on their internal self would help a lot -- not everything has to be externalized or worked out externally all the time (*again, context. In this case, we’re talking about balance-- learning how to not be afraid of the inner depth/stop running forward into their outer ones-- balancing those two out)

Most of the problem with-- receiving genuine affections in these state of vulnerabilities comes from high ideals and standards (conditions) on what’s acceptable of others and themselves-- in order to feel like they ‘deserve’ to be complimented for something they put their heart onto.

Sometimes, unconditional love for themselves is harder to understand and demonstrated within themselves. Thus why, they can be harder on themselves and doesn’t know how to make it better without thinking ‘next time, I’ll do better’ (it becomes a cycle of ‘next times’ and that’s not-- that’s the self-destructive cycle again.)

With Jimin-- the emotionality and logic separation also serves to emphasize his rational thinking/mind as well. Although he prides himself in this (which is good! he has an affinity for it with the air-combo) he has to realize that it could only become a toxic defense-mechanism when he separates the two from each other.

Rigidity and inability to emphasize with others (out of fear that they themselves will get burned/not understand themselves) causes him/others to feel even more frustrated with the situation.

It can’t be good to resolve anything long term, by resolving both the Jupiter and Saturn aspect -- he can fully learn how to take the reign/control how he works and how he deals with things better as well (not the outcome, that wasn’t the problem in the first place. It’s how he handles things that’s the problem-- fear of expectations, fear of misunderstanding or being ‘too much’/’not enough’)

By really applying himself to reach out and truly expect more, work more (courageously) in putting himself out there and combining the highs+lows together (learning how to keep buoyancy) -- his natural positivity in Gemini Moon can truly relish, flourish and overcome anything (challenges) sent on his way.  

This aspects also adds to his insecurities with feeling neglected (Libra Sun/Gemini Moon) and needing reassurance (praises/self-encouragements)

Unlike Namjoon who shares the same aspects but with different placements-- Jimin’s air combo makes him verbalize it more, and his core inner need for social relationships (Libra Sun/Gemini Moon) when in harsh aspects to social planets (Jupiter/Saturn - Sagittarius/Pisces), creates an emotional/personal fear (Moon) that is terrified of the world around him-- reflected in himself (Sagittarius/Pisces also talks about duality-- the lows and highs, reflected in Gemini as well-- so this is about self-acceptance).  

It was never really about-- needing others reaffirmation, although those does help. It was always about being self-encouraged and self-secured.

Enough to pursue his social relationships comfortably. That’s why he can be a little bit shy, a little bit more reserved and nervous around strangers. There’s always that-- fear, and stubbornness in him that might have to be talked about.

Libra Mercury (rx) | 5′ Degrees | 1st Decan

OK let’s take a break from all the heavy stuff skjdfnkjn

Jimin’s Libra placement is so interesting to talk about!

Libra has the potential, to fully embody an ability to mold themselves ‘emotionally’ to those around them,

Mimicry -- but more than that, because they are able to fuse emotionality and intellectually with others (both at the same time).

They’re intellectual signs who knows the way to understand people is to sympathize with them.  

Compromise and being flexible in attaining emotional sensitivity at least to a certain extent.

They’re like all the logic-based signs, but with the emotional intelligence to imitate water-signs.

With Libras (Namjoon as well) they tend to think in terms of relativity-- so certain things being comparable to something else in order to make sense of the world.

That’s why they can be poetic, or somehow has the ability to be tactful while imposing their thoughts/ideas on others at the same time.

Their directness comes from discretion within themselves, with Jimin-- it’s because he has a harder time not showing how he feels (even if sometimes he’s misinterpreted) his speech is somewhat more calculated to be ‘safe’ more so than Namjoon is-- because this is his natural defense as well.

Because everything is relative, there’s always the need to have a certain foundation to base their ideas around or bounce off of from. Thus why, Libra Mercury may find themselves seeking knowledge and intellectual conversations in order to expand themselves outwardly as well.

The abundance of things they have to learn is no problem for the Libra since they’re motivated (cardinal) to gobble them up, however the plethora of choices and ‘potentials’  can sometimes overwhelm them psychologically/emotionally and tire them out when they take in the scale of everything (thus, stagnancy/avoidance/procrastination).

Particularly with Jimin, who already has Libra Sun | Gemini Moon, his indecisiveness combined with this Mercury in rx makes his ‘stagnancy’ even more prominent sometimes (hesitancy, somewhat passive-aggressiveness, wanting to dominate others to control variables/outcome-- also just general clumsiness when his brain is farting sometimes).

If he’s NOT on top of the situation/outcome (thus working on it immediately or being proactive in participation) he can be prone to just laying around and letting the dread/anxiety eats up at him (thus-- motivation through fear of stagnancy, into Doing Something in order to control his fate/situation instead-> domination of others sometimes)

If he’s not being functional then he’s being dysfunctional, again that’s the all or nothing kind of deal with Jimin.

(thus why we should appreciate him more when he makes progress into reserving his thoughts/thinking and becoming more adaptable to progress instead of this initial intuition he can tend to fall into)  

Libras have pretty high-expectation of themselves, of people and of society around them. Because they carry their idealism with pride, they want to implement these ideas into reality through themselves as well.

Jimin wanting to be a police man and then a pirate and being inspired by the things he reads/takes in (Gemini Moon-- intellectually, emotional gratification) is indicative of this idealism he has about him.

But with high-expectation (because they always want to reach that ‘potential’ to the fullest with their skillsets) can come an urge to feel overwhelmed by a lot of things in the overall scope as well (time wise, and expectation wise).

Not only that, his Mercury here is in retrograde. Manifestation/difficulties in seeing progression in his vocal abilities and the way he verbalize stuff can be frustrating to him sometimes

In this case, it’s having too much tension and thoughts. Because his Moon (Gemini) governs Mercury (natural ruler) but it’s un-aspected

On one hand, he’s exempted from the emotional hardship his Moon brings (to an extent) but on the other hand-- he can tend to be pretty hard on himself when he’s thinking so much (Gemini Moon) and not feeling like he’s good at verbalizing/verbalizing enough.

It’s kind of contradictory because on one hand, he wants to see his potential to the fullest (Libra Mercury) and on the other hand, he doesn’t know how to achieve that (self-doubt as well, Gemini Moon)

Even when things are un-aspected, when reading someone’s chart they can tend to inform each other in a linear way? Rather than crossing each other and making that connection, it’s more like each placement has it’s own problem that activate another.

In this case, when he finds frustration with his Libra Mercury (thinking/mind/verbalization) his Moon comes into play (Gemini Moon) and certain aspects from the Moon makes the problem worse (Moon-Jupiter, Moon-Saturn)

Libra Mercury - Scorpio Venus | Verbal Affirmation of Affection/Caring 

Wanted to say that, even if his Gemini Moon is being a Brat (aspect-wise) the Sun-Moon trine definitely contributes a lot to his overall lovability.

Like I mentioned earlier, Gemini Moons are uplifting supportive people. Their general positivity and upbeat-ness helps those around them, combined with Libra Sun’s strong desire to reach out and connect with those around them (self-exert) -- these two alone already makes him such a kind and caring person at his core.

With Jimin’s Libra placement, he has a strong Scorpio (actual water sign) in his chart, he can fuse and inherently understand/emphasize with stronger, forceful emotions.

Passion, drive, love, will and things he cares deeply about (or should) he have deep and often true feelings for.

Trust, friendship, loyalty and sincerity is something he’s learnt through experience and bond (from social relations with friends, family up bringing, etc.) to cherish and understand deeply.

At the same time, softer, more light-hearted or inexperienced emotions that he hasn’t thought about before is harder for him to comprehend.

He takes time warming up to these emotions and may resort to using his Libra Mercury in order to retain some kind of relativity (again, understanding things in terms of relativity) in his approach when dealing with someone he has this topic of conversation with.

He often appears at least intellectually adept and quick to accommodate them (Libra Sun) but ill-equipped to fully realize or understand what exactly the person is coming from (minor Cancer/no apparent Pisces) -- leaving his Gemini persona (Moon-emotionality) to mold itself into satisfying/imitating the ‘idea’ of the feeling for now.

This might be why he feels like he’s living a lie sometimes (given, the song shouldn’t be taken too seriously/personally), but it’s not-- it’s mostly just a Gemini Moon badly aspected thing, not every Gemini Moon goes through this though!

The fluctuation of his Libra, between the intensely compassionate Scorpio and the mercurial but versatile Gemini makes for a deep character who has an ability/potential to truly connect to someone on an emotional level (deeply empathetic) --yet has a hard time talking about themselves (their own emotions)

There’s no such thing as a  ‘middle ground’ but Libra accommodates this (not rocking the boat too much)

There are positive things that comes from Libra Mercury in rx, don’t worry too much about it!

(It’s mostly the self-doubt, from Moon-Saturn that’s truly fucking him up)

Aaah also-- giving gifts to others? such a Libra Mercury thing (especially with Scorpio or earth placements)

See, part of it is indirectness. Like in terms of expecting something from someone else and when they don’t get that-- they get really huffy about it

They expect dedication and loyalty from people, especially effort put into social relationships as much as they do

Verbal affirmation, nonverbal affirmation-- anything that shows them that other people care about them (Libra) and is paying attention to the little things as much as they are (effort put into social relationship) makes them preen a little.

But because they realize themselves that sometimes they don’t follow through with saying what they mean (when they expect something from someone else) they try to show that they care through material means.

It’s like-- a counterattack on their indirect-ness. Is to give gifts to others which can be an ‘effort for social relationship’ as it is as well

Especially with Scorpio placements, who wants stability and intensity (genuine affection) -- sometimes giving others gift is a form of therapy for them. It’s both a declaration and an inquiry-- can the other person understand the value of gifts other than it’s material quality? Can they match them in showing affection/feel fulfilled?

Aspects

Mercury (Libra) rx - Square - Lilith (Cancer) | 3′ Degrees 

Jiminie tends to hold himself back a lot, even if we don’t necessarily see it on broadcast.

He says things that needs to be said, becomes conscious/tactful of what the impact of his words are doing to others, and tends to pull himself back from verbally expressing everything he thinks sometimes

Particularly his natural frustration, anger, or other self-expression that isn’t “broadcast friendly” but is, you know, a natural charm he has that resulted in it being cut back on as well

It’s mostly just-- some parts of his insecurities and social expectations from himself. He treads on the cautious side of things (Cancer Lilith) because formalities and familiarities matters.

If he has certain control, even if it’s at the expense of his own ego being cut back or his own self-expression not being fully realized in the public-- he’ll do it.

This doesn’t really help with his insecurities or comparing himself to someone else, it might play a small part in learning languages as well.

Because he errs on the side of caution, practicing and using language even if he pronounces things wrong makes his insecurities even more profound.

He’d rather just play it safe, rather than throw himself into the risk of making mistakes/embarrassing himself because of his own incapabilities (personal ability and capabilities is a big thing with him)

It doesn’t help with his Mercury in retrograde because it might make him compare himself to others around him, particularly Namjoon who also has this Libra in Mercury

It’s not-- it’s not jealousy, it’s admiration but also self-awareness and hesitance (Libra) to explore new things, or new parts of himself.

Lilith makes one want to have more ‘guidance’ in one’s life, so relying on someone else as an example of what’s supposed to be happening, or is “healthy” is part of what this aspect might do

On the other hand, Mercury aspecting Lilith also points to someone who is charming with their words. They know how to attract people, and in this case-- show that they care/charm them (Cancer Lilith)

It makes him more nurturing, at least verbally and expression-wise. He shows/demonstrates that he cares for others, even if inside he might be a mess sometimes.

Scorpio Venus | 4′ Degrees | 1st Decan

Although Scorpio is detrimental in Venus-- you can’t deny that Scorpio Venus tends to have a charismatic appeal to them

Most prominently in their stage presence, their self-expression and art-form/beauty shines when they’re focusing on something they love.

To all the Scorpio Venus out there, having this placement doesn’t simplify you to just ‘magnetic appeal’ and all the other stuff-- you’re so much more than that.

In this house, we appreciate Scorpio Venus’s hard work they put into their craft/whatever they do (feel passionate about)

Having Scorpio in Venus can be beneficial and good for the individual too even if it’s detrimental sometimes

Scorpio-- ruled by Mars and Pluto, works hard (physically) and wants to see transformation in whatever they put their work into.

They never want anything to come easily to them, because if it does-- then that’s highkey sus and they’ll try to find something wrong with it (investigative)

That’s why Scorpio is detrimental in Venus-- because Venus expects things to come naturally, with ease, harmoniously. But Scorpio’s here like ‘no that’s sus, whats the value?’ (this is a part of it, there’s more but just to keep this concise we’re going to just leave it at that)

In a way, it’s give or take. On one hand, they have to learn the value/lessons of Venus here-- which is to be content and comfort by what comes forth to them harmoniously

If they don’t, they’re going to find themselves never feeling like it’s enough, or never thinking like they’re enough for others (Libra/Venus- social relationships).

It’s going to cause them to stew inside of themselves (Scorpio- fixed) or move onto the next big ‘challenge’ in order to figure it out

Transformative, in this case, means constantly moving even they feel themselves reach some kind of ‘stagnancy’

With Jimin especially, because his Sun and Mercury is in Libra (ruler Venus) it causes the divide to be even more frustrating to himself (thus, enforcing this ‘rift’ in the Moon even more)

It’s just a lot of trying to figure out what to accept when it comes to himself, other people’s compliments and harmonious attitude-- and his own struggle with wanting/needing to do more to please/attain more from others as well (Scorpio Venus and Libra Sun-- Libra Sun is fueled by social gratitude and relations, while Scorpio Venus social relation tends to pursue/want to do more for others at the same time)

Sometimes when receiving compliments, especially with that Moon-Saturn-- he might just go ‘oh. It’s ok.’ because he might think he needs to do more  (Scorpio Venus) to achieve those compliments/reception everyone has for him (conditioned values given to compliments)

Which is why it can be hard to truly, sincerely compliment him when he himself feels like he need to do more to achieve that level of recognition/admiration from others (Scorpio Venus-- always wants to do more in order to ‘receive’ more)  

Ultimately what the Scorpio wants is to be self-satisfied/fulfilled. Feeling like they stretched the limit and came out victorious.

It’s that sense of-- grinding hard for what they want and not accepting anything less for themselves, having a certain standard and pushing it, reaching it and feeling awarded for it.

It’s self-contained in a way, but at the same time when it’s in Venus there’s also a need to share these accomplishment/victory with others (Venus).

The self comes first, before anyone else (self-acceptance/feeling accomplished inside of himself). If there was something else in his chart like Sagittarius or Pisces it might point to others becoming a bigger influence. But considering Jimin’s placements-- if he doesn’t feel self-satisfied with himself, none of the recognition would truly sink in.

Anyways, on the other hand. Scorpio Venus has certainly helped him achieve his dreams and artistic goals.

Without Scorpio’s motivation and drive-- a kind of passion that comes with tunnel-visioning themselves into what they love, putting tremendous love and effort into things to make it ‘personal’ -- his craftsmanship and artistry probably wouldn’t flourish as well as it does today.

It brings precision to his overall placement, a tediousness that comes with practice (Scorpio Mars as well)

Scorpio’s persistence in achieving their dream combined with Libra’s perfectionist streak (if not handled properly can be detrimental and self-destructive) makes a deadly combination and impact on Venus

It pushes the planet of self-expression, of craftsmanship and beauty and social relationships to reach the impossible.

Venus-- although whining to be content on what they already have-- ultimately benefit from this Scorpio’s drive and goals.

Seeing how far he’s come from just learning how to dance in middle school, to being supported/helped by his teachers and parents, to finally being part of BTS-- and doing this professionally-- Scorpio Venus certainly helps fuel his self-confidence to an extent.

At the same time, the duality of Scorpio should also be touched on. They’re a mix of self-deprecating and also self-destructive. And because they fuel his Sun to an extent (Libra ruler of Venus-- Libra Sun/Mercury)

He might find himself associating his ‘good’ days to his performances, social interactions with others and placing value on himself for his Scorpio traits more so than his other placements (or confusing part of his Libra to his Scorpio sometimes-- muddled together)

It’s not a bad thing, Libra Sun do drive/work best when social climate/relationships around them are going smoothly. The problem here is Libra’s perfectionist streak combined with Scorpio’s need to find value/break limits.

Because they’re so intensely passionate about something, they tend to put a lot of value on it. The downfall of this is that their lows are really low-- emotionally low.

Jimin’s already an over-thinker, trying to find a solution to a problem that sometimes wouldn’t be solved through intellectualizing something (or by doing something).

His intellectual low/demotivation/lack of interest sometimes (disassociation) from his Gemini Moon ---and feeling emotionally stagnant/low (Scorpio placements) -- adds depth to his character, but also makes it a steep ravine to climb up from (intellectually and emotionally-- which affects him in other areas of life, possibly psychologically/physically as well).

The problem here is the downfall, reaching the top of the peak by any means possible Scorpio can be prone to falling back on themselves/relapsing into stagnancy again-- and that part scares them

Because Scorpio -- as much as they transform, always have a purpose/goal they rush from point A -> B and may find themselves seeking inner stability by controlling the output/exterior environment.

De-stabilization or hitting that stagnant low is part of what makes them feel deeply within themselves (dwell in their mistakes-- again, Libra Sun/Mercury perfectionist streak vs. Scorpio Venus need to achieve)

That’s where Venus comes in, trying to teach it a lesson in balance and learning how to handle the stagnancy.

While Scorpio might prove to be helpful to his Venus, learning how to accept/conquer and utilize his Venus fully will help him balance them both out at the same time.

Like I mentioned earlier (in the Libra Sun section)-- it’s not about compromising, it’s about conquering both. That’s where balance begins to happen-- and he has full potential to fulfill it.

Also, Scorpio Venus are very committed people (fixed sign/water) whether they feel strongly for something, or if it’s just by principle-- they stick by it through to the end.

Loyalty and faithfulness -- to themselves and demonstrated in other people’s action (consistency/integrity) is important to them.

That’s why he reacts intensely to selfishness or inconsistent actions, he doesn’t understand why other people can’t commit as hard as he does (or well, at least he understands it on a Libra level-- but emotionally, sometimes he’s filled with rage yknow? Especially with Gemini Moon who’s fully supportive of everyone until they’re smite/wronged)

When it comes to social relationship-- and putting effort into others-- he gets really riled up by people being spited/wronged for terrible reasons (there’s also a reason with Scorpio, but this is felt emotionally rather than intellectually-- with Jimin, it’s probably both)

Sometimes-- it’s hard for any Scorpio placements (especially in Mercury or Venus) to truly express how deep their emotions/values run.

It’s hard to translate it outwards? As much as they suggest it, or put so much effort in demonstrating it to others-- not everything gets pulled out.

It’s a part of transformation, like from inwards to outwards. It’s a personal struggle, and something they have to learn how to do throughout their lifetime.

Also, Jimin’s precision and ‘knowing his angle’s/body-line when he dances? That’s Scorpio Venus tenacity.

If they can control the outcome (usually through practice) then that’s an external stability to them as well (reassures them, sees progression, hard work paying off in their crafts)

Aspects

Venus (Scorpio) - Square- Uranus (Capricorn)

Sometimes seeking stability can come as a challenge to him, particularly when it’s tested against ‘the rest of the world’

He might feel like his creativity, self-expression or innovativeness is challenged by other people’s ‘better’ idea-- which is all part of self-doubt.

Dissatisfaction with himself and his efforts,  particularly when it comes to his craft which leads to fear of showing the fruits of his efforts later.

As much as he wants to establish himself (which he can work through definitely) there’s also the challenge of doing too many things at the same time

Gemini Moons (particularly with air signs from sun to mercury) makes him want to excel at many areas he touches on, but Scorpio Venus here wants to put his 100% into all of them as well

And that’s just-- that’s just draining sometimes. When he tries to categorize and systematically (Libra Mercury) put 25% into different areas of his life-- in hope that it’ll reach 100% in the end--

That might’ve contributed to feeling demotivated faster, or struggling to work through a particularly difficult problem/challenge in his artistic ability/expression when he’s trying to save his efforts for something else

There’s no doubt that Jimin would probably want to be a perfectionist in all of his crafts-- from dancing, to performing, to singing, etc.

But the problem with working out a system in which he has the time-- or motivation to do things properly (in his eyes) is hard to come by

Remember that one vlive where he said he’s frustrated with himself, and wanted to take a year off just to practice singing

Yeah it’s a part of that

Venus (Scorpio) - Trine - Lilith (Cancer) 

A great aspect, that definitely alludes more to his undeniable charm

To be honest, Jimin embodies a lot of magnetism in him because he has a combination of Libra (Venus ruler) and Scorpio that are kind of contradicting each other

As in, his Libra is in the areas where it’s not strictly ruling (unexpected charm/kindness) and then his Scorpio is in the areas where Libra would’ve possibly worked better ruling (surprisingly forceful affections)

The combination of this might’ve contributed to his allure, which is then magnified and possibly amplified by aspects to Lilith

Venus-Lilith aspects usually demonstrates a lot of inner depth to their person, especially from the perspective of those around them

With it being in trine, and his Lilith in Cancer-- it helps people feel like he’s truly more empathetic and there for others-- more than what his air-placements makes them out to be

Venus in a trine aspect here attracts others to him, in a way that truly feels like all his intensity (Scorpio Venus) is being used to connect to the other person

He readily accepts the darker side of their persona (Lilith) but also has an understanding/awareness (to an extent) of his own darkness as well (Scorpio/Libra)

It should be worked on, still. Because even if it’s in trine the Lilith can be hard to manifest/foresee completely

This Venus-Lilith aspects also creates depth to his feelings, it’s complex because it’s for a lot of different types of relationships.

Because he’s so committed and magnetic, and generally just a good person who gives others the time of the day (as well as staying dedicated/focused on them) -- he makes other people feel special, and that’s part of what the complication starts (like, being ‘flirtatious’ or ‘leading people on’ etc. etc. )

As fans, we know how Jimin pays special attention/dedication to the details. He makes sure to take care of the members in ways that are personal, he doesn’t have to go the extra length but he does.

That’s why part of his jealousy, or his whining/sulking (with Taehyung: about his Hwarang casts) is a by-product of his dedication to someone-- he wants them to feel reciprocated back (Lilith)

Maybe not to the extent of what he does for them, and he probably doesn’t even want to be shown in the same way (again, acceptance of others and of himself-- including personal style/flaws-- Lilith)

Any kind of reciprocation is accepted, but there has to be genuine effort and sincerity put into it (which is why he’s so affectionate with the members)

Scorpio Mars | 24′ Degrees | 3rd Decan Cancer/Moon

Relentless practice, especially when it comes to things he puts his minds to/feels strongly about.

Whether it’s academics (air placements-- Libra Sun/Aquarius decan-- being creative fuels him) in the arts, in his physicality (attractiveness) or his singing/dancing abilities (expression/craftsmanship)

Nothing ever comes easily to Jimin, not even popularity and sociability (he’s shy remember)

Thus why, when he has things he feels like he could exert himself into (physically/by doing) and able to achieve great results because of it (fuels his Sun/Moon-- social consciousness)  -- there’s a sense of pride/joy and personal identity with this placement (a natural affinity/fondness for it)

Not only is Scorpio a natural ruler of Mars (co-ruler along with Aries, if you’re looking at trad. astrology) his Mars placement here has some of his strongest positive aspects that helps him counteract some of the hardship he’s faced (in earlier aspects)

It’s also part of the reason why he tends to be passionate and meticulous about the things he exerts himself into, because it has such a positive force in his life (and is working great) he can tend to use it/apply it to a lot of his other problems as well (challenges with Libra Mercury/mind thoughts and communications -- getting out of a creative funk, emotionality, figuring himself out)

An obvious example of this Scorpio Mars is how much effort and concentration he puts into practice-- we know Jimin works tirelessly at his craft-- and it shows

Physicality and embodying even the smallest details (pulling movement through to his fingertips, being conscious of his angles, being aware of himself physically) is a part of Scorpio Mar’s tenacity, but it’s also the emotionality (emotional attachment/values) he puts/placed into developing these traits that makes it special

To Jimin, his Scorpio placements are probably a part of his pride-- Mars especially, because it’s something he can actively work on and figure out-- it’s something he can improve on and be good at-- and this probably fuels his Sun’s usually teetering ego into something more solid.

It offers a place to meditate on his efforts, a cathartic placement where he can just push and do what he needs to do in order to improve everything in his life as well

That’s why when it’s his vocal ability that makes him question himself (Libra Mercury rx) he can’t exactly figure out how to transform or work with it emotionally as well as this Mars

Technicality takes realm in Libra Mercury, but with this Mars there’s an easier mix of emotionality in the concentration/work flow he uses-- a part of it is because it’s influenced by the Cancer/Moon here as well

Scorpio Mars, when in the decan of Cancer may exhibit a sensuality and allure to their movement that is mesmerizing to witness

They’re fluid, both Scorpio and Cancer are like water surface tension: it can ripple or it can break, it can smoothen out in waves. It depends on what’s being applied to them

Same with Jimin’s movement, there’s a more balanced nature to his Mars

Cancer gives Scorpio forcefulness in it’s movement-- but also subtlety. The hard exterior shell (defense) to Scorpio’s tumultuous storm (offense)-- and a shared compassion (Cancer) and depth (Scorpio) that he can use to emote his performances as well.

It’s not just performance, it’s also his long-term goal and ambition as well-- partially it’s his reactiveness (like, natural instinct?) to just tackling new situations (ones he hasn’t experienced before sometimes)

With Jimin, it’s always with a positive optimism (Gemini Moon/Libra Sun) but the Cancer here also soothes out the naturally suspicious Scorpio

He may still be critical of other’s performance (like, analytical and give constructive criticism) --but he’s much more aware of other people’s feelings/what they can take (read the atmosphere/act appropriately) -- he won’t be too harsh on someone, not unless he’s provoked to feel that way

Like one of those people who put 101% into their craft, but with others they know they can’t force them to do the same-- so they’re generally supportive but dependable to others

It’s also a part of why he tends to take on the care-taker/big brother role in relationships, to Taehyung and Jungkook especially (with the age hierarchy) but with his older members as well (Namjoon, Yoongi, Seokjin)

With Jimin there’s an ability to read certain clues off of people, particularly their body language (Mars) or their self-expression (Venus) sometimes even their facial features (Moon) or the things they aren’t saying (from experience -- Gemini Moon/Libra Mercury-- relativity from experience but also quick-witted-ness)

As kind and compassionate he may be, he’s still striving to fully embody a certain self-satisfaction/self-fulfillment inside of himself-- particularly in his skills and his work ethic

He has the latter on lock, but Scorpio Mars here tends to make individual quite critical of themselves as well. When things truly matter to them and they feel like they’ve messed up, Cancer decan in this Mars makes them emotional-- and much more prone to crying

Because he identifies (and has aspects) to this Mars, and it’s influenced by Cancer/Moon-- he may be quick to cry when he’s sympathetic, misunderstood, frustrated or faced to confront someone he cares about (Gemini Moon-- quick reactions, but backed by real emotionality because of this Mars even if it isn’t fully understood by the person himself)

Basically, he’s probably a stress-crier when he’s truly overwhelmed with something or someone. It helps him function better.

Since he strives to find perfection in himself (Libra Mercury/Moon-Saturn) he usually finds inspiration from others around him whom he views as ‘self-sufficient’ themselves

That’s usually Jungkook or Namjoon  -- depending on what context it’s about (singing/song-writing/composing)

They share a similar chip on their shoulders, which is mutual self-decrepitation and externalized vulnerabilities of their own pains/flaws/weaknesses

This softness to Jimin is singlehandedly part of Cancer decan and how his Scorpio Mars is working in his chart-- which is, pretty powerfully.

Whilst Jungkook tends to be more vulnerable from his Virgo/Leo Moon and Namjoon is more active from his Libra Mercury-- they aren’t afraid to express their vulnerabilities outwards (compared to the other members) in order to grow stronger/gain strength-- which is probably one of the benefit that comes out of decrepitation (*if done through the gears/view of getting better, not for the sake of itself)

See, it’s because they share positive/uplifting placements as well that’s why they’re able to bounce back and recover.

Decrepitation in this case is just expressing and showing emotions, and fully being engaged in it before they come back and tackle life again.

With Jimin it’s his Gemini Moon (upbeat, quick, witty) Jungkook’s Leo Moon (needs to stew a little, but comes back with strength/positivity) and Namjoon’s Sagittarius Moon (muses things, introspective, serene but also tries it’s best to externalize a happier attitude for others)

The difference between Jimin to Jungkook and Namjoon, is that he’s made up of air placements on his front (luminaries + mercury) and therefore tend to overthink/over-analyze the problem much longer than the other two usually do (coming to a conclusive result).

Mutable signs/placements actually tend to do that a lot, Yoongi does this too (abundance of Pisces-- mutable) and those with mutable in their charts (Jin and Namjoon -- Sagittarius) may find themselves working on past mistakes tirelessly in order to figure out an ‘end’ to everything (wrap things up, ties lose ends)

It’s part of being the ‘jumping point’ modality into the angular signs (next sign over from mutables->Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Cancer) again-- especially if they have angular signs in their charts along with mutables (Jimin, Jin, Namjoon, Jungkook) tying these ‘loose ends’ is a part of fueling their angular’s power-- so it may seem like a thing that needs to be resolve (from the mutable side).

Imagine those classic Mario pipe games-- you walk along the platform (fixed) until you reach the ledge (mutable), if you can’t jump from the ledge onto the next platform (angular) you fall into a pit and wait for death to ascend upon you (it’s not like that-- but visually, it makes sense for this scenario/context).

So jumping at this point becomes a necessary thing, and that’s how mutables probably sees it (thats why they have a ‘movement’ to them, to help utilize it in order to make a successful jump onto the next thing -- and that’s why you can also jump above the enemy in order to escape them --‘flightiness’ to not confront any dangers)

With Jimin-- it’s probably like being stuck between two angular ledges (Libra Sun | Libra Mercury) he has to make one jump (mutable/Gemini Moon)-- so concentration and deliberation here is important, that’s one way to look at the placements here

With Jungkook (just to contrast) is like making two jumps (Virgo Sun | Virgo Mercury - mutable sign) and that’s like, not helping his nervousness one bit. Jumping is hard, in this game-scenario/realm it’s like jumping off a cliff.

You don’t do that shit mindlessly, you usually want to be sure it’s a safe spot to jump off from and that you’re gonna land ok (in water or something-- please don’t try jumping off cliffs!)

Anyways going back to Jimin, because he’s constantly plagued with an expectation (from himself) to do well (Libra Sun - sees it as an chance to do something great but also cautious/nervous at the same time) -- he may take more time deliberating on certain stuff instead of acting on it

If he hasn’t practiced for it, that automatically reels it into the overthinking realm (Libra Mercury/Libra Sun -- his expectations and his mind calculating the probability/views others have of him) he wants to perform well, almost flawlessly (Scorpio Venus/Mars) so his other placements have to back that up as well.

It’s co-operation between his placements, lifting one another up in what they want to do and excel him.

Scorpio here is the idol/the main star, it wants to win and it wants to do well. While Libra/Gemini is like it’s manager/agents who keeps a look out for things it could do (sometimes-- a million and one thing)

The strength of Libra really shines through when it governs the head of house (Sun, Mercury) because it listens and wants to collaborate/co-operate with his other placements without pride in itself (weak ego-- sun in fall)

That’s part of why the Venus and Mars combination in Jimin (Libra, ruled by Venus in his Sun-Mercury, Scorpio ruled by Mars/Pluto in his Venus-Mars) balances itself out, there’s enough pressure/give on both sides that they can work well together-- and thus, part of his magnetic appeal

It’s like he has a natural potential/capabilities to conquer these placements already and truly be his fullest self-- it’s just the complications (Moon-Jupiter, Moon-Saturn, Mercury rx) sometimes that needs to be understood and resolved, just like anyone of us-- that makes the journey a little more worthwhile in the end (again, Scorpio-values)

Scorpio Mars here also makes him receptive to physical affection, but his Libra Sun/Mercury helps him instigate them (much more than Jungkook who’s still a bit nervous about owning his physicality sometimes-- or rather it’s like, a general nervousness about his appearance/self occasionally -- Scorpio Mars-Virgo Sun/Mercury).

(Jimin doesn’t suffer from this because his Scorpio Mars/Venus are owned better -- aspected better than his air-placements)

Mars in this case, learns (bodily, through routine) how to show tactile affection. From the influence of Libra and Gemini’s gifts.  

With a general Libra-ness to him, and his Scorpio Mars in Cancer decan-- he’s easily swooned by people who seems capable and has an easy affection to them (makes his admiration known)

However, like earlier section-- these needs to be reciprocated at some point. Because Scorpio Mars in Cancer decan can easily make their scorn known if they felt like they haven’t been treated properly in a long time.

Their affections are easier given than earned (self-assured/self-empowered - Scorpio-- own’s willingness/power to drive themselves forward-- thus, they decide if they want to give you affection and they are in control of that decision here)

When Scorpio Mars are in their elements (exerting themselves more than their other placements/comes to the forefront) they are self-confident individuals who seems to draw people to them magnetically (charismatic-- especially in group settings, they stand out amongst others because they seem so self-assured, dependable yet independent-- and thats part of why they have that magnetic charm that seems so sexy-- applies to Namjoon as well/Scorpio Venus)

It’s also part of why Jimin tends to show his anger under a cool/calm exterior. With Scorpio in Mars, their personal feelings/will-power is internalized-- that’s where their strength comes from (compared to Aries who’s impact is more successful externally)

They have strong gut-feelings for something, with his Libra, it’s probably a lot about selfishness, lack of social consciousness, lack of emotionality/empathy for other people that makes them boil.

The way he spat it out (his anger) is more Gemini Moon-- he spills it out in one avalanche of hard-hitting words (Gemini- Mercury, verbalize his expressions of anger) but fueled by Scorpio Mars it’s often a lot more passionate, maybe standing up to emphasize a point/becomes more impactful sometimes (intimidating-- at least body language wise. Tension prone-- so maybe some veins popping especially if they’re significantly aggravated-- with that Cancer decan)

He’s probably also a lot more prone to crying afterwards, after externalizing his feelings. Scorpios are still vulnerable, especially when it’s not in the 1st decan.  

This is only in certain context and situation, doesn’t apply to every fight he’s probably been in.

With Jimin, it’s more likely he deals with aggression in a calm manner, or try to reach out to people emotionally and intellectually than prolong the fight for a long time (again-- he will cry if the fight goes on for too long, he’s already overthinking a lot of things, if he has emotions on top of that -- chances are, he’ll try to find a way to remedy it somehow)

  Aspects

Mars (Scorpio) - Sextile - Uranus (Capricorn) | 1′ Degrees 

This is one of his tightest aspect and it’s a positive thing to have (after all the stuff with his Moon)

Depends on how much he works on it and brings it out to front

But honestly, since his Mars is already working so strongly in his chart and it’s in Scorpio (natural ruler, trad.) having it aspect something is just relieving (especially in a tight orb)

When it comes to motivating/inspiring others with his own self-will

His demonstrations and just generally taking action (presenting self-drive/inspiration to work harder)-- he’s self-assured and a comforting presence to gain strength around

Jimin is just-- there’s a leader-like quality to him that’s undeniable sometimes, but it doesn’t intrude into the group age hierarchy because he already has Libra ruling his head and ego (co-operativeness)

With his demonstrations (Scorpio Mars) collaborating with his social consciousness (Capricorn Uranus) -- Jimin is more than perfectly aware, and capable of being a good role model for others (its kind of hard to explain skfn)

It’s-- more than just having a good head on his shoulders, he’s well-balanced in connecting back to reality with this aspect.

It counters his earlier doubts with himself (Sun-Uranus)-- because here, if it’s for others (and if he slows down his over-thinking) he starts acting more, and that self-assured quality he has in himself/in others makes him a great leader/person to be around

It also makes Scorpio intensity here and Capricorn Uranus more demonstrative in it’s ability, because it’s a pretty tight orb-- and it’s already kind of influential in his chart (of what we know w/o birth time)

His commitment to someone and demonstrating his preservation, his loyalty and his sincerity is heightened as well

Think of it like-- if you put yourself as Jungkook or Taehyung for a second-- and Jimin approaches you. Once you see underneath his bubbly-self and his giggly-nature, you start to understand through time (Capricorn Uranus) how demonstrative he’s been with connecting with you and committing to you (Scorpio Mars/Venus)

You start to appreciate him more, but in an approachable/inspirational way. And that’s the kind of charm he has on others.

He has a certain steadfastness to him, full commitment and full sincerity/reliability (maybe except for when he’s suffering from his own stuff-- air placements) to others/those he puts his loyalty into.

It also shows a lot more independence to him, because Jimin can come across as someone who’s people dependent on first glance (shallow evaluation on initial observation) but once you hang out with him for a while-- you start to understand that he’s not a doormat/pushover for others at all (even if he tries to keep harmony in relationships)

This aspects shows someone who has a lot of inner depth (Scorpio/Capricorn) that they can demonstrate/externalize outward pretty well (Mars/Uranus) but it takes time to manifest (Scorpio/Capricorn-- takes time to trust/comes out more when they’re more ‘settled’)

Jimin’s not a doormat, nor is he a push-over or is overly dependent on someone else. At least healthily (if his Libra/Scorpio isn’t fucking up) and in most context-- he tends to know how to keep a personal distance and separate obsession from self-sacrifice (as in, sacrificing his own independence vs. commitment to others--- Gemini/Scorpio)

It’s part of his hesitance but this time-- within this context-- it’s more like purposeful avoidance, Scorpio’s investigative and observational. Capricorn can be calculative and analytical.

But they both need time to commit to someone/something completely because there’s a strong sense of self/ego (in this case, pride in themselves) that makes them kind of-- watch others until the time is right (observe, kind of like circling an opponent/potential person they might want to commit to)

Being rushed or forced into something is only going to aggravate them, again since it’s Mars-- there’s some talk about pride here (especially with Scorpio Mars/Capricorn Uranus) that rushed nature isn’t going to appeal to them, especially if the argument is half-hearted or ‘not good enough’ (backed strongly enough) to be healthy for them both (again, Libra Sun coming into play-- co-operation, not compromise without consent on his side)

It’s a part of why Jimin is dominant with others as well, this independence when you think about Aquarius (which is also in his Sun’s decan) means being understood/others are receptive of them at least on an intellectual level.

Their personal freedom, style of expression, views and opinions on certain things (that they feel strongly about) should be accepted and valued, not put down or steered away from. It’s why he observes and circles instead of diving head deep into things sometimes, not just a sense of self-preservation but it’s an innate need to reach a true understanding with each other that he isn’t a doormat and he’s not going to compromise everything for someone else either (don’t take advantage of his kindness)

You can say it’s one of his best defense mechanism, mostly because it’s healthier and counteracts his own Moon stuff as well. This Mars externalizes a lot of his stress, and keeps him balanced/feet on the ground.

Mars aspecting Uranus also points to individuals who would benefit a lot more when they live life “a little on the edge”, by doing this they tend to overthink less and that would help him tremendously with everything else he has going on

Because Uranus talks about excitement, progressiveness, freedom and innovations-- being able to showcase those kinds of creativity through his Mars (dancing/performing at concerts) helps bring this aspects into practice (put it to the test and thus, he can work on it and see it flourish/feels better about himself as well)  

It’s also part of doing things (Mars) for the social benefit (Uranus) and being able to perform (Mars) is directly talking about it

Mars (Scorpio) - Sextile - Neptune (Capricorn) | 2′ Degrees 

Another great aspect!

This balances the earlier Mars-Uranus, although great by itself with Uranus involved there are restrictions and impulsivity involved as well

With Mars-Neptune aspect, there’s a lot more sympathy and understanding for others even if he doesn’t get/feel where they’re coming from

It’s kind of like Pisces? the ability to empathize and be receptive/accepting of others despite personal difference

This aspects although might not necessarily means he’s calmer, it definitely gives him an unexpected serenity when it comes to certain situations/context

Specifically when dealing with things that are out of his elements, he reaches out and tries to understand where they’re coming from without being too intrusive or dominating

It’s more like-- he’s passionate with his response, if you were to spill your life story out to him and it happens to have some sad bits-- he’s the type to listen well and really lets it sink in

Sometimes a crier, Mars here still talks about tears too y know (since it’s a part of ambition/drive-- wanting to fulfill something therefore some disappointments, meaningful on a primal level)

There’s a lot of compassion here, because his drive/goal (Mars) is connected to his subconscious/truth (Neptune)

It also makes him very charismatic and has a certain allure on stage, think of Jimin’s charisma as layers upon layers of different types of things.

From just the forcefulness and fluidity of Scorpio Mars/Cancer Decan, to the playful inventiveness and charisma of Mars-Uranus/Gemini Moon, to the more harmonious yet graceful nature of Libra Sun/Capricorn Uranus-Neptune

And now to this, dream-like, serendipity-esque quality of Mars-Neptune (honestly it’s a combination of Mars-Uranus/Gemini Moon as well in serendipities)

It brings more sensuality to his passion, smoothen out the rough edges of Scorpio but like a veil-- semi-transparent and still letting his inner force through.

Think of it like fabric moving across skin, like one of those classical statues in art museums you can see the person’s features though it’s draped ‘fabric’ (made from stone)

It’s that kind of beauty, and magnetism that this placement brings.

And since it’s also one of his tightest orbs, he embodies this a lot.

Flexibility is one of the thing this might embody, as well as just a general gracefulness to someone’s movement,-- dancing (Mars) become story-telling or a narrative (Neptune)

But with Jimin’s Scorpio-Capricorn-- there’s still a sharpness to him.

Think of the slut drops he does, that’s the kind of fluidity versus sharpness this embody. That kind of grace and easiness within one’s body and soul.

Also--- since he’s much more guided through this aspect, and much more compassionate, he tends to cry easier through a good sob story as well

Mars (Scorpio) - Conjunct - Pluto (Scorpio) | 4′  Degrees 

Aaaaaah

We have BOTH ruler of Scorpio here in planets that are ruling them

Even if the degree isn’t tight, the aspect still plays a large part in his life

Particularly when it comes to ambition and pushing himself

Although it can be harmful if his Scorpio is out of control (underdeveloped-- earlier in his life) when it’s gained some sort of understanding within oneself it can be a powerful driving force

He won’t settle for just ‘good’ it has to be ‘more than perfect’

And that goes into his effort as well, 200% or more every single time he does a concert or performance

That’s why Taehyung mentioned Jimin being one of the best performer he knows, because that matters to Jimin.

It’s where his effort goes into, his self-perception, his strength and how he evaluates himself/his limits

See, with Scorpio it’s like-- they’re always trying to push the envelope when they bite onto something. Delve deeper but also upwards as well.

It doesn’t matter how well they’re doing right now, they’re always going to aim to ‘wow’ others (for themselves) even further because that’s their inner-drive, their primal force and self-expression to them.

It doesn’t matter if they’re freight with self-doubt or overwhelming insecurities/confusion sometimes-- when they bite, they’ll do more than what’s necessary to push the limit/challenge themselves (for their own satisfaction)

For those who has the same placement/aspects (in Scorpio) look towards transforming yourself through helping others instead of letting it spill out of control

Sometimes, when they internalize it turns self-destructive and when they externalize it might turn into manipulation

Since you can’t control certain feelings/traits of this aspect-- try to consciously use it in a way that is focused on being forthright, selfless and morally conscious of others.

With Scorpios especially, there’s always an all or nothing mentality in the Venus/Mars placement so a constant reminder to yourself that there’s always a third option, or more options-- should help you use that calm observational quality a bit more.

Try not to manipulate others, or let your feelings/internalized resentment or subversive actions gets the best of you. Always try to choose the less of two evil (losing your head short term versus truly holding a grudge long term) -- it can be hard but it’ll be helpful to you!

Other Placements

Cancer Lilith

Libra Chiron

Sagittarius Juno 

Conclusions

You can’t deny that part of Jimin’s charm is his masculinity, it’s inherent in his posture, habits, even in his ‘feminine’ traits

Libra brings this out, you can’t deny how seamlessly he folds them together. Not just in his dancing, but in his every day life as well.

There’s just something about Jimin that makes him adorable (Libra/Gemini Moon) yet dependable (Libra/Scorpio) at the same time.

Libra’s perfectionist tendencies and insecurities is a part of seeing potential for something + working to fulfill it.

And the self-exertion to others is a part of their insecurities as well, but complicated even more because of other aspects/placements in his chart (again, context)

Sun-Neptune and part of his disillusionment seems to be a big topic in his life, it helps keeps the optimism alive but it’s also fearful of certain change in reality (potential “waiting for the shoe to drop”)

His Gemini Moon is the biggest part of his problem, because it’s interlinked to a lot of things (Sun, Jupiter, Saturn) that has a pretty huge influence over his emotional self (the orbs are one of his tightest even if it’s 3′)

Especially when you consider that he’s a public figure/idol so social planets influence on his emotionality/personal life tends to be a mess especially (nothing he can’t handle though, he’s already coping much better than before)

It’s already a mess by itself, although Gemini Moon can be hard to handle for natives who have them-- it’s not unworkable or unresolvable!

Please love your local Gemini Moon and air-heavy placements they need care and attention on things that matters (it may not be ‘conventional’ care but it’s still part of caring for others)

I think part of why people call him a demon is because we’re thinking of ‘caring’ as like-- the things water signs and earth signs provide. That’s conventional caring, it’s a part of self-care but it’s not the entirety of it. Fire/air signs ‘caring’ is different, but we don’t know how to cope/learn how to handle that

Understanding what they might be struggling with, or certain problems they go through might help us be more sympathetic and learn how to care for them better.

Have you ever met a Libra who’s not a little dramatic? They act like they’re normal but once you get to know them you Know they have a lot of flair to them (like a peacock) -- they just hide it very well sometimes, but they enjoy it. They enjoy having fun.

Oh yeah, and with Jimin if you look at his insecurities with singing (Libra Mercury rx and square Lilith) compared to his dancing/performance (Scorpio Venus/Mars) you can tell he’s trying to approach these things in ways that might not work out for him

Because Scorpio placements sees so much ‘success’ (what he considers success to himself) he’s trying to force his Libra to work in the same way Scorpio does-- which is to push himself harder, do more, figure it out, practice more. It doesn’t work the same way.

Libra need to be treated differently to truly reach it’s full potential-- Jungkook gets this, he balances Jimin out with his Libra Venus/Scorpio Mars.

Although he has problems himself-- Jungkook can help show him/demonstrate how to approach things differently than how Jimin usually does (like in Burn the stage where Jungkook gave some advice to Jimin before their concert on how to un-tense himself)

Other members does it too, Jimin learns and notices a lot of things he can accept/learn from the others. But his biggest enthusiasm is in what he can give to others as well.

Scorpio Mars plays a pretty large part in his life, they’re more benefic than malefic at this point (in this context)

Jimin’s truly a complex and layered person, he’s really like a rose petal where it folds over and over again-- but adds something new each time

He has a lot of depth to him, it’s like walking up one of those coiling towers, the stairs are the angular (Libra) the hole in the middle is the mutable (whoosh movement if you jump off-- Gemini) and you can stop at a platform/floor (fixed- Scorpio)-- every once in a while you observe something new about him every day.

It’s part of Gemini Moon’s littering sure, but it’s stabilized with his Scorpio Venus/Mars there as well.

Honestly, there’s a lot to discover about Jimin. And because he’s changeable/versatile (Gemini) we can look at the trend/bare minimum and work up from there.

Depending on what he chooses to show and what he’s finished conquering-- we may or may not get to see everything about him!

Rest assured it’s not like, malicious or something. He’s a normal person like the rest of us, and just as complex as we are as well.

Things like Scorpio jealousy/dominations, Gemini’s varying interests etc. probably should be addressed when there’s things that can be said about how to understand, accept and improve it. Instead of like, just a dead-end criticism y know?  

Also I’m sure I’ve emphasized this enough but he’s such a cry baby

The Mercury section is kind of short, but that’s mostly because I wanted to delve deeper into it (and some other part as well) in his mini series and I’ve already touched on it a little bit more with Namjoon

I touched on it with Namjoon’s Intellectualism and Kim Namjoon: Inner Planet Natal Reading more critically-- with Jimin, he shares similar problems but he has bigger issues to deal with (Mercury rx)

That’s it for Jimin’s Natal Reading!! I’ll be talking more about him in Jimin Season posts!

  I hope you enjoy! 💕 I’m probably going to re-work some part of this (clarify it more) in his mini series-- but for now, I wanted to get this out. I hope this is understandable/gives some insight onto how they work-- and maybe help you emphasize with the signs a bit more. 

There’s some personal flaws-- as we all have-- since Jimin is so externalized (with some contradiction on transforming the internal outwards) part of his personal flaws tends to be social stuff/things that others can see/affect others more. Therefore, it’s not as self-contained as like Virgos who has to deal with self-criticism/nervousness or Capricorn/Taurus stubbornness. It’s more outwards. 

Still-- I hope we love him for who he is and truly appreciate him 💕I hope this helps a little with that, and also loving Gemini/Libra/Scorpio placements as well 💕

have a parting gift before I go! 💕

[syzygyzip]

His Cage pt. 2: Wheel of Fortune

This essay may be read on its own, but it is a follow-up to another essay which psychoanalyzes the figure of Holy Knight Hodrick, a character from Dark Souls 3. In this section, the method and purpose of Dark Souls analysis comes under investigation, catalyzed by other images from Hodrick’s environment.

Hodrick as meta-critique of Freudian psycho-interpretation

Dark Souls 3 is known for its skillful, self-reflexive commentary; this game is keenly aware of the subculture that surrounds it. That in mind, what are we to make of the relatively blatant symbolic suggestiveness of Hodrick and the Greatwood? Perhaps their on-the-nose imagery is a reaction to analysis of previous Dark Souls games: the castration narrative is often cited in symbolic interpretation of Dark Souls 1, and the birth canal-esque passage of Dark Souls 2’s tutorial area is a classic introduction for people that play around with interpreting Dark Souls psychologically. And surely those myths and images are semi-intentional, relevant, and illuminating, but they are by no means the place to stop. This lore video points out how the vertebrae shackles collected by Mound-Makers resemble inkblots, the old psychoanalytic tool etched into the cultural memory as an image of Freudianism. One “reads out” of the inkblot the contents of their own unconscious. The understanding of projection, and the compensatory nature of the unconscious was one of the most significant discoveries at the dawn of psychology. Dark Souls could symbolize the principle of this discovery in a number of ways, but it is very intentional with its images, so when it decides to show us an inkblot in particular, the historical context is helpful. It’s an old and simple technique, which traces only the broad strokes of the analysand’s complexes. Likewise, Hodrick, the Greatwood, and Mound-Makers provide the interpreter with the rudiments for symbolic exploration of Dark Soul environments. 

Though this area is introductory, it is – like any part of the unconscious – inexhaustible in its depth and generous in its mutability. Consider the amorality of the Mound-Makers. Are they good or evil? Vicious or tender? Sustainers of maya or karmic accelerationists? There is so much room for the player to read into this allegiance a preferred moral perspective, at least partially determined by the general attitude the player keeps in regards to the slaughter of enemies. For the totally “unimmersed,” Dark Souls is a game and a game only, to be played, poked, prodded, to be mastered and speedran, and in that case of course any covenant is merely functional, there to surround and present a mechanic. For that player, the Mound-Makers are truly amoral. But for those who roleplay, who make at least some of their choices based on the imagined ethics of their avatar (despite extremely scarce moral responses from the game itself!), the issue is a little more complicated. Those who are simply in the habit of asking themselves, “Do I want to ally myself with this person’s values?” will not find an easy answer. On the surface, the covenant is abhorrently nihilistic, but a seasoned player may come away with a different take. So in this way the Mound-Makers, like the inkblot, are a measure of a player(/-character)’s feeling-involvement, which is itself born out of the player’s interpretational attitude.

When analyzing an object in a video game, always take into account the method by which it is encountered! Though the route to all this Freudian material in the Undead Settlement is a little arcane, it needs to be. The cryptic riddle about “Nana”, the obscure side-streets: these are there to make the player feel as though they are uncovering something secret. The obscurity is baked-in to make obvious that this material is repressed.

Though the riddle is strange, it is spoken aloud to the player, which is actually quite a telegraph by Dark Souls standards. The handiness of this secret is also metaphorically descriptive of this level of interpretation. If one stops at the purely Freudian: the mother, the father, the phallus, then they will project that schematic onto every available target. They will see reality as nothing more than a circus of oral fixations and castration dramas. If this stage of psychoanalysis is not passed through, it is nothing more than another cage to be carried around. It is the most rudimentary place to get stuck in the engagement with the unconscious.

The Armory of Symbols

What are we to make of the fact that the treasure of this area is the transposing kiln? This round thing, this simple, Arthurian symbol of the Self? It is both representative of the totality, and a totally profane and reductive simplification. I’ll explain what I mean by that.

On the one hand it is a true grail, because it has the capacity to turn the game’s hardest challenges into new tools. This is a fantastic life lesson, fundamental and perennially true. It is the pure gift of interpretation. It is said that the Buddha, in his realization that there is nothing outside of Nirvana, thereby saw that even the most torturous experiences of life, and the most unforgiving realms of Hell, were not apart from Nirvana, and that seeing them in this way thereby rectified this subjective experience of being in Hell. Once it was rephrased as Nirvana, it was always Nirvana, because all the suffering was born out of false views. Anyway, that is a very lofty height of interpretation, but one can see the boundlessness of the tool. That when the true cosmic appropriateness of an instance of suffering is groked, it is changed. On the other hand, transposition is a cheap parlor trick. It changes the essence of a boss into a weapon. It really only does one thing. Some of these weapons are useful, and most are flashy. It is almost mandatory for these weapons and spells to have a unique gimmick. So most of the time they convey to the wielder some unique flavor, some specific characteristic to consider, but even collecting such interpretations as these is merely a “building a collection.” Pinning down butterflies into a glass case. It is really no different than stockpiling corpses as Hodrick does. This device encourages the player to keep fighting, collecting, stacking bodies, finding new and interesting ways to kill people.

And ultimately, the same is true of collecting symbolism. Stockpiling a collection of unused weapons is no more or less a perversion that keeping a catalogue of archetypes for its own sake. The psychological interpretation of Hodrick, the Greatwood, and their unsightly tableau is relatively simple and straight-forward because it is meant to provide the player-interpreter with an introduction to the technique. The “game” of symbolic analysis is pointless if you spend your time taking potshots.

Wheel of Fate

Understanding the symbolism of the Mother through the eyes of Hodrick may be relatively simple, but the Undead Settlement also provides us with a more complex and transpersonal variation of the birth motif, localized at the far edge of town, hidden in a valley below. There we find catacombs tunneled into the rock, reminding us of the community of villagers who labor all day burying their dead. The Great Mother is thereby invoked, in her role which deteriorates form, which composts. The bodies decay, return to the Earth, and nourish new life. We see the skeletons sprouting branches in this dank place.

Also in the catacombs there are the dual figures of Irina the saint and a statue of Velka, goddess of sin, both of whom sit abandoned. The juxtaposition of these two sacred feminine figures is symbolically dense and deserves its own essay, but I mention it here as an echo of Kristeva’s philosophy that we passed by earlier: that of the child’s necessary bifurcation of the Mother into sublime and abject.

Velka alone is highly useful here, amplifying the Great Mother motif to a vast and cosmic context. Velka is a notoriously elusive figure in Dark Souls: she is never seen, rarely spoken of, her motivations are unknown, her ontological status unconfirmed, her objects and attributes seem to contradict each other. Nevertheless she is a crucial if not essential force in the world, and her presence can be inferred for those with eyes to see.

The main Velkan element that should be addressed here is her association with Karma, which is perhaps her principle attribute. From the beginning of DS1, she is introduced as governess of ethics, law, and equity. She explicitly oversees sin, guilt, and retribution. What practices are promoted through this governance? Mechanically, there are primarily two: keeping track of invasion penalties (in DS1) and resetting the world. If you incur penalty as an invader, the Blades of the Dark Moon will find you and punish you. So Velka prolongs and complicates PvP dynamics.

Resetting the world is an effect Velka provides that suggests forgiveness. If you aggro an NPC, and wish to get on good terms with them again, Velka allows that condition. In this way too, Velka is prolonging interpersonal relationships, but it is the relief of debt rather than the accruing of debt. Velka keeps the cycle going, she is like a keeper of the wheel that turns the age. In Dark Souls 1 a statue associated with Velka turns with the cranking of a wheel, in a room full of bonewheel skeletons. In Dark Souls 3, a similar statue turns with the cranking of a wheel in a room full of flies. In both cases, the wheel is hidden in a wet chamber behind an illusory wall. This suggests that behind the façade of the world, there is a primal place from which time is manipulated (though in this case it is but a single “tick” of the clock, an off-to-on switch which causes a fixed rotation).

Does Karma cause the rise and fall of the great ages? Is the distribution of karma the grease that turns the wheel of the world? It does seem to be that desire is what sustains the age of fire. Consider the enemies in the place where the wheel turns: bonewheels, who cling to their instruments of torture, to their suffering; flies, who bury themselves in a mountain of rotted food, a symbol of greed.

The skeletons who throw themselves into combat, and the flies which gorge on their rotting piles: either is a handy metaphor for Hodrick. His lust for the battlefield is another way of keeping himself stuck on the wheel of Samsara, collecting those shackles, representing the Velkan attachments of karma. Velka’s totem, the Raven, is found in flocks on a ravaged cliff in the settlement, among a wealth of corpses to be looted. The Raven is “associated with the fall of Spirit into that which is impure and enjoys carnage […] To raven is to plunder. This is what the word means. To have a ravenous appetite suggests greed and lust and insatiable desires.”(Valborg) Ravens keep the circus of suffering going!

Grist for the Mill

Velka is a bleak goddess, associated with “lifehunt”, the capacity to drain the essence of life, dreaded even by the gods. For this reason one of her attributes is the scythe, so she is something of a reaper figure. But we have seen she is also life-giver and sustainer, through her arbitrage of karma. This ambivalent nature is expressed by the Raven, which is a solar bird yet dyed deep black, who is cruel and enjoys carnage, yet in many myths is associated with the bringing of light and the creation of a new world.

The raven flies to and fro between the solar orb of eternal life and the dying eyes of man in time. He mercilessly pecks away at the delusions formed like veils over the cornea's shield until he penetrates to the darkness of the pupil's cavity and releases the invisible light within. (Valborg)

If the goal of Dark Souls is the realization of the Dark Soul -- the unique potential of the human being -- then perhaps Velka and her karmic processes are meant to midwife that birth as well. Could all the weight of karma, the pain of enduring a body, the cruelty of life’s entropic march … could it all be in service of birthing the Anthropos? It would explain why the Lords of Dark Souls are so antagonist to the Ashen One -- in Gnosticism and Buddhism the makers, the deities, are said to envy the actualized human being. And to be fair, the theme of surviving hardship and loss is central in Dark Souls’ reputation, and something to which countless players can attest, on practical or psychological levels (eg: “Dark Souls Helped Me Overcome Depression”).

Identity Riddles

I am the one who is disgraced and the great one. Give heed to my poverty and my wealth. Do not be arrogant to me when I am cast out upon the earth, and you will find me in those that are to come. And do not look upon me on the dung-heap nor go and leave me cast out, and you will find me in the kingdoms. And do not look upon me when I am cast out among those who are disgraced and in the least places, nor laugh at me. And do not cast me out among those who are slain in violence.

But I, I am compassionate and I am cruel. Be on your guard!

Do not hate my obedience and do not love my self-control. In my weakness, do not forsake me, and do not be afraid of my power.

-- excerpt from The Thunder, Perfect Intellect ca. 100-230

The abject Mother sits at the edge of the symbolic order, in fact it is her abjection that positions the boundaries of that order, yet it itself does not accept boundary. “Abjection preserves what existed in the archaism of pre-objectal relationship, in the immemorial violence with which a body becomes separated from another body in order to be” (Kristeva 10), referring to birth and symbolized by the Hodrick and Greatwood scene, but beyond that it also refers to the Dark Souls creation myth: the archaism in that case being the undifferentiated fog of arch-trees and everlasting dragons in the Age of Ancients. For there to be matter and objects, psyche (dragons etc) must be born into time. Once psyche has materialized itself upon the wheel of time, it cannot exist in immediate, gestalt totality – it moves and changes, expressing its fullness over aeons through its becomings. But everything must be accounted for; Karma only brings what is due. The mystery of how psyche is refined by its extension into matter will likely stay with us until the “end” of time. But with common sense we can suppose that the condition of duration allows things to be taken apart and put back together, and that at least in our mundane lives that process frequently brings about some freshness in the object. But neither the meaning nor mechanics of the larger karmic process can be groked, just as Velka and the Mother are archetypes who inherently escape the fixidity of signification. The ultimate force of taking things apart, entropy – symbolized again by the raven and its desecration of corpses – is something that has been deeply culturally villainized, and it usually takes a second to stop and consider how the diffusion of matter engenders the condition for new forms to grow.

[Ravens] tell of the renewal of the world in terms of the past which is yet to be. The unwanted Truth is told and its insatiable desire to express itself may produce terror and loathing in one who is not prepared to give up all to its insistent glare.

This is keeping with Kristeva’s view of the abject as the eruption of the Real into consciousness. Aside from their role in pecking open an aperture of light, crows have another specific job in the renewal of the world, as described in a number of myths: measuring the size and extent of that world, flying in “progressively longer intervals in order to estimate and report on the increasing size of the emerging earth.” The extremes of incarnation, the edges beyond which dwells the abject, are scoped out in order to create the blueprint; the raven brings knowledge of the schematics.

Interpreting by Attention

And what about our own schematics? We’ve thrown away our tools – the colorful cast of characters transposed into weapons of interpretation – but perhaps it’s time to pick them up again. We cast them off because we didn’t want to fix the Dark Souls myth through explanation. Archetypes cannot be superimposed, prefab, onto a tableaux of psychological symbols. Interpretation is rather the act of elaboration: flying, as the raven does, around and around a widening and changing arena, reporting back continually new understandings of what is appropriate.

The meaning of a game is determined by what a player thinks and feels while they play it. What decisions they make, what their attention lingers on. The game is the inkblot. There are special times when the game insists upon a subject, like a film: for instance, when the crank is turned and the Velka statue rotates. But such a sequence has a different meaning in games than it does in film, because of its context: it anchors a player to a single necessary and unchanging action in the context of a world that is typically responding to their decisions with nigh-unrepeatable novelty. The fixedness of the cinematic exposes the malleability of the rest of the game. “Velka” is an approximation, an aggregate; she is not the same goddess in each playthrough, the scope and the flavor of her influence is always changing – but it is always reflecting the actions of the player.

So how then, can we arrive at a judgment regarding Hodrick? We can’t, because again, each player’s experience of him is different. Earlier I implied that Hodrick is clinging to the world, out of horror and alienation in regards to the Mother figure, and that his killing spree is only building his attachments, keeping him fixed to the wheel of incarnation. So what is the difference between his wild manslaughter, and Velka’s own penchant for carnage and lifedrain? Only the intent:

The transformation of relationship can come about through a genuine understanding of the difference between murder and sacrifice. Both kill or suppress energy, but the motives behind them are quite different. Murder is rooted in ego needs for power and domination. Sacrifice is rooted in the ego’s surrender to the guidance of the Self in order to transform destructive, although perhaps comfortable, energy patterns into the creative flow of life. (Woodman 33)

But see, it is only the inner experience of the act that has authority. In my view, Hodrick’s actions are clearly ego-driven, but another player with different exposure to this character could come away with a different impression. And the archetype speaks through the individual encounter itself, not through lore videos, essays, or any other metatext. This is a crucial function of video games that bears repeating and is rarely addressed. Games commonly use the act of killing as a metaphor for the transformation of relationship (the very notion of EXP hinges on that). The unconscious is receptive to these mutations regardless, but the nature of the effect is dependent on the conscious attitude of the player.

Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror. Columbia University Press, 1980.

Layton, Bentley, ed. The Gnostic Scriptures. Yale University Press, 1995.

Valborg, Helen. The Raven. Theosophy Trust, 2013.

Woodman, Marion. The Ravaged Bridegroom: Masculinity in Women. Inner City Books, 1990.

[imperiumsaber-archive]

love your nero and how much fun you have with her! i like that she has a playful creative side, but you also create that depth of character and show how her past affects her. you convey her emotions well and i love the different dynamics you create. her bonds with my achilles and my gil are both very different and so interesting to explore. i think you're doing great and love seeing you on dash!

beep beep how’s my portrayal ? | Accepting

@resolutepath

CHARLIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -INSERT SOBBING EMOJI HERE- <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 I LOVE YOU CHARLIE!!! I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS!!!!! Thank you Charlie! <3 You are so sweet and I'm so very happy you love my girl. And I'm also happy that you get a kick out of MY HAVING FUN WITH NERO! -insert another sobbing emoji here- I'm ecstatic that you like all this development that I've done and am doing with my girl. People are always like FGO has really simplified her and now she's just an UMU and Padoru meme. But it's a mobile game that focuses on a LOT OF STUFF at the same time. Simplifications come and go. And I wanted to give so much more depth to her beyond the simplification and beyond her backstory in the EXTRA series of the FATE franchise. And I'm EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY happy that you enjoy both of my interactions with your boys Achilles and Gil. I LOVE your boys. Gil's a little shit, but I love him, and I know deep down Nero likes him too. Achilles makes Nero feel like she's found her musical soulmate man.

[the-desolated-quill]

Under The Lake - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

After the truly awful opening two parter with Davros, seeing Toby Whithouse’s name show up came as a blessed relief. While not all his stories have been great, he’s by far the most consistently entertaining of New Who’s writers. Even his weaker episodes like The God Complex and A Town Called Mercy had a lot of good things to offer. And now he’s writing a two parter? Even better! 

So what’s Under The Lake like? Well I have to admit I’m very disappointed by the lack of original thinking here. Not only is this yet another base under siege story, it also bears a striking resemblance to another Who story from about 9 years prior. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit two parter. Yes this base is underwater rather than orbiting a black hole and the crew are being threatened by ghosts rather than the Devil, but it’s basically the same. A military/scientific base that make a mysterious discovery. Writing on a wall that the TARDIS can’t translate. A distinctly ragtag bunch of misfits trying to survive. There’s even a bit where one of the characters gets sucked out of the base and we see their corpse bobbing about outside. The amount of recycling being done here is utterly shameful.

That being said, it’s execution that counts, and while Under The Lake isn’t particularly original or creative, it’s still quite enjoyable to watch. I really like the ghosts. It’s nice to have monsters that actually pose a genuine threat for once. The scene where one of them traps translator guy in an airlock was unbelievably tense. A lot of it is to do with the pacing and the atmosphere. Unlike The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar, which seemed to keep changing settings and plot points so fast it looked as though Moffat was suffering from some form of ADHD, Under The Lake slows right down and actually explores the setting. There’s a very compelling mystery at the heart the story with the ghosts and the mysterious transmission, and Whithouse really takes his time unveiling it over the course of the episode. It’s legitimately intriguing and keeps you engaged in a way the previous two parter didn’t. Under The Lake may be many things, but it certainly isn’t boring by any stretch of the imagination.

Characters are a bit of a mixed bag. I liked O’Donnell, played by Morven Christie. She seems like a less grating version of Osgood, with her fangasms toward the Doctor being mercifully kept to tolerant levels. Both Whithouse and Christie seem to be putting more effort into actually having her be a likeable and believable character rather than just an obsessive fangirl with a Time Lord fixation (Moffat, perhaps you should take notes). I also liked Cass, played by Sophie Stone. She’s intelligent and level-headed, plus it’s nice to see Doctor Who include a deaf character into one of their stories, specifically a deaf character who isn’t portrayed as an innocent or naive victim. Although, considering this story is set in the early 22nd Century, you’d think deaf people would have better means of support other than relying on another person to translate for them (I mean for Christ sake, the hearing impaired have better tech to help them here in the present day). The other characters however are a bit bland. Cass’ translator has no character other than just being Cass’ translator, Colin MacFarlane’s character gets killed off just minutes into the episode (what a waste of a great actor) followed by the stereotypical Evil Capitalist, and finally you have a Arsher Ali as Bennett who’s just your generic nerdy nice guy who may or may not have a crush on O’Donnell (I don’t know. It’s hard to tell) and doesn’t really have any good material to work with. It’s a two parter so maybe he’ll get more stuff to do in the next episode, so I won’t dismiss him just yet.

Then of course there’s the Doctor and Clara, and I can’t say I’m very happy with what’s happening with them. Clara is once again getting on my nerves, but Moffat and co seem to be trying to spin her behaviour into some kind of character arc. Apparently she’s becoming more and more like the Doctor, yearning for monsters and adventure, presumably as a form of escape from her unhappy home life and to distract herself about Danny. This could be interesting except for a few problems. The most obvious being I don’t care about Clara in the slightest. She’s never really had any real agency of her own, her character almost entirely revolving around the men in her life. Even with Danny dead, her life still utterly revolves around him, and her solution is to become more like another male character in her life; the Doctor. And I’m sure you all know how I feel about Clara becoming more like the Doctor.

Its the smugness I really can’t stand, and I fail to see what the writers are trying to accomplish with this. One bit that really got me was when she and the Doctor come across a room where clearly some kind of fight had taken place, and her first reaction is to press the Doctor for a high five. It just makes her come across like a callous bitch. How about showing a little bit of concern? The crew could be injured or dead for all they know. Flatline had the same problem with Clara being more concerned with how good she was at being the Doctor rather than the lives that she failed to save, which I think any normal person in her position would be more concerned with. I especially don’t like the implication that this is how the Doctor acts because it simply isn’t. I’ve never liked the idea of the Doctor actively looking for trouble because I feel it makes him slightly less endearing. In the classic series, he was just a traveller who would occasionally help people out should they require his aid. I’ve always found New Who’s take of the Doctor being some kind of thrill seeker who craves danger and excitement to be an over-simplification (same with the Doctor’s knee-jerk reaction to guns and the military).

Speaking of the Doctor, I’m glad to see we’ve shifted away from the forced and awkward goofiness in the previous two parter (although sadly the sonic sunglasses are still with us). This is the kind of material Peter Capaldi is good at. This darkly sarcastic humour suits him so much better and I wish they’d stick to it. However, believe it or not, I feel Whithouse may have taken the Doctor slightly too far with it. I’m sorry, I know quite a few people like the gag, but I HATE the whole bit with the cue cards. The Doctor wouldn’t be this clueless about human empathy and it twists this Doctor’s character too far in an unnatural direction. Think back to episodes like Time Heist and Mummy On The Orient Express. Twelve is not incapable of caring or showing empathy. He’s clearly able to. He just doesn’t see it as a priority during moments of peril. You can see on his face brief flashes of concern, but unlike Ten and Eleven, he chooses not to express it so he can focus solely on the task at hand. So the whole idea of him needing cue cards to console someone just doesn’t ring true for me, plus after Series 8 with Twelve constantly seeking Clara’s validation for every little thing, the last thing I want to see is a repeat performance of that.

Under The Lake isn’t a bad episode by any means. Granted it’s not very creative or imaginative, and most of the characterisation is quite weak, but it’s still watchable and at times quite engaging. I was tentatively looking forward to Part 2, but then the episode ended with the Doctor’s ghost showing up as a cliffhanger, which caused me to groan. Not only am I getting so sick to death of the Doctor’s impending doom being teased over and over again like a broken record, it also completely strips the story of any potential threat because we know there’s no way the Doctor is really dead. Either the ghost isn’t real or Clara is going to find some miraculous way of bringing the Doctor back to life, and possibly everyone else too.

Sigh. We’ll just have to wait and see.

[gamersonthego]

Chase Koeneke’s Top 10 Handheld Games of 2017

2017 represented a big shot in the arm for handheld gaming. As the Vita clings desperately to life support, Nintendo has graced us with the Switch, and with it, a bevy of AAA titles not normally seen in the handheld space. Maybe it’s not fair to pit Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey against something like Iron Marines, but hey, this is the shot across the bow. It’s time to step up your handheld game in 2018.

Honorable Mentions: The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Puyo Puyo Tetris

Personally, I never feel good about double dipping on a game come GOTY list time. I love The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth on the Vita, and Afterbirth+ is even better on the Switch, but it’s pretty much the same game. The same can be said about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Dragon Quest VIII is excellent, but it’s a straight port of a 13-year-old game, and even if it’s one I experienced for the first time in 2017, I can’t in good conscience count it here on this list (though watch me do just that for my #3 game this year). And while Puyo Puyo Tetris got its stateside release this year, I’ve been plugging away at my imported Vita copy for the better part of two years. It’s an essential Switch title, but I didn’t play the game much in 2017 and to put it in a list of my favorite games this year doesn’t really make sense.  

Dishonorable Mention: Fire Emblem Heroes

I think I played more Fire Emblem Heroes than any other game this year. I know I spent more money on it than any other game this year (and probably more than any other game ever). And while I really enjoyed my time with it, its money-sucking greediness became too much for me to bear. I had to quit the game cold turkey and delete it from all my devices. It’s a truly special game, completely marred by bad business tactics, and that is heartbreaking. And while it has been disqualified from this list, its impact deserves some sort of recognition, even if that’s in the form of a warning..

And with that out of the way, let’s get to the top 10!

10. Monument Valley 2 (Mobile)

While it didn’t quite grip me as hard as the first game, Monument Valley 2 still manages to put together stunning visuals with simple, but effective puzzling. And man, it’s really fun to make those kaleidoscope/snowflake things. Make sure you listen to the GOTG episode about the series with Bobby Pease too.

9. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Switch)

I laughed right along with the rest of you when the images for this leaked out online before E3. This seemed like a bad idea from the start, and I didn’t much trust Ubisoft to execute the idea. But Kingdom Battle is a surprisingly strong strategy game. With simplification where you want it and depth where you need it, there’s a lot to like about the way this game plays. Forcing you to keep a Rabbid in your party at all times and less than interesting puzzles outside of combat keep this from greatness, but this a great foundation to build upon.

8. Iron Marines (Mobile)

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Kingdom Rush and its developer Ironhide Games. And I’ve been waiting for Iron Marines to release for years after playing a demo at PAX East in 2015. Now that it’s here, I can say that yeah, it was worth the wait. It’s the best RTS game on mobile and builds on Ironhide’s strong tower defense roots. And if you need to hear more, I spoke with two of the developers earlier this year for GOTG.

7. SteamWorld Dig 2 (Switch/Vita)

I’ll be honest, I had misgivings about SteamWorld Dig 2. I loved the first game for its condensed experience. Hearing that the sequel was going to be much bigger worried me. Was Image & Form about to bite off more than they could chew? Thankfully, my worries were completely unfounded. SteamWorld Dig 2 is fantastic. A solid platformer through and through that lives up to the SteamWorld name. Now we just need a SteamWorld Heist 2 on Switch.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

I am notorious for my inability to get through Zelda games, and Breath of the Wild is no different. But even in my relatively short time with the new game, I’ve come to realize how special this series really is. There’s a transcendent quality to exploring Hyrule, taking in this massive world that feels so natural and yet is so densely and elegantly packed with life and mystery. I don’t like the weapon degradation and I think the combat is a little too simplistic, but those are small gripes when you consider how this game makes you feel on a moment-to-moment basis. It’s not my favorite Zelda game, but it is the best Zelda game. Maybe one day I’ll finish it.

5. Golf Story (Switch)

I. Love. Mario. Golf. Specifically, I love Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color, which smartly combined RPG mechanics and a thin, but enjoyable story into a golf game. Since the GBC release, Mario Golf has become increasingly generic, dumbing down the RPG mechanics and losing what made it special. Golf Story is the second coming of Mario Golf GBC. The writing is top notch, it brings back the RPG mechanics I’ve been missing and dammit, the golfing is pretty good too. For Sidebar Games’ first release to be so strong out of the gate, I’m just so impressed. Now let’s tackle a baseball RPG please.

4. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

Nintendo really knocked it out of the park this year. First they launch the Switch with the best Zelda game ever and then they follow it up with one of the best Mario games ever. Super Mario Odyssey manages to be a love letter to both 2D and 3D Mario games of old while simultaneously raising the bar of what a Mario game can be. Everything is just so inventive and imaginative. The simple act of moving Mario around the different kingdoms is sublime giving you the freedom to do some spectacular platforming if you dedicate yourself to mastering the controls. And some of the later kingdoms are too good to spoil here. You really need to experience them for yourself.

3. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)

Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates were my favorite games of their respective years of release and I expected Echoes to be in a similar conversation this year. And it absolutely lived up to those lofty expectations, but not in the way I initially thought. Echoes is way more than a remake of an NES game. It deftly weaves in the story, themes and mechanics of that game into a modern video game, managing to feel faithful to its source material while never being tied down by it. Whereas Awakening and Fates are built from a rich history of mechanics from past Fire Emblem games, Echoes is almost experimental by comparison. Not all of those experiments pay off, but enough of them do that I truly hope the next new Fire Emblem game takes some notes from Echoes (and I hope more Fire Emblem remakes of games that never made it stateside appear in the future. May I suggest The Binding Blade so we can all see what our Smash Bros. friend Roy was up to?)

2. Sonic Mania (Switch)

While I’m a Nintendo kid through and through, I’ve always preferred Sonic to Mario when it mattered. Sonic 2 beats Super Mario World any day. But Sega has continually missed the mark on giving fans the good 2D Sonic follow up we’ve been craving…until now. With the help of Sonic’s most hardcore fans, Sonic Mania is the perfect sprint down memory lane. Remixes of old stages and music, brand new ideas that would feel right at home on the Genesis and some incredible references and callbacks to even the most obscure Sonic games and lore, Mania just nails the Sonic experience from top to bottom. My only complaint is those damn blue sphere bonus stages plucked straight from Sonic 3. Those were terrible then and they’re terrible now.

1. Monster Hunter Stories (3DS)

This one was a surprise to me. I’m not a Monster Hunter fan. I just can’t get into them. But a traditional JRPG using Monster Hunter’s cool creature, armor and weapon designs intrigued me enough to give the demo of Stories a try. Over 100 hours later, and I think it’s fair to say the game hooked me. The combat is the star here. While you fully control your character, your monster partner has a mind of its own. Only by gaining kinship during battle can you call out specific attacks for your monster to do. Whether you or your monster are calling the shots, the action takes place in a rock, paper, scissors style battle, but unlike Pokemon’s type advantages, each monster has certain tendencies, and picking the right move can cause additional damage to the enemy while taking minimal damage in return. But sometimes monsters go against their tendencies, making each fight a unique chess match that stays engaging throughout the experience. Like Dragon Ball Fusions last year, this game came out of nowhere and blew me away. As developers continue to embrace the Switch, this may be one of the last great RPGs for the 3DS.

[pigballoon]

Battle of the Sexes

(Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, 2017)

Ever since their days directing music videos, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have had something of an eye for nostalgia in their work. From All Around the World by Oasis, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Otherside, and the iconic and immortal Tonight, Tonight by the Smashing Pumpkins, the majority of their outstanding work in the field was heavily influenced by days gone by.

Now, 5 years on from Ruby Sparks, their sort of under the radar second feature, the husband and wife duo bring said penchant for the nostalgic to their big screen work with a Simon Beaufoy penned chronicling of the most famous tennis match ever played.

The movie is, as most movies of its kind tend to be, pretty much trash history (that’s just going based on well known facts, and not the other assorted rumours) but it is also, as the best movies of its kind tend to be, one hell of a fairytale. For while the movie seems like it simplifies a lot of what went on during this historic period in womens tennis, it never does so to the extent that it loses that something special that ensures it remains engaging drama.

Central to that is the fact that it makes neither demon of Bobby Riggs, nor saint of Billie Jean King (villain duty instead reserved for Jack Kramer, and Margaret Court). Riggs proves probably the most interesting character in the film, one that might have deserved a movie all of his own (even if it still manages to feel like something of a simplistic skirting over the surface of the man) and in being so he provides Steve Carell with a role tailored for him. Carell like few other movie stars around has the ability to play and blend both the achingly soulful, and the side splittingly hilarious, so he’s very much in his element with this one. 

Across the court Emma Stone is the heart and soul of the movie, and while the representation of King also feels like something of a simplification of the character (she’s another who could easily make for a magical movie all her own) it still gets enough of that conflict between the confused woman, the tennis champion, and the cultural trailblazer to make her an interesting enough figurehead for the movie, even if I feel like (perhaps in order to remain more engaging to a wider audience) they definitely stop shy of going too deeply into all of that, focusing instead (again) on the more outward, surface level relationship stuff.

Still, as I said, it works well enough at being what it is to avoid earning too much criticism for what it might have been, that’s thanks in large part to the wonderful cast, with Stone and Carell aided by smaller, memorable turns from the magnificent Sarah Silverman doing so much with nothing, Andrea Riseborough, Alan Cumming (hamming it up like few others can), Bill Pullman, Elisabeth Shue, Natalie Morales, Jessica McNamee, and maybe best out of everyone, Austin Stowell, playing a role that feels like an apology, his Larry King’s role in history so massively downplayed in the story that they’ve instead gifted him with the most sympathetic, likeable character in the film.

Yet I think ultimately you have to circle back to Dayton and Faris when handing out ultimate credit. Their production is so smooth that the niggling problems someone might take with Beaufoy’s writing don’t matter, their handle on their performers so strong, things handled with a lightness of touch that keep proceedings palatable for the masses, while at the same time injected with enough weight that this all still feels like it matters.

Battle of the Sexes certainly does a great job at getting across the enormity of the event it recreates, the larger moment in history that surrounded it, and at least a little of the complex nature of its central figures. It proves a great time at the movies, a great sports movie (whether you believe what took place was sport, and not something closer to pro wrestling ^_^), and at least an interesting look back at history, even if it fails to go quite as in depth as the material might have deserved.

[sylleboi]

𝕻𝖗𝖎𝖒𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉𝖘 | 06/01/20

Morning:

During the first part of the morning, after returning from Christmas break, we went over the past brief, quickly evaluation the positives of it and what could be improved upon.

What went well:

Excellent progress of rendering skills in both turnarounds and Pose to Pose animations

Establishing narratives based on imagination and creativity within a given context.

Even better if:

More mapping of out own ideas, documenting ideation through sketching a range of mind mapped ideas after the first week of the project.

Drawing more from observational references to improve hand to eye co-ordination.

Experiment more in alternative mediums

Analyse imagery and effects of imagery as opposed to just saying we like it. Consider why research is so important as opposed to just doing it because you “have” too.

Mondays from now on will be more theoretical, and Wednesday mornings will be for drawing.

- - -

𝕻𝖗𝖎𝖒𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉𝖘

In this brief, “Primitive Worlds”, we are going to focus on primitive techniques within art, learning basic skills by using ones hands to create something. In general, the brief is focusing on physical three-dimensional elements.

Looking at old artwork found from thausands years ago. Cave painting. Get inspired; Neolithic Figure “The Thinker”

News & The Brief

Ev4′s for Trip to British Museum

Have you paid for the trip?

Whats the focus for term 2 / any changes? - Wednesdays Dave will not be able to teach us.

Longer brief means more depth & exploration - Challenge yourself, be organised and stay up to date with our studies at all times.

Checking your grades and reappraising targets

Our Aims & Objectives

To be able to analyse and research a 3D and a 4D problem in Art & Design.

To use and integrated approach to 3D & 4D problem solving.

To use evaluation to support solutions for 3D and 4D problems in Art & Design.

* Problem solving is defined by your ability to diagnose and research a brief, experiment with processes and then present a finished and rendered outcome that clearly answers the brief set.

Visual language

Primarily we are looking at shape and form for this brief, both things that can successfully be applied to something in a 3D or 4D space, such as clay art.

What will you learn

How to create 3D sets and dioramas suitable for animation but specifically illustration

How to create three-dimensional figures/objects in ceramics and other resistant materials

How to experiment with stop motion & rigged animation that develop the range of animation processes you can utilise as you process

About primitive art and the connections to modern illustrators and practitioners

Key terms for animators, model makers & set designers

The challenge (the problem you need to solve):

Your challenge is to firstly research primitive art works, figures and artefacts and the design a diorama (a set piece that has a story going on, most often a still image, lots of little objects, posed) of your own world based on the inspiration. Through a series of ceramics and wood workshops you will create characters, creatures, sets and accessories that can all be compiled to create a diorama. This will then need to be photographed in the studio. The final images will then be made into the class book entitled “Primitive Worlds”·

You will also provide a 50-100 word piece of creative writing to accompany this.

We looked at three different sculptures sharing the look of being stereotypically primitive. (not polished and doesn't feel completely finished, simple and rough);

Simplification of shape and form allows the people looking at it to add their own interpretation of the sculpture. In colour are they all just one base colour, all earthy. Exaggeration of form, they all share a morphemic kind of feel.

Background/Scenario:

In this case you will need to research 3D primitive art works dating back to the Neolithic* period. We will visit the British Museum to draw from examples, and you will then try to connect this research to contemporary illustration work. A key example we will look at is Shaun Tan

Primitive Art: The term “Primitive Art” is a rather vague (and unavoidably ethnocentric) description which refers to the cultural artefacts of “primitive” peoples - that is, those ethnic groups deemed to have a relatively low standard of technological development by Western standards.

*This term is usually not associated with developed societies but can almost definitely be found in most cultures.

Neolithic: Neo means “new”, Lithic meaning “stone”- New-Stone (stone age/new stone age; creating something new from old stone)

Key research

Shaun Tan and his book “The Sining Bones”. 

Independent task - 30 mins

Find examples of Neolithic Figures online

Terracotta Horse from the Tang Dynasty

Circa AD 618-906

Terracotta Horse from Northern Wei Dynasty

Circa AD 386-535

Find examples of Shaun Tan’s work for “The Singing Bones”

Find examples of Henry Moore and Antony Gormley (Find out who they are too)

Henry Moore:

British Henry Moore, born 30 July, 1898 in Castleford, Yorkshire and died on the 31 August, 1986 in Perry Green. He was an important figure in art, best known for this bronze figures that can be found around the world as public art work. He was the son of a miner, and the seventh of eight children.

Below are some examples of his work:

Antony Gormley:

Antony Gormley is a British sculptor, born in London, 1950. He is well known for his many sculptures displayed as public pieces of artwork around the world. In the biography on his website, his work is described as something “(...) that investigate[s] the relationship of the human body to space.”

Below are some examples of his work:

After being introduces to the task of the afternoon; being to create some quick sketches of golems in our sketchbooks whilst keeping in mind the brief focusing on neolithic artwork, we immediately after went and met up in the ceramics workshop. Here we would be introduced to the basics of safety while using the different tools, as well as what techniques we should be using when working with clay and ceramic tools.

Below is a picture of some of the ideas I came up with:

One of the first things we went over where all the different materials were located in the workshop, including brushes, clay wire cutters, loop tools, knives, shaping/modelling tools, sponges, rolling pins, slip and so on.

Personally, learning all the techniques was quite a mouthful, especially because I haven’t worked all that much with clay in the past; maybe only once or twice a long time ago, but it felt more like a refresher, than a wave of “I’m new to all of this, what is going on...”, which was comforting to some extend.

By the end of the term, we are meant to create something like what is shown below; a completed character (or multiple characters) that have been fired:

For the first lesson we were going to use stone-based clay:

For the stone-based clay, we were to use HTG reclaim slip. Slip is simply described as a the glue used to assemble different pieces of clay together so it sticks and stays put during and after firing.

After the introduction of learning the basic techniques, most notably how to create something hollow, we began working and testing the medium out for ourselves.

I decided to go with the figures I sketches, outlined below:

For this golem, I decided to try out incorporating a mechanism where the face has two different expressions; the face is supposed to be able to spin around within the figure so the face can be changed to ones liking, but this would first be put together after firing the clay.

Out of the figures shown in the picture above, I made the unicorn, the tall figure to the right and the two short and stubby ones in the front.

Afternoon:

We did some work, doing Unit 9: Opportunities for Progressions in Art & Design, all things that help us work towards building an understanding and idea of what we would like to do after finishing this or the extended diploma for Animation & Illustration.