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andrewwtca · 2 years ago

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a Soriku Endgame, Actually essay on Light and Darkness

Also available to read on Archive of our Own.

Kingdom Hearts, with Sora and Riku in particular, has been on my mind as of late. It’s always been on my mind, to be honest, ever since I first got into the series. It’s grabbed my hand and hasn’t let go, especially with all the new lore. And yet, I’ve been struggling to make peace with myself.

On one hand, I don't want to get my hopes up, thinking that Sora and Riku would ever become something 'more' or that what I’m seeing is anything other than in-depth speculation. I've had my heart broken before and this series means too much to me for me to foolishly dive in like this.

On the other hand, I can't ignore what the story is telling me, as a literary analysis enthusiast and as a diehard fan. There have been parallels established, setups finally going through, and Nomura has said before that “this series is not intended to be child-focused, and so the complexity of the story is purposely made prominent.” I can’t keep turning a blind eye, knowing everything I know, thinking everything I think. If I did, I feel like I would be doing a disservice to both my experiences with the series and my experiences as a person.

So yeah—Soriku Endgame, Actually. Today, I’m arguing its canonicality because of the balance of Light and Darkness (or lack thereof) throughout the series. Please enjoy my messy and impassioned essay!

a sky of falling stars

The Children of Destiny is a new concept introduced to us in the finale of Dark Road. To summarize, they are people with the ability to feel what others feel, connect, and become one with them—empaths with Light.

It appears that the Children of Destiny are all descendants of Ephemer, characterized by silvery hair. There's Ephemer, there's Baldr, there's Xehanort—and, oh yeah, there's Riku.

Upon the release of the finale, a lot of people—myself included—quickly jumped to the conclusion that Sora is a Child of Destiny, which isn't all that wrong. If we're going by what the games have given us, Sora is very special. What other character has housed five different hearts inside his own? What other character had an entire arc in Birth by Sleep talking about how he felt the pain in someone else’s heart?

But Nomura has insisted since the beginning that Sora is an ordinary boy, that he wasn't born with anything special, explaining that he “had the premise that a heart like Sora’s exists within all the players. Sora is ‘ordinary’, therefore everyone is ‘ordinary.” (Before anyone argues Nomura is just going through a retcon, I doubt he would go through with one to this extent, given how he has had the ending to the Dark Seeker Saga in mind for years.)

Riku, on the other hand, has not been given this kind of treatment at all. He's always been painted as a golden child, better than Sora at everything, being the original bearer of the Keyblade. For crying out loud, he had a light in Birth By Sleep that was seen from space, not Sora. If you factor in bloodlines, it wouldn't be too far off to theorize that Riku is a descendent of Ephemer's line. Riku isn't who most look at first, but all signs lead to him being a Child of Destiny.

But that doesn't explain Sora at all. He may not have been born special like Riku, but he's special somehow. After all, Nomura did finish his ‘Sora isn't special’ line with, “I figure even if you’re ‘ordinary’, for something important, everyone can exhibit a special power just like Sora.” Aqua even calls out that Sora is the one who can set things right, the boy who can touch others’ hearts.

And that is where the necklace theory comes in.

Sora has always been associated with royalty, sitting on a throne in box art or having crowns plastered around him—or on him. From his debut, Sora has had a crown necklace that has never been explained. Despite wearing it in every outfit, it's never been addressed how it came to be.

It’s after Aqua and Terra came, judging by the BBS cutscenes of him and Riku. But it’s before KH1, as that's when his journey began. That’s a huge timeframe, from being a kid to deciding to leave the islands, but it's easy to pinpoint a time when considering something the games still never fully fleshed out: the meteor shower.

In Chain of Memories, Sora and Riku fight over this memory they supposedly both had of Namine one night during a meteor shower. One of them promised they would keep her safe, and it's all cute until we remember that Namine wasn't actually in these memories. And Namine can't make any new memories—she can only rearrange old ones.

Sora and Riku both share this memory. And the way they fought over this memory gave it the utmost importance. It becomes obvious at this point that the both of them witnessed a meteor shower, and given what we know about their dynamic (and that's a lot), it would make sense to assume it was Riku promising Sora to keep him safe—almost like a charm.

The necklace theory has been around for years, but it’s only after the Dark Road finale that it was expanded upon (or perhaps it’s just me and maybe three others who think this, but I don’t mind one bit.) It isn't just Riku promising to keep Sora safe. In giving Sora a necklace, a crown, Riku has metaphorically crowned Sora. He has brought Sora up to his status as a Child of Destiny, putting all his love into a charm that he hopes can keep Sora safe.

There’s a flaw in my logic though, trust me, I know. I just said that this meteor shower didn’t happen until after BBS, and yet it’s during the game that Sora feels the pain of others, it’s during the game that Aqua says that Sora is going to be the one to set things right. But I still stand firm in my belief. Riku has always been painted as the golden child, the Child of Destiny, but his love for Sora runs deeper than his love for anything else.

Riku’s light is the one that brought Terra and Aqua to Destiny Island but Riku’s light shines for Sora; sort of like step one to Sora’s crowning. Riku’s light rubbed off on Sora, ever since they were kids—after all, a Child of Destiny’s power is to connect hearts. Why not connect his own with another? Why not share his light?

Further, in BBS, Sora can feel Ven’s pain and take care of his heart, but he isn’t fully aware of this nor is he able to really do anything about this. It isn’t until KH1 that Sora ever exhibits a power of truly connecting to another’s heart when Sora entered the darkness swallowing Riku and touched Riku’s heart’s light to obtain his Keyblade, explained by Nomura himself. And it isn’t until KH3 that Sora finds the power to wake up Ven’s heart.

Regardless of whether or not I’m right about this, it means Nomura isn't technically wrong about Sora being normal. Sora, no matter what, doesn’t have some divine birthright, but he still has the makings of someone who can bring peace to the world—all thanks to Riku.

This helps set the tone of their relationship, of the depth of Sora and Riku’s bond. It also moves the storyline forward to how they will be the ones to instigate change—but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s first talk about who once were and who they could’ve been.

in another life

Kingdom Hearts is pretty on the nose on parallels between Xehanort/Eraqus and Riku/Sora. Besides personality, Xehanort and Riku are both Childs of Destiny who give in to the darkness and Eraqus and Sora are endless sources of light. But the parallels don't exist to make us empathize with Xehanort/Eraqus: they're to tell us a cautionary tale of what our protagonists could've been.

So it begs the question, what actually separated Sora and Riku from becoming like Eraqus and Xehanort? Let’s start with Riku.

To recap, Xehanort was a student in Scala ad Caelum alongside Eraqus, who watched all his classmates die. He learned from Baldr about their roles as Children of Destiny and in his grief, became obsessed with wiping the world clean. He wanted a Keyblade War to create a fresh start, void of Light and Darkness, so that the world could try again.

Riku seemed to have been walking the same road as Xehanort. He stopped fearing Darkness and started dancing on the line between it and Light. Riku was angry at the world and angry at his friends, and perhaps in another life, he may too have wanted to wipe the world clean.

But every time I compare him and Xehanort, I can't help but think that a cautionary tale isn't what Xehanort/Eraqus is. Because I can't help but think that it just could never have happened to Riku, and it's for two main reasons:

1) Hope.

Riku has hope in the world. When we look at all the other Children of Light, they all had a Darkness that took them down (although in Ephemer's case, it was a literal Darkness that killed him). Baldr lost himself in grief. Xehanort lost himself in rage. But not Riku.

When Xehanort saw that the world couldn't be fixed (to how he believed it should be), Riku did not even see a world that needed fixing. Riku saw the world in all of its complicated glory. For instance, Riku is one of the first characters to acknowledge the feelings of Nobodies; their pain, and their love. He doesn't see them as an extension of Darkness or Light. They simply are.

Riku believes in redemption. It's been his entire character arc, after all, to redeem himself and walk the Road to Dawn, a term coined way back in CoM. Ever since then, Riku has been closely associated with the sunrise—night turning into day. Darkness becomes Light. Redemption. This symbolism is shown in box art, said in interviews, even his Keyblade is called the Way to Dawn.

The fact that Riku was even able to think of the Road to Dawn proves that he's nothing like Xehanort. Xehanort believes that there is no redemption because the world needs to be wiped clean. But Riku believes that there is a road he can walk, a road he can take to salvation because the world is not good or bad, but made for people to live and learn. But how? How was he able to walk that road? He has hope, but how was he able to use it? And that's the second reason.

2) Sora. Riku has Sora.

It may feel a bit obvious to say, but it's true: the fact that Riku is Riku; Sora is Sora; and their relationship is the way it is, is the key to why they would never have fallen to the same fate. We don't know the full extent of Xehanort and Eraqus's relationship, but it's safe to assume it wasn't as kind or loving as Riku and Sora's ever were. The two would play as kids, promise to keep each other safe, tell secrets—the two became princes of destiny together, destined to fight their way home.

I can't see Xehanort and Eraqus as anything more than students in a fucked up situation. Because when things got bad for Xehanort, he didn't think of Eraqus as his guiding light. He only thought of what he lost. There’s even a line in Dark Road of Xehanort hearing Eraqus crying in the other room, yet he never comforts him, never approaches him. They suffered alone, too afraid or perhaps too blind to reach for one another.

When things got bad for Riku, he saw Sora. He saw how Sora loved Kairi and sacrificed himself for her, and he saw that Sora was forgiving towards him. The reason why Riku and Sora didn't end up like Xehanort and Eraqus is that they simply aren't them. Their bond is deeper and their love is stronger, and Riku’s hope is simply stronger than Xehanort’s ever was.

It’s important to emphasize that this truly is a feat that only Riku (and Sora, one day) could’ve accomplished. It's natural to us that Riku, one of the series' protagonists, was able to do this. It's easy to shrug off the balance he managed to strike between his Light and Darkness, but for so many actually in the series, it's an incomprehensible thought. Mickey even stated in CoM, that Riku introduced Light and Darkness in a way nobody has ever seen before. To understand how this affects Sora and Riku’s relationship, it’s important to understand the way things currently are.

the light we pass down

Light and Darkness are the very core of this series. Light represents the connections you make with others, while Darkness represents the lack thereof—those with Darkness in their hearts are those who walk alone, while those with Light are those with many friends around them. Darkness is selfishness, and Light is selflessness.

Darkness is usually framed as an inherently evil source in many stories, but it's something that cannot be extinguished. Light needs to be there to balance it.

But Kingdom Hearts seems to be going down the path less taken—yes, Darkness isn't 'good', and it isn't desirable to isolate yourself from the rest of the world. But the series is asking the question many like to ignore: when does Light become Darkness?

In nearly every game, you can trace one character fed into the illusion that Light is good, everything else is bad, and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. MoM to his pupils in Union X; Odin to Baldr in Dark Road; Eraqus to his children in BBS; Yen Sid to Mickey in forbidding him to speak of Aqua; Donald and Goofy to Sora in telling him that their ship runs on happy smiles. It is generational trauma.

A cycle of hypocrisy has been forced on not only the 'defenders of Light' but 'agents of Darkness.' Xehanort doesn't care who he hurts as long as he can get his own idea of balance in the world, believing his judgment to be supreme to others—despite his initial thoughts in Dark Road, that unless someone's heart is pure Light, how can one know for sure what is right and wrong? To which Eraqus responded that they as Keyblade Wielders held the supreme judgment towards morality.

Again and again, this cycle of defending what they believe is good and Light repeats, hurting themselves and hurting others, and even Sora is not free of this hypocrisy. While he doesn't go out of his way to hurt others the way Xehanort has, he is capable of hurting others: Riku was hurt by Sora in KH1 when he was silent when Kairi suggested leaving him behind or when he shrugged off Riku going missing in Traverse Town. In CoM, when the idea of him ‘abandoning’ people was presented, he acted out harshly and completely rejected the idea (this is all another parallel to Eraqus!)

He even denies the idea that Riku has hurt others. Despite Riku acting out of his own free will, the reason he feels the need to atone and walk the path to redemption, Sora believes that the Darkness was forced on Riku by others.

Sora has been carved into the same mindset as so many others, the idea heavily tackled in Dark Road, that Darkness is only brought upon by others, and that it needs to be expunged. Sora is a firm believer that the Darkness is something to be eradicated, such as with his encounter with Vanitas in KH3. When Vanitas states that he is simply Darkness, Ven is quick to understand and even accept. Sora, on the other hand, rejects this and insists that it isn’t okay.

Even our series’ protagonist is unable to shake himself from this self-righteous, black-or-white thinking. Riku is the only character in the series who has formed an actual balance in himself, with all other characters having to pick one side. Lea, Xion, and Roxas leave the Darkness of Organization XIII and become Keyblade Wielders. Terra embraces his Light, Aqua leaves the Realm of Darkness, and Ven is literally separated into a being of Light and Darkness (although not out of his own volition).

The series is not framing any of these things as negative—there’s nothing wrong with embracing Light. However, these characters are falling into the same cycle that the generations before have; they will once again be faced with a Darkness too deep to defeat and ignore. It must be talked to, reckoned with, and faced with open arms. Riku has been the only one able to return the hug and walk away.

We’ve explored what makes Riku’s character arc so significant and what Sora’s flaws are, and it’s time to dive into the murky waters of the future.

when does the sun become the night?

Sora. Oh, Sora. I love you, Sora. Now let me tear you and your smile apart.

The parallels between Xehanort and Riku are very on the nose and easy to distinguish; meanwhile, Eraqus and Sora are a bit more challenging.

In BBS, Eraqus is the Master of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. He forms a bond between them, as one would expect, mentoring and looking out for their well-being. The Light in his heart is strong due to his connections with them, alongside being a Keyblade wielder. Although not perfect (feeding into Terra's insecurities about his Darkness, cough), he does care for them. But when the world falls to Darkness, Eraqus doesn't hesitate to be selfless, to give up his connections, the Light in his heart, to kill them to save a greater good. As long as someone somewhere can benefit from his actions, he isn't harming.

But is that selfless? Is sacrificing for a 'greater good' truly selfless? Is there a line between the needs of the many and the needs of the few? Or is there a certain ‘darkness’ that comes with these acts? Disregarding yourself, disregarding others, selfless yet selfish; it's not the right thing to do, and the series doesn't hesitate to frame it as that. What Eraqus did was wrong. He hurt others, even if he refused to acknowledge it.

And yet, no one seems to make any noise toward Sora.

Sora is a Guardian of Light. He is the cheerful protagonist who makes everyone smile and feel better. Ever since the first game, when Donald and Goofy (although not with ill intent) told him that the Gummi Ship runs on happy faces, he's been under the precedent that his emotions do not matter in the greater scheme of things. In the long run, what matters is that others are safe, the people he cares about.

Once again, like how Xehanort and Riku deviated in terms of having hope, this is where Eraqus and Sora begin to deviate from their parallels. While both are selfless to the point of ‘darkness,’ they show it in dramatically different ways. Eraqus is willing to hurt the people he cares about (and by extension, himself) to serve this 'greater good', but Sora is only willing to actively hurt himself.

I feel the need to remind everyone that this is a teenager we're talking about. If we weren't in a franchise partially owned by Disney, I feel like more people would be willing to call this what it is: suicidal. This is not Light.

We've already seen ways that this harms Sora outside the narrative and the whole getting sent to Quadratum thing in his Rage form. Sora transforms into a drive form that’s oddly reminiscent of his time as a Heartless and can unleash powerful attacks that lower his HP (hmm). Furthermore, this form only appears when his HP is low (double hmm) and stated by Nomura, “based on him going into a rampage state, controlled by feelings of anger (triple hmm).”

Back inside the narrative, the climax of KH3 was Sora believing that he's worthless without his friends, genuinely worthless, and unable to fight at all. This is the very definition of a Light gone too far when remembering that Light is the connections you form with others. With too much Light, Sora lost himself. He couldn't find himself past who he was for others.

In the section prior that broke down generational trauma as it appears in Kingdom Hearts, I mentioned that Sora does not only end up hurting himself but passively hurting others around him, most notably Riku. Sora is unable to understand that Darkness is not the absence of all good but rather the shadow that simply follows you around. Sora cannot understand that Darkness is not something to be shunned, to never talk about. (This could also be tied back to his Rage form—while he does not actively channel his anger to hurt, that is what happens; only to never be acknowledged by him.)

(Off-topic, but I find it funny that Sora, who is so keen on the idea that Darkness is Not Good, was only ever to have a proper conversation with Riku in the Realm of Darkness. It’s very telling to their characters.)

Kingdom Hearts is setting up a narrative that Light and Darkness cannot exist in excess. That Light doesn't exist to balance out the Darkness, to stop it from becoming too strong—you need Darkness to exist as well.

Sora has gotten this far along the story and still hasn't managed to learn this, because it’s just not something you can learn (or unlearn, rather) on your own. Because this kind of thinking isn’t undone with hours of contemplation; in a fitting Kingdom Hearts fashion, it’s connections that lead to the revelation.

the roads we walk

Xehanort and Eraqus fall out with each other. They stop talking and sever the connection with each other. That was a core reason things got as out of hand as they did for each other; they weren't keeping each other in check. Xehanort's Darkness left him blind and unable to see that there was Light after all, and Eraqus's Light blinded him and left him stumbling with a Keyblade for a 'greater purpose.' Their hearts fell too far to one end of the balance, leaving the scales unbalanced.

Riku and Sora do not have that. They have a connection like nothing seen in this series before—Riku had literally raised Sora to become a Child of Destiny alongside him. The Light of their hearts is just so awe-strikingly bright.

Sora, however, has lost himself in all his light. He is stuck in the same bright room that Eraqus was, stumbling around with his Keyblade. But where Eraqus was forever lost, Sora can be found: because where Riku had Sora to guide him to the Light, Sora will have Riku to guide him through the Darkness.

Riku spends the majority of his character simply proving that he is capable of redemption. It takes him the ending of a game to realize the errors in his ways and another game to figure out the solution he must fight for, and these weren't revelations he finds on his own—he found the first with Sora and the second (in CoM) with Mickey and Namine.

For Sora to even have the revelation that he cannot keep shutting out the Darkness in him unless he wants more pain for himself and others, he needs someone to help show him that is an option. And who else but Riku, who is living proof that existence isn’t just black-or-white, Light or Darkness?

Riku is Sora's foil. A foil is a character who either has pronounced differences between themselves and the protagonist or is so alike that a contrast appears. Riku is the ladder, similar enough to Sora that one can begin to make assumptions about where the story is heading. Their similarities aren't hard to find: they both hail from Destiny Islands, they both have a love for adventure, they both were assumed to walk a path of Light for the rest of their lives, and they both care deeply for each other. The contrast begins in KH1 when Riku begins his fall to Darkness while Sora remains firm in his standing.

Riku’s arc ended with acceptance; he needed to accept the Darkness and the Light inside him to find peace. It’s only natural that his foil, struggling with the same imbalance, would go through a similar arc but still different enough to be his own.

It isn't just the story telling us this. Riku has always been associated with imagery of dawn, the breaking of Darkness into Light, and Kairi is always associated with imagery of dusk, the breaking of Light into Darkness (which is a conversation all on its own). Sora, on the other hand, is associated with a large blue sky (his name, after all, does mean sky.) It's not hinting towards a journey of any kind—not a redemption like for Riku.

He is the daylight. He is the Light in everyone's lives. But ‘Sora’ doesn't mean the day sky. It simply means sky. Sky, at day or night—and I don't mind if you call me reaching at this point, but it feels like it's calling out to the fact that Sora needs to accept that he is both Light and Darkness, the way the sky is both day and night.

Nomura has even stated in an interview before when asked about the two different versions of the Dream Drop Distance illustrations that he “wanted its composition and look to remind [the player] of the title’s catch copy, ‘Darkness becomes light, light falls into darkness.’” The parallel structure of the tagline serves to mirror the parallel structure of Sora and Riku’s paths, Sora’s road to night and Riku’s road to dawn.

But I digress. Exhaustively, it’s very apparent that Sora is heading toward a climax, a Darkness he cannot ignore. His breakdown in KH3 was left unspoken, unresolved, and his disappearance only contributes to the fact that he’s heading toward another breaking point, where the cheerful protagonist can no longer remain cheerful. But like in KH3, something is going to be the same: Riku.

At his lowest point, it was Riku who was next to him, telling Sora that he believed in him. It was Riku who carried on when Sora couldn’t. Riku is going to be key in Sora's journey to night. Riku was able to find his Road to Dawn by remembering Sora. He was able to walk by remembering his love, his passion, his everything, and it was because of Sora that Riku found balance. He found the Light within himself, and he learned to accept that the Darkness would always be a part of him, the way it is for others.

Sora's arc will be spun into motion because of Riku. The next installments of Kingdom Hearts are setting up that Riku's dreams are the key to finding Sora, implying perhaps that it may be Sora and Riku all alone in a world. Whatever the case, Riku is going to be by Sora's side, as that is where they are at their best, to face Sora’s worst.

And it's fitting. Riku had to go from Darkness, defined as a lack of connections, to a balance with Light, having connections. He went from his isolation, wearing a blindfold and not being able to face anyone, to being the charming Riku we all love, fighting alongside the Keyblade wielders. His journey would have him open up, so he would be joined by memories, ghosts, not by people until he began to embrace others.

Sora will be going from Light to a balance with Darkness. He'd be going from connections to a lack (though not in the same extremes that Riku did), in a sense. Understandably, he can’t do it alone, make such a drastic change; he'd need someone.

This change, this balance, this emphasis on connections, it’s guiding us to what the narrative has been trying to tell us all along.

we can be the darkness, and the light, and the sunsets and sunrises too

When asked about the theme of KH3 and the entire series, Nomura answered, “It’s in the title: hearts. The consistent theme across the whole series is ‘What is a heart?’”

Kingdom Hearts is going to be doing something unprecedented in not only a lot of media but in its world itself. While the idea of Light and Darkness existing within characters is not new, the characters aren't exactly behind that idea. Most of the Keyblade Wielders and Guardians of Light cherish the Light above all else—while all the primary villains worship the Darkness. They fight for a balance but don't fully grasp that within (nearly) all of them lies both entities.

Riku seems to be more accepted in the world, as he did join the Light in the end. But what Sora would do is... just absolutely bonkers. He will be embracing a Darkness in him, the same kind that Terra and so many others were taught to push out. Sora will be... well, a teenager. Happy and angsty and all the things teens are.

This is where Kingdom Hearts has the chance to seal the deal, to fully welcome this balance of Light and Darkness: a relationship between Riku and Sora.

For all Guardians of Light, there is a generational trauma hanging over their heads and haunting them, and Sora will need to accept his Darkness to combat it, but the story can't end there. The games have been building up the idea that Sora will be the one to bring change to the world, that Sora will be the one to end this cycle. He won’t just accept his Darkness but lead a new age. He will be the one to show that there's a different way (or really, only one other way) to move forward:

Love.

Unconditional love. Not love depending on whether they fit the wielders' definitions of Light and Darkness, not love depending on the amount of Light in someone's heart, not love clouded by hypocrisy. Just pure love, forever forgiving and growing.

So who better for Sora’s love than Riku?

Let’s get all the arguments for Kairi out of the way first. Some may say that Kairi could still fulfill this role of spreading love in the next games, but that’s only if her role in the story is completely revamped. She represents friends growing apart as they grow older yet remaining close. While Sora and Riku represent a balance between Light and Darkness, Kairi represents holding a Light close to your heart, even when it's so far away; fitting for her story of being ripped apart from her home.

The games keep pushing the friends' growing apart narrative rather than pulling from it, having Kairi remain with Aqua to train while Riku goes after Sora. There is little space for Kairi to suddenly walk a road to dusk that leads to romance. Especially because it’s Sora and Riku who are the Children of Destiny, they are the ones who will connect to other hearts and bring change, not Kairi. Her lesson would be for herself, not for the world to see.

A relationship between Kairi and Sora would just be backtracking on this message. Sora needs to accept his Darkness, but joining forces with a Princess of Light does not challenge any norms, it does not provide a new answer. It makes sense because the core of Kingdom Hearts isn’t a Prince and Princess of Light—it’s two boys who saw the night sky fall one day, two boys who grew up together, two boys destined for something greater who write their own paths anyway. It’s Sora and Riku. Nomura himself has stated that “Sora and Riku represent the theme of the Kingdom Hearts series, which is the ‘light and dark sides of the heart,’” the essence of this essay.

Carrying on, some may stop me here and say that their love doesn't need to be romantic for a point to be made. But I argue that there is no other way.

Romantic love in stories often serves as the culmination of the story’s themes. In Leigh Bardugo's books, her romances serve to show the importance of love and healing. In the Shadow & Bone trilogy, Alina has the options between the Darkling, representing power, Nikolai, representing nationalism, and Mal, representing love. Just love. Not one befitting of a Saint, someone to change the world, but that’s not who Alina wanted to be; she just wanted a happy ending. Shockingly, she picks Mal. In Six of Crows, Kaz and Inej's romance, both traumatized teenagers, serves to show that you can heal and you can love. They're both scared of people, scared of intimacy and yet they still love with all their scars on display.

In Revolutionary Girl Utena, the romance between Utena and Anthy reaches its climax at the end of the show, displaying the vulnerability of both girls and the rawness of their feelings. But most importantly, it drives home the message: that the power to bring revolution is not the power of a prince or a witch. The power to change the world is love. The only way to change the world to be suitable to live in is through love. The power, a revolution, brought by love.

Romance is a revolution. It’s often saved for the last act of stories because of how it acts as a thread between all of the themes. In Kingdom Hearts, the theme needing weaving is balance: balance between yourself and others, balance between selflessness and selfishness, balance between Light and Darkness. Sora and Riku getting together would be Yin and Yang—a boy who had to accept his Darkness and a boy who had to fight for his Light. They complement each other and fill where the other lacks.

Likewise, a relationship between them stresses the importance of connections. Tai Yasue, co-director of the series, has stated that “the theme of the KH series is ‘connections of the heart,’” and the narrative will take advantage of any opportunity to let that theme shine. Previously, many defenders of Light would sacrifice their connections with others for a greater good. But Sora and Riku choosing to love each other, choosing to love the Light and Darkness in each other instead of trying to chase away their Darkness, is showing that love is their other option.

Sora getting with Kairi challenges nothing. It tells the others that Light must be with Light, that good must be with good. Even their grand attack in Re:Mind is two giant angel wings where they proclaim, “Light!” Sora and Riku, however, show that Light does not mean good. It shows that people can do bad things, and it doesn't make them bad, because people are not black and white. Like two kingdoms forever at war with each other, finally coming together and realizing that the other side is human and that you can't simply demonize them.

Sora and Kairi say there is nothing wrong with the world. To carry on. Sora and Riku say that there isn’t anything wrong with the world; it’s the people looking the wrong way. There is nothing wrong with what’s around us. Nothing wrong, nothing right. “Nothing is whole, and nothing is broken.” It’s simply being: being Darkness, being Light, being both, being neither.

It has to be Sora and Riku. It's always had to be them. Riku brought Sora up to the status of a Child of Destiny, and their journeys were led by each other, their character development taught by one another, and their acceptance will come from (an eventual) conversation between the two about their pain and hurt and Darkness, it’s all always been leading here. To this moment in time where they show the world all the hurt they hold and how they carry on with.

All of that, and loving each other?

They are crossing the line, as Hikaru Utada sings in Don't Think Twice. They are going to be crossing every line established in Kingdom Hearts, and this is their power. Their revolution. Their predetermined yet self-made destiny. The payoff for years and years of searching and yearning and pining and chasing is a love that brings revolution, and oh...isn't that just romantic?

That is the answer to “What is a heart?” The heart is the love you have, despite it all. The heart is the connections you make, despite it all. The heart is your Darkness and your Light and your experiences and your fights, despite it all. The heart is Sora and Riku, despite it all.

grant us the power to bring the world revolution

A lot of this analysis really depends on whether or not you believe Sora and Riku are in love with one another, I realize. You may agree with me that it seems fitting that their coming together as a pair would catalyze all the themes in Kingdom Hearts, but you disagree that it means they'd ever be a pairing. Which, I'd like to thank you for at least hearing me out.

The queerness of their relationship means there will always be naysayers to them getting together, there will always be people claiming that I'm reaching. I do not care if you see them as brothers or ‘just’ really good friends. I see a love story. I see a love story and a love story saying to love, above all else. Do not judge others for you don't know what is wrong or right, for you are biased, for you are flawed, for you are human. Love others for that is the heart's will. Love.

I see that their getting together would be a testament to that love. To that forgiveness, to those flaws we have. It would be an acceptance of Riku's pain and Darkness that he mysteriously doesn't want to acknowledge, it would be an acceptance of Sora's pain that he's been bottling up ever since the beginning of his journey, and it would be an acceptance to the Light they both share. It would be the balance that so many generations have looked for and couldn't find because they did not practice acceptance, only judgment.

Sora and Riku getting together is acceptance and it's proof that love is the answer to a generational trauma that has been around ever since the beginning of time. So yeah: Soriku Endgame, Actually.

Thank you so much for reading! I’m a really big fan of stories about light and darkness and the balance between them, stories about love, and just Kingdom Hearts in general. I didn’t want to keep these thoughts in the back of my head and I’m glad I wrote them all out, even if it’s messy (and a shocking 6k words long...) Kingdom Hearts is a bit messy, after all.

If you're interested in more about Sora and Riku's relationship or just literary analysis of KH in general, please check out Constructing Kingdoms on YouTube, as it helped give me the words to write a lot of this essay. Further, if you're in total denial that there is any queer text in Kingdom Hearts, please check out this amazing video essay on Riku being gay.

That's all I have. Please feel free to share if you have any disagreements or if any parts really spoke to you, or if you have anything to add, or anything really. These two live rent-free in my mind, and I don't mind talking about them or about how they're just so perfect to change the world.

Thank you. Spread love (and the Soriku agenda.)

#kingdom hearts #sora #riku #sora and riku #soriku #soriku endgame actually #media analysis #literary analysis is my special interest #andrew's essays #meta essay #kh meta

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sizzlingpatrolfox · 1 year ago

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My theory is that Jm and Jk are making this content together because they are the most succeesful members.

Hybe will never acknowledge Jm’s popularity in any other way, but are going to make him do this content with Jk to make money off of him

That’s it, that’s why is the 2 of them, not V or Rm because jikook got both no 1 on bb etc

Wdym it wasn't Jungkook and Taehyung the it couple, the most successful members whose debut everyone was waiting for and counting on to make history?????

Okay, now that I'm done with the sarcasm...

Aside from the fact that it was something Jimin wanted to do, why did the company suddenly think of it and agreed to it now. (Unless we eventually find out other details about why and how, but I don't know if I'm even going to be here when that happens, so).

Jungkook and Jimin is a pairing that has always worked in many ways, like with the couple of dance units they've had in BTS stages. Or the couple of songs they've sung together, etc.

Apart from that, yes they are the most popular (read popular as in people OUTSIDE OF THE FANDOM have seen them/interacted with their content or music at some point/etc), so all in all I agree that their individual popularity could be a reason.

That's also related to the reach the content has. I've never been one of those people that cry about jikook not being loved; I never cared about that for several reasons that are not relevant right now. One of the reasons that's relevant tho, is that taekook might get the most likes or retweets on their content... but nobody causes conversation the way Jimin does. Whether it's good or bad, Jungkook or Taehyung each on their own, or together, they don't cause conversation. I'm not gloating or anything about Jimin getting hate because I hate it, and I hate when people are like "oh jimin they're hating on you you'll always be famous", but it's a fact that whenever Jimin is involved in something, people will talk about it. I mean, there's a reason his name can't trend in twitter anymore because of the volume of tweets in which he's mentioned every day.

Another thing, probably unpopular, many probably won't get it, and I think that people just don't realize it's happening: Jimin makes Jungkook look good. He makes Jungkook looked loved and worthy of being loved.

Not too long ago I rewatched the hunger games and in the first movie something happens with Katniss and Peeta, I think it was him saying he was in love with her or something. And Haymitch says it was good that Peeta had said that because he'd made Katniss looked desirable. Now, she was perceived as the object of affection of someone.

It's something I've talked about before, how the narrative about Jungkook and the way people perceived him changed when his ships got bigger attention.

This happens to a large scale with all of BTS members, btw. We're just talking specifically about two right now, but the "X member loves Y member, how could you hate them?!" is probably the biggest example of that.

So, there's that too. Jimin's way of treating Jungkook has A LOT of weight on what people think of Jungkook. It might even be a reason of why some pjms can't even stick to one side and are more or less constantly changing their feelings about him.

That's also why I think that if it was solely and exclusively the company calling Jimin up to do this, it was tailored to happen around Jungkook's debut and not before. Because it is good for Jungkook's image.

Finally, Jimin being Jimin. I think many people do a big disservice to Jimin when they talk about why and don't realize how amazing Jimin's personality is. Jikookers especially overlook how awesome, kind, sweet and great he is. They collectively ignore how every single person who's ever met Jimin has made a point to talk about how sweet and kind he is. To most jikookers It's all about how he is with Jungkook when a large part of that is not even about Jungkook, but just how Jimin was raised and how he treats everyone he loves.

Jungkook gets to be a lovely maknae bla bla bla. To jikookers, Jimin's selflessness and beautiful soul only gets talked about in relation to Jungkook.

So another factor of the whole thing is that Jimin's got a GREAT personality. Jin, Hoseok, Jimin, they've always been the one lighting up the mood and making people laugh and taking care of everyone. They're the life of the party, literally. And the company must realize this, too. They're not stupid. They know what works for entertainment and what doesn't. Didn't Jungkook say in that preview that as soon as Jimin arrived it was chaos? Jimin is genuinely so much fun.

It works because Jimin is who he is. It's not even about Taehyung and Jungkook, but it wouldn't work with Yoongi and Jungkook, either. It would be boring simply because they're not Jimin. You can watch any live with Jimin + other member and it's almost always interesting and funny because Jimin makes up for a lot of the mood between two people.

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mlink64 · 2 months ago

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Some HYBE/BigHit Brainrot

Just some En- x TXT brainrot because I NEED to get it out of my system.

This isn't edited or really 'planned' in any way, literally just abusing my keyboard tbh...

Warnings: None I think? A lil suggestive but imma keep it sfw 🙃

Okay so hear me out...Yeonjun x Sunoo.

Context: this spawned from me just sitting and updating my idol mbti types and whup, look at that, Yeonjun and Sunoo are both ENFP: the Campaigner-type (I think these are the most recent results but Dr.Google can be wrong at times sooooo...).

Now, an old article/qualitative study from 2018 (cut me some slack, finding articles about these more suggestive studies is hard af but I'll put the link in the comments) found that, of all the mbti-types, ENFP are most willing to experiment with the same gender.

Now, I have no clue what their preferences are - nor am I speculating - but in my brain rn 2020 Sunoo is a baby queer who's still confused about his sexual orientation. He just went through I-Land and is all of a sudden living and working with all these men and boy's head is-a-spinning and it got my head-a-spinning too

Idk how they interact with each other or if they do at all but buckle up.

Picture this, it's 2020/21 ish - Yeonjun is 21/22 years old and already cementing his 'it boy' status with TXT, even though they only just debuted in 2019

Then we have sweet sunshine Sunoo - he's 17 or 18 and has just debuted with ENHYPEN

Bby is still getting used to the whole 'being an idol' thing and is of course looking up to his hyungs for guidance and support

Now, Sunoo is well aware of how attractive his hyungs are - especially his TXT hyungs who are not only hot af but also ridiculously sweet and talented

Especially that minx Yeonjun

Sunoo already kind of thought Yeonjun was hot cute...

But then, here comes Jun's AOTM

And oml Sunoo low-key loses his shit (like most of us watching that AOTM, tbh)

Cuz Yeonjun is just DRIPPING with bad boy-next-door, emo, older (than him), rocker, musician vibes

Like, seriously, that video just screams first love/crush who's super talented and passionate and goes on to be famous (which was the goal, I'd imagine)

Anyhow...

TXT and EN- have always been rather close and friendly, all being similar in age and going through the highs and lows of training and debuting and just being idols in general

But Yeonjun is a flirt

He just can't help it, it's there and it ain't going away

I think Jun would maybe try to tone it down around the younger EN- members just because of age gaps (which aren't that big, but I digress)

But Sunoo

Sweet, bubbly, lil pup Sunoo...

Sunoo has the cute, pretty boy thing down

And Yeonjun loves pretty things

So maybe he flirts with Sunoo regardless of xyz

And since he has a big fat crush on Yeonjun, naturally, Sunoo gets all red and flustered and Yeonjun thinks it's adorable

He loves turning up his charms on the younger boy, he just can't help himself

Plus, it activates his corruption kink but that's for another day

But Yeonjun and Sunoo have the same mbti-type...so Sunoo is more than capable of giving his hyung a taste of his own flirty medicine

It just takes him some time to get there - grow the repor and the overall relationship with his TXT hyungs as a whole

But when he does finally feel comfortable and bold enough to flirt back Yeonjun is screwed

It's the classic trope of the flirty one malfunctioning when the shy one finally flirts back

So this relationship just kind of grows and escalates and poof, now they're the two friends who have crazy hot chemistry and lots of sexual flirty tension

So that's the very open-ended conclusion to my 2am tangent...like...where does it go from there? Does it go anywhere at all? How do their bandmates react and inevitably tease them for it? Etc. etc. etc.

Stay cute and positive and don't let the lingering full moon vibes f/ck you up too much. Drink water. Have a snack. Take a nap. Just do you and keep shining bb 🫶🫰💞

#enhypen #txt #kim sunoo #choi yeonjun #bxb #baby queer vibes #the brainrot is real #I need to sleep I have to work tomorrow #It's too hot and I want fall really badly

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newluvrs · 5 months ago

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get 2 know me! bb note: just for fun, interview style :] (I also included one of my favorite scenes from one of my fav movies for the header pic.. hurts so good)

basics!

my name is bb (not actually but my real name shall remain a mystery... im so mysterious....), I reside in the u. s., and I am turning 23 next month! I'm in my final year of college and I'm completing a double degree, one is business & the other is design & production :p

kpop!

my journey w/ Kpop is a silly one bc I have been into it for abt 8 ish years now? it was whenever fire by bts had just dropped lol ..

main groups I listen to areeee: NCT (been a czennie for ages <3.. I remember when we didn't have a name yet) & loona! (ofc riize, txt, p1h) I listen to so so many others but these r like the only ones I make an active effort to keep up with.. I've been cultivating my playlist for years so if I were to write everyone I listened to we would b here a lifetime, but I listen to most groups especially in the 2nd-3rd gen range, 4th and 5th gen I still do it's just less likely I'll know a group, I also tend to heavily listen to gg music more often than bg

groups I've seen live: NCT Dream & Loona! I am also seeing Dream and ARTMS live again later this year aaaaaaaa :v

biases: mr. Jonathan Suh has been my ult for literal YEARSSSSSS you cannot pry me off this man I remember waiting 4 his debut... crazy, Sungchan (of course), Soobin (txt), Jiung (p1h), I also biased chuu for soooo long! that is My Girl

music! (non-kpop)

genuinely I listen to so much, I think kpop makes up like 10%?.. and there is absolutely no correlation between genres like at all 😭😭 artists I frequent these days r: mitski, fka twigs, dpr (all of them but mostly Live), daft punk, yeule, the marias, deftones, smashing pumpkins, lamp, pixies, the cure, Japanese breakfast, Magdalena bay, ichiko aoba, etc....

I grew up w/ extremely music loving parents so I have just acquired alot and I'm always adding 2 my collection.. when I was like 7 circa 2008 I had this little mp3 player and I remember my dad putting artists like deftones, my chemical romance, the cure, anthony green, smashing pumpkins, Paramore, etc. onto it and it was my favorite thing ever.. of course he put some Miley Cyrus on it too lol

hobbies + interests!

anything w/ art! I draw, sing, dance, write, play music, sew, etc.! I also really love cinema!! I enjoy fashion & making my own clothes.. my gma taught me to sew so it is near & dear 2 my heart. I play Nintendo! Ocarina of Time is my favorite game ever. I'm not much of a gamer but I have played really random ones like the entirety of silent hill as well as death stranding! Pls talk abt movies w/ me bc I am always down 🧎🏻‍♀️ I also tattoo occasionally, I have given myself a few..

favorites!

shows: derry girls, bob's burgers, fleabag movies: pan's labyrinth, fantastic mr. fox, scream songs: lovers rock - tv girl, I will - mitski, don't be so hard on your own beauty - yeule gg songs: stylish - loona, lp - red velvet, night rather than day - exid bg songs: life is still going on - nct dream, bills - enhypen, 0x1=lovesong - txt

#bb rambles #this is all over the place lmfao #the sole reason I made this is bc I am in a chit chatty mood...#alas I hate Reaching Out bc it is in fact: scary!

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milesworld96 · 1 year ago

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WATCHING DYNAMITE RNN

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOO CARDBLADE HAS HIS OWN TITLE, I FUCKING LOVE BCG SM😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 HE NEEDS TO STOP, I CANNOT DEAL WITH JUICES DANCES💀💀💀💔💔💔 OH I AM SO HERE FOR THIS, I CANT WAIT FOR FULL GEAR. UH GUYS HE HAS THE ACCLAIMED DWWW

MJF💞💞💞💞💞 WHAT HE WAS TO COMIC-CON? WHAT THE FUCK😭😭😭 OH LAWC I AM SO READY, OMG CASTER BOWENS BILLY. YES PLS MJF TEAM I NEED THIS SO MUCH. I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO FUCKING LONG I BEG. OH? CASTER IN THE BATTLE ROYALE? FUCK YEAH. LMFAOOO BRO HAS NO CHILL, PUT A RING ON IT? DAWG UR JUST ASKIN FOR IT😭😭😭😭😭💀💀💀💀💀 CASTER I BEG LISTEN TO BOWENS (“But he’s my scumbag” ILYSM caster)

OMGGGG HI GIRLLL❤️❤️‼️‼️‼️ Girl they are just so😍😍 A ONE COUNT WHAT? YEAAHHHH LETS FUCKING GO, HIKARU RETAINED😚😚🫶🫶🫶

ADAMMMMMMMMMMM. HAAIIIIIII ;33 oml him going over his past with Christian from when they were young is so cute I can’t. Chris why would do that. Awwwwwwww Adam😭😭😭😭😭 this got me in my feels Chris+Adam is so sweet I can’t with them. Sad that they r gonna brutally murder each other soon <\\3 no pls I need them to beat the shit out of each other, ADAM FIGHT HIM. At least ik his title safe <\\3

HHAAAAIIIIII WARDLOW :3333 NAAAAHHHH BRO IS DONE AFTER ONE POWERBOMB. OMGGG THE MJF WRISTBAND, GIRL NO STAY TF AWAY. NAH WAEDLOW WHAT IS U ON🤨🤨🤨 WHY U KNOCK OVER TONY😭😭

KENNNYYYYYY, PLS PUT HIM BACK IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP VIEW. OMG PLS I BEG PUT THE DON CALLIS FAMILY BEHIND YOU, GO AFTER MJF. OMG HAIIIII MJF HIHIHIHIHI 13 DAYS OMGJJDSIJZZJ KENNY ON&BHESNNAJSN I AM SO HERE FOR THIS, PLEASE I NEED THIS WHAT THE FUCJ

Oh no, another viewing into Adam Cole’s kidnapping. RODDY STOP BEING SO RUDE. Is this food porn. GIRLIES WHAT 😭😭😭��😭😭 YEAH STAND UP 4 YOURSELF ADAM. LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE. ESCAPE THE KIDNAPPERS. OMG RODDY FINALLY TURNING A NEW LEAF? IM BEGGING, I CANNOT I NEED TO SEE THE KINGDOM & RODDY TRYING TO BE NICE TO MJF😭😭😭💀💀💀

HAAIIIIII HOBBS, HAAIIIIIII TAKESHITA☺️☺️❤️❤️❤️ GLOAT IT BB, PUT JERICHO IN THE FUCKING DIRT. FUCK YOU CHRIS JERICHO. YOO?? DON HOW ARE YOU DISSING KYLE WHEN YOU LITERALLY HAVE WILL OSPREAY IN YOUR CORNER. DO YOU THINK HE REALLY GON CHOOSE YOU FOR DOING THAT TO KYLE😭😭⁉️ KYLE DONT TAKE THE FUCKING OFFER, JUST WORK ON GETTING WILL OUT

HIIIII KENNY☺️☺️☺️💞💞💞💞💙💙💙💙🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ this match is GOING to serve so much cunt omfg AND I WAS SO RIGHT. AAAAAA IM GOING FUCKING INSANE OMFG KENNY UR FACE‼️‼️ every once in a while there will be matches that change me as a man, and this is definitely one of them. THIS SHIT IS MAKING MY GAY ASS GO FUCKING NUTS, AAA KENNY. HE WON‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 Sorry Kyle, but look on the bright side no Don Callis in your ear now!!!! :)) SHUT THE FUCK UP DON

OMG OMGNDJBSRIHSFBVIHGSRBIHFBHIS3UIEBAEAFBUI OMG DANHAUSEN VID DANHAUSEN VID I CANT HAIHIAHIAHIABIABIAHIAHIAHIAHAIHAIAHIAHJAI I CANT WAIT FOR HIM TO COME BACK IM GOING FUCKING INSANE OVER THIS OMFHRSHJBIFSJHBVHDJSBCJHDAKHBCMHDAHMBCKDAHHBCKHSBDCBKHDAHBCBKHDABHCIUADBCKUADBCKUBHKDS KUBS

OOOOOOOOOOOODZJJCJSF HSF IM WATCHING THAT PREMIERE VID, SWERVE BBBYYYY OMLL. OMG SWERVE NANA HIHIHIHI. IM SO HAPPY FOR YALLS. Swerve what’s wrong, oh OH HANGMAN AND SWVER BACK @ IT AGAIN. HANGMAN :(((((((( OHHOHO I AM SO EXCITED 4 THIS

IITS STTIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGG. lol I just like saying it, not rlly a big fan of him but he cool. Ewww Hulk Holgan mention. YAY NATURE BOY MENTION‼️he still does got it ngl👏👏 AA DEBUT STARTING AT REVOLUTION AND RETIREMENT STARTING AT REVOLUTION, WHAT A BIG CIRCLE. HOPE THINGS TURN OUT FOR YOU MAN YOU BEEN AROUND FOR SO LONG AND HAD A LONG GREAT CAREER. HOPE YOUR HAPPY THO BRO

AAAAA ITS RJ CITY OMG JIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIH TONI HIHIHIHIIHIHHIHI ILY BOTH SO MUCH HIHISHDHCHXBBCBHCNXBXBHXHSA I’m sorry what, HOW ARE YOU GONNA PLAY THE PICTURE SMD THEN GO TO COMMERCIAL? WHAT THE FUCK IM MISSING QUALITY CONTENT OF RJ CITY AND TONI. FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU

OH NAH, NICK WAY E AND HIS MOM⁉️⁉️ WATCH YOUR TONE YOUNG MAN. GIRL NICK WHAT. R U FR TELLING UR MOM TO SHUT UP? BRO YOU GON GET AN ASS BEATING WHEN YOU GET HOME. GIIRRRRRLLLL SHE GON HIT YOU WITH THE HANGER WHEN YOU GET HOME. CHRISTIAN CAGE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ OMG NAH SHE SMACKED HIM⁉️⁉️⁉️ NAH CHRISTIAN HAS THE ADOPTION PAPERS NOW💀💀💀 OMG DARBY HAIAHAIHAIAHAIAHIA. CHRISTIAN FR IS NICK’S NEW DAD😍😍😍😍 (I can be his male wife) OMG DARBY GETTING RAGDOLLED AGAIN. AH NICK WHAT HAPPENED WHY ARE YOU BLEEDING SRE YOU OKAY. STING GET OFF OF CHRISTIAN NOW‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ AW CHRISTIAN BEING A GOOD DAD AND CHECKING HIS SON🥹🥹 hope Nick’s tooth is okay tho. (Wonder if Chris is checking in on his other son too)

WAIWAITIWIT TRIOS MATCH? KIP SABIAN? OMG ARE WE BRINGING BACK KIP SABAIN VS ORANGE CASSIDY AGAIN? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I BEG I NEED THEM BACK FEUDING TOGETHER I NEED IT NOW

OMG OMG BEST FRIENDS + HOOK FXFHIISHCIHNCEINEWJKCNWNCSIDCNCKDJSNC HAI HAI HAI HELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KRIS VS WILLOW FUCK YESYESYESYEYSYES I NEED ORANHE VS KIP AGAIN PLEAS

Wait WAIT WAIT THE ACCLAIMED V DADDY MAGIC ANGELO AND DANIEL? OMFG YESY3YESYYESYYEDY I CANT WAIT OVUIHIHGRVIYBSRVYIR AND WE��RE GETTING HOOK+RVD AGAIN ON DYNAMITE? I AM LOVED I AM TRULY LOVED

Stray Bullet Juice Robinson is so slay, I love it💛💛 CAASSSSTTERRRRRRRR HAIHAIHAIHAI BBG🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️ MAX STOP THRUSTING UR BELT, LISTEN TO BOWENS AND BEHAVE😭😭😭😭😭 NNNNNAAAAAAAHHHH CASTER YOURE FOWL 4 DOING THAT ON LIVE TV💀💀💀💀 NOOO DADDY MAGIC LET DANIEL DANCE ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️ I NEED MJF ON COMMENTARY MORE PLEASE TK🥲🥲 MJF PAYIN LFF DUSTIN?🤨 OOOOOO BOY, NAH HE KNEED JUICE IN THE NUTS💀💀 tricky? Y’all’s relationship is tricky? AAAAAWWWWWWW TONY🩷🩷 that’s RIGHT MAX, Caster still loves u very much🩷🫶 AAAA TRENT & DUSTIN HUG☺️☺️ NOOO TRENT :(( bro stay losing💔💔 OH OH DANIL ELIMINATE HARDY. DADDY MAGIC😠😠 NOOONONONO PLEASE DONT SET THIS UP AS A DANIEL AND DADDY MAGIC SPLIT. CASTER IM BEGGING WIN PLEASE PLEASE PELASE. MICDROP🎤✂️ HE GOT HIS TITLE BACK FROM JAY WOOOOO. LOWBLOWING MFF. NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CASSTTERRRRR💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 at least we have both of max2 laid out on the floor😔😔 wish the best 4 you Maxi❤️ (hope Caster & Adam r there to support him)

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somereaderinblue · 2 years ago

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Walker Siblings Rewrite

I totally did not write this bcz I have a soft spot for siblings. Also, Melanie is frickin gorgeous, she deserved better. DC hire me.

ANYWAYS! Upon reentering the BB fandom, I’ve decided to try my hand at writing for it, which brings me to this. Ft. my Bludhaven Beyond AU! Enjoy!

Melanie Walker/Spoiler

Loved her the moment I saw her, hated how the show treated her. Especially the comics, god don’t get me started on it. Why why why did they reduce her to a Faux Action Girl & Stalker who literally went into action just to impress Terry? Hell no, we ain’t doing my girl dirty like that so here’s how it’s gonna go.

Melanie’s primary goal doesn’t just revolve around Terry; it’s about breaking away from her parent’s emotional abuse/manipulation. It’s about breaking away from a self-destructive lifestyle of crime she’s stuck in out of misguided loyalty to them.

Thus, she and her brother move to Bludhaven for a fresh start. It’s a lot easier since no one would rlly gives a damn there. Plus, it ensures their parents will never find them.

She’s content to continue as a restaurant helper & even teaches kids basic coding part-time. Her brother had a harder time adjusting which caused some tension, especially after he got fired. Fortunately, he soon found employment at Dick’s gymnastics studio, easing her worries.

Unfortunately, the peace wasn’t gonna last for long.

At first, she thought her brother was desperate for adventure when he came to her with his crazy theory about Mr. Grayson being an ex-assassin. She decided to humor him like siblings wont to do (she’s the sane sibling to Jack’s irresponsible, you can’t change my mind).

They discovered he was half-right.

Redemption time baby! Time to stick it to the asshole parents by becoming what they hated most!

Her brother blackmails convinces Dick to teach him so he could take on the Nightwing mantle. Dick didn’t think it was a healthier alternative to dealing with whatever parental issues the siblings had but between vigilantism and crime, the former was the lesser of two evils.

Melanie wasn’t interested and for a while, she was Jack’s ‘guy in the chair’. However, as her brother got into worse scuffles due to rising gang activity, she realized she had to step in. Not just to protect what family she had left but to prove that she’s better than her parents.

Thus, she modifies her old Ace costume and debuts as Spoiler. Lame moniker compared to Nightwing but hey, she’ll take it over Ten any day.

Jacqueline ‘Jack’ Walker/Nightwing

(The fandom page literally just calls him Jack so I made up his civilian name, don’t judge.)

I surprisingly came to like Jack despite what little screentime he had. Which is why I’m disgruntled with how the tie-in comics treated him. Him going back to being a criminal & getting beaten up by Batman just felt like the writers were pointlessly kicking the dog (Melanie) more. After all the crap she’s been through, she could’ve at least gotten one decent family member. So, let’s give this guy more depth.

I hc that Jack found it harder to straighten out bcz he’s an adrenaline junkie & kleptomaniac; something his family’s criminal lifestyle unhealthily enabled.

He tried to accept his restaurant job but his urges made him pilfer silverware/ small valuables from his coworkers. That combined with his haughty attitude got him into trouble until his boss finally fired him.

Pissed, he went for a walk to clear his head until he stumbled upon a gymnastics studio. He had some gymnastic/acrobatic skill thanks to his time as a criminal. So, he walked in and after chatting with Mr. Grayson, landed himself a job there.

Surprisingly, he enjoyed it. The physicality gave him the adrenaline rush, Dick (having caught on to his kleptomania) helped keep his urges in check & the kids loved his knife tricks (he has a heart, okay?).

One day, a local gang tried to rough them up for ‘protection money’. He helped Dick scare them away but after seeing his mentor kick ass, Jack began to suspect he had a secret. An ex-criminal would naturally recognize another ex-criminal! Or assassin, either one was cool, really.

He managed to needle his sister into snooping around until they finally found the old Nightwing costume. Jack’s heard of Nightwing from online forums and he’s a closeted fan.

Seizing this golden opportunity, he begged Dick to teach him more. He won’t admit it but he’s not just interested in vigilantism for the thrill but bcz he’s realized he can care for others and that he does care.

Also, this would be the ultimate middle finger to dear old daddy.

Thus, Bludhaven had a Nightwing once more. And after one too many close calls, he had his sister joining his side, this time as Spoiler.

So maybe he can’t have riches. But hey, the wellbeing of his sister, mentor and the kids were good enough compensation for him.

Oh, and Dick totally doesn’t adopt these ex-criminal siblings with parental issues. He totally doesn’t become a cool supportive healthy father figure to Melanie & Jack who no longer have to be accomplices in crime to earn affection. Look at him, Bruce, he doesn’t enable your chronic adopting.

(A/N: note my sarcasm.)

#batman beyond #royal flush gang #melanie walker #jack walker #why is melanie the only one with an actual name?#bludhaven beyond au

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dearweirdme · 1 year ago

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Tae would probably break records for album sales, but his streams would probably be weak. ARMYs can only do so much. Olivia would probably block him for that number 1 in bb hot 100. He would have massive sales, but without radioplay and weak streams, I just hope he can still debut in the top 10 or 20. I also hope he could bag the bb top 200 for albums. He could beat Olivia in pure sales, but Olivia has massive streams in the US and has one of the biggest radioplays, so let’s just hope for the best for him.

However, I think he could break the record for best-selling album in Hanteo for a soloist. I think it’s possible for him to have a 2M first week sales.

Whether we admit it or not, Tae’s music, in comparison to Jk’s, is really not gp-friendly. Like I said, ARMYs can only do so much, so without the gp, we can’t achieve some records. Although Love me Again received so much love from ARMYs, but the stream is not that strong. I hope his other releases would do so much better.

I am just so happy that Tae can finally release his album and can showcase the type of music that he wants. That’s all that matters. Let’s not dwell too much on records coz it’s gonna be so hard. As long as we gave everything for Tae, I think that’s enough.

Hi anon!

I am very much out of my depth here, I don’t often look at streaming and album sales numbers. Competing with Olivia will be tough though yeah. We still have to hear what Tae’s other songs will be like, and personally… I don’t think Love me Again is too niche to not appeal to the general public. I think it’s very catchy (but yeah.. I’m biased 😁). I think we’ll just have to wait and see.

I very much agree with the last part of your ask. I think Tae knows this business very well, and he will also know what kind of numbers to expect. Army will not disappoint him.

#tae solo #layover

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songmingisthighs · 1 year ago

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Hey thereee, question time 😈

Favorite era of Ateez style/aesthetic wise?

Favorite era/album/series of Ateez music wise?

Any artist/group in and outside of kpop that you think would make a great collaboration with ateez? And why

What are your expectations for this new comeback (bc I'm dying over here with the twelve tracks, one of those with a title in Spanish, writing credits of all the members, and possible sub-units songs 😭)

If the Ateez members didn't actually debut under kq, what other group do you think they could fit in individually?

Favorite b-sides?

What is a genre that Ateez hasn't tried that you think they could succeed in?

Thoughts on the lore? Idk if you understand it, have your own theories, or maybe just decide to prioritize your peace and not dwell too much on it?

(For this one, I'm assuming Ateez is your Ult group, correct me if I'm wrong) If Ateez didn't exist/debut per se, do you think you'd be as invested in any other group, or in kpop in general?

Aaaand, I can't think of anything else rn, but if I do, I'll probably come annoy you some more later (also please ignore this ask/tell me if it's something you're not interested in answering 😊)

Ok byeee

y'all finally someone who has a question ABOUT ME 😭😭

1. aesthetic wise ???? I'm torn between thanxx and halazia but i gotta say halazia bc even my ateez tattoo is halazia-inspired

2. THIS IS TOUGH but mayhaps guerrilla ?? idk why but i resonate a lot with guerrilla vibe-wise but outlaw ??? man the song, the lyrics... dune haunts me

3. i'm so biased bc i love her but the french singer angele. i do NAWT know nor do i CARE about the hows and the buts, her haunting echo-y vocals + ateez's dystopian vibe would mix well and i will donate my left toenail if their collab ever happens. OR STROMAE OH MY GOD FILLE DE JOIE IS POTENTIALLY ATEEZ CODED AND PAPAOUTAI WAS THE DADDY ISSUE ANTHEM IN MY 2019

4. my expectation for this new comeback is mind being blown and kidneys getting sold and me not surviving (not the kidney harvest but just ateez in general)

5. can't say much about this but i feel like hj would be an underground rapper/producer, hwa would be in a group from a small company that won't survive but he'll be in survival shows, yunho would most likely be in a dance crew but it won't be bb trippin, yeosang would fail his dreams bc he'll be stuck not debuting (agency management's fault) and he'd go back to studying and maybe be a twitch streamer on the side or full time (then got dr0nk and gets cancelled like hongbin), san wouldn't be buff and he'd either be stuck in a vocal-oriented group or was forced by his dad to go home bc his agency kept stalling his debut, mingi would try to become an independent artist but would fail bc i feel like he won't survive alone like he needs a team bc he has his own colours but he likes experimenting but he experiments too much and knowing the audience he'd probably have to make music his second gig and work as a barista (which is hawt smacc me with a cup of joe java daddy), wooyoung won't be able to debut in txt ofc bc he's tinie and let's face it hybe won't pass him from his visuals alone (i'm not saying he's ugli bc he's elmo's hot daddy cousin but hybe would force woo into plastic surgery and even then, it's still a 50/50) and he won't be in skz so i feel like he'd join a dance crew so kinda similar to yunho but his path would be more like lee euijin (unb) but he'll probably survive on his personality and be in a lot of variety shows as a permanent member, and jongho would be a ballad singer and later become a musical artist (i just realized i said i can't say much but here i am rambling)

6. cyberpunk (meimei wants to be the chair san stepped on), dune, and outlaw is in my current loop BUT take me home will always be in my heart same as precious

7. yodelling. idk the genre but i wanna see my boi jongho yodelehihoo, make that step ladder mason shake in his boots

8. i do nawt understand the lore but my theory is these dumbasses has been looking for the chromer or do something with the chromer meanwhile the chromer is san. wdyt man's always throwing his body as a sacrificial potato sack ????

9. oh deffo. kpop is the only genre i can't give up on, i've been liking kpop since april 4th 2009 (yes i remember the date) and i just can't let it go it seem. ateez is my current ult BUT i think i would've still be into svt and ulted txt

pls ask me more questions if you have <3

#smt answer #anon ask

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parkminijiminie · 1 year ago

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I’m 100% sure that pjm2 (if it exists fingers crossed 🤞🏼) or any jm future project will get the same promo/support from bh that FACE got. After seeing how tae didn’t get anything special and did the same basic promo as the other members, now everyone can finally stop saying that hype will “learn” with every member’s debut as if hype wasn’t literally managing THE BTS! It’s pretty clear now that only jk matters in ch2 and hype is just letting the rest do what they wanted to do but not really caring if they succeed or not. So they did not put any effort. Idk how the members feel about this it seems like they are brain washed into thinking jk is better than them so he deserves better lol. I really wanted to enjoy jk’s debut and singles he is my 2nd bias after all but I couldn’t tbh. I know I’m not saying anything new but i was thinking about pjm2 and how excited i will be then realized that we will probably go through the same nightmare we experienced during face era :/ and jm won’t get a no1 again if he doesn’t have the company’s support this time so yeah

I think pjm2 is on its way. There is plenty of time before JM has to enlist , so he can for sure release in the first quarter of 2024. I believe it would still be successful because whether people and the company like it, Jimin is very popular internationally and in Korea. On top of that, he has a mesmerizing voice and stage presence and always captivates. Jimin was never intended to be so popular, yet he turned into the member anyone thought of when they heard BTS. It happened entirely due to his own work and qualities, completely authentically.

So, I am sure JM's album will not flop. There are different ways to measure success. He may not top BB again, but he will deliver a masterpiece in terms of musicality, lyricism, and performance, just like with Face. That is just who he is as a person - a perfectioniost. He wouldn't settle for something mediocre and half-assed.

I agree about HYBE and the way they see Chapter 2. As you said, it looks like they support the members in their solo endeavors, but they won't do anything *extra* for any of them unless it's Jungkook. Sometimes, it seems to me they're indulging the members' desire for solo music without being especially invested in the outcome, while with Jungkook they are all in.

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first-impressions-gaming · 1 year ago

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GAMING RECAP (September 19-27) Part 2

Paradox reveals new 4X game Millennia

youtube

Paradox Interactive has finally revealed its new title: Millennia. In Millennia, players will create their own nation in a historical turn-based 4X environment. From there, players will shape the nation across 10,000 years of history starting with the dawn of humanity and stretching into the future. According to Paradox, each playthrough will be unique as you craft an epic story based on your actions.

Cute Lord of the Rings game Tales of the Shire revealed in 2024

youtube

The scourge of Cosy/Cozy Gaming has finally come for Middle-earth, and more specifically the Shire, which I guess was pretty cosy/cozy to begin with. Wētā Workshop and Private Division have announced Tales of the Shire, a "heart-warming" experience that will release on PC in 2024.

Resident Evil 4 Remake will cost £57.99 on mobile

Resident Evil 4 Remake is heading to mobile, but it'll cost players £57.99 to play in full.

The game's listing on the App Store has the game available for free but with in-app purchases. Scrolling down, those purchases are listed in full with "Resident Evil 4 (with bonus)" priced at £57.99.

New Xbox Game Pass titles for console, PC and Cloud have been announced

The following titles will leave Game Pass on September 30:

Beacon Pines (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Despot’s Game (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Last Call BBS (PC)

Moonscars (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Outriders (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Prodeus (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Weird West (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Sony has confirmed October’s PlayStation Plus Essential games

Confirming a recent leak, next month’s PlayStation Plus titles will include The Callisto Protocol (PS5, PS4) and Farming Simulator 22 (PS5, PS4).

They’ll be joined by action RPG and immersive sim Weird West (PS5, PS4), the debut title from WolfEye Studios, which was formed in 2019 by the creative director and executive producer of Dishonored.

PlayStation Plus members will be able to claim the games from October 3 until November 6.

Everything Revealed At The Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2023 Event

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Two Ori characters are coming to Party Animals next Monday!

Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Trilogy joins Xbox Game Pass on September 26th

New trailer for Palworld, hitting Xbox in 2024

A closer look at Persona 5 Tactica ahead of its November Game Pass release

New Forza Motorsport trailer with a focus on the Japanese Hakone track

Octopath Traveler 2 is finally coming to Xbox in early 2024

Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi is a fantasy adventure game "coming soon" to Xbox

Another trailer for Mineko's Night Market, already confirmed for Game Pass in October

A closer look at Persona 3 Reload ahead of its early 2024 Game Pass release

Fallout 76: Atlantic City's first update arrives December 5th

New trailer for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty's next DLC launching on September 27th

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name joins Xbox Game Pass on November 9th

Like a Dragon: Ishin will also join Xbox Game Pass at some point in 2023

In-depth trailer for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, releasing with Game Pass in 2024

The Elder Scrolls Online launches in Japan with full localisation on November 15th

New PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds "Erangel" update coming in October

My Lovely Empress is an empire management sim heading to Xbox in 2024

Exoprimal Season 2 begins October 18th on Xbox Game Pass

A first look at gameplay for Hotel Barcelona from Suda51 and Swery65, arriving in 2024

#games #gaming #game news #playstation #xbox #nintendo #Youtube

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softsunbb · 1 month ago

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S Cawaii! ME pg1

!!This post is incomplete!!

PROFILE: DKB

DKB is a Korean boy group that debuted in February 2020. Their group name is an abbreviation of “Dark Brown Eyes,” meaning these Asian group members with dark brown eyes will spread their music to the world. The fandom name is BB, meaning DKB’s Bestie (DKB’s precious friends who walk alongside them always).

Q1. Please tell us how you decided to be an idol

Q2. Please promote yourself to S Cawaii! readers!

Q3. What is the song/music video you recommend to people who are listening/watching DKB for the first time?

ECHAN

Strict when it comes to performances, absolutely will not compromise on quality

When I stood on the stage at my middle school festival performance, I couldn’t forget the sound of the cheers and applause. I wanted a career where I could stand on the stage, and set my sights on becoming a singer. My dream is becoming an artist that everyone recognizes, and I would be happy if I could become someone’s role model some day.

I’m the leader in charge of rap and performance with a charismatic gaze! When I’m on the stage, my expressions don’t lose to anyone. Please pay attention to my charismatic jawline (laughs). I’m the calm type, but when it comes to performances, I’m the type that will absolutely not compromise on quality. I’m always striving for perfection, so when its time to practice I get pretty serious. But outside of practice, I joke and play with the younger members like we’re friends (of the same age). If anything, I’m more likely to be teased by them (laughs). Lately, I’m working hard at composing and lyric composition. It would be nice to film a lot of things like dance reels. What I’m constantly obsessed with lately is DKB and BB! This is all I’ve got!

[Turning Point] The song we got to perform thanks to Peak Time. I would be happy if they checked out the performance video on our Youtube channel, clips from the show, performance videos from music shows or any of the various uploaded contents from it. This song’s performance is, without a doubt, something that only DKB could do. Rather than focusing on group dance, the choreography highlights the skills of each of the members, proving that DKB can literally “fly around the stage.” Actually, my part has a high difficulty move like flapping wings that if I mess up there’s a chance I might get hurt that I practiced quite a lot. We’ll work harder to be cooler and fly higher.

An all-rounder that sings, dances, choreographs, writes songs and more!

When I was in elementary school, I saw a SUPER JUNIOR music video and thought “So cool! I want to be like them!” I’m from Sokcho, a rural town in Gangwon, but despite the location SUPER JUNIOR came to do a concert and upon actually seeing them on stage, I was inspired. My hometown had no dance/vocal school, so at the time I had to memorize choreography only from watching videos and practice it all by myself. When I was a student, I had no intention to go to Seoul. I was still so young and going to Seoul alone sounded difficult… But in the end, I faced the challenge and went to Seoul as an adult and started going to auditions.

I’m a leader, in charge of vocals and dance— an all-rounder who does everything from choreography to lyric composition! Since DKB has 2 leaders, when it comes to things like practice time, I take on the role of bringing everyone together. Echan is like emotional support for the members. I’m told that my personality is funny because I sometimes act in unexpected ways. Well, everyone in DKB is like that though (laughs). I like anime. I really like Japanese anime, lately I’m obsessed with Blue Rock. I like Haikyuu!! and SLAM DUNK too. I often talk about them with Yuku who likes the same anime. I’m also good with scary things. Thrill rides don’t scare me, and I’m fine with ghosts and bugs!

[Turning Point] The song we performed at the Peak Time finale, we participated in making the choreography. This song best expresses DKB’s identity, I think. We had no more than 1 week to prepare. It would be a lie to say that it wasn’t difficult, but since the song was so good and the dance suited us well, we were able to prepare smoothly while having fun.

Confidence in punchy rap with a naturally deep voice!

Since I was little, there have been many active idol groups, so naturally I thought “idols are cool.” I particularly looked up to G-DRAGON, but I thought he was on a completely different planet compared to me and put a cap on my feelings. What changed that was when I saw BTS’ debut stage in high school. I was crazy shocked by their coolness and could no longer contain the feeling of wanting to be a hip hop idol like that. Up until that point I had only been a part of band clubs and played guitar and drums, but in the end I became an idol that dances onstage. My voice is too deep to be a vocalist, so I started learning to rap and came to this point.

As the rapper, I’m only confident in my rap skills! What else is there… I don’t really have any hobbies… I like good food, so I refresh myself by eating and having a little drink. I particularly like fried chicken. I even eat it often at the dorm. Also, I’m often called a neat freak. It’s hard to clean every day, so I decided to always keep at least my body clean. Back when we first debuted, I would get lost in my thoughts when showering and end up taking like, an hour, but these days it’s around 20 minutes.

[Turning Point] It’s a music style I’ve wanted to try, and I think it shows off our colors the best. That, and the day that we performed this song was the day my parents truly saw my performance skills for the first time. My parents had always opposed my wanting to become an idol… My mom doesn’t do well in that kind of environment, so her impression was “I couldn’t relax so I don’t remember anything,” (laughs). After that, we invited her to lots of our shows and she started telling me things like “that was cool” and “I’m proud of you.”

Heechan

Sincere and passionate, nicknames galore “nickname millionaire”

Being raised in Miryang of Gyeongsang, in a rural village with no such thing as a dance school, I was shocked by seeing HIGHLIGHT’s SHOCK performance, and memorized the dance through self-study. My house had no mirrors, so when it would get dark, I would practice by watching my reflection in the window. My village didn’t even have a dance contest, but when there was an opportunity to show off my special skills, I thought, “I definitely have to go!” At that time, when I heard my friends cheering, I was convinced that this is the path for me. After that, I continued to self-study dance and when it was time to change schools, I moved up to Seoul alone. I was a Practical Dance major at Hanlim Arts, and while I was going to school, I auditioned and was able to debut.

I’m the main dancer, and a passionate, honest guy. I have a lot of nicknames, so I get called the “nickname millionare.” My full name is Heechan Yang, so all sorts of words get attached to “Yang,” like “Passion-Yang,” “Honest-Yang,” “Yangstar” and more— if you attach “Yang” to it, it becomes my nickname (laughs). I have a “going my way” kind of personality— I’m the type to do exactly what I want to do. My strengths are learning quickly and being able to interpret any dance into my own style. I am confident in my dancing silhouette and tempo, and I’m always studying which angle makes my dance the most beautiful. As the nickname “Passion-Yang” suggests, I’m a truly passionate person. Every time I perform, I dance as if I’m going to die on stage— I give it all I’ve got!

「Turning Point」「Sober（Remix ver.）」 These are the songs that make me go, “this is totally DKB!” That’s true for any of our songs, but we made the performance with the attention to the finest detail. Especially my part, with the feeling of “I am the center!” I thought about which pattern the gesture should be, while also checking with the other members, and practiced it to perfection.

Lune

Exudes a characteristic aura, wants to be able to lead the stage with his presence

Being an idol as an occupation was such a far-fetched idea to me that I never imagined I would ever do it. As fate would have it, I got scouted and now I’m here, but I only started to pursue it as my dream during the process of preparing to debut in DKB. Honestly, at first I only wanted to take on the challenge for the experience. I thought it would be impossible for me get in, so I thought “even if it doesn’t work out, let’s try!” Since I hate half measures, I diligently and earnestly took on each assignment I was given and thankfully am now able to greet the world as a member of DKB. Now, I can show off my characteristic aura on stage, and its my dream to become an artist that can lead the stage with that aura. My role model is BTS’ V. Just like V, I want to find and express my own charms. I am still inexperienced, but I’ll do my best!

I’m a vocalist, and it’s embarrassing to say this with my own mouth, but I’m called the “face” of DKB by our fans (laughs). I have a tough personality, but I can also get jealous, so I often hear that the gap between those two characteristics is makes me charming. When BBs say they’re interested in other groups, I sulk and express myself honestly (laughs). My special skill is taekwondo. Ever since I was little, I specialized in Gyeorugi, and I was even in K-TIGERS. On the stage, I work hard to show off colors that the other members don’t have. I hope that you can see just what atmosphere is particular to me through our performances.

「Turning Point」 I think this song best expresses our identity. Looking at the song’s performance, you’ll know exactly what kind of group we are right away!

Junseo

Tough on the outside, soft on the inside— the gap is the charm

I was fat when I was little, so at first, I only started dancing to lose weight. Around the time I was in 3rd grade, I looked up to RAIN and TAEYANG because they were so cool, I had the opportunity to dance in front of everyone in my school. The reaction was so good, I thought, “I want to pursue this path.” I was a shy person, but thanks to dance, my personality changed. At first, I wanted to be a dancer, but because my mom’s dream was to become a singer, so I changed it because I wanted to make her dream come true. While aiming to be a singer, I found myself actually wanting to become a singer. When I became a singer, my mom was super happy. She knows a lot more about idols than I do (laughs). Even my grandpa would watch the music programs and tell me what he thought. I am very loved.

I am confidence in my dancing skills, and I am steadily growing in terms of vocal skill! I look tough on the outside, but I’m soft on the inside; I have that kind of surprising charm, and I like taking care of people. I’m obsessed with Japanese ramen. When I’m in Japan, I eat it once or twice a day because I like it so much. Also, the food in the convenience stores is so delicious that when I ate there for dinner, I ended up gaining weight (laughs). I buy salt-flavor ramen, rice balls and fried chicken at the convenience store. I like the hamburger, tuna, chicken-mayo, and tarako-filled rice balls.

Since we made the choreography from the beginning to the end, I think this song shows off our colors the best, and in my opinion, this is the song with the strongest dance. I think seeing this song will make you think, “these guys are really good at performing.” There were things we worried about the choreography, but Harry’s and my motto is “let’s choreograph while having fun.” If we get creatively stuck, we do things like play phone games or tell each other to rest that day and try again the next day. By doing that, we were able to complete it.

Yuku

The gap is the charm, wants to show off a cool side beyond the ordinary

Since my mom likes KPOP, I’ve been to tons of concerts ever since I was little. From the beginning, I would absentmindedly wonder, “What would it feel like to stand on that stage myself?” but when I went on a trip to Korea in middle school, there happened to be auditions for JYP in the area. There, I saw the possibilities and concretely decided my goal. I’m the type to follow through once I decide something, so regardless of the result I was going to do my best to the end. I first started to learn dance when I was around 5 years old. My body was so stiff that it was difficult for my mom to change my diapers, so I was put into a dance studio in the neighborhood (laughs). I’m good at R&B, smooth genres that flow with grace. Since I’m good at a style that is different from everyone else in the group, I would like to show it off more.

Since I’m always smiling and rarely get angry, my nickname is “Angel” (laughs). Also, since I look like a chick, I am also called “Chick”~ Heheh. DKB has a strong and “hiphop” image, but I have a bright personality so when we have a bright song, I suit it the best I think. My real name is Yuuku, which my mom named me. It’s a pretty rare name with an interesting meaning. My charm is the gap between me on and off the stage. I want to show a cooler me, different from usual. My expressions and movements differ depending on the nuances of the song, I would be happy if they could pay close attention to that!

「Sober（Remix ver.）」「Told You」 Not the original, but the remix. It really shows off the strength of our performance abilities. As far as MV’s go, “Told You.” It’s a sentimental song, but once you hear it with the performance it takes on a different light, so please check that out as well.

Harry-June

The always sunny mood maker maknae & main dancer

Way back when, I used to play basketball, and then after that I became a dancer. I was a part of a dance team for 3 years, and I got scouted when someone from the company saw a video of me dancing on SNS. I auditioned and after about 1 year of training, I debuted. My mom likes artists like Chris Brown and Michael Jackson, so naturally I’ve had an interest in dance since I was young. My role model was Chris Brown. I didn’t know how to sing, so at first I had a hard time, but everyone really helped me out and I was able to enjoy it more and more.

I’m Harry-June, maknae and acting main dancer! I’m DKB’s always sunny mood maker, and I’m in charge of making choreography. I love causing trouble, so I tease and mess with the older members a lot. By nature, I’m not really the cutesy type, but our fans always say “maknae Harry is so cute~,” so it was natural for me to become cutesy and loveable. Since I like basketball, lately I watch a lot of basketball videos. Sometimes on my days off, I meet with my friends that I used to play basketball with and play a real game.

This is the song that completely expresses DKB’s true colors. Bada Lee, who appeared in Street Woman Fighter 2, helped us with the choreo down to the finest details. I thought that being on a survival program would be really tough but when we were preparing, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead of worrying about what we should do, we gathered the opinions of the older members of what would be interesting and had fun creating the performance.

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iwanthermidnightz · 2 years ago

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Taylor Swift is best known and beloved as a storyteller, often weaving personal details, cultural references, and double entendres into her songs.

"I love to communicate via Easter eggs. I think the best messages are cryptic ones," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. She cited clothing, jewelry, and music-video sets as favored hiding spots, adding that she has been "encoding messages into the lyrics" since her debut album in 2006.

Because Swift is proudly meticulous and intentional with her art, fans delight in dissecting her lyrics and visuals, treating each album like a trail of breadcrumbs to be found and interpreted.

A certain branch of Swifties, known as "Gaylors," have long found queer subtext and themes in her music — particularly sapphic listeners who find solace and camaraderie in Swift's accounts of quiet yearning, forbidden love, and female intimacy.

In fact, some believe that dismissing the queer narratives in Swift's music does "a disservice to her genius and lyrical prowess."

Songs like "Welcome to New York" and "You Need to Calm Down" boast overt nods to LGBTQ causes, while others contain subtle phrases and slang that are widely known within the gay community — and therefore highly unlikely to have flown beneath Swift's diligent radar.

Insider's music team analyzed 31 songs in Swift's catalog from a queer perspective, listed below in chronological order.

"Mary's Song (Oh My My My)"

"Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" was apparently inspired by a couple who lived next door to Swift's family while she was growing up.

Swift seems to narrate the story from Mary's perspective, opening with a female pronoun: "She said, I was 7 and you were 9 / I looked at you like the stars that shined."

Because the other half of the couple is neither named nor gendered in the lyrics, Swift seems to fill the role herself, as if she and Mary share these intimate memories ("Our very first fight," "Our favorite spot in town").

Their relationship is defined by fate, but also by disbelief: "Our daddies used to joke about the two of us / They never believed we'd really fall in love." This could point to attraction that breaks with convention, or a fantasy tinged with the fear of familial rejection.

Notably, those fathers are mentioned in the first two verses but absent in the final chorus, when Swift recounts Mary's wedding.

"The Very First Night"

"The Very First Night" was released as a vault track on "Red (Taylor's Version)," meaning it was cut from the album's original tracklist in 2012.

Fans immediately found the song notable for its apparent bait-and-switch.

In the pre-chorus, Swift sings, "They don't know about the night in the hotel / They weren't riding in the car when we both fell," establishing a classic rhyme scheme known as AA BB.

However, the next couplet doesn't rhyme: "Didn't read the note on the Polaroid picture / They don't know how much I miss you."

The final "you" is jarring since the ear is trained to expect a four-line stanza made up of two rhyming couplets. "Her" would have been the natural word here, and the substitution seems designed to be obvious — particularly for a lyrical expert like Swift.

This strategy continues throughout the song as she pairs words like "whispered" and "whisper" with "you."

The song also features the lyric, "We broke the status quo / Then we broke each other's hearts." It's difficult to argue that Swift having secret rendezvous with a man would break the status quo in any significant way.

"Welcome to New York"

"Welcome to New York" is the opening track of "1989," Swift's official pivot to pop.

She said the album was largely inspired by the "celebration of being unique" in New York City, noting the "freedom" she felt after moving there.

"Everybody here was someone else before," she sings in the second verse. "And you can want who you want / Boys and boys and girls and girls."

When asked specifically about the aforementioned line on a 2014 episode of "The Talk," Swift responded, "I wrote the song kind of following when gay marriage became legal in New York."

"So many of my friends had to be kind of scrutinized for who they were in love with from the time they came out," she continued. "I didn't want to make a big deal of it because I don't think it should be a big deal who you love."

The state of New York legalized same-sex marriage in June 2011. Swift moved to the city three years later in March 2014 and released "1989" in October of that year.

"Style"

"Style" is ostensibly about Harry Styles, whom Swift reportedly dated in late 2012 and early 2013. But the lyrics describe a relationship that evades commitment and clear boundaries, so both people were romantic with others in their downtime.

"I say, 'I heard that you've been out and about with some other girl,'" Swift sings in the second verse. "He says, 'What you heard is true but I can't stop thinking 'bout you and I.'"

Swift replies: "I've been there too a few times."

Given the vague phrasing, this could easily be interpreted to mean that Swift had also been "out and about with some other girl."

Swift kept her interpretation similarly vague while discussing the line with Ryan Seacrest in 2014.

"It's basically one of those relationships that's always a bit off. The two people are trying to forget each other, they both have been out with other people and are trying to forget one another," she explained. "So, it's like, 'Alright, I heard you went off with her and you came back, and well, I've done that, too.'"

"Out of the Woods"

"Out of the Woods" recycles the image of a Polaroid picture that Swift used in "The Very First Night," perhaps indicating the songs were inspired by the same person.

"You took a Polaroid of us / Then discovered / The rest of the world was black and white / But we were in screaming color," she sings in the first verse.

The juxtaposition between the monochromatic world and the relationship's "screaming color" carries the implication of a queer awakening, as gay pride is heavily associated with vibrance and rainbows.

"Out of the Woods" also embodies an anxious, claustrophobic feeling that many closeted queer people may relate to. Swift draws a parallel between the thrill of falling in love and the fear of being discovered.

"I Wish You Would"

"I Wish You Would" features the lyric "We're a crooked love in a straight line down," which echoes the prejudiced idea that queer love is deviant, unnatural, or "crooked" in a culture that deems being straight as the standard.

"How You Get the Girl"

"The song 'How You Get the Girl' is a song that I wrote about how you get the girl back if you ruined the relationship somehow and she won't talk to you anymore," Swift told Audacy in 2014.

"Like, if you broke up with her and left her on her own for six months and then you realize you miss her," she continued. "All the steps you have to do to edge your way back into her life, because she's probably pretty mad at you. So it's kind of a tutorial."

While this song could be read as Swift doling out advice for clueless men, it's not outrageous to imagine that she's speaking from experience. Because Swift only uses "she" and "her" pronouns throughout the song, both interpretations are able to coexist.

"Wonderland"

"Wonderland" is a source of much speculation among Swift's fans. The song is built upon a bed of references to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," the famous 1865 novel by Lewis Carroll that was animated by Disney in 1951.

Swift uses "falling down the rabbit hole," which transports Alice to Wonderland, as an extended metaphor for falling in love.

"Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?" is a nod to Alice's observation that "curiosity often leads to trouble." Swift also aligns herself with the book's band of outsiders with the lines, "Too in love to think straight" and "We both went mad."

Many fans have noted that Dianna Agron — who was frequently photographed with Swift in 2011 and 2012 before abruptly distancing from each other in 2013 — had a "Wonderland" quote tattooed on her ribcage that has since been removed. She also reportedly had a Tumblr, deleted in 2013, that was called "felldowntherabbithole."

"I believe that love comes in many ways, shapes, and colors," Agron told Nylon in 2015. "I feel proud that we as a society are starting to understand and support more than just the social norms."

"New Romantics"

Just the title of "New Romantics" could be interpreted as a cheeky nod to queerness, especially since the public support for gay marriage began hitting new highs in the years that Swift wrote "1989."

"'Cause baby, I could build a castle / Out of all the bricks they threw at me," she sings in the chorus.

Throwing bricks is symbolically linked with the 1969 protest at Stonewall Inn in New York City, which is often cited as a turning point in the national fight for LGBTQ liberation.

It's safe to say Swift is aware of this history: She gave a surprise performance at Stonewall Inn in 2019 and included a nod to the landmark in her music video for "You Need to Calm Down." (Ryan Reynolds is shown creating a painting of its facade.)

Another noteworthy lyric arrives in the second verse when Swift sings, "The rumors are terrible and cruel / But, honey, most of them are true."

"Don't Blame Me"

"Don't Blame Me" employs drug use as a metaphor for love, broadly evoking themes of experimentation and rebellion.

In the first verse, Swift draws a contrast between the men she's used as "playthings" and a new kind of relationship, one that's authentic and private: "Something happened for the first time / In the darkest little paradise." Shortly after, she admits, "For you, I would cross the line."

In the second verse, she gets more specific: "Halo hiding my obsession / I once was poison ivy, but now I'm your daisy."

Fans have theorized this points to Karlie Kloss, Swift's one-time best friend. They were nearly inseparable for several years before a rumored rift in 2018.

Kloss is best known as a model and Victoria's Secret Angel. When Swift performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2013 and 2014, the two women would exchange playful touches and strut down the runway holding hands ("Halo hiding my obsession").

In March 2014, the duo took a road trip through Big Sur, which Kloss described as "an adventure of a lifetime with my girl." She also shared a photo of a yellow daisy, tagging Swift as the center of the flower ("Now I'm your daisy").

"Gorgeous"

"Gorgeous" is plainly about forbidden love — or, more accurately, forbidden attraction. Swift is agonized by the subject's beauty because, as she admits, "there's nothing I hate more than what I can't have."

This song could certainly be about Joe Alwyn, Swift's current partner of nearly six years, who she may have met while dating another man.

It could also be about sapphic desire. As Lindsay Zoladz wrote for The Ringer, "the listener has to accept that there exists something, or someone, that Pop Overlord Taylor Swift cannot immediately command with the snap of a beautifully manicured finger."

"Doesn't 'Gorgeous' sound like it's about having a crush on a woman?" Zoladz continued. "Wouldn't that be the only kind of love forbidden to Taylor 'I'd Never Alienate My Republican Fan Base' Swift?"

(Note: "Gorgeous" was written and released several years before Swift expressed liberal political views and aligned herself with the LGBTQ community.)

(Also note: During the "Reputation" stadium tour, Swift would use the song to introduce the "gorgeous women" onstage with her.)

"Dancing With Our Hands Tied"

"Dancing With Our Hands Tied" is another example of Swift associating love with anxiety and panic, a striking motif of both "Reputation" and "Lover."

The title applies a common idiom, "used to say that someone is unable to act freely because something (such as a rule or law) prevents it," according to Merriam-Webster.

As a hyper-famous woman, Swift is likely "unable to act freely" in a new relationship for fear of rumors, tabloids, and paparazzi.

In a queer context, "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" captures the fear of coming out and being met with homophobia. This is illustrated in the song's second verse: "I loved you in spite of / Deep fears that the world would divide us."

"Dress"

During every show on the "Reputation" stadium tour, Swift would dedicate "Dress" to Loie Fuller, a pioneer of modern dance and an out lesbian. According to Vogue, who photographed Fuller in 1913, she lived with her girlfriend from 1905 until her death.

"Dress" is perhaps Swift's most explicitly sexual song ("Only bought this dress so you could take it off"). Although Swift is a noted fan of wearing dresses, it's possible to read this line as the song's subject taking off her own dress.

"Dress" also includes the line "I don't want you like a best friend" twice in each chorus, indicating a friends-to-lovers arc. This is notable because, one, falling in love with your best friend is canonically queer, and two, Kloss described Swift as her best friend on more than one occasion.

Later, Swift sings defiantly, "Everyone thinks that they know us / But they know nothing about us." This doesn't seem to match the tone of Swift's relationship with Alwyn. At the time "Reputation" was released, the public knew hardly any information about their dynamic or history.

"They have quite a low-key relationship, which Taylor likes," Swift's pal Ed Sheeran said in October 2017. "It's normal, and no one really knows about it right now."

Even the song's name invites speculation that it could be about a queer relationship. Put plainly, the song is about sex — so it's interesting that she represented that concept with a dress, a widely recognized symbol of femininity.

"Me!"

Swift described her seventh album "Lover" as "very, very autobiographical," citing "extreme catchiness and moments of extreme personal confession."

She released its lead single on April 26, which is recognized nationally as Lesbian Visibility Day. She promoted the flamboyant music video with a post on Instagram, writing in the caption, "ME! Out now!"

She seems to nod to the gay-pride flag in both the video and the lyrics, singing of herself, "But one of these things is not like the others / Like a rainbow with all of the colors."

In her Netflix documentary "Miss Americana," Swift explained the video's aesthetic concept to Brendon Urie, who is featured on the song.

"Whatever makes you, you — emo kids, theatre, dance sequences, 'La La Land,' everything," she began, to which Urie replied, "Nailed it."

"And when it's me, it's like — dancers, cats, gay pride, people in country western boots. I start riding a unicorn," she continued. "Everything that makes me, me."

"You Need to Calm Down"

"You Need to Calm Down" is Swift's most emphatic declaration of support for the LGBTQ community.

Although Swift doesn't explicitly identify herself as a member of the community, she sings in the song's pre-chorus that "shade never made anybody less gay."

This may be a callback to "I Forgot That You Existed," the opening track of "Lover," in which Swift said she "lived in the shade you were throwing."

In the music video, Swift also wears a wig with the colors of the bisexual-pride flag.

"Cruel Summer"

Fans speculate that "Cruel Summer" was written in 2016 when Swift was socially ostracized due to her feud with Kim Kardashian and Ye, formally known as Kanye West. A photocopied page of her diary was included with physical copies of "Lover," in which Swift had written, "This summer is the apocalypse."

Some believe this song was inspired by Alwyn, although according to that same diary, he didn't begin dating Swift until October 2016.

Instead, phrases like "angels roll their eyes" and "no rules in breakable heaven" may be references to Kloss' legacy as a Victoria's Secret Angel.

In the bridge, Swift sings, "I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you," calling to mind a closeted queer romance.

"The Man"

"The Man" exposes sexist double standards in Hollywood, exploring how Swift might be perceived if she were born a man but made all the same choices.

Swift explained the song's concept in an audio clip for Spotify's storyline feature.

"I've had the thought several times in my career, wondering if I had been a man instead of a woman, and if I had lived my life exactly the same way — had the same triumphs, made the same mistakes, dated the same people — what would people have said about me if I was a man instead of a woman?" she said.

The phrase "dated the same people" becomes relevant when paired with the song's bridge: "What's it like to brag about raking in dollars / And getting bitches and models?"

"The Archer"

In "The Archer," Swift compares falling in love to preparing herself for "combat" and expresses a deep-rooted fear of being seen and understood. Queer fans may relate to this as a fear of being outed.

The song's bridge is particularly foreboding: "'Cause they see right through me / They see right through me / They see right through / Can you see right through me? / They see right through / They see right through me / I see right through me / I see right through me."

"False God"

While superficially a love song, "False God" contains clear undertones of religious guilt and shame, recognized by queer people who were raised in God-fearing households.

"They all warned us about times like this / They say the road gets hard and you get lost when you're led by blind faith," she sings in the pre-chorus. In this context, "they" would refer to those who use religion as a reason to oppose gay rights.

Indeed, Swift's early work hints at a relatively religious and conservative upbringing. She references praying and keeping faith in tracks like "Our Song," "Christmas Must Be Something More," and "Come in With the Rain."

Although her current relationship with religion is a bit murky, Swift does mention Jesus in her 2019 track "Soon You'll Get Better," and in "Miss Americana," she self-identifies as a Christian.

"It's Nice to Have a Friend"

"It's Nice to Have a Friend" thematically mirrors "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)," describing a childhood friendship that blossoms into an adult relationship.

The songs even follow the same structure, describing a youthful crush in verse one and a budding teen romance in verse two, concluding with the couple's wedding and happy ending.

"It's Nice to Have a Friend" doesn't use any male or female pronouns, but several details suggest girlhood and shared femininity: swapping gloves, sleeping in a tent together as kids, "light pink sky," "call my bluff, call you 'babe.'"

"The 1"

"The 1" is the opening track on "Folklore," which Swift described as a collection of stories, visuals, and characters as a vehicle for expressing her own "whims, dreams, fears, and musings."

"The lines between fantasy and reality blur," she told fans upon the album's release. "Speculation, over time, becomes fact."

"The 1" broadly explores the question of "what could've been," recounting details of past relationships with overtones of nostalgia and regret.

"We were something, don't you think so? / Rosé flowing with your chosen family," Swift sings in the final chorus. "And it would've been sweet / If it could've been me."

Swift has used "chosen family" to describe friends she made in her 20s, specifically those she left behind: "It's sad but sometimes when you grow, you outgrow relationships," she wrote in 2019.

But the term is also deeply entwined with the LGBTQ community, where it's used to describe a group of friends, usually queer, who support and celebrate your identity — especially in the face of homophobia or familial rejection.

"Seven"

"Seven" is clearly in conversation with "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" and "It's Nice to Have a Friend." This trilogy seems to excavate queer feelings and connections that arise at a tender age, especially within friendships that begin platonically or appear platonic from the outside. (See also: "I knew everything when I was young," the pivotal line in "Cardigan.")

Of the three songs, "Seven" contains the brightest glimmers of queerness. Swift sings about someone with "braids like a pattern" whom she wants to run away with: "Pack your dolls and a sweater / We'll move to India forever."

Swift even references the famous idiom "in the closet," used to describe someone who's hiding their sexuality: "I think your house is haunted / Your dad is always mad and that must be why / And I think you should come live with me / And we can be pirates / Then you won't have to cry / Or hide in the closet."

The dad who's "always mad" recalls the father figures in "Mary's Song," who didn't believe their kids would really fall in love.

"Illicit Affairs"

"Illicit Affairs" is widely interpreted as a song about marital infidelity, but a love affair could be "illicit," or forbidden, for a variety of reasons — including laws, rules, or societal norms.

Swift sings of a relationship full of "clandestine meetings and longing stares," an experience that could be applied to a variety of queer love stories throughout history and pop culture. Fans have paired the lyric with TV shows and films like "Call Me by Your Name," "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," "Heartstopper," "Happiest Season," and "My Policeman."

Another line in the bridge, "You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else," recalls the rainbow-infused allusions in "Out of the Woods" and "Me!"

"Invisible String"

The central metaphor of "Invisible String" was likely inspired by an East Asian folk myth known as "the red thread of fate," visualized as a red string tied around the fingers of soulmates, connecting them by either end.

The song is also rich with Easter eggs and callbacks. Swift opens by referencing Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee, known as her adopted hometown. In verse two, she references the title of her 2014 single "Bad Blood."

Because much of the song draws from real details in Swift's life, fans were quick to note the intentional phrasing in the final chorus: "Time, wondrous time / Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies."

Blue-purple-pink is the exact arrangement of the triple-striped bisexual-pride flag, from bottom to top.

"Betty"

I previously wrote about the queer interpretation of "Betty" and how it can, and should, coexist alongside Swift's official explanation that it's written "from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy."

Within the song itself, the narrator is only known as James, named after Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's eldest daughter. (Swift herself was named after James Taylor.)

The song declines to give the narrator any gendered pronouns or identifiers. This vagueness makes it easier to visualize your own versions of the characters — and with Swift's feminine voice serenading a girl named Betty, it's arguably easiest to visualize two girls.

The core listening experience of "Betty" is hearing a girl sing about wanting to kiss another girl.

"Gold Rush"

"Gold Rush," the second track on "Evermore," is about pining for someone who "everybody wants" and refusing to submit to their charms ("I can't dare to dream about you anymore").

Swift describes this person's beauty as "gleaming, twinkling," and perceptibly feminine: "What must it be like to grow up that beautiful? / With your hair falling into place like dominoes."

One year before the release of "Evermore," Kloss shared a photo of herself in a golden dress for the 2019 Met Gala. She captioned the post, "Gold rush."

Swift had previously described Kloss using terms like "gold" and "sunshine." She selected the sun when asked to describe Kloss using a single emoji in 2015. (In return, Kloss selected the princess for Swift.)

"Tolerate It"

Swift told Apple Music's Zane Lowe that "Tolerate It" was largely inspired by "Rebecca," a 1938 Gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier.

"I was thinking, 'Wow, her husband just tolerates her. She's doing all these things and she's trying so hard and she's trying to impress him, and he's just tolerating her the whole time,'" she explained. "There was a part of me that was relating to that, because at some point in my life, I felt that way."

The song's central couplet captures this heartbreaking indifference: "I know my love should be celebrated / But you tolerate it."

During a 2019 interview with Elvis Duran, Swift echoed this very sentiment while discussing her public support of LGBTQ rights and the Equality Act.

"I just wanted to make it known to everyone around me, and my loved ones, and my fans, and my friends and my colleagues, like, I don't just tolerate the way that you are, I celebrate the way that you are," she said.

"Dorothea"

Much like "Betty," "Dorothea" is a love song addressed to a girl. Swift described the titular character as "a girl who left her small town to chase down Hollywood dreams."

But unlike "Betty," Swift has never declared that "Dorothea" was written from the male perspective.

"If you're ever tired of being known for who you know / You know, you'll always know me, Dorothea," Swift sings in the chorus.

"Friend of Dorothy" is popular queer slang; you may have heard the term in The 1995 film "Clueless", or more recently in Netflix's "The Crown". It was originally coined as a synonym for a gay man, but it's more commonly used today as a catchall for any member of the LGBTQ community.

"Ivy"

On its face, "Ivy" is the "infidelity" chapter of "Evermore's" failed marriage anthology.

The narrator seems to be a married woman who's in love with someone else, terrified that her husband will find out.

Many fans have theorized that "Ivy" was inspired by Emily Dickinson. Scholars believe the poet was a lesbian and in love with her childhood best friend, Sue Gilbert, who ended up marrying Dickinson's brother.

The two women shared plenty of intimate letters and Gilbert apparently inspired much of Dickinson's poetry, the most famous of which ends with the line, "Sue - forevermore!" (Not to mention, "Evermore" was announced on Dickinson's birthday, December 10.)

The Apple TV+ series "Dickinson" celebrates the poet's queerness and focuses largely on her clandestine romance with Gilbert.

At the end of a 2021 episode titled "Grief Is a Mouse," the women reunite for a passionate sex scene that leads into the credits, soundtracked by "Ivy."

Swift herself approved the song's usage in the show, according to showrunner Alena Smith.

"I really wanted to use that song — I mean I love that song and also the fans have sort of developed a mythology around it as being a song that relates to Emily and Sue on some emotional level," Smith told the Hollywood Reporter, adding, "We were lucky that Taylor said yes."

"Cowboy Like Me"

"Cowboy Like Me" uses the titles "cowboy" and "bandit" as euphemisms to describe two people in cahoots, hiding who they are from the outside world.

"You're a cowboy like me," then, could be interpreted as a private recognition of shared queerness.

"You asked me to dance / But I said, 'Dancing is a dangerous game,'" Swift sings in the first verse, a clear reference to "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" and the risk she associates with being openly in love.

Later, Swift sings of "the old men that I've swindled" and pretending she was in love for financial gain: "Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear / Like it could be love / I could be the way forward / Only if they pay for it."

Celebrities have been known to engage in relationships for PR purposes— to promote a film, for example, or rehabilitate a person's reputation.

PR relationships have also been historically used to conceal a celebrity's sexuality. Stars like Michael Bolton and Colten Haynes have described the "isolation" and emotional pain this caused before they felt comfortable publicly coming out as gay.

"Right Where You Left Me"

"Right Where You Left Me" one of the most heartbreaking songs in Swift's catalog, also contains one of her most conspicuous queer references.

"I swear you could hear a hairpin drop / Right when I felt the moment stop," Swift sings in the pre-chorus. "Glass shattered on the white cloth / Everybody moved on / I stayed there."

The commonly used idiom is "you could hear a pin drop," meaning it's very quiet. But Swift intentionally changed the noun to "hairpin."

"Dropping hairpins" is a well-known euphemism in the LGBTQ community, described by the New York Times as "a traditional gay gambit."

"This means to drop clues, if not outright statements, about one's own homosexuality in an effort to induce one's interlocutor to follow suit," the Times reported in 2015.

The Stonewall Inn protest is also known was "the hairpin drop heard around the world."

#THIS WAS SO NECESSARY TO HAVE ALL IN ONE PLACE #the writer did their homework

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always-andromeda · 2 years ago

Note

Ooooh shit it’s my problematic fave: hate to love him, love to hate him, god help me it’s a good thing this man is cute

“The World Ender” for Calvin, pretty please ❤️ extra detail: reader is also a writer, and Calvin and reader are a bit competitive (maybe he’s even jealous of her at times, but she has no clue about that), but reader gets some particularly bad feedback on her writing (not from Calvin, from someone else), and she starts to doubt her abilities to the point where she’s extremely discouraged and down. Calvin catches her crying and puts his ego aside and steps in to comfort her/encourage her. The relationship of these two is sort of like enemies to lovers vibes. Thank you!

Author's Note | your juicy, big brain thoughts absolutely kill me, hon. like I planned on keeping these under 1,000 words but you gave me this prompt and my brain went NYOOM and now we have over 1,300 words of a scenario that I'm in love with and it's all your fault!! (in a positive way, lmao, love you, bb)

This is so stupid, you think to yourself as you mope on the stairwell of your publishing company’s building. After years of working through all of your anxiety and procrastination and the logistics, you’d published a book. Your first one since your debut a few years prior. You did the thing that everyone said you couldn’t do and that was come up with a worthy follow up.

And of course some asshole critic had to give their two cents. Amongst the flood of praise from your peers and the general public alike, some snot-nosed, insolent, slimy book reviewer had written a scathing review.

Uninspired. Incompetent. Unintelligible garble. This book is a waste of paper.

You scrolled through the review, skimming through each line that seemed tailor-made to make you break down completely. Had everyone simply been lying? They'd all told you that you were so talented. A promising young author. Had you really fallen so far in the years it took to build up your confidence again?

Calvin was particularly annoyed to find the elevator was out of order. After the particularly taxing meeting with Langdon, Calvin hated the idea of having to go back down the stairs. On the walk up, he'd been so confident. Finally ready to set a deadline for the first draft of his next book only to find out that Langdon hated his ideas and wanted him to go back to the drawing board.

With his ego shot, he's almost delighted to find you sitting on the steps as he rounds the corner onto the bottom floor.

The back and forth he has with you isn't playful, by any means. From the moment he'd overheard you say that you thought his first book was overrated at one of Langdon's parties, he'd been perpetually holding his nose up. At least his book was being sold. Sure, it had been years since he'd finished something that lived up to it...but at least he was working.

You, on the other hand, had taken a break for a few years. Too much pressure from the industry had made you cave. Calvin had scoffed at the news; he thought you were weak. A delicate little flower that couldn't handle criticism.

Calvin remembered reading your book the week it came out. Unusually, he devoured it all in a few sittings. And even if he was grasping for straws...he couldn't find anything he glaringly disliked. He thought he would have written a few passages better here and there. But that was just him being picky. On a technical level...it was brilliant. He'd closed your book shut when he finished it and simply decided that he was never going to give you the satisfaction of knowing his thoughts.

The urge to make up some bullshit insult upon spotting you is strong, yet, it subsides when he hears a high pitched cry. Then a short sniffle. Are you crying?

You hear his shoes stepping on the stairwell as he gets closer and you wipe away your undereyes with a knuckle.

Your head whips around to find the source of the intrusive sound. "Calvin?"

He sees your bleary eyes. Clearly red. Nose still running just a little as your back straightens in his presence. "Y/N." he greets coldly. He tries to keep his nose up. Tries to pass by as if he doesn't care even in the slightest that he caught his rival breaking down in the harshly lit stairwell. As if the idea of making some snide comment with the express purpose of kicking you while you're down didn't make him feel downright sick inside.

But as he reaches the step you sit on, he gives into the compelling urge to sit beside you. Almost instinctively you grimace to yourself and scoot a little further away.

Smoothing your hair back and sighing you ask, “What do you want from me this time, Calvin? Planning on saying I told you so?”

Really, Calvin can't think of anything to say. There's nothing aside from a bone-chilling awkwardness seeping into his touch as he slowly pats your back. Because if he knows one thing, he knows that you don't need him adding onto whatever pile you've got forming in your head.

"Are you okay?" he raises an eyebrow behind those tortoiseshell glasses and it makes you want to cry all over again. Are you really about to accept comfort from the notoriously full of himself, arrogant, douche, Calvin Weir-Fields? The answer to that seems to be a yes as you sob out loud, burying your red face in your hands.

"Why am I like this?" you ask, muffled by your hands.

"Ummm...I don't know...?" Calvin tries slowly.

You look at him suddenly, "Did you read the new Times article today? The one by Robert Novak?"

Of course he had. He drank in every single review. Mostly trying to find someone else who could possibly give him a reason to dislike your book. Robert Novak should've been his best friend for that task. He was relentless, tearing into your pages like he was being paid per word. Maybe he was. Maybe that's why he used so many run-on sentences and pulled random critiques out of thin air.

Regardless of that, Calvin was sure that by the end of the article that Robert Novak had no idea what he was talking about. And, frustratingly, your book was actually good.

"Yeah, it was...certainly one hell of a read."

"I put everything into that book. And he said it was garbage. I spent months pouring out my entire heart...and this one asshole...manages to get to me."

Calvin puts his hands up to explain, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure the guy is a hack. One second he's writing about how your main character's character arc was nonexistent and the next he's claiming that the plot line doesn't justify the changes that the main character went through. I mean," Calvin chuckles nervously, "Pick a side."

You stare forward for a few seconds, processing for a few seconds before Calvin has the chance to ramble again, "You actually read my book?"

Calvin tries to loosen a little, screwing his face up into a nonchalant grin, "Of course...just for...comparison...purposes. Gotta keep in tune with what the public is consuming these days..."

You stifle your own smile at his forced demeanor. You know what a truly indifferent Calvin looks like and this isn't it. This Calvin is sweet.

He waves the excuse away, "Never mind. Just know that...Robert Novak has no fucking clue what he's talking about. I'd be willing to bet that snob didn't even read it. Probably had a deadline to hit so he came up with whatever bullshit he could while skimming it. Wouldn't be the first time some asshole half assed something just to fulfill a quota."

Calvin knew that situation all too well from every time he had to rush to finish one of his short stories for review and publication. Just some asshole...half assing a project...whereas you had channeled your soul into your work. How dare he be such a snob?

You nod slowly, already beginning to feel better. "So I assume you liked my book."

"It was...alright." Calvin cleared his throat, "Tolerable." Perfect.

"You really expect me to believe that?" you cock an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, don't get too full of yourself."

You scoff playfully, "You're one to talk."

Calvin just stares at you. And he feels like he's looking at you with brand new eyes as he laughs at himself and concludes with a light smile, "Yeah. I am one to talk."

#strange trails milestone✨#ruby sparks #calvin weir fields #calvin weir fields x reader #calvin weir fields x you #calvin weir fields x y/n #˚ʚ meda writes ɞ˚

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