#no real conclusion. if u wanna discuss more feel free to:)

[kustas]

Sorry for the incoming long rant.

I just rediscovered your blog, and I always enjoyed your thoughts on WHA and wanted to rant a little bit. I found a post of yours talking about how WHA is getting less nuanced and I feel the same way. I feel like in an effort to make every character feel like a person, the manga treats everyone’s issues as if they’re on the same level. I’m not sure if that entirely makes sense, but it feels like the manga is trying to make you sympathize with everyone to some extent, even though that doesn’t really work. For example, there is a chapter that pissed me off so much that I had to put the manga on pause. It’s the chapter where Coco shows off a spell that can clean water, and the townspeople are uninterested because they don’t need it. And the moral of the chapter is that Coco should make her spell for everyone. No. No no no. These people need to learn some damn compassion and realize that they need to help end what suffering that they are able to. The moral of the chapter should’ve been that these people need to stop thinking of only themselves. Everything else was aimed at them, so Coco’s spell didn’t need to be for them. It shouldn’t have been for them. There is also the situation with the knights. You went into this already but who gives a shit if they are offended by a grieving husband taking out his anger in them when they are a part of the system that caused his grief. The manga wants you to sympathize with everyone, and while I don’t think these people should be one dimensional their issues should not be treated on the same level as others. Anyway, sorry for the weird long rant, it’s just everyone treats this manga like it is The Most Flawlessly Progressive Manga Ever and your one of the few I’ve found who acknowledges is flaws without devaluing its strengths

Thank you for your ask! I agree with what you're saying and think you worded it very well. It's a bit of a shame it's so rare to find people openly critiquing the series in the community, while it's nothing serious (and minimized by being a bit of a hermit, lol) I've seen some animosity for doing it, I assume because many assume critiquing art means you don't like it or are opposed to what it's trying to do! Which isn't true. Granted Witch Hat Atelier contains many an obvious fantasy metaphor for real life social issues it should be under more scrutiny than normal if you ask me, because those are serious topics that affect people's real lives. I do have faith in the author's serious handling of touchy topics, but in the execution there are things I'd do differently for sure...

The manga wants you to sympathize with everyone, and while I don’t think these people should be one dimensional their issues should not be treated on the same level as others.

WHA has in its writing strong expectations from the reader regarding how you think of its cast I find hard to read through a lot - the latest arc in particular, comparatively, has much of its character based moments revolve around if they're good or bad in a way that implies it'll change how you think of a character and it disturbs me. Qifrey and Sasaran are two early examples of characters that do *not* play into that - Qifrey's beginning arcs simultaneously show him as a shady manipulator and genuinely good teacher who betters the life of his students, and it participates so much to the dramatic tension. Sasaran is a villain of the week who while shown to be a huge cunt, has a backstory that implies his original motives were not nefarious ones, and his life was not easy.

Compare this to a character like Dean who, as much as I'm a fan of his concept, falls rather flat because he's, depending on the chapter, pushed as good/bad to the reader, regarding his moral alignment. Characters who are just meant to be despicable don't have the same level of attention placed to their writing which is a similar issue. It feels insecure, like if the story was saying: we have those important characters, their role is to bring up difficult situations, please don't hate them, like them, see, they're nice too! And giving them chosen positive traits. People don't work like that and it feels cheap. Fandom's obsession with villains should show well a character being despicable doesn't make them unlikeable, and I'd like WHA's characters to be less "good"/"likeable" myself to make them a bit more human. This would detonate a fandom nuke given I still regularly see passionate debates about how mean and terrible characters like Agott or Custas are but hey

As for priorities in the depicted suffering of characters in universe - yeah, it's true some scenes feel a bit off in that department...the water cleaning scene you mention did not rub me the wrong way too hard, because it's centered around Coco, who's our main character, the story bending to give her a central role makes sense, and her unique position in witch society and how it relates to helping others are, with the responsibilities of witches, very important to the story. The apprentice backstories are an earlier example I had trouble taking too seriously because while they're all terrible, tiny silly Riche and her brother's experience with physical child abuse felt drawn with the same intensity as Agott being pushed to mental disarray by her rich fancy perfectionist family. It's all hard to complain about and might sting less if the writing was a bit less dramatic and preachy, but that might just be a me issue, I've seen many fans praise WHA's writing wholeheartedly, so...

What I am hoping is that the latest arc will conclude and lead to the shorter previous structure and we'll get individual attention brought to character stories, one after the other, instead of the all at once formula going on right now... We'll see!

[binniesthighs]

i loveeee your first write abt Jisung omgggg he is like one of my BIGGEST bias wrecker of all time so i was like WOAH THERE,,,, and i was so hooked on your writings i wanna see more 👀 if you have free time can i please ask for a Jeonghan smut where he is your rival in everything let's say at school and u didn't actually like him at first but he kinda flirts and idk I'm just so into Jeonghan's cocky behavior these daysss he's making me feel thiiiiiiingsssss 😩❤️

ahh thank you anon you are so so sweet! ♡ I’m so happy that you liked my Jisung stuff! I love writing for that boy hehe and thank you so much for requesting love!! this is my first seventeen ask I’m so so excited to write more of them in the future! my brain really took this one and rannnn with it, it ended up a bit harder than I intended, I hope that’s okay and I hope that you enjoy it!

what i want most |reader x jeonghan |

Pairing: self insert, gender neutral reader x yoon jeonghan

Genre: lil bit of smut, lil bit of angst

Tags: harddom!jeonghan, bratty!reader, enemies (competitors) to lovers, college au, jeonghan being our fave cocky boy, bestfriend!seungcheol, mentions of school work, slow-ish burn, masturbation (reader), use of degrading names, dumification, hook-up, choking, marking, spanking, facefucking, gagging, use of safe symbols, nipple play, overstimulation, unprotected sex, creampie, slight exhibitionism, semi-public sex, sex in a study room

Word count: 4k

Someone told you once long ago that hate is a strong word. Apparently, they had never experienced loathing before. To you, hate always seemed to be something playful, something a little teasing. When your best friends would mock you for the most insignificant things, you would say “cut that shit out. You know that I hate you right?”

Loathing is much more fun. Loathing holds more of an edge. Loathing keeps you up at night, and lingers in your mind. Loathing digs into your skin like a papercut, coming back to sting later when you stretch your skin. Loathing made you feel all twisted up inside. This one super-massive emotion is one that clings to you and makes you jealous and irritable, and the best of all, competitive.

You don’t know what you would be without loathing...if not for him.

But as much as you loathed him, he was the perfect elixir of sugar-coated poison.  

He kept you up at night. He lingered in your mind.

Everything about you, he had to do too. You didn’t know at this point if it was some kind of joke, or that the two of you had miraculously been crafted to be just that similar.

Since the day that you had met him three years ago in undergrad, there wasn’t one class that the two of you didn’t share. Every single job that you applied to, he would apply to as well. Each professor that you would introduce yourself to, the next day he would be cozied up next to them talking about some kind of bullshit and pretended to care about their personal lives. He even chose the exact same grad program as you.

When the two of you graduated, it was him who sucked in his lip, never breaking with your eyes when he received higher honors than you. He probably loathed you too.

That would keep you up at night too.

There were other things about him as well that would creep into the corners of your sleep deprived brain. You would stare into the darkness of your room, eyes glued to the ceiling with your mind exploring shameless answers.

During these dark nights, your hand would absentmindedly cascade down your body, snaking your fingers down the soft of your skin. Behind your eyes, it was him sending shivers down your body. It was his lithe fingers, not yours, that would reach down to your aching sex to pleasure you into all the fantasies that only remained within the confines of your own mind. Before you would climax, it was his name that you whispered out into the air, not even knowing that you did.

“Jeonghan.”

•·················•·················•

“Are you going to finish that, or what?”

Seungcheol rummaged around your bag of chips that were barely touched.

Your highlighter skimmed over your page, you twisted the writing utensils around in your hand to scratch down a note with your pen. Truthfully, you hadn’t heard him.

“...I mean, if you don’t, I will. Can’t let stuff like this go to waste.” He held the bag in his lap, happily crunching away and tapping his foot a little.

“--Can you chew quieter?”

“...Me?”

“Yes, you.” You bopped him softly on top of his wavy caramel hair with your marked up article.

Seungcheol cringed and rubbed the top of his head as if you had hit him with something much denser than a stack of paper.

“In my defense, there isn’t really a quiet way to eat chips.” He popped another one in. “Are you gonna be done soon? It’s too...still out here.”

“You’re the one that suggested coming here!”

His puppy-like face turned combative. “I did!...only because I think it’s pretty though.” Your friend shied away, trying to uphold his promise of “chewing quieter,” and subsequently failing.

He wasn’t wrong however, the courtyard in the middle of the library was very pretty, and you had been glad that he had suggested the two of you take lunch there. Inside the square shaped yard, a few trees had been planted with low swaying branches of little oval shaped leaves. There were hedges and a myriad of flowering plants with petals that were pink or yellow or purple. Somehow the little square was untouched by sound, save for a couple songbirds. Had you not a copious amount of work to take care of, you would have admired it all for hours.

“--And to answer your question, no, I will not be done soon. Sorry. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

Seungcheol cooly threw one of his arms over the silver outdoor chair next to him, shaking you off. “I don’t mind. I don’t have anything else that I really wanna be doing right now.”

“--Your thesis maybe?” You crashed your knee into his under the table and threw him a teasing smirk.

“I said, anything that I want to do.”

You nabbed one of your chips back. “Suit yourself then.”

The door to the courtyard clicked, followed by the creak of the old library door. Such a metallic sound stole the tranquility of the whole space.

“Y/n.”

Jeonghan came floating behind you, dressed in his usual attire: some type of glamorous pairing of dress pants and a button down as well as shoes that looked as if they had just been shined. He wore some kind of cologne that draped after him with a dizzying type of efflorescence. Everything about him was meticulously planned, down to the few purposefully unkempt strands of chocolate brown hair on his forehead.

He craned his neck a little to see your messy scribbles.

“You’re reading Nebasifu?”

Jeonghan leaned over you, tracing a finger over the neon orange highlights you had made. He shocked you with how close he had let himself get to you, practically encapsulating you in his arms. You found yourself staring into his neck, that floral scent forcibly permeating your air.

“Hmm.”

He hummed as he read over your notes. “Interesting conclusions right? The fact that in governance we create more problems when trying to solves the ones we have already made? It’s all so circular isn’t it?”

Your sweating palm crunched the paper out from under his fingertips.

“--Really interesting. I’d like to finish it...if you please.” While your words were polite, but they still bit.

“I can recommend more similar readings if you’re interested?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for the offer.”

“If it doesn’t make sense, you can always reach out, we can talk it through...I’ve found that discussing--”

“--I said that I’m fine. Nice talking to you Jeonghan.” You cast your eyes down to your paper and attempt to slow your viciously beating chest.

fucking leave. You pleaded, knuckles turning white around your pen.

“Alright then. See you later.” He straightened his glasses upon his nose bridge. “I look forward to hearing what you have to say about the topics later.”

He swept his hand lightly across your back. It was the most fleeting of gestures, but your entire body froze from it.  

Jeonghan situated himself at one of the benches and drew out a book. He sat in the direct beams of the afternoon sun. The brown wisps of hair that hit the light looked nearly golden. You loathed that he was breathtaking without even really trying.

Seungcheol grinded his teeth, muttering out, “Fucking creep. He can’t talk to you like that.” Even quieter, “I’ll take him out for you if you want me to.”

You stifled a laugh. You couldn’t help your eyes which would flutter over to him like it was forbidden.

“No, don’t do that. But thank you ‘Cheol.”

“I’ll do it! I swear...”

•·················•·················•

Jeonghan had a terrible habit. Not like it was particularly distracting, it was just something that you had taken notice of. From where you would sit nearly across the room from him, he would remove his glasses, then rest one of the temple tips between his lips. Sometimes, the click of his teeth would meet the plastic. It was a simple action, but the way that the little curve would rest on the pink of his lips made your mind wonder...the poison that would leave those same lips couldn’t have been real; not when they looked so sweet.

“--anyone want to share what they got out of the readings and case studies? What can we learn about our interference and the sovereignty of other states?”

You were only partially paying attention when Jeonghan silently rose his hand.

“I think that Y/n had a particularly interesting oponion on this. We were discussing this previously.” He curved his body around to meet your eyes which had already been inspecting him.

With an expectant crossing of his arms, your professor approached your desk. “Y/n?”

Everyone’s eyes were on you, but Jeonghan’s burned with the hottest flame.

You took your shaking hands into your lap, then gave your oponion as eloquently as you could, swallowing down your nerves. As usual, you were perfectly well spoken, as you knew you were. The professor nodded along with each point of your argument.

“--Very well articulated Y/n. And your counterpoints are provoking as well.” He finally turned to pace away. “Would anyone like to expand?”

Your professor’s body mass moved, revealing Jeonghan’s nearly sinful prideful smile. It was like he had given you a test, and you had passed magnificently. With the cock of his head, he mouthed,

“that was lovely.”

“I’d like to expand.” He piped, removing his glasses. Just as he always would, he tapped them between his lips, letting the skin fall a little by them. You had noticed it before, but they were smooth and plump. “I think that Y/n is correct...in many ways, but some points are a bit misguided, I would argue....”

•·················•·················•

[09:23 pm]

cheol: you coming back anytime soon?  i can’t believe you’re doing this to me on a friday. is it really that serious?

[09:26 pm]

me: need I remind you that you should probably be here with me? thesis papers don’t write themselves.

cheol: and I should remind YOU that we literally just got off break? they aren’t due for months.

i know what you’re trying to prove.

it’s not worth it.

what does that asshole have over you?

“--Shouldn’t you be back at home with that golden retriever of yours?”

Jeonghan’s pen tapped at your table, white sleeves rolled up. The day had taken it’s toll on him. The bags under his eyes proved that even someone as picturesque as him could still be effected by your long days. Nevertheless disheveled, he was just as alluring.

“And shouldn’t you be flirting with one of your students?” You clicked your phone off.

“Cute. Luckily I’m not one of the desperate ones starving for the attention of the little undergrads. That's a different kind of pathetic.”

“Hmmm. I just thought that it was the attention that you were after.” Heat rose to your ears while you breathed your beating heart down.

"Who doesn’t like attention? Especially if it’s from the right people...speaking of undergrads...”

Jeonghan’s slender neck twisted to eye the obnoxious group of students huddled up on a table, giggling and making a mess of their snacks.

“You’re studying out here? I can’t even--”

“--I appreciate the concern, but you’re not helping my focus either.”

“Am I...distracting you?” Jeonghan swept his warm brown hair to the side with the cock of his eyebrow.

You shook out a sigh. “Yes.”

“You don’t have an office?”

“Department didn’t have any more.”

“I’ve got a study room that I host study sessions in. You want to use it?”

“You’re offering to help me?”

“Listen, I know how hard our program can be, and I appreciate how hard you work. You deserve a quiet place to work.”

“Are you complimenting me?”

“Don’t make me change my mind...and what would I do if the competition suddenly dropped out?” He tapped the table with his fingertips. “That wouldn’t be very much fun.”

•·················•·················•

Jeonghan’s study room was simple, just like all the others in the library. It was stark, white, the tables were a bit banged up and the white board was riddled with little ink remnants. There were glass windows nearly everywhere so you could overlook both the outdoors and the rest of the library on the opposite wall. As the two of you entered, he calmly closed all the blinds.

“No distractions right?” He looked back to you.

“...do you have something that you need to get done too?”

“Not really. I’ve submitted a good chunk of my thesis for review.”

Of course he had.

“I’m just waiting to hear back.”

He crossed the room to sit directly next to you, slinging his legs up on the table and taking out that same book from earlier: it had some pretentious title that you had never heard of before.

“Don’t mind me.” He chided your straying eyes. “I’m only staying to lock the door after you.”

“I-I’m not...” Your eyes feel back to your computer and you typed at your keyboard just to fill the sound of the quiet room.

Sitting this close to you, you could smell that dizzyingly sweet smell of his again.

You loathed him for the way that he could be doing nothing and you could be enthralled in merely that.

Jeonghan’s eyes didn’t leave his page. “The more that you look at me, the less you’re working.”

You hadn’t even noticed.

“I guess I’m more distracting than I thought.”

Furious heat rose from the pit of your stomach to the tips of your ears.

“What the hell do you get off on?” You spat.

He calmly placed his book on the table. “What are you referring to?”

“For the past three years, you haven’t left me alone for a single second, you-you always do everything that I do like you’re on some kind of sick quest to prove that you’re better than me, better than anyone else--”

“--You think that I’m copying you?”

“Wha-what else would you be doing?”

“--Getting an education? God, you think that I’m the attention whore, aren’t you hearing yourself?? You must think that I’m obsessed with you.”

“What is it then? A superiority complex so fucking huge--”

“--You’re asking what it is that I want?”

You nodded back with heaving breaths.

“What I get off on? Well...” Jeonghan chuckled a little and raked his hands through his brown strands. “You don’t deserve to know. But there is one thing that I’ve wanted for a while that I haven’t been able to get my hands on. I suppose that’s what I want most.”

“And that is?”

Tentatively, he rose his hand nearer to you, saying nothing, his aura shifting from cocky to intrigued. At first, his fingers traced over the skin of your hand as if he was drawing little pictures into it. After he brushed his hand up your arm to weave a little strand of your hair around his fingers.

“I said you don’t deserve to know.”

You must have been in a daze; some kind of waking intoxication before your thoughts could catch up with your actions. It was almost as if you weren’t thinking anything at all, but where acting on prime instinct. Your whole body screamed with utter frustration: every word that he spoke to you make you loathe him even more, you wouldn’t ever let him get away with it.

There was something that you too wanted most, no matter how abhorrent it was.

Your thighs squeezed into his sides where you had straddled him in his chair, holding on to him so tightly it hurt your muscles. The haste on your lips on his was messy and hot, a smearing of skin and teeth crashing together with fury, tongues rolling off eachother with an undeniable hunger. His arms didn’t wrap around you but rather clawed in your hair, pulling slightly at the roots while he pulled you in impossibly close. The mixing of your gasping breaths together where whiny and yearning. As he kissed into you, his lips curled into a devilish smile.

In your arousal, you shoved your hips into his lap, grinding down into your excitement and seeking some from him. To your surprise, you could feel his hardening dick which only made you weaker. All the hundreds of little fantasies that you had held so secret started to dance in your mind; your darkest thoughts pleaded for him to destroy you, to ravage you, just as you had imagined.

Jeonghan’s lips tore from your own which he had worked until they were swollen. He mouthed down your jaw to your neck, sucking at the skin with no chance of mercy, he pulled and sucked until you could only pathetically beg for him to slow down for fear of him breaking the skin.

He stopped immediately to pull your shirt over your head and pick up his work there. The wet of his gorgeously plump lips on your skin was as perfect as you had imagined and it sent shivers echoing through all your limbs.

“Jeong-Jeonghan--”

This time you perfectly aware that it was indeed his name that would escaping off your tongue.

“You dumb slut, you thought I didn’t know that you wanted me?”

“You-you want me too?”

Jeonghan worked at the buttons on your pants.

“Wanting implies that I like you. What I want most is to make you my toy. There’s a difference.”

You mumbled out the words knowing exactly how he would take them. “I’m not a fucking toy.”

Jeonghan tsked and unbuttoned his own shirt. “You don’t get to decide that.”

You drew your fingers down his model-like toned chest, marveling in the pink lines. Jeonghan grunted in response, taking you by the underside of your thighs to throw you down on your back against the hard plastic. Once he had the chance, he ridded you of your bottoms, running his hands up your inner legs to send you reeling. For a couple seconds, you could have sworn that he had stopped to admire your body, but he wouldn’t let you tell too easily.

“That door isn’t locked.”

“What? Are you scared that someone could walk in? Scared to for someone to see you all splayed out like this?” He rose to kiss up your stomach and up to your nipples. He flicked them between his fingers. “To have someone see me making a wreck of you?”

“N-no.”

With saliva drying on your sensitive buds, they turned hard in seconds when they met the air. Jeonghan wasn’t hesitant to pull at them with his teeth slightly, making you whine for him even more.

“What should I do to you first?”

One of his hands trickled down your body to palm at your quivering sex, slick with your excitement for him and aching for the smallest of touches.

“You want it that bad? Stupid whore.”

Your hand ventured down to tease at his own dick over the fabric of his slacks.

“You want it that bad?”

“Get off.” He growled at you, then took you by the arms to jerk you off of the table and onto your knees at the floor. Under your knees, the burn of the carpet stung. His belt buckle jingled a little as he hooked a finger in to remove it. Afterword, he shook his pants off followed by his briefs, springing loose his twitching member with the tip pink. He combed his fingers through your hair while he tapped his dick against your lips.

“Fucking take it.”

You would have fought him on it, but you succumbed out of your pure curiosity over his girth.

At first, you coaxed him into your mouth, not going in too deep as you were fearful about his length. Regardless, you took him in as best as you could, hollowing out your cheeks and throat, sucking with your lips and grabbing at his legs.

Jeonghan hissed out a sigh, letting himself fall further into the warmth of your mouth. He pushed at your head slightly, bringing you in just deep enough to trigger your gag reflex.

“Mmm there you go.” He cooed.

You kept going as he liked it, gradually working up in pace while it got a bit harder and harder for you to catch your breath.

“That’s as deep as you can go? Can’t even take a dick into your throat?”

His grip on your head tightened.

Jeonghan whispered, “Squeeze my leg if you want me to stop.” before helping your head all the way down, causing you to gag even harder and for tears to well in your eyes. “That’s more like it.”

He continued guiding your head, and slobber started to form around your mouth You felt so weak and pliable around him, he was thankless aside from the tiny moans he would let escape past his lips for you.

Usable as you felt, it was still a deliciously addictive feeling.  

All at once, he tore out of your mouth to bring you back up to your feet. In seconds he had turned you around to bend over the plastic tabletop, elbows digging into the cool surface. By now, you were practically dripping for him with knees and legs weak from kneeling. He kicked your legs open farther, gifting your ass a piercing slap that stung, then another followed after.

“Hungry for my cock, hmm?”

He teased your entrance without warning, sending your body crumbling over the table into a mess of whimpers and curses clenched behind your teeth. His lithe fingers were your fantasy come to life.

“I-I can’t wait any longer...” You urged him on.

Jeonghan pushed your face into the table then slid his fingers above to curl around your neck. He encircled around the skin slowly, then dug in to close your airway. You choked out desperate little sounds, then he entered you carefully, making sure that you felt every part of him.

“Hmm. Pretty...” He allowed you. Even though it was just one word of praise, you reveled in it.

His pale fingers choked you harder for a few more seconds until he properly got his pace inside of you, letting go to hold you by your waist. Once again, he clapped his hand into your skin as he fucked into you. All you could manage to do with your hands was claw helplessly at the smooth tabletop seeking some kind of balance that was nowhere to be found. He grazed the deepest and most sensitive spot within you and you felt yourself nearly reaching your climax.

“I-is that all that you can do?” You turned his confidence back against him, spurring him on just as you had wanted. He snapped his hips even faster, groaning out as he neared his release.

“My pretty little fucktoy. You’re all mine? Got it?”

Jeonghan leaned over your back to pant the words into your ear.

“Fucking say it.”

“I-I’m...” Your focus was scrambled as your orgasm pooled within.

“I’m yours...your...pretty-mm-fucktoy.”

Jeonghan came inside of you with white heat, pulsating forcefully, with you following soon after while he milked himself with your walls. Even as you still came down, he rolled his hips into you over and over until your whole body was shaking helplessly.

“That’s right.” He pulled out, then pulled your legs apart to watch his cum fall out of your hole.

Jeonghan laughed to himself, “Thank you for giving me what I wanted.”

[behind-the-screen-of-bangtan]

The love story

This post is part of the TSU. It belongs to the second part: Towards adulthood.

BTS wrote a lot of love songs and they follow the same global reflection as the other themes discussed by the boys. As the songs are pretty self-explanatory, this post will rather focus on studying them globally, to see if they form a coherent story.

Before starting, we need to consider BTS’ songs structure for a little second. Most of the time, each rapper has a verse and then the vocal line sings together during the chorus. So if you want to tell a story, considering the chorus is always the same thing, it will happen in the verses and thus will be told by the rappers. Which means we can have up to three points of view.

This leads us to the biggest problem with the love story from BTS songs: we don’t know how many boys and girls are involved. So I’ve arbitrarily decided to apply the rule of the simplest version: if it makes sense with one boy, then there’s only one boy. Also, when I say “the Boy”, it’s just the main character of the song.

The macho

This story starts rather sadly. Bangtan’s first two love songs are post-break-up songs. “좋아요” (I like it) is about the Boy stalking his ex’s Facebook and “Coffee” about the Boy remembering his ex, comparing their relationship to a sweet caramel macchiato and their break up to a bitter Americano.

As the Boy has other things to consider during 2 Cool 4 Skool and O!RUL8,2?, he doesn’t look for love and it’s only in the last song from O!RUL8,2?, namely “Outro: Luv In Skool”, that a new love is brought up:

“Even though I drink coffee and open my eyes I still feel like I’m going to fall asleep oh no no I often drew it up, if I ruled the world I feel like I would put you by my side again Tell me that it’s not too late If this is a nightmare, please save me quickly Take a good look, I’m still waiting for only you”

As they’ll often do in future releases, they reference their own songs in another song. “Coffee” and “If I ruled the world” are both from O!RUL8,2?, which theme is finding happiness before it’s too late. It thus appears that the Boy has come to the conclusion that to escape the sadness of his previous break up and to find happiness, he needs the love of the Girl. The song ends with Jungkook asking “Girl do you wanna go out with me?”

Suga explained in his review that “Intro: Skool Luv Affair” follows the outro and shows how each rapper would propose. The song concludes with hip-hop being the solution because it’s “Bangtan’s style”. It’s so much Bangtan’s style that in the video there are actually more “hip-hop” elements - radio, sneakers, “wassup”, caps, skateboards - than ones relating to love - a couple, hearts, roses. The continuity with O!RUL8,2? is also shown through symbols appearing in the intro videos of both albums - round, triangle, square, five-branch star.

In the lyrics of “Boy In Luv”, the Boy wonders how he could ask the girl out and prove he’s a “real man” (“상남자” which is actually the name of the song in Korean; it’s not as sexist as it sounds in English though, it’s more “real man” as in someone strong enough that you can trust them, someone responsible). It’s also implied the girl is playing hard to get:

“Even if you act like you don’t know me or act cold I cannot push you away I want to be your oppa I’ll become your man, just watch”

In ”Where Did You Come From” it’s Suga’s and J-Hope’s turn to flirt with a girl while speaking in satoori (Suga explains it in his review).

“Boy In Luv” MV seems to summarize those three songs:

the intro of the MV fits with “Outro: Luv in Skool” (it’s “Just One Day”’s instrumental that’s playing though): we see the Boy - played by our international playboy falling in love at first sight with the Girl - he possibly asks her out a first time: “Girl do you wanna go out with me?” and is rejected because she’s playing hard to get. (Note that based on the photo concept and on later content, it’s also implied Jungkook has feelings for Yoongi but it’s an element belonging strongly to the BU so I won’t consider it further here.)

Then the Boy’s friends help him, each rapper explains how he would confess (”Intro: Skool Luv Affair” and “Where Did You Come From?)

And in the end, Jin goes to fetch the girl and brings her to Jungkook so he can confess himself - it was decided while filming to add Jin’s and Jimin’s scenes with the girl. As she accepts the flower, we can conclude the Boy and the Girl start going out.

However, it’s explained in “Just One Day” that they have difficulties meeting:

“Just one day, if I had time I want to get drunk in your sweet scent And fall asleep soundly In the midst of my tightly-packed schedules If I had an opportunity I want to soak myself in your warm deep eyes”

I didn’t mention it until now, but as there are always biographical elements in Bangtan’s songs, the Boy sometimes has an idol life - here the tightly-packed schedule; in “Coffee”, there’s also the line “Girl, I’ve debuted, this one phrase should do it, right?”. It’s rarely talked about though and most of the time the Boy is just an average guy.

Another thing to note, about the MV this time, is how the boys are in the light but also surrounded closely by shadows. As if the end is already near when they’re still dazzled by their bright love.

It doesn’t stop the Boy, however, and so in “Outro: propose”, he’s fully in love:

“(Good to you) You’re the only one for me (Good to you) Even with this distance between us Always stay by my side (Good to you) You’re my everything Even if tomorrow brings us trouble Hold my hand”

You can fit “Miss Right” here too if you want.

The disillusion

Dark & Wild has two parts: the first half is “dark” and the second, starting from the interlude is “wild”. It’s a plot twist to the fairy tale we had until now: while the Boy is still deeply in love, the Girl isn’t invested in the relationship.

At first the Boy wonders, in “Intro: What Am I To You?” and then he directly warns the Girl, in “Danger”, as he gets angrier. We have similar ideas in the sentences written next to the boys in the photo book from the album:

RM: “I wanna be loved so bad”

S: “Luv turns to anger”

J: “My luv ain’t going nowhere”

JH: “My heart is full of you”

V: “U R the only one I need”

JM: “I luv U however painful it would be”

JK: “Why don’t U luv me like I do?”

Sadly, as we can see in the Japanese version of the MV, the girl doesn’t answer. And the boy ends up going to a club.

The next song on the album is ”War of Hormone”. The song where the Boy hits on a girl. A song that actually belongs to the “dark” half of the album and not the “wild” one. A song that happens when the Boy is arguing with the Girl. So yeah, if you interpret “War of Hormone” in the globality of BTS’ discography, you can see it as a possible cheating attempt made out of anger (it’s obviously a heavy over-interpretation):

“Hello hello (what!) Hello hello (what!) Tell me what you want right now Hello hello (what!) Hello hello (what!) Imma give it to you girl right now Even though you say that you’re not mine, you’re the best”

So the war would not only be the surge of sexual hormones but also the war between the love for the Girl and the anger against Her.

For love songs, this half of the album is concluded by “Let Me Know”. The Boy knows his relationship with the Girl has ended, but he still begs for her confirmation, possibly in hope that she’ll kill the last bits of love he still feels towards her:

“I just wanna know know know I just wanna know know know My regret is still standing in front of the ending sign So please say something to me Girl, let me know”

Fortunately, the “wild” side of the album is a bit more hopeful. Hard to tell if the girl for this part is the one the Boy met in “War of Hormone” or if it’s a new one, all we know is that he met someone and he’s trying to woo her. “Interlude: what are you doing” is a phone call and the only lyrics are “what are you doing”. It’s a deduction based on the next songs but it seems this “what are you doing” actually means “are you busy? Are you free to hang out with me?”.

“Blanket Kick” happens after the meeting. The Boy is kicking his blanket out of frustration because he failed at seducing Her and ridiculed himself:

“Once again I only do weird things in front of you You’re so pretty pretty pretty Oh Why did I do that I’ll launch a kick at my blankets in my sleep”

His frustration is all the more understandable when you consider the next song, namely “24/7=Heaven”. He has it really bad for Her:

“24/7 I thought only of you all day”

“24/7=Heaven” also gives details about their first date:

“The first date with you I keep getting excited like a child These days I’m Sunday Where the sun named you has risen, Sunday”

Their love is confirmed in “Look here”:

“At first it was mere curiosity As I started to show interest in you Holy Shhh Yeah, even if you ignore me The time when you fall for me, for a minute We look rather good together, without you I'm like a Seoul City without lights I wait for an opportunity to fill your empty spot, a rabbit hole graffiti The play called A day without you is a tragedy”

“At first, You answered once when I texted ten times But later, You call me first and look for me all day”

It also appears this time the Girl loves the Boy back.

“Outro: does that make sense?” is a bit hard to interpret because we can’t really know if the lyrics are about the current Girl or the previous one. The main idea here is that they fell out of love:

“Does that make sense? You, do you think that makes sense? That our love changes so easily So that nobody notices, so that I look fine, I’m with you but now I’m crying at the mere sight of your facial expression Explain it, explain it, explain it girl My baby explain it, explain it I hate you to death but I still think of you even now”

The School trilogy ends like this. It’s the only series with albums where love (for someone else) will be the main theme. The conclusion is rather dark for the Boy: no matter his efforts to be loved, his love always ends badly. If we refer to the coming-of-age story structure, this moment would be the hardship that counters the Boy’s vision of the world. It’s thus in a rather depressed state that he enters his youth.

The beggar

An important shift happens here. We have more reflections about inner feelings and a bit less about the outside world. There’s another difference, with the title song. RM said in the #hashtag interview:

“‘I NEED U’ is the title song. As you can feel from the title, ‘Ah~ I do need you’ trying to hold the love which is about to end. Singing the anxiety and wandering of the youth.”

More than the approximative subs provided by 1theK, what we can note is that the title song is one aspect of the theme of the album: “I NEED U” is a sad love song and 화양연화 Pt.1 is the pains of youth in general.

With the notable exception of “Converse High”, all the love songs in 화양연화 Pt.1 have the same basis, namely the Boy can’t stand the idea of the girl leaving him alone:

“Girl I would rather rather we break up Girl say that it wasn’t love love I don’t have that kind of courage Give me one last present So that I won’t go back anymore” - “I NEED U”

“Without you, I can’t breathe Without you, I’m nothing Open your closed heart, dampen my heart Give me an embrace so I can feel you” - “Hold Me Tight”

“Tell me why you’re trying to go so far away In your eyes Do you not see me anymore Uh Love, it’s a hurtful and hurtful thing yeah It feels like goodbyes are hurtful And more hurtful” - “Outro: Love is not over”

“Converse High” is closer to something like another “Intro: Skool Luv Affair” or “Where Do You Come From?”. It’s each rapper giving a point of view on the matter, which is not necessarily theirs (Suga said he had nothing against Converse and that his verse was just to oppose RM’s):

“You know what I want A white t-shirt, denim shorts and Red Converse Highs That’s it”

“Rather than those stars in the sky I’d rather see them stars on your shoes Haha all without Namjoon knowing”

“Converse converse I really hate a converse”

Maybe we can see this song as the Boy’s friends talking, reminding us that love can be at a different stage for everyone. Let’s be very clear, this last sentence was highly over-interpretative.

“FOR YOU” was released around this time too, so if you want, you can interpret the girl leaving as something literal. After all, we have no explicit lyric about a break-up, so she possibly just left for Japan and the Boy can’t stand the long-distance relationship.

In 화양연화 Pt.2, the love story and the Boy’s life blur together. It’s the stage where he flies away to an alternative dreamlike world to escape adulthood. It’s the butterfly dream story. In “RUN” and in “Butterfly”, the Boy runs after the butterfly leading him to the dream world. He’s aware of the fragility of this world, however, since he’s extremely scared to touch the butterfly and to see it shatter to pieces:

“Like a flower whose memories are dry All broken into pieces From the tips of my fingers, from underneath my feet Behind my running back As if chasing a butterfly, like wandering through a dream Following your traces Please tell me the road, please stop me Please let me breathe”

“Will you stay by my side Will you promise me If I touch (you), you’ll fly away and break  I’m scared scared scared of that

Will you stop time If this moment passes As though it hadn’t happened I’m scared scared scared I’ll lose you”

In “Dead Leaves” and “Outro: House of Cards”, he realizes it will fail. The butterfly is alive and flies, it goes up. The leaf is dead and falls, it goes down, it leaves the dream:

“Don’t go far far away Baby you girl I can’t hold onto you Baby you girl I can’t give up on you Like the dead leaves that fell This love, like the dead leaves Never never fall It’s withering”

“A house made of cards, and us, inside Even though the end is visible, even if it’s going to collapse soon A house made of cards, we’re like idiots Even if it’s a vain dream, stay like this a little more”

The photo concept for Young Forever is similar. In the Day version, the boys rise in a hot-air balloon and in the Night version, they’re camping - so it’s just a temporary stay.

Coming back to reality and seeing how frail and short life is, the Boy begs in “Save Me”:

Don’t wanna be lonely Just wanna be yours

And by placing himself at the mercy of the Girl, he becomes her prisoner.

The prisoner

Only two songs can be considered here: “Boy Meets Evil” and “Blood, Sweat & Tears”. The Boy thinks the Girl is the key to happiness, so no matter how she hurt him, he’s still tempted to go back to Her. The Girl probably represents different aspects like the protective mother, the sexual partner, the best friend, the sister… in which the boy could find some relief - affection, sex, support…

The whole “Boy Meets Evil” is about this relief: the Boy knows that “Too bad it’s too sweet”. It’s similar and different in “Blood, Sweat & Tears”. The Girl still is a devilish temptation but we can probably take it in the context of Demian - it’s also confirmed in the WINGS Concept Book that “Blood, Sweat & Tears” shows the act of rebelling against God. By deduction, the Girl can be associated with Beatrice, that makes Sinclair stop drinking and go back to a healthy lifestyle:

“Kiss me even if it hurts Come, tighten me (up) Until it can’t even hurt anymore Baby, even if I get drunk it’s alright, I’ll now drink you up Deep into (my) throat, (with) you as the whiskey”

The Boy admitted his love for the Girl was toxic but he still hasn’t found an alternative to save himself until now. She’s his only way to reach happiness.

 The boy and himself

And so it’s finally time for Love Yourself. The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm is essential here. If we summarize the 148 pages in a few words: love is an art and is thus something that you work on, that you perfect with discipline and faith, that’s both collective and individual, that needs to be acted on rather than thought about, and that’s killed by capitalism and vainly replaced by consumerism.

Bad news though, the Boy hasn’t understood yet. The same way Beatrice triggered Sinclair into a creative strike (that eventually led him to himself), the Girl from “Blood, Sweat & Tears” pushed the Boy into a love blackhole.

This time, he’s so despaired he calls their love destiny and he puts all his hopes into it:

“You are my penicillium The one who saved me My angel My world I am your calico cat One who came to meet you Love me now Touch me now”  - “Serendipity” (”Flower”, the poem referenced in the lyrics also emphasises how the lovers need each other to exist)

“From the days when the universe was created To go on for infinite centuries Probably from a previous life, and in the next lives to come Since we’ll be together forever

Since all this isn’t coincidence Since the both of us are the ones who have found destiny” - “DNA”

“Don’t lie, you are indeed an angel” - “보조개” (Dimples)

“There’s no me without you”

“You got the best of me So please just don’t leave me” - “Best of Me”

“The answer To all my wonder(s) I call you her, her Cuz you’re my tear, tear” - “Outro: Her”

“Outro: Her” announces the next part, namely Tear, where the Boy finally understands putting all the responsibility for his own happiness on his partner and altering his own personality to please said partner isn’t good.

Tear is the development of this outro. The Boy knows but he refuses to let go of his toxic relationship, not after putting so much of himself into it:

“Even in the dream that I briefly enter The torturous phantom pain is the same as ever

Did I lose myself Or did I gain you”  - “Singularity”

“I wanna be a good man just for you I gave the world just for you I changed it all just for you Now I dunno me, who are you? In the forest just for us you weren’t there I forgot the route that I came by Even I became unsure who I was before Talk nonsense at the mirror, who are you really” - “FAKE LOVE”

“We need to believe in only us Don’t let go of our two hands We need to be together forever

Others say If you’re like this, you’re the only one that becomes a fool But I don’t wanna use my head” - “Love Maze”

In the outro of this album, each rapper consider the meaning of the words “tear” and “fear” (see RM’s behind at 45:00). No matter how hard he tried, the Boy can’t save himself like that

“We walked towards the same place But this place becomes our last Although we used to talk about forever Now we break each other without mercy Although we thought that we dreamed the same dream That dream has finally become a dream My heart is torn, please burn it instead So that pain and regret, none of that would be left 

You’re my tear”

The word dream is quite present. The Boy left the dream world but he still longs for it - the forest from “FAKE LOVE” can probably be linked with the forest in Kafka on the Shore, a sort of ideal world.

“The truth untold” could be included but considering how it’s a reference to Smeraldo, I’ll rather leave it with the BU content.

And finally, in Love Yourself 結 Answer, the Boy realizes the solution is simply that he should love himself:

“I’m the one I should love in this world My shining self, my precious soul I finally realise it So I love me Even if it’s a little lacking, it’s so beautiful I’m the one I should love” - “Epiphany”

“You’ve shown me I have reasons I should love myself” - “Answer: love myself”

The epilogue of the relationship between the Boy and the Girl can probably be found in the trivia and in “I’m Fine”.

The innocent Boy from 起 Wonder just wanted to have fun:

“I like the feeling of being together, with you I like the dances that we dance together, with you I just wanna, wanna, wanna I really wanna, wanna, wanna Just dance” - “Trivia 起: Just Dance“

The one from 承 Her put a lot of importance in the other person:

“You are the person Who’ll change my recollections into memories A person who’ll change a person into love Before I knew you My heart was, in its entirety, just a straight line” - “Trivia 承: Love”

The one from 轉 Tear understood it was vain to continue:

“The start was, well, fun With the up and down in itself Before I knew it, we became tired of each other In the meaningless waste of emotionsThe repeated seesaw, seesaw game By this point, I’ve become tired, tired of it” - “Trivia 轉: Seesaw“

The one from 結 Answer answers to the sad Boy from Young Forever and can finally say he’s alright, on his own:

“It’s okay, because I’m my only savior With ugly steps, I live without ever dying How you doin? I’m fine” - “I’m Fine”

Forget the Girl, ARMY is better

With Map of the Soul: Persona, BTS acknowledges the precious friend that has always been there for them, ARMY. They don’t need to find love in a stranger to be happy, they just need to love and care for themselves and the ones close to them.

[lawlightfan42069]

iyo when you write non-straight characters should you specify their sexuality/gender? I mean I'm personally a very 'not into labels at all' person for my own sexuality but support ppl who do find comfort in labels. but when I write I also tend to go toward the 'he just loves who he loves !!!' that sounded stupid but idk how to explain it.. so... like I was wondering why you feel strongly about explicitly stating someone's queerness instead of it being implied (at least u come off as that sorta)

i do definitely feel like that so!! i happen to have a lot of feelings about this so get ready for a Long Ramble. this is a precaution before ive even started typing i just know im gonna write a lot

i think before we start saying anything, we’ve got to acknowledge the difference between people who say that they dont like labels, and writing characters who Don’t Like Labels™. pointing out the problems of the latter is not a condemnation of the former. if someone rly doesnt feel like labeling their sexuality or gender, thats totally alright. the difference between these two is the person is a nuanced, multifaceted human being who may have lots of personal reasons for feeling that way, while the second is a fictional character that is Created and informed by cultural views of the creator. a person is not “created” by one single author and characters arent like…real living agents that have their Own Free Will, they are what their creators make of them. anyway i just feel like this is a rly important distinction that gets lost often!! i’m also more willing to look favorably on someone who self describes that way writing characters based on their own experiences, bc this perspective is inherently different from a straight person writing these sorts of characters. but moving on. 

whats also important to understand, beyond writing characters, is how being openly not straight is shunned. queer people are not allowed to Exist as openly queer and they have not been allowed historically. even these days among people who consider themselves progressive, you’ll often hear that “its alright if someone is gay but do they have to shove it in my face all the time.” this attitude isnt somehow formed in vacuum, but created in a society that treats been openly queer as a taboo. we aren’t allowed to be open about our sexualities the way straight people are. we can’t acknowledge that we’re queer lest someone tells us to Stop Shoving It In Their Face (not missing the irony as we’re surrounded by 400 billboards of hetero couples everywhere). i dont wan’t to delve into other aspects of discrimination and get too off track here, i just want to focus on how being Openly queer is treated as a taboo, particularly among people who still want to call themselves ‘accepting.’ the only way society allows queer people to exist is if they never remind anyone, Ever that they are not straight.

this is Integral to understanding why the i Don’t Like Labels characters are so frustrating. the unwillingness to Explicitly talk about queer people carries over quite handily to media. the same faux progressive people that demand queer people never talk about being queer bc its Too Much Information, will praise queer coded characters that hint at their sexuality but never confirm it. the reason these characters are written is not to genuinely explore why someone might feel uncomfortable with applying labels to themselves, but to appease people who will accept queerness as long as they never have to acknowledge it. this way, u can court queer people interested in representation And people who might like the story but will be uncomfortable with explicit queerness. its an attempt for writers to cash in on peoples desires for interesting queer characters without ever actually fully committing to representing them. you dont get to claim to support queer people if ur also out there providing comfort for peoples homophobia. you cant have a foot in both doors. 

describing queer experiences without calling them queer means that youre okay with this story as long as u dont acknowledge it as something Explicitly not straight and like…why?? why is it suddenly not okay when u take that bundle of experiences and use the word that theyre defining?? theres Weight behind using words like bi, gay, lesbian and if u reject them are u Really okay with lgbtq people? or are you okay with them Despite the fact that theyre lgbtq and not because you take into account theyre lgbtq. acceptance is not tolerating people Despite something, its acknowledging it and validating it as an okay thing to be. especially when it is something that historically Not been validated as okay. dismantling structural systems of queerphobia does not go about by ignoring queerphobia…shit this doesnt just fade away by chance, it takes active work. and part of this active work is Acknowledging Peoples Queerness As Something that is okay Out In The Open. the You in this isnt directed at you anon, just people who have these sentiments. 

throwing vague statements like ‘they just love who they love’ Also creates this level of ambiguity. you might say “well why do u need the certainty when ur describing what is at the very least, something obviously very not straight” and to that i say youd be fucking surprised at how goddamn hard straight people will try to erase the queerness out of a character. like i’m going to use a game called life is strange as a example. i’ll give some background: in the game, the main character max can romance both chloe and warren. note that max is not one of those blank state wholly customisable bioware-esque player characters, she has a personality outside of the choices u make. anyway, the conclusion that is Logically drawn from this is that she is most likely bisexual. or at the very least in some way, not straight. and Yet i have seen discussions that say “she doesnt have a set sexuality it just depends on the playthrough so shes not rly a Queer Character.” even more than that, ive seen people that saw “well even in the chloe one shes not necessarily gay or bi maybe shes just Making an Exception for chloe bc their relationship transcends sexuality” and like ??? Why??? why cant she just be bi?? even when given a queer romance, why do u try and interpret it in a way that sets her up as straight?? ive seen people say “its not a romance its just something that Transcends Words” as if this is… mutually exclusive from being a romance. like… Why doesnt this happen when hetero relationships are depicted?? ive literally never seen someone say “u know, maybe hes not attracted to women and just Making an Exception so hes not straight” why dont u see people try to erase the romance aspect out of hetero romances by claiming their relationship is “Beyond Words.” this treatment is 1000% only ever afforded to queer characters. this attempt to play off romance as not rly romantic is only done to queer characters, even if its done subconsciously. people will Refuse to accept a character is queer as fuck if you dodge around it, because heteronormativity is so ingrained in every interaction that even obviously queer characters get filtered through this lens. the problem with this isnt necessarily apparent until u look at it within historical context, where queer people are repeatedly not allowed to be openly queer. these arent isolated incidents, but manifestations of the idea that queer people shouldnt ever be open about their sexuality. youve got to tackle the discomfort that people have with words like gay/lesbian/bi/etc

i think this particular character trope wouldnt bother me so much if it wasnt like… the only narrative ever present. time and time again, i have to see characters proclaim that they dont like labels while never once even hearing people breathe the word bisexual. if it existed alongside characters who were explicitly queer it would be less frustrating But its literally one of the few ways (semi positive attempts at least) queer characters are ever portrayed. this is particularly true for bisexual characters lmao like… yes…theres people who dont like labels…but theres also millions of bi people that just wanna see a fucking bi character Talk about being bi and all we ever get is a vague “i dont like labels” (that is often never explored further than that and treated as a throwaway line anyway). is creating characters who say that a genuine attempt to characterize someones struggles with labels or is it just a way to avoid saying the word Bisexual.

same with queer romance in media. its only ever Okay if u just hint at it- see dumbledore being gay. see- the korrasami thing (though i dont fault the writers for this bc they pushed hard for what they got, its issues with the network). why are queer people relegated to drawn out stares that May imply something while straight characters are allowed to get into explicit relationships. when u create ambiguous characters that May be interpreted as straight (even if youve really gotta stretch) ur prefer to maintain the negative “neutral” of the heteronormative status quo and allow homophobes to live with their views unchallenged more than u care about addressing queerness in characters. 

 its not a coincidence that we dont do this to straight romance or straight characters. this is particularly important for queer kids!! its good to see queer characters out there being openly queer. while me and u can often pick up on queer themes and narratives, a 8 year old is not going to get that. especially when theyve been conditioned to see straight romance as the only feasible choice. they wont realize the character youre writing is gay or bi or whatever Because they havent been exposed to the connotations we associate w certain phrases. its so important for queer kids to see queer characters Owning that theyre queer. its especially importantly to normalize words like gay or bi or pan. being gay is often Extremely hypersexualized (which is why so many people will tell u they dont care what u do in the bedroom bc they can only picture queerness is a sexual context) so when u Dont treat these words as things only adults can say, u help get rid of the stigma surrounding them. u help remove the idea that being queer is inappropriate for kids to hear about and that the only possible aspect to being queer is sexual. 

anyway this has been Quite the Ramble but the point is that yes, we need to write more characters who are absolutely explicit about their sexuality and move away from the expectation that queer people need to create euphemisms to comfort homophobes desires to never hear about queerness.