#parasocial relationship ghost my beloved

[dragonnarrative-writes]

WIP WEDNESDAY

I should be working on any of the many WIPs I have, but NO! I have fleshed out the thoughts surrounding craft appreciator Simon "Ghost" Riley from this post.

The ramblings on discord came to about 1.5 k, and the first 20% of that has translated to 2.6k words, so this one is gonna be a monster when I finally post it.

Two days later, Simon sees her. Even though she’s wearing a purple, cloth mask over her nose and mouth, there’s no mistaking the scarf he just watched her finish making. And the matching, slouchy hat she’d finished a few videos before starting the scarf. She’s across the street from him, squinting down at her phone as she waits to cross. A tote bag bulges under her arm, a baguette sticking up over her shoulder. When she leans a bit and crosses her ankles to keep her balance, it strikes him that she looks like a picture.

He snaps a quick photo of her before he gives it a second thought. The shot is off center, but in a way some people might call charming. The camera automatically focuses on her, dark red accessories jumping forward against the black and grey outerwear of the people around her. It’s amazing how much detail the image picks up, how the knit pattern is easily visible.

The light changes, and Simon steps into the zebra crossing as he pockets his phone. The woman looks up as she starts crossing, eyes snagging over his height before sliding off as they pass each other.

The whole time he’s in the shops, he thinks about her. Takes his phone out of his pocket to look at her again as he contemplates cereal. Ponders just how soft she looked as he loaded his basket with vegetables. Realizes in an odd, distant way, that he finds her attractive as a person in the world, not just a voice and soft hands on a screen that lull him to sleep. The distraction is nice, he decides. Better than ruminating on mission objectives, anyway.

When he gets home, he cues up one of her videos on the telly. It’s an old one, the first one with the hat he saw her wearing today, which he knows she’ll unravel and restart two videos later. She’s reviewing a science fiction book, Annihilation, except it’s more that she’s picking out the differences between the book and the movie. By now, Simon’s read it, but he’s not really interested in the film, so he lets her voice wash over him as he puts his groceries away.

Then he sits on the couch and really looks at her. Knocks back a couple beers and eats not enough left over chicken korma as he admires the shape of her hands, the light and shadows that play off of her knuckles. He lets his eyes drift up her forearms, the flex and relax of her biceps. She leans forward, every now and again, fixing the yarn, picking up her book for a reference, chasing her cat, Small Man, away from her materials. It changes the shape of her loose blouse over her chest, calls attention to the pendant that dances across her collarbones. She shifts her weight from hip to hip, showing the barest hint of the soft curve of her arse before she adjusts the blanket over her lap.

It’s not that she’s alluring. It’s that she’s comfortable. Actually comfortable, not the faux-lounging that models do in magazines with tousled hair and lingerie peeking out from under an oversized shirt. He can’t quite pretend that she doesn’t know she’s got an audience - she’s talking directly to the listener, the warm lamp is positioned just so, and she’s probably wearing more makeup than he can really discern. But she doesn’t play up to the camera. She just… talks. And knits. And sips tea from a mug that demands I Put My Book Down For This?!

[sayitditto]

newjeans ditto analysis, theories and thoughts: about parasocial relationships in kpop, loneliness, emotional bonding and the desire to have mutual love with someone.

first of all, i want to clarify that i don’t believe in a “literal” theory and i think they wanted to metaphorically or symbolically represent a feeling or something more abstract (i’ll explain this in detail) so i’ll be analyzing that! (mv elements and what they might symbolize). 

however, tokkis have made so many interesting theories that are worth considering. here’s some of them:

1. newjeans are ghosts

2. newjeans are hallucinations of heesoo

3. newjeans and heesoo are friends but they got into an accident and only heesoo survived (and that’s how her arm broke)

now, my opinion and what i am going to explain in this post, is that ditto is about parasocial relationships in kpop, loneliness, emotional bonding and the desire to have mutual love with someone.

i will be explaining point by point why i do think this.

1. the meaning of “ditto”: 

the word ditto means “the same thing again”, a repeat - as when you agree with something somebody else just said. it means “in the same manner” and it’s used to express mutual feelings.

 ditto = “so am i”, “me too”.

this same thing is expressed through the lyrics:

“do you want somebody like i want somebody? you smiled at me but do you think about me now?”

“i want you so, want you, so say it ditto”

“say it back, oh, say it ditto”

it seems like the narrator of the song desperately looks for feedback from another person and wants to be sure that the feelings are mutual. “do you want somebody like i want somebody?” this narrator (may be heesoo, but again, i don’t believe that it’s literally heesoo but what she represents. i’ll talk about this later) feels lonely and wants someone to finally have a meaningful connection.

2. the deer: 

quoting what minji said about the deer, “you know the deer that appears in the mv? this is something we say in the album too, but with our deer friend we tried to represent that odd distance between someone you want to approach but can’t fully and that can stand for various relationships.”

every time we see the deer, heesoo is watching it from afar. this can represent, as minji said, how it is wanting to reach someone emotionally but not being able to. this scene is so sad since they focus heesoo’s and the deer’s eyes; eye contact creates a heightened sense of emotional intimacy. “the eyes are the window to the soul” is the idea that you can understand a person’s emotions by looking into their eyes.

what i personally think about the deer (theory):

minji said “that can stand for various relationships” and i think it could possibly mean a parasocial relationship between idol and fan. heesoo has a romantic interest which is the boy who always stares at her so it could also mean the distance between them and her fear of wanting to get close to him or her one-sided love.

but what made me think that the deer could represent newjeans as idols and heesoo as the fans is the side b mv. for me, side b is about heesoo becoming independent and distancing herself from newjeans (her friends, or maybe her beloved idols) and starts to live in the real world. i’m going to mention everything i think about side b later, now back to the deer.

side a: heesoo is happy with newjeans, she’s living a dream with them and they’re best friends. the scene with the deer in this mv is calm, even though she’s still watching it from the distance, her eyes doesn’t show any negative emotion.

this scene appears after heesoo was shown sleeping next to newjeans and after the deer appears, she suddenly wakes up alone. the deer was like a reminder that everything was a lie and the truth is that newjeans have always been afar from her and what they had was not real.

side b: heesoo is avoiding newjeans and she tries to live her life without them. the moments they previously shared together are no longer the same as it was in side a; heesoo is alone and apart from newjeans.

the scene with the deer is so important. considering that she’s distancing herself from them, the eye contact with the deer is very sad. it’s like a goodbye because after it the deer leaves and heesoo’s eyes are almost with tears.

the deer leaves right after a scene of heesoo walking with her romantic interest, the boy. which may mean that newjeans left her after she was able to create a real relationship like she always wanted so she no longer needed them.

3. heesoo: 

like i said earlier, i believe heesoo symbolizes newjeans fans: tokkis.

the general producer min hee-jin said, “the music video for the pre-released song ditto (...) contains an unexpected story unfolded by bunnie’s (official fan club name) and newjeans. a surprise cameo appearance (...)”

heesoo can actually represent anyone who is so lost in their loneliness that they seek coping mechanisms like daydreaming. but this thing is very common in parasocial relationships, especially in kpop.

4. the boy: 

the boy can be not necessarily heesoo’s romantic interest, i feel like he symbolizes the real world, real relationships. he always stares at her but she avoids him, although it’s noticeable she also wants to get closer to him, which can symbolize the fear of intimacy and denial of the real world. she knows he’s there (she knows there are possible relationships waiting for her, but she ignores it).

5. the camera: 

heesoo is always recoding newjeans with her camera. she never joins to what the girls are doing, she just watches them through the camera which makes her only a watcher. but she seems happy even if she is not part of it, she keeps the memories in her camera.

6. the pinky red nail: 

i was struggling trying to understand the meaning of this since heesoo’s little finger was still painted red even when newjeans were gone. if it was all her imagination, how did they painted her nail? could she have painted it herself? could be. but is it a coincidence that the color is red?

what i personally think about the nail (theory):

maybe i’m just overthinking but it reminded me of the legend of the red string of japan. according to this myth, everyone’s pinky finger is tied to an invisible red string that will lead them to their soulmate.

even when newjeans aren’t with heesoo, her painted nail symbolizes she’s not alone as she thinks and someone is waiting for her outside, in the future, she only has to go out and find it.

i don’t think the main message is that she have a soulmate waiting for her but the fact that she doesn’t need newjeans to feel loved. she can still find mutual love with someone else.

7. the gray cat: 

gray cats are a symbol of independence and the power of independent people. they help people who are working through co-dependency to find true happiness in themselves.

the gray cat makes its appearance in side a’s mv, when heesoo is still very much dependent on newjeans. i think this means that newjeans also helped heesoo to find her happiness and become independent.

8. side b mv a parallelism:

side b shows us that what heesoo was seeing was not really real but if you pay attention, side b’s is also about heesoo starting to be independent of newjeans. she even breaks the camera, which was important in her relationship with newjeans. we can see a scene where minji calls her and she doesn’t answer the phone, she’s choosing not to get involved with newjeans, and maybe that’s why she doesn’t see them anymore.

and the most important thing: parallel scenes to side a.

if in side a we see how the girls write on his broken arm, in side b her cast is clean.

if in side a she’s walking with them under the rain, in side b she’s walking alone with her umbrella.

(i wanted to put every single parallelism but the post is already long so i will just mention those but there are so many! or details like heesoo seeing newjeans dance from afar and then looking at her clean cast, newjeans hugging heesoo in side a then in side b they are all hugging without heesoo, and more)

it’s everything what her life would be like if she no longer depended on them and started living her life. and she even gets to talk to the boy, like i explained earlier.

8. the present and the past:

i haven’t figured it out this yet but there are transitions between present and past. i don’t know if side a is the past and side b is what happens next, i don’t know if it’s a linear story but time is definitely weird.

something curious: a deer crossing your path is a reminder to check in with yourself to make sure you are not living in the past or in the future, and to realign yourself back to the present moment.

and

side b mv loops back to side a mv, the end of side b is the start of side a.

-

thank you for reading my analysis! i’m sorry if there are grammatical errors but english isn’t my first language and i did this in a hurry cause i had so many ideas.

i recommend reading this post which was the one that inspired me to write this.

and this youtube comment too.

the credits for the gif i used:

make sure to give ditto and newjeans lots of love 🤍

[lerios]

tagged by all time icon @baynton 💕 this has been in my drafts for like a month because i wanted to answer it after i properly started succession but now i get the feeling its gonna take a while to get a proper grip of that show lmao😅

List 5 favourite shows (in no particular order) and answer questions accordingly.

1. bbc quacks

2. firefly (my absolute beloved 😍)

3. its always sunny in philidelphia

4. bbc ghosts

5. fuck it, critical role (i don't watch much TV lol)

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

Favourite? probably Wash my gorgeous comedy boy with an icon wife i spent years simping over, BUT i don't think we can ignore how fucking fixated i was on Simon. like, he was gender envy before i knew that Gender™ was a thing.

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

i lowkey highkey want to throw hands with Robert. how dare you marry a girlboss and then not appreciate her wtf. give me her number

3. What’s your favourite episode of 4?

the Thomas Thorne Affair popped off. like yeah sure my skrunkly is centre stage but also the episode is just really well done.

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

I AM A SEASON 1 TRUTHER. vox machina i miss you so much 😭

5. What’s your favourite relationship in 3?

charlie mac brotp.

6. Who is your anti relationship in 2?

jayne/river shippers are wild, she's like 12 and they don't even get along (also jayne/simon is the real OTP)

7. How long have you watched 1?

well i first posted about it in march, so like 5 months probably

8. How did you become interested in 3?

my mate jon said there was a musical episode so i watched like 10 seasons of it lol.

9. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

okay i don't really know anything about any of them, but ben seems like a vibe. i too write mostly depressing shit and don't talk to anyone about anything 🥰

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2 or 5?

firefly

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?

3 because theres 16 seasons of always sunny and only 1 season of quacks 😭😭😭

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

my man mike is alive and has a magical badass wife that can talk to ghosts.

13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 5?

my man Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the third can never die, fuck off. (i'd kill him in a suitably emo way probably. he dies alone and still demon-infested, having scared the rest of vox machina away from caring about him once and for all, then probably getting converted into a vampire).

14. Would a ¾ crossover work?

asdagjsdag YES the gang would make such a big deal of having ghosts, they'd probably try to make money off of julian somehow. robin and charlie would be 100% best friends. the captain would be having a breakdown at thier impropriety 24/7 but fanny would get along with them way better than she'd expect lol

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.

okay theres not many characters in quacks but i would love to see john/william. john absolutely needs to drug him 🥰

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?

probably 5 because i got Parasocial about them for a while. pro-lgbt kings.

and i’m tagging: fucking nobody because i don't have the braincells to do social shit rn but i wanted do this when i found it again bc it looked fun

[dreamy-hearts]

scrolled hulu for nearly an hour trying to figure out what to put on only to put on the same thing i fall asleep to every night <3

[sirenofthetimes]

Was tagged by @aprilslady to list 7 comfort movies and tag 7 people! Since I don't watch movies very often, this ended being kind of an odd list lol

1. Damsels In Distress (2011): This a ridiculous movie that handles the topic of mental health in the most bizarre and... twee? way I've ever seen. There are so many ridiculous characters. The plot is almost non existent. I love this movie so much. I've seen it so many times throughout the years

2. Jawbreaker (1999): How can a movie about a group of popular girls accidentally murdering the leader of their clique be comforting, you ask? Idk it just is. Aesthetic 10/10. Soundtrack is iconic. The murder is almost secondary to a makeover plot. Courtney Shane monologues go brrrrr. I love it

3. Mamma Mia (2008): Self Explanatory. This movie is a treasure

4. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018): Self Explanatory. What it lacks in Meryl Streep it makes up for in Cher

5. Jennifer's Body(2009): Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried my beloveds. Teen girl succubus good all male indie bands bad. Can you tell I have a thing for dialogue that's almost too witty?

6. Ingrid Goes West (2017): I don't why my brain latches on to the things it does, I honestly don't. But goddamn if I don't love this movie about a cautionary tale/physiological thriller about parasocial relationships. Ingrid is an intensely compelling story character

7.Ghost Quartet Proshot(2015,uploaded to YouTube 2020): Is a movie because I say it is. My emotional support confusing musical. One day I will sing Starchild in front of like, people and shit

I tag: @ufohnoparty @thegreatsapphicvein @bonbongiveshell @unacaritafeliz @reasonandnonsense @stillgeekingout @monstrous-femme