#said sorry if i'm not as clear in communication as articles!

[loverboyfae]

wrote an email for work. feeling: scared

[atanx]

James Somerton's "A Measured Response": A Measured Response

so I watched a reupload of the video because idk i like to torture myself. and i took a bunch of notes:

“I tried to be a voice for every member of the queer community, but that was a failed endeavour before it even started.”

what a strange way to say ‘I tried making it seem like I’m the only queer creator and stole from and actively harmed people in the queer community. knowingly. purposefully. and when I was called out in the past I tried to hide it.'

“I'm a cis, white, gay man. No matter how much I try to be a good spokesperson, I can never really, truly, understand the life experiences of other, far more put upon,  members of the queer community.”

so of course I stole and hid work from the people I can't understand, gutting it of their personal experiences and refused to redirect my audience to those people so that they can enrich themselves and hear about issues pertaining them from someone who actually does understand.

“...one of the reasons I used their own words. But I should have made it clear that that was what I was doing.”

BITCH YOU STOLE. YOU GUTTED THEIR STORIES OF MEANINGFUL PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. YOU WEREN'T USING THEIR WORDS TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU CAN'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND YOU WERE MILKING THEM FOR CONTENT AND DEPRIVING PEOPLE OF ACTUAL, SOULFUL, MEANINGFUL ARTICLES AND BOOKS AND DOCUMENTARIES AND VIDEOS THEY COULD HAVE BEEN WATCHING INSTEAD.

“Being a cis white man I thought I might win over some people who otherwise wouldn't listen.”

Yeah sure. Because racist transphobes are going to be watching your badly plagiarised gay film analysis.

“I would also like to apologise to Jessie Gender, who is one of the kindest people I ever met. Through my hot-headedness, I drew her into this anger spiral.”

‘through my hotheadedness.’. shirking responsibility onto an ‘ingrained personality trait of yours’ I see.

if you are so honestly sorry for being an asshole to Jessie why don't you fucking apologise to her directly? privately? not as a way to boost your own fucking image??

he's trying to earn good will by complimenting Jessie Gender “oh he knows to compliment an awesome person we have that in common I guess he can't be so bad after all” fuck you I recognise your strategies and it's gross to drag Jessie into this like that, she spoke out against you and you are trying to imply some sort of friendship or something between you. okay I cannot UNDERSTATE the way he tries to make it seem like they are close in some way and sort of drag her onto his side that's so fucking despicable. as far as I know Jessie Gender does not have a relationship with him of any kind?

once again bringing up death threats I see. obviously death threats are shite and anyone who threatens the dude in seriousness or harasses him will not see the light of heaven as Hbomberguy said but IN AN APOLOGY YOU DO NOT MAKE IT ABOUT YOU THAT'S MANIPULATION

also blaming the police for not clarifying a situation in a timely manner - the police are a flaming pile of garbage and I hope the institution explodes but NOT SAYING ANYTHING WAS YOUR CHOICE. THE POLICE DIDN'T MAKE YOU DO SHIT THERE

the problem isn't that you tried to “create a channel where all queer people could be safe”, the problem is that 1) you are a misogynist 2) you yourself engaged in transphobic behaviour and 3) you also actively supressed queer people's voices. The problem isn't that you supposedly wanted a space for all queer people, the problem is that you tried to MONOPOLISE queer literature analysis. fuck, queer doesn't look like a word anymore I've written it too many times now

(paraphrased) “I should have been helping with making queer people's voices discoverable” this makes it seem like he just didn't do anything and not like the reality that he was actively trying to rewrite history and bury LQBTQIA+ voices under his steaming pile of garbage

also BLAMING YOUTUBE AND THE ALGORITHM FOR ‘PUSHING HIM’ because he's cis and white, like maybe they did, I certainly wouldn't be surprised, but that is not why other creators suffered, a large part of that can be attributed to James Somerton stealing their work without any acknowledgement whatsoever apart maybe if they are lucky, a “based on” in the credits or their name flashing on screen for half a second.

“I should have done more to share the voices of other queer people” THAT IMPLIES YOU DID SOMETHING. YOU WERE ACTIVELY WORKING AGAINST THAT YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT-

“it was just my dweam to be a youtubew and when my videos gained twaction i felt pwessuwed to make mowe vewy quickly and that's why they wewe so shit uwu” fuck off you weren't pressured into shit you just wanted to make money and that's why you were a content mill

“early on I thought that crediting authors in the opening credits alone was enough” what about the times YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO THAT??? YOU'RE MAKING THIS SEEM LIKE THE DRAMA IS ABOUT YOU CREDITING PEOPLE WRONG WHEN ITS ABOUT YOUR SYSTEMATIC THEFT AND OPPRESSION OF THOSE YOU CLAIM TO MAKE VIDEOS FOR AND ABOUT AND THOSE YOU CLAIM TO MAKE A SAFE SPACE FOR. WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WATCHES YOUR VIDEOS?? WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID YOU CAN'T JUST PLAY IT DOWN

not him using Hbomberguy's example of the DEEP CUTS: SOCIETY AND QUEER HORROR video and claiming he credited all people in the opening scene when Hbomberguy highlighted he DIDNT EVEN CREDIT MOST OF THEM FUCK OFF ARE YOU DELUSIONAL HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS

I think I'm going insane this all seems so blatantly fake. he brings up the evil queens video and how he asked Sean Griffin, retroactively, permission to include his work in the video. and he shows a ‘screenshot’ of an email Griffin allegedly wrote to thank him for putting him in the title-card and that he thinks it is ‘a very thoughtful video’. only the text of the email header, such as Griffin's name, the RE:, and the To: is a lot smaller than the ‘text’ in the email, which leads me to believe that the below text is edited in some way. And with how hard James is trying to rewrite history, it wouldn't surprise me if he literally rewrote the email or cut things out to present himself in a more positive light. obviously I can't prove that the email is fake but I'll just say that I think the likelihood is very high that it is.

the way he says this also implies that he asked for permission after he made the video but hadn't published it yet. which is also blatantly false.

again trying to waltz off responsibility on nick, saying he was much more interested in production and implying that nick did all the writing .

“nick and I had both grown up poor so when I lost my job in 2021 (approx.) we of course were desperate and turned to producing videos even quicker and plagiarising the fuck out of all of them! but we can't help it we were both poor as kids!” fuck off, you weren't poor when plagiarising every-fucking-thing, this was in “the second year of COVID”. obviously if they really did grow up poor that sucks, and that's why we should eat the rich and redistribute their money. not plagiarise people who partly are poor or not financially cushy and manipulate thousands of people into believing you are the only queer creator.

also milking his mom's cancer. if you were really that worried about your financial situation, one would think that you would get an actual job for security and not put everything into your youtube career that is unstable, especially considering you've already done a lot of plagiarism and have no intention of stopping. “oh I plagiarised because my mom had cancer QAQ” that is so digusting to use a person's medical condition like that.

“i have memory issues because of a head injury i suffered as a child and that's why I plagiarise badly. see, I copy pasted the text with the intention to rephrase it later but forgot.” that would still be fucking plagiarism if he'd done that, also, if he's so aware of his memory issues and how they lead to him plagiarising, why didn't he try to work around that? leave himself notes? or tell nick to remind him to integrate actual proper credit and citations before uploading a video? mark the plagiarised stuff in the document with like highlighter or so when you're pasting it in?? oh but he didn't do all of that because he has ADHD. now, ADHD can be debilitating, but he says it's recently diagnosed so it must not have caused a lot of problems for him so far, so it's probably not severe and even if it is, it doesn't excuse him not crediting people properly. stop fucking hiding behind things ‘you can’t change' because if you truly can't you probably shouldn't be doing this in the first place.

“my mom really wanted me to make a movie with her life insurance but that wasn't paid out so I decided to crowdfund it. i planned to underpay the actors so hard it was under union wages. we got more money than we were expecting and upgraded to wanting to film a feature (final girl) but i didn't want to start working on it until the campaign was over for some reason that totally isn't me just wanting to exploit people for money!”

I'm not gonna go into the Telos stuff but he tries to explain it by claiming it was very unorganised and that's why they constantly ran into issues and that's why nothing ever got done and they were JUST about to start doing stuff when the Hbomberguy video released. You know what, I can believe it, although I am very doubtful considering all James ever does is lie. Idk. 

once again trying to excuse his plagiarism with needing to pay two rents and thus needing to make more videos for more sponsors and not having the time to not plagiarise like please. i don't believe that they were in that dire need of money and if they were - just get a fucking stable job and put youtube on the backburner. 

also once again trying to make it all about him by once again talking about his suicide attempt and death threats. like. no one should suffer through that kind of mental anguish but honestly I cannot bring myself to feel sympathy for this man. and i see this as an attempt to gather pity points.

“nick worked very hard on these videos other three years and it's unfair to [them] (james says that they're non-binary but doesn't indicate their pronouns anywhere? and in the beginning he uses they/them but later only he/him so idk what their pronouns are but it seems like they/them is at least part of their pronouns so i'm just going to use that) that they all got taken down” well y'all shouldn't have fucking plagiarised then. let this be a lesson maybe and don't fucking show your face on youtube again!

he is fucking relaunching his channel. like james. this isn't something you come back from. no one will ever be able to trust you ever again and you don't deserve an audience. he claims all the revenue will go to Hbomberguy's fund but we have no way to verify this. we have no way to know just how much he makes and how much of that is actually going to the fund. i don't trust him with any money. which is why i watched a reupload rather than the original. he's also releasing a new video he claims is entirely by him. like?????? don't???????

he also might not relaunch his existing patreon but he's still making a new one.

he claims he will “work his ass off” to make non-plagiarised videos. like that isn't “working your ass off” that's the bare fucking minimum. I really want to trust him. and I want to believe he'll actually try to do better. and maybe he will. and i believe in second chances, even for someone as despicable as him. but throughout this video he has continuously tried to play down what he did. tried to make excuses for everything. and that's why i am not going to give him a second chance. if he can't even admit what he did i don't trust him to not do it again. and i also just plainly don't want to endorse a person making such arguments.

also, he plugs his fucking new patreon right after this.

“this video is not about me promoting myself. it's about me apologising.” the only fucking person you actually ‘apologised’ to is Jessie Gender. 

James Somerton: makes a billion fucking excuses. Also James Somerton: “These are not excuses. There is no excuse for what I did.”

this entire video was just a publicity stunt. he tries to humanise himself and repair his image. this is just a tool to be able to continue on and continue making money.

he also still claims the disney video was based on the Celluloid Closet and he credited the author and ignores that this wasn't the only author he fucking plagiarised in that video. he is trying to reduce his plagiarsm to incorrect crediting and mistakes and that is disgusting.

the least he could have done was mention by name out loud every author he plagiarised and what work he plagiarised. not just say “uuuh i'm sorry to everyone I plagiarised QAQ”

[emeryhiro]

Hello!

I am new here and is feeling very overwhelmed right now with that is happening in the caryl fandom. I appreciate your insight into these characters. I am someone who has not seen Daryl Dixon season 1 and is seriously considering if I should even watch it with all that is being said about s2.

Reading all the early reviews that has dropped - I get a lot of mixed reactions to Isabelle's character. Some ppl say she was the best part about season 1 while others don't even mention here in their reviews. The caryl fandom is largely, understandably, biased against her.

I do not know anything about Isabelle and was wondering what your thoughts about her are - how she holds up as a character?

Hi Anon!!

Thank you for your question. I'm really glad you asked this question, and thank you for the kind words🥰 I'm going to do my best to properly answer and share my thoughts on all the points you've mentioned.

Firstly, welcome to the fandom!! 💖 I'm sorry you've joined at a time of so much uncertainty, but I promise that at its core, this community is a beautiful place to be. But like all communities, there is always positivity and negativity, and it's important to be careful with what's surrounding you, ensuring it's a healthy balance that works for you.

I've divided my response into several sections, as I find that to be the best way to convey my thoughts. I also wanted to be as clear as possible since this is a sensitive topic for some, and I want to try to alleviate at least some of the worries.

A mild spoiler warning for a mention of something that happens in episode 1 of season 2.

Reviews on Season 2:

I wasn't planning on reading any of the reviews for season 2, but since you asked for my thoughts, I read all the articles that I could find so that I could give you an informed response. And one thing I advise is to always take reviews with a grain of salt (this includes my thoughts as well) because, ultimately, they're all based on the writers' opinions.

What I've found with all previous seasons of TWD, especially season 1 of Daryl Dixon, was that no single review I read aligned perfectly with what I thought of the show once I watched it myself. And I know I'll say the same about season 2.

Regarding what I read in the season 2 reviews, I don't think I've actually read a single concerning line in any of the ones I've come across, and I'm pretty sure I've read every single one that has been released. There are, however, a lot of people who, out of fear or concern, focus on single lines from a review that may sound negative or worrisome when taken out of context, and ignore everything else in the review that's purely positive.

I can see many people have shared their specific thoughts on different segments of several reviews, but I won't go into my thoughts here for the sake of keeping this response reasonable short. If you're interested in a detailed post about my thoughts on the reviews in general or any in particular, let me know, and I'll share it as soon as I get a chance.

My thoughts on Isabelle:

I found Isabelle to be a fascinating character with many layers. She is unquestionably flawed and has a great mix of both positive and negative characteristics, which I think is what gives her character so much potential. She's intelligent, driven, brave, headstrong, and very protective, but she's also undeniably manipulative, which makes sense when you think of it as a self-defence mechanism that she developed during her rocky life before the apocalypse. I'm also a fan of Clémence as an actress, and I think she's a great fit for this character.

This next bit might sound a bit contrevoursial but bare with me. I've seen Isabelle get a lot of hate for being manipulative towards Daryl, even I personally hated seeing Daryl be treated that way, but it's important to remember that we've also seen Carol behave manipulatively when she's had to in the past in order to protect the people that she loves. This is something you'll see Carol do once again in episode 1 of TBOC, and when I watched it, it made me uncomfortable, but ultimetly, I could see that it made Carol uncomfortable as well; she doesn't feel any satisfaction out of what she does and is willing to carry the weight of that lie and guilt to achieve her ultimate goal of saving Daryl, the person she loves.

Even though, on the surface, it's not an admirable thing to do, we appreciate Carol so much more because of the lengths she's willing to go to for the ones she loves, and we've also seen her journey to this point, which naturally makes us love her and empathise with her.

So my point here is that I can't judge Isabelle for the same behaviour I admire in my favourite character. Just like Carol may act that way to protect Daryl (her loved one), Isabelle was doing it because she believed (to the best of her knowledge) that it was what was best for Laurent (her loved one).

However, what doesn't sit right with me about Isabelle's character is that what the showrunners and writers have been saying about her doesn't align with what I've seen on screen (this is a great example of why I try to avoid looking at unnecessary publicity). I want to love her character for who she is, flaws and all, but the inconsistency in her publicity makes me feel like there's some discrepancy behind the scenes, and that has stopped me from investing in her character and gives me slight concern for the trajectory of her arc, which has so much potential that would be incredibly tragic if wasted.

The only other thing that I would disagree with (IF the show ends up going down that path) is the negative messaging that would be given out about nuns if every surviving nun on the show is portrayed as willing to forget her vows the minute there's a man in front of them that they find interesting. I'm not catholic, but I think that it would be incredibly disrespectful towards actual nuns and the sacrifices that they make for their faith. But please don't take this as fact because I don't think this will actually ever happen. I honestly don't believe that AMC or anyone involved with the show would knowingly do something like that. I'd be happy to explain this a little further, but I don't think it's relevant if you haven't seen the first seasons.

Watching TWD: Daryl Dixon S1 & 2

My question to you would be, what draws you to TWD/TBOC? Is it Caryl itself and potential canon? And if so, do you feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2? Or, do you enjoy the show for a combination of things, like the character development, world-building, cinematography, etc.?

I want to emphasise that there is no wrong answer to the above. Everyone is unique, and it's 1000% understandable and fair for each person to have unique reasons for being drawn to and loving, hating, or even being indifferent about a show.

I personally fall in the latter category; I love TWD for its rich story, action sequences, cinematography, multitude of interesting characters, and the mind-blowing ways in which they have developed over the years (the whole package of the show is exactly my cup of tea), and of course, it's no secret if anyone looks at my blog that my favourite character (BY FAR) are Carol and Daryl. I absolutely adore them for everything they are, both as individuals and what they bring out in each other and mean to each other. And if Caryl is ever canon (which I expect would happen in season 3), then that would be the cherry on top of a show I already love.

My very short review of season 1 would be that I really enjoyed it and would rank it at the top between all the other spinoff seasons we've gotten so far. However, in all honesty, I still felt and noticed the hole that was left behind in the story with the absence of Carol, but knowing that she will be returning in season 2 kind of made up for that lack in season 1. All up, I really enjoyed season 1 and have watched it several times in the last year. I'm actually currently in the middle of watching it again in preparation for season 2.

My recommendations:

If you personally fall into the former category and, as mentioned above, feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2, then perhaps it's better to wait till all the episodes are released to then decide if it's something that you'd like to watch.

If you're willing to accept and are okay with the potential lack of romance between Caryl in season 2 but are concerned about and would rather not watch any potential romantic relationship develop between Daryl and Isabelle, then I'd say that you should watch the season as it releases because I honestly don't believe that something like that is a real possibility. At most, there may be hints towards one-sided feelings from Isabelle's side and maybe some confusion from Daryl's side, but untimely, it would not mean or go anywhere. I'm personally not even bothered with this worst-case scenario because it doesn't matter how many people have feelings for Daryl or how confused Daryl is because I know that once he's reunited with Carol, there won't be any more uncertainty about where his heart and loyalties truly lie. There's honestly not a single ounce of me that's concerned about this.

If you're more like me and enjoy the show as a whole, even though you may be slightly disappointed with a few accepts, then I'd highly recommend that you watch season 1 before the release of season 2 (if you have the time), because it genuinely was a good season and will give you a lot of backstory and context that would make season 2 feel so much more enjoyable and immersive.

~~~~

Thanks again for your questions!! I hope this all makes sense and that it answers your questions. As I mentioned earlier, if you'd like me to expand on my thoughts on anything in particular, please let me know, and I'd be happy to do so.

My last bit of advice is this: I know it's easier said than done, but I urge you, especially as someone who's new to the fandom, to not allow a lot of different voices and opinions to shape how you naturally feel or invalidate what you take away from watching the show (not that I think that's what you're doing but this is the general advice I wanted to give just in case🩵). It's really easy for anyone to be influenced by negativity and positivity when they find that that's all they can see from the people around them.

I personally try to focus on what I see on screen and what I hear directly from Norman and Melissa because, at the end of the day, showrunners and writers come and go, but Norman and Melissa have embodied these characters from day one and understand them more than anyone else ever could.

♡♡♡

[s12-kittie]

Imprisoned feelings: the fullest analysis of the Trix I ever wrote

For the sake of writing normal fanfiction, I've given the Trix a lot of thought and now I'm preseting you my thoughts about why they're... the Trix. I'll try to observe only the facts given in the series (I'm not taking the facts from the comics, bc firstly, I didn't read all the comics and secondly, some info in the comics is right the opposite from the info in the series and movies) and not my headcannons, but it's going to be really hard XD

Actually, I think that the Trix are kind of a phenomenon among other witches. Griffin once mentioned that witches don't work in groups and here we have... witches working in the group, which acually rarely splits up. But I don't think it's because they experience some sisterly (or any other kind of) love, bc they are way too selfish for that and when the situation gets dangerous, none of them would risk her life to save the other. (Okay, Darcy and/or Stormy might do that for Icy, but I'll explain that possibility later.)

Yet they think about each other. In season 5, Darcy and Stormy left Icy, putting their comfort in the first place, but before that they kept trying to make her change her mind (stuff about Icy and Tritannus is in my other article) and came back for their sister in the very end. In season 3, Valtor (as I believe) tried to break the Trix up, but in the end they were still working together as a group. So, the Trix are mentally attached to each other, though they care more about themselves (or about Psychofish (sorry)).

To me, that attachment means two things. Firstly, they've spent a lot of time together, bc I believe that such a firm bond simply can't be formed during the 2.5 years they've been studying at Cloud Tower. And sevondly, they didn't have a loving family/families, which could show them a good example of how people should communicate. That moves us to the next conclusion.

Although all three of the Trix are different, they have something in common. They all are sadistic and very naive. I think that it all comes from their childhood. As I said, no-one of their family members/caretakers actually loved them. Also, I think people who raised the Trix, prepared them for what they've accomplished, I mean stealing the Dragon Flame and ruling the world. In season 1, when Icy was explaining it all to Bloom, I had a clear impression that she was repeating the words the had been told. So, yeah, I think the Trix were constantly told about their future mission, smth like "you're the future and the only hope of this world/our ultra evil community/etc", apply puberty to that stuff and you'll get the "we are the baddest people here" POV, bc for real, these three didn't even take headmasters of the schools seriously, which, btw, were powerful and experienced sorcerers, who fought Valtor, Darkar and other ☆amazing☆ people. So, the piont is, the Trix were made naive and cruel. Aaaaand here we move to the "imprisoned feelings" thingy.

(Another fact that confirmed they were raised to carry out the mission of world domination: they are used to be the right-hand. They easily team up with Darkar, Valtor, Tritannus, Serina (okay, in the last case, Serina was the right-hand, but they still worked with her instead of taking her book for themselves, which, btw, I can't explain). So, it may be possible that since the very beginning of the story, they tried to fulfill the task they were given by their parents/caretakers)

So, the Trix were raised as the killing machines. I believe that it also ment they should've been heartless. But they're still human beings, who do have some feelings inside them. So, what do they do? Right, they suppress these feelings.

Remember how quick were Icy and Stormy to laugh at Darcy bc of her feelings for Riven (season 1)? Or the reaction of Icy and Darcy when Stormy mentioned them as her 'friends'(season 3)? I think it all happened because they were taught that positive feelings are ridiculous and make one weak. And that's why they never tried to show it.

Cloud Tower made things even worse. This is where we should thank Griffin (no), who always mentioned aloud about her how much she dislikes "those fairies who always care about the others." (Not a quote, but she could've said smth like that.) So, the Trix get a clear pic: on one side, there are fairies, disgustingly-glittery creatures who are always caring cheerful and therefore weak. On the other side, there are cruel, heartless and cool witches, who will win this rivalry in the end, bc they're not afraid to play dirty (why are they nit afraid?? BC WITCHES DON'T KNOW WHAT FEAR IS- oh sorry, I got a little too carried away XD)

There also might be one more aspect. Icy, who is obviously the leader type, seeing the relationship between them and their parents/caretakers, began to treat her sisters the same way, so Darcy and Stormy were really afraid of her, even though the three of them might've had equal powers. And because of this fear, they would do anything for her. That's why sometimes they risked their lives for Icy (the end of season 5 and the end of season 8).

I wanted to write about each of the Trix here as well, but this shit is already way too long, so another time :)

P. S.: sorry if there're any mistakes, I'm done checking this

[magefeathers]

In honor of TMBTE’s first birthday I’ve decided to finally unleash my dissertation on my unusual interpretation(s) of Sleep! I’ve only ever seen one person who had a similar outlook to me, and they said they received some Negative Feedback on their views, so uh, don’t shoot me?

My favorite thing about this band's fandom is exploration of the lore, how open to interpretation everything is, and how welcome we are to find our own stories within the source material. I love reading how other people interpret certain songs, or the overarching story, differently from each other based on their own outlooks and experiences. That's what I think the point is. So I want to be clear that I'm not trying to say I'm right, I'm not trying to say anyone else is wrong, I'm just expressing my own opinion.

Grab a drink, it's a long one. I won't give a TL;DR because I don't want people to reactively shoot down my theory without reading my reasoning, but I will say it deviates from the more standard interpretations in two ways:

I don't believe Sleep is meant to be an actual deity, I think it's meant to be more allegorical, a metaphor for something real.

I don't think the music, or the story being told, is about Sleep.

I'm sorry if I've already lost you with the first point. I'm sorry if I seem like a party pooper. I love the aesthetic and the worldbuilding and the symbolism, and I love the creativity of the fans who build out the story on the premise of Vessel actually communing with and having some manner of relationship with this great, unknowable, ancient deity. The issue for me is that I can only read that story if I already have that story in my mind, if that makes sense. Sure, I can make the songs fit that narrative, but I never would have arrived at that narrative on my own, without first reading that the band was made to worship this deity. And in my mind, if I couldn't arrive at that conclusion naturally, without being led there, then it probably wasn't the conclusion I was meant to arrive at.

For a while, I could vibe with the idea that Sleep was supposed to be a metaphor for a lover, either present or former, and a toxic relationship he was struggling or had struggled with. But as I delved deeper into their catalogue I very much lost the impression that all of these songs were about one singular person, or even that all of the songs were about romantic relationships in general. And as I got more into the fandom and found out that there was more official dialogue from the band than just the "One Single Interview" everyone talked about, I realized that trying to fit the songs to all be about one person or thing would never work, because the songs weren't about Sleep, there were merely gifts to Sleep.

Now, I could have sworn that when I first got into the band’s lore I read on their official website that their songs are offerings to Sleep - not about Sleep, the way everyone seems to interpret them. That no longer appears to be the case. I have this screenshot that I took of part of what I remember reading, but I distinctly recall there being another paragraph or two in addition to what I cropped, and unfortunately my PC doesn’t show me the link the screenshot was taken on, like my phone would. And in re-reading the text in the screenshot, it does seem to be speaking about Sleep Token as a separate entity so I may be entirely misremembering how official of a source it was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Regardless, I’ve seen multiple articles that word it in this manner, that the songs are for Sleep rather than about Sleep, and nowhere in the official sources I’ve found is it said that the songs are about Sleep, so I’m going to assume I’m right and continue under the assumption I’ve worked under all along: that the songs are not, in fact, about Sleep.

They are, however, for Sleep. This has never been debated. The songs are tokens, or offerings, to Sleep.

So, let me share with you the official communications that developed my theory. In addition to what I've commonly seen referred to as their "only interview" before II's drumeo video, I've found (poor quality) scans of two magazine spreads, one from Kerrang! and another I'm unsure of the source of, both featuring Jaws. I read most of these after having watched videos of rituals and reading transcripts of the conversation between Vessel and, presumably, his mask, that took place on last year's tour, as well as the monologue from The Room Below. I started to notice a common theme between that more recent conversation and these much earlier interviews, that for some reason surprised me: Vessel had wanted the fans to project onto the music all along.

Noteworthy quotes from the linked sources, in roughly chronological order:

“Our verses are a token, crafted to magnify and embody the multitude of emotion that writhes in our subconscious. Sonically our voice is rooted in the resonation between the notes and your emotion.”

“As musicians we are inspired by the human condition [...]. As followers we are bound by a duty to combine our crafts to create music that conveys some of our most primal, and powerful emotions.”

“We are here to deliver a message; touch people in their hearts and subconscious minds.”

“There exists a considerable body of art that explores the deeper recesses of the human mind. Sleep Token serve as a means to explore this on an individual basis. The music is a representation of one individual’s deepest and most fundamental emotions and desires. This is what people connect to. They see themselves in this individual, and the music becomes about them.”

“The aim is to provide something people can engage with without being obstructed by the identity of its creator.”

“The ultimate goal is to engender a constructive emotional process within as many people as possible. Simply the basic concept of understanding oneself better, understanding others better as a result.”

“Sleep Token draw from the most profound experiences we have in life and, most crucially, where they intersect. [...] To see this within yourself, and then to see it reflected in others - this is the essence of worship.”

“We all desire to see the darkest, most profound aspects of ourselves reflected in the expressions of others. [...] We’re here to provide this expression, so it may serve as a device with which people might understand themselves better.”

"We are here to silently collect. To project ourselves onto one-another."

"Perhaps that is another reason why we are here. At the very least, we have all suffered."

"I think they just want to know that I am feeling something, feeling what they are feeling, perhaps."

"In order for all of this to work there has to be a certain boundary in place. They need to be able to project themselves onto this without anyone else's identity getting in the way. In turn, I need to be able to show my true self to them in a way that does not compromise their ability to connect."

"They, too, are pained. They, too, do not know who they truly are. They are each stood alone on a stage of their own. And yet, they are here. United by that sense of never truly belonging. They see something beyond their own bleak horizons, and they reach for it. Together. So let us join now, to reflect their joy and to serve as a conduit for their anguish. To swallow their fear."

And finally, from the Fall For Me music video: "So for now let me serve as a living drama of your pain. If we are to be submerged let us be submerged together."

When I place them right next to each other, it's probably easier to see the common theme that I caught onto. I cycled through a few ideas - including Vessel himself being Sleep, or Sleep representing music and the connection it can foster between people - but I kept coming back to the way Vessel has repeatedly talked about fans projecting onto the music, examining themselves through it, understanding themselves through it. Projecting ourselves onto him, seeing ourselves in him, trying to understand ourselves through our interpretations of his story.

He's a Vessel for us. The songs are tokens, offerings, to us. We, the fans, are Sleep. The songs are gifts for us to examine ourselves through, to help us delve into our own experiences and emotional responses and understand ourselves - and, in turn, understand each other. It isn't Vessel that we are worshipping, it's ourselves and each other that we see in Vessel. I could even get really sentimental and cheesy if I wanted and say that Vessel directly worships us as well, albeit wordlessly, with his deep bows and falling to his knees in appreciation of his audience.

And just to reiterate, I don't think the songs are about Sleep. Although I think an argument could possibly be made about the toxic relationship between Vessel and Sleep being a metaphor for the parasocial relationship between an entertainer and their audience, I... won't get into that. Today, at least. Although I think it's a really interesting take that deserves exploration, I don't genuinely think any of the songs are directed toward or written about the fans/audience. I just think he's sharing the story of his life with us and allowing us to project our own lives upon it, to remind us that none of us are alone in this world. None of us are alone in our feelings, or in our experiences, no matter how isolated we may feel in them.

[EDIT: After making this post I found yet another magazine interview, in which Vessel kind of.... confirms this whole theory?

"He is everyone. He is you. There is a power in music that binds us all, every note relates to another."

The power of music uniting people and allowing us to see ourselves in each other and connect through that was exactly what I had in mind when I formed this theory, so it's kind of validating that I'm interpreting things correctly to see it put so bluntly lol]

If you made it to the end of this, thank you for hearing me out! \owo/ I had been wanting to make a post about this for a while as it seemed a very clear-cut take to me that I didn't think would be controversial. Speaking with the person I mentioned at the beginning who had a similar theory kind of scared me off it, since they said they received some outright hate for it, but talking to them also really got me excited to dig into my theory and provide my sources and show everyone the breadcrumb trail of how I arrived at this conclusion. So I hope at least a couple people enjoyed it!

If this is received well maybe I'll be brave enough to actually post about some of my song interpretations ^^; As I said, I don't think they're all about any one thing. My favorite quote from the ones listed above is this one: "Sleep Token draw from the most profound experiences we have in life and, most crucially, where they intersect." The intersectionality of it all is what's most interesting to me, so that quote was a little bit vindicating to read, lol. It's not all about romantic relationships, to me. It's about how every experience we go through in life, how we feel about them, how we react to them - all of those experiences overlap and intersect and color each other. It's about how everything you've ever been through will affect everything else you ever go through. But now I am genuinely rambling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thank you again for reading, and feel free to slide into my DMs to talk about this god-given band whensoever you wish.

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

You can't hear it in the 'silence'... I have to get something off my chest

Sorry, this isn't going to be a fun post, but I've thought about it for a few days now, and I really need to get this off my chest if I want to continue talking about Taylor Swift in this space.

Reading Taylor's wrap up post for the London shows/European tour on Wednesday night filled me with relief, but left a bad aftertaste and I couldn't really put my finger on why, but it irked me so much that it kept me up all night. If you haven't seen, this was her post with the usual photo carousel:

So, finally, Miss Swift has found her voice addressing Vienna. And I don’t personally love the way she handled it, but I totally understand her reasoning and am aware that we have very different perceptions of danger given that home invasions and stalking are a frequent occurrence in her world, when that’s not something any of us have to fear.  And I thank Taylor, her team, and the Met Police for how incredibly safe the concerts felt, given the circumstances. But something has been bothering me about all of this, and it’s the way she addresses the ‘silence’.

Why is now the time she can finally “make something very clear”? Where was this when her creepy 'fans' swarmed and harassed her at Jack Antonoff's wedding last summer or when gaylors were told 8 times a day to off themselves following a simple NYT article? Yes, I’m disappointed. Because she can when she wants to. And the ‘restraint’ can sure feel like abandonment when people are hurting and nowhere is safe from Swifties… I doubt anybody really thought she doesn’t care or isn’t working hard to make the shows safe. But I have a question about that.

Why is my safety taken more seriously when I’m attending her concert than when my safe space online is being invaded by people telling me to go die? Twice in the last 8 months have I actually altered my behaviour because I felt distinctly unsafe as a gay woman in a Taylor Swift-related space. Why did it take such a scary event for that stadium to truly feel like a safe space for people to even show up wearing a pride flag as a cape , when back in June, I didn't feel safe enough to wear rainbow laces in my shoes. Because hate that turns into actual real life violence always starts online, and I just didn't want to risk it when people were calling for my public execution on social media mere months ago while Miss Taylor was yet again 'silent'....where was her ability to 'make something very clear' then? Was my safety, all of our collective safety, not important unless I've paid for a ticket to her show? Because I don't see the difference in what it would do to Taylor if even a single life was lost to excessive harassment and bullying by swifties versus if we got attacked at a stadium or during a dance class.

When you go on record saying you never want to be silent on important issues ever again, you can't act all annoyed when people subsequently expect you to say something when a fascist and convicted felon may be elected to government again, or queer people are being harassed within an inch of their lives in your name by your very fans. In the silence, actions speak louder than words and the legacy of a year of WAG Taylor catering to die hard conservative football fans and smiling in photographs with Tr*mp supporters (in an election year!) is really very scary. Those photos on the front of every newspaper may just be louder than any words she said five years ago (and no, performance art does not absolve anyone from that).

I'm all for thinking before speaking, but I don't want to feel like she's actively sending the bullies our way with her actions and verbal 'restraint'. I want to enjoy her art with the people in my community in a safe environment every day, not just when I'm coming to a stadium.

Since it's tour break, I'm also going to take a bit of a break from here, get some perspective, get my kids settled into a new school year. Maybe even try this dating in my 30s thing...(scary!). Have a good September, peeps! 😘

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Bunch Family

Connections (Part 2)

After Lisa had prepared dinner, they sat down at the table together. “You look exhausted, mom"/ ‘I am too, Ethan, really’. Ethan was really worried about his mother. After the disaster, she was the first to offer her help to the others. She hadn't been able to sit still since. “Why don't you just take a break for a few days. Mrs. Andrews often asks if you need help. And Officer Keaton from next door, too.”

“Justine… I don't trust that woman at the moment. But that shouldn't be your worry. Who will be teaching you all from Monday?"/ ”Peter's father. We're really glad it's not Landgraab, he always looks so stern.” Judy couldn't help but grin a little nastily. “He's good at that. Is it true that the Landgraabs have moved out? Someone said to me the other day that they were walking around with Malcolm and a lot of luggage.”

“Yeah, I heard it from Holly. And they must have moved into the house you just decorated the other day…”. Judy was about to put her fork in her mouth, but she paused. “I went to all this trouble for these people of all people? Pff… And did she say why they moved out? I thought Nancy and Vita were best friends now?"/ ‘No, she didn't…’. Judy was naturally curious and wondered what must have happened there that the Landgraabs had decided to take such a step.

After the meal, Lisa helped clear the dishes. “So, who gets to work on the laptop first, Dad?"/ ”Me. I have to write an important email today and I don't know how long it will be yet. Maybe I'll be lucky and I'll get a quick reply"/ ”So you'll be on the laptop for the whole hour? Great…"/ ‘You can use your phone, be glad you're one of the few who still has it’/ ”I get it. I'll be in my room then”.

After his return, Cyclone mainly took care of the Internet reception. But not the restoration of the telephone network. That was something he was less familiar with. But he knew how to use a computer to bypass some barriers and close minor security gaps. So for now, everyone had to make do with just being able to send each other emails. “My mother saw the pictures, it was so embarrassing.”

Of course, it is also an incredible waste of text space and time if you only ever send each other small messages. But that didn't matter to the young people, the main thing was that they could communicate with each other at all, even if they weren't in the same room together. “Crap! Which ones?"/ ‘Luckily only this ones where I was covered’/ ”Yes, lucky! Hehe, imagine if she had seen the other pics too…”

“We'd better be careful with things like that, VJ. I don't want something like that to end up on the net either. You'd never post something like that, would you?“/”Me? Nonsense, don't worry about it, I'm not that kind of person. I'll probably go hunting again tomorrow. I'm starting to like it“/”you kill animals, I don't think that's so great“/”so that you and your family and everyone else here have something to eat, don't forget that!”.

“OK, OK, you don't have to hit on me like that” / ”Sorry, sweetie. But I'm really only doing this so that we can all survive here somehow. Man, why are they saying all this garbage out there about us all died here?"/ ‘I don't know, VJ’.

“Something is going wrong here. Maybe someone out there should finally be contacted to send us help. Didn't you used to have so many chat friends?"/ ‘Yes, yes…’/ ‘And do you have the e-mail address of any of them?’/ ”I don't know, I can check tomorrow. I want to sleep now, VJ, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night xx.”

You're probably asking yourself: why didn't they contact someone out there a long time ago, now that the Internet is available to a limited extent again? Well, perhaps they were unsure? After all, there were many stories and articles on the internet suggesting that everyone was dead. Would they then believe someone who sent you a message from here? “There she is, I don't believe it!”.

But what's the best way to start an email to someone with whom you had quite a few arguments back then? In the military, the tone was harsh. There was discipline and everyone had to listen to their superiors, even on missions. And even if the last encounter wasn't a pleasant one, Jack didn't want to leave it untried.

Jack looked at the watch and realized that he was spending more time trying to work everything out in his head instead of just typing away. Once he had banished the drafts from his head, he started typing. “I see you've been promoted, congratulations Miss Kennedy. A bad start to begin an email, but please read this carefully.”

Jack wrote everything that happened in the destroyed city after the disaster, who survived and how they had managed here without help so far. And that apparently no one had ever thought to come and check on things. He wrote everything carefully. For example, that he hoped he could write this message to her in confidence. But above all, he made it clear right away who he was, with some details that only she could know. “Perhaps you know something, Miss Kennedy, or can tell me something. So please… Get back to me when you receive this. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye…”.

“…But we should put the last bad encounters behind us and trust each other again instead. I think that's probably the most important thing at this time. Yours sincerely, Jack Bunch”. After he had sent the e-mail, there were only two minutes left in which he could have done something. But he let the time pass until the Internet fell silent again. Then he stared at the screen of the switched-off laptop for a moment. “I hope that was the right decision”.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

@greenplumbboblover ☺

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Sorry pls ignore my last ask BPP. Your point about Seven being the 'Dynamite' equivalent in solo era is a good one and explains the treatment it got. After the BB article I also now understand why BH dropped LC. If BB believed the LC record was 'tainted' with Chinese cash and BH never had that 'Dynamite' promotion plan for it, everything that's happened makes sense. But it still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. I can't wash it out. Are we now at the mercy of BB's whims? Also don't you find the support for Seven excessive? Is the elimination of direct to consumer sales enough to explain that kind of support to keep it number 1? I'm just trying to understand how the company is thinking about things without victimizing the members. They all seem to be still working with purpose so I feel they don't feel shortchanged, but from the outside looking inside it doesn't feel fair.

*

Ask 2:

Hi BPP,

Re: bb article

1. Do you think there will be additional changes coming, making sales even less relevant for bb charts?

2. I absolutely hate that it is again Jimin that takes the brunt of all this bulshit, I really do. He doesnt deserve this at all. But he is strong, he will be OK. That being said, its making me really upset IRL, so I will have to do some me time.

3. I would be interested to know your outlook on BB as a whole when it comes to BTS and their future in US market (if you have talked about this pls refer me to the post)

My opinion is, that while BB is paramount when it comes to big awards season, eventually BB and the awards themselves serve as a kind of promotion, to validate the artist to their (potential) fanbase, keep them invested etc. BTS guys do all of that on their own, with their music, personalities and lyrics. So going forward, if they dont chart as much, dont win as much... It will not matter in the long run. Their fan base is so solid that I trully believe they will have no problem selling multiple stadium stops 25 years from now. Easily.

There will be a significant fandom fall off, when all the people who are here for bragging rights lose their interest. And that is a good thing... But the people who will stay, who love the guys for who they are and for their art, those whose love does not depend on how many grammy noms or BB H100 they recieve... These people will stay and buy the tickets. And their numbers will still be enourmous. Enviable. More than the majority of the western industry plants can only dream of.

Rant over. Have a good weekend

*

Ask 3:

The latest Billboard discussion is disheartening, but the NYT article description of U.S. conservatives aping the tactics of Swifties and BTS fans to get their nefarious messaging across is even more so. Have we opened the gate for the Trumpsters of the world?

I was struck by this partvof the original question to you"

'... figure out a way to truly determine which songs are most popular (whatever that even means anymore)....'

So, how can we ever know what is truly popular? Are fervent fans willing to devote time and resources to get their fave to the top really the best arbiters? Even if they number in the millions, we are still looking at support that is far deeper than it is wide.

I mean, better than the suits deciding, I guess? Or is it just another group--this one outside of the target country--imposing their agenda on the population? One has the goal of making money; the other of winning a fan war.

So, how do we ascertain what is truly popular with the much-vaunted GP? Or doesn't it matter?

***

I've said many times on this blog that I'm not a writer, and that English isn't my first language, so I suppose it's unsurprising that despite my efforts putting my thoughts to paper/Tumblr, I'm still unable to fully communicate it in a way people understand right away, to eliminate/answer a lot of questions that I believe should be clear to infer from what I've written before. So rather than write a massive post like before where my key points could get lost, I'll pick out key questions from your asks and give fairly brief answers to each one. I'll work my way from the top, down.

Hi Anon(s),

Select answers below:

"Also don't you find the support for Seven excessive? Is the elimination of direct to consumer sales enough to explain that kind of support to keep it number 1?"

I think the results speak for itself. Dynamite and the PET got what is easily the biggest support any BTS release had gotten to date at the time - all of it tailored to mirror how American labels promoted their tracks, *and* the fandom had D2C sales buttressing it as the primary support mechanism. Like, please read that sentence again and think about what it means. Sales are the easiest and most transparent way for the fandom to influence charts, and so was always preferred for ARMY. Even if you weren't in the fandom then, understand it's impossible to overstate how much D2C sales mattered. With that now out of the question, everything we're seeing for Seven for me feels like a given, especially after the Billboard article.

"Do you think there will be additional changes coming, making sales even less relevant for bb charts?"

Yes. But not 'less relevant' in a sense, more like differentiated and treated as its own thing, perhaps in a separate chart.

"I would be interested to know your outlook on BB as a whole when it comes to BTS and their future in US market (if you have talked about this pls refer me to the post)"

This probably requires its own post but the long-short of it is: just like Ticketmaster, Billboard is only one arm of one of the largest private monopolies in the US entertainment market - PMC, and as such they serve as gatekeepers of sorts. Their interest in BTS (and k-pop by extension) lies primarily in how they can profit off the group/fandom, which so far BigHit and ARMY have created very limited avenues for. BigHit's strategy until now has been to expand BTS's reach without relying on the PMC apparatus, using it only for select releases that are explicitly tailored for it e.g. Seven and PET. While I don't think this strategy will change dramatically, every change from BB is to force more compliance with their apparatus. BTS will continue facing handicaps from PMC so long as BigHit continues limiting how PMC can profit from BTS for each release. (This sentence makes sense in my head but if it's not clear, please let me know.)

*

"Have we opened the gate for the Trumpsters of the world?"

Well, yeah. But ARMYs can't take all the credit. After all, ARMYs are only doing what the Bey Hive and Swifties have been doing for almost a decade with none of the scrutiny. BTS, more than any other group, actually has the absolute numbers in demand and grassroots support to justify it as they're comparable to the afore-mentioned artists, proven by their concert showings not just in the US but worldwide, as far back as 2018. People only started paying attention to ARMYs' movements because BTS didn't look like the sorts of people they expected to see at the top of the charts. Everybody took notice, including a political faction in the US that in recent years has moved more aggressively into the entertainment sphere to influence culture, such as Ben Shapiro's entertainment empire, movies like Sound of Freedom topping box office charts, and conservative country singers pushing Reagan-esque talking points to the top of music charts. So it's basically the result of timing and opportunity.

"So, how can we ever know what is truly popular? Are fervent fans willing to devote time and resources to get their fave to the top really the best arbiters? ... how do we ascertain what is truly popular with the much-vaunted GP?"

I've talked about this before I think. You can find my views on it in my Masterlist, and I've linked the post here.

*

People sent in more asks on BB but I've since lost interest in this topic and will post my responses when I feel like it, much later, using the same format I've used to answer the asks above. The truth is that while I understand why many people feel like everything that's happened so far with Seven and Jimin is unfair, I think a lot of the discourse is awfully reductive, actually does a disservice to Jimin and BTS, and that there's a much bigger picture here that's more consistent with how BTS has operated for the last 10 years.

This is probably not the best analogy, but one way I think of BTS is like a Swiss army knife, with each member being a separate tool. And that at different points, in various markets, BigHit and BTS are testing various approaches to expand their reach while aiming to maintain the market share they've gotten so far. The group has always had projects they release that have more artistic merit and cache, versus projects made by all appearances to be purely for commercial purposes to expand the reach of the group. For example, consider how BigHit promoted Butter/Permission to Dance, compared to the BE album, or how Seven was created and promoted relative to Indigo. To go back in even further in previous years, I remember how BTS appeared to center Jimin in Blood, Sweat & Tears era to build out his and their presence in Korea, and Taehyung in DNA era where his and BTS's presence in China ballooned in 2017.

While in the solo era some people feel like every accomplishment remains solely with individual members, I feel everything serves only one purpose: to further establish the group. Because by BTS's own words, they all have their individual ambitions, they've always had that and each member is aggressively competitive on that note, but they've each all said that their priority remains the group. Not everybody likes that, not everybody believes them when they say it, but the good thing with BTS is that they plan in multi-year stints and time always reveals what the facts of the matter are. We're only one year into Chapter 2, and while certain parts of the fandom are treating their solo debut albums as the be all and end all, I don't think there's anything to suggest this perspective lines up with the reality of how BTS has behaved for the last 10 years. I could be wrong, but either way we're just going to have to wait and see. In the meantime, I believe there's significant artistic merit in what the guys are putting out in Chapter 2, that I hope isn't lost in the noise. The fandom should do a better job of bringing the attention back to this, rather than a tunnel-vision on performance metrics that only tell half of the story.

[manny-jacinto]

Hey! I also wanna watch and enjoy Ahsoka but I'm having trouble getting past the Ros@rio D@wson of it all.. I heard about that insane incident and her and her mother beating a trans person (with very little details but it's still been enough to put me off for years). Did you ever hear more details about this/do you know anything else? I'm sorry I know this is the opposite of trying to ignore her existence and move on.

god i feel you, i was NOT interested into the whole ahsoka thing for the exact same reason. fuck rosario dawson! all my homies hate rosario dawson! for what is worth, i tried to ignore her as much as possible during the episodes and focused on sabine, chopper and the sith(?) master/apprentice and it was way better than i expected (especially since i didn't see a lot of r*sari*)

i'm not a deep dive expert so i cannot promise that i have the whole story figured out. there's a not a lot of articles or details but these struck me out:

the description of the assault is absolutely disgusting

In 2020, 18 of the 20 allegations were "withdrawn voluntarily without settlement," and Dawson spoke out about the lawsuit

r*sari* talked a little bit about it to vanity fair and her answer srsly rubs me wrong:

Ahsoka does mean a great deal to people, and they’re deeply invested in who she is. So, Rosario, I want to ask you about something that’s outside of this story of The Mandalorian, and that’s the concern in the fandom about a lawsuit that was filed against you last year by a longtime family friend. The claim accused you and other family members of anti-trans bias, and you’ve called the lawsuit false and baseless. But what do you say to those Star Wars fans who hear this and believe the worst—that you are transphobic?  

Dawson: Well, firstly, I just want to say I understand that, and why people were concerned, and are concerned. I would be too if I heard some of those claims. But I mean, as we’re seeing right now in these past months, and just recently, actually, the truth is coming out. Every single claim of discrimination has been dismissed by the person who made them, and as you’ve said, the fact that this is coming from someone I’ve known since I was a teenager, the better part of my life, and who my family was trying to help as we have many times in the past, it really just makes me sad. But I still have a great empathy for him.

Court records show 18 of the 20 claims were withdrawn voluntarily without a settlement, and his lawyer left the case. Two counts remain alleging a physical altercation, and a judge will rule on whether that can move forward next month. There are people that would say, “Well, this is just another example of a wealthy, famous person overpowering the system.” So what would you say to those people who are unconvinced, both about this case and about what you actually believe about trans people?

Dawson: The reason that all of the discrimination claims were dropped is because they didn’t happen. I was raised in a very inclusive and loving way, and that’s how I’ve lived my entire life. I’ve always used my voice to fight for, lift up, and empower the LGBTQA community, and use my platform to channel trans voices, in fiction and nonfiction work that I’ve produced and directed. So I feel the record is really clear.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi. I hope you doing well. 18 year old female ENTP here. English is not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes.

I'm here to ask for some advice. My ISFJ mom is having a hard time with an diagnosis of a breast cancer. Fortunately, it's is in early-stage and the chances of cure are high, so i'm hopeful that everything will be fine. However, this is affecting her a lot emotionally and I really don't know exactly what to do to support her in this moment.

Apparently, her concerns doesn't seem to be directed at the disease itself, but the treatment process that has left her anxious and with several negative thoughts. She said she doesn't want others to worry about her and feels guilty for not being "strong enough" to deal with it (she's the type of person who likes to take care of others but hates when the others worry about her ) so it all has been making her quite depressed lately.

I've been trying to help her in different ways, but it all seems a bit useless. I know it's normal for her to feel this way right now and there's no magic solution that would make her feel better instantly, but I still want to help her in some way and i really don't like seeing her suffering like this. Any thoughts? Sorry if it wasn't clear enough.

--------------------

Cancer is always a tough ride, no matter the prognosis. I'm sorry to hear she has to go through that. Read the article about Caring for Emotional Needs in the site index for information based on ISFJ cognitive functions. ISFJs are practical people, so practical help is appreciated. ISFJs are Feelers, so offer extra encouragement and emotional support as needed.

ISFJs are routine people, so they tend to worry about illness disrupting routines. Observe what her daily routine is/was when healthy and well. Make a list of all the tasks she does with regard to maintaining the household, work, and relationships (including family, friends, and community). Take on as many of those tasks for her as you are able to. Let her know that you're happy to help if she protests. This should go a long way to alleviating her fears about falling behind or disappointing people.

[heybaetae]

i have no one to talk about it and you're always so open, so i'm just really getting this out of my chest, you don't need to answer if you don't want to

I'm so sad, i've been crying a lot every day since the announcement came. this was so unexpected (at least for me) and there was no time to emotionally prepare too... there were articles coming out before saying that all of them would have enlisted by december, but it was never confirmed by the members themselves, so i still had my doubts. then, out of nowhere, "hello, 4 members are enlisting at once"

they are working so much and you couldn't tell if this or that was gonna be released in 2024 or still this year. and then i thought "well, i have to prepare myself for the end of december", since there are usually between 40 or 50 days with them after the notice by bighit. if what kmedia said is true, they are leaving in less than two weeks

i feel broken and so empty, i'm so scared of my future, next year i'll go through so many changes and i never take changes easily, i always suffer so much untill i get used to something, and now... not having the only constant i've been used to have in my life..there is no time to process. it was different with jin because he was here for more than a month before he left, it was also obvious that yoongi was leaving after his tour and hobi... :/ i'm devasted

i'm gonna cry so much with this upcoming documentary, i thought that the ptd DVD would cheer me up, but i've just been feeling more weird and sad :( i laugh in the funny scenes, but there's this sadness behind it. and my bias is jungkook... his lives :( i've been asking myself if he would do a "goodbye live".. if he decides to do it, i really really really don't wanna lose it :( i already miss him so much and he's not even gone yet

i’m sorry hun. i think everyone is in the same boat emotionally about the shorter notice compared to the previous enlistments. i’m not really gonna acknowledge what is being spread around by the media rn because the same thing happened with jin and he wasn’t thrilled about that information being made public, but i’ll say it’s okay and valid to feel everything you’re feeling and to have hoped we’d have a little more time than what the reality seems to be.

i really hope next year goes smoothly for you and that you adjust as comfortably as you can to whatever your new normal is going to be in your personal life and your life alongside bts during their absence.

luckily, it‘s quite clear that they’ve each prepared things for us to release after they’re gone and while i value their safety and well-being so much more than having any content during this, it’s extremely generous of them. not only for three of those members to have seemingly held off on their enlistments until the youngest released his album and was done promoting it so they could all go at once, but for them all to have used that time to work on things to keep us entertained once they did. i don’t think it’ll feel like your constant will be completely gone, they’ve made sure of it. we’re so lucky they care about us enough to plan ahead, create new stuff to enjoy in the meantime, and to time it perfectly so they’re back on the literal day before their anniversary in 2025. you really don’t get sappier than that lol.

also on the topic of whatever content that comes out in the coming months/year (i’m sure they’ll spread it out), if you think it’ll make you too sad to watch, it’s not going anywhere and it’ll be ready for you whenever you need it. weverse posts and occasional instagram posts will be a thing. it will absolutely suck losing jungkook’s lives, but i know he’ll make the most of his social media time in other ways at every opportunity he gets and those moments of communication will feel all the more special.

feel all your feelings, let them out however you need. but remember that you’re not alone in your emotions too and you can reach out to any of us here at any time. if you need to log off on the actual day, definitely to. focus on you, do something fun, find something that’ll take your mind off of it. all of this is temporary and it’ll go by fast. we just have to take it day by day. 💜

[oldarticles]

Class Rings

by Jake Hurwitz

Remember Junior year when that guy in a suit came to your school and showed you a slide show and gave you a pamphlet with all those oversized, shiny rings? Now if you're a total tool you might also remember getting way too excited and rampantly flipping through the packet before promising to go halfsies with your parents just so you could get the "most bitchingest ring ever". Well I'm here to forgive you. I understand, you got caught up in the moment, you probably thought most of your friends would do it, maybe you were high? Look, we all make mistakes, just don't make this worse by actually wearing that stupid ass looking ring.

Much like communism and sex buddies, the class ring sounds very good in theory. Something to bond with your friends over, a keepsake of those awkward, acne filled but somehow glorious high school years, perhaps even something to show your grandkids one day, maybe they will appreciate it - if they're total losers. Let's face it though guy, unless you won a Super Bowl or World Series you just can't pull off a ring that size. Not even if you're wearing a suit like the guy that sold it to you, not even in your graduation gown. Nothing, and I really do mean NOTHING can make that ring look cool. You can do a back flip on a motorcycle over a shark tank while 20 topless cheerleaders chant your name and I will still boo your pathetic ass for wearing that unnecessarily large class ring.

I want to make perfectly clear that there are no exceptions to this rule. On more than one occasion I have found myself making fun of class rings when one of my friends is like, "Hey, I'm wearing my class ring." In this situation I have always said something like, "Oh I'm not talking about rings like that, you can pull that off, Carl." But I'm lying Carl, you can't pull that off. And also your haircut is stupid, and you wear the same shirt all the time, and your parents are dead. Now although most of Carl's misfortune is pretty funny, the fact that he wears the class ring is no laughing matter. Your bulky and awkward class ring makes your friends not want to you hang with you, it also repels women and gives you cancer, hence the death of Carl's parents.

I hope I've been helpful to all you ring wearers out there. I think all you needed was some tough love, and if this article didn't do the trick you're gonna get some tougher love. Because the next asshole I see with a class ring on his finger is getting kicked in the nuts. I'm not kidding, my foot's hitting your junk, and then you'll be sorry you ever wore that stupid ring. Or maybe you'll just punch me, but I wish you wouldn't, because that ring would definitely hurt a lot. 

[urdreamgirls-dreamgirl]

I'm a cis het female, but I'm always trying to learn and be an ally. My lesbian niece is a Gaylor, so I'm at least passingly familiar with some of the ways people thought her music was queer coded.

But I'm interested in why you personally feel betrayed by Taylor.

(It might seem obvious from someone with your subject position, but I'm confused as an outsider. A debunked theory doesn't seem to be enough... Has she been actively homophobic? Tried googling and it was a shitshow.)

gonna preface this by saying sorry to my mutuals and followers who hate t*ylor sw*ft--i already lost like ten followers for posting about this lol

for anyone curious, this is the nyt article i'm referencing and this is the response planted in cnn.

if you're at all familiar with the online fandom, then you know that there's a stark divide between fans that consider themselves "hetlors" and fans that consider themselves "gaylors." the gaylor camp is focused on queer readings of her music, uncovering what they consider to be queer flagging, and making references and connections between taylor and other gay artists. the hetlor camp is focused on spreading violent homophobia in gaylor's comments. i personally consider myself a part of the gaylor community because of my interest in doing queer readings of mainstream media, even though i personally don't believe that t*ylor sw*ft herself is gay and i don't really care one way or another--her personal identity doesn't affect the way i choose to interpret and read her music.

HOWEVER, it's important to point out that t*ylor has made many, many, many overt references to queer artists and queer culture--whether she's gay or not, it's dishonest and a rejection of her work to deny that she's made these references. here are some examples:

the song "ivy." many fans have speculated about the references of the album evermore to the themes of dickinson's poetry, specifically the song "ivy." this has been a long-time fan theory, doubly fueled by the fact that evermore dropped on dickinson's birthday. t*ylor seems to have confirmed this theory by allowing the use of the song in the show dickinson, when emily and sue reunite after a big fight and the publication of one of emily's poems (i don't watch the show, so sorry abt some narrative details here lol).

2. dedicating a performance to loie fuller. during the rep tour, taylor dedicated her performance of the song "dress"--largely consider one of her queerest songs--to fuller, a gay choreographer and dancer.

3. on the eras tour, she plays dusty springfield's "you don't own me" directly before she comes on stage. springfield was pretty openly bisexual for the 1960s and made quite a few statements about being with women. in 1990, she released her thirteenth studio album titled reputation, with black and white cover art. there are also some 1989 tv/dusty springfield color references in the cds.

4. she references the lakes poets. she published the song "the lakes" as a bonus track on folklore, which is a clear reference to the lakes poets, especially wordsworth, who was gay.

5. she made herself the gay sheriff of gay town.

6. she posted a picture to her own insta with a friendship bracelet that very clearly said "PROUD" with the colors of the bi flag. she wears the bi flag in her hair in the YNTCD music video where, again, she makes herself the gay sheriff of gay town.

7. she explicitly states "gay pride makes me, me" in the making of the ME! music video (i want to say this is in the Miss Americana documentary, but i honestly don't remember)

8. she has used the phrase "hairpin drop" in two separate songs. the phrasing first appears in "rwylm," a bonus track on evermore, where she sings "i swear you could hear a hairpin drop"--"dropping hairpins" is a historical phrase in the queer community that means dropping hints that you're a part of the community. now this one i've always been iffy on, but i think the intention is undeniable when we get to the midnights 3am track "the great war" where she returns to this phrasing. the lyrics in "the great war" is "finger on my hairpin trigger"--there's no way this is a mistake with the way that the fandom went so crazy over the phrasing in "rwylm." she herself has repeatedly referenced the online community and she's very aware of the conversations her fans are having--there's no way she didn't know we were talking about this. using the phrasing a second time by changing the traditional phrase ("hair trigger" and "you could hear a pin drop" are the traditional phrases) is undeniably intentional.

ok so. these are JUST the references that have been overt, explicit, and very clearly intentionally reference queer culture, queer history, and established queer flagging.

what's really important here is that the nyt article outlines these references, which are confirmed, among others made in taylor swift's public performances and published artwork, including lyrics and album ephemera. no where in the article does the author speculate on individual muses of any song or posit an opinion about her personal relationships. the article is focused on the gay fans and the ways we have built a community with each other through lyrical analysis and interpretation.

the important thing to note about t*ylor sw*ft is that she very rarely makes explicit public statements about anything published about her or any rumors about her in the press. that's why there was so much uproar about tree paine (her publicist) directly addressing the rumors that deuxmoi is perpetuating about a marriage to joe alwyn--because it's not normal. instead, she tends to speak more covertly through showing up places with people (for example, she went to dinner with sophie turner after the news of their divorce broke), making references through her style (wearing the color of a current era or the next era coming up), releasing new music (she addressed the matty healy scandal by releasing a song with ice spice and having her join the tour for one night!).

so with that being said, unless and until taylor or tree comments openly about either of these articles, we have to understand the cnn response as her opinion and coming from her camp. (i currently think this came from her father, as he's been very heavy handed in her pr lately.)

if you actually read the nyt article, there's literally nothing wrong with it. so to frame this opinion piece as "dismaying," "invasive," and "inappropriate" is capitalizing on established homophobic tropes about the queer community. why is it "dismaying" to be mistaken for a gay person? why is it invasive to read someone's work and say "hmm, there's a blatant queer reference here, i wonder if she's trying to tell us something." "i wonder if this person is gay" is a morally neutral statement. this response in cnn has given her straight fans license to go after her gay fans even harder than they did before. some of my mutuals and friends have been getting death threats, one has been doxxed previously and i'm worried it will happen again, and our comments are being inundated with slurs.

the reason i feel personally betrayed by taylor is because she has repeatedly capitalized off of my community as outlined above (and again, these are only the references that have been confirmed--there are plenty more ("dear reader," "paris," "hits different," "cowboy like me," "dress," "seven," "this is me trying," "high infidelity," "maroon," i could literally go on and on) and then allows the media and her fans to drag us through the mud and frame our community as aggressive, invasive, and repeatedly sexualize us by insisting that our sexuality and community is solely about who we fuck. if i get called gross, disgusting, or invasive one more time for stating that "bet i could still melt your world, argumentative antithetical dream girl" is gay, i will literally fucking lose it.

you cannot repeatedly and routinely reference openly gay artists in your work and then become "dismayed" when your gay fans recognize those references and begin to make connections. if you're a real ally, you would see nothing wrong with being perceived as gay. because there's nothing wrong with being gay! she has built her career off of autobiographical, confessional style writing and the interactions of fans speculating on who songs might be about. i'm old enough to remember the liner notes that revealed who each song was about! you can't foster that type of relationship with your fans and then turn around and get upset with them for caring about this stuff and recognizing patterns.

so i'm just kind of over it. and i'm over her being a billionaire climate criminal who emits 1900x the global average of carbon in tons and getting away with it. i'm over her remaining silent on palestine and allowing her film to be shown in israel. she cannot simultaneously be a mastermind genius business woman and also a billionaire bound by contracts and lyrical phrasing that she has no control over. the fandom sucks and she sucks for not defending us despite using her "allyship" for monetary gain, regardless of her personal identity. the gay community has taken enough hits from her and her fans, i'm done and i'm out.

ETA: i know this reads as angry in some places and that's because i am angry, but totally not at you, anon. i know you were asking this question in good faith, i'm just still in my feelings about this and dodging so much hate on tiktok.

[castlebyersafterdark]

https://screenrant.com/stranger-things-season-5-predictions-characters-fates-list/

“Will's fate in Stranger Things season 5 is perhaps the trickiest to determine, as he is so connected with all of the other characters, including Vecna. He could potentially fill any number of roles. It is clear that Will is artistically talented, with a powerful imagination, and central to the Upside-Down. If Will takes charge of the Upside-Down, it is possible that he could change its nature. It may be that a character must stay in the Upside-Down, and if this happens, Will surviving the Upside-Down makes him the obvious choice. Simply killing or sealing Will away would be a bad move as his unreciprocated love for Mike could make this into the tired "bury your gays" trope. A better option would be for the Upside Down to become a fantastical place that is still linked to Hawkins, with the other characters still able to communicate with Will.”

🙄

I’m so glad that these people don’t write the show

First of all, Screenrant is a joke and often has the worst or most basic takes.

I hate that take so much, it's not going to happen. STOP TRYING TO MAKE WILL BYERS DYING/DISAPPEARING AGAIN HAPPEN, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Becoming part of the Upside Down? No way is it good storytelling that Will ends up there alone. Away from his friends and family? How is this a satisfying ending? I do agree, his mental powers are going to affect and alter the UD in some way - but not like this! Not compelling.

Also look at this comment on the article. Listen, I try to defend people who aren't in our type of fandom so much but oooooh they make it so hard. Why is this the only thing people can come up with? Why is everyone so fucking basic!!?? "Kill off all the characters but make it all a dream." Shut up. The Duffers have already said NEITHER of these things are happening and if you watch and care about the show you'd realize these theme are antithetical to the entire spirit of the show. "This isn't Game of Thrones. It was all a DnD campaign is boring. It wasn't all a dream."

Sorry, I don't usually get this heated but I know we're about to get a year of these bland, basic takes and I'm already exhausted hahaha:

[m0mmat0rtle]

FANCY FNAF MOVIE ➵ Ch. 2

Fancy sat at a lone table in the diner, secluded by herself in the corner as rain pelted the window.

She wore her bulky over ear headphones as she played back the recorded interview between her and Mike from the night before, or well earlier that morning actually. She took notes in her notebook with Lisa Frank stickers and rhinestones on the cover.

Just slightly, she could hear the sound of someone clearing their throat over the lulling sound of Mike's relaxed voice from her tape recorder. She looked up as a waiter looked down at her, notepad ready to take her order. She quickly removed her headphones.

"Sorry."

She apologized. "Just a coffee, thanks."

"That's it?" The waiter asked, brow quirked in surprise.

"Yeah." She said simply. "But food is so important, miss. You should eat something." "Too busy." She said with a wave of her hand, dismissing the idea.

"Even more the reason to eat, give your brain some energy to work. You know scientists say that you can't face the day without a good breakfast." Fancy looked up at him. She read his name tag. "Are you one of these scientists, Ness?" He smiled at the mention of his name. "No, but I can be somewhat of a theorist." "Aren't we all." She said.

"Tell you what, I'll do whatever you recommend for breakfast." "Excellent choice." He scribbled something down on his notepad. "Hope you like french toast." He added before taking the menu and hurrying back to the kitchen.

Fancy looked back down at her notes. Her interview with Mike had been a dud, but hopefully not a total dud. He spoke of someone who would be able to help her. Hopefully Mike was right. But Fancy had thought for sure if he was a local in the area he would know more. A small town like Hurricane Utah- well people are bound to talk.

Just like they had in Bear Forest Tennessee. People talk, and nothing brings a community together more than mass child abduction.

Perhaps she was thinking too narrow, she had to widen her sights, her targets. She didn't need to just interview people whose names were attached to the Freddy Fazbear Company, but locals of Hurricane Utah in general. People who have lived here their whole life.

"Your coffee, miss." Ness interrupted her thinking session as he sat a mug down in front of her. "Your food will be out shortly."

It clicked.

"Hey- uh Ness?" She called and he turned. "Um.. yes?" He replied. "How long have you lived here, in Hurricane?" "My whole life."

Perfect.

"Do you mind if I... Can I interview you?" Ness cocked his head to the side. "About-?" "Those children who went missing almost twenty years ago at Freddy's." Ness' face almost lit up. "I would but I'm working." "I'll pay you." She held a wad of twenties in her hand. "Done."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"State your full name please." "Nelson Patrick."

Fancy flinched.

"Ness, you don't have to lean down to the mike to speak." "Oh, Sorry." He leaned back.

"Nelson Patrick." He said again, this time not so loudly into the mike.

"But most people just call me Ness." He said as he gestured down to his name tag.

"Tell me about your job." "I'm a waiter at sparky's diner. There's not much to that. But I do hear a lot, whispers and gossip from customers. I know just about everything about everyone just from working here. A lot of people will gossip over food and not even think about their waiter." "And how long have you been working here, Mr. Patrick." "Please, Mr. Patrick is my father. Just call me Ness." "Alright, Ness, how long have you been working here?" "Oh a while. I started working here while attending SUU." "What?" "Southern Utah University." Ness explained.

"I got a degree in journalism. But i've been stuck working here since, and publishing articles on the side." "What sort of articles do you publish?" "My theories." "On what?" "On this town. The missing children, the sudden closing of all Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Franchises, The rise and fall of the local Afton Robotics." Ness explained. "Anything that had to do with those missing children, I have written and published articles on." "Where do you publish these articles?" "My blog." "Which is?" "I'll write it down for you incase you want to take a look." He grabbed a napkin and a pen from his pocket with a chicken head pencil topper that stared blankly at Fancy while he wrote.

"Here." He handed it to her. "NESSTHEORY.NET" She read aloud and Ness nodded proudly.

"You can read all about my findings there." He said. "I'll certainly take a look at this, thank you." She replied as she tucked the napkin away in her pocket.

"Now one more thing, who do you think is responsible for the missing children?" "Oh the owner, without a doubt. He may not be the man behind it all but at the end of the day he is liable for any accidents within his business. So he would be at fault. There's never been enough evidence to convict him of... well anything... which is shocking. Not even a child endangerment charge. William Afton was always able to dance his way out of charges."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Once again, Fancy packed up her things. Ness stood from where he sat across from her at the booth.

"Ness, hey, thank you again for your time I really appreciate it. I'll leave your money with your tip." She said. "Not a problem." Ness replied with a grin. "Just happy to help get the truth out there one way or another. By the way, what's got you so interested in a small town cold case? You obviously aren't a local, I would recognise you." Fancy gave a dry chuckle. One that said she was complicated, there were levels to her, layers. Like an onion.

"I forgot to introduce myself." She said as she shook her head. "That's so rude of me, I'm sorry." She added.

"I'm Francine, my friends call me Fancy. I'm a student at Yale studying pre law and criminal justice. I'm working on my internship with Hurricane PD for my senior thesis." "Which is?" "To reinvestigate a cold case. I got assigned with this one." She said. "And you came all the way from Yale?" He asked and she nodded.

"You must be pretty smart." "I would say smart enough. Not pretty smart. If I was pretty smart I would have figured out who the zodiac killer was by now." she said with another dry laugh.

"Well, I'm not sure if I can be of much use to you but I'm more than happy to help you with your thesis. As long as it's not during my shift. Not again at least." He offered and Fancy smiled. "I would love all the help I can get. Besides, this is your home. You'll know more about it than I do. That automatically gives you and your knowledge an advantage over mine." Ness smiled at her. "Well if you need me you know where to find me."

Masterlist

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[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

What I don’t get is why all those collabs and remixes with mid/has been artists? JT and Usher now… hello, it’s not the early 2000’s anymore, I’m 30 and all for the nostalgic vibes usually but with those guys? What the heck is Hybe doing. Those artists need JK and BTS way more than he needs them. They should better focus on him solely. I’m so done with this obsession with toping the charts and awards and popularity contest, I get that he’s an artist and wants to be the best but as for me I don’t fucking care about it, I want good music with good concepts and good performances with JK only and screw the rest. Honestly, I know this is a matter of personal taste, but I feel like they should better come back to the roots of kpop. They have to secure the ‘k’, not get rid of it imo. Turning kpop into mainstream pop is a sure path to failure in the long run, but I’m just a kpop fan so who am I I guess.. as much as I was dreading this enlistment period, I hope the boys will be safe and that it will be a time for self reflection for them, especially JK who seemed a bit uncertain about the path to follow for his solo- I think his solo lacked a clear vision and concept, probably the result of his lack of inspiration in the first place. Sorry I’m rambling. That being said him enlisting with Jimin makes me feel better, I’m relieved they’ll have each other. I truly hope we’ll get to witness amazing music when they will all come back.

Well, JT and Usher aren't super popular anymore but they are still famous and somewhat relevant, and have access to different demographics - in JT's case, 30-40s (white) women who were his fans as teens and young adults, and, in Usher's case, I guess it's a similar age group, but also the black community as whole according to an anon. I don't like calling people has-beens although I pretty much called them that myself. In JT's case, his reputation is on the floor right now so it's like Jungkook is on the wrong side of the Britney vs. JT debate, and it's not exactly a good look (even Forbes questioned this collab and they write more flattering BTS articles than Weverse Magazine). With Usher, I don't know. It could be a better decision than I assumed but Usher is certainly not a trendy artist these days and those are the kind of artists that could help Jungkook a lot in the short term. Even Jack Harlow helped JK, simply because people know his name, he's White, and people are way less prejudiced to check out his music, and he also has access to places JK is kept out of despite JK being way more in demand. So, truly, all these artists help JK in some way, with some drawbacks (3D alternate version is a much better song and overall Armys were definitely disappointed in the collab), but there's also no denying there are a lot more impactful artists to have a collab with. I would argue that, of all the collabs, Latto was the best one they chose and I was not happy about it at first. I'm still not sure if the woman is a racist because I saw a few racist tweets about Asian women, which could be really old and I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but despite not being that famous, she is a) a woman, which in the music industry makes her more interesting right now, b) an up-and-coming rapper, which makes her seem like a more tasteful, music-oriented choice rather than a commercial one, and c) the fact that people don't really know her means no one is immediately put off seeing her name, which I'm sure cannot be said about the other three artists. So, Jungkook collabing with another rising star, perhaps one that has a current hit, would've arguably been a more interesting choice. I don't know, but I think JK's demographic doesn't mesh with JT and Usher fans? Their images don't mesh either? JK is a young, "rising" star, part of a very popular established group, so he needs to be associated with artists that are respected and have a fresh sound imo. I don't know... Ideally, he would partner with established artists with a fresh and current sound.

Putting the k back in kpop... I think English songs clearly do better internationally, but it's very hard for most groups to have a genuine impact abroad, so, to them, making English music only wouldn't help much. It would probably help BTS with the GP, since they are famous globally, but I don't TXT would overthrow even SKZ globally if they only made English tracks. In JK's case, because he's that big, an all English album helped, and, what's more, Koreans liked it, especially Korean celebs, and I think a lot of kpoppies loved it too. Kpop fans complain a lot about English music but usually like very Western kpop tracks (mostly as long as they are not from BTS)... I prefer kpop too, but the distinction between pop and kpop isn't that clear, and atp this debate is very useless and tired.

I think Jungkook didn't have a clear artistic vision for Golden, but he did have a clear vision of the kind of performance and vocals he wanted, as well as visuals and (maybe) impact. I don't think enlisting would change him and make him want to release a kpop-y album. It could be argued that he doesn't have very set opinions either way - English or Korean music is kind of the same to him in many ways, I think.

And, yeah, I'm glad Jikook are enlisting together, I hope they stay together the entire time...