#there is a real lack of proper discussion or connection these days

[blizzardsuplex]

Roderick Strong Primer Part I: The Portion About Personal Connection

Part I (you are here) | Part II | Part III | Part IV

[So...I've been jokingly kicking around the idea of doing a series of meta posts on Roderick Strong for a while now. As usual with me, however, one late night conversation with @scissormedaddyass later it no longer stayed a joke.

This will be split into four parts: this one, where I talk about some of my personal experiences concerning his work (and PWG, because I can never get away from that promotion when talking about my faves ever); the second, which will dive into what I know of his history; the third, which will talk about his character arc - yes, even he has one - and finally a match guide, because by God he wrestles real good.

I'm not saying this'll be the most in-depth dive into his character and career in the world (for one I'm gonna miss a lot of early ROH and most NXT things), but until someone else makes one my little offering will have to do. If even just one person comes out of reading this understanding a little better the brainrot I occasionally have for him, then I think I did okay. Content itself under the cut!]

As I am sure absolutely no one who has talked to me about professional wrestling for longer than ten minutes knows, the promotion that made the greatest impact on me in my teen years was 2014 to 2016 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Beginning with night one of the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles that took place on August 29, 2014, I saw most of the shows they put out for a decent stretch, getting off the train after All Star Weekend 12's second night on March 5, 2016. It was there I saw the full potential of my first favorite wrestler, Chuck Taylor; there where I was first exposed to both talented up and comers like Speedball Mike Bailey and veterans like Chris Hero; there where I first saw the work of my favorite wrestler ever, Zack Sabre Jr.

In other words, for nearly two years it was my favorite promotion; as people well know, though, even as late as the mid-2010s it was not very easy to watch, and living half a world away with no credit card to pay for exorbitant shipping meant that to keep up to date I had to get extra creative. Knowing that I definitely wasn't going to be able to attend a live event, I followed what was happening as closely to real time as I could though social media posts, forum threads, and the occasional YouTube clips or official preview. As soon as news of the DVD releases dropped on the company's Twitter, I would Google search through pages of trash results for a couple of minutes every day until I found someone who'd uploaded the actual full event in glorious 240p and immediately watch it—more often than not, I knew, it would make my day.

I'm not saying PWG was perfect (God no). In fact, back then I don't know if, had I been more active in wrestling discussion circles, there would have been a safe space for someone like me. Still, spending all that time and effort to keep up and watch it was a really important time for me as a fan. It opened my eyes to how fun and creative pro wrestling could be, especially with the freedom independent status provided; sure, oftentimes it would be dizzying or even dangerous to give that kind of power to the wrestlers, and they lacked the multiple levels of safety and security that proper contracts provided, but there was just so much sheer entertainment I got from spots and shenanigans that would have never be cleared or work with the constraints of sponsors, copyright, or other corporate concerns. Making to suck your opponent's dick in the middle of the ring? An invisible remote that magically makes everyone, including the chanting fans, act in slow-mo? "The legendary asshole of Jushin Thunder Liger"? All hilarious, all fondly remembered. There's a reason that for years my top wrestling dream was to attend a show in Reseda—a dream that'll never be realized, but the Globe Theatre is a beautiful venue that seems to actually have working AC, so that's nice!

But, as mentioned: after Zack won the PWG title, a result I spoiled for myself via Reddit thread with much screaming, I stopped watching. It wasn't that I was any less interested in it—I was very much excited about the prospect of my boy on top, actually! It was simply that, between the sites I used all getting nuked and not knowing how to torrent, I just couldn't find it anymore. So I fell out of watching PWG, then the American and British indies, then NXT and what little main brand WWE I still watched, and finally I didn't watch much wrestling at all for two years, from 2016 to 2018. I only came back, actually, when I found out where my old fave Zack ended up: this large promotion called New Japan…

But that's a ZSJ story, and (as is hopefully clear from the title of this post) this series isn't about him. Instead, let's set the scene:

On July 29, 2016, two events and about four months after the last PWG I'd been able to watch, Roderick Strong had his last indie date before going to WWE. Having watched it back, the entire sendoff is pretty elaborate: after champion Zack fends off his latest challenger, Kyle O'Reilly, in a grueling 20+ minute match, Roddy comes down to the ring and demands his rematch. What follows is a less than six minutes breakneck fuckfest with several run-ins and foreign object usage; but, of course, Roderick loses. Afterwards, inviting his friends then that night's locker room down to the ring, he makes his speech about how in 2014 (which was, of course, the year I started watching) he'd made a commitment to reinvent himself as a wrestler—a move that ended up contributing to him being signed to NXT after a 15+ year career. He's thankful for everything PWG had given him, though (especially his then-fiance, now-wife Marina Shafir); as he says to cap things off, he loves the crowd, doesn't hate them!

Honestly, I wish I watched just two more events than I actually did back then, because it might have made my path to becoming a fan of Roderick Strong way more flattering to me. Instead, I have to admit: after Zack tapped him out for the belt and Roddy slunk off to the back, and for a long time during and after my two year break…I forgot about him.

It's a bit of an awful thing to say and is, on top of that, admittedly hyperbole; I never dumped anything of him in my brain down the memory hole. What I mean is that he never really came to mind unless I thought about it really hard. Even during my lull period, when people asked me about pro wrestling I could talk about my favorite people and my favorite moments and my favorite matches, and Roderick was never really there in anything more than a passing mention. In my defense, at first it was because I was even more of a massive hipster back then than I am now, and since I knew he was in NXT I assumed that when (not if; those were more innocent days) he'd go up to the main roster and get lots of fans he wouldn't need me vocally being one of them. Sure, he was probably going to be misused and I wasn't really going to watch to find out because this was 2016 WWE, but he'd at least get that money and that fame on Raw or Smackdown. Why wouldn't he? He was fucking Roderick Strong, a fantastic wrestler and someone I didn't realize for years people thought was bland as hell. Surely he'd make it. Surely.

But slowly and steadily he began to fade from my thoughts, until it came to the point that even after I started watching prowres again from 2018 and into the pandemic I didn't talk about him at all—even when I began looking back nostalgically on my time watching PWG.

Then, completely by chance, the week I decided to get back into All Elite Wrestling—I watched for a while in 2019, but lapsed during the pandemic era; it was hard enough to watch one major wrestling company with no crowds, much less two—was the week Roddy Strong debuted there. Buoyed by other people's excitement and name recognition, I felt generically happy watching the clips. "Oh, yeah," I said to myself. "Roderick Strong. What's he been doing for the past few years?" 

(Yes, I completely missed his Undisputed Era period, and was shocked at the belated news that he and everyone else in that faction never officially made it to the main roster. Yes, this also means I mostly know what happened thanks to Drea fighting the good fight with all her Era boys fics. No, I don't think I'm gonna watch his NXT run any time soon, LOL.)

After therefore deciding not to really dive into his recent past, I decided to, for the umpteenth time, think about when I first became familiar with him in that era of PWG…and something funny came about. If you're familiar with the trope called "Once More With Clarity", then that's what honest to God happened: eyes wide and memories superimposed above a shot of the aforementioned eyes at around 50% opacity, I realized that so many of my favorite moments and matches had him there the entire time. Person ZSJ won the belt from? Roddy. One of ZSJ's best matches until that point? When Roddy beat him the first time Zack challenged for the title. Speedball's real coming out party with the Reseda faithful? Them answering Roddy's open challenge at Mystery Vortex. That (in)famous, ridiculously overbooked, ridiculously memorable Guerrilla Warfare match at All Star Weekend 11? The heel aggressors was Mt. Rushmore 2.0, Roddy's faction with the Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Even outside of PWG, I ended up finding out he was involved in several other promotions I followed; I saw him several times in EVOLVE for instance, and what little Ring of Honor I watched Mr. ROH himself was, of course, there as well.

I'm probably forgetting something, but here's what I'm trying to get at: the more I combed through my good memories of pro wrestling the more I realized Roddy'd not only always been there, but that he was a key player in them, not just in matches but in the angles as a whole—and, yes, even promos, his forever dump stat. At the time it was all going on, I just…never really noticed him. And that's the story of much of his career, isn't it (at least in kayfabe)? Always considered an excellent hand, but even when he held the big belt he never seemed or felt like the most important person there.

"Okay," I then said to myself those months ago. "So he's a great wrestler. He's in all these great things I like, wrestling-wise. But who is he, really? Is there enough for me or anyone else to chew on from a character perspective?"

The fact I'm dedicating a four part series to this man, along with all the GIFsets and fanfic I've made, might spoil my answer to that. But for now, brave reader who's actually read all of this (or clever reader who's skipped to the end), stay a little in suspense for a bit if you’d like while I write part two. :')

[13ag21k]

Hellblade 2 Rant:

This post may lack structure and a proper way of discussing the certain issues I had with this game, I'm not a critic but a dedicated fan of 5 years of the original game who waited, and waited for the release of the second one, watched every trailer with my breath held, memorized every word, downloaded every soundtrack and made edits of it, I will be discussing why I as a fan of the first game find this sequel to be absolutely horrible, don't mind me screaming, though having played the game I'm sure you won't mind it:

The story:

The first game was good due to its deep story, it was about Senua overcoming her fears, loving herself and overcoming her father's influence, seeing through his lies and realizing that she was not cursed, but just broken and a little different, the journey is heartbreaking and also climactic moments where you as a player can't help but feel sad, happy or enraged along with her, the game did such a good job at connecting Senua to the players, you could feel her fear, despair, determination and anger, you felt weak and scared with her, the realization that everything she sees was inside her head is shocking and heartbreaking that by fighting on and following her decisions you are feeding into her delusions and she will never be free till she decides to give up her quest to bring back her dead husband, because you can't bring back the dead, the curse, the Gods are all lies and trauma induced by his father that she faces head on and acknowledges them in the end finally allowing her to see through his lies and deceit.

The second game however tried so hard to be deep, they replicated these same ideas but made it worse by turning Senua into a super hero with psychic powers, where now all of a sudden, Giants and Gods are real and not just a figment of her imagination symbolizing her inner struggles, they destroyed everything the first game represented and turned a psychological horror into a fantasy game, the characters are just miserable the whole time, just a bunch of sad people that you never feel connected to and their stories are never explored, purposeless. Senua's advices and her attempts at helping others was bleak, shallow and the lines felt like they were generated by Ai, every single damn second she was screaming that she won't give up and that her father is wrong and then fall under his spell right after blaming herself for other people's miseries, she overcame those struggles in the first game just fine and yet they tried to stretch the same themes and ideas over another 5 hours of boring gameplay. They tried to turn her into a girl boss where she can do and beat anything while doing the bare minimum, they legit turned her mental illness into a superpower, like...the first game was about the danger of her condition and her delusions and now? Well it means that she can see things others don't and save the day doing so, they merged her delusions from reality and no amount of saying "that was a metaphor" can save it from the truth.

One more thing that pissed me off was Senua almost falling in love with the man who worsened her psychosis by killing her people, taking them as slaves and murdering her husband in cold blood and ripping his ribcage open and turn it into wings for Senua to see, for her to stumble upon, for her to drown in despair and such misery that it broke her completely, I wanted them all dead, each and every one of them, they did not deserve senua to help them, nor earned her loyalty, in first minute of his introduction you know he will become a semi lover interest for her and it angered me so much.

The Combat:

The first game did it so well that I got hooked, I replayed it almost 4 times for the sake of the combat, you had to be strategic, find out the enemies weak points, block, parry, sprint and kick, evade and it was so engaging, there were many options and you could tweak the settings to make things more challenging if you wished, the enemies would attack in groups and you had to act fast and wisely to avoid certain death, all the while you felt so deeply connected to Senua that her death would bring you discomfort and the rot on her arm would grow larger, the voices inside her head,helped her during combat and gave her strategic advice when needed and their silence only brought unease, the sword felt heavy and real, you could feel each strike and got tired when you attacked fast, it felt real. There was also a lot of to move away from an enemy and think strategically, to recover plan things and then attack, to align yourself in such a way that you could strike them without letting them surround you completely.

The second game did a piss poor job at all of the above, the combat was stiff, if played on Hard mode you could not parry, evade or block any of the attacks, you couldn't even recover from evading fast enough to respond to an enemy's attack or parry it, even if you did find a weakness in an enemy you couldn't act fast enough to strike them when vulnerable and if you played it on easy mode then you could just press one button and be done for, there was no room to have fun nor anything made it engaging, the enemies would attack one by one and though some scenes were just abit cool overall it was underwhelming and the opponents never instilled as much fear as those from the previous game did, all the while you couldn't feel the sword, the voices inside your head were completely useless and whiney. There was no room to move, you were backed against a wall or unable to roll around and evade, it took a lot of time for her to recover which made her vulnerable and she got hit way more than she use her sword as expected.

The Graphics:

They were beautiful but don't expect me to give them a pat on their backs for giving me the bare minimum, I do not care about graphics if the story and combat are shit. the old Mario games are more engaging than this horrific nightmare.

The soundtracks, or Heilung:

I waited and waited as an old Heilung fan to hear more from them, to get more than one soundtrack that was not even posted on their YouTube channel, one soundtrack that was as underwhelming as the game and a few background music pieces that were actually good when played during emotional scenes or combat but that was it, I was legit expecting some sort of a mini album release since I was waiting for it since 2019, but I guess I couldn't get a single good thing out of this game.

Final words:

I've never been this disappointed by anything before, it felt like a punch to the gut or having a cold bucket of iced water thrown over me, I'm legit still shocked at how bad this game is, it did not deliver a single thing right, a company that was bought by Microsoft and had 7 years, high tech gear and equipment to develop and finish this game in a leisurely pace with a dedicated fanbase that would've waited another 7 years for its release they created this monstrosity that thank God only lasted 5 hours, why do we allow this? Since when do we settle for the bare minimum? I'm legit disgusted and hurt, will never buy a single game from this company ever again.

I better leave before I start ranting for another 5 hours *screeches in anger*

[fraeuleintaka]

Sebastian Debeste's new name: Eustace Winner

This is the 17th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 64 days left until release!

Today's topic: Eustace Winner aka Sebastian Debeste!

In my last countdown post I talked about the official localisation of Investigations 2 which includes different names for the new characters introduced compared to what the fan translation picked for them. (For the sake of clarity and because I'm used to these names I will be referring to the characters by their fan translated names throughout these posts.) I deliberately kept discussions about the names out of that post because I want to go into more detail about them, starting with the most controversial name choice for the most popular I2 character:

Sebastian is easily my favourite character from Investigations 2 and apart from Miles himself also my 2nd favourite character in the whole of Ace Attorney. That is reason alone why his name is very important to me. On top of that, I'm a huge fan of his fan translated name. His last name has to have a comparatively obvious way to make it into a pun because that's what Sebastian himself frequently does throughout Investigations 2. His Japanese surname has the alternative reading "first class". The fan translation used "Debeste" which sounds like "the best" and while some call that too obvious I think the alternate spelling easily saves it. It's an obvious pun while still feeling like a proper surname someone would have. With his Japanese given name the phrase "pulling a bow without an arrow" can be formed which is a reference to his lacking deductions. "Sebastian" draws on that as well as Saint Sebastian is considered the patron saint of archers and is often depicted being shot by arrows creating a similar bow association. It also connects to his father's fan translated name (Blaise) as that is the name of a saint who was a bishop in Sebastea ("Sebastian" meaning "someone from Sebastea"). Another reference could be to composer Johann Sebastian Bach which connects to Sebastian's habit of carrying a baton around and sometimes waving it like a conductor. The name is of Greek origin and means something like "adored" or "revered" which also fits really well because that is what Sebastian tries to fake throughout the game by making all of his subordinates sing his praises (compensating for his father's lack thereof). I love how many meanings you can draw from this name that fit him in so many ways and I just love the name "Sebastian" by itself, it sounds so nice when pronounced the English way! Lovely name for one of my most beloved character!

Enter: Eustace Winner. Yeah... I'm not exactly thrilled by it but it's also not the worst thing they could've done imo. "Winner" provides similar pun possibilities as "Debeste" and since it is a real surname people have you can't really claim it's too unrealistic a name (though I do think making it something like "Wynner" would've been better so that you can actually make puns with it and not just use the name 1:1). "Eustace" ...oh boy. I don't have any strong negative associations with the name as I've seen some other people have but I much prefer "Sebastian" over it any day. Not that I don't think it makes sense that Sebastian would be given a silly name often associated with obnoxious rich spoiled kids but considering the turnaround he makes by the end of the game I think it does him a disservice to have a name that mainly fits to his behaviour at the beginning. "Eustace Winner" sounds similar to "useless winner/whiner" which provides a fitting double meaning. There's also a Saint Eustace who's considered the patron saint of hunters, firefighters and people facing adversity delivering the bow connection and even another one about him standing up to Blaise who's associated with fire so in terms of meaning it easily measures up to the fan translated name. In that regard I have zero issues with the name, I think they thought about it a lot and picked something well fitting. My only problem is how it's an actively "silly" name that may fit to Sebastian's beginning in Investigations 2 but not really to a serious (possibly main) character in future games - they may still go that route regardless of name, that's not it, I just wish they picked a name that would serve both a silly and a serious character which I think the fan translation did - and that I just like "Sebastian" so much more as a name.

[gertrudepetronella-blog]

Motorbike

I was so inspired by this amazing art by @turpinsimp-blog I had to write this!

SFW. Implied SeverusxReader relationship but nothing explicit. Less than 1k.

‘Are you getting on or not?’

‘Coming love!’ You call out, locking the door behind you.

Severus had been on a bit of an adventurous streak lately. Which you may have encouraged just a little bit. The war had been, in a word, awful. He had given everything – almost his life too – in pursuit of the ultimate goal. To rid the world of Lord Voldemort.

You had supported him as best you could, but you had both acknowledged that a real relationship was not workable while he was living the life of a double agent. You couldn’t give up your own life too, and he hadn’t wanted you to.

When he had been dragged into the hospital ward unconscious and covered in blood after the final battle you thought you had lost him, and regretted every second of the past few years. Wished you had thrown caution to the wind and been together before it was too late. But then he had survived. And you had a second chance. Neither of you wanted to waste a single second of it.

The motorbike was Sev’s latest foray in that venture. You had been on holiday in Whitby – not the most exciting of destinations granted – but it was the one place his mother had taken him as a child, and was supposed to be a little cathartic. A biker gang had come through, parking their roaring, shining vehicles in a row along the dockside while you were sitting sharing a bag of chips.

Severus had immediately perked up, intrigued. You had always loved the idea of riding a motorbike yourself, but things such as boarding school, and war, and a complete lack of physical co-ordination got in the way. You both strolled along, admiring the variously shaped motorbikes, both attracted to the older vintage style ones with chrome handle bars, metallic paintwork, and exposed engines. You got talking with one of the bikers, and Severus being Severus was soon engaged in a detailed discussion about the inner workings of various engines, and all sorts of other details you don’t really care about. You just longed to feel the wind in your hair with the engine thrumming between your thighs.

Severus had begun scouring the vehicle listings in the local paper, eventually coming across an ad for a 1974 Honda CB750 only ten miles down the road near Harrogate. You went together to view the vintage motorbike, which was being sold by an old guy who had kept it in his shed for ten years. Everything needed replacing, but Severus haggled him down to £1,800 with a promise he would restore the bike to it’s former glory.

The next few weeks Sev was squirrelled away in the garage of your cottage working on the bike, with various bits of engine strewn around the floor. There had never been a conversation about moving in together, you just did it, buying the little grey stone cottage on the edge of the Yorkshire dales with your combined life savings. It had a cosy kitchen, an inglenook fireplace – not connected to the floo network – two small bedrooms, a downstairs bathroom with ivy growing through the cracks, and no neighbours for half a mile. It was perfect.

You got used to Severus having smears of engine oil on his shirt, greasy hair that smelled of petrol, his long fingers stained black around the nails. He looked utterly divine. The day he got the engine back together and it started with a rasping splutter, you cheered, and he smirked proudly to himself. You took a quick test drive down the lane, whooping as you held your arms in the air, and Severus revved the engine. It felt like the bike was coming back to life, clearing it’s throat, opening it’s bleary eyes to a new day.

Today is the first proper ride you are going on. Once the engine was running Severus had turned his attention to the chrome, the paintwork and the saddle. He fixed the cracked speedo, replaced the wing mirrors, sewed up the split in the leather seat, repainted, polished, and finally she was ready.

You were so excited to get going that you had forgotten your wallet, then run back in the cottage a second time to grab the two bandannas you had bought to keep the hair out of your faces.

‘Are you getting on or not?’ Severus smirks at you over his shoulder, already sitting astride the beautiful bike. The paintwork glints in the sun – metallic black with a gold and orange stripe running along the side.

‘Coming love!’ You call out, locking the door behind you and running over while tying your hair. You tie the black bandanna around his head as he scowls at you lightly, but doesn’t complain. Then you hop on the back and slide your hands around his waist, shifting to draw yourself close around his angular form.

‘I’m on! Let’s go!’ You grin into his neck as he revs the engine. It’s sound is deep and sweet now like black velvet or thick treacle.

He releases the brake and kicks off.

Your stomach flips as the bike leaps down the road, wind brushing your cheeks; the smell of petrol, leather, summer grass, and Severus’ unique scent of herbs and sandalwood filling your senses. The engine hums between your thighs, and you can see a slither of Severus’ face in the round mirror, his dark eye glinting with excitement. He lifts his left hand a moment to squeeze your arm around his waist, the corner of his mouth turning up. You kiss the ragged scar on his neck, glad of it, thankful it is only a scar.

The bike clings to the tarmac, leaning around the curves of the lane, racing up inclines and down hills. It roars and coughs and sings to you as it carries you away down the road.

You are alive. You are free. Do not waste another second. It tells you.

You do not.

[gra-sonas]

I'm the nonnie that wanted advice, thank you for agreeing! English is not my native language, so I will try to make as much sense as I can. First, I want to say that this is not about the RNM/Malex fandom (I follow several people from that fandom, you being one of them, since I ship Malex but this is not about them). One of the reasons I created a Tumblr was to enjoy my ships and to try to connect to other people, since it's hard for me to make friends in real life. So, little by little I started to interact with blogs of that other fandom, reblogging their stuff, commenting, sending asks, even sending some messages. And some people started to talk to me, however, it feels very forced, it feels like they are trying to be nice, but they really don't want to talk to me or include me. And I can easily see that because other “newer” blogs, like mine, get treated differently, much more friendly, and they don't get ignored which I feel like I do. I'm always the one that has to make the first move, but with others it's not like that. I know that I'm jealous, and I shouldn't be, but I have wanted so bad to belong somewhere that I can help it. I don't know if I should just give up, stop trying, and get out of that fandom. Maybe I'm the problem, and I'm just never going to be able to connect to people. Sorry for coming to you with this, it's just that you are always so nice and kind that you made me feel like I could ask you this. You don't have to answer, I know it's too much and that you have nothing to do with it.

Oh nonnie, I'm so sorry that you're feeling that way. :(

I know how hard it is to get into a fandom, especially when you're not a writer or a fan artist/gif maker (i.e. a "contributor" - even though people who comment and send asks are just as important, but I hope you understand what I mean).

On top of that, Tumblr is honestly a terrible platform to make fandom friends (at least in my experience).

What Tumblr is lacking imo (and what makes me miss Livejournal an awful lot) is a way to have any kind of [ongoing] discussion. Or proper [nested!!!] comments. Yes, you can reply to a post, but unless someone checks the notes, no one will see that reply.

Basically, Tumblr is everyone just sitting on their personal island (i.e. blog) yelling into the void, hoping that someone else will hear them. And even if someone hears them yell, and maybe even replies, it's almost impossible to have an actual conversation, let alone build friendships. Tumblr's just not designed for that.

Personally, I’ve had much more luck on Twitter or Discord to find “my people” - platforms much more suitable for conversations, and the focus isn’t as much on “contributing” (in the form of providing or sharing content). (Personally, I loathe IG, but it’s also a platform where you can comment, and that probably also works for some people).

So, my advice would be: try to find “your people” outside of Tumblr. Maybe there’s a Discord server for your fandom where you can actually talk to people (and more than just one person at a time, also people who might not live in a different time zone and won’t reply immediately when you send them an ask 🙃).

If you don’t have Twitter, maybe set up an account and see whether the platform is for you (it’s not for everyone, I know, but I love it and it’s my favorite), but in my experience it’s much easier to get in touch with people there than on Tumblr.

Tumblr is nice for sharing content (even though that’s become a bit of a lost art these days, reblogs are a near extinct art form tbh :P) but it’s shit for forming and becoming a member of a community. And I say that as someone who’s been on this hellsite for over a decade, and has always “contributed” - in some  way at least.

In short: it’s not you, nonnie. I’m sure you are lovely, and anyone would be lucky to have a fandom friend like you who puts so much effort into connecting with others. And I’m truly sorry that you feel like it’s your fault.

It’s not. It really isn’t. (And feeling a bit jealous is a perfectly understandable reaction. You’d be surprised how often I’ve felt like someone who looks at fandom through a window from the outside but is never part of it. That feeling SUCKS big time).

I really hope you’ll be able to find like-minded people elsewhere, where it is easier to connect and talk to people.

Wishing you the best of luck, nonnie! (And hey, if you’d like a Twitter fandom friend, let me know, I’m always happy to chat with people on the bird app) ❤️

[idigitizellp21]

Why Kids Sometimes Slip On Etiquette: Unraveling The Mystery Behind Forgotten Manners And Tips

In a world driven by technology and fast-paced lifestyles, it’s not uncommon to witness a decline in traditional values, and one area where this is particularly evident is in the basic manners of today’s children. Parents and educators often find themselves wondering why kids sometimes slip on etiquette, forgetting the basic social manners that were once considered fundamental.

In this blog, we will discuss the reasons behind this mystery and explore ways to nurture good manners in the younger generation.

The Impact of Modern Lifestyle on Manners: In the age of smartphones and constant connectivity, children are exposed to a digital world that often takes precedence over face-to-face interactions. The digitalised nature of modern life may contribute to a lack of emphasis on traditional etiquette, as families juggle multiple responsibilities, leaving limited time for focused manners education. As role models, parents play a pivotal role in shaping their children’s behavior. However, with busy schedules, it becomes challenging for families to sit down and engage in quality time that fosters the development of good manners. This shift in priorities may lead to a decline in the importance placed on traditional social graces.

Educational Approaches and Their Impact: Schools, too, play a significant role in shaping a child’s social behavior. However, the pressure to cover academic curricula and standardized testing can sometimes overshadow the importance of teaching manners in the classroom. As a result, children may not receive adequate reinforcement of etiquette principles during their formative years. At Kookaburra, we follow a well-rounded kindergarten curriculum to enhance overall well-being filled with gratitude and critical life skills. This included: Introducing the 3 golden words through role play, storytelling, and games. Additionally, various humble etiquettes are also encouraged in our day-to-day activities making it an integral part of their personality.

The Rise of Digital Communication: The prevalence of digital communication has altered the way children interact with one another. Text messages, emojis, and social media platforms have become primary channels for communication, often overshadowing the nuances of face-to-face conversations. This shift can contribute to a lack of awareness regarding traditional manners, as the immediacy of digital communication doesn’t allow for the same level of thought and consideration. We believe that keeping them away completely from digital media till a certain responsible age is a good idea, allowing them to be non-adulterated from nature and its unexplored beauties.

Strategies to Instill Good Manners in Children:

1. Lead by Example: “The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” — Fred Astaire Parents and educators should model good manners consistently. Children are more likely to adopt polite behavior when they witness it in their role models.

2. Structured Family Time: Prioritize family time, especially during meals, as an opportunity to reinforce manners. Encourage open conversations and teach children the art of listening and responding respectfully.

3. Balance Digital and Face-to-Face Interaction: While digital communication is inevitable, it’s crucial to emphasize the importance of face-to-face interactions. Encourage children to engage in real conversations, where they can practice active listening and articulate their thoughts with respect.

4. Choose KOOKABURRA, a playschool that emphasizes basic manners and life skills: Schools can play a pivotal role in integrating etiquette education into the curriculum, dedicating time to teaching social skills, proper communication, and respect for others. This can be achieved through interactive activities and workshops.

Last words:

In unraveling the mystery behind the occasional slip in kids’ etiquette, it becomes evident that a combination of societal changes and educational priorities has contributed to this phenomenon. By recognizing these factors and implementing proactive strategies, parents and educators can work together to instill and reinforce good manners in the younger generation. They can additionally, enhance learning through senses: tactile, auditory, and visual learners to ensure all the little learners in the room take back home something.

Remember, good manners are not just about following a set of rules; they are about fostering positive and respectful interactions with others, which can significantly contribute to personal and professional success.

[memequeme]

Related fic thoughts but also super personal things so it’d going under the cut (tw/cw for discussion of death)

I was super into comics in hs and undergrad and then i sort of fell off them when I got really into hockey

this week last year, one of my closest friends died suddenly and tragically. he was a very important person in my life and its been an extremely difficult year.

I went to my first comic con with him, we would go to our local comic book store together, we shared a lot of interests together, he was more into marvel than dc but it was still something we connected over.

I've always loved the batfam, their dynamic and the things they represent. there is a lot about jason and his story that I connect with and I relate to (as much as you can in a fictional comic book superhero story) I enjoy writing from his perspective and it feels like I can process through some of my own shit when I write him

I was thinking about this the other day but I don’t think its a coincidence that I got right back into my hyperfixation with the batfam around the same time that my friend passed away. (I had rewatched YJ in Dec 2021 and that triggered the whole thing but I think the timing was really apt)

And I don’t think it's a coincidence that I’ve clung to Jason’s story as hard as I have the past year. I think there’s something in me that wishes comic book shit happened in real life, that no one who died actually stayed dead. I think almost anyone who has experienced great loss feels that way in some capacity.

The way my friend died, we didn’t get to have a proper wake and burial, his body was never found so we only had a memorial service. There was no casket and there is no grave to visit. There’s an immeasurable lack of closure.

Death is not something foreign to me but I’ve never experienced such a lack of closure before.

These circumstances make the whole thing feel very surreal. The stages of grief come in waves and some of the time it just feels like he’s gone away on a long trip but he’s going to come back, he has to come back.

I know this isn’t the case and that he’s gone from me in this life, but that wish is always there.

The point of this post is that writing a story in which Jason gets to come home, in which his family and friends get to see him again miraculously, no matter how unrealistic it is, is therapeutic in a lot of ways.

The way I am choosing to write Bruce and the rest of Jason’s relationships with his family is the happy ending I want to see. I want to show that there’s a lot of love there and that often we take a whole lot of shit for granted every day.

I want to write a Bruce that would do anything to keep Jason in his life, to keep his kids safe and healthy and happy, no matter how often they butt heads on other things.

I look at my friend’s parents, the state that they’re in, how hard it is for his family, and I can’t imagine reacting in any other way to your deceased child coming home.

I don’t really have anywhere else to put this so it’s here, if you’ve read this far, thank you and hug your friends extra hard the next time you see them.

[ecampusappa2almserpcrm]

Why ChatGPT or ChatBots are not good for Students?

Technology, Technology, Technology  everywhere is surrounded and upgraded with this term. Technology is the word which basically means evolving with previous versions with some updates. For Example: Mobile Phones, The best example for technology. From a landline to now a Smartphone. Everything with smartphones has become easy, you can connect with anyone around the world with a simple click unlike in previous times to connect with neighbour cities it was quite difficult. Nowadays you hear the word ChatGPT continuously from everyone, lots of articles published on the Internet with this topic, everyone sharing their views and expertise. So What is ChatGPT and is it good for our Students?

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a Chatbot created by OpenAI which works in that manner when a user describes their query it automatically understands it and gives a proper and exact answer for the query. Which makes it the best next update of the same like Googlebot, Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa etc. Sometimes these 3 can be incorrect but ChatGPT is more accurate or best in technology. Some important features or benefits which makes ChatGPT best in their industry.

24*7 Available

Have the Fastest Response Time.

99.9% Accurate.

Useful for Businesses in creating their

Email Campaigns.

Social Media Marketing.

Generate Reports

Is ChatBot really good for Students?

But are you okay with these features like for Businesses it is good to work efficiently and effectively but for students you think it is good for them? Like those who spend most of their time on the Internet even for Assignments and Projects they use the Internet. For small things like writing an essay on a topic they use the internet. For growth of business ChatGPT is useful but for learning purposes it slowly destroys innovative minds.

ChatBots basically works with AI which understands user behaviour but it is not accurate which often lacks the sophistication and empathy of speaking with a real life human. Moreover they get answers from their databases but sometimes they do not fulfil the exact need of the user.

When everything is in their hands then they will become addicted to finding any answer with the internet without using their own minds. Which somehow destroys their own capability of thinking or innovation. Which can be the limitations of ChatGPT or ChatBot.

Impacts of ChatBots on Students

While more use of ChatBots will decrease the thinking ability of students and slow down their innovative minds. They will totally depend on ChatBots for even their small queries. While at the learning period they don’t get that much attention on their Lectures and at the end of the day they don’t consume any new learning or topic. So implementing ChatBots in Businesses is good and it will give you results but it also reduces your manpower if every query is done with ChatBots. 

With the high usage of ChatBots students can suffer most of the time. For Example: While writing Exams, Group Discussions or Debates, Interaction with some innovative minds or even on their learning. For the best learning eCampus provides their LMS integrated with teachers dashboard which shows the progress report of every individual student directly in teachers dashboard which helps Teachers to focus more on their students And also helps students in motivating their behaviour at learning period.

eCampus have lots of tools in their software bundles for growing the Educational Sector especially Universities in boosting their revenue and automating their all processes.

In their software bundle Universities will get:

Customer Relationship Management:  Smooth and highly AI based software is very important for the Educational sector in their Marketing and recruitment of Students. Without CRM, all processes will be time consuming which can lose your quality leads and with the CRM you can focus more on the students which are very serious for your university or college. 

Learning Management System: A smooth teaching and learning process are enabled with the help of various features of LMS. LMS provides customised development programs and helps teachers to add course materials, Time Tables etc to make all teaching methods digital.

Human Resource Management System: eCampus HRMS platform makes all the Human Resource process automated. With AI based tracking systems you can easily manage your attendance, salary management, leave request and approval and more. It creates a smooth,digital and accurate workflow.

Admission Management: Admission Management: A2A Admission and Enrollment tool plays an important role in adding or eliminating applications you get through your admission process. By this your overall process turns into an efficient and simple task. Helps you in managing the task on the Time.

Online Examination Platform: A Highly secured and friendly platform to organise and monitor exams with the AI based Proctoring tool. Helps invigilators to deeply examine the students’ behaviour while writing exams.

So learning with ChatBots is not the right thing to do but for searching queries it can be good. 

Conclusion

ChatBots and ChatGPT for Businesses helps in doing work efficiently and effectively with giving accurate responses to their users. But for learning purposes for Students it kills their innovative mind and makes them addicted to using ChatBots even for their small queries. So for business ChatBots gets Thumbs Up but for Students Thumbs Down.

Two Tier Sharing: https://bit.ly/3jk51Gf

[vewormag]

Big data analysis techniques

Big data analysis techniques series#

I have seen quite a bit of big data and analytics projects fail because of lack of higher support in the organization. The whole big data exercise should be closely monitored and supervised by senior managers. We see a very strong need for this and are currently working on migrating some of our classes to e-learning to provide wider coverage.įinally, corporate governance is also key.

Big data analysis techniques series#

Throughout the past few years, I have had a successful (and pleasant) experience teaching analytics concepts to business leaders through various Business Knowledge Series courses. This will make sure that expectations are properly set at the start of the analytics project. Educating all stakeholders and decision makers by making them aware of what analytics can or cannot do, and describing the key challenges involved, is very important. Also, I believe the demand for big data and analytics should come from the business, because that is where it’s going to end up being used. As described in my book, analytics is a step-by-step project and one should carefully consider each step before being successful. It makes no sense to buy extensive toolsets without being capable to use them. The first thing I would say is to make sure you have a proper change management strategy to make the transition smooth. What is your advice for IT organizations that haven’t made the leap to modernize yet but would like to?īaesens: Big data and analytics are disruptive technologies, and they should be introduced in a wise manner. Organizations are modernizing for big data in different ways, from cloud to grid to in-memory. For model monitoring, we see online analytical processing, multidimensional data analysis and digital dashboards becoming popular to monitor and analyze the various model KPIs online and in real time, as discussed in a separate chapter in my book. Popular and user-friendly visualization mechanisms frequently adopted in model representation are decision trees and traffic light indicator approaches. Visualization encompasses both the representation of the analytical model itself as well as the accompanying reports needed for model monitoring, benchmarking and back testing. Without proper visualization aids, analytical projects are doomed to fail! Although visualization has been very popular during data pre-processing, we see it gaining importance during post-processing. In order to fully leverage the power of analytics, two things are important: first, education of business users and secondly, visualization. What visual analytics techniques are most useful for big data? How does seeing and touching big data with visual analytics make it more approachable for average business users?īaesens: Currently, there is a huge gap between analytics and business users. That’s why I also spent an entire chapter in my book on the topic of social network analytics. Throughout our recent research with various companies, we have found significant added value from using social network analytics in churn prediction and fraud detection, compared to the traditional ways of doing analytics in both these settings. In a fraud detection setting, the nodes could be bank accounts and the edges money transfers between them. įor example, in a telco setting, the network could be built based upon call detail records data, where the nodes represent customers and the edges the phone connections between them. In fact, I am referring to any network of nodes (such as customers or companies) connected in a certain way. When I say social networks, I am not only referring to social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Looking forward, I expect a lot of value from social network analytics. I would guess every person is scored at least three times every day using a logistic regression model: once in a behavioral scorecard at your bank to predict whether you are going to default or not in the next 12 months for each of your credit products, once by your telco operator to predict whether you are going to leave them or not in the next three months, and once by your credit card provider each time you use your credit card. In my research and consulting activities, I have found that logistic regression is a powerful technique with excellent explanation facilities that clarify its success. Example classification exercises include credit scoring, fraud detection, churn prediction and response modeling. Logistic regression has long been a popular analytical technique for doing classification. Name two analytics techniques that provide the most value for analyzing big data in business environments.īart Baesens: Logistic regression has been the most valuable method traditionally, and social network analysis could be the most valuable technique in the future.

[kdinjenzen]

Can we agree that most straight ships these days have become boring or stale outside of rare gems like SpyxFamily?

Which is part of the reason we're so happy to look into and discuss LGBT shipping because they're just so much more interesting and creative now more than ever?

I read a lot of romance and I think there’s plenty of fun straight ships.

Maybe less so in the generally more well known franchises and series, sure, but overall it’s all pretty okay.

I think the actual reason we’re so happy to look into and discuss queer ships is because there’s still almost none in canon for a lot of things/genres/mediums that a lot of us like and/or grew up with.

The straight relationships aren’t getting better or worse, they’re just less appealing to queer people overall and with more folks finally feeling comfortable in their own identities these days they are wanting to be able to connect with media in the way they used to and are finding it harder to do so because of a lack of proper representation.

Also a good chunk of what I see in fandom circles is a lot of “it’s the same dynamic as the character is like when they are straight but they’re queer instead” and, like, that’s the only change made and everyone in a fandom goes wild for it… so it’s totally fine.

Again, less about “straight ships are boring” and more “we only have a handful of queer characters, most of them die or don’t end up happy still, and even if they do end up happy we never get to see them in a relationship until the very end, and it’s likely just a quick kiss and then the credits roll.”

That all said… I do see a lot of canon queer characters in various fandoms IGNORED because it’s not “the favorite character” who ends up being queer. So fandoms change the character they want to be queer… and then throw the legitimate representation in the trash, just refuse to acknowledge it at all, OR (in the case of what happened with RWBY’s May Marigold) harass the fuck out of the actual trans woman voice actress (that’s me, btw) and make her feel like shit and that what she has done and worked for didn’t matter at all.

Long story short… straight ships are fine, they more or less haven’t changed, but if anything they’ve gotten better over the years. What we NEED is more canon queer rep to balance things out, because the lack of anything real is what is making folks bored.

[troquantary]

Edward Cullen: That Boy Ain’t Right

So I was doing a reread of @therealvinelle 's collection of Twilight metas, as one does, and in "Edward, Denial, and a Human Girlfriend" she mentions that she doesn't believe Edward is sane. I thought, "ha, yeah, he's definitely not," and also, "but wait, what does that mean exactly, please say more about that." But since she's already inundated with asks, I've decided to use my own head-muscle and explore this idea. (TL;DR: I start out more or less organized, synthesize some points Vinelle has made across several posts (and have hopefully linked to them all where relevant but please tell me if not), touch a little on narcissism, then take a hard left into the negative effects of being a telepath.)

Just a couple things to note at the outset, though. Theses have been written already (probably) about Edward as an abuser. Edward being insane doesn't negate that at all; he's definitely an asshole and just...a disaster of a human being. (I find it more funny than anything, but YMMV.) I'm also going to try to avoid talking specifically about mental illness and how it relates (or doesn't relate) to abusive behavior -- that's territory I'm not really equipped to discuss, like at all. My starting point is "Edward has a deeply warped perception of reality," not "Edward has X disorder."

So: deeply warped perception of reality. The evidence? Goes behind a cut, because my one character trait is Verbose.

Vinelle provides a great example of it in the post linked above, which I'll just quote because she does words good: "[Edward] keeps acting like his romance with Bella is a romantic tragedy, and all the cast of Twilight are actors on a stage making it as sublime as possible." Edward's the one to pursue Bella, but he does so with the full belief, from the very beginning, that it will never last; Bella will "outgrow" him, go on her human way, and he can spend the rest of eternity brooding magnificently over his too-short romantic bliss. [Insert premature ejaculation joke.] Turning her is never an option, even though Alice, Noted Psychic, says that romancing Bella will either end with her dead (exsanguinated) or dead (vampire).

This framing, where he's a dark anti-hero in love with -- but never tainting! -- the pure maiden and eventually leaving her in a grand, tragic sacrifice to preserve her soul? It's fucking bonkers. Bella isn't a person to him in this scenario. As Vinelle points out, Bella's never really a person to him at all; he falls in love with his own mental construct, cherry-picking from what he observes of her behavior and her responses to his 20 (thousand) Questions to convince himself that she is the ideal woman.

Bella's not the only one who gets the projection/cardboard-cutout treatment. Edward sees everything and everyone through a highly particular, personalized lens. He filters his entire reality, which we all do to an extent, but the thing with Edward is that he starts with his conclusions and then only pays attention to the evidence that supports those conclusions. Often that evidence consists of what he admits in New Moon are only "surface" thoughts -- but recognizing that limitation doesn't keep him from taking those thoughts as representative of what people are. Edward then becomes absolutely convinced by his own "reasoning" and won't be swayed from what he has decided is Objectively True. It's obvious with Bella; it's also painfully obvious with Rosalie. (Vinelle explains this and brings up Edward's raging Madonna/Whore complex in the same post, so refer to that again -- she's right.)

He also catastrophizes. Everything. Bella's just vibing in her room, rereading Wuthering Heights for the 87th time? She's gonna be hit by a meteor, better sneak into her room while she sleeps. Bella's going to the beach with the filthy mundanes their human classmates? She's gonna fall in the ocean. Jasper's cannibal pals are stopping by for a visit, but know not to hunt in the area? DISASTER, DEFCON 1, ALSO FUCK YOU JASPER FOR EVEN EXISTING IN MY AND BELLA'S SPHERE YOU UNSPEAKABLE BURDEN. Edward must believe that Bella is vulnerable and in near-constant peril, to support the reality he has created in which he is the villain turned protector and maybe?? hero??? (!!!) for his beloved. So when the actual, James-shaped danger arrives, he goes berserk, snarling and flipping his shit and generally not helping the situation. His fantasy demands that Bella remain human, so instead of doing the very thing Alice, Noted Psychic, assures him will neutralize the threat (and not just a threat to Bella, either, but to Bella's family and any other human James might decide to include in the "game"), he vetoes it immediately, no discussion. Bella Must Not Turn, and he sticks to those guns despite James nearly reducing her to ground beef, despite leaving Bella catatonic with depression (but human! success!) in New Moon, despite Aro's order and his family's vote and, let's not forget, Bella's clearly and repeatedly stated desire to be a vampire. It's going to happen. But he doesn't accept it until Renesmee busts out of Bella like the Kool-Aid man and the poor girl's heart finally, unequivocally stops.

Sane people don't behave this way. I don't want to slap labels on Edward, but I can't help but note that he comes across as highly narcissistic. He's the only real person in his universe, the lone player among us NPCs. That probably has a lot to do with him being frozen in the mindset and maturity of a seventeen-year-old boy, but I think it's also just...him, on some fundamental level. His failure to connect with others and recognize them as full, independent beings with their own wants and priorities isn't like Bella's failure -- she's badly depressed. Edward is...something else, and I get the sense that his sanity has been steadily deteriorating over time. And a cursory google of narcissistic traits turns up some familiar-looking stuff. He's self-loathing, yes, but also grandiose; he hates himself for the monster he is (and hates most vampires besides Esme and Carlisle for their monstrosity, too) but still feels superior to humans, to the extent that he felt entitled to human blood and resented Carlisle for depriving him of his "proper" diet. He eventually returns to Carlisle, but he's far from content -- the beginning of Midnight Sun finds him in a state of ennui, bored and dismissive of (if not outright disgusted by) everyone around him, that has apparently persisted for years and years. He doesn't play the piano, he doesn't compose, he doesn't enjoy anything...at least until Bella comes along and then he becomes obsessed to a disturbing degree with her and his new, romantic tragedy spin on reality.

[Next-day edit: I’m not sure where else to fit this in, but the way Edward casually contemplates violence against people who have, at best, mildly annoyed him is...chilling. I have a hard time writing off his strategizing how to murder the entire Biology class as a result of bloodlust -- it’s so calculated, nothing like the blackout state of thirst Emmett describes when he encountered his own “singer,” and that is probably the default for when a vampire is extremely thirsty. But even ignoring the Biology class incident, Edward still does things like consider, with disturbing frequency, how he might grievously injure or kill Mike Newton, all because...Edward considers him his romantic rival (despite Bella barely giving the kid the time of day). He thinks about slapping Mike through a wall, which might be an amusing slapstick image, except as a vampire Edward’s actually capable of turning this boy’s skeleton to a fine powder. So it’s, y’know, kind of sick when you think about it.

But even worse than that, when Bella tells Edward about how she flirted with Jacob to get at that sweet, sweet vampire lore, Edward chuckles and then, after dropping Bella home, flippantly observes that now that the treaty’s broken, why not genocide? I’m not even kidding, it’s right there in Midnight Sun; he seriously thinks about the fact that he’d be technically justified now in wiping out the entire tribe because a teenager tried to impress a girl with a spooky story. That is fucked. Remember, Edward was there with Carlisle when the treaty was first established. He knows how remarkable it is that they even came to a truce in the first place, that it was only ever possible because Carlisle is...well, Carlisle, and that it marks a pretty significant moment in supernatural history. He doesn’t care; he doesn’t respect it, or he’d never think something like “Ha ha, if I went and killed them all, I wouldn’t even be wrong. I mean, I won’t do it, but I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be wrong.”

Again: not the thought process or behavior of a sane person. (Or a person that respects life in general -- sorry Carlisle, big L.)]

Finally, whether he's a narcissist or not, I think the fact that Edward has constant, unavoidable access to everyone's thoughts is a powerful contributing factor to his instability. He can tune out the mental noise to an extent, but he can't stop it -- so he comes to rely on it like another sense. This causes issues with disconnect and lack of empathy, of course, but there's another facet to this shit diamond: he's basically experiencing a ceaseless flow of intrusive thoughts. His narration in Midnight Sun suggests that he "hears" the words people think, can "see" what they visualize in their mind's eye, and can sense the emotional "tone" and intensity of their thoughts. Therefore, perceiving Jasper's thirst through his thoughts makes Edward more aware of his own, "doubling" the discomfort. This would be a lot to deal with even from just his immediate coven members, but Edward gets all of this pouring into his head like a firehose on a day-to-day basis because the Cullens live right alongside humans. I know Meyerpires have galaxy brains or whatever, but that's a ton to process.

Besides the compounding effect on his own thirst when he "feels" the thirst of others, Meyer never suggests that Edward has difficulty separating his own thoughts from other people's; even when he was newly turned, he recognized Carlisle's "voice" in his head as Carlisle's. That would create a whole different host of issues around identity, but it looks like Edward's escaped that particular torment. However, I can easily imagine that what he does experience is just shy of unbearable nonetheless, with an eroding effect on his sanity over decades. He can't sleep to escape it; he's on a dishwater diet and probably (like the rest of his family) experiencing a perpetual, low-grade physical discomfort due to his thirst never being fully satisfied; and he's around far more people than is the norm for vampires -- even discounting all the humans, his own coven is unusually large -- meaning more noise.

Honestly, it would be weirder if he were all there, considering.

And even though I feel like I lost a sense of structure around where I started ranting about telepathy, I've written like 1.5k words about Edward fucking Cullen and I think that's enough for one post.

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

being honest i dont get jm using a award to say he misses tannie... we don’t know 90% of their lives but they are very close to the point of still sleeping together sometimes. and going deep if they were really a couple jm woudnt miss taes dog right? and even as friends he could visit it. unless its because of their schedule right... this kind of comment sometimes confuses me and haters will use it as “they arent close” lol. i just wanted to know your pov.

Judging by Admin 2's reaction, as well as some others in our asks, I have a feeling I was the only one with a more realistic expectation, or lack of expectations, as I waited for the BTS profiles to be posted. Based on last year's, I knew expecting something grand out of Tae, and especially Jimin, would just be me setting myself up for failure, which is what I think happened here.

But, let's discuss it.

I spent a solid couple of hours making an excel table last night that contains everything every member said about every member (sourcing 3 translators for maximum insight) to see if really what Jimin chose for Tae is so "bad" that suddenly people are sending us asks like this one, and another one I'll add later down the line. And the conclusion I've come to is that...what he gave to Tae, as well as Hobi and Seokjin, as awards are the only ones that have any actual emotional/personal connection to them.

With Namjoon and JK Jimin basically states the obvious--Namjoon is tall and JK has gained muscle mass, meaning nothing new or with a proper emotional connection was stated; to Yoongi he made the same request many other members have made, so a work connection, nothing inherently personal.

Now, compared to that--Seokjin teases him/them, which isn't new info, so Jimin asked him to stop or do it less, a valid request which I'm sure he also voiced to Seokjin outside of this FESTA profile and also shows a degree of personal connection; Hobi gets requested to not walk away after asking Jimin a question, which again shows a personal connection and that it's a reoccurring thing; and lastly Tae with Tannie.

Something I've noticed is that some ARMY, who are used to our western celebrities and draw conclusions about idols based on those parameters, forget that BTS are busy, like whatever you consider busy, take that and multiply it by ten. During his vlive with Hobi and Yoongi back in April, Tae said that they are much busier and their lives far more hectic than any of us realize. Taking that into account, and the fact that one of the members (I think it might have been Seokjin) mentioned they work at least ten hours a day for 360 days a year with practice, MV and CF filming, photoshoots, interviews, recording and working on music, meetings, and many other things we have no idea about, do you really think Yeontan lives with Tae full time? A dog needs to get walked and fed but if Tae is out of the house every day for at least ten hours, what would happen to Tannie? He'd just sit around at home alone all day which just isn't fair, so I'm sure Tannie lives with Tae's parents much the same way Micky lives with Hobi's parents and/or his sister, JKs dog lives with his family, Holly lives with Yoongi’s brother, Moni with Namjoon's, and years ago Seokjin had to give his sugar gliders to his parents because he was too busy to take care of them.

Based on that of that, I'm not sure how often Tae get's to see Tannie. Probably not all that often, to be honest. So, if Tannie's owner doesn't get to see him often, I'd assume Jimin gets to see him even less (if we work on the assumption that Tannie lives with Tae's parents and thus Tae could only really see him when visiting them or when they visit him, that means Jimin wouldn't be able to see Tannie just like that either, since that would be like intruding on family time, right?). And we know Jimin loves Tannie, so him using that award to say he misses him and is asking about him shows care and an emotional connection to Tannie. Do I think Jimin also asks Tae privately about Tannie? Absolutely. And still, while Jimin didn't give Tae the, I don't know, "hot body Award" like Yoongi did with Namjoon or the "person I love most in the world award" (which we should know by now would never happen, and if you expected something of that intensity level, than I'm sorry but you've set yourself up for disappointment from the start), he still drew a personal and emotional connection between himself and Tae, as well as the pet Tae loves dearly.

More below the cut:

Jimin could’ve asked about the other pets of the members, but he didn’t, he only ever really talked about Tannie, and here he does it again, so doesn’t that show that he has a bond with him, a closer one than the other members since they don’t/didn’t ask about him (except for Hobi that one time on weverse)?

Speaking of Hobi, am I the only one who finds it interesting and cute that he only drew little hearts for Jimin and Tae when writing down their awards?

Also, we have to remember that these profiles are for us, fan content (remember when Jimin asked Tae last year to post more pictures of Tannie on weverse because ARMY miss seeing him, so what if this is drawing a connection/parallel to that?), and not meant as the members “confessing” something to each other that they otherwise wouldn’t or don’t have the chance to do so. It’s not meant to be all that serious and instead just be fun and nice for us to read, show us a bit of their dynamic and that’s it, no world shattering revelations to be found, from any of them. Or do you really think Yoongi doesn’t like Jimin just because he told Jimin he’s trying too hard to be funny? It’s just part of their dynamic. Or that none of the members have anything else to say to JK besides commenting on his body/appearance? As for vmin, I’d like to remind us of this moment from their Friends subunit interview for FESTA 2020:

Whatever Jimin and Tae want to say to each other, they don’t need FESTA to do it, or us to be there as witnesses. Like Tae didn’t already say enough by telling us that 95z is love. Or Jimin by writing Friends.

From anon: because of you I came back da Namjin. I am a senior army and 2 years ago I left Namjin because I thought they broke up. You made me three Vmin but after what JK wrote about Jimin and after Jm himself about his chances I think that vmin are not together or Jimin withdrew. I think Jk would not dare to write about Jm that he has cute fingers etc if vmin were a relationship. it goes too far and confuses Jk too much. I don't want to say that J / k*ok is real because it certainly isn't !!!!

Now this is where I just sit and sigh heavily because it’s exactly what I expected and I will admit it irks me to no end. Let’s establish a little timeline:

Based on the FESTA Mission! BTS 4 Cuts Teaser that was posted earlier we can deduce that at least part of FESTA was already being prepared back in the first half of March, since on March 12th Jimin, Namjoon and Seokjin had their salad making vlive. Let’s suppose that everything FESTA related was prepared and written out by the members around that time as well. Sometime later BTS filmed YOU QUIZ followed by LET’S BTS and BTSxGame Caterers and everything else we’ve seen after that.

Or going a little further back to sometime in November 2020 while they were preparing for MMA 2020 and the Black Swan performance. We got the practice video today and if you pay attention to Jimin and Tae even there you notice that while Tae is waiting for his turn in the choreography, Jimin runs past him after his part is done (0:55) and they pat each other or do a “high five” or something along those lines as a way to cheer each other on. A very “we’re broken up” or “I will break up with him soon” thing to do, right? Or in min-January when Tae posted seven pictures out of which three were of just Jimin after an ARMY on weverse asked if anyone had any nice pictures they could use as wallpaper for their phone. Between all that I’m having a hard time honestly finding any moment where either of them seemed sad or “cold” toward the other the way you would be and feel if the person you love pulled away from you or broke up with you.

If you are still unconvinced and still think that is what Jimin tried to communicate to us, would Tae really have gone on national TV and said he likes Jimin the most? And would Jimin have agreed that he likes him a lot as well? Or looking at the making video of their Kloud Beer CF that was posted today as well, would Jimin really be looking and interacting with Tae this way if he decided to end things between them?

Also, going back a little, your mention of Jimin reflecting upon opportunities/chances now that it’s a new year. My question is based on what you made the judgment that this comment has to be about vmin and not about something entirely different in Jimin’s life, or maybe something connected to BTS as a whole? Just because of him asking Tae about Tannie? Jimin, as well as Tae and the other members, have entire lives outside of just their bonds with each other, entire careers, passion projects, families, friend groups, and that little bit of time they have to themselves, so immediately thinking Jimin’s comment must be related to his relationship/bond with Tae basically makes it seem like Jimin’s life is a romcom or a TV show in which the only thing that matters is if the main character will date or remain in a relationship with character B or not, but life isn’t like that.

Personally it reminded me of something Tae said during their Bring the Soul documentary about how BTS had the opportunities to go higher faster but they decided against them. Perhaps Jimin’s comment was about something like this as well, especially since we know Jimin is a very private person and very selective of the personal things he shares with us and the ones he doesn’t.

For the FESTA profile JK decided to give Jimin the “Cute Award” with the explanation that his “Face, height, fingers are cute” which, honestly, is just saying something that a) is true and b) has been said in millions of ways by every member across the last couple of years. I don’t see what the issue here is? During one of the episodes of BTSxGame Caterers Seokjin said that Jimin is very cute and that he has a small, beautiful face, so really he even added the word beautiful in there, which JK did not, so what really is the issue here? The fact its JK, right, that’s where the issue lies, to which I ask why? On this blog we’ve already established that there is (in our opinion and based on everything we’ve seen and heard) no romantic connection between JK and Jimin (nor Tae), not now and not in the past either, so why is him saying that Jimin is cute (which he is known for even by people outside of ARMY, or like James Cordon calling him his cute baby mochi) is an issue but Seokjin or any other member is not? Either we use the same measurements for everyone or we don’t compare or make such assumptions about any of them.

What I find curious, because this does make it seem like you, anon, are someone influenced by J*k*ok shippers and their opinions, see an issue in JK saying that about Jimin, and how that’s “proof” that Jimin and Tae can’t possibly be together, and yet you took no issue to Namjoon basically saying he wants to give Tae an award because he is so handsome he is above every list or Yoongi comparing him to Michelangelo's David, both of these being much more superlative and grand complements/awards than JK saying Jimin’s face, height and fingers are cute.

It’s funny how things that Jimin and Tae have said about and to each other that make their bond very clear (I want to live with my lovely Taehyungie forever or here is my love for you while handing Tae a bunch of red heart balloons or 95z is love, a statement I’m sure he wouldn’t post if that sentiment weren’t mutual) are all questioned or ignored, but something as basically trivial as a comment about Jimin being cute is turned into a major issue. The mental gymnastics is fascinating.

Lastly, going back to the first anon and their mention of how haters will use Jimin’s Award for Tae as “proof” that they “aren’t close anymore”--why do we care? Like Namjoon said in the Mic Drop lyrics Haters gon’ hate. They will say a lot of things about a lot of things and even make things up if they feel like it to push their agenda, so really, regardless of what Jimin would’ve said, or not said, they would’ve found a way to twist it and make it fit their narrative. Besides, what haters think has no actual effect or bearing on what Tae and Jimin have with each other, and neither does what other shippers claim. Haters and other shippers don’t control the narrative, BTS do, and everything Jimin and Tae have shown us in 2021, as well as the last eight years, shows me that their bond has only ever grown stronger and closer and more beautiful and awe inspiring, even while haters claimed they stopped being friends years ago, so why should you or I care what they think?

Like Yoongi once said in one of his vlives about how haters can write all they want, he won’t read it while they will get sued.

[btsandvmin]

Ask: Reply - 2021.04.16

Time to answer some more of your questions. I have a lot this time, and still a lot left I’ll have to save to another post. You are all very good at being curious and asking interesting questions. There are also some asks that are replies to old asks, and then I’ll include the link to the referenced post.

This time the topics will be:

Ask 1 - About KTH1 and expectations Ask 2 - KTH1 spoiler with “Oh lady” Ask 3 - Vminies getting superiority complex Ask 4 - Not dismissing the bond between Vmin and the other boys Ask 5 - Other people’s words can influence your thoughts Ask 6 - Vmin not sharing rooms in Bon Voyage Malta Ask 7 - Has being a Vmin shipper always been so overwhelming with all the content? Ask 8 - “Just a friend” interview Ask 9 - The garnet necklace Ask 10 - Vmin in CMs Ask 11 - Taehyung uncomfortable about shipping/tae*kook? Ask 12 - What did Jimin write on his shirt in Run ep. 53? Ask 13 - Gina Maeng ask follow up Ask 14 - Vmin’s love is beautiful (and so much nice praise omg)

Today’s post is a long one... Enjoy!

Ask 1 - About KTH1 and expectations

Ok, so I did write a shit post about this... (I mean… This is literally all Vmin’s songs so far ), but I still think your questions are worth a proper answer.

Honestly I think speculating about KTH1 is kind of hard, and as seen in the shit post I am quite torn with my expectations... In general I am the type who doesn’t like to expect too much in fear of being disappointed. I rather be pleasantly surprised. That being said Vmin does have a track record of getting involved in each other’s songs. I mean a lot is just speculation of course, but we do have confirmed cases as well, enough to not be too surprised if they would keep it up and do something for Tae’s solo album as well. (Tae saying his mixtape would be named Jimin back in 2016 still haunts me.)

On the other hand, they have already given us a lot of collabs. Adding more would feel more like a statement, at least if it would be only Jimin out of the members on that album. The thing is that if Vmin would have something “real” or at least if they are a bit careful with how they come across... I am not sure they would do something too “obvious”. But where such a line would be drawn is impossible to know. I mean clearly they managed to write and sing Friends and it worked fine, even if they did get more attention as a ship.

We also know Tae has been quite loud about Jimin in ways that single him out, so maybe they would really dare push the boundaries as far as actually including Jimin in the album somehow. It’s also very possible there could be other members, and honestly we probably shouldn’t hyper focus too much on it and that it has to mean something no matter if anyone is on it or not.

I think one of the rappers being on it is probably more likely out of the members, but it seems Tae has shown an interest in collabs with people outside of BTS, so that’s kind of what I am expecting the most. No matter who in the group is on it I am sure fans will make a big deal out of it, and maybe Tae would rather have his own thing for his first album. I really don’t know how his thoughts would go.

But again, looking at how Tae and Jimin has talked about working together, and have had moments like Tae promising Jimin a song or Tae saying they will work together again... It’s definitely not impossible to get another Vmin song. I do feel it’s more likely for any connections to be vague and not instantly noticeable though (at least not anything romantic looking because we know what happened to the Christmas song). Especially considering how they have only recently revealed things like 4 clock’s inspiration more openly and had Friends followed by Sweet Night. My main stance for any possible real ship is still that they have reason to be careful, and yet another Vmin collab, on Taehyung’s first personal album would probably raise some eyebrows considering everything else we already have. But it could also be me over analyzing them, and maybe they just really like and want to work together. Tae for sure has after all been vocal about this preference and want to work with Jimin.

So yeah, on one hand they have a track record that is hard to ignore... But on the other I wonder if they might want to add another “point” for ARMY to look at them and their songs. I also don’t want to assume that if there are songs on there that sound romantic that they automatically will be about Jimin. There will have to be legit possible connections for me to acknowledge them.

It’s tricky. I guess we will have to wait and see. I am kind of scared both that there won’t be anything or that there will be SOMETHING. Thank you for the ask, and I hope I shed some light on my thoughts on this subject. Either way I am very excited and looking forward to an album full of Taehyung’s own songs and the stories he wants to tell.

Ask 2 - KTH1 spoiler with “Oh lady”

I am not sure it is “lady”, since it’s a bit unclear in general. He also has a part that just seems to go “do be do” and I don’t know if the lyrics are even finished or if he worked with someone else etc. We basically lack a lot of information. But even so using lady/her/she etc. in a song doesn’t have to mean it is about a specific person or that the person is a she or that it is Taehyung’s own feelings (I know he said he usually sings about things he have felt, but just saying it doesn’t always have to be). 

Of course I don’t want to downplay it and say it doesn’t mean anything, but considering their fanbase is majority women, they live in a homophobic country and he has even been denied to sing a romantic song with a man before, it’s not impossible to add that to make it more “relatable” or less “gay”. God, that sounds terrible. I don’t want to start discussions where we don’t take their words for what they are, so I hope you might understand my point of view. That being said of course it could just as easily be to or about a specific woman in his life that we don’t know about. Or as you say, he isn’t actually in love but is simply writing love songs that could be inspired by non-romantic relationships or movies etc. as was the case for his inspiration for Winter Bear.

Tae also used “she” in Winter Bear, and that seems a bit forgotten. Or people try to say it has to be about his grandmother... Which we obviously don’t know, it’s just the woman people jump to since he used “she” and many people don’t like the idea of him dating a woman or writing about a woman we don’t know. Either way I think we need to remember that anything is possible and we don’t know them personally and how they think or why they choose to do what they do.

I think we need to remember that there is always going to be the possibility that ships aren’t real, that the romantic songs aren’t about Jimin and that either one of them could be in a relationship with someone else (all genders included).

Ask 3 - Vminies getting superiority complex

Hello! I want to address something that has been bothering me for a while now. I have been seeing some vminnies have a superiority complex just bcoz they ship vmin. Its very rampant among new vminnies and twt vminnies. I get that we all feel validated and happy when out OTP claim to be soulmates and bff. I feel that way too. But people have to remember that vmin are real people and their relationship is dynamic. Like they did grow from bff who used to tease e/o and fight alot to soulmates who are gentle and caring. Who is to say that one day they wont drift apart (i hope not and dont think thats gonna happen but for argument sake) so there is no reason to feel superior or look down on other shippers. 

If people think vminnies are superior bcoz they are not toxic they probably know they are lying. Lbr i have seen my share of toxic vminnies though may be a lesser number but they are there and its not the ship but its that particular person who is at fault. While i agree that some ship theories cultivate hate and toxicity there may be people among those ships who are just as sane and good as we claim to be. I just wanted to address this bcoz seeing some vminnies on twt saying locals thinking vmin were tgt after coway add is a validation kind of triggered me. I m sure there would have been similar responses to any other ship bcoz they all have been tgt for a decade and are very comfortable with e/o. I just wanted to talk to someone about this and i know you have discussed similar topics in the past. So yeah this was very long.

First of all, on request I won’t show your name, but thank you for sending me this and letting me know who you are. It’s always nice to know who is behind the question. But that being said I don’t mind people asking on anon, I totally get it being a lot easier to ask or question things when you don’t have to reveal yourself. Either way I am just glad to get interesting and important topics and I do think the things you bring up are worth talking about.

As you say, there is this thing when people start to feel and act superior for various reasons, and I too have seen some Vminies do this. Getting a lot of moments is sure nice. But honestly, just imagine if another ship came and mocked Vmin or gloated every time they got more moments. It has surely happened too, and I am sure it doesn’t feel very nice when on the negative end. Just be a decent human, ship moments will always vary and it’s great to be happy about getting moments, but there is no need to compare or look down on other ships. I say it again, shipping is not a competition, just enjoy your own ship and let others enjoy theirs.

As for feelings superior based on group behavior I think we really need to stop looking at groups and start looking at individuals, both when it comes to groups we are part of and groups we consider “bad”. I have said it many times, but individuals of other groups we don’t agree with won’t all be bad, or all stupid or young etc. We might want to tell ourselves they are worse, but it really doesn’t change much. 

Being “less bad” it not a merit and it shouldn’t be a competition. We all have our own selves to answer to and we should judge other people based on their actions and not based on what group they might belong to.

I think size and the toxicity of a narrative can lead to more people in certain groups behaving in toxic ways... But I think any person could happen to fall into these behaviors if not careful and aware. Often the change is gradual too, or you feel attacked by the other “rival group” and thus feel it’s justified to attack back, and so it escalates.

Vminies are at the moment as a group smaller, and thus have less “bad apples”. We likely also have a narrative for Vmin that doesn’t require as toxic mindsets, for example extreme jealousy or Vmin being forced to hide. But there for sure are still toxic Vminies, and there are also a lot of non-toxic shippers in all groups. Usually the louder ones are also the worst ones while the chill and nice will remain in their own lane and ship more peacefully. But being part of a smaller group doesn’t make you superior, your actions is what is important.

As for small moments getting noticed or other types of “validation” for your ship, of course it’s going to feel nice. However, what people see and think of any relationship in BTS is still just an outsider view and literally has no meaning for their actual relationship beyond it being a cute moment. That’s why size and popularity also doesn’t matter as any kind of “proof”. Interpretation will always just be interpretation, good or bad, if you like it or not.

Sadly I think we will get more and more toxic behavior from more ships as the fandom grows and as some things get more normalized within those ships’ communities. It’s about certain behaviors growing into a community culture... The more toxicity that is allowed the more others will follow. That’s why bringing up the problems is important, but trying to do so without shunning people so that they don’t go and create their own space where everyone else is the enemy. After all, being open and welcoming and understanding is much more likely to make someone listen and even change their mind than by attacking them.

I answer for my own actions. So does every person. I don’t want to be judged for everything every Vminie or ARMY or Multi K-pop fan etc. has done. Generalization is a huge problem in general, not just in fandoms or ship wars. I do try to be a positive influence, to not judge too harshly and to remember that being hostile won’t help any situation. But that’s about it. I am glad you brought up this topic, because talking about it is important, but sadly I don’t think there is a lot that can be done about it. Just try to be nice and open minded.

Thank you for the ask, I hope you all understood what I wanted to say.

Ask 4 - Not dismissing the bond between Vmin and the other boys

Thank you. I really see no need for it. It’s clear as day that they all love each other, and even if one pair would happen to be romantic instead of platonic that won’t change. We don’t have to compare and we definitely don’t have to downplay the moments they share with each other. All shippers should at the very least accept the the things they do and say as mostly genuine. I trust BTS and what they show us, it’s that easy.

I know some also get influenced by toxic fans, but we really need to remember that no narratives by fans matter when it comes to reality and what bonds BTS share with each other. They are all great people and seem to have such love and respect for each other I frankly don’t understand how you can be a fan if you think any of it is played up to the point some claim.

Likely no ship in BTS is real, but if any is, to me I am sure the ones involved would be happy and supported by the rest of the members. That’s why it doesn’t really matter what ship would be real or not real as long as they are happy. We shouldn’t let our own views and sometimes want or hopes affect the way be judge their reality. This applies for things outside shipping as well.

Thank you for your kind words. :)

Ask 5 - Other people’s words can influence your thoughts

Indeed. The brain is a powerful thing. This is very obvious if you are a multi-shipper or a general fan, but BTS truly has a lot of questionable moments between all kinds of pairs. Focus is a interesting thing. If you like something you will notice it more, and you will also remember it more while you forget other moments. Likewise if something is “negative” like a rival ship you are likely to notice them more as well. This happens even if you just watch the general content and get your own bias. Imagine then how it might influence you when others keep repeating either your happy interpretations or things you worry about? You’ll get it stuck in your head and remember it more than other things.

Like isn’t it funny how we might gush about Vmin sharing beds, or worry about ji/kook or tae/kook cuddling while hope/kook literally sleep wrapped around each other in both Bon Voyage 3 and 4? Sometimes it’s all about perspective.

By now we need to realize that fan perspective will influence us a lot. And in particular if a lot of people say it or if it is presented in a way that makes it sound logical and intelligent. Words have power. 

I still think using “Vmin is dead” or spreading worry often in itself leads to people thinking it and it being somehow accepted as fact. In similar fashion getting to hear about certain ships or certain narratives will make us notice things in relation to that. My own words and posts too will have influence on some people that read them. That’s why I try to be so careful, and why I try to avoid using strong words or claims that might cement themselves in someone’s mind. (I’ll actually talk more about the power of language in my big analysis as well)

Thank you for your input, it’s definitely an interesting thing to consider and another aspect of why shipping mentality is so complicated. 

Ask 6 - Vmin not sharing rooms in Bon Voyage Malta

Hi and yes, I have answered this before HERE, but it’s ok. I know it’s not easy finding old topics amongst my collection posts.

Collection of asks - BTSandVMIN Collection of asks 2 - BTSandVMIN Collection of asks 3 - BTSandVMIN

In short I think Vmin wanted to share rooms but that Taehyung got fooled when Jimin stopped him from checking the upper room. Because it seemed like Jimin stopped him from walking into that room by saying he couldn’t peak Tae probably assumed it wasn’t Jimin’s room and that when Jimin said it was his room he was joking (his face was definitely something). So yeah, I think he just got fooled by Jimin’s statement about not being allowed to look inside the room before picking. There are other interesting things about this whole moment, but the one thing we should take away from it is how it is one out of now many examples that seem to show that Vmin have a preference to share rooms/beds. Thank you for the ask. :)

Ask 7 - Has being a Vmin shipper always been so overwhelming with all the content?

I wouldn’t say it’s something recent. I say it often, but we really do get very intense periods from time to time with many of the ships. For example in February 2017 with ISAC, fan signs and everything else we got a lot of Vmin too. I remember being overwhelmed myself, and that was coming out of BST era Vmin. We got many moments every day and that’s just one specific period I can remember. 

 Over the years sometimes we do get these very intense days or weeks with a lot of moments at once. Usually I get asks like “do you think something is up with Vmin lately” or “wow I can’t believe how much Vmin we have gotten lately” but really, it’s hard to tell, because it really does happen from time to time. I also still say we always get Vmin moments regularly as long as we get BTS content, but sometimes a bit more and sometimes less. I am sure there will be more times when we also get “Vmin is dead“ and worried people because we get less moments than they expect. It just happens, up and down and around it goes.

As for what ships are big I will definitely say Ji/kook and Tae/kook are the biggest, but that all BTS ships are big by now. Meaning as soon as we do get moments it will be seen online. Especially if you follow people who talk about it of course. I also think what platform you are on can result in some ships being seen more than others. For example I know ji/kook is by far the biggest BTS ship here on Tumblr while Youtube seems to have more tae/kookers.

Thank you for the ask. Let’s hope Vmin keeps overwhelming us. (But let’s not start to worry if they don’t) ;)

Ask 8 - “Just a friend” interview

Ah yes, I have a bit of a soft spot for this interview myself. I am not sure, but I think it might be from 2017 (since Tae wrote a birthday letter to Jimin in 2016), or at least that’s when I found it and saved it down. I haven’t actually tracked the original source. You can find the translation in the link shared HERE, credits to @95z​.

Seeing this close after the chaos of Let’s BTS and other letter confessions it really does seem very cringe for them to express sincere thoughts in these more formal ways. I can’t blame them. 

I do think this interview is yet another example of how much Vmin has tried to adapt to each other, learn and be more open with expressing how they feel. They literally inspire and learn from each other in how to express themselves. Isn’t it completely endearing? 

I also love how they get each other to feel strong emotions and how they are there for each other when in need. On a slightly more analytical note I also can’t help but note the “just a friend” vs “soulmate” descriptions and how they seem to have a hard time putting it into proper words. We already know this of course, but yeah... They really don’t have an easy time describing their relationship.

Thank you so much for sharing this moment. I was going to talk about it in my big analysis anyways, but honestly I can’t save everything for it, and you mentioned it so who am I to keep it to myself.

Ask 9 - The garnet necklace

Oh yeah, I know that JK wore it once and that the talk was that a fan gave it to all of maknae line. Not much was ever confirmed from what I know, but regardless it doesn’t change why I think it’s a Vmin/soulmate necklace and why I see it as special.

Here is the thing, when I use “Vmin thing” it really doesn’t have to be exclusive. To me it’s the context around it and how they have used it and even reacted to it that makes the garnet necklace something special for Vmin. In the case of the soulmate necklace Vmin wore it a lot. Almost constantly during a big part of 2017 and even a bit into 2018. They also wore it at the same time a lot. I find this very cute, and we all know “couple items” is something all fans enjoy even if it would just be a platonic relationship behind it. But if both of them wearing it was all there was, as a lot of Vmin sharing clothes (or BTS in general sharing clothes) I wouldn’t really think too much about it beyond it being cute. It could still be just a cute thing that Vmin did, but I personally see it as something beyond the normal clothes/jewelry sharing.

(At the very least you can remember Vmin did this while people thought their relationship was dead, which doesn’t make much sense to do if you hate or dislike someone.)

The things I find more noteworthy about this necklace is the fact that the fandom picked up on it and because they wore it so much and so often at the same time it was dubbed the “soulmate necklace”. Possibly knowing this Tae also brought specific attention to the necklace at two times, as if wanting to show it off. Interestingly enough, in one of these times Jimin seemed to ignore Taehyung who was bringing attention to it on purpose. For me it came across as another thing Taehyung wanted to show off and that Jimin was a bit more careful about. 

Of course I could have read it wrong, maybe Jimin just misunderstood. But even so, Tae did bring attention to it in specific relation to Jimin. You can watch the clip HERE. (BTS Tell Us What They Love About Each Other & An Update On Tony & Nate From America Hustle Life) 

The other time was in Run ep. 39, right after Vmin talked about being in school together and showing off their school uniforms. If Tae is the one to try and highlight something, I feel it likely has some meaning to him at least.

Either way the necklace is basically a symbol of Vmin’s relationship and the fact that they liked it so much and wore it together during a long period I think they liked wearing it not only because they both happened to like the design but because they both had it. If JK also had one and didn’t use it of course it could include him, but I will still say it remains significant for Vmin’s bond with each other.

As for buying a necklace together they haven’t talked about this one in particular, but Tae did mention he bought his tiger necklace with Jimin in NY, so maybe you are mixing the two things up?

Ask 10 - Vmin in CMs

Thank you for loving my blog and for the ask! :) I am not sure if you perhaps meant in a lot of BTS own photoshoots/units as well, but I’ll focus on CMs in this post since that was your direct example. I might go a bit beyond here, but I saw it as a good chance to revisit some Vmin ad moments.

I wouldn’t personally say we have gotten “way more” but I do think because of their Friends unit they got to do some more interviews together and some CM stuff too. I also think we have gotten more BTS commercials in general now, likely because it’s an income alternative to touring during the pandemic. So that obviously means more CMs, and more chances for them to be paired up. They also have gotten paired with others of course (like in the Bodyfriend CM or Baskin Robbins), but most commonly they aren’t divided in smaller groups at all.

We also have gotten Vmin paired up before, both in photoshoots and in CMs. Of course we saw some great ones in 2016 with Puma and NUGU, but I don’t think we got that much more in 2016 and before than in 2017-2019. I think what we can see is BTS having more endorsements after Covid.

Like honestly, the Puma adds are iconic. Of course the original one, but also the revisits from 2018. Puma definitely seemed to like to pair Vmin in particular. (There are so many good examples from Puma that I’m not including)

We also got a snippet in the Hyundai one, also from 2018.

Another snippet from the Coconut Chicken ad from 2017.

I mean, I don’t know if I should count the snippets at all, like from BTS x VT cosmetics in 2019, but I feel sometimes just being seen in the same frame seems to get attention as being paired up so. (I decided to not include being together when it’s at least a third member in the frame)

And guys... Have you ever watched BTS and the milk song?

What did we get so far more recently? In 2020 we had the Hyundai interview.

And the hyundai #PositiveEnergyChallenge

Fila provided a nice one, also from 2020.

Samsung gave us a snippet recently.

Coway was basically couple goals and like the best one in my own opinion (besides Puma because it is going to take a lot to beat Puma).

But other than that? I don’t think we have seen it that much, have we? I am not complaining or anything, like I am happy with what we got, but I don’t know if it’s that much. I might forget some obvious ones, but these were the ones I had top of mind. Feel free to add ads if you can think of more recent ones that I left out.

So I think we have gotten more BTS ads in general, also more where they are not all of them or single focus, and that we have seen maybe Vmin getting paired a little more after Friends. But to me there is such a small difference I can’t really say if it is anything particular to Vmin or just BTS doing more CMs.

I mean, I don’t have a sheet of who has been paired with who and how many times over the years. But either way I don’t think we should look too deeply into things like CMs or even photoshoots units. Thanks for the ask though, I hope you enjoyed this mini collection. :)

Ask 11 - Taehyung uncomfortable about shipping/tae*kook?

So this is a thought sent in after THIS ASK though it really brings up a new subject, which is that of Tae possibly being uncomfortable with shipping. As for Tae saying that to a tae/kooker in particular I think we have to remember it could very easily just have been in the moment and we can’t know why he decided to reply to that person in particular.

The Vmin post was not invasive and it wasn’t romantic. I mean, I do think Tae keeps showing again and again that if there is any person in BTS that is special to him it’s Jimin. But the difference in the posts also likely matters, but we can’t know how much. We don’t know if Tae would feel annoyed if a Vminie wrote the same thing as the tae/kooker did, and we don’t know if it was just in that moment that he got fed up with the shipping discourse in general, or if it was because it was tae/kook.

Honestly any shipper, regardless if a ship would eventually prove to be real or not, should not go and invade spaces where the boys get exposed to it. We don’t know if Taehyung would have reacted in a similar way if it happened to be another ship.

Personally I don’t think tae/kook drifted apart as a result of shipping, because honestly they still kept being pretty intimate physically and engaged in fanservice on stage etc. If they truly were uncomfortable with the idea I just don’t think they would “feed it” much at all. I think as they said in ITS they just, kind of changed and it became harder to talk. I’ve talked more about tae/kook and my views on their bond in THIS POST and a little in THIS POST as well as about BTS possible stance on shipping HERE.

I also think all of BTS has a pretty good distance from hate and fandom speculations in general. I think that because they know about shipping and partly also feed into it they probably expect crazy people to some degree as well, even if they probably don’t like it. Hetero shippers as well, or solo stans etc. have very toxic behaviors at times, but I think BTS can recognize that it is kind of “bound to happen” with their popularity, no matter what they do about it. Not saying they would like it, and they could definitely feel awkward or annoyed because of it, but it doesn’t seem to bother them too much as I think they can detach themselves from it pretty well.

I also think “fan opinions” in form of rival shipping wouldn’t really harm a hidden couple as it first would likely be a sort of “shield” and second because they have their relationships and are likely comfortable with them on their own terms. What fans think is probably secondary.

It is possible that they could get annoyed or frustrated at times, but again, if they truly felt bothered by it they probably wouldn’t do a lot of the things they do. Because I am sure they are aware to some degree that fans scrutinize their every move and ship moments. Both Tae and Jimin are some of the most physical out of the members, and also some of the members that seem to like to initiate fanservice moments... So I doubt they would have much problem and can feel secure enough in their relationship no matter what fans think.

Ask 12 - What did Jimin write on his shirt in Run ep. 53?

Hi, I guess you got curious after I talked about this episode recently in my post Ask: Reply - 2021.03.30 (Ask 8 - Going down the rabbit hole, micromoments and shipping vs believing).

I don’t know hangul, but I do know what “Jimin” looks like. On Jimin’s shirt from behind the scenes of Run ep. 53 you can see he’s written his own name “지민” Jimin followed by what looks to be “ 님 “ which is nim. So basically the text on the container in the picture says Sir Jimin.

Jimin seemed very keen on writing his name on both his own shirt and on Tae’s and even tried on JK’s. He failed of course, but he sure did try. 

Thank you for the ask, and isn’t Tae cute?

Ask 13 - Gina Maeng ask follow up

Glad you liked my reply. :) (From Ask: Reply - 2021.03.30  Ask 4 - Idols dating members of the same group). Yeah I get what you mean, talking about it openly I suppose isn’t so normal. But since it seems to be more and more fans who assume it happens to some degree maybe it’s not so strange if it starts getting more talked about as well. I’ll take it as a good sign, even if the information is nothing new in itself, being more open is going to make it easier for fans to realize it’s possible for their idols to be LGBT+ or have hidden relationships.

As for K-Population it doesn’t seem to be too well known, but it’s one of few actual examples to be found. So yeah, interesting that we know it has happened, and also that it shows what risks it could mean to get involved with a group member. I think the risk of a falling out is something a lot of shippers tend to forget. Anyways, thank you for your reply. ^_^

Ask 14 - Vmin’s love is beautiful (and so much nice praise omg)

Oh my... I am not sure I have ever been called sweetheart by anyone ever before. Thank you! You are making me blush with all the praise.  💜💜💜

But really, we can all just watch Vmin in awe and be happy they have each other and feel such immense love for each other, no matter what that love is. It’s kind of amazing. Like even if they are platonic their relationship is so wholesome and they put so much love and effort into it that it’s truly inspirational. I love when we get bombed with moments like this with a very intense period of great Vmin interactions. As you, me too never fail to feel all soft watching them together.

95z is love and what a love they share. Truly wonderful. 💜

You take care too, and really, thank you so much for this lovely message. it means a lot and is very heartwarming.

And with that sweet ask I’ll end the post. There was a lot of very different questions and I feel I could have written more about many of them, but alas I need to remember I can’t write full essays on everything or I would never get anything posted. Thank you all for reading and I hope you found my thoughts and speculations interesting. ^-^

[buginateacup]

For the ship ask game, metromind? :3c

Hmmm, (you did this on purpose. I know you did. You could have had me gush about Roxanne but you chose violence.

...I can respect that.)

For Metro Mind I kind of feel I'm capable of shipping it if its written well, but I don't personally ship it so I'm going to answer both sets of questions.

Ship It

What made you ship it? Again, it would have to be written well but I think you could do endless really great things about "Last two left" (sorry Minion). Spending years feeling stuck in the roles they've let other people push them into and the connections they can build from that and a whole lot of Feeling Alien and their brains and thought processes working very differently from the humans of Metro City. There is fertile soil there if you're willing to plant a seed

What are your favorite things about the ship? They are both actual useless himbos and get stupider when they are around each other which is endlessly entertaining.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I think Megamind is 100% into Metro Man but Metro Man doesn't think of Megamind as his own person with thoughts and feelings at all so it would always be a very onesided relationship. Not to mention the massive power imbalances and literal years of trauma Megamind was put through as a result of Wayne adopting the "Hero" Personality years before either of them were developed as individuals means I'd rather see them in therapy and Metro Man having to do a proper full on Harlequin romance "Grovel" with a capital G before I would be willing to ship it. This is not to excuse Megamind's actions, but Metro Man never shows a single second of empathy or remorse and everyone's favourite blue boy deserves better.

Don't Ship It

Why don't you ship it? Because I don't see canon!Metro Man as ever showing a hint of understanding as to the trauma he put Megamind through. His upbringing as a superpowered rich kid with adoration heaped on him from day one means I think he lacks any kind of sympathy or empathy or critical thinking skills and he straight up rich white kid fake dies his way into a gap year. He shows no desire for things to change and no remorse for how his actions impact people good or bad. and without that I don't see what Megamind is getting out of the relationship any more than he is getting anything out of the people cheering for him at the end of the movie. Plus I genuinely do not like Metro Man. I understand him. I think the burnout was masterfully done and years ahead of its time. But I do not like him. He's a self absorbed dick and I simply do not have the patience for that bullshit. And I do think once Megamind gets to distance himself from the Battle of Good and Evil he is going to realise he is better off without him too. All of which means if Megamind and Metro Man were ever together it would be just another imbalanced encounter and another act of self flagellation for Megamind (I can't have this because its real I can only have this as punishment).

What would have made you like it? One Helluva grovel! I need to see Wayne in twelve years of therapy, apologising to Megamind and for Megamind to say "Thanks but I never want to see you again" for five years before they are willing to get one incredibly awkward coffee together as acquaintances and let it grow into a slow friendship then onto a very gradual romance with some very upfront discussions about what kind of bullshit they put each other through before I would consider it.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? I think there are some incredibly well written depictions out there. And definitely I have my own fics written where they do get together (or are together) in a poly trio/quad with Roxanne and Minion. It can be done! It is Interesting. I will definitely give you that. Just not for me. Also Himbo!Wayne is excused from all of this. He's doing amazing sweetie.

[hubz88]

So Aaron asking Ben to move in and this plot about his dad seemed to be more about the parallels with Liv’s drinking problem then any real character development for Ben or their relationship.  Surprise, surprise. 

I had a few people jumping on a twitter response of mine last week, don't really do twitter much and wasn’t hoping to invite a conversation from Ben fans, Ben/Aaron fans, but anyway I was completely baffled, fascinated and mad and had to get my thoughts down.

Firstly my comment was about how weird I find it that on top of having this abusive father his whole life, Ben was so happy to forgive and forget the bullying that Aaron put him through, that made him want to die, within a day and a vague apology wanted to date him and it was brushed under the carpet.  I got two different responses from the fans that I want to look into because it has been on my mind all weekend.

1) About 2 or 3 people commented that I have clearly missed some episodes

This is hilarious to me, not only have I never missed an episode, but I have over analysed all Ben and Aaron scenes a thousand times over, without ever watching back I remember a great detail of what was said, weird dialog, acting/directing choices and facial expressions.

But mainly on this I am just hugely confused by what scenes they actually think I missed? There have been very little actually story about this bullying backstory full stop, no real content and no real resolution or explanation as to how come Ben got over it so quickly.  Given that I was referring to the first week or so on screen, it literally went like this.  Ben having no words in the Hop whilst Liv was acting like Aaron goes their all the time to see Ben at the Hop.  Ben orders a jacket potato and chilli whilst Chas awkwardly tries to suggest that Aaron gets back on the dating horse, hint hint hint to this random man who we know nothing about at this point and if he is even gay/into men.  Ben with Al and Kayak’s getting introduced to Aaron.  Aaron going back on his own to ask about Kayak lesson when Ben flips with the you don’t remember me, now I can hit back and you made me want to die etc. Ben’s car breaks down, Aaron says he can help, gets his number to text about parts or something.  They go for a drink as you do with your school bully.  Aaron explains vaguely about having a tough up-bringing and struggling with sexuality.  Ben has no reason to really trust him at this point or take his word for it but decides to awkwardly start trying to flirt and talks about the bullying he suffered as “reminiscing”, (weirdest line to use in context, I certainly don't reminisce about the kid that used to call me names at school let alone actually kick my head in on the daily). Then Aaron goes to the Hop and asks about a lesson, clear indication of a date.  This was all over a few days episodes, but one actual date time-wise.  That is is, whole story wrapped up.  No Ben talking to other people in the village that tell him to give Aaron a chance, no forced to work together, share friendship group, locked in a room together or whatever contrived plots soaps like to use to get people talking.  No longer story of getting to know each other, Aaron proving he had changed.  Just one conversation and it was all fine. Like what was the point?

Then from that point on we got a couple of episodes were Ben turned up out of nowhere, no build up, no aftermath, again no discussions with other people in the village, friends, co-workers, so we never saw his motivations or reasons for wanting to be with Aaron he just showed up apologizing for their disaster pint or Aaron apologised.  So much so that Ben was only in 11 episodes from September to January and many of those were like one or a couple of scenes, which is so poor when you compare to the other new characters introduction, interactions and multiple mini stories that played out.

The 4.5 months Ben was off screen was also used as a reason some how to explain how the lack of actual relationship discussion makes sense, like they talked again when he came back, (about his sister being an alcoholic), as if that suddenly makes it ok that they haven’t address the bullying or that argument again before Ben became a literal cardboard cut out glued to Aaron’s side. 

2) There was one person who replied saying it wasn’t a date at that point with the first lot of pints, which those terrible pint plots arguably were meant to be a date, but in any case they were still planning to meet up just the two of them, Ben kicked off after Ben didn’t turn up after divorce papers and Kayak lesson etc. So it still doesn’t make sense to want to get so pally with your ex bully. Through-out this point Aaron was pretty hot and cold and damn right rude at times.  Yet Ben kept following him around and showing up wanting to talk and try again and they suggest a pint several times.  One person did not like my response about him following Aaron around as if it was Aaron following Ben around because Aaron was the one that suggested the Kayak lesson to begin with.  But this person clearly hadn’t seen the scenes where Ben kept showing up out of nowhere wanting to get in Aaron’s orbit, Aaron largely seemed uninterested and said about them being friends beginning of December, (I think), which was never shown on screen and apparently didn’t happen according to January scenes at Aaron’s birthday when Ben said the friendship thing hadn’t worked out. 

3) There were the comments of the conversations on his return in May and the scene in the Hop discussing the bullying over some table football, you know do completely casual.  Again ignoring this does not change the facts of how this story started and how poorly it was executed regarding the bullying. Also in my opinion that chat was way little too late, they were official at this point and had only really been seen discussing Liv, her drinking problem, Liv being missing, Ben’s alcoholic dad and oh the mystery guy Ben put in a taxi.  Therefore no actual relationship or feelings chat anyway at this point, other than I’m miserable and we apparently have a laugh despite the fact we haven’t seen that onscreen. So why would I expect any in depth relationship story.  Even the Aaron Ben fan said they “try” with the Hop chat.  And like fair play, if you are happy with such shit a story and effort, then go live your best life hun.  But wow really, what are you liking here?

In actual fact Aaron still seemed quite offish on many occasions with Ben and snappy upon Ben’s initial return once again and yeah he was worried about his sister but why would Ben want to be around this permeantly, with someone he barely knows still, and would have possibly been triggering for him but yet he is promising to support him no matter what, you aren’t on your own Aaron, you have me, we and us etc. .

On the point of proving Aaron had changed the show has made a point this last year of many characters talking about how aggressive Aaron is, Liv about how he pushed her instead of Luke that whole time and calling him a control freak and lots of nasty names.  Mandy calling him a bully when Paul first died before she found out the truth.  Luke calling him a violent thug or something whilst Ben was there and talking about bad boys and stuff moments later, Ethan and Charles talking about him being scary and the same from Vinny at as well.  On top of the Pollard nonsense plot with the brooch and Ben was well aware that he was up for a bulgary/assault charge of which Ben had no real reason to believe he was innocent again he didn’t really know. He had only just re-connected with him after months off screen following the toxic argument, which also never got resolved, no sorry I didn’t realise Liv had a drink problem, I get your concern now, sorry for what I said, sorry for how I treated you, which as much as I don’t like Ben I feel he sort of would have deserved after how Aaron spoke to him.

Finally, and I realise no one is going to read this haha.  In one of my responses to these people before I gave up and said we are never going to agree, let’s leave it. I said content wise the story has been poor, there has been such little effort with the writing and Ben isn’t really a character right now, still only serving for other Aaron related plot and after 10 months on the show has only one small chat about gay marriage with Charles and the weird gay app conversation with Vic, Ethan and Luke outside of Aaron which is just not a proper character on a soap that it is 6 times a week.  Funnily enough, I got no response on that, no comeback or pathetic or disillusioned excuse. So do they all know how bad the story is and choosing to fight on the missing episodes I haven’t seen, whether those pints were dates or the fact they spoke after Ben’s disappearing act, which does nothing but really prove what a nothing of a character he actually is more than anything as there is no way I really believe it was all just down to COVID when other plots didn’t suffer the same way.

I will shut up now!