u/BlueThePineapple

I feel like it's high time for Raven to get her own rogue gallery (outside of Trigon), so here is me creating one for her lol. The best part of a great villain is the aspect it mirrors or examplifies in the hero, so here is my rough attempt at sketching some for Raven and what I would like the stories to explore with these villains.

1. A Villain who rips his soul into pieces through murder so he can lodge them in special objects in order to gain immortality

(It is a Voldemort knock-off yes. Forgive me lol.)

Raven, who deeply believes that her soul is tainted with evil but who desperately fights to be good anyway and to keep it whole, being confronted with a villain who purposefully rips his own soul through murder or other evil deeds in order to extend his own life is an interesting contrast. There is a lot of room to explore how Raven thinks of her own humanity and her soul. This is doubly true if Trigon is nestled within Raven herself still and thus still has influence on her and probably always will. Also, regardless of the backstory, it cannot be denied that Raven has a lot of blood on her hands. It would be good to get a deep introspection on what she thinks of those deaths that have happened through her.

2. A former priest of Azarath, back for vengeance

Raven, in many ways, is intrinsically tied to the destruction of Azarath. Whether it be indirectly such as the disruption of Azarathian way of life through the harboring of her "evil" or its outright galactic destruction by Trigon himself, Raven being Azarath's harbinger of doom is a constant. What would happen then if we take a survivor who had suffered through her childhood in Azarath and then survived her destruction of it? One of the priests who "raised" her returns from the dead, heart full of anger and vengeance about this demon child who ruined their world and his life. Maybe he actually advocated for her continued existence - the final vote that ensured she wasn't thrown away to die - and now he blames himself and Raven both for its destruction. It would be interesting to explore how Raven would react to this reminder of her childhood, the joy of it, the trauma of it, her old home and the new ones she's built since, and her reckoning with her part in its destruction. How would she face someone who has not moved on from the loss of his home while Raven herself stands with the people who she has built a new home with?

3. A Pandemic-type Villain

One of my favorite panels of all time is Raven tied at the stake and a bunch of sick people touching her to heal them. That is one of her biggest fears as well. Thus, keeping it current, but it would be interesting to have a story where Raven will have to go against a Plague-Creating Villain that is spreading all sorts of disease fast and killing entire swathes of people. Raven has one of the most burdensome healing powers to exist since she physically has to absorb the pain first to dispel it (we ignore the can't heal-diseases limitations). Raven thus overextends and is completely overwhelmed, and it becomes a race versus her and the Plague. It'd be great comicbook exploration of the hazards and moral quandaries of triaging and just how awful it would have to be for her - and her alone - to have the power to choose who gets to live or die.

Azarath's treatment of Raven is very interesting in New Teen Titans in that essentially, Raven is both their attempt at penance but also a repetition of the cycle that composed of their mistakes in the first place.

Trigon came to be through Azarath's denial and rejection of their evil. He is the personification of the evil in Azarath and it is why he haunts them. Raven is a similar personification of evil. She is very much a part of who Trigon is, and her siring is in many ways the fault of Azarath. But where Trigon was the evil they rejected, they gave Raven a home. They let her in their borders and let her live instead of casting her out or killing her. They kept Raven with them and nurtured her. Where Trigon was evil denied and rejected, Raven is evil accepted and reformed.

But Azarath's cycle is only half-broken. While it is true that they housed and raised Raven, they still kept her separate from the rest of them. Even as she exists in Azarath, Raven is someone who is still very much rejected and kept away from the wider community (like Trigon when he was first cast out). Worse still, Azarath had identified the "source" of the evil in her - her emotions as Trigon's gateway - and proceeded to train her such that she effectively denies and rejects these emotions too.

They raised her in a perpetual state of alienation. She is alienated from her mother, alienated from her peers, alienated from her own emotions.

Alienation and separateness are such strong themes between Raven and Azarath for these reasons. And this is why it is so important that Trigon's defeat was two-fold. First that Raven does succumb into the evil thus ending her alienation from her emotions. And second, that Azarath inhabits Raven's body and channels their power through her. The Azarathians are finally embodying the evil they rejected.

In these ways, the alienation and rejection of evil that birthed Trigon is reversed and it is through this connection and embodiment that he is defeated.

(I've posted these musing before on tumblr, but I just found this sub and thought to post it here too for maybe more discussion hehe)

I have always loved that the Twice girls are very much involved in the creative side of their work, and it's been so gratifying to see them grow into it over time. Here are some of my favorite examples.

1. The girls did not like the original concept for What is Love, so they held their own concept meeting in the middle of their Japanese tour, made a powerpoint and then went to argue to their executives about it. This was how we got the movie concepts for What Is Love. Fast forward to This is For, they apparently spent too many meetings with their team arguing for the direction for this album.
2. Jihyo dipped her toes into directing for the Enemy album. She was behind the cam and in the concept meetings for both their trailer and music video. This is the first kind of directing involvement that we've seen from the Twice girls.
3. Many of the girls have been involved in making their choreographies since early days - as far back as Like Ooh Aah. Momo choreographed the LOA dance break. Dahyun choreographed Jelly Jelly and Touchdown. As late as Strategy, we see Momo and Nayeon contribute to choreography.

Fast forward to their This Is For tour and we see their preferences reflect even more strongly. The Behind the Scenes for their solos are exciting for what they say about their work. Some highlights for me are:

1. Jeongyeon chose her country song because she thought it suited her and would fit her naturally. It was a huge challenge for her because she chose to sing it all live.
2. Nayeon was really excited about how she helped composed her solo song Meeeeee as it is her first ever composition credit. She also helped in writing lyrics for this song.
3. Momo's segment was supposed to start with a rap part but she chose to drop it in favor of a more intense dance segment to give their stages more variety.

Twice's work, when taken as a whole, is a coming of age story. It becomes doubly meaningful when taken with the fact that the Twice members themselves crafted so much of the art we see themselves and we can literally see them grow into their craft over time. It's fascinating to watch them develop into incredible artists in their own right, and to know that even now, they are still looking for space to grow.

Bonus:

• Chaeyoung created the Twice logo. Twice's Page Two album also comes with a limited edition that has a stylized and drawn version of that logo as a sleeve.

https://preview.redd.it/h418bl207ceh1.png?width=250&format=png&auto=webp&s=dae28ce310c3cd9fb29e6b1d458bc1110d68cfa2

It's something I noticed during their Korean finale concerts this time. She was soooo happy when the encore wheel went to Got The Thrills and was fully prepared to rig it to that song before that. She was also fighting for Chillax so hard - that it was underrated and seriously slept on. She was full-blown arguing for its merits in front of thousands and thousands of Once.

I just find it so cute that she has Twice songs too that she loves so much and they happen to be ones you have to swim deep in to even know.

It's day 2 of my GG's (Twice) hiatus - which will likely last for at least 5-ish months - and I'm missing them already haha. They aren't even fully missing yet, and I got a bunch of really nice bubbles from my fave. All of the members are going at once though, and I'm already sad thinking about it. I'm now curious what you guys did during your own fave's hiatus.

(To be clear, I am not complaining or asking for them back so soon. I just didn't expect I'd find myself suddenly in a "military era" haha.)

I stumbled again recently on the Twice's Mamushi remix with Megan Thee Stallion. They don't brag often in their songs, and I don't like bragging songs very much myself, but something in their verse felt so satisfying - by and large because everything was simply true

>All these trophies, we just winnin' up the price
Then we sold out your closet like we did at MetLife (Oh)
Sold out SoFi (Oh), Nissan on fire (Yeah)
One spark, baby, ooh-la-la, that's what we like
We're the originators, global entertainers
Your favorite girl groups sing our song screamin', "TWICE"

Like yes! They did sell out Sofi, Metlife, and Nissan. They are indeed one of the most awarded groups of all time both. We can also probably do an hours-long compilation of their juniors (and even seniors and peers) doing covers of their songs whether as formal performances or just singing them for fun. It's the single most grounded bragging verse I've heard in my life and it feels very earned.

I felt the same way when I watched the I Got You mv for the first time years ago. I like friendship songs in general, but this song in particular hit me like a truck because I very much believe it coming from Twice. The image of them being warm and toasty inside their little boat while a storm ravages them outside is such a perfect image for them.

The lines:

>No, we'll never fall apart (never fall apart)
Even million miles apart (million miles apart)
We were lightning from the start (lightning from the start)
And it keeps me going to know that

>Ooh, no matter what, you got me
I got you and I wouldn't want it any other way
Ooh, no drop of doubt, I know deep down that
We'll make it through (it through)
Just like we always do

is very believable coming from the girls who patiently waited for one of their own to regain her health and held her hand throughout her slow return to the stage. It is believable from the kids who turned up with their youngest squeezed tight in the middle after she was made to apologize for waving her country's flag. The promise that they would get through together as they always have is weighty coming from a girl group who managed to release this song in their year 8 when, during their come up, girl groups weren't even expected to reach year 5. And now they are in year 10, telling people to see them in their 11th anniversary fanmeeting.

Most Kpop songs are not autobiographical and often have very little to do with who or where their singers are at that stage in life. It is such a gift then that Twice has so many songs that are such perfect little snapshots of their come up and their career. Songs like the above as well as Feel Special and One Spark among others capture and immortalize little moments in time for them. When they talk about legacy and their space in world today, they do so with the weight of having earned those accolades and having carved that space for themselves.

I stumbled again recently on the Twice's Mamushi remix with Megan Thee Stallion. They don't brag often in their songs, and I don't like bragging songs very much myself, but something in their verse felt so satisfying - by and large because everything was simply true

>All these trophies, we just winnin' up the price
Then we sold out your closet like we did at MetLife (Oh)
Sold out SoFi (Oh), Nissan on fire (Yeah)
One spark, baby, ooh-la-la, that's what we like
We're the originators, global entertainers
Your favorite girl groups sing our song screamin', "TWICE"

Like yes! They did sell out Sofi, Metlife, and Nissan. They are indeed one of the most awarded groups of all time both. We can also probably do an hours-long compilation of their juniors (and even seniors and peers) doing covers of their songs whether as formal performances or just singing them for fun. It's the single most grounded bragging verse I've heard in my life and it feels very earned.

I felt the same way when I watched the I Got You mv for the first time years ago. I like friendship songs in general, but this song in particular hit me like a truck because I very much believe it coming from Twice. The image of them being warm and toasty inside their little boat while a storm ravages them outside is such a perfect image for them.

The lines:

>No, we'll never fall apart (never fall apart)
Even million miles apart (million miles apart)
We were lightning from the start (lightning from the start)
And it keeps me going to know that

>Ooh, no matter what, you got me
I got you and I wouldn't want it any other way
Ooh, no drop of doubt, I know deep down that
We'll make it through (it through)
Just like we always do

is very believable coming from the girls who patiently waited for one of their own to regain her health and held her hand throughout her slow return to the stage. It is believable from the kids who turned up with their youngest squeezed tight in the middle after she was made to apologize for waving her country's flag. The promise that they would get through together as they always have is weighty coming from a girl group who managed to release this song in their year 8 when, during their come up, girl groups weren't even expected to reach year 5. And now they are in year 10, telling people to see them in their 11th anniversary fanmeeting.

Most Kpop songs are not autobiographical and often have very little to do with who or where their singers are at that stage in life. That fact however just makes me love the songs that actually are though. They are little unexpected diamonds.

A few days back it was revealed that Twice and JYPE are in the middle of contract negotiations. Of course, this sent the fandom in furor. The panic was doubly so for me because this was revealed through the news that Jeongyeon - my absolute favorite - was in talks with her sister's acting agency. I have had a few days to think though, and I've settled into a nervous excitement about the whole.

Here are the things we know for sure:

• Contract negotiations are underway
• Today, the Twice girls had a group schedule and Jihyo confirmed it was for their Season's Greetings later in December
• Jihyo has talked about never doing a 360 stage again for their future tours
• Nayeon has asked fans about concepts they might want to see in future comebacks
• Last anniversary, Nayeon told fans to see them in this year's fanmeeting.

What is clear is that the girls see themselves as Twice in the future. They have future plans for comebacks and tours together. There are already confirmed preparations underway for activities as late as December this year.

What is uncertain is how and when all those future plans will come to be and in what form they will take. They are obviously on the cusp of change. Many of them have talked about feeling more independent from the group and, as in Jeongyeon's case, they are making moves to lay the groundwork for these individual activities.

Both of these things are incredibly exciting to me. I love them as a group, but I am also excited to see what they can do as individuals and how they would choose to grow from here. They have so much untapped potential in that space too. This is especially true for Jeongyeon who, after years of battling illness, have finally coma back far far more confident and willing to explore again. I had once believed that once Twice is done, she will slink away from all celebrity. That does not seem to be true anymore, and I am so excited to see where she will go in the future.

I am nervous of course. Change will always be terrifying no matter all the potential good it can bring. I might also just as easily not like the way they will change from here on out. I am willing to wait and see however, and I hope they will take a path that will let me follow them far in the future as a fan.

I'm stealing this from the kpopthoughts sub haha. I was reading through old comments and old chats with friends, and I have so many.

• I thought they were going to commit to being a legacy act around One Spark period. I think this was a common sentiment at the time too - that the girls were going to stick to sentimental has-been releases and would just stick to their formula from then on. I love how soundly they proved us wrong. The projects since then have been amazingly diverse.
• I thought Twice would never get to perform in Taiwan or that only Tzuyu would in a project unconnected to Twice. I was wrong. This was so freaking amazing, and they did so well there!
• I thought they would never rebound in Korea. Them pulling an audience of around 60k in Korea for this tour was so surprising. The jump from RTB's 16k audience is genuinely insane.
• I thought Jeongyeon would never try acting. I felt that she wouldn't want to step in her sister's toes that way and that even if she had wanted, she might be too self-sacrificing for it. I'm wrong! I know there are complicated feelings around the possible consequences of this decision, but I'm still so freaking happy she's trying it. I have always believed in her potential as an actress and was so freaking bummed I'd never get to see it. But it's actually happening, and I can't wait for her movie haha.

It can even be just super mildly yuri, just please make it have plot and a happy ending. Please and thank you lol

I rewatched Likey for the first time in a while and just watched Allergy for the first time, and they feel like two sides of the same coin.

Lyrics:

On the one hand, the girl in Likey is the pretty, instagram-savvy who is very aware of how she looks, what she wears, how thin and pretty she is. She hides her feelings and all the other negative things in order to present a perfectly curated version of herself that every one likes. It is clear though that all of this is just pretense. Her life isn't perfect nor does she perceive herself to actually be perfect. Keeping up that facade is also a lot of pressure.

On the other hand, Allergy is from the perspective of an "ugly girl" who is so very insecure in herself in large part due to all the "pretty girls" she sees on social media like Instagram and tiktok. She wants to be pretty and preppy like them but feels like that kind of look and lifestyle is impossible for her to achieve. Failing to be like the pretty girls on sns has led to a lot of self-loathing and insecurity in the girl in Allergy. Our girl in Allergy pretty expressly compares herself to pretty girls from Likey

>She's so pretty, yeah, so lovely
She got everything, why am I, not her?

It's actually very interesting to juxtapose their lyrics to each other because these two songs by and large talk about the same concerns. In many ways, these two songs are in conversation with each other, as I provide examples for below.

On their feelings about SNS
Likey:

>I keep wanting to show myself off, again and again
Every single little thing, want to share it all
Inside the small screen, I wanna be the prettiest

Allergy:

>Faceless feed, slacking followers
I'm a hater of Instagram, hater of TikTok
Locked gallery, ugly fit

On the effort it takes to be "pretty"

Likey:

>It takes so much effort to get the perfect look
But it is something I can never give up
-----
I hold my breath to pull up the zipper
Once more, suck in my waist
-----
BB cream, pat-pat-pat, put on some lipstick mam-ma-ma
Pose for the camera, aren't I pretty? (Pretty!)

Allergy:

>What’s wrong? Not even doing any exercises
Not even knowing how to put any makeup on
Yeah, even I think of myself as ugly

On wanting to be liked on sns

Likey:

>When you see this, smile at it and don't forget to press hard
On that cute red heart heart down there (Heart, heart)

Allergy:

>Why ain't I pretty? Why ain't I lovely?
Why ain't I sexy? Why am I me?
Love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, want
Love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, want

On wanting the attention of a specific love interest in SNS

Likey:

>Uh, today I'm just feeling down
I pretend I'm fine, but I feel blue
Because of you, no response at all, I'm sulking
And cluelessly, my friends call me out
Ooh, wait a minute, wait a minute
I finally got an answer, woo

Allergy:

>I also want to dance Hype Boy
But on the screen, I'd look like TOMBOY
Yeah, I'm sure that boy would laugh at me, oh-oh

Another interesting point about this comparison is that Likey (2017) and Allergy (2023) were actually released six years apart. That they hit almost the exact same points of concern is quite depressing especially when you consider how vastly different the landscapes of these songs were. The pandemic changed the world in fundamental ways and yet there are still concerns that remain the same - especially for young women. It will be interesting if we get (or maybe there is already) a fifth gen version of this song. It'll be interesting to see just how these kinds of feelings have evolved since.

Edit: Put the quotes back in. I didn't realize the post didn't have them sorry.