The parts my editor cut

okay

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.

Well, the entire point of Free is that it's a fake-out, right? In addition to positioning the film as going for a standard romantic resolution that will not actually happen, if you take a look at the lines there's a lot in there (as you noticed) that is wrong or just not how things work out. At the time of the song, both Rumi and Jinu are still caught up in the attitudes that have trapped them - Rumi's still trying to fix herself and Jinu is still trying to escape his past/shame. They aren't actually addressing their root issues and so their plan and their partnership fall apart.

I think that Golden, Takedown, and Free are all basically setting up points to be refuted by What it Sounds Like. Golden is a facade by all three of the girls - even as they sing about their past struggles they're not actually mentioning their true issues and Rumi in particular is lying her heart out. Takedown is an attempt to deal with demons (shame) by applying (self) hatred and violence to the problem. Free is an attempt to deal with deal with demons (shame) by locking it behind a Golden Honmoon (the past) and running away, basically. And all of these songs are earnest attempts but none of them work, because all of them are, in various ways, wrong. It's only by accepting their own patterns/flaws and coming together to support each other anyway that HUNTR/X were able to seal the Honmoon and defeat Gwi-Ma/shame.

@arinrowan visited recently from Seattle and brought me two packs of really tasty shelf-stable salmon.

Astraea has been a massive fan of this every time I've had it in the past and this cat - who doesn't meow much and is generally pretty quiet - will SCREAM.

Anyway, I had some on toast with cream cheese* for my breakfast and I was getting situated and no sooner had I sat down than I look over and see Astraea having absconded with a big chunk of it.

*We are out of bagels