A post about how GD likes TOP’s body

Whenever GD describes TOP, it’s in glowing terms. Something like how Seunghyun would be a black jaguar if he were an animal and has such beautiful eyes and is the most handsome actor of all.

Jiyong has never made a secret of his admiration for his hyung: on the contrary, in the early days while sitting on TOP’s bedside he urged the viewers to “pay attention to our eldest hyung who’s sitting in such a sexy pose… look at him biting his lip…” and when he finally drew back the blanket to reveal his hyung’s legs, again with barely contained giggles: “Sexy!”

Even before debut he left messages on TOP’s cyworld like “this touching is too much for me to handle… hoohoo” and “you know that my heart is fluttering, right?”

Yes, it’s pretty clear Jiyong appreciates TOP(’s body), sometimes a little more obvious than other times.

Unfortunately for him though, his hyung’s body remained off-limits for a long time. Which is why he asked him to please let them (read: him) show his body, because: 

“I’ve heard various rumours that you’re building up your body. As someone who is a member of the same group and lives with you, I have yet to see this body… How’s your body coming along? How’s the process going? Please show us.” (x)

Two and a half year later that dream finally came true, which apparently left a deep impression. Actual quote (not fan fic) from Kwon Jiyong:

“Since the beds were so close to each other, I saw Seunghyun hyung’s bed when I turned over. A drunk Seunghyun hyung was sitting on his bed. I couldn’t see his lower body but he was topless! (Since I was laying down) my line of vision was slanted, but I can’t forget that time. During our promo period, TOP-ssi’s hair was white and he wasn’t wearing anything on top so he looked like the Statue of David from where I was located! I don’t know what happened to him (probably because he was drunk), but he had a painful expression on his face. When I think back, I can’t help but exclaim “Wow, fantastic body!” (x)

Of course, he didn’t forget to add that, “I don’t think it’s such a big deal to look at another man in my situation.” In case we might get ideas.

Now TOP’s body was no longer foreign territory there was nothing holding Jiyong (and Seunghyun) back. What better way to show this development than touch your band mate’s abs? Indeed. 

I imagine that Jiyong probably does it thoroughly, like his habit seems to be. 

Of course, he also dutifully informs us that his hyung’s muscles are“very strong.”

But sometimes TOP is not there. In which case GD uses his cardboard version instead. Yes, apparently that is a thing that happened. Jiyong being “in his own little world,” hugging TOP’s cardboard cutout and stroking his face and chest. 

Right.

Time for another actual quote (not fan fic) from Kwon Jiyong:

“When I see T.O.P’s body I think it is erotic. Usually T.O.P is never naked. He even has his own dress room that is how much he does not expose himself. That is why whenever T.O.P does expose his body it surprises everyone. When we were at foreign countries, T.O.P’s naked body felt erotic even though we are both men.”

Again the ‘even though we are both men’ quote. We get it, Jiyong. This is what friends do. Perfectly platonic and all that.

Now, it’s become a little obvious that GD likes to look at TOP’s body and likes to touch TOP’s body. It logically follows that the opposite is also true, i.e. GD likes it when TOP touches him. Which indeed appears to be true.

In fact, whenever TOP touches him, Jiyong starts smiling. Immediately. And very giddily. Like here. And here. And here. And pretty much always.

Of course it’s best when TOP actually lies on top of him. Hide your smile Jiyong, or we might think you’re actually really enjoying this.

To summarise:

• GD thinks TOP is extremely handsome and sexy;
• has a David-esque body;
• likes to touch his abs by request;
• also likes to look at him when TOP lies half-naked in bed (or any other given time);
• likes it when TOP touches him;
• draw your own conclusions.

Big Bang as Pokémon

G-dragon:

Mawile.

It looks cute when seen from the front, but it has a (hidden) scary side. Its type is steel, reflecting G-dragon’s willpower and determination that are second to none. It’s also described as a smart Pokémon and its nickname is ‘the deceiver’. I don’t want to describe Jiyong like that, but he is very adept at playing the audience and presenting a certain side from him when he wants to.

TOP:

Politoed.

I feel like water is a type that suits TOP well, because it’s fluid and a bit ambiguous: on the one hand it can be frivolous and playful, but on the other also very deep and calm. 

Ideally this would have been a more beautiful Pokémon, but at least it looks playful and a bit mischievous. It it also described as having ‘impressive vocal abilities’ which matches well I think with TOP’s deep voice ;-)

Taeyang:

Pignite.

Fire & fighting type, to illustrate his passion and his willpower and hard work. But Pignite also looks cute, just like Taeyang.

Daesung:

Abra.

I’ve chosen a Psychic type because they are very emphatic which Daesung is too. He’s a good listener and gives good advice  but does not like to draw attention to himself. Abra is a timid Pokémon that does not like fights and usually flees from it rather than face it head on.

Of course Abra is also cute, just like Daesung. And it is resilient: because it may be timid, but this does not mean that it is weak. I think Daesung has a very strong core too.

Also, Psychic Pokémon can do tricks, just like Daesung’s jokes on variety shows. Suddenly he’s the center of attention then.

Seungri:

Purrloin.

A dark type fits Seungri because they are usually very smart and cunning, not to mention charming. They use their skills in order to get what they want. Seungri is very ambitious and his social skills and confidence have definitely helped to get him where he is.

Also a cat-inspired Pokémon is perfect of course, because cats are cute and perfect ;-)

Let’s look at the kiss between Seunghyun and Jiyong:

(gif taken from here)

What strikes me is that it seems so natural. It doesn’t just strike me now, it also did when I first watched Secret Garden and I didn’t ship gtop yet (and was hardly aware people did.) This in stark contrast to the topri kiss which is very awkward, like the both of them don’t quite know how to handle the very novel situation.

But with Jiyong and Seunghyun it’s like they have done it a hundred times already, even though they likely haven’t — the way Jiyong’s eyes flutter close and then open again, the way Seunghyun angels his head just so and his mouth opens before closing over Jiyong’s…

Even if you’re a great actor, you cannot fake chemistry; and in this case, only one them is an actor. The fact that all their scenes together seem so believable is because of their natural chemistry and the fact that the both of them aren’t averse to doing these kind of things with each other (even though it really might be awkward because they are, after all, friends.)

And despite pulling away a second or two later, because obviously he didn’t see this kiss coming, Jiyong seems pliant enough. Chemistry and body language combined, it results in a kiss that is very hypnotising to watch indeed.

In other words: let them star in another parody, thank you very much.

In continuation of this post, some thoughts about gd and top often being portrayed as respectively feminine or masculine:

I think that to an extent it’s understandable to think of Jiyong as feminine because except for his shoulders he is quite slender and he has certain graceful mannerisms. So it is in part ‘natural’, but I think he also plays with the idea a bit because he’s an artist: he likes to show different sides of him and he knows people are watching. Sometimes he might emphasise that ‘feminine’ side on purpose. But: despite that he’s always very clearly a man, sometimes even being the most masculine out of all the members, like when he’s on stage for example. It’s pretty intriguing the way Jiyong has various seemingly contradictory sides to him yet with him they all come together seamlessly.

Also, I think it says something about Jiyong that he’s okay with showing that femme side of him and playing it up: he’s quite certain of and comfortable with himself.

More so than TOP, I think. Obviously he has this (macho) stage persona that is completely different from himself, and he’s also mentioned that it takes a lot of energy to keep that up. I remember that during the Tonight promotions he wasn’t comfortable about wearing a skirt so he wore a half-skirt, while for Jiyong it obviously became his new favourite piece of clothing. Yet I also remember a quote from TOP where he said that he has a very ‘female’ way of thinking / mind, which could be surprising to many.

Taken together, it sort of seems that in certain ways TOP is actually more feminine than Jiyong but covers it up, while Jiyong is comfortable flaunting / emphasising it.

It’s interesting to think about how most gtop moments initiated by Jiyong come in speech, like him commenting on TOP’s body or saying he almost fell for him…

…but with Seunghyun it’s almost always through actions like hugging him on stage or kissing him on the mouth when they’d agreed on just a peck and, well, pretty much everything else from the Secret Garden bts. 

Anonymous asked: I'm not bashing but do you think the same logic could be applied to other ships like Daragon (just as an example) when you say "they don't interact or have many moments therefore they are real"? Perhaps they have moments that are noteworthy but sometimes I feel like things get over-glorified. And I'm a GTOP shipper! Another question: Do you think people's perception of a ship can be altered by fic? By not distinguishing fic from reality sometimes. I can't explain it well.

I don’t think you can use the “they don’t interact or have many moments therefore they are real” logic always and with all ships. I mean, you can of course but it won’t add up in my eyes.

When I say that about gtop, I mean it specifically with regards to gtop, and the way their relationship is. It’s obvious that they are really close and also that there’s attraction between them (or it’s obvious to me in any case, you could argue with that of course.) Yet somehow they often give the impression that they aren’t very close, simply by avoiding each other when on camera (with some noteworthy exceptions). I’ve seen (casual?) Big Bang fans say that Jiyong and Seunghyun aren’t that close — while some ‘digging’ will show you the opposite, of course.

Well, I’ve already explained here what I think about that discrepancy between reality and semblance. 

So in that regard I don’t think you can compare Daragon with Gtop. Dara and Jiyong don’t have the same history and closeness as Jiyong and Seunghyun have. They seem friendly enough, but it’s difficult to gauge in the first place seeing as they don’t interact a lot on camera because they are in different groups, not because they put in an effort to avoid each other. So with GD and TOP it’s easier to notice, both their closeness and the avoidance part.

If two Big Bang members other than Jiyong and Seunghyun were to suddenly stop interacting on camera, whilst obviously still being very close in private, then of course you could apply that same logic as with gtop. It’d make me curious about the reason too — though I wouldn’t start shipping them because I don’t see any attraction or romantic feelings between the members except for gtop (and those things are kind of a prerequisite for something to happen for real.)

So you see, it’s not really a ready-made theory that you can take away from gtop and then put over another ship. Perhaps it seems a bit simplified when I write things, but I see it as a whole: their obvious closeness, their avoidance of each other in public, their attraction towards each other. It all interplays with each other. Other pairings might have one or two of those points, but not all three of them and therefore the logic — to me — doesn’t really apply.

As for the ‘over-glorifying’ thing — well, what can I say. It’s the internet. It’s Tumblr. People tend to overreact here, haha. It’s fun to zoom in on ever little detail of your ship, of course, and to relive old moments when there aren’t any recent ones. I think you usually need to take things with a grain of salt (though admittedly when talking solely about myself, what I write is usually what I feel ;-) I even think my fangirling is a little understated compared to how I sometimes feel, haha.)

Also: I think that there are some gtop moments that are so obvious and so non-platonic that I wonder how people can deny there is anything between them. Naturally I’m biased, but I do think that gtop has shipping moments that none of the other ships have. So in those cases ‘overglorifying’ surely is not applicable ;-)

And yes, I definitely think fic can alter your perception of ‘reality.’ And I write reality like that because let’s face it, Big Bang’s reality is still all (or mostly) fantasy for us, we don’t know any of them personally — so for a large part when we think about them, both the members themselves and their interactions with each other, it’s all fantasy and it’s all subjective because everyone might interpret things differently. (You have a different take on gtop than I do, for example.) Fic is just taking that a notch or ten farther. 

Anonymous asked: 1).what do you think, why Jiyong more often mention that Taeyang is his bestfriend, but not with seunghyun, while we know that Jiyong and seunghyun are bestfriend longer before with Taeyang? 2). why Jiyong and seunghyun now rarely do skinship or other physical contact, but they often do so much before ( after debut ), in contrast to what they do on Seungri or Daesung, whether because they more mature?

1)

It’s true that Jiyong knew Seunghyun before any of the other members, something that’s perhaps often forgotten because neither of them really ever mention it (unfortunately! I wish we knew more about their friendship back then). But: after that there was a time where Jiyong and Seunghyun lost contact and Jiyong was a trainee together with Taeyang. Something like that creates a bond, of course: you go through hardships together, you train together for the same goal. It’s something just the two of you share, and can’t really explain to other people because they haven’t partaken in it. So by the time Big Bang was formed, Jiyong and Youngbae had this close bond and it’s only natural for Jiyong to regard him as his best friend. Compared to Seungri and Daesung he knew Seunghyun much better, but by now not as good as Youngbae, whom he’d trained alongside for several years. 

I think that as the years went by, that initial experience of training sort of waned, because now the five of them experienced Big Bang together (the hardships and the good times) and that creates a bond between all five of them, and though it doesn’t replace Taeyang’s and Jiyong’s trainee experience, it does make it less important I think. Most of Jiyong’s ‘best friend quotes’ about Taeyang seem to be from the start of Big Bang, also for this reason I think. After that Taeyang remained Jiyong’s best friend, because it’s kind of like a label: once someone is your best friend, a lot has to happen for that to change. Even if you start hanging out more with someone else, they still won’t be your best friend, because that title is already taken. That’s something I also say from personal experience. So even when Youngbae and Jiyong seemed to hang out less for awhile, they were still Best Friends because they had that label, both with themselves and in the fandom. These days they seem to hang out a lot more again, so it’s back on track in that respect, haha. 

I suppose that with friendships each one has a different dynamic and ‘title’, if you’d like. There’s the Best Friend, Taeyang in this case. Seungri is like the little brother Jiyong never had but apparently always wanted. Daesung is that type of friend you can tell anything and be completely yourself with. Seunghyun is friendship and then some. So it’s not like he likes Youngbae more than Seunghyun (I should hope) but it’s just different types of friendships and different ways of labelling them.

2)

I’ve already talked here a bit about Jiyong and Seunghyun barely interacting on camera and what it says about their friendship (and that also explains why they do closely interact with Seungri and Daesung). But as to why that has changed…

They matured?* I definitely see 2009/2010 as a breaking point, not just for gtop but also for Big Bang. I think an important reason for that is GD’s Heartbreaker and all the scandals that went with it: it’s not a secret that that changed Jiyong and made him more cautious and ‘cold’, at least in public. Obviously that would also affect his way of interacting with Seunghyun. Of course my theory is that the two always have had some kind of feelings for each other, so perhaps they became more aware of those feelings (they grew?) and also how it might appear to other people; they became more cautious. Why this happened now, I’m really not sure. A combination of ‘growing up’ (they might have been more naive before that, thinking less of the impression their behaviour left) and GD’s personality change.

I highly doubt they discussed this, that they sat down with a beer and said, ‘let’s ignore each other in public from now on, shall we?’ I suppose it’s just something that went gradually, as a result from external actions and personal developments and changing feelings.

We can only guess, of course!

*also, when I say ‘maturing’ that doesn’t take away from the fact that GD and TOP really are the two kids in Big Bang and still are, let’s face it.

gotta-be-with-u asked: Hi! I'm Mia, i'm so curious(1) why Jiyong rarely call Seunghyun hyung in front of camera, Jiyong always call Top-shii,sometimes heard him call hyung but I think it was just a mere blurted out, whether this capacity as a leader? but Seunghyun never angry, remember moment at Night after night when Seunghyun talked about Seungri not calling him hyung?(2) Why Jiyong pick Seungri ( GRI ) and Seunghyun pick Daesung ( TODAE ) This is their way to cover up their relationship? or just a fanservice?

1)

That’s an interesting question. Though as far as I know, Jiyong does call Seunghyun hyung sometimes, also in front of the camera. Well, he has multiple ways of  referring to him (‘TOP-shi’, ‘TOP-hyung’, ‘hyung’ ‘Seunghyunnie-hyung’) and I’m not sure why he sometimes uses one and then another — though the last one seems used only when he’s feeling extra affectionate. (It makes you wonder what he calls him when it’s just the  two of them. Probably just ‘hyung’, though maybe also ‘Seunghyun’).

Still, what your question implies (that there is more equality between them than, say, between TOP and Seungri) is one of the most interesting things about GD and TOP to me, and also I think what for a great deal influences their dynamic. Because the situation is like this: Seunghyun is older. But GD is the leader. I think those two factors sort of cancel out the inequality there would otherwise be. Of course Jiyong still refers to Seunghyun as ‘hyung’, because Seunghyun is older and it’s customary in Korea to call someone older than you that. But they’re on the same level, so to speak, and I’m not sure if Seunghyun really considers himself to be Jiyong’s hyung — the more so because they go way back and have a lot of respect for each other, both professionally and personally (as often shows in the way they talk about each other.) So that is also why TOP won’t be mad if Jiyong leaves out the ‘hyung’ part and calls him ‘Top-shi’ whereas with Seungri, as shown, he isn’t really okay with that. 

It’s hard to really put my finger on it, but I feel like sometimes their situation (GD being the leader, but Seunghyun being older) creates a certain tension, apart from any tension that might already exist between the two of them. Like they’re not really sure how they should behave around each other, what the rules are. Perhaps that’s also the source of some of the awkwardness between them, apart from the obvious attraction that’s going on. Ah, and that is also why GD and TOP’s dynamic is so interesting to me: it’s subtle and so many-layered. :-)

2)

Are you referring to the times they were asked which member they’d date etc.? Yes, that’s fan service, definitely. Or them just joking around. Because yeah, though the answer is often gri and todae, I’m pretty sure every Big Bang member has chosen every Big Bang member at least once (including themselves.) You can’t really take questions like that seriously, and therefore you can’t expect them to answer it seriously either.

But speaking about gri and todae: I think the obvious thing here is that Jiyong and Seunghyun are really comfortable showing affection with respectively Seungri and Daesung. Especially with gri there is some blatant fan service sometimes, the two of them playing it up because they know their fans want to see it, but obviously their love for each other is genuine. The fact that they’re comfortable doing all that says a lot though, I think, especially when you take a look at gd and top and the way they often tend to near-avoid each other in public. Well, I already wrote here about what that implies about their relationship, so I won’t go repeating myself, but I think it should be obvious what I mean. Jiyong/Seungri and Seunghyun/Daesung are totally secure in their friendship and are comfortable showing open affection or even doing fan service, while with Jiyong and Seunghyun there isn’t that security because by the looks of it there’s more than just friendly feelings and openly showing affection might be awkward or indeed seen by them as ‘giving away too much’.

I don’t think they would go so far as using another Big Bang member to cover up their relationship (if they were in one) but I do think that it really showcases the difference in dynamics within the group. :)

‘Jiyong and Seunghyun rarely interacting’ and what it says about their friendship

I think it’s a misunderstanding to say that Jiyong and Seunghyun rarely interact — true, there are long periods where TOP has gone completely off the radar and Jiyong seemingly spends all his time with Taeyang or other people at YG, but what about them spending Christmas Eve at a club together, or having (50 plates!) of sushi right after they landed in Japan?

In both instances, we know it happened because a fan witnessed it, not because Jiyong tweeted about it like he does about seemingly everything these days. But because the both of them seem so keen on keeping their friendship private, usually there won’t be a fan in the neighbourhood, so I imagine we only know of very few of the times that gd and top have hung out. And there’s not a doubt in my mind that they do often hang out — they said themselves that they sometimes drink wine together and talk, and they have similar friends + interests (music fashion alcohol?) so yeah they’re close friends and that’s that. :)

But it’s exactly that whole ‘keeping their friendship private’ thing that makes gtop plausible to me as a ship. With some notable exceptions, they often act like they hardly know each other on camera; and can you remember the times they have talked about each other in public? Yes, I can: on one hand. (Compare that to all the times they’ve talked about Seungri, or GD about Taeyang, sparing no affections for him.) 

But then you read fan accounts or watch fancams and they are so comfortable around each, they are all up in each other’s space, they are “CLOSE CLOSE CLOSE” to quote one of my favourite fan accounts. Why is there such discrepancy between how their friendship appears in public and in real life? It tells you that 1) they’re very protective of their friendship, meaning they treasure it, 2) their friendship or relationship is something private, unlike gdyb’s friendship which is all over Twitter and Instagram.

To me, it’s something integral to their dynamic. It makes it more genuine for me, too (not to say the other Big Bang friendships aren’t, they just have a different dynamic.) It also sort of confirms to me that there is more than friendship — which you might suspect after you watch some of their interaction, just go through the gtop tag — because why be private when there’s nothing to hide? Why act like you don’t know each other when clearly you’re so close? 

This is a long answer (of course) but to summarise: the way gd and top interact personally only adds to the appeal of their friendship / dynamic and the plausibility of the ship. :)

Some thoughts on Blue and Green

Often the emphasis is put on how these two are opposites (and for good reasons!) but in important ways I actually think they are also very much alike.

When you compare them to Red, the other member of the original trio, you see he’s this classic hero type with a strong moral sense. Blue and Green, in contrast, are what you might call ‘flawed hero’s’.

With Blue especially this is very clear of course, seeing how she essentially played a shady double role in the RGB arc, but the same thing applies to Green: before heading to Saffron for the final showdown he makes clear that he “doesn’t care” that Team Rocket experiments on Pokémon, he just want his grandfather rescued. 

Both share a selfish streak and a ‘the end justifies the means’ mentality. Both also certainly share a strong feeling of self-importance, at times even arrogance, though with the both of them it shows in different ways. Blue boasts with all she has of course — leading Green to call her pesky, etc. — but when you look at the way Green carries himself, he’s got ‘I’m better than you until you’ve proven yourself worthy’ pretty much written all over him.

They both can also be pretty cynical at times (Blue by ‘virtue’ of her past and Green by nature) which is why they can actually be seen sharing the same opinion sometimes, like when Mewtwo tags along with Red in the FRLG arc and they’re both like ‘what’s that guy doing here, can he be trusted all of a sudden?’. 

In addition they’re extremely self-reliant, becoming stronger for themselves rather than others(the way Green chose to train with Chuck on his own accord, the way Blue stole Squirtle because she also wanted to be a Trainer and how she overcame her bird phobia.) Yet despite that they attach very big importance to family: note, for example, how Team Rocket successfully baited them with their parents / grandfather in the FRLG arc. It seems that they might not trust / give their love to many people, but once someone is included in that small circle they will do pretty much anything for them.

I suppose I can end this on a superficial note and say they also share very fortunate genes, hah (well, it’s true that canonically they’re both called good-looking several times, so that’s something ;-) but anyway, the real point of this is to say that, yes: Blue and Green are opposites and opposites attract etc… but it’s also in the ways that they are alike that creates a certain bond and which, in the end, makes them so compatible I think :)