Leo Taura | J.JK ✓

note from authAURA~

hi.

i don't want to be long in my reflections, especially with a lot of you (and myself) deeply mourning a beloved character. so i will be brief, highlighting a few important themes/characters in LeoTaura for deeper explanations.

~

Gymnastics

As many of you know, I used to be a gymnast. I know the struggle, the toil, the horrors that sometimes randomly happen in the gym. I've wanted for so long to try and express gymnastics in a story, but have been hesitant to do so. My version of gymnastics is a lot different from how other people might describe it, depending on what kind of gymnastics they were involved in, who their coaches were, how they trained, etc.

But I decided, what the hell. You've wanted to write about this for so long, go and do it already. So I did, and my inspiration consisted of a mental image of Jungkook in a leotard. Then came his competitors, the events, his coach...and eventually the planning process kicked off for making this about the 2012 London Olympics.

I hope by reading this story, you've found a new appreciation for gymnastics, the training process, or maybe even flipping in general. My love for the sport perhaps didn't translate perfectly onto the page (I admit, I created several negative/intense circumstances instead of focusing on the good parts) but I had to create a high-pressure, competitive atmosphere. I hope it paid off.

~

Auras

Right, auras.

Those colorful thingys that hang around people in a cloud. Auric reading is actually a fascinating topic that I'd love to delve into here, but since it's one of those borderline preternatural subjects where people insist if they cannot see them, they are not there (ghosts, aliens, energy fields, etc.) it's almost impossible for me to expand upon the topic without knowing the spiritual beliefs/knowledge of my crowd. I don't want to be a preacher. So anyway, auras!

(Note: The 'color names' that I included at the beginning of titles along with their respective descriptions were creatively made and do not reflect real auric states or color names. However, I did try to match up the gist of them--for example, black/gray typically imply negative energy instead of, say, bright yellow/pink).

~

Rock Music

Ah, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana...

The classic American rock artists. I made Jungkook appreciate Rock n Roll in this story for two reasons: 1) Rock music is wild, carefree, and it defines the freedom Jungkook wished to have. 2) I like classic rock, plus, in any performance environment, rock heightens competition/pressure. I thought it fit the old Phoenix, Arizona vibes too. Hot!

~

Jungkook's Eating Disorder/Coach Kan's Pressure to be Perfect

I went over this in a previous chapter, but I can expand a little here, too.

Notice that at the end of the story, even with Leo's love, Jungkook did not recover nor get rid of his bad eating habits. Even in the Olympics he reveals he is desperately hungry...and he once said he hated the banquets...and he doesn't like refrigerators. All of these objects/events are triggers that bring food to mind, and make Jungkook worried that he might gain weight to ruin his immaculate physique. Leo's love can't change that, although it does make Jungkook question his actions. There was hope for Jungkook to overcome his problem with Leo's "ribs" tactic, but it only comforted the Korean instead of addressing the body-image issue.