i'm so awful i took forever to respond to this ask... but i've lowkey been procrastinating because i just have so much to say about the both of them!!!!

i think that for me, i see myself being fans of both of them for a long time. they're kinda the same person, but in different fonts and i think their core personalities are what keeps me a longtime supporter. i used to be an nctzen in 2018, and then eventually it died off into me being only interested in jaehyun and his journey as an artist, but i've biased him for around 8 years now. i got into anton and riize in the beginning of 2024, and it's the same with anton especially. i don't know why i'm nervous that i'll come off as pretentious when i say this, but i just hold a very deep respect for them as people. for such a difficult industry, they seem to have managed their autonomy and their sense of self very well! what i mean by this is like i love when anton/jaehyun both don't allow themselves to feel pressure to do fanservice like ofc they do give us the aegyo burger every now and then but i love when i see jaehyun question a fan or say no when they ask weird things (which is how it should be but i think that there's something defiant about it almost... to refute that and go against the grain and almost cleanse ur fandom in a way??? like, in a way, it makes me think jaehyun/anton both don't crave having a large number of parasocial fans, but just some really good-quality ones.) don't know if that makes sense to anyone, but that's just something subtle that i like and see in them.

outside of them as kpop idols and artists, there is something refined about the both of them and the way they allow themselves to exist in a space of their own. like as much as they share with the fans, they also draw this boundary and it's obvious that they keep some things for themselves which i really respect/admire! at the end of the day, i love the way they see the world and would love to chat with both of them about their perspectives on life as a whole LOL!

when it comes to the both of them, i love that they're both so passionate about music in their own ways. it feels distinct from other idols who may just be doing this for the fame/money, but their connection with music feels so personal. anton grew up around his father and would put his ear down to the floor to catch a glimpse of his father producing away and jaehyun, similarly, growing up surrounded by his father’s guiding love for R&B, a grandmother who was a dancer, and a mother who taught him piano at a young age, there was no escaping quality music for the both of them! it feels like a natural born thing to them, but i also love that they feel interdisciplinary. they're always learning new styles and constantly sharing fresh sides of them i would've never known! i love that jaehyun drew his foot once to try out something and that anton watches predictive history and is always yearning to learn about the world! something random i also love is how kind they are with kids and how natural kids cling to them, i think that kids really are a good indicator of kindness/genuineness and it says a lot to me that they're both so naturally caring. i speak a lot about anton because as for anton, i just really deeply admire the way he sees the world. the way he translates his thoughts into such poetic words has also been a catalyst for how much i wanted to become a better writer. he really inspires me everyday to become a kinder person, and the same goes for jaehyun but he's become more of a longterm muse that i appreciate over time.