aespa intro + dynamics

[dramaturgist]

so i’ve gotten into aespa pretty recently and i was looking for a dreamwidth post breaking down their haptics/proxemics and i found… nothing. so i decided to take matters into my own hands. i have crazy 2pick tunnel vision but i’ve tried to be as objective as possible + i hope this is helpful in terms of getting more familiar with aespa’s dynamics and how they all interact with each other!

some quick introductions for each member before we get into the meat of it all

karina

(real name: yu jimin, born in 2000)

• my beloved 1pick…<3 leader center ace visual9000 and all this is me being completely unbiased
• the first thing that caught my eye about her is that she’s extremely confident without coming off as tryhard. right from her first video she barely even feels like a rookie. i think this self-assured aura usually leads people to assume she’s arrogant but it couldn't be farther from the truth lmao
• other members (i.e. winter) have even described her as "ahjussi-like" or said that she has a "mischievous" side to her - it's not something she displays on camera very often but it's clear that there's more to her than what she does choose to display :') 
• in reality she comes off as a very well-meaning leader - she has trouble saying no to the younger members though i’m not sure if that’s just a winter/ningning thing or a specifically karina thing
• she's also very very physically affectionate - i think aespa in general (by virtue of being close, and you know, Girls) are quite easy with skinship and her especially <3 
• she’s great at variety shows + born performer. like most female idols (or idols in general honestly) she’s very image-conscious and everything she says has a lot of thought put into it even if it isn’t immediately obvious
• personal thing but her favourite animal being snakes… constantly saying she resembles a snake… catering to me and me only. 
• she’s surprisingly very easy to fluster :’) the other members tease her a lot which is a dynamic that’s been established from the start and i think it’s so endearing
• she’s also a writer and has said she wants to learn how to produce music! 
• ending this section by saying that i love karina

giselle

(real name: uchinaga aeri, born in 2000)

• i mean this in the nicest way possible but every time i see her all i can think is “what are u doing here”
• her initial videos show that she was a bit awkward but she’s recently found her footing through their american interviews + promos though and it’s been great seeing her be more confident :’)
• she obviously struggles with maintaining the whole girl group idol persona that the others have down pat, but it’s also part of what makes her so endearing - she’s Just Some Girl
• i feel like her humour is so terminally online it’s hilarious <3 her relatability factor is insane i feel like we could literally be friends
• on that note i think she’s genuinely one of the funniest members after ningning 😭 she has a way of making everyone laugh and she does it in both korean & english which is truly a talent
• she’s quite laid-back (?) not sure if that’s fully the correct term for what i want to say but she’s very unbothered by a lot of things and generally calm… channelling “simple is best” like she always says
• her hypebeast vibes are unparalleled i love when girls are dudebros and she is the girl who is the dudebro of all time. when she pulls up to the next video in a reverse snapback >
• in summary while she was off to a rocky start she’s been settling into things pretty well and i’m excited to see her grow more in the future

winter

(real name: kim minjeong, born in 2001)

• beloved pet and my poor little woof woof mindoongie u are seriously everything
• she has a sharp tongue and the face of an angel so everything she says takes me like 10 seconds to fully understand. it’s both a blessing and a curse
• i think it’s cute how everyone described their first impressions of her as quiet/shy but were quick to say that she’s nothing like that… i think winter really is the kind of person who needs time to warm up to you and then she will stick like a leech
• re: her sharp tongue she’s extremely quick-witted which makes her great for variety shows but i think some people could also not like how blunt she is (i personally think it’s awesome keep it coming winter)
• she gets sulky SO EASILY aespa maknae line in general are sooo evil when it comes to using aegyo to get what they want like wow i pity karina sometimes. how can you say no to this
• her pet sociopath tendencies are perfect to me tbh i love when girls are insane and do anything to get their way… also her unabashedly leaning into the puppyfication <3
• her permanently aegyo voice is very endearing honestly but the flip to when shes not actively trying to be Girl Group Persona is so funny. i think to an extent she’s also pretty image-conscious in the sense that she wants to come off as cute
• she’s < introvert surrounded by extroverts >
• when i heard that she keeps cat treats in her purse to feed the cats at the hair salon they go to that was It for me i’m afraid
• also what is the point of her having short hair if sm keeps giving her those horrible extensions 😖 please let her be sexy please
• tl;dr she’s evil and fucked up but also so cute and lovely. To Me

ningning

(real name: ning yizhuo, born in 2002)

• the member who caught my eye the most during debut ❤️__❤️ insane visuals and an insane set of lungs she’s the whole package for real + my 2pick <3
• as the only remaining smrookies girl who decided to stay with the company she’s definitely a bit apart from the rest of the group and u can see it from how everyone said they thought she was older than them at first
• unparalleled maknae on top energy… she will get everything she wants and then some
• she reminds me of chenle in the sense that neither of them particularly care for their ‘idol image’? ningning will make weird facial expressions without caring about how they make her look
• she also has a habit of saying things unprovoked which usually catches people’s attention + she’ll immediately have on her innocent expression afterwards lmao
• (i’m telling u aespa maknae line have an unfair advantage. they are not above using coochie eyes to get out of anything and everything.)
• she’s sooo funny even without trying i think it really shone through in their huya lives. i think i’d call her their moodmaker? she really seems to play a huge role in the group’s energy and how they all come together
• similar to karina her confidence is off the charts… she carries herself effortlessly and it’s impossible for her to not catch your eye. she’s also a little bit obsessed with herself but honestly if i looked like that, i would be too
• another terminally online member btw
• i love ningning there’s nothing more to it really

ok now that that’s out of the way we can move on to the haptics and proxemics<3

the pairings

karina + giselle ❤🌙

• unnie line! they used to be roommates + they’re the same age so they have a pretty familiar/easy dynamic with each other
• karina said that she was closest to giselle in an interview once and it’s pretty easy to tell from how easily they tease each other
• they have a reputation for being scaredy cats since maknae line are always trying to get them to go on rollercoasters/watch scary movies but both karina & giselle prefer calmer activities
• they’re also very physically affectionate with each other which is typical of most of aespa but karina especially is so clingy sometimes :’)
• even though karina is still a few months older than giselle, it’s usually giselle who takes care of her which is cute because it’s the one pair where karina isn’t the one babying the other
• some examples of karina (literally) leaning on giselle. physical affection point too!
• also i love how they both come together to tease the fuck out of winter i think it’s hilarious both bc of how sulky winter gets + how smug karina and giselle look
• one of my favourite moments: i think it’s so funny how even giselle was surprised to hear that karina wasn’t actually calling her ‘baby’ like she was fully willing to roll with it
• they’re the brand of girl best friends who will stop at nothing to hype each other up and they compliment each other so easily (as opposed to maknae line…)

i used the word ‘easy’ so many times here but it’s honestly the best word to describe their dynamic. they’re just extremely good friends (both on and off-camera, from what i can tell) and it shows! they rely on each other a lot and it pays off :’)

karina + winter ❤⭐

• ough the sm-assigned cp… blatant fanservice is usually a hit or miss for me but in winrina’s case it’s definitely a hit. why are they Like That.
• (although, it wouldn't be entirely fair to dismiss their whole relationship as fanservice, seeing as they're the members that have known each other the longest and Are genuinely very close. but you get what i mean)
• they’ve had a push-and-pull dynamic from the start so you can see how close they are! tom and jerry vibes
• karina love love loves teasing winter (1, 2, 3, but there’s SO MUCH MORE) and it seriously pays off because winter plays into the kicked puppy role so much. she permanently looks like "you kick miette? you kick miette like the football? jail for karina. jail for karina for one thousand years"
• she’s always pouting/sulking as a result of karina & karina just looks insane with glee <3 as i’ve said before karina loves babying the others so it makes sense lmao
• re: winter leaning into puppyfication naturally karina uses it to tease her a lot but is it really teasing if it’s true…?
• don’t worry though winter is equally capable of getting back @ karina and she does so by calling her babe like it’s second nature
• i called winter a pet sociopath before and i still think it holds the truest when it comes to karina - but also i’m just a huge fan of #maknae_right. (and also just. these pictures???)
• can’t find a source rn but karina called winter her halli galli rival so there’s some more competition-bickering-adjacent haptics & proxemics for you
• they’re almost always in their own little world, they’re so silly with each other in a way that they aren’t with the other members

ningning calling them a married couple honestly sums up their entire dynamic perfectly. they go from being at each other’s throats one second to kissing & making up the next. most of this list is just karina doing things to get a reaction out of winter and winter giving her the most reaction ever<3 they seriously have insane chemistry together

karina + ningning ❤🦋

• MY 2PICK… i’ll try to be normal about them i will but i seriously can’t…
• karina is < guy who loves babying others > and ningning is < guy who loves being babied > so they’re just the perfect match for each other
• i talked about this before but ningning is the most Maknae to ever Maknae and karina is terrible at saying no to people. all it takes is one well-timed 🥺 and karina will fall at her feet
• karina said that when she first met ningning she thought ning was an unnie so she used honorifics for her for a whole month before ningning corrected her and that’s honestly their entire dynamic summed up
• they’re also very physically affectionate with each other re: babying/baby point… ningning’s head and karina’s shoulder are matching magnets
• whoever made this compilation of karina smiling at ningning before all her high notes deserves a fucking award it’s just sooo cute >__< she really is karina’s baby
• i’ve repeated myself so much already but karina really cannot go one second without calling ningning ‘cute’ or ‘baby’ it makes me want to smash my head into a brick wall. dynamics were the older one is whipped for the younger one
• from a < tinhat perspective > it’s easy to dismiss their relationship as just babyzoning but have u considered karina repressed lesbianisms & ningning being Like That at all given points of time?
• ending this with ningning’s favourite seat as karina’s lap

sorry for saying the word baby like ten million times in this but it’s really the only way to describe them. INCESSANT babying. and as resident guy who loves to see their faves get babied it’s just a win for me all around…<3 i love ningrina

giselle + winter 🌙⭐

• self-proclaimed dumb and dumber duo!!! never a dull moment with these two around
• i think this is characteristic of all winter pairings but they’re just so silly with each other <3 winter has a knack for saying random things and giselle matches that energy when she's with her
• this moment from one of their first videos does a good job of setting the tone for their entire dynamic - they will never take anything seriously
• they go shopping together pretty frequently and winter also described giselle as the member who matches her tastes the most
• remember what i said about kariselle teaming up to tease winter? winselle also team up to tease karina. call it reparations
• giselle calls winter her baby chick isn’t that the cutest nickname you’ve ever heard
• she also fulfils her god-given right as part of unnie line to tease winter as much as she can
• they only have a 2 month age difference so they’re pretty close/familiar with each other even though winter plays up the < maknae angle > so much it’s hilarious

in summary they’re just each other’s partners in crime <3 giselle enables winter in a way that karina doesn’t and it’s so fun to see them just be Absolute Idiots together. they have the dudebro/prep dynamic for the ages btw

giselle + ningning 🌙🦋

• they have the trauma bond built from third-wheeling winrina together <3
• i’m kidding!! they’re soo sweet with each other giselle is obvs not immune to ningning’s < babyisms > and spends so much time fawning over her
• ningning also returns the favour, this moment lives in my brain because of how understatedly soft it is :’) you can tell giselle is really touched too
• once again they have the best of unnie x dongsaeng haptics and proxemics, but it’s different from ningrina because giselle doesn’t *baby* people the way karina does - so it’s even sweeter to see her take care of ningning because she doesn’t usually do that 😭
• one of their cutest moments for real… the way ningning looks Genuinely Disturbed is the cherry on top for me
• giselle is usually the first to laugh whenever ningning does anything funny :)<3
• i think there was a bit of a disconnect between them at the start because giselle was the newest member & ningning was the oldest and they didn’t really get a chance to bond outside of practice, but it's very clear that ningning really admires giselle ^-^
• they have been getting a lot closer recently though and i’m glad for all the cute interactions we get to see on camera. like this whole compilation of giselle just going heart eyes @ ningning

big fan of when pairings are formed out of < unexpected circumstance > in this case the unexpected circumstance being winrina having magnets in their heads. ningselle are cute enough to give the resident cp a run for their money too!!! 

winter + ningning ⭐🦋

• MAKNAE LINE!!!! a.k.a. my absolute favourite line in any group
• winter and ningning together is like.. fucking evil because they’re both so good at getting what they want from looking innocent. but this also means that they’re completely immune to each other
• case in point: them being absolutely unable to take each other seriously (laughing during photoshoots, ningning failing to compliment winter, winter failing to compliment ningning)
• they’re EXTREMELY HYPERACTIVE. the difference between how unnie line act vs them screaming and crying 😭
• their entire interactions during huya lives are hilarious honestly because both winter and ningning are super competitive except they keep laughing & getting distracted
• they always match each other’s energy no matter what, if ningning wants to be extra about something then best believe that winter will make it a point to be twice as dramatic
• THIS WHOLE THING???? these two are TRULY INSANE
• winter saying that ningning is the most spontaneous is so cute + sums up their dynamic pretty well because they just do all the things that they can’t do with the unnies
• examples: riding rollercoasters, watching horror movies, going on swan-boats? apparently? are you guys gay?
• i know i called winrina tom & jerry but winter & ningning are more fitting for it tbh… it’s because unlike karina, ningning refuses to fall for winter’s pouting tricks simply because she uses the same ones

i genuinely think they’re the perfect match for each other, they balance each other out so well and you can tell how close they are from the way they pretend to be all grossed out at the slightest hint of Real Emotion <3 ningning enables winter’s more extroverted sides and it’s beautiful

conclusion?

i can’t believe this post got to almost 4k words but also i can… all of aespa somehow have super different & intriguing dynamics with each other and it’s so refreshing to see. none of them are truly awkward in the way that rookies (especially girl groups) usually are with each other and i’m assuming it’s mostly because of how few they are + how close they are in age. a big part of what makes them so successful is how much chemistry they have with each other both on and off-stage and this is only the first year in their career! i genuinely can’t wait to see how all their dynamics grow and develop with the coming years because i know it’s going to be promising.