#└ — backstreet is back ( promo. )

[extensusmusae]

-- so when i'm all choked up and i can't find the words, every time we say goodbye [ . . . ] // when the sun goes down and the band won't play, i'll always remember us this way . . .

@extensusmusae & @biohazardloyal                            ft. RE's jill valentine ft. RE's albert wesker                                         by salem & by deku

[witchhaunts]

Tag drop ft. general

i. ( ooc ) : backstreet's back alright

i. ( psa ) : memory is another name for ghosts &. their awful hunger

i. ( crack ) : fey's guide to troubled bird

i. ( meme ) : death : brilliant ; clever ; cruel

i. ( open ) : something tender anyway ; but tender like a bruise

i. ( ask ) : things the birds tell me

i. ( wish ) : burning like a sun in your mortal heart

i. ( edit ) : what happens to anything beautiful

i. ( give ) : death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit

i. ( promo ) : if the moon smiled she would resemble you

i. ( interaction call ) : forgive a girl for being lonely

i. ( saved ) : hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul

i. ( sp ) : we create ghosts ; we haunt ourselves

i. ( q ) : &. i am out with the lanterns looking for myself

i. ( dash comm ) : it is night inside you so crawl towards the light

[sleuth-mila-young]

🔍 PROMO 🔎

A black screen awaited any viewer who dared to tune in. Judgement here was long gone, it being passed onto the unrighteous. A sizzling, static noise struck the shadow-filled display, absent of any empathetic touch.

...!

"OW!"

A shriek of pain interrupted the solitude.

To follow the yelp, a long, quiet rustle was audible on the other end. Though whatever waited on the other end wasn't visible, the panicked, hurried sounds spoke for them all the same. Rustling and rummaging hissed through the blackened screen. The mental picture could easily be put into your mind.

...After a minute or two of agonizing and awkward waiting, the camera finally took focus, colors flooding the screen. What stood in plain view was a short gentleman with tanned, bronzed skin and short, black curly hair. They smiled sheepishly, smoothing back their hair and brushing off their suit. "...It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." They nodded politely, putting a gloved hand on their heart. "We don't know each other yet, but... I hope we will come to. I'm Mila Law Young, a detective at the Royal Court Agency."

"For a back of a better word, I have gotten wind that thing's have been... risque, around these parts, wouldn't you say? An assortment of crime running in these dark, shaded backstreets, hiding under our noses... And I simply cannot live with the idea that innocent civilians are getting mixed in the middle of it."

"So... that's why I'm here!" Mila beamed, grinning from ear to ear. "To protect and serve! To get to the bottom of these terrible sins that are haunting our youth! Whatever you need, please don't hesitate to contact me. Please remember that I'm a resource, an ear to listen, and, hopefully, a friend."

The sleuth bowed, looking up with a wink. "...I'm at your service."

@ask-a-gremlin @ask-shslpianist @ask-miu-iruma @a-perfect-wish @scxrs-will-fade @roguesinger @ask-the-ultimate-cosplayer @photographic-misery @obsolete-journalist @demons-for-darling @candy-cocktail @ultimate-class-rep @depths-of-hope-and-despair @devoted-nychta and anyone else not tagged! feel free to jump in/ignore!

[nyasialiveshere]

kpop opinions that are actually unpopular like actually

every since the new year hit I got late night energy and womanly opinions, ppl was on the bird app talking about how everybody calls ppl siblings in kpop when kdolls are different genders and i was thinking how ppl call kai and bada siblings and lil sis + big bro

I never said nothing but wth, they was grindin afro trinidad jamaican style what kind of weird thought process people got goin on. I get calling them friends cause she's dating somebody but nooo!

ppl so desperate to throw any proof of kpop dudes being around attractive women into some kumbaya they are family. It is okay he's grown the backup dancers are grown they want to emulate grown ppl dances. I know the bear bear agenda has everyone looking at him as an actual stuffed animal but like he's not. People turned mhmm and peaches into he's so g@y he don't even like boys.

That's fine but maybe don't invest energy in thinking you know somebody's orientation. It is all fans seem to care about and when they can't push that they infantilize, or treat them like an object. Ive even seen human therapy dog like bruh. Even if they want that from you to rely on them like that. Preserve your energy its precious. Many ship believing it makes them not like other girls

ur energy is still going out the window whether they are straight g@y bi whatever.

But anyway men and women can be friends but I feel like that isnt enough for people who have a vested interest in shipping they have to restructure their mind to prove their is no way im the world they could ever be with a woman. But I feel that has to do with wounded femininity more than anything some women deep down feel like women are bad and drag men down and they could be happier and more free without women. People gotta leave women alone they are the center of the whole world no living being other than a unicellular one would exist without women stop the madness, go hug ur mother, watch gilmore girls, watch bad girls club whatever get a better understanding of what its like to be a woman. As my dad would say to me as a kid stop hating. Maybe go into the history of male female dances what it symbolizes why its a representation of life. They didn't choreo vanilla and bamba for ppl to be like oh swell aren't they the best of buds. Respect his art. Cause that seems to be the last thing on ppls mind i thought peaches flew over everybody's head ppl didnt get rover at all making barbie memes. He had to resort to soulless promo and the fans couldn't have been happier. Thats sad. Not only that ppl refuse to speak on it he made a whole song with spanish verses nobody even cared to question it like at all not only that but he stuck with the carnival theme for the film. (i wanna do a whole breakdown about that)

But he put a crop top on and everybody went nuts... he always works to tell a story but ppl only care about their narrow minded perspective of him. Then have the nerve to get mad when other ppl bring it up then continue to talk about ships.

And ppl dare to say exo not a fanservice group, sweets most groups stop ddoing fanservice around year 4 in preparation for solo's at about year 7 to 10 maximum. And no thats not a kpop thing thats a all the way back to motown thing. Its plot by plot the same formula. It's a lou pearlman backstreet boys thing, its a simon cowell one direction thing, a destinys child fifth harmony thing. Same playbook different players.

So ppl ignoring someone's humanity for ships like bye. Never ever will a relationship even a marriage be over somebody's bodily autonomy and the spirit in there body. And if this seems preachy its cause I feel like some people will put a friendship over somebody's career. Like nope can't listen to this album they said she and her instead of remaining gender neutral and I know they are not straight so I'll wait for the next group album to actually care about anything they say or do

but people laugh at kfans like no. I dont laugh at kfans cause I know how down bad they emotionally manipulate them women straight or not. Its way more intense than what they do with american fans. They manipulate the straight women with pseudo romantic mass flirting ala like beliebers

and for the other more shy girls they flirt with the members. Because these companies learned from Japan and they know some women are shy so the members flirting with one another is like a conduit through which they can flirt with the people shipping them. It's all psychology its voyeurism.

(with crowds this large they not only know they have an audience it is typical for celebs to become performative by nature for fear of boring the crowd leading to public displays of affection when there may not have been)

They know you watchin so if they all up on somebody and they know somebody watching and they being er*tic wouldn't it be common sense they tryna get people heated on purpose? That's common sense

These labels are not as dumb as you think they are. They have the psychology down pat. Like don't take my word for it there are dozens of books on this. Entertainment in korea is gov funded they know what they doing.

They not keeping anybody in the closet they want everybody to be as convincing as possible for a reason. Notice how kpop is heavily pushed but rap isn't? Cause rap culture mainly pushes amongst other things hypermasculinity which historically results in rebellion revolution all things the korean gov worked hard to push down

1988 riots happened same year as the seoul olympics where the whole world had their eyes on the country

closer to the winter olympics in 2018 south korea already had a new generation of kpop that would reach out globally with the main group who kicked off the third generation of kpop being exo among other group who began to get coverage in the west all gov funded and approved

this would not be the first or last time exo would be involved in global politics

this is why exo and cl of 2ne1 performed at the winter olympics these are the idols that spearheaded kpop globally. I'm telling you it all started when exo won that ema

I don't think yall understand they were a new group and had more clout than one direction justin beiber and ariana grande in this moment in time..like the ego and fandom is blinding people really think about that for a second this opened up a whole new world for kpop. Mama flopped in korea, exo admitted this themselves kai said their debut accomplished nothing. Think real hard about this. Growl was a song remixed for the korean public by a black producer. In america growl would of been a mediocre summer radio hit played once or twice a week before disappearing. But its one of Exo’s biggest hits of all time they still perform it.

kpop wasn't only meant to be ear candy and nice dances it was to keep the youth trusting the people in power and focused on idols rather than what was going in the country like crazy work hours, chaebols and unfair imbalance of power. Being that there is an american military base in seoul for decades no korean could go inside its clear its deeper than any individuals preferences.

Also take into consideration many trainees are underage, threatened with being kicked out if they are caught dating the opposite gender, watched by managers and staff 24/7 kept away from their parents, most have about a 6th grade education because they spent a majority of their time training. Insiders and fans have caught physical abuse on camera, idols have spoken out about being severely scolded as trainee's, bullied by grown adults for looks, weight, acne, social status and if that isn't a recipe for dissociation they also give the idols different names for their fans to call them that they must answer to. They also must only give affection to members of their same gender or fans may disown them and call for them to be kicked out of the group and start bullying them online and in person.

So if all that isn't proof enough that the yaoi culture kpop thrives off of is not about love at all but about psychological manipulation fr its very roots idk what else I can say. But really idc what people believe but don't act like the company is against your ship they groom those boys and girls in every sense of the word. Kji is naturally feminine which only make people think he is simply in control of everything including his crop top era. Really and truly I believe he's stuck at the age he was when his parents pushed him to be famous when he was a cute ballerino that people mistook for a girl that got lots of attention from other kids and older girls.

Anyone can be feminine but people have used certain idols being tomboys or nontraditionally masculine as ultimate proof of things they have nothing to do with. Using the companies hide everything excuse. Remember its a whole system set up from the jump. Once in a vlive kji said as trainees they assign people roles such as the mom and the dad of the group, why would a company of homophobes hellbent on making everyone as straight as possible to do that. Early they teach them to go to one another and managers for comfort instead of seeking outside people. I'm not saying America or the west is perfect but more people gotta wakeup. Male western popstars date and marry and still have a career but kpop idols gotta fight to stay alive even if they have western fans. Fandoms aren't full of sherlock holmes they purposely put clues for ships if you didn't notice. The national enquire alone has five years of stories planned for all major celebs korea is no different. Sometimes when celebs speak our about companies they will purposely make fanservice happen to distract everyone. Its not just jenkai yall im so sorry, its every ship everywhere all at once.

[what-if-nct]

hiiii today's reminder is the new perfume teasers are so good and I'm so excited for a sexy little rnb number because Doyoung and Jaehyun's voices are literally designed for that and also the pictures remind me that I'm seeing the backstreet boys in May and I'm so excitedddd

Hiii, they are I have no idea what to expect but I know it's going to be good and the ready for launch teaser kind of felt like a promo for a Disney Show in the 2000s and I love it. Their voices are perfect for sexy R&B and from the teaser pics

I have a feeling that's what we might be getting. And it does have Backstreet Boys vibes there's like a 90s aura about it which I cant wait for. And oh my gosh have fun at the back street boys concert Im sure that is going to be so fun.

[alychampignon]

Somehow I got stuck listening to "Re" by Café Tacvba.

This was the first cd I ever heard from them and I fell in love with them. It's a very experimental album. Every song is like a different genre.

My mom had this cd in her collection. She's not really one to listen to rock music. My parents feel for some scam where you pay money and they send you random spanish music cds back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. So they got a lot of cds they would not have bought on their own. My parents like more banda, cumbia, norteña, merengue, and salsa. Not really rock en español. But they got this cd from café tacvba and 2 or 3 Maná cds.

In I think 5th or 6th grade I got a boombox for Xmas. I really wanted it to play cds. I soon got bored because I had "Celebrity" by N*sync and those promo cds from McDonald's and Burger King. The Backstreet boys one, the N*sync with britney spears, and the Yu-Gi-Oh music to duel by.

So I just looked at all their cds and looked at the cool art. "Re" and the Maná albums got my attention and well my parents never played them. So I gave them a try and liked them.

My mom made fun of me because I was gonna be a rocker. I was already listening to pop punk on radio disney. OMFGGZZZ DOES THAT RADIO STATION STILL EXIST??

Anyway "Re" and "Sueños Liquidos" were the ones I played the most. I never returned these 3 cds to my parents. I still have them on my cd collection.

Anyway when I graduated from UC Berkeley, the Chicano/chicana graduation committee asked us to submit songs. I send them "24 horas" from "Re" by Café TACVBA. It was surreal hearing that song be blasted at the Greek Theater.

So now that rock archivo de la @rockarchivola on Instagram announced that their latest episode of their podcast "The discursive power of rock en español and the desire for democracy " was going to have an episode on it..

I just needed to listen to "Re". But so far I just played a few random songs from it. Now I'm trying to listen to the whole album a few times before I listen to the podcast.

Also I'm behind on the podcast :(

I'm on episode 5. But I'll eventually get there.

[reliablejoukido]

Zuzu's tentative fic project update schedule

Now that NaNo is over, I want to throw some dates out for publishing updates. I want to try to stick to these dates as best as possible, but since the vast majority of these projects require making text boxes and linking them to AO3, lateness is a real possibility.

The most important takeaway from this schedule is that while I will be taking a nice long writing break until the spring, I'll still be publishing fic updates in the meantime. And hopefully drawing some promo art for a few of them.

See under the cut for the schedule, as well as general details about each project

"Somewhere Only We Know"

Chapter 11/16: January 1

Chapter 12/16: February 1

Chapter 13/16: March 1

Chapters 14-16 have not been written, and I don't plan on picking the story back up until the spring. I also need to draw the promo art for 11-16, so that will be a winter goal. In the meantime, I think I just need some time to reread, replan, and refocus. I do plan on posting the final chapter, chapter 16, on August 1st, 2024.

"So Come and Dance with Me"

Chapter 8/9: December 15

Chapter 9/9: January 15

I have not forgotten about this story! I finished it ages ago, but NaNo and other stuff got in the way of having enough time to make the text boxes. I can't wait to have the final chapter published. The whole story was a delight to write, and I will miss Michael Barton dearly when it's all done.

"Bar-Crossed Lovers"

Chapter 4/4: December 2

I'm only adding this one here because I'm posting this schedule before the final chapter. But yeah, it'll be out tomorrow. I love this fic with all my heart. There MIGHT be an explicit sequel down the road, but that probably wouldn't happen until the summer.

"The Universal Language of Friendship"

If you've been following my NaNo updates, then you're aware that I had to put this one on the back-burner until I could come up with more motivation and more material. I'm sorry to say that I don't know when I'll be picking it back up. But like I said in my other updates, I need to take care of myself and I need to be feeling a story to write it. And I'm just not feeling this one. For now. Stay tuned.

"Backstreet's Back" (working title)

Okay I originally had a whole paragraph written out about how the drafts for this story were a hot mess and I had no idea when or how this was being published. And then I randomly decided to post chapter 1 today. So yeah, I'm breaking this one up into multiple chapters. Dunno what the schedule is going to be, but luckily there are no text boxes to make.

[softnsquishable]

Doing this in April and trying to remember last year challenge!

january: clusterhug by idkhow

Both me and Dallon got very sick in September so this was my first and only IDKHOW show (come back to CA you!). Drove all the way to Berkeley and back, worth it.

february: midnight sky by miley cyrus

I saw Miley open for Green Day at the Superbowl Music festival and she blew my socks off! I knew the hits but she's really apowerful life performer and I get goosebumps watching the videos back.

march: larger than life by the backstreet boys

I saw Turning Red in March and this song was in so much of the promo, it was always stuck in my head. Still fucking slaps!

april: baby blackout by daisy grenade

Discovered these ladies when they were fresh! Not a bad song in the catalogue. I wish I could see them more often, they rock so hard!

may: the foundations of decay by my chemical romance

MCR in 2022? Apparently more likely than you think.

june: until i found you by stephen sanchez

I am still obsessed with this song and its retro vibe.

july: already dead by daisy grenade fet. the readyset

They released this single the night before I got to see them perform it live together, on the day before my birthday. I was up against the stage and it was definitely one of the best shows I've ever been to (I neeed to see them again 🥺

august: goodbye by bo burnham

I was about to leave my first real job for a whole new line of work, my family was reaching the climax of its crumbling apart and I was generally just declining so...a lot of these kinda songs in august.

september: entropy by beach bunny

This song was randomly suggested by Spotify and I just vibed with it immediately. Haven't gotten into the rest of her catalogue but I really like this song.

october: happier than ever by billie eilish

Another great month for my mental health lol. And possibly worse for my physical health, but at least I finally figured out what was wrong at this point. More hard decisions and more sad songs that make me think about uncool people. But songs like this are incredibly cathartic to sing nice and loud for that reason.

november: matilda by harry styles

The trend continues...also I saw Harry Styles this month (after a reschedule) and honestly one of the best crowds I've ever been in. The entire vibe is so nice and everyone's just having fun.

december: champion by fall out boy

My anthem from my favorite band. I played this consistenyl all year (and the years prior lol) but I feel like this one really encapsulated one of my mantras of my whole 2022 and going into 2023 journey. "If I can live through this, I can do anything."

Wow, spent way too long doing this. It's late so I won't tag anyone, maybe next year lol

rules: share your 12 favorite songs from this year (one from each month or just your favorites overall) and tag 12 people!

So @smileandasong tagged me in this quite literally 2 years ago and i never finished it but I always liked the idea (and I found the abandoned draft of it recently) so I'll do it for 2022!

january: silently screaming by bad suns

This album came out in january so it only makes sense for a song from it to be january's song! It also perfectly captures the vibe lol

february: bone bag by superet

We saw superet open for idkhow in february so I was really getting into them around this time!

march: come on home by franz ferdinand

I really don't know what I was listening to around march but I know I was listening to this band a lot more this year! And i think it started around march ? Idk this month was a blur tbh

april: american dream by weathers

I started getting into weathers around this time! (We saw them live in may!) This song is also a huge mood because I was extremely disillusioned with my job (and I'd end up finally leaving in June)

may: what a day to lose my mind by dbmk

I started getting super into dbmk again because we saw them live (and met them) in may! They also started releasing new music around this time! (Which everybody should go listen to)

june: parade by joywave

You can literally see exactly when i started going feral over joywave lol. I got obsessed with them immediately after the hellvetica tour was announced. And then, along with idkhow, they completely dominated my spotify wrapped for this year.

july: thelma + louise by bastille

I was starting to get into bastille by association with joywave lol. Plus a lot of joywave friends I had made were also into them! They're also a slightly spring/summer band to me

august: hang em high by mcr

I was getting really into mcr around this time because we saw them during this month and again in september! I almost went with a different mcr song but they played this one at my first show 🤠

september: mad iqs by idkhow

September was hellvetica month!!!!!! No thoughts only mad iqs

october: simple by de'wayne (feat. idkhow)

It's a feature so it doesn't count as a repeat artist. This song came out this month! And so did his album!

november: genius of love by tom tom club

I got really obsessed with this song for a short period of time

december: goodnight socialite by the brobecks

Because apparently almost all my other top songs were actually christmas songs?? But truly one of the Most songs of all time ever

Tagging @vanweezer @girlmikeyway @comfortingdecay @fangs-frthmmrs @goodbyetommyyy @intheblueglow @aftercoffees @cyncity2000 @softnsquishable @ofalltheginjoints @voluntaryvictim @purgatoryhips if you want! Sorry if I double tagged you!

[extensusmusae]

——– you’re seeking something, but at the same time, you are running away for all you’re worth.  ( © ) ( important links )

EXTENSUSMUSAE, FT. LILITH & ANGEL OF 'BORDERLANDS', CANON REWRITTEN. a study in several tropes, including: action girl, be yourself, good is not nice, heroic sacrifice, beware the nice ones, foreshadowing, and power gives you wings.

[slashertrope-blog]

Tag drop ft. general

* ooc — backstreet's back alright !

* psa — the version of me you created in your mind is not my responsibility !

* crack — olivia &. the terrible horrible no good very bad day !

* meme — there is poetry in brutal efficiency !

* open — do you tear yourself apart to entertain like me !

* ask — someone once told me they were scared of the truth in my eyes !

* wish — the enormity of my desire disgusts me !

* edit — i fed my blood to the coyotes ; i reached inside myself &. tore out my own lungs !

* give — death : brilliant ; clever ; cruel !

* promo — may fortune favor the fuck ups !

* interaction call — her grief was horribly discreet !

* saved — life seems to cling to her as if she is simply not allowed to die !

* sp — support your local cryptid !

* q — &. i am out with the lanterns looking for myself !

* dash comm — i always feel like somebody's watching me !

[jheece]

    ❛ -- What would you do if you went to the club and they were just     playing Owl City’s Fireflies? ❜

                                                                          ❛ --- Go Hard. ❜

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: Am I A Difficult Person?

Date video was published: 05/07/2021 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 440

So much was happening in early May, with lots of Phil videos and Dan doing tons of YWGTTN promo.

0:00 - long-quiff Phil! and Phil lurking places without posting is slightly terrifying

0:09 - those were surprisingly normal air quotes from Phil

0:22 - did he need to say “dominance” like that 👀 and made it the biggest text

0:33 - “I’m not getting the whips and chains out...or am I” ...thanks...for clarifying? 😳

0:41 - king of comedy there with the Hungry Hungry Hippos, Bee Movie, and Backstreet Boys CD 😂

0:54 - the annotation editing in this one is great. 

1:02 - he did the Instagram poll in April. he’s so pleased that people said he was nice

1:20 - his camera angle for this video is a big different than usual

1:26 - he really got a lot of spons from them for a while...VPN running joke!

1:59 - yes, Parks and Rec!

2:33 - Phil is hilarious...I love every editing joke

2:43 - he really knows nothing about musical instruments 😂

3:04 - that’s definitely the social anxiety more than unfriendliness...there were some people at points that said DNP were not friendly at conventions

3:14 - “I just wanna be liked” aww Phil

3:23 - he foresees the judgement coming for this one

3:30 - you can see him deciding whether he’s actually going to say this or not

3:44 - well that is very specific

3:58 - he’s not choosing to get into the dangerous situations...it just happens

4:01 - all the casual Dan mentions at this point

4:16 - yikes. Dan commented that he was lucky to be alive after that incident with the mirror

4:35 - “I never have it. I don’t have it.” 😂

4:47 - casual editing-Phil! yep, he tweeted when that happened...ouch. and how

5:04 - apparently what makes Phil “out of control” is putting two sugars in his coffee

5:24 - I bet he’s so happy to have a hopefully much more quiet filming space in the new house

5:29 - “people want to do me...I hope so” I love Phil

5:41 - is this why Dan said he was Phil’s “mumager” in one of the Stereo shows

6:07 - part of that sounds like me, and it is definitely partially a patience problem

6:16 - “double fist” Phil...

6:28 - awww, nice Phil

6:45 - I can totally see Phil doing this 😂

7:02 - taking the cop-out answer on that one

7:12 - I really don’t think DNP have ever been like that, at least from what we’ve seen

7:23 - this might be one of the best videos for funny annotations

7:30 - no hesitation on that one! me too Phil, me too

7:55 - he really does have a long-standing hatred of printers and shared a clip of him destroying the printer there back in 2019

8:11 - I see he only gave that a single thumbs down instead of a double though

8:20 - why is kicking a goose the first thing he thought of for that for some reason

8:45 - this one actually surprised me a bit

8:58 - I really wonder who he’s had muted for years and what they did to annoy him

9:07 - a lot of these would be dodgy to admit to on camera, haha

9:18 - I fully believe that

9:30 - another one that Phil and I are quite similar on

9:46 - “a wet...a floppy lower lip” um...no

10:21 - not sure telling someone their hair looks ‘messy’ is better than ‘weird’ 

10:44 - he was surprised by that!

10:49 - yeah not sure he purposely takes risks...he just ends up in them

10:59 - his “flippant” examples 😂

11:09 - unnecessary emphasis on “pleasure” 😳

11:34 - Phil just saying lots of things in this video with too many eyebrow raises

11:57 - yeah it’s easy to tell what questions led to what 

12:09 - “just bow down to me a little bit” laughing so much

12:15 - being quite open about what’s important to him

12:45 - aww, Phil. he really did seem to be on a mission to be more open with his content in early 2021 though

12:53 - his math...it is wrong. he didn’t catch that and I’m guessing Dan didn’t either, if he did a watch/review before Phil uploaded 

13:14 - he had just released that new merch hoodie. he must have filmed this before that though, since he didn’t talk about it and just added it in editing

This is a video that I wasn’t that excited about when I saw the title/concept the first time, but I ended up enjoying it way more than I thought I would. And still true! It’s more personal/honest Phil again, and I love that. Although he did skip showing some of the questions. Also, still laughing at Phil’s Insta story promo for this one.

[hauntedhounddragonwoman]

What? Just saving 🤷🏻‍♀️

[pop-punklouis]

when you say that boyband’s work on a shelf-life and theyre thought of as a cash crop what do you mean? that they’re only an object to the industry?

i mean, let’s break it down. boybands, more times than not, are curated by someone else. it isn’t exactly the boys that come together, find each other, and then start a career. usually, a higher up will pluck 4-5 boys from the crowd and put them in a group together expecting them to be puppets to their success. from the beginning, a boyband is fundamentally under the thumb of the industry due to their origins. then, of course, you have the image branding. these boys, at a young age, are given labels to be to sell records and garner favorites from the fans— which in turn gives more reason to sell more individual product with a certain boy on them. the boys will go through image training/publicity training, and besides putting on a character depending on their branding (zayn malik literally talked about how he couldn’t even really grow a beard in the band), they’re also walking on eggshells to present to the media in a way that is not only broad enough for most of the GP to favor them, but also to give just enough personality away that most of what one knows about them is either created in a boardroom or acts as surface level for fans to push their own attitudes onto them without compromising this carefully patched together image. this doesn’t mean these boys aren’t genuine in how they perform, but there is a lot of tightening of screws and pushing into molds at a young age that can fuck with them when carried out for long periods of time. it’s like appearing as yourself but mimicking someone else’s idea of who you ought to be. it’s the alien impersonator. it makes me think of NSYNC’s music video where they were all puppets on a string, being controlled by the omniscient puppet master. do i think that visual was pointed in makeup? not necessarily, but it is a good reference point for how i’m sure many boybands feel throughout their lifespan

then, you get into the lucrative amount of $$$ people are making off these groups. the global merchandise. the touring. the albums pumped out every 12 months. the chosen teams that surround the boys to keep them on track and keep them feeding into the machine as long as their contract permits. when the $$ begins raking in, that’s what the label begins to view you as. your expectation revolves around their bank accounts, and the more $$ you generate, the harder it is to have freedom and orchestrate a life outside of the spotlight that isn’t predominantly cast in the form of making more $$ for these companies. and these companies know that the pop-sphere only has a general attention span of 5-6 years before a revolving door of new talent comes in, so they’re even heavier handed with how they pump the content out knowing the shelf-life is waning, and there’s only a specific area of time they can milk them for what they are— using it as a justification for dehumanizing a group to line their own pockets.

and god forbid one of them tries to “mess” with that money. even if the intention isn’t malicious. take for example, Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys or Niall Horan. Brian had to get open heart surgery, and they pushed him back into a worldwide tour and promo cycle almost straight after. Niall Horan has had knee surgeries that were prolonged for long enough until they were mandatory and he was on crutches during promo stints. their health and well-being is on the back burner if it compromises their ability to be a cash crop. their agency is stripped to be objects to an industry who looks at them and instantly sees wealth. they walk in a room not as individual people but as a well-oiled machine, which can mess with how you think people view you outside of the group. “would these people speak with me if i wasn’t apart of this?” “would i be able to get into the studio with certain producers/song writers if i was on my own?” “would i have the same opportunities without this goliath presence on my back?” “will i always have that part of my life carried on my back, unable to pick apart if my own talents or my past talents is what’s given me the success i have now?” “is this image the only thing people see and use me for when i walk in a room now?” “what is success if it isn’t the success i had in the band?” a lot of identity issues are created in this isolated bubble, and it’s no wonder why any member of a boyband has insecurities and doubts when they leave that model, not knowing who they are or what they represent.

and finally, you have to take into consideration how tightly controlled their entire life is beyond just promo or images. their schedules are blocked months if not years in advance, not being able to have personal freedom unless it works around things that have already been confirmed for the group (i mean let’s example girl group little mix here. two of them were afraid of becoming pregnant when they did bc their schedules are confirmed ages in advance, and they thought they’d be scolded for it). their agency is gone. their independence is gone. their freedom of just existing is gone. they exist in relation to the label and their “handlers.” they have lives, and they can do things, but many of those things have to be worked through the system and approved. think about how isolating the 1D bubble was. almost none of them had gaggles of famous friends that weren’t also there to sell a certain image of the group. they were contained for most of their youth to just those five boys. from 16+, their teen years and growth into adulthood was centered around this bubble mentality. they were stunted, and you can see the affects of that even now�� years later.

so, i don’t blame these groups for taking indefinite breaks or disbanding altogether. that environment is toxic and erasing and superficial. it’s harmful. and i think it’s important to know this. because there’s no foul in loving boybands/girl groups and who they are, what their music sounds like, and what they represent to you. they’re a special type of celebrity that many connect with in different ways than they do individual artists. in ways, who they showed to you was genuine and loving and their friendships within the band cannot be faked. most times, they only have each other through the chaos of fame so they rely on themselves and their fans every night as their support beams so, don’t feel guilty or shameful for liking a band and supporting a band as you weren’t the ones who created this for them— it’s the age-old history of how the boyband model operates and tbh until it “breaks” i unfortunately don’t believe it’ll be fixed.

[extensusmusae]

gestures vaguely to my ‘my hero’ sideblogs i have over here–

bnha fuyumi todoroki ( keptkindness - sideblog & promo )

bnha eri ( quirkrewound - sideblog & promo )

bnha kyoka jiro ( soundjacked - sideblog & promo )

[doublefeaturre]

        IT’S ASTOUNDING...

canon-typical triggering content. crossover & oc friendly. interpretations drawn from 1975 film, various stage productions and scripts, and the unproduced sequel revenge of the old queen.  [rules] [muses] [come inside]