#Star of Asia 2019

[gl-lla-beyond]

SHEN YUE

[catastrxblues]

articles and news on what’s happening in west papua are so appallingly scarce that i could rarely find any except a few before this. as an indonesian, i didn’t even know any of this is happening in the first place until a few months ago because rarely any of the big news outlets have ever brought it up, much less in a scale that is necessary to gain the world’s attention. SO PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT, one article at a time if it seems too much (which is what i'm currently doing too).

i think it’s important to note that while indonesia has been loudly advocating for palestine’s freedom, it has also been committing silent acts of violence against the people of west papua and exploiting them for years and silence those AND others who have tried to bring it to light.

things included in the thread ->

ARTICLES :

freewestpapua.org *the link isn't working at the moment but op has included screenshots in the tweet!

west papua : a history of exploitation (al jazeera)

courtesy of amnesty international

OTHERS :

amnesty international - "sudah, kasi tinggal dia mati" pembunuhan dan impunitas di papua (in bahasa)

BOOKS TO READ :

'the road : uprising in west papua' by john martinkus

'an act of free choice : decolonisation and the right to self-determination in west papua' by pieter drooglever

'merdeka and the morning star : civil resistance in west papua' by jason macleod

’see no evil : new zealand’s betrayal of the people of west papua’ by maire leadbeater

‘freedom in entangled worlds’ by eben kirksey

‘poisoned arrows’ by george monbiot

‘papua blood’ by peter bang

’west papua and indonesia since suharto’ by peter king

pdf available :

’the united nations and the indonesian takeover of west papua’ by john saltford

’west papua : the obliteration of a people’ by carmel budiardjo and liem soei liong

FILMS TO WATCH :

rebels of the forgotten world (1991)

blood on the cross (1999)

freedom for west papua (1999)

papua merdeka (2002)

west papua — the secret war in asia (2007)

forgotten bird of paradise (2009)

strange birds in paradise — a west papuan story (2010)

west papua — a journey to freedom (2011)

mama malind su hilang (our land has gone)

benny wenda — oslo freedom forum (2012)

isolated (2013)

courage is contagious — TEDx sydney (2013)

the road to home (2015)

punks for west papua (2016)

run it straight (2016)

act of no choice (2019)

paradise bombed (2023)

investigative tv reports :

inside indonesia’s secret war for west papua — ABC news (2020)

selling out west papua — al jazeera (2020)

INFOGRAPHICS :

amnesty international

brief history

2017

2018

[louisupdates]

WORLDMUSICAWARD: Happy 33rd birthday to the gorgeous, hugely talented Singer, Songwriter, Producer & Global Icon, #LouisTomlinson, who rose to fame as a member of #OneDirection, one of the best-selling Boy Bands of all time, and became a chart-topping, history-making, award-winning Superstar in his own right! 👏🎂🎉🌟🐐👑❤️

Louis has contributed more in songwriting to One Direction than any other band member, with credits on most of the tracks of 'Midnight Memories', 'Four', and 'Made in the A.M.' and on 38 songs across the band's discography, and was the main guy in shifting 1D's music towards a more mature sound...

Louis is an amazing Solo Artist and has so far released 2 studio albums, 1 live album, 11 singles, 1 promotional single and 11 MVs! Louis debuted at #1 in the UK with his 2nd studio album 'Faith In The Future' in 2022 which also reached #5 on the Billboard 200, and spawned the hit singles singles "Bigger Than Me", "Out of My System" and "Silver Tongues"! His debut studio album 'Walls' (2020) debuted at #4 in the UK & #9 on the Billboard 200, becoming the 1st new album for Arista Records in almost 9 years to hit the US top 10! Louis' debut single "Just Hold On" with #SteveAoki reached #2 in the UK, and was certified platinum! In 2017 Louis released "Just Like You", "Miss You" & "Back to You" with #BebeRexha, which was certified platinum in the US and UK! In 2019, he released "Two of Us", a Tribute to his mother, followed by the hits "Kill My Mind", "We Made It", "Don't Let It Break Your Heart" and "Walls" in January 2020!

Louis has embarked on 2 world tours! His 'Faith in the Future World tour' began in North America in May 2023. In the context of the tour, Louis performed in North America and Europe in 2023 and Asia, Australia and Latin America in 2024. In November 2023, after a sold-out concert at the O2 Arena, Louis was nominated for the Live Act Award at the Rolling Stone UK Awards. During the Latin America leg of his 2nd World tour, Louis made history, becoming the 1st male Solo Artist to headline Mexico City's Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez! He held a charity livestream of the event titled 'For Every Question Why', donating the proceeds to War Child UK. This year, Louis toured a summer 2024 festival circuit, including the Main Square Festival, Pinkpop, Ruisrock, Santander Music, Untold Festival, Sziget Festival, Frequency Festival, Victorious Festival, and Lollapalooza Berlin!

Louis has received numerous accolades including an MTV Europe Award for Best UK Act (2017), an iHeartRadio Music Award for Best Solo Breakout (2028), 3 Teen choice Awards for Choice Music Collaboration for "Just Hold On" (2017), Choice Male Artist (2018) & Choice single Male Artist (2020), a TDY award for Album of the Year (2020) for 'Walls' and most recently a Northern Music Award (2024) for Artist of the Year!

Louis is also a successful Producer and in 2015, he created his own record label, Triple Strings Ltd. In 2021, Louis founded and curated the indie music festival 'Away From Home' and in 2023, he officially launched his 28 streetwear-inspired unisex clothing line!

Louis is an active philanthropist and personally donated £2 million to Believe in Magic, which supports terminally ill children! He's also a Patron of the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice. In April 2016, he joined the Soccer Aid 2016 star line-up, a biennial fundraiser for UNICEF. Louis actively supported the Black Lives Matter movement in May and June 2020, and attended the George Floyd protests in London.

[venusvity]

.⋆｡ 🍓 ࿔˚⋅ THE SWEETEST GIRL IN THE WORLD ... KLARA BLIX !

Klara Blix, formerly known as JIAH, was the second Venus member to debut solo after Baebi. Her image would greatly differ from that of her groupmates, taking on a much sweeter and teen-friendly image since she was just a teen herself. Debuting in August 2018 at just seventeen, her debut single album "Why, Why, Why?" would become an instant classic and beloved "confession" anthem among young girls. Klara's brand ranking would skyrocket, and she was dubbed "Korea's Favorite Foreigner" on every variety show she appeared on.

"For Girls" was the first mini album released by Klara in August of 2019. The title track, "Good Luck, Hun." was an excellent demonstration of Klara's vocal ability and cuteness. The song would not only be popular with her typical audiences but older audiences as well, specifically older women. Her first fansign held for this album would go viral for being filled with a majority of girls and old ladies. Good Luck, Hun would top multiple charts in not only Korea but in Japan as well, resulting in a Japanese version of Good Luck, Hun and Why, Why, Why?

Deciding to take her in a more vocal-focused and mature concept that wasn't even that mature, Klara would come back with her 2nd Single, "Moon, Sun, Stars," in June of 2019. While this song did not flop by any means, it was not popular amongst fans because of the concept change. A common phrase asked by netizens during this time was, "Where did Korea's little sister go?" despite Klara still being her cute self. Due to the poor reception and poor costume choices, this era would not be remembered fondly by Klara and is often forgotten by netizens.

After a four-year hiatus from solo music, Klara would finally return in May of 2023 with the adorable single "Teddy Bear!" which would catch the hearts of a new generation of young girls. Klara was clearly marketed as an idol for a younger audience, a role model, and even a Disney Star, but only on the weekends. Teddy Bear! would garner international attention for its viral dance challenge, which was done by virtually anyone with access to social media, putting Klara back on the map musically, though she never really left. It was clear Klara had a great time promoting Teddy Bear! and even went on her first solo tour of Asia, traveling to Japan, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Phillippines. This would mark her most successful era since "For Girls."

Her most recent comeback would be in November of 2023 with the single "Like That," which wasn't even meant to be an actual promoted release but instead a gift to fans for giving her such a lovely tour. The fans would be very vocal about wanting at least ONE stage for the single, which, after much convincing, Klara would deliver. However, one stage turned into five and would later become a full-on promotional cycle. Like That would become a staple in her discography, many constellations asking her to perform the song to this day despite her saying, "It's a concert exclusive!". This era, though short, is very beloved by fans due to how connected she was with them. Towards the end of this era, Klara would announce she would be taking a hiatus from solo releases, wanting to focus on Venus and her acting career.

.⋆｡ 🍓 ࿔˚⋅ KLARA BLIX SOLOIST QUIX FACTS !

She has fifteen music show wins to her name. More than half of them being won by Why, Why, Why? and Good Luck, Hun.

During her performances of Why, Why, Why? Her background dancers would often rotate between DeepDive members, resulting in a lot of cute interactions and starting the groups public friendship. Fans favorite "Why, Why, Why?" boys would be Kiwoo, Finn, and Woojin. This would even result in a special stage where Klara and Kiwoo would perform a duet version of Why, Why, Why?

At Klara's first fansign, there was a photobooth where attendees could take pictures with her. Klara would put some of the pictures on her wall and they can still be seen in the background of her lives to this day.

Often, Klara would perform at retirement homes and still does to this day. Many videos of her have gone viral for dancing with the grandma and grandpas there. She says visiting old people is one of her favorite things to do because they all treat her like she's their granddaughter.

When asked if she wanted to try a more "mature" concept during the press release for Teddy Bear!, Klara immediately shook her head. "Last time I did that, I stopped making music for four years. I don't want to try that again. I like being successful and cute."

During Teddy Bear! Promotions, a picture taken by staff of a long line of idols wanting to film a TikTok with Klara was posted by staff with the caption "She's such a legend ㅋㅋㅋ," which would become a meme between constellations.

[zarry-ot5]

Love You Goodbye

This will be discussing March 2015 and include whatever I can find on all of the boys in that timeframe. I believe Truth lives in the middle. I don't want to spread opinions, so these will contain facts only. If there are pictures I will indicate, but due to limitations of Tumblr can't post them all. There is a 6-7 hour time difference between Asia and London.

Another thing of interest, at this time, Dan Wooton is over The Sun and The Daily Mail. Simon Jones is the Publicist in charge of the image of all the boys in One Direction. Simon Jones is still the active publicist for Perrie Edwards, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan.

March 10, 2015:

Lou Teasdale, Lux, Gemma Styles and Lottie Tomlinson arrive at Changi Airport in Singapore. Pictures with fans.

Niall tweet

H pictured leaving LAX on private jet

March 11, 2015:

H pictured arriving at Changi airport wearing Red Velvet Star Jacket.

Louis is pictured with fans in Changi airport.

Z pictured on private jet with cousin Jawaad. Upon landing in Singapore takes pictures with fans.

One Direction performs at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Gemma is seen at Singapore show with Lou Teasdale and Baby Lux.

March 12, 2015:

H arrives in Bangkok. Pictures exist of Harry at Nightclub with Gemma.

(Pictured Jawaad Malik, Zayn Malik, Martina Olsson, and her friend). Notice his and Jawaad shirts are the same night he's pictured with Laura.

Of note, Seduction Nightclub is an adult themed night club, with scantily clad women dancing on tables. It is not a strip club, just adult themed. This Nigh Club permanently closed in 2019.

According to The Daily Mail, Maria Olsson says Zayn and Louis went to Seduction Night Club where she met and left with Zayn, had a one night stand, and met up with him again the next morning after Lauren had left.

March 13, 2015:

I do need to make a side note, the distance from Smalls to the Sukhothai Hotel, where everyone stayed, is 3 min in a car. Literally just around the corner and up the street. The distance from the hotel to the stadium where they performed is 22 miles in a car.

Smalls is a 3 story building with a restaurant in the lower floor, where they have live music and a DJ booth. The upper two floors consist of an enclosed bar and a covered outdoor bar.

According to my research, Harry had gone to Smalls Live Music Nightclub.

Gemma pictured in Bangkok with Lou Teasdale and a fan.

Pictures also exist of Gemma and Harry at a Nightclub together, which I am going to assume was Smalls.

Zayn went to Seduction Night Club with Louis and cousin Jawaad, to watch DJ Examples set. This is where he met and was photographed with Lauren Richardson. She later stated she was invited to a Villa at a Hotel that Louis and Zayn we're renting in Phuket.

March 14, 2015:  

Louis Tomlinson photos kissing Lucy Julian were reportedly taken at the same all-night pool party at Bangkok’s Sukhothai Hotel at 6:30am on the morning of their March 14 concert, The Daily Mail reported.

There are pictures of Louis exiting the pool and returning to the lobby of the hotel.

H is photographed with DJ Buddha and DJ ONO before the show

The band played in Bangkok, Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium.  

H photographed with Model at dinner.

Gemma and Lou Teasdale photographed with with a fan in Bangkok at a restaurant.

According to Joe Cummings, after their concert, Harry came back to Smalls and was told by Harry he and Zayn had a falling out.  

The timing of this is the concert started at 8:00 pm local time. Their set was 20 songs and and encore of 3. Their opening act was DJ ONO, and DJ Buddha was his promoter at the time. So 1D would have gone on by 8:30-9:30 pm. 1D set would have been about 1.5 - 2 hour set...they would have been done by 11:30 pm. 25 min drive back to the hotel, gets them back close to midnight. Which is when Joe says he started talking to H. There's some wiggle room in there for showers and what nots.

My Assumption - The argument has have been before the concert and before H was photographed with DJ Buddha and DJ ONO. DJ Buddha is the one who told H about Smalls and made introductions to Joe.

March 15, 2015:

Louis, Ollie Nightclub in Phuket, Thailand

March 16, 2015:

March 17, 2015: 

Harry tweets

Cheating rumors run in media as pictures of Zayn and Lauren Richardsons are published. Richardson will later say nothing happened between them, they met and enjoyed each other's company while together, then went their separate ways. Richardson eventually lands a role in June 2015 on Love Island. For years she is attacked online as the reason One Direction broke up.

March 18, 2015: 

Pictures exist of Lou Teasdale, Lux, Gemma Styles, and Lottie Tomlinson in airport in Hong Kong.

Picture of Lottie, Gemma, and Sophia taken at 1D concert.

Zayn tweet

Band plays last performance with Zayn in Hong Kong

March 19, 2015: 

Zayn is photographed in Heathrow airport in London, England at 5:00 am, Perrie is the one who picks Zayn up from the airport. The flight from Bangkok to London is 14 hours and 15 min.

Gemma and Sophia drinking a glass of wine posted on Gemma's IG.

News of Zayn's departure runs through media. Cited as stress, assumptions made about drug use.

March 20, 2015:

March 21, 2015:

Perform in Manila, Philippines

March 22, 2015:

Perform in Manila, Philippines

March 23, 2015:

Louis Tomlinson pictures published kissing Lucy Julian. 1D publicist indicates E and Louis have been broken-up for 2 weeks.

March 24, 2015:

March 25, 2015: 

Performance in Jakarta Indonesia

Statement released via Facebook that Zayn has left 1D.

Perform

March 26, 2015:

Media starts reporting Harry wants to branch out in his own solo projects, Harry crying on stage during March 25 concert.

H tweets: All the love as always. H

Liam: So glad to hear in bed after a strange 24 hours.

Niall: Been a mad few days and your support has been incredible as per usual ! This in turn Spurs us on to make the best music we possibly can

Louis: Been a crazy couple of days but know that we are going to work harder than ever to deliver the best album we've ever made for you guys !

March 27, 2015:

March 28, 2015:

Pictures of Harry in Johannesburg airport carrying guitar case

Perform at Johannesburg, South Africa

March 29, 2015:

Perform at Johannesburg, South Africa

March 30, 2015:

Pictured with Perrie in London, house hunting with Tricia Malik.

[hybe-girl]

─────────── introducing; Isla Zhao

✽ ˖* 𓂃 Isla Zhao (이슬라 조; born February 14th, 2001 ) known professionally as Isla is a Chinese-Australian singer, rapper, actress, model, songwriter, Global Ambassador, and dancer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group MUSE under 21 studio. They debuted through the animated series with the same name MUSE. They also made their Korean debut on August 1, 2019, with the digital single, “Abracadabra“. Isla is the Lead vocalist, lead dancer, visual of the group.

In January 2022, Isla made her acting debut in the the 2022 Chinese travel historical romance series Broken Faith, playing the lead role, adapted from the novel by Ming Gia And directed by Chen Sicheng, despite having no acting experience prior to taking on the role the drama became a major sleeper hit in China, and swiftly gained popularity across East Asia. She rose to fame for her appearance in the drama and The series was popular during its run and has over 15 billion views online. which won her best new actress, and She received positive reviews for her performance and was nominated as Best Actress at the Shanghai Television Festival and as Best New Actress at the China TV Drama Awards . Forbes China gave her its most prized award, the Star of the Year, for her popularity, high press coverage, and website throughout that year.

Isla is the global ambassador and face of the brand for many brands like Gucci, Balmain, Shiseido, Tencent, Uma Wang, Peacebird, Zeekr & many other brands.

[reddest-flower]

Racism was vital to the capitalist policies of the United States and the European countries that relied upon ideas of racial superiority to maintain their colonies and semi-colonies as places of super-exploitation of people and nature. No question of giving these places freedom. Wilson sent in the United States military to occupy Nicaragua in 1914, Haiti in 1915 and the Dominican Republic in 1916. In 1913-14, Wilson intervened militarily in Mexico to undermine its revolution. The unseemliness of Wilson’s imperialist military actions irked Wilson’s Secretary of State Robert Lansing, who wrote to his president in 1916, ‘It seems to me that we should avoid the use of the word Intervention and deny that any invasion of Mexico is for the sake of intervention.’ Wilson’s advisor, George Louis Beer, encouraged him not to allow his own rhetoric to imply self-determination for African states. ‘The negro race’, wrote Beer, ‘has hitherto shown no capacity for progressive development except under the tutelage of other peoples.’ In this list of other peoples were the British and French – who had experience – as well as the Scandinavians – who had a clean reputation. The people of Africa and Asia, however, were ‘not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world’. Wilson was the contemporary of the Bolsheviks. Their world was alien to his.

The Communist International met for the first time in March 1919; it snubbed Versailles and Wilson. They were not relevant to it. It charted a different course that culminated at the Baku Conference of the Toilers of the East (1920). The Bolshevik Mission in Tbilisi (Georgia) offered the following description of the conference,

«The first sitting of the Conference was devoted to Zinoviev’s speech, which explained the aims of the Conference. The passage in Zinoviev’s speech where he invited the Eastern peoples to a holy war was interrupted by the demonstrations of the delegates who in an ecstasy jumped from their seats, unsheathed their swords and waved them in the air. The hall was filled with cheering in all languages. For many minutes, to the strains of the Internationale, the Conference swore to keep faithful to the cause of the working classes. The sitting was very enthusiastic, and was frequently interrupted by ovations. In the evenings, Baku wore a holiday appearance. Artistic triumphal arches and beautiful decorations filled the streets. Throughout the day, the delegates moved about the streets. Comrade Zinoviev was the object of much attention. Wherever he was seen in the streets, he was surrounded by cheering crowds.»

Red Star Over the Third World, Vijay Prashad, 2019

[madamlaydebug]

On this day in 2021...

R.I.P.

Go well … you have fulfilled your purpose 💕https://www.patreon.com/RunokoRashidi

RUNOKO RASHIDI

Runoko Rashidi is an anthropologist and historian with a major focus on what he calls the Global African Presence--that is, Africans outside of Africa before and after enslavement. He is the author or editor of twenty-two books, the most recent of which are My Global Journeys in Search of the African Presence, Assata-Garvey and Me: A Global African Journey for Children in 2017 and The Black Image in Antiquityin 2019. His other works include Black Star: The African Presence in Early Europe, published by Books of Africa in London in November 2011 and African Star over Asia: The Black Presence in the East, published by Books of Africa in London in November 2012 and revised and reprinted in April 2013, Uncovering the African Past: The Ivan Van Sertima Papers, published by Books of Africa in 2015. His other works include the African Presence in Early Asia, co-edited by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima. Four of Runoko's works have been published in French.

As a traveler and researcher Dr. Rashidi has visited 124countries. As a lecturer and presenter, he has spoken insixty-sevencountries.

Runoko has worked with and under some of the most distinguished scholars of the past half-century, including Ivan Van Sertima, John Henrik Clarke, Asa G. Hilliard, Edward Scobie, John G. Jackson, Jan Carew and Yosef ben-Jochannan.

In October 1987 Rashidi inaugurated the First All-India Dalit Writer's Conference in Hyderabad, India.

In 1999 he was the major keynote speaker at the International Reunion of the African Family in Latin America in Barlovento, Venezuela.

In 2005 Rashidi was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree, his first, by the Amen-Ra Theological Seminary in Los Angeles.

In August 2010 he was first keynote speaker at the First Global Black Nationalities Conference in Osogbo, Nigeria.

In December 2010 he was President and first speaker at the Diaspora Forum at the FESMAN Conference in Dakar, Senegal.

In 2018 he was named Traveling Ambassador to the Universal Negro Improvement Association & African Communities League RC 2020.

In 2020 he was named to the Curatorial and Academic boards of the Pan-African Heritage Museum.

He is currently doing major research on the African presence in the museums of the world.

As a tour leader he has taken groups to India, Australia, Fiji, Turkey, Jordan, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Togo, Benin, France, Belgium, England, Cote d'Ivoire, Namibia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Peru, Cuba, Luxembourg, Germany, Cameroon, the Netherlands, Spain, Morocco, Senegal, the Gambia,Guinea-Bissau,Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.

Runoko Rashidi's major mission in life is the uplift of African people, those at home and those abroad.

For more information write to Runoko@hotmail.com or call (323) 803-8663.

His website is www.drrunoko.com

[swiftletinthecloud]

@userdramas event 09 icon:Ju Ji Hoon (insp)

↬ as Crown Prince Lee Chang in Kingdom (2019) ⎈ Netflix's first original Korean series ⎈ 2nd Asia Contents Awards: Best Actor ↬ as Hae Wong Maek in the Along With The Gods (2017) film series ⎈ the 3rd and 12th highest-grossing films in South Korean cinema history ⎈ 6th Marie Claire Asia Star Awards: Asian Star Award ⎈ 2nd The Seoul Awards: Best Supporting Actor ⎈ 23rd KCA Consumer Day Awards: Best Actor

sources: 1, 2, 3

[bengiyo]

Hello hello ~~

Through wen-kexing-apologist's recent post about The Birdcage (which seems to come from your syllabus for baby gays) I got to the original series of reblogs which resulted in said syllabus. I read most of it (not everything because Real Life has my time hostage), and as someone who has seen her fare share of queer media I have now a pretty long to watch list.

As you wrote about how you enjoyed the romance of queer media I have a question.

Recently I have come across a Netflix movie trailer called Love at First Sight. With such a basic trope as a name I checked it out hoping the title to be misleading and to see something surprising in the plot. The disappointment I felt when by the end of it I realized it was exactly what the title sold: the most basic boy meets girl and they have to look for each other throughout the whole movie.

One of the things I really appeciate about queer media (and mainly BL probably) is the possibility to explore different kinds of romances and emotions. Both positive and negative. From Not Me to Heartsopper to Double Mints. I feel that being "out of the norm" they explore such emotions and situations in a more interesting and relatable way (and add to that that I, as a woman, cannot stand women characters making a 360º personality change once they fall in love)

So here's my question: what unusal or out of the ordinary romances would you like to see more of in BLs/queer shows/etc?

I personally would like romances with disabled characters to be more explored (I'm really looking forward to Last Twilight) or polyamory. Also more GL.

I admit this might be a very biased ask, it comes 100% from my subjective view, and I have yet to watch most of the movies in your syllabus for Baby Gays.

Anyway, I hope you have a great day and that this long ask won't bother you ❤

Well look at this ask! Let me get into this!

The Syllabus is on a Google Doc

First, I sincerely appreciate you watching me and @shortpplfedup go back and forth about stuff. For yours and others' convenience, I did put the Queer Cinema Syllabus in a Google Doc for @wen-kexing-apologist

Some Recommendations

If you're looking for a film with a disabled protagonist and also a bit about women, I would recommend checking out Margarita With a Straw (2014), Sleep With Me (2022) (I watched on Gaga), or if you're willing to tolerate hets Isa Pa With Feelings (2019) (currently on Netflix) or Silent (2022) (Viki)

If you're interested in more polyamory, I genuinely think that Quaranthings Season 2 (2021) does some really fascinating stuff worth checking out. We had complicated feelings about Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend (2023), but I liked it.

What do I want though?

I think this is a harder question for me to answer than I was expecting. I see myself as a guest when I'm watching a lot of content from Southeast Asia. I will voice my opinion on what I like and don't like, what I'm taking from these shows, and how they're affecting me. However, I don't really consider myself the target audience. I watch the shows as legally as possible and help generate engagement, but the "interfans" they care about are the English-speaking Asians in their region, not really me I feel like.

So when I think about what I want, I don't feel a yearning for any of the BL-producing Asian countries' film industries to make it for me.

I want to see the shit I like in the West get made. I want to see Black queer people presented complexly (Here is my regular plug for For The Boys). I'm a fat black gay nerd. The last time I saw a fat black gay nerd that I liked in an American production was Fire Island (2022).

I'm a 33-year Star Trek fan who still thinks we need more GAYS IN SPACE. I'd like to see more productions like Sort Of (2021- ) where complex queer friend and social groups navigate just existing in the world and finding love and meaning. I'd like to see less of reboots of classic shows like Queer as Folk be about a horrifying mass death event in the city I live in and the spaces I frequent (I refuse to link to it).

I want to see TJ Klune's, Ginn Hale's, or Lynn Flewelling's works adapted to series. I would like to see more wide release queer shit in the West not be overwhelmingly about fit, attractive, young white guys.

I want distribution for queer stories to not always have to go through four years of distribution hell because of the film festival circuit.

I want the West to try to make BL! I don't care if it feels cheap on the front end. I just wish more of us would be willing to throw support behind web shows. We did it for Awkward Black Girl! We can do it again!

This is turning into rambling, so I'll say that I don't necessarily have strong feelings about what I absolutely need to see. I like connecting with the specific humanity of stories, especially if they're about queer people. I didn't know I needed Moonlight (2016) until I saw it. I didn't know I needed Make the Yuletide Gay (2009) or Black Sails (2014-2017) until I watched them.

I just want more people with ideas to get a chance to turn them into something cool for us.

What about the rest of you? Please tag me if you have things you're hoping for.

[tomorrowxtogether]

Meet Tomorrow X Together: A guide to the group's members, tour, awards and more

Since its debut in 2019, Tomorrow X Together, also known as TXT, has become of the most recognizable groups to rise out of South Korea's music scene. From chart-hitting releases to record-setting firsts, Tomorrow X Together continues to make its name known in the industry and across the world.

And with over 14.3 million followers on Instagram, 10.7 million followers on Twitter and 8.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Tomorrow X Together's success is not slowing down any time soon. The group recently embarked on the U.S. leg of its world tour with stops in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and more.

Here's everything you need to know about the K-pop group Tomorrow X Together, from its members to its milestones and "Act: Sweet Mirage" world tour.

Who is Tomorrow X Together?

Tomorrow X Together (pronounced Tomorrow by Together) is a five member boy group under Big Hit Music, a subsidiary of HYBE Corporation. Big Hit Music is also home to BTS, while stars including Seventeen, Nana and Enhypen are in the HYBE family of artists.

Comprised of members Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai, the group debuted with "Crown" in 2019. Tomorrow X Together is the second boy group to debut under Big Hit Music.

How many members are in Tomorrow X Together?

There are five members:

Yeonjun (Full name: Choi Yeon-jun) Born Sept. 13, 1999. Hometown: Seoul, South Korea.

Soobin (Full name: Choi Soo-bin) Born Dec. 5, 2000. Hometown: Ansan, South Korea.

Beomgyu (Full name: Choi Beom-gyu) Born March 13, 2001. Hometown: Daegu, South Korea.

Taehyun (Full name: Kang Tae-hyun) Born Feb. 5, 2002. Hometown: Seoul, South Korea.

Hueningkai (Full name: Kai Kamal Huening) Born Aug. 14, 2002. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii

What are Tomorrow X Together fans called?

The fandom name for Tomorrow X Together is "MOA.""MOA" stands for "moments of alwaysness," meaning that Tomorrow X Together and the fans share each and every moment always and forever, and together gather pieces to complete one dream.

Tomorrow X Together world tour 'Act: Sweet Mirage'

On May 6, Tomorrow X Together kicked off the U.S. leg of the "Act: Sweet Mirage" world tour. The tour began earlier in South Korea on March 25 with two back-to-back shows at the KSPO Dome in Seoul. During the tour, the group will visit 16 cities across the globe with more dates to come. 

On the U.S. leg, Tomorrow X Together's stops include:

Charlotte, North Carolina – Spectrum Center (May 6).

Belmont Park, New York – UBS Arena (May 9 and May 10).

Washington, D.C. – Capitol One Arena (May 16).                    

Duluth, Georgia – Gas South Arena (May 19 and May 20).

San Antonio, Texas – AT&T Center (May 23 and May 24).

Los Angeles – BMO Stadium (May 27 and May 28).

Tomorrow X Together milestones

Since debut, Tomorrow X Together has released three studio albums, one reissue, six EPs and multiple singles.

At the time of its debut, Tomorrow X Together was the fastest K-pop act to top the Billboard World Albums and World Digital Song Sales charts with the single "Crown" and EP "The Dream Chapter: Star." The group has hit several Billboard charts, including the Billboard 200 with three Top 10 entries and "The Name Chapter: Temptation" reaching No.1. On the Billboard World Albums chart, Tomorrow X Together has five No. 1 hits.

Throughout its career, Tomorrow X Together has won many awards. In 2019, the group won several new artist awards, including Rookie of the Year at the Asia Artist Awards, Best New Male Artist at the Genie Music Awards and Best New Male Artist at the MAMA Awards. In 2023, the group won the World K-pop Star award at the Circle Chart Music Awards. At the 2023 Hanteo Music Awards, Tomorrow X Together received the main award, or bonsang, and the Global Artist Award for Asia.

On July 30, 2022, Tomorrow X Together became the first K-pop group to perform at Lollapalooza. The group will be returning to the festival in 2023, but this time as a headliner, alongside Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Odesza, The 1975 and Karol G.

In 2021, the group was awarded the 2021 Men of the Year Pop Icon Award by GQ Japan. In 2022, Tomorrow X Together received the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism commendation, a prestigious government award, in South Korea.

Tomorrow X Together was also named among the "K-Pop Star to Watch" for Billboard's K-pop issue in 2023.

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

Fine Line (the song) as Harry’s emotional barometer: a thesis

Fine Line, my beloved. It belongs to my favourite type of songs by male vocalists: straining tenor songs about longing.

Fine Line is the closing track on the album which shares its name. Track 13 on the album Harry held for months so he could release it on Dec. 13, 2019. Blondie’s 30th birthday; the preshow playlist that night featured 2 tracks from Lover. It is haunting on the album, and live it’s even better.

Harry begins while quietly strumming his moon and stars/galaxy guitar with the fox on it. He often starts low, shifting into the upper register for lines like “You sunshine, you temptress. My hand’s at risk, I fold…”. It builds to a musical crescendo where he cries out one final “we’ll be alriiiiiiight” while horns and guitar and keys and percussion swell. It a weeper for me, and a no skip always.

Now that the tour is over, I can find all the stats, and there are some interesting trends;

During the first shows of HSLOT, in the fall of 2021, it was the final song on the set list prior to encore.

Here it is on opening night in Las Vegas, with the loveliest speech to introduce it

Here’s Tacoma where before singing it, he begs people to tell those they love that they love them:

Sometimes, he seems to be up in his feels and chooses not to sing the final line. He thanks the city instead, as he does here on the final night of the 2021 US leg:

He releases Harry’s House on May 20, 2022. He starts touring in European stadiums in June in Glasgow, and Love of My Life has replaced Fine Line as the set list closer.

At the first concert, he plays it midset between Boyfriends and Satellite, and it seems to be too emotional to do at that point in the show. It disappears after that.

He plays a particularly emotional version, following LOML and as actual main setlist finale, at the final European show in Lisbon in July 2022.

It vanishes from the setlist after that. It becomes the most requested song, even more then Medicine since Medicine is played from time to time.

He plays it for a 3rd time in 2022, in São Paulo. Coming out to do the ONLY second encore he’s done on tour, on Dec. 13, 2022 he plays it. (In true Harry fashion, he’s wearing a flag as a skirt because he’s ripped the crotch of his Gucci jumpsuit while 🕺).

He finishes, and in Portuguese thanks the city, the fans, and “Fine Line”.

Think I am kidding? Here are the times he played it in 2022, as per the stats:

He does not touch it during the bonus North American dates, nor in Australia/New Zealand or Asia.

Imagine my shock watching a livestream from Horsens, Denmark on May 13, 2023 when FINE LINE replaces LOML as the main set finale; it remains in that spot for the entire European leg of 2023.

And there are some doozies. On May 28th, on night 2 in Edinburgh, he sings the most emotional rendition I had ever seen. I wept through the livestream.

For interest’s sake, the night before while at MetLife Taylor released YLM and sang Maroon for the first time.

Another doozy of a performance was n3 of Wembley on June 16th

And he continues to perform the song with high levels of emotionality, all the way to the end of the tour on July 22nd.

That night, he performs the only other 2nd encore of the 169+ shows, a 10 minute instrumental piano ballad, and original composition which he introduces after by saying in Italian: “I wrote this for you, just for tonight”.

Thoughts?

[shuilongyinint]

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐮𝐨 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐱𝐢

Series celebrate Luo Yunxi 14th debut anniversary. 💜🐣🐉

Luo made his acting debut from 2012.

🔸2012:

Luo Yunxi was cast in the romance film "The Spring of My Life" opposite Tan Songyun, released in theaters in 2015.

🔸2013:

He was cast in his first drama "Flip in Summer", which was broadcast in 2018.

🔸2014:

Luo starred in the science fiction campus web drama "Hello Aliens".

🔸2015:

Luo became known to viewers with his role as the younger counterpart of the male protagonist in the hit romance drama "My Sunshine".

Following the airing of the drama, Luo experienced a significant rise in popularity.

🔸2016:

Luo was cast as the protagonist in the crime suspense drama "Voice of the Dead", an adaption of one of the books in the "Medical Examiner Dr. Qin" novel series.

•the same year, he starred in historical fantasy drama "Fox in the Screen" as a fox demon in love with a human.

🔸2017:

Luo co-starred in the fantasy romance drama "A Life Time Love"where he reunited with "My Sunshine" co-star Janice Wu.

•he then played the lead role in the medical drama "Children's Hospital Pediatrician".

🔸2018:

Luo began filming the historical romance drama "Princess Silver" as a kind but distant and misunderstood prince who inherits a deadly poison from his mother before birth. The drama was released in April 2019.

•Luo also acted in the fantasy romance drama "Ashes of Love" as "Runyu", the gentle and regal Night Immortal whose innocence and kindness turns to hatred and revenge when he sets out to avenge his mother's unfair death.

The drama topped television ratings and online web rankings and Luo's portrayal of a morally ambiguous antagonist was acclaimed by critics.

▪️According to China Daily, Luo Yunxi's portrayal of Runyu was among the most rewarding screen adaptations, ranking him alongside well-known figures like Sun Wukong and Lin Daiyu.

•he was cast in the modern romance drama "Broker" alongside Victoria Song as a morally ambiguous corporate spy with a hidden motive. The drama premiered on Zhejiang TV and Jiangsu TV on July 22, 2021.

🔸2020:

Luo was cast in the xianxia drama "Immortality" as a selfless and fearless grandmaster.

•the same year, he starred in the wuxia romance drama "And The Winner Is Love" as the graceful young master of the Yueshang Valley.

•he also starred as "Yuan Shuai" in the modern romance workplace drama "Love is Sweet".

The drama was iQiyi's most popular romance drama in 2020, and Luo received positive reviews for his role as an arrogant and charming investment bank executive.

•the same year, he was cast as a secretive CEO in melo romance "Lie to Love".

🔸2021:

Luo was cast in "Light Chaser Rescue" as an unscrupulous lawyer who turns over a new leaf after becoming a volunteer rescue worker. The drama premiered on Mango TV and Tencent on October 14, 2022.

•the same year, Luo was cast in xianxia drama "Till the End of the Moon" as "Tantai Jin", a hostage prince who is born with an evil bone and must rebel against his destiny of becoming the havoc-wreaking Devil God.

-the drama premiered on Youku on April 6, 2023 and was a commercial success. Youku had the highest number of downloads on the App Store since 2018.

-the drama's first-day market share was 22.76%, making it the most-watched period drama since 2020, Luo's portrayal of the anti-hero also received positive reviews.

-his performance in Till the End of the Moon also earned him the title of 2023 Asia Star Champion.

🔸2022:

Luo was cast in medical romance drama "Love is Panacea" as a genius neurosurgeon who ends up spearheading research on Huntington's disease to save his love interest.

The drama premiered on CCTV-8 on November 2, 2023.

🔸2023:

Luo was cast in period detective romance drama "Follow Your Heart" as a prince-turned-detective who suffers from prosopagnosia.

•the same year, he was cast in fantasy wuxia drama "Shui Long Yin" as a highly skilled but introverted and even indifferent swordsman.

Shui Long Yin was announced on November 11, 2023, at Mango TV's Commercial Presentation (芒果驷马难追建群大会). The series began filming on December 2, 2023, and finished on April 24, 2024.

🔸2024:

Luo was cast in "The Truth Within" as a forensic medical examiner who becomes entangled in a series of enigmatic cases while investigating the de//ath of his girlfriend, who is ki//ll//ed in a car crash.

[officiallordvetinari]

Below are 10 articles randomly chosen from Wikipedia's Featured Articles list. Brief descriptions and links are below the cut.

Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein. As with the first film, Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karloff as the Monster and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein. The sequel features Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of Mary Shelley and the bride.

Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the affluent Chew Valley, in Somerset, England, about 8 miles (13 km) south of Bristol and 10 miles north of Wells. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is within the Bristol and Bath green belt.

David Hillhouse Buel Jr. (July 19, 1862 – May 23, 1923) was an American priest who served as the president of Georgetown University. A Catholic priest and Jesuit for much of his life, he later left the Jesuit order to marry, and subsequently left the Catholic Church to become an Episcopal priest.

Denbies is a large estate to the northwest of Dorking in Surrey, England. A farmhouse and surrounding land originally owned by John Denby was purchased in 1734 by Jonathan Tyers, the proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens in London, and converted into a weekend retreat. The house he built appears to have been of little architectural significance, but the Gothic garden he developed in the grounds on the theme of death achieved some notoriety, despite being short-lived.

Courbet was the lead ship of her class of four dreadnought battleships, the first ones built for the French Navy. She was completed shortly before the start of World War I in August 1914.

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate dietary therapy that in conventional medicine is used mainly to treat hard-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.

The football match between Manchester United and Ipswich Town played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 4 March 1995 as part of the 1994–95 FA Premier League finished in a 9–0 victory for the home team. The result stands as the joint record, with Southampton having subsequently lost by the same scoreline at home to Leicester City in 2019 and away at Manchester United in 2021, while Bournemouth also lost 9–0 to Liverpool in 2022.

M-185 is a state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan that circles Mackinac Island, a popular tourist destination on the Lake Huron side of the Straits of Mackinac, along the island's shoreline. A narrow paved road of 8.004 miles (12.881 km), it offers scenic views of the straits that divide the Upper and the Lower peninsulas of Michigan and Lakes Huron and Michigan.

Santa María de Óvila is a former Cistercian monastery built in Spain beginning in 1181 on the Tagus River near Trillo, Guadalajara, about 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Madrid. During prosperous times over the next four centuries, construction projects expanded and improved the small monastery. Its fortunes declined significantly in the 18th century, and in 1835 it was confiscated by the Spanish government and sold to private owners who used its buildings to shelter farm animals.

Sarcoscypha coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet elf cup, or the scarlet cup, is a species of fungus in the family Sarcoscyphaceae of the order Pezizales. The fungus, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, has been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia.

[dojae-huh]

you should be hoping sm doesn't pull on DJJ the same crap they pulled on CBX instead of asking why a fan would want them to leave the company. LSM was literally a money launderer.... the good music will follow an idol no matter where they go if they are talented. so you shouldn't be worried if jaedo leaves sm. if you are a fan, you need to be by their side, not sm's. what if sm doesn't pay them too? if sm was scamming CBX out of their money you don't think they are doing to other artists? if i remember correctly LSM was hoarding all the wayv money for himself 😭

I'm not on SM's side, I don't work for them, and I'm not a company stan.

I'm also a freelancer, a person who prefers financial instability to working for a company and following someone else's rules. Never lasted more than a year in an institution.

You, fans who cry your faves need to leave their company this instant, are very naive and detached from reality. Many of you don't even yet pay taxes or feed a family.

Good music doesn't follow nice idols. If it was so, the talented yt singers and indie artists would have showered the world with bangers and got money from their talents. Instead of singing covers in local bars and their tiny yt channels. Somehow it is "factory produced" pop-stars and rappers instead who get famous.

There is no "dating app" for producers. You need to know people, have connections, or be the one everyone sends their demos to. It was hated by the fans Chris Lee who travelled around the globe and collected all those European and American producers. It is SM's money and reputation that makes aspiring Korean producers send them their tracks in hopes of being chosen.

There are very few songwriters among idols. Even fewer idols who can be a manager or a CEO. There are more than 3 hundred idol companies in Korea, and only 5 or 7 are really successful. Even Pledis with self-producing 17, an idol group second only to BTS in popularity, was bought by Hybe (i.e. they had to sell themselves otherwise they couldn't continue).

Look at Jessi. She is very talented, she is good at variety, she knows a lot of people in the industry, she writes her own songs, and she struggles non-stop. She was scummed by one of the people who she hired, an orginiser for her concerts in Europe.

Look at Kang Daniel. He was and stays one of the most popular idols in Korea, he is a phenomenon. He opened his own company, he works like a horse on tv programmes to promote himself. And even his album sales started to go down.

2019: 500,134 copies sold

2020: 603,961 copies sold

2021: 320,114 copies sold

2022: 404,261 copies sold

2023: 171,552 copies sold

Where is Chungha?

I'm not saying it is impossible to become famous on your own, or that staying with one's company is always the best choice. No. It's business. Both sides use each other. Being a part of a big company has its downsides. Being independant or a part of a small company also has its downsides. SM is not strong in acting area, so leaving it as an actor (D.O.) or musical actor (Kyuhyun) makes sense. When it comes to idol music though?

You mentioned CBX.

On June 3, Ten Asia announced that Baekhyun has established his own company called "I&B100" and founded it on June 23 of last year before the issue of renewal contracts with SM was raised. Baekhyun will continue to work "separately and together" with SM through his own label during the contract renewal period. On June 19, SM and the three members announced that both parties had resolved their differences over contract dispute and the members had decided to stay with the agency.

Why the talented and super famous Exo members "resolved" their differences instead of leaving the hateful company? Because they are not stupid. They fought for their rights and improved their terms, but they still need SM's resources, the money that participation in Exo will bring. Baek's company is a production company. He can safely run it, make trial tests, learn the craft. And only later, when everything is running smoothly, when he gained reputation and trust, he can go into real independant sailing.

OK. Doyoung or Jaehyun leaves SM today. Where will they go? JYP? YG? The most famous and successul current soloists are Taeyeon, Baekhyun, Taemin (SM/Kakao), IU (Kakao), BTS guys and PSY. PSY has his own company, but Jessi left him, Hyuna left him, his boy group released only one EP and dissapeared. He is a bad producer and CEO, apparently.

Open their own companies? Doyoung didn't even finish school. He wants to be a CEO one day and he will. However, right now he has neither the capital, neither the fame to pull it off. Everything he gained was through SM. It is not enough to find a good song. You need investors who will pay for your MVs, you need album distributors and streaming platforms, you need PR managers who will look for tv-appearence opportunities and BA deals. You need translators and editors for YT content. Will Doyoung find them all on the street? With tens of years of experience under their belt?

NCT got their own centre. The right way for Doyoung is not to leave SM, but seize this centre, get producing and creative control over it, get all the executives under his thumb.

Different idols suit different companies. Soyeon wouldn't be given the free reign over her group in SM. It's because Cube failed with CLC, they risked it and tried to trust her talent of a producer. G-Dragon wouldn't become G-Dragon in SM either. And 17 became self-producing because Pledis was postponing their debut, didn't have money. On the other hand, Taeyong wouldn't have become Taeyong outside of SM. If Soyeon is a dandelion capable of growing through concrete. He is a capricious rose in need of a glasshouse.

SM is a company built by its artists as much as by the staff behind the scene. The older idols walked for newer idols to run. Taemin had to fight for the right to have more influence on the production side of his albums. Key fought for his vision. Kai invested his own resources. Seulgi and Taeyong? Practically produced their first albums. Shinee, even 127 gave out snacks to their first fans to slowly build a fanbase. Riize sold their single 1mln+ and are on top of brandrep after half a year after the debut.

Compare Hansol and Sungchan. One left. One stayed. Where are they now?

[qvnthesia]

About Me!

Hi! I'm Quinn, or just Q also works. I'm a multi-fandom writer and occasional character theoretician from South Asia. I'm only alive and writing on AO3 and Tumblr, otherwise busy sleeping, trying to read books or just simply trying to survive and comprehend this fast-paced world around us.

I've been writing since 2019, and joined Tumblr in 2021, formally kicking off this little writing hobby corner of mine. I started off writing with the Vampire Diaries and slowly branched out into Star Wars and other fandoms.

My life's had a crazy number of changes this year, so I thought why not change the layout and everything and get organized and competent for once, eh?

Updates are sporadic, but I never give up writing. My fics rot in my drafts just as I do in the physical world. I'm mostly here appreciating blended gifs, fanarts, and some bloody good writing (because learning never stops), so I hope to continue and kick off with some new fics with stride. My ask box is always open for a chat. DMs are always the best for any personal concerns.

If you've reached the end of this post, thank you so much for staying. You can scroll through my blog, send over a fic or a request, I'm always open for some fun interactions! (Or indulging in Personality Databases).

Live, love, laugh.

♡ Quinn/Q (whichever you prefer).

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