#he deserves better than mnet anyway

[vrisik]

jay was robbed i’m still not over it

[disgracefiles]

☻ ₊ ⊹ THE DOWNFALL OF 2LUVU

2LUVU (often shortened to 2LU, which, let’s be honest, is weird and kinda stupid since the name wasn’t exactly long to begin with) was JYP Entertainment’s first and last attempt at a coed group, currently inactive and disbanded. The lineup consisted on four members (two boys and two girls): Liv, Hanse, Jules, and Junseo. 2LUVU made their debut on March 12, 2018, with the EP ACTION!, which, unfortunately, flopped hard due to JYP’s half-hearted promotion efforts.

The EP was promoted for the sad amount of three weeks, including the pre-release period in which JYP posted a couple of photos of each member and called it a day. The MV teaser dropped only three days before the actual release, leaving no time for barely any hype to build up around the group’s debut. Once the EP was out, 2LUVU only performed the title track U READY? four times. Surprise, surprise! They didn’t get any wins because who were they, anyways? No one knew! They came out of nowhere so no one was expecting them. On top of all the lack of promotion, a lot was going on in the industry at the moment. Just to name some names, KRUSH and STUPID CUPID happened to be promoting around the same time, which banished any remaining hope the group had at getting any win at all. If the effect these groups had wasn’t negative enough for 2LUVU, the VENUS debuted only five days later, completely overshadowing them and their silly little song. Let’s just say, JYP wasn’t the brightest when deciding on the group’s debut date.

Following their debut, 2LUVU remained silent for almost a year. This made the few fans the group had gathered completely forget about them. Honestly, with JYP in charge, the group was doomed from the start, but leaving them without any new music for a whole year? Even their small fanbase was losing their minds! Rumor has it that JYP had bigger, more successful groups to focus on, so they just sidelined 2LUVU after their flop of a debut. I guess, at some point, someone remembered the group existed and that they hadn’t had a single comeback. So, they got a second chance in February 2019, though this time with a way smaller budget but slightly better promotions. Their digital single XOXO did better than ACTION!, but it still wasn’t enough to cover all the costs. JYP ended up disbanding the group and pretending they never existed in the first place. I mean it! No one in the company talks about them and, when being asked about their time in 2LUVU, the former members always avoid the question. Expect for Junseo, I guess. He likes to point out how awful his time in the group was and how much he despised their concept and discography.

₊ ⊹ DEBUT DATE: March 19th, 2018

₊ ⊹ DEBUT EP: ACTION!

₊ ⊹ DISBANDMENT DATE: July 7th, 2019

₊ ⊹ COMPANY: JYP Entertainment

☹ ₊ ⊹ THE MEMBERS + WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)

🙂 KANG OLIVIA ‘LIV’, 1999 ₊ ⊹ After 2LUVU’s disbandment, Liv became a trainee once again. She trained for a around a year before being sent to Mnet’s Once Upon a Dream, where she ranked 3rd and got to redebut. She’s now an active member of IDOL MAKER’s EVERMORE as the group’s main vocalist and visual princess.

🍓 CHOI HANSE, 2002 ₊ ⊹ Hanse’s contract was bought by IDOL MAKER right away, but he’s still in the company’s basement ever since! His fans continuously beg for his redebut on twitter, but so far IDOL MAKER has turn a deaf ear to their pleas.

🦋 JULIANA ‘JULES’ SANTOS, 2002 ₊ ⊹ Jules is now one of the famous Pick Me dolls! After 2LUVU disbanded, Jules was sent to Girls Planet 999, where she didn’t make the cut to debut with Kep1er. But then her contract was bought by Heartbreak and she’s finally got the success she always deserved.

🌈 LEE JUNSEO, 2000 ₊ ⊹ Junseo, now going by the stage name JUNO, is a soloist under IDOL MAKER. He redebuted on 2020, only a year after 2LUVU’s disbandment. Even though his redebut was a total success thanks to IDOL MAKER’s management, he’s initial fame has been declining lately. You could say people has grown tired of his music!

thanks to @venusvity, @stcpidcupid and @urmykrushhh for giving me permission to mention their amazing ocs <3 love you lots!

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 3, Love Whisper Challenge

Welcome back to the Great Produce48 Rewatch Project, the project that asks, “should I do this?” then answers itself “no!” and then does it anyway! When we left off, we had concluded a brief overview of everyone’s prep for the first Group Battle Challenge Mission Thingy. And now it’s time for the actual performances! What heights will the trainees hit in their singing? What lows will the trainees hit in their arguing? No way to know but to watch! Woot! So let’s go! We're starting off with the two performances of Love Whisper, originally by Gfriend.

It’s performance day. Fans are lined up, excited to see their favorites perform. 

The girls are getting ready…. Ready for some product placement, that is! All I know is that I want those colored contacts lenses and Subway sandwiches that come in those really cute neoprene bags. 

I did some digging (thank you, auto translation in Google Chrome) and apparently these bags were a pretty big hit when they came out in 2018. I wonder if any of the girls still have theirs? I would treasure mine! As the blogger of that link wrote, "Look at the avocado's solemn face! They're so cute they give me a headache."

Anyway, back to the show.

Lee Seungki comes out on stage and is greeted by an auditorium of screaming fans. He explains the rules -- each of two teams will perform the same song, and then the audience will vote for the single trainee amongst all the girls who deserves their vote. And then… it’s showtime! … Kinda. 

As you know if you’ve watched these shows before, what is going to happen is that we’re going to call the groups up on stage, and then we’re going to watch an extended flashback package about their experience getting ready for the performance before we finally get to kind of see the performance itself. I say "kind of" since the MNET edit will be almost completely intolerable.

To introduce the first group (though I get the feeling they didn't actually perform first), Seungki says, “Which girl group comes to your mind when I mention innocent looks and powerful dance moves?” And the whole auditorium is like, “yeoja chingu!” (G-friend). So out come the Love Whisper teams.

The two groups come out and introduce themselves as “Never Give Up” and “Giant Baby”, respectively. Kang Damin from "Giant Baby" -- who you may know as the Kawaii Avengers -- starts in on the smack talk, saying that they’re cuter than the other team. Gravel-voiced Yamada Noe says, in English, “But! My team is powerful!” In the judging room, Dance Bae says that Noe is so funny it makes her happy. Soyou replies, “But her singing skills…”

And we cut back to the flashback (1:38:45 - 1:47:04). 

Just to remind you of who is who in group Never Give Up:

Left to right:

Son Eunchae, 18, future member of Bugaboo, who moved up from C to B and is ranked 85th. She’s the leader and we'll be seeing a lot of her here.

Wang Ke, 17, a Chinese girl who had the red polka dots in Celeb Five, moved down from B to D and is ranked 33rd. She’s the center and is easy to spot since she's the tallest. She will also get a lot of story focus.

Nagano Serika, 17, who auditioned with Mister by Kara, has lived in F class and is ranked 81st.

Yamada Noe, 18, with her gravelly voice, moved from C down to F and is ranked quite high in 9th place. 

Muto Tomu, 23, the chooser of this group, a D class mainstay and ranked 28th. She actually seems to have a lot of personality but we hardly get to know her.

Ichikawa Manami, 18, with the shorter hair, from What's Your Name?, rose from F to C, currently ranked 83rd. She’s currently the main vocal by default, since no one else wanted to do it.

The story so far: Tomu’s team basically cannot sing. Noe cannot make sounds come out of her mouth, and others aren’t much better. Of the group, it seems that Manami is actually the best singer -- she physically can hit the high notes. We were left wondering: Can they sing this song?

We cut to their vocal lesson. It’s going really, really poorly. Soyou is looking like this…

.. then asks them to turn off the music. She says she doesn’t know if she can even help them, that it’s even worse than a middle school talent show, which is true, but even so. Hey, Soyou, what the fuck? Teach them to sing. Get Jeremy in here or something, because it’s not helpful to just insult them. They’re bad singers. Noted. Now help them. 

Eunchae feels bad that as leader she hasn’t done a better job of helping her team, but her team is a bunch of girls who cannot sing. I mean, what can anyone do? 

Poor Manami tries again, and a few notes in, she gives up, shaking her head. “Manami-chan,” Soyou says, more gently. “Why are you the main vocalist?” Manami just shakes her head. Poor kid. I think that it’s kind of obvious how Manami ended up the main vocal, Soyou. Be nice. Soyou asks Wang Ke to try, and she does. Wang Ke sounds pretty awful to me too, but Soyou seems to think Ke is better. 

Manami interviews that she is determined to do her best as main vocal, but Eunchae, who is trying to be a good leader, announces in pigeon Kor-pan-glish, that they need to change who the main vocal is. She asks Manami-san if she’s daijobu (ok), but Manami-san is definitely NOT daijobu. She spent a lot of time memorizing her part -- the song is in Korean, which she does not speak -- and she is gutted that all that time was wasted. Not to mention that she’ll have to learn new lyrics. Eunchae feels awful too. And Wang Ke feels awful too, that she’s not good enough to be main vocal. She’s willing to do it, though, if it will help the group. Everyone feels awful. 

Ke does her best, and then ends up crying in a closet. 

She’s full on sobbing, but the staff just jams a camera in there to investigate, and the poor kid has to summon up enough Korean to explain herself (remember, she’s Chinese, so every part of this has to be 2x as stressful and difficult for her than it would be for anyone else). Everyone’s crying, and Eunchae feels like she let everyone down. The situation is so dire that the other team (the Kawaii Avengers) even comes over to investigate. 

Poor Eunchae is taking it really hard, like she is at fault, but she's only 18 and it's not cool that there's so much pressure on her. I know that when I was 18 I thought I was an adult, but now that I’m a lot older, I realize that you kind of never really become an adult. You just creeping closer and closer to adulthood, like Zeno’s arrow. And 18 is so, so young. I just want to hug all these girls. They really need mental health experts to be available on these shows.

It’s the next day and they’re at a dance lesson with Psychopath. They start the dance, and the first move is to take each other’s hands. Eunchae can feel everyone’s desperation, and she just starts to cry. 

She’s trying to smile and dance but she’s crying, and it’s just awful. She’s talking about how this is her last chance (you’re 18, girl!). They try again, and Wang Ke begins to sob too. We never even see Psychopath’s feedback, just them crying and talking about how desperate they are. 

And now… it’s time for the show. 

A beautiful soul on Youtube named PD48 editing has created videos that allow you to just watch the performances without constant interruptions and instant replays. Bless you, PD48 Editing. Blessings on you and your family and your cow. 

Link to the edited version 

Serika, Eunchae, Motu Tomu, Noe, Manami, Wang Ke

Serika, Motu Tomu, Manami, Eunchae, Wang Ke, Noe

Tomu - subvocal1  Eunchae - subvocal 2 Serika - subvocal 3 Noe - subvocal 4 Manami - subvocal 5 Wang Ke - main vocal

My thoughts: Vocally, they were much better than I had feared they’d be, to the point that I wonder if something is up, like if they prerecorded some vocals or something. Tomu and Eunchae end up singing a lot, as subvocals 1 and 2, and though Tomu is a bit wobbly, they sound ok. Wang Ke managed to hit the notes, though she sounded pretty shaky and rough. 

Dance-wise, I didn’t notice any mistakes. The choreo to this song is so weird that even when it’s done correctly it looks wrong, so I checked it against the original and it was actually right, though they added in a few cute flourishes. I thought that Manami really stood out in the dance parts.

Stage presence wise, Noe is super distracting. She is turning the cuteness up to 1000% and honestly, it’s offputting. It comes across as sarcastic.

The rest were all pretty cute, if a bit dead eyed sometimes. Wang Ke does the doe-eyed look straight to camera really well. 

Oh, god, Eunchae is crying in the ending fairy. 

Overall, this really wasn’t bad. The song is so not my favorite so I don’t know if I would ever be into a performance of it, but I think they did exceptionally well given their skill level and the time they had to practice. 

The MNET edit: The judges praise their facial expressions and energy, and we see lots of shots of the other girls backstage looking nervous, implying that they’re doing well. After Wang Ke’s high notes, Jeremy and Soyou exchange glances, and Soyou nods, as if to say, “This is good for them.” Soyou says that they practiced a lot and improved a lot. 

Backstage, the girls are saying thank you to Eunchae, and they’re all crying. They did a good job, overall. 

GROUP 2

Left to right:  Nayoung, Damin, Eunbin, Nako, Sae, Misaki

As a reminder, the members are:

Kim Nayoung, 15, future member of Lightsum who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend, went from C to A, and is now in 63rd place. She’s subvocal 2 and leader.

Kang Damin, 14, the cute future member of Queenz Eye, went from B to A, and is ranked 74th. She’s subvocal 5.

Yoon Eunbin,14, one of the CNC girls, stayed in B, and is ranked 68th. She’s subvocal 1. 

Yabuki Nako, 16, who moved up from F to A, is currently ranked 27th. She’s Main vocal.

Kurihara Sae, 21, who had the great bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who went from D to F and is now ranked 84th. She’s subvocal 4.

Aramaki Misaki, 17, who auditioned with the blighted Never Ending Ferris Wheel group, has been stationed in F class, and is ranked 61st. She’s subvocal 3. 

As you’ll recall, Nako picked this group to be the Kawaii Avengers, they seem poised to take this one.

We find out that Nayoung has been a fun and sweet leader, constantly telling her teammates that she loves them and that they’re doing a good job.

She helps the Japanese members with their pronunciation and tries to keep all their spirits up. 

In their dance rehearsal with Psychopath, he dings them first for not being ready the second he says standby. Then they have to dance without music and they make a bunch of mistakes. He basically makes them feel like shit, which is his M.O. Honestly, I think this is just because they’re not having any drama at all, so they had to find some stuff for their rehearsal package. The tiny mistakes they’re making are so minimal that it seems stupid to verbally abuse them for them -- not that any amount of mistakes justify verbal abuse.

Fast forward to dress rehearsal and they’re not synchronized enough. So they decide to keep practicing. “Let’s start,” Nayoung says, in Japanese. And they try again. 

Now it's performance time!

PD48’s blessed edit 

Misaki, Nayoung, Damin, Yunbin, Sae, Nako

Top row: Nako, Nayoung, Yunbin

Bottom row: Misaki, Damin, Sae 

My thoughts: Overall, really good, to the standard expected of this song.

Vocally, they were definitely superior to the other team. No one here has a voice that I would delight to listen to, like how I love listening to Yuju, but voices like Yuju’s are rare. Nako does hit those notes cleanly, but I find her vocal color a little shrill. It’s not a deal breaker, though. Vocally, I thought Nayoung had the most pleasant voice to listen to. But it was actually hard to tell their voices apart, so that’s a sign that they were doing something right.

Dance wise, I don’t notice any mistakes. Given that the camera man hardly ever shows their footwork, there’s almost no point in them even learning it. Nobody really stood out for good or bad. They seemed energetic and confident. Man, this choreo gets weirder ever time I see it. Sorry if this is your favorite song or something. 

Stage presence wise, Nako obviously knocks everyone else out of the water.

That's Nako top right, with the braids.

Everyone else was being cute, but Nako just *IS* cute.  I don’t know how anyone can smile that much and still make it look natural. Is there a special smile implant surgery that she underwent? More witchcraft from Nako.

I think Misaki could have brought a little more energy and I think Damin low key gives off “kid in a child beauty pageant” vibes...

but again, none of that is a deal breaker.

Really, they all did pretty well. Thinking more about it, it becomes even more clear to me how much having Yamada Noe hurt the other team for me. I’m sure a lot of people would disagree, so it’s fine if you are one of them, but Noe’s weird fake cuteness was kind of painful to watch and super distracting. I think Team 2 wins merely by not having that. I think they would have won anyway. 

I know all the girls tried their best, and my heart breaks for Eunchae, Wang Ke, and all the girls who try their hardest and still lose. But I think it would be hard to vote for anyone else but Nako.

MNET edit: There’s this cute part where they show Psychopath mouthing along with the lyrics -- kind of funny. Of course everyone goes batshit when Nako hits the high notes. Other than that, it wasn’t that intrusive of an edit, thank god.

When the Kawaii Avengers are done, both teams come up on stage to make their final appeals.

Lee Seungki asks Eunchae about how she almost cried at the end, and she says “Each one of us worked so hard, and I know this might be our last stage, so I got emotional.” Poor Wang Ke starts crying again, and Manami almost starts up as well. 

Backstage, the other teams all tear up as well, and then, and THEN, AND FUCKING THEN, the judges say to each other that they feel bad for the kids. Cheetah says, “They must have been really stressed.” And Soyou is fanning her face to dry her tears.

Where was all this fucking sympathy and empathy when they were rehearsing? Do you think that maybe part of the reason they were stressed is that you guys were YELLING AT THEM ALL THE DAMN TIME? 

Seungki gives them time to appeal to the audience, but we only get to hear what Noe and Nako say.

Noe yells, in halting Korean that I think she reads off a note written: “HELLO PRODUCERS! I ALWAYS HAVE THIS HUSKY VOICE! I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR KIND EVALUATION!!!” 

Nako says, in smooth Korean that she must have carefully memorized, “Hello, I’m Yabuki Nako from HKT48. I know I was nervous, but I had a lot of fun, thanks to the National Producers.” 

Imagine standing there, looking at the audience while they vote, or don’t vote, for you? No thanks.

They go to the Results Zone, which is clearly just a the bathroom area of a women's locker room. The chairs are gym mats placed on top of a bench and there are 197 cameras arranged to catch Nako from 197 angles. 

The producers reveal the votes slowly, of course, and at first it looks like Eunchae’s team might win. 

Motu Tomu gets 52 votes, more than Eunbin’s 42.  Eunchae gets 88 votes, more than Nayoung’s 32.  Yamada Noe got 106 votes, much more than Sae’s 18. Manami gets 38, more than Damin’s 36. Serika’s 22 loses to Misaki’s 30. But even so, Team 1 is winning.  It’s down to just the main vocals: Wang Ke versus Nako. 

And then they reveal the result. Wang Ke gets 28 votes, and…. Nako got 330 votes. 

Three hundred and thirty. 

No one even reacts at first because it’s so much more than anyone else, by a lot. And I, an intellectual living in the year 2024, can tell you that this will turn out to be the most votes of the whole night, by a LOT. No one else even breaks 200! 

Nayoung is tearful, and at first I thought it might be because she got only 32 votes. But it turns out that she is both grateful and sorry -- grateful to Nako that she won the night for them, and sorry that the team needed her to do that. 

She’s crying like a little kid, sniffling and wiping her face, and she just seems exhausted. Jalhaess-eoyo, Nayoung-ah. You kept your team together and helped everyone. You have nothing to be sorry about. I think Nako just really suited this song, and also that her smile has magic powers. 

And I hope that Eunchae was ok when her team lost. She was taking the whole thing so hard and she seems like a really nice girl.

And that's it for this recap! When we pick up in the next one, we'll cross the border between Episode 3 and 4 with coverage of Peekaboo! Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you find a warm cinnamon bun left for you by a kindly elf.

[benayoung]

* ❁┆the crown

call it strange, but nayoung finds a much easier time getting along with the boys in the competition. maybe it’s because they aren’t exactly competition, at least not compared to the girls. she doubts she’ll be fighting the boys to get into a group, but you never know.

either way, she’s actually happy for junho when he becomes the male center. she didn’t really know the guy that got her into boxing several months ago had any interest in music and performing, let alone that he was any good at it, but as far as nayoung is concerned, his first place position is well-deserved. she can accept when talented people do better than her; most of the time. junho is probably even more skilled than her, and she wonders how; what is his background, exactly? she found out her coworker was a former idol through this show, so everyone is full of surprises.

either way, during a break in group rehearsals for my turn, she’s happy to spot the man of the hour and scurry over to him. “junho,” she greets him with a smile and a bow. “i’m sure you’re popular, but i wanted to congratulate you on your center position. you rose a lot.”

honestly, this process is a bit stressful for her, especially now, with a challenge she thought should be her specialty only netting her eighth place. she doubts that will cut it when it comes to the judges choosing winners at the end of this. at least it’s an improvement for her first ranking, she supposes. if she rises three more spots this episode as well, she’ll make it to top five, but she doesn’t feel as confident about her rapping.

ultimately, it all makes her want to punch something, but she doesn’t know if on camera is the place to ask junho if he wants to hit the gym with her sometime after filming. that time might be better spent practicing, anyway, but nayoung has a feeling she’ll need to get some anger out of her system before she can be a proper team player anyway.

“i haven’t seen you at the gym lately,” is what she settles on instead. it’s innocuous, and gives the rolling cameras some context, should they discuss this further. granted, mnet will probably take it out of context anyway, but oh well. she wonders if junho cares about the light he’s painted in as little as she does. she can’t explain it, but she always felt like they might have more in common than they know.

something else they have in common: being on rap teams, she remembers suddenly. “it seems like we’ll be competing against each other this round,” she points out with another smile. it’s not as vicious as it usually would be.

* ❁┆ @bejun​

[deobis]

Road to Kingdom Episode 4 Thoughts

The third challenge was for each group to pick one of their own songs and perform it. I really wish RTK stuck with the “king” theme, but I guess there are only so many challenges they can create revolving that topic. 

DISCLAIMER: I am a lot harsher in this review than any of my other posts. Please know that I do not hate any of the 7 groups and I truly wish the best for all of them. This is just an analysis of the most recent performances.

Anyways onto my rankings!

Enjoyment ranking: 

Pentagon (Wow! For once it’s not TBZ haha)

Verivery

The Boyz

Oneus

ONF

TOO

Golden Child

Objective Ranking:

Verivery

The Boyz

Pentagon

ONF

Oneus

Golden Child

TOO

Prediction rankings:

Pentagon

The Boyz

Verivery

ONF

Oneus

TOO

Golden Child

Put a prediction ranking bc the rankings haven’t been announced yet so we will see tomorrow!

For the first time in forever, TBZ is not first in my book. Shocker I know. That’s not to say that I didn’t like their performance or concept but rather the other groups (PTG and Verivery) did better in my eyes. Let’s talk about TBZ’s Reveal (Catching Fire) perf. I’ll call it RCF for short. TBZ was the only group to continue a story from the second challenge. This gains major points in my book as I love plot driven performances. Anything with a story or clear objective gains brownie points because it’s what makes performances an art. You can dance to a song but if there’s no emotion it stays as a sport rather than a form of artistic expression. TBZ have shown their artistry fully through RTK, something they haven’t really been able to do before. I’m amazed at how they are able to control shock factor so well. I was worried the stunts of Danger would outshine whatever they had to show in RCF but they proved me wrong. There were less stunts this time but they focused on a much larger picture (pun intended). They added backup dancers and allowed the camera to take wider shots to show their formations. I just felt like they lacked a spark this time. If you can’t already tell, I prefer their Danger performance much more. A large part of this is due to the arrangement of Danger. The RCF arrangement was interesting and refreshing but there wasn’t anything really new. Maybe I feel this way because I’ve listened to Reveal too many times who knows. Negatives aside, I have to say I really liked the choreography changes. The part where Haknyeon is center really blew my mind. 

But here’s why I liked Verivery and Pentagon’s performance more: emotion. Pentagon’s is obvious, they used this stage to send off someone they really love. You can really see that the members love Jinho and that they have a deep bond. Pentagon was also the only group to mix two of their songs together, one being a title track and one being a side track (note: PTG and Verivery are the only groups who picked side b’s for their song). Pentagon’s arrangement was impeccable. For me, the new Shine sounded like a Jpop song (mostly because of the rock vibes; if you listen to Jpop you know what I mean), while still retaining the bright theme of Shine. A lot of people might say the performance was too emotional and not professional, but out of all 7 performances, Pentagon’s was the most meaningful and was delivered the best. The message and how they played with the stage was stunning and their little additions and references to other popular Kpop songs makes it so you will notice something new every time you rewatch it. Please watch this video where Hongseok goes into detail about the little easter eggs and the whole purpose behind their performance. I have so much respect for Pentagon and I could write so much more about this performance but I must talk about the other 5 haha (if you want to hear more feel free to ask!)

Verivery. VERIVERY. God DAMN did they really come back and hit hard. They definitely had the clearest and most well thought out performance of all. What differentiates them from TBZ’s story like performance is that TBZ had too much going on in my opinion. They tried to tell us a long story with not enough time. This is why so many fans have vastly different interpretations of their performance. While this can often be a good thing, I think you have to find a balance when doing a storytelling performance. Verivery cleanly executes their narrative of a nightmare and takes the cliche of “it was all a dream” to the max by going “SIKE” at the end. Their choreography was so well planned out and they were honestly very minimalistic about their stage, just like TBZ’s Danger stage. The shock factor is just right (my favorite part being when the backup dancers have the smoke come out of their mouth). Not only that but Photo is a SIDE TRACK. I cannot stress enough how brave of them that is. I legitimately thought it was a title track until I looked at their discography. They arranged their side b to sound like a title track, and not only that, they changed the overall feel of the song as well. If you listen to the original Photo, it sounds more like a bad boy song, but their RTK version is very much so horror/rock themed. I can’t STRESS how good this performance is. Especially because it’s such a contrast from their last performance. Photo is now in my spotify playlist and I have no regrets.

Now onto the last 4 performances. I hate to break it to you all but... I didn’t really like any of them. None of them made me think “wow I could rewatch this so many times.” Lets start with Oneus. LIT is my favorite Oneus song so I highly anticipated this performance. If you didn’t know Oneus before and only watch this stage you might think its a very good stage with a strong traditional theme. I totally agree, the traditional theme is unique to Oneus and I loved the instrumental changes they made so the song would cater more to their theme. The biggest issue I had with this stage was that It literally is just like their music video. If you have seen the LIT mv you will know what I mean. The dragon dance, traditional clothing, theme, sound, everything was too similar. The stage was grand but it just felt like a live version of their MV. 

I know a lot of people liked ONF’s performance. Let me just say first that they killed it and YooA was *chefs kiss* The biggest issue I had with this stage was its message and theme. They seemed to have a conductor/medieval theme but also the masks?? Like what? It felt so out of place and random. I felt like a lot of their stage choices had little to no purpose. I honestly still don’t understand why YooA was there. The duet dance was nice but why? It seemed like they were trying to tell a story but it just wasn’t clear to me. It looked nice and everything but that was about it. In no way am I saying the performance was bad, it’s just there’s nothing that makes me want to go back and watch again. I think the fact that there was a plot but no plot at the same time really bothered me and that’s why I didn’t like it as much. 

TOO has grown a lot since episode one. They are truly experimenting with the stage and I’m very happy to see that. I have the same issue with TOO as I did with ONF. There was a clear theme of “dark vs light” or “evil vs good” but why? What was the point? The theme may have seemed obvious but was it really? Were they trying to convey good vs bad, angel vs devil, justice vs injustice? I couldn’t tell throughout the entire performance. It’s okay to take cliche themes but with a show like RTK, there needs to be something more. I also hate to be harsh but some of their execution just wasn’t as clean. This doesn’t only apply to Chan (I think that’s his name), but the whole performance in general. The most obvious instance is the head twist part. But I applaud Chan for performing with 100% even after his mistake (which, by the way, he made look very natural. I was very sad when he kept beating himself up over the mistake 😞 you did great bb I hope you know that). Even if their age and lack of experience is shown in their performances, I must say they are really stepping out of their comfort zone and learning at a rapid pace. I have high hopes for them.

Now onto the last group. Golden Child. I was very impressed with GolChas first two performances but this one was a disappointment. I appreciate the use of strings and their classical arrangement (as I said in my previous episode thoughts post) but this performance was, well, dull to say the least. The only “shock factor” was the violin solo (which was very good btw), but I think it was too late into the performance. There wasn’t much that made me interested in the performance up to that point. I don’t know. There really just isn’t much for me to talk about because they didn’t really do much.(God that sounds so harsh;; I’m sorry 😭😭) I really think their second performance was highly underrated but all in all this third one was not it. 

As you can see my critiques for this set of performances are, well, a lot harsher. I think it’s because the bar was raised so much higher after the first three episodes. Overall, if I had seen any of these performances outside of the RTK context I probably would have been a lot more impressed and shocked. I wish the best for all the groups and no matter who gets eliminated tomorrow I want all the groups to know that they all deserve a spot in the Kingdom. Mnet is just trash.

[xot11]

[Unpopular opinion] Ok, this whole investigation thing with X1 is kinda... not my thing

I truly like this lineup, like a whole lot. I think this is a wonderful lineup... however it wouldn’t be a surprised if MNET did rigged the competition.

I’m usually mad at PD101 because it’s always the same every year, but I truly love this lineup and I think this is a lineup that most international fans do love as well. That’s where I’m concerned.

I’m concerned that with this investigation it might change a lot of things. I love having Han Gyul in the final lineup but what if he wasn’t supposed to be in the final lineup? Last year, the the third elimination round with PD48, it was a drastic change from third round to final lineup but this change was kinda expected.

I think having X1 and the potential of BY9 is great, both lineup in both groups are amazing because you have a great balance of talent and visual. In the first round of PDx101 it was majority visuals (they’re all talented but hear me out). Majority of the KNETZ argues that “it’s easier to shape talent than it is with visual”.

If there is something that I would like to suggest the Producers of Produce 101, it is to keep the X ranking, but focus solidly on the on-site voting rather than the entire votes... or to make it better, have the trainers have the final say on the last member.

I truly thought the X member was a great idea, but it’s still the same as voting for the top 10. Please don’t get wrong, Lee Eun Sang is great and he deserves to be in the final lineup too! He has amazing charisma, he’s adorable, his stage presence is out of this world and his vocals are great! He’s an overall talented person. However the X was in his favour because of how high his ranking was. All this time, I assumed that the X member was going to be the one with the highest amount of votes during the on stage evaluations (on-site) not the entire journey. So I also assumed that even the eliminated trainees would also have a chance in getting in depending on how much votes they received. This is why I though Lee Jinhyuk would’ve automatically make it because of how well-received he was during evaluation stage performances. Another thing, I say it would be beneficial to have votes based off of YouTube and Naver if choosing X as well.

TLDR; I like X1 lineup a lot. I am upset that Lee Jinhyuk didn’t make the debut line but I think if BY9 makes their debut as well they would have a lot of potential. I think the lineup already for X1 is amazing and I wouldn’t change anything of it.

Update; after thinking about it after posting this 10 seconds later, I do think it is good to check in what is going on, because this has been a consistent mnet behaviour for a while but no one has truly dig deep into it. People are putting their time and effort and money for shows like these and if mnet manipulates the voting in anyway... then like... don’t make people vote lol... it’s so dumb and it makes me.

[elixirsoflife]

my current pdx101 picks (ep.8)

another elimination has occurred and while most of my picks are through (thank god for that), a couple of them are out or have dropped in rank 🙃🙃

anyways without further ado, here are the ones i am keeping an eye on. fixed picks are non-negotiable with any combination of the strong contenders. i haven't thought about the logistics of positions (e.g. main dancer); these are just the people i'm drawn to.

fixed picks

1. cho seongyoun, rank 17: all-rounder of the year. hand on my heart, i believe him to be the strongest contender there. does this man have a single weakness or flaw? the answer is no. this episode showed so much of his personality which i'm so glad about bc it's amazing. who knew mnet could do some things right?

2. choi suhwan, rank 29: i legit spent a good chunk of last week agonising over suhwan's potential departure, especially after he was robbed in the position evaluations. at this point, i don't think he'll debut, but i hope he wows enough people in the concept evaluations to get signed by a company ♡

3. kim yohan, rank 3: he's a PD pick, but i can't help but love him anyway. he lightens up every room he's in and is just so charismatic. would not mind him in a rapping position

4. song yuvin, rank 12: made to be main vocalist, like his voice is sooo stable. has great chemistry with other trainees and he makes me laugh in nearly every scene he's in.

5. lee jinhyuk, rank 2: my reaction today when i saw how high he's climbed confirmed it for me that he's one of my fixed picks. that angel edit did him solid and i am loving it. tbh i would prefer him as a lead rapper rather than a main, but as long as he gets to shine, i'm cool with it

strong contenders

6. nam dohyun, rank 7: what a funky little rapper. the genius edit is a bit overdone, but it's true: his rapping ability is amazing for his training period. just imagine what he'd be like once he fully blooms?

7. han seongwoo, rank 9: everyone loves seungwoo and that includes me. was honestly so surprised to find out that he's a rapper, like what?? with those vocals?? wow another all-rounder here to claim everything

8. kim hyunbin, rank 25: my passionate baby. i feel like the only thing he lacks (and literally the only thing) are solid relations with other members in my line up, but i'm not 100% sure of that. if anyone knows more about that, please let me know!

9. lee hangyul, rank 15: i had him as someone i was interested in last week, but he is now a strong contender. i know bc i realised i lowkey rooted for him once i knew who he was and i just love his personality, he seems so nice and humble. i saw the relay cam of his and something about the way he interacted with others sold me. also (and i swear this doesn't affect him being on my list), the boy's visuals are no joke.

12. choi byungchan, rank 16: i love his personality, i think he'd be a riot on variety. i think his vocals deserve a lot more praise than they get too. out of the plan a boys, he's less likely to make it, but i'd love it if he did.

people i'm keeping an eye on

11. kim sihoon, rank 24: i moved him here from 'strong contender' after a bit of deliberation. i still am very much interested in how he fares on the show, but when i compare my interest in him to others, there is a noticeable difference. i think he is someone i'd be interested in regardless of whether he makes the final line up or not. (i've heard rumours of how fans think he might end up in ab6ix as a late member if he doesn't debut in pdx101).

12. kim wooseok, rank 1: again, i've accepted him as part of the final line up and have no problems with it, but i don't particularly stan him. although! i will say we did get a better insight into his personality in this episode and in the karaoke battle. he seems really... snarky in a good way? a little tongue-in-cheek? i really need to check him out in up10tion

13. son dongpyo, rank 11: i feel rlly sympathetic to him for being the only center to fall out of the top 10 and don't think he deserves it. not going to name names, but he is definitely more talented than a lot of the younger trainees in the current top 10 and has the cutesy image they like so i'm not sure why he's not there. now that he's toned down on the forced aegyo a bit, i can appreciate him more.

14. kim kookheon, rank 22: i can't believe i forgot to add him! i'm absolutely obsessed with the believer performance and he is someone who i keep getting drawn to in that. also he just seems like a stand-up guy.

- won hyuk

- lee midam

ep 5 | ep 6 | ep 7

[rkxsungwoon-blog]

☆ MGA5 EPISODE FOUR; JULY 18 #5008 HA SUNGWOON ; FT. JUNG EUNJI ( duos 2 ) performance: can you feel the love tonight - the lion king * starts at 0:33, music cuts out at 2:33, but sungwoon and eunji sing for a few more seconds before being stopped

it was only a matter of time, sungwoon thinks.

statistically speaking, at least one member of empty enigma was bound to get eliminated soon. they’ve entered the stage of the competition where each departure cuts deeper than the one before. talented people are being sent home week after week, and it’s the height of arrogance to consider yourself safe from elimination before the results are out. part of him is surprised they’ve lasted this long as a unit when people clearly aren’t happy about them being on the show—sungwoon has read the comments, even though he advised the rest of the band not to—but even if mnet is keeping them around for whatever reason, they’re still playing with fire.

minhyun is the first of them to get burned.

sungwoon’s eyes widen in shock as minhyun and yuqi are eliminated. he doesn’t personally agree with the previous cuts either, but these two come as a surprise, not only because of minhyun, but because yuqi had been acknowledged as one of the best by the judges the week prior. he half-rises from his seat to stalk over and—well, he wants to say something in outrage, but remembers a moment later that he’s still on camera and it probably wouldn’t tide over well.

instead, he remains seated, back ramrod straight, his hands clenched into fists as the new duos are announced for the next round. his protests are lodged in his throat as he watches the ceos, as if that in itself will help him understand their decision. it isn’t fair. minhyun is a good singer. minhyun is a fair dancer. minhyun is handsome and charming with a good personality. all things sungwoon wouldn’t say out loud to his face but believes with all his heart. minhyun doesn’t deserve this.

if it had to be someone from empty enigma, it should’ve been him.

he feels obsolete here; daniel is their representative, the undisputed face of the band. woojin is slowly rising every week, kenta has the talent and charm and has somehow already befriended everyone in the competition. minhyun is the total package, the perfect idol already. all four of them are brightly shining stars. meanwhile, sungwoon is coasting, not good or bad enough to stand out. he’s a member of the ensemble, but is all this worth it for a background bit part?

more than that, he’s done this once before. minhyun hasn’t. doesn’t it make more sense for him to go home and for minhyun to forge ahead? it’s not self-doubt that makes him question what he’s doing here but sheer frustration. does sungwoon deserve to be in this competition, to survive up until this point? absolutely; he’s never doubted the fact that he belongs on stage. but should he be here? that’s a different question altogether.

he wishes he could give this seat to minhyun, wishes he could say, hey, the stage is yours and you don’t have to say goodbye yet. but the judges say as much for him when they indicate that there’s a shot at redemption for the eliminated contestants. sungwoon desperately tries not to get his hopes up for minhyun. anything can happen, after all, but that can work in their favour as much as it can against it. squeezing his eyes shut, sungwoon offers up a silent prayer. please let minhyun come back; he needs to be here.

(the nagging voice in the back of his mind asks, do you?)

-

sungwoon’s partner for the next episode is eunji.

dread settles in his stomach for a different reason than previously. while he didn’t know jaemin at all, eunji is too familiar. they’re neighbours and, in his mind, friends. he likes eunji as a person and admires her as a performer; her stages have been some of sungwoon’s favorites so far. honestly, he should be elated at being given the chance to perform with her. together, they can deliver something special.

and yet—he doesn’t know where they stand. the empty enigma reveal fucked up a lot of things. granted, sungwoon never interacted with eunji as squall, never lied about the band because it was never a topic of conversation to begin with. most of her ire seems to be reserved for daniel (for reasons sungwoon doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know), but sungwoon is nervous none the less, apologies poised to spill from his lips the moment eunji arrives at the band’s practice space for their first practice together.

they don’t turn out to be necessary, though sungwoon gives them anyway. a lie by omission is still a lie, and eunji deserves better from him. still, he’s relieved to put the awkwardness behind them and gives her his first unabashedly happy smile of the competition, knowing they’ll pull off a great stage. he doesn’t pry into her issues with daniel, but does promise to tell daniel to steer clear of the practice space until filming on thursday. it’s probably better for the both of them to put all their focus into the upcoming performance, anyway, and daniel is a naturally distracting presence.

song selection takes precedence shortly after their talk. eunji’s a powerhouse singer and dancer from what he’s observed so far. on the other hand, sungwoon gives her a wry smile and tells her that asking him to dance is a crime against humanity. sure, he feels like he’s improved a lot from last year, but he’d still look like a sack of potatoes next to eunji; she’s at such a high level that he would only bring her down. so a vocal performance it is, and sungwoon’s content with that, though he’s eager to show a more dynamic image this time around. after a ballad and an acoustic arrangement, he wants to do something exciting.

however, if there’s anything sungwoon learned from last week’s performance, it’s the art of compromise. he wants this stage to be one both he and eunji can take pride in, so he listens to her desires and soft nos and tries to meet somewhere in the middle: showtunes. musicals aren’t something sungwoon is all that familiar with. he remembers going to one on the university campus, maybe, but it was badly acted and sung. their numbers are certainly dynamic and entertaining in the right hands though, so he’s willing to give it a shot.

they settle on summer lovin’ from grease at first—an iconic classic even sungwoon is familiar with. danny zuko is a role squall could play with his eyes closed, but sungwoon is reluctant to channel him fully in front of eunji. out of embarrassment, yeah, but latent guilt as well, perhaps a smidge of this is a part of me i don’t want you to see? he remains mostly sungwoon instead, and maybe that’s why both he and eunji can’t hold in their laughter while rehearsing. summer lovin’ had me a blast—

“it’s because i’m too handsome, right?” sungwoon says in mock despair. “you’re afraid you might fall in love for real… i get it. you need to laugh to save yourself.” admittedly, there’s something about the number as a whole that strikes sungwoon as hilarious, the whole boy meets girl in the most contrived way part. he thinks he can act pretty well, but perhaps caging squall kills any momentum he could’ve had. sacrifices and compromises, though.

summer lovin’ gets trashed when they come to the conclusion that they can’t keep a straight face throughout their performance and the search for another song continues. at some point, sungwoon and eunji end up talking about the lion king remake and whether they’ll be watching it and—it’s a musical, with an iconic duet right there. can you feel the love tonight all but falls into their laps. it’s funny that the song itself is a lot more romantic than summer lovin’ could ever hope to be, but sungwoon is confident they can pull it off if they take it seriously enough.

the different style of singing throws him off initially, but sungwoon adjusts to it easily enough. the theatricality suits him, and eunji is a fun partner to play off. they look and sound good together, in his opinion. most of their rehearsals go off without a hitch, and for once, sungwoon feels positive heading into thursday’s filming. his throat is in good condition, he’s been watching the lion king non stop for the past week, and he knows the song like the back of his hand. even if he hasn’t solved the question of whether or not he should still be here, sungwoon is still going to give the performance of his life. he owes it to eunji, and to the people who’ve been supporting him till now.

(other distractions can wait).

-

he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to being separated from the rest of the band. sungwoon tries to catch a few of their eyes when he arrives, but they seem understandably busy, possibly anxious. the building never gets any less intimidating, nor does the sight of the judges seated above the rest cease to faze him. there’s an added heaviness in the air tonight when he thinks about the eliminated duos of last week. no doubt everyone, including himself, is curious to find out who survived for a second shot at the competition. he still hopes it’s minhyun. if the universe it fair, it will be minhyun.

unlike last time, he and eunji will be performing near the end, which leaves a lot of duos to get through before it’s their turn onstage. sungwoon is muted, watching the performances with controlled interest. he cheers for his friends, of course; woojin’s performance is exciting, and kenta is a joy to watch as always. daniel and hyojin’s creativity and synergy leave him impressed. it’s obvious they’ve been working hard to show the best sides of themselves, and looking at their dedication, he doesn’t understand how people can question their intentions for being here. maybe he cheers extra hard out of spite, whether consciously or unconsciously.

when it’s their turn to take the stage, he turns to eunji and whispers, “good luck! just remember,” and here he grins, a mischievous glint in his eye as he croons, “summer lovin’, had me a blast.” sungwoon fails to hold back his laughter as he faces the ceos and bows before making their introductions—they decided to introduce themselves as simba and nala, though eunji did manage to talk sungwoon out of ending his introduction with a growl (probably for the better).

their performance isn’t as flashy as some of the others; it’s stripped down and bare. seated on two stools, they face each other for the duration of the song. everything else falls away from the first notes of their backing track. his brows furrow momentarily—it sounds a little different than usual?—but his expression smooths over a second later, figuring he must be imagining it. the song itself is beautiful, equal parts romantic and nostalgic. his pronunciation is flawless, their harmonies and ad libs weaving into the instrumental perfectly. they’re able to pour enough emotion into their voices and their expressions to sell the song to the audience—

and neither of them laugh. that’s a bonus.

sungwoon is beginning to enjoy himself. there’s an ease to singing with eunji. he trusts her to match where he’s going and feeds off the energy he’s giving back. the corners of his lips begin to curve up in a smile when it happens. the music stops. sungwoon’s head tilts, but when eunji powers through, he follows. malfunctions happen all the time, after all, and a true professional would finish the song, right? but his mouth snaps shut rather abruptly when he hears one of the ceos call for them to stop. confusion colors his face as he turns to hear hyunbin tersely  informing them they’ve gone over their allotted two minutes.

oh.

oh.

understanding is slow dawning. sungwoon clumsily bows and apologies, a flush crawling up his neck. he’s eager to follow eunji off the stage and out of the spotlight, humiliation nipping at his heels. there’s only one explanation for their flub, and it’s one he wishes he’d come to figure out sooner—they’ve been practicing with the wrong cut of the song all week. god. how could they fail to follow the basic fucking instructions of the show? 

by all rights, they’re seasoned performers. they should’ve taken care of this right at the beginning. they should’ve never made the mistake in the first place, not at this stage of the competition. his hands shake; he curls them into fists and avoids looking at the rest of empty enigma, letting out a shaky breath as they take their seats instead. “it’s not your fault,” he tells eunji hoarsely. it’s mine. “we’ll be fine,” he adds. they both know it’s a lie, of course, but he doesn’t want to vocalize the truth. 

how could this happen? was he not paying enough attention? did he get complacent? did a part of him just cease to care and sabotage himself on purpose? the fact that sungwoon can’t find the answer makes him want to yell in frustration. he knows he’s better than this, and yet... maybe this just drives it home: he shouldn’t be here. it doesn’t matter what he wants or doesn’t want: he’s apparently incapable of the simplest of things. 

(but eunji should be here, and in this moment, sungwoon feels like he’s nothing but a force of destruction).

[rkmason]

▰▰▰▰▰▰ MNET GLOBAL AUDITIONS, SEASON 5 ˟  EP. 3 PERFORMANCE ▰▰▰▰▰▰

the past few weeks have felt like... well, somewhat like an acid trip. he didn’t think he’d be here, didn’t think he’d get this far, didn’t think he’d get in the door in the first place, and the last thing he expected was to feel his emotions were being taken for a ride more than he’s ever been in his life by the results every week. having the title of top rapper didn’t feel as sweet as it should and instead there’s a bitter taste in his mouth because the truth is it being first means the harder you fall, the deeper you can sink— it paints a target on your back. with the way baek jiyoung had smiled at him then, he thinks it wasn’t just painted on his back, he’s drowning in it, in the color red. it’s funny, how he wanted to paint his world with color last week and now he thinks he’s being branded with one now.

  ●●●●●●      LAST WEEK, ON THE SECOND EPISODE OF MGA S5 — 7월 4일      ●●●●●●

he tells himself over and over that this could be it and at least he’ll have that stage again— maybe he’ll hold onto it for an unhealthy amount of time like he did with his i am the best performance years ago but he sees nothing wrong with it this time. he sees nothing wrong with holding onto a moment when you felt like your best self and this time, this time, he was his most honest self. maybe not as honest as he could be in under two minutes but he did it, he managed, he let his heart out and he hasn’t done that nearly enough for how long he was in nova, in sphere, for how long he’s been living in seoul to become an idol. it reminds him of harsh words his brother told him once— did you move to seoul to become an idol or to chase mijoo? the truth is, his brother had a point. the truth is, even he didn’t know what he was doing but now? now he thinks he has a better sense of himself, of what he wants, of what he wants to keep trying to do whether it’s on his own or in a company again.

when he used to perform in clubs or go with his hyungs to watch underground rap battles, when that used to be his entire life at one point, he joined here and there with an open mind, open heart— when he should’ve been more committed to a dream, to anything. instead of going with the flow at all times, instead of being dragged by the current, he should’ve found his own way back. but he relied on others, relied on friends to guide his plans, his day-to-day when he wasn’t working. too often did he go “hey what are you doing tonight” instead of “i’m gonna do this, wanna come?” or just going alone. until now, he realizes there isn’t much he does completely on his own. he was only decisive when it served him in the moment and not for the future. the one solid decision he made for his future that’s lasted years later, that’s still with him, is his decision to move. that choice too is tainted, by the thought when he went home that maybe he should stay, that every time something doesn’t work out he wonders if he should’ve continued studying the way his father wanted him to.

he’s seen as the type that knows what he wants, that goes for it, that’s shameless, and he laughs it off because the only person that knows how wishy-washy he can be is mijoo. he’s dragged her into this too unknowingly, because if he doesn’t make it, if he doesn’t keep going, she’ll cry again. she’ll cry if he moves to the next round too, so will his mother, and he doesn’t know if tears of happiness are good anymore. he knows they only came because of the pain of before.

this could be it, he swallows thickly, hopes jooyoung can’t hear how loud his breaths are, how he goes from taking deep breaths to holding them to the point that his exhales are rushed, stifled when he coughs into his jacket sleeve. suddenly, all he hears and feels is static, his ears are buzzing, his heart is racing, his feet feel heavy when he finally moves— he’d already felt goosebumps along his arms just by hearing her voice. since that phone call after the talent show, he feels that way every time she speaks, as if her words could move worlds and maybe they could— after all, her words have moved his world time and time again.

he’s gone in circles because of baek jiyoung and he realizes this is another one of them, isn’t it? that he went from asking her to give his contract offer from sphere to someone else only to end up in sphere anyway, debuting in convex, and now he’s in the mgas again, waiting for her verdict, for the words that’ll either send him soaring to the sky or crashing into the depths again. it’s like ari said, god is a woman.

top 3.

those words have come to him again on the mgas and he could fall to his knees at the thought— ironic when he’s one of the only ones still standing from then. top 3 and while he wants to be proud, he swears all the pending criticism hits him already. he can imagine what the comments will say, what netizens will say, what his fellow contestants will say, and he closes his eyes for a moment, wills himself to stop being like this. moments earlier he felt light because of his song, because he took so much weight off his shoulders, but this felt like it was given right back to him.

it’s pressure, because once you’re labelled among the best, there isn’t a single person that isn’t trying to take that for themselves in a competition. he used to think that was unique about him, that he didn’t mind not being at the top if he hadn’t gotten it, if he didn’t get it now, but he was wrong. he’s more serious about this now that he wants it.

not only a good rapper but a good performer.

it was the validation he wanted but he has no right to it, especially from her. it was the validation he needed, and he’s frozen in place. when yuqi and changbin start to move, he’s spurred back to life and he’s ashamed— ashamed that instead of thinking they deserved it more, instead of insisting they did better, he thinks more about the fact that he was right in the end, this is it.

this is the stage that gave something back to him, the stage that he was honest with everyone and himself, the stage that he was meant to give, the stage that got him a title he’ll probably be disliked for, the stage that reminded him that it’s not all about talent but presence, about a performance, and it gets him through this again. he might not be the best rapper in the world, and he doesn’t have to be— no one is— but he performed in a way he can be proud of.

if only that could’ve saved him from the guilt he felt later, eventually, inevitably because of convex, because of mijoo, because of his family and friends, the fans who supported him. if he keeps this up, if he’s still the top next week, can he redeem himself in their eyes? does it make up for any of the pain he caused? is it enough of an apology when he can’t say the words publicly or risk everything again? his eyes water a few more times that night when he’s by himself, but until then— he’s got a partner to get to know.

after the final marker, he invites her to a group dinner so they can hang out and get to know each other— when so many people still believed in the words of a well-known netizen, he can’t be reckless with how he acts around her but, just as equally, he’s sorry. being paired with him can’t be easy when he has so much baggage, so much history that comes with him.

there’s so much he thinks she ought’a be worried about but she doesn’t seem to be. no, she’s a lot nicer than minho expects and he realizes, throughout the course of the night, that he didn’t know what would happen when the concept was announced. a team like the last season would’ve been easier— he could brush off awkward moments by relying on another person being there. with just him and nakyung, he’s fretting over the fact that they’ll be practicing alone and that she’s so young. isn’t she still in high school? going out to dinner with other people is one thing, being by themselves in a practice room is another.

but again she doesn’t seem bothered by it, she doesn’t seem fazed by when he actually does tell he’s sorry, that people might look at them with rose colored glasses, that attention could go to him just because of the gossip, and that he doesn’t have more to offer her. he leaves it unsaid that he feels like his presence is tattered, filthy, in this competition to some of the others, to the audience, to even some of the judges maybe. a flight risk, a media show, that’s what he feels like when he’s not on stage. when the music is off and he’s choi minho again instead of romeo as people knew him as, he’s good for headlines but is that any good for winning? for helping her?

as they keep talking, as they exchange contact information, as she smiles at him, he decides on not just trying to give the best performance next week but protecting that smile. he has to. minho didn’t want to drag anyone else into the messes he’s made again.

             ●●●●●●      SO IT BEGINS, PRACTICING FOR EPISODE 3 — 7월 5일      ●●●●●●

when minho came to the practice room early, his mind is still spinning with all the ideas he wants to throw together and he’s unsure of how to share them all with nakyung without being overwhelming. for hours, he tried to piece things together, from rewatching the episode that aired so far to trying to remember every part of her performances he’d seen so far, to finding a dance cover she posted on youtube. it was cute, playful, charming— all things that suited her and that’s one of his first thoughts on nakyung and her song choices: she chooses based on her strengths, based on how well she can perform them. some could call it safe but he calls it smart, considers it performing for fun instead of just to win. she didn’t seem like the type to over-strategize, to do or say whatever it takes to get air time.

when he talked to dabin about it yesterday, if he remembers nakyung, he knows he’s not the only one who sees it. it’s something the both of them respect: when someone seems genuine in enjoying what they’re doing. if you can pretend well enough, if you can go through the motions and make it look good, you can pass for an idol too. that’s what seik tells them, in nicer terms anyway and, as much as he wants to deny it, minho knows his friend has a point. that’s not what he gets from nakyung though and he hopes in that for the sake of the recording in a few days.

she shows up with someone like he suggested and he’s surprised it’s her brother. it feels like a different kind of atmosphere when you know someone’s brother is there watching over everything but minho jokes about it, knows there’s nothing to worry about now. it’s probably for the best that it’s her brother. when they talk about what to do, about their options, he shares his opinion of her dancing with such optimism that he’s surprised she doesn’t call him out on it, and she’s modest in the way he expected, the way he hoped, a manner that makes him feel relieved. her experience with choreography isn’t much and he says it might be better that way— a fresh perspective, a new perspective, a young perspective because as much as he doesn’t want to think about it, it’s unavoidable. instead of letting it scare him into thinking he’s too old to be doing this, he wants to embrace it too. there’s always more to learn, no matter who you are.

he doesn’t expect convex to come up in the way it does for their first practice and he finds out something about her that he didn’t in his research the night prior— she’s a fan. to her, minho might just look like a good sport, laughing and smiling as he tells her of course he can sign it but she doesn’t know how much she’s given him again. he feels so overwhelmed with gratitude that he could hug her— he almost does, truthfully, because she’s a fan but she doesn’t resent him for what he did, for leaving, for joining the mgas. being told he has someone’s support and seeing it like this, experiencing it in the way he is now with her holding out the album to him, he can’t describe it properly. she has no clue that her hand is basically wrapped around his heart because of one request and he feels set free in another way— relieved that someone didn’t think he betrayed convex and it was why he avoided people for a while. the fear he wrote of for the last episode... it’s still there and today it doesn’t feel so bad because of nakyung.

what they land on for their performance is nostalgic in more ways than one and it’s a trait he associates with her performances so far. it’s a theme he likes, a theme that brings him back to his first season, even if it ages him with just how nostalgic his song choices had been.

cats and dogs.

a back and forth, push and pull. 밀당 but not quite.

they’ll have to play off each other for the dance to work perfectly and trying to be in sync with one person in mere days compared to months with twelve is a different feeling but one he’ll remember— because he wouldn’t be able to do it if it wasn’t for them. even one of the connections he feels to her now after signing the album and getting to know her, isn’t it also because of convex?

   ●●●●●●      ONE STEP CLOSER, JUST BEFORE THE RECORDING — 7월 11일      ●●●●●●

nakyung is the first female partner he’s had on the mgas, the first he’s had that he didn’t know already— seeing her on the show and watching her performances isn’t the same as getting to know her, to work with her, and it’s an honor he’ll carry with him from now on. it might be one of his favorite collaborations he’s done, just don’t tell any of the others. although it could be due to the fun nature of the performance, he thinks none of it would matter if it wasn’t nakyung. she has natural talent, a distinct personality, presence when she’s on stage, and she’s a quick learner too. it just wouldn’t work if she didn’t have just as much potential and minho, for one, can’t wait to see how she does that, if she’s signed as a finalist or not.

before they head over to the set, he stops her for a second, feeling bashful that he has to bring attention to it like this but if he doesn’t he might forget later. [he doesn’t let himself think that he might lose the timing for it too if things go sour.]

“this is for you,” he grins more proudly this time, because of the effort he put into picking it out. a trip out to the mall with dabin and hyerin while nakyung was in school took up most of the day but it was worth it, to find something he thinks suits her, that she’ll like, and hopefully she’ll treasure no matter the results later. thankfully, the store took care of the packaging, a small pastel pink gift box and a white ribbon in the same material as the choker she wears for the stage. even more fitting. “you know, because you like eclipse and they have that whole night and day thing,” it’d be too creepy to say it’s them right? besides, he’s a dog tonight, not a cat but they are opposites in some ways. she’s just so tiny next to him. clearing his throat, he reminds her, “it’s all over your twitter” among other things. it’s the old tweet about photocards that had him taking selcas on her phone and pictures with her. maybe one day he’ll manage to pull enough strings and get more convex members to meet her, ones still in the group. even he has to burn himself with that one.

           ●●●●●●      NEXT ON STAGE, MINHO & NAKYUNG,  EP. 3 — 7월 11일      ●●●●●●

when they get to the set, it’s just the cameras, must be right, but he swears he feels eyes on them and it’s an unnerving feeling to come back to week by week. this time, he doesn’t feel as anxious for himself as he does for nakyung. all the negative attention he brought to himself... she didn’t deserve any of it and he hopes it doesn’t stay with her, that people see how bright her performance is despite him even if they’re so tied together for this.

just like last week, sakura comes by to say hi and he’s glad to see her, looking forward to the performance she’ll give— he meant it when he said he thought there should be more female rappers on the show. who needs unpretty rapstar? he never liked that name anyway.

looking around at the pairings, he can’t imagine what everyone’s come up with. each season seems more intense, like the stakes are higher and the theatrics rise with it. that’s one thing to be grateful for, he supposes, that they’ll be going first and don’t have to feel the pressure of going after anyone else. they’re given something else instead and it’s neither an advantage or disadvantage in the end, except maybe when it comes to being able to use the couch for their stage. luckily, they agreed or he’d have to figure out how to lug furniture in on his back or something just as chaotic sounding. he clears his throat, face scrunching up because he forgot about the collar he’s wearing to match the concept. he never thought he’d be wearing a collar and dalmatian print for a performance.

first, they’re going first all because of his last name and he feels bad about it only for a split second, because nakyung doesn’t seem to hold anything against him and he finds her all the more precious for it. he swears, this’ll be one of the most fun performances he’s given.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ I’M YOURS  +  DOWN IN THE DM ♫                                                                      CHOREO & REMIX BY MINHO AND NAKYUNG

"contestant #5002, choi minho checking in,” he says with a grin, bowing deeply and looking to nakyung. just like last week, he thinks this is it but for a much happier reason this time. all the practice, the discussions, the joking around, the weird moment that minho had to ask her “so... uh... do you already have cat ears?” — it comes down to this, a different side of both of them. 

the music was edited perfectly just for this, sound effects and all. one step too slow or too fast and they’d be off. the synchronization is what they had to work on the best and he was impressed by how well they worked together. how long had it been since he pieced together a dance like this with someone else? together, instead of putting bits and pieces of their own sections together to complete a song. hands curl into paw-like poses, facial expressions to match each count of eight. in under two minutes, they tell a story.

both lost to feigned slumber, he wakes up after the tell-tale sign that they’re alone, free to play. like the phrase, when the cat’s away the mice will play, just like tom and jerry but they changed it up to suit their personalities, to suit the type of stage they wanted to show off, to be more playful and even sibling-like. the song i’m yours is what makes it vague and it’s perfect for the concept of push and pull.

bone-shaped pillow left aside, instead of sleeping in, despite being so different, opposites, he’d rather play with the cat and nakyung makes a perfect cat, with her petite stature and small facial features. she’s almost a kitten compared to a dog as big as ... huh, would he be a labrador or a golden retriever. out here asking the tough questions, right?

cat and dog in harmony, it seems impossible but they move like they are. even the rejections of affection are like that, how nakyung jumps on his back when he’s turned away, but the game starts again when she pretends to pound on his chest until the final pretend slap of his cheek just before the music changes. this is when they get their individual time to shine but it only works with the other, he only works with her, and just when it seems like a happy ending, cat and dog in harmony again— there’s a return of a third player, the vroom of a car and the opening of the door so he lets go, she falls to the floor just as they practiced and he slips back into “sleep” again only to sit up slightly, his body in visible anguish when she steps on his stomach to get back to the couch, her own personal revenge for being left behind.

when he lies back down, eyes closed, he barely felt the passage of time, of how that was two full minutes, because it went by so quickly— there’s another old phrase that comes to mind, time flies. he wouldn’t mind performing this routine again and again if it stays this fun.

PROFILE / SKILLS / AUDITION / EPISODE 1 / EPISODE 2 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ EP. 3: PERFORMANCE / INTERVIEW

[rktingyan-blog]

scenario: tingyan is forcibly convinced decides to sign up for the mgas. time & place: july 1st, resturaunt in gangnam  word count: 1,563 notes: in case anyone was curious, jinjae is just a npc i placed in to help further her development! ofc this isn’t an official part of the event but this is a pretty big shift for her so i thought it deserved an explanation!  

it all started with a drink.

the same as any other she had in seoul, sipped in the comfort of a booth at the restaurant near her home. the food was alright, the service a little slow, but it was a minute's walk from her apartment and it meant she could get home as late as she wanted (or as drunk as she wanted), all without the worry of meeting trouble on the way. in front of her sat choi jaejin, her endearingly nerdy friend and computer science major. while they attended the same school, they'd coincidentally met through dance classes, and from there hung out outside of practice and around campus. though the atmosphere was more of a hideout for blind dates and couples who wouldn't last past two weeks, the pair used it as their way to cram for impending exams.  

"can i have a drink?" the female asked desperately, reaching for the red bottle to satisfy her craving. with a quickness, her hand was swatted away, jaejin's eyes alone doing the job to scold her. "no, noona! we've got an exam in 2 days, and you're stress drinking again. we can't study properly when you're drunk, you know."

and she did. a whine of frustration signals her to lay her head on the table, downturned lips resembling a child's pout. they were in hour 3 of studying already, and the food they had been enjoying was long gone - all that was remaining were straw wrappers and a bill they'd still been arguing over. tingyan's eyes wander from the table, to the customers, to jaejin - anywhere but the books in front of her. it wasn't that she wasn't willing to learn, but the whole process had been incredibly frustrating. she had her korean in a few short days, and she couldn't be more lost. she had the basics - evident in her extensive conversations with jaejin - but she swore she was being made to learn things even natives got lost on.

"break?" jaejin proposes, looking pitifully down at the girl who, upon observing, was blowing the hair in front of her eyes with a frown. she couldn't have been any more eager, popping up from her position to give a smile and yes! as confirmation. call her lazy, but she'd had enough - and wasn't just talking to him practice in itself? in sync, the two pull out their phones, which they'd hesitantly vowed not to use during studying unless needed for the lesson. tingyan immediately jumped to tap instagram, an app she'd grown obsessed with since it'd become readily available in korea. just as she was about to make mention of jaejin not liking her recent photo of them together, his giddy ohs! fill her ears.

"tingyan-noona, oh my gosh! look!" still gasping, the younger slid the phone across the table to her viewpoint. as soon as the familiar naver colors came to view, she shielded her eyes, losing interest immediately. "don't care," she noted nonchalantly, turning her focus to an attractive customer passing the table. sure, she had an interest in korean entertainment - it stemmed from a yearning for something more, something exciting, all the way back in china. she liked the music - but it stopped at that. while she admired many artists, she simply wasn't interested in the drama these types of blogs had to deliver. why should she care who was dating who and what happened where? they were fully functioning adults - and it wasn't her business, anyway.

"no, no, it's not a gossip post! look closer." if it wasn't for the fact that rejecting his proposal would mean a shorter break, she would have dismissed him quicker than she had the first time around.  but tingyan wanted a break, so, giving the most irritated sigh she can muster, brings her face closer to the screen. in bold, almost mocking her distaste for viewing the article, reads -

MNET CONFIRMS FIFTH SEASON OF MGAS

mnet? mga? both names were very familiar to her, her teenage years, as well as her college ones, spent stressing over eliminations and winners of the popular show. nowadays, between work and intense study sessions such as these, tingyan just couldn't find time to do many leisure activities. but why was he so excited?

"yeah, and?" she asked, sneaking a sip of his wine before he could catch her in the act. sure, she was surprised the new season had came around this quick without her noticing, but was it worth him getting so excited? they were in their 5th season now, and every year they had practically become apart of the regular tv routine.

"don't you see?" a frustrated jaejin rushed to retrieve his phone, and only upon looking at the screen did he understand her confusion. "oh! my bad - look!" scrolling down, the final words are revealed -

... AND START OF AUDITION PROCESS.

okay. so maybe she did get a little excited, but she took a sip of the neglected water beside her so he wouldn't see her grin. "no, no," she says firmly, waving the thought away with her hand. "i'm not even going there with you, jaejin." her hands clap together, as if they've smacked away the idea. "come on, let's study." that's a sentence she hadn't expected to say.

"no! i don't want to, you need to see this." how the roles have reversed! adamantly, he brings the device forward, looking so deeply into her eyes that even tingyan can't look away.

"noona. listen to me." the typically meek younger's stern behavior surprised her, and with an eyebrow raised tingyan silently challenges his attitude. "sorry, i mean....noona, please. you - you'e gotta do it, okay? i knw you can! i see you at the studio, you're really good."

"that's not all it takes to become an idol, jaejin!" she argues. "people who join the mjas have lots of talents - not just one. and they're really good at them. look at me. i can barely pass this korean exam! how do you think i'd have a conversation on line tv?"

"i know that! in fact, you probably won't win!" tingyan would be offended, but, taking the reality of the situation she knows her fate well. "it's not about that. it's about gaining experiences! and i know you know korean, for how easily you're yelling at me now." his attitude was still there, but it's a little tamed, learning from his first mistake that giving sass wasn't going to help get his point across.

no words are said by tingyan; her manicured fingertips are too busy tapping on the glass to drown out the words she knows are true but doesn't want to hear.

"....didn't you say you wanted to feel fulfilled? that you wanted to give music a shot and see if it was something you wanted to do? this could be your chance." it was true, she'd confessed that just weeks prior when she'd had a breakdown following poor feedback from her modeling agency. modeling was fun, and for now it made money, but it was one thing to her - a hobby. it didn't leave her with the same lingering excitement a successful day at dance did, something jaejin knew well from her rare bubbliness after walking home from dance class.he knew better than anyone else, so although she's trying to conjure up some possible excuse she knows there's none that will give her a true pass.

"okay. so say i did do this....mga audition thing. what else am i supposed to do? i just dance."

jaejin cheered in victory, knowing this was the closest to a yes as he'd gotten all night. "well..." he didn't even know, evident in the way he puffs his cheeks out, pondering - a quirk linked to jaejin's confusion she'd caught onto long ago. "you can sing good enough! and...what if you do something that's not necessarily performing for your special skill? that's the whole point! you're super tingyan, i know you've got it."

even the iced over woman can't help the smile that reveals itself at the sound of the familiar nickname, eyes furrowing as she genuinely thinks it over. was could it hurt? her job had flexible hours, so she would be able to make it to auditions. she was turning 20 this year, and knew that both the modeling and entertainment industry waited for no one - she'd have to make a choice. sooner or later, time would catch up with her and she'd be forced to give up on her true dream if she didn't live it out now.

but before she makes a real decision, her hand reached to the bottle of wine - just one more sip would help her think clearly. but no, the opportunity was gone before it even truly presents itself, as her younger friend moved the bottle from her grasp.

"i said no! you want alcohol? fine. but you're not getting a drop until you make a decision."

giving the meanest death glare she can muster, the woman crosses her arms, hhoping for a compromise. nothing. when it's clear jaejin's not budging, tingyan cocks her head to the side in agitation.

"fine. i'll do it."

the words are mumbled as grudgingly as possible, but they're there, and before she had time to process her promise, the future auditioner drowns her thoughts with the wine she's quick to grab ahold of.

[dreammutual-remade]

idol!you and lucas

request: please do a bullet scenario about lucas and his gf both being sm idols - anon

word count: 2.6k 

a/n: first of all,,,, this gif hurts me badly, seCOND OF ALL im so sorry for the inactivity !!  I have finals this week and I graduate really soon n ive just been v busy !!! also I had hella writers block trying to finish this ish up but I hope u like it anon !!!!its a lil hard for me to write as an idol just because thats such a Wildt lifestyle but I did my best ily

warnings: cursing n also some crying because god knows all of our boys prolly have during their idol days :(((((((

what’s up butter cup

let’s dive tf in

as a pre-warning thingy i’m making you a singer so i’m very sorry if you can’t sing i can’t either bby

alright so this story begins when you’re not even 16 years old and you audition for a bunch of companies

tbh you didn’t think you were /that/ good at singing or dancing but ???

all the companies wanted you??? you got offers from JYP and SM and Pledis ????? go off queen

we stan

anyways

you decide to go with SM since they produced leGENDS SHINEE

FUCK I LOVE THOSE GUYS

(binch if u went to JYP u literally could have been in TWICE ?!?/&.&. ABSOLUTE LEGENDS UR LOSS THOT)

also because you just think that’ll be best for you ?? idk we don’t judge here (i already did though i’m So Sorry)

on your first day as a trainee you’re in search of the female dorms and you just can’t find them

eventually you run into this,,,, Gang Of Adolescent Boys

they’re wearing dorky ass muscle tees and keep saying shit about “foreign swaggers”

(.... y’all already know who it is sjdkdkd)

and you’re Meek and New and Small so you’re like um, hellowherearethegirlsdormsplease

okay there’s four of them and they’re all fckin huge except for one

the Biggest One with the american accent points you in the right direction and you try to scurry away but end up smacking into the Second Biggest One’s arm because he moved in your way on accident ouchie

“god lucas why don’t you just run the poor girl over”

“hYUNG PLEASE”

“hehehhehe i’m just kiddin”

and you just kind of mumble that it’s fine and go on your way

okay so you train for three yEARS before your debut

and you def come out of your shell alright like you’re Extroverted and whatnot

you still see those boys and even make friends with mark and donghyuck and the Foreign Members

but the entirety of the group you met has debuted except Lucas

you’re not close but you wave and say hi when you see each other

you turn pink everytime from Emotions and also Holding Your Breathe Due To Anxiety

and he was cute years ago but he’s only gotten prettier with age dude

they recently dyed his hair to give him some Blonde Stuff and he looks reaLLY GOOD

LIKE TO THE POINT WHERE U HAVE TROUBLE LOOKING HIM IN THE EYE

but eventually you’re like hey now i’m a grown woman i can handle this giant childish man !!! quit that @ emotions

alright so you debut like, days before him no lie

you’re a solo artist bc idk

red velvet was full 😔🤟

anyways you’ve been filming the video for the past couple weeks and the concept is sort of filmy and shimmery like old sparkly anime water u kno ?

and you’re wearing similar stuff to what ten was wearing in the new heroes mv (BIG OOF) except less warm toned ?

like swishy sort of see through white shirts and spandex underneath

you’re a Beautiful and Skilled dancer so they have u all over the place with this choreo

on the FLOOR on the WALL in the AIR

no joke they had you in a harness doing cool swirly shit in the air this is the stuff of legends my g

but like the inside of SM ? is very cold

if you’re not filming you’re bundled up in a blanket and trying to rub the goosebumps out of your arms and legs

because you have to look all smooth and flawless for filming and those are two things goosies are not

luckily the song wasn’t a huge ballad because it’s rather hard to belt out long ass notes when you’re upside down lmao

anyways, the song is a bop and the mv is beautiful and you are wearing minimal clothing and although these are all nice things but also

RECIPE FOR DISASTER

the filming is almost done thank GOD

you’re taking a break from filming and you go out in the hall in your costume to go get another water bottle because ain’t nobody around to give a pre debut thot a water bottle 🤧🤧

your arms are wrapped around yourself when lucas jogs up behind you and throws his jacket around you??

literally throws it like you made an oof noise

“um ,? thank you that was aggressive”

“i knOw i’m sorry it’s just you are practically naked and it’s Cold in here and also walking behind you i noticed you were Very Exposed sO”

you turn bright red because that means everyone has seen your ass prolly and you duck your head and pull the jacket tighter around yourself

“oh! i’m sorry i mean you look uhh? really good ?? yeah you look good nOT that i was looking super hard or anything or that i uH saw aNything BUt if i did it would look good i’m sure nOT THAT I thInK about that ?$/&/“

and now you’re both blushing very hard but you feel a little better when you see he’s just as flustered as you

you brush your fingers on his forearm to get him to stop staring at the floor and tell him thanks and ask about when he’s debuting

he tells you the mv filming is done since they had to go Real Far Away to do it and get it done ahead of time and that the teasers will be out in three weeks and then the mv release and then its Show Time Baby

you’re excited for him and he’s excited and you debut really soon as well and he’s excited for you and !!!!!

there’s excitement all over the place

he’s smiling so big and his eyes are cute and crinkly and :(((((

you still got a crush on him /sigh/

one of the staff literally yells your name down the hall and you’re like aw shit that’s my cue lol

you leave him with with a lil squeeze of his bicep and you’re BOTH shook

him because ?? was that fLIRTING

you because ?? THAT WAS FLIRTING

also because his biceps are thicc i’m gonna cry

big baby stands there for like 3 mins just shook and with uwus oozing from his pores

you skrt very quickly to avoid the consequences of your actions and get back to filming

okay TIME SKIP

your mv was released and did GOOD AS FUCK

you didn’t hear it from me but lucas + nct boys were seen on vlive jamming the fuck out to your song

you’re backstage like 10 mins from going on and having an absolute panic attack

what if you trip ??? or your voice breaks !!:&::

what if all the reviews say you’re Trash live and that the mv was better since they edited

what if you FLOP AND HAVE NO FANS

NO ONE DOES THE FANCHANTS

FUCK FUXKFUCKFUXKCUDJ

so you do call the king of debuts

mark lee

and you’re like mARK FUCK IM GOING TO CRASH AND BURN PLEAS LLSSE DHELPD ME

he tells you to Calm The Fuck Down and assures you it’ll be fine but it’s not working and mark is but a young boy he don’t know how to deal with FEMALES

you hear some deep ass voice on the other side ask who’s on the phone and mark says your name and then the voice is closer and deMANDING to be given the phone

u already kno it’s our boy yukhei

he can hear you gasping through the phone and having a mental breakdown and immediately makes his voice all low and soft

wow i’m , affected writing this shit

“hey, y/n, listen to me, you’re okay, you’re fine. i promise it’ll be okay.”

“bUT WHAT IF I-“

“you won’t. you’ve worked too hard and practiced too much. i know you i saw you do it. do NOT let all of that go down the drain. you can do this. now get your cute ass out there and take NO SHIT”

“i know but i am, scared”

“don’t be! this is what you love isnt it?”

“i mean,,,, yeah”

“and you want to do this more than anything don’t you?”

“well , yeah”

“then for gods sake don’t be a wimp and do it”

“hey i miss the part of this conversation where you were being nice to me”

“that part’s over babe you need some TOUGH LOVE now please for me and for yourSELF get out there”

“okay.. thanks lucas”

“anything for you, angel”

yOU HANG UP SO QUICK

how dare he

you were all Comforted but then he went on with that angel bullshit

okay long story short you ended the industry dude

all solo artists BOW BEFORE YOU

VOCAL QUEEN

DANCE QUEEN

lucas: shaking because His Angel did so well and you were wearing white and actually looked like an angel

but you don’t see him for the next like twO MONTHS because he’s promoting boss and you’re promoting your single and neither of you are home ever

when you do get a second to yourself you try to send him an encouraging text but

you seldom get a second to yourself :(((

he does the same thing and they’re so sweet :(

“good morning i hope u slept well !!”

“princess don’t forget 2 hydrate”

“i saw ur mnet performance u looked beautiful <333”

this man is practically begging you to wife him up i mean

he’s cute

he’s BIG and WARM

very sweet to you :(

talented and lovely

absolute dweeb

supportive of you even from great distances

BEST BOY UWU

you try to be just as encouraging back because he deserves it UGH

“bub don’t forget to eat i know ur hungry rn”

“!!!!!! you came foR MY LUNGS WITH THAT CENTER DANCE AT THE END BOI”

“why are u sending me messages u need to rest bby :((“

when things calm down though you,, see each other

he doesn’t formally ask you out and you don’t say anything but, youre dating sort of kind of

as idols you’re both still so so busy and you JUST debuted so neither of you are really allowed to date anyways

you settle for little bits of cuddling and secret touches as you pass each other in the hall

you both stand outside of your respective dorms at night to facetime without waking your dorm mates

he desperately wants to go on dates and do Normal Couple things but there’s no time :(

the most affectionate you’ve ever been is when the girl group who shares a dorm with you was out promoting and you had him over and you took a nap together :((((

he Insisted upon being the big spoon and basically wrapped your whole body up with his limbs

pressed a few lil kisses to the back of your neck and your shoulder when he thought you were asleep

you weren’t though and you turned around to kiss him on the cheek and then tuck your face into his neck and pass tf out

he has to leave though because mark texts him and is like YO I KNO UR WITH Y/N AND HER ROOMMATES ARE ON THE WAY HOME

ABORT MISSION DUDE

and that’s pretty much it :(

months pass without much between you even though you’re trying your best

and even though you live in dorms you’re still so lonely especially when you’re traveling because you don’t have any group members

you don’t want to annoy or worry lucas though so you don’t complain

he notices though and late at night he’ll call you while you’re in bed and talk about his day and how he misses you and wishes you were there

and when you get all emo he says he’ll be waiting for you at the airport

(he really does he goes and hides in the bathroom and texts you so you can go in there and TACKLE HIM)

he still calls you angel all the time :((((

god that’s another weakness of mine ??? IM SUCH A WUSS

but it has specifically changed to “my angel”

uwu

your first kiss and first Real Confession happens on the Worst Day Of Your Life

you’re about to go on stage (you’ve released an album since your debut so this is new stuff) when you get a call from your mom ??

she’s crying and tells you your grandma is sick and in the hospital and it’s really bad

immediately you’re barely holding yourself together because that woman half raised you and was the reason you stayed in dance and worked so hard to become who you are today

there are tears streaming down your face already and the makeup team is fluttering around you trying to fix what you’re messing up and it’s bad

you still have to go on though so you go and perform with tears in your eyes and your manager yells at you after for not pulling it together

you go home in tears and then you’re not looking where you’re going and ran straight into a staff who yells at you some more for being some entitled idol brat

originally you weren’t gonna say anything to lucas but, the staff pushed you over the edge and you call him in tears and are incoherent and can barely tell him where you are before you hang up

our boy BURSTS into your room and sees you sitting on the floor with your face buried in your knees and 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 !!

he gathers you in his arms and sits on the bed with you curled up on his lap

he holds you close and rubs a comforting hand up and down your back at the same time as he frantically tries to figure out what’s wrong

“y/n?? baby what’s wrong? angel, please you gotta tell me or i cant help”

“i jjJJUST Got a cALL and my grandMA IS SICK AND THEN I DI D BAD AND DISAPPOINTED EVERYONE AND My mManageR yeYELLED at me and theN I RAN iNtO a staffF meMbEr and he yELled at me too and I JSUT .$:&:&;& i’m sO SORRY u doNT need to deAL WIYH ME you have problems of YouR own and-“

“shhh listen to me i always care about you okay? angel, i want to help you no matter what you know that. also, if you weren’t so distraught i would go beat some SM ass you didn’t deserve to be yelled at :(((( how about we call your mom and check for updates with your grandma and i’ll stay here with you for the night?”

you nod and then reach for your phone while keeping as much physical contact with lucas as possible

he’s the only reason you haven’t reached the Depression Point Of No Return so

we stayin close

you put your mom on speaker and set your phone down before squishing yourself back into his chest and sniffling while the phone rings

your mom answers and you shakily ask for any updates and she tells you not much but your grandma has improved and they think that within a couple weeks she’ll be better

you cry some more and tell her you love them both and you’re so relieved and lucas kisses the crown of your head and is just There For Comforting

once you hang up and you’ve calmed down a little more you back up a little and turn to face him

“hey thank you so much, you didn’t have to come and help me so much but you’ve always been there to make me stop Freaking Out and laugh and i just, love you. yeah that’s what it is. I LOVE YOU I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU, WONG YUKHE-“

he cuts you off by snatching your face in his big warm hands and kissing you right on the lips

he then kisses your nose and your forehead and pulls you back into his lap to tuck you under his chin

“it’s all for you, angel ;)))) i love you more”

[mulansays]

Hello, my dear readers! 

So, I’ve been a little missing in action this week, haven’t I? Well, I can’t say much on the topic without losing my job... Let’s just say, there may or may not be a debut in the works for a few of the kids at the company I work for. This means I’m spread out fairly thin and working at weird hours of the night on minimal sleep, so please be patient with me as I try and balance my job and this blog!

Enough about me. It’s been almost a week since the MGA’s episode four, and boy do I have some things to say.

Let’s start with Team A as usual. I had mixed feelings about this team, mostly because I’ve never tried to hide my disliking of a certain member here. While he turned me off of the group, I still do especially enjoy the rest of the members! In the last episode, we really got to see Jinhee shine as a dancer and leader, but with this performance, I realized that her vocal ability is really average… I guess it’s okay because she’s such an extraordinary dancer. I was shocked with her wig though; was she trying to be Hannah Montana or something? It was kind of lame. If you’re going to go for pink hair, commit to it like Junmyeon and Jonghyun did instead of doing some odd wig show. I’ll be honest, a lot of this team didn’t leave an impression on me, which is sad because last week I mentioned how amazed I was by Jeno and Hyunjin’s dancing. There was nothing special about the choreography. I have to say though, Hyunjin articulates very maturely for such a young kid. His speech inspired me, and if he were to grow older and join an idol group, that’s some leader-worthy pep talks right there. He also pulled off a tough rap decently, so I think I like this kid. I was relieved when Jeno was eliminated rather than him (sorry, Lee Jeno!) I thought Jonghyun should have been the one to go home instead, but I’m not exactly going to she tears over the decision.

Team B was… such a mess. While Guanlin was cute with his heavy accent, he impressed me with how much his pronunciation while rapping had improved. It wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly better than before (and maybe even better than my Korean had been within the first few months of moving here).  Kim Bora really deserved the leader title here, and I hate this whole “leaders can’t be repeated” because obviously, if you appoint someone who’s unfit to lead, your team is screwed. God, my blood has never boiled more than when I saw Junhoe’s attitude. Being a group leader is no joke, but he treated it as if it didn’t matter? I wanted to slap him and send him off the show. When you’re an idol, you can’t act like that, especially in the public eye. There’s a fine line between being mysterious and being a dick, and he crossed that by miles. I’m happy Bora whipped him into shape, but even then, to me it felt like he was trying to have all the spotlight. Besides that, I felt bad for Donghyun and I hope his foot is okay. He really can’t dance though, so thank God they did an easier choreography (yet he still managed to mess that up but whatever). Oh, I almost forgot to mention Wonwoo LOL! Seriously, he got no screen time and he has negative stage presence, so can you blame me? I was hoping for him to get eliminated this week, but then this team ranked 3rd… I was disappointed. I don’t think that weak performance deserved to rank that high. The song choice was fun though.

Team C… Okay, this is going to sound real bitchy, but like, has anyone else noticed how weirdly Yoongi talks? It stuns me every time, and I know it’s not his fault, but sometimes I just want to plug my ears when he opens his mouth. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to see him evolve from an awkward guy begging Hyuna for help, to a proper leader. Though, she carried him through it like a baby, but still, he was standing on his own two legs by the end. Speaking of Hyuna, can she just stick to rapping instead of mediocre singing? I know people were freaking out about it but she’s really just… LOL. I’m really glad Minhyung got eliminated this week. Compared to the rest of his team, he’s so lacking, and I hate using age as an excuse, but he was too young and immature to be in the competition. There are others around the same age, but they have mental maturity, whereas this kid runs out when he gets frustrated? He would never last long in the industry with that mindset. I hope he fixes that before trying again. Other than that, you know I just have to comment on Kim Doyeon. She looks like a natural on stage, and she really has it all: a pretty face, perfect proportions, charisma, vocal ability, and she’s a good dancer. Share that, please, Doyeon? As for Moon Bin, I think he deserved more screen time. Maybe he’s just boring, I don’t know, but I was sad. He has a lovely voice and stage presence. MNET, do the kid some justice!

You guys probably know that one of my least favourite contestants was in Team D. Yes, I’m talking about Minatozaki Sana, and this episode really didn’t give her a redemption arc in my heart. She still has an attitude about losing out to someone else on her team and doesn’t even try to hide it. It just makes the whole team atmosphere feel awkward when she sulks, and it made me uncomfortable to watch. Even when Haknyeon tried to cheer up (so sweet, by the way, and was he flirting a little or am I imagining things?) she was so… I don’t want to dislike her. Sana is a good dancer, but she just feels really fake and bratty. Pfft, and MNET tried to edit Yerim to have that personality but they edit Sana so you feel bad for her. I won’t be fooled though. This team also had another case of poor leadership. Jungkook had the title, but he treated it exactly like that—as if it was only a title and didn’t hold any responsibility. I’m pretty sure I said this last time, too, but he has no stage presence whatsoever! As a dancer, that’s so vital, and it’s probably the biggest flaw to have. I wasn’t surprised to see him eliminated. Oh, and Choi Youngjae… He’s such a good vocalist, but he can’t dance, so I wonder why the team chose such a dance-centered song. On a happier note, Longguo’s cat is so cute. Him and Haknyeon being cat ladies made me smile because it’s so relatable and their friendship is adorable. I really like Joo Haknyeon. He’s a flower, quite fitting with the concept. Not only was he a sweetheart to every contestant on the team, but he also gave his best. Even though his nose bled, he kept practicing by himself to make sure his performance was perfect. I’m amazed.

I don’t really have much to say about Team E. They barely had any screen time. There wasn’t anything memorable from these participants (whether scandalous or not), despite the fact that they chose such a powerful song. Maybe that’s where they went wrong. Choi Yoojung danced and rapped well, Kyungri held her own while dancing and singing. Lee Luda was really naive at the beginning, thinking the dance would be easy. At least she wasn’t the worst dancer in the group though—I think she’s rather average, enough to blend in. Plus, she doesn’t need to dance when she can sing like a goddess. Taehyung was really lacking. He was an okay leader, but all he can do is rap. His dancing was atrocious; why did he agree to such a hard choreography anyways? Personally, I think he should have been eliminated instead of Juyeon, because out of everyone, Juyeon was the most well balanced in every aspect. I’m sad to see him go, and I wish him the best of luck.

Can we just talk about Team F’s introduction? Ha Sungwoon called himself “bananappa” and that made me cringe so hard. Was he on crack? LOL kidding, but seriously. That’s so weird. His nickname aside, I think he made a really good leader. The thing with Sungwoon is that he really supplied a positive atmosphere with the group. Watching their interactions, you could see they were genuinely happy and friendly, whether they were practicing or not. It was quite refreshing, really, which I guess is why they gave themselves the name “Fresh and Fruity” or whatever it was. I’d like to see this group of people debut together, in all honesty. They have a good balance: Sungwoon as the main vocal and leader, Mingyu as the main rapper, Jinsoul and Yerim as lead vocals and dancers. It’s also a perfect ratio of females to males, so they could be kind of like the co-ed group KARD? Anyways, there’s not much to say about them because they were so good and I really enjoyed the performance (another story within a choreography, Sungwoon seems to be good at that). I definitely think they could have been third place; I don’t know what’s wrong with the CEO’s. The dance to Shine isn’t all that hard. Rather than being a good dancer, you just need charisma to pull off the trendy moves in the chorus, and everyone in this team (especially Jinsoul) have enough. Shout out to Yerim, though, who MNET decided not to evil edit this time, instead cutting her out completely. We see you and your hard work. All in all, I thought this team was doomed since Lee Minhyuk pulled out of the competition last minute (you’re really going to let your group members down? Okay), but they did well.

Buckle in for the wild ride that Team G will take you on. I really wasn’t ready. So, there’s an obvious elephant in the room: Lee Sungyeol. In my last post, I talked about how I thought he was too old to be an idol now, and I still stand by it. If anything, this episode only solidified my opinion. Really, what kind of an aspiring idol has a fucking kid? And he so shamelessly showed it off on television for the whole nation to see. Has anyone ever seen an idol that’s freshly debuted, have a toddler? It’s insane! If you have one, at least try to hide it. Already, his age sets him apart from everyone else, along with his lack of skill (Sungyeol is an average singer at best, he can’t dance, and he barely has stage presence). But like, dude, you really want to pursue a career as an idol when you have a kid to take care of? You’ll have no time for the kid, will barely see them, and idols don’t exactly make the most money unless you hit it big, which he definitely can’t do. You need a steady, reliable source of income or else your kid will suffer. Kick him out of the show already!

Now, we’ll tackle the next problem of this team: Kim Chungha. I was really rooting for her, but she’s not much different from Sungyeol. She so blatantly exposed her relationship with Koo Junhoe, as if she wanted to brag? I know she was crying and all, but at least call a female friend and vent! Or if it’s a male, let it be someone who’s not a contestant! Or vent away from the cameras—this is ridiculous. I’ve never been so speechless. And all this after seeing Junhoe’s slacking off makes me wonder, was he late because he was fucking Chungha in the bathroom or something? LOL! They both lost my support. Soojin was my favourite leader out of this episode; she showed dedication to helping Sicheng with his vocals, while still keeping it light and fun. She can dance and sing as well, which we all know I love a woman with many talents. Sicheng was a really good dancer as usual, and Somi too (both their vocals are still lacking though so I hope they work on that). The performance was good overall, so I’m okay with them ranking second. By them, I mean Sicheng, Somi, and Soojin: the three S’s. The other two are such a big NO from me.

I can’t dwell too much on Team H. Not only am I exhausted and sleep deprived, but my heart broke with this team (I think you guys know why). Yongsun seemed to be a really good leader. She’s very funny and likable, not afraid to make a joke out of her weakness in dancing. Plus, she’s one of the best female vocalists on this show. Her and Daniel dancing together was hilarious, I have to admit. They have good chemistry as, like, the Beagle Line of a group. I was also surprised that everyone on this team can play instruments? It’s a coincidence you don’t really expect, and the fact that they utilized this surprise is so surreal to me. I don’t know why. I think it’s because I have a thing for bassists and Kang Daniel plays the bass (what fate is this)? And the bass line for Deja Vu is so sensual—control yourself, Naomi! Can you imagine my reaction to Hyunjung and Daniel acting all cute and flustered together like some puppy love? I almost cried. Almost. Maybe if I learn to play an instrument he will love me too? No hard feelings though, Hyunjung. You’re too talented for me to hate, and you’re pretty. If you make Kang Daniel smile and I get to see that smile, that’s all that matters. Anyways lol that hug and his blush. Wow, the kids on the MGA’s are really acting wild, aren’t they? I hope they all clean up their acts, or at least make it less obvious, by the time they become idols. Overall, this team’s performance was good and faintly reminiscent of H.A.M, so I believe they deserve their title as first ranked for this week. It was something new, something unexpected, something covertly sexy that I really enjoyed (rest in peace to Minho, though, who got no screen time despite killing the rap, the dance, and being super attractive).

I guess that’s all for now, guys! I’ll try not to be as late with my next post, though I can’t make any promises with how hectic work is at the moment. This was also fairly rushed, but I hope it was worthwhile! If not… Well, then, feel free to exit my blog. To those that enjoyed my thoughts, feel free to follow me on twitter @naomiwj and send in your reactions, opinions, and/or fangirl with me !!!

Thanks for reading, fellow netizens! See you next week!

♕ Naomi Wang ♕

[mushuzen-blog]

moo-shoe review: royal survival contestants!

well well.. guess who’s back from saving china, i mean south korea!! it’s ya bicc boi aka big daddy mushu on the stage~ i figured i’ve been missing out on a lot so i decided to run a marathon on the first three episodes on the royal survival, seems like there’s a load of beautiful girls who are trying to make their dreams country.. hummmmm this is me when i first saw so jisub tryna put these girls down!! like are you serious you big balonga?? we get it that you’re some big kind of c e o but you ain’t tryna play the role of big daddy.. THAT’S MY ROLE!@#^%$^

see that big ol’ fat angry mean statue right here? that’s so jiseob.. jisub.. geez sub, whatever you say his goddamn name!! ffs

i’m the big dragon here! anyways let’s start.. with ma big opinions for a small lizard.. (don’t call me that!!) i’m a dragon.

ahn hyojin (elly) - trainee for one year, three months

wOOW look at this beaut-i’m at loss for words at her talent but she apparently seems to be a scandalous girl? issues with texting bUT YA KNOW WHAT?? i like this girl cause she gives me the vibe she likes to be who she is and don’t give a f*ck. i think she’s pretty badass and gives me the vibe that she’s just not like your ordinary idol. she’s an all-rounder, i’ve grown fond of elly! her rapping flow entices me, she spits dragon fire when she raps. ooo~~

jegal seoyoung - trainee for eight months

she has these cute cheeks and this girl has a lot of cuteness to her.. she seems like she could go on variety but there should be more to her personality than just looking.. cute? i think she gives me that natural kind-of vibe you wouldn’t find elsewhere, like she’s a down-to-earth girl and not just trying to show off. she’s who she is and she does her best at being naturally cute but would i say she’s more of a vocalist or dancer? she’s a decent dancer but not like jazz (HOT MAMA CAN WORK THOSE HIPS, THEY dON’T LIE LIKE SHAKIRA OH MA LORDE!!) i mean.. jazz dances really well cause ya’know, jazz! but her voice doesn’t captivate me like jihyun or dawon would.

jo eunae (bekah) - trainee for nine months

ooo this girl is different!! she’s a cali girl and that’s cool, you stay cool like the cool weather in cali! she seems to be a strong candidate. man i think jisub’s bringing these girls down with their confidence but i like how strong and fierce eunae is. i’m curious what else what she can bring in the potluck! too many girls in this show are so quiet that i’m starting to fall asleep in my tomb.. liek the time my ancestors were nagging to me about how i don’t clean the pagoda and stuff. need more girls that are lively like eunae, yeah!! btw you rock that eyeliner girl #slay

jung soojung - trainee for one year

i think she’s the youngest but she seems to have the most mature vibe from the girls, she’s pretty bland and boring though. i think she was a lot better on the mgas than now, seems like she’s just pulling through. she’s got a great voice, not going to lie and she can dance just fine but there’s something off about her. the ice princess isn’t doing so well.. so far. she shone brighter a year ago but it seems like these girls are have the extreme limelight than she is hMMM WORK ON YA VIBE GIRL, YOU NEED TO SING MORE THAN JUST BALLADS! ffs

kim seolhyun - trainee for one year

she’s.. on this show oh waOW WHAT A HOT MAMA! i think she was on a dating scandal with somebody named.. bacon? oh yeah i remember bacon, that old greasy bacon be doin’ something with this rare beauty named seolhyun. she’s really different from the other girls, she’s really good at what she does and is versatile but there’s something i was expecting more from miss seolhyun. i can’t say i’m too impressed but i’m not disappointed either. i think i have to see more from her, she has almost the same vibes from the mgas and bIGGG DADDDY NEEDS MORE FROM YA LIKE.. werk that body girl. seolhyun works out yee, you can tell. she’s got the bod, the face, and the visuals. hot damn

kim yubin - trainee for three years

she’s another rapper.. what happened to the other rappers? i feel like there should’ve been more rappers but there’s only like 2.. or 3? THERE’S SO MANY VOCALIST IN THIS SHOW AND they’re mostly quiet personalities hOLY HELL?? i heard she’s been in many scandals.. damn these rappers don’t joke mang. they’re pretty headass, so cool!! suspicious and scandalous just makes everything interesting. she has the personality of queen b, but i think i’ve expected more from yubin than you know.. what she does cause she is a triple threat for a reason. at least, from what i’ve heard? am i missing out on something? ALSO I’M DIGGING THAT TAN GIRL YOU GOOO!!

lee jieun (jazz) - trainee for two years, four months 

SNDFOISNFOISDNF!@#$%#^% SO JISUB YOU COW HOW DID THE BEST DANCER OF THE SHOW GET ELIMINATED? she’s one of royal’s gemstones!! are you flippin’ serious you whoohaA? i’m so mad!! this girl doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. seriously, she was complimented so much and only to be eliminated and walk away? i’M CRYING ON MY TOMBSTONE, i can’t take this no not my heart.. JAZZ WHY?! 

lee jihyun - trainee for three years

wow.. jisub are you saying jihyun is predictable? okay um.. hold on, give her voice some praise more than you’re putting her down. she’s been loyal to royal and you’re just going to treat her out like that? come on man.. you’re not fair towards these girls at all. you sleep on some of these girls and you neeDA STOP THAT. istg mnet’s new cow is you!! jihyun has amazing technique and beautiful vocal prowess. it looks like if she was to ever debut, she’d be the leader despite how you say she’s predictable with her performances. okay, for three years you’ve had her, why don’t you cherish her more? >> 

lee soohyun - trainee for two years 

she’s definitely cute but her looks apparently don’t match your regular idol type.. i think that’s the sweetest thing about her, she’s unique and not just some plastic surgery butchered-beauty. i’m glad she’s the way she is, she’s a sweethEART AHH YOU REMIND ME OF MULAN WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL!! my heart is melted she’s too sweet *sniffle sniffle* her voice sounds lovely too!

manoban lalisa (lisa) - trainee for eight months

jisub says that this girl doesn’t have all-rounded abilities and that she doesn’t do what she does precisely.. well he’s wrong, i think she’s one of the most hard-working girls out there and she deserves more credit than what gee-sub gives her. lisa, you deserve to shine bright for who and what you are!! keep up that charisma girl, you’re more than just a pretty face as he says! if she was put in a girl group, she’d have the greatest variety personality.. like she just appeals the audience so much.

nam dawon - trainee for one year

oo.. another quiet girl? she seems really quiet but like.. she’s just there? i wish i got to see more of her. not gonna lie but she has a pretty voice but like soojung, she just seems too quiet beyond belief. she’s shy and there’s nothing wrong with that bUT I WISH THESE VOCALISTS were a little more out there!! like.. she’s a sweetheart but we need spicy fire on the show. i love her technique, she seems like a very strong singer.

park chaeyoung - trainee for eight months

i’d have to say that rose is like a rose, beautiful and one of my favourite flowers! i remember the days scrollin’ through her instagram and twitter (okay i’m kind of a stalker) AND SHE HAD THIS BEAUTIFUL ORANGE HAIR THAT WAS LIKE A FIREY BREATHING DRAGON! rose has earned her place as one of my favourites. i can’t wait for her to play the guitar and sing! her voice is unique and what’s even more awesome is she’s from australia! ooo dat accent got me like #waowgirl

yang jiwon - trainee for three years

she’s been training for so long and hasn’t debuted yet? was she in trc’s dungeon for the longest time ever? i’m not going to label these girls as “backstabbers” but some of them have been training so long with high hopes and dreams, only to be let-down by their company. yo this girl is one of the hottest, along with seolhyun. she might not be the best vocalist, but i can’t put ma finger on it, she’s has something special about her! we’ll just have to see it! 

stay tuned for more mushu reviews for episode.. 4! I’M OUT AND REMEMBER THIS SO JISUB, GET ROSE, SOOHYUN, ELLY, JIHYUN OR ANYONE ELSE I LOVE OUT OF THE SHOW, YOUS THE nEW COW OF MNET!! ya stupid piece of cow!!

so jiSEUB i AM YOUR..

[ladywindermeres-fan]

Thoughts on the results of Produce 101

Ok these few days I’ve been avoiding any news on Wanna One, nu'est and Samuel in general but it’s just been too difficult since it’s everywhere but I just wanna say a few things.

I’ve seen so many comments on various videos saying “JR/ Samuel isn’t in the group, like bye Wanna One not gonna support” or something in those lines. To these so-called individuals, can you really call yourselves fans of Produce 101? We have literally seen these boys struggle through choreography, getting their lines right, exhaustion and for the most part, many of these scenes are cut from us the audience anyway. We should know that everyone of these boys deserve a place. Yes I’m saying every single trainee.

True, JR and Samuel are very talented but let’s just think about all the other incredible talented individuals that we lost. We lost incredible strong vocals like Park Woodam, Kim Yongguk, Yoo Hwiseung, Lee Gun Hee, Jung Sewoon and so many more? We also lost incredible rappers like Lee Euiwoong, Kim Sanggyun(who was also there to promote Toppdog his group, did u even know that?), Im Youngmin even Jang Moonbok. Even amazing dancers that rival or dare I say, even better than Samuel like Noh Taehyun who was done so dirty by Mnet that failed to really show off his impeccable choreography of Shape of You, Kim Taedong, Kim Donghan and Hong Eunki. Have you even thought about them? Have you thought about these trainees some who come from small companies and some who come from pretty big companies but with no plans to debut a boy group anytime soon? Unlike perhaps Samuel with a very supportive agency that would’ve debuted him with a solo album anyway?

Let’s now think about our current Wanna One. We have strong vocals with Kim Jaehwan and Ha Sungwoon. We even have strong supporting vocalists like Hwang Minhyun, Yoon Jisung and Lee Daehwi. We have strong dancers like Ong Seongwoo, Kang Daniel and Park Jihoon. We have a solid rapper in Park Woojin. Even Lai Guanlin and Bae Jinyoung that everyone has criticised of being merely pretty boys have shown great improvement since their first appearance. Many also say that this group has no leader. We’ll have you forgotten how Jisung patiently took Hyunbin by the hand in Downpour when he was discouraged by all the negative comments about him then? And how he continues to remain ever positive and happy despite being snubbed of a chance to debut so many times and his age being a factor against him?

Honestly I don’t really know what I intend to achieve with writing this long post. I guess I’m just tired of overwhelming comments of negativity of Wanna One. Idk about all of you, but each and everyone of the trainees are special and it hurts that everyone is getting hate just because some people didn’t make it. I guess I just wanna say give Wanna One a chance. Everyone is talented and we never know for certain what the future holds anyway. I have faith in Wanna One to deliver us a great one and half years and for Nu'est to come back strong quickly as a unit of 4 and for Samuel’s successful solo debut and for all the other boys that didn’t make it. May we only walk on a road of flowers to success and happiness and not bitterness anymore.

[emperorhwangs]

How mnet successfully fucked Kim Yongguk over

If knetz had known there would be only 20 spots left rather than 22, they would've gathered with more organization to push yongguk, knowing that he would be at an inherent disadvantage bc of 2-pick (yongguk isn't part of any popular pairings). Without being in a well-known pair, his fan base STILL managed to get him to rank 21, just behind the former rank TWO, who is part of a very popular pairing with another very popular trainee. He was literally just a hair away. He just needed that little push, which would've been given if mnet had made it known that there were only 20 spots remaining. Not to mention, there was no true reasoning behind changing the number if trainees to 20, the only one given being "the show is very popular so we [mnet PD] don't need to explain anything". ???? Whatever that means. They deliberately did it to eliminate Yongguk. The ratings would've been the same, if not higher if Yongguk wasn't eliminated, so it wasnt an issue over "ratings". If they really thought Guanlin's shocking ranking would be that significant in ratings, they could've just overblown the situation with their typical editing (that never includes yongguk anyway) while still keeping rank 21 and 22. And now that Yongguk has been eliminated, voting has conveniently returned back to 1-pick. In conclusion: fuck mnet. 金龙国 deserved better.

[r-o-se]

Produce 101 Season 2 Ep 7 lit lit lit 92 point running commentary 

hey whats up squad fam id link where I watched it but it was like 4 different sources so I’m sorryyyyy message me and ask for them later

1.      They’re jumping right into it and its BTS Spring Day stage all are pastely beige pink and its cute af this is the youngest group on average and has the small Woojin, Kim Youngjin, Kenta, Seonho and Bae Jinyoung

2.      Younjin wants to be center/main vocal eventho hes originally a rapper and I understannd WHY he wants it but to have a rapper as main vocal is…… not clever

3.      Holy shit he actually gets to be the main vocal wow I’m shook as hell

4.      Seokhoon is making angry eyes at him tho and now Woojin is a shitton better at this checkup and gets to be the new center

5.      He has problems hitting the high note though poor baby

6.      Baejy gets praised by BoA and he gets cute and smiley as fuck its adorableeeeee

7.      SEONHO IS PLAYING PIANO IM PROUD OF MY LIL BABY BIRD

8.      Baby Woojin didn’t fully hit the note but he didn’t fully miss ti either so its okkkk

9.      Kenta got literally 0 personal screentime though mnet fucking hates him this boy is a GEM you could make so much clips out of him but nooooooooo

10.   Seonho made kissy faces at the camera and Guanlin cringed so hard it was beautiful

11.   Seonho got first aaaahahahha it’s the piano and the visuals but can we just remember the fact that the kid is only what 15? 16? He’s fuckin SMALL

12.   Now the next stage is N Sync-Pop aka the group with one dancer and a bunch of other professions since they got filled also………… WOODAM IS HERE IM SO FUCKING EMO POOR KID

13.   They also got Sangbin, Jung Jung, Insoo, Kiwon, Jaechan and Woodam obviously. Jung Jung is the only og dancer there

14.   I’m very sad about Woodam but I wanna see others too like please…… I miss Sangbin and Insoo… Show them too they literally choreographed the whole thing and GOT PRAISED FOR IT…. And their teamwork was called the best they had seen IM SO GLAD

15.   But their team is all very low numbers it makes me really really sad ugh

16.   Their clothes are so 90s I LOVE IT HOW CUTE

17.   They all dance so well especially for a group of people who aren’t actually dancers

18.   SANGBINI IS SO GOOD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH FUCK

19.   Junghung unzipped his sweater and flipped around OBVIOUSLY

20.   Everyone are clapping in circles aaahahahahah round of applause LITERALLY

21.   Oh my gooooosh WOODAM HAS ASTHMA POOR BABY KID

22.   If Woodam won’t make it I’m going to riot

23.   SANGBIN IS LAST AGAIN LAST HERE AND LAST IN THE GROUP EVALUATION WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT JUSTICE FOR SANGBIN HES A RANK AND INDIVIDUAL TRAINEE AND AN EXCELLENT RAPPER FUCKING VOTE FOR HIM ASSES

24.   NOW ITS TIME FOR A-TOM, EUIWOONG AND MY PINK RAPPER FLUFF WOO JINYOUNGGGGGGGGG THEY ARE DOING

25.   Ajlahlskadf they asked Jinyoung ‘whos the best’ and hes like ahh everyone are good in their own way and they they asked again from Sanggyun and he’s like ‘I’m the best lol’

26.   Wait is this the stage where Ha Minho was…….. because lmao they really did a good job editing him out I’m dead ‘they can’t edit better evil editing isn’t a thing’ MY GUY THEY DELETED A GUY WHO WON A BATTLE!!  WITHOUT IT EVEN BEBING NOTICED IF WE DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS THERE!! GODDAMN

27.   Jinyoung is the centerrrrrrrr love my babe but obvi I’m sad for Sanggyun

28.   Also yall Minho won this battle with an Mnet diss

29.   Sanggyun has problems coming up with lyrics poor babe I hope he’s alright OH NO BABY MESSED UP HIS WORDS TWICE

30.   KAKLKFNAWKNN MINHO IS BLURRED OUT ON STAGE WHY IS THIS SO FUNNY

31.    SANGGYUN AND EUIWOONG GOT PRAISEDDDDDDD AND OBVI WOOJY TOO IM SO PROUDDDDD

32.   THEIR STAGE IS SO GOOD THE ENERGY IS SO GOOD WHAT THE FUCK THEY ALL ON FIRE AS FUCK

33.   Cheetah is feeling herself big time

34.   Euiwoong looks so much better here than with the BIL team he looked like a fetus there but rn HES FUCKIN AMAZING

35.   Imagine ranking 4th out of 3 people wow that seems like something that would happen to me lmao poor Euiwoong

36.   A group with no first place how tragic

37.   ITS TIMEEEEEE OFR RHYTHM TA  ok but why choose the same song for two years in a row lol

38.   This team is Gwanghyun, Yoojin and Taewoo

39.   Yoojin hated being a leader back in Be Mine days and now he’s stuck again because Gwanghyun and are submissive fucks

40.   GWANGHYUN IS NERVOUS AND WENT TO ASK JINYOUNG FOR HELP THIS IS SO CUTE AND JINYOUNG BABE GAVE HIM ADVICE INSTEAD OF SENDGIN A RIVAL AWAY

41.   This groups teamwork is seriously amazing I love it so much their dynamic is so amazing

42.   Their energy is so good they sereiously seemed to just fuckin get such a high out of being on stage

43.   Poor Baby Yoojin is last, Taewoo is second and Gwanghyun got first poor baby is crying and the others are cheering him up this is so sweet

44.   BoA Amazing kiss is up next with Dongsu, JELLY HEESEOK WHO I HAVENT SEEN IN WEEKS LOVE YOU BABE DO WELL, Seunghyuk and Gunhee. Gunhee is the leader yet they have problems choosing the center

45.   THEIR VOCALS ARE ALL SO GOOD WHAT THE FUCK GUNHEE IS AMAZING

46.   Heeseok really wants to be center and is being kind of pushy but in the end Gunhee got the center part too

47.   THEIR HARMONIES ARE SO GOOD

48.   AND VOCALS SO STRONG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

49.   Gunhee looks………. So good…….. I cant take it…… with the choker and everything just fuck me upppp

50.   Jahldfhaan gunhee shook his ass on stage while appealing time

51.   Gunhee is bringing up Hyunwoo too goddamn im weakhearted don’t do this to me

52.   Heeseok got last place….. I’m emo as fuck…… fuckin stab me…… My Jellyfish son…. Seunghyuk is third, Dongsu second and Gunheeeeeeeeee is FIRST!!! Proud of my kid

53.   Now its I.O.I Downpour team, Hyunbin, Jisung, Minhyun, Jaehwan and Sungwoon aka ALL THE KIDS I LOVE!!!!

54.   They chose Jisung as leader my babe looks so good with purple hair GOD BLESS

55.   Sungwoon is so pretty godddamnit ‘I’ve heard it often I’m not good enough for main vocal’ I’ll beat up whoever said it

56.   HE IS GIVING UP MAIN VOCAL TO JAEHWAN!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!!! WHAT AN ANGEL!!!!!!! I’M SHOOK!!!!!

57.   Hyunbin got a lot of hate and I’m very salty over it I love my tall boy very much SAME GOES TO JISUNG!!!! THAT KID HASN’T DONE A SINGLE THING WRONG HE IS SO SWEET AND SO INSPIRING AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH MMO BETTER FUCKING DEBUT HIM WITH THE MMO SQUAD ONCE ITS DONE!!!!!!

58.   Hyunbin messed up a bit and Jisung comforted him poor lil baby I’m so sorry for my tall child and thank you so much Jisung for taking care of my baby kid

59.   Anyways they asked if they can change and having Jaehwan play guitar instead of having the teachers play piano

60.   Minhyun looks so fine in pastel pink fuck me up

61.   Cut to Baekho and Jonghyun lookin like ‘damn right’

62.    JAEHWANS VOICE DOES THINGS TO ME I DIDN’T EVEN SEE ITS HIM BUT WHEN HIS VOICE STARTED I GOT SHIVERS SAME WITH SUNGWOON I LOVE MY POWER VOCAL CHILDREN

63.   Oh my fucking god everyone in the crowd and the other trainees AND HYUNBIN are all bawling

64.   JAEHWANS VOCALS SAVED MY LIFE! FUCKING G O S H THIS IS SO EMOTIONAL I DON’T EVEN KNOW THE LYRICS BUT I FEEL LIKE CRYING

65.   Sakjfbakjsablkfjn Hyunbin and Jisung are holding hands

66.   Hyunbin is 5th and Jisung takes his hand and comforts him a lot and tells him it’s okay this is too precious and Jisung himself is 4th and Sungwoon third, Minhyun second and JAEHWAN FIRST HE DESERVED IT BEST FUCKING VOCALS IN THIS ENTIRE SHOW IF HE WONT MAKE IT I AM RIOTING!!!!!!

67.   Jinwoo ranked super low in vocals……. I’m so fucking sad when will people learn to appreaciate true talent…..

68.   Gunhees mouth can open so wide its amazing honestly also HE GOT OVERALL VOCAL FIRST PLACE IM SO PROUD!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!! BABE!!!!!!!!!! U DESERVED IT U WERE A GREAT CENTER AND LEADER

69.   Now its only the dance teams left starting with Gete Ugly. The subber seems to love him and tbh same bless Danik

70.   Ong is so fuckin funny I love him lmao

71.   It’s Daniels team and he’s like ‘I’m sorry I was a bad leader’ and Ong is like nah fam ALSO FUN FACT REVEALED BY ONG Jonghyun inspired him to be the leader this is so fuckin cuteeeeee

72.   Afnhlna what is going on why are they showing them in the result room before the stage I’m????

73.   This team has all of the alpha bitches like seriously Jihoon, Samuel, Ong, Daniel, Hyungseob are 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th and then poor baby Park Woojin is 24th.

74.   Awwwwwwwwww the populars are all thinking that Woojin could kill it this is so cute

75.   Danik is the MMO maknae apparently and volunteered and FUCK SUNGWOO JUST SAID JONGHYUN INSPIRED HIM TO BE THE LEADER MY SORRY SORRY AND ONGNIEL HEART CANT TAKE IT

76.   Samuel keeps being eaten up by Jihoon save my boy  those two want center and WOOJIN WANTS TOO!!!!!!! I LOVE WOOJIN!!!!!! PICK HIM!!!!!

77.   AAAAAAHAHAH FUCK SAMUEL JUST SAID THAT HES LIKE A SKINNY DEER NEXT TO JIHOONS TIGER THIS IS THE CUTEST

78.   Jihoon?? Recommended Sameuel now?? FUCK CUTE!!! Poor Woojin tho aw

79.   They are a bit lacking in the dance section though which makes me a bit sad and Danik egets a bit flamed from Kahi since he is the only one who has problems with the choreo

80.   Samuel, Danik and Woojin are all choreographing it but they all have very different styles so it’s a bit hard to learn

81.   Anyways Danik is so cute and he has NICE ASS FUCKIN THIGHS HOLY SHIT  LOOK AT HIM B-BOYING

82.   The whip sound effects are so funny idk why but THEY ARE

83.   Ong and Jihoon are poppingggggggg and its GREATT

84.   Dabbing fuckers I stg

85.   Samuels legs are so thin OH MY GOD DANIEL TWIRLING ON HIS HANDS HOLY SHIT

86.   WHO DID THAT HALF SPLIT WAS IT ONG??? THAT WAS FUCKIN COOL

87.   Hey yall I love Kang Daniel and Park Woojin and I’m not gonna waste my fingers typing out all of the members here BUT I LOVE THEM ALL FUCK

88.   Jihoon did goddamn aegyo on that goddamn stage and Samuel gave half of a heart miss me w that cuteness

89.   Everyone think Samuel won it but goddamn?? No?? He ranked last? How the fuck did that happen I’m literally…… what?? Why on earth? Anyways yall remember when Samuel called his mom and she called him a puppy

90.   DANIK GOT 5TH IM ANGRY!!! AND HE SAID ITS WHAT HE DESERVES!! NO!!!!!

91.   Hyungseob is 4th, Ong is 3rd and Woojin is SUPER NERVOUS AND NOW THEY CUT IT OFF!! FUCK YOU MNET!!

92.   If Taehyun isn’t getting the best dancer I’m going to scream right here right now

93.   Pop got really low votes I’m emo

94.   TAEHYUN WRECKED IT HE IS FIRST!! HE DESERVES IT FUCKIN HELLL HE DOESSSS

95.   Ok cut back to get ugly votes WOOJIN GOT FIRST HE REALLY DID IM SO PROUD HE REALLY DID IY MY FOX BABY HE DESERVED THAT FIRST CENTER PLACE FROM A RANKS AS WELL BUT NOW HES HERE AND BEAT UP!!!!! THE ENTIRE TOP TEN!!! FUCKIN GOD IM PROUD

96.   TAEHYUN STAYED THERE HE REALLY DID WOOOJIN IS 5TH BUT TAEHYUN MADE IT HE IS FIRST HE BEAT ALL OF THE AVENGERS F U C K

97.   Samuel and Daniel are ranking really low…… this is…. This is really sad wow holy shit….Poor children…. To drop from second to second to last??? Poor kid

98.   Anyways the golden trio is now Gunhee, Jonghyun and Taehyun I am satisfied and have no objections to that

Good night yall buy nuest albums theyyre good for your health also happy debut to ace and merry comebacks to map6, ikon, got7, knk, b.i.g,, 24k and anyone else that I forgot