#hey come on

[sashannarcy]

THE CATGIRL IS BISEXUAL TOO????????

[aropride]

i think weight loss ads should be illegal and im not kidding

[married-2-the-music]

SHINHWA Deep Dive #4/4: When Do We Hold Someone Accountable?

TW: mention and discussion of cultural appropriation, racism, and the n-word. Deeper discussion in a separate post.

SHINHWA was formed in 1998 and is currently the longest running k-pop group in history, breaking the so-called 7-year curse three (and a half) times over. They have six members: Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Junjin, and Andy, who have been together since the beginning, and are one of the most formative groups of k-pop’s 1st generation.

Here are my credentials: uh…none? I can name about three SHINHWA songs off of the top of my head, which is slightly embarrassing. I know of course about their incredible legacy, but similarly to BTS, I’ve been a k-pop fan for half a decade now so I figured it’s time to get to know such an important group better. 

[fairsweetlonging]

truth serum / system reveal au where shen qingqiu gets hit with an uncloaking spell that reveals the system in the reflection of his eyes every time it pops up.

during one of his missions, in the treasure hoard of some dragon-like creature, he finds a golden, oval shaped hand mirror, its gaudy style more victorian based than anything (airplane you hack!), that doesn't seem to do anything when he looks into it. but when he does, it reveals the system's screen in his eyes.

he doesn't notice this, of course, because he can't see it, and the system, surprisingly, stays quiet.

the peak lords think he's cursed.

maybe mu qingfang is the first to notice, during the mandatory post mission check-up, when shen qingqiu is scrolling through his most recently accumulated points and mu qingfang can see the strange vividly-blue lines reflected in his pupils. it's gone when shen qingqiu blinks, like it was nothing but a trick of the light.

it comes out when yue qingyuan is visiting and, just as he's done laying out the plans for a new mission, shen qingqiu's eyes glaze over and a bright blue box takes over the whole of his iris. shen qingqiu goes quiet; the thing in his eyes moves, shifts, pulses for a second, like static worms crawling all over his pupils. then he blinks, and it's gone, and shen qingqiu accepts the mission that yue qingyuan was almost sure he would decline.

maybe there is an intervention, when the peak lords corner shen qingqiu at qian cao peak and try to figure out what's wrong, subjecting him to all kinds of treatments and curse-finding spells that turn up empty, they can't find anything.

of course, the silencing threat is still very much up and running. at first shen qingqiu was kind of confused by the whole ordeal, but when the peak lords start describing a "strange blue box", he realizes, with sickening suddenty, that they're describing the system. and he can't say anything.

this only makes everything worse, because their fellow peak lord now keeps evading every question and acts like he doesn't understand. liu qingge points right at his face and asks, "that blue box, what is it?" and shen qingqiu laughs nervously and starts talking about how bright the weather is and surely it's the sky and nothing to worry about!

even worse, during the intervention the system thought it was a good idea to start talking to him, so now even the peak lords who hadn't seen it and who might have been persuaded by light tricks and reflections, get a first row view that no, that definitely isn't a trick of the light.

they try to do the whole thing of "are you in danger, blink twice" but shen qingqiu can't even do that because it's still a direct admittance!

maybe eventually he starts saying vague confirmations that don't actually confirm anything, like "this master hears what you're saying", or maybe he goes with a classic "this master can neither confirm nor deny that." but the system starts warning him for that too and eventually he stops saying anything, which worries the others more.

luckily mu qingfang catches on that every time they ask a direct question about the box or shen qingqiu says anything vaguely confirming, it appears. it doesn't appear when they ask about curses or demons, so it must not see that as a threat.

for a little extra angst: maybe the peak lords keep pressuring him for answers, and at some point shen qingqiu gets fed up and snaps out something like, "why don't you understand that i'm not allowed to answer that!" the system counts this as a direct admittance, threatening it's existence. so it punishes. shen qingqiu has a qi deviation so bad it lasts two weeks and takes two people every day to cleanse his meridians. the system doesn't appear in that time. it doesn't appear for a long while after that, either. the peak lords stop asking, mainly because shen qingqiu will instantly leave the room if they do. they don't stop searching for a cure, though.

shang qinghua returns from a business trip and catches on the second someone mentions a blue box and forced silencing.

[bixels]

“America has no culture” is an inherently racist statement. Especially when talking about California, which has enormous populations (yes, plural) of Hispanic and Asian immigrants.

It’s such a self report that you see the American hegemony, the American monolith, as a singularly white entity that’s worthy of scorn. I want that person to look at the Black American NYC Miku design and tell me with their full chest that that isn’t culture. Especially when modern pop culture owes so much to Black American culture — hip hop, language, streetwear and fashion, pop music, jazz — as is actively erasing their roots, saying all of America has no culture is a dumbass statement.

Also, “all the US Mikus are dressed in generic casual street style for coolish weather.” The original Brazilian Miku is wearing sunglasses, a crop top, short shorts, a bikini, and flip flops you absolute dunce. If you’re gonna be rude at least be consistent.

[akanemnon]

I don't like this place. It's turning everyone edgy and sad.

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[mellosghosts]

hes a little confused, but hes got the spirit 🫡

[speckled-jim]

s3 armand tryna sneak

[pathetic-gamer]

(this is basically the gist of his voicelines, right?)

[mari-lair]

[deepdwellingsteamboat]

ABZÛ 2016・dev. Giant Squid

[rhupi]

Kushina sensei au, where she trains obito and Rin (tho mostly Obito at first, since she first encountered the lik guy @ the training grounds)

[rslgatekeeper]

[married-2-the-music]

SHINHWA Deep Dive #3/4: When Do We Hold Someone Accountable?

TW: mention and discussion of cultural appropriation, racism, and the n-word. Deeper discussion in a separate post.

SHINHWA was formed in 1998 and is currently the longest running k-pop group in history, breaking the so-called 7-year curse three (and a half) times over. They have six members: Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Junjin, and Andy, who have been together since the beginning, and are one of the most formative groups of k-pop’s 1st generation.

Here are my credentials: uh…none? I can name about three SHINHWA songs off of the top of my head, which is slightly embarrassing. I know of course about their incredible legacy, but similarly to BTS, I’ve been a k-pop fan for half a decade now so I figured it’s time to get to know such an important group better. 

[heyitsspaceace]

arcane s2 act one be like

“mlm situationship so bad you become god”

“wlw situationship so bad you become a dictator”

[i-love-you-just-the-same]

going to a singles meetup and mistakeningly thinking simon riley is there for the same reason.

to be fair, he was sitting at one of the tables being used for dates. however, that was because the event staff were too intimidated to ask him to move. they assumed no one would approach him, but unlucky for them you did.

simon doesnt know what's going on around him with all these stupid couples- that's probably why this pretty bird is sitting across from him. no other seats. it doesn't explain why you're asking him all these questions about himself, though. mutters through it, thinking he's going to scare you off. simon's surprised when you respond with interest and seem charmed by his aloofness, not put off.

eventually he puts down his phone (ignoring johnny's stream of tiktoks) and starts being more receptive. offers to buy you another coffee or fruity little drink from the barista up front. compliments you for being so dressed up just to get coffee. he's surprised at his own interest in someone beyond work, let alone their cat's names. simon's ready to ask you for your number when a bell rings from the other side of the room.

he's confused (and disappointed) when you get up with your clipboard and tell him you hope to see him soon. where are you going? why are you leaving him to sit with that guy over there? simon pouts for a second before deciding he's not going to take this shit. he's imprinted on you like a stray animal.

he then takes stock of all the clipboarded couples.

simon steals a clipboard by startling an organizer. ranks you as his one and only pick. proceeds to scare any other man you talk to into giving you up.

pleasantly happy to discover you ranked him number one as well- but you're confused when a staff member said there wasn't a simon riley on file. good thing he was there to remind him of their mistake. he fucking blushes when you smile at him to ask for his number.

come on bird, there's a tjmaxx and a courthouse down the road. he'll buy you flowers while you pick out your pretty white dress.