#how in the beginning of skz people in the fandom

[bandzboy]

i could make an essay about how people immediately perceive introvert idols who don't talk or interact that much as rude or cold bc i've seen it happen so many times and as someone who is introverted i get annoyed bc i know first hand what that is 😭

[caffeinatedseagull]

STAYs really need to get a grip.

Alright? Bc their behaviour recently is *not* okay.

Little gift before I begin my Ted Talk

Alright let’s begin.

I’m talking about the reporter incident.

We all know about how there was a racist photographer who was making rude remarks towards Stray Kids at the Met Gala.

Let me get one thing straight, the man is a jerk. I’m not saying you can’t hold him accountable. *Absolutely* hold him responsible and tell him his actions were not okay. Give him backlash for it.

But hacking the man’s personal website and leaking his home address everywhere on the internet is NOT okay. And it’s illegal.

Listen, SKZ themselves have said and done racist things in the past. They were held accountable, they apologized for a lot of the things.

No one hacked the JYPe website, people didn’t spread their dorm address across comment sections and posts.

And you know why?

Because that’s not appropriate behaviour for the situation.

Doxxing a jerk does not make you a hero.

Racism is a massive issue, and the guy 100% needs to be held accountable, but that is VERY different from what STAYs are doing right now.

Because do you think all this is going to make him apologize? Do you think he will understand why he shouldn’t do what he did?

No. If anything it will solidify and strengthen his beliefs.

Chan’s room was cancelled because of behaviour like this, y’all aren’t just hurting STAY’s image.

I get wanting to protect your faves, but y’all need to remember how big the fandom is.

There are *millions* of us.

Hate spreads like wildfire, and we are Australia.

Take a minute, let yourself calm down. Think for a little bit. And then you can act.

Bc y’all are causing damage, and it’ll only get worse as the fandom grows. Others are going to see that hate and hop on the bandwagon.

If you want to protect SKZ, first you have to save them from yourself.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, have a lovely day!

TLDR: We need to get a set of fandom rules in place.

[trolagygirl2022]

hiii, can i request a reading on how other 4th gen boygroups view zerobaseone? or how the big 4 companies view zerobaseone?

because they've broken a lot of records already and have a lot of gp support as well as a dedicated fandom... if you look at wannaone, they dominated their generation and were second to only bts. groups flourished after their disbandment. it's also well-known that a lot of 4th gen bg fans have transferred to zerobase1 and even bgs like ateez and skz have admitted knowing about it.

so i'm suuuper curious. i wanna know if it's like "we have to beat them" or "why are they even successful" or "they'll disband anyways lol who cares"

thank you :D

p.s. i love how you answer interesting asks like the bts book lmao some tarot readers don't do it in fear of controversy or something i guess

ZEROBASEONE reputation in the idol industry.

(in bloom soty and youthintheshade aoty btw!!!!)

How do 4th gen boygroups view ZB1? Wheel of Fortune rev, 9 of Swords, 10 of Wands, The Star, 6 of Cups, The Hierophant, The Tower, 3 of Swords, The Fool, Strength, Ace of Wands

Some see them as a group with a lot of determination and that has been through a lot psychically and mentally. They are seen as successful and stars. I feel though some view them as not as traditional? Ohhh it's because Zhang Hao placed 1st as a Chinese which is unheard of. I'm getting some jealous vibes too ngl. However they can be seen as too successful to the point some may wish for chaos? I feel that the jealousy comes from them debuting off a really popular show and mnet which can have people be jealous of their privilege. I feel that their talent, hard-work, creativity and visuals are appreciated amongst boy groups. 8 of Swords is underneath so again their some real jealous sore losers that envy them (I have a feeling some groups from big companies can see them as a threat ngl)

How do the big 4 companies view ZB1?

SM: Strength, The World, 3 of Pentacles, 2 of Wands, The Hierophant, The Fool, 9 of Pentacles.

Quite positive! They are seen as successful, determined boys who are willing to take risks. They see them as breaking norms (aka having 2 Chinese members and one placing first) and The Empress is under deck so they seem to like their concept!

YG: King of Cups, Knight of Swords, The Hierophant, Knight of Wands, King of Pentacles, 9 of Swords.

Mostly positive. Creative, Talented, succesful boys breaking norms. However I sense some may even be intimidated by them and feel the need to work harder? (10 of Wands underneath). It's like seeing how good your classmate is and wanting to do better.

JYP: 4 of Pentacles, 2 of Wands, 2 of Swords, Judgement, Strength, Knight of Cups, 7 of Cups, Queen of Wands, The High Priestess, 9 of Swords.

Mmmm the stingyness begins lmfaoo. Idk what type of beef JYP has but jealousy is present. I can imagine some male saying "How are they even successful?" so people probably doubted their success or think it's fraudelent. It's not only their success that they envy but their creativity, determination and concept. (Idk why but I can see them secretly wanting them to flop, again lots of envious energy. I can picture "We are from JYP but they are more successful then us??". They keep a lot of secrets about them and are probably really judgy "What type of name is zerobaseone" is a bit of an example.

HYBE: 6 of Swords, 5 of Swords, 2 of Swords, King of Cups, Page of Cups, 3 of Pentacles, 2 of Wands, The Tower, 6 of Swords.

Succesful and talented trainees. However I feel some may secretly be wishing on their downfall. They think they are a well rounded group and will keep their eyes on them. Justice is under deck so I won't be surprised if HYBE snatches a member or two.

[starjxsung]

I’m so tired of everything that’s going on. And I’m not tired in the way of ‘oh can we stop talking about this already’, no. Because talking about this is important and it’s so important that we get JYPE attention on this matter and show them that if they Collab with z1onists we will no longer be supporting them.

I’m just tired of losing SKZ moots, finding out that people I used to like are bad people, and I’m just tired of stayville tearing each other apart. We let a disgusting filthy white man tear us apart, and it’s horrible. I also feel like a lot of people are straying away from the original reason of why we’re boycotting. Like yes, Stray kids made a collab with two z1onists, but don’t also forget to donate and spread the word about whats going on. A lot of people are just shaming others but they’re not participating in donations. It’s better to boycott and donate and spread the word at the same time, that’s how I see it.

I’m also not trying to say that it’s bad to speak up about this, but saying what is the point of shaming others when you’re also not doing anything to help either? I can’t explain it, and I hope that message comes off in a sensible way 😭.

I just miss stayville sm, and though some of us are fighting for a good cause, a lot of us are divided and it’s just so horrible. I don’t want to leave the fandom, (and this is not me putting kpop over morals guys.) but Stray kids is honestly my last shot at Kpop. Like, every other group just isn’t as appealing to me, and that isn’t a shot at other groups because there are some great groups out there, but I just can’t get into any of them. Stray Kids are my home, my family, and if this continues to happen — I will have no choice to leave the fandom and just kpop all together. All of my other groups have honestly gone downhill, the TXT situation with Soobin (immediately left after that), BTS in the military (which they cant control but even before then I was still kinda falling away from them) and Ateez just doesn’t feel the same anymore.

I just wish that JYP would say something (but knowing how money hungry they are, they probably won’t.) or that Chan would send us a message on bbl saying that he hears us without directly saying it. We haven’t gotten a single live from Felix ever since he’s apologized for the Coca-Cola incident, and so I can’t help but feel like JYP is suppressing their voices, like they want to say something but are being forced into promotions and stuff. And Honestly fuck JYP for making his Groups do things that are beyond their morals. But idk. Stray Kids are good people, that’s how I feel, and they’ve shown to us that they are better than this , and I’m just hoping they show it to us again.

I hope all of that made sense? I tend to talk with a goal in mind but with no way of getting to the actual point lol.

the point is I’m disappointed and just really sad.

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I LOVE the way you phrased all of this. Completely agree with you. I’m losing mutuals, followers, friends, you name it. And at the same time, I appreciate the cleanse because I don’t want that type of following to begin with.

Skz is also really my last shot at kpop. They’ve been a part of most of my best memories, I literally see them again in August and I don’t want to unstan. Guys my second biggest tattoo was done for skz! The love I have for them will ALWAYS be there. But I can be simultaneously disappointed with them. And with the current events. It feels so futile to even be worrying about this as it pertains to kpop when the main issue here is what’s happening in Palestine. And I do see so many people participating in celebrity block lists or posting infographics and it’s this very difficult area of appreciating them for taking a stance but wanting them to do more? And then questioning how much people can do, especially in the social class divide? Like I can’t do what an influencer can do, but I’m trying and I still feel like I’m not doing enough. I just wish we held those platforms and could help with the money and power people like skz hold.

I’m also sad. And I’m having trouble going about so many different parts of my day knowing what’s going on and avoiding the one thing that brings me joy. I’m right there with you, this hits really hard hit I will continue to stand with the people of Gaza no matter what

[skzoologist]

About me

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Hey-ho!

Welcome to the place where you can learn more about the person behind this blog, where I show my brainrot of SKZ and my 9th member OC, Bae.

You can call me Potat, Jin or Jinnie, I really don't mind either. You can also refer to me by any pronouns, but if the lack of set pronouns bothers anyone, I can set some for you guys to call me by. I'm a '01 liner, but still suffering in university (curse me for choosing such a lengthy major).

I suppose I could be called a baby STAY, considering I only joined the fandom in the beginning of 2023. But then again, I already own like 4 albums, so...

Either way, as someone whose bias is Chan, I adore all the members equally and would possibly give them the world if I could (it's an unwritten law for Chan-biased people, I swear). My first bias wrecker was Jisung, who wrecked me so hard it took me actually half a year to realise and admit that. After that came Hyunjin, who I only realised had risen to that position because someone pointed out how soft I was writing him in Unfamiliarity. And now, as my birthday is closing in on me, I am once again realising that another one joined their ranks, Minho.

Writing and drawing is merely a hobby of mine, successfully creating things on days where I've won against depression and could enjoy life a bit. And hey, if some of you enjoy what I make (even if I do so slowly), that's a win-win situation!

Let's see, what else is there. Oh! I'm also an ATINY and a MOA, so don't be surprised if some members show up on my blog.

I'm also an anxious and shy person, so if my reply or message feels weird, I can assure you I meant no harm in it, I just rewrote and rephrased it too much in chase of wanting to sound like a normal person... But I'm trying to battle my social anxiety, so you guys are welcome to send me an ask or a message anytime!

I think that's all. Thank you for checking out my blog and this post, I hope you have fun!

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[fruityuncleskeletor]

It's really hard to feel bad for people with several million dollars in their accounts and thats just how the cookie crumbles. Like I know Katy Perry has had a rough going, but then I remember she recently sold part of her music rights for over TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS and I can't extend that much compassion anymore.

I could sit here and be annoyed at rich folks of all sorts 24/7. I am THAT salty.

But my takeaway from all this is that: - being financially responsible is very hard and NO fun, because my millennial brain tells me to always give in and treat myself, not caring about tomorrow, but sadly, in my case, I am Kitten and I am Daddy too. I know how empty my wallet is and will be and I refuse to go into debt to be even more miserable in the future than I am now. On one side I am crying because I want nice experiences and fun and on the other side I am crying because I would love to be able to offer myself fun and experiences and I can't. - there is a lot of shame woven into the culture of enjoying things. The whole "buy experiences not goods" can only be a thing if you have disposable income to begin with. I said earlier how I will feel left out because my friends will all get to see SKZ and I won't. But like, that's how it's always been. I haven't been on a holiday since 2009. I use my time off either to recover from work or to travel to my home country and listen to my parents be religious nuts and spew more hate than the previous time. I should be used to it by now (I'm not). I guess I am also like a rich person because I don't like paying for things. They're only nice if someone else pays for me and I don't have to worry about MY money leaving my wallet. - the way I allow myself to enjoy things, SKZ included, is rooted in some very unhealthy mechanisms which stuff like Bubble and fanfic and the fandom itself only encourage. The only reason why I am not suffering more actively is because not a single soul interacts with my writing and your asks are the first not-hate ones I received since joining the fandom one whole year ago. Until now, my writing and I used to be embraced and welcomed in every fandom. Maybe I've finally aged out of that hopeful life stage, and my pessimism is no longer palatable to younger people. Either way, that's been sad too and it's contributed to my overall despair. In the past, I always had friends to commiserate with about whatever hardships came my way, now I have no one who's as isolated and forced to be responsible as me. - the line "gave up my youth for my future" feels like a slap in the face for me because here I am - a straight A student who never partied, never did drugs, never got into trouble, only studied their ass off because the adults GUARANTEED ME that hard work pays off. Nowadays the people hiring are rich fucks who bought their diplomas online and who think everyone's diplomas are just as lacking in substance and therefore worthy of ridicule and dismissal. Earlier today I was telling a non-fandom friend that I feel I will leave my little SKZ group through the back door (heh) and quietly because I will feel too embarrassed being the only one who hasn't seen the boys live. But I am sure I will get used to that discomfort like I get used to a lot of uncomfortable things because I get more serotonin from having people to talk to than "enjoying fandom on my own" (which is some Gywneath Paltrow-level ignorant kind of advice). Honestly, I don't wanna dwell in the middle of anger, but outside of it is depression and that's even less appealing.

[jhoons]

I honestly don’t know why stays are the way they are. Engenes feel v young and dumb to me but stays feel like adults and they still behave like that. Anyway maybe it cause the parasocial relationship is so deep that they go rabid at anything cause they feel it is also on them? I know some people think former arm*es have become stays in recent years and brought some of the same toxicity with them but I feel like that’s kinda a cop out of the toxicity that comes from stays on their own

yea no i genuinely get u. stays in general were always a bit older than engenes in terms of fandom average age, in the beginning i always thought it was age but seeing how the fandom has just become more toxic over time proved me wrong. esp seeing how skz hit the 3 year mark in 2020 and the fandom only got much worse when they took off with god's menu. personally i've tried to justify it with parasocial relationships going too far but if that were really the case a lot of other fandoms would act the same. as a former stay i've seen skz push certain boundaries which other groups haven't with parasocial relationships (in a bad way) but i still cant say they're entirely at fault. i've honestly never heard abt former arm*es becoming stays but ig we've both come to a conclusion that it wouldn't have affected the fandom given stays are already so toxic on their own frfr

[chanstopher]

hii dreamy!! just wanted to say i love your gifs and content in general so so so much!!!! and you seem like a nice person who's also not afraid to call out people's bullshit which i appreciate because sometimes you just have to put your foot down and be like 'okay now stop being weird and an asshole in my askbox' you know 😭 anyway again i looooove your content thank you for sharing it and your love for chan with us 💓 i wish i had more courage (and time tbh) to make kpop/skz gifs, i feel so lost most of the time and like what i make isn't that good, and i know if i kept giffing kpop i'd get better but i don't feel like people care to see my gifs, i'm a pretty small blog... so i just get stuck in this 'my gifs aren't good enough and no one cares enough for me to try and get better at it' mindset :(( sorry for dumping all this on you i came here literally just to compliment and thank you rsdxjbk have a good day dreamy!!

omg ok first thank you so much for your sweeet words they mean so much to me. i know that sounds like the generic appropriate response but i really mean it, having ppl enjoy not just my content but me just being myself is really so important to me and it really makes me feel so happy. but about not feeling like ur content is worthy, i’m gonna tell you i struggle with that every single day bestie. if i let myself delete content i end up thinking is ugly, or if i only posted things i felt confident in this blog wouldn’t have like 90% of the content it does. and you are right that if you just practice things can get better, and i know it sounds ridiculous coming from a blog that does get notes but making content really is for yourself at the end of the day. i also think that when it comes to gif making people are both afraid to give constructive criticism to help others improve and get any kind of criticism because it’s something you put effort into already. sometimes i see content and i want to be like oh hey if you just adjust this setting your gifs wouldn’t be so grainy or like if you use this you can adjust the coloring better. but it feels mean (even though i never have those thoughts in a mean way) and also hypocritical cause i don’t like a lot of my own stuff for the same reasons xjxndn i don’t think you should give up on making content tho, i think most people would be willing to give tips or tutorials on how they do things to help make your gifs come out how you want them. also everyone starts out as a small blog, this blog is only like 2 1/2 years old and i think the only thing that truly matters if you want your following to grow is presence. i think posting consistently (not all the time just frequently enough to be in tags enough for ppl to start to remember your url) and being a vocal part of the fandom is all it takes. i personally find myself drawn to following blogs of people who talk about themselves, or express their thoughts on things more than say someone who makes content and is completely silent or just negative. i think having people learn about you is important to growing. now i’m not saying sharing your entire life, but for a silly example the number of times i see ppl in my tags being like “oh i bet dreamy giffed this for how his nose looked” because i’m so crazy about chris’ nose makes me feel nice, like someone is associating something with me specifically. i hope that makes any sense lmao, i think it just makes ME feel like the people i’m interacting with are real and i think that’s what people want out of blogs, a connection even if it’s a little one sided. sorry this is so long winded but my POINT is you shouldn’t feel intimidated or discouraged by the idea of making content just because your blog is small or you don’t think your content is “good enough” the beginning of creating and really starting to find your place in a fandom space is always the hardest, but the rewards of finding friends and learning how to get better at making content is really worth it. it’s given me a lot of my best friends outside of fandom, and it’s given me skills i’ve used outside of tumblr, so i cannot really praise it enough. ok i am shutting up now but if you ever want help or advice i’m totally here for you 🖤🤍

[bandzboy]

Different anon, but. Look, I was already boycotting the song itself and everything from the day it was announced. But at this point, I feel this really weird uneasy feeling that I can only describe as: I'm not sure if I want to be a STAY anymore.

With things going the BTS Americanization Route (with extra Zionism), it just feels so starkly different from the SKZ and 3Racha that I admired originally. Not that changing music style is bad itself (they changed quite a bit from the start of 2020 to 2023). But it feels less like a change made from growth, and more like getting stripped of what made their whole thing appealing originally.

And I see it with parts of the fandom too. Yes, there's still some nice fans. But now we have a bunch that are so focused on streamings and chart ratings and big numbers, rather than if they actually like the music.

I miss when most Stays would joke about how their view counts were all ''organic''. Now they're raising money to get collab songs on the charts. I miss when most Stays were proud multistans, and their v-live fan forum would regularly be sprinkled with posts about Ateez or TXT or Day6, or even Limesoda.

And the weird thing is: I told myself back in the late 2010s that I wouldn't get caught up too much in the celebrity fandom thing. That I wouldn't put SKZ on a pedestal, so that I wouldn't get disappointed if things went south somehow. But now, I subconsciously hesitate to listen to even their other songs, even if it's through unofficial or pirating means. And I feel like I'm over-reacting, and it's frustrating.

Sorry for the rant. I just feel like I need a second opinion on this.

i think this is honestly a valid reaction and feeling this way is valid too because even i feel this way about kpop in general and kpop groups like even before all of these boycotts started to unfold i was just SO jaded with this "community" if we can even call it that. the way some people are behaving lately towards this boycott is unveiling the fact that some people just care about streaming and buying and that's it! that's their whole purpose as a fan and then also shun people that don't wanna do it and for what reason? also, the fact that i've seen so much racism come to light with this! people getting harassed for wanting to stand for something and being pro palestinian, palestinian fans getting harassed for calling shit out because yes their feelings are super valid and especially when the group they stan is saying nothing and the company they are under is employing zionists, they can feel betrayed like idgaf about what people say! even before this when fans would call out idols for being ignorant these fans would be racist to these fans for being hurt like?? what is this culture we are creating in these spaces is what i am asking?? i knew it was like that even before all of this but lately it's like i am getting hit with realizations left and right it's so insane how some people are acting. whether some people like it or not, we are allowed to feel disappointed and criticize them. even i feel stupid for these types of things bc it's like you mentioned we should know better and yet we put these people on pedestals and for what? it's all very valid concerns to have especially this time around! so many companies want groups to be international but then dgaf about international fans' opinion and they never did to begin with how do expect people to want to stan these groups when they do disrespectful shit and you pretend we don't exist unless we give you money

[sungbeam]

xnonie present !! (i don't think i told u, but u should sing it as "ateez present" whenever u read that btw 😁🫶)

me when ur watching werewolf at night while i'm chilling in ur ask inbox: 🫂 BUT DW BEAM! i say i love horror movies but i scream like those flying goats in love & thunder when there's a jumpscare ✋️☹️

THE ENDING FOR SHE HULK IS BONKERS. i've yet to watch it but i'm okay w/ spoilers so i saw some gifs of it from a few tumblrs... SO THE SPACESHIP AT THE BEGINNING THAT CAUSED EVERYTHING WAS... the baby mama??!! 😭😭 HULK IS WILD. SHE HULK IS WILD. MATT MURDOCK LOOKS LIKE A DAD GOING TO A BARBECUE. AND THE MULTIVERSE IS OPENING UP MORE BY THE MINUTE.

btw i just saw ur response to my other ask & omg ur making kwan cry?!?! beam they literally have a song saying they don't wanna do that how could u ☹️☹️☹️ BUT NEVER FEAR i am one of the biggest consumers & writers of angst & all that dark gritty stuff, so i'll be thoroughly pleased. crying by the end, but thoroughly pleased 🤞😀

also MY picks??? WELL for the ones i gave u, it would beeeee

slow burn/matt, e2l/druig, fake dating/quicksilver (from any universe tbh b/c it can go in different directions from either of them)

theeeen for kpop: slow burn/hanji, slow burn/parkji, and fake dating/jay 💞💞

my other kpop fandoms are... a lot shdksjd but mainly skz, svt, cravity, enha, nct... basically a lot of the groups u write for 💀

as for ggs?? everglow, aespa, twice, rv, nmixx, & a whole lot more i can't name rn LMAO 😭

if u wanna give me an sb/e2l/fd from the bgs i mentioned then that would be cool too LOL

xnonie ur early LOL JKJK (ﾉ´∀｀*) i always go :DDDDD when i see and read ur messages (omg that's practically how i've been reading it in my head anyhow 🤩🤩)

BAHHAHAHAHAHAH DONT MAKE ME LAUGH IN PUBLIC NOT THE GOATS FROM L+T 😭😭😭😭😭😭 im not much of a screamer, i'm more of a sharp intake of breath, tenser-upper, hide behind a pillow type of gal. my brother always tries to scare me cuz he screams really loud when i sneak up on him and i don't, but i really can't *scream* BUT WE CAN HOLD EACH OTHER DURING WBN!! apparently it's only like an hour long?? hm

SHHUUUSH ITS SO FUNNY HOW WILD THE HULKS R 😭😭😭 LIKE UR KIDDING ??!?! OMG I WAS GONNA COMMENT ON MATT FKN MURDOCK'S VIBE AT THE END SKFBKEJF DAD GOING TO A BBQ SO TRUE (´Д⊂ヽ W THE GLASSES TOO BAHAHHAHAH idk bro i kinda vibe w the couple cuz they're like,,, equals? its funny how they've made matt the "low-key enemies 2 lovers, eventual match made in heaven" role that's just so funny to me like nevermind his powers, we'll make him look cool and then he's just there to look pretty 🤩🤩🤩

LMAO ulgo shipji anha who ???? they WILL cry in this one ;))))) that's just what i do. i love making men cry 😁😁😁😁😁 (lmao out of context this sounds so weird) WAIT A DAMN UR A WRITER TOO O_O PLS OMG AND AN ANGST ENJOYER WE LOVE TO SEE IT!!! i'm wondering if i,, , , know u and/or ur content hmph but ik ur on anon for a reason so i will respect that !! if i ever pry tho, pls do put me in my place bc i am incredibly nosy :'D but yes, i agree that angst makes me cry, but i like feeling something 😔😔😔😔

i'd cry if e2l w druig tbh like his MIND GAMES???? i would literally not survive and he would know that i find him painstakingly attractive 🤕🤕🤕 it would just be unfair.

ooh woah cravity !! i've come across a few people who stan them, so u can def suggest some music from them !!

OOP HAVE U LISTENED TO SEULGIS 28 REASONS CUZ SHES SOOOO HAWWWWT 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 my faves rn r anywhere but home and dead man runnin !

OOOOOOOOH YES PLS SB/FD/E2L W HMMMM SVT JOSH/SKZ CHAN/NCT MARK?

[envirae]

take my heart, but please don’t break it !

Throwing her phone across the room, y/n finally decided she would tell Jake how she felt.

She checked the clock. By now, he was usually studying in the library. She got dressed, making sure she looked presentable as she checked her appearance once more.

“Where are you off too?” Looking up, she was met with the sight of her twin brother.

“The library, just to...study.” She lied, causing him to shoot her a look.

He eyed her outfit, face, and the way her hair was so elegantly done. “I know we don’t exactly have twin telepathy, but I can tell when you’re lying to me.”

“I’m gonna meet Jake..” She shyly admitted, causing Sunoo’s face to contort from a look of confusion, to a grin, back to one of guilt.

“Are you going to do what I think you are?” He questioned, noticing the slight head nod. Sighing, he put his hands on his sister’s shoulder. “My baby sister is growing up.” He fondly said, earning a playful eye roll.

“I’m like an hour younger than you.” She reasoned, causing him to snicker.

“I know, but still.” His smiling face went serious for a moment as he looked her in the eye. “I just want you to remember, you’re my baby sister, I’ll always choose you.”

Smiling, she hugged him tightly. “I know, thank you.”

“Now go, and update me later!” Practically shoving her out of the house, y/n smiled as she headed towards the library.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Mustering up all of her courage, she took a deep breath before pushing on the door of the library. She immediately knew where to find Jake, in the corner of the library, tucked away from the rest of the people. He liked studying in the quiet.

She eyed him, watching as he meticulously studied and solved the problems in his textbook. She padded up to him, taking a seat next to him, although he was so immersed in his work he didn’t even seem to notice her.

“Boo!” She exclaimed, tapping his shoulder as his eyes finally met hers.

“Y/N! What are you doing here?” He asked, a smile forming on his face.

“I actually...I have to tell you something!” She answered, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“Well what is it princess?” He asked, watching y/n’s slightly flustered face at the usage of the nickname.

“Ilikeyoualotbutidon’tthinkyoulikemebacksoi-” She began to ramble, but she was talking far too fast for Jake to even begin to comprehend.

“Slow down there, babe. Try that again.” He snickered, watching her embarrassed face.

“I like you, Jake. A lot. Please, please tell me you feel the same way.”

Jake stared at her, wordlessly. His brain began spurring with hundreds of thoughts as he looked down at his feet, or to his books, or anywhere that averted y/n’s eyes.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I..I don’t feel the same, I’m sorry.” He walked away, leaving y/n there, dumbfounded as tears spilled out of her eyes.

She was confused and hurt as she stood in the middle of the library. She was confident that he liked her back, and it kind of hurt as reality hit her. When she finally left the library, she didn't know what to believe anymore.

masterlist - eighteen: banana peels

prev - next

taglist (is closed) @bloom-bloom-pow @youreverydayzebra @taehyunsmine @snghnluvr @baekhyunstruly @ddeonuism @penny-quinn @strwberrydinosaur @vantxx95 @sunghonkers @goldenxddeonu @rae-blogging @hobistigma @ncityy04 @woniecstasy @meltinghershey @jiscloudd @jjikyuu @uwmaa @theskzvibe @milkycloudtyg @gtfovi @kittysunoo @luvvseong @shiningstarsarah @ofaffectionate @busanfaves @diorkenma @sugawarasrose @dear-dreamie @ohmy-fandoms @markleepooh @taejinxkoya @sunshine-skz @eeheeeh @hoonsfoolish @j3ntle @kiidyne

After a gruesome breakup, you attract the attention of three boys, each with the intention of making you fall for them. Captain of the dance team, your childhood crush, and your twin brother’s best friend. Which of them will succeed in opening up your closed heart- and stealing it in the process?

[straycinameticuniverse]

Seo Changbin

So many so called stays are setting up my man and I won’t have it. Seo Changbin is so much more than just a fast rapper so I don’t understand why y’all are going around these streets talking about Seo Changbin fastest Krapper, it’s a known fact that he very well might be but THATS NOT THE THING THAT DEFINES HIM so shame on y’all for reducing him to just that.

I see too many people on that bird app saying things about changbin in order to provoke other fandoms…and I hate to see that because when I open his name under trends I really hope to see only the good stuff, but you people won’t let me win…why is that? Why do you hate to see a girl happy?

Let’s Begin

FLOW

YOU PEOPLE HAVE TO SNIFFING GLUE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SAY CHANGBIN CAN’T FLOW.

Am I flow expert? No, have I studied music? Hell no(except in high school) but that’s all beyond the fact that this man has some of the greatest and most unique flows, because I care about you and wish only the best for you I will list out my favourite ones

- [ ] Maze of memories

- [ ] Cypher

- [ ] Mirror

- [ ] Ta

- [ ] All in

- [ ] Broken compass

- [ ] Thunderous

- [ ] Domino

- [ ] Mirror mirror

- [ ] Zone

- [ ] Double knot (both 3Racha and Skz)

- [ ] Easy

- [ ] Pacemaker

……wait am I listing out the entire 3Racha and stray kids discography? Yes…I have every intention of making it very clear that everything Seo Changbin has ever opened his mouth to say was and will always be absolute fire. If you do not agree that’s okay, but do feel free to never interact with me ever.

On a serious note though, Changbin has some of my favourite and most intricate flows. Notice how I do not try to compare him to anyone or anything because everyone is subject to their own bias and THAT’S OKAY.

ASIDE FROM FLOW HE ALSO HAS HIS VOICE GOING FOR HIM BECAUSE SIS/BRO/PERSON, SEO CHANGBIN’S HAS ME CURLING UP AND TWIRLING IN CHAOS EVERY SINGLE TIME. HE HAS THIS AMAZING THING WHERE HE CHANGES HIS VOICE IN VARIOUS SONGS OR EVEN IN ONE SONG TO CATER FOR CERTAIN PARTS, HE CAN BE GROWLY WITH HIS DEEP VOICE OR HIGH PICTHED AND KINDA MENACING, ITS LURING, ITS ADDICTIVE…ITS WORTH EVERY SECOND OF GLORY TO MY EARS.

Aahhh I almost forgot the most absurd thing I wanted to cover… the “changbin offbeat topic”….now earlier I said you must be sniffing glue if you think he can’t flow but if you think theee seo Changbin is ever offbeat because he can’t rap well then I am almost 110% sure you are Smoking Tyres. I am convinced people hear some of his unique flows and go “ wait no way…it has to be offbeat” and most of the people who have said this don’t even know what offbeat is. I think and I say this because I have thought of it a lot. I think there are people who think that rappers should rap with the beat like if the beat goes dun dun then the rapper should rap over it with something similar like run run at the same time so it layers over each other but to those people who share the one braincell with a goldfish….are you okay ? How does that make sense to anyone who isn’t 5? So trying to discredit the offbeat accusations seems so dumb to me because ….what the f- do you even mean by “Changbin offbeat?” When you can’t even tell what being offbeat even MEANS!!!!?!?!???????!!!!!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!?

Let’s be happy again and praise Seo Changbin

HIS LYRICS

Oh my oh my his lyrics. Please be aware I’m not just saying this because I am a stray kids Stan but as a human who can read. Seo Changbin lyrics have a way of going right through me and this isn’t me saying I relate to most of the things he has written about but me just stating how the way he writes and expresses a lot of his feelings and thoughts in his songs and rap lines is very near genius. I get weak in the knees when it comes to great lyricism, and I am not saying he is the only one who does this, but this is a Seo Changbin post and imma feed y’all.

It’s his word play for me😭😭😭😭I cannot begin to even put you in my shoes. Everything I listen to a stray kids song I get ridiculous rewinding his parts and going “ NO BECAUSE WHAT?!??” and recently I took a dive into his MIRROR MIRROR verse and I tried to explain why the lyrics are so so goood… there are some great explanations on his word plays on a lot of posts I’ve seen on the blue bird app… imma search for links.

The point is, he is more than just a flow king, because he flows on some hard lyrics. I do not often cry for songs but reading the lyrics for streetlight really bad me tearing up, because I thought …”he was going through a lot that’s for sure but the ability to then lay it out so beautifully and so passionately” it felt like I was invading his privacy with just how raw and personal it was. I will post my eng-translation analysis for his lyrics in mirror because I wrote it down to prove to a stupid friend of mine why the lyrics are so meaningful and not just random babble.

HE IS A FAST RAPPER

I WONT DENY IT BECAUSE IT IS A FACT. HIS ANNUNCIATION IN ALL HIS FAST RAPS IS THE HIGHLIGHT! HE ALWAYS MAKES SURE YOU CAN HEAR EVERY SINGLE SYLLABLE WITHOUT FAIL!

I won’t make the fast rap section too long because I don’t want it being the main attraction

DO NOT! I REPEAT DO NOT, USE THE TERM FASTEST RAPPER AS YOUR ONLY WAY TO HYPE SEO CHANGBIN UP BECAUSE THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO CASH ME OUUUSIDE.

In short I meant to say STAN STRAY KIDS FOR A PHAT ASS AND CLEAR SKIN, KEEP TOXIC OPINIONS INSIDE SO THEY EAT YOU WHOLE, STOP HARASSING CHANGBIN FOR GOODNESS SAKES IT ONLY MAKES YOU A VERY UGLY PERSON SO I AM BASICALLY DOING THIS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.

Stan my well rounded group because you didn’t read all the way till the end for nothing.

Stay woke, stay safe, stay happy and stay

[kpopmakesmequestionmylifechoices]

Kingdom Round 3: "Plagiarism", rigged voting and fanwars.

[Disclaimer: It is possible that for fans of certain groups I'll come off as offensive. I like each of the groups, I possess albums of TBZ, SF9 & SKZ, and I watched HOURS of content/debut programs of ALL the participating groups. Nevertheless, I will ALWAYS say my honest opinion. If you want to fight me, you're ofc allowed to do so but I hope you're all mature enough to not feel offended by opinions.]

Act 1: Tbz, where do your ideas come from?

So what I've noticed is that there's a massive difference between tbz behind the scenes and other groups'. Not only in this episode. So far, tbz simply DID NOT show how they create ideas, stages, how they practice. They picked a song, fooled around, and then met up with RTK members. It was cute sure, but it had NOTHING to do with the stage. The other groups showed practice scenes, showed their ideation process, showed who taught them and how. The boyz didn't. No practice, no ideation. Only song choice. We didn't see them practicing the choreo, we didn't see how they even got the idea for this stage. Their behind the scenes footage sadly has NOTHING to do with their performance. I really wish we could see them practicing and coming up with ideas.

Another big problem I see with this, is that they literally don't explain where their ideas come from. Now for people who know Game of Thrones (GoT hereafter), it probably appears rather obvious that the previous and also this stage was inspired by GoT, right? The white walkers? Ice and fire? The throne? The freaking red wedding??? I can't be the only one who sees a connection between their stages and GoT. ATEEZ said they were inspired by Pirates of the Carribbean. SF9 said they were inspired by film noir and showed how they worked with an actor on their storyline. iKON explained how they associate inception with dreams and put together their ideas. But TBZ didn't freaking talk about any of this. Either it was never recorded, or it never was aired. In any way, it's extremely suspicious in my eyes. Moreover it's just pretty shit to not say where your idea comes from. Especially not when you even name your stage after the iconic red wedding... Now IF they were NOT inspired by GoT, then it would be some... extremely huge coincidences... especially the stage title is just a bit too much tbh. But more to that stage later.

Edit: It came to my knowledge that according to deobis, Cre.Ker will post the content after Kingdom on tbz social media. Whoever took that decision needs to be fired tbh. If the content will be released, I'll link to it and add some few words to it.

Act 2: The good, the bad, and ... All hail king Juyeon?

Let's talk about the performances now.

SF9: What I dislike is the fact that as I stated in my previous Kingdom post, they are forced to do such dramatic musical/movie stages to even be recognized as part of the show. Moreover, I found it weird and unfitting that they held guns during the group dance parts, to me it seemed a bit off. Also, at times, their energy level seemed a bit low.

What I liked is that even tho it was a MASSIVE set, the performance still was extremely easy to understand and follow. They all looked insanely good tho, SF9 simply is mature and manly. I liked the concept, it was fresh because it for once had no fantasy vibe but actual criminal mafia energy. My favourite parts were Jaeyoon's fighting scenes because they were very well choreographed. Altogether, I really enjoyed it and also found it interesting how they referred to the Boyz crown scenes on RTK.

The Boyz: In my eyes, this is already the second GoT inspired concept they did. Not a fan of this. Moreover, I'm a bit pissed that it looks as if they are selling all that as their own ideas. As I said before, I believe this is GoT inspired, the name at least definitely was - but it's never said that the inspiration comes from there, because we literally have no information about where their ideas come from and if it's even their own ideas. To me it has the bitter aftertaste of wanting to hide sth the viewers aren't supposed to see. But this is not tbz fault but the fault of whoever writes/directs/edits their footage.

With the title of the stage given, I actually thought I'd see a wedding. But what I've seen was a woman in a bird cage. And then many more women. I failed to see what this all had to do with a wedding, and I moreover failed to see the connection to "THE" red wedding. And I failed to understand the plot once again, and because they didn't explain it beforehand, I'll never understand it.

What I liked is that the performance was way less dramatic than it was ever before. It didn't seem like a stunt show anymore, it didn't seem overdramatic anymore. It was easier to focus on the performance. Sadly, I noticed that this "downgraded" (aka slow-paced and less dramatic) stage was unfortunately underwhelming in comparison with what they did before - which was sth I predicted from beginning on. At some point you can't go bigger anymore, and if you tone it down it'll automatically seem underwhelming.

Edit: It's sad that they have this pressure to outperform themselves because they've won RTK. But honestly, it was clear that the winner would have this pressure on them. I don't see why I would pity them for this, after all, each of the groups feel pressured anyways and I rather feel sorry for ALL groups together because this whole ranking/competition thing is just unnecessarily stressful. But once again, I don't understand why you all blame MNET for this. Don't forget that the companies have contracts with MNET and knew that shit would go down. If you blame any bigger instances, then please also the companies who put their idols on the show. It's not like they got forced to make their groups participate.

My biggest criticism this time however is the fact that they give the most screentime to Juyeon (and Sunwoo because of the rap parts), and the rest of the members barely appear, or basically aren't shown at all. I already felt before that there was a strong focus on Juyeon, but now it's srly showing very clearly. I really like Juyeon, but I don't find it fair. I think that doesn't do justice to the other members, which deserve screentime as well. In conclusion, tbz on kingdom is an extreme mess in my eyes, with lots of communication- and management flaws.

iKON: I belong to the group of people who heavily prefers THANXX over inception, so I was a bit sceptical about the song choice. They really made a YG version out of this tho, I was pretty impressed. The stage concept was pretty nice, iKON surely knows how to use light. Now the stage seemed very inspired by Inception (the movie) which makes a lot of sense - but wasn't communicated either. Just mentioning this because I critisized tbz earlier, so I think the same applies here to some degree. I didn't recognize the song anymore tho but I found it pretty refreshing. In my eyes they did the best so far in making another group's song their own. This could have been an iKON song for sure. As always, a fun stage.

My personal ranking will follow after the other stages.

Act 3: About cheating and faking.

The Voting looks as follows:

Views: 1. SKZ 2. iKON 3. ATEEZ 4. BTOB 5. TBZ 6. SF9

Online Voting: 1. SKZ 2. SF9 3. iKON 4. BTOB 5. ATEEZ 6. TBZ

Btw if anyone knows the overall voting, please comment or send a message, because I somehow missed it?

I said it before, and I say it again, this entire voting is rigged and I totally don't care about it anymore at this point because it's absolutely not trustable. Experts didn't know about the budget differences, who even are the experts, why did SF9 get zero on-site votes, and then ofc the fans who created 50 accounts to vote...this voting is a joke. What I can totally not understand is how ATEEZ and TBZ can rank last for online voting. Sth seems off here to me, especially the fact that SF9 ranks last in views but ranks 2nd in votes? I'm sorry to say this but I think that's the result of the ZZZ fanwar. My assumption is that there must be a big mass of people who purposely voted NOT for TBZ & ATEEZ, and my guess is - no offence - that those were stays. In accordance with the fanwar, they didn't give their 2 other votes to the other ZZZ groups but to whatever other group. Or in general the ZZZ fandoms purposely not voting for each other. That would explain extremely well why SF9 could suddenly rank 2nd. I'm tired of this voting, of fanwars and all this drama and I decided to not care about the official voting anymore.

If you got to this point, I wanna let you know that I feel very blessed that you made it through this long post hahaha. Thanks! And for the next week, I expect BIG THINGS. I'm the most excited for BTOB. Them covering back door is the most absurd thing I've imagined for a long time hahahaha. But Eunkwang with tattoos really is a good sight, isn't it ;)?

[chrisbangs]

Hi everyone! Here I am (late as always) but just in time to shower you all with a lil appreciation and love, because after this year, I think we all need it! (Apologies in advance for all the typos I will be making- no I will not proof read this <3)

I just wanted to start off by saying: thank you so much to everyone who has talked to me, become my friend, been kind to me, followed me, supported my content, throughout this year. To anyone who’s ever interacted / complimented / rb’d / liked my gifs and my gfxs, it means the world and I am so grateful and thankful to you. I honestly hit several milestones throughout this year and I just feel so in awe of how many people have supported me. I know 2020 wasn’t kind to many people, but I really did suffer a lot this year, and having people by my side who made me laugh and smile and feel special, made all the difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.

Happy New Year to all my mutuals, followers, and people I follow! Thank you for making this terrible year, not so terrible. 

With all my love, Li / Moon! 🖤🌙🐺

@00hj 🌙 // @2miin // @3noracha 🌙 // @914m // @agibbng // @avocadomin // @bangchans // @banghans 🌙 // @bestiez 🌙 // @binnies 🌙 // @blueprintskz // @binminseok // @changbeanie // @felixies 🌙 // @go-saeng // @hanjin // @huiracha 🌙 // @hwjins // @hyunjins 🌙 // @hyunjinz // @hyunknow // @hyunnie 🌙 // @innielove // @inracha // @jeonginx // @ji-sungs // @jinlix // @jisquish 🌙 // @jypestraykids // @leeknown // @leeminho-s // @leemvnho // @luvknow // @minhos 🌙 // @mydays 🌙 // @ontracc 🌙 // @realstraykids 🌙 // @saintmilky 🌙 // @seoschangbin // @seungminhos 🌙 // @seungminsmile // @strayhags // @straylov 🌙 // @sunnykids // @tightenmydoubleknot // @tuanzie 🌙 // @uayv 🌙 // @wonstal // @yangjeongin // @yangjeonginz 🌙 // @youngke

(If there’s a lil 🌙 by your name, I left a little extra message for you under the cut! Sorry I couldn’t do this for everyone, but please know I love all of you so much and am grateful for the things you bring to my dash!)

@00hj: Karen! Hi angel!!! You’re probably one of my first stay friends which is crazy to me ; __ ; like I really can’t believe it’s already been so long that we’ve known each other... I really just wanted to say that I hope the coming year is warm and kind and good to you because you really deserve it. Thank you for working so hard on straykidsupdate... And you post the loveliest gifs and gfx and are just such a kind soul... You’re such a pillar in this community and I’m so lucky to know and be your friend. Let’s go get some pie some day soon okay? 

@3noracha: Falak! I know I suck at messaging and I’m so sorry for this. I missed your presence on here a lot and I miss all your amazing creations... Just today I saw some of your gfx in my gfx inspo tag and I was just amazed all over again. You’ve always been so kind to me and caring and just such a wonderful friend and I’m beyond grateful to you. I know you’re not as active these days but when you do post stuff it makes me so !!! Like I’m just so grateful to know you!! I hope the coming year will be kind to you!

@banghans: Ollieeeee!!! Hi sweetheart! I know we really only got to know each other this year through the createskz gc, but !! talking to you is so easy and comfortable, and you make me laugh so much. Thank you for always being such a warm person to be around. Everything you make is so lovely please don’t doubt that!! I hope that the coming year we get to talk more and that it treats you well angel! 

@bestiez: Nita ; __ ; Although we’re not really in the same fandoms anymore, you’re still my OG johfam partner in crime. I’m so grateful to have known you as long as I have. You are just one of the kindest, funniest, warmest people I know. Thank you for always coming by and messaging me time to time and making me feel so warm and happy. You’re just a bright ray of sunshine who’s been there for me since so long and I can’t begin to thank you. I hope the new year brings you nothing but happiness and health and good things. 

@binnies: Jem, where do I even begin? I refuse to make this too long or embarrassingly cheesy, because I already do that to you literally every day... But, I’m so so so grateful that we became friends. You made my 2020 so different from how it started. I feel so so so loved because of you. You offer nothing but the kindest of words (except when we’re sleep deprived because then you’re just The Funniest) and I am just so grateful to you. My Twin, My Bangerz Bro (help), My HoneyJem... How lucky I am to have you in my life... You truly helped me get to the other side of 2020 without a doubt in my mind... I feel so lucky that you were there with me... Thank you for everything. I hope the new year is full of love, happiness, and everything you so utterly deserve my babie! 

@felixies: Luna! Hi sweet angel! We’ve known each other a while now huh ; __ ; It feels like it’s already been so long since we became pals, and I just feel so lucky to know you. I know we’ve both been through hell because of stay tumblr (and just in general) but you’re genuinely one of the strongest people I know... You’re so kind and funny and warm and smart and I just feel so lucky to have you in my life as a friend. Thank you for always cheering me on and being so sweet to me. I hope you know how much I love you! I hope you have a wonderful new year angel... You only deserve the best! 

@huiracha: Marie! Hi my sweet angel!!! I know I’ve said it before but, thank you for being such an easy person to talk to and be around. You’re such a comfortable presence who makes me feel safe and comfy to talk to... I think you’re genuinely one of the most talented CCs on here and I’m so lucky to see your gifs and see your work. You’re just so amazing and leave me in awe ; ___ ; Thank you for being so kind to me and always talking with me about SKZ or PTG or Channie... I’m really so lucky to know you and love you! I hope you have a wonderful new year my angel! 

@hyunjins: Hales... The way I don’t even know what to say here except: I love you. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend... You’re truly one of the funniest, best people I’ve come to know in my life. I cannot even begin to explain how much you’ve inspired me and made me feel happy. You’re just such a wonderful person and I am beyond glad we’re pals. Even if our friendship started out as you calling me a furry -___- I wouldn’t have it any other way ; __ ; I am so grateful to you and thankful to you. I love you and hope you have a wonderful new year! I love you!!!

@hyunnie: Kat! My girl! My Dude! One of the most talented stays on this site for real... Everything you make is just loaded with creativity and uniqueness and brilliance- just like you. I can’t tell you how happy I am we became closer this year... Like I feel so happy and lucky to know you and be your friend. You’ve inspired me in so many ways and everything you make is insanely cool. I love you so much Kat!!! I hope you have a wonderful new year and I can’t wait to see what you make next! 

@jisquish: Dia my sweet angel... Happy new year! I hope you know that even if you’re not on much anymore, everytime I see you on my dash my heart lights up a little. I am so glad you were one of my first friends here- even if I didn’t know it at the time. I feel so, so lucky that we’ve stayed friends and that I can talk to you comfortably and easily. You’ve been such a wonderful part of my stayblr experience and I feel like you brighten my life up so much. Thank you so much!! I love you so much!! I hope the coming year is filled with only happiness and good things for you! 

@minhos: Haru!!! Thank you for working so hard for this community. I am so lucky to know you and be your friend, seriously. You’ve made me smile and laugh countless times. Thank you for always just dropping in and checking on me... It truly means a lot to me and makes me feel important and cared for. I love you so much pal! I hope the new year brings you nothing but happiness and love and good things angel. 

@mydays: Moon! Hi sweetheart! I just wanted to say a quick thank you for always being around to talk about Day6 with me and for making me laugh and smile and just for bringing warmth and good things to my dash. Everytime we talk I feel so comfy and happy and lucky to know you. I hope you have a wonderful new year filled with all the good things the universe could bring. Hehe, thank you for always posting moon related content!!! 

@ontracc: Autumn!!! I hope you know how much I appreciate all the lil messages you send me every now and then, just to ask me how I’m doing. It means a lot and I hope you know, I’m grateful! I really hope you know how much I appreciate you and your content and just general presence on the dash and in the dms and in the gc! I’m so lucky to be your pal and I hope the new year brings you happiness and love and all the good things you deserve! 

@realstraykids: Em! ; __ ; First of all, thank you so much for running foryjn with me... I know I have been kinda -___- with updating lately but I’ll be better about it fajiwoefowan... Anyway, you know how much I adore everything you make and I hope you know how much of a giant inspiration you are to me. You’re so creative and talented and friendly and bright and you are just one of the best people I’ve met on here. I just feel so lucky to be your friend and know you and just !!! chat with you! Everytime we talk I’m smiling and feeling happy... I’m so happy we bonded over loving Jeongin... Fr like... Best times!!! Anyway, I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you! Happy new year babie! Thank you for everything you do for stayblr and for me! I love you!!!

@saintmilky: Paige ; __ ; my angel... Thank you for being so sweet to me always. You are just one of those people who makes me smile and laugh so easily... You love frogs and bears and spn and I just feel all these things so deeply in my soul. I keep wanting to message you about SPN and stuff but I get so embarrassed and shy faoweifno... Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful new year and that all the things you deserve come your way!!! Love you my pal!!!

@seungminhos: Bia... My babie... My baba... My soulmate... Where do I even begin... Another year has passed by and so much has happened, and I just don’t know where I’d be without you... There is no doubt in my mind that I am the luckiest person on this earth because I found you and got to be your friend. You’ve made my life a beautiful, bright, fun, endearing place, all through your kindness and love and support. I am so lucky to be your friend and to be able to love you and just to know you... Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me and been with me for, through this year, through every year. Truly, I don’t think I would’ve made it out of 2020 without you running by my side. I don’t know where I’d be without you, but I’m just so glad that you’re here with me now. That you’ve made my life a very, very special place. Happy new year my sweet angel girl. I wish you nothing but the best, and that everything you’re wishing for comes true my love. Let’s keep on going together in 2021, okay? I love you!

@straylov: Nina! Thank you for being such a positive, warm angel. You bring so much happiness and brightness to stayblr, you’re truly irreplaceable. Your talent for gfx and gifs is just crazy. Everything you make is so beautiful and creative and so amazing; I’m just always in awe of everything you do. I hope you have a wonderful new year full of good things and good people! 

@tuanzie: Jo! Although we haven’t talked that often, I just wanted to say thank you for always being so kind to me and supporting the things I make. Not only that but, you make some of the most beautiful and creative things I’ve seen and I’m always excited to see what you make next! I hope you get to achieve all the things you want in the new year and that only good things come your way. You truly deserve the best angel! Happy new year! 

@uayv: Joyce! I miss you and your beautiful work so much. You truly are one of my biggest inspirations as a gfx maker. Everything you make is beautiful, thoughtful, creative, and just amazing. I feel so lucky to be able to see your work as well as be your friend. You’ll be the bread to my soup always ma’am! I love you so much and hope you know! Thank you for being my pal! Happy new year angel! 

@yangjeonginz: June! Bug Boy!!! My sweet lil angel! Happy new year! I know I already told you last night, but thank you for being by my side during this year. I’m so happy we got around to talking more and became so close! You are just such a bright light in my life and I am so lucky to know you and love you! Thank you for always, always, always making me laugh and for listening to me rant about random stuff... I feel so safe and comfortable because of you. You really were a big reason that I survived 2020 and made it to the other side. Without you, I don’t know where I’d be... Thank you so much angel... I hope you have a wonderful new year filled with love and good memories and everything you deserve. 

[straykidsupdate]

The Best K-Pop Moments of 2020 (SKZ Cut)

The impact of Korean pop music (most commonly shorthanded as K-pop) on global music trends over the past few years is undeniable. Take BTS, for example. Since their debut in 2013, the Korean septet has become the biggest band in the world, influencing the next generation of music-makers already.

In the midst of a global pandemic, Korean labels and artists have led the charge in creating lively, groundbreaking, immersive virtual experiences for fans. The end-of-year numbers only prove out that immense impact. According to Spotify, K-pop listening has increased by more than 2000% in the last six years, and listeners have added K-pop songs to more than 120 million Spotify playlists. (Notably, BTS's disco-pop single “Dynamite” sparked a 300% increase in people listening to the group for the first time on the streaming platform.) Per a 2020 Duolingo report, Korean is the second fastest-growing language in the world, something the company attributes at least in part to the impact of Korean entertainment, from K-dramas to Parasite and, of course, K-pop acts. On Twitter, BTS were the most tweeted about musicians in the United States for the fourth year in a row — with ATEEZ, NCT, and EXO joining them in the top 10.

Despite its ever-growing popularity, K-pop is a complex, loaded term that can be used to otherize as much as it can be used to celebrate. Western artists, especially white ones, get to just be regular pop music, undefined by country signifiers. Fundamentally, using the “K-pop” nomenclature is an act of separation, even when it straightforwardly refers to Korean idol music.

Fans also struggle with this. Can K-pop be considered a “genre” in the traditional sense? Is it a way of pinning household name artists in? Or is it a way of bolstering a rising tide? The “genre” question is perhaps the easiest to just come right out and deny. As any K-pop listener knows, the songs and groups vary immensely, each bringing their own flavor musically and aesthetically, each with their own influences (much like literally any other music in the world). As singer-songwriter Tayla Parx told Teen Vogue recently, K-pop has pioneered a genreless sound, or rather an all-encompassing sound. These days, to say something sounds like K-pop is about as helpful as saying a tree looks like a tree. Answers to the other questions might not be as crystal clear, but they are worth examining anyway, especially for fans processing the increasing power of Korean music through non-Korean lenses.

One thing is clear: The music coming out of Korea is more diverse and wide-reaching than ever, and the fans who love it are social media savvy, creative, and ever more powerful. To celebrate that, Teen Vogue asked 49 journalists and writers who covered K-pop this year to recap their favorite moments from the year – ranging from historic firsts and sartorial highlights to new music and just plain delightful memes. Below, check out their selection of the best K-pop moments of 2020.

Read Full Article Here: Teen Vogue

The "Psycho" Stage That Shook Stan Twitter to Its Core There's something truly electrifying about a collaboration stage. When artists from different groups unite for a singular performance, they produce some of K-pop's most thrilling moments. That was especially true when AB6IX's Daehwi, Stray Kids' Hyunjin, ASTRO's Sanha, and Golden Child's Bomin beguiled viewers with a stunning cover of Red Velvet's "Psycho" during a KBS Music Bank special in June. This wasn't the first time the '00 liners and best friends had performed together — last year, they took on GOT7's vibrant bop "Just Right" — but "Psycho" struck a chord with K-pop stans and locals alike, going viral across social media and racking up more than 17 million views to date. But there's more to its popularity than pretty boys serving looks, harmonies, and body rolls. The concept of boy groups covering girl group songs isn't a novel idea, but what's most striking here is its sophisticated execution. From Daehwi's opening falsetto and Hyunjin captivating expressions (the blond dancer's individual fancam has 4.5 million views) to Sanha's smooth vocals and Bomin's steady charisma, they honored the sanctity of the original without sacrificing its drama and panache. And that's exactly why we can't stop replaying it.

Stray Kids’ Delicious “God’s Menu” Choreography It takes a special kind of band to make a burned-out viral meme from 2017 part of the year’s most iconic choreography, but that’s what Stray Kids did with their song “God’s Menu.” Salt Bae’s iconic seasoning style joins other cooking-themed dance moves like sauteing, stirring pots, and chopping vegetables to create a routine that's equal parts absurd and mind-bendingly skillful. The choreography, combined with the in your face visuals of the MV and sound of the song, perfectly encapsulates the escapist joy that makes K-pop so compelling.

The Adventurous Road to Kingdom In April, amid the bleakness of the beginning of the pandemic, this competition show was a bright spot. Seven underrated K-pop boy groups — Golden Child, Oneus, ONF, Pentagon, The Boyz, TOO, and VeriVery — faced off against each other in live performance battles. Concepts ranged from cursed monarchs and dolls come to life to elegant classical music and K-pop mashups, but the death-defying stunts and stunning visual storytelling of The Boyz swept the competition. As winners of Road to Kingdom, they’ll compete against ATEEZ, Stray Kids, and a handful of other established groups on follow-up show Kingdom, which is sure to bring some much-needed levity to early 2021.

Stray Kids’s Bang Chan Acknowledging Fan Art Though most of 2020 kept K-pop idols and their audiences apart physically, things were better than ever in digital spaces. One example was in November, when Stray Kids leader Bang Chan discussed on a livestream how much he had enjoyed and appreciated fan cartoonist @.anelderlymeme, for their video rendition of a funny moment from one of his prior streams. Though maybe not the biggest moment of the year on the historic scale of things, the small virtual dialogue between K-pop artist and fan artist exemplified the sides of humanity that make the K-pop fandom experience so unique. In a year where there was little else to rely on, small moments where stars and stans “saw” and appreciated one another was a refuge for many.

[sanstropfremir]

Okay, time for my weekly rant so buckle up. The vocal stages were okay-I cant really remember them well because I watched them only once so take what I say with a grain of salt. Well I watched the Spark one once and I only got through half of the other one because I can’t stand ballads especially when there’s no interesting movement on stage to keep me engaged. Like it’s no fault of the members themselves or the song (I actually think their singing was incredibly beautiful and Eunkwang always sings like his wife just left him with the kids which is how you know he’s good) but I physically could not pay attention. That’s why I liked the spark stage a bit better-there was enough movement that I was able to focus on it. I really liked the use of the fire and the way they were walking in and out of the frame trading off parts so there weren’t too many awkward moments where the other members where on stage but not doing anything. The opening was gorgeous with each members being lit by the spotlight as they harmonize. So stagewise, I prefer Spark but vocally I think the other group was stronger. I love Spark and Taeyon is such an incredible vocalist (I mean the song is great because of her) so I don’t get why their delivery was, I don’t want to say weak, but subdued might be a better word. The only one that really stood out was Junhoe (but also that man couldn’t not stand out even if he tried, not with that incredibly rasp) and even he seemed to be holding himself back a bit. Though it was a bit slow it built up well to the two last choruses but still the first half could have been stronger. I know they were trying to draw it out to a strong pay off but I don’t really know if it was enough. And yes the suits were *chef’s kiss*. I think at this point in their career the FNC stylist has put SF9 in so many suits they’ve got it down to a science. Also I’m a sucker for those shirts with the triangle cut out and we got not one but two of them here.

Okay moving on, I’m not sure which group was next but I’ll talk about the Ikon stage. It seems like they finally realized that they’re on a performance based competition show so they decided to pull out the big guns. Love the little skit at the beginning (making sure people don’t forget that they’re YG), it was cute and refreshing. I really appreciated how they leaned into the campy acting in this stage (Stray kids did it too-just adding to the similarities between their stages). The song was meh but I also don’t really like BP especially not their recent stuff so it’s not a big deal. I would have preferred if they had gone with another song maybe Whistle or As If It’s Your Last or if they’d done a 2NE1 song like Chanwoo mentioned some point in the episode. I also think the stage would have been way smoother if they’d let Ikon and Lisa interact. Like if the boys appeared in her set after her section and then they all moved back to the first jungle set and then the whole thing turns gold and they did a dramatic outfit change (but with better jackets because theirs look like they came out of Party City). I also get what you mean about the dancers outfits not being that great. I actually really liked the outfits of Lisa’s dancers in isolation but they didn’t match with her or the set so they threw me off a bit. At least with the ikon members they were going for a modern look so the dancers outfits didn’t look that strange in comparison. Do you think it would have been better if they were white? How would you have improved then? The best way I can describe this performance was that it was a stage, stuff happened, I enjoyed myself but I don’t plan to revisit it anytime soon. Oh and we also have to give points for them cursing on national television not once but twice (at this point Jinwan deserves to say fuck).

Now to Stray Kids. So I feel like I need to preface this with the fact that I am actually a stray kids fan (I won’t call myself a stay because I don’t associate with the fandom) and though I’ve been really critical of them and their stages tend to be my least favorite I still have a soft spot for them (I got into this show because of them after all). I loved, loved, loved the intro with Felix (and yes his biggest flaw is that he’s Australian but I forgive him for it) and the way it immediately transitions into the chorus of DDD-the abrupt transition does fit really well with the Deadpool theme and I guess it is the closest they’re going to get to the feeling of yeeting themselves into traffic like in the movie. Interesting choice to start with the chorus. Now that I’m rewatching it I do really wish they stuck with the comic theme. I think that’s my gripe with SKZ-they have a lot of good ideas but they move on too quickly from them. Just pick a handful of things and sprinkle them throughout instead of cycling through them at breakneck speed. Like okay they’re doing Deadpool and he’s a comic character so keep the comic styling (it would have been a good thing to put in the projection behind Seungmin’s scene), maybe in the subway they could have had some fight choreo so the guns coming in at Lee Knows part aren’t out of nowhere (also someone please tell me they were trying to recreate the meme with the cat and the knives, please I need to know). I absolutely agree that them having a goal or an antagonist would have really helped the story along. I mean they literally have a spoken intro so why couldn’t Felix just tell us who they were fighting (and I’m pretty sure in the movie Wade tells us he’s trying to kill Francis in that scene sooo). As always they put more focus on the rappers (please can we get less Changbin and more Seungmin, Jeongin, or Lee Know or at least give Felix more parts). Seungmin was the real mvp of this stage and he had the best outfit (I think it qualifies for Hanya’s best gay little outfit list). Personally I with they hadn’t gone with Gods Menu again. I’ve been hoping that they would perform My Pace (and maybe remix it with their B-side TA off their Go Live album) because that would be such a fun stage. Again, I enjoyed myself but I won’t revisit it anytime soon. At this point the only groups I actually look forward to are BTOB and SF9 (they’re doing fucking Move and I don’t know whether to be excited or terrified-there’s a clip of Taeyang covering Move from a variety show or interview and I think he does it really well so I know at least one of them can pull it off). Again thanks for creating space where I can info dump and I hope I said something of interest to you!

i think you wrote more than me!! i love this, im gonna put my response under a cut im not being super obnoxious on the dash.

i get that the mayfly stage would be not as visually stimulating for people and usually i would count myself in with that crowd because i love a good spectacle but i think because i watched the spark stage first and my colour perception is sometimes weird so when there's a lot of movement with very little colour variation my tiny pea brain loses track of whats happening really quickly. especially with red. so it was kind of difficult for me to pay attention to the spark stage in the second half. also i absolutely HATE watching people flub on stage because it brings up such visceral secondhand feelings that i couldn't even watch the stage when i started the full episode today.

i love a good suit but you know what i would also love: sf9 in more costume variations. tbh im just getting nitpicky about it because im a costume designer down to the core and i got trained by a designer who specialized in doing avant garde costuming so i tend to skew more towards wild than reserved. it looks like the move stage wont be be suits so ill take it, but oh man to do i want to see some really crazy stuff. which i know they'll never do because idols have to be pretty at all times or the fans get mad but oh i want it so badly.

do you mean how i would improve ikon's backup dancers outfits or lisa's? here why dont i do both. for lisa's dancers i would have just done away with that harness shape all together, its almost exclusively a military style. the jackets by themselves would have been fine but really what they should have done was put them in something that matched the gold but contrasted enough to give them shape. by having at least her dancers in all black on a gold stage there was a lot of "haha look at me do a duck walk because lets throw in some voguing for spice." they could have gone with a mesh bodysuit idea similar to what she was wearing or even just different colour coats. as for ikon's backup dancers, firstly pants. not black. or even a longer skirt. genuinely a part of the reason why i dont watch girl group content is because i HATE the hem length of the shorts they make everyone wear. words cannot describe how much i hate that cut. kpop is so obsessed with showing off women's bodies and especially their legs but they do it in the LEAST flattering way possible because it "can't be too risqué," just shoot me now. i hate it. i hate it so fucking much. yea yea everybody was on cocaine in the 80s whatever but at least they were all wearing french cut bodysuits so their legs looked fantastic. stop interrupting the lines!! anyways. pants so the only section of skin showing is thigh to mid calf, especially because they weren't even doing any fun legwork! if they really wanted to keep the full sleeve bodysuits they shout have done them in a fabric with a texture or external embellishments, like a patent/vinyl or sequins/rhinestones. something to catch the stage lights so we can actually see the shape of the limb. but the easiest way to fix it is literally just cut the arms off the bodysuits. stages are lit to show off skin, sometimes the best way to have something be seen is just to have it bare.

i agreed skz cycles through ideas way too fast, they need to just pick a couple and stick them out through the stage instead of just adding more and more different ones throughout. also ok good someone else noticed that there is just...so much changbin. we don't need that much changbin. i know there's other boys in the group let them do something! also im pretty sure theyre not recreating the cat knife meme but actually the promo image from john wick chapter two, which i also could have sworn i saw a deadpool version of as an instagram ad back when movies were happening, but now that im looking for it it doesn't exist so i might be crazy.

im excited for the move stage but im also trepidatious because...its move. i have NO clue what the concept is from the previews so i just hope its weird enough to take it enough out of the taemin context for me to enjoy it.