#like don’t overwork the groups but also if a member doesn’t have a solo schedule for a week theyre unemployed and it’s a disaster

[ujuro]

I’ve been mostly away from kpop fandom spaces for a good while now but since mx is returning to group activities I’ve been looking around some fan accounts on twitter recently for updates outside of the changkyun solo bubble I was in and oh my god I did not fuckin miss how whiny everybody is like so many things stans complain about are not that deeppp

[slytherinshua]

I 'm so out of touch (touch-touch-touch-touch), why is IST bad?

so basically some smaller companies were eaten by ist at some point in the last couple years (playm which had many artists and cre.ker housing tbz) ist focuses on the artists that make them money which basically was just tbz especially considering their road to kingdom and kingdom promotions gaining them many many fans.

i think they fumbled so hard with weeekly who had that one song (after school i believe) that was literally EVERYWHERE in 2021-2022 yet they’re still nugu because frankly ist gives them no promotion. their songs are genuinely so good idk why they couldn’t be a more talked about and popular girl group at this point ?? usually having a song as viral as after school would get you at a good place for future promotion and success

victon situation is worse. victon had a lot of potential to be super super popular and were doing just fine. like they literally had successful comebacks and a supportive fanbase but then just kinda fizzled out when seungwoo went to the military and they were promoting as 6. under playm management they did well but under ist they got so little promotions and no music show wins lead to even less. since they debuted a year before tbz and were kinda making similar ish music I feel like they were overshadowed and discarded in favour of tbz. even now they still haven’t “disbanded” but haven’t had a comeback since 2022 like alices are just waiting silently at this point for the final blow

also apink was the only other big girl group under playm and also fizzled out in popularity + members left the company. idk too much about their management and how they were treated but I can’t expect it was any better than victon.

as for tbz there was a time where content was being neglected and comeback showcases dance practice videos etc weren’t happening which fans were not happy about. and general overworking of tbz because they were the main group doing well lead to them staying relevant I suppose but it’s not a good thing for any company to do… like there are ways to give them proper rest and regular comebacks instead of constant schedules. and I think tbz could’ve been even popular if they had better promotion and stuff like they’re talked abt in kpop but still in that middle ground. I think ist pushed for a lot of tours for whatever reason instead of building their popularity with good comebacks. you can really see in 2024 as well just how busy they’ve been with comebacks and tours and musicals solo schedules etc like tbz have been crazy crazy busy nonstop for a rly rly long time.

I know for atbo another nugu boy group under ist that they’re on their 3rd survival show or smth??? if that doesn’t show how little promotion and success they’re getting due to ist’s negligence idk what does. it’s like they’re putting all their eggs in tbz basket and hoping that the other groups can get popular and make money without any help from the company

honestly we as fans don’t know the entirety of the inner workings of a company or how a group is truly being treated behind the scenes but it’s pretty clear tbz are happy to have left (and with so many other ist artists leaving the company last year and this year…. It’s telling) I’m just happy for a fresh start for tbz and hope they can achieve even greater things under a new company with other big and successful artists (viviz taemin etc)

I have more victon mismanagement thoughts I’ll add later but I gotta rush to a piano lesson rn lmao but I’ll reblog w more thoughts on them specifically after!! thanks for asking tho anon <3

[eternallovers65]

I was watching ikon tv on YouTube again and that made me look at a bunch of old clips from kpop, and I just want to say FUCK THE BIG 3 SO MUCH OR ANY OTHER COMPANY THAT TREATS IDOLS LIKE SHIT

JYPE

Blatantly favoritism over Twice and Stray Kids, which leads to overworking them, and zero to nonexistent comebacks to got7 and day6 (idk about itzy bc I'm not a fan). For example in 2018, Twice had 6 comebacks (japanese/singles included) and in both 2017/19 they had 5 (japanese/singles included) Stray Kids on the year they debuted, 2018, had 4 and in 2019 they had 5 (japanese/singles included).

This situation got so bad that during a vlive Jeongyeon cried because of how overworked she was. She, Mina and Jisung had to take a break from promotion, I know that those breaks were in different eras but I think that there's a link on why only members of the most overworked groups needed a break.

Also Got7 has like zero promotion, when they had the world tour ahgases were the ones to promote then, because jype didn't bought ads. The boys songs were refused so many times, Mark's schedule were canceled so he couldn't meet his family. They refused to give a solo career to Yugyeom and Mark, when they failed to protect the boys from the sasaengs which lead them moving out so many times and on why Jackson got injured.

Edit: I am more than glad to say that today, 10th of January, all members of Got7 are leaving Jype. #Got7forever💚 I love you boys, thank you for 7 years of happiness, and I'll proudly continue to support all of you

How they forced that visual and hairstyle on Jeongyeon, even tho she didn't wanted it, she said during a vlive that she wanted to grow her hair but the company used to cut shorter everytime. They are extremely strict with the weight and the food, a few artists like Sunmi already said that. Somi has told some stories about how they had to sneak food and hide eating in the bathroom, and when Momo was forced to lose 7kg in seven days only to appear in a showcase.

The famous situation flag situation with Tzuyu. She was 16 when that happened, she introduced herself as Taiwanese and held the Taiwan flag as well. Which lead to many to many chinese users saying she was a pro-independence activist, she was barred from the Chinese television and suspended of all her activities in China. 2 months later, on the day of the election in Taiwan, Jype posted a video of her reading an apology saying that there's only one China and she is extremely proud to be Chinese. She was 16 at the time, and you can see during the video that she is so scared, sad and clearly hesitating on saying what she's reading, the whole video just has this weird, forced vibes. The 3 presidential candidates said that video was too cruel for a 16 year old girl and that she didn't need to apologize.

YG

I will never forgive yg for disbanding 2ne1, for not helping G-Dragon when he was accused of plagiarism and started suffering from depression but had to continue with the promotion. Same thing with Top that was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression, and suffered a overdose because of the marijuana scandal but yg had also nothing to say.

For releasing Hanbin in a DAY because of false accusations, while it took them WEEKS to release s***gri and only after he released a statement saying that he was leaving bigbang. And for not telling the public or for not defending Jennie during that time everyone were saying she was lazy when in fact she had an ankle injury, but still continued the promotions.

SM

Whether we like to admit or not, SM is probably the best company in the kpop history if we're talking about success, they have a formula that works over and over again, it's a pattern, we can especially see it in Suju, Shinee, Exo and Nct. But omg they have zero compassion for their idols.

Starting from the training, we all know the training for the debut is really difficult, but a lot of people say that between all the companies SM is the worst one, they are extremely strictly and controlling , especially the managers who abuse the power. They have this curated-ness that is quite toxic, and leads to an incredibly perfectionistic and controlling management system. Kai used to practice 8 hours a day so that everything was perfect, like surely work it out bc Kai is one of the best dancers in the industry, but still that's a lot of hours you're basically overworking yourself (I think)

As a result, many idols have even more outstandingly brutal beauty standards than there already are in the kpop industry generally. especially intense weight-loss standards, Taeyeon already said this, during the first 5 years of GG she was constantly battling with eating disorders. Baekhyun has this diet where, instead of eating the food he only chews and then spits out, Sehun in 2017 (I think) had this stage on the Exo tour and he said that he spend an entire month on diet, so he could do that stage. Taemin said on a few episodes of Mtopia that he was on a diet, but you can clearly see that he was extremely thin. Also they have a part in their contracts about plastic surgery, you can see that almost every SM artist has done it a double eyelid surgery.

The blatantly favoritism over Korean idols and the mistreats that happens with idols that aren't Korean (especially with they're chinese), as we saw many times already with examples like Tao, Kris, Luhan, Lay, Winwin, Ten and Lucas before they joined WayV. Or favoritism with certain members of groups, like Taeyong in Nct, of course that favoritism is a part of their formula but still pretty fucked up.

They have such a questionable promotion, like I already read once about. They said that SM promotes the new groups so they can form a better fan base and that way no longer will need the promotion, but still this is extremely bad. Like with BoA, Tvxq or Suju who are still relevant but we barely hear news about them because SM doesn't promote then, and I can already see this with Exo especially in their latest comeback.

They manage mental health horrifically. Like with Taeyeon in 2014/15 when a member (bc SM treated Jessica as garbage) of her group had to leave, which lead to the midia saying it was her fault alongside with the hate she received at that time because of her relationship with Baekhyun, that lead to her depression and eating disorders. Same thing happened with Baek, although he didn't receive the same amount of hate, he still had to suffer with his relationship being in the spotlight while 3 members of his group left, because AGAIN SM treated them as fucking garbage.

For stop carrying about f(x), as a result lead to a witch hunt on Victoria saying that it was her fault for that happening, for Sulli who was suffering from a mental illness but never received a break nor the protection from the media that used to say that she was a bad example. For Jonghyun who was also suffering from depression but never got any help or a break.

And our latest examples Irene and Chanyeol. I don't approve Irene's actions, but the fact that the media is so ruthless with her it's ridiculous and even more ridiculous of SM to not defend their idol, especially when there's so many other celebrities that are WAY worse than her. And for Chanyeol, who was accused of cheating on his girlfriend 10 times, but SM had nothing to say or to defend his image. It took the fans for that to happen, the fans were the ones to find out that was a fake and cover up scandal so the news about the government crisis were not to be seen.

They are so bad at dealing with idol apologies, like why did Taeyong in 2016 had to apologize for something he didn’t do, but they never had anyone apologize for their racist or the cultural appropriation that the idols have done many times already in a lot of mvs????

That's why I hate the kpop industry and the media so fucking much, bc they're ruthless and assholes who are putting so much pressure on the idols, who in the end of the day are humans and are deserving of things like love, privacy and a break to take care of themselves. I truly adore kpop and the dramas, but I'd stop watching and listening with all of my heart if it means that they would stop treating humans beings as fucking trash! They deserve so much more!

Thank you for coming to my ted talk!

[cosmiclatte28]

I Tried (Hendery x you)

Warning : Sicheng is not Winwin here,  lmao imagine they are two different people. 

:) here goes nothing... 

Hendery sacrifices his ears to rush to the hospital who called him that you just got into an accident. Well his manager yells at him for running away without answering the question. He was wrapping up today's practice when the phone rang and he picked up the unknown number only to gasp when he heard the news. "Kun-ge, I have to go to the hospital. (Y/n) got into an accident." the goofy young man was somehow gone, replaced with a worried grown up responsible boyfriend. "Accident?" Kun also sounds surprised, Kun nods "Just go, should we call manager hyung?" Hendery shakes his head, "I'll take a cab. Bye" and wears his jacket then before the other members can flood him questions, he flies to the stairs and rushes down. He's biting his lips in worry when the taxi speeds up to the mentioned hospital. It was luckily close to his office and once he gets into the emergency room lobby, he pays the fee and walks straight to the receptionist. His mask covers his face and hides his identity, "I am the emergency contact of (y/n), may I know where is she and what happened to her?" The nurse quickly nods her head, "Oh she's not in a bad condition. She just sprained her ankle, but we have to check for her head because her fall is quite hard." "Where can I see her?" Hendery slides his panic aside but his fingers are tapping the desk furiously. "She's doing an x-ray right now. I'll let you know when she is moved to a room already." with that being said Hendery can only sit on the waiting room and bites his thumb anxiously. He wishes your head is okay and your ankle sprain is not bad, you're training for the winter ballet recital. He brushes his hair and sighs, you worked hard for the Sugar Plum Fairy role and you sprained your ankle. He has to probably deal with you crying over the fact that you won't be able to train for god knows how long.

Hendery supports you with all his might when it comes to your recital. He knows how hard it is to get a role, and this time you got the best role. He was ready to come and cheer for you, and hug you after giving you a bouquet of flower for the perfect performance, but that might not happen. "I am dead if the doctor says she can't perform." That's all Kunhang can think of. He was sitting on the chair, almost falling asleep if not for a tap on his shoulder. He shoots his head up and looks carefully of the man standing over him. "Hendery right? (y/n)'s boyfriend?" he asks nicely. Hendery nods his head, who is he and how can he know your relationship with him. "I'm Sicheng, her dance partner. I'm sorry you have to rush to the hospital this late." Hendery shakes his head, oh this is the man who dances with you? he looks good, no wonder you can stay at the practice room for days. "No, It's okay I've finished the training today. How did she fall?" Sicheng sighs, "She overworked herself. I've told her to rest, but she's stubborn and she continued practicing. (Y/n) attempted her solo part and I with the other dancers were already sitting down tired from the class." Hendery listens attentively, well you can have your ears closed when you want to do something he's not surprised. Sicheng continues, "She has this part where she has to do petite batterie on pointe. She was doing well before, but maybe her legs gave up, so she fell. We were running to catch her, but we failed." Hendery gasps, "And her head hits the floor and her ankle was twisted?" Sicheng nods, "Yes, she doesn't want to go to the hospital actually, but we insist since her head hits the floor." Hendery smiles though it is hidden by his mask, "You made a great decision. I know she will go to her psychiatric and get her ankle fixed in one crack, but we need to see her head condition. Thank you Sicheng, you can leave if you want. I'm so thankful you brought her here." Sicheng tells him it is nothing and left after wishing you don't have major injuries. Hendery's phone lights up with texts and he reads one by one, the group chat is busy asking your condition and when he almost answer them, the nurse calls his name. The man springs to his legs and follow the nurse to a room where he can see you talking with the doctor. "Hendery!" your voice was bright and cheerful, that makes him smile. "Hey there, our sugar plum fairy did not want to listen and look what happened." he stands by your bedside. The doctor laughs, "She's in a good state. Her head has no fractures no internal bleeding. Her ankle however is sprained. It's luckily not bad." Hendery lets out a breath he didn't know he's been holding in and rubs a hand over your hair, "Great thing I do not need to see you cry because the doctor bans you from dancing." You laugh, "He said if I fix this tomorrow to a chiropractic I'd be able to dance again in four days." The doctor shakes his head, "She needs a week rest actually, but she's forcing me to say four." Your boyfriend playfully pinches you, "How could you do that to the doctor" You yell and slap his hand away. The doctor leaves after saying you can go home and just make sure to compress the swollen ankle. With that, you are in a taxi with Hendery going back to your house. He has informed his leader he'll stay at yours tonight to make sure you're okay. Once in the house, you walk carefully with Hendery's help and he nicely places you in bed. "You want to shower?" he asks while taking out his own outfits to change into. You nod your head, "I can do it, I'll just not put weight into my left foot. Help me into the toilet and just give me a set of fresh clothes." Kunhang quickly does as you said and when you're yelling from the restroom he takes the queue to bring you back to the bed. "Thanks, I did not know I'll be this much of a burden." you shyly admit you regret overworking yourself. Your man tells you not to worry and kisses your forehead, "Sleep first if you're tired. I'll wash up and join you after this." Your tired body makes you sleep faster, Kunhang finds you already calm when he appears from the steamy shower. He hugs you through the night and the next morning when the sun greets you, you feel the right side of the bed cold. Your hand feels the cold fabric and you wake up confused, where is he? Did he leave you before saying good morning. Just as you want to leave the bed, the door opens and come in Kunhang with a tray of breakfast. You smile but quickly frown when you see the plate he puts on your lap. "Good morning! I made breakfast." You snort, "Morning but what is this? Can you not make a toast?" you laugh at his red face. Well he tried, he failed most of the toast and this was the best. He shakes his head and just rubs a hand on his neck, "You really did not know how to make a toast?!" that is a good laugh you had in the moment and Hendery was super annoyed. "It's the best one okay, I tried my best. Just eat, I made you an appointment at ten." He takes a bite of the toast on your plate. You want to protest, but he was faster, "What you're not eating it and I am hungry." With a shake on your head, you start eating his toast and it's not as bad as it looks. Though he really needs to improve, you secretly likes his attention and thoughts. "Thank you," you whisper after finishing the half burnt toast and the orange juice. He gives you his loving eyes and smoothens your hair, "Anything to make you laugh. Let's get ready. I am excused from today's schedule." Your eyes shine in delight, "So we can spend the day together? Just cuddling and being lazy?" He nods his head, "Yup. After we fix your ankle." You peck his cheek and receives the brightest smile from the funniest man you love. "You're the best, honey."

 eeekk what is this, thanks for making it this far tho <3

[fmdduri]

word count: question 1 is 402 words, question 2 is 316 words, question 3 is 283 words, question 4 is 342 words, question 5 is 268 words, question 6 is 351 words.  reward: +5 tracker points. 

1. assuming your muse has changed in some way, be it internally or as a result of a change of the external factors around them, how is your muse different? these can be as small as an opinion on a song they hadn’t released previously or as big as a major change in their background.

probably the biggest changes of duri, comes from the fact that he now is aged down to being born in the year of 1994. i always felt like it would be better for duri to be younger, but because he was already well established, he continued to be in his hag days. however, thanks to the restructure, i was able to finally make duri part of maknae line of his group, in this case being titan. it’s a little change, but it really makes me pretty happy. 

with this change, as well, comes some slight background changes. duri has now become a trainee in january 2009, training for two years until january of 2011, which was when titan had debuted. before, duri had only trained for about two months, before he had debuted as the member of a group. this change also removes him from completely his military enlistment before debuting, due to age - which is fine, because i have future headcanons involving enlistment that are in my head, that probably won’t be shared, but they’re there! 

opinion wise on things, i think the only opinions that duri has is a bit of a favor for the infinite releases, over the other releases. that might just be the second gen stan in me, but infinite is one of my ults (shinee and cassie still taking the first two spots, of course,) but they’re definitely tied with exo. however, overall, duri really enjoys their discography, and has no completes about it whatsoever. 

one small thing that changed as well as the name of people in his life. i changed the names of his parents, as well as his uncle and aunt. now, his father is bonju, his mother is aeri, his uncle is bongki, and his aunt is choa. this is a small change i wanted to reference as different, just because i mentioned them all often and they had different names before. 

one last change that i think is important to mention is that even though duri has never had a scandal attached to himself - he has had a saesang issue, which simply just comes with titan - it also doesn’t help that he’s always been clean from scandals, so more seemed to attach themselves. however, duri is a titan member that bc entertainment decided to protect from them, so it’s a problem that doesn’t really stick around for him. 

2. what does your muse think of their company and their group?

bc entertainment is seemingly a bit of a mixed bag - at least, that’s how it feels to duri. he feels really lucky to be in bc entertainment, as they’re considered to be the best of the best, and they’re probably the reason why titan became “the kings of kpop” in the first place, nonetheless. not the mention, bc entertainment has given duri so many great opportunities for his career outside of  however, he wonders if bc entertainment fully cares about their artists in general. since he’s struggling himself with mental health and bc entertainment has a bit of a problem with overworking duri, he can’t help but to wonder if they cared if he came to them? or if they’d notice something wrong with him? generally, he’s a bit on the fence.

when it comes to his group, titan, duri really loves titan. he enjoys the music that they have put out thus far (of course, give or take a few of their later years tracks, but it’s nothing major) and believes that he’s been a great fit for titan. generally, duri has no problems with titan at all. even though he may be a member that doesn’t have any scandals, whereas other members may (based off of the group description), he believes that things simply happen and don’t believe any member of the group is really at a fault for getting caught up in something. simply, things happen, that’s how to put it. however, duri did have a hard time with titan at first because a lot of people believed he didn’t fit the concept, so he had to work really hard to prove that he was able to handle the concept. now, fans and netizens see that duri is able to fit himself into whatever concept is needed based off his charisma and stage presence. in general, he loves titan as a whole. 

3. is your muse on their first contract or their second? if they’ve renewed, what were their feelings around that at the time and what were their hopes for their second contract? if they haven’t renewed, what are their current thoughts on the end of their eventual first contract?

duri is currently on his second contract with bc entertainment and titan. when it came to renewing, duri was more than happy with renewing because bc entertainment was still treating them rather well. he can’t say he felt anything negativity towards bc entertainment, simply because of the fact that he was getting work in and out of titan itself. though, there was a bit of a wish to have some solo songs. of course, maybe there’s the same wants of more of a break because titan is one of the hottest groups on the scene and it’s clear that even with things that have happened, titan isn’t going anywhere. the group still has a hold on the industry and truthfully, he hoped that’s something that would continue to happen with the second contract. so, when it comes to hopes for his second contract, he was hoping to finally see a solo debut within the midst. thankfully, that was something that had come the next year, and he had gotten his hope for the second contract. another hope had been to get more than one solo project a year - at this time, he had only gotten either a brand ambassadorship or variety show main cast a year, with nothing else happening to him, and bc entertainment seemingly wanting duri to mainly stay within the realms of titan itself. this was something else that came to fruition, with him getting more projects each year, essentially working more into that realm of “overworking.” but, duri is rather happy and wishes he could be gay in the open - but, that’s clearly something that he has to continue to wish and is just that, a wish.

4. what are your muse’s goals and motivations?

duri’s most personal goal/dream is probably be get married and have kids. of course, this is something that can’t happen right now, and probably won’t happen for a good while, since there’s still so much to do as a member of titan and as a soloist, so he has to continue on simply just not doing. however, it’s something that’s just really up there and something that he really wants for himself. for now, though, he’ll settle with dogs and a cat as his children, his fur children - they’re just as much of family as humans are. 

another more personal goal that duri has is to do more for charity. for the longest time, he’s always done charity work. however, he feels like he could so do more, and would love to maybe become an ambassador for something of that sort. however, bc entertainment seems to not push for it all that much, so he assumes he’ll have to advocate for it himself. though, maybe they think his own person works of charity is more than enough, instead of gaining a ambassadorship for that. 

career wise for goals, seems to be a bit more extensive for duri. of course, duri would really like to release more music wise. it would also be cool to chart higher than he has with his music, but he’s not complaining because he’s still done rather well. not to mention, the chance to do more osts for dramas. besides for that, he’d like to have more main cast variety jobs. this is something that he has a lot of fun with, where he really just gets to show off himself some. he enjoys making appearances on shows, but he’d love to have something a little bit more permanent once again. he’s sure he’ll manage to get there, of course. following that, duri would also love to have some more brand ambassadorships. however, he’d really enjoy some brighter ones, like what he has done for baskin-robbins and coca-cola, as a few others were seemingly not as bright.

5. what is one conflict, internal or external, that your muse is currently dealing with, has recently dealt with, or will need to deal with in the future?

the one conflict that duri has been slightly dealing and needs to deal with in the future is his mental health. due to the car accident that occurred when duri was five years old, he suffers with post traumatic stress disorder. when he was younger, this was something that was dealt with and he even kept up with it as a trainee. however, as duri got really busy with titan, as well as the established career claims, he seemingly fell off in treatment. this caused him to have a relapse with his mental health, sometime down the line. currently, it’s probably at it’s worst, and something he’s slightly dealing with. however, because it’s something that he’s really managed to ignore for a bit, pretending that he’s perfectly okay, and telling people that he’s okay - it needs to be dealt with in the future, but he continues to really just ignore it. not to mention, he also has insomnia that goes along with the ptsd, so more often than not, he’s exhausted, rather than well rested. he treats it with multiple cups of coffee, which definitely just makes it worst - but, that’s how he has to get through a schedule. simply, there seems to be a lot that really goes along with this, along with often being haunted in his dreams with the scene that changed constantly, before he’s waking up sweating and sobbing. will he figure out how to ask for help? or will he continue to suffer? it’s most likely the former, simply because he’s rather embarrassed that he has gotten bad all over again. 

6. if your muse has established career claims, what are their thoughts on their career so far? if they do not, how do they feel about not having individual activities yet? what would they like to do in the future, if anything? if they don’t have ambitions for individual activities, explain why.

duri has an established career in modeling, variety, & songwriting. thus far, he’s really happy with his established career. it wasn’t something that he was really expecting, thinking that he’d have more osts or something along those lines, with bc entertainment most likely wanting to use his voices - since they did keep him hidden when he was a trainee, due to his voice and not letting him do anything during those two years. however, it’s a bit interested they wanted to use his face and his likeness for both modeling and variety instead. however, duri can’t really complain because he really liked being the ambassador for both beanpole and baskin-robbins - arguably he liked being the ambassador for baskin-robbins a bit more, since he felt it fit himself a bit more. but, he does understand getting a beanpole ambassadorship. when it came to being placed on main casts for variety, he did really enjoy those as well, especially cool kiz on the block. sure, he’s not really sporty (besides for being an avid gym-goer.) but, he really did enjoy doing the neighborhood sports and this was what had gotten him really more comfortable with variety, and it proved he was a good accent for variety. however, his next main cast wouldn’t come till 2018 with dunia: into a new world. truth be told, he didn’t really get it at first, but once he did, it was clear there really was something there. he had fun with the concept and the whole being brought back to life in the game was a cool addition. of course, duri really, really enjoyed getting to write for titan. he has full writing credits for b-sides: light, playboy, she’s dreaming, and lights out. he also had full writing credits for one title track, kokobop. 

in the future, duri would like to continue this track of modeling, variety, and creative claims. of course, he’d also like more solo musics, but those are givens. in general, his career will be completely focused on music, modeling, variety, and creative claims - keeping himself to those 4 areas mostly. 

[fmdjaeinarchive]

a belated plot call that was meant for last week when the event ended, but i had an exam earlier today hence why it’s going up now! btw, i’ll probably reply to a few event threads that i have some muse for so don’t be surprised to find a notification popping up a whole week late. on that same page, if there’s an event thread you’d like to continue, feel free to tell me so! anyway, i’ll have an update on my girls’ lives as well as (hopefully) some plot ideas to build things off of! please just like this post, and i’ll come hopping over to you most likely tomorrow because it’s getting late over here!

jaein: 

getting ready for fingertip that’s due to be released in february along with another solo mini-album! this time, it’s completely different sounding/vibing from don’t make me laugh, and it’ll be dimensions’ attempt at trying something new in hopes that it catches on with the public

other than that, she is still very much the dj until march so she has that happening every single day. she enjoys the radio show a lot more than she did when she first stated though (there’s a headcanon about that here if you’d like her thoughts on it). feeling a bit less stressed because award seasons are coming to an end which means one less thing on her plate

personal life: her little sister’s in her last semester of college so jaein’s a little emotional on them. it’ll be Big for her more than jaeeun i think. i have things planned for her around then lol uhhh her parents are still shit, and she still smokes oops 

plot ideas: feel free to hmu for any of the award shows that lucid will be at, lucid members are free to message me for anything regarding fingertip preparations too! dimensions artists... you’ll catch her in the building a Lot so any random thread there can work too

hyeju: 

she dropped the album of the year aka interlude not too long ago, and she’s very proud of this album. it’s a lot more her-sounding than premiere was because she had more say in how things would work out in terms of performance. the songs and music videos were none of her doing lol but she likes what’s been given to her

lipstick is also preparing for a comeback, and she’s not a big fan of ticket tbh it’s catchy but it’s also not too exciting. plus, the other two songs on the mini are just re-releases of songs they already performed so lipstick members, if you’d like a schedule thread or any thread discussing the upcoming comeback, hyeju’s all ears and she’ll be complaining like she always does

other than that, anybody who’s promoting the same time she is (january 10th~january 24th), she’s welcoming to juniors and seniors alike who come to visit her backstage. or even if you’re not promoting and you’d just like to share a word with her, she doesn’t bite lol 

suji: 

2021 isn’t busy for her just yet! i don’t plan on overworking her as much as i did in 2020 lol coming off the win of our songs, she would have promoted i go for exactly a week. i’m still very much open to doing threads on our songs if your muse watched it. she’s as surprised as you are about her winning!!!

she will Finally be getting her home studio made so she can stop bothering her producer friends in their studios and using gold star’s! if your muse is into music equipment or songwriting maybe this could be a base for a new friendship! or partnership! either works tbh like catch her at an equipment store or something. mutual friends who write that introduce them. all that jazz

she’s pretty high on muse so she’ll be doing lots of writing (she has a mini album coming out in june), and she’s open to new ideas/concepts now since our songs happened so she’d be open to discussing stepping out of her ballad box if your muse wants to talk about that or push her to try something new. on the other hand: if you want her tracklist, feel free to bother me for it!! so you can see how ~different~ some of these things are

if anybody wants to meet her cat!! like you don’t even know her but you see her ig update of her cat and is like uhh... can i meet milo. she’s up for that. also if any gold star person wants to do a schedule thread, i’m up for that too! discuss 2021 plans and all that jazz. or your health if you’d like i guess

yujin:

reply 1997 ended! kudos if you guessed her husband correctly. the drama didn’t hit popular ratings, but it caused a lot of people to learn who yujin is, and that’s going to lead her to being cast in a drama that will become popular (she’ll be cindy in producers), and that has already started preparations so she’s back to getting ready/filming

she has a #1 single ost though, and that’s... wild like wow her drama really did wonders for her, and it only continues to push gold star into creating actress yujin though at this point that’s basically what she is

but element comeback is also a thing!! and she likes red moon more than she did dumb litty, and the b-sides for this album are bops. she’s just very : D to be spending time with her group members 

ngl my muse for yujin is at an all time low right now but maybe that’ll change if you want to plot something out with her! she’s still the same bright and bubbly girl just more exhausted because of all the filming going on and basically because she hasn’t had a break since early 2020 lol 

[kihyunswrath]

Ok but. Seriously though. It’s been a couple of days since the news of Wonho’s solo career and I’ve now clarified my head again.

And here’s the thing.

Starship lost a LOT of money when Wonho was kicked out. Like. A fuckton. Album sales, video views, general popularity. Dozens of videos they had probably filmed and taken back when Wonho was still within the group, could no longer be published. Projects, shows and other things where Wonho had been in a major role had to be cancelled. And because of how desperately they then tried to cling on to the rest of the Monsta X schedules that were still, in theory, feasible, they made everything look very sloppy, greedy and shitty, and made a whole lot more fans unsatisfied. They even ended up overworking Jooheon to burnout which meant yet another big blow to their sales. And then, what a surprise, comes coronavirus and kind of kills the rest of the mood, if there was any, and makes it very hard for them to continue with their world tour plans.

And let’s not even talk about the shady shit they were involved in during the Produce X 101, because that’s another topic, but hey, SSE probably wasn’t too happy about that being revealed either, right? It isn’t like they can be 100% convinced their new boy group could solve their financial issues with a snap of a finger, not anymore.

So. What can they do? The fandom, from their perspective, is split into half: those who couldn’t stand the idea of Wonho ever being mentioned ever again, and those who absolutely loathed Starship for being so cowardly stupid that they couldn’t stand up for him, when he had done basically nothing wrong.

If they truly let Wonho go, there goes Starship’s popularity outside of Korea. Those overpriced world tour tickets they tried to sell are still not sold out, as far as I know, and that fact is probably still stinging them like a bitch. They know what we’ve been up to, what projects, events, fundraisings and other shit we put up, just for Wonho. They saw the dollar bills flying right past them, out of their reach, because those dollar bills were spent on keeping Wonho’s name public, when Starship had promised themselves they would never mention his name again.

But if they don’t let him go, Joseon dynasty people are jumping up from their Naver forum graves and wherever the hell in the medieval past they lurk, and claiming that Wonho doesn’t deserve to be in any position whatsoever, ever again. He is basically a reborn Satan because he told us he was also a teenager once. And you know, we can’t let people think idols have been teenagers, because then we’d basically admit they are humans too. And humans need to, you know, eat, sit, shit, sleep and meet people in total freedom, because that’s their basic human right. We can’t have that. We can’t have that because this industry’s fundamental rule, the very base of its existence, is not letting idols do any of those things. So if we admitted they’re humans, too, then clearly we’re also abusing their basic human rights. No, says the Joseon dynasty hypocrite who is also known as a knetz, perfect demigods idols must be, and if they want to keep their career, they can’t tell anyone they’ve existed as human beings in this mortal material plane.

It’s a lose-lose situation for Starship, because they’re not only sharing the same values with those Joseon dynasty people, but they’re also thinking about money, and money, funnily enough, can come from multiple parties. From people who hate you for doing what you’re doing but who hope you to change your ways, and from people who support you exactly because of what you’re doing right now but who don’t want anything to change ever.

The former group is much bigger in numbers, but it’s far away from the field Starship actually operates on. The latter group is probably awkwardly small and stupid, but they are the real time bullies, and they are right there in front of Starship’s house, punching right where it hurts, ready to spew their bullshit 247.

And then, all of a sudden all this is solved with a seemingly easy fix: a new company is ready to take Wonho under its wings and bring him back to his former glory. New fancafes and social media platforms open in an instant and Wonho himself is back to his old apologizing self, behaving like a proper idol, being all modest and selfless. Where the hell did this company come from? Who are these people it manages? Why doesn’t it even have its own website or email address? Who is its CEO, who are the workers? Why haven’t I ever heard of this fucking agency before?

Now I don’t want to sound like a conspiracybebe or anything, but I’m 99% sure this Highline Entertainment isn’t technically a real company at all.

There were no actual idols under it before Wonho, and it doesn’t have official websites or any detailed information available. It’s apparently been there since the end of 2017, but what has it been doing during those two and a half years, because there is no visible promotion campaigns for the existing artists who work for it? And why the hell would Starship have bought that company, given how it couldn’t give a lot of profits to them? And now that Highline does have Wonho under their wing, why can’t they stand up for Wonho when he still faces backlash from the Korean media? He HAS officially made a contract with them and has all his charges cleared and therefore could technically sue anyone for trying to defame him? But no, instead they censor fans and stop them from spreading Wonho’s fanletters because they’re... you know, just as afraid of their fans as Starship once was.

I might be wrong but I don’t think I am, while I say that Starship is clearly trying to kill two flies with one hit (or however the hell that proverb goes). They can now earn profit from BOTH fans who “hate” Wonho and fans who love him. 

With this whatever nugu company no one knows or gives two shits about, they can pretend Wonho is permanently removed from Monsta X and has started his own career elsewhere and won’t technically bother ot6 fans anymore, so they can earnestly support the remaining Monsta X members with their new comeback and whatnot. But they also placed him close enough, right outside of their own premises, with all the same US managers, logos, stage names and other similarities from before, that we, who still hoped things to end up well for both Wonho and other Monsta X members, could stay optimistic about their future and offer our money for all of them at the same time.

You know, now we’ll get albums from Monsta X, and then albums from Wonho, and a lot of us will buy both - it’s even more merchandise and sales than it used to be. Funny, huh?

No challenging of the old conservative idols-are-Jesuses-but-better belief system, and no challenging the huge social justice movement that was born out of love for Wonho and other idols that have been treated like disposable trash. No, this way Starship technically doesn’t have to turn their back to either of us, but instead can go and pretend they’re the noble saint who gave an exceptionally rare new chance to an idol, while still keeping him in the backyard, just in case it turns out Wonho’s existence is too “scandalous” for their pristine reputation as a good old Confucian company.

Convenient.

I’m not saying they’re necessarily being smart, innovative or actually farsighted, but I’m saying that all this is pretty damn convenient for Starship. And yes, having said that, I do continue to support Wonho and Monsta X. I am intending to see the end of that, like I’ve said before. But I still don’t have to like what Starship is doing, not one bit. None of this needed to happen. And a lot more things could have been fixed, had Starship made those mistakes in the beginning and then actually reflected on them, instead of... well, whatever convenient shit-plotting this is.

My only comfort right now is that Wonho and Monsta X members can now be with each other probably a bit more often than not, and that’s technically the only thing I truly care about. I do also damn hope Wonho shows his popularity, power, wits, charms and superiority to Starship too and makes them hope they could still have him in Monsta X one day, when it’s too fucking late.

[kpopmusiclyricsalbums]

My Thoughts on JYP Entertainment

Founder/CEO: J.Y. Park - Good but problematic 

I have complicated feelings about JYP as a person.  I think that as a business man he is smart and knows his business.  I also think he knows how to train his trainees, but as a person and creator he has done some questionable things.  Mostly he is very misogynistic towards his female trainees, along with his own music lyrically.  

Two examples of this is during Sixteen he told Jihyo that she was too fat...to a 17-18 year old girl.  She also wasn’t what people would even considered fat.  His reasoning was not a good one, it was simply a stylistic look choice of a dancer’s body that he wanted and thus a 17-18 year old girl who was probably going through puberty wasn’t the ‘right size’ for him.  He also said this to another girl who was 17 on the nizi project in 2020.  Only five years later, his views unchanged.  

The second example is his questionable lyrics that he gives TWICE.  Not only in Cheer Up which is basically telling a guy, even when I say no, keep pestering me.  And Yes or Yes, basically disregarding that No isn’t an answer.  If either one of those songs was sung in context of a boy group, they would have been accused of disregarding the probablemic argument that as a society of a whole, women face daily.  There are other songs for example Girls Girls Girls by Got7, and I will probably go into a deeper separate post about cheer up and Yes or Yes, even other songs he has written as well, but I wanted to give examples here.  (Also not trying to put down TWICE or GOT7, counting that they didn’t write the lyrics or choose the song.  I’m talking about the Song writer, a man in his 40’s.) 

Company as a whole: Not the worst, but not the best.  (But really is any company) 

As a company, to me at least, they always wanted to be seen as a creative and forward thinking company rather then looking at it for money reasons, but how they treat their groups scheduling wise, future groups, and even trainee’s it seems to be more about money then what they want you to think.  It sometimes feels like a shady company that wants a sugar coat cover to hide what they do.  

JYP Entertainment is always praised for their look on mental health in their company and health in general.  Which is a good quality to have, but they also are just doing the bare minimum.  They are not doing it proactively, instead of only doing it after it’s a huge issue to the point were it affects business.  

Such as with Mina, it’s good that they didn’t force her to be on stage when she has a panic disorder, but also they let it get to the point where she couldn’t even go on stage.  With how much they promote and with no rest really given to the group until it’s absolutely necessary, meaning the girls’ are constantly working, I’m surprised only one member seems to have broken.  

Their trainee system: They don’t seem to care so much about talent

For their trainee’s they seem to pick nice, wholesome people who work hard.  Which isn’t bad qualities at all.  They also have strict rules that they have to follow, such as the dating ban, the no going to bars ban (which makes sense to me considering the burning sun scandal and so on).  They don’t seem to have a diet for trainee’s, but from the views of their Founder, I think it’s probably an unspoken rule.  

Compared to other companies, talent wise, they seem to focus more on dancing skills then actual singing.  When they do have singing, they seem to have a more westernized singing rather than a technical one.  This is kind of made apparent on the show Unnies, when Tiffany recorded with JYP.  Tiffany was trained at SM Entertainment which is known for having a more technical singing education.  During their recording he showed her a more breathy way.  She even stated, it was more about feeling rather then technique.  Which isn’t bad.  Most theatre performances want to emphasis feelings rather then technique, but if you can’t hit a note, there’s a too much of a problem.  Plus this doesn’t necessarily mean a good longevity career wise, because if you are using improper technique for long periods of time, it could result in vocal issues in the future.    

Moving on….

On how they treat Male Groups: They last longer then the girl groups.

Current Male Groups they have: 

2PM + Soloists 

Day6 - Band + Soloists 

JJ Project 

Got7 + Soloists 

Stray Kids 

Jus2 (sub Unit) 

3Racha (Sub Unit) 

J.Y. Park (Soloist) 

Former Notable Groups they had: 

2AM

G.O.D. 

Rain (Soloists) 

So with The boy groups, they seem to have a more usual staggered comeback release date, other then Day6 which for a year, they released a single every month.  From my past experience, they seem to promote Got7 over Day6 and now that Stray Kids have entered the chat, Got7 is now getting less promotions resources wise.  Which makes sense in terms of business, because they are already established while Stray Kids being the new kids on the block have less of a fan base.  That is normal for most companies, given that the Kpop system relies heavily on the already established fandom that they create in the first couple of years rather than a long term comeback and promotional system.  

2PM is from their 2nd generation of idols, along with their counterpart 2AM.  They had a similar single release date between the two like got7 does with stray kids.

I am mostly excluding G.O.D. and Rain from this conversation because they are from the very beginning, where JYP was just starting out.  G.O.D. is considered a legendary 1st generation group, and Rain is considered a legend in term so of male soloists himself. 

Just mainly speaking on Got7, Day6, and Stray Kids, their most active male groups currently, here is a timeline from their debut years and how many singles they each had.  

2014 - got7 Debut 

Got7: 4 singles, 2 Ep’s, 1 Studio

2015 - Day6 debut

Got7: 4 Singles, 2 EP’s 1 Repackaged, 

Day6: 1 Single, 1 Ep

2016

Got7: 3 Singles, 2 Ep’s,  2 Studio 

Day6: 1 Single, 1 EP

2017 - Stray Kids Debut 

GOt7: 3 Singles, 3 Ep’s

Day6: 12 Singles, 2 Studio 

Stray Kids: 1 Single 

2018 

Got7: 5 Singles, 1 Ep, 1 Studio,1 Repackaged 

Day6: 6 Singles, 2 Ep’s, 1 Compilation, 1 Studio 

Stray Kids: 3 Singles, 4 Ep’s 

2019 

Got7: 3 Singles, 4 Ep’s, 1 Repackaged

Day6: 2 Singles, 1 Ep, 1 Compilation, 1 Studio 

Stray Kids: 5 Singles, 2 Ep’s 1 Repackaged 

To note, in 2020, Stray kids have 6 singles already planned or have happened.  Out of the three, Day6 seems to have the least amount of promotions all together minus one year when they released a single a month.  

On how they treat Female Groups: Milk them for they got then leave them to dry Once they hit a certain age.  

Current Female Groups they have:

Itzy 

Twice 

Former Notable Groups they had: 

Miss A + Soloists 

Wonder Girls + Soloists 

15& + Soloists 

Jeon Somi/Trainee - complicated thing

Baek A Yeon (Soloists) 

They treat their female groups  differently then their male counterparts.  For them, they either care or they don’t.  Which is a weird thing to say, but you can tell by how they promote and how many singles they have.  For most JYP Groups, they seem to be more of an afterthought with recycled concepts over and over again. With Itzy is too early to tell they path that they will go with.  Will it be like MissA whose single count capped out at 8, with only one member the focus of the group?  Will it be like 15&, who was never actually given the chance to shine and disbanded before they were even known as a group?  Or will they overwork them like Twice?  Wonder Girls started off good, but once they went to US and didn't get the results that I think JYP wanted, they were fazed out, as they grew older.  JYP with their girl groups, seems to not know what to do with them once they hit a certain age.  Which isn’t just a JYP problem, but a KPOP problem.  The only differences is, he doesn’t wait till they are close to 30.  They tend to stop earlier.  

Let’s look at the numbers shall we….

15& - Deserved better!  

Debuted in 2012 at 15 (Both girls were 15) 

1 Studio Album 

5 Singles (4 of them on one album) 

Disbanded after having a four year hiatus 

Active only for 3 years (2012-2015) 

Disbanded by at the age of 18.

Miss A - Should have focused on the group as a whole, not just one member.

Debuted in 2010 at average age of 19.5

2 Studio Albums, 2 single Albums, 3 EP’s 

8 Singles...yeah just 8.

Active for 5 years (disbanded in 7 years) 

Disbanded by the average age of 24.5 (2015) 26.5 (official Disbandment) 

Wonder Girls - a Legend that had so much potential with their band concept!  

Debuted in 2007 at the average age of 16.2

3 Studio Albums, 4 EP’s 

15 Singles (with 2007 being their most releases in a year with 4)

Active for 8 years (Disbanded in 10) (In 2017 they had one goodbye song never promoted)  

Disbanded by the average age of 26.8 (2017) 

TWICE - Overworked for money

Debuted in 2015 at the average age of 16.8

3 Studio Albums, 2 Compilation Albums, 4 Repackaged, 9 EP’s (Still counting they haven’t disbanded yet) 

23 Singles in 5 years (not counting the 1 in 2020). 

They had 5 singles alone in 2017 only in korea 

In 2018 they had 9 comebacks total between South Korea and Japan 

Back to just 5 in 2019.  

Average is 2-3 comebacks a year for girl groups for the first two years then 1 or 2 after that...TWICE’s least active year was 2016 with 2.  (Not counting their debut in 2015.) 

As of 2020, their average age will be 21.8. 

Also on solo artists, he has no idea what to do with them really, regardless of male or female.    

Overall, I think I’m more critical of JYP as a company, because they try to hide the fact that they function like a business as opposed to YG or SM in terms of big three.  They want to be seen more of an artist themselves rather then a business, which I find hypocritical.  I based my opinions on facts and overall feel of the company that I get from them.

In terms of music, I tend to like vocal’s more, which also is not just a kpop thing.  It’s true for most music genres, which is a personal preference.  

So To end on happy notes, 

Groups I Like from the company: 

Miss A 

Wonder GIrls 

Day6 

Baek A Yeon 

I know it’s a lot of former….

Some Songs that I like that you should check out from this company: 

ITZY - Dalla Dalla 

TWICE - What is Love?, Like OOH-AHH, Dance the Night Away 

MISSA - Hush, Only You, I Don’t Need a Man, Bad Girl Good Girl 

Wonder Girls - Tell Me, Nobody, Be My Baby, Why So lonely, Draw Me 

Day6 - Congratulations, Out of My Mind, I need Somebody Lean On Me  

Got7 - Just Right, Miracle, Hard Carry 

Baek a Yeon - Sad Song, Shouldn’t Have, So-So Just Because 

Stray Kids - Hellevator 

Things to note in general: 

Some of these are not just JYP issues, but also a kpop industry as a whole.  I tried to point those out, when I can.  

It’s well known that Male groups are a gamble in terms of profit either they make a ton of money or the loose a ton of money, while Female groups always bring you money just with a shorter life span and don’t tend to out sell male groups (With some exceptions), which is why most small time companies debut female groups in order to gain money to debut a male group.  

Also this just my opinion, so these issues might not be a problem for you, maybe you even prefer dancing groups to vocal groups.  Both are valid.  I’m just giving another opinion.  

Masterlist

[bccity]

NOVEMBER 2019 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of December 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: October schedule posts are due by the end of November 7 KST.

Overall Company

It’s the quiet at BC Headquarters through the end of the year after a noisy year. Talk about Goeun has died down to a manageable level, thanks in part to BC‘s own influence, and she’s yet to be heard from publicly since the ruling of the case was announced. It feels as if what’s to come is more confidential than ever.

Important dates:

N/A

BC Soloist 1

Awards season begins this month after she takes a short trip overseas to perform in Singapore. Her award shows performances for the end of the year will be either a  combination of “Hands on Me” and “Why Don’t You Know” or a full performance of “Why Don’t You Know” (with a new performance wardrobe a bit more appropriate for the weather), depending on how long of a performance spot BC is able to negotiate for her. For the Asia Artist Awards, she’ll be doing a full performance of “Why Don’t You Know”. In comeback news, at the beginning of the month, she’ll meet with management again to go over the finalized concepts and demos for her now internally confirmed January comeback. This mini-album will play up a perhaps slightly more confident and girl crush concept than her first and BC is showing their confidence in her by giving her a title track written by a songwriting/production team responsible for many of the company’s other female act’s popular songs like BEE’s “Touch My Body” and even WISH’s biggest hits. This month, she’ll do all of the studio recording for the mini-album.

Important dates:

November 3: Performance at JTBC Seoul Marathon After Concert in Seoul, South Korea.

November 9: Performance at KAMP Global 2019 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore (also performing: Unity and Lucid).

November 26: Performance and attendance at the Asia Artist Awards at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam (also attending: Decipher, CHARM, WISH, 7ROPHY, Impulse, and Fuse).

Decipher

The title track choreography and b-side choreography continue to be drilled into the members, but they’re veterans at this by now, so they’re expected to already have it down by the beginning of the month. From there, it’s the more marketing focused comeback preparation, including the shooting of concept teaser photos, album cover photos,  outfit fittings, and finally, the MV filming. Day one of MV filming will cover the drama scenes from the MV while the second day will finish any scenes from the first day and involve filming the performance aspects of the MV.

Important dates:

November 15: Stage and M/V outfit fittings.

November 16: Nene Chicken fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, South Korea.

November 23: “Overcome” MV filming day one.

November 24: Performance at Pepsi #ForTheLoveOfIt All Four Seasons Concert at Jamsil Student Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea (also performing: Dimensions Soloist 2, MARS, 7ROPHY, and Lucid).

November 25: “Overcome” MV filming day two.

November 26: Performance and attendance at the Asia Artist Awards at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam (also attending: BC Soloist 1, CHARM, WISH, 7ROPHY, Impulse, and Fuse). 

              ↳ Decipher R & V

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A.

BEE

For the members of BEE, this month is mostly filled with rehearsals to make sure all of the necessary choreography for their upcoming concerts is cemented in their minds. There will only be one special stage in the set list, a dance cover of Britney Spears’s “Womanizer”, which they’ll meet with a BC choreographer to learn this month. Additionally, they’ll be filming another CF, this time for a mobile game called 1942 Pacific Front. They’ll record the CF song early in the month and film the CF itself mid-month.

Important dates:

November 16: 1942 Pacific Front mobile game CF filming.

Knight

They don’t have any public schedules this month, but they’ll begin preparing for a January comeback. They’ll do all of their studio recording for the mini-album this month and during the last week of the month, they’ll begin learning the choreography for the title track and b-side “Play Hard”. They’ll do their photo shoot for their 2020 Season’s Greetings package this month as well. The members haven’t been officially spoken to about plans for 2020 other than continuing their tour, but word is the members are being considered for unit work other than White Knight next year and it isn’t clear if the members have been decided yet or not.

Important dates:

November 16: 2020 Seasons Greetings shoot.

November 29: Initial comeback stage and MV outfit fittings.

            ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

Lipstick

On the sixth, the members film their comeback music video. It’s a low budget music video by BC’s standards, but as Lipstick’s third comeback of the year, it’s more important to the company that the group has a new single to entice fans to come see the encore Seoul concerts that will end their tour than giving them an award-winning video to accompany the single. Before their comeback, the members will also shoot for a group Season’s Greeting package for their fans and film a Christmas-themed CF for BC Card.

Important dates:

November 6: Glue M/V filming.

November 8: Prima Donna tour concert at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

November 9: Prima Donna tour concert at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

November 12: Season’s Greetings photoshoot (reference).

November 14: BC Card CF filming.

November 27: Release of “Glue” digital single, promotions continue until December 27.

              ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

CHARM

CHARM comes back on the 11th of this month and promotions aren’t as packed as they were for the group’s other comeback this year. It’s only a digital single and is intended more to tide fans over and advertise the beginning of their world tour next month than be a moneymaker comeback. They will be making an appearance on Knowing Bros, though, where they’ll perform “Hit” and “Very Nice”, as well as introduce themselves and play games like musical chairs. At the end of the month, major award season begins with perhaps a less major award show, the Asia Artist Awards, in Vietnam. They’ll leave for Vietnam on the 25th and return to Seoul on the 27th to get back into promotions. When they have time, they’ll also be in rehearsals for their Seoul concerts next month, which will feature remixed performances of many of their songs.

Important dates:

November 8: Knowing Bros episode filming (to be aired: November 23).

November 11: Release of “Hit” digital single & showcase, promotions continue until December 11.

November 21: Performance at Blue Dragon Film Awards at Paradise City in Incheon.

November 26: Performance and attendance at the Asia Artist Awards at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam (also attending: BC Soloist 1, Decipher, WISH, 7ROPHY, Impulse, and Fuse).

              ↳ CHARM U

CHARM’s main vocal 1, main vocal 2, and performance unit leader/main dancer/sub vocal are called into a meeting at the beginning of the month without previous explanation. During the meeting, it is revealed to them that they’ve been selected as the members of CHARM’s (first) official sub-unit, following in the footsteps of the sub-units both Decipher and Knight have debuted. The sub-unit, dubbed CHARM U, won’t be promoting until April of next year, but they will begin preparing this month since they will perform the sub-unit single during the full group’s tour before its official release. The single has been chosen from a song that was being worked on initially as a full group song. A long-term future isn’t currently planned

Important dates:

November 1: Announcement meeting.

WISH

"Whatta Man” didn’t do as well as BC had hoped and doesn’t seem to be on track to have the sort of longevity WISH songs usually enjoy. This had led to the media beginning to make more comparisons between WISH’s digital performance this year versus Femme Fatale’s hit summer comeback. It’s not ideal when BC has been working to take back their number one title from Gold Star, but WISH is still their best performing group digitally, all aspects considered, so they can’t be pushed aside like the company may have done to an older group. Members of the group will be granted a two week break from November 2 to November 15 where they’re permitted to go on vacation, including leaving the country, unless they have individual schedules to attend to (members part of Shared Home’s main cast will have scheduled filming during this time) and as long as they’re on their best behavior. This vacation will be publicized to appease fans who have been upset about the members potentially being overworked. The members are also permitted to begin moving out of the dorm on the 2nd. The day of their return to normal schedules, the members are scheduled for a game CF and will then begin rehearsing for year-end stages.

Important dates:

November 1: End of “Whatta Man” promotions.

November 16: DX: War of the New Century CF filming.

November 17: 2020 Japan Season’s Greetings shoot.

November 19: Performance at ABU Song Festival at NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

November 23: 2020 Season’s Greeting shoot.

November 26: Performance and attendance at the Asia Artist Awards at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam (also attending: BC Soloist 1, Decipher, CHARM, 7ROPHY, Impulse, and Fuse).

[goldstarnation]

OCTOBER 2019 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of November 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: September schedule posts are due by the end of October 7 KST.

Overall Company

Such quick growth in such a short time period appears to be catching up to Gold Star now. There’s been avoidable problems with management recently, most noticeable in their handling of Origin’s and Fuse’s next comebacks, and even the constant delay of a comeback for Gold Star Soloist 1. Gold Star may have an attractive reputation of caring more for their artists than Dimensions or BC, but their behind the scenes employees are clearly being overworked due to executives’ reluctance to expand teams as needed and incur costs that could lower their lead in industry profits. Messy management decisions haven’t affected everyone yet, but word is starting to get around within the company to watch out for delayed comebacks and poorly-handled scheduling.

Important dates:

N/A

Gold Star Soloist 1

Meetings with management, marketing, and A&R continue to be her primary schedule, but she’ll be called into one in particular early in the month after returning with representatives from all three departments to discuss her career direction and where she sees herself going musically as she enters her twelfth year. As such a big face of their company it’s important to them that she feel heard so that her eventual contract renewal is guaranteed. This month also marks the beginning of preparations for the fan meeting she’ll be holding in December to bring a close to the year.

Important dates:

October 18: Fan meeting stage outfit fittings.

Gold Star Soloist 2

Now that recording for her album is done, October brings a focus on preparing all of the remaining details for her comeback, including learning the choreography, shooting comeback teasers, and filming the music video. Later in the month, she holds a solo concert in Taiwan and performs at a festival in Busan. She won’t be performing any of her new music, but she’s allowed to hype fans up about it.

Important dates:

October 2: Comeback stage outfit fittings.

October 5: Performance at Sharing Festival at Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea (also performing: Knight).

October 12: Performance at SBS Radio K-Pop Concert in Jeongeup, South Korea.

October 14: Comeback teaser photo shoot.

October 15: Behind the scenes choreography video filming.

October 17: Room Shaker MV filming day one.

October 18: Room Shaker MV filming day two.

October 20: Hello Taipei 2019 concert at Taipei International Convention Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

October 25: Performance at Busan One Asia Festival Family Park Concert at Hwamyung Park in Busan, South Korea (also performing: Aria).

Gold Star Soloist 3

The beginning of the month brings more European tour dates before he returns to Seoul. He’ll finish off his European tour dates next month, but, in the mean time, it’s fall festival season, and Gold Star has booked him for two different events, one that is likely to be a more idol fan-based audience, and the later of the two, which will draw in an audience more attuned to indie music, to capitalize on his cross-demographic appeal.

Important dates:

October 1 : Self-titled tour concert at Lido in Berlin, Germany.

October 3: Self-titled tour concert at Kantine in Cologne, Germany.

October 4: Self-titled tour concert at La Madeleine in Brussels, Belgium.

October 6: Self-titled tour concert at Trabendo in Paris, France.

October 12: Asia Song Festival 2019 at Ulsan Complex Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea (also performing: Dimensions Soloist 1, Dimensions Soloist 2, and Lucid). 

October 20: Performance at Grand Mint Festival at Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea.

Silhouette

Leading up to their comeback at the end of the month, the members are going through the usual preparations of fittings, photo shoots, MV filming, and practice. The increase of expectations on this comeback grows increasingly more noticeable throughout the month and the decreasing success of their latest comebacks is no longer going ignored out of respect for their seniority in the company. Rumor is that if this comeback doesn’t do well, Gold Star may be making changes as they approach their ten year debut anniversary. What those changes might be is still entirely unclear. Before they come back in the final days of the month, the members are also saddled with another Mizuno fan sign and a filming for a Weekly Idol episode for their comeback.

Important dates:

October 4: Stage and MV outfit fittings.

October 10: Teaser photo and album jacket shoot.

October 13: “ME&YOU” MV filming.

October 27: Mizuno fan sign in Seoul.

October 29: Weekly Idol filming (to air November 6).

October 30: Release of “ME&YOU” & WE mini-album showcase, promotions continue until November 30. 

Aria

They hold their Seoul concerts the second weekend of the month (please see September’s schedule for solo/duo special stages) and have a few performances in the later half of the month. Amid concert rehearsals for their Seoul concerts and continued rehearsals for concerts in Japan month, the members will be in the studio to record their December comeback mini-album. It’s a return to original form after “I’m So Sick” earlier in the year, but they’ve been assured future comebacks with a different sound aren’t off the table once marketablity advantages between concepts and sounds have been adequately compared. The members will begin learning the title track choreography in addition to choreography for b-sides “Like U” and “Rewind” after their Seoul concerts are out of the way.

Important dates:

October 11: Pink Space concerts at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea.

October 12: Pink Space concerts at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea.

October 20: Performance at Follow Gyeonggi K-Culture Festa in Jakarta, Indonesia.

October 25: Performance at Busan One Asia Festival Family Park Concert (also performing: Gold Star Soloist 2).

Origin

Their comeback is still indefinitely delayed, meaning more unclear studio time, though Gold Star seems to want an early 2020 date and are certainly willing to move around their plans for other groups to accommodate the company’s money makers. Current priority has shifted to the release of Origin World next month, which Gold Star seems to be putting a lot of stock in bringing in enough money to make up for only one 2019 comeback. The members have group promotional photo shoots for that this month and will film “behind the scenes” interview videos, answering questions like which member’s route they would want to play in the game, why they’re excited for the release, and why fans should play the game. A MediHeal CF for a new brand deal and another concert stop on their tour round out the month.

Important dates:

October 5: Origin World promotional photo shoot.

October 8: Origin World behind the scenes filming (examples 1 & 2).

October 19: Mediheal CF (videos 1-7 in playlist) filming.

October 25: Speak Yourself Stadium Tour concert at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Impulse

The month begins by flying out to the States for their US tour. The day before their first stop and the day of, they’ll appear on the Today Show and Good Day New York, two American morning shows, respectively, to give interviews and perform the English version of their latest title track. Members who can speak English will of course take the lead during interviews, but management has told them that all members are expected to get in something to say, even if it’s something they must rehearse and set up beforehand. Similarly, they’ll be filming a lot of online promo while in America, including a friendship test, trying nine things they’ve never done before, a boy band lyric challenge, song association, and a "most likely to”. After returning to Seoul mid-month the members will begin learning the choreography for their Japanese comeback and will also film the music video.

Important dates:

October 2: Appearance on the Today Show in New York, NY, USA.

October 3: Appearance on Good Day New York in New York, NY, USA.

October 3: Keep Spinning 2019 World Tour concert at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, USA.

October 6: Keep Spinning 2019 World Tour concert at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.

October 9: Keep Spinning 2019 World Tour concert at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX, USA. 

October 12: Keep Spinning 2019 World Tour concert at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, USA.

October 16: Keep Spinning 2019 World Tour concert at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, USA.

October 26: “Love Loop“ MV filming.

Fuse

By mid-month, the members are completely done recording for their new mini-album and have moved on to learning the “Umpah Umpah” choreography in order to be ready for their comeback next month. The concept of their comeback still seems questionable for late fall and the first fittings of the intended outfits for promotions present a mix of summery dresses and crop top styling for the music video as well as a selection of intended stage outfits that don’t seem to know whether they’re going for the summery feel of the music video outfits or something more appropriate for the fall season they’ll be promoting in. Overall, management feels messy this comeback, but that hasn’t stopped the company from letting the members know in their own way that now that they’ll no longer be competing with Origin during promotions as initially anticipated and Femme Fatale’s smash summer comeback has vacated the very top spots of the charts, they’re expected to make this comeback a hit for its more public friendly sound. Regardless of how messy management seems to be for them this time around, Gold Star has chosen to accept an offer for Fuse to serve as tourism ambassadors between Switzerland and South Korea. Their duties haven’t begun in earnest yet, but they will attend a formal ceremony to be appointed to the position, an event that’s more for mediaplay than out of true necessity.

Important dates:

October 5: Performance at Gwangyang K-Pop Super Concert at Gwangyang Public Stadium in Gwangyang, South Korea.

October 11: Performance at Changwon K-Pop World Festival in Changwon, South Korea (also performing: Alien).

October 24: Switzerland Tourism Ambassador Appointment Ceremony at Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea.

October 29: Comeback outfit fittings.

Element

No word on a comeback for Element yet, confirming they’ll only have one digital single to show for the year musically after “Bomb Bomb” failed to become their breakout hit. There’s no word on Gold Star contacting composers for new songs for them either, but when even management for Origin and Fuse has been messy lately, it’s only to be expected Element will suffer too. They’re scheduled to continue touring overseas in November and December, but this month, they don’t even have that to look forward to. Instead, their personal team is still brainstorming ways to expand their fandom and have decided to give them a test run of their own YouTube series on the company channel to “show their hidden charm points”. Before bringing managerial structure into it, they’ve tasked all of the members to shoot their own vlog in a category of their choice (e.g. mukbang, gaming, Q&A, challenge, daily vlog). They should film one by themselves and one with at least one other member. Ultimately, only the vlogs deemed interesting enough will be posted to test the waters of fan interest in more Youtube content in the form of a series. Outside of their own content creation, they’ve been booked on RUN.wav, where they’ll give a performance of “Bomb Bomb” and showcase covers of “24K Magic” and “Side to Side” they’ve previously performed on tour. During the interview portion, they’ll talk about how their predebut project prepared them for debut, the challenges of being a co-ed group personally and musically, and their touring experience.

Important dates:

October 11: Filming of RUN.wav (to be aired October 19).

Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale’s Japanese tour continues throughout the month with dates in Fukuoka and Chiba (please see August’s schedule for their assigned solo stages), leaving them only their first ever dome concert in December to finish their Japanese tour. While in Japan, they are scheduled to shoot a magazine photo shoot and film a CF, both aimed at the Japanese market. They have their first ever concerts in Seoul next month to begin their In Your Area World Tour, which will introduce some changes to members solo stages from what they’ve performed so far. Some stay the same or retain certain aspects while others change entirely. Again, the members are allowed input, but the stages are ultimately management’s decision. For the beginning of their world tour, the members also have fittings for new stage outfits.

Main rapper/lead vocal - Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You - (pt. 2) [No change from Japanese arena tour]

Main vocal/lead dancer - Let It Be / You & I / Only Look At Me [Completely changed from Japanese arena tour]

Maknae/main dancer/lead rapper - I Like It / Faded / Attention [Some changes from Japanese arena tour]

*special note*: She will also begin to practice Take Me / Swalla stage which will be her solo stage beginning at their Bangkok concerts onward in 2020.

Lead vocal - Clarity [Completely changed from Japanese arena tour]

Important dates:

October 9: Photo shoot for JJ Magazine Japan  November issue.

October 10: Femme Fatale Arena Tour at Kokusai Center in Fukuoka, Japan.

October 11: Femme Fatale Arena Tour at Kokusai Center in Fukuoka, Japan.

October 12: ABCMart CF filming.

October 15: World tour stage outfit fittings.

October 18: Femme Fatale Arena Tour at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

October 19: Femme Fatale Arena Tour at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. 

October 20: Femme Fatale Arena Tour at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

[arbs-high-quality-translations]

Aqours at AX: A really good idea gone really bad

TL;DR: AX is a really good idea for everyone involved. Except the seiyuu. It’s terrible for them.

Never thought my next long post would be about this.

Let’s get this clear first: I’m not mad about missing an event. I’m not getting FOMO. I’m looking at this from an objective standpoint and laying down the reasons why I think this is not a good move by staff. I’ve made these arguments before, but this is going to be my way of solidifying these points and expanding on them in more than just 280 characters. 

I will occasionally edit information in this post if more details about the AX live are released, but for the most part the points here will remain intact. All changes will be noted.

The Schedule in Question

Let’s take a look at what’s on Aqours’ plate for that week.

July 4: AX July 7: Fukuoka Day 1 July 8: Fukuoka Day 2

Well, you knew this part already. But those are just the performance days themselves. Let’s add in the flights if they really do a short trip in LA. 

July 3: Fly from Japan to LA July 4: AX July 5: Fly from LA to Japan July 5: Fly into Fukuoka July 7: Fukuoka Day 1 July 8: Fukuoka Day 2 Already not looking pretty. What we have to also account for, however, is timezone differences and live prep. Last year they landed a day before AX. Let’s add those in. June 18 -  July 2: Prep for two different lives along with any solo work July 3: Fly from Japan to LA July 3: Land in LA due to saving a day from timezones July 3: Standard dress rehearsal/stage test for AX July 4: AX July 5: Fly from LA to Japan July 6: Land in Japan due to losing a day from timezones July 6: Fly into Fukuoka July 6: Standard dress rehearsal/stage test for Fukuoka July 7: Fukuoka Day 1 July 8: Fukuoka Day 2 I can’t even figure out if it’s possible for them to do rehearsal for Fukuoka. That’s a big red flag. But you might think that if they compress the schedule as much as possible, they could possibly get to Fukuoka on the night of the 5th and rehearse on the 6th. Let’s take a look at that.

The Flights in Question

Given that these is a proper live, I would say it’s reasonable to assume that they don’t arrive the day of the actual event. Give them, at the bare minimum, a day before the event to settle down and get ready for a full length concert. No clue yet on what that means for AX, but 2-3 hours long doesn’t seem out of the question. Anything shorter and you’ve just scammed a few thousand livers.

If they arrive in LA on the morning of the 3rd (a day before, just like last time) they would need to fly out of Japan on the 3rd to compensate for timezones. Any earlier and they risk getting too acclimated to the timezone difference. Nonstop flights such as these:

seem like the best option. Not too early, not too late. They get the afternoon of the 3rd and the morning of the 4th to do anything they need. Then they perform.

The issue begins after that.

Let’s assume the live starts at about the same time again, around 6 or 7 in the evening. Add in the classic AX late start and a few delays here and there, a few delays for costume changes (it’s a full live after all) and your end time is now around 9 or 10. But we have VIP! Surely we’ll get some event for that. Add another hour, taking us to 10 or 11 before their performance obligations are even done.

Change and go straight to LAX. Surprise! It’s July 4th. Americans will know how awful the traffic is. The 20 minute drive from Microsoft Theater over to LAX is now possibly double that. The absolute earliest that Aqours can arrive at the airport is 11 PM.

Wait a second...

It’s impossible for them to fly out of LAX on the night of the 4th. They certainly can take that 1:20 AM flight in the early hours of the 5th, though. Assume they take that. Now we’ve arrived at Haneda airport in the early hours of the 6th, but that’s not where our event is. Take another flight to Fukuoka out of Haneda. Those are pretty easy to come by, but they could arrive in Fukuoka at mid-day at the earliest. Now we have another half-day on the 6th, and another half day on the 7th. Then two full days of lives.

I don’t care how superhuman you are. Three flights in three days, with two of them international, by itself will already fuck your body up. I’ve done it a few times going from Kuching to San Francisco with three flights, and it is absolute hell. And that was during summer break, when I was just being a fat fuck and sitting around doing nothing. The seiyuu have to perform three full concerts with this schedule. I’m just reading it on paper and I already don’t want to do it.

There is, however, one way to make it all more possible.

The Setlist in Question

There are two possibilities for the AX setlist: either perform older songs or perform 3L exclusives. Historically, we’ve trended towards the former. Don’t ask me why they do it, but they do. But now the seiyuu have to practice two completely different setlists, with potentially 30-40 different songs to practice for that week of lives. I doubt the number will get that big due to overlap, but you can see how this can go wrong very quickly.

Alternatively, they can perform a bunch of songs from the 3L setlist. Since they’ve been performed already, they’re mostly fair game for international lives. But this is unexplored territory. The only historical event we can look to HPT is at Anisama in the middle of 2L, and that’s a completely different beast from what we’re talking about here. And even with an AX setlist that borrows heavily from 3L, the travel and scheduling issues still stand.

B-b-but arb! You just showed us that it’s possible! It’s not overwork! Other idol groups do this all the time! 

Just because other groups do it doesn’t make it any better. We’ve seen the effects of overworked idols (remember Keyaki at Kouhaku?) and it’s definitely not pretty.

The Benefits in Question

Of course, there are benefits to growing a fanbase and bringing more events to international fans. I’m all for growing the community here in NA (with a few exceptions; you know who you are). More livers are always welcome. It makes everything more fun.

But for the companies, what expansion boils down to is pure revenue. In the long run, this makes money for Lantis, for Bandai, and for everyone involved. Is the revenue and growth really worth putting your cash cow franchise’s members through all of this? If the answer is yes, then I have serious questions that I want to direct at management.

There’s nothing I can do about all of this. It’s a decision completely out of my sight and out of my hands. If staff thinks this is okay, then I’ll let them be the judge. But I’m not going to be quiet.

Edit Log: Turns out Bushiroad doesn’t make money from the event. Bandai does, though.

[pinkniall]

Why do you miss 1D since you love Niall so much and he was constantly left in the background in 1D? Do you really want him back to that?

I feel I have answered these things so many times now but oookay listen. I think that what most people get wrong is that... they think that when people say “Oh I miss 1D and want them back” we are saying “YES I want 1D back, with the boys forced to overwork themselves, with the boys getting labeled and decided on what to do, where they have to constantly hear about how they aren’t good enough and did I mention overworked?” because... that’s not at all what people are saying. Or, at least not what I AM saying.

Niall was put in the background in 1D, yes. Same for Louis, basically. This is normal in every boyband that has been massproduced like 1D has been, from Take That and the Backstreet Boys in the 90′s to now. This doesn’t mean, that if a band takes a break and decides to come back together, they go back to the exact same thing.

1D is different, yeah. I have never seen a band that has ALL members successfully going solo like they have and I’m living seeing them all shine in their best way. And listen, the best thing about them hopefully coming back (which I say FOR THE FUTURE. LIKE, IF IT TAKES TEN MORE YEARS I AM F I N E WITH THAT.) is that they can be free of having the whole team of Simon Cowell or management or whoever it is telling them they HAVE to be a certain way and threatening them that if they don’t, they won’t become successful.

Backstreet Boys released a brilliant movie you should all see called ‘Show ‘em what you’re made of’ which they released when they did their comeback with Kevin. They talk alot about how they were overworked back in their prime, how they were forced to go from concert to concert, tour to tour, not even finishing one thing until they were back in the studio writing a new album. They didn’t stop to celebrate winning, or selling out shows, it was just THE NEXT THING NEXT THING NEXT THING and they were constantly told that well, if you don’t do this, it’s over for you guys. Brian Litrell had OPEN HEART SURGERY and they didn’t cancel shows. After basically no rehab, he was back on stage. AJ overdosed and had the worst drug issues and... it basically changed nothing for their work schedules either. And, as all boybands, they had people put in the back. Howie D, that had been the frontman when they first started, tells a lot of interesting stuff on how with the ‘new sound’ they put him waaay in the back, gave him no solos, no chance to shine and all focus was on the other four guys (and mostly, of course, on Brian and Nick, the cutest and youngest of the group). So, when they were doing their comeback, they decided to do it by themselves. They didn’t even go through like a label, they did it all with their own money and hired their own people and had long talks on what works for them now. Howie speaks a lot about how he was VERY upfront with that if they were doing this, he needed things to change, and no more of some people being pushed to the back as some were favourites. And the guys accepted that of course, and they released new material, had new shows, and everything where THEY ALL GOT TO SHINE. They even had one tour where they each got to sing their solo material. (only Nick ever got any recognition for solo stuff though but eh)

Anyway, what I’m saying is... I mean I get it. I really really understand the fear of getting 1D back and worrying that maybe it will be the same but I think we need to have some faith in that when/if the boys decide to come back it’s all for THEM. And for us. And they all know now what they can go, they know they are each capable of getting no. 1s, winning awards, selling out shows and getting loads of streams on their brilliant music. So... I am 100 % sure that if they come back, they really won’t be going back to what they were because it will be up to THEM now. Not someone that wants to use them as cash cows for a few years. This will be for them and I feel that they will do this amazingly. I really do.

(also please watch the BSB movie it’s brilliant)

[taegiiseok]

I've seen a lot of people on here lately saying that bighit is just as bad as other companies for the way they treat jin. Now I think that how they treat jin is shitty obviously, but I think it's untrue to say that bighit it JUST as bad as other companies. I'm not excusing their actions bc tbh I'm beyond pissed but like...I just don't think they're just as bad as others.

hey nonnie

So I have to say that the way they treat jin is… a very touchy thing. I agree that it’s beyond shitty, and that it makes my blood boil just thinking about the ways he’s ignored or mistreated, but I also think you have a point in saying that it doesn’t make them as bad as other companies.

It’s true that Jin has said he’s written for each album and was only allowed to finally have one of his compositions on Wings, and that he even had to fight to have that allowed when every member was getting a solo anyways.

It’s true that Jin gets majorly screwed over on lines and solo time, (this is something that i get rlly upset about because the reasoning that they give jin and us is just straight up bullshit tbh) but that’s no different from what other companies to do other groups and some of their members that they think fit their “brand” less than the members that they repeatedly shove front and center.

It’s true that Jin was told to diet heavily in the beginning, but that can also be said for every other member of bangtan. When the boys debuted they were all significantly underweight, and a few of them have grown to have very unhealthy ideals for what they should look like at all times.

It’s true that Jin didn’t get to go to his college graduation (which was a very big deal because bts tour and promote and are constantly working so graduating from college while doing all of that is a big accomplishment), because they had a performance scheduled on an awards show, and that he looked very upset about that in the vlive they let him do in some sort of consolation.

It’s true that Jin majored in acting, still hasn’t debuted as an actor, and also hasn’t been given very much visual support from bighit as a company in pursuit of that.

And as for other incidences that make bighit look bad that don’t concern jin specifically, I can only bring up that incident with kookie being threatened with what looked like a smack by that manager, and that manager promptly being fired. We don’t have hard facts to support that the boys are (or have been) as starved and overworked as some of the bigger companies have done to their trainees and idols. We don’t have stories from past trainees stating that they were beat when they got choreo wrong. We don’t have enough facts to say that bighit is as bad as some of the more notoriously bad companies.

All I can say with 100% belief is that jin gets mistreated compared to the other boys, and he doesn’t speak up enough against it, and neither do a lot of armys. As for the rest, it’s all people jumping to even larger statements because they’re angry, which frankly speaking, I can’t blame them for. This all makes bighit look really bad, but does it make them look just as bad as other companies? Honestly I can’t say that it does, but I can’t say that with certainty either because we only see a small percentage of what actually goes on.

At the end of the day tho, bighit is a company and they have their faults. I can’t say that they’re as bad as the other companies, but I do think they’re far from perfect, and that they way they treat jin is definitely less than favorable. I think we can all agree that kim seokjin deserves better.