#oh and also first by everglow

[disasterbiwriter]

Okay, so first, if you're not reading @sarabethsilver's Everglow, you absolutely should be.

Additionally, a hat tip to her because her Mo Willems name drop in the latest chapter inspired this goofy little headcannon that I just came up with: namely, Jess Mariano is anti Mo Willems.

Setting the scene: Rory is pregnant, Jess is supportive. No plot, just vibes!

Enjoy!

“Overrated.”

Rory’s jaw falls open. “Get out.”

“I’m just saying.” Jess gently lays There is a Bird on Your Head! in the pile to his left.

Rory snatches it up again and presses it to her chest. “Iconoclast. Contrarian. Meanie!”

“Excuse me, did you call me here to ask you to sort Cletus’s library or not?”

She pouts up at him from her spot on the floor. “I did. I think I also threatened you with violence if you didn’t stop calling my unborn child Cletus.”

“Did you? I must’ve missed that.”

“Jess,” Rory whines. “Mo Willems. He wrote for Sesame Street. You watched Sesame Street four times a day when you were little!”

Jess leans forward in the chintzy glider Luke and Lorelai brought over earlier that week and flutters his fingers towards the low modular bookshelves lining one wall of the nursery. “And you have two other Mo Willems titles on the shelf already. I let you convince me on Knufflebunny—”

“This is the new version, with the updated dedication to Trix!”

“—and begrudgingly accepted that We Are in a Book is a solid introduction to metaliterature—”

“Begrudgingly?!”

“—but I’m putting my foot down here. Do not let the weed of Elephant Gerald choke out the rest of your literary garden, Mother Gilmore.”

“Oh, okay, let’s just add a threat of violence for using the phrase Mother Gilmore to your account.”

He laughs and shudders. “Yeah, I kinda squicked myself out on that one too.”

“So, should we consider the rest of your argument moot then? I think we should.”

“Rory, you have no more space. Are you telling me with a straight face that you’re not buying any more books between now and when the kid finally makes an appearance?”

She starts to answer him, but gives a funny little strangled yelp instead.

Immediately Jess is kneeling next to her. “What?!”

But Rory’s laughing. “Nothing, nothing. They just kicked. Hard, too.”

She doesn’t wait for permission, rather grabs his wrist and presses his hand to the lower right side of her stomach. They mutually ignore the jump of their pulses.

They wait a beat, and then:

“Oh shit!”

“Right?!”

“Mia Hamm in there.”

She smiles. “Hand me the little notebook off the nightstand? There should be a pen too.”

He unfolds himself from the floor and crosses to the other side of the room. “Counting kicks?” he asks her as he hands her both items. “Isn’t it a little early?”

Rory squints up at him and flips open the cover. “And how would you know?”

He feigns offense. “Hey, I have known upwards of two pregnant people.”

“Soooo, your mom and… me?”

“Among others.”

She laughs and makes a note on the page. “Twenty-eight weeks is when they suggest you start, so I’m right on schedule.”

“What are you supposed to record?”

(In eight months, on the phone during one of her late-night feedings when she can’t sleep and he’s the only other one awake, he’ll confess he had been reading baby books for the duration of her pregnancy. But that’s eight months away.)

“Oh, you know. Number of kicks, time since the last movement. I’m also trying to track down what the stimuli might be.”

Jess nods. “Very complete.”

She waggles the notebook at him and grins. “It’s not every day you get to record baby’s first objection to a bad take on a book.”

“Oh for…” Jess rolls his eyes and grins. “So you’re just going to, what? Buy another bookshelf for this tiny room?”

She beams at him and holds out her hands. He hauls her to her feet. “See, that’s the kind of outside the box thinking I keep you around for, Mariano.”

[calciumcryptid]

Calcium List of K-Pop Worth a Damn Pt.1

Hello, my beloved mutuals.

It is I, Calcium, who has consumed way too much K-Pop and has opinions on which songs (and by extension artists) are actually worth a damn.

This is part one because there is so much K-Pop to sort through, so this is going to cover female artists whether groups or soloists. These songs range from bubblegum pop to rock, so I do not expect you to enjoy every single one on this list.

In case this breaks containment: Just because a song or artist is not on this list does not mean I think the song or artist is bad. Also, understand this was made specifically for my mutuals and mutuals only.

Important Language Note: When Romanized, the word 'you' in Korean translates to 'nega' and the word 'I' in Korean translates to 'naega'. When said very fast it sounds like the n-word. I promise it is not the n-word, they are saying 'you' or 'I'.

Now, without further ado, my recommendations!

Girl Groups

Come Back Home by 2NE1

Fire by 2NE1

I Am the Best by 2NE1

OOMM (Out of My Mind) by 3YE

Crazy by 4Minute

Hate by 4Minute

Volume Up by 4Minute

Next Level by Aespa

Say My Name by ANS

Come See Me by AOA

%%(Eung Eung) by Apink

Dilemma by Apink

I'm So Sick by Apink

Lalalilala by April

Oh! My Mistake by April

GingaMingaYo by Billie

Ring x Ring by Billie

Crazy Over You by BlackPink

Lovesick Girls by BlackPink

Playing with Fire by BlackPink

Abracadabra by Brown Eyed Girls

Kill Bill by Brown Eyed Girls

Dramatic by Bvndit

Dumb by Bvndit

Devil by CLC

Me by CLC

Love so Sweet by Cherry Bullet

Fri. Sat. Sun. by Dalshabet

Jazz Bar by Dreamcatcher

Scream by Dreamcatcher

La Di Da by Everglow

L.I.E by Exid

Cupid by Fifty Fifty

Lovin' Me by Fifty Fifty

Uh-Oh by (G)I-dle

Nxde by (G)I-dle (Watch the MV, trust me)

Lil' Touch by Girls Generation

The Boys by Girls Generation

Not That Type by Gugudan

Drip by Hinapia

Whatta Man (Good Man) by I.O.I

Wannabe by Itzy

I Am by IVE

Love Dive by IVE

Antifragile by Le Sserafim

Eve, Psyche, and the Bluebeard's Wife by Le Sserafim

The Great Mermaid by Le Sserafim

Eye to Eye by Limelight

Wave by Limesoda

Butterfly by LOONA

So What by LOONA

Hip by Mamamoo

Décalcomaine by Mamamoo

Gogebebe by Mamamoo

Bad Girl Good Girl by Miss A

Hush by Miss A

Bboom Bboom by Momoland

Girls by Nature

Ditto by NewJeans

Hype Boy by NewJeans

Catallena by Orange Caramel

Poison by PinkFantasy

Get It by Pristin V

Nerdy by Purple Kiss

Zombie by Purple Kiss

Dr. Feel Good by Raina

Automatic by Red Velvet

Feel My Rhythm by Red Velvet

Psycho by Red Velvet

Bouncy by Rocket Punch

Touch My Body by Sistar

After School by Weekly

Picky Picky by Weki Meki

Female Soloists

Make Up Your Mind by Ailee

Kazino by BIBI (Watch the MV, trust me)

Vengeance by BIBI

Gotta Go by Chung Ha

Killing Me by Chung Ha

Rollercoaster by Chung Ha

Hello Bitches by CL

Twit by Hwasa

Maria by Hwasa

Picture by Hyo

Dally by Hyolyn

Lilac by IU

What Type of X by Jessi

Plant by KimSejeong

Glitch by Kwon Eunbi

Knock by Lee Chae Yeon

Alien by Lee Suhyun

Eclipse by Moon Byul

On the Ground by Rosé

Spit It Out by Solar

Villain by Stella Jang

Heroine by Sumni

Mr. Stranger by Sumni

Tail by Sumni (Watch the MV, especially my DC mutuals. Trust me, you are going to want to watch the MV.)

INVU by Taeyeon

Spark by Taeyeon

Perfume by Yubin

Overall Artist Recommendations + Explanations

Apink: South Korea's music industry has a problem allowing their female artists to mature over time, but APink has a good blend between the bubblegum pop sound and some of the most beautiful vocals you'll ever hear.

BlackPink: This is going to be controversial, but I found them to be a good (metaphorical) gateway drug. I recommend listening to their first album The Album, but whatever you do skip Ice Cream.

Chung Ha: I cannot emphasize how much I love her entire discography. Most of the soloist listings would have just been her and Sumni if I wasn't self-regulating myself.

Dreamcatcher: Dreamcatcher has come to be known as "The Face of Rock in K-pop", and they deserve the title with the bangers they put out. Not to flex, but I've been a fan since their debut in 2017 and I'm not letting go anytime soon.

NewJeans: This girl group is inspired by 1990s-2000s pop, and it shows in the way everything they make is criminally catchy. If you want to feel like the beginning of a teen movie, they are the go to group to go to.

Sumni: She is my favorite soloist, and most of the soloist listings would have just been her and Chungha if I wasn't self-regulating myself.

That is it for part one, even though I know I am going to be kicking myself later for leaving out some songs but I hope my mutuals appreciate my list.

The next part will be boy groups and soloists. :)

Now to figure out where to cut this.

@insomniac-jay @opalofoctober

[jaeyunluvr]

top 5 concepts you have seen in kpop (plus which group did it best)

okay im not that aware and clear about concepts so pls do not mind a messy answer, also i guess most of them are based on the overall vibe of the song + the mv. thanks for the ask moon bby <3

the so called noise music: yes it's a concept for me, i love it so very much. my fav songs/groups: chain by nct 127 (my kings of noise music). miroh by stray kids (the princes of noise music). my turn by cravity (they're so underrated like fucking hell). bad habits by cravity (serim stop whispering). maverick by the boyz. the list is endless trust me.

mature/sexy: it's very professional how they perform mature concepts tbh my fav songs/groups: be natural by red velvet (they slayed so bad it's never gonna come back). love killa by monsta x (on my knees as we speak). lil touch by oh!gg (it's quite elegant too).

school concepts: the one w uniforms and first crushes (it's sO cute). my fav songs/groups: mansae by seventeen. my first and last by nct dream. growl by exo.

female badass (?)/ girl crush: as clichè as it is, they always slay. my fav songs/groups: hobogoblin by clc. bad boy by red velvet (though the track isn't as heavy as the others, it's very much insane). crazy by 4minute (nobody does it like them pls). the boys by girls generation. first by everglow. (tbh this concept speaks for itself literally every song is so iconic.)

creepy/eerie/dark: it's so interesting oh god my fav songs/groups: memem by purple kiss. every dreamcatcher song ever. jungle by cix (totally based on the mv). obsession by exo. special mentions retro: groovy by cravity (i love love them so damn much). home run by seventeen. cinema by cix. idk how to explain this concept but they give you a nostalgic + a calm aesthetic which still troubles you with sorrow: salty by the boyz. lovesick girls by blackpink. dear dream by nct dream.

[fairyeunji]

Another list of groups/soloists who need a comeback immediately (as of Feb 2024):

Alice/Elris - Not only have we not had a comeback since APRIL of 2023, but Do-A and Yeonje are still on hiatus with basically no updates????? Ngl, I'm getting a teeny tiny bit worried about them

AOA - .....wishful thinking. never gonna happen. just leave me to cry

Apink - Not too worried about this tbh, even their last comeback was April of 2023, it's natural for a group that's lasted so long to focus more on individual releases and solo work. I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon, and I'm happy with a yearly album. Still, I do think it's time for the comeback lol

Apink CHOBOM - Again, wishful thinking. One of the best sub-units of all times, I NEED another Copycat

ARTMS - They are preparing for their debut, but I just need it to happen quicker

Billlie - Hear me out, this one is specific - OT7 comeback or nothing. Sua and Suhyeon come back, the kids miss you....

Blackswan - Karma and Cat & Mouse were 10/10, DR is literal dogshit but cmon, Blackswan go viral on twitter every five minutes

BB Girls/Brave Girls - I feel like they re-debuted/re-launched and disappeared???

bugAboo - never taking them off this list, idc if they're all doing separate things and have re-debuted, i am putting my hands over my ears and closing my eyes so that i can live in delusional peace

Cherry Bullet - Going off their once a year comeback strategy, this should actually be happening sometime soon. Cherry Dash was March 2023, so who knows?

Choi Yoojung - if Weki Meki aren't allowed to have a comeback, give Yoojung something, I'm begging

Chung Ha - this is long overdue, I need her to release bare & rare pt. 2 immediately

CLASS:y - I know they released a barely-promoted winter single a while back, but their last proper comeback was October 2022. That's so fucking long ago.

CLC - CLC reunion??? who said that??? pls i'm begging

CSR - Not too optimistic, most of the members have been shipped off to a survival show. Sucks cause CSR had a really strong start, but their promotion went really quickly downhill after Shining Bright

DreamNote - I'm just tired..... please.... I'll take a digital single atp

EL7Z-UP - Hasn't been that long since they debuted, but I still would love a comeback lol

Everglow - my ult of all ults do something. Me and every other forever on twitter are rocking in the corner and predicting april for the next comeback

Fifty Fifty (the ACTUAL group, not the brand) - 3jeong return pls. not to attrakt, just to releasing music. keena pls leave that company, i'm literally begging.

Fromis_9 - Unlock My World was June, Hybe it's been a while. We all know you hate Fromis, but do your job. Give the people what they want

Geenius - They debuted last month lol, but I just can't wait for their first comeback. I loved Voyage so much, so I'm definitely tuning in for any comebacks whenever they may happen

Gfriend - I will beg.

Girls Generation - again, delusion. 20th anniversary???? please???

Girls Generation Oh!GG - why did they evaporate into thin air, sm.

GOT the Beat - bring them backkkkkk

IOI - there's always more room for delusions guys. they're totally gonna have a comeback guys. it'll happen i promise, i saw it in a dream

Iz*One - same here. a talking cat told me they would have a comeback.

Jeon Soyeon - she's overworked as hell, so i do not want this, but i also really really really would love another solo album

K/DA - Riot stop picking random groups to release theme songs, bring back the mothers themselves

KARD - i just think it'd be neat

Kep1er - the fact that we only have 6 months left is sickening. genuinely. i need a full album

Kiss of Life - whenever they get around to it tbh, not too worried.

Kwon Eunbi - please please please go back to glitch and door

Lee Chaeyeon - I just love her songs, they're so fun. Let's Dance was September, so sometime soon???

Lee Hi - I am on my hands and knees please give us an album

Loona - delusions.... i think you mean truth

Loossemble - need this soon or else

Mamamoo - mothers come home

NewJeans - I was so surprised when I actually realised it's been a hot minute since Get Up came out... like 7 months is weirdly long

Pixy - an actual comeback pleak

Purple Kiss - can we go back to horror now, 7heaven was cute but not what we all love

Rocket Punch - yeonhee get back in that building and remember your roots

Weki Meki - not even gonna say anything...

Wendy - one of 3 people who can release a full ballad album that I will enjoy

WJSN - this is a need

Yuju - up there with wendy

[onyourm-u]

Brutally Analyzing EPEX’s Stage Presence Archetypes

Another typical day of scrolling videos on Youtube. One video I came across was from the username "everglow-up." I knew the clickbait-y title would lure me into her channel, but boy did I find the video interesting and informative.

This video was particularly talking about Billlie's Stage Presence Archetypes based on the following:

Aura (Feminine vs Masculine)

Energy Type (Overt vs Covert)

Energy Type (Overt vs Covert)

Presence Type (Dominant vs Charismatic vs Sensual)

If you'd like a deep dive into those concepts, go ahead and check out the video I have linked above, or check out this video of hers as well.

I have also seen her do an analysis of other groups like EXO and Red Velvet, but I haven't seen her do EPEX or NCT (which I might make a blog on in the future).

I will mainly focus on EPEX's Stage Presence Archetypes using those concepts.

Disclaimer: This is not to determine whether a member's presence is good or bad, but I will point out some of their weak points. I am not writing this to hate on any member nor will sugarcoat any of my takes. If you disagree with any of these, it's okay—just don't be a jerk about it. If you want to, then don't read this.

Ayden

Masculine Overt Charismatic

As a performer, Ayden seems underappreciated. He has one of the best stage presence in the group. Similar to Keum, he also has the perfect balance of almost everything. He tends to maintain great consistency and energy level throughout every performance. His strong facial expressions and body language are in perfect harmony.

At the same time, those facial expressions are appropriate for each concept. When he needs to exhibit the cutesy "Noona's Cat," he becomes this little dancing ball of fur, especially with his fluffy platinum-blonde hair. Oh, man!! It was such a joy to watch. When he needs to exude a dark "Rebellious Wolf," he turns a 180. He would give you passion and hardcore. In other words, he is a versatile performer. His fancams are never tiring to watch.

Overall, the issue with his stage presence would be his face looks too aggressive sometimes. But it's not bothersome enough to ruin his performances.

Keum

Masculine Overt Dominant-Charismatic

The first thing that I thought when I saw Keum's stage presence was, "I love it!" From facial expressions to body language, he has the perfect balance in almost any aspect. He knows what facial expressions are suitable for each concept and do these effortlessly without seeming too intense.

I've seen his performances in Produce X 101, and they were crème de la crème. His Dominant side started to manifest during Believer, and integrating it with his Charismatic facial expressions was just on point. As for Super Special Girl, it showed how he can smoothly adapt to a wide range of concepts.

Under normal circumstances, performers look dead when they stop moving their faces. But with Keum, he manages to capture my attention regardless.

On the other hand, his stage presence comes with extraneous factors despite carrying out consistently good performances. His wardrobe styling and hair color choices could be the leading contributors to this. While everyone else had hair and outfits with vivid colors, he stuck to the monotonous palette during Do 4 Me era. This made him visually overshadowed by (for lack of a better word) more multicolored members like Baekseung or Ayden. I wish he had a more striking hair color other than blond with brighter concepts.

Wish

Masculine Overt Charismatic-Sensual

Wish is like the Overt version of EXO Xiumin. He has both strong facial expressions and body language whenever he performs. He tends to move in an "in your face" manner with a hint of such subtlety.

The performance that really showcased his Sensual side is Lone Wolf. That song was totally made for him. He had pink hair at the time they performed it on music shows, but the fact that he had black hair during their Seoul concert was such a cherry on top. It really helped in strengthening his overall stage presence.

However, the issue with Wish's stage presence is consistency. They tend to be what I call "all or nothing." One minute, he outperforms everyone, and then the next, his facial expressions are almost nonexistent. This happens when the camera pans away from him. He also seems to struggle with versatility, which becomes apparent when the song does not suit his stage presence archetype. He was quite too seductive in cute songs like Do 4 Me because he doesn’t have the right facial expressions, and was boring to watch on Hymn to Love because he didn’t have any.

Baekseung

Masculine Covert Charismatic

Baekseung possesses strong facial expressions. But unlike other Charismatic performers, his body language does not come across as “in your face.” Hence, I classify him as a Covert performer.

Despite his passive energy type, he was able to attract enough attention from the audience through his looks and hair color. This case was most evident with his long pink hair during Do 4 Me era. Apart from the fact that it makes him look like a real-life AI, it is one of the contributing factors to accentuating his naturally Charismatic stage presence.

Although Baekseung managed to maintain the same energy level throughout performances, versatility is something that he needs to work on. He made the facial expressions work for each performance, but he has been doing the exact same set for songs with totally different vibes. For instance, he winks and sticks his tongue out during AOTS (a dark hardcore song) the way he does with Do 4 Me (a light funky one).

Jeff

Masculine Overt Dominant-Charismatic

Jeff manages to balance both his Dominant side and Charismatic side. I was confused about classifying him as either one of the two at first. His facial expression is either too strong for a Dominant performer or too subtle for a Charismatic performer. Thus, I came to the conclusion that he is both.

He relies a lot on body language without having to become as expressive as other Charismatic performers. Even if he becomes as expressive, he does it with great timing. But for the most part, he furrows his brows and intensely stares into the camera for the entirety of each performance, which I'd like to call the "Squinty Eyebrows."

In that sense, it's both a pro and a con. It's a pro because even if he doesn't do much with his face, he doesn't come across as boring. Similar to Baekseung, it's a con because THAT'S IT. That's all he does whenever he performs. He may do a little aegyo or the double squinty brows and all that jazz. But other than that, he's bringing nothing new to the table.

A-Min

Feminine Covert Dominant-Sensual

Being the only Feminine performer in the group, one thing I like about A-Min is that he has great chemistry with a group full of masculine performers. Despite the difference in stage presence aura, he blends in so well since he is a Covert performer. There are three other Covert performers in the group, making him not seem entirely invisible in performances.

A-Min doesn't do much with his face but projects it through his body language instead. He has both loud and subtle movements without making it seem "in your face," which I think is still interesting to watch. This, in turn, makes him both a Dominant and a Sensual performer. Lone Wolf is THAT performance that he absolutely nailed along with Wish, another Sensual performer. Whoever thought of making them do a dance duet in the intro is such a genius. It really displayed their sensual sides so well.

However, I thought A-Min would show off his cuter side in songs with lighter concepts. But nah...he remained constant. He manages to keep a stable level of energy but lacks versatility. He does the same thing as he usually does with more serious concepts, making him less fascinating to watch. This is quite a shame because he has the potential to be more cutesy in a more Dominant performer way.

Yewang

Masculine Covert Dominant

Like other Dominant performers, Yewang relies more on body movements. His facial expression would sometimes complement his overall stage presence (Not to be confused with Charismatic performers. They treat facial expressions as the main course of their stage presence, while Yewang's is a side dish).

However, he would come across as aloof (even more than MU) whenever he missed the right timing for the expressions. Either he stares at the camera and does the "squinty brows" the way Jeff does, or he looks straight-up dead.

He managed to improve some of these aspects in just a year. Just look at his fancams in No Questions compared to Hymn to Love. He was a bit dull and boring on the former, but he had a better grasp of what to do on the latter. He had better timing for using his face and toned his gaze down a bit, and it's not boring at all. He still needs to work on his longevity and consistency. He sometimes struggles to retain the same energy in the long run.

MU

Masculine Covert Dominant

MU, like Yewang, tends to use facial expressions to complement his stage presence. Except, it doesn't work at all. In other words, he is a Dominant performer trying hard to exude Charisma. This is why watching his fancams often felt like watching a triangle trying to fit into a round hole (particularly during the AOTS era). He emphasized his facial expressions so much that they came across as unnatural. While it is supposed to aid his stage presence, it just looks so funny and awkward on him.

I get that he wants to go for the vibe of each concept, but I don't think he needs a loud face to do just that. He could just stand there and still be entertaining to watch. All he has to do is rely more on body language. He was able to attain this with his performance during Breathtaking, and it was...breathtaking. It was pleasant to watch, as he did a fantastic job utilizing his stage presence.

On a side note, he still struggles to fit in his Dominant side in EPEX's Dark and Charismatic-heavy concepts, which makes him more aloof than he actually is. He is not a bad performer, just a confused one. He hasn't explored himself as a performer enough to find the right stage presence type. He has a long way to go.

Group Chemistry

EPEX overall has yet to fully establish their chemistry on stage. Despite this, they have a perfect balance of Overt and Covert performers. While they have a balanced number of Dominant, Charismatic, and Sensual performers, there's no doubt that their performances cater to the Charismatic performers. The songs and choreographies are Charismatic-heavy, so it makes sense that members with this archetype stand out the most. It does not help that most of them are Overt performers. Heck, even Baekseung stood out among them. While he is a Covert performer, he is also a Charismatic one.

This does not imply that non-Charismatic performers live in their shadows, as there are Charismatic members who also have another archetype. Keum and Jeff are both Charismatic and Dominant, while Wish is both Charismatic and Sensual. That does not disorient them from Dominant performers, especially A-Min, who is also a Sensual performer.

It would have been better if they had more concepts or choreographies that show their Dominant side, especially when the non-Charismatic Dominant performers are all Covert.

Subjective Takes

I know—it seems like I have written Keum as the one with the best stage presence, but Ayden takes the lead on who is more interesting to watch. Apart from the hair color choice, he tends to bring more charm and color to every concept in comparison. I realized this when I tried to watch another member's fancam (I think it was a Baekseung one). I accidentally saw Keum and Ayden next to each other, but the latter happened to captivate my attention more.

As for the rest, they are great performers. Maybe they're not as excellent as you want them to be now, but there is always room for improvement.

I believe EPEX as a group has so much potential, especially Wish. They are the group whose growth and development would totally look forward to.

After all, it has only been a year since they debuted, and they have six more years to learn and perform better. STAN EPEX!!

[arasokanbina]

Order of favourites:

Title: SLAY

B Sides: Make Me Feel / Oh Ma Ma God

Album rank: B

Album mood: Bold and sweet.

Everglow once again has a bopping title track. However it's their weakest title so far though for me. It's good and I am biased but doesn't beat their previous Pirate. Despite that I do like it especially EU's rap and Sihyeon's beautiful vocals at the end!

It also reminds me a bit of TheFatRat style who they worked with before with Ghost Light which I thought was okay. So this style of sound is just okay for me, it's easy and digestable but I like a more flavour regardless of the taste (genre).

It is a shame our girls didn't get even a mini album considering they've been in the dungeon for a year +.

Both the B sides are really nice and cute tracks and I like them a lot! However I'm big on theme and yes although I was unaware it was a single album till now, having the strong name and aesthetics of a girl power single I was expecting it to follow that theme. It's a typical thing kpop and pop does where they have the concept all on one track but everything else doesn't match and it does annoy me but it's usually okay and when it's a mini album there's more to tuck in to. It's not that major, I just find it a bit jarring. And I'm very happy and pleased when groups follow a theme completely and with high quality.

Still considering it's Yuehua and after the long wait I was expecting more for OUR girls, they deserve it. Regardless the members have once again have done amazing for us and I can only hope this is a step towards more content again. And hello Yuehua, we still need a lightstick!

I also want to note that Last Melody was also a single but this was before the big break and Return of the Girl came right after so my expectation wasn't as thirsty.

🗒Notes: As usual I might add more later and there is probably some spelling and grammar mistakes.

🗒️Notes 2: The '/' do mildly set the rankings of each track higher than the next but they're all the same level. So all rank 1 songs are all rank 1 but the first one is slightly higher than the next in line if there is one. On that note a lower number song doesn't mean it's bad, after all I give an overall ranking at the end. It's a lot to do with how much I'll relisten to a song as well. So for example a lot of ballads are good but I rarely listen to them unless they are exceptional for my tastes.

[starchild--27]

8, 48, 49 and 59 ♡ 🎶

8. Is there an artist or song that you like, despite being of a genre you don't usually like?

ok this was pretty hard actually bc there are multiple artists in multiple genres i'm usually not into that i like anyhow xD BUT i think i have found something: Ballad of the Absent Mare by Perla Batalla (ironically, a cover of a Leonhard Cohen song xD)

i mean, "singer-songwriter" is a pretty broad genre and also one i enjoy but this song has elements that are quite usual for traditional german music (which weird bc she's american but ok-). mainly, the accordion. not my favourite instrument. not at all :') but in this song smhw...i can bear it, so i guess this counts xD

48. Who’s an artist you think it’s criminally underrated and deserves more recognition?

ok i thought long and hard about this and i'll just go with the first hunch i had: VIXX. they are not too unknown in the kpop world so they had the chance to actually be rated one way or another - and i think they are underrated.

their songs are catchy, they have solid vocals, Ravi is a real strong and recognizable rapper, they have such pretty visuals and their concepts were so original, dark and gloomy, at times haunted and scary. i really liked that when my friend first showed them to me. and i think they deserved more recognition.

49. Is there a cover you like more than the original version?

oh definitely, there are a few.

This is Halloween by Jonathan Young (org. A Nightmare Before Christmas) -> very seasonal xD

The Man Who Sold The World by Nirvana (org. David Bowie) -> here i really don't like the original btw xD

Harajuku Love by Yungmon (org. by a german YouTuber xD) -> ok here the original is horrible, the cover is so, so different and a lot better

Sun Goes Down by Chanyeol (org. Lil Nas X) -> i love both. i really do. everytime Lil Nas comes up in my Spotify playlist i switch to soundcloud to listen to Yeolie and then switch back to listen to the original xD

basically every cover by Chanyeol xD like Lemon and Creep and All Of Me and the little Californiacation snippet and Heavy and everything on the The Box soundtrack and Everglow and-

59. Do you listen to music when it's raining or do you stop to hear the sound of the rain?

that depends heavily on my emotional condition xD

generally, i do listen to music when it's raining, i also like to match the volume and the music itself to the rain and create my own little asmr.

but when i'm feeling very, very bad, i am quite prone to sensory overload so i cannot listen to most music at all (at least that was the experience over the last couple of years), especially when there is also rain outside.

[everywhere-all-around-the-world]

Not gonna ask about boy groups because I only know names not music, but as for girl groups - what are your 3 favorites from each generation you listen to? (if there's more you know and it's difficult to choose, you can do 5)

Ty for the ask! I'm mostly a third and fourth gen stan here are some of my favs :)) I included some of my favorite songs from the groups as well!

Third gen:

MAMAMOO: (Starry Night, Egotistic, HIP) I love Mamamoo music SO MUCH, they were one of the first kpop groups I listened to! Their vocals are so good and their style of song is right up my alley!

Dreamcatcher: (Deja Vu, BON VOYAGE, Tension) To be honest the songs I most listen to from them come from after their redebut around the start of fourth gen but yeah. I love the concept of their music. I consider Dreamcatcher and older (G)I-DLE to have similar energy! Don't know much about the group itself but I love their music!

TWICE: (CRY FOR ME, Scientist, CHEER UP) I can’t think of a single Twice title track that isn’t good. And their vocals are really strong! Their style of music isn’t what I listen to all the time but sometimes I’m really in the mood for those happy bright vibes yk?

BLACKPINK: (Typa Girl, BOOMBAYAH, Kill This Love) When it comes to girl groups I tend to gravitate more towards vocals, but I'm here for Blackpink's rap tbh. Although I do like some of their more vocal songs as well!

Additional Groups: (Psycho, Peek-A-Boo, HELICOPTER, No) I don't really have another one in this gen that I'm that into but shout out to Red Velvet and CLC too! Don't listen to as much of their music as these other groups but I like what I've heard :)

Fourth gen:

(G)I-DLE: (Lion, Oh My God, Dahlia, HWAA, HANN (Alone)) This might be the only group in this list that I'm like a full stan of. I don't listen to as much of their recent music, I'm more a fan of their stuff from 2017-2021 (this doesn't have anything to do with soojin really, but after that their concept shifted a bit lol) HOWEVER I do like their recent songs as well. I started listening to them around the same time I started listening to Mamamoo and I just love their earlier concepts and style of music!

ITZY: (WANNABE, LOCO, Boys Like You) Another group where I'm more of a fan of their earlier stuff! I listen to a good amount of Itzy, they're my go-to for dancing music. I'm a casual midzy, I like their songs and I think they're really talented!

NMIXX: (DICE, O.O, Run For Roses)This is a group where I fell in love with a couple of their songs and their overall vocals, but I don't listen to a lot of their music. Very talented though!

Additional Groups: (DUN DUN, LA DI DA, ELEVEN, LOVE DIVE) Don't have any others I feel very strongly about but shout out to Everglow and Ive! I have songs I really like from both groups but don't know much about them or listen to a lot of their stuff

One More Additional Group: (Panorama, FIESTA, Secret Story of the Swan) Giving IZ*ONE its own category even though I have around the same interest as Everglow and Ive lol. I like some of their songs as well

Fifth Gen:

I haven't gotten into a lot of fifth gen groups yet but I am staring at Kiss of Life right now. They're very talented. Also Babymonster is a very strong group but I can't say I've found a song I really liked from them yet so I'm keeping my eyes on them too 👀

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 4, Short Hair (AOA) Challenge

Hello and welcome back to the Great Produce 48 Rewatch Recap Thingy! We’re chugging along through our first group challenge mission. We already saw the Love Whisper team, and in the previous post, we saw the Great Peekaboo F*ckup of 2018! Now it’s time for team Short Hair. What terrible, unforgivable, barely noticeable mistake will the MNET editors pick up on this time? Only one way to find out. Let’s dive in! 

We pick up at 16:53 in to episode 4. (Or use this link for it with Spanish subtitles -- best I can do right now, since hte other link doesn't seem to be working.) The whole Peekaboo performance was actually just a pre-credits sequence, as it turns out, and now the episode will… start, I guess. 

Lee Seungki calls the two teams up to the stage. Oh no! They all forgot to wear pants! It’s just like that dream I had the other night!

Team 2, who I’ll call “blue team”, introduce themselves as “High Class.” 

Left to right, they are:

Lee Sian, 19, from Idol School, who fell from C to D and was ranked 18th in episode 3.

Hasegawa Rena, 17, who auditioned alongside Noe, fell from D to F and was ranked 54th.

Imada Mina, 21, from theNever Ending Ferris Wheel group, who rose from D to C and was ranked 64th.

Ahn Yewon, 17, one of the YGK+ models, who has lived in F and is ranked 88th.

Matsuoka Natsumi, 21, also from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who rose from F to C and was ranked 55th. 

(Originally, Tanaka Miku was in this group, but she had to leave due to an injury.)

The red team introduces themselves as “Sneak a Peek.”

Left to right, they are:

Yu Minyoung, 18, the always squinting mint polka dots wearer in Celeb Five who moved from A to B, ranked 32

Jo Yuri, 16, future soloist, the one who fell from A to F, ranked 19th. 

Takahashi Juri, 20, future member of Rocket Punch who auditioned with Mako, rose from B to A and is ranked 29th.

Kim Minseo, 15, yellow polka dots in Celeb Five, stayed in C, ranked 39th

Kojima Mako, 21, auditioned with Playing With Fire, rose from C to B and currently ranked 23rd. 

Kim Sihyeon, 18, future member of Everglow who rose from B to A and is ranked 13th.

Dance Bae notes that Red team has a lot of popular members, but that we never know who will win until the end.

Subtitles: now with 100% more Spanish! 

We zoom back to the practice of group 1 (red team), When we left off, this group was getting along really well and had chosen Juri as their center despite her polite protestations. We go to dance practice, and Dance Bae is NOT HAPPY with Juri’s performance. She stops and asks the group, “She wanted to be center and you let her? But it seems that she has absolutely no idea what she’s doing.” There’s supposed to be a “domino effect” movement -- where each moves in turn down the line -- and Juri is off-beat, ruining the effect. Since she’s in the middle of the line, it really has a major effect. Oh no!! Juri!! Dance Bae makes them do it again and again and again.

I should note that I love Juri from having watched Queendom Puzzle. In the now-times, Juri has a beautiful, smoky-toned voice, a ton of stage presence and charm, and a hilarious 4D personality.  She’s just great. But back in 2018, maybe some of this hadn’t settled in for her yet. 

Juri feels terrible about making her whole team anxious.

Dance Bae says, “I’m sorry but… you’re doing a bad job at the moment. This will hurt your feelings, but I don’t have a choice. With Juri here, you girls will have a problem. “

The editors splice in a picture of some rain to indicate how we’re all feeling.

LTR: Kojima Mako, Kim Minseo, Juri, Yu Minyoung, Jo Yuri, Kim Sihyeon 

Sihyeon stammers a bit, as we hear her voiceover saying that she feels like she’s been doing a terrible job as team leader, and that she’s worried about how sad this is going to make Juri. Before Sihyeon can say anything more, Juri says -- starting off in Korean and switching soon to Japanese -- that though she appreciates the opportunity, she thinks they should change positions to help ensure that the group wins.

Though Juri holds it together when talking to her group, bowing out gracefully, she interviews that she is upset that she didn’t do a good job despite how hard she worked.

They decide to vote for a new center, so they can show Dance Bae something different next time. They’re about to vote (and MNET does some annoying editing, whatever) when Jo Yuri says, “Actually, I think that Juri really suits the center from what I’ve seen, and I know she can get better with more practice.” Everyone seems to agree, and Juri begins to cry in earnest, harder than she cried when she thought she was resigning. 

“Juri, please don’t cry!”

“You can do it!”

Sihyeon says, “It has to be so hard for her. She had to learn a song she’d never heard, and on top of it she was the center. My heart is with her. I think she’d be feeling angry and discouraged if she had to give up the center position this way.”

Juri is grateful for their understanding. She tries again and works hard. Ganbarimasu! 

And then… it’s time for the performance!

Here is PD48 Editing’s blessed edit.

Mako, Yuri, Minyoung, Minseo, Sihyeon, Juri

Clockwise from bottom left: Minseo (kneeling), Minyoung, Mako, Juri, Sihyeon, Yuri (kneeling)

Jo Yuri: main vocal  Takahashi Juri: Sub vocal 1 Kim Sihyeon: sub vocal 2 Kojima Mako: sub vocal 3  Yu Minyoung: Rapper 1 Kim Minseo: Rapper 2

My thoughts: 

Overall, a really good performance, though not necessarily mind blowing or anything like that.  

Vocally, they sounded really good on the whole. Yuri hit the notes cleanly and well, with a nice vocal color, though she didn’t hold the notes quite as long as I think she should have. I mean, she’s 16, it’s fine. Juri’s voice wasn’t like it is nowadays, and that’s ok, she still did well.

The two rappers, Minseo and Minyoung, actually had a lot of energy and sounded about as good as you could hope they would. They also brought a surprising amount of charm and confidence.  

As usual it’s almost impossible to tell if their dance was synchronized because the camera work was focused on their faces, but what I could see looked mostly fine. Here and there I think I noticed Juri a tiny bit behind the beat, dance-wise, unfortunately. 

Stage presence wise, Mako, Juri and Yuri were the weaker spots. Mako had a cute smile that didn’t quite fit the “sexy” feel of the dance, and Juri looked a little scared the whole time, like maybe she was thinking about the dance steps or something. She wasn’t connecting to the performance. Yuri also sort of was just going through the motions. The way she sort of sang a given note and sort of stopped gave this energy:

If I could have stepped in and just changed things, I think I would have put Sihyeon in the center. She performed this like she was a lost member of AOA -- smiling, pouting, flirting, hair flipping, the whole nine. She did great. 

The MNET Edit:

We get a lot of reactions to Yuri’s various high notes, and some shots of the audience loving it in general. Not really any annoying instant replays, either.

The judges gush about how good Yuri was. Soyou says, “I’ve liked her since the beginning.” Dance Bae adds, “She’s a good dancer, too.” 

And that’s where we leave it for now, as Team 2 takes the stage.

Team 2 (Blue Team)

One more time:

Lee Sian, 19, from Idol School, who fell from C to D and was ranked 18th in episode 3.

Hasegawa Rena, 17, who auditioned alongside Noe, fell from D to F and was ranked 54th.

Imada Mina, 21, from the Never Ending Ferris Wheel group, who rose from D to C and was ranked 64th.

Ahn Yewon, 17, one of the YGK+ models, who has lived in F and is ranked 88th.

Matsuoka Natsumi, 21, also from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who rose from F to C and was ranked 55th. 

(Originally, Tanaka Miku was in this group, but she had to leave due to an injury during this rehearsal period.)

When we left off, the Japanese members of the team had chosen Mina to be center over Sian, out of fear that making Sian the center would make them “Sian and the girls.” We were left with the question of whether that was a good decision. 

We dive right in with a voice over from Sian, saying: “At the beginning, I didn’t think it would be that important, but I felt it when we chose the center. The fact that you’re not from here could be an obstacle.” This overlays the shot of the Japanese girls choosing Mina, and this shot…

… Sian trying to teach herself the choreo while the other girls are sitting working on the lyrics.

There’s also this shot:

That’s not a mirror -- that’s a frosted glass wall. Some girls are practicing in the room, and some are practicing in the hall outside. Again, not working together. 

Sian interviews, “I didn’t even know what to do.”

We go to dance rehearsal, and Dance Bae is NOT HAPPY. Their formations are all off, and their synchronization is non-existent. It really shows how little they rehearsed it together,  and Dance Bae says that they’re all basically just doing their own thing. “How could it be so bad if you practiced? Have you practiced hard? Together?” 

Rena interviews, “We couldn’t practice dancing together as a team. The Koreans focused on practicing the choreography, but we Japanese were focusing on memorizing the words.” With different priorities, they were dividing up their time differently. 

We see the girls at dance/rap practice. It’s not great. Mina in particular is clearly having a lot of trouble with the fast rapping. Soyou give them this look:

Then she says, “I don’t really have much to tell you because I couldn’t really hear you well.” She sings a single line twice, once in full voice, and once in a breathy, hard to hear voice, to demonstrate the difference between how they should sound and how they actually sound.

Cheetah, that queen, says, “You’re not really close, are you?” And Sian thinks to herself, oh God, they noticed. It’s my fault because I’m the leader. I kept torturing myself like that.

That night at the dorms, Ah Yewon tells Sian that Cheetah was right -- that they’re not going to get anywhere the way they are, that they have to open up to each other and get closer. Sian decides that she’s right, that they have to try to practice openly together and try to understand each other. 

The next day, they’re in one of the rehearsal rooms, and I think they must have a translator there because Sian is speaking in full speed Korean. 

One of these people has to be a translator, right? Also, note that there are still six girls on the team.

Sian says, “It’s not like we didn’t want to be close. The problem is the language barrier.*

*Me typing this translation of a Spanish subtitle of a Korean sentence spoken to some Japanese speakers is so many layers of language barrier. It'd be even funnier if you, dear reader, are a non-native speaker of English. Especially if you also don't speak Spanish, Korean, or Japanese.

Mina says, “I’ll try more.” (I can’t tell if she’s speaking Japanese or Korean because there’s another sound at the same time she’s speaking, and she speaks really softly.)

Sian says, “I’ll try to learn some Japanese,” and Mina waves her hand from Sian to herself and back again. Sian adds, “I hope we can build up our team work.” The Japanese members nod in agreement, and then Sian says, “Oh god, they scolded us so harshly today! I hate getting negative comments!” And all the girls stand up for a big group hug. Yay! Oh no, it looks like Natsumi is crying! Boo! 

Natsumi voiceovers that she wants to help Sian build their teamwork. Yay team!

More “hwighting” and less fighting, please. 

The next day, Sian gives the Japanese girls something she made/wrote down, to help them remember the steps. They thank you and Natsumi reaches out to touch her hand in gratitude.

They all interview that they are working better as a team now. 

No one mentions it, but at some point Miku got injured and had to leave. That sounds really dramatic, MNET. She wanted to stay, from what I heard, so it had to be a pretty bad injury. There must have been a lot of tearful conversations on the topic. Maybe you’d want to show that? Or show the girls scrambling to redistribute parts and learn new formations…? Oh, but you can’t show it, because it makes you look irresponsible, like you’re not taking good enough care of these young girls and letting them get hurt because you push them too hard. Well, thanks, I guess. 

Anyway, by dress rehearsal, there are only five of them. The judges don’t smile much as they run through their performance, but at the end, Soyou tells them that they more stable than group 1, with good pronunciation and good teamwork. And Dance Bae even comes back stage to tell them that their hard work paid off.

“I’m very grateful!” … “I want to cry….”

Sian congratulations her team, and Natsumi begins to cry again. Who is this girl? Is she me? 

Sian interviews that she made themselves believe that they could do it, and then they did it. 

But can they do it on stage in front of an audience? Let’s find out!

The performance:

Here is PD48 Editing’s blessed edit.

Natsumi, Rena, Sian, Mina, Yewon

Clockwise from bottom left: Natsumi, Rena, Mina, Sian, Yewon.

Side note: What are these shoes? Are they… high heeled loafers? What is happening? 

My thoughts: First off, how does Natsumi get her hair THAT glossy?

I mean, all the girls have really pretty hair, but Natsumi’s is on another level. It’s like her hair is made of black onyx, or a dark iPhone screen, or something. It’s wild. Check out her fan cam to see it in action. 

Anyway, this was not quite as good as the other team, mostly because of the vocals. They were all on key, and no one made any obvious mistakes, but listening to them sing, it was impossible to imagine that this is a professional debuted group. They sounded like a high school talent show group. 

Lee Sian was brave to take on main vocals when that isn’t her area of expertise, so I don’t want to ding her too hard -- she sang well enough to be a sub-vocal in a real group. And that’s a compliment, I swear! So good job, Sian! Did she knock my socks off? No, but she did alright-right-right. 

The other four also did well considering, but it’s not as if I want to put this on a playlist and listen to it over and over. Of the three Japanese girls, only Rena seems to avoid the characteristic nasal sound common in these AKB48 members. Natsumi and Mina both have unpleasant vocal color, but at least they are on key, so they’ve made big progress. Main rapper Yewon raps kind of off key, which I know sounds crazy but part of what a rapper does is pick up on a tone to rap in, and Yewon didn’t do that quite correctly.  

Dance wise, I don’t really know, because the camera work is obstructive. Nothing really obvious goes wrong, I’ll say that. I think that 

Stage presence wise, I think this group has a slight leg up on the first group. They all have pretty good to great facial expressions, and they’re all reasonably confident-seeming. Yewon is a bit…

… too much. 

Mina has a great trick of letting her eyes close a little, and then opening them wider suddenly. It’s like, a power-smize!

 

It works. 

Revisiting the issue of center, and whether or not putting Sian in the center would have made it “Sian and the girls,” I think it’s relevant to note that Sian was the main vocal. If your center is also your main vocal, then it starts to feel like Destiny’s Child. So, yeah, it makes sense for someone else to be center, and Mina was the best choice among the remaining girls. I think they should have raised that issue during the discussion of who should be center, but maybe they did, or tried to, and had trouble with the communication. 

In the MNET edit, we see the judges praising their pronunciation, and praising Sian’s ability to look right at the camera. We also get a few instant replays of some of Sian’s high notes. 

When they’re done, the judges are proud of them, and Cheetah looks so cute.

“I’m proud of them.” “Me too.”

Dance Bae says that they, the trainers, think that Team 2 did better than Team 1, but notes that you never know how the audience will vote.

“Good job, everyone!”

The girls hug backstage, and Sian said that they’re hoping for a miracle. 

For this part, I have a link with English subs. 

The girls teleport to the locker room Results Zone…

More power to the transporters! We’re losing the signal! 

They’re sitting on like, foam rubber blocks. MNET, seriously, WTF?

Sian, Rena, Mina, Ahyoung, Natsumi

 Natsumi’s face (far right) is so expressive.

It’s time for the results. The background music is the same music they always used in Face Off when they were revealing the creature makeups, which is so funny to me. 

As usual, they reveal the results in a “versus” format -- Main vocal versus Main vocal, etc. What’s kind of strange is that we find out that there was no “sub vocal 1” on the blue team…? I guess that had been Miku’s part, but it’s not as if no-one sang those lines, so I’m confused. Anyway… 

Both the main vocals, Jo Yuri and Lee Sian, get a ton of votes -- 152 and 148, respectively. 

That’s fair as they both did well and are also pretty and popular. The second highest vote getters on each team were Japanese -- Mako on Red with 120 votes, and Natsumi on blue with 90. Juri is ready to blame herself if her team loses, but neither center did exceptionally well; Juri got 52 votes, and Mina got 36. Here is the full list:

Team Red (win):

left to right:

Yu Minyoung 28 Jo Yuri     152 Takahashi Juri 52 Kim Minseo 26 Kojima Mako 120 Kim Sihyeon 64              Total: 442, Average 73.67 

Team Blue (lost):

Very classy of them to applaud for team red. 

Left to right:

Lee Sian 148 Hasegawa Rena 50 Imada Mina 36 Ahn Yewon 16 Matsuoka Natsumi 90 Total: 340, Average: 68

Juri interviews, tearfully, that she feels bad about the whole thing. Her team was so nice and believed in her, and she feels like she let them down. “It’s because of them that I was able to go so far,” she says. “I’m so grateful to my team.”  

You know, my friends, if I wasn’t already a Juri fan from getting to know her on Queendom Puzzle, I think I’d kind of hate her at this point. MNET shoving her in my face, and focusing on her storyline above all else, it just makes me kind of irritated. I know Juri is awesome-sauce, though. So this is just further proof that MNET is The Worst. Thanks, dumbasses. Thumbasses. 

And with that, we’ll wrap up for now! Thanks for sticking with me so far! See you next time, when we cover Team Mamma Mia.

[chronicparagon]

O

For the next hour, my muse is hooked up to a death machine. If five people send them an “O” first, they can go free. If five people send them an “X” first, they’re dead. The choice is yours~

The circumstances is beyond what Harmony can ever dream of. It is hard to say who or what captured Harmony after knocking her unconscious. She does not know why it even came to this, but one thing is for certain...

Her time is running out!

Her blurry vision slowly clears to find herself trapped in bullet proof glass. Fear freezes her heart to see that she is trapped in an unusual pod colored red as blood. save for the transparent glass. The pod is tilted ever so slightly downward, revealing her body laying on the padding speckled with red and black, the life's blood of passed victims.

There are two monitors connected to the pod: One to the right has a timer counting down the minutes and seconds from one hour. A row of five X's are above the timer, all of them are not lit up. The other monitor to the left shows a gradient bar from green to red with the arrow pointing to the green end and slowly...Ever so slowly shifts to the red. The "O2" beside it reads 100% but it will gradually drop. The chamber pressure is also measured and is at a normal level. Five O's display at the top of the right screen.

Standing before the death machine are two buttons. The blue on the left has an O on it. The red button on the right has an X on it.

"Ah?" Harmony pauses from slamming her fists against the glass to find none other than Matthew!

Good Matthew somehow learned about the dire circumstances Harmony is under and without hesitation, presses the blue button. The first O on the top of the left screen lights up to a vibrant white. It is one of five keys that would set her free!

Oh, how she wishes she could embrace him tight and shower the man with a hundred kisses for his attempt to rescue her. Her heart leaps to see him and her hand presses against the glass as silver eyes brim with warm tears. She misses him so and can't thank him enough for his choice.

However, she is trapped for the time being. Four more presses of the blue button is needed to save her. Five presses of the red button will end her life in a brutal way.

Time slowly ticks away as the oxygen level drops to 98% and counting and the pressure measurement beside it slowly increases.

@everglow-synth

[silvermistcosmos]

HELP you’re just like me😭 i had a job interview too like a month ago ??? and i was happy i didn’t get hired because i’d have hated it there sm</3 but manifesting for you bff!! you got this and i hope you do get hired in that place you want🫂

omg home schooled?:0 have you been home schooled all your life?? (it’s okay if you don’t want to answer this question) but yay! hope you still have fun in your last year of hs💙

ohhh god i do stan a lot of groups JHSKSOS 😭 most of them are 3rd gen groups, and i’ve been lately getting into new jeans too hekwjs, but my absolute favorites are nct and enha! my bias for nct is jeno, sungchan and yuta^^ and for enha it’s mainly heejay lol. i also like khh and kr&b a lot, so i like heize, gemini, dpr, sunmi etc etc.

what about you bub?? i see you have a hoon pic so i’m assuming he’s your enha bias??

— 🐰

ahhhh okay wow, why do we do this to ourselves hahaha and thank you!! I'm starting work at the place I wanted to on the 18th of this month so~ I'm super excited to start working again hehe I hope you can find a job you love soon!! <33

yussss, I've been homeschooled my entire life. I did go to a co-op for a couple years but I have never been public schooled. I'm pretty thankful for that to be honest. I don't know, lots of crazy things are happening in schools nowadays... Plus I can work at my own pace and sleep in all I want hahaha

I've actually never heard of khh or kr&b before. I'll have to go look them up 👀 but that's so relatable!! Jay was my first bias in Enhypen! I just loved/love his attitude so much! He's so funny!

hmmm, sooooo my ults are enhypen and bts right now. Bts was the first group I was introduced to in kpop so I think I'll always have a soft spot for them. buuuut i listen to a lot of groups and soloists ahah um DKB is so good!!! I looooveee their songs and i love their personalities so much!! so good, if you don't know who they are, I highly recommend! I also listen to Seventeen, new jeans (recently) Nmixx, Ive, CIX, Stray Kids, kep1er, twice, blackpink (casually), txt, oh my girl, nct, got7, itzy, aespa, bigbang, somi, everglow, IU, Astro, Cravity, chung-ha, BOL4 & The Rose! These are just my most listened to. 😭

my bias in bts is Jin, Jungkook coming for the bias wrecker and enhypen??? HALP IDK IT SWITCHES SO MUCH!!!! but i think jungwon, sunoo, and sunghoon are my biases right now. but recently....jake and niki have been trying to wreck it. ahhh i seriously don't even know.

this ended up being such a long answer. I'm sorry!!

P.S: do you have a sharable spotify? IF so, would you want to exchange? if not, that's totally cool too!

[crescentmp3]

Ooh~ alright hmm here's a little challenge if you don't mind. Try to convince me to like kpop 0-0

oh alright! challenge accepted.

kpop is as diverse a genre as any other, and has many subcategories of different types of music suited for many different audiences.

mamamoo has many songs much like jazz for examppe, and many many songs that are quite diverse! i reccomend their songs hip, aya and piano man, along with their debut song mr. ambigious for an idea of their songs.

stray kids is quite popular and has many diverse songs! most their songs are energetic. good introduction to their music would be the songs god's menu, thunderous, back door and maniac, off the top of my head. i also reccomend their recent song case 143

ateez is another popular one, their music is quite diverse too! though i dont know too much of their songs, deja vu is a good introduction, so is hala hala and wonderland. their songs are energetic, and are quite diverse too.

xdinary heroes is one of the newer groups! happy death day, being their debut song, is a good introduction. their first album, hello world! has great songs. they make songs that are much like rock and/or soft metal, if you're into that!

dreamcatcher has a very nice theme of horror, their songs boca, scream and because are great introductions! they have beautiful lyrics in some songs too.

everglow has similiar vibes to dreamcatcher with some songs and has a lighter theme with others! their music tends to be energetic too. i reccomend pirate, dun dun and bon bon chocolat.

i only know one song, but the game by pentagon is beautiful, i don't have the words to describe it but im begging you to lisgen

oh itzy has amazing songs! loco is very fun, energetic and is a great song for example. theres also wannabe, dalla dalla, etc.

basically kpop is extremely diverse and has many different ways it shows itself in! i feel theres at least one kpop song someone would like. there are also many songs that are kpop people listen to without knowing its kpop. maria by hwasa for example! give it a listen, im sure you'll recognize the chorus.

[vetterrari]

22, 35, 101 :* (Also Caro your desktop theme is so fucking RAD what the fuck)

22: First - Everglow; "you know that I come first / I'm a winner winner winner" oh the Seb fancams I've made in my head to this

35: Teenagers - My Chemical Romance; "they'll rip off your heads / all your aspirations to shreds / just a cog in the murder machine" ah the song that got me into MCR still kicking around and making me feel seen

101: How to be a Heartbreaker - Marina; "Rule number two don't get attached to somebody you could lose" ha i need to remember this more but I am 0% heartbreaker here, 100% heartbreakee

Give me a number 1-100 and I'll give you the song from my wrapped and my favorite lyric(s)

[swithoutme]

hiiii i'm late sgshjdhsj i meant to send you asks before but i forgot so i'll do it now <33 1, 2, 22, 30, 33 :DD

 oh i completely forgot to answer this so hiiiii <3333

1. a song you like with a colour in the title

my first thought was colours by iz*one but thats kinda cheating so txt blue hour !!

2. a song you like with a number in the title

1,3,2 by twice !! its such a cute song i love it <3

22. a song that moves you forward

smiley by yena !! the vibes are so positive and uplifiting its everything to me <3 (~just smile away~)

30. a song that reminds you of yourself

oh hmmm ig good parts (when the quality is bad but i am) by le sserafim <3 ive struggled a bit w/ self-love in the past and while im definitely a lot better abt it now its a really nice song to listen to (also i think the vibes suit me? if that makes sense?)

33. wildcard ! a song recommendation !!

gdfgdfgd youve probably listened to everything that i have but uh. i have a really soft spot for back together by everglow so thats what im gonna go with 

ty for the ask!! <3

[canyoubelieveihaveakpopblog]

                                  my favorite kpop songs of 2021

[girls-scenarios]

Kpop Girl Group 101: Everything You Need to Know

1. Back To The Beginning - It’s impossible to talk about girl groups without mentioning the history of girl groups in South Korea. In the 1990s, the boy group trend really started to take off in South Korea, just like it had in the West. As early as the late 1980s, boy groups had started appearing on the scene. However, the first true girl groups wouldn’t be formed until the late 1990s, when the girl groups S.E.S (”I’m Your Girl”, “Dreams Come True”), Baby V.O.X (”Coincidence”, “Get Up”), and Fin.K.L. (”To My Boyfriend”, “Forever Love”) would start competing against an almost all-male industry (save for soloists such as BoA and some sister duos). These groups, along with many other smaller girl groups, would make up what is now known as the first generation of Kpop, and would pave the way for the second generation to burst onto the scene and ride the Hallyu wave while making girl groups a staple of the Kpop world. You know the groups of the second generation even if you aren’t a fan: Girls Generation became the nation’s girl group with their groundbreaking sweet debut, “Into the New World” while 2NE1 challenged the music scene and girl group stereotypes with “Fire” and the Wonder Girls brought the sassy, classic American girl group style to South Korea with “Irony.” Did you know that Girls Generation was the first group to include photocards in their albums, or that Wonder Girls was the first girl group to appear on American TV? These iconic groups truly made Kpop what it is today as they smashed through barriers, changed the industry, and became the idols that future idols would look up to and aspire to become.

2. Generations - I’ve already talked about the first generation, but what does it all mean? Well, honestly the exact generations are hard to keep track of. Usually, a generation ends and another begins at a turning point in the industry. For example, the second generation began with the Hallyu wave and Kpop becoming more commercialized. More and more idols also became actors and started hosting/guesting on shows. This was the period that I believe saw the most change, as more and more girl groups began to debut and some English translations started to be available. Other iconic second generation groups include KARA, T-ara, SISTAR, f(x), After School, Miss A, 4Minute, Girls Day, and many, many more. As we began to get into the 2010s, subtitles started to become more and more common as more and more fans started finding Kpop through YouTube and other similar platforms, starting the third generation of Kpop girl groups. And man, this generation burst onto the scene. Girl groups from this generation include giants such as Twice, BlackPink, Red Velvet, AOA, GFRIEND, EXID, Dreamcatcher, CLC, Oh My Girl, Mamamoo, WJSN, and so, so many more. And finally, we have now arrived at the fourth generation, a generation where even small groups under small companies can gain a world-wide fanbase, world tours are becoming more common, and dances have become intricate and all-important. Groups in the current generation include ITZY, IVE, Billie, AESPA, StayC, Everglow, Weeekly, Kep1er, and the list once again goes on and on. Of course, there are some groups who fall in-between generations, like LOONA. Some of the members debuted during what many consider to be 3rd gen, while other members and the group as a whole debuted after the start of the 4th generation. I point this out to say that generations aren't super strict and mostly exist to show the progression of Kpop as a whole. The list of girl groups only grows by the day and it can get pretty overwhelming (even for a self-proclaimed girl group expert such as myself). But don’t worry, I have that covered too! If you want to get a better understanding of the different generations, I have playlists linked below that you can use.

              💕 1st Gen  💕  2nd Gen  💕  3rd Gen 💕 4th Gen  💕

3. “Where do I start?” - Every time I want to get someone into girl groups (or Kpop in general) they’re always daunted by the sheer amount of music and groups to chose from. But I say this is a good thing rather than a bad thing. The amount of choices means that everyone should be able to find something they enjoy. But where should you start? Well, I always recommend starting at the beginning with a group like Girls Generation. You can never go wrong with a little Gee or Oh! I would also recommend 4Minute’s “Watcha Doin’ Today”, 2NE1′s “Gotta Be You”, Twice’s “Fancy”, Red Velvet’s “Peek-A-Boo”, fromis_9′s “DKDK”, StayC’s “Run 2 You”, and GFRIEND’s “MAGO” to girl group newbies. There’s also no shame in watching compilation videos: that’s how I found new groups as a young fan myself. I would recommend videos like “kpop girl group songs that were a cultural reset” or “Kpop parts that hit the right spots (girl group edition)” or “women in kpop being iconic” to find new songs or groups and go from there. These videos are also nice because you can fall into a YouTube rabbit hole and find a lot of new songs and groups that way! I would also recommend watching these groups on reality shows like Knowing Brother, Weekly Idol, and other similar shows where they showcase their skills and talk more about their groups and their talents. This is a great way to learn more about groups once you decide you’re interested in them.

4. Genres, genres, genres - Occasionally, I will see people claim that they don't like girl groups because they all "act cute" or because they all sound the same, but this couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, there are so many groups with so many different sounds and concepts that it's impossible not to find something you'll like. Do you like rock or horror? Then you should check out PIXY, Dreamcatcher, Pink Fantasy, and Rolling Quartz! Do you listen to a lot of boy groups? Then you’ll probably enjoy tracks by 3YE, Everglow, and LOONA. Are you looking for something unique? Check out Orange Caramel, Billie, WJSN Chocome, HYO, Crayon Pop, and Cocosori. No matter what mood you’re in, there’s a girl group song that will fit it. Plus, a little bubblegum pop will do wonders for a bad mood. Try to listen to WiFi by Saturday and not smile a bit! Most groups will have a variety of songs as well, so you won’t get bored. For example, just listening to Red Velvet and Twice’s discography is an adventure because they’ve done so much. If you really aren’t sure where you want to start or what you might like, you could always message this blog: I might be busy, but I’m never too busy to help people get into girl groups!

5. The Future - While there has been an unfortunate period of girl groups from smaller companies struggling or disbanding due to the pandemic, the future still looks VERY bright for girl groups. While older girl groups used to debut and disband quickly without anyone noticing because it wasn’t as easy to promote themselves online, now even small girl groups from tiny companies can build a following online and promote themselves to a wider audience. While I personally don’t love some of the music trends we’re seeing right now, I am super excited to see where this new generation takes Kpop. I believe we’ll see more and more groups with fun, bright, self-confident concepts and I love that. With the sheer amount of content now available on YouTube, TikTok, Viki, and even Netflix, it’s the perfect time to dive head-first into the world of girl groups and girl group music. I think you’ll find that you’ll really love it here, and I hope you found my little lesson helpful!