#rookie bp

[d4myeon]

rookie jennie icons

happy birthday queen <3

[kkeke99]

got voice to me that ****** from [redacted] dissed mama on mama's stage cause it didn't sit right with her that cranky ass cringe tomboy didn't win soty but love dive (an actual song) did instead, she called mama a rigged award show who gives off awards like gifts only for her to accept one of those gifts two seconds later all smiley. she's always been such an hypocrit so why are kpop stans noticing only now?

[bluebutlikenotalways]

C’mon, Rookie! Fight her!

Here it is again!

So like…Rookie gets swept overboard au and ends up becoming a “The Randsom of Red Chief” situation which ends with BP sobbing…sorry for spoilers.

[urlocaldesertdweller]

manifesting where Blizzard FINALLY gave our favorite cave dweller a bp skin. imagine a mafia gang season where everyone plays a certain role within an average stereotypical mafia gang you'd see in the movies.

this is where venture comes into play, they are basically an assassin along with the person hiding the bodies after dealing with them, and of course, they dig them really deep into the ground.

The skin: first things first their chipped tooth would change into a golden tooth, then basically for their jacket would only be partially on their body, then underneath the classic pants with the straps, of (thinking about ashe's gangster/mobster skin) course colored with the brightest shade of yellow known to man. finished off with also a yellow or black bowtie, a complete rookie fit<3 Their hair would in pinned back in a messy bun but still leave the curtain bangs loose.

NOW HIGHLIGHT, MOST DEFINITELY THINKING ABOUT VENTURE'S VERSION OF CASSIDY'S UNDERTAKER HIGHLIGHT

considering they are the youngest and the rookie in the gang, they love to mock iconic mafia lines with an over-the-top Italian accent.

imagine mafia venture coming up to you, and of course knowing their reputation you completely fear for your life wondering what you could have possibly done to piss off your city's mafia until they whip out a rose looking down at their feet sheepishly scratching the back of their head, their lil cheeks burning and flustered for u.

"Hey cupcake, I just saw you at the bar not too long ago and I just thought that you were um...lookin' absolutely dashing tonight!"

they push the rose into your hands as they can't handle the tension between you and run off back to the gang to which they all sigh and click their tongues in disappointment, they really were hoping for their right-hand man to finally catch a lover.

you only stand there your heart racing worrying for the end of your life, watching venture scurry away to which you see them almost trip from running. you are completely stunned as they leave your sight then you stare at the rose, its been cleaned of any thorns and the scent is strong and fragrant, then you twist the rose around realizing there's a small paper card tied to the bottom stem, it's their number with a little "call me sweetness!" with a lil doddle of themselves winking with a heart.

(blizzard please give Venture a legendary skin before Juno's full release or even their origin short... we need more)

[jihyoruri]

TELL US MORE ABOUT KIOF! Y/N PLEASEEE 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

okay so because I just KNEW there was gonna be an ask about her I’ve had these facts prepared for weeks 😭

she’s an ex sm trainee

she’s yunjin’s best friend (duhhhhh)

is a 01

she’s jennie (blackpink) little sister and is bps biggest fan

she was an ice skater for most of her life

she’s really LOUD and very extroverted

everyone’s fav rookie (it girl fr)

she’s a jokester and everyone knows it and nobody can take her seriously 😭 (like when she flirts)

her solo song is escape room (yes I stole from formis_9 and what⁉️)

[marchy-emmet]

Pokémon White - The Battle Subway's Void

MARCHY... WRITING?!?!! Pppffff, aside from that... I wanted to write a little one-shot thingie in creepypasta format to explain in a lil' more detail what glitchy Submas are about. No gore or anything, only madness!! Without further ado, let us dive into this shitstorm...

And as a note: The player's opinion of Submas does not reflect my own, lol.

----

So… here’s the deal. I’m going to jump right into it – no sugarcoating whatsoever.

I’ve been an avid Pokemon fan for my entire life – way down from childhood and up till now, even as a broke unemployed college student. Generation 5 had always been my favorite, and though the attractions in Nimbasa City aren’t particularly pleasing to me, there was one place that had caught my attention – Nimbasa Gear Station.

Now, I am no rookie player… I’ve been through this subway time after time again – my favorite being the singles lines due to how quickly you can farm BP. And the doubles line was slower but gave you the same amount of BP, so what was the point? My copy of White was maxed out in money and time. No need to add more grueling tasks.

… Well, enough yapping for now – I don’t have much time, anyway. Let’s, once again, jump right into it.

Just a few nights ago, I had made my rounds with the battle subway again – but this time, I decided on choosing the multi lines. I’ve got barely any friends who play, so I ended up playing this with the NPC Hilda in the comfort of my own dorm room… If only I could play with sentient beings, I thought sarcastically to myself – no one being around and all…

It was unsurprisingly a typical, boring and usual sweep of the battle subway. A timid Hydreigon with max EVs in special attack and speed with dark pulse, flamethrower, surf and dragon pulse had done the trick. Way too easy!! We had a bit of trouble with a few NPCs here and there, but it was nothing terribly difficult.

Then came, of course, Ingo and Emmet with their usual cone stance. I never understood the hype around these two random NPCs… Sure, strange design and all – but what’s the deal?

With me already having dull feelings about the subway masters and their undeserved hype, the experience I was about to have this very night would ruin their image forever.

Aaaand the game crashes. What the fuck??!?! All of that hard work of grinding in the battle subway while mashing A had gone to waste. I am gonna fucking lose it… I thought. The only logical thing to do was to man up and suck it up and redo the entire thing over. So I rebooted the game, muttering profanities under my breath and waiting impatiently for the title screen to appear.

And it didn’t. At this moment, I thought, okay, obviously the game is fake. What is this shit? Perhaps I was a bit too irritable for no one’s good, because as soon as I had restarted it again, the title screen actually showed up with a bit of lag. But still… Something was off. Lag is a telltale sign of a fake game, right?

This thing’s cartridge was used, after all. I had no idea what the previous player had done to the game… In the back of my mind, I had hoped all my save data hadn’t been deleted. Fuck.

I eagerly waited for the game to boot fully and take me back to Gear Station as I hit the save file, but the performance of the virtual world only got lower and lower, steadily dragging itself back to where my character was standing. As per usual when you “quit” a subway battle, the employee was facing me in preparation to scold me.

… But he didn’t. He just stood there. And at this point I thought the game had frozen.

My heart kept beating fast as I frantically thought up plans of what to do with my save file. Transferring all of my work to another file was an option – but I didn’t have another DS or any friends who did. Again, fuck. At this point there’s no use in searching for resources online to find out if it was fake – it definitely was.

I took a deep breath and looked away from the screen for a moment as I hoped and prayed that the game would cooperate with me. The Gear Station theme was still playing, after all…

A few minutes later, and I simply gave up, rebooting the game yet again. And again, I experienced the laggy bootup screen and the strange pause at the employee. I dropped my DS, putting my hands in my face and releasing the most frustrated sigh to grace the earth.

This is when I suddenly heard an 8 bit screeching sound that had scared me shitless. I jumped up, removing my hands from my face and widening my eyes at the screen. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but the grating sound… ugh.

I reached for the DS’s power button and tried to turn it off – but to no avail. Okay, then let’s try holding it down for 10 seconds… Nope. Pressing all the buttons? Futile. Button combinations? Nada. And so I turn to Google – my attention now directed at my laptop screen – a terrible mistake, really.

After a few unhelpful searches, I turn back to my DS screen and jolt.

It was back where I was with Ingo and Emmet, but the background had gone completely black. How…? How was this even possible? At this point, I even considered that I had picked up a rom hack!

So, with all of the textures lost, I had of course entertained the idea that I was in generation 5’s “void” – similar to gen 4’s “void glitch” where you could catch Shaymin and Darkrai via the exploit. But I knew the walls of the battle subway were probably still around, and the only way of getting out would’ve been through the subway doors.

After a few moments of cautious reconsideration, I moved my fingers to the DS button’s arrows and pressed to go left. To my surprise, my character was actually able to roam around the void around Hilda, Ingo and Emmet!

Curiously, I approached Ingo and mashed the A button, attempting to speak to him. For a moment, this seemed to have frozen my game, until a text box popped up…

“What can I see after winning, winning, and winning? … Nothing – not without this fellow standing beside me.”

Huh. I had vaguely remembered the first half of this line from Ingo, but not the second half. At this point I was definitely convinced I had received some sort of fucked up rom hack in the real White’s disguise.

I spoke to Emmet, and his text box lagged similarly before he stated, “I am Emmet. I am a subway boss. And I am verrry angry. Too angry.”

When I spoke to Hilda, her text box was blank. No ellipsis or anything.

I… didn’t particularly enjoy the expressions the subway masters’ pixelated little faces were making. Dead, cold and glaring. But I had figured that’s how they always looked. Something was definitely going astray with their colors, because the more I stared, the bluer Emmet got, and the redder Ingo got. Their sprites were progressively getting freakier and freakier. What kind of fucked individual sat down and made this hack?

This is the part where a battle suddenly started without my knowledge or consent, despite my character standing far from their usual battle position. Uh… Okay then.

Subway masters Ingo and Emmet got into their usual battle position, backs turned before pointing… straight at me, as the player. This wasn’t quite right, I thought to myself, as I had remembered them pointing in opposite directions prior to this weird interaction. I did get a closer look at them, and their appearance was ever-changing.

They left the screen, and as per usual, Haxorus and Archeops were sent out first… Nothing was at all wrong with the sprites – except their eyes were missing? That and the fact that the battle’s background was white. A few blocky particles of what I call “glitch” were floating around the screen erratically. I also couldn’t help but to notice the Pokemon’s sprites weren’t animated.

I had a horrible pit in my stomach as my intuition was begging me to listen… But I persisted in thinking this was merely a twisted rom hack. The Pokemon still weren’t moving, and the screen was still struggling to load in the background with chunks of “glitch”. Colored particles were everywhere.

More possibilities floated through my mind… Was my DS broken? Was the cartridge dropped in water? Whatever the case might’a been, this was the most terrifying experience I ever had in a Pokemon game.

Unable to send my Pokemon out, I set the DS down and clutched my stomach a little, beginning to feel nauseous. My fingers tightened, rendering them paralyzed. I felt my whole body vibrate as I became deathly ill… Wasn’t quite sure why. There’s no way I was panicking so much over a video game.

As I stood up, I felt the room spin, so I sat back down. A distorted groan rang from the DS as Ingo’s sprite appeared back on screen, in the same pointing position.

His text box read, “The system cannot be shut off at this time. However, you could always offer reconciliation.”

Reconciliation? What the fuck was he on?

As Ingo’s distorted sprite faded out, Emmet’s appeared next – but he had black splotchy markings all over his body and face. I felt my heart beat faster again, and my breathing hastened as his text box popped up. It remained blank for a few seconds as Emmet’s round, soul-piercing eye revealed itself through his face’s shadow.

At this point I tried to shut the game off again by holding down the power button, but it was no use. Not even removing the cartridge stopped it.

“Do not try to turn the game off. Do not try to save the game. You cannot.”

How… How did he just break reality? I knew the funny business was over. This is real.

Ingo appeared again next to his Haxorus, who was melting into a glitchy mass. He began to speak again, his sprite’s eyes appearing in his face’s shadow. “I knew my partners wouldn’t make it through this – but I must protect what’s left. Why wouldn’t you play the multi lines for such a staggering duration of time, player?”

“I just did!!” I yelled back out loud, absolutely bewildered and jittery. I wasn’t even sure if responding to him would warrant a response, but…

Emmet’s Archeops began melting into a glitchy mass next as his sprite approached closer. Any light that was left in his eyes had died when he noticed his Pokemon partner was succumbing to the supposed reality break I was witnessing. His smile dropped for the first time. I’m pretty sure I had never seen that twin frown up until then.

“I am Emmet. This world is too limited. And I will break free. What you did was verrrry rude, player.”

“What did I do?!” I shouted back, feeling tears well up in my eyes. Not tears of regret or guilt, no – tears of confusion. Panic. My head was spinning at this point, and I had wondered if I was experiencing psychotic derealization. Something like this is much too bizarre to be real.

Another text box appeared as Ingo gestured to Emmet, Archeops and Haxorus. “Intentional separation is a sin that cannot be forgiven. Excuse me for repeating myself – but it would be kind of you to ask for reconciliation. I’m not sure how Emmet feels.”

I stared at my screen, my voice hoarse as I responded, “I… I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

I felt ridiculous responding to a video game character, but in my derealized mind this was logical at the time.

“Do not lie,” Emmet began, his sprite becoming increasingly glitchy, “I do not like liars. I do not entertain liars.”

I refused to press A past this point, instead reflecting on what could be happening. Are they feeling something? Is that why Haxorus and Archeops had died – due to a fatal game error?

“I’m sorry,” I say without really thinking, my thoughts racing with contemplating fear.

And Emmet responded again without me hitting A. “You said you are not the one. I do not like liars.” His sprite became bitter again, vibrating against the glitchy masses that were surrounding the twins and broken Pokemon.

I once again took a deep breath in complete disbelief, shutting the DS and dropping it harshly. I sobbed into my hands, unable to make out what I thought of this. Do I need psychiatric help? Was it real?

I felt as if something horrible was going to happen – as if these characters wanted revenge on me. And the game was still playing despite the fact that I had closed it.

Five minutes past as I rocked myself and wept, occasionally glancing over at the DS and putting destruction of the system into consideration. But before I could even formulate the plan, I noticed the DS was… vibrating. This just sent me back into the spiral of sobbing into my hands, but I kept my eyes locked steadily onto the DS. I knew a DS was not supposed to vibrate.

And then came what I can only refer to as a hallucination…

Something was pushing the DS’s screen back up – a finger covered by a black glove. The surrounding area erupted into glitchy fragments, and the gaming system was practically breaking itself and making crackling sounds as the plastic warped. Welp, guess my plan to destroy it was no longer needed.

Without a second thought I let out the loudest shriek I could ever release – and I had sworn the entire complex had heard it. Stood up and ran without hesitation. Not even going to stay to observe the scenery.

I made my way out of the dorms, speeding down the halls and immediately causing a scene. Everyone I passed just stood there, bewildered by my behavior. I was too scared out of my wits to even warn anyone.

I made my way out of the building and down the street, panting heavily and feeling my whole body cake in sweat. Pure fight or flight instinct. I knew then that someone wanted my head on a silver platter – video game character or not.

Eventually I was at my friend’s house, frantically knocking on their door… It isn’t my intent to bring danger towards them or their family, but it’s my only option at the moment. No way I’m staying back at that cursed dorm.

Explaining such a situation to my friend was uncomfortable, but they were concerned for my mental health and well being. And of course, they didn’t seem to believe my story, either… No one did. Everyone I texted, voice chatted with, and told in person always asked if I was joking, or if I needed some sort of help.

It’s been a couple of days since the incident, and I’ve missed plenty of classes – but they’re my last concern. Whether or not I come to find out if that thing was real, I need to hide for my own sake.

And I hope someone runs across this as a tale of caution (unironically, the reason I’m writing it). If you’re sold a game that’s advertised as real, and something strange begins to happen… don’t delve in further.

… Or you may end up like me – alone, just as the subway masters were. And possibly still being tracked down as I write.

[dearweirdme]

https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/759977958769311744/dont-you-think-yall-are-grasping-at-straws-with

You would think if dating was "career suicide" they probably wouldn't have been walking around hand in hand in public, no? It's obviously seen as a scandal but it's not career suicide unless you're a rookie idol. Tae and Jennie are both veteran idols and two of the biggest idols ever so a simple dating scandal wouldn't ever really hurt either of them. I think the hate they got is exaggerated too. The Korean gp overall supported it because they like seeing pretty people together. Most of the hate Tae received was from BP stans (and vice versa for Jennie) but that's normal. Tae gets hate from them for breathing so. The scandal has barely hindered either of them in the grand scheme of things. Like I said, it's still a scandal and I don't think any idol would want their relationship out in public which is why the whole thing is weird, but it's not like they were crucified for it. I remember last year I think one female idol was out with another male idol (can't remember which ones) and people saw them and of course dating rumors started and the female idol denied it, saying something like "If we were together why would we be out in public?"

There's also plenty of non-taekookers who find the whole thing suspicious too 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi anon!

Agree. Speaking in hindsight ofcourse, but clearly it wasn't career suicide. Tae did great with his album! They are both still huge! If anything, I think it actually did bring them both more attention.

[empyrean11]

Aww this is really interesting! I love our guyssss!!!

TORONTO — For the past couple of months, rookies have featured prominently throughout the Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup. That regular playing time has not only afforded those players valuable experience against major-league competition but, manager John Schneider says, it has given the first-year players an opportunity to absorb key information about life in the major leagues.

As the season comes to an end, Schneider hopes his rookies have learned “what we deem acceptable and what we stand for” as members of the Blue Jays organization.

“It’s easy to say guys are young and mistakes are going to happen, I think it’s how you come out of that. You always want to learn from it,” Schneider said.  “A lot of these guys have been here long enough to where it’s OK to say to someone that’s not up to par, you know, that’s not up to our standards, and that’s up to me, staff, older guys. But I think just building off of experience and what they and we need to do collectively as a group, going forward.”

The Blue Jays’ manager hopes that’s the overarching takeaway, but every individual will have a unique perspective on what they learned through their first tour of the majors. As such, The Athletic spoke to several Blue Jays rookies and asked them what their biggest takeaways were from their first MLB season. Below are their answers.

Leo Jiménez, IF

“Other than the relationships that I’ve made with my teammates and all that, I want to say, the work ethic — how you have to come every single day, ready to go and ready to prepare yourself for the game.

“Up here is more about who can stay focused and you got to make sure that you have to perform. That’s the whole point of it, perform. And you got to be professional, you got to be a big-leaguer, and that’s, I think, the biggest difference compared to the minor leagues.”

Addison Barger, IF/OF

“The number one thing for me would be just keeping a steady mentality and the whole, not get too down or too high, because it’s a long year, and a lot of the veteran guys do that really well, so that’s something I’ve taken from them, and I think it’s super important.

“I don’t know exactly when (I absorbed the lesson), but for sure, at some point, just being up here and learning and getting comfortable, it was something that I took away.”

Joey Loperfido, OF

“I would say what I learned most this year is that you can’t put a price on just your own competitiveness, like at the end of the day, I think whether your body feels good, or your mind feels good, or swing feels good, or things are going your way or things aren’t going your way, I think you have to be able to show up and step in the box and know you can beat the guy that’s on the mound.

“And I think I lost sight of that a little bit this year just thinking, ‘OK, I got to take good BP, my body’s got to feel this kind of way. You know, mentally I got to stay positive, and do all this stuff,’ but at the end of the day, I think, if you can resort back to just finding a way to win and find a way to grind out good at-bats in good days and stack them on top of each other, I think that’s probably my biggest takeaway.”

Spencer Horwitz, IF

“Losing isn’t fun, no matter where it is, whether it’s in the big leagues (or not). Because you always think, ‘Just get to the big leagues, get to the big leagues,’ and then, yeah, it makes a lot of things better, but doesn’t make losing any more fun. Being up here for a little bit last year and getting a taste of September baseball and being in the playoff chase, it definitely made me appreciate it way more.

“(It) does motivate me and push me to be better. And yeah, people would say I had a good year, but I was like, I feel like I need more because when I came here, whatever the team’s record was since I’ve been here, it’s not enough. And I got to figure out a way to be better, and if I play better, that should help the team.”

Brendon Little, RP

“One of the bigger things is that it is a really long season, so (it) definitely makes it a lot easier to kind of move on from bad outings and not let stuff linger. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.

“I saw Christian Yelich was on some podcast, and someone told him this, but it was like, ‘It takes a long time to have a good season and it takes a long time to have a bad season.’ And I just remember him saying that, and now just seeing it all play out. The seasons are really long, and it kind of helps going through the ups and downs.”

Steward Berroa, OF

“I would say (learning) how to prepare. I had that before, but (learning) how here every play matters — every second matters. And I feel like in the minor leagues, we fail to learn instead of here, it’s more about you have to be able to do the stuff.

“Being around veteran guys, they always mentally are ready to do whatever it takes to win games. For me, that’s the biggest thing, even (coming) from the bench and seeing the game like I’m playing. During the first, fifth or sixth inning, being able to be locked in mentally (so) when I have to go in for defence or pinch-run, I feel like it’s not new. I feel like I’ve been in the game.”

Jonatan Clase, OF (via team translator Hector Lebron)

“You got to be disciplined and consistent. You got to be consistent all the time.”

Yariel Rodríguez, SP (via team translator Hector Lebron)

“It was a great year (and) experience for the future. I learned a lot — a lot of new things, not just on the field, off the field for me, and it helped me to grow in terms of working on me — physically, mentally, my game, and all those little things that are going to make me better for next year to help the team win.

“(I learned about) preparation — like the routine. In between outings (and) every fifth day. I’m trying to focus on that — getting better at that. To be more consistent. And of course, recovery after the outing. That’s something that I really have to be focused on next year.”

Luis De Los Santos, IF

“I learned a lot from those guys, Vladdy (Guerrero Jr. and) George (Springer), how they prepare for the game every day. That’s unbelievable. In the minor leagues, I didn’t see anything like that. Those guys prepare in the minor leagues, but here it’s more focused. … That’s what I learned the most here. Every guy has his routine, do the same thing every day. Mentally, you’re ready for the game every day. That’s something that I learned when I got here.

“And listen to (your body). I’m the kind of guy that I go to the field every day, I take groundballs every day. I’m hitting on the field every day. And then I talk with those guys and Vladdy, especially, he says, sometimes you have to save your body for the next day. Be smart with what you do. You have to work every day, but be smart, because the goal is getting ready every day for the game.”

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I've been avoiding Tumblr and Twitter since I haven't watched AYS yet... I have no excuse... it just never felt like the perfect moment, you know? But yesterday I bought my ticket to I Am Still! Should've done it sooner, the tickets were almost sold out, oops...

Anyway, this is a big day for kpop, with many songs dropping, but sadly not hitting for me.

Neva Play was a bit disappointing- Megan is an amazing rapper and she's a very clever lyricist, but her lyrics are always about the same thing and often sound misogynistic. She's very hit and miss, but her solo songs can be very good (I really love Hiss). I also think her voice doesn't go with RM's. It's bright and snappy whilst Joon's tone is smooth and has a bit of a drawl? I didn't really get RM's lyrics. The vocal production on his part was very weird too. The song would've been better if it was just Megan or RM's, but the both of them don't match? They give the same vibes but different frequencies lmao. The song is good, but underwhelming. I like it the more I listen to it. The weakest part is by far the chorus, which is annoying. The song ends a bit abruptly too and the structure is basic - Megan raps, then Joon raps. it. It was less of a collab and more of a copy and paste of vocals. Sadly, most collabs are like this. I just think they had an opportunity to gag everyone and delivered something pretty basic.

I also checked-out MEOVV's debut song, which was... not even bad enough to stand out. They looked like a cheap NJs and BP cross-over. The MV was crappy, the song was not age appropriate, and the lyrics sounded ridiculous coming from rookie idols...

Baekhyun and Chanyeol also came out with songs and both are unmemorable to me. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't guess Baekhyun left SM. All these soloists leaving SM, but their music and concept stay the same. I hope everything else is worth it.

I'll review Tzuyu's album in another post...

[thekpopgossip]

Roundup: Freshest Releaes

BADVILLAIN "BADVILLAIN"

For a debut track, this was impressive. The members don't feel like rookies at all, and the production was overall great. I like the combination of classical music and hip-hop beats, the rappers weren't bad either. This is basically what I expected BABYMONSTER to sound like (it's very BP coded).

Kep1er "Shooting Star"

This is their last song as OT9, two members left the originally temporary group, while the other 7 will continue as Kep1er. The track on its own was rather basic, but it would have been nice as a goodbye song.

AKMU "Hero"

AKMU does soft pop music so well, I really enjoyed the jazz chords. The melodies and harmonies are beautiful, and so is the music video. A really nice comeback for the duo.

Xdinary Heroes "Boy Comics"

An indie rock sound and funny music videos suits XH much better than the angsty, hard rock punk concept JYPE was forcing onto them. They should go with the DAY6 route of pop/rock vibes. WayV meanwhile had a more funky comeback with "Give Me That".

[d4myeon]

aiiyl era jennie icons

happy birthday queen ♡

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hey BPP! I hope you’re doing well 😊

I was wondering which artists’ work are you looking forward to in 2023? Aside from the remaining BTS’ members’ solos.

*

Ask 2: BPP I don’t consider myself a New Jeans fan as their music hasn’t grabbed my attention yet but you sparked my interest in them so I’ve been keeping my eye out as an outsider. Holy shit their numbers are amazing considering this is their 1st comeback?? They will definitely be dominating SK this year as the Korean GP seems to like them and are paying attention to what they’re putting out. Hype Boy did amazing in the US too even though it was hardly promoted over there. Maybe this is a little too early to predict but I feel like in a year or too they will start dominating the GG scene and maybe even give BP competition internationally if their still active by then???

*

Ask 3: Seeing Hybe’s trajectory is crazy. From a struggling company barely able to support their artist to now having not just the biggest band in the world BTS but also New Jeans who has been a sprinting since debut, getting the 2nd fastest song to debut in Melon 100 after BTS. I’m not a fan of NJ but damn Hybe is killing the game. In just a few years they’ve established a pretty great roster of artists in Korea not even counting BTS’ global dominance and now they’re also slowly building up their artists base in Japan too. Hybe’s name carries a lot of clout now (ofc thanks in a large part to BTS) to be able to sign Techi and snatch famous former Prod48 artists. They hav stumbled a lot especially last year with LSF and trainee a but it still hasn’t changed the fact that they’re growing at a fast rate. No wonder kpop stans hate the company. I know armys joke a lot about how BH planned BTS’ career hundreds of years ago by the way that they plan albums and concepts months even years in advance but seeing the company slowly reveal their plans and acquisitions is surprising, I remember how shocked everyone was when they acquired Ithaca. It will be exciting to look back in a few years to see what they turn into and how they influence the industry.

*

Ask 4: I'm a little in awe about your insight into kpop. You were the first Army blogger I saw talk about NewJeans, supporting them in spite of the controversy and everything you said is what has happened. Forgive me for asking but do you work in the industry?

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Ask 5: Now I see why you said NewJeans reminds you of rookie BTS. They are monster rookieing like nobody else rn

***

Hi Anon(s),

Anon in Ask 1, aside from BTS members, the artists I'm most looking forward to in 2023, are NewJeans and Esperanza Spalding. Since NewJeans is likely more relevant for my readers in this space, I'll explain why I'm excited about more music from them this year, and I'll be using comments in all your asks as touchpoints.

"Now I see why you said NewJeans reminds you of rookie BTS."

They aren't directly comparable of course, but there are parallels. Three things made me notice BTS when they debuted in 2013:

Their music

The cohesiveness of their storyline/concept

The reaction of wider k-pop fandom/industry to the group

All three bulletpoints for BTS also hold true for me with NewJeans, and is the reason I've been into them since July 22, 2022, and why I'm excited for them in 2023. I'll work my way from bottom to top.

The Reaction of Wider K-pop Fandom / Industry to the Group

Some people think BTS weren't well known and loved in Korea until their breakout in 2016, but the reality is the reaction to BTS from nearly everyone was overwhelmingly positive. Comments from an old forum:

(this particular user was still active on the forum until 2019)

"They will definitely be dominating SK this year as the Korean GP seems to like them and are paying attention to what they’re putting out. "

BTS were the definition of monster rookies, they won the rookie awards etc, and most everyone (peers, gp, and industry leaders), took notice of them and loved them. People talked about how they had a different sound, more engaging performances, and an interesting take on the school concept with songs that appealed to their age group and others. But if there's one thing to never forget about k-pop, it's how insanely hyper-competitive it is, and we all know what happened to BTS between 2013 and 2018 at the hands of k-pop stans who at BTS' debut had loved them. The stakes are higher for k-pop stans in 2023 than it was in 2013, so for anyone reading this who genuinely loves NewJeans, just be prepared. You've all already seen that NMIXX, IVE, Classy, Lapillus, etc all debuted in 2021/22 with members aged 13 - 15 under the management of a 'creepy/pedo' CEO (and ad infinitum for groups debuting in previous years), but no group has gotten more controversy for it than NewJeans, curiously only starting after their debut album pre-order numbers were released. K-pop stans are predictable because of the incentives that drive them, so for the girls' sake and your own peace of mind, try as much as possible to engage only positively in the fandom and with others.

Don't engage with the noise, which will only be amplified after YG debuts their new girl group this year. Just keep receipts. Believe me you'll have a lot of it before the year is over. And you'll need it.

*

The Cohesiveness and Execution of Their Storyline / Concept

(this section includes spoilers)

The biggest clue to whatever NewJeans is, is their icon: the white rabbit.

It's everywhere - in their MVs, in their outfits, in their lore and concepts, their fandom name, and in their sound which is notably both dreamy and bouncy/groovy. The way NewJeans expresses this motif in every single thing they do is easily one of the most brilliant things I've seen in k-pop. And this is partly because of how both subtle and obvious it is, and how they've taken an old tale and modernized it so it feels familiar but also self-aware.

What is this concept I'm talking about?

It's Alice in Wonderland.

Doing a full analysis of their discography so far would make this post too long and analysis isn't my forte anyway, but if NewJeans' summer release introduced fans to their sound, gifting bunnies a 'Cookie', then in their winter release NewJeans are inviting people to follow the white rabbit into their maddening, dreamlike universe. The wonderland of NewJeans is one of eternal youth and good vibes, and not necessarily Y2K as is widely believed. In my opinion.

Every group from debut Itzy to Red Velvet to XG to Triple S has tried a Y2K aesthetic and not one of them feel as nostalgic or youthful as NewJeans. Why?

From the straight unadorned long black hair, to the inclusion of Black and queer characters into central storylines about young love, to using the bunny as a metaphor for playfulness and awareness, the expression of youth and fantasy in NewJeans is so subtle and yet pervasive to me, it's obvious it has come from the mind of someone obsessed with the idea, someone who has studied what makes someone youthful beyond the temporal sense.

Much has been said at this point about the end scene in OMG and how that is Min Heejin clapping back at her detractors (lol, k-pop stans make me laugh on a daily basis y'all), but for anyone who has actually watched the MV, it's clear that everyone (including the doctors) is said to be mad or a little insane or inside this 'dream-like reality'. Everyone, including the viewer. In Ditto and OMG, NewJeans' not only break the 4th wall, they demolish it completely. You're left wondering what is real and what is an illusion. And that's the point. With that final scene in OMG with Minji bringing the hater with her into the insane asylum, and the final scene in Ditto where an Inception-like flip happens when Ban Heeseo watches her old tapes (Heeso being a representation of their fans), the creative team at Ador has brilliantly conveyed the reality of para-social relationships fans develop with their idols, as well as enclosing their fans in their own universe and memories. Not even their haters are exempt.

It's genius.

And the really exciting thing about NewJeans is they're only getting started.

I've said before that HYBE is best at storytelling, and nowhere is this more evident than in NewJeans and BTS.

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Their Music

One way I like to describe NewJeans' sound is: a return to basics.

Like BTS, NewJeans' debut style in music and choreography is primarily influenced by old school (or 90s) hiphop. The primary difference between the two groups in terms of music is that NewJeans also incorporates the mirror sound (R&B) more than BTS did at debut (BTS leaned more into R&B in 2014 and 2018), and without unnecessary rap verses typical of k-pop girl groups. In other words, NewJeans is more Aaliyah (lol) than they are Janet Jackson, but the effect of listening to their music is the same.

For example, I heard OMG and immediately thought of Paradise by BTS, a song considered by a lot of ARMYs to be the tannies' best song (it's not lol, that title belongs to UGH, or HOME if you hate the sound of gunshots). OMG has a UK Garage type beat, and Paradise is the trap + lofi expression of the same idea. For the nerds like me, Paradise's producer recently did a breakdown of how he made that song and it's worth watching.

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Neither 250 nor Jinsu Park have done a similar breakdown of their process for NewJeans but I'll post it here soon as they do. :)

"I’m not a fan of NJ but damn Hybe is killing the game. In just a few years they’ve established a pretty great roster of artists in Korea not even counting BTS’ global dominance and now they’re also slowly building up their artists base in Japan too."

I don't think there's anybody who disagrees with you Anon. The company has had time to prepare for BTS' enlistment and it shows. What I've always enjoyed about how BigHit manages BTS and TXT, is how they seem to prioritize music production and go in the opposite direction of where their peers are heading in terms of music/styling/concepts, and even the few times there's directional overlap, it still feels 'different'. A lot of groups will be returning in 2023: the entire SM roster, Zico, Stray Kids, etc, and I'm curious to see how HYBE will differentiate themselves without BTS.

Anon in Ask 4, no I don't work in the industry.

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Updated song ranking:

Hurt

Cookie

Ditto

OMG

Hype Boy

Attention.

[tooruuwuu]

HAIKYUU CHARACTERS AS KPOP STANS CAUSE<3

Sugawara:

Nctzen

Don't get me wrong i firmly believe he's a girl group stan but

He just has the nctzen chaotic-ness

If you get what i mean

He enjoys groups with numerous members so nct was a start ofc

SM ROOKIE STAN HE'S BEEN LOYAL TO THEM SINCE THEIR SM ROOKIE DAYS

he's a sm stan as a whole but nct just owns his heart

Runs a fan account filled with shit posts

#1 Yuta lover cause i said so

Oikawa

BLINK

He just loves all girl groups and female solo artists tbh

F(x) stan at your service

CL is his mother (no joke)

You'll hear BP songs blasting in his room atleast once a week

Very famous on twitter

Known for defending all his women

Also a bg stan

Only keeps up with the b groups he started standing as a newbie

*inserts oisuga* sugawara got him into nct tho

Daichi

SECOND GEN STAN

He just gives that vibe idk

All second gen idols are very beloved to him

Listens to SNSD and Boa on a daily basis he just cannot resist their songs

SHINee stan

Key is his idol

Has cried over all of SHINees solos

Sugawara and Asahi can confirm

He's somewhat caught up to the third gen

Fourth gen is currently out of his league but he knows the popular songs

Iwaizumi

Min yoongi is his god

Down bad for rap

It's his go-to

Yk the hatred you have for Jay park but also the way you just folddddd when his songs play?

THAT'S ME AND IWA ALRIGHT

An army by choice

He just really likes the BTS rap line tbh

Oikawa teases him about being an army and gets shut down (get it? get it??) as soon as he's told he's literally a blink

Sugawara says that's the reason why they fight sm /j

(just my silly little hcs about silly little men from miyagi don't mind)

[aajjks]

I was digging your blog and found several people giving opinions and so I bring my opinion in 2017 I was BP's number one fan, I went to concerts in Korea and paid a lot because traveling so far costs a lot of money, in the meantime BTS came along and I developed a lot of interest in them, I like them as an artist and as a person 2018 i noticed the lack of interest mainly in jennie who was my bias i was disappointed because after bts i understood that artists should be involved with their art and not sit in a chair waiting for someone to do everything i realized in several interviews that bp had very afraid of composing music and I questioned myself why and I understood that they are more singers than artists, because artists make ART (note: voice is a musical instrument) Armys and blinks are different, while army moves mountains to give bts everything they want (achievements, streams…) blinks just looked for fights on the internet trying to make noise instead of organizing themselves to stream on spotify or buy albums... until today o bp doesn't have daesang a 2016 group!!! they are being passed over by rookie groups the recent complaints are that at soundcheck they were lip syncing, or that french magazine saying how disastrous the tour was blinks created a huge ego about bp and there I already realized that I was no longer part of it, bp's songs seem the same during all these years, the laziness on stage, the lack of interest in producing music, they have become more influencer brands than idols i liked in 2017 bts held me to high standards so i realized how no one can compare to them as an artist and as a person i realized how kpop as a whole hates bts and armys, i feel it's more envy than hate because bts and armys at the end of the day always win I'm army, I like IU and TWICE but I'm not a fan just a casual listener I don't want to be misunderstood, I just had a more accurate view and realized that I'm not part of blinks anymore and I'm just sharing my experience my opinion is in no way hate on anyone!

I’m sorry that your experience wasn’t good as a Stan. Their fandom is the reason the girls are misunderstood so much, I hate blinks.

[arysuh]

Miss Conduct doesn't have remotely enough "screen time".

Where does Mateo and Officer Rookie's love story come from?

Loved the Dad/DILF Squad.

Having them take just one suprpower pill was just so wrong. Especially the telekinesis one, without consequences?!*

Actually the only mother that has a role in this thing is pretty much the dead one... Dafuq TJ, dafuq?

Why are the pills that Patricia gives Nick never addressed? I mean she could give him Concentra? Some other BP test thing? Did I miss any questionning on this side??

The Owen conclusion was painful and the lazy way out. *consequences for him but not for the Dad Squad who take drugs on a whim?! AjqBCHcuvbhxmhQXO QC!

I had many problems with Heat Wave. Flash Fire ftw.

[agent-bash]

Have you watched the Rookie finale yet? SPOILER AND TRIGGER WARNING BLOOD: why did Celina bleed so much is she was only hit in the head once?

We’ve strayed into this topic before here, but it was for Chicago PD so here you go Nonny.

There was a lot of blood because head wounds can bleed a lot. And it doesn’t take much (though that was a hard hit she took) for that to happen either. Your blood vessels are closer the surface of your skin on your face. It’s not a golden rule or anything but think of it kind of like this: the less squishy the body part, the more bleedy it usually is.

The other factor here is adrenaline. Higher adrenaline, means higher blood pressure, means even more bleeding. It’s why if you’re ever in an accident dispatchers will try and walk you through deep breathing. They’re trying to get you to calm down, to get that adrenaline and hopefully that BP, lower because that’ll help slow the bleeding you might be doing (even if you don’t know it).