#this annoys me to no end in western music

[sunugf]

i was kinda excited for conan gray's new song but istg can singers STOP with the 80s synth music?? i'm so sick and tired of it, it's been years, we get it, heard it before, in fact we heard it for generations and there's no need to STILL make 80s synth instrumentals in 2023. MOVE ON

[vyva-melinkolya]

we all agree that the push towards short form, vertical video (tiktok/reels/shorts) is ruining fucking everything right? Tiktok has been useful for the dissemination of political information (e.g Gaza) i’ll give it that, but that feels moreso a result of meta and twitters algorithms being just a little *more*’evil and censor happy. And i want to make it very clear that my hatred for tiktok has nothing to do with the fact that it was a product of a Chinese company, because i see a lot of critiques relying on some sort of sinophobic conspiracy. On the contrary, it’s what tiktok has become in the vacuum of western popular culture and marketing that makes me fearful.

I know that every generation faces a new, polarizing technology and inevitably, there are those among said generation who will critique it. That is the nature of things. However, there is also something to be said about how, with the acceleration of technology (running parallel to the acceleration of capitalism, acceleration towards collapse etc), each coming generation faces an increasingly more malevolent “advancement”. TLDR, i’m going to talk my shit.

I’m going to speak on the aspect that is most relavent to me, as a musician. I am petrified by what short form video is doing to music and to musicians. I think that tiktok provides the illusion of making music and being a musician more “accessible” while actually pouring gasoline on the fire that the pop music machine had already started. Standards for what popular culture “expects” from music are being doubled and tripled. Let’s talk about song length. Success and marketability favoring shorter songs is not something new, it has been the trend for decades. But with short form video, it goes even further. You’re not just hearing the same song over and over on the radio, you’re hearing the same 15-30 seconds of the same song over and over again. This in-turn, starts to influence the way people write music, persuading people to make songs that *could* have that 15 second appeal. There is an art to pop music, there is an art to writing a catchy hook—this is something else. We weren’t meant to hear or understand music like that. There are so many songs from reels that i found annoying, until i heard them in their full context. It’s insidious. It makes everything feel like a fucking commercial, even if nothing is being advertised.

I’m going to pull directly from someone else’s experiences, someone who’s music seems to be everywhere on short form videos. The ambient musician My Head Is Empty has a hundred million streams on the song “i was only temporary”. Despite that exposure, they experience “never ending copywrite issues” and have “received death threats” by people who refuse to credit them when using their song. Pulling a quote here, from a comment on their own post

“vyva_melinkolya unfortunately it just gets worse. i saw a bot content page that steals pod cast footage and spams dozens of videos with my song stolen, comment on a "motivation" spam content , who actually made a post telling people the name of my song, and the previous page i mentioned, the pod cast spam commented on that video saying "Bro stop don't give out the sauce. this audio helps me pull numbers brooo" - so people are actively INTENTIONALLY stealing it and telling people to not credit me. like. u can't make this stuff up”

Beyond this, My Head Is Empty feels frustrated that despite all this exposure, the rest of their work (nine albums) as a musician remains under appreciated, and i think that frustration is 100% valid. People cannot fully appreciate music, or even understand it as a work of art created by another human, when it’s taken so far out of its context. Again, the soul being sucked out of art by “the machine” isn’t anything new but, this is a whole other level. Being a musician is more expensive than ever, streaming earns you fractions of a cent etc, it all feeds into itself.

When a song or a musician i love deeply finds its way on to tiktok (let’s use Duster’s “Stars Will Fall”, one of my favorite songs ever as an example)I am not upset that i cant “gatekeep” it anymore. I’m not upset by the idea of something I love and hold dearly finding a larger audience. I AM upset in the manner in which it is being disseminated. I’m upset with art I hold dear to me being chopped up and used as “trending audio”. When I saw Duster in concert recently, lStars Will Fall” was the song I was most looking forward to hearing. It was the last song they played, and it was the song seemly everyone chose to talk loudly over. The audience was mostly people my age and younger. This complaint might come off as petty or pretentious or cliche, i frankly do not give a shit.

Let’s talk about how musicians are expected to promote music on tiktok/reels. This is a matter of opinion, at the risk of sounding very pretentious: the “POV we are x band from x” “My label says i need x followers before x” “posting this video until c musician notices me”. I understand that some of it is in jest but, what the fuck? When did this become the norm? I do not blame anyone for promoting their music like this, but we should want more for ourselves. I’ve always said being a musician is deeply embarassing, inherently. If being a musician is inherently embarassing then what is this? I dont have a solution for this, and the music industry has always been ugly and bloodthirsty and seldom fruitful— but i feel like the very small amount of dignity we had as artists is now lost and I cant fucking stand it. Artists seem to promote the same single with dozens of reels over the course of months, hoping that something sticks. I dont want to sound like i’m shaming or, again, sound like i can provide a solution. I’m just very fucking sorry that it seems like this is “the way”. And personally, i’m scared that if i dont “get with the program”, im going to fail.

Again, all of this speaks to larger trends in entertainment industry and even larger trends in capitalism. But i’m just airing specifics right now because frankly? I cant take it anymore.

[grahamkennedy]

this might sound kinda stupid, but following your blog has genuinely had a huge imapct on the way i think about us-centrism online. Im australian too, and after reading your posts I began to notice that I avoid using regional words or talking about moveis/tv/music that i thought american people wouldn't know about. but why should i have to?! its such a simple realisation, but it was pretty powerful to me! you know, i have to learn about 1001 specific american brand names to understand half the jokes on here, but i feel embarrassed talking about idk.. netball?? the impulse to explain any australian specific experience that i mention so that the usamericans can understand it is so annoying! why do i feel the need to have to do that?? I've been trying to get over my cultural cringe surrounding australian art and literature for a while, but i sort of didnt realise how deeply it was ingrained for simple, everyday stuff. its also made me really quite angry too. because in many ways australia IS so similar to the us. yet so many people in the notes of posts about australia are just so deeply apathetic about learning (or even just being respectful of) any sort of cutural differences. needless to say, this often ends up leading to people spouting very colonialist ideas and just being very plainly and obviously racist against indigenous people. but the gleeful ingorance about any country other than than the us is staggering. everyone online has to have an in depth knowledge about us politics, but no one can make a post about the politics of their own country without being forced to dumb it down so that an american audience with no prior knowledge can understand it. sorry for the rant! i wasnt planning on writing this much (or getting this annoyed) but it kind of got away from me! anyway, i love your blog lol <3

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK

I've been thinking of how to reply but the problem is I'm kind of stupid so I didn't know how.

I first started getting super annoyed by this when I got into The Newsreader. It was something I thought 'this has so many themes and ideas and characters that people would so be into' but then as it gained popularity, people, mostly American, got really weird about it. I got an ask that I was very nice about at the time but retroactively pissed me off, being like "well its about Australian history, can an American still watch it???". I noticed similar attitudes popping up, and getting more popular from Sam Reid fans who came over from IWTV.

I think as people who live with USCentrism every day, we still shouldn't get complacent and limit ourselves to Western world views, especially white ones. We need to broaden our horizons as well and also understand the place we have in Western imperialism.

But I'm glad more people are actually starting to understand how prevalent USCentrism is and I'm more than happy to be part of the conversation.

Thaaaaaankkkkk u for this ask.

[normal-thoughts-official]

still so fucking mad that the ONLY non-US song they play in the ENTIRE movie is the most US-sounding rap in the whole wide world, it plays for three fucking seconds, AND they only really play the French bit and as soon as the Arabic part starts they lower the voice and leave only the beat. WHERE IS MY GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM ARAB MUSIC BITCHH

ok i'm gonna try rewatching tog again. surely my pc will behave this time

this is your last call to blacklist "tog rewatch" if u dont wanna see me talking about it etc etc

[cutely-ressurrected]

How to fight demons of instant gratification

I really believe that the root of most of our problems comes from giving our energy and attention to the wrong sources. It has me feeling restless, bored, annoyed, easily irritated and whenever I get caught in the never-ending cycle I start to lack creativity.

So these are the habits I find the most effective when combating dopamine overstimulation.

I’s crucial to set boundaries through the entire day so:

- I never go on social media first thing in the morning, I don’t want to get bombarded by other people’s opinions/lives first thing when I open my eyes, and those 20 minutes are for me.

- I will always feel like stretching, and it will only take me 2 minutes because I don’t like to exercise without music

-mindfulness, I don’t really meditate because I feel as if viral meditation we see on socials has been so westernized its nothing like its supposed to be. I just sit and focus on my intentions for the day and try to ground myself (basically meditation lol)

- Eat a healthy meal (with protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates) if you are a person with ovaries and a menstrual cycle its good to cycle sync.

- do. not. eat. too. much. industrial. sugar!! it spikes dopamine levels. eat fruit. lots of it.

- exercise, I strength train 3 times a week and for me that’s enough because the body needs rest to build muscle

- whenever I indulge in a dopamine spiking activity I set a time limit, like playing games for 2hrs and I don’t overdo it

- following that, the rest of my free time I spend on a creative task, like writing or hanging out with friends, doing an alternative activity

-I do not watch porn (If you’re someone who struggles there are support groups all over the internet, you’re not alone)

- I do not scroll 30 minutes before my bedtime and take that time to journal and plan my day

[mspandorasart]

Thoughts about Undertale Yellow

Greetings, I just returned from binging through Undertale Yellow, True Pacifist Route specifically, and am seeking a place to let out some thoughts (and steam). It's the first time I'm doing this type of "review" on my blog, but since my thoughts on it are quite strong, I thought, "hey, why the heck not"? Spoilers for the game and its ending ahead, fellas. Buckle up.

First off, let me begin by stating that, for the most part, I had a blast playing through it. The music is amazing, the boss themes real bangers, the environmental ones great as well. My favorite track was the OST that played in the Dunes: a really catchy western vibe with Flowey's theme in it as well, an earworm that filled me with Determination while running through the sandy fields. Then we have a beautiful pixel art style, gorgeous sceneries, great gameplay with challenging and fun boss fights (side note: although I couldn't fully appreciate Ceroba's fight since it had a couple pretty much unavoidable attacks. Or is it just skill issue on my part? Anyway, that part annoyed me more than it should have. Moving on, lmao.)

Furthermore, the game also has charming characters! They are the ones that kept me going and really ignited my interest. Not gonna lie, it took me until the town in the Dunes to become really invested in the game. Martlet is charming and cute, sure, but North Star and his gang, no, that guy specifically sold it for me. Charismatic, funny, very expressive sprites (well, all facial sprites are quite colorful, but it took me until North Star to appreciate/notice just how many there are for each character) and an interesting internal conflict with wanting to entertain others so they forget about the pain of being stuck underground, but at the same time being so absorbed in his persona that he temporarily acts like a douche towards his pals and forgets who he truly is. He also features my favorite joke in the game when he proudly proposes to the salesman that "he wants to buy a gun for the child". Freaking hilarious, love him, huehehue.

Story-wise, I was pleasantly surprised and taken aback by the dark twists of Ceroba and her husband Chujin. And I appreciated how the flashbacks got intigrated within her final boss fight. I don't know about you, but my biggest motivation to play RPGs are not just the gameplay, it's mainly the characters and the story. If the gameplay is amazing but the characters/plot boring, then I lose interest quickly. To me, the real rewards of a tough battle are story progression and seeing just what the characters will do next. Therefore, I greatly enjoyed the breaks between Ceroba's phases in which we saw parts of her backstory. They even made me cry!

...Although, to be honest, I don't exactly understand why we had that insight into her mind in the first place. Why did we survive so many hits to the point of 0.00001 HP? Where's that coming from all of a sudden? Why did time stop at some point like Za Warudo? Maybe that random plot armor (that happened the first time and never again) is explained in another route, but anyway, moving on-

This review-style blog entry only exists because of the True Pacifist ending. I'll be blunt, I hate it. Why?

So it ends with Clover sacrificing their soul for the monsters so they can eventually break free. Which is fine on its own. Clover is for the most part a blank slate of a character, only driven by their desire to seek the lost humans, that's basically it. Maybe it would have made a bit more sense for Clover to see an actual physical proof of their demise before they give up on them completely, but eh. I'm also wondering whether they are really okay with potentially another, possibly innocent human falling down sometime in the future only to get killed by the monsters. But oh well.

(You know, now that I think about it, I actually am a bit salty about Clover's decision to sacrifice themselves, lmao. Would've been kinda cool if it was up to the player, have another ending split.)

Anyways, the issue I'm having is how our cast of supporting characters, Martlet, North Star aka Starlo and Ceroba react to Clover's decision. They are shocked first, but... agree surprisingly quickly?? What?? Excuse me, the entire hassle we went through to get to this point was to stop Ceroba from taking Clover's soul. Now with Clover volunteering to sacrifice themselves, the gang is cool with it??

Of course they don't agree immediately, but are easily swayed within a few arguments back and forth. Man, what friends you are, guys. The reason I'm having this pet peeve in the first place is because we as the human, who has known these guys for just a day, did a lot for them, alright? They all tried to kill us at one point, but we took the beating, the hard battles, forgave them and were there for them during their internal conflicts. We were a pretty decent friend, if I may say so.

Especially with Ceroba! We did a lot to change her mind and path of self-destruction! Yet our so-called friends don't put in the same amount of effort when it comes to convincing us otherwise- or heck, use force if you must- get Clover away from there, lmao. Wouldn't it have been an interesting act of redemption on Ceroba's part, by the way, if she tried to stop us? Being touched by our mercy and refusal to give up on her, she does the same for us?

I suppose the reason I am so baffled by all this is because of Clover being a blank slate, the player character really felt like me, like I was going through the journey and not like I was controlling another character. It felt like my decision to spare them all, to talk to them and wanting to get to know them better. So the group of characters I have really grown to like giving up on me within about a minute of back-and-forth just felt... wow. Thanks, guys.

If I compare it to Undertale's True Pacifist in which every important supporting character gathers up after the confrontation with Asgore, all agreeing with the decision of me, the player, staying in the Underground with them, then oh boy, it really stings. Just would've been a cool, wholesome sign of friendship if Martlet, Starlo and Ceroba decided that "nah, even for the surface, we won't give up on Clover". By the way, in this game, we don't even really get to see why the monsters want to return to the surface so badly. They keep saying they want to, but what are the reasons exactly? More freedom, I suppose. Yet by expanding the Underground with the Dunes, the Mines, the Factory, and some of Snowdin, the Ruins and New Home, their habitat seemed so much larger than in the OG game- What I wanna say is, their desperation should've been shown way more instead of told, so the player can understand the monsters' aspiration better.

The thing is, it's a shockingly easy issue to fix if you really want "the canon ending" with Clover ending up dead and their soul taken: have Clover still have their moment of doubt and realization, remembering what the monsters told them throughout their journey. Then they go to Asgore with their gang, hoping to convince him. It doesn't work out, so Asgore starts a fight. During the battle, Clover realizes it's useless to fight back, it's better to have their soul taken for the monsters, so they allow Asgore to kill them. Their friends are not powerful enough to stop him. There ya have it.

Siiiiigh. Is it just me, being annoyed by that ending? As a whole, the finale felt a little... rushed? Was New Home always meant to be so empty? Is it to build up atmosphere? Yet there were two silly NPCs in the first screen of New Home, making me assume that maybe, there was another plan originally? (If it has been stated in a devlog or any other comment by the creators, then I apologize, I haven't read those fully.)

Anyways, if I didn't care about the game, this rant wouldn't even exist in the first place. I was really invested in the game until the ending just left me... kinda sad, not gonna lie. It will take me a while to process it all.

If you got this far, then thanks for reading. Am I the only one feeling this miffed about the ending? I might go back and edit this post if I find out there are things to be corrected. Buuuut as of now, happy holidays!

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I’m relatively new to the fandom and have really enjoyed a lot of your posts… I have a question that I couldn’t quickly find an answer to in searching through your tags…

What’s the deal with streaming? Like, I listen to BTS. I enjoy them a lot, I listen to a pretty even mix of all their albums though I probably like MOTS:7 era the best). Some days I listen to them like all day lol (if I’m cleaning the house or something) and I listen to them a lot in the car or while working. I’ve enjoyed some solo releases more than others so I naturally streamed those more. but like the more I start following accounts on here and on army twt the more confused I get about the intense pressure to stream constantly? I’ve heard that people play certain songs (or albums I guess?) on repeat on mute and/or have dedicated streaming devices they keep going all the time.

Not to be negative or rude at all but like…what? Maybe because I’m new to KPop and have never followed it until BTS but that just sounds so weird and… idk the word, maybe disingenuous? Again I do not mean this as an attack I am just genuinely confused. Wouldn’t BTS themselves want us only to listen if we were actually enjoying it and not out of some competitive attempt to get better ratings? It feels so odd to me, like that is not how I would behave with any other artist that I love. I would only ever listen to them out of a genuine desire to hear their music. But there seems to be so much weird shaming out there for when/if songs are not streamed heavily enough? And for any other artist I would just write that off as a difference in taste among the fandom, but here it’s treated like a personal wrong against the artist…?

But as I say that I’m sure there’s more to it… I have definitely seen people talking about payola or chart manipulation so idk. If I should google this instead, just tell me to, I just have already tried and didn’t find that much clarity, just a bunch of people on quora and Reddit talking about certain songs not getting streamed enough.

Anyways this is super long, sorry if it annoys you. Just thought you seemed knowledgeable and levelheaded enough to ask? Love your posts. All the best.

*

Ask 2:

Okay wait I’m the anon that just asked about streaming and I went and re-read your post about “inorganic success” — I had read it before but somehow I didn’t put together that the 24-7 streaming is an attempt to combat payola or like go up against it I guess. Okay. That makes more sense. I still feel like there’s a weird focus on charting but I guess if it’s about getting more concert venues and more radio play it makes sense.

You can ignore my last ask then I’m sorry if I’m being dense or something lol.

***

You haven’t at all asked a stupid question. Your confusion is easily explained by you being new to k-pop, and everyone new to this madhouse asks this question eventually. I’ve talked about this before, but can’t find the post for the life of me so I’ll briefly go over it again.

First, you need to understand what k-pop is. K-pop is a system that gamifies music consumption. Competition is something you’ll see in the music industry regardless. Western stans such as Arianators, Barbz, and the Beyhive have organized around streaming goals and efforts for at least 10 years now. But there’s no other music industry that explicitly emphasizes competition among groups and fans, the way the k-pop industry does.

Competition is baked into its DNA:

From the idol training system under agencies with supposed specialities that are treated like warring houses a la Game of Thrones (a mentality created by the Big 3),

to the music shows where fans are encouraged to vote daily and weekly for the best artists and where wins are tied to streaming numbers,

to the highly publicized year-end award show criteria that outline key metrics for wins in streams, sales, and fan votes.

Basically, the k-pop industry creates a clear hierarchy of talent and acclaim for artists in their system, directly stokes fan participation in buying into that hierarchy, and the numbers are the easiest litmus test/short cut to settle the question of who is at the top.

And all of this is served with a cocktail of parasocial delusion and entitlement that has (more easily manipulated) fans thinking their perceived investment into their faves, earns them the right to micromanage their fave idols’ careers. All of this benefits the labels and industry because they’d rather have you more engaged (even if toxically), than not.

Everybody here buys into this system despite what they’ll tell you, some just manage to keep their wits and perspective to prevent getting sucked in, while others fall headfirst into it.

And so, like I said in my ‘inorganic success’ post you referenced, the focus on streaming is part of fans really just playing the game. Excess is something you’ll see on the charts in any case, whether in k-pop or in the West.

The difference with BTS and ARMYs however, is in the why of how the fandom streams. Essentially, you’re more likely to find people just as passionate about the music itself as they are about giving that music its due in hard numbers and consequently, recognition. You’re more likely to find fans like this in the ARMY fandom, than any other, in my opinion. Some people forget that the og ARMYs were k-pop fans first. They were fans who intimately understood how this system worked, they understood why the Big3 maintained dominance in k-pop for literal decades, and they saw the worth in the music BTS made, loved it enough to invest time into the playing the game better than anyone else at the time - pushing BTS from nugu status to where they are now, competing well outside the realm of the k-pop system but in a space that remains complex and highly competitive.

Another aspect that differentiates how ARMYs stream vs other k-pop fandoms, is that due to the sheer size of the fandom in absolute numbers, the average ARMY typically streams less than a typical k-pop stan. Basically, in other fandoms the typical stan has to stream more per person to have even a fraction of the gains seen in the ARMY fandom. ARMYs also aren’t doing anything other fandoms aren’t doing, it’s just that so far, they’re more efficient at it and don’t have to worry too much because BTS makes music that keeps attracting more fans, adding to the size of the fandom. They’ve also generally stayed away from more illegal methods given the intense scrutiny and animosity the fandom has faced for being part of the reason BTS upended the ordained hierarchy in this space. It sounds silly but it’s true.

But that’s only one side of the story. The other side is that in the fandom, everybody here really just does what they want. And many people genuinely enjoy listening to BTS that much and that intensely. Going by personal experience in what I observed before I became ARMY, I noticed that many ARMYs are Type A and organized - people who like and study data. The first time in my life that I saw someone create a spreadsheet for fan theories on a k-pop MV, was when an ARMY made one for I NEED U MV. I’m not sure what it is about BTS, but from the beginning they’ve attracted the sort of fans who genuinely enjoy listening to music often, people who enjoy creating and playing around with playlists, and people who track and measure applicable data. So your assumption that the people who stream like this are people who don’t actually enjoy the music, is wrong. In my opinion. For a lot of ARMYs, streaming and appreciating the music isn’t mutually exclusive.

Personally, I listen to music a lot. And I’ve always been that way, so when I became ARMY, I just sort of naturally fit into that culture. The sort of music BTS makes is a joy to listen to, I play their stuff literally everyday and it feels like the most normal thing in the world for me to sleep to Serendipity sometimes (in my sleep playlist which includes brown noise and rain sounds), or to do laundry to Let Me Know playing, or to drive to UGH and Set Me Free Pt 2 playing. I have multiple accounts because I listen to all kinds of music all the time, and it’s just convenient for me to have things set up such that I can flip on a playlist in every situation I’d want one on.

But like I said, the reality is that everyone in this fandom does what they want. It’s true there are certain people in the fandom who obsess over streaming, these are typically chartmys and akgaes, but most other people stream however they like. Fandom in general is a pressure cooker environment so I don’t blame you for noticing that pressure, but at the end of the day you really should just do what makes the most sense to you.

ARMYs generally recognize the reality of the space they are in, they recognize what it means for BTS, and most simply tweak their normal listening habits to maximize the gain and support to BTS. Plus sometimes it’s fun to play into fandom’s initiatives as a way to connect with other fans (such as in streaming parties).

I ended up rambling but let me know if this answered your question.

[fromtenthousandfeet]

https://www.tumblr.com/fromtenthousandfeet/762649366059204608/httpsxcom97901suestatus1837382052729311473?source=share

Yes seven and golden were definitely successful. The music that was chosen all have easy hooks and JK's by no means a bad performer. Also JK was extremely popular prior to his solo songs. And anon isn't wrong per se - I'd say JK is definitely the most known member of BTS right now. He should be shouldn't he? Comparing his activities to the only other two members who could've possibly competed - Jimin and Tae had a pretty limited rollout. They didn't go on extended radio legs in the west or otherwise, didn't perform at any big locations like times square or gcf or iheart, didn't have huge collabs with huge western artists, didn't get the Hybe / sb marketing team hounding every music critic, radio host or netting awards for them (imo VMAs are usually negotiated, I've said this before JK entered the picture so i wont be changing my opinion just because he won one - they wouldn't give it to some unknown but the fan voting is a formality). What I question is if goldens only purpose was to be successful for its own sake.

How well did JK really do? With Jimin we can see that his newer songs from muse did better than his older ones from face. Even though sgmb wasn't as popular with his fanbase or in English, it still did better than smf pt 2 and who obviously performed much better than like crazy. Jimin's success with face translated into more fans, more organized fbs and hence a better performance with muse even though he's enlisted and couldn't properly promote his album. I won't consider nlg a worthy comparison since it's just a fansong but let's compare SNTY to 3d or seven. That's fair enough right? JK only had a few weeks to promote it before he enlisted but I would still say better than being totally radio silent like Jimin for muse. Anyhow SNTY's success was very JK from BTS-esque coded. As in without all the marketing and hype, that songs success is what I would've initially expected from JK in the first place from chapter two before the insanity of seven. It did very well of course. But how is it that we went through such a huge hype cycle of the biggest global popstar who sang seven to rival western artists and BTS themselves, all that marketing and activities and then end up right back to the same situation with his music performance that he would've achieved with his popularity post-hiatus anyway. If Jimin is dependent on his fans for his chart performance then SNTY shows that JK is still dependent on armys but how are they both now in the same situation when one has industry plant level money behind him? (industry plant is just a factual moniker for me not an insult for example I love industry plants Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter). But where are all his new fans that he gained from seven and 3d?

If I invested so much money at JK only for his performance at the charts to revert back to the same level as it was before I did that, then I'd be questioning a lot. Of course scooter and his buddies probably still made a sick amount of money from seven and golden but as Hybe trying to make a new BTS, I'd be annoyed that my marketing budget for JK would have to stay huge to get the returns I want. He's no BTS - invest minimal budget and get huge returns. JK might still get the golden treatment once he's back - sunk cost theory is a thing after all. And while JK didn't quite become the next Justin Bieber like he was supposed to, he's still more successful than 95% of Hybe's other projects. Anyway I doubt people who aren't as deep into this as us can even tell his popularity isn't at the level it's supposed to be at. They'll just say JK is the most successful member from BTS because like you said marketing works. However JK in chapter two has shown me that unless he makes a serious breakthrough with his next projects - his merits as a solo artist are still inextricably tied into his groups fanbase. Which is fine since Armys are still huge and maybe that will be enough even though I feel he failed to net enough dedicated fans with his solo music. But I do wonder about the sustainability of this arrangement when the group returns or if the group decides to go on a more permanent hiatus. Will armys all convert to jjks? I guess we shall see.

Also sidenote I know Tae's music has never done as well as Jimin's and his popularity is more superficial than Jimin's but I still think he's more popular than the other members by far and he could've potentially gotten to Jimins level if he'd done a better debut solo album. Just clarifying since I bunched Tae and Jimin together here even though it's not 2022 anymore and Jimin has strided past Tae as a solo artist. Also they may have definitely not opted into whatever deal JK had - I doubt they were offered one but it's possible it was their choice too. I don't want to strip them of their agency. Tae and Jimin have seemed more wary of Hybe than JK I think

Thanks for sharing. Lots of good info here.

[hannahhook7744]

Hey Little Hope Fandom!

I'm trying to make a list of hobbies and info about The Clarkes (Plus Vince) and need a bit help.

If I missed anything let me know in the comments down below.

Here's what I got so far.

James:

Born on April 8, 1929.

Died on January 17, 1972.

Factory Worker at Ravenden Textiles Factory.

Worked with Vince.

Married Anne at 19.

He adopted all 4 of the kids.

He likes sports and darts.

May have had a bit of a drinking problem.

His middle name started with T.

42 when he died.

Has a temper.

Didn't approve of Tanya and Vince dating.

Worried about the factory closing alot and thought the kids would be fine, though he did tell Anthony to look out for Megan due to Anne's worrying.

Anne:

Born on February 12, 1931

Died on January 17, 1972.

Married James at 17.

40 when she died.

Was unable to have biological children.

Worried about the kids alot. Megan especially.

Didn't approve of Tanya and Vince dating.

Had a book on parenting.

Was frustrated with James.

Looked to the reverend for help after reaching her wit’s end with Megan. 

Tanya:

Born on August 22, 1949.

Died on January 17, 1972.

22  when she died.

Middle name started with A.

Hated Little Hope and wanted to get away.

Practiced Paganism. 

Dated Vince Barnes.

Yelled at Megan for playing with matches once.

Poured coffee on a handsy guy at work.

Was a waitress. 

Had coworkers named Murray and Jeannie.

Painted stars on a tire swing with her dad when she was ten. 

Liked Jewelry. 

Gets frustrated easily.

Owned a diary.

Was miserable at home.

Calls Megan M and a living hell.

Drunk whiskey before.

Likes bowling and burgers.

Might have shared a room with Megan.

Dennis:

Born on April 29th,1951.

Died on  January 17, 1972.

Was 20 when he died.

His middle name started with F. 

Didn’t trust Vince.

Was a band guitarist.

Had tons of records and was a big fan of music.

He might have been adopted first.

Also may have been a thief based on a one off joke but maybe not.

Calls Megan bigfoot.

His band had posters.

He participated in a concert. 

His band was a rock band.

Played rugby and maybe football.

He won several awards. 

Anthony:

Was born on either 1953 or 1954. Exact date is unknown.

18 at the time of the fire.

Became a bus driver after his family died.

Is depressed and suicidal. 

Tanya calls him ‘Mr. Knight in Shining Armor’.

Was annoyed with his parents’ fighting and his dad’s drinking as well as with how everyone treated Megan.

He resents Megan after their family’s deaths. 

Built a doll in jail to remember Megan by.

Got burnt in the fire.

Was the second youngest of the family.

May have a fear of being left behind and might feel left out by his family.

Is traumatized after the fire.

Was fond of the witch trials.

Has mental health issues.

Was blamed for the fire.

Was helpful to the family.

Got along great with Vince before the fire.

Shared a room with Dennis.

His middle name was not revealed.

Played darts and may have played baseball or basketball.



Megan:

Born on June 16th,1960.

Died on January 27th, 1972.

Was 11, almost 12, when she died.

Her middle name started with R.

She was a problem child.

She had a history of playing with matches.

Was called M and the little princess by Tanya,

She was resented by a lot of people in the family.

Was mentored by the reverend for months.

Was the youngest.

Had a doll.

Became rebellious and felt like her family didn’t care about her.

May have read Tanya’s diary.

Watches tv.

Is called Big foot by Dennis. 

Has mental health issues or may be able to talk to ghosts.

Was scared of the reverend.

Art was her best subject.

Had a C average and had an F in history, writing, science, and physical education.

Was resentful towards her parents.

Vince:

Factory Worker at Ravenden Textiles Factory.

Worked with James.

Has a temper.

Tanya’s boyfriend.

Has a nice car everyone is jealous of.

Likes whiskey, western movies, burgers, and bowling. 

Plays dumb but is actually really smart.

Practiced Paganism. 

Never got over Tanya and drank a lot after her death. 

Got in trouble at work because of it.

Visits little hope after it closed down in 1979.

Wasn’t that much older than Tanya based on his looks.

Became depressed after Tanya died.

Abandoned his car after carving a sun into it and rides a creaky bike.

Took care of Tanya’s grave.

Got along with Anthony before the fire.

He drinks the brand of beer ‘singing nickel’. 

Played pool/darts with Anthony before.

If you can think of any hobbies I missed let me know please. I'm trying to write some fics and want a better feel on the characters and would hate to miss something. Please and thank you. Even if it's just one off things the characters have said when Anthony was hallucinating them.

[death-by-mercury]

@hammill-goes-fogwalking thank you my beautiful friend 💖💕🌷🌸✨this game was so fun! I’ve been submerged in movies more than music lately so this is perfect.

My Seven Comfort Movies are:

1. The Clock (1945)

100/10 - Joe and Alice are so cute. Simple but beautiful and sweet romance story. No misery or negatives to it. You feel on the edge of your seat because of the time crunch they’re in.

2. Seventh Heaven (1937)

100/10 - same vibe as The Clock: simple and absolutely the sweetest. Chico and Diane are so tender and cute. Beautiful and innocent love story set in Paris 1914, unfortunately there is a sad turn, but I will not spoil it (although I will say, everyone survives - don’t worry) still very sweet.

3. It Happened One Night (1939)

90/10 - very cute. Another sweet romance. It’s not lovey dovey but you can still tell that they like each other for the majority of the movie. Nice ending. Funny too. I love it very much 😊😌.

4. The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

100/10 - my goodness. This classic western is the king of westerns for me. I also really love Once Upon a Time in the West. Clint is breathtaking and badass. Tuco is fun and crazy and Angel Eyes is cool, they all fit perfectly in the film. The aura is absolutely spot on, the stunning score by Ennio Morricone just make the movie perfect, along with the scenery and the classic style of the movie. It’s beautiful. Always my fav.

5. Dirty Dancing (1987)

9.8/10 - cute. Me and my sister’s summer movie. Patrick Swayze is the beautiful centerpiece in this. The dancing is captivating. The songs are nostalgic and catchy. Only things I’m not fond of is the guy that owns a hotel that calls baby “kid” and Penny because I find them both so annoying and they are unfortunately in the movie for considerable time. Baby herself and her sister are kinda annoying too. Oh well…

6. The Mission (1986)

110/10 - heart breaking. Beautiful. The piece where Gabriel plays his oboe for the native people is so profound and beautiful. I love this movie. The historical portrayal is beautiful and the religious focus meaningful. Sad ending but I won’t spoil it. For me, Gabriel makes it the most sad 😭.

7. Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

100/10 - captivating and beautiful. So inspiring and wholesome. Jimmy is so beautiful in here (as always). Mr smith is just a beautiful person entangled in the corrupt and rotten government politics. He shows what a good politician/senator should be like: he has strong morals and will fight until he drops for what’s right. It may be 2 hours but doesn’t feel at all that long. Great acting in this film, especially from the wonderful James Stewart.

I would like to honourably mention The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

because I love it so much as well ♥️

Also 100/10 - ah yes, another sweet romance movie with Jimmy. What’s there not to love but the bitterness that Ms Novak shows the lovely and Classy Mr Kralik until the end. Very cute and sweet with a lovely ending.

Tagging

@lonesomedreamer @shamanbluesss @thatmothertucker @boozilla-valentina @beanifred @m-00-ndingochan @jonesyjonesyjonesy @incurablyromanticsblog @greensleeves2107 @greyhound-locker

Give me your top 7 comfort movies

[thebunniesgrim]

Is anyone else tired of Stolas showing up in episodes? 

I like Stolas as much as the next guy but come on! Go away! 

The fact he’s going to show up in the Fizz episodes is like so draining he need to just go away for a few episodes  

There are 14 episodes including the pilot episode in all of Helluva Boss 

And stolas is in/ makes an appearance in 9/14 episodes (in if you count happy campers, it'll be 10/14, I'll explain later) 

The pilot  

Murder Family  

Loo Loo Land 

Harvest Moon Festival  

Truth Seekers  

Ozzie's  

The Circus  

Seeing Stars  

Western energy  

The reason I said happy campers might count is if you personally count the beginning fake out scene when Blitzo is in the Sloth ring going to Barbies rehab facility. It’s a refence to western energy if you through he was going to visit stolas when you saw that.  

That leaves 5 episodes that don’t have stolas in them  

Spring Broken  

C.H.E.R.U.B.S  

Queen Bee 

Exes and Oohs  

Happy Campers  

My man is a side character and has the so many episodes with/ about him. Loona, and Millie haven't gotten any episodes devoted to them. I personally don’t count Happy Campers as a “Millie episode” because moxxie still steals the spotlight from her and it’s obvious that Blizto and Barbies side plot is way more interesting. I don’t count Queen Bee as a “Loona episode” because I see it as a Kesha episode and Biltzo gets the ending spotlight of the episode by being a sad boi.  

Honestly, we haven't even got a domestic episode with the main 4 (Blitzo, Moxxie, Millie, Loona) we don't have any Canon (pilot isn't canon I think) episodes where it all of them goofing around the office. We get no character episodes for the main character. We get an episode about a Stolas’ daughter, but we can't give the main 4 any characterization beside  

Biltzo- the main character and he like horse  

Moxxie- he likes music, probably autistic, punching bag  

Millie- Violent  

Loona- antsy goth porn  

I mean fuck we get better characterization of Stella and Andrealphus in the small time we see them in Western energy stella is sadistic brat with 2 braincells and Andrealphusis is manipulative and probably one of those I killed my rich husband types  

I'm being dramatic for the sake of my saintly  

But like Viv you have so many characters put the owl down and breath for a second, ok? He'll be fine by himself for a while I promise  

I understand why Blizto is in every episode and even though he’s not my favorite character mostly because I like Moxxie more than him (I'm lowkey annoyed with him when he demines Moxxie or gets in Millie and Moxie's relationship. Honestly, I'm just tired of the moxxie beating.) I'm also tired of seeing him too It's like Steven universe nothing can happen unless steven is on screen or is somehow involved. 

 I get it. He's the main character, and you have to like him.  

They should change the name of the series to “Blitzo and Stolas are The Main Characters and Everyone Else can get Fucked”  

It’s a working title :)  

It feels like the only the way to enjoy Helluva Boss anymore is to be a massive Blitzo x Stolas Fan and look at the series through rose tinted Stoliz glasses  

#Rose tints my world Keeps me safe from my trouble and pain 

[chaoticcutiewhirl]

New Intro 3.0

We have been putting this off for a long while now but now its time to do this, and simply to say, we are a plural system that uses the collective name of "The Whirl Production House", Ava, or Whirl, and if you know us you know there is a tendency for us to be quite nerdy or atleast a collection of dorks obessed with more artistic endeavors. If you want to find us elsewhere here is our linktree:

Also before you look, to note is that we do have commissions, and before the link tree here is the comms sheet and feel free to message me if you want to possible support a disabled Transwoman

And beyond this it should be noted we are mostly a grouping of differing levels of otherkin sort of deals ranging between those of us who are fictives to those who are kins with very little shifting beyond that if at all. Mentioning that we should probably shift into introductions of individual members of our collective. I will say individual members because we are more so at the multiple end of the plural spectrum of things where its kinda easy to tell there are several of us up here, without bleed-through unless we are feeling blendy/foggy on who is fronting.

Also something to note, we gernally do not fall into Plural related labels and are still early in the processes of System stuff even though its been a few months since syscovery. Part of the reason is because the only ones of us that care about assigning labels feel we do not know enough to label everything, only using labels we do have an idea of working as apart of our system. Will those labels be disclosed? Not in this post atleast.

A Quick Rundown

We are the Whirl Production House system or Whirlproductions, a system to which is still figuring shit out who has an open mind to things so to get syscourse out of the way we are Pro Endo. I will say I am not afraid of blocking people as we generally do not care what you think but if you are annoying there is a way to make you shut up on our feed or notifs. Beyond that we generally face things with caution and are still learning about many things, we have a few ideas on who is what kind of roles but I will not share them and for origins I will say its either unknown or a mixture of several probably, with stress being a detriment at times and is part of the reason why we are not out publically about the Trans stuff alone IRL. We stress easily and have chronic illness (Some form of lung related thing as well as Fatigue) so if we are slow on the uptick please keep that in mind.

Headmates

Sylvia

Art by @/BunBunTushie on Twitter

Name: Sylvia S. / Sylvia Drake

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Demisexual-Lesbian

Kins: Mojave Sidewinder Rattlesnake, Sylvia Drake [Mice Tea]

Noting about Kins for Sylvia is that both are practically just who she is, as there are very few shifts out and when there is, it usually during hours of blurriness or questioning that leads to her questioning more of who she is, but being Sylvia Drake is basically the summary of her being

Age: Early to Mid-20s (Bodily we are 20 tho)

Likes: Writing, Looking at pretty art, doing research, music, Science Fiction (There is a lot), Westerns, TTRPGs, and Entertaining others

Dislikes: All Medical situations, Stress, People our body is related too by blood for the most part, Getting Yelled at, How the US Schooling system is set up

Tag: 🐍 Sylvia

Lucinda

Art by @observerkaine (Found you >:3)

Name: Lucinda

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Lesbian

Kins: Desert Hare, maybe Burnice White (ZZZ)

Age: Early 20s (Most coincides with the body's Age)

Likes: Art, Talking, Silly demeanors, Comedy, and Color theory

Dislikes: Loud noises, too many things to do, Time, and those who domineer a situation without consideration for others whether its through emotional or physical means, Awkward silence

Tag: 🌵Lucinda

Rowan

Art by @guacheenim (Oh Hey you are on here, hiya again.)

Name: Rowan

Pronouns: She/They/Xe

Sexuality: Asexual

Kins: Spider (Unspecified), Drider/Rachnae-like creatures

Age: Range of around the 30s

Likes: Quietness, Reading, Baking, Solitude, Safety and relaxation for all of us

Dislikes: Percieved threats, Stressors, People getting hurt, feeling useless

Tag: 🕸️Rowan

Kade

Art by @/D3monicY33n on Twitter

Name: Kade

Pronouns: He/She/They (Genderfluid)

Sexuality: Likes men and sometimes butch women

Kins: Carpet Shark

Age: Early 20s (Unconfirmed but lines up most with Lucinda in matching the Body

Likes: Being flamboyant, Piercings, Punk Subculture related music, 18+ stuff is especially tied to them

Dislikes: Feeling restricted, Fronting (Could be related to the first part),

Tag: 🦈Kade

Avarstia

Art by us... (May be replaced by digital art at some point tho lol)

Name: Avarstia Furhenbrook

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Lesbian

Kins*: Not actually a kin, she is a fictive of an OC we have of the same name and is legitimately said character and has helped greatly write the books she is involved with. In other words she is a Half-Demon, Goddess of Death, Winter, and Time who just somehow ended up here

Age: Given what is said above would it be surprising to say she is somewhere in her 700s on the mental side

Likes: Reading, Talking, Philosophy, Thought Expirementation, Writing, Observing, Storytelling

Dislikes: TTRPGs (She finds them boring), Menial tasks, Repetition, Staying in a single place for too long, Ideas of immortality or preventing decay,

Tag: 💀Avarstia

Fionn / Yang Xiao Long

Official Render from the Volume 8 episode of RWBY, "Refuge" (Will say there is divergence from canon in how she looks however)

Name: Yang Xiao Long

Aliases: Fionn

Pronouns: She/They

Sexuality: Lesbian

Kins*: Again as the shift with Avarstia shows, she is again falls under the aspect of being a Fictive in our system, she diverges from canon in the aspect that she is atleast blind in one eye in headspace as well as having a couple of Faunus features being her ears and tail, being a sort of draconic Faunus. Also Dragon Kin

Age: Early to mid 20s (Notably younger than Sylvia when we feel numbers are accurate)

Likes: Engineering, mechanics, learning about weapons and historical combat, comedy, Energetic music (Mostly rock and punk), helping others in any sense really

Dislikes: Feeling powerless, being Frontstuck (Its been almost 800 days by the time of drafting this), Biological family, others feeling bad, being objectified.

Tag: 🐲 Yang / Fionn

🐉 is also sometimes used as apart of her tag

Dendro

Art by Miranda Mundt, within the webtoon "Muted" (Again may update this when we have art on hand that is more to our preference)

Name: Dendrobrium, Dendro

Alias: Delphi

Pronouns: She/It

Sexuality: Demisexual-Lesbian

Kins*: She is again a Fictive of the character of Dendro from the webtoon Muted, with the main change between her appearance there and what is in our headspace being that she is more of a combination of Desert flora

Age: 300s, again like Avarstia she is a bit older but Dendro did mention it is an estimate given the time difference between Trea and Earth, but will say in source that is not a detail stated.

Likes: Plants, Gardening, Staying Healthy, existing beyond the confines of the place we live, being around people, learning

Dislikes: The body's Chronic Illness, the Desert Heat, and generally the urban areas of Arizona being the way they are.

Tag: 🌸 Dendro

Ceroba Ketsukane

Art by us but will note you can find Ceroba when she uses Tumblr on @kitsunetragedy

Name: Ceroba Ketsukane

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Bi with a femme lean

Kins*: Again she is basically just a fictive of Ceroba from Undertale Yellow, with the only difference being that she has two tails

Age: Older than Rowan, younger by far than Dendro, Monsters age slower than humans just an exact age is not really set mentally but she is older.

Likes: Thrillers and Romance, Art of her source, Cuddlable things, Older music (50s-70s), Calm and quiet situations

Dislikes: Abrasive clothing, People who are quite rude, Failure

Tag: 🦊Ceroba

Note: Ceroba does not front much and is at moment of writing the newest member of our system so this will likely be updated at some point

Members who will not be given great detail

This section is mainly here because of system members who have either been identified or appeared once and haven't been active at really all and we do not know if they are apart of our system still or if their existence is confirmed outside of small blips:

Duana - Moth monstergirl who kinda was the main one angry at everything and was the host for a bit before Sylvia and Lucinda took the reigns, was noted as a member pre-syscovery by those who knew the system was a thing sort of passively back then and she hasn't reappeared in a long time.

Aria - Robot girl who appeared once for like half a day before disappearing into the ether of our brain, do not know if she was a fragment with more of a sense of self or if she is a headmate but she is logged on our SimplyPlural

Clémente Dearworth - Yaelokre Fictive, who appeared in our system very recently and is a middle

Nicole Demara - ZZZ Fictive, who also appeared in our system very recently. And is active, this may get updated again to add her to the main list of things. 🩷

??? - A third pressence of recent editions is known but is unknown.

Questioning on if they are Kins or Members of our System

Mentzelia Laev (OC), its less so feeling like we get too into the mindset of the character, its generally an aspect closer to Clemmie where I feel there is a potential Kin but its more further back, or maybe being someone who is currently not active in the system. Either way Bug Lady had a specific sense of self that has not changed much and would explain the like autumn we were obsessed with blacksmithing and medieval weapons.

Lethica Nightborne (Legends of Avantris, Edge of Midnight), This one is more of a situation where I do not know but suspect she could potentially be like one my brain has picked up upon in a similar sense to Avarstia, Ceroba, and Dendro, a character who is more of a comforting pressence than similar tracks of trauma.

Vash the Stampede (Trigun), this one I think is or will be a kin, I do not see the aspect of them as a headmate being likely given the difference in thoughts but I feel atleast someone in our system will be a kin of Vash... Just has those vibes.

Falin or Marcille (Dungeon Meshi), Again I feel its more of a kin but its somewhere as it was a moment months ago admist the whole identity crisis of syscovery, that I ended up going on a spree and you can check my Tumblr back in April to see it, we were still figuring things out so I have no clue who it would have been. Either way, I feel it may come back again when Dungeon Meshi season 2 drops given the more laxed nature of it all atm.

Burnice White (Zenless Zone Zero), a new one and is the first documented adition. There has been a back and forth between her being a kin or the budding of a headmate, but either way, one tie to Lucinda.

In other words do not be surprised if we update this post to mention them beyond this section, whether as a offhanded mention of a Kin or as apart of our system full on. This section may be updated or maybe not I will say though.

Other Information

Honestly I do not really know what else to add for y'all to know but if you wish to ask anything I may add tags or whatnot down here to give you all an idea of what we do such as possibly using the same tag we use on Bluesky and Twitter for art being:

#AvarstiaArt - Art posts by us

Beyond factors such as that feel free to send in asks and one of us may respond with an answer or whatnot.

[eternalgyu]

KPOP LIST

🫶 Which group have you thought about stanning, but never seem to get around to it?

🎨 Do you have any irl friends that like kpop?

👛 How old were you when you first got into kpop?

🐞 What song(s) took you a while to warm up to?

💋 Have you ever disliked a group/idol? If so, why? (You don’t have to say who it is if you’re scared of getting hate).

🍒 What annoys you the most about kpop?

🎤 What do you love the most about kpop?

🪽Do you only listen to kpop?

🌸 Who are you favorite western artists (if you have any)?

🌈 How long have you been into kpop?

🥥 What music did you used to listen to before getting into kpop?

🎩 Which group did you used to think was overrated but ended up loving?

🧚‍♀️ Is there a kpop song that annoys you? If so, which one?

🕸️ Which concepts do you love?

🍦 Which concepts do you hate?

💫 How did you get into kpop?

🔮 Has anyone ever made fun of you or looked at you weird for liking kpop?

🪞How long does it take you to learn the names of each member in a group?

🎀 Are you a gg, bg, or middle/coed stan?

🪼 What name from your native language would you give your ult bias?

🥇 Your first bias ever?

🏆 First group you were a fan of?

🤯 Performance that still makes you go crazy?

🎵 First kpop song you listened to?

💔 Group or artist you're no longer a fan of?

📷 Favourite picture of this idol? (Asker should name an idol)

💡 Best concept a group has done?

👵Oldest kpop song in your library?

😼 If you were an idol, what would your assigned mascot animal be?

💒 If you had to marry an idol right now, who would you pick?

🙊 Your most controversial kpop opinion?

🐅 Best release from last year?

💃 Best solo performer?

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 If you were in a group, what member would you be? (Leader, maknae, mood maker, middle child, etc.)

💝 Favourite group?

❤️‍🩹 Video, song, etc. you watch whenever you need a pick me up or some comfort?

[solarwynd]

When armys used to talk about leftovers I used to roll my eyes because not liking a group when they change their musical direction is the most common thing just as I found myself annoyed by their hatred for multis - do you expect everyone to not listen to or to hate every other musical act just because they stan BTS?

However as someone who used to hardcore stan JK, I finally get the leftover part a little. I talk about him a little too much and it's because I used to stan him. I think its so much disappointing when someone you used to like becomes a poster boy of selling out. But I'm going to try to make a conscious effort to stop. It's just a bunch of negativity for no reason. Unfortunately pjms talk about JK a lot - mostly because jjks talk about Jimin - and the whole cycle keeps running. To some extent I appreciate the spite-inspo they provide pjms but at a certain point I want to open my twitter tl and not see fight after fight with every fandom on twitter and a bunch of ratkooks and maidkooks or pigmins or horsie or all that bs being thrown around. I've been off twitter for a week because of this (also to catch up with my assignments) and coming back, things are worse than ever.

I don't know what the solution is but things seem more exhausting than fun sometimes. I need some Jimin content stat 😔

Armys hatred of multis wasn’t because they liked other groups it was because multis 9/10 are fake and constantly threw BTS under the bus in defense of whichever other group they stanned. And in the case If they dropped BTS completely, they’d always immediately start to shit talk BTS the moment they unstan. (Even more embarrassing when you’d pull up old tweets to see that they were professing their love for BTS or specific members not even 3 months earlier sometimes) That’s where that term came from and it’s always been fitting. The bulk of these groups in kpop wouldn’t have the fanbases they have now without the fans BTS brought in. Especially 4th gen cause 80% of them are ex armys that’s just the truth. Me personally, I had no issue with anyone unstanning BTS when I was an army if their music started to not be to their taste. That’s understandable. But to unstan then go pick a group like NCT, SKZ or BP and want to talk about quality of music or talent? Yes, I will look at you dumb cause you’re not serious.

I will say that armys do give western multis a lot more leniency because they do hold western acts to a more superior standard than kpop groups. Which is ironic because those same western multis would in turn do the very same thing armys would call kpop multis out on and then they’d even add in a hint of xenophobia and condescension ontop of that too. So it really was all just one mess of a circle.

If PJMS weren’t as productive as they are in supporting Jimin, I’d be 10x more annoyed with them. They do talk about JK a lot but like you said it’s because jjks can’t mind their business. It’s also because how JK operates almost directly correlates to how jimin gets treated so it’s inevitable. Outside of that specific type of name calling (which irks me to no end on all accounts cause the majority of the people who are doing it are grown.) It’s the constant screenshooting and going back and forth that bugs me. Like I get receipt keeping cause I do it. But then you’ll have some pjms who will literally camp on the worst jjk anti accounts like Muri for a screenshot a couple minutes after that man posts some nasty tweet about jimin. And it’s like why? Why is he not blocked for you? What will he or any jimin anti really have to say that would be new or any different from him hurling the same pig insults, SH drags or reposting that same encore vid?

I don’t think the dynamic pjms have with jjks will ever change, so the best thing to do if you’re more on twitter is just stay in your own corner or continue to take breaks. Jimin hasn’t dropped music yet so you’re not really missing anything anyway.

[iguessitsjustme]

I NEED MORE INFORMATION!!!!

Sorry. but honestly, the Vivaldi, I'm gonna need a bit more...

💜💜💜

More information you ask? Of course. I have a lot to say. I’m writing this at lunch (and my tendonitis is very, very bad today) so sorry if it’s not as coherent as I might normally be. ANYGAY.

I would like to reiterate that this is an extremely western perspective but gmmtv started it by playing Vivaldi. I have a lovehate relationship with The Four Seasons but I’ll spare y’all and not get into that.

I think The Four Seasons is perfectly fine to have in a soundtrack for a show. I do not think that it’s a good choice for Ossan’s Love (though Spring is obviously the only one that stands a chance). I should also say that I’ve seen the Hong Kong version, the original Japanese version, and like 3 episodes of Ossan’s Love Returns. It’s not my favorite but I also don’t have major issues with it. So my first issue is that Vivaldi is just so tonally different than the show. It doesn’t match. Ossan’s Love relies heavily on slapstick for comedy and when I think of classical music and slapstick comedy, Vivaldi isn’t even a composer I consider. I think most people would probably think of Flight of the Bumblebee. Maybe Into the Hall of the Mountain King if I’m being generous.

My second issue is that it didn’t match the tone of the rest of the music in the trailer! So not only does it not tonally match the show, it doesn’t even match the rest of the music. One entire element of the trailer was inconsistent and that worries me. It was clearly chosen as the hook at the beginning of the trailer to catch and keep the attention of the audience who is already likely overly familiar with the story. But the rest of the music in the trailer was very…Thai BL. Hard to explain. But do you know what I don’t associate with Thai BL soundtracks? Vivaldi. The Four Seasons. Most classical music. I’d be less annoyed by it if it was another random arrangement of a Christmas carol since BLs are so fond of that. And honestly that would have matched the rest of the music better. But speaking of…

My last issue (and this is my supremely western perspective) is that if they were going to insist on using one of the most well-known classical pieces for a wedding at the beginning of the trailer that they were going to subvert literally 2 minutes later in the same trailer, that was NOT the correct piece. I can’t believe that I am about to say this because I also have a lovehate relationship with this piece but they should have used Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major. That is THE wedding piece. It is known for being THE classical piece played at weddings. Like it is so much the quintessential piece played at weddings that some people (*stares in mirror*) get annoyed because it is so overused. So if they wanted to set up the expectation of a beautiful, normal wedding before ripping the rug out later on, they should have used the song freaking known as the beautiful, normal wedding song. Hell, I’d be fine if they had switched to Vivaldi’s Spring when the two love interests started fighting about whose wedding it is. I still don’t think it would be right, but it would have been better.

I’ll end this by saying I think the music in the rest of the trailer was perfect. It fit the tone of the show. It matched my expectations for the Thai version of this story. It’s just that one choice they made at the beginning of the trailer took me out. I literally had to pause it for a few minutes and try again.

[bisluthq]

Sorry but taylor absolutely was sloppy drunk towards the end. I'm not judging it like others do, but making your NFL boyfriend drink vodka on camera during the season is not rational and something you do impusively when really drunk.

Problem is most swifties are so defensive that unless she falls over or goes fully wild they don't want to see it, which is why for years the missed that she had a (minor?) problem with alcohol until she spelled it out in her songs, even though the signs were always there. Those who have been around know that Taylor had a complicated relationship with alcohol at least since 2015/2016.

Maybe she has it in control right now and those moments are exceptions, but ruling it out that she might not isn't really possible given her self-admitted history with it.

I mean as I’ve now said repeatedly I don’t want to say “Taylor had/has a problem” because that’s really not for us to say. What we know is Taylor drinks a lot and that’s not a new thing. What we know is historically Taylor’s been really fucking weird about alcohol which suggests a weird relationship with it. What we know is Taylor said Eras was the first tour (at least in a long time like idk about say Fearless) she didn’t “tour like a frat boy” on and she said she cut down drinking for it and I am not gonna say she’s a lying liar who lied about that which tells me if this is her having cut down lol then whatever was going on before was… a lot. I don’t think her music states she has a problem, I think her music states that she drinks a lot and worries about it on occasion which we know not just from the music but from this whole “I cut down” business.

Re this baseball game, I guess I should go look and decide for myself but also like Travis is a big boy too. If he’s being peer pressured into drinking vodka because of her that’s fundamentally his problem not mine or yours or even hers lol like idk lmao that’s really not something anyone except Travis (and maybe Andy) should worry about.

I also think, as I’ve stated repeatedly, that there’s just a cultural thing going on here and I don’t believe Taylor is gonna fix western society’s problem with alcohol. Something I’ve been noticing a lot since I’ve started questioning my relationship with alcohol is the sheer quantities of alcohol related merch in shops. People have written a lot about Mommy Juice culture and how fucked up that is (and it really is) but like I’d argue it’s worse for childfree millennials and Gen Xers because as much as it’s sorta normalized that mommies need wine to mommy, there is also stigma at mommy being out of it. The idea is mommy should be pleasantly tipsy. Childfree women can, and maybe even should, per society, drink a lot. I’ve seen so many tote bags, glasses, bottles, notepads, T-shirts, etc with slogans about like books and cats and wine and gin. And Taylor exists in that same societal milieu. We are repeatedly told that fun women, sophisticated women, interesting women, SUCCESSFUL women, intelligent women fucking DRINK. Taylor won’t fix that as a one woman project and frankly it’s not her job to.

Another thing to note though, and I’ll say this in her defense and with role model discourse in mind, Gen Z (and I think hopefully Gen Alpha) are drinking significantly less statistically than Millennials (I don’t have stats but I have a feeling we’re the worst) or Gen X. I know campus bars are closing, and there’s a vague disinterest from younger people regarding booze. Other mind altering drugs I think not so much lol - my feeling (this I haven’t read but from observation) is Gen Z is replacing booze with weed (in the form of vapes and edibles mostly). I tend to be pro this because weed is demonstrably and statistically less harmful for society lmao. No one kills their spouse because they’re stoned. They might be really fucking annoying but they’re at least not dangerous. Also weed does have mental health benefits and even physical health benefits. Alcohol does not. Alcohol is quite literally poison.

And like lmao I really want to stress that I’m not saying this in a holier than thou way. I’m saying this as someone who has been drinking since I was 15/16, drinking regularly since I was 17/18, and drinking to excess since I was 19/20. I say this as someone who, up until earlier this year, was a daily drinker. I say this as someone whose partner, while he’s also cut down dramatically, is more often than not a daily drinker (but like he really doesn’t drink a lot now - when I say “daily drinker” I mean like he’ll have a beer most days and/or a glass of wine. When I say I was a daily drinker I mean like I had 3-4 glasses of wine more days than not). I also say this as someone who may well drink again. I haven’t taken a vow of abstinence and I haven’t joined AA. I might decide I want a particular drink and shit like I might get over not drinking and go back to daily drinking idk. I’d be surprised if I do that though because I feel SO much better sober.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.