#this mv is such a joy to watch so i can only imagine how it felt to create

[radio-4-is-static]

Audacious | Franz Ferdinand

So don't stop feeling audacious, there's no one to save us So just carry on And don't go blaming the neighbours, you know they're the same as us We should just get on Get on

[mrs-monaghan]

Do you think Jimin and Jungkook took a break in their relationship?

And by break I mean break. Not break up. They have never broken up. JK would not accept that lying down 😂😂 Not that Jimin would be okay with it, but JK would never allow for that to happen. They take breaks and give eo space. But never an actual break up.

If I'm talking to Jikookers then we already know these 2 know everything about eo. Like it's very rare to see them not know something about eo. So when that happens, it can be eyebrow raising.

For example here i point out how JK didn't know Jimin, and 2seok went to an escape room together. That is weird. Jimin not only went to an escape room with Jhope and Jin, but he never told JK. Like I said, it's weird. So if I were to guess I'd say Jikook fought and Jimin temporarily went to live with Jhope. And I think it wasn't the first or last time they both did something like that.

And u know what guys? This is absolutely normal. It's what couples do. They fight and sometimes to the extent of moving out. But then they will miss eo and reunite. Especially if you are as interdependent as Jikook are. Then you cant stay for long without your person.

Some people say when Jimin left and went to Paris they were on a break. That JK looked like he was crying because he expected to spend this birthday without Jimin

Now while idk if they were on one of their breaks or not, I do agree that JK could have cried tears of joy when Jimin surprised him. JK has had Jimin for his birthday every year since they met and I imagine he was kinda down thinking 2019 would be the first birthday without him. I can imagine the happiness and relief he felt when he saw Jimin. 🥺

Another time I personally also agree things may not have been okay at home is during this BB of Jhope's MV

Jikook were... off. First of all they arrived separately. Which would mean nothing if it wasn't for how off they seemed. I can't explain it you'd have to watch for yourselves and see they weren't really acting like themselves. Even if they left together. There is an analysis out there but I wouldn't know where to find it now. But I know some Jikookers say Jikook were not alright around this time and when I watch the bomb I see the strange vibe.

So yes, anon. Like any normal healthy couple, I do think Jikook have taken breaks. But I have a feeling they don't really last that long..

Thanks for the ask! 💚

[radio-free-beth-sarim]

I'm currently sitting on the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD. My family has always taken vacations here, and coming here as an adult is basically just me doing all the things I used to do as a kid, but also the things I wanted to because I couldn't... I was a kid. For a long time I just couldn't afford a vacation. I was bound to my job at the cost of my health. And that led to me getting sick when I just wasn't taking care of myself. Being as sick as I was, I wasn't sure I would ever come back here. There was no guarantee I'd recover, and a good possibility I would be dead by now. So I see being here as a triumph on several fronts. I can now afford to take a vacation, and I am now healthy enough to make it here.

Often I would entertain the idea that I was actually dead, watching the world from the afterlife as it just moved on past me. I came back to a world just similar enough to be familiar but different enough to feel like I'm out of place. I felt like a space alien when I tried to swipe my debit card at the supermarket the first time and they told me to tap. And I was just like "that works?"

I told the cashier I was "gone for a while" and they gave me a strange look. I can only imagine they thought I was just out of prison. I tell people now that "I spent five years dead for tax purposes" and that usually gets either a laugh, or a stranger look than the implication I was in prison. A win for me either way.

But returning to places after the passage of such time is bittersweet no matter the circumstances, and being on the Ocean City boardwalk is a good feeling but one that carries a twinge of sadness.

Arcades have always been my happy place. From the Dundalk skateland that had a Darkstalkers machine and an MVS cabinet to Aladdin's Castle where I spent so much money playing DDR, I always felt so at home and comfortable in those spaces. So being back at the boardwalk for the first time in so long, I had to go to the arcades here. I walked along the boardwalk, and man, it's different but in all of the important ways nothing changed. The weird t-shirts. The Thrashers fries. They're selling deep fried oreos now which I am sure is delicious, but the things that would do to my intestinal tract make me cringe in horror.

I stopped at just about every arcade on the way. All of them left me disappointed that they weren't like what I remember. It's all ticket games, coin pushers, or claw machine variants. If they're actual video games they're reworked versions of old school games like frogger or space invaders, or mobile games. I don't mean to sound all boomer about this, like these kids just don't know, that's not what I am complaining about. I saw a lot of kids having a ton of fun, and it was so good to see. The laughter and joy was a delight, and being in such a place is a wonderful experience. Somewhere among those kids is someone building those core happy memories that will make them love the place like I did. Arcades are an important space where, as the great Charles Entertainment Cheese once said, a kid can be a kid. And going to an arcade makes me feel like a kid again.

But being there was also a stark reminder that I am no longer young. The arcades I remember are out of fashion. Those games are niche now. They don't make it to America often, let alone the Ocean City boardwalk. I made it to Sportland, one of the arcades I went to most frequently. I saw more of the same coin pushers and ticket machines. The place changed. Of course it had. Everything changes. But I mourned those days. In a way I was mourning my youth. I found a single neglected Tekken 3 machine and made my Person play me in a first to five. They 5-0'd me. That's how bad I am at Tekken, I got 5-0'd by someone that doesn't play fighting games. But it was fun, and they were a good sport. I also let a kid beat me in Mario Kart, so that was cool. The kid had to be like 10-12. He was happy, and that made me feel good. I won my Person a weird sonic plush, too. I had a good time! A great time! But as I walked out of Sportland with that bittersweet feeling in my chest, I looked over at Marty's Playland, THE arcade I used to spend most of my time at, and I couldn't bring myself to go in. I need it to be just the same as I remember, even though I know it isn't. I need there to be a place unchanged by time, exactly as I remember it, even if it exists only in my mind. And I know that's not reality anymore.

Maybe this is what W.B. Yeats meant when he wrote "There is no country for old men."

But I saw a kid in an Electric Wizard shirt so there is definitely hope for the future somewhere.

[xuenstrugglestoblog]

You may be a keyboard warrior, but I still don't think you should mess with the BTS Army...

Yeah... The BTS fans are the scariest kind in all of K-pop fandom.. But we're gonna talk about K-pop fandom and how it (kinda) took over the world! Before that, K-pop is a genre of South Korean pop music that gained massive popularity internationally in recent years. You must have scrolled through Twitter, TikTok or Instagram and came across names such as BTS, BLACKPINK, IVE and etc. I think we can say that K-pop isn't just about music itself or the pretty idols- it's a culture itself.

I can say that's true because I was once neck deep in the BTS fandom to the point I went from reading those Jimin x YourName fanfictions to writing my own (lol I can't believe I'm just exposing this right here BUT FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES RIGHT? #screwdigitalfootprint). We're gonna talk about how the K-pop fandom has grown into a global force that's changing the world on how we think about music, community and even social causes.

Can we just appreciate Felix's visuals, voice and part in Chef's Menu for one second before we go through the boring things.

Yup. That's enough.

1. The K-pop Fandom as a Cultural Powerhouse

Like I said previously, K-pop isn't just about music and idols anymore, it's culture, people. Fans don't just listen to K-pop now, they even embrace the Korean language, learn about Korean culture, have personal names for their fandoms (eg. Blackpink fans are called Blinks) and made slangs that are only used an known within the fandom. This may all seem so sudden this K-craze but honestly, it's no accident. Jang & Song (2017) noted how K-pop fandom encourages worldwide to connect with Korean culture, creating what's known as the "Korean Wave" or the "Hallyu". Most neck deep K-pop fans don't just listen to Korean songs, as I observed- they'd go all out to watch Korean dramas, eat Korean food and even downloaded Duolingo just to learn Korean for free (me. I did that. Now I'm on my 437 day streak). Thanks to the invention of the internet and social media, fans can join in this wave from anywhere in the world, creating a virtual space where cultural exchange happens every day.

Also, we should probably give K-pop fans kudos because if they are anything, it's organized and dedicated. Liu (2023) has observed that K-pop fans often organize streaming marathons, trend hashtags, and launch coordinated efforts to boost their favorite idol's visibility. This isn't random enthusiasm- K-pop fans are dead serious on making an impact and they know exactly how to do it. I know as well because in Korea when an idol has gone and finished their mandatory military service, fans would arrive in hoards at the entrance with signs and banners just to welcome their biases back into civilization (see this article of J-hope from BTS finishing his mandatory military service). Fans' dedication to make their idols trend and win awards is a huge factor of why this fandom is so powerful it's almost like a cult at times.

GIF break with this cute clap of J-Hope's Dreamworld MV.

OKay done.

2. Resolving Identity Crisis and Connecting with K-pop

For some fans, K-pop cured identity crisis provided them a sense of identity. Laffan (2020) explored this idea from a social identity perspective, noting that being part of a fan community can lead to some amazing psychological benefits. When fans connect over shared values and interests, they get this feeling of belonging. Imagine this : you feel out of place in your hometown but you found an online community where people just "get" you. That's what this K-pop fandom does for millions of people all over the world. However, it's definitely not just about connections, it's also about shared joy. Celebrating a comeback together, streaming the latest album release and commenting in real time via X, all this gives fans a collective experience. They celebrate together, go through things together and even at times, be there for each other when times are tough. Through these experiences, K-pop fandom creates an emotional bond that's hard to break.

Jang Won Young may have her fair share of haters but we can't deny those visuals, God Bless her mother for bringing such beauty into this world.

Moving ON,

3. The blue bird app X, Fandom Activities and the Digital World

Social media, such as X (formerly Twitter, RIP), is where K-pop fandom comes alive. I mean, yeah, they are other platforms out there such as Weverse and Instagram, but we're mainly going to focus on X. Maros & Abdul Basek (2022) observed how fans use platforms such as X to build strong online identity, sharing fan art, memes, fancams and more. X isn't just for you angry rants no more; for fans, it's a digital space where they find their people. I think I've mentioned that K-pop fans are extremely talented, organized and dedicated so you get so many cool things such as fan art, translations, fan-made lyric videos, fanfictions and etc. which strengthens their bonds with each other and their favorite groups. Plus, fandoms can overlap and co-exist such as Individual A loves Aespa and Le Sserafim so she makes a fanart that's like Aespa x Le Sserafim and it's really original and interesting, you can't really get things like that elsewhere.

I should probably mention as well that each K-pop group will have their own official fan club that works almost like a mini-organization which adds to my point that these fans are really organized. These fan clubs at times will coordinate global events (on and off line), set up streaming parties and even fundraise for relevant charities. Maros & Abdul Basek (2022) praised how these fan clubs show a level of coordination that goes way beyond casual fandom. These fans were willing to spend not just their money, but time, effort, blood, swear and tears (a little cheeky BTS slip right there) to make sure their idols succeed and stay visible globally.

I hope this makes you feel SPECIAL.

We're towards the end just a little more, please hang on.

4. The Good, the Bad, and the Banter

Like any big fandoms, the K-pop fandom has its challenges. I mean, it's pretty similar to how when a friend group gets too big, there's bound to be more disparities and fight breakouts. So there's this thing called "fan wars" which are rivalries between different fan groups, which can sometimes get a liiiiiittle bit intense. Liu (2023) points out that this competitive spirit is partially due to the way the industry ranks groups based on chart numbers, awards, and sales. While yes, competitions does spice things up, it can also create friction between fans who are each rooting for their favourites... Especially, those passionate ones...

Another known challenge is burnout. I myself, personally, experienced it, which is why I left the K-pop fandom back in 2019. The burnout is so real. Keeping up with the nonstop flow of content such as new albums, live streams, social media updates, new groups debuting, who has left group, who is dating this idol and who broke up, all this information can take up too much brain space at times. However, the new generation of K-pop fans are more open-minded, since I do noticed too that some within the fandom are starting to openly discuss these issues, advocating for balance, self-care and put your mental health first among other things. This is quite healthy and it shows how adaptable and self-aware the fandom can be. They're learning how to handle the pressures of fandom life and are even creating mini support systems within their communities (Laffan 2020). However, for my case, I do think I'm a little old for this since I juggle school, work and personal life balance (I play 3 sports) so I don't have any extra spare time for this but I still keep up with news from time to time (can you tell by how knowledgeable I am in this field?).

Why did NewJeans have to disband I'm so sad because they were the first band to made me reconsider hopping back in the pits of hellfire fandom.

Look how cute Hanni is hehe (she's a minor and you're going to jail if you smiled and agreed).

5. The Future of K-pop Fandom

Okay we're at the conclusion now. Thanks for making it so far and reading till this point. So to conclude, it's clear that the K-pop fandom isn't just a passing trend and it's here to stay for a while. It has become a global community that changed lives. Jang & Song (2017) discuss how the influence of K-pop goes beyond the music itself since it also acts as a bridge for cultural exchange and even social impact. From stream parties to donating to charities in the name of their idols, K-pop fans are using their passion to make a difference which is great honestly. With a blend of cultural appreciation, a touch of social bonding and a splash of online presence, K-pop fandom represents a new kind of community that brings people together across borders and different backgrounds. As long as there are fans eager to connect, I can say that this fandom will only continue to grow. Which is quite awesome since this fandom can inspire others and redefine what it means to be a "fan" in today's digital age.

Here is xuenstrugglestoblog checking out with her last blog :)

References

Jang, W & Song, JE 2017, The Influences of K-pop Fandom on Increasing Cultural Contact, National Research Foundation of Korea Grant, viewed 14 November 2024, <https://barnettcenter.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-08/the_influences_of_k-pop_fandom.pdf>.

Laffan, DA 2020, ‘Positive Psychosocial Outcomes and Fanship in K-Pop Fans: a Social Identity Theory Perspective’, Psychological Reports, vol. 124, no. 5, p. 003329412096152, viewed 14 November 2024, <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0033294120961524>.

Liu, CY 2023, ‘The Research on the Influence of KPOP (Korean Popular Music) Culture on Fans’, Communications in Humanities Research, vol. CHR Vol.4, no. 1, pp. 63–68, viewed 14 November 2024, <https://chr.ewapublishing.org/article.html?pk=f9ac124f75f94d07afd869e60bd5d9c9>.

Maros, M & Abdul Basek, FN 2022, ‘Building Online Social Identity and Fandom Activities of K-pop Fans on Twitter’, 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 282–295.

[fwoopersongs]

Do give the MV by CPC Music Channel a LIKE here!  I own nothing except the translation.

The State has a city, hey! The city is boxed. The city has a Lord, hey! Benevolent he was. The ministers are capable, hey! Pillars of the state. The Lord has an Empress, hey! She was just.

Sons, they died young; the succession fell from this line. Daughter, beloved and headstrong, fearful to the last. But the People too, were the Lord’s daughters and sons; in the streets, peace, stability - all were hale and well.

My wish is only one, to one day be myself; to follow my heart, be rightly filial, with no more ceaseless restraint for propriety, as a husband, free to shower affection on my wife, as a father, free to love and dote on my every child, to know my dearest as I did before, with no distance between us.

Our wish is only one, to limit Our desires as best We can, and both Lord and father need no longer worry for the morrow’. Prudence for a Lord is the most important virtue; the People are the very foundation of all under heaven. For the peace and stability of all the land, how dare We be willful?

Sons, they died young; the succession fell from this line. Daughter, beloved and headstrong, fearful to the last. But the People too, were the Lord’s daughters and sons; in the streets, peace, stability - all were hale and well.

My wish is only one, to one day be myself; to follow my heart, be rightly filial, with no more ceaseless restraint for propriety, as a husband, free to shower affection on my wife, as a father, free to love and dote on my every child, to know my dearest as I did before, with no distance between us.

Our wish is only one, to limit Our desires as best We can, and both Lord and father need no longer worry for the morrow’. Prudence for a Lord is the most important virtue; the People are the very foundation of all under heaven. For the peace and stability of all the land, how dare We be willful?

..................................................................................................

Comments

Serenade of Peaceful Joy came up in conversation with friends, and I thought to check it out on a whim.

Because the opening song starts with the little child singing in words easily parsed, it’s easy to be lulled into a state where you just sit back and enjoy the beautiful art in the drama’s opening. Even when the light male voice takes over at the second verse. But at the end of that verse,  百姓康↑ (i.e. the people are doing very well) sort of reeled me in again because the volume went up, but also - I did not detect any joy in that.  

And then I suddenly heard 惟愿我能一日为己 // My wish is only one, to one day be myself, and right onscreen was the puppet Emperor. So I came to the correct conclusion, that this line was in his voice and from his POV.

Then the camera zoomed out and seeing this scene of the people watching the stage reminded me of the child singing. I think when children sing songs that praise the goodness of their times, there is a shade more reliability. They aren’t stupid, and they can be startlingly observant. 

Anyway, depictions of the imperial family amongst the cheerful commoners, contrasted with the most powerful man in the state tired of the constraints on his life imposed by his duty. That was just - uhg. 

The next line I heard clearly was 亦君亦父勿忧旦夕 // and both Lord and father need no longer worry for the morrow’ - which touched me more than it hurt? But it was an achy sort of moving. 

Very innocently, I thought it was about the hard work and pressures that went into doing well as an Emperor for his people. 

(But you translate poetry, yj. You should know better!)

I wasn’t entirely off the mark ok.

So imagine my absolute shock when I actually pulled up the lyrics and saw the entire 2nd verse????

子皆寿短储落旁 Sons, they died young; the succession fell from this line. 女亦娇拗终惶惶 Daughter, beloved and headstrong, fearful to the last. 然民亦皆君子女 But the People too, were the Lord’s daughters and sons; 市井平宁百姓康 in the streets, peace, stability - all were hale and well.

The first line is already shocking. It also feels like something that would happen near the end of an Emperor’s rule. The choosing of a crown prince from a branch of the family, that is. You normally wouldn’t be doing that unless there is no other viable choice.  But more importantly, his sons all died young?! Truly tragic.

But his daughter (daughters? It feels like one though.), very treasured and headstrong, but passed fearful and uneasy? What happened here?

The second two lines feels like a consolation but also a ringing slap to the face. Like hey! Your personal life is a wreck, but at least you’ve done your job swimmingly. Perhaps it was at the cost of his family?

Next verse is the true wish! He uses ‘I’. This is a wish he makes as his personal self, just a normal man, wanting to be filial, wanting to be a good husband to his wife, a good father to his children, wanting to be himself and not have to suppress his nature and refrain from these things for propriety. 

The next verse shatters that wish into a million pieces. Here he uses 吾 as a self reference which I approximated with the royal We. For the rest of this life, he can never be just a normal man. He has to be a good emperor, prudent and dedicated, a father to his people. For peace and stability to be maintained, he cannot just do as he wishes. And the good news? In the narrative of this song, he succeeded!

So we have  Verse 1 - Commoner’s pride and praise of their State, city, benevolent emperor, capable ministers and fair empress. (The result, the surface) Verse 2 - May be the state of the country at the end of his rule. (The cost and the good done.) Verse 3 - A pipe dream. Maybe at the beginning before he fully mentally accepted the responsibility. (Start) Verse 4 - He’s accepted that he can’t have a normal life like that, and is now fully committed to the kingdom. (Turning point, go to Verse 2)

国有城兮城四方 城有君兮仁以长 臣忠能兮为栋梁 君有后兮持正方

子皆寿短储落旁 女亦娇拗终惶惶 然民亦皆君子女 市井平宁百姓康

惟愿我能一日为己 从心从孝勿思复礼 为夫恣情于内 为父舐犊于膝 识卿于初无疏离

但愿吾能尽节其欲 亦君亦父勿忧旦夕 慎乃君德之首 民为天下根基 为四海平宁何敢恣意

子皆寿短储落旁 女亦娇拗终惶惶 然民亦皆君子女 市井平宁百姓康

惟愿我能一日为己 从心从孝勿思复礼 为夫恣情于内 为父舐犊于膝 识卿于初无疏离

但愿吾能尽节其欲 亦君亦父勿忧旦夕 慎乃君德之首 民为天下根基 为四海平宁何敢恣意

[what-if-nct]

hiiii ok double reminder today because there's two whole songs to talk about lucky meeee

one: wayv!!! is back!!!! there is a new wayv song!!!!!!!! holy shit they're actually having a comeback!!!!!!!!! i love the song, i love how they managed to make the video look so glamorous even without the fifteen outfits and sets that I've come to expect from k pop mvs. but what's throwing me a bit is that the word "only" is a way of adding emphasis in indian english (side note: I've recently learned that india has the highest number of english speakers in the world, so it's surprising to me that indian english isn't more widely understood). like for example you could say "127 dream and wayv are all only nct only", where the "only" is just a way to emphasise the word nct. kinda like the word "just" in british/american english. so the title diamonds only makes me feel like I'm at a wedding and watching two aunties trying to one-up each other about their fancy jewelry and i find the idea of the wayv boys being at all involved in that scenario the funniest thing ever

two: Vernon released a solo song!! it's angsty and pop punk-y and he said he was inspired by Avril Lavigne and he's just so right for all of it. although my one critique is they beeped the fuck. let. idols. swear. please. i really like the song, but god imagine the absolute power of it if they let Vernon say fuck

Hiii! Yes! They've finally put out a song in fifty years and I love it. The video was very pleasing to my eyes. And that's cool I didn't know that, but it makes sense since I think correct me if I'm wrong India is one of the most populated countries? But oh my gosh I can specifically see Xiaojun and Ten in that kind of scenario. I watch a few Indian YouTubers and I recognize exactly what you're talking about. But I never really noticed it just understood it. I do that with a lot of English dialects and accents even if I'm not use to it I can understand it Like when Chan and Felix were talking about Aussie slang on the Zach Sang show. Even before they explained it I figured out what they meant.But I also watch a ton of Australian YouTubers.

And okay Vernon's song okay first of all for whatever reason Vernon is the only Seventeen member I keep up with and follow. I think I wasnt ready to commit to the full group but I adored Vernon predebut and stuck with him. Anyway watching Vernon's music video was the first time in my history as a kpop fan that I literally fangirled, screamed and almost cried. Like you don't even understand. Vernon brought me so much joy and took me back to middle school and love the song so much. He mastered that genuine pop punk sound and it spoke to me soul. And I agree let Vernon say the fuck word! Like i was literally squealing oh my gosh. And it would be Vernon of all people to do it. You have no idea how happy the song made me. I always isolate kpop from me like it's not exactly a genre I deemed that saved my life but pop punk post hardcore and metalcore are and I just never thought a genre that I like but never connected connected with would meld with the genre that means so much to me. Like to explain what different genres mean to me. It's post hardcore\metalcore\pop punk are who I am like that's me as a person. Country is my heart, pop is my bedroom, kpop is a wall in bedroom, and hip hop is my best friend's house I don't go there often but when I do its a vibe, fun and nothing but women. And Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift are my best friend. They're their own genre of music. Anyway I love the song, I love Vernon. It does Lowkey have Lil Huddy vibes but I love lil Huddy so it's chill.

[fictionkinfessions]

circus-p premiered "peace" today, and honestly? its really nice. when i was younger (about 7 years ago?) i was really in love with his work, especially "last of me." while listening to the premiere earlier today thats all i could really think about, since they both are technology focused songs. and i suppose that even if i dont really listen to his music much anymore, i owe a bit of thanks to him for keeping me interested in vocaloid so i could discover this timeline later in life.

but what especially hit me was the fact that i have a music video. like a lot of other vocaloids, im sure, the majority of original songs and covers featuring me have just a picture (that may or may not move around a little). or when it does have an mv, its a character and not actually me. off the top of my head i can only think of two other songs where im animated for more than a couple seconds (being sekai no hajimari, which i love, and a happy ending that nobody knows, which is cute, but i dont listen to it). so, with that said, watching this music video where im so heavily featured was and is so very exciting (not to mention the way that rice draws me? love it. i was also very happy to recognize the thumbnail before it premiered).

i understand how hard putting out an mv must be, so it makes sense why i dont have many, but being able to watch one really makes me nostalgic for performing in a way i rarely feel. normally i always feel nostalgic for performing with someone else, or watching someone else's show entirely. but this is me and my shows that im missing. plus knowing that a ton of effort goes into mvs makes getting one so much more special. do more popular vocaloids get this feeling all the time? that must be a wonderful thing, i imagine. im happy for them if that is the case.

theyll never see this, and i dont think i even want them to, but thank you circus-p and rice_deity for bringing me a lot of joy today. finally getting a music video for once really made me feel good.

anyways. that was a lot of word vomit that i dont feel like cleaning up. so, sorry its so long. im happy.

- fukase

[aislinswalsh]

AHHHH IS THIS REAL LIFE? I’M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE WOW ! hello friends !  i’m so pumped to get to know all of your children, and i hope you like my painfully irish angel bby aislin. her app did get a bit long so i tried to type up a tldr version, but shutting me up is practically impossible so forgive me if that’s long too. i do have a few wanted connections listed below as well, but if nothing tickles your fancy i’m super open to seeing where the cat drags us or plotting out something else entirely ! @opalsmedia​

            bio that’s just my app . pinterest . playlist .

[ HALEY LU RICHARDSON, CISWOMAN, SHE/HER ] shh ! AISLIN WALSH, the TWENTY-ONE  year old SECOND year FILM & PHILOSOPHY major from WATERFORD IRELAND, is known as a SAPPHIRE around here. SHE was invited to join because OF HER AWARD WINNING SHORT FILMS, and now, they’re here to stay. SHE reminds me of PICKING FLOWERS ON HER WAY TO CLASS, WRITING LOVE LETTERS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THE ART OF SETTING YOURSELF ON FIRE TO KEEP OTHERS WARM.

A Very Brief History:

Aislin grew up a very wild child, which her parents did not like at all. They chose to pay more attention to her brother who muted himself for their approval, and followed them blindly. She took solace in books, and making her own little movies or music videos with her friends. Think of those cringey MVs made by seventh graders. Very imaginative as a child as she spent a lot of time alone. She learned how to entertain herself no matter the occasion, and played a lot with the nannies, maids, gardeners, and cooks on their estate. 

She comes from old money, as the Walsh’s own a long line of car manufacturers throughout the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Her family praises her older brother for being responsible for getting a deal to import their cars to the US and asia. He was also a member of the society, and her parents never expected Aislin to be invited to join. Especially her mother who doesn’t believe her interest in Film and Philosophy isn’t attractive for a “young elite”

“Talk less, smile more.” ( shoutout to hamilton ) a phrase she commonly heard as she always has a million thoughts running through her mind. Each one she deemed important. There was so much to the world she didn’t understand, and had yet to see. It’s what made her so passionate about exploring it through film. To insert her own philosophy and start discussions around whatever thought was plaguing her the most. But her mother wished she would just shut up and let important people feel important.

The lack of attention from her parents made her a strong people pleaser. Searching for the approval she didn’t get from home no matter how hard she tried. She’s always there to lend a helping hand no matter how late, will be the ear someone needs and offer her best advice. Believes that her loyalty and devotion will earn her the love she so often felt she didn’t receive from her parents. Aislin knows what it’s like to feel neglected and like she’s not being paid attention to and she never wants people to feel that way so she showers everyone in the love she wishes her parents will show to her.

Aislin has a mind for wonder, and an imagination that knows no bounds because she can’t do the things she watches the protagonists she writes do. It’s her only form of escape from her life and she wishes she could live freely as her protagonists do but watching them in films would have to be enough. A passion that shows through as she as three award winning short films she’s known around the film community for. Those films being: “For the Love of a Daughter”, “The Problem with a Promise”,  and “The Ways in Which Footprints Lie”.

Personality:

She puts others before herself always no matter the situation. She isn’t a prideful person, so she’s typically the first to apologize whenever any sign of conflict arises even if she wasn’t the reason the conflict started.

 It’s really hard for her to stand up for herself, and will usually just allow people to take advantage of her or walk all over her. She’s scared of disappointing people so she does her best to keep the peace at all times. 

Aislin wishes to be selfish, and put herself first but can’t bring herself to do it. So she takes out her wishes through her works. Her protagonists are always free spirited, strong willed, and openly opinionated because she feels like she can’t be.

She romanticizes every aspect of her life, and tries to find joy in the little things. She’s quick on her feet, and performs well under pressure.  Also tries her best to give everyone she meets the benefit of the doubt even if they come with their fair share of bad interactions. Even if they treat her poorly she tries to find the good in them.

Wanted Connections:

her muse. this person is someone she longs to be like. they inspire her most ambitious of characters because of how selfishly and carefree they’re able to live. she notices how they put their wants first without showing shame, and aislin tries to mimic their speech, and the way they interact with others but she always folds. she wants to be close to this person in hopes their habits will rub off on her. she’s afraid to ask how they got so assertive because she doesn’t want them to pity her or be annoyed but they’re remain a dream to her all the same.

the one that got away. it’s aislin’s fault these two didn’t work out. she couldn’t get out of her own head. they weren’t ever a couple but this muse was very sweet on her, and aislin wasn’t use to that. she was constantly thinking it was only a matter time before she disappointed them. she was hot then cold, clingy then distant and it made her feels seem like mixed signals. this muse could only take so much and eventually stopped pursuing her all together. something aislin knew was coming yet couldn’t bring herself to stop.

her comfort crowd. this could definitely be a few muses ! these people would be her group of don’t ask don’t tell. they’d have their own code, and hold each other secrets to their heart and take them to the grave. they all have access to each other’s places, know their favorite foods, and spend all night sharing secrets, reciting dreams, and being their most authentic selves. in the days that follow their stress relief they don’t speak of that night, pretending like it didn’t happen until they need another night like it again.

her midas touch. this person manages to always get her out of her comfort zone, and do things she normally wouldn’t for herself. they can see the way she struggles with doing for others and doing for herself and want them to choose herself. they sometimes get into arguments over it because no matter how many steps she takes forward she always ends right back treating others in the way she should treat herself.

her skeptic. this person thinks her treat people with kindness attitude is nothing but an act. they believe she’s working some kind of angle, whether it be within the society, her department, her inner circle, etc. they just don’t trust the way she acts. fully believing there’s more to her sweet persona than meets the eye.

[becomewings]

Hi! What do you think is the significance of the umbrella/Jimin? It's being mentioned again. We recently saw it again in bbc live for Boy With Luv. We saw it before when he received an umbrella in exchange at the magic shop, and when Hoseok took the girl to hospital.

CW: contains mentions of trauma, blood, & drowning

Hello dear anon and thank you for your question! I will do my best to explain my interpretation and also provide a little more context for those who may be less familiar with the references you made.

I’m guessing that when you say it’s being “mentioned again,” you’re referring to the new third story of the Smeraldo Blog posted on July 15th, in which the florist Testesso witnesses a young man with an umbrella standing outside his unfinished shop during a typhoon. (If that wasn’t what you meant, please let me know!) The identity of the young man is unconfirmed, but plausible options include JiMin, due to the umbrella connection, and SeokJin, who is the only character so far who has definitely interacted with the florist in previous timelines. (Side note: if anyone would like to learn more about the contents of the Smeraldo Blog and the different versions of the stories, this post is a wonderful resource and is currently being updated for the 2020 revisions.) Second, I admit that due to the time difference I was unable to watch BangBangCon Live, so I had to search for some footage of the Boy With Luv performance. It looks like they all dance with umbrellas, though it’s perhaps a little striking that TaeHyung tosses his umbrella to JiMin at the beginning of the song. Regardless of the young man’s identity in the Smeraldo post and whether the BWL umbrella prop is a coincidence or a loose reference to BU (it certainly wouldn’t be the first time they incorporated such elements in their live shows and VCRs!), yes, JiMin’s connection to the umbrella is significant.

As you mentioned, in the Fake Love Teaser 1 we see JiMin exchange a photo of the arboretum for an umbrella in the video’s imagining of the Magic Shop. According to the teaser, “‘Magic Shop is a psychodramatic technique that exchanges fear for a positive attitude.” Psychodrama is a form of psychotherapy that engages clients’ self-reflections and insights with dramatizations and role-playing. Some Googling reveals that the real Magic Shop technique is broader than what is defined in the teaser, but it suffices for our purposes right now in considering BU.

JiMin’s fear is rooted in the truth of what happened in Grass Flower Arboretum on the day of his school picnic in Year 11. There are two forces that led him to witness/experience this traumatic event in the arboretum warehouse: first, the absence of his parents because they “were too busy to make it.” The mothers of JiMin’s friends praise him for being “mature and gentle.” JiMin seems determined to live up to this impression of maturity, rather than revealing how “down” he felt as the only unaccompanied student. So rather than waiting for his teacher, he sets off for home alone, confident that he can find the way on his own. The second force that leads him to the warehouse is the weather’s turn to rain. It is this element in particular, rather than the neglect of his parents, that stays with him for years to come.

“I began to run, holding my backpack over my head with both hands. The rain kept falling harder and harder. My pants got soaked in the rain after only a few steps. No shop, house, or bus stop came into sight. In the far distance, I could see a gate. I ran towards it without thinking. My hands felt numb from gripping the backpack. I was soaking wet, and my teeth were chattering. On top of the gate was a sign that read Grass Flower Arboretum. It was the back gate. There was a small warehouse just inside the gate.”

— JiMin, 6 April Year 11. The Notes 1.

Young JiMin does not have an umbrella and is forced to seek shelter at the first opportunity, which happens to be the warehouse. Later, he is found unconscious at the arboretum and taken to the hospital. When JiMin reflects on this in the May 11 Year 22 entry of Notes 1, he adds that his parents “didn’t ask any questions” about that or when he eventually developed seizures. There are many “what ifs” surrounding the event of April 6 Year 11. What if JiMin’s parents had accompanied him to the picnic? What if they had paid more attention and provided him an umbrella? What if they had been more present in his life, so that he did not feel the need to mask the disappointment of their absence from his peers and attempt the journey home alone?

But they didn’t, and they weren’t—and young JiMin sets off without an umbrella that day and lives with the consequences. We essentially experience the absence of the umbrella in some of the water imagery connected with JiMin in the MVs. The rest is connected with drowning and cleansing, both literally and metaphorically. As I note in my post Harboring Waters, “throughout the MVs and the Notes, we see that water, the element he uses to cleanse himself, is also the visual metaphor for his trauma. JiMin attempts to wash away his past rather than acknowledging his pain, only to drown again when his memories resurface.” In the years following the incident, he also conflates blood and mud: blood from what he witnessed/experienced in the warehouse and mud from the rain and his lack of umbrella.

“I closed my eyes and wished that this was all a dream and that, when I awoke again, I wouldn’t be able to recall anything.

That wish was just a wish. Instead, a cycle of seizures, injections, and injection-induced sleep that felt like falling off a cliff continued. After I awoke from that sleep, my whole body felt like it was covered with mud. Mud that looked like blood. No matter how hard I tried to wash it off, that warehouse smell lingered. I scrubbed until I bled, but it still felt dirty.”

— JiMin, 11 May Year 22. The Notes 1.

Even though JiMin presumably follows through with his plan on May 19 Year 22 of returning to the arboretum to face his fear (accompanied by YoonGi), he is still vulnerable to the triggers that recall the trauma of his past. On July 4 Year 22, JiMin collides with his dancing partner (HoSeok’s friend) and both are injured. The sight of his own blood nearly shuts him down as he desperately tries to wash it off. This leads to the scene you referenced, which is depicted in the Highlight Reel: JiMin chases after HoSeok and the unconscious girl with an umbrella but soon stops and turns around, realizing he won’t be of any help.

“Every time I took a step, rain splattered onto my sneakers. The headlights of cars swished by me. It’d rained on that picnic day a long time ago, just like today. On that day, I’d run away from the Grass Flower Arboretum. My body was covered with mud that looked like blood. I hadn’t grown up one bit from that little eight-year-old kid.”

— JiMin, 4 July Year 22. The Notes 1.

Now, back to the Magic Shop. JiMin exchanges a photograph representing the source of his fear for an object of protection that might bring him a more “positive attitude.” I think it is worth noting that all of the objects the characters receive from the masked seller are far from representations of lasting joy, and I believe that this was carefully calculated. They are temporary fixes or reassurances in much the same way that SeokJin’s manipulations of the timelines are largely reactive and short-sighted in his efforts to save his friends. An umbrella is only a temporary shelter until the stormy weather has passed; it does not banish the storm itself.

As I have mentioned in my recent JiMin-focused posts, his journey of healing is portrayed, realistically, as a complex one. It is not as simple as facing one’s fears and carrying an umbrella. There are progressions and setbacks, twists and turns on a road that might never truly end. Sometimes the umbrella may shield him from the storm, and sometimes it won’t. When that umbrella takes the shape of friends who accept and love him for who he is, then perhaps they will help guide him one step closer to accepting and loving himself.

I’ll end with one of SeokJin’s narrated quotes in the Highlight Reel, as it feels appropriate and is quite lovely:

“Though many seasons pass, there are places that cannot be reached. Yet another storm to be faced and to be weathered head-on. Loving without fear, hesitating and parting, merely living as the person I am.”

— SeokJin, Love Yourself Highlight Reel '起承轉結'

I hope that gave you some food for thought and wasn’t too long-winded! To anyone with their own ideas and interpretations, I would love to hear them! Please feel free to send them my way along with any other questions or feedback. ♡

[yjunies]

SEE? I'm a magician! I knew you would get a yeonjun pc. I'm so happy for you. :D

And this is a nice collection you have here. I see you got lots of beomgyu pcs in there hehe

I hope you'll get to extend it and I'm manifesting even more yeonjun pcs for the future albums. (*crossing fingers*)

Speaking of yeonjun (and txt in general), how did he become your bias? And how did you discover txt? 💕 It's always interesting to see how people get to know a group and then fall in love. I'd love to know about it. :)

aaah! you are! thank you so much so much, love ✨ keep your fingers crossed, please 😭

oh how i got into txt is actually a very heartwarming story. it's a bit personal, so bear with me while i -- very broadly -- bring up sad topics. so... (EDIT: I'M GONNA PUT MY REPLY UNDER READ MORE BECAUSE I ENDED UP WRITING A FUCKING NOVEL)

even though i was aware of txt's debut, i never really paid much attention to them in the beginning. i was into other groups and didn't really have time nor will to get into anything at the time. my best friend was the first person to ever show me a txt mv and STILL, at that time, i just couldn't get into it.

then 2020 hit and towards the end of the year things started getting pretty messy irl. work and covid were to blame, but i think october 2020 was when things started getting really bad... it was terrible thing after terrible thing. i hit rock bottom and couldn't find joy in literally anything. i was kinda like... living on autopilot? i'd wake up, go to work, come back home, cry a lot, eventually fall sleep, repeat. it was really hard. i didn't feel like talking to people either, so i wasn't letting any of this out.

one day, i remember scrolling through instagram and seeing this video where blue hour was playing in the background. despite lacking interest in pretty much everything at the time, when i heard that melody i felt the need to go and check the whole song. and i did. i remember i watched the blue hour mv over 10 times in a row after that. i was so excited. for the first time in a long time. what followed was me intensely getting into txt. i listened to their music so much that in no time they became my most played artist ever. i watched all their variety. multiple times. at the same time, even though things weren't getting better irl, i knew that i could turn to txt and, for however long i could, forget about what was going on, you know? i still feel like that to this day. they're that comfortable place you run to whenever you need to. if only they knew how much i've leaned on them to make it through the day...

i think yeonjun became my bias as i kept learning more about him through their variety, even though he stood out to me from the start. i think i've publicly talked about this, but i always find it amazing when i come across an idol whose interests are so close to my own. i listen to the same artists he does, i love fashion and art as well. i like to imagine that having a conversation with him would be easy because of that. and he's so talented... i keep bragging about him to every single person i know. i realise i'm biased, but i've really never seen someone this talented in this industry. it's so exciting to see what he'll do next. i'm constantly asking myself: how can he get better than this? and he always does.

despite all of this, i feel like yeonjun's personality -- what we know about it and what we don't -- is very captivating. he's very hardworking, detail-oriented, really a perfectionist. and those are traits i can relate to and that i admire in a person. at the same time, i always feel sorry for him because i know how overwhelming being like that can get. he's extremely caring and unapologetically himself, which are qualities i hope to have. i'd like to, one day, love and be loved as openly as he does and as he is.

this was so long, i'm so sorry, love... but it felt so nice to put everything into words. so thank you for asking 💛

[nctinfo]

[TRANS] WayV’s interview with Leon Young July 2019 issue!

Their musical style changes frequently, sometimes extremely gentle and loving, sometimes explosive and fiery. The seven boys are like seven completely different gems, difficult to gather in the first place, and yet still able to radiate a unique and harmonious light, invoking surprise and curiosity.

KUN | Capricorn leader, full points for his leadership

Blood type: B Star sign: Capricorn Favourite food: Beef Favourite music genre: R&B I am Qian Kun, a treasure boy, waiting for you to unearth.

Qian Kun, who yearned for the skies since young, has a hobby for researching on planes, collecting model planes and also playing flying games. “I especially like to sit on the plane, every time we travel by plane I will take videos of the clouds in the skies through the small circular window.” Other than being a singer, Qian Kun’s biggest dream is to be a pilot. In WayV’s newest single <Dream Launch>’s MV, he could experience his “space obsession” —— traveling through space and time with the wormhole, and launching his dreams towards outer space.

As the leader, he can’t be this imaginative every day. In the team, all seven boys have distinctly different personalities, so collecting everyone’s different opinions, and bringing all the members closely together, will be impossible without impressive leadership capabilities. “Teamwork” is WayV’s team spirit, and Qian Kun is everyone’s “gege” that they admire and listen to.

Kun is very good at writing lyrics and composing, and when asked where his inspiration comes from, his words were quite shocking —— when he’s showering. “Often when I’m showering, a melody will suddenly appear in my head. I will then quickly rush out of the bathroom in a bathrobe and use the fastest speed to record the melody in my phone.”

Q: When did you realize you have a talent in music? A: When I was young, I would participate in the singing competition in our school every year, and would get first place every time.

Q: Who is your favourite singer? A: Jay Chou, I’ve liked listening to his songs since I was in the first year of primary school.

TEN | Be careful! The smiling eyes are electric

Blood type: A Star sign: Pisces Favourite food: Rice cake Favourite music genre: R&B I am TEN, born for the stage.

Born in Bangkok, TEN particularly loves Chinese traditional food.  His favourite is rice cake, soy bean milk, youtiao (fried dough), and lamb skewers. Every type of food brings him a different surprise, and makes him say “wow, this is good!” every bite he takes.

When TEN was studying Mandarin, the other members were available to be his personal “language teacher”, so he improved at an incredible speed. Other than that, TEN has his own study tips as well, which is to learn Mandarin via watching Chinese variety shows. His favourites are <Running Man>, <Our Brilliant Masters>, and <Back To Field>.

TEN’s explosive dancing is one of the highlights of a WayV stage. He looks very gentle when he smiles, but is shockingly powerful when he moves. TEN says that he mainly trains two aspects of dancing: the first is physical strength, the second is the details of the choreography. He spends at least an hour in the practice room every day doing push-ups and planking, amongst others, then practices specific dance moves after completing physical training. Because perfect movements must have good muscle control as a foundation.

Q: What is your favourite sport? A: Badminton.

Q: How have your parents supported you in your career? A: They respect my decisions very much, and let me freely do what I like to do.

WINWIN | Dancing elf, more charming the more you appreciate

Blood type: B Star sign: Scorpio Favourite food: Shrimp Favourite music genre: R&B I am WINWIN, a guy that gets more and more charming the more you look at me.

“I’m slightly introverted, but others in the team always bring me lots of joy, so I feel like I’ve been ‘opened’ by them.” Though WINWIN appears to be mysterious and cold, he’s actually very soft-hearted. His favourite thing to do is to watch movies, listen to songs, and chat with his fellow members in the dorm.

WayV has a tradition of watching a movie together in the dorms every week. They would discuss the plot after the movie and share their own thoughts and realizations. Additionally, they also regularly hold “meetings” to share their own worries with other members, while providing suggestions to others. WINWIN likes to turn off the lights and light some candles when this is going on, creating a relaxed atmosphere around everyone.

From the time he was a primary 5 student, WINWIN studied traditional Chinese dance. Years of dance background gave every move he makes a sense of calmness and elegance. Dance has a priceless meaning to WINWIN, “it is the basis of my everything, dance is what brought me here today.”

Q: Which song from the new album do you like the best? A: <Let me love u>, it’s a love song from us to the fans.

Q: Which of your facial features are you most satisfied with? A: Eyes. The outer corner of my eye tilts up slightly, and seem to have a classical beauty.

LUCAS | Clever and mischievous, imaginative and unrestricted.

Blood type: O Star sign: Aquarius Favourite food: Apples Favourite music genre: The quietest music and the most explosive music I am LUCAS, thank you to all the people who like me, you’re all really cute!

“Comparing before and after I joined WayV, the biggest change I made was learning how to take care of my younger brothers.” LUCAS says he used to always have the image of a “younger brother”, but after joining the team and facing members younger than he is, he naturally upgraded to become others’ “older brother”, and knew more about how to understand and help others.

At 183cm, LUCAS has a tall and straight figure. Coupled with big eyes that seem to be able to speak, his features make fans swoon. LUCAS, as someone who has lots of visuals and even more style, has been nicknamed a “walking poster”. When asked about his method of selecting and matching clothes, he has much to say, “we have to first understand our body before we can better match our clothes, and not just follow the trends.” He thinks colorful clothes can help add colour to the city, and if everyone can wear their own style, then the whole city will have a unique style to it.

Aquarian LUCAS always comes up with strange ideas, for example, he says that when he listens to music, he can not only hear the melody and rhythm of the song itself, but also the feelings of the composer and lyricist, and even how the drummer looks when they drum on the backing track. He also frequently lies down on the carpet to think about “the difficult questions in life”, like “the fans do so much for us, what should I do to let them feel our love too?” What is the answer? It is very simple, and also very pure - make even better music, which makes them happy after listening to it.

Q: What is your biggest wish lately? A: For WayV to hold their own concert, and interact with the fans with no distance between us.

Q: What would you like to remind the fans of? A: Eat more fruits, you can absorb many natural vitamins, which is more effective and healthier than taking vitamin tablets!

XIAOJUN | Honey voice, difficult to forget

Blood type: B Star sign: Leo Favourite food: Sour candy Favourite music genre: Ballad I want to be magic, I want to be bigger than I am.

“Take Off” is XIAOJUN’s favourite from the new album, “Even if I have no wings, I still want to fly, courage is needed to face your dreams. This is similar to my current state of mind.”XIAOJUN’s voice is not one to be easily forgotten, it’s crisp and hoarse, yet soft and dense; it’s fine, and gentle - he’s referred to by the fans as “honey voiced”.

XIAOJUN has been obsessed with music ever since he was a child, and usually likes to quietly practice singing by himself. Even though he is now a member of an idol group, and has to frequently face many busy announcements and tough rehearsals, he still persists in at least three hours of vocal practice every day. How does he protect his “honey vocals”, then? XIAOJUN has his own good practices, of course. “I drink a glass of honey water when I get up every morning, this can reduce heatiness, and moisten the throat.

”Though skilled, XIAOJUN admits that he is very nervous before meeting fans. Not long ago, WayV participated in Hunan Television’s “Happy Together”. When shooting the episode, many WayV fans went to the location of the shoot to support them. “Even though I look calm and collected, my heart is beating wildly. But on that day, the moment the curtains opened, I saw many fans holding boards with our names on them, heard them screaming and shouting our names, and only then did I really calm down.”

As someone who newly debuted, XIAOJUN thinks that luck was most important in him becoming a member of WayV, and that it was intended by the heavens. But he still wants to tell the juniors who carry their dreams and want to debut that, “you cannot lack in luck, but behind luck, you have to have an extraordinary amount of hard work. Luck will only find you when you transform your talents into skills.”

Q: Your eyelashes are long and curled, what’s your secret? A: Actually, you don’t have to take extra care, just use warm water to clean everyday, and don’t rub roughly when you wash your face.

Q: Amongst life’s sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, and saltiness, which is your favourite flavour? A: Sourness, it gives the tastebuds a curious feeling.

HENDERY | Curious BOY, always “unlocking” new skills

Blood type: O Star sign: Libra Favourite food: Chicken feet with fermented black soy bean paste Favourite music genre: Hippop I am HENDERY, who likes the colour pink.

HENDERY has a new wish recently, and that is to learn to play the jazz drums. He’s roommates with TEN. One night, he unknowingly started to play a beat as TEN sat on his bed and played the guitar. So TEN told him, “you can learn to play the drums, then we can perform together.” This sentence ignited a small flame in HENDERY’s heart, so he resolved to learn to play the jazz drums and was unstoppable afterward. He would go online to watch tutorials on jazz drums when he was free, and frequently forgets to eat because he was so absorbed.

HENDERY always likes to try new things. For example, before joining WayV, he didn’t frequently have hotpot, but was influenced by everyone and loves hotpot like no other now! Whether Hong Kong-style, Sichuan-style, or Chongqing-style, if it’s hotpot, he likes it! “If we have time, we go out to have hotpot twice a week! And it’s seven of us together every time!”

Looking back at his biggest change since debut, HENDERY thinks that his stage experience has become more diverse. He used to focus on the training itself but rarely paid attention to showcasing on stage. However, recently, he frequently finds and watches past performances by the group to re-assess himself on stage from a fan’s perspective. For example, when watching these videos, he would find that at one beat where he focused on a body angle, the camera was focusing on facial expressions instead - amongst his replays, HENDERY keeps working hard to find the best feeling on stage.

Q: The fans call you “Disney prince”, what do you think about that? A: Thank you all~ But I don’t want to be just a “prince”, I would instead like to showcase different sides of myself in songs.

Q: What do you hope for WayV’s future? A: I hope more people listen to our music, watch our dancing, that’s all.

YANGYANG | The most doted on by the group, the maknae is very busy

Blood type: O Star sign: Libra Favourite food: Hotpot Favourite music genre: melody RAP I am YANGYANG, easy-going offstage, perfectionist onstage, this is my “duality”.

As the “maknae” of the team, YANGYANG is the recepient of much love, and is always taken care of by the other members. “Uh…I am indeed a little mischievous sometimes, like when I purposely wake others when they sleep, but they never get angry at me.” WayV haven’t debuted for long, but they have completely become family from brothers, always looking out for one another. For example, when everybody goes out to eat, they would always ask the youngest brother what he wanted to have, then everybody would go according to what he liked.

The fans’ warm-hearted actions frequently touch YANGYANG deeply. Sometimes, when a new song has just been released, the fans still sing the song with them word for word at live performances. “They must have listened to it many, many times, this makes me feel really warm.”

<Say It> from the new album makes YANGYANG particularly excited, as it is the work of renowned band London Noise. YANGYANG has been a huge fan of London Noise since he was a child, and this time, he was able to sing what his idols made for him, so it’s a dream come true!

Q: Other than music, what is your biggest interest? A: I love car racing, my dad and I would go go-karting every weekend when I was little, I really like the feeling of a competition.

Q: Why is it that you can maintain a perfect body while loving to eat hotpot? A: Sorry, I just can’t gain weight, haha. But I usually workout to maintain my strength too.

Translation: Jess, Seol @ FY! NCT (NCTINFO) | Source: Leon Young — Do not repost or take out without our permission!

[alette-stars]

The giant goes to rest. More than two years, 130 000 words and many screams and tears since its start, Lavender Jade is complete.

Let me start off by thanking you all for supporting this fic! When I started I had no idea it was going to receive the love it has. Before Lavender Jade I was known for more overall lighthearted works (Mint and Poppy in the Monsta X fandom, Stray Romance for ASTRO). All your constant love and support has been a huge help. Thank you so much! Words cannot describe the joy your comments and messages gave me ♡

I’ve made so many amazing friends and spoken to so many beautiful people because of this work, but this fic is dedicated to Monsta X ♡

Okay, enough sappiness! Time to move on to the trivia and extras. This is my 4th trivia post (you can find Mint and Poppy here; Stray Romance here; Wrong (Right) Number here) and longest yet, so it’s in 3 parts:

basic tidbits/extra info

regarding the vei, the card divination system

some personal rambling regarding my character motives (entirely skippable)

If it’s not obvious, there are going to be major spoilers, so if you haven’t read the fic yet but plan to do so, I advise not reading this ^^

If you need, you can always reference the character list here

Okay, so let’s get started! Rest of the post is under the cut

1. Basic Trivia

Most of the extras in the fic were original characters this time, with a few exceptions. Even these exceptions are not exactly based on the idols they’re named after, but I imagined them while writing. These are:

Sojung, Jooheon’s bodyguard - WJSN’s Exy

Sewoon, Kihyun’s manservant - soloist Jeong Sewoon

Seungwoo, another of Kihyun’s servants - soloist Yoo Seungwoo

Dawon, Hyunjung, Jiyeon, Luda, Soobin, Juyeon, the girls mentioned as being part of Jooheon’s people in Eigak - WJSN’s Dawon, Seola, Bona, Luda, Soobin, Eunseo 

Along with the ones living, there were those who lived in the past. Mentioned in-text:

Hoseok II, a previous king of Yishin - BTS’ J-Hope

Seokjin, a consort to Hoseok II - BTS’ Jin

Kim Namjoon, prime minister of Hoseok II - BTS’ RM

Hakyeon, the first king of Yishin - VIXX’s N

And those referenced only in the snippets in the chapter summaries:

Jungsoo, a previous king of Yishin - Super Junior’s Leeteuk

Kyuhyun, a historian - Super Junior’s Kyuhyun

Yoongi, a consort to Hoseok II - BTS’ Suga

Taekwoon, high prince to Hakyeon - VIXX’s Leo

For some reason which I still cannot fathom, I’ve been praised for the worldbuilding in this fic. The capital city of Yishin doesn’t even have a name. 

The basic geography of the peninsula is Yishin, Eigak to her east, a number of tiny states to her west, the sea to her south. The western side of Yishin is more fertile. The stretch of border between Yishin and Eigak is a rocky wasteland.

Yishin was named as a mix of Wonho’s two surnames: Lee and Shin

The concept of snippets from literature and media from the universe as chapter summaries was inspired by Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen saga. The vei deck (more on it later) was also very heavily inspired by his Deck of Dragons in the same books. 

A lot of fics focus on Hyungwon’s looks (something I’m guilty of as well) so I wanted to write a world where he wasn’t considered handsome. I understand why all the shows set in alternate worlds have the same beauty standards as us—it makes for prettier TV—but I decided to set a different one for the world of Lavender Jade. Somewhat arbitrarily, we have:

considered very handsome -  Hoseok, Minhyuk, Changkyun

considered somewhat handsome - Kihyun

considered plain/regular - Hyunwoo, Hyungwon, Jooheon

Han Jehan, obviously, also falls in category 1.

Han Jehan was my first time writing a proper villain in my fics, and I don’t know how well I succeeded but I enjoyed it immensely. I went out of my way to add all the traits I like so that I wouldn’t end up hating him, even going so far as to give him the surname of one of my favourite idols (sorry Hyuk). 

There are two main things I’d change in the fic if I could turn back time:

tighten up the front end. I’d combine the first couple of chapters 

Yeon Hu would be a woman. By the time I realized the awesome power of a badass lady general, it was too late

All court members—Jo Senmi, Yeon Hu, etc—are original characters. They’re both basic archetypes you’ll find in sageuk dramas. I think it’s worth mentioning both of them really do love Yishin, they just had very different, more conservative ideas of what would be best for the country.

I’d thought of using all the proper Korean names for the clothes especially, but decided that would make things difficult to read and binned the idea.

The opening note says the world is inspired by the Joseon dynasty. Regarding the initiatives to improve people’s lives, yes, but the hall/court system is more inspired by (what I know of) the Goryeo dynasty system.

I’ve been asked this before, but I’ll answer it here again: I’d never finished a sageuk drama before Flower Crew (very recently, and only because I was watching it with my sisters), and definitely not while I was planning this fic. Don’t judge me. The one I would recommend is Six Flying Dragons, most like Lavender Jade in tone. The others I’ve made headway into are Moonlight Drawn by the Clouds, Ruler: Master of the Mask, and The King and the Clown. 

I’m surprised no one brought up the foreshadowing I did near the end of chapter 16. Seven stars, two possible fates. The final fate of the two lovers (Kihyun and Changkyun) turned out to be a mix of the two stories: there was a fire, and the heavenly king was pulled from heaven (Kihyun from his position) to live the rest of his life with his lover.

Unlike my other secret couple (myungjin in Stray Romance) there are no hints of Hyunwoo and Minhyuk. They never did anything that would show. Minhyuk attempts to fluster Hyunwoo, but he does that with everyone.

Changkyun’s final card from the reading in chapter 8 is the two of Knives. It means a sacrifice. 

My favorite parts of the fic to write were Kihyun’s various descriptions of Changkyun’s beauty :)

This is, undoubtedly, the fic that has required the most work from me. I will say the most difficult scenes to write were Minhyuk’s fight with the assassin and Hyunwoo’s with Kim Sungil. Action scenes are not my forte. 

If you don’t know, I have written a romantic one-shot set in the same universe, titled Only One

2. The Vei

I don’t know how obvious this was, but the entire vei deck concept was inspired by and based on VIXX. The idea itself came from the Deck of Dragons in Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen saga. 

There are 84 cards in the deck: 72 cards in six suits, and 12 Unaligned. The Unaligned can be paired off, where each card is the opposite of its pair (with the exception of the last pair). The Unaligned cards are:

Fountain and Grave - a beginning and an ending

The Open Hand and The Closed Hand - generosity and miserliness

The Lord and The Lady - bad luck and good luck

The Centaur and The Fox - someone proud and someone crafty

Magnolia and Crown of Thorns - misery in success and happiness in failure

Pyramid and Mirror - stability/instability and karmic justice/unfairness 

The six suits, along with the member they represent, are:

Stars - N

Rings - Leo

Shells - Ken

Scrolls - Ravi

Flowers - Hongbin

Knives - Hyuk

Each suit, like our playing cards, has a king, queen, and knight (jack). The king of each suit is based on a VIXX member, and has some particular qualities along with being very rare. All visual cues for the kings come from VIXX’s masterpiece MV, Shangri-La. 

Stars - King: the Emperor, Queen: Sloth, Knight: the Page. The Emperor is the rarest card in the deck, and is represented by a crowned man with no features, only darkness in place of a face. The Page is the icon of diligence (and was in Minhyuk’s hand in chapter X). The theme of the suit is mystic fates, technically the uncategorized cards. In the natural half of the deck.

Rings - King: Death, Queen: Envy, Knight: the Messenger. Death is a card of finality (like Grave). The theme of the suit is secrets. In the manmade half of the deck.

Shells - King: Life, Queen: Gluttony, Knight: the Fool. Life is a card of possibilities. The Fool denotes absolute luck--essentially the card of negation. The theme of the suit is environment. In the natural half of the deck.

Scrolls - King: the Mage, Queen: Greed, Knight: the Apprentice. The Mage is a figure of knowledge and learning. The theme of the suit is motivations. In the manmade half of the deck.

Flowers - King: the Elf, Queen: Lust, Knight: the Handmaid. The Elf is an elusive, hidden figure with hidden motives. The theme of the suit is happiness. In the natural half of the deck.

Knives - King: War, Queen: Wrath, Knight: the General. War is a decisive figure, one who brings final consequences. The them of the suit is decisions. In the manmade half of the deck. 

I’ve been asked about the game played with the vei deck as well. It is a game of my own invention, yes. It’s based on trick-taking games like Hearts, where the object is to win the least cards as possible. It’s played in alternating rounds, one where the Unaligned are not used, the next where they are. I didn’t hash out the details beyond some basic motifs, but it is technically playable. Only if you have a vei deck though. The whole gameplay hinges on the fact that some cards are less likely to appear when picked from the stacked deck. 

I’ve heard from more than one person that I got them into tarot as a hobby. That’s great! But the truth is I know next to nothing about tarot haha

3. Rambling

I might suggest skipping this. This adds 0 value to the post and fic aside from giving me a space to ramble and whoa it turned out long

First: King Hoseok. He’s copped a fair share of criticism in this fic regarding his passiveness and his acceptance of the unfair consort system. I will defend my handling of this character to the ends of the Earth. I’m not saying he’s perfect (obviously! the only character that comes close to that is Hyunwoo) but I think he did right by what he had.

A neat indication would be to flip back to chapter 14, the Hyungwon POV chapter. When Hoseok says that the two of them are alone even though the room is filled with servants, Hyungwon forgives it as a result of his upbringing. He’s undoubtedly biased, but he has a point. Hoseok was raised as king. Certain things that are so obvious to others don’t even register to him. The consort system, where they have to swear loyalty to him but he doesn’t to them? He was raised as seeing this as normal. They all were. He never even fathoms a consort would want to leave their position. When Kihyun tells him the truth about the affair, Hoseok is stunned. He doesn’t understand Hyungwon calling his old life of poverty a life of freedom.

Basically, Hoseok is just trying his best after being raised (and still living) in a life of absolute privilege. He expects loyalty, love, because he hasn’t been exposed to anything different. His situation is completely different from Jooheon’s, who’s grown up in a much more volatile situation. Jooheon had to learn early on to really open his eyes, to listen, and he’s much more observant and understanding. By the end of the fic Hoseok’s had a wakeup call, and he’s going to get better. 

Second: the consort system. Yes, it’s cruel. It wasn’t what Hakyeon had envisioned when he had his companions instated formally. But in Yishin this is the norm. No one thinks it cruel. It’s a position of huge honor (Kihyun thinks of it a few times).

Even though there’s no homophobia, misogyny etc, Yishin is a conservative society. They haven’t had a change of regime in 23 generations. They’re used to the norm, and consortship is the norm. Also, if you look at most conservative societies, you’ll see romantic love isn’t considered a prerequisite for marriage (which is kind of what consortship is). In many societies (including my own) many people would jump at a chance for consortship, no matter their relationship with the monarch. 

Third: the fic had a lot of subversion of typical historical expectations and standards. I still consider myself primarily a fantasy writer. Typical fantasy and historical works have a strong focus on honor, dignity, truth and justice and all those values.

Lavender Jade does not. Kihyun and Changkyun are oathbreakers, they are traitors (by Yishini law). Every insult flung at them is true. The king breaks his country’s laws to help them escape their deserved punishment. Even Hyunwoo, the honorable and admirable commandant, defeats Kim Sungil using an underhanded move, and gets his happy ending with another consort breaking his oath.

At times I seriously considered ending this as a tragedy. It felt fair. Kihyun and Changkyun had broken laws, broken promises. All that happened did as a result of their own actions (even Han Jehan’s targeting of Kihyun was, from what we see, brought about by Kihyun digging into his affairs). A sad ending would be deserved. But then I thought, hmm, why? Why should it be fair? Why should they be miserable because it is deserved? 

So we got the ending we got, and I hope you’re all happy. I know I am. 

Thank you for reading to the end of this (unnecessarily) long post! It’s almost as long as the fic itself haha If you have any questions or messages you can shoot me an ask or pm here, or on my Twitter or on CuriousCat ^^ 

So what’s next? I’m writing Wrong (Right) ID, an epistolary fic for ASTRO in the same style as Wrong (Right) Number, and A Match Made in Heaven, my VIXX karma officer fic (it’s an unusual concept! you should try it). Both fics will end soon, maybe even before the end of the year, so you won’t have to bear much waiting ^^;;

I’m also writing Blood, Water, a vampire fic with a strong emphasis on family for ATEEZ, so you can check that out too! This one’s going to be long and angsty and quite self indulgent ^^

I’ve been asked if I’m going to continue writing in this universe. The answer is, yes. I will be writing White Carnation, the book referenced in multiple chapters of this fic, as a novella. I might write a short story on how Hoseok and Hyungwon met, but that’s undecided. I’ve hashed out ideas for side stories involving VIXX (and the founding of Yishin) and ATEEZ (and the change of regimes in Eigak) in this CuriousCat ask and this Twitter thread, but those will probably only remain as threads ^^;; 

And in the future? I have Monsta X one shots planned, and perhaps another long fic too. All possibilities are open! I hope you’ll stay with me for them ♡

Again, and as always, thank you. I hope you enjoyed Lavender Jade ♡

[itslilliansnow]

“What do you say?”

Okay, folks! This is for my gorgeous Mars @iwillgiveyoumyhappiness. I know we said: “slowly walking towards death,” but I just had inspiration, and this popped out of my mind. I hope you’ll like it as much I loved writing it! I love you! I know it isn’t that long, but this is just a little part xD Pairing: Yuchan x Reader  Genre: FLUFF, FLUFF, FLUFF. Did I say Fluff????  Words count: 1,8k+

Have you ever met someone who even with a smile can fill your heart with infinite joy? You had an answer to this question if ever someone had asked you one day. Kang Yuchan. You and Yuchan - you still laugh every time you think about it - met in the most uncommonly way, but from that moment on, your friendship was the most precious "thing" for you. Obviously after the music, dance and Studio Ghibli. Exchanging a mobile phone - thinking about it now - was really stupid on his part but knowing him it didn't surprise you at all. He could even forget to go to bed if someone didn't remind him. Swap two almost identical phones? Nonsense for him. Honestly, you wouldn't have changed for any reason in the world the hangout in the middle of the night, the walks through deserted streets, the memes that you even exchanged at four in the morning. There was something about your friendship that made you complete, and you hoped it would be the same for him. Perhaps because of that reason, that exact day, you hadn't said a word yet and kept brooding over your thoughts. Lying on a matter in the rehearsal room, staring at the ceiling. Sappherios' Beyond repeatedly rotating thanks to your iPod and everything else outside your world. Everyone noticed your weirdness. Especially the absence of your reaction. All five of them had learned to understand that when something was bothering you, you would talk. Or you danced. Or you sang. Emotions came out of you somehow, but you looked like an abandoned mannequin. Look off and absent. "We'll leave you five minutes alone, okay? Try to understand what's going on... she scares me like that," muttered Byeongkwan, giving a slight pat on the shoulder to the maknae. Maknae that was extremely worried, but he had been quietly waiting. He was very good at waiting. Waiting for your answers, your smiles, your hand that started to slip under his shirt just to tickle him. When it came to you, he would have waited a lifetime. Yet he didn't understand why. You were his best friend, but... There was something in his heart that bothered him. It took away his sleep sometimes, it prevented him from concentrating on the words of the songs, it built problems of concentration. Yuchan simply nodded, and when his hyungs were out of the room, he approached the mattress and dropped dead weight next to you. As he took off an earbud, he slipped it into his ear and closed his eyes, absorbing that melody that caressed the strings of his soul. Instinctively he slipped his arm under your head, turning a little with his torso toward you. "What's going on?" he mimicked with his soft lips since your face was facing him. "Nothing," your lips just moved, but he understood the meaning, arching an eyebrow to throw his gaze "don't bullshit me" at you. "Okay, okay." You turned off the music and set your body entirely towards him, resting your hand on his side as his own slipped on your forearm. His fingers began to run on your bare skin, as they always did when you needed security. A small gesture that contained a thousand words. "I was thinking about our friendship. You know, sometimes looking at you guys I see an incredible relationship. Yet what I feel between you and me is more. So... is our friendship as good for you as it is for me?" 

He listened to you in silence, observing your face and the slight redness on your cheeks. Or that little wrinkle between your eyebrows, it only became visible when you squeezed your eyes tight to hold back your emotions. He observed how even your body, stretched and almost bent on itself, was screaming to him your concern. "Are you stupid? Are these the questions you ask yourself when you go to sleep?" "No, usually not. I do believe, however, that sometimes small assurances are to be given away." "Our friendship is everything. I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even a better version of you." "Yuchan!" Raising his arm, he covered his face and waited for the blows that you had begun to give to his response. But the laughter in the air, your laughter, reassured his mind. If you laughed, the clouds had abandoned your thoughts, and the sun had returned to shine again. The problem - you can never live in peace, you both knew it well - was that Yuchan had lied. Yes, your friendship was everything to him then why did he felt to have told the biggest lie of his life?                                                           ꧁꧂ 

   "Why do you have to come to my house at 3:00 a.m. and drag me there?"

Yuchan's laughter was suffocated by the black mask he was wearing - for what reason you didn't know since there was no living soul in the streets - but you could still feel the warmth that emanated. It was such a beautiful sound that you had secretly recorded it and listened to it from time to time, realizing that negativity wouldn't win against you. "I don't think you've ever complained about our nightly escapades!" "You usually tell me before," you crossed your arms to your chest, puffing and pointing your feet to block you, "Come on, you have a comeback to prepare, and I've got practice tomorrow." "Has this ever stopped us?" He asked, lowering his mask and bowing to your height, his face extremely close to yours, so much so that you could admire the small golden straws that shone in his eyes. That was true. The time had never been a problem, but the worry that he would get too tired was a lot. "No... but..." "Then nothing, though. Where is my best friend? The reckless one who always says yes to everything I say?" "The stupid one then? The one that indulges even the most idiotic bullshits?" You looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, both feeling your mouths open slowly and drawing a smile on your faces. Raising your eyes to the sky, you pushed him and started running, without a goal or a plan. It was just the two of you in the night. What more could you have wanted?

                                                         ꧁꧂

Your destination turned out to be the sea. You didn't even know how you ended up there, but after an eternity sitting in the comfortable seat of a taxi, the smell of salt had awakened your tired mind. Checking the clock on your phone - fortunately, no one was worried about your disappearance -  you would soon be able to admire incredible dawn. A dream of all time, to be able to enjoy the colors of the sky change. What's more, by the sea. Yuchan had been quiet, strangely more than usual, in the last hour of the trip but you hadn't noticed much. You just wanted him to rest and recharge his batteries for the heavy days ahead. His hand took yours in its delicate grip, beginning to drag you to the beach to reach that exact spot where the waves tried to capture the world, inch by inch. "Wait!" you stopped it and bowed, unhooking your favorite converse and savoring the soft feeling of the sand under your bare feet. "There, now it's better!" nodding, you started walking again, dancing with your eyes on every point you could reach. You had left his hand, and Yuchan stood by and watched you. Were you always so damn beautiful as to take the breath away? Or did he just never notice? Had his heart ever beaten so fast, or had it been that small, innocent and kind smile that you had "given him" just before the cause of that irregular heartbeat? "Fuck." The awareness suddenly fell on him. The nightly calls. His eternal desire to be with you. The little but unforgettable moments when he can hug you without you complaining that he was sweaty. He was madly in love with you, and that's what he wanted. It was sharing his life with you, not as a friend but as something more. That's why he would change your friendship. To be able to hold you and scream at the world the fortune he had in having his best friend at his side that allowed him to love her. "Fuck, fuck, fuck... HEY, YOU, STOP!" He screamed, chasing you at the moment the first rays of the sun began to turn the blue of the night into the pale blue of the morning. "WAIT!" he finally reached you, squeezed your wrist, and set you towards him. 

He slipped his arm behind your back, supporting your body because he had caused both of you to lose the balance. But it wasn't enough, after a few seconds you were both lying on the sand. A few layers of clothes to divide you and strange electricity in the air. Immediately Yuchan laid his hands on the ground, holding himself up so that he wouldn't hurt you while you tried to catch your breath looking at him with curiosity. "What did you have to scream about?" "Marry me." Your heart stopped for a few moments, astounded by the only word that had left that mouth from which honey came out every time he sang. Did you hear well or was your imagination - because of your tiredness - playing tricks on you? His eyes were veiled with intense emotion, you read it correctly, but you knew he was a good actor after his various experiences with the group's MVs. "Yuch--" "Marry me." "Are you serious? What the hell is wrong with you?" You struggled to set free the arm from under his weight - albeit light - resting the palm of your hand against his forehead, avoiding to start stroking his soft red hair. A color you found divine on him. "Yuchan.. you shouldn’t joke about things like that." "Does it seem like I'm joking?" he asked, and the silence fell on you two. Yuchan could have been many things, but what he said was never accompanied by veiled lies or half-meanings. "Yuchan... Before we get married, we should date, you know?" "So let's date. Even every day, spend it with me," he began to whisper, getting closer and closer with his face to yours. His breath tickled your lips, and you were sure he could feel how his approach was making your heart beat faster.  "Spend every moment with me, share every fear and joy. Anything you want, but promise me that one day you will marry me. That I can look at you with the eyes of a madly in love man, who wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his days with you."

"God... you're serious." "Before... before I understood." he murmured against your fingers, now still and wavering against his slightly cracked lips, "that there can be no one else in my life. It's you. It's always been you. So... What do you say?" "To what?" "Will you marry me one day?" "That I'd be a fool to say no, Kang Yuchan."

[dangermousie]

Republican Era Dramas with English subs - a biased and incomplete list

I once made a long period cdrama rec post but excluded 20th century dramas. Well, now I feel like making a list of all Republican era dramas I am aware of that have English subs so here you go. Sharp suits and sharper dresses, lots of war and mayhem, and some cool music.

Note: some of them skirt the communist era or interlap. Oh well... I have italicized the ones I have not seen.

All Quiet in Peking - This one is supposed to be a heavy duty political and personal drama. I am not sure there is any romance. Good reviews but haven’t seen it yet. Set in late 1940s/early 1950s (so part Republican, part Communist). It does have Wang Kai, for those among us who are more shallow.  Subbed on youtube.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmvhbRirSn8

Battle of Changsha - I love this one! Part family drama, part romance, part war epic, this is written by the same people who wrote Minglan, aka the best-written drama of all time, according to me. The story revolves around the close-knit Hu family, with the protagonist being  Hu Xiangxiang, an idealistic school girl. Before the story ends, she will have to cope with family joys and tragedies, the terror of war and discovery of love with a military officer played, as always impeccably, by Wallace Huo. It’s a nuanced, wonderful story that I cannot recommend highly enough. Subbed on youtube.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LHQccpKOEU

Cage of Love - set in the early part of the Republican era, this involves family grudges, love triangles, mysteries and some colorful clothes. Hawick Lau looks scrumptous. Its a silly drama, but a fun one, and not too long. Subbed on youtube. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icvuzyh1w-0

Cruel Romance - Gangsters and the Japanese and the 1930s and dapper Huang Xiaoming and a happy ending for once. I only watched a little bit of it, but it looked fun. Subbed on youtube. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xQjoFO3x4

Decoded - Haven’t seen this one, but involves coders, spies and romance. It’s on my list. Subbed on youtube. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdLisJfZvus 

Demon Girl - goofy, supernatural (heroine is an unknowing half demon), involves weird endings, but the clothes are sharp and the story is cracky fun.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuNCZrsUdcw

Destined to Love You - OK, I bailed out of that one because it was too anachronistic but I might get back some time because Joe Chen as somehow the only female member of an all male military academy is cracky fun. Not on youtube/viki but I am sure other streaming sites have it because I watched it with subs. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkErq8D4tlM

Detective L - have not watched that since mysteries aren’t my bag, but it’s basically mysteries and 1930s styles, so if that’s your thing. Subbed on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR_Txt7SkN4

The Disguiser - this is supposed to be THE 1930s war/spy drama and is made by the same team as the legendary Nirvana in Fire, and stars some of the same actors. I mean to get to it but have been saving it. I don’t think there is much, if any romance, though. Subbed on viki. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eY5_3PF9ts

Four Women Conflict - God, how do I love this trashy drama. Ady An is pure heroine mistreated by pretty much everyone but the awesome Feng Shao Feng in this early Republican drama. Anything bad you can think of happening, happens. But the OTP is so perfect. This one might be hard to find with subs because the site I used to pull it from a decade ago doesn’t exist any more, but they are out there somewhere.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZZgj2UtPFY

Girl Wearing a Tassel Earring - I literally know nothing about it other than it somehow involves spies. I’ve seen subs floating around, but frankly, haven’t chased them.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7L_InVMiLM

The Lady and the Liar - I haven’t finished it yet but what I saw, I loved. Our heroine is a poor street performer, whose paths cross with a powerful gangster whose life she saves and who falls for her madly. She turns out to be a long-lost heiress who ends up in a trainwreck on the way to reunite with her long-lost family. Someone else claims her identity and the smitten sexy gangster swoops in on the lovely amensiac and claims she was his fiancee. Ooooh. What tangled webs we weave...Hawick Lau and Tang Yan never looked better. Subbed on kissasian. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pia7dLeWDxg

Legend of Fragrance - something something perfume wars. Nothing about this one interested me so that’s all I know. I would imagine the usual places (aka kissasian) would have it.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsdAebzMlPw

Letting You Float Like a Dream - it’s a reincarnation story, but the bulk of it takes place in the 1930s and involves a romance between a gangster and a well-bred girl. Subbed on youtube. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y0wghUqEdk

Lost in 1949 - a slacker has to take the place of his twin revolutionary brother. High on my list because of Chen Kun. Subbed on youtube.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi0ClvDVOJ4

Love in Han Yuan - a socialite torn between two men - one a seeming traitor who is a good communist and the other the reverse. On my short list because Kevin Yan is in too few subbed dramas. Subbed on youtube. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAcfcMrkbE

The Mystic Nine - grave robbers, nationalists, Chinese opera, awesomeness. Subbed on viki.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHV1MJteYFg

Prodigy Healer - healer of a fantasy tribe ends in in 1930s China. I checked out a bit of it and it was too shrill for me, but plenty of people liked it. Subbed on youtube. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxS4qWQ_QNA

Rookie Agent Rouge - a smart young woman gets drawn into dangerous game of spy and coutnerspy. Romance, adventure, betrayal and awesomeness. Watching it right now. Subbed on youtube.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbVpI0sk4F4

Rouge Snow - Fan Bing Bing marries into a house with a ton of secrets but luckily hunky butler Wallace Huo is there to help. I watched a little so long ago I barely remember it, but I liked what I saw. I’ve seen it floating subbed on some less than legit sites or torrent ones :)

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7g5HKthaOk

Shanghai Bund - gangsters, true love, tragedy and the sexiness that is Huang Xiaoming. Subs are on the usual less legit places.

MV (I don’t know why I can’t find an HD one, they used to be around): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgcxsE60uqQ&t=135s

Shuttle Love Millenium - hero gets transported to the 1930s. Shall he ever get back? I have no idea since it looked a little cracky for me so I did not watch it. I believe it’s on viki.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgJI5yasQrA

Siege in Fog - dysfunctional romance and civil war? Yes pls.Subbed on viki.

MV: https://youtu.be/3AjNpVkQn5Y

Sparrow - spies, spies, and more spies. I am watching right now and it’s so smart and moving and perfect.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOewgMJ-eaA

The Terracotta Warrior - OK, the bulk of it is not set in the 1930s but it does follow three lifetimes (on in Qin, one in 1930s, and one modern days), and the vignette is delightful plus I am a fan of love through millennia. 

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xpLSqwM-Uw

Too Late To Say I Love You - see description of Siege in Fog, only add Wallace Chung as a sexy warlord. The usual less legit places.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzctmRz7DnU

Wu Xin - monster hunter in the republican era. Yummy Elvis Han. But I am not big on horror so haven’t watched it.The usual places.

MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGHDEmK7NWE

[tayspurrito]

Taylor Come Back To Europe Project: Spain’s week.

Hi there!

So, as a little explanation before we start: last January I created on Twitter an account called @Europe _ Loves _ TS in order to try to get Taylor back to Europe. It works this way: each week is dedicated to one different country, this one’s being Spain, and each day I post different stuff about the country, Taylor’s charts there, where she could play and that kind of stuff. I started posting this week because it took me quite a long to finish with all of the preparations but now it has already started, and Day 6 (a.k.a. Tumblr and sign the petition) is about posting everything done on Twitter but on Tumblr, that’s why the texts will be really little. Also, here you have the summary, in case you want to see something first:

Day 1: Where would Taylor play?

Day 2: About the city.

Day 3: Swifties day!

Day 4: Taylor and the city.

Day 5: Conclusion.

Day 6: Tumblr and signing the petition.

Day 7 (does not appear in here): New country announcement.

Here you have the petition’s link https://www.change.org/p/ticketmaster-taylor-swift-european-tour?recruiter=931350637&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition , just in case you want to help us.

And the first country of the week will be... 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻!

Barcelona, Spain: Palau Sant Jordi (although there is also a stadium, Camp Nou).

Madrid, Spain: WiZink Center.

𝖂𝖍𝖞 𝕻𝖆𝖑𝖆𝖚 𝕾𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝕵𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖎? 

Palau Sant Jordi, located in Barcelona, is the largest indoor arena in Spain, with a maximum seating capacity of 17,960 people. It was opened in 1990, and it has a 3,000-seat club behind the main building.

𝕺𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖕𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝕻𝖆𝖑𝖆𝖚 𝕾𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝕵𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖎:

-Madonna. -Shawn Mendes. -Rihanna. -Ariana Grande. -Beyoncé. -Avril Lavigne. -Ed Sheeran. -Lady Gaga. -Tina Turner. -Frank Sinatra. -Elton John.

𝖂𝖍𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖎𝖅𝖎𝖓𝖐 𝕮𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗?

The WiZink Center, located in Madrid, is an indoor sporting arena with a capacity of 15,500 people for concerts and a standing public ramp. It was built in 1960, and rebuilt in 2005 due to a fire.

𝕺𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖕𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖎𝖅𝖎𝖓𝖐 𝕮𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗:

-Nirvana. -Elton John. -Taylor Swift. -Lady Gaga. -Rihanna. -Imagine Dragons. -Bruno Mars. -Shawn Mendes. -Whitney Houston. -Spice Girls.

𝕬𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝕭𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖆:

Located in Spain, Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia, with a 1,6 million population (yeah, a lot of them Swifties), and it counts with a great number of museums, parks and beaches.

𝕻𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝖙𝖔 𝖛𝖎𝖘𝖎𝖙 𝖎𝖓 𝕭𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖆:

-The Sagrada Família, which is the main symbol of Barcelona.

-The gothic basilica of Santa Maria del Mar.

-The Palau de la Música Catalana, in English "The Palace of Catalan Music".

-Parc Güell, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. 

-Casa Milà, one of the most emblematic places of Barcelona. 

-Parc de la Ciutadella, which also has the Barcelona Zoo. 

-Magic Fountain of Montjuic, a magic spectacle of colors and lights. 

𝕬𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝕸𝖆𝖉𝖗𝖎𝖉:

Madrid is the capital of Spain and its largest municipality, with almost 3,2 million inhabitants (Swifites!). It's also considered an amazing destination when talking about art museums, such as the Museo del Prado.

𝕻𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝖙𝖔 𝖛𝖎𝖘𝖎𝖙 𝖎𝖓 𝕸𝖆𝖉𝖗𝖎𝖉:

-The Parque del Retiro, one of the largest parks of Madrid. 

-The Museo del Prado, its most famous museum. 

-The Puerta del Sol, a public square and the nerve center of the city.

-The Plaza Mayor, a major public space in the heart of Madrid.

-The Casa de Campo park, which is the largest park in the city, and it also has the Madrid Zoo inside.

-The Fuente de Neptuno, which is located inside the Paseo del Prado.

“I started to be a Swiftie by the end of the RED era, when I saw the “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” video, by the end of 2013 (yes, I know that I saw the video a bit late). I don’t know why but I realized that Taylor is the only one that can help me with my depression (unfortunately I suffer a lot of depression) and put a huge smile on my face just with her songs. She means the entire world to me. While I was studying in high school, I worked as a teacher for another students, and I started saving money to be able to go one day to any Taylor’s concert. And finally, after two years of saving money, on November 29 2017 (the day after my birthday), I bought two tickets for the “reputation Stadium Tour” in London, one for me and one for my sister. After seven months the day finally came and I traveled from Spain to London just to see Taylor for the first time. That was my first concert. That day I realized that Taylor is a real angel, and that she is always going to be there for us. And also I’m so grateful since because of her I met a lot of new friends. My dream is to one day be able to hug her and tell her how much she helped me, and also I would ask her if she could draw a thirteen on my ankle, because I always wanted to get a thirteen tattooed on my body. Thank you for reading this.”

-Javier, 16 years, Barcelona (@tattshold on Twitter).

“I’m not good at English but I’ll try. I was always bullied, had no real friends so I never went out with people and stuff like that. When I was 14 I sit in class next to a redhead called Claudia and she played me “Tim McGraw”. I started listening to the song at home and soon enough I was addicted to Taylor Swift. Taylor was here when the first boy broke my heart, I don't know how many times I played “Should’ve Said No” during that time. Taylor was there when people called me slut and bitch, telling me that they were just “Mean”. Taylor was there at my spinal surgery, I played “Speak Now” in the hospital every day. Taylor was there while my depression and my self-harm problems. Taylor was there when my (ex)boyfriend broke up with me on my birthday... That year she recorded RED and “All Too Well” made me cry every day, but it also made me stronger. My dad left and only Taylor knew how I wanted him to “Come back” and “Be here...”. He started a new family without me, obviously. 1989 was my very first Taylor’s show in Germany, Köln, whit my mom. We had so much fun. Some economic problems started and I had to work while studying my nurse degree. I saved a lot and I went to “reputation Stadium Tour” in Dublin with my mom. Andrea gave us rep room passes and I showed her my “fighter” tattoo. She knows my story now. I hugged Taylor and somehow that was everything.”

-Clàudia, 23 years, Spain (@alltoo_swift on Twitter).

“When I was 12 (in 2009), one day I was watching Disney Channel and the “Love Story” mv came on. I just fell in love! Me and another friend started listening to more and more of her songs and we were really crazy about it! We were always singing her songs, laughing and dancing. We planned on going to her shows and meet her.”

-Sara, Spain (@EverySwiftieDay on Twitter).

“I haven’t been part of this fandom for a long time, at least compared with half of it. At the beginning, it made me feel uncomfortable, as if I wasn’t worthy of all the joy this family brings. Now, though, I’ve realized that this big family welcomes everyone, and I feel confident to tell my story. I have this weird “ritual” of walking from side to side of my corridor while listening to music, and that’s how I started listening to her music, back in 2017, with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “You Belong With Me”. I knew who she was, but I couldn’t consider myself a Swiftie, not yet. And then, “Look What You Made Me Do” came, and I wasn’t ready for that. I just clicked on it because I was curious, but once I heard it I stopped walking in the middle of the corridor, my phone in my hand, my eyes wide open, freaking out. I didn’t get all the references, but I knew some of them, and when the phone part arrived... I went to my mom running and told her all about it, and she was like “Since when are you a huge Taylor Swift fan?”. Days passed, “...Ready For It?” and the album came and I loved them too, and the “reputation Stadium Tour” began, and I really wanted to go. She didn’t come to Spain, so I knew I had to figure out a way to go to London. I made a presentation to my dad, with all of the prices, hotels and transportations, and he incredibly said yes. I remember that night as the best night of my life, and I can’t explain how happy and free and loved I felt there. I saw Taylor Swift’s magic happening in front of me, and I will be forever grateful for that.”

-Núria, 16 years, Spain (@TaysPurrito on Twitter and on Tumblr because yes, that is me).

𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖎𝖙𝖞:

Taylor's albums are still breaking records on the country. "reputation" debuted at #3 on the Spanish Albums Top 100 list, and has been there for 17 weeks, and "1989" debuted at #4 and stayed 70 weeks.

𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖎𝖙𝖞:

Taylor has a big importance on the country, and the only show she has played there was for the "Speak Now World Tour" at Madrid, on the WiZink Center and had all 3,962 seats occupied.

𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖎𝖙𝖞: 

Spain has a very big Swiftie fan base. Its biggest fan account, @rincondetaylor on Twitter, counts with over 12.3K followers, still growing. When she came, she sold out, and the fandom wasn't as big as it is now.

𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖈𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓: 

Spain is an amazing country, with big stadiums for Taylor to play and her presence still very active on the radios of the country. Although she hasn't come back since the "Speak Now World Tour", she is still breaking records.

𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖈𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓:

Also, Barcelona and Madrid are the best places to host the show, not only because they have the enough capacity to but also because of the easiness to go to both of the places.

𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖈𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓:

I just wanted to thank every single person (especially @EverySwiftieDay on Twitter) who has helped with this week's challenge. You are all amazing, and one of the most supportive parts of it all. Thank you so so much. Os quiero.

Duh.

https://www.change.org/p/ticketmaster-taylor-swift-european-tour?recruiter=931350637&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=share_petition&recruited_by_id=a8694c60-1e79-11e9-8dcf-1bb98ece69a1 (This one is the link for the petition to get Taylor to come back to Europe).

So thank you so much for reading this! If you want to take a look to the Twitetr account, that’s the link https://twitter.com/Europe_Loves_TS and the account is called @Europe_Loves_TS . I would recommedn you to check it, since the stuff will be posted there before and the new country announcement is tomorrow.

Thank you so much again!!

@taylorswift @taylornation

[allaboutaemin]

Looking back at K-pop group SHINee’s extraordinary 10-year career

T/W: Death, suicide.

We speak to people close to the band to trace the making of six of their iconic songs over a decade of triumph and tragedy 

When SHINee debuted in 2008, K-pop looked very different to how it does today. Although a phenomenon within Asia, it was distinctively niche in the west. The industry, however, was moving forward, particularly in terms of the production quality of its music and videos, and on May 25, SHINee’s Onew, Minho, Jonghyun, Key, and youngest member Taemin (who was only 14 at the time) joined K-pop’s burgeoning ranks. Their debut was the sweet mid-tempo R&B song “Replay”, and their home was SM Entertainment, the long-standing entertainment giant who were, at the time, experiencing major success with another boy group, Super Junior. What set SHINee apart from other K-pop groups was “the harmonic trinity of fresh new sounds, their vigorous nature, and the creative visuals”, says SM’s creative director Min Hee-Jin, who has worked with the group since the beginning. Contemporary R&B has always been SHINee’s base sound, but as early as 2009 they were reaching towards sophisticated funk, lush ballads, and electronica, and would balance this exploration with the powerful, layered vocals that had became their signature. Min singles out their second album Romeo as a turning point for the group, visually as well as musically: in the video for bubbly electro-pop song “Juliette”, the members sported bright clothes and clashing accessories that accentuated their youthfulness. “The visualisation of that album reflected their identity the best,” she recalls. “I aimed to put the group’s signature colour (pearl aqua) on the map, as well as each member’s individual style.” In December last year, mere months away from their 10-year anniversary, news broke that 27-year-old Jonghyun had died by suicide. Although SHINee hadn’t released anything during that year, the members had been busy, with acclaimed solo albums by Taemin and Jonghyun, and acting gigs for Minho and Key. The gut-wrenching shock and outpouring of grief following Jonghyun’s death brought the industry to a standstill. Devastated ‘Shawols’ (a term for individuals within the group’s fandom, SHINee World) flocked to social media to try and make sense of their loss, even today leaving daily messages on Jonghyun’s Instagram posts. In the numb months that followed, Jonghyun’s already completed Poet | Artist album was released, and SHINee performed a previously scheduled Japanese concert as a farewell to their bandmate. Having been encouraged by Jonghyun’s mother to continue making music together, the four members began to pick up the pieces, eventually celebrating their 10th anniversary with a new album and a fanmeet, where Minho humbly asked for fans’ support as they moved forward with their lives. To celebrate SHINee’s 10th anniversary, we’ve looked at six of the most significant singles they released since their debut, and spoke to some of the people who helped make them what they were. “RING DING DONG”, OCTOBER 16, 2009 SHINee won several new act categories at Asian music awards in their first year, but it was the 2009, The Year Of Us EP that accelerated their trajectory. Out was the R&B of their debut single, and in was “Ring Ding Dong”s rhymically dense ‘afro-electro’ (as SM Entertainment call it). The group’s jeans and bowl cuts were replaced with aggressive red, black, and grey styling, and feathered hair. “The idea that got me started was creating a melody with a bongo sound,” says composer and lyricist Yoo Young-Jin, who wrote and arranged several of SHINee’s hits. “SHINee might have felt puzzled when they first heard it. They probably never imagined they’d receive a song in this style.” A heavily produced earworm about the shock of falling in love, “Ring Ding Dong” is unarguably a product of its musically outré time, the period (roughly 2008-2011) commonly known within the genre as ‘K-pop’s Golden Age’. The melody’s power to ingrain, however, hasn’t dimmed (it’s since been refreshed as a killer rock version, with its bongo rhythms front and centre, and as an ambitious rock/electro mashup), and the hook and dance is still so adored that Minho, Onew, and Jonghyun played it into an appearance on Korea’s Saturday Night Live in 2015. “I can’t forget when I first saw their dance practice video. Watching them perform with fire in their eyes completely captivated me,” says Yoo Young-Jin. “No matter how long the recording took, Jonghyun always sung with the same energy for the main vocals, (the) dubbing, (and) even the chorus. It was the same for Onew – he said he didn’t mind re-recording, no matter how many times he had to do so. Taemin, the youngest, but with the most ambition; Key with the special and unique charms; and Minho, who always fulfilled his role perfectly within the overall performances – it was a joy to work on their music.” “SHERLOCK”, MARCH 21, 2012 By 2012, Danish songwriter/producer Thomas Troelsen was a veteran collaborator with SM Entertainment, attracted, he says, by their “taking risks on really insane records. When I write for these guys, I try to think of it as a science-fiction project.” Following a year of shows and Japanese promotions, “Sherlock” was SHINee’s first Korean single since 2010’s winsome “Hello”; it was also K-pop’s first ever ‘hybrid remix’, seamlessly joining two album cuts (the new jack swing of “Clue” and the striding, percussive “Note”) that Troelsen also penned. The idea came from a senior A&R at SM, and the result is coy one moment and showy the next, with the harmonies on the chorus exploding as the group execute a sliding march forward, a little like an upright Russian folk dance. US choreographer Tony Testa says he tried to “create the illusion” that each of the members were “alone, retracing memories, their blurred bodies trailing behind as if trying to piece together their lives”. “It was my first experience in K-pop, but I could see they could dance well, so I brought choreography I felt would help them grow,” he adds. “They worked so hard. I think they were at a phase in their careers when they knew they had something special and really wanted to prove themselves.” The song’s complexity, and SHINee’s performance (particularly the confrontational energy live) signalled a coming of age for the band. Their metamorphosis, which had included controversially sexy teasers that shocked Shawols accustomed to seeing their idols as boyish or, at most, slightly outlandish, was timely – a new generation of idols, including labelmates EXO, were arriving to steal old crowns. “Sherlock”, however, allowed SHINee to step into a sphere that was entirely their own. “EVERYBODY”, OCTOBER 14, 2013 “We show something new with every release,” Onew told The Korea Times in 2012. “Initially, we can feel a bit awkward (in the new shoes), but then we fill them.” Around this time, K-pop songs were frequently incorporating dubstep but, rather than emulate others, “Everybody” juxtaposed SHINee’s melodic sensibilities with the grinding wub-wub of ‘complextro’ (complex electro). “The first time I heard the song, it reminded me of being a kid,” says Tony Testa. “The odd mechanical sounds were like (the) wind-up teeth and action figures I used to play with.” His childhood memories formed the backbone of the song’s choreography and influenced the video’s concept, in which Minho ‘winds up’ the members, dressed as toy soldiers. The “go-go gadget helicopter” move is a stand out for Testa, particularly live – he says he was “continually amending the dance because the track went through so many changes.” It’s also a tribute to the producers’ considerate touch, and SHINee’s vocal strength, that despite the pressing weight of complextro’s hallmarks, it holds a carefree lightness to match its breezy lyrics. “‘Everybody’ would have never worked in Europe – never ever,” says Thomas Troelsen, unwittingly pinpointing why so many westerners, hungry for new approaches to pop, often fall for K-pop. It sounds like nothing else from that era (nor would SHINee make another song like it), but as a benchmark for K-pop’s audaciousness and SHINee’s chameleonic allure, “Everybody” is unforgettable. “VIEW”, MAY 18, 2015 Before British writers/producers Greg Bonnick and Hayden Chapman, aka LDN Noise, made a mark with some of K-pop’s biggest songs (including EXO’s “Monster” and Red Velvet’s “Dumb Dumb”), they were obsessed with SHINee’s “Sherlock”. “(It) was a song and MV we really fell in love with on discovering K-pop – the vocals, the styling, everything,” says Bonnick. When it came to writing “View”, their first credit for SHINee, he says they “wanted to create something fresh rather than trying to do what K-pop had already done. ​We were vibing in the studio and once it started coming together on the topline and production, it was one of the quickest turnarounds from writing a song to it actually coming out​.” The ease with which SHINee’s vocals carry the understated instrumental is remarkable; Jonghyun’s graceful lyrics float high and strong above the cyclical bass, while members double up on lines of verse for extra colour and bring an endearing playfulness to the ad-libs. The faithful adoption of deep house influences eliminates K-pop’s showstopping choruses, but gives the track a lean, elastic quality. The video’s depiction of youthful, summery freedom also broke new ground for SHINee, with Thailand’s back streets replacing the glossy soundstages of their previous videos. As much as K-pop’s ingrained rigidity allowed for, it was naturalistic and intimate, helping make “View” a pronounced and successful change of sound and visual identity. “TELL ME WHAT TO DO”, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 “Tell Me What To Do” began life penned by Americans, including the Grammy-nominated Mike Daley and Grammy-winning Dewain Whitmore Jr, before being rearranged by Yoo Young-Jin. “I vividly remember we changed melody and the lyrics in the hook so many times that I lost count,” says Yoo. “Normally, we modify it once or twice.” SHINee ended up recording it “five or six times”. The track’s magnificent ruse is that for all the lightness of its dance-orientated sound, its true nature is saturated in melancholy and pain. “When you think of breaking up with a loved one, you regard it as the end,” says Yoo. “However, it could be seen as a desperation to bring attention to fading love. It’s such a bitter thing to happen, where fluttering love turns into something that’s just common, like air.” Opened and closed by Taemin, who shifts its tone from questioning to resignation, the story’s depth comes via the back-to-back rap sections (Minho’s is rough and self-realising, Key’s rhythmic and retrospective), and Onew and Jonghyun, two of K-pop’s most distinctive voices, suffuse it with compelling, powerful emotion. “Tell Me What To Do” was SHINee’s last single with five members. The raw, unhampered ache in Jonghyun’s voice makes it a hard listen in 2018, but its dark flame is a poignant reminder that for all the slick moves, unnatural hair colours, and fantastical MVs, SHINee’s greatest strength is music that profoundly resonates with listeners. “GOOD EVENING”, MAY 28, 2018 In late April, the question hanging over whether SHINee would continue as a group was answered as they emerged united for their 10th anniversary with a trilogy of episodic EPs called The Story of Light. “Good Evening”, the first of three lead singles, had its house-driven lead track “already done but (with) no melody,” says US singer/songwriter Bryan Jackson. “And that’s where I came in.” Jackson used elements from 90s R&B group 112’s “Cupid” in the track and worked alongside writers/producers The Fliptones to complete it. “I think the song’s a perfect fit given the heartbreak they went through. It’s about not just loving yourself, but loving others and being a light for those in the dark.” Replacing the synchronisation they’re renowned for, Japanese choreographer Koharu Sugawara portrayed SHINee’s deep emotional bond through loose moves, which she says allowed them to “present their own unique interpretation” of her initial instructions. Their eyes avoid the cameras, and the group dance facing one another more than the audience, stemming from a desire to create a “dance that expresses a sense of love”, where “the way the members conversed with one another showed what love is”. “I wanted SHINee dancing towards ‘SHINee’, I wanted it to be a ‘conversation’,” says Koharu. The music video alludes to Jonghyun’s absence (the third single would be dedicated to him), but “Good Evening”, while delicate, is not encumbered by the grief that precedes it. Rather, SHINee make it nimble and airy, an elegant display of strength and the tying together of old sounds and new. But ultimately it’s so much more – a celebration of life and the closing and opening of chapters, its existence an affirmation of all five members’ talent and ambition, their journey, and the hard work undertaken to rise, succeed, and forever be SHINee.