#what if lee jinki gets a solo

[muselin]

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Hard hours ALWAYS open for:

Shinhwa, Super Junior, SHINee, VIXX, Seventeen, TXT, Stray Kids, Omega X, OnlyOneOf, Ateez, NCT (all units), Enhypen

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Kpop Masterlist:

Super Junior

Leeteuk (Jungsoo)

NSFW Headcanon - smut (trying anal)

Yesung (Jonghoon)

NSFW alphabet

Donghae

Moodboards: 1 - see Cacao 

NSFW alphabet

Cacao - Donghae/reader, sensual, steamy, suggestive but no smut

Tails You Lose - Part 1, Part 2. Donghae/f!reader, explicit smut, hard dom!Donghae (but not too hard), double penetration, daddy kink, mild degradation, impact play, pain play

06:00 - threesome smut with Eunhyuk

Eunhyuk (Hyukjae)

Moodboards: 1, 2 

06:00 - threesome smut with Donghae

NSFW alphabet

Whole group:

Wildcards - asking to try light bondage in the moment

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SHINee

Onew (Jinki) 

Deft Hands - smut

NSFW alphabet

Jonghyun - nothing yet...

Key (Kibum)

Raise The Bar - smut

Melt - ice play smut

05:30 a.m - smut

NSFW alphabet

Minho  

Sit Back and Watch - solo Minho smut but indirectly feat. reader, masturbation

2minutes - threesome smut with Taemin and f!reader

Private View - smut

Teach Me - smut

Arrested Development - smut

Taemin 

Insatiable - Taemin/f!reader smut drabble

2minutes - threesome smut with Minho and f!reader

We’ll Always Have Itaewon - threesome smut with TXT Taehyun and f!reader

We'll Always Have Itaewon Part 2 plus playlist

Seen - smut, tw:exhibitionism, voyeurism

Whole group:

What they like to be called in bed and what they like to call their partner - headcanon

Exhibitionism - wildcards

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VIXX

N (Hakyeon)

Earn It - smut

Leo (Taekwoon)

Trust - smut, tw: choking, breathplay 

Ken (Jaehwan)

Moodboards: 1

Hide Me, Take Me - long one-shot. Ken explores a side of himself he never knew what to do with. !longfic - 10k words and over; features an OC, explicit smut, soft dom!Ken. TRIGGER WARNING - one instance of dubious consent but the rest is enthusiastic consent

Ravi (Wonshik) - nothing yet...

Hongbin - nothing yet...

Sanghyuk - nothing yet...

Whole group

Reaction to chains - NSFW

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TXT (Tomorrow x Together)

Yeonjun: 

NSFW alphabet 

Nobody But You - smut, tw:reader has mild body image issues

Love to Hate You - smut (with some plot)

A Little Longer - smut

The Edge - smut, tw: knife play, edge play

Soobin: 

Apology Accepted - smut, tw:light impact play

NSFW alphabet

Almost - smut

Beomgyu: 

NSFW alphabet

See You Later: Part 1 - slow burn, eventual smut but no smut in Part 1, college AU, student!Gyu, model!Gyu

Jigsaw - threesome smut with Taehyun

Friday Night Bites - smut

Show Me To The World - sub!Beomgyu smut

Taehyun: Edit

Dirty Angel - smut

Do You Really Care? - smut, hard dom!Taehyun, tw:unhealthy relationship

We’ll Always Have Itaewon - threesome smut with Taemin and reader

We'll Always Have Itaewon Part 2 plus playlist

NSFW alphabet

Healing Touch - smut with Huening Kai

Jigsaw - threesome smut with Beomgyu

Huening Kai (Kai): 

NSFW alphabet

Fine Things - smut

Healing Touch - smut with Taehyun

Whole group

Which member would have a threesome with another member and their s/o - headcanon

Bribing TXT with sex for spoilers - scenario

Overstimulation (giving and receiving) - headcanon

Stray Kids

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Monsta X

Whole group:

Sleepy morning sex - wildcards

______________________________

Bang Chan

Right In Front Of You - smut

Lee Know (Minho)

Holidays Bite - smut. Trigger warning: stepcest, older brother!Minho x fem!reader

Changbin

Greed - smut drabble

Hyunjin

Drip - smut (Dom!Hyunjin feat Softdom!Felix)

Han (Jisung) - nothing yet...

Felix

Drip - smut (Softdom!Felix with Dom!Hyunjin)

Seungmin

Beautiful - sub!Seungmin smut

I.N (Jeongin)

Fox Sleep - sub!Jeongin smut

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Ateez

Hongjoong

Hot Tub - suggestive/smutty drabble

Seonghwa

Headcanon - How is he in bed? Part 1, Part 2

Hide and Seek (as cameo)

Wooyoung

Hide and Seek (feat Seonghwa)

Whole group

Dom!Ateez - wildcards

Scent play - wildcards

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NCT 127/Way V

Yuta

Rock aesthetic - smut drabble

Ten

Ganachakra - tantric sex and switch dynamics

Whole group/subunits

NCT 127 anal training headcanon

WayV giving oral wildcards

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

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Muselin on AO3

Mutuals, anons, blog recommendations:

Mutuals: @another-multistan , @cinnabun-faerie , @writtenbynina , @anabsolutemyth , @bluekais, @itsallabouthedetails, @swoonysighs , @smellysoobin , @youaremy-dreamgirl, @tmrwxtg , @sweetiehyuka, @tinysmuttythoughts, @whatudowhennooneseesyou

💞🐺💞swoony boo @bangchanswolfpelt

☀️🌧❄🌬wifey @summerrainwinterbreeze

🥫crow @crowhyun

🍻g @tinysmuttythoughts

💫jageun-byeol @jageun-byeol

Anons:

2nd gen anon, 🙈anon, ✨anon, 🌻anon, r💋

🌨anon, 🗑anon, 🐾anon, strange asks anon, suju anon, 🦖anon

Delicious blog recommendations: @kpopthoughtsandmusings , @tywritesxpop , @chicken-fifi , @ithinkilikeit-reactions , @submissivekpop , @itsallabouthedetails , @bangchanswolfpelt , @xxatinyminionxx , @webangchan , @summerrainwinterbreeze , @sweetiehyuka, @crowhyun , @tmrwxtg , @ballelino , @btssmutgalore , @multifandomfantasies

Miscellaneous section:

Playlists

Gangbang fic rec list

The Slutty Waist Club

____________________________________________

Qpop anything (Kazakhstan pop a.k.a Qazaq pop)

Qpop MV list 1

Qpop MV list 2

[suuho]

went into #taeildeservesbetter on twitter and for real man, i can’t do this any more ….. sm entertainment doesn’t give a shit about him, they treat their main vocal like a back up dancer and it is clear as fucking day that taeil does not like that. no one would. it makes me want to cry, he’s literally 127’s best vocalist and they really treat him like dirt. he does all the fucking group schedules, he never gets any solo schedules unlike literally every other member of the group, they have him work the same fucking hours on set and he gets absolutely jackshit in return. and then, they have the audacity to film his reaction to a video he has less than 8 seconds of screen time in. like. it’s not okay, man!!! and i’m sick and tired of hearing “yeah but he’s a main vocal, what did you expect???” byun baekhyun is a main vocal. lee jinki is a main vocal. literally jaehyun is a main vocal in that very same group and they have very different experiences. and why would i not be disappointed? it’s bad enough i should expect taeil’s mistreatment. fuck this shit for real man.

[sanstropfremir]

please talk more about key as a performer!! :) i love hearing ur thoughts.

i feel like he’s not appreciated enough? everyone knows he as the fashion guy on the group (which valid) but imo hes shinee’s all rounder. literally Great at singing and dancing. (i mean all of shinee is good. but i have to be honest sometimes i can’t listen to taem/minho’s vocals. they’re not as strong compared to the other 3.) and i’m super excited to see what he has in store for his upcoming (rumored) solo!!

i too am excited for his comeback!! key's solo music is some of my favourite; one of those nights and i wanna be are pretty consistently in my top rotation and i wanna be is probably one of my top mvs for styling + design. i wish he had had more of chance to promote before he enlisted but hopefully that will be remedied this time around.

i do agree that he is shinee's allrounder, and he's an allrounder in an uncommon way for idols, which is in his technical prowess. he's an extremely good technical dancer and singer, which is an understated kind of impressiveness that i can't think of very many other idols having, maybe rain? i wouldn't even call taemin the same level of technical performer, because he's not a technical performer: he's an economical one. taemin does exactly the right about of movement to convey the point he's trying to: no more and no less. he purposefully pulls back when he's not in centre in shinee and you can occasionally catch him flub nonessential points (in any of his solo choreos also) because he knows where people are looking; this is the mark of someone who has a both a deep understanding of their body and a natural inclination to moving in it. he does a similar thing with his vocals, but from the opposite place. taemin is not a natural singer; he has a pretty short range and his tone is a little weird, but he's done a ton of training and worked very hard to make those flaws into a unique sound that is instantly recognizable as him. is it to everyone's tastes? nope, it's not even to mine half the time, but i've never mistaken a taemin track for any other vocalist.

key, on the other hand, does everything perfect. precision is very deeply ingrained in the way that he holds himself himself on stage and he doesn't let himself slack at all. i'm going to try my best to explain this but i don't know if it's going to make any sense. key pays a lot of attention to the technical aspects of performance because he has to. although he does have a higher natural aptitude/ability for singing than taemin does, he doesn't have the same understanding of his body, and he didn't have a guaranteed debut spot. he's not as good a vocalist as jinki or jonghyun and none of them compare to taemin in physicality, so he poured pretty much everything into being as technically perfect as possible, because he can't generate the same kind of intuitive body understanding. i sound like a crackpot but i promise this is a thing: you have a better innate understanding of how your body moves in space the younger you start working with that body. i've skateboarded since i was 8, competitive swam until i was 13, and i have a third degree blackbelt; i'm very aware of the way my body moves and my reflexes are extremely fast: in the accident where i broke my elbow five years ago the reason only my elbow broke and not my entire face and forehead is because i had the reflexes and training to know to cover my head. taemin started as an sm trainee at 11, and he'd obviously been dancing for some time before that. i'd hazard a guess and say that key probably didn't starting learning how to dance until he passed his audition at 14 (for reference, some ballet masters will say that 14 is too late to start learning and you will never become a principle dancer if you start then), and that means even though they both had approximately the same amount of training (both entered sm in 2005), taemin had more formative years training than key did. he's a great example of the old adage "everyone can sing/dance/act, you just have to practice" because he really did work his ass off.

it's also worth mentioning that key is known as the fashion/funny one because he engineered it that way. like i said, he wasn't going to stand out on talent alone, so he picked an area in which he could make himself stand out. every group needs someone who is good on variety shows/guesting/hosting and the other four are not well suited to it (jinki is too quiet, jonghyun has no filter, taemin is.....a weird cryptid at the best of times, and lee sooman literally told minho to shut up and look pretty), so key saw the spot he could take and he took it. and that's still his spot; he's not even a year post-discharge and he's already on the host panel of two very popular variety shows (amazing saturday and i live alone), and he just signed a massive promotional deal with taeyeon for olive young, plus all of the other smaller stuff shinee has done in the scant 7-8 months that shinee's been officially back. he's styled himself into a variety star because personally i think that's where he's more inclined to be. i do think he loves music and performing, especially as shinee, but i haven't seen the same drive to create performance in his solo work as i have with jonghyun or taemin's solos. the both of them have very strong underlying drives in theme and concept and creating a holistic experience with their work (jonghyun more musically focused and taemin more performance) and while undoubtedly key makes really fucking great tracks that i LOVE, they don't say as much. i know he's said that the new stuff will be something very different for him so maybe that means we'll be getting something wild. i'm always holding out hope for a concept album, but it's not like i'm gonna not listen to his stuff just because it isn't #makesyouthink or whatever. good music for the sake of good music is still good music.

[bisexualhobi]

Your thoughts on Shinee members, please 🤗

omg okay well it's a really broad question! but i'll try to keep it brief. let me start off by saying I love shinee as a whole and i think all the members are super talented. that being said i'll be super honest

i ult key so starting with him i think he is an incredible performer and dancer - he's actually one of the best idol dancers in the industry but sadly he is in a group with the god of dance that is lee taemin. I wouldn't say he is overshadowed but he's often overlooked bc of that. I admire his work ethic and his unapologetic sincerity as an artist - he is definitely an inspiration for lgbt kids around the world and i think he knows that and tries his best to live up to that (as best as he can within the limits being closeted puts him in). Also he's a really good vocalist he's improved so much in his years as an idol (starting off in a rapper position which in SM means you're not a bad vocal but you're definitely not remarkable enough in the lineup) to being one of the best vocals in his company and keeping up more than enough with onew who is an outstanding singer.

Next up taemin - i love taemin as an artist. I love his solo work and i am in awe of his dancing abilities always. I don't think his vocals are that great tbh like he's definitely not up to par w onew and key but he's still good enough i just don't particularly enjoy his tone. it's funny cause i love his solo discography which is impeccable but the part i care the least for is his singing. what else? Uhh i think personality wise i don't vibe with him and i get concerned for him because he's clearly suffered a lot from being debuted as a 14 year old child and all the hardships he's been through. He has an unhealthy relationship with fame and public perception - like more so than your average idol. I just hope his support system is enough to keep him safe

lol honestly i have the most to say about taekey bc i am more invested in them as artists but i can't talk enough about how much i simply enjoy minho. He just makes me happy. He is an amazing guy and has a heart of gold - i absolutely love his personality, i think he's a great dancer and rapper. I genuinely enjoy his rapping in all shinee songs and i think he definitely grew into that position through the years - specially as someone who let's face it debuted because of his looks. I am really glad he is there with shinee bc he's definitely the glue of the group and you can tell he really considers them his brothers. He's also the most attractive idol i have ever laid eyes on he makes me go a little light headed everytime i see him ngl

I don't have words to talk about jonghyun. I genuinely don't i got into kpop in late 2020 and i never knew him. to this day i haven't gotten into his solo work. I don't watch videos with him. He is a stranger to me, one i am a little scared of getting to know. sorry i can't give you another answer. all i can say is i thank god everyday for all the creative force he injected both into shinee and the kpop industry at large. I absolutely love his songwriting

I love jinki's voice! I think he is an outstanding and remarkable singer..... with very little else that appeals to me. I'm sure he's a great guy and i don't doubt that his role as shinee's leader is essential to how well the group works. he clearly loves all of them and they all have the most respect and admiration for him. however i don't care for him and his personality doesn't shine through enough for me to care.

[alwayshinee]

i fucking love shinee so much that i legitimately cringe thinking about how much i like them LOL. they're such an integral part of my life. i've said this before, but they sort of... helped shape me into the person i am today. kibum taught me to be comfortable in my skin. jjong taught me that what i feel and who i am isn't something wrong. both jinki and minho are so impossibly kind and make me want to be the best person that i could be. (also minho permanently changed my laugh since i watched so many compilations of him laughing that i laugh like him now.) taemin provides me with endless serotonin with his antics, plus i just... admire him for how hard he works. his determination and drive have no limit. between juggling shinee's name, doing his own solo stuff, and participating in superm... god, lee taemin, how do you do it? he makes me want to get off my ass and get stuff done. i won't but he makes me want to.

also all of their songs are just??? so good??? graze, love should go on, jojo, savior, area, melody, i'm with you, kiss yo, better, aside, last gift??? holy shit what other group has those songs?????? their discography is a diamond dipped in gold. their live performances? exquisite. their nickname is not cd-nee for nothing. whenever im sad or mad or anything in between, i put on a shinee song. they're a constant for me.

and their relationship with each other!! that's what draws me to them too!!! i know this sounds stupid cliche but they really are a familee. it just....... warms my heart seeing how much love they have for each other..... from jonghyun moving the schedules for his own concert to watch taemin's to kibum calling jinki "old man" to minho's general state of being as #1 shawol.... even when they're doing solo stuff they're like "SHINEE??? shinee shinee shinee shinee are the best yes it's my group what of it?"

and them!! being multi-talented!! composers and song writers!!! acting!! stage acting!!! modelling!! athletics!!! fashion design!!! radio dj'ing!! whatever the hell taemin and minho have going on that makes it so that they take selfies with ghosts in a haunted house!!!

also theyre really handsome lol never forget that minho was on vogue's list of the sexiest men alive. you go cowboy choi yeehaw.

anyway. i love shinee.

[jjongslight]

Okay so. i'm back to wax poetic about taemin again and also kinda make up for the Body Rhythm violence (sorrynotsorry) 💙

Another thing i really love about taemin is that he has his own instantly recognisable sound and vibe, even as he's ever changing, that is just purely him. There's no other explanation for it it's just....Lee Taemin is Lee Taemin, you know??

BUT!!! Also when you listen to his work you can very clearly hear jinki, jjongie, kibummie, ming and shinee as a whole as well. Like their influences individually as well as as a group is so apparent and i think that it's both intentional on his part but also just naturally woven into the fabric of him as an artist.

i just love that shinee's baby so very clearly reflects back shinee as a group as well as individually. Like, he's Lee Taemin and that's about as far as anyone will ever get at categorising him, but he is SHINee's Lee Taemin and he is never gonna let anyone think otherwise for even a second.

i just....it just makes me feel happy.

You are brave. You came back into my inbox. I shall forgive you this time.

Yup, he really has come into himself. You know it's Taemin because even if the music changes, he has found a way of singing that is comfortable for him, he has trademarks and themes you can find again and again through his aesthetics/performances even if they change form. He has really struck a great balance between evolving and changing while staying true to himself.

Yes, that's what I was just talking about with @gwiyonew. Like you can't really separate Taemin as we know him now from his journey with SHINee. The Taemin we know is only this Taemin because he was part of SHINee. They are all themselves and unique in their own way, but they've all built each other up and that inevitably means that they share parts of each other constantly that can also be found in their solo work.

I've always seen so much Jjong in Taem and before it was in the way he was singing solely, but now it's even in the way he expresses himself artistically. I think Jjong was a big catalyst for him to feel free to express himself whichever way he wanted to through his art.

But it's not just them being a musical group and having this insane synergy as performers and artists. It's also the love, the deep bond that formed over the years. That's why Lee Taemin can never not also be SHINee's Lee Taemin. It's two sides of the same coin.

[gaykey]

watching fancall videos and going crazy, someone showed taemin their pansy flowers from the seeds he sent, jinki sang selene 6.23, someone told minho theyd love for him to have a solo album and that we love his voice, kibum encouraged a fan and told them hes proud and loves them im so 🥺 ME WHEN ME WHEN????

anoooon 🥺

i haven't seen anything other than fanaccounts

it's just too much!

i love non-cringey fan interactions. they're always so pure, and heart-warming.

if kibum said that to me.....i would simply have to just leave and cry? like, i don't know what else i'd do? he's so soft, i cannot take it.

and ahh, the fan with the pansies is soooo sweet, and imagine getting a personal serenade from lee jinki, and THANK YOU UNNAMED FAN, THIS IS WHAT MINHO NEEDS TO HEAR.

the lovely fans really do make up for the annoying ones, and i'm sure shinee feel the same.

[lokiat221b]

I was tagged by @confetti-cake-key (Thank you soo much!💚) to answer a few questions! So let's go!

Name/nickname : Rasheeqa Sheriff / Chakkan Oppa (which is also my Instagram!)

Gender : Non-binary any pronouns

Star Sign : Leo🦁

Height : I have no idea, above 5'5" in 2019 😬

Birthday : 25th July

Favourite Bands : SHINee | EXO | SUPERM | Day6 | Super Junior | Oneus | Ateez | Got7 | NU'EST | Wanna One and many others!

Favourite Solo artists : Lee Jinki | Kim Jonghyun | Kim Kibum | Choi Minho | Lee Taemin | Jessie | IU 💚 | Chen | Lay | Ryewook | Bruno Mars | Alec Benjamin and many others.

Song stuck in my head : 나도 모르는 노래 Hallelujah - Kim Feel

Last Movie : Tamaasha

Last Show : Friends

The blog was created on : Story time! The blog was created when I was 13 years old which is almost 5 - 6 years back! Must be around 2015 - 16 (I'm pretty sure I've made a Mathematical error here somewhere😬)

Do I get asks : Never. But I enjoy answering asks which I receive once in a Blue moon!

Following : (How do I check that?)

Why did I choose this URL : Story time II 😂 Okay so... when I started tumblr I was a big fan of Marvel and Sherlock BBC (I'm still a fan of them) so I kinda merged both the fandoms and came up with this 😂😂 Peak creativity at 13 I guess 😆 Fun Fact : I've never changed this URL since the begining of the blog.

Average hours of sleep : It goes from 2 to 12 (during the quarantine ofc) and 0 to 7 other times.

Lucky number : 5 and 25

Dream Trip : Getting lost in the streets of Paris or London. ( lost as in not completely lost but you know what I mean) I'm more of a wander person than a travel person. Also visit Japan, Greece or Italy again to wander in the streets.

Favourite Food : As of now None. (Sorry)

Favourite song : * SHINee's entire discography including Solos and Station * almost everything from Replay to Think of you.

Top 3 Fictional universe I'd like to live in : None.

I would like to tag my favourite people💚 : @alwayshinee @valkyrie-80 @oldneww @snowflakejh @smoldinopup @forever5hines @floralminho (Do it if you'd like to 💚)

Thanks for reading! Thanks again confetti-cake-key for tagging!💚

[hellotweetygirl]

Album notes

Don’t Call Me- Why does this sound like it belongs to SuperM?? The hook is a real ear worm, whether or not I like it it’s going to be running around my head for a while. Minkey are eating this song. The Lee bros high note in the bridge it’s fab. Jinki comes in at surprising moments and really grabs you.

Heart Attack- I love love love me a groovy bass and this one keeps this track moving right along perfectly! The guitar is tempting me. “You are my boo” oh. My. Gosh. This is SUCH and classic SHINee style song and I wish it had been the title. Sigh. Most positive note: do you hear that EQUAL line distribution!??!? So happy. Let’s dance.

Marry You- Ugh. Minkey opening is perfection. Taem is so light coming in there. And then those harmonies hit and I’m in heaven. Ughhhhhh. Listen to that slow grove. Thank you Minho for melting me. Jinki, I’ll marry you and your perfect voice any time. Any. Time. My three year old niece sings this chorus at the top of her lungs. 😎💎

CODE- I need to know who gave Jinki the right to sound so pretty here. The chorus hits nicely. Gives me Get the Treasure feels. ✌🏻 Ohhhhh Jinki’s back ohhh. Love that high note Taem! Some 1970’s sounds in there towards the end.

I Really Need You- Wth is this opening?? 😳 Looks like we’ve gone to the 1990’s here?? This sounds like a really classic song and I’m drawing a total blank on the name of it ughhhh. Jinkiiiiiii. This will be such a good concert stage song!! Fun!

Kiss Kiss- Jinki you need to stop, my heart can’t handle this. Minho is singing real lines and I’m in love. This is such a cool and smooth chorus. So much retro sounds in here and through the album , love love. Minho with lines= 😭🥺��. I need the choreo for this ASAP. That guitar is giving me so many feels. I won’t be able to not dance to this every time it comes on.

Body Rhythm- Assulted. Vocally assulted. They sound so good together! This is going to have Taem sounds so light and powerful soaring through the verses. I’m proud of what he brings here. Jinki in the solo chorus 🤤😏. Harmonies are A+ throughout. It’s their cohesivesound now, and it works.

Attention- Minho leading the song is love. Chorus love. That slight whisper tone really works for me. The whistling is cool. This is the most lines Minho has gotten on any album and I am in disbelief. It’s amazing. *kicks dirt over ming voice haters*. Let’s float that end Jink so pretty! Kibum you are really killing this whole thing, so much support roles from him that help everyone shine, here and in all the other songs.

Kind- Ohhhhhhhhh. Oh. The beat hit and the whole song has me by the throat. Minkey harmonies 😭😭💕💕. Kibum you have such strong vocals! Onkey harmonies 😭😭💕💕. Something cathedral-like about this. Like a sacred music vocal choir. Idk how to explain, so pretty. Moved, so uplifting.

[fy0new]

^▽^  190730 KST Article | Translated Excerpt | Military Manpower Administration Magazine Vol. 94 | Division 2 Military Band, Private Lee Jinki

Source. alterpanda7

Trans. alterpanda7

Translation of Jinki’s excerpt in (Military Manpower Administration Magazine) Vol 94 pages 10 - 11

The leader of [the] global group SHINee who has crossed many diverse fields like drama, variety shows, musicals etc and was active in many ways, Private Lee Jinki.  As somebody who has led a team for a long time with a character that’s mature and full of thoughtfulness, even in the military he likewise showed his unchanging sincerity in personally preparing his answers for the interview. Private Lee Jinki calmly conveys that when faced with any work or situation, he is managing life in the military by carrying a positive and relaxed attitude (with thoughts) like “so that could have been the case too”. In addition, he says at first like many other youths before enlistment, he was nervous and worried about what kind of experience it would be. After enlisting last December and spending half a year in the military, what is Private Lee Jinki’s answer?

As soon as you enlisted, you appeared in a musical?

Serving in the military is a duty. My ultimate objective was “If there are duties I can do here, let’s do them well and return healthily”. So with a mindset of “let’s try doing something I can do well” I joined the musical, and the best part to me was through it meeting other enlisted actors, talking and sharing with them and being able to lead a play with them.

How is life in the military?

I am moving based on a fixed routine, and because within that we are given personal time, I’m getting on better than when I was in society when things were irregular.

You played the role of General Ji Cheong Cheon?

Because he was a historical figure, I thought a lot about how I should play him. I wanted to express a bit more things like the little points in the way he speaks, but there are limitations to what can be expressed in a play so it was a pity. However, whenever we were on stage as I contemplated ways to convey an impactful image or how more to express a determined will etc, I think I got immersed int eh character. In particular, in a play where these emotions were well warmed up, it would be good if people listened well (enjoyed) the solo song ‘Stolen Spring’ which has the line ‘I will not forget until that day’. In addition, although it is likewise while being in society, with the thought that as a soldier I should have more sense of responsibility, I am taking great care too on the health side which is something that can be easily controlled by a minor injury.

Something to say to the youths out there?

To me, I think [the] military is a ‘break’. While doing my best for the role I am given, the life now of eating, sleeping and training with other soldiers like a family is enjoyable and interesting. Up till now[,] my life was running continuously without a break, I think it’s time for a ‘comma’. Before enlisting honestly there is no way you will not be afraid. But although you are separated from your family and can’t communicate much, it is now possible to use your personal handphone after hours and I think a lot has changed. The military is also a ‘society’, it’s a place where people gather and live together. It is a short time and if you put your mind at ease, it will not be that difficult.

Something to say to your members and fans?

To Mino (Private Choi Minho) who applied to the marines, I want to say that is a very cool decision, and to Key (Private Kim Kibum) who is active in the military band, I hope you don’t get hurt and come back safely. Also, I am receiving training well and doing well healthily. I’m reading all the letter from fans as well and I am thankful and happy that many little avenues have appeared where we can communicate like this. As compared to when I was doing activities in [the] society, I was happy during the musical that there were more opportunities fo us to see each other, directly. Please look forward to the future too.

Speech bubble

“It was a performance that could convey the determined will of the patriotic martyrs”

Division 2 Military Band, Private Lee Jinki (Role as Ji Cheong Cheon)

Ji Cheong Cheon

As the principal of Shinheung Military Academy, an independence activist, a politician and as the commander-in-chief of the Korean Liberation Army, he worked hard to train the Korean independence fighters. Although he was the best soldier in the Japanese military academy, he escaped with the dream of independence and founded the Shinheung Military Academy.

[eastsolis02]

ANSWER TWENTY ONE QUESTIONS, TAG PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER!

tagged by: @luxinexitium ( thank you so much!  ♥ ♥ ♥ )

tagging: @fxndingsolace / @leafproductions / @busanbunnie / @nvpch / @automaticfurytaco / @crazyinlvv / @thevictoryofthepeople

1. nickname: pinee 2. real name: not telling~ 3. zodiac: aries 4. height: 5′1″ 5. what time is it? 1:02 P.M. 6. favorite musicians/groups: SHIN/ee, Sup/er Jun/ior, EX/O 7. favorite sports team: idk, i just like watching some sports whenever they’re on tv 8. other blogs: not telling either :p 9. do i get asks? when I reblog memes, yes haha~~ 10. how many blogs do i follow? 63 11. any tumblr crushes? I love myself jk. everyone is a sweetheart and I love them! 12. lucky number: none 13. what am i wearing rn? polo shirt/uniform, pants, sandals 14. dream vacation: japan 15. dream car: I don’t intend on ever owning one 16. favorite food: salted egg potato chips 17. drink of choice: water is life 18. languages: english & filipino 19. instruments: guitar, bass guitar, and some piano (all of them self-taught) 20. celebrity crushes? lee jinki ig????  21. random fact: out of my bias groups, SHIN/ee is the only group I haven’t attended a concert to. It will change soon once Taem embarks on his solo tour ^^

[rkevent]

MGA SEASON 5: THE GRAND FINALE STARTS NOW!

It’s the start of the end. After nearly two months of airing, the grand finale has finally arrived. At the start, there were 100 hopefuls, and now only 20 of the best contestants remain and fight for the title of winner. Only one group may take on that title and now it is time to see what they have to show us for it. The episode starts live at 9pm sharp and as the audience cheers live, so do the people at home.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the grand finale of the Mnet Global Auditions Season 5!” It’s the assigned MC, Hong Jinwoo, who greets the public and, in return, they all cheer in excitement. “It’s been a long road here, but we got to learn a lot and see a lot during it. Many left us along the way, but they also left their impression in everyone’s hearts at home. Tonight, our 20 finalists will have to give their best and show what they got to be called the very best. Before starting, let us please greet our lovely judges!”

The man points over to the five chairs filled with known faces. With each name he mentions, the judge stands and greets the public around them. “Nova Entertainment’s CEO Hyun Bin! Royal Entertainment’s CEO So Jisub! KT Entertainment’s CEO, Katie Lee! TRC Entertainment’s CEO Tiger JK! And Sphere Entertainment’s CEO, Baek Jiyoung!” Beautiful text appears below their image to introduce themselves to whoever was watching, but these are figures anyone tuned in should already know.

“All of our finalists worked very hard during this week,” the MC continues. “Before they get on the stage, why don’t we show you what they were up to during practice? Check it out!��� The man points to the camera and, while the images appear on the big screen on the stage for those watching there, the same scenes show on everyone’s TV screens at home.

It’s the same order people are used to. The building on the screen is that of Sphere Entertainment. Inside, there are only four contestants. It’s only them are the three coaches and… cupcakes. “It’s Jinwook’s birthday!” Jinki says as they each grab a cupcake for themselves and when the camera zooms on the birthday boy, candles fly around his head. But there isn’t much time for commemoration. Instead of jumping into an impromptu ‘Happy Birthday to You’ performance, KAND DANIEL decides to start things off. “Can I say something?” He asks, and his teammates allow him to.

“It’s about last round, and what the judges said.” A quick flashback shows their previous performance and a few of Tiger JK’s words to them. “We believed yours took a step away from what is normally thought of when people think of Sphere. You didn’t give us much more than what already came with the song.” The CEO says before it returns to the practice room. “Truthfully, I agreed with everything they said, and I worried about it all before performance day, too. I should’ve spoken up about it before, so I wanted to apologize for that.” DANIEL continues with a cupcake in hand. “It was my direction that put my trio team in danger and sent my teammate home, and I didn’t want that to be the case again. I want to do better this time!”

“I know I mentioned it last week, but what about a mashup?” His crowd doesn’t look too appeased, but the boy continues on. “Hear me out, okay! We can choose two songs with easier dances because I think everyone but WOOJIN will struggle learning two dances.” Jinwook cuts him off. “There’s something I’ve been working on, actually. We can use that so we already have a head start and don’t have to dedicate so much time to it if everyone wants?” With a newly found light, people finally seem to agree. “Yeah! That would be really cool!” DANIEL says. “It fits the Sphere concept if it was a Sphere idol that made it, right?”

From his corner, WOOJIN shoots them a question. “What are we going to do about choreography?” After a small pause, DANIEL suggests something. “It would be cool if we could include elements of choreography from the other dances too.” The dancer doesn’t look too convinced by his words. “Maybe, if you can learn the dances fast enough.” On the other side, JUHO speaks up. “DANIEL, we can learn the choreography together once WOOJIN has sorted out the parts. It might help things move faster if we can both help each other during the process.” With everything decided, the team gets to work.

While the team gets to work on sorting parts, WOOJIN steps off to learn the choreographies, as he had done in the weeks before. The rest of the team joins him later on and they all dance along to different songs, but the mashup itself is saved to be played only on their grand stage.

“To show what they prepared,” the MC appears on the stage and the quiet silence from the practice room changes into the cheering of the live audience, “please welcome our Team Hollywood!” The first four finalists make their way to the stage: KANG DANIEL, MIYAWAKI SAKURA, BAEK JUHO, and PARK WOOJIN. They stand there for a moment wearing brightly colored sunglasses. The stage is properly decorated with tropical vibes including blow-up palm trees.

They take off their glasses and put them in their pockets before the instrumental starts to play. It’s WOOJIN who starts singing the first lyrics, followed by DANIEL. With a mashup, it also allowed for him to intercalate his lines while JUHO sings the one from a different song. It’s SAKURA who comes in next to introduce yet another song, all tied in together. While he had already sung before, DANIEL also raps along with SAKURA. WOOJIN takes over the final dancer center and then the other members slowly sing the last few lines from DANIEL to JUHO, and then SAKURA. They hold their pose for a moment before reaching for their sunglasses, then putting them all back on in unison, turning and strutting back stage.

The camera moves into Nova’s practice room as the coaches are about to give their feedback following the last episode’s results. Sunmi is the first to talk as she scribbles on her notepad.“Okay, so not only where you guys clocked for the ambitious choreography it was also subpar of expectations. now not only do we need to meet expectations but we have to exceed them.” And despite ranking fifth last episode, instead of looking gloomy, the group seems determined to show they could be more impactful and do much better during the finals. After some time brainstorming, they decide to go with an angel and demon concept for their Nova performance. They settle for a remade version of Paradise Lost mixed with B.A.P’s 1004 hoping to highlight their strengths and choose to add an intro to develop a story. While it looks challenging to find a good way to make it all work, they can count with the coaches’ insights and experience. Sunmi helps with the skit and suggests choreography aspects, Sungyeol provides extra ideas for stage setups and effect and Seungwan mixes the song with her own flair to make it stand out.

During one of the practice sessions of 1004, YEWON pulls KENTA aside and apologizes to him. “I’m sorry too, that we didn’t do well. I don’t think there’s much we could’ve done better except gone for a different song, but… still. And I can understand why you were frustrated with me last week, but I hope you’ve changed your mind since!” He says. “I’m glad you get to have a bigger role in both of our songs. You’re too talented not to shine as much as you can on our last stage.” With this, they return to practice and the honest conversation proves to be a good remedy to improve their teamwork. With only two vocalists now, Seungwan continues sharing her expertise with JACKSON and KENTA, giving exercises and tips. “When practicing high notes, remember to use sounds that go outward. Ah!” She demonstrates as she gestures for them to repeat after her. "You may laugh, but that’s actually a good sound to make.” She smiles. “You can practice by being angry with me. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” After some sessions, KENTA seems to project his voice better.

The contestants continue to receive the coaches' advice through the week and CHANGBIN approaches Seungwan to revise the lyrics he wrote. After studying it for a second, the coach informs she's going to consult some friends. It’s And*roma’s CHAEYOUNG who answers the phone and tells the boy to go over the rap so she could hear it, giving positive feedback to him. On the other hand, coach Sunmi doesn’t seem happy with their song choices when she returns to check their progress. “I’ve looked over everything and was filled in on your ideas and reasons behind them but I just wanted to let you guys know I feel like your first choice for Nova isn’t really a Nova song at all.” She says, but it seems too late to make drastic changes.  Although disagreeing with their choices, the coach still helps to choreograph the dance opening, making good use of the skillsets of the members so that the dance wasn’t too difficult and more creative.

An ominous instrumental starts and YEWON, KENTA and CHANGBIN are seen kneeling on stage with bibles open in their hands. They mouth something as if they were reciting hymns and keep a blank expression on their faces. Is JACKSON who appears behind them with a sinister look on his face and takes off his cloak before their song starts. KENTA also throws his cloak and Bible off to the side and reveals his all-black outfit before he gets center-stage and does a solo dance that looked like he was playing piano, the expression still strong. The other two left behind throw aside their Bibles and cloaks, then get into formation and JACKSON sings the first verse. KENTA shows his vocals and the group manages to keep up with the choreography. CHANGBIN opens the rap portion following the chorus, letting YEWON shine with her powerful rap before returning to showing what he was known for. JACKSON’s high notes create more impact when they sing the chorus again and church bells can be heard, the red fog becoming red as they transition to another song. The instrumentals give off a different vibe as YEWON dances. The whole stage lights up as KENTA sings and they lift the girl up. Another dance break is performed by the dancers, followed by rap and then high notes in the background. Toward the end, CHANGBIN and KENTA take off their black tops and reveal white clothes underneath. The instrumental ends the performance and fades out beautifully.

The camera zooms and the scene changes to the designated practice room inside TRC. With only four of them now, their spirits seem shaken as they gather for the first time to talk about their plans for the final. “Well, I was disappointed of course.” LEE CHAERYEONG says during her interview when asked about the results last week. “It hurt a bit. Is it bad that I took the words the judges said personally?” KANG HYUNGGU admits. However, the group looks determined to show a better side of themselves to the public and discuss different ideas they would like to incorporate into the performance. Coach Jinsoul points out they should keep their strengths in mind as they share their thoughts, and CHOI MINHO presents a rough copy of a mashup he’d had before to the others. There are disagreements about whether they should do it or not, but in the end, they agree with a mashup for TRC stage. Once again, they decide to join forces and work on the choreography together.  Another clip of HYUNGGU’s interview appears again. “We’ll prove to you that we’re not boring this week, judges.” The boy says with a serious expression.

Even when there’s visible progress, it’s Doyeon who notices something different in MINHO and approaches him later. The boy opens up about the loss of contestants that became friends and his current situation. “I know people are tired of hearing about it, yeah? That I’ve been on the show before… but it’s different this time. The pressure’s different. The stages are different. The people— I didn’t lose this many friends last time. Seeing ‘em get eliminated, it’s…” He tells her and the coach gives her piece of advice before joining the other coaches again and letting the male focus on practice. The coaches continue to give them some pointers through the day, especially on singing and stage presence. "Doyeon and Jinsoul did their best to guide our singing. They checked on us, kept our spirits up, but made sure to give us constructive criticism. The three of our coaches were so supportive and I think everyone needs that. Being on the MGAs or not.” MINHO tells the interviewer. HWANG YEJI is the next to share her thoughts on them. “Jinsoul was really very helpful and motivating when it came to my singing? She gave me such good advice and upped my confidence a lot. Doyeon was also very nice and helpful, she’s also so pretty, i’m shocked. Then SANA as well, I am really grateful to all their advice these two weeks.”

More scenes of their practice time are highlighted, showing them tweaking and making adjustments for the choreography and lyrics. On Sunday, YEJI storms out of the practice room without explanation and surprisingly returns with food for everyone. “Is anyone hungry?” She asks and the team shares Korean BBQ to get some energy for the next round of practice. CHAERYEONG appears practicing her facial expressions after getting a few tips from the coaches. HYUNGGU brings another round of energy drinks and snacks as they discuss how to make the performance stand out, throwing more ideas for the stage and team name. “Lucifer,” HYUNGGU suggests once the concept of angels vs. demons comes up, but they settle with Sirius. "I think our creativity is overflowing this week and you’ll want more. I think we’ll get another episode then?” MINHO says shares in the middle of the week. “I personally think it looks promising. The song choices are more ambitious and interesting and their ideas are definitely bolder than what they prepared last week, so it has potential to impress the audience and the judges.” Doyeon gives her opinion. On the other hand, Jinsoul shares her concerns. “Honestly, I was worried about the song choice. There aren’t so many singers in our team, and since we had Nova as our other concept well… you know how their dancers are, but MINHO has a great tone when he’s singing, and they put together really interesting performances with a theme and a storyline and everything, so I think it’ll be good.”

The video comes to an end and the audience warmly welcomes the following group with louder cheers as they make their way to the stage. The girls are wearing elegant flowy white shirts and angel wings while the boys show a different side with their black and red suits, a glimpse of the concept they chose for the stage. “Shining bright!” HYUNGGU calls out and they all shout “We are Sirius!” in unison. After they’re done with introductions, they move to take their places. The lights dim and the stage is completely black, building the expectation for what’s coming.

When the beat starts playing, spotlights reveal the four sitting on contrasting sides of the stage in thrones. The left side is more ethereal while the right one shows the opposite vibe. White feathers trail behind the girls as they stand to walk to the center and black ones are left on the ground where the boy once was. When they meet center-stage, pyrotechnics are added and YEJI starts the song with clear vocals. As they dance and sing, the group also tells a story of demons trying to make the angels fall for them, a constant push and pull. HYUNGGU steps forward during his part, along with MINHO, as they offer roses to the girls, but they toss them aside. They showcase a self-choreographed routine and CHAERYEONG continues to prove she’s also a talented rapper. Who surprises is MINHO, singing the verse and showing a set of moves from MYNAME’s Paradise. The feathers, the red apple, the interactions, and facial expressions support the story they’re telling as the song progresses. YEJI sings the chorus and HYUNGGU is responsible for the adlibs, flames flaring up with each mention of fire and creating an intense atmosphere on stage. MINHO returns with a rap portion. Leading to the end of the performance, HYUNGGU sings and the boys reveal their intentions and replace the flower crowns the girls had for one with black roses. It’s MINHO who’s in charge of the last line.

Another company appears on the screen, this time it is KT. The four contestants sit together in the room and YUKHEI hands each girl a cup of coffee. The mood is clearly more subdued this time as things all turn towards the end. At least they appear focused on the mission and choose a song quickly. They’ll follow the story they started the previous week. SIA suggests the storyline and the rest help add onto it. NAKYUNG gives the idea of making the stage look like a secret hideout, YUKHEI adds the idea of using a couch and YURI of decorating the area with chain-link fences.

They still struggle a bit with some other sorts of details. A team name doesn’t come as easily so they decide to call for some help. The screen shows scenes of Eclipse of the KTWorld Concert, and the text below it says that the idol coaches couldn’t stop for help due to their schedules. Back in the practice room, the contestants are all crowded around SIA as she holds onto her phone in front of her face. They all sport their best begging faces and puppy eyes. On the other side of the line comes the voice of Minji who is illustrated by a picture of herself on the bottom of the screen.

As a savior, the idol suggests ‘Black Widow’ as the name for their group, and they all appear to agree with it. They all say their goodbyes and it shows the end of the day. On the morning after, YURI gets there the earliest. She has a number of cupcakes in front of her as well as some coffee orders beside her. SIA arrives after her, and YURI shouts out. “Happy birthday, SIA-unnie! I hope you enjoy it— I made the cupcakes fresh and frosted it, piped everything myself. But it was worth it for you!” The birthday girl looks surprised. “I- I didn’t realize you knew it was my birthday,” she admits. “You’re too good to me, you know that, YURI?” They hug each other before the screen changes back to the stage.

“And now,” the MC says, “let’s welcome our KT group, Black Widow!” The four make their way to the center before doing their group greeting. NAKYUNG is the one to start it. “When cupid fails, we are-” and then all the girls point their hands as finger guns at YUKHEI and he puts his hands up in a surrender pose “Black Widow.” Once they’re done with their individual introductions, they move over to their starting positions. Before any song can start, the stage goes dark.

A clip of their performance last week plays on the screen behind them showing all five of the original members. When the song dies off, JIEQIONG’s voice, the contestant eliminated last week, says “The story isn’t over.” From then, their song of the week starts to play. YURI starts by vocalizing over the instrumental, followed by a few lines from YUKHEI. SIA is the one who takes the actual first verse. The dance is a bit demanding to those not exactly trained in dancing, but they keep up. When it gets to the bridge, they repeat the same movement from their introduction, but this time with YURI singing in the middle. Before the song can pick back up again, NAKYUNG comes out with the highlighted short rap. They all turn their backs in the end and walk away.

The final place appears on the screen: Royal Entertainment. The last four finalists are sitting together trying to come up with ideas when the door opens and their coach, Cheri, appears with an ice cream cake in her hands. SUWOONG hurries over to help her with a smile. The smile quickly disappears when the cake tips over and falls to the ground. KYUNGSOO stretches his arms but stands too far to reach, HEEJIN and YOUNGJAE freeze in shock. Suddenly, Ella and Wonwoo walk in with a new cake and the contestants sport a new expression of shock.

They dig into their second cake, commemorating their win from the previous week. Despite the delicious lunch, the finalists are soon put to the test. To prepare themselves for their performance, Ella insists that they must practice their squats. Cheri instead suggests they should harmonize while doing squats to make sure they’ll be completely prepared when on the stage. The four proceed to do as they’re told, sweating while trying to sing. Once they’re done, SUWOONG throws himself on the ground. “Coach Ella just wants to see us suffer, doesn’t she?”

However, on the following day, SUWOONG is the one dragging KYUNGSOO behind the door on a sprint. “Quick, hide! I think that’s Cheri’s footsteps… shh!” They wait quietly, but the one who walks in is HEEJIN. He quickly recruits the girl to join them and soon there are three people trying to hide behind a door. “We’re going to get them back,” SUWOONG says “You do know you’re not exactly quiet, even when you try to be, right?” HEEJIN says, but they continue with the plan. When the door opens again, they shout a loud “Boo!” The one coming in is YOUNGJAE, who lets out a loud shriek while retreating to a corner of the room. “Don’t do that!” He whines while hitting SUWOONG’s chest. Soon, the boy is recruited as well, and the four of them wait for their coaches to arrive.

When the door opens again, they all shout once more. Both Ella and Cheri squeak. SUWOONG is laughing away while KYUNGSOO and YOUNGJAE walk over to check if the two are doing well. They apologize constantly afterward and then get back to practice. They are shown back doing squats, and maybe they feel some regret from pranking the coaches back. With this, the show is back live on the stage. The MC smiles at the camera before speaking. “Representing Royal, welcome the Royal Flush!” The contestants walk over to the center and start to introduce themselves. “We are Royal Flush!” They greet before bowing with unison. They introduce themselves individually before getting into their positions.

They’re either seated or lying down. The stage is decorated with beautiful flower sets and the camera zooms in on those before the song starts. KYUNGSOO is the first to sing, followed by SUWOONG. They go over their squat choreography as they had so intensely practiced before YOUNGJAE takes it away with their lines. HEEJIN is the one who delivers the high note, as expected from the chosen best singer on the early episodes. They all shout together and confetti shoots out from above them. With their final pose, the confetti continues to fall as if they were white petals, ending their stage.

It takes a few moments with them standing on their place before the camera moves to someone else, the MC. “Weren’t those some great performances?” The crowd cheers loudly. “Which one was your favorite?” They all shout different names, but it’s tough to point anything out with 3000 people present. “Well, but that wasn’t the end quite yet! Today, to make this finale special, the groups prepared two performances, each with a different concept. Would you like to know which ones they were assigned?” The audience replies with a loud ‘yes!’ and the man chuckles. “We’ll gladly show you… after the commercials! Don’t change your channel we’ll be right back!”

[tofnew]

that was the most beautiful music video i have ever watched. my goosebumps haven’t gone down and my tears and stained to my face i just can’t believe my own eyes really watched that. lee jinki, i am incredibly proud of you and immensely grateful that i get to love you so much like this to be able to sit down and take all of your beautiful words in. i’m really speechless right now and i’m still crying my eyes out, but i hope what i’m saying translates. you’ve grown so much and this solo album really shows that. i love you, lee jinki. i can’t wait to continue to love you for many many years--you make my life so colorful 

[quagmireisadora]

Shinee through the years with their ages swapped? If there can be slight onkey or ontae it'll be awesome.

A/N: sorry this took time to put together

Taemin wiped the back of his neck with the offered towel. “So you’re from… up north?” he asked of the young boy.

“Suwon, hyung!” Jinki said. “I like singing and writing things, so I came here on a train one day, after school, you know? And I thought wow this is such a big city I’m going to get lost here haha, so I thought I’d just come to an audition and then–”

“OK, OK, relax,” Jonghyun patted his shoulder. “I don’t remember having so much energy at thirteen…”

“But hyung, you’re only fifteen, yourself…” Jinki blinked, wondering if there was a joke he wasn’t getting.

“Hul, look at this one talking back.”

“Yah, are we practicing or just chatting like aunties? ‘Cause I’m hungry,” Kibum complained, his satoori sticking despite all the practice.

“We just had a meal,” Minho quietly pointed out from the other side of the practice hall, to which Kibum simply scratched his cheek with a bored expression. It bothered everyone that he didn’t call people hyung or noona and acted too informal with the group; too friendly. Minho was a stickler for that kind of thing, especially because it felt unprofessional. But his sternness wasn’t enough to make him scold the younger, so he let it slide.

“Alright, let’s get back in position,” Taemin signaled, and they stood in formation as Jinki pressed a button on the player and ran back to take his place.

——

“You break walnuts with your fingers?!” Jonghyun balked, to which the maknae nodded enthusiastically, throwing bits of walnut into his mouth as he hummed an absent-minded tune.

Kibum laughed hard over Jonghyun’s shoulder, peering at the pile of walnut halves on the table. “The things we learn about you every day, Jinki yah…”

“So hyung can dance,” Minho pointed at a groggy leader walking out of their shared bedroom. “Kibum can do girl group choreography, Jonghyun ah you do that stupid imitation of Michael Jackson, and this young one can probably kill someone with his fingers… great, we’re going to be so famous with just that,” he chuckled as he listed.

“But you don’t have anything,” Kibum shrugged at him. 

Minho raised his arm in a very non-threatening threat, eyes ridiculously round and elbow sticking out in a sharp angle. “Is that how you’ll talk to me on TV, too? When we’re taking care of a small baby? I’ll have to cover his ears.”

“I liked you better when you didn’t talk,” Kibum let him know with a grimace as he walked off.

“Oh,” Jinki suddenly muttered, as if he’d remembered something out of the blue. “Babies are scary…”

“Yah, you’re a baby yourself, look at you!” Jonghyun scoffed.

——

“What’s the matter?” Taemin asked. 

He was covered in sweat from the showcase, and the crowd was going insane. Very soon the entire SM troupe would need to be lined up outside for the good bye song. But right now, backstage, with the maknae curled in his make-up chair, and a slightly alarmed coordi noona standing a few feet away– right now was not the time time.

The leader leaned in closer “Jinki yah, talk to me.”

The boy shook his head. “I…” he sobbed out. “I can’t…”

“Why not?” Taemin tried, but he could feel his reserves of patience waning, so when Minho stepped forward with a hold on, hyung, he took a step back for himself.

“Hey, buddy,” an arm coiled around Jinki, who melted into the action and hung onto the elder by his shirt. “Why’re you sitting here by yourself, hmm?” Minho’s voice was saccharine. It was like a glass of warm milk on a cold sleepless night. It reminded Taemin of his mom. He smiled with some reassurance, and walked away. 

“He’s scared?” troubled Kibum asked him when they bumped into each other just outside the room. For all his irreverence and clowning around with Jonghyun, the boy was very perceptive. Taemin simply nodded in response but he wondered if in another life Kibum would’ve cared for him the same way he did for the youngest.

He was rewarded with a squeeze of the shoulder, and nothing more.

Later that night, Jonghyun tried to make everyone laugh by getting tangled in his new “backless” costume and Kibum made dumb jokes about being half bald. The smile on Jinki’s face was enough to relieve Taemin of his worries.

——

Jinki spun the mic stand and it almost slipped from his sweaty hands. “Oh!” he exclaimed loudly. 

“Yah! Careful! You gonna behead one of us?!” Minho yelled, but the admiration was clear in his eyes. 

“Hyung, I did it!” the maknae laughed, and then ran circles around the leader. “I did it! I did it!” They’d become much closer over the years - one helping the other sing better, the other helping one dance better. They spent long hours talking and training and eating meals together. Taemin laughed back.

Jonghyun clapped his hands loudly and tried the trick himself, only to fail. “Argh! How’d you get it so fast?!” 

“Lee Jinki, the boy who spins,” Minho joked and they laughed. 

“OK, OK, lets get serious, I don’t have time for this,” Kibum said, checking his reflection in the mirrors. Something had shifted in him between the years, but Taemin couldn’t point to it. He could pin it down and extract it from what was once a happy, bubbly, ridiculous man. Something had shifted there, but he’d need time to do something about it. And that, he had none of at the moment.

“Alright, let’s take it from the top,” Taemin said with some authority.

“Oh, tops! Can we add those to the routine too?” Minho said as if he’d had a moment of genius.

“Ah, hyung, be serious!”

——

“Look, I got a tan line, right here,” Kibum pointed with a smile. Taemin smiled, too, but that was all the energy he could spare. The van back from the airport was stalled in traffic, and the dorm seemed like it was a thousand miles away. Minho was passed out in the passenger seat up front, and an open-eyed but certainly asleep Jonghyun had a snoring Jinki’s head on his lap. Kibum leaned in close till their shoulders were resting against each other. “Do you think we’d ever get to do something like that again?”

“What?” he asked. “Shoot a music video in a foreign country?” 

“Mm.”

“Who knows. It must’ve cost a hell of a lot.”

“Yeah but it was fun. Being away…” Kibum looked out the window in thought. His multicolor hair looked less impressive now, oily and pushed back with hairclips, that it had when they were filming under the strong Thai sun. “I hate this city. I hate being back here.”

Taemin squeezed his hand. It was his way of building a bridge, his way of walking to the middle and asking if everything was OK. Sometimes he’d receive a squeeze in response, sometimes the fingers in his grasp would be cold and indifferent. Sometimes Kibum would snatch himself away, but in any case, Taemin always tried. He always built his bridges. 

Half an hour later, when they took the exit off the highway and towards home, manager hyung stopped the car at a gas station. Taemin enlisted Minho’s help to get some groceries for the night. They’d be in the dorm until promotions ended.

“Oh!” someone recognized them at the store. “Lee Taemin ssi, I’m a big fan, love your solo album!” He bowed to them and excused himself with a polite smile. 

“Everything OK, hyung?” Minho asked him as they hunted for Jonghyun’s almond milk and Jinki’s favorite brand of sausages.

“Everything OK,” was the dismissive reply.

[rktaeyong]

     ━━━━━━━━━━📲😱  𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐱 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 !              ( ft. bubble pop )

there’s a lot to unpack mentally in the month of february -- it seems and feels as though everything is happening all at once without the ample time to breathe, what with one of the members leaving the group and the opening of their new vlive channel. his brain hurts, and of course, he’s stressed out and excited but he’s still smiling as if he’s on top of the world -- which he is, but that just extends his confusion from within.

on one hand, he’s still reeling from the loss of rome, a very integral part of not only the hip-hop unit but as convex in general, especially since he was the former hip-hop unit leader. while it has been decided that seungcheol would take over the spot ( which, taeyong digresses, is such a great choice ), there still leaves a void that has yet to be filled by his absence in the group. on the other hand, he’s truly and actually so excited to get more personable with the fans -- the first step really is the vlive channel. he can’t wait to talk more to everyone, to let the fans see who he really is without automatically jumping to conclusions based on his on-stage abilities and his image.

in other words, taeyong’s just feeling, period.

over the past few days leading up to the broadcast, taeyong had a bit of trouble trying to figure out what he was going to introduce himself as, what his personal talent was going to be. he had, initially, thought about introducing himself as convex’s anime prince or something to that extent -- just because he’s seen a lot of talk between netizens online that he resembles the perfect anime prince character. he’s flattered by it, of course, but he doesn’t know if he should capitalize on that -- he also feels as though it’s really the first ( and sometimes only ) thing people really mention out of him, so in his mind, it’s good to diversify opinions if possible.

as for his personal talent, he thinks about playing piano or guitar -- maybe cook something really quick in front of everyone ( although jinki cooks way more than taeyong ever does -- chalk it up for maternal instinct ), maybe even reciting some random factoids that’s he acquired from his many wikipedia journeys throughout his young adult life. but ultimately, he decides to dance to a girl group song -- more specifically, a solo song by a female idol, and a rather popular one at that ( albeit a bit dated -- taeyong argues that it’s, rather, timeless ). he figures that even though he could do something akin to singing, as expected of a member of the vocal unit, it would be best to showcase something more than singing or instrumental prowess -- and he doesn’t forget that he was and still is a dancer first and foremost.

plus, who doesn’t love a good girl group cover by a male idol?

the premiere broadcast happens soon enough, and taeyong jitters in his place waiting, staring straight ahead of him as he picks subconsciously at his hangnails. out of bad habit, he starts to bite at his nails and his cuticles, predominantly due to both the nervousness and excitement, but stops as soon as he walks in -- well, more like after he sits down on his seat, he stops biting at his nails. it’s unbecoming of an idol, apparently.

the introductions go smoothly and quickly, more quickly than taeyong anticipates -- but he’s still ready with his introduction once it gets to his turn. “hello, i am convex’s lead vocal and fake maknae, lee taeyong!” a few hearty laughs and awws go off from his fellow bandmates, and it makes taeyong laugh at his own silly little name for himself. “i chose to call myself that because i feel like i’m bubbly and soft like a maknae typically is, even though i’m one of the older members of convex -- fourth oldest, to be more specific, right behind k.i. hyung! although, there is a three-gap between us.” he snickers to himself, playfully reaching over and nudging the older members.

then it gets to personal talents -- taeyong is more than ready for this. “so, for my personal talent, i’ll be dancing to girl group songs -- more specifically, bubble pop --” he stands and shoots a finger gun to the staff behind the camera. “muuuuusic, cue!” and with that, he dances as femininely and genuinely as possible -- no half-assery, no typical male idol antics when dancing to a girl group song, an actual cover of the chorus of the song. he ends, and with thunderous applause, he bows, winking and finger-gunning directly to the camera. “i hope you enjoyed that!”

[fyjjong]

🌟💖 to jonghyun: my sun, my moon, my stars, someone who i'll love forever  💖🌟

i don't know how to start this properly so i'll do so by saying i'm coping the best i can be given the circumstances but it still feels like there's this void in my chest. 

when i first started listening to k-pop i figured it'd just be a fun pasttime for me and, for the most part, it has been. i just didn't think i'd get as attached as i did to an idol as i did jonghyun because i'd never been the type to get super attached to celebrities to begin with but i was really drawn to him from the get go. i remember the first time i saw him in the "lucifer” mv. i was like: "wow, who is that dude" so i started looking into him and grew to like him quickly. this was before he started to show more of himself to shawols / the world. after that point he made his twitter and began to interact more with fans by showing how clever, intelligent, fun loving and socially conscious he was. and his sense of humor was so strange - which was something that i could relate to. that's probably when i knew he was going to be my ult for a long time. i remember when he supported kang eun ha back in late 2013 and i was so relieved because i was just starting to really come to terms with the fact that i was queer and it was comforting to know that my ult would accept me for that. in the short time that followed we were able to see him grow and develop as a person. he started to bare his soul to the world through blue night, always more than he was obligated to, and he was always graceful and thoughtful in doing so. i remember at shinee's fifth anniversary party when he debuted “beautiful tonight” to shawols. i was so proud of him because i knew that it'd always been his dream to make his own music and that was the FIRST time that he was able to share something with us that was completely his. 

when it comes to shinee .. i haven't been here since the beginning. i became a fan during the summer of 2011 but i've always felt like i was present during the timeline that was the most pertinent in his growing as a human being. blue night was always so special to me because it opened us up to a side of him that he had been careful to share before then. people had these fixed stereotypes about him and, while some have lingered on, he was able to blow most out of the water through the show. without blue night we wouldn't have been able to hear a large percentage of his beautiful solo work. looking back i can see that this was a burden to him and it makes me ache knowing something he loved became such a weight for him but i'll always cherish the work that he gave to us. he was always trying so hard. it doesn't take what happened to know that. he never shied away from telling us when he felt lost or lonely or upset and he never made fans feel as if they were wrong to feel that way either. honestly he never made fans feel like they were in the wrong for anything. he'd support them through even their most ridiculous (and some of the funnier stories he got on blue night were proof of that) and the love he had for us was undeniable. you could see it in his eyes whenever he was given the chance to be face-to-face with us: at events with shinee, for blue night, for himself. it always looked like he was ... ridiculously content just breathing the same air as his fans. this extended to international fans as well. he didn't speak up on it often but it was obvious he knew about the disconnect / distance that we've always felt in being so far away from him and shinee. we got “selene 6.23" to show for that one. it was also thanks to jonghyun and the rest of shinee that i was able to make most of the close friends that i have today. that, and they were also so charming that i was able to have my older friends become a fan of them as well. they also gave me a reason to be able to travel twice in the last year and a half: once to chicago and another time to los angeles. i'll always be grateful that i was able to see them twice - that i was able to see him twice. i'm starting to feel too introspective so i'm going to switch over and talk about a few of my favorite things about him: 1) he wasn't perfect. he made mistakes but he always apologized and tried to make amends for them in the end. he was constantly trying to better himself and become education / sensitive to a variety of issues. i feel he excelled there, really. 2) his love for roo. i think it goes without saying that a good deal of the funnier content involving him was related back to roo. and remember the time she photobombed minho taking a picture of jjong with his music show trophies? yeah. 3) how much of his life he dedicated to making his mom and sodam feel loved and appreciated. i really don't know what else to add here that isn't obvious already. 4) he wasn't afraid to show the world the side of himself that was what most would regard as being "childish" or in geeking out about things that made him happy like naruto or how much he had fallen in love with (and been touched by) kimi no na wa. 5) when he wanted to cry he cried and he made sure that others were aware that it was alright to cry too, to be weak sometimes because to be "weak" is to really be strong. 6) he was such a great and caring friend. he just ... was. there's no denying that. he was always nonjudgmental and willing to be there for his friends at the drop of a hat when they needed him (like when he drove two hours to pick up dongwoo when he needed a ride home from a random location). 7) jinki. he was always a pillar of strength for him and this worked both ways. he took the spotlight for him when he wasn’t able to do it himself and he was always the first to understand his strange jokes and puns and play off of them. 8) kibum. he was kibum's first friend when they became trainees. we'll never know what kind of connection they had in full but it was obvious it was something special that went beyond words. 9) minho. minho is probably his biggest fan. he could read him like an open book and he was always the first to be there when he needed him most and it's obvious that hasn't changed even now. 10) taemin. he was HIS biggest fan. we all know that. he wasn't just his friend and brother but his baby and you could see how proud he was to see him develop as both an artist and person. i'm glad he got to see up to now even though it hurts me he won't see all he is capable of achieving. 11) the relationship he had with his blue night family - listeners included. they helped him so much. they gave him stories to use that helped broaden his work as a singer-songwriter and he developed meaningful friendships with both regular guests and pds. 12) taeyeon, suho, yoona, krystal, heechul, donghae, jungmo. all the friends that he made within sm when they began training who he knew for just as long as the other members of shinee. and all of those who have left sm since that were close to and meant a lot to him at a point as well, like luhan, jessica and tao. plus those that he became and stayed close to after debut. yeri, lee jonghyun, hongki, crush, zion.t, jung joon young, younha, tablo, wheesung, minkyung, gray, zico. i know they're all hurting too. 13) he wrote a beautiful book where he used all main characters as a template to show different sides of himself to readers. he was writing another book too and i'm glad he was at least able to share his idea for it with us. 14) he was able to release four amazing solo albums in such a short amount of time and i honestly feel like he helped to break some of the bias sm had toward allowing their artists to release their own work. 15) he wasn't afraid to gush over other men that he found attractive. looking back on his fanboying over gong yoo is always going to make me laugh. 16) i really loved how much he loved the moon and stars and space and mythology and all that whimsical stuff because he could be pretty whimsical himself at times. 17) how much of a dork he was for poetry. remember when he sent that wreath to wheesung with that bertolt brecht poem? iconic. 18) he really admired and looked up to prince. you could see his influence in both the sound and styling of his solo work and that makes the stereotypical minnesotan in me happy. 19) more of a random anecdote but how excited he was when he was dying his hair pink for "she is” promotions. the story about how he'd kept on showing the other members a photo of the shade he was trying for excitedly will always be one of my faves. 20) he was the kazoo king. 21) random little physical traits of his like his blingspot and all his pretty moles and birthmarks, his bottom teeth, how his legs were bowed. 22) how he pretty much laughed with his entire body and how his nose scrunched up when doing so. how expressive he was. how you could pretty much see every emotion he was trying to convey in his eyes and they'd sometimes sparkle like there was an entire universe in them (i used to say that a lot). i'll move on from the facts from now but this is ... a lot. emotionally. (death tw, suicide tw) honestly i feel like i can't say much else that hasn't already been said and that i won't be able to completely do justice to who he was as an artist, bandmate, brother, son, friend, colleagues, so on and so forth. but you can feel it at least. i guess words?? aren't really needed always?? you can feel it in how many people have went to pay their respects to him in the last day. he was SO loved and he left such a mark on the industry, not just of his immense and unique talent but because of how kind, generous, soft and understanding he was. i've said this a few times already to close friends of mine but as much as it kills me to know that he's gone and that he was in as much pain as he was i'm also relieved that he isn't feeling that pain anymore. what else can you really say in situations like these. he hurt more than anyone deserves to and maybe it's cheesy to say but a part of me feels like he was too good for this world. i've never really been religious but i hope that if there is an afterlife that he feels content, warm, happy and comfortable for once. maybe now he's a star, hanging around the moon, or maybe he's a star pup. that'd be wild. he'd probably love that. or maybe he's jamming out with his favorite musicians who've passed. who knows. anyway. i think that's all i'm gonna say for now. in the future i may revisit this post - maybe i’ll add on to it or maybe i’ll use it as a template to make a new one. who knows but the only other thing i can say before closing this off is that he'll always have a special place in my heart and i'll never forget him.