#which a lot of 2nd gen groups did too but there was only so much u could do w 4-5 members

[absolutebl]

Kpop end of 2022 shows

In which I mostly slam 4th gen boy groups, so if you’re a stan skip this post or go in prepared to be offended. I am aware that this is off brand for this blog. But I’m also aware that I have a number of followers who are as deeply into Kpop as me, and...

who probably will unfollow me after reading this. Oh well, I’m gonna do it anyway. This is my tiny corner of the internet. MINE I tell you!  

Look, there was no Between Us airing today, and so nothing for me to get my watch-along snark out on except for the 2 Kpop shows that Viki popped into my feed. So skip this post if that’s not your thing. 

2022 Gayo Daejeon (stadium event) 

OMG! Either mic them properly or don’t mic them at all! This is a music concert, right? Why can’t Korea ever fucking get the sound right in these goddamn bonanza shows? I had this problem with Kingdom (arguably more of an issue since that was supposedly made for TV) but it’s 100 times worse with this show. It’s so frustrating. 

For example, with NCT, why is Johnny’s the only hot mic in the group? Sound tech on stuff out of Korea is mind numbingly confusing and ear wrenchingly annoying. I am reminded why I never watch the live shows and never go to Kpop concerts.

And now, here’s some offensive thoughts and unpopular opinions:

Yeonjun of TXT is one of the best 4th gen dancers ever fielded, and one of the better all rounders. But Kpop stylists gotta learn how to dress a dancer so that they can be properly watched, ya know, WHEN THEY ARE DANCING. No puffer vests, you brainless fashionista numb-nuts. Poor thing kept having to do wardrobe adjustments. Honestly, this plus their red carpet looks this year? 

TXT desperately needs a new stylist.

Stray Kids

As a group? They really can’t sing very well or consistently, their strength is in their performance and rapping. And their rappers MUST to be micced hot for live - just KILL 3racha's backup recording, okay? They can handle it. Otherwise please just let them all lip-synch so we can watch them perform. It’s a much better experience.

NCT

Yuta has more charisma in his little finger than Taeyong has in his whole entire body. Doyoung is an incredibly underrated vocalist. Their’s was some of the worst miccing and sound of the night (which is saying a lot considering how terrible it was the whole time). Fantastic use of the stage tho. One the best stadium performance I’ve seen since GOT7. Also, 2 Baddies is an objectively terrible song - which is probably why it’s so popular.

The Boyz

Definitely the prettiest, how are they consistently so glorious on their visuals? Sunwoo keeps getting hotter, it’s patently unfair. But, oh my god, if you are going to have a group sing ballads, then bring 2nd (Highlight) or 3rd (BTOB) gens up there don’t use The Boyz (or SK for that matter). No one wants to hear unstable vocals, even if it’s a CNBLUE cover. Is it weird that The Boyz make me miss Seventeen? Same vibe... better syncopation. 17 is not as pretty tho.

Who is? 

Well, UNIQ of course. But I don’t wanna talk about that. 

Ateez

Jongho is the only 4th gen idol in existence who doesn’t need a mic even in a goddamn stadium. He is insane. But there is a reason the boy likes a handheld mic, because he takes his vocals seriously. And still the sound tech didn’t trust him enough to leave that mic hot? Frankly, it’s a crime that Jongho’s voice is wasted on a performance group. (Yes, I said it.) But Ateez did give the best stage of the night. They really are one of the industry’s hardest working groups at the moment. I’m a little worried they’re being pushed too much.

Enhyphen

Actually singing for a change *gasp* what will they do without auto tune? Ooof, I’m hella mean tonight. And... they seem to have been practicing their vocals since last time. Honestly? They lack the stage presence of some of the more experienced 4th gens. NCT fucking EATS up a stadium. Enhyphen looked a little sad up there by comparison.

MBC 2022 (New Year's showcase) 

Much better sound (mostly lip-synching) and most groups handle a showcase stage better than a stadium. 

The MC team was better on this one. 

Any time the Boyz and Ateez would like to dance together, I will be happy to watch it happen.

I’m not particularly interested in either of them, but Tempest and Kepler covering Pretty U was pretty damn cute. But younger boy groups + younger girl groups intermixing on stage always comes off as awkward. Dancers should be dancing together when they share a stage together. It’s weird when they are clearly afraid to touch each other. 

Hanbin is such sunshine, so pleased to see a Vietnamese idol at last.

As expected the bands doing live Krock had the best music performances. Well and the opera singers, of course. 

NCT’s Jungwoo is Taemin’s little brother, they look too much alike, you cannot persuade me otherwise. 

It’s a sin that Jeahyun hasn’t has a break away acting role yet. No babies, he really isn’t going to do us a BL. 

It’s always great when the surfeit of music shows at the end of the year forces a group like NCT to divide and conquer, because we get to see some of the lesser publicized members do some killer performing. 

NCT’s choreographer is phenomenal. Best in the biz? 

A sexy cover of Love Killa is fine but if you can’t go hard on Monsta X’s raps then why bother? This only made me want to go watch the original. Which I did. 

I’d like to see SK cover Monsta X but that’s about it. Maybe P1H.

Speaking of MX. Why did they cover a song where Kihyun (one of the most consistent voices in Kpop) mostly has to sing falsetto? What a damn waste. 

Fun to see IM getting more confident in his vocals but I’d still rather see the MX maknae line rap. 

And… thank you for doing an end of year stage Monsta X! Holding onto my beloved 3rd gens by the skin of my teeth here. Look I just love them, okay? Even down 2 members Monsta X goes harder than other groups, but effortlessly. They gave the best performance of my whole night, both shows, 6 hours of content and I’m just left wanting to watch MX comeback stages.  

Am I 3rd gen biased? 

Probably. 

Bite me. But only if you can do it as hard as Monsta X would. 

[cherriegyuu]

Peak Time - (Episodes 1&2)

I like it, I like it a lot. That’s it, really. The whole idea behind it is amazing really and for one I’m really glad that this isn’t an Mnet show. I feel like Mnet, being Mnet, would try to create some sort of rivalry between the groups. I don’t think JTBC will do that, at least considering what I remember of Mix Nine but I can be wrong, it’s been so many years lol. Also the judges are good ones. I personally don’t like Jay Park but this show might change it, idk? Kyuhyun on the other hand… Really starting to dislike him.

I’ll mention only the performances I liked because there were too many to go through them all. There’s really no specific order to this, but I did like some of them more than others 

Team 20:00 (M.O.N.T) – Fever

They made me forget that this is, originally, a JYP song. That’s show good they were. And they didn’t have a whole of dancing and there’s only 2 of them and they managed to make it feel it was their concert. I remember them from Mix Nine and this is a huge jump from that. I’m curious to see how they move forward and how will they be able to tackle other types of music. They seemed to be really in their element on this.

Team 11:00 (Vanner) – Adore U

First off, their story? Amazing, they deserve the world, they just really want to perform, doesn’t matter what they have to do on the side to be able to do so. And their performance? Sooooo good. It takes good vocalists to cover good vocalists and I believe they did a fantastic job. I’m already following them everywhere

Team 8:00 (DKB) – The Real

In this song, more than in others, there’s this energy that’s very specific to Ateez, it’s related to them as people and how they behave. To me, DKB managed to emulate that very well in this performance. They had fun throughout the entire thing and you could see it in their faces. It made me tear up a little bit when they were getting praised and the leader (?) was holding back his tears.

Team 23:00 (DGNA) – Mirotic

As expected, 2nd gen really hits different. Everything about this performance was magnificent, I can’t even really express how good it really was. The hold this song has on me it’s not even funny and the fact that these guys came out singing like that, no backtrack, vocals for days, so powerful all three of them and really dancing is insane. The other groups were so surprised to see them sing like that and I just was so happy, smiling and singing along the whole time.

Team 02:00 (NTX) – No Mercy

This was really good, to me the least expected song. I really liked it and there isn’t a whole lot to comment on it. I know that they’ve been getting some negative feedback from knets, because they dissed 4th gen during the rap verse but honestly? Who cares? Let’s start with the fact that they are, indeed, part of 4th gen and really a lot of the groups tend to focus on visuals and dancing more than anything else, sometimes it feels like watching a dance group that happens to have mics attached to their faces. So yeah, good job to them. (Also, imagine how crazy it is to perform to a song in a competition like this and then have the original singer come out as a contestant.)

Team 14:00 (GHOST9) – Never Ever

I like it, it wasn’t perfect at times, but overall very good. I’m surprised that they had to stay on hold for the judges to decide whether or not they would be able to move to the next round. To me they performed better than Bae143 and ATBO, who passed by the amount of votes imediatly (which don’t take me as reference because I usually hate when people cover exo or any song sang by exo members so). I was really surprised to seem them perform as just 5 and the fact that they had to rearrange the entire performance in day and still managed to do a decent job is really impressive. The guy rapping was screaming a little too much, I’m not sure if he was trying to emulate Jackson’s tone or if he had to take on a part that wasn’t originally his

Heedo – Soloist – Back Door

I’ve been a fan of his for some years now so I’m happy that he got to come out and participate. This performance was really good and really complete, he’s a good rapper and his singing voice is really good too.

Jong Up – Soloist – Anyone

I never expected to see him come to a show like this. My friend, who likes him a lot, said he was doing fine on his own so she doesn’t understand why he came out like this and why he said that B.A.P wanted to come as group. Regardless of that, his performance was really good and it really is different to see a man, man, dancing.

Byeong Ju – Soloist – 4 Walls

Let me tell that this a hard song and he was really good. I don’t have a whole lot to say so yeah, amazing, loved it.

                                                              ------

I hated how JTBC didn’t announce during the show which groups would be through, out of those who were on hold, and the soloists who would make it into team 24:00. “Go to the site”? You couldn’t have spared 10 minutes to announce that while the show was airing? A terrible move if you ask me. Either way, out of the 15 groups in the show, I’ll be watching these 7 more as we move forward, but who knows, it might change.

Compared to Boys Planet, I like this one more, as the nature of the show is to push already formed groups closer to their dream. Regardless of who wins, I hope they find success.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Sunmi

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

So, since I’ll probably be tackling some groups with large discographies, both now and in the future, I thought it’d be good to shine lights on some smaller groups and soloists who either aren’t as popular and/or have much smaller repertoires, so that’s what we’re doing today! These are going to be a lot more chill than my deep dives because they’re really more of a fun break than anything else.

Here are my credentials: I’m totally a fan of Sunmi and consider her one of my favorite soloists, her songs are some of my most-loved in k-pop, and I admire her singing, dancing, and bass playing skills and the amount that she's had to go through. I wouldn’t quite call myself a Miya-ne, but I’m probably on the cusp of it and I’ve got a feeling that this deep dive will turn me into one.

Sunmi debuted with 24 Hours in 2014, and right away it sounds like the beginnings of the idea of “Sunmi-pop”, but just not quite as sharp yet. It feels very 2nd gen, with the beat, styling, choreo, and breathlessness of the vocals, which makes sense as she’d just come off the heels of Wonder Girls’ biggest hits. Even though it’s not a favorite of mine, I did like it and I especially loved the tango-esque slowdown in the bridge, even though the transition back to usual was a little clunky.

Full Moon’s bluesy guitar surprised me right out of the gate, and the song’s slower tempo did too. Sunmi’s voice sounds a bit more similar to what I’m used to but still not quite there yet. Its off kilter feeling and sharpness through the electro beat are more flags pointing towards Sunmi’s later work but still not quite there yet. I like this one too, more than 24 hours, but still not as much as the instant classics I know are coming.

My hidden gem from the first EP, Full Moon, is definitely Who Am I?. It’s unlike other k-pop songs I’ve heard, to be quite honest. From the first beat, it slinks along with a tense, almost minimalistic drum & bass before letting her voice almost snap back like a rubber band in the choruses. The only part I don’t like as much is the rap, which I personally don’t think needed to be there and the song could’ve been much stronger with an excellent bridge.

Sunmi’s voice is another of my favorite k-pop voices, and, like Woosung’s, it’s because it’s not a “typical” k-pop voice. For starters, it’s a bit lower, but also feels sharper and almost more defined in a way. It sounds like the voice of a confident, adult woman, not a kid’s that’s intentionally pitched higher, and because of that and the emotion it carries, it makes her songs feel so genuine and honest. Added to that is the fact that she’s credited as a writer on all of her songs, and after her 2nd EP, she’s written every song herself and was involved in composing most of them too, and you can see how “Sunmi-pop” has become something of its own genre.

Gashina is the first part of Sunmi’s unofficial trilogy of songs, and the song that catapulted her to success. I think, to be honest, that the intense popularity of it means that no matter if it was the best song I’d ever heard, I would have been slightly disappointed on first listen, which is no fault of Sunmi’s. I do like this song, and it’s the first single of hers that, even if I’d never heard it before, I would immediately associate it with her. It’s got that electro base, strange tempo, very specific vocals, defiance, a hint of her trademark cynicism, and a bizarre kind of humor that is very, very Sunmi. The music video too feels so unmistakably her that I can’t help but smile, and it even got a few chuckles out of me.

Heroine is the second part of the trilogy, and the first song of Sunmi’s that I ever loved. It’s on my K-pop Top 25 (which at this point should be a post of its own from how many times I’ve mentioned it), and it’s also probably the reason that I’m not as head-over-heels for Gashina as other people are, because I think Heroine is her best song. Like her 10 out of her 10’s, it doesn’t let a single moment go to waste, and even when it seems to slow down, it’s only to set up the juggernaut of a chorus about to smack you in the face. In the hands of a lesser performer, it could easily become one dimensional, but the song surges forward with such a raw, almost desperate energy, and consistently makes you feel breathless with its sharp near-anguish. But the part that makes it so great isn’t any of its loudness. Instead, it’s a deep sigh, and the quiet, simple, “The show must go on. You must go on.” Phew. Gets me everytime.

Siren is the third part of the trilogy, and even comes with an accompanying EP. Its alarm and slightly softer opening is immediately at odds with the warning in the lyrics, and the two finally clash together in the angrier chorus which starts with the “Get away, out of my face.” The song is like a Siren itself: entrancing, bizarre, unique, and overall dangerous to stand too close to. It feels like floating, almost otherworldly compared to the humanity of the first two. I like this one too, not as much as Heroine but more than Gashina.

From Warning, it was so hard to pick a hidden gem, because I liked them all! I like the choppiness (and the intensely queer vibes) of Curve, the address of fame in Addict, and the sweet lyrics and mellow sound of Secret Tape (about her friendship with Red Velvet’s Seulgi). My favorite is probably Black Pearl, though. Its sleek citypop vibes are immaculate, and I first heard it through her performance of it with a saxophone and a live band. Its lyrics are about opening yourself up to love, even when you think someone could never love your darkest parts.

All in all, this EP is incredibly consistent in its tone and questioning of love and fame, and yet also experimental through different genres, which is not easy to do in only five songs, especially when two of them are under two minutes. Sunmi doesn’t really do EPs, instead usually sticking to singles, and because of this, she never has songs that feel like filler. She doesn’t actually have very many songs, but like with (G)I-DLE, each feels important to her and worthy of their place on an album.

Noir embraces the minimalist beat in its verses and only slightly adds to it in the choruses, throwing convention to the wind and fully embracing its bizarreness in the visuals and the song itself, both a biting critique of the fakeness of social media and an expression of Sunmi’s own mental health issues following her Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis. It’s satire, but also genuinely scary how blase the entire song is, and it’s just so utterly strange that it’s impossible to look away, which is perhaps the whole point. Like many of Sunmi’s songs, you (like me) may not like it on first listen but something about it will stick with you for a while after.

LALALAY takes a slight departure from Sunmi’s usual sound with its Latin Pop inspired beat and brass horns in the post-chorus, but its sharp lyrics about the difference between Sunmi the person and her performer persona and the sarcastic tone she takes with the whole thing mark it as still very much her. I confess I like the synthpop songs better, but I do enjoy the new direction she took this in; I only wish she took it farther and had more of a cathartic point in the chorus, because in such a tight discography, this one doesn’t stand up to the others. The song in Korean is actually called “Nalari”, which is a term meaning people who try to act cool by partying, drinking, smoking, etc, and she’s backed up with a taepyeongso, a traditional Korean instrument, which is context that’s unfortunately missing from the English translation.

Pporappippam begins with a flighty flute, chiming bells, and some gentle violins. Right from the outset, it’s another song that doesn’t slow down, albeit in a much smoother and prettier way than Heroine. Pporappippam means “purple night” in Korean, and the song is actually a pretty straightforward love song, which is unusual for Sunmi, but she’s an expert at making songs that both try something new and still feel very “her”. Similarly to Gashina, I feel like people overrating this song made me like it less than I would’ve, and while I do like it, similarly to LALALAY, I also wish it had more of an explosive, cathartic moment in the chorus. It’s very vibe-y, and those vibes are immaculate, but in such a strong discography, there’s nothing that distinguishes it from the rest of her work.

TAIL feels less like another entry in her electro catalog and more like a follow-up to her 24 Hours era and especially Who Am I. When I first heard it, I was surprised at what seemed to be so out of left field, but listening in order, it makes more sense. This song too has that kind of creeping tenseness that I loved from the beginning, although I think that for me, it needs more of the rock elements from Who Am I in order to be a favorite of mine. Yet again, I feel like the song should be building to some kind of climax or catharsis, but it just…doesn’t. Although, it, like most of her songs, is slowly growing on me and I like it more than I did before the deep dive.

What The Flower is the b-side from this single, and I actually like it more than TAIL. It has similarly tense, sultry vibes, but with a jazzier, soft-rock piano-led edge and much sharper, angrier lyrics. It talks about the pressure to perform and be perfect for an audience, yells at the viewer to “stop touching her”, and says that it’s not necessary to smile. The name was actually chosen because it’s very close to the Korean word for “fuck”, and she wasn’t allowed to swear in it.

The topic of sexuality in Sunmi’s songs is very interesting to me, because she approaches it very differently to a lot of other idols. Sexuality (and sex appeal itself) is a fixture in her music, from the more overt in songs like TAIL to less obvious in Siren. Instead of appealing to a male audience, she often uses it to emphasize her power and strength and show that she’s the one in control, whether as a femme fatale or just a normal woman who’s taken her power back. It feels like the expression of it is on her own terms, which is a nice shift from groups who often do a “sexy concept”, when you never know if they’re comfortable with it or not.

Finally we reach another EP in 1/6 , with two title tracks. The Korean one, You Can’t Sit With Us, was actually the first song I’d heard of Sunmi’s, and needless to say, the teen movie references, impeccable styling, synthy beat, and of course, the entire insane zombie hunting / romcom plotline won me over completely. The one trip-up I (like many people) have is probably the rap verse, which didn’t need to be there and definitely didn’t need to be in English. But, the whole song is just super fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously so I’m willing to look past whatever minor hang-ups I have. I laugh everytime I hear or see it, and it’s just so unabashedly weird that I can’t help but love it.

Borderline is the English title track, which usually I would criticize for attempting to reach wider markets and be sanitized, but Sunmi actually goes the complete opposite direction, using the different language to open up honestly about her Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis in a raw, emotional appeal (“why do people keep saying, ‘what’s wrong with her?’?”) only backed up by a guitar and quiet drums, so different from the majority of her synth works. This is one of the songs where her vocals truly have time to shine, and though I admit I didn’t like it at first, I enjoy listening to it more each time I do and it’s slowly become one of my favorites.

My hidden gem from ⅙ is actually the song ⅙, which, despite its seemingly happy production with bright synths and light vocals, is actually another song about her mental health, and takes the interesting metaphor of escaping to the moon, wondering if, if she could go where gravity is ⅙ that of Earth, if her worries would be ⅙ that of what they are now. But I like the rest of the EP too, albeit less than I liked Warning.

Go or Stop?, a single made for advertising, starts with a somewhat trippy electro beat and while it’s not a career highlight, It’d made a nice addition to a gym playlist with its constant energy. Again, like with LALALAY, Pporappippam, and TAIL, it needs just something more, but this time I can’t quite figure out where that “more” needs to be. All I know is something just doesn’t quite work for me.

Oh Sorry Ya starts with an odd bass guitar and high whistle-like contrast mixed with Sunmi’s trademark synth and the combination really works for me. The vocals suit the song well, and I like that the song doesn’t follow a “normal” structure, or really feel “normal” in any way with its many different instrumentals and genres smashed together. It sounds a bit like a more dancy version of Borderline, and it’s apparently inspired by a pun; in Korean “Heosoli” (to be silly) sounds like “Oh Sorry” and she turned it into a song with a deeper meaning. This song is also in English, and the lyrics are pretty good. I like this one.

Heart Burn is another departure from the synth, with a trippy guitar and a vibe that is somehow summery, strange, dreamy, and moody at the same time. Like Siren and TAIL, it follows the narrative of a character that could so easily be seen as just a classic femme fatale if it weren’t for the added depth that Sunmi imbues through her voice. This is one of my favorites from her, to be honest, and in keeping with the story of traveling throughout time, it feels like very 60’s / 70’s and thus, unique while still feeling very her (the calm jump roping while the ghosts of the men she’s murdered hold it for her is what made me go, “ah, there it is, I thought it felt too normal.”). I liked it from first listen, unsurprisingly, and I can’t decide whether I prefer the original or the more lowkey version where she’s playing bass, because they’re pretty neck and neck for me right now.

Childhood, the b-side from the single, is also very dreamy. In fact, it makes me feel like floating in a great way and listening to it for this deep dive almost put me to sleep. The gentle bass and even gentler drums mixed with her voice (which is much less harsh than usual) is a winning combo for me.

Stranger, at time of writing, just came out today, which is why this review is a day late. The teasers intrigued me from the beginning, and the sing-talk beginning scared me because I worried that she was giving up her signature style. Instead, the verses and bridge are synth and the choruses are sing-talk, a combination that almost works but doesn’t. It annoys me because I really, really want to like this song; the Frankenstein meets Wednesday aesthetics are very cool and it has a great sense of humor. But…I’ve never been a fan of sing-talk and I think that it’s safe to say that this one is just not for me. As for b-sides, I did like Call My Name, although not as much as I’ve liked other b-sides in the past.

Alright, that’s the end of our supplemental for this week, folks. Next week we’re back to one group on Sundays because unlike BTS, they don’t have more songs than I have strands of hair, but next time I have a longer group, I’ll likely do supplementals again because these were a nice break for me. As is the standard, I’m glad I did this! I was right that this deep dive would make me a Miya-ne, and I’m happy that it did. I’ve loved Sunmi for a while, and this only made me love her more. I had no idea until this that she writes her own songs, and I give her a whole lot of respect for that because damn, it’s really difficult.

My Top 5 songs of Sunmi’s are Heroine, Heart Burn, Black Pearl, Who Am I, and Siren, with a special shout-out to Borderline. Sunmi gets an 8.75/10 from me; again a personal bias thing, since this is a supplemental, but I really had a lot of fun with this deep dive. I’m a huge fan of synthpop and songs that discuss fame and mental health, so this was a perfect way to end my weekend. Maybe one day, Hera willing, I’ll get to see Sunmi live too!

Next week we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming with a girl group, so I’ll see you then! Tschüss!

[dyreatic]

Liella! Cross Talk 02

The trio voicing Tang Keke, Heanna Sumire, and Onitsuka Natsumi sit down and converse with each other, engaging in lively conversation over their journey since the release event towards the 3rd Live Tour!

Liella! has nine members now. Has adding new members made you nervous or stressed?

Liyuu: Honestly, before we met face-to-face, it wasn’t on my mind at all (laughs).

Emori: Huh?! Really?!

Liyuu: I’m someone who leaves the future for later, so I decided to worry about the increase in members when it would actually happen… It was also around the time of our 1st Live Tour, so my attention was focused entirely on that. Even so, after we met face-to-face, there was still some time until we would actually work together… So I dodged the issue!

Emori: True, it took the longest for me to get close to Lichan!

Payton: She even talked to me about it! (laughs)

Emori: While on the train, I kept on thinking to myself, “What does she think of the 2nd gen members?”... (laughs)

Payton: I think I responded something like, “Lichan’s probably just focused on what’s right in front of her.”

Liyuu: Wow, Paychan! You really understand me well!

Emori: (Laughs) Naomi said to us, “Lichan thinks of everyone the most, so she’s waiting for you all to reach out”, which gave me the confidence to do so.

Liyuu: I’ve never been involved in club activities, so I have no idea how to interact with my juniors. I ended up deciding to just wait and see, so thanks, the both of you~

Liella!’s already been active as nine for some time. When did it feel like you finally clicked together?

Emori: The release event!

Liyuu/Payton: I agree!

Liyuu: During the fan meeting, only the 1st gen members performed, so it still felt like our activities were separate. Our tasks were also different, so it was hard to feel the same way as each other. That’s why I was really happy that we were able to perform together as nine for everyone during the release event!

Payton: For me, I think it was the time that we formed a circle during the release event. It’s a tradition for the Love Live! series, and it reminded me once again that we were going to sing WE WILL!! as nine members. I also thought back to the previous Hajimari wa Kimi no Sora release event where we stood as five. Now, we would be taking a brand new step forward.

Liyuu: It was our first performance as nine, so we faced the same goal and strove to achieve it together.

Payton: We’d been going at our own paces, so this was the moment that it felt like we were finally walking in step.

Emori: During the fan meeting, we only wore the school uniforms, so we couldn’t wear the same costumes as the 1st gen members, which was a big hurdle. Because of that, I was really happy that all nine of us could wear the same costumes!

Payton: Yeah, I feel that!

Emori: Also, when I watched the archive after the concert, the sight of the curtain rising and the spotlights shining down on us made me finally feel like the era of nine had finally begun. During the actual performance, I was focused on what I had to do, so I don’t really remember it that clearly… (laughs).

It really does hit you once you see your performance from the audience’s point of view. What’s changed on-stage since the days of five members?

Payton: Now that we’re a group of nine, we’re closer to each other while dancing. Sensing that there's someone close to me makes me feel much more reassured.

Liyuu: Our formations have become more complex too.

Emori: If we don’t keep track of our movements, we’d end up colliding with each other, so we have to practice slowly know our movements well.

Payton: Also, the 2nd gen members are really putting in a lot of effort!

Emori: (Laughs)

Payton: If I were a 2nd gen member, I’d want to catch up to the 1st gen and perform at the same level as them, so I totally understand. I can feel the amount of effort they’re putting into it. During our rehearsals, I always see them practicing, so we gotta do our best to make sure that they don’t catch up to us. Wait no, I’d be happy if they caught up to us, but not if they left us behind… It’s a complicated feeling (laughs).

Liyuu: I think they’re pretty admirable and awesome. Everyone’s doing their best. We can’t lose to them!

Emori: It’s because we have something to chase after that we can do our best to do so. Actually, I just talked about it with my family yesterday! I watched the release event’s footage with my mom, who praised me, saying, “You’ve come so far!” I knew that was because I had giants next to me all this time. It’s difficult to go from zero to hero, but that’s what the 1st gen did for us. We're only able to aim high because they were there to set an example for us, so I’m really thankful that they were there to become our goals.

Liyuu: Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Payton: Thank you!

Looking back at the release event, did any particular moments stand out to you?

Emori: The moment at the very start when the curtain rose and revealed the nine of us with individually colored lights shining down on each of us. I was looking down while waiting, so I had no idea that that moment was actually such a beautiful sight.

Payton: For me, it would be the 9-member version of Watashi no Symphony. Up until the end of the first chorus, it was just the 2nd gen members, and we joined in after that. The sea of lights in front of us only consisted of four colors, and it instantly changed to nine colors then. Before then, there were only five colors, so seeing such a beautiful sight moved me.

Liyuu: As for me, it would be how our performances as five and as nine have felt completely different. I danced a lot during the rehearsals but watching everyone sweat and move on stage made me realize once again that this is what a performance as nine looks like.

Sorry for the sudden change in topic. Among the members here today, is there anything that you admire or want to learn from them?

Emori: I’ve got it written down! For me, it would be Naomi’s singing power and her humility.

Payton: Wha-?! That’s embarrassing!

Emori: All of the 1st gen members are like that, but her singing voice is so stable that it’s so good. She’s also way too humble but in a good way. Humility is a trait that people have to be mindful of all the time, so I want to learn from that. As for Lichan, it would be how she completely understands her own cuteness. She always knows how to look cute from any angle!

Liyuu: (Sits up straight)

Emori: Also, whenever I ask her, “How should I do my makeup today?”, she always responds immediately (laughs). She’s so well-informed about what it means to be cute.

Liyuu: I think Paychan is “frank”.

Payton: Frank?

Liyuu: She always speaks her mind in private, though she always ends up apologizing right after (laughs). It’s great that she always says what she wants to say. Though she’s probably only like that to me!

Payton: (Laughs)

Liyuu: Emorin is really cheerful, as everyone probably already knows. She’s always showing 100% of it. I also really like how she always speaks up immediately if there’s something on her mind.

Emori: It shows on my face too.

Liyuu: Yeah! I never really thought about the 2nd gen’s point of view, so when we were talking with each other, she brought it up to me, and that was when I first realized how much pressure they were facing. I think it’s great that she said that to me. Before that, I’d only seen them work their utmost best and didn’t understand what they were going through.

Emori: I’m so happy! I remember that conversation when we were taking the same train.

Payton: I’ll go next. Lichan is really positive and doesn’t worry too much. I’m always feeling down about what I say or do and end up worrying a lot, so Lichan always says to me, “Huh? No need to worry about that~”.

Emori: I totally get what you mean!

Payton: Because of that, I started realizing that I shouldn’t get hung up over those small things, which made me want to change myself. Now, I’m working to change my negative streak into a positive one. Lichan changed my negative personality.

Emori: I completely get it. I agree with everything you said.

Payton: In the past, Lichan declared, “I’m cheerful!”, which I found really interesting. I want to be able to say that too!

Emori: During the rehearsals, there were many times when Lichan was the only one who was still cheery. Even though the other eight were completely spent and feeling like they wanted to hurry up and leave, she was still imitating everyone else (laughs).

Liyuu: That’s because everyone was there too! We’d all gathered together, so it would be a waste if it wasn’t lively.

Payton: It’s that part of Lichan that helps us through! Aya is really good at putting her thoughts into words. She has a good vocabulary and is really good at speaking, so I’m always impressed by how she can convery her thoughts in interviews and live streams. It makes me want to work hard to improve too.

Emori: I’m really happy! It’s the first time someone’s said that to me. I’ll continue polishing my language skills.

The theme of the teaser visual for the Anime’s second season was “Chasing after them, surpassing them”. How did you all react to this?

Emori: Oh yeah, during the 2nd gen’s foundational lessons, I told the staff, “I want to chase after and surpass them!”

Payton: I didn’t know that!

Emori: That’s why they were like, “Aya, that’s what you said!” I’d made that declaration, and when the teaser visual came out, I felt that it was a theme born out of the feelings of the first years towards the second years..

Payton: No matter how you look at it, it was clearly a theme born out of the 2nd gen’s point of view. But after thinking about it, the 1st gen also shares the same feelings, and for me, my target would be Sumire-chan. Even if it's the same words, it means different things to different people.

Liyuu: As for me, I want to surpass the past me!

Emori: Wow, so cool!

Liyuu: Doing the same things over and over again won't lead to any improvement.. Because we became a group of nine, I could take on new challenges and surpass my past self!

I’m sure everyone’s preparing for your 3rd Live Tour right now. First, Emori-san, you’re a 2nd gen member. What’s your biggest task or goal?

Emori: There was something that the staff said to me during the release event. “I can’t feel Natsumi…”

Liyuu: Oh my god!

Payton: That must’ve been such a shock.

Emori: It was a total shock, and it hurt to hear. I had been trying my best, so I had no idea how to appear like Natsumi for some time. I had studied everyone’s dancing for myself, but I still haven't completely figured out how to stand together with Natsumi on stage yet, so I'm still thinking about it. Since then, I’ve kept that goal in mind, and know that I need to work even harder.

Payton: Anyone would feel the pain from those words…

Liyuu: That’s the first I’ve heard of that. Wow, that’s quite a situation…

Emori: The juice of my heart (tears) spilled out. They told me that precisely because they had high expectations of me, so I worked hard in response to that. I’ve never danced with a carefree style before, but her expressions are always really dynamic, so I had to discard all the baggage I had and start from scratch.

Liyuu: No need to worry too much~ Emorin, you can do it!

Emori: That’s what I love about you, Lichan!

This question was asked previously in a Liella! special feature for the 1st gen members. Liyuu-san, you said that dancing is your weak point.

Liyuu: Yeah, dancing! I totally couldn’t remember the choreo for Tiny Stars. It took me twice as long as the others to remember it.

Payton: But recently, our dance instructor commented, “Liyuu, you’re memorizing the choreo faster now.”

Emori: Yay, that’s an improvement!

Liyuu: Thank you! But I particularly remember the time when I remembered the choreo to Shooting Voice!!. I took the same amount of time as everyone else, and I was like, “Wow, I’m pretty good!” (laughs). It was the most complex choreo we’ve had so far, so I was happy that I could match everyone else. I hope that I can slowly improve myself.

Payton-san, you also talked about your own dancing skills too.

Payton: I had my own solo dance section for Nonfiction!!, so I knew it was the perfect time to give everyone a great show! Because we’re now a group of nine, I felt like I had to reevaluate Sumire-chan’s position. On stage, Sumire’s the type of person who would perform something that screams “Look at me!”. I studied her movements and tried to figure out how to overcome my own desire to stay low-key. I heard “You’re not showy enough” quite a lot, so I wanted to show myself off more.

Liyuu: We’d already gotten used to performing as five after over a year, so I wanted to show our improved selves as nine. I’m working hard so that I can show off our powerful, shining selves to everyone!

Payton/Emori: Let’s do our best together!

Last but not least, a message for the fans!

Payton: Our 3rd Live Tour will start real soon, so we’ll do our best to perform each and every single leg while also keeping our health in utmost on our mind. I’ll perform together with Sumire-chan in a way that shows off all her charms to everyone. I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone!

Liyuu: There'll be people who first watched us perform as nine, whether it be in the release event or in our 3rd Live Tour. Because of that, I want to show off how much we've changed from we were five. I’m in the middle of practicing really hard, so please look forward to it! Let’s make some really great memories together!

Emori: Thank you very much for supporting Liella! all this time! I’m so excited about what kind of tour our 3rd Live Tour is going to become. I want to perform to the best of my ability, so I’m preparing myself while also thinking of everyone. Even if you’re still not sure about coming, there’s still time! I’ll make sure that it’s a concert that you’ll walk out completely satisfied with and leave with no regrets, so please look forward to it!

TLC: xIceArcher QC: Yujacha

[bb-donghae]

Hello babe! 🥰

I wanted to ask you a favor 🥺 I haven't had the opportunity to listen to snsd's discography and I haven't had the opportunity to watch their shows like I did with suju and I don't know where to start. I don't consider myself sone because I don't know their discography and their stories (yet) but I really have a huge affection for them, I've grown up listening to their most famous songs and when they had their Forever 1 comeback I fell in love with them even more.

When I'll have time and opportunity I would like to update myself. Could you help me by recommending where I can listen to their complete discography as a group and as soloists? And what programs should I watch to learn more about them and where to look for them? I know maybe it's too much to ask, but your love for SNSD and SuJu reminds me that I want to get to know them more. You can take as long as you want to answer this message, without pressure. Thank you very much in advance 🤧💓

This took me too damn long. I want to say that I was super busy but I can honestly remember the many times when I was free and could have answer this ask. I believe it's been 6 months already smh.

TV SHOWS

Truthfully, I have commitment issues and have a hard time finishing any shows I watch. At the time, I only watch clips available on Youtube which were usually snippets from variety shows. Luckily, I was not only able to find clips but also full YouTube playlists of the shows SNSD starred on.

Below are some the links to the clips/episodes/playlist that got me into SNSD. Apologies if this list is super messy.

Short Clips:-

Hyoyeon scaring Jessica

Makeup ranking - (pretty controversial especially in this current time. i’m only putting this because this was one of the first clips i watched of them. i found this funny at the time but i can perfectly understand if anyone doesn't find this tasteful)

Tiffany and her love for pink

Yuri and her cute sleeping habits

Compilation of some random clips from their old shows - (it's a recent upload but it brings me nostalgia. also, it helped me remember all the clips I used to watch in the past)

Full episodes:-

Horror Movie Factory EP01 - (I love a good horror variety show. also, Taeyeon was so cute throughout this episode. this version appears to be clearest. the account doesn't have a playlist of the series but it does have most of the episodes)

SNSD Hi 5 Ballerina: Episode 1 | Episode 2

Playlists:-

Horror Movie Factory - (slightly lower quality and a different account)

Hello Baby - (Kyungsan is so grown up already T_T)

Invincible Youth Season 1 - (only includes Sunny and Yuri but other beautiful 2nd gen idols are also part of the cast)

Girls Go To School - (predebut show and probably one of the most important ones. also, how come I just found out that this show was narrated by Sungmin lmao)

Other than these shows listed, I used to watch a lot of Running Man and SNSD was featured in some episodes.

As you can tell that most of these episodes are subbed by Soshi Subs.

GROUP SONGS

I feel like I'm someone who doesn't have the best music taste and that I'm probably just gonna list out whatever I listen to. I assume you probably know their more popular songs, so I'm just gonna list out the underrated(?) ones. Some I've linked and some I've not.

Into The New World: Music Video | Ballad Version (LIVE) - (not an 'underrated' song but it's a must to listen to it. not just because its their debut song but because of the cultural impact it brought. this song is so powerful, people sing this song at protests. i really suggest you listen to their live performance, especially the ballad version. the one i linked is not an OT9 performance but it always moves me to tears.)

Divine - (i love this song. i believe it's one of their last song as OT9. unless you count the leaked version of Catch Me If You Can.)

Born To Be A Lady - (literally the same song as Demi Lovato's Mistake but their harmony was heavenly)

Galaxy Supernova: MV | LIVE - (it's a unique song but i really love it more when they perform this song live)

Flower Power - (a 'weird' song i know but i like the chorus)

Hoot: MV | Album Poster - (while this is their more popular song, I don't see people talking about this one as much anymore. i don't know why because the concept is so unique and i have yet to see another group take on a similar concept. oh also, there's a familiar face in the music video)

Little Touch - (it's a crime that this subunit has very little songs. they still prove they can slay even without all the members. especially Sunny)

The Boys: LIVE - (one my least favourite songs but an instant fave when it's sung live. there's probably a better live performance than the one i linked)

Holler - (one of their popular songs i know. i just wanted to mention it)

There are probably some other songs that I've missed but I don't want to make this list super long since I want to talk about their solo songs as well.

SOLO MUSIC

Now that I’m thinking about it, I actually think I know listen to their solo music than group music.

By the way, I have yet to listen to all of their music.

Taeyeon:-

Fine

UR

Stress

Gemini - (love love this song)

Make Me Love You

Cover Up

Fire

Siren

Here I am

Love You Like Crazy

Spark - (i love the concept of her Purpose Album)

Something New

Starlight ft Dean

Can't Control Myself

Weekend - (lowkey a Say So copy especially with the concept but I still enjoyed it)

INVU - (SM really upped the budget for the MV, i couldnt complain anymore about the low quality of the Weekend MV)

Rain - (sometimes i forgot about this masterpiece)

Hate That - (a feature she did for Key's song)

Four Seasons

When We Were Young - (a cover of Adele's song)

All With You

There's probably some more that I forgot to list. Like Taeyeon has some really nice songs from drama OSTs. I really love Taeyeon's breakup songs so so much. But every single time she comes out with one, some people will annoyingly relate it to her past relationship(s).

Tiffany:-

Heartbreak Hotel - (my absolute favourite)

I Just Wanna Dance - (listing this here because it's the most memorable for me. not just because of tiffany's fairy ending but because i got scolded by my mom for listening to this song on blast)

Lips on Lips

Born Again - (another favourite. her lower register in this one is really gooodd)

Seohyun:-

Don't Say No - (she was an absolute woman in the music video. i love the cute little hip-shake incorporated in the dance)

Hyoyeon/Hyo:-

Deep - (if you like spiderman, you'll love the concept lmao)

Second

I don't listen to most of her music but she's the member that I'm most proud of at the moment. I feel like she's gotten to a point where she knows what kind of music she wants to establish and what kind of performer she wants to be.

Jessica:-

Fly

Wonderland

She's no longer coming out with music but whatever. I loved these songs because it's bubblegum pop and Jessica’s voice suits these types of songs. Off topic, but Jessica creating a fashion brand is so herrrrr.

Yoona:-

A Little Happiness - (a cover)

Yuri:-

Into You

I guess that's it? I'm honestly too tired to list out more LMAO.

Again. I'm sorry for taking too long with this one <3

[miikaji]

fun fact! 😌✨

my pfp is me from the loona concert last year! i was looking at my recent concert selfies and thought “damn... i do be looking cute sometimes” lol

^ LOONA + KCON 2K22 ^

i wanted to be as colorful as possible when i went to see them! this was actually my day 2 look (see day 1 below). currently, loona is honestly probs one of my ult girl groups of the 4th gen. idk how but i ended up falling in love with a LOT of their discography a little after their official debut. when i heard about their tour (and that chuu wasn’t going to be participating...) i KNEW i had to go. i didn’t want to chance not seeing my girls on their first, and possibly only, tour. i bought VIP and everything for BOTH nights i went....

^ Day 1!!! I’m actually pretty happy I took photos of the few freebies I got (because usually they get destroyed at some point in transit back home... which happened lol)

(backside)

(frontside)

ALSO!!! I met a Once before going to the venue and she gave me some freebies from when she went to Twice’s most recent concert. She only had a few but let me pick out a Momo, Jihyo and Chaeyoung pc 🥺💕

THEE ENTIRE DAY 2 LOOK!!! lol this was the only full lewk snap I got of it. YES, I did wear crocs. The crocs were on my feet when I went into the venue. I made a mistake wearing playform sneakers the day before and I learned the error of my ways. I was SOOOO much more comofrtable night 2 bc tbh I sweated a lot in line day 1 and didn’t have things to freshen up from what the sun had caused. Peep the bags of shit by my feet lol I was READY with extra deo, deo spray, body sprays, wipes, hydration items... ALLTHAT

You see that? That’s me in pure bliss. I was closer night 2 as well?? My feet were still hurting??? My body was in pain??? But Loona cured all that??

night two was the only night i had the photo, but i will literally never regret spending the money i did to have this experience... got to do hi-touch both nights! i didn’t intend on this post getting so long lol but since i’m remembering it all now i remember how lip went “your hair!” when she saw me lol. vivi and yves were like so enthusiastic too when it was my turn... it was so fast though, even though i did it 2 nights in a row, its still like a blur of how crazy pretty they are in person 😭 i thought that was gonna be the last and only time i’d see loona.... then kcon happened 👁👄👁 LOL!! Sadly, for a friend of mine, my homie who was at the con got sick with Covid and didn’t want to waste the night 2 concert ticket... SO SHE GIVES IT TO ME FOR FREE?????

^ my ass RUNNING to the floor bc WTF???

LIKE??????

^ me turning my lightstick green for NCT since I don’t own NCT merch

SPEAKING OF THAT LIGHTSTICK. I ALMOST FORGOT. Shoutout to that random attendee who just gave me batteries for my lightstick once I got to the floor? Kcon was literally at the end of the month (Loona’s concerts were on the 1st and 2nd of the month) so my batteries were def dead lol. BUT BLESS THEM!!! 😭 It was so fun. i screamed a lot.

(also also i can’t believe i was attendance for the iconic “RUN TO YEW” from stacy bskfjkfn)

^ MCR 2K22 ^

BRUH.

First off, this was my first trip to Vegas?? I might make a whole entire separate post for the Vegas pictures and tings (because I wanna document for myself). All I’ll say for this is even with my fro fro out and lazy make up, I still felt very cute seeing MCR for like the 10th time uwu

. . .

AND WITH A HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND WHO LITERALLY NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE??? WHAT???

I MISSED YOU KURT AND I HOPE IT WAS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER SHFBNHKSDBNFSJKNF

^ MM@TA 2K23 ^

OKAY THERE’S SO MUCH I COULD SAY BUT LEMME JUST SAY THIS. I GOT TO SEE THEIR SOUND CHECK?? (See Below)

Literally life changing experience omg hsnfknsjf

Currently, Meet Me @ The Altar is like THEE band for me. Their music is so good?? I knew I HAD to see them!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺 I’d write more but my brain is shutting down LOL!! I will say, I was kinda sad I couldn’t get my hair done before the show. Them braids was my b-day braids and the way my part looked like moses parted the seas once it was this concert date (mid March, bday was in Jan). So I included a pic below of this actual lewk in all its glory lol.

Bday was lit lol. Edith and I had a moment. I was UP front. TOUCHING the stage. She may or may not be my hair inspo lol

^ RICO NASTY 2K23 ^ THIS YEAR IS LITERALLY INSANE WITH THE CONCERT LINEUPS???

So lemme just say this... bc there was a lot going on for this hbfkdjs

FIRST OFF. PEEP THAT MY HAIR IS BLUE.

I had to get rid of the green and get my hair braided again. My mom mentions “oh hey children I’m getting this life changing award from my sorority and its SUPER IMPORTANT that you show up. this means SO MUCH TO ME.” so me being the OG i am i decided to get my hair done in the colors of her sorority (blue and white, I wanted to get silver but didn’t have enough for the other hair shfnksf). She goes “oh you don’t have to do the blue” and I’m just HUH???

COME TO FIND OUT.

SHE WASN’T GETTING NO AWARD.

MY DAD FINISHED SCHOOL AND HE WAS GRADUATING.

lol but it was cool i actually ended up liking the blue.

ANYWAY.

I was also very excited for this show BECAUSE of the fact that its been FOREVEEEEER since Rico went on her own solo tour!!!!!! Like I love you Rico but I can’t justify paying music festival money just to see YOU do a set for a set amount of time like no. I wanna spend hours with you. So much so... I went to TWO Rico Nasty shows 🧍🏾‍♀️

low quality pic of my messy make uwu

i WISH i was smart enough to check monster energy’s ig. this tour was sponsored by them and when i was in line, they were snapping pics of fans who would accept a free monster (i didn’t want to die so i said yes to the monster lol). rico’s folks also took pics but i have noooo idea where those are... my fit was so cute too 😭  even tho... i’m noticing i keep wearing that same damn pink crop cardigan 💀

^ rico’s reaction when we all started screaming every word to iphone 🥺💕

man.. i was out of BREATH this whole show the way I was jumping and yelling all the lyrics hsnbfksdjnf. my feet were fucking SCREAMING in pain. i felt so bad to the people who were trying to talk to me bc the way i was mentally checked out whenever there wasn’t music going hgbnksnjfd night 2 was WORSE for my feel and social battery but omfg i’d still do it all over again lol my crocs sadly could not save me either show

^ TWICE 2K23 ^

FIRST OFF.

THANK YOU TO MY FRIEND TRIN.

FOR LITERALLY BUYING ME A TICKET TO SEE TWICE THE DAY BEFORE THE SHOW???? 😭😭😭😭😭

My first time finally seeing Twice and you wanna know what I SEE the second I enter the venue?!??!?

HELLO???

LIKE?!?!?

THEY’RE INSANE FOR THIS

LOL

(also thank you for sticking with me if you got this far i by no means meant for this post to be so long hsfkjnf i wish i could have added this videos but i guess the gifs will do)

i didn’t document a lot of the freebies but i did get a LOT!! and the once i met at the loona concert was also here and gave me a LOT of pcs!! 😭💕 (ty kelsey ur like the sweetest hfbksdnf)

my view

the views of me

sadly no full fit pics but a lot of people complimented my outfit 🥺💕 next concert i’m hoping to attend is aespa bc they will be here in a few weeks and the nosebleed seats are like so cheap??? i’m going.

also

i’m seeing beyonce?? with my mom? on beyonce’s birthday for my mom’s birthday gift??? btw my hair is gonna be pink next so i can’t WAIT to see what i do for lewks for these shows uwu

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Okay so basically Korean netizens, due to the resurgence of 2nd gen girl group reunions since last year, were discussing the possibility of who could be next and they essentially ruled miss A out which... You know, fair enough...

Then K-pop news sites started reporting the "story" to clickbait fans into thinking miss A were reuniting, which is what I pretty much have come to expect of them so no surprises there either. What did rub me the wrong way is how stan Twitter reacted to this.

Yes, it's not gonna happen because, atm, they're all split into three different countries. Suzy is in Korea, Fei and Jia are in China and Min is in America. Fei and Jia are also probably never ever coming back to Korea for work because China. A lot of people seem to be relying too heavily on the Suzy and the backup dancers narrative and that FeiJiaMin hate Suzy which is a TIRED narrative. Are they besties? No. Were they probably annoyed that for a whole year in 2014 they were left to rot (for the most part at least) while Suzy was booking acting gigs left and right? Probably, but that's JYP's fault, not Suzy's. It's also perfectly understandable that they would form a closer bond amongst each other because Suzy was never around to hang out with, which again is neither Suzy's fault nor FeiJiaMin's. They're not kids, if they were angry at anyone it was their company and that's why they all left when their contracts expired / weren't offered enticing renewal deals.

Furthermore, a lot of people brought 4Minute into the discussion, because you know, HyunA and the backup dancers, saying stuff along the lines of "a miss A reunion is as probable as a 4Minute one" Bitch they're actually interacting again, wake tf up. Does that mean they're reuniting? No because Cube would never allow it, but that's the reason why, not some sort of strife amongst them.

I don't appreciate how people who clearly know nothing about miss A or 4Minute automatically assume that, just because Suzy and HyunA were in higher demand as individual idols than as parts of their groups, the rest of their respective bandmates hated them. If you automatically get jealous of and hate on people that, for whatever reason, are doing better than you that's on you. Don't project your insecurities on people who are more famous and hotter than you. Furthermore, Suzy is mostly doing acting, the rest of miss A are mostly doing music and, on the other hand, all of 4Minute are into acting and only HyunA and Jiyoon are doing music. What would they each be jealous of, exactly?

Fei, Jia, Min, Sohyun, Jihyun, Gayoon and Jiyoon, yes, those are their names, not "backup dancers", actually know them before speaking on them, have worked way too hard to be reduced to nothing more than jealous and spiteful bitches.

Just stay in your lane and leave them alone.

[astralsweetness]

Hi Luna!! Writing updates? Life updates? It's been a while since we heard from you, is this blog still active?

Hi! I'd love to write again, I'm just struggling to find things that capture my interest for it that I think you guys would also like to see. It's a delicate line between writing for myself and writing for others' enjoyment, and I've kind of burned out on writing for Pentagon, just like I burned out on writing for Seventeen, most likely because I hyper-fixated on them so intensely for such a long period of time. I can't think of anything to write for them that I haven't already done - and I can only do so much with requests that are like "so-and-so and thigh riding" when I've already written that once or twice or more. If there were newer prompts, then I might be able to find some inspiration there. There are some more popular groups I'd like to try writing like Stray Kids, or older groups like specific members of Super Junior or Shinee, but the latter doesn't seem popular on here and the former didn't get any interest when I brought it up before. I want to find something I both would like to do and that you guys would like to see as well.

I've been having a really tough time lately, both with mental and physical health and college [I'm enrolled in two right now] so I've kind of ended up reverting back to comfort singers of mine, which are a lot of 2nd gen idols. Eunhyuk, Minho, Donghae, Hanhae, Tei, Key, etc, and I haven't really said anything about them on here bcs I know no one really cares about them when it comes to fics on Tumblr, and even less when they're written as sub. I did have a thing I wrote that I was going to post on here, but I had a mental breakdown shortly after finishing it and ended up deleting it entirely lol. @funkywinkyboy got to experience what the mental breakdown was like, it wasn't pretty.

In the mean time, I'll give a suuuper short recommended list since I am a failure as a writer, so maybe you can get your fic-fix through them instead:

@euphoricsunflowers Venus is a very lovely person who runs a very nice sub!idol blog. I think she's got sub!svt on the brain rn, so if you wanna go fill her inbox with that stuff.. 👀

@blu-joons Chloe is pretty much well-known for having a blog with every damn fandom that exists on it.. you sort of can’t go wrong with perusing her masterlist. pls go appreciate her and what she does

@pinkchubbiebunnie Tanisha isn’t a kpop blog but she’s kept me afloat this last month without really even knowing I was grasping onto her blog and our interactions to keep my head above water. If you’re into Stranger Things or The Walking Dead go check her out. She’s doing a cute lil Halloween event rn too so.. prime time to go

[jentlemahae]

idk much about 1st gen yg but fucking up that badly with their 2nd and 3rd gen idols is so so so beyond insane, like they had the most successful idols at the time all under one roof and then they did absolutely nothing with them and so they all left

losing both bigbang and 2ne1 is crazy and with that they also lost their 2 most popular idols at the time - cl and gd. cl’s solo album was so highly anticipated and yg completely fucked it up so she left. I do not like this man but gdragon was everywhere. he was the k-pop idol. we’ve discussed how yg have mishandled blackpink a lot on here so I don’t need to discuss it, but it seems pretty obvious they only renewed their group contract bcs they couldn’t get the rights without doing so, and with negotiations taking so long it seems like they were trying to leave. winner and ikon were so successful too but are great examples of wasted potential. ikon literally had soty and then yg ruined the momentum they had. before covid you couldn’t walk through the streets of Seoul without hearing a yg song. Koreans who didn’t listen to k-pop at all would still listen to yg idols. everyone thought they were cool. so I guess that’s why yg decided to start being lazy and let the yg reputation speak for itself which ironically ruined the yg reputation and sparked the beginning of the end of the company

they only have blackpink left and even then, they don’t really technically have blackpink anymore

yep yep yep, u said it perfectly! 🤷🏻‍♀️ and i honestly don’t understand why they seem unwilling to change their ways ? cause i feel like fans (blinks) basically spelled out what they should do and what they should not do, and have done so for years ??? and yet with every cb, they mishandle things SO badly. it’s especially crazy with baemon cause ud think they would have learned ? and now their future is fried and it’s all their fault

[sonsband]

Hi!!

Hanya is such a beautiful name <3 Does it have an specific meaning?

And "collect boy groups" ahha I love that.. I'm still pretty new to the whole kpop universe, and so far only SVT, ATZ and a little bit of SKZ really got me to keep up with them... For some reason I never really got involved with girl groups and I don't know why that is, tho I certainly appreciate them and as a bi person... I just feel attacked from all sides hahahaha Maybe the pressure on them to be 'perfect' is even worse than with the boys so they don't feel as genuine... idk... I know you said you collect bg but if you have gg recommendations I'm all ears

I love that you are also close with your family, my cousins all live far away but I love them soo much

AND YES QUEEN KRAKEN; I'm literally Bobby screaming "Kraken-ya" every time I rewatch the Wonderland stage haha... and no... atz definitely don't sleep I... I don't even try to HOPe they rest anymore (great meme btw heheh)

"to kill a monster with a skateboard in my crop top and boy shorts"... like, coolest sentence I've read in a while hahah I used to sing in a choir from 8 until I was 18 years old, I was a soprano and really good at it, but without practice I've lost some of my mojo... But it doesn't stop me to sing along to every single song I can hahaha My dream would be to sing with Dokyeom... (my ult of ults <3). And I studied graphic design tho it was a very basic course and I never really used professionally, it became more of a hobby and I have some creations on my blog, but now I make more gifs (yes, I'm a gif maker haha) Is faster and a little less creatively demanding so is good to pass the time and relax... recoloring stuff is definitely my favorite part of the process (your gift will be a gifset btw haha I'm still deciding on what exactly)

I would LOVE to have acting classes and learn to dance and play an instrument too (piano would be my choice) and I feel like the group of people I would meet in these environments would be incredible, but right now I just moved on my own to a new country so money is kinda short hahaha But I keep an eye out for that and I learned that is never too late to start anything

I love that you say YunGi are normal height cause I'm 1,55m so... shorter than the shorties hahahahah I guess that's why I tend to stan giants (from my pov), must be compensating hahahaha

Do you mind sharing what you do for work? And where will you be traveling, that's exciting!! There was not much celebration per se on my birthday haha I knew my friends would all be working, so I booked a little solo trip and got to meet a new town nearby a had heard lots about... And people were definitely right, I loved the place and had an Amazing time!! One day before my birthday I managed to secure tickets to see Ateez in Madrid which I still cant believe!!! It will be my first big scale concert ever and I also gave myself a ticket to watch the ballet "Giselle" next week, so yeah, a pretty great birthday week/month hahah I'm an ambivert with great people skills and I love my friends, but I LOVE my time alone as well, you know? 😅

Hoping for your excellent week to be realized 🤞🤞🤞

-Atiny Secret Santa <3

Aww thank youuuuu and no it doesn’t have a meaning it’s just the short, familiar, gender neutral version of my name lmao

I do collect them! I pick them up, inspect them, and put them in my bag. You’ve got good taste, “Hot” grabbed me by the throat and did not let me go for a second, the vocals on that are insane. When DK comes out fucking SWINGING?!?!?! I’m manifesting you getting to sing with him, he’s an S-tier fave, we love boys with big ass voices. I used to adore girl groups, but now they’re all so young that I can’t get into them. I remember being on stage as a teenager and 😬 So I still listen to all my 2nd gen nostalgia songs and follow the women in their 30s and 40s instead – when Kara sang “Step” at MAMA I might have teared up just a little. But none of these new girlies could do Hyolyn’s “Laying Low” so I’m fine. Anyway, if you like older girl groups (both have been performing longer and the members aren’t 17), check out EXID, they’re my favorite girl group – “Fire” wasn’t great, but they are, and I missed Solji so much.

Queen Kraken dominated that stage, I cannot beLIEVE she was robbed like that. smh even let Seonghwa ~kill~ her. We need them to sleep, they’re going loopy, I’m always excited for a comeback but I’m even more excited for a NAP.

It was SUCH a good film pitch. It’s about a bunch of skateboarders terrorized by a monster but they’ve all smoked too much and are too paranoid to figure out what’s going on, which is such a funny concept. I can’t skateboard but that’s fine cause the skateboarders can’t act.

Ooh another singer! Sorry you’re a soprano tho :/ (I’m an alto, I gotta get that in). But YES, it doesn’t matter if we sing seriously or nah, it’s so much fun to just belt along with the radio and music is all about enjoyment.

Oh nice! I admire gif makers, I can’t do it, I much prefer gfx (although I haven’t done one for Tumblr in a while orz), and I’m unsearchable on both of my blogs so I’m just like if I can make something annoying enough for one of my friends to chuckle sensibly that’s my goal. Recoloring is so fun but it’s still work, and then on top of all the other stuff to make a good gif set? You’re clearly so much more patient than me, even if it is meditative for you haha

Dude, it’s been so great taking classes again. I’m not any good at Meisner technique (my teacher yelled at me frequently, all of which was very deserved, and I respond better in the arts to brutal honesty and tough love, so my monologues are peak now) but it was amazing to get back into that space with such interesting people. There were some who were so annoying, but that’s the risk and it’s worth it imo. And you’re so right that it’s never too late to try, the secret is that there are fewer interesting roles for younger actors than older actors, and so you’re always growing into something better, even just good scripts to read in a class.

They’re, what, 185-ish? I’m 180, we’re sooooo normal. My fatal flaw is that I immediately assume the tallest male idol on stage is my dad’s height (196) and then when I find out they’re 180-185-ish I’m like oh so they’re normal! Normal height! It’s not our fault these other boys decided to stop growing! (Actually tho – my cousin was so mad when she moved to America for college and all her classmates weren’t at least 190. She scolded her dad for being 195 and skewing her expectations for American men, since he was the only American in their small town. If we point out that Japanese men also aren’t known for being 190, she says at least she wasn’t lied to.)

I work for the food and beverage department of a museum. I do the boring back-end invoice tracking, but when I’m on-site during the parties it’s wild. When parties are booked at the museum there’s a specific vibe – expensive and extravagant and ridiculous and a little bit tastefully tacky – and so it’s always just fun. The last one had a whole crew of dancers dressed as Lichtenstein paintings, in big dresses, bigger wigs, and stylized halftone makeup. A couple months ago was a sneaker ball, where people wore eveningwear and (WayV voice) thousand dollar shoes

I’m going to the Vatican! My dad’s there like yeah lmao you don’t have to come but his partner (deeply Catholic) is spiritually twisting my ear like “you witnessed a miracle, your father got out of a wheelchair, you are GOING.” I’m not meeting the Pope, but I get to watch my dad meet him, which I’m relieved about since I’m not Christian lmao.

Hey, sometimes you get your own little private celebration, and then a second celebration with friends! That’s totally cool! What town, if you don’t mind me asking? And congratulations~ Have so much fun (at both of them) and I want to hear everythinggggggg I’m not kidding I want a full rundown of your favorite parts.

[colorisbyshe]

Hiii.. Kpop Questions:

•Do you like kpop band BigBang?

• Other than Loona & Shinee which other groups songs you listen the most?

•When I found onlyOneOf it's make me so happy.... It's rare to see a kpop group explicitly talk about and show gay love through their members. It's a risky thing for them to even try because they don't have the backing of a big company or a big fan base for them, but they're still very pure and raw in their art. I miss Love (Park Jisung) ... When I heard the news he no longer in the group makes me sad... I feel concerned that there has been nothing about him for over a year.

• what do you think about the aegyo thing ? I’m sorry I know it’s a part of K-pop but it is so frickin forced and unnatural on some idols. Even in vlive I got second hand embarrassment when comments filled up with asking a 30+ old to do aegyo.

I used to like Bigbang, I used to LOVE the GD & Top album when it came out, but the group is beyond irredeemable to me at this point. Even if I can pretend no one had even an inkling of what SEungri/YG were up to, the music isn't there and the fetishization of blackness is too much.

I don't even listen to Loona the most, I lsiten to Red Velvet, Sunmi/Wonder Girls, and I guess then Twice the most. Brave girls, Boa, Apink, Exid, Dreamcatcher, Exo, F(x)... unfortuntely GWSN, uh, I got really obsessed with K/DA when that happened. Honestly going through my Korean music playlist a lto of it is disbanded groups.....

Which goes into the next bulletpoint... I've never listened to OOF. Idk who any of thoe people are, I'm sorry. I mostly stick to 2nd/3rd gen artists, with like VERY early 4th gen being the exception. If I do listen to ny 4th gen, it's like... solely for the music, I don't follow membres or watch music videos. Like I have some Billlie songs on my phone but couldn't tell you shit outside of Tsuki existing nad that's only because Tsuki hangs with Chuu sometimes. I think my friend is super into onlyoneof though... or into Oneus. I cannot tell the difference, I'm sorry. If you want more gay shit, Monsta X had a gay MV (All In), I know Sistar had one (One More Day), and then of course you should support HOlland who is like... an actual out gay man and isn't just gay for MV pay. I haven't listened to her stuff yet but Jiae is an out bisexual idol who just did her solo debut.

I don't love aegyo but I also recognize it's a. it's a cultural thing b. it's not any more of a performance than a lot of other idol stuff and c. it's... kinda funny when idols are open about hating it. Like Sunmi haaaates it and yet makes a big show of it. Like when she came to perform in NYC th efirst time, someone tried to make her wear the cliche bunny hat with the ears you can make wiggle and she pouted and was like "Do I HAVE to" and hten put it on and posed and acted ridiculous. It was fine. It's ridiculous that anyone even asked in the first place but watching her play off of it was fun.

Ive been a bit detached rfom Kpop In General in recent years. I feel like outside of Shinee, Chuu, and Sunmi I have no idea what's going on with members or like variety stuff. I just listen to the music, maybe the MV, and some performances. So I don't get exposed to the rest... besides the drama. I love the drama. Chuu CEO fighting!

[ecl1pse]

oh i think i figured it out. i think i get why so many people are divided on 2 baddies. it’s bc it kinda sounds & works like a 2nd gen song, with the 127 twist ofc. even down to the neon colors in the mv & cars that are there to not be driven

either that ur just not one of the 2 baddies in the porsche. i am one tho

[olderthannetfic]

i’ve been going through your’s (and others’) posts about americentrism in fandom, particularly about the rising popularity of east asian media - cdrama, mostly, but anime and kpop too - in english-speaking circles. but i couldn’t find much on fic-based racism for kpop, so when i saw you’re a fan of BTS and did extensive research, i hope you can give me some insight:

(this is a fanfic-specific question) what are your views on if xianxia AUs of kpop or anime are racist; or if it’s not a binary, what are the pitfalls?

see, i’m confused (esp. w/ kpop, which is mostly an rpf genre) because of:

1) the thorny real world political situation between s.korea and china— the chinese gvt’s bans and accusations of historical cultural theft; racism from both sides about idol nationality,

2) the historical racism from The West (‘all asian cultures are the same’) which manifest particularly strongly with the recent cdrama and donghua boom - fans calling donghua ‘anime’ or manhua ‘manga’

3) the confusion of terminology from korean-to-english and chinese-to-english, neither culture having had the wide reach of anime.

i’m sure lots of examples of those come to mind.

coming back to xianxia— the genre is so steeped in chinese culture, language, and aesthetic history that i worry about casual racism especially in kpop rpf, which is the fandom i’m thinking of making xianxia AUs for. people already confuse hanfu/hanbok, and korean shamanism is less known than japanese shintoism or chinese taoism, and afa i can find, the concept of ‘xian’ only exists in taoism.

obviously european-based fantasy AUs for kpop and anime (and cdrama, but i didn’t check AO3 for those) exist, but high-fantasy-as-descended-from-tolkien is a) familiar to english-speaking fandom, b) versatile enough by virtue of being depicted a long time and thus experimented upon, that c) is able to exist, more or less, separately from its european roots. so there is less chance of someone shouting ‘racist!’ or ‘cultural erasure!’ when a BTS fic is a D&D-style fantasy.

but xianxia is a new genre to lots of western fans. wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan is poorly translated into english as a whole, and its core concepts are difficult to translate, and i worry about misappropriation or appearing as if i believe the sinosphere to be an undifferentiated and interchangable cultural blob if i put kpop groups into wuxia/xianxia AUs.

(s.korea does have wuxia/xianxia novels, but reddit tells me those use a lot of hanja, so obviously borrowing exists in wider culture, and china also has media that’s distinctly japanese, e.g. 阴阳师, as well as manga that are set elsewhere, e.g. Akatsuki no Yona, and Magi, but those are original IPs)

for context, i’m 2nd-gen chinese diaspora and can read the language but did not grow up immersed in the culture. i can find mandarin material on my own and to some extent i can spot the cultural symbols, but reading up on korean and japanese culture in mandarin has an upsettingly high chance of coming across han-supremacist texts. ...so, apologies for the essay, and ...thoughts?

--

Hoooo boy, this is already long and it's going to get longer... RIP everyone's dash. This is a rare time that I really wish Tumblr would let me do nested readmores like Dreamwidth does, but it won't, so everyone will just have to deal.

I think the very, very short version of what I have to say is that 2nd-gen Chinese diaspora are exactly who cares about this so deeply you can't get a word of fic out while everybody else is blundering happily along, doing whatever offensive, dumbass thing they like. (Or else wallowing in equally useless US white guilt while writing only things that are "correct" according to one specific BNF's primer or something, and still getting everything hilariously wrong.)

--

I will trust fandom to figure out when xianxia AUs are racist at the point fandom can reliably tell that The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity is not fucking xianxia, and its protagonists are not "cultivators".

Or, even better, at the point that fanfic for every historical/fantasy setting from Les Mis to The Untamed stops being modern coffee shop and college AUs that are blatantly American coffee shops and colleges.

[Insert rant here about Korean coffee shops and their magnificence vs. the anemic, boring-ass coffee shop culture found in BTS fanfics. WE HAVE YOUTUBE FOOD BLOGGERS, PEOPLE! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS!]

----POINT ONE: Chinese government = bag of dicks----

The current mainland government being asshats is not a reason to do anything. Period. Historical cultural theft? By Korea from China??? Are you fucking kidding me? Korea was a tiny satellite being stepped on by the might of one of the most powerful empires in history. Korea was certainly influenced by China, and from there, the influence made its way to Japan, but neighboring countries experiencing cultural exchange is not "theft". Why are you listening to the Chinese government anyway? That's like listening to Trump.

As for people being racist about idols, like fans within South Korea not liking group members who are not South Korean, that's sad, but it's not the fault of other fans who aren't assholes. Why should it dictate what fanfic AUs someone writes?

It's commonplace and perfectly fine that the fantasy genre traditions in the sinosphere have been influenced heavily by China just as folklore itself has been influenced by Chinese folklore. Should you, a Chinese-American or Chinese-Canadian or whatever not be allowed to write Marvel AUs or enjoy Disney princesses beyond Mulan because that would make you too "white" or something? Come on!

I'm not saying there's zero potential for offense here, but it's going to mostly be about the execution and/or just be in the eye of the beholder.

----POINT TWO: Loanwords----

#2 there is especially pointless. I'm all for teaching fans what the Chinese words for things are, but you know what the word manhua is?

漫画

You know what the word manhwa is?

Well, okay, between Korean not using hanja much and various historical factors, it's apparently 漫畵, but still.

You know what Japanese manga is? YOU GUESSED IT:

漫画

I'm not saying we should entirely conflate these or fail to give China credit for the comics that come from there, but this extreme preciousness about creating two new loan words makes me roll my eyes. If someone calls it "Chinese manga" or something, they are not some racist monster.

This reminds me of weebs getting their panties in a bunch over how ~manga~ is a sacred category that is different from "comics", a word which means "not Japanese"... meanwhile like 50% of the manga I own are from publishers who stamp "comics" all over the spines of every volume. Manga/manhua/manhwa in their original contexts are cognates that just mean comics, from the US to Belgium to East Asia.

If you want to see this in action, go to the English-language article on "comics". Click the sidebar links to Japanese, Chinese, and Korean and see what you find.

Chinese 'donghua' isn't a cognate with the Japanese and Korean words because... uh... those are just "animation"--a loanword from English! But 'donghua' too is just a word that means all animation, regardless of origin, in its original context.

Now, that doesn't mean we can't make more specific loan words that mean something slightly different from the original form of the word. Those languages do it with English all the time. But being extremely precious about these words instead of addressing larger issues of dumbassery about Asia is not actually that woke, and it's certainly not helpful.

----POINT THREE pt. 1: There is no default----

Now we get to the real meat of the argument, and nonnie... oh my god... Where do I start?

First of all, you have made the most elementary Western dumbass mistake, which is treating the West as a default. I was going to say "white" dumbass mistake, but then I finished reading your ask. Wow, you're giving off big White Guilt energy right now, nonnie. I feel like maybe you need more... like... other Chinese diaspora kpop nerds to hang out with or something? This feels like you're getting all of your input from the most fear-mongering, dutyfic-writing, debbie downer parts of fandom. But anyway...

There is no default.

English-speaking fans are more familiar with Tolkien, so a Tolkien AU erases less South Koreanness than an Untamed one? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???

Yeah, playing it "safe" by making everything as generically US as possible is fandom's usual move, and it's less likely to get you yelled at, but that's only because the form of racism--or really cultural hegemony--it represents is so pervasive that it's impossible to pick a target and most of the yellers are guilty of this one themselves.

Let me give you an analogy from vidding that I've been thinking of writing meta about for a while:

A lot of vidders in the narrow Vividcon type vidding space, which traces its roots to Escapade slash con and back to ye olde Media Fandom vidding and Kandy Fong, are concerned about using kpop to vid cdramas. Is this insensitive? Is it conflating cultures?

But...

Not only is using Panic at the Disco to vid any source neutral, but so is using ABBA.

I have never, never, never seen a single English-speaking vidder treat ABBA as anything other than a universally-available default that is part of all of "our" culture and available for any use. And I agree that ABBA is generally treated like that by myopic United States culture.

Yet ABBA's choice to sing in English is no different from BTS' recent all-English songs. It was a calculated move to win Eurovision and to be competitive in an international market, and not just an international market of native English speakers but a European market that was receptive to English as a lingua franca.

I don't have any fandom friends from Sweden (well, that I know of), but I cannot help but imagine that how Swedish people see their most famous music group of all time and how Americans view yet another famous pop group singing in English is... somewhat different.

Yes, things like the movie Mamma Mia! have let us complacently think of ABBA as "ours", but half the Korean shit I like turns out to have Korean-Americans involved in its making, and ABBA is not American at all.

[See also: all those times Greek anons have sent me asks saying that no, actually, they're not cool with their mythology and culture being "everyone's" when their modern people are erased and hated.]

This myopia is a combination of seeing white faces and thinking "default" with thinking that appropriation from or erasure of European cultures is 100% neutral and fine.

So yes, nonnie, you would be safer writing a Western high fantasy AU than an Asian-but-not-Korean one, but only because the fans around you are both ignorant and racist.

----POINT THREE pt. 2: Research is fun----

I want to get back to this quote specifically:

b) versatile enough by virtue of being depicted a long time and thus experimented upon, that c) is able to exist, more or less, separately from its european roots.

Like I said above, I think c is straight up bullshit. Looking out at a sea of Western-flavor AUs does make people feel like Asianness is being erased, and some European things appear divorced from roots to one white Western person yet not to another.

But b is also worthy of digging into because it is simply untrue that xianxia is new or hasn't been experimented upon.

I know you meant within an English-speaking Western context, and you're right, but think about it: If you wanted to write your xianxia AU "right" or if you wanted to expand beyond an Untamed AU to a more general xianxia one, how would you do it? (I know you didn't specify Untamed, but that's what lots of n00bs are writing.) It's pretty obvious, isn't it?

You look to Chinese writers.

Not only can you just consume more xianxia canons, but you can also look up the many primers explaining genre tropes and their origins in Chinese folklore, other genres, traditional medicine and religion, etc.

I was familiar with a lot of East Asian stuff before I watched The Untamed, but I wasn't familiar specifically with xianxia, and I was a little lost at first. I looked up general info, and it was very helpful. (I think my biggest confusion was the core transfer, which was cleared up by finding out that cores aren't usually a literal physical organ like that, and that's just a MDZS bit of worldbuilding. It seems like cores are more commonly treated how I'd expect from traditional Asian medicine, martial arts, etc.)

I didn't do this because I wanted to do some guilt-ridden ass-covering. I did it because I'm a nerd and I was interested.

Research is fun!

Or at least, it can be if you treat it as such. If you look shit up because you're curious, it will inevitably influence your writing, but I don't think you should have to pass some high bar of Correct Woke Knowledge because that kind of gatekeeping means far less fic, and what does get written may still sound "wrong" to lots of readers. There is no magic pill to level up your cultural competency like you're a cultivator who needs to fight a boss battle.

There is no Woke Seal Of Approval that will guarantee your fic is perfect and can offend no one.

There is no such thing as "safe".

I'm not saying you should go be racist on purpose or that you should never incorporate feedback into your next fic, but ultimately, making art is about taking chances and not endlessly revising old work or stressing about every single viewer response.

----POINT THREE pt. 3: Taking up space----

Honestly, the vibe I'm getting is that you are afraid to take up space. Why do I, a white girl, feel perfectly entitled to write about Asian things? I'm sure some lurkers will be going "LOL, because you're a racist bitch", but the way I see it is that I'm willing to assert my right to an opinion.

You, as Chinese diaspora or just as a human who likes both kpop and xianxia, have a right to an opinion.

Are you "authentically" mainland Chinese? No. You're authentically yourself. If xianxia speaks to you, then it's a perfectly acceptable type of AU for you to write. As an Asian diaspora person, you know perfectly well that different parts of Asia are different. If someone else assumes you're conflating them, maybe that just shows their own lack of knowledge and desire to lord it over you.

In the US, we conflate our locally oppressed minority issues, which include Asians, with our stealing native culture issues. But our Native population is relatively small and their cultural output relatively easy to drown out on a global scale. Overall US culture can easily pretend American Indians are all dead and gone. Our history of slavery means that most black people here don't have a direct link back to a specific African culture, and the culture white entertainers steal from is that created by black entertainers here. These are the contexts cultural appropriation discourse springs from and is most applicable to. (And I still think we go overboard on cultural appropriation discourse and misuse it to make art more boring, e.g. by whining about non-US rap even when it is respectful, but at least some form of it makes sense in this original context.)

But East Asian cultures are a very different matter. South Korea isn't the biggest or most powerful, but kpop is media made primarily by and for an ethnic majority speaking a majority language in a geographical region where they're top dog. Yes, some idiots can't tell the difference between China, Japan, and Korea, but these are places with their own geographical territories, languages that are not endangered, and healthy media industries. Idols already get to celebrate their own culture just fine.

I'm not saying put zero thought into all this, but from the sound of things, you're currently putting in way too much.

Your Chinese heritage is not in danger from you getting it wrong. It has all the other Chinese people behind it. South Korea, while less powerful, is still a pretty powerful global culture, and you're certainly not getting it wronger than a bunch of white girls writing coffee shop AUs.

Basically, if you silence yourself, you're decreasing diversity and joy, not serving cultural sensitivity.

----YOUR ACTUAL QUESTION----

Okay, your actual question was about the pitfalls and how to do it better instead of worse. This is exactly the right question to be asking.

I honestly think the main thing you need to do is tag it 'xianxia AU'. Having that tag demonstrates that you understand that you are picking a specific genre. If people assume you don't know what xianxia is or that you don't understand it's not Korean, that's on them.

The second thing I would do is lay out a few rules in an author's note if you feel you can't make them clear enough in the fic. You don't need to be tediously didactic about it. I'm thinking of something equivalent to those notes on a/b/o that are like "In my a/b/o, betas have [specific thing] and aren't just regular humans". But if your fic makes it clear how the world works, then you don't need to do this.

If you want to adapt the principles of xianxia to an ancient-but-fantasy Korean setting, go for it. If you want to set your fic in ancient fantasy China, go for it. Your research process would look slightly different in each case.

In terms of research, I'm still thinking about this bit:

people already confuse hanfu/hanbok, and korean shamanism is less known than japanese shintoism or chinese taoism, and afa i can find, the concept of ‘xian’ only exists in taoism.

Here's the thing: a person who can tell a Tang Dynasty outfit from a Ming Dynasty one probably won't confuse either with a Korean outfit. Someone who knows fuckall will have a hard time with swathes of historical Asian dress. The same thing is true of European historical dress.

Refusal to treat live humans as having multiple cultures is the problem. Period.

Someone saying 'hanbok' when they mean 'hanfu' or having trouble distinguishing styles of "historical" outfits as interpreted through modern and possibly fantasy media is a red herring. It might be a symptom of genuinely conflating the cultures or it might be a slip of the tongue.

It's super interesting to me that you mention shamanism because I'm actually researching it right now for an original book I'm writing. I want sources on Korean shamanism, and I'm not finding much that's easily accessible in English. I haven't looked at journal articles yet though, and that's where I expect the better info is. For the moment, I'm rereading The Catalpa Bow because I found my old copy in a box. It's about Japanese shamanism. Not Shinto: shamanism. In fact, the first chapter makes a big deal about how dumb Western scholarship insists on treating "Shinto" and "Buddhism" as two entirely separate strata of Japanese religion, but to look at shamanism, you need to accept that it's a huge mishmash of syncretic folk religion that is both/neither and that different areas of Japan have completely different forms.

Shamanism itself probably ultimately derives from a Siberian origin, coming down to Northern China through Mongolia. This flavor of Tungusic shamanism shows up in all of China, Japan, and Korea. It's the flavor that usually starts with a mysterious illness, possibly lasting years, and a near death experience cured by initiation, dedication to a god or gods, and routine spirit possession. Honestly, the best sources I've found in English tend to be random Youtube videos and podcasts by people who've been initiated in the modern day.

Sidebar: the most interesting thing I found was a Korean-American lady who'd finally gotten initiated to cure her long term mental illness. She lives and works in NYC... Apparently, many of the clients for Korean shamans there are Russian because there aren't any Siberian shamans to be found, and the Russians are like "Close enough, I guess". It makes sense, but it was a very "WHOA!" moment for me.

Sure, xianxia principles are a little tricky to explain if someone knows nothing about any principles of Chinese esoteric thought, traditional medicine, mythology, etc. But...

There's no inherent reality to xianxia any more than there is to what counts as a/b/o or high fantasy. It's a genre of fiction. It's fantasy worldbuilding by specific artists.

Yes, it is steeped in Chinese culture. Yes, there are plenty of ways to go so far outside of what the genre is normally that you really can't use the term anymore.

But if a bunch of Chinese authors decide to add some element that becomes a big trend in xianxia, that's now also part of the genre.

It's not like saying "The historical record only shows X in the Tang Dynasty and not Y" where reality is hard to know, but at least it exists. Xianxia is a set of genre conventions people made up. Sure, 'xian' is a Taoist thing, but... like... you don't honestly think that the for funsies adventure novel version is exactly the same as the religious/esoteric/folkloric version that existed prior to these novels being a thing, do you? Tolkien ripoffs are not exactly the same as European mythology despite being heavily derived from it.

If you want to do fantasy worldbuilding, you start by looking up real mythology/history/culture and seeing what other people do, but then you... you know... make shit up.

You synthesize from other sources. You make a version that is cool and fun and meaningful to you.

The debbie downer side of fandom focuses way too much on things like xianxia as expressions of some unified Chinese authenticness and way too little on them as individual writers' creativity.

It's a subtle, but I think very real, form of erasure. Chinese culture did not spontaneously manifest xianxia. Specific writers who wanted to write a rip-roaring adventure tale made up cool shit they thought an audience would enjoy. It's like those posts talking about "historical costume" vs. "fashion" and how the former can erase individual agency and creativity.

You're an individual, creative person wanting to write a Chinese-flavor fantasy AU about some Korean singers. I think you should go for it.

[mazojo]

Winter 2021 Anime Opinions

As always its that time of the year I pretend to be an anime connoisseur and leave my review on this seasons anime so take it with a grain of salt asdfgh from the one I enjoyed the least to the most.

Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! (TV)

You are seeing currently the only probably best thing about Wave asdfghj Tanaka bby I am SO sorry you got stuck here,,,,, Its bad because I had so many expectations for Wave but it just...... isn’t very good? The characters feel 2 dimensional, animation is veeeery average and the plot is all over the place? Dont even get me started on the Shou situation plot device that they just brushed over and went on with and,,,,,big sigh

Urasekai Picnic

To be honest is not very fair to compare this one to the rest as ive only watched the first 2 eps but ill catch up eventually asdfghj its not bad just that the plot didnt capture me as much as I hoped but the two main characters cutiess the plot just confuses me asdfgh but I don't have much to say about it

Yakusoku no Neverland 2nd Season

So uh anyways Chile I don't wanna talk about it the only reason this is not dead last is because RayEmma cute moments but yeah don't watch this clown show go read the manga for self care ✨

Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun

The only reason this is here is because she. The main girl I cant remember the name of sucks and main dude is very normal asdfgh the plot is basically “Want people to like you? change everything about yourself and become a normie robot!!!” ASDFGHJ Like its so over the top and cringe at times it becomes very confusing but hey I am not caught up either so I may change opinions (x doubt tho)

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu

From this point onwards I basically like everything. 2.43 Started suuuuper strong for me, definitely thought it would be one of my favs this season but as the eps went by I just.... kinda lost interest asdfgh? Like its not bad, but its a sort of mix between Stars Align and Haikyuu where I would have loved a more character based story with dark subplots like Stars Align but got the parts I always criticize about Haikyuu were there was a point I didn't really knew any of the characters? ASDFGH like the enemy team is super cool and Love their designs but if you ask me to tell you anything about them I already forgot rip. Its still cute and the animation is cool but yeah it kind of disappointed me in the end a bit ;w;

Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season

AOT Is so sexci because it keeps on hurting me and I come back every-time for it ASDFGHJ Not much to say that hasn't been said, characters are super interesting, plot is a bit confusing at times for me to follow but amazing and I just :))) could go on about certain characters :))))) but I wont :))))

Wonder Egg Priority

Wonder egg priority is very talked about right now so I wont get too much into it other than definitely give it a watch if you like the more philosophical and “makes you reflect on your life choices” sort of anime ASDFGHJ the visuals are stunning and the characters very well build, although I am very confused at times I am still enjoying it tons ^^ Trigger warning however for some heavy topics I recommend checking the warnings before watching it <3

Kemono Jihen

I LOVE THEM OKaY? asdfghjk Kemono Jihen gives me the found family topes and I eat them all right up, I love the characters , their designs, the plot, everything. To be fair tho, I did enjoy the manga more than the anime but maybe its a pacing thing? idk but I definitely recommend 100% taking on the manga and maybe after watch the anime but I am enjoying it tons!!

Kai Byoui Ramune

This one may come as a surprise lol?? Like I haven't seen a single soul talk about Ramune but like??? I am actually enjoying it a lot?? and look forward every week for the ep? asdfghj Like yes I will be the first to admit the animation isn't really the beeeeest out there but the plot is funny while also being serious, the characters are quirky and interesting to keep the flow going and I am liking the undertone heavy messages? the soundtrack also slaps imo and yeah I would definitely say to watch the first ep and if you like that sort of dynamic take it up on the rest!

I★Chu: Halfway Through the Idol

Okay I will be the first one to admit this is just me being trash for the idol shows but like?? its my list so I get to decide which found family I am screaming about next ASDFGHJ. As an avid A3 stan this gave me serious vibes of my boys (plus they were made form the same company so like not very surprised there loll) and like I think the characters are cute with adorable relationships and cute songs and its just a lighthearted show I sit down every Wednesday and smile through the 25 minutes so yes I Chu deserves a high spot and yes I recommend it even if it has like a 6.3 on myanimelist sksksks

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars

Look at Gen!!!! enough reasons to watch dr stone!!!! ASDFGH but in all seriousness I....... love them okAy? The plot is amazing and the characters are super entertaining (hiiii Ukyo Gen Senku and Chrome muak) and although it may seem a bit slower paced than first season the arc is gonna get better and better and the finale is gonna be great if they stick to the manga. Only sad that I dont get to see my pirate fuckboy but we better be getting a third season

Bungou Stray Dogs Wan!

when I say this is the happiness of all my Tuesdays I ain’t even exaggerating ASDFGHJ Does this have an important plot? no. Is it transcending to animation? not really. Is it BSD content I've been starving for? absolutely!!! Tbh I see my favorite anime characters in chibi version and I go feral, go watch BSD pogg!!

Horimiya

Me?? searching for that one gif of the side ship scene am obsessed over?? more likely than you think ASDFGH Horimiya holds a special place in my heart because it was the first manga I ever read and the nostalgia is stroNG,,,,,, The plot isn't anything really transcending but the way the characters are captured the feelings just,,,,,, stan!! Also Yuki x Tooru supremacy !

Skate-Leading☆Stars

Okaaaaay this is also me being a bitch for sports anime but like, again, are we surprised?? ASDFGHJ It may be my love for Hayato speaking but ive absolutely loves Skate Leading Stars, I love the group, the main characters, the ships, the routines and its so pretty and they are in love and like the competition and asdfgh its gOoD OKaY??? Watch it if anything for Hayato 👉🏻 👈🏻 My bastard bitch I love the gremlin.

Beastars 2nd Season

I think we are all sleeping on Beastars brushing it off as a furry show. I don’t speak enough about it and I am not one to go about poetic cinemaness on main but beastars is a very poetic cinema show and yall sleeping on it. Coming from someone who was uncomfortable at first with the whole animal relationships part at first, just know beastars is so much more than that, it has a complicated plot with critics about the society within the show with amazing characters, great soundtrack and animation plus banger plot. Pina, Jack, Juno and Legoshi best characters and every week I look forward for the next eps so I hope yall go give it some love.

SK8 The Infinity

If it wasnt clear from my spam every Saturday that I am absolutely in love with this show I dont know what to tell you ASDFGHJ. Sk8 has an amazing range of characters I find fascinating, specially Reki, very much so everything Reki asdfgh but yeah!! Its super entertaining with an interesting plot and its definetely becoming one of my favorite animes because the amount of times ive rewatched the episodes to cope is kind of embarrassing lmaooo, definetely give it a try although I understand its not for everyone but like,,,,, do it for Reki? 🤧👉🏻👈🏻

[themoonsings]

hi y’all! my name’s blue and this is my good sis luna! you can find some info on her below! 

luna song was spotted in the fashion district adorning red bottoms , with some airpod pros on . they’re most likely listening to love me 4 me by rina sawayama . you may know them as @lunasong or as that rosé lookalike . their twenty-third birthday just passed . while living in tribeca , they’ve gained a bit of a reputation . they’re known to be ruthless but on the other hand captivating . wonder if they’ll be the next person to hit the headlines . [ ciswoman / she/her + blue / 24 / she/her ]

she’s 2nd gen & gave her parents gave her a korean name mainly to appease their parents and one in english. her korean name is ae-cha while her english name is luna. pretty much everyone calls/has always called her luna except her grandparents and sometimes her fanbase in korea.

she grew up in one of the boroughs and her family was middle class.

grew up knowing/speaking korean and english.

she had three best friends growing up, and they did practically everything together. they were in their tweens when luna got the idea that they should start a girl group, like so many that they always listened and looked up to and her friends readily agreed. 

they were still young so people didn’t take them seriously at first, much to a 12-year-old luna’s chagrin. but they were actually pretty good. in the beginning they didn’t know how to read sheet music super well yet and mostly did covers so luna would help with figuring out which parts each of them would sing and scheduling rehearsals, even pestering classmates into getting them gigs. (sidenote: luna’s group/bandmates are a wanted connection and on the main if you wanna know a little bit more you can click here! I’d love to have some/all of her groupmate spots filled!)

her parents were always super supportive of the group and were driving them to competitions, auditions, etc. luna was driven and annoying as hell in the way she pestered all these grown ass adults and even recording labels into trying to hear them/let them in to no avail. 

it wasnt until luna was 16 (about seven years ago) that they were able to actually get signed to a record label. at first no one took them seriously and no one wanted to sign them because people insisted that girl groups didn’t do well, didn’t last long, that people didn’t like them, etc. and there was a lot of back and forth over creative differences, as by that point the girls wrote their own music. 

BUT, their debut album actually did surprisingly well and better than even their management expected. soon they were having their music videos features on disney channel tv breaks, playing on the radio, getting lots of views on youtube. they were everywhere and people seemed to like the “realness” of their story--it made for good interviews and whatnot. 

they continued on like that, dropping three more albums which broke records, lead to worldwide tours, won grammys, lead them to several tv cameos, and even their own movie (think spice world but like better/funner plot, although still not super serious cinema) and documentary. they’re absolutely HUGE now, think peak destiny’s child type shit. they had their own reality tv show at one point, perfume, and even a make-up line with different shades and colors to match each girl’s “personality”. 

the aspects of their personality were played up a little bit to make them more marketable, i.e. one was the more “sporty” one, one was more “free-spirited”, etc. and how they’re styled usually reflects that, although now that they’re pretty established and older, they’ve been able to kind of be less characterized and more themselves. 

luna’s personality was always kind of the diva/primadonna meets relatable girl next door type role. basically she was just always dressed usually very hyper-feminine and has always publicly been considered/seen as kind of the “leader” of the group. 

that doesn’t come from nowhere because she’s very driven. she’s work hard play hard but you gotta tear her away from her email account enough for her to play hard. she’s nice and friendly but can be kind of intense. her biggest fear is not growing into her full potential. 

she knows how to play basic guitar and piano but her two main talents are her singing and ability to harmonize and understand different parts of music and her lyricism. 

can definitely be a drama queen at times. 

very adamant about using her platform to speak up for things when she can. her and her group faced a lot of hardships and discrimination within the industry because they were made up of a group of young women of color and she wants to make it easier for others to achieve their dreams, even if they weren’t born famous or rich. 

can definitely be judgement and bossy at times but will also 100% be there for you and supportive of you when you need her. 

she’s bisexual but the media hasn’t really caught wind of that yet. in the past, her management was adamant that she hide it but now it’s a thing where even if she is spotted with a girl, it’s very “just gals being pals” type headlines that usually come from it. 

she’s smart about her image and pretty much everything she does can make headlines. she’s usually pretty good about keeping her shit in line. she’s had advantageous relationships, both for pr and forreal and she’s something of a trendsetter in a lot of cases. luna dates someone and they’re hollywoods hottest couple, luna wears something and suddenly everyone on instagram is wearing it too. 

does a lot of philanthropy and likes to travel whenever she can. 

she’s friendly and open but don’t piss her off or stand in her way or be on some bs ‘cause she’s helped her and her girls fight their way to the top and she can be ruthless to her enemies, though only when she absolutely has to be. she probably has a little too much fight in her for her own good. 

constantly rumors of her going solo. her and her bandmates have an understanding where they’re chill with doing some individual work (i.e. releasing a single, doing a movie or tv show, starting their own fashion line, etc.) because they know the group’s more important and they’re always coming back to it but luna lately has been kind of worried they’re going to split up and she doesn’t want them to because they’re basically like sisters to her at this point since they grew up together. 

admittedly, luna does want to release her own solo album and she has been brought other projects but the group comes first and they’re working on their fifth studio album together. 

can probably find her working late or running off in the middle of something because she suddenly gets an idea. she also carries this cute lil notebook around with her for jotting down ideas and yes she could technically use her phone but she likes the tangibility of physically writing stuff down.

she always grew up in a house that was very much a home--always open to other people and her parents always willing to bring in food and entertain for the holidays, etc. and that’s how she likes her place now. she’s made her house just how she likes it and the door’s always open if you need someplace to crash for the night and no matter the hour, she’ll put the kettle on, whip up or order some food, and get the guest room ready. 

that’s luna! i’m working on a connections/wanted connections page now but in the meantime, my messages are open to plot or if you like this i can come to u!

[muselin]

Hey! I'm the 2nd gen anon that sent you the ask the other day. I agree with what you said especially the thing about social media.

For the past few years, I've been wondering why I fell out of Kpop because at that time, Kpop was gaining more attraction. I think the first reason would be that many older groups were disbanding. Then, it would be the presence of social media (toxic fans are the loudest). Other than that, I couldn't get myself into the newer songs. I remember thinking that the reason for this was due to newer songs being too westernized. However, foreign producers have been making songs for Kpop artists for a while. Over time, I noticed that a lot of the newer songs (even non-Kpop songs) don't have full choruses. The songs are mostly focused on the beat and the title of the song is repeated in the chorus. I don't hate this type of music but I tend to get sick of it quickly. A lot of 3rd and 4th gen groups are coming out with this kind of music now which makes sense into why I couldn't get myself into them. Even when my favs, which are 2nd gen and early 3rd gen (I actually regard them as 2.5 gen because they had similar styles to 2nd gen) come out with songs that don't have full choruses, I rarely listen to it.

I know in my previous ask, I did say I stopped being a Kpop fan at one point but I did still listened to my favourite Kpop songs as well as trending songs. I don't think I can ever stop listening to Kpop or music in general. I guess you can say I just became a casual listener. I'll check kpop news from time to time but that's it. I couldn't keep up with the fandom.

I don't know if you ever felt this way before but I feel bad for not putting in time for my favs or ults(?). What I'm talking about is things like streaming and voting. Luckily, my favs don't really care because they've been in the industry for a while but I still feel guilty because streaming and voting is a form of supporting the artists you love.

Sorry for the long ask. It's just hard to find 2nd gen fans on Tumblr. Also, thanks for bringing awareness about mental health. Like you said, it's sad that such tragic events have to happen in order for us to bring light to an important topic. With this, I hope people will care for the mental health of others and themselves.

I definitely agree with a lot of what you said. And thank you for dropping in again! I personally don't like songs where the structure is "skimped on", e.g. not having a full chorus, or several lines of lyrics being just the same word or phrase repeated over and over. Although that said, "Sorry Sorry" and "Ring Ding Dong" are what got me into kpop and are the most iconic songs ever and you can't tell me otherwise lol.

For me personally, rediscovering Super Junior and SHINee after 7+ years of not keeping up and being a casual listener was like a shock to the system. With Super Junior it was like, hold up, you mean Kibum, Hangeng, Kangin AND Sungmin are not in SJ anymore?? And with SHINee it was like... how can we go on without Jjong?? And hold on, Taemin is now the biggest solo artist of all of them?? TVXQ was now only Yunho and Changmin and the rest had left?? It was so much to take in.

When I was coming back into kpop circa late 2017, besides BTS I wasn't that thrilled with what I arrived to as a 2nd gen fan to be honest. Monsta X and KARD were a breath of fresh air, as a proper very EDM focused and a mixed gender group, respectively. Musically though, aside from BTS it was VIXX I loved the most and they sit awkwardly in the time line, somewhere between 2nd gen and 3rd gen. They're usually considered 2.5 gen.

It was sad learning about everyone I knew from 2nd gen that was disbanding or not active (f(x), 2NE1, SHINee were just recovering from Jonghyun's passing at the time). But at the same time I was thrilled that so many were still going strong. I felt i could relate to them because I was getting into that later-twenties stage where I was worrying about getting older, but I was comforted knowing my 2nd gen idols were growing older with me, they were already a few years ahead of me and still rocking it.

You see, with feeling guilty about not streaming and voting, I didn't really experience that. When I was an early kpop fan it wasn't even possible to vote outside of Korea so I never felt like I had missed out on these opportunities or let my idols down. When i got into kpop again I did take advantage of the fact that I could stream, vote for MAMA and vote on some music shows. I never felt guilty though because I knew that the majority of these voting drives were for the younger fans, who didn't have full time jobs, families or that many responsibilities. So I always felt I was doing my best as a fan in moderation, without sacrificing all my time, money and sanity.

With 4th gen, I don't even bother with voting. Some people might say that makes me a shitty or lazy fan, but my ults are 2nd and 3rd gen, and I'm only one person. I know 3rd and 4th gen have loads and loads of young fans who do the streaming and voting better than I ever could. I just stream on comeback day and enjoy the music, and buy the occasional album. When I was a young fan I had no money at all, I couldn't buy any albums or go to any concerts. So I don't feel guilty because I can do more now as an older fan than I ever could before to support my idols. I save my voting rights for my 2nd gen faves who aren't as popular anymore, because I know it would mean much more to them to still win awards this late into their careers :)