#what if they actually HAD made it a whole thing like a kpop girl group concept that was probably forced by the company

[naura-speaks]

wdym 5SOS only has four members. like no. each of you should be one second of summer.

[ofc-vi-writes-too]

Batfam members and what they’d get cancelled for/their apology

Just watched ItalianBach’s youtuber apology tier list video and inspiration STRUCK.

𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹

Bruce: there are SOOOOOO many things. So so so many things. He has been cancelled so many times that there is a blog dedicated to keeping track of BW apologies. the user is probs something like bruceissosorryagain. Personal favorite was when he ruined a pretty popular and well liked socialite by knocking over a champagne tower directly onto her great grandmother’s wedding gown. For some god foresaken reason the champagne had been dyed red to match the victorian vampire aesthetic of the wedding?? The hashtag “BWmeetscarrie” will forever haunt wayne manor.

Dick: He was literally a cop in 2020. his goose was GOT. He was trying to prove that not all cops are bad by posting to that macklemore song with the little black fist painted on his cheek and BLM on the other. u know the one. It didn’t go over very well. Even macklemore commented “c’mon bro..” This was followed by a 45 minute long apology video explaining how he now understands the harm it can cause to lump all marginalized groups into one category and how he regrets his action severely and yada yada yada hes so sorry, at the end there was a 2 minute long acrobatic performance to the song Nina Cried Power by Hozier. He also donated to several black charities following the whole ordeal. Didn’t leave his house for a week.

Jason: Ran a rage bait account on tiktok when he was like 13-15 where he posted cringe alpha sigma male mogging content, and someone somehow found out it was him, and his apology wasn’t so much an apology as much as it was “I’m sorry you were stupid enough to believe the bs I was posting, and I’m sorry i got caught. Fuck you guys btw now I have to find a new hobby 👎🏽.” The videos are still saved to his phone when he needs a good chuckle.

Tim: Said BTS was ass and BP was even worse (he tweeted it out of boredom, knowing it was gonna be bad, but not knowing exactly how bad). Armies and blinks tried to dox him MUTIPLE times but tim keeps it on lock so his info was safe. There was a boycott for WE so Bruce made him post and official apology. It was half assed and there are kpop accounts to this day that say “Fuck tim drake” in their bio. Either that or he got “cancelled” on some Jynxzi stuff. Like the whole situation to a T. Maybe both are true. He also had a ukelele in his apology vid.

Damian: called an old lady a “stupid ugly stinky bitch” on national television because she “asked father too many questions.” (it was an interview) Jaws were dropped. Nay, jaws were dislocated. Damian was too young at the time to have social media, let alone post his own apology, so bruce did it for him and sent that poor old lady a lot of cash.

Duke: Unironically said “if it’s snowing I’m not going.” the dudebros thought that shit was hilarious. No one else laughed. Duke was serious, but he felt so bad about offending people that there were tears in the apology. At least thats the story he’s currently running with.

Cass: A video of her saying the F slur surfaced. Her apology was her coming out.

Steph: Said something offensive without realizing it and didnt know what she did until she tweeted saying “why is everyone being so wierd around me?? did I do something wrong??” everyones response is either “girl please bffr” or genuine actually helpful input. She apologized less than a day later in a quick and concise apology vid.

Barbara: compared herself to marsha P johnson in an interview and when she was asked to elaborate she simply could not. The truth is, she had no idea who that woman was other than the fact that she was a good, cool woman so she was like yea omg im so her. Her apology was also a mini documentary about Marsha P Johnsons life.

[candywife333]

My Little Saesang (Part 2)

chubby reader x idol jungkook

Summary: Y/N had been a super fan for a while. Some would say bordering on saesang or creep level. She didn't think she was one, till she experienced an incident that made her stop being a fan. She had never thought that Jungkook or any of BTS ever noticed her, as she was part of the masses of obsessive fans. But they had. Especially, one doe eyed idol in particular. He never thought he would miss his fan, or shall we say saesang. Yet, he couldn't help but notice her absence. He took her comforting presence, her kind eyes, hair disheveled in excitement, and wide smile for granted. And he didn't know when her presence started to matter to him so much. When exactly did she become such a constant in his life?

Disclaimer: The Jungkook represented in this fic does not reflect the true actions or thoughts of the real life Jungkook. Please treat this fic as exactly what it is, fiction

Triggers: Critique of fandom culture and kpop as a whole, identity crisis, eventual smut

Note: Not proofread. Slated to be approximately 4 parts or less.

Jungkook POV

It took me about two weeks, but I did start to notice her absence. I never got her real name. But I and all the other members christened her with the moniker of strawberry shortcake, for how tiny and chubby she was, and also how flushed her entire face and neck become as she jumped up and down to our songs. We called her berry or SS for short. The few fans we had from the beginning, we either knew their actual names or had little nicknames to commemorate them.

She was a fan of the entire group, but I knew I was her bias, and so did the other members. It was obvious, the way she left tiny gifts wrapped in gold and red ( as though it were perpetually christmas year round for her) addressed towards me. She even took fancams of me, her eyes furtively moving along my body , gasping when she caught sight of my abs over the years. I wouldn't deny that sometimes I played up my antics for the camera just so I could catch her mouth wide open in an "O" petrified in shock as she bopped her head up and down manically.

Berry was not there. And it was starting to really bother me. It shouldn't in fact. She shouldn't matter that much to me. Yet, I always had her in my corner since debut. I always had her eyes on me, watching over me. It felt comforting even though she had gotten a little too close for comfort twice or thrice by accosting me with gifts on sets of music video shoots or backstage. Her specialty was with desserts. She would always leave me coffee infused brownies and tres leche cake towards the end of the year right in front of the HYBE building, addressed to me specifically with a cheery little note wishing me for christmas and new years.

And now I was staring at the entire crowd at MusicBank, surveying the area to see her familiar face. She was usually in the first row, bopping her light stick in an erratic manner, mouthing the lyrics to the song, staring at me with excited eyes that lit up with glee. The girl really didn't seem to love material things, because she would always wear the same red beanie and pearl earrings I had been seeing for the past 5 years. Her clothes were always a nondescript black or brown shade, pants and a sweater. She never really donned feminine clothes in all the years I had noticed her.

As I looked for her, I could only find her associate, the ARMY who always stuck by her, who we had named Specs. The tall, lithe limbed girl glared at me. It felt like she was piercing daggers through my skull as she squinted though her black thick framed glasses. She had always had a smile on her face, and now she looked so angry. Yoongi always had a tiny crush on her. She had supported him for ages, even paying for his meals many times when he was still a trainee. Why was she so indignant?

Before I could start questioning all of this even further, Yoongi came up to me with a hand on my shoulder, noticing Specs, "How is my baby doing? And why the hell is she glaring at you like you murdered her first born child? Did you do anything to her?", he questioned in a worried tone of voice. I answered back, "Of course not. I don't really interact with fans that personally. You know that hyung".

He continued quizzically, raising one eye brow up, "Where is berry? My baby Specs is alone today? You really must've done something to fuck things up. She isn't even looking at me. Totally ignoring me. The hell, she usually smiles softly at me and today she looks like somebody pissed on her breakfast. What gives"?

I had no idea what was going on. Our loyal fans for years, people who we didn't necessarily consider saesangs, but just sort of obsessive in their devotion, were either not present or ignoring us. What the hell was becoming of this fandom?!!!!

That's when I saw Berry push through the crowd. And I was so shook, that an earthquake could've come through and swallowed me up and I wouldn't have cared. Berry was dressed in a peach colored floral fit and flare dress with her customary pearls in her ears and what looked like heels on. The only way I knew was that she looked taller than usual. She had a floral ribbon in her hair, lip gloss on, eye make up on point. What the hell was she up to all of a sudden?

Her hair was streaming down her back in waves, loosened from the customary ponytail I saw all the time. She hugged Specs and a few other armies who I noticed she always had around with her. She kissed another army in a wheelchair on the cheek, plopping a pastry box in her hands and wrapping her neck with a scarf. With the deadest look in her eyes, lifeless and devoid of the usual pretty sparkle, she stared at me, as though it were some sort of messed up farewell. WTF??!!! Why did this feel like a good bye? She just looked so done.

She didn't smile at me or any of the members. She gave her light stick to another baby Army in 3rd row, she looked back once wistfully, and left the place through the door.

Where the fuck was she going?!!!?!

After the performance, dreading the fact that Berry left right in the beginning (something she had never done even once in the past years) , I walked up to Specs in the front row. The gangly girl looked super shocked to see me right up in front of her. I squeaked out in mild panic, "Where is your friend? She looked all dressed up and cute today. Does she have plans or something?"

The initial shock wore off on Specs face as something akin to irritation filtered through, "She has a date today , with a coworker I believe. That's why she is dressed up. But you don't need to know that. Today was her official last day as active super fan. She is still a fan, but she's decided to convert from offline to online fan. That's it". Specs said all this with a finality that started freaking me out. I stuttered, "SS-S-S-S-he became an online fan. Meaning, she won't show up in person to our events anymore"?

Specs muttered derisively, "Do you not understand anything I just said. Korean is your first language right? I just told you she is done being such an avid fan". She snorted, looking tired with a distant glaze in her eyes , "Maybe even I should stop. I am getting too old for this shit. My mom keeps telling me to get married, and here I am attending all this stuff, obsessing over millionaires who have more money than I ever could in my life. I am becoming an old fucking lady and I don't even have a husband or family of my own. I guess all of us older armies might need to redirect our lives back towards ourselves".

She stomped away after that remark. Yoongi ran up to me as I walked back stage. He inquired , "Is Specs still there? I was going to ask her for her number".

I grumbled out with my hands on my head, "She left hyung. So did berry, a while ago. I think we are losing our OG fans. Berry never left me once in the last few years. Even when we became so famous in the US, she never stopped attending my events, even some of the big ones in the US. What went so wrong that she is quitting?"

Yoongi choked in confusion, "You mean to tell me that both Specs and Berry are quitting. They ain't even that old, maybe late 20s. Oh no, fuck!!! My baby, Specs, I never told her how much she meant to me. What did she say?" Yoongi, shook my arm hard, trying to squeeze answer out at me. "She said that she is becoming too old for this and maybe she should get married soon, because her mother is pressuring her".

Yoongi's eyes popped wide open, panic and fear evident in his eyes, squeaking, "WTFFFFF. Since when did they give up on us like this? I can't let Specs go. She has been with me before I was famous , looking like a homeless dude, and even now. I have to get her back!!!! The fuck, I need to talk to the ARMY fanclub president for her contact". He scurried off in anxiety, leaving me back to stew in sadness. What had I done so wrong for Berry to leave me after so many years? Something must've ticked her off. Shit, the chocolate. It all hit me in a frenzy. It was the Godiva chocolate. That limited edition Christmas chocolate she had left for me that day on set.

It had been one of the hardest days in my schedule, and just seeing her face had made it all better. But the irritation had gotten to me, and in my anger at being hangry on a diet, I had thrown the chocolate in the trash. Oh no. Wait. A dreadful thought entered my head. What if she thought, that it was my rejection of her support and love as a fan? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She probably thought I hated her or something when it was just a bad day.

What bothered me even more, was that she had skipped my event to attend a date. A date with a guy who was not me. This thought filtered through my head, and I froze. Why did it aggravate me so much that she was on a date with another dude? Then I imagined her soft eyes, gleaming with love as she stared at another guy, kissed him on the cheek, sharing a chocolate cake with him and partaking in a chocolate-fililed kiss on the lips.

I felt like literally crying. I don't know why I did. But, I just did. I had to find her no matter what and I had to do it fast, before she gave up on me.

Y/N POV

The date had been fine. Jung-shik had been a cute guy, all brown curls , shy smiles and blushes. He was one of the art managers at KBS who I had met at the bakery. We talked about work, music, and art, eating cheese cake at a cake cafe. He had been a true gentleman, asking me what I wanted to have and opening the door for me, even going so far as to drop me near the bus station.

I sat at the bus station, waiting for my ride back at him when I saw a billboard of the sexy man himself, Jungkook. I could never escape this guy it seemed, even in death. I had felt his stare at me and Kim Hee today. It was odd, he never stared at individual fans like. He did that with particularly beautiful Armys---total models and divas I tell you. But, never with me. Even Yoongi stared at Kim Hee like they had three kids together, like she was coming home with him, like she was married to him---as much as that girl liked to deny it.

I never felt him even acknowledge me, with a glance, till today. I could feel the smoldering presence digging into my skin. Probably cause I dressed up for once today. As I was about to get on the bus that had pulled in, I saw a flash of black fluffy hair.

Before I could get on the bus, a strong sturdy vascular hand encircled my wrist, stopping me from getting on. Looking up at this man's face, I realized who it was. Doe eyes pierced into my face with a cutting glare, a sneer on his face, chewed up lips contorting in anger and ......something that felt like envy, "Who the hell did you go on a date with Berry? You better not be giving my chocolates away to anyone else".

[sageistri]

the rapline take you just made whewwww..very bold if you ask me to be saying all of that while stanning ggs that bring nothing to the table and other artists that ALL have writers on credits but are also praised for being good producers and writers nonetheless because thats normal and even if all these cases including bts you would never know the exact percentage of involvment and for all you know the tracks that namjoon talks about are ideas and part that he came up with for the biggest part...but somehow other ppl on a song credits its something you use as a drag against rapline? also you're clearly missing out on actually ready many bts songs lyrics from rapline and their verses that they wrote themselves cause wooow the way you're talking...

I dragged them for having other people on their song credits? Wouldn't that be a stupid thing to do considering Jimin had credits from other people on his album?

Or did you just ignore the whole context of everything I said and decided to get mad at the credits thing only?. But I do understand why you would get mad because that is the only thing they have over vocal line, and most other idols really because if you take away those song credits most girls in Kpop actually bring more to the table than those three (y'know...since you wanted to go there).

I find your ask funny though because, first I actually do think Yoongi and Namjoon are the best rappers in Kpop and I have defended and praised their contribution to BTS multiple times (if you're new here or maybe you aren't even supposed to be here just say that because if you kept up with my posts on sagemariner you would know that.) Secondly you ignored the part where I called them one trick ponies and you're mad about the credits portion?, everything I said was said in relation to armys and their shadiness towards vocal line, not that I think it's shameful to have others on the credits.

Also I get the feeling you're a pjm who has some love for rapline and that's why you're mad because I notice that some of y'all do this thing where you like following accounts and eat up the drags against members like Tae and jk but go ballistic whenever they do the same to rapline especially Namjoon and Hobi. I care about Jimin, whatever bias you feel towards some of them has nothing to do with me and it's wild that i have to say this when I myself have also defended other members of BTS from pjms, but the thing is I defend them by giving my opinion about why I don't agree with their takes about the members, because that's what we do here, not whatever you just did talking about some "whewww... That's a bold take" and trying to bring in the girlgroups I "Stan" (Stan is used loosely by the way because I've said several times that BTS is the only Kpop group I actively Stan) when they have nothing to do with this. Every BTS member gets whacked here, your bias list has nothing to do with me.

[heejinkwan]

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ⠀⠀⠀ YOU’RE  WATCHING  :  WHAT HAPPENED TO ASTELLA? /  A BRIEF HISTORY OF BUBBLE ENTERTAINMENT !

ib.  :  @anqelblccm & midnight  theories  on  yt  ! 

final  word  count  :  0.495k

warning(s)  :  talks of bullying and harassment, but that’s really it tbh

`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ INTRO !

❝  if you don’t know who promise is, you might be living under a rock. you could say they’re the queens of nugudom, having rocketed themselves into fame while only being a four year old group. but as of a few months ago, both the group and their company are under fire for what seems that their main vocalist ASTELLA had suddenly been kicked out of the group for unknown reasons, which have now come into light of what actually happened. ❞

`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ ⠀⠀⠀ WHO IS PROMISE AND ASTELLA  ?!

❝  for  those  kpop  fans  that  haven’t  heard  about  the  PROMISE or ASTELLA,  the  group debuted back in 2017, as a five-membered girl bgroup with the members astella, jihyun, kyungmi, jade, and lily. they debuted under an unknown company called BUBBLE ENTERTAINMENT, who we will be getting to later. they debuted with a classic among kpop stans who like small groups, tell me,  but didn’t get traction until the release of peek-a-boo, which got them a lot of fame with international fans, basically they were on top of the world, looking at their success from a point of view that a group from a small company were getting their flowers and the fame they deserved, so it came to everyone’s surprise, when during the last leg of chill kill promotions, their company put out a statement saying that heejin ( astella ) would be on hiatus due to ‘ mental health ‘ which we find out later on that the reason was not only because of mental health. ❞

`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ ⠀⠀⠀ THE LAWSUIT  ! 

❝ last year, during october, astella finally broke her silence with a post on instagram, it was a picture of all five of the girls, stating “hello to my darling 신자 ( faithfuls , promise’s fandom name ) i know that my departure from the group was abrupt, but it was the best thing that i could do for me. i love the girls and you all dearly, and i will never forget them or you all. I want nothing more than to see promise continue to succeed and i am rooting for my girls :). i have endured bullying and harassment, not from my members, but from the staff, and when i tried bringing it up to the higher ups my pleas and calls for help were ignored. i talked about it to my family, and they told me the best thing that i could do was to leave the group and the company as a whole. i hope you continue to support me if i do decide to redebut. please do not send any hurtful messages to my members, they are very kind and have treated me amazing since our debut. but yeah, heejin <3.” after she posted that, articles were made left and right asking the company to come forward and speak about the speculated bullying that astella claimed to be happening. ❞

❝ next, in December, astella officially filed a lawsuit against bubble entertainment and her ex- manager, who’s name is not mentioned in the lawsuit. astella claimed that her ex-manager was the root of all the bullying, she said “our manager would purposefully exclude and ignore me from anything that had to do with the group, she would say rude and hurtful things to me and when confronted, she would gaslight me, making me feel like i was in the wrong, but not to the other members. I don’t know what i did to be treated this way, but I know that i only treated her with kindness and respect, seeing that she’s my senior and i was always taught to respect my seniors”. she also said that when her group leader, kyungmi, also brought up the mistreatment astella was facing to the higher ups, they did nothing, and instead continued to allow her to act this way with astella, and this is the kicker, apparently the manager did end up getting fired, but that was only after astella l eft. ❞

`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ ⠀⠀⠀ ABOUT BUBBLE ENTERTAINMENT   ! 

❝ bubble entertainment kickstarted their company in 2014, fairly new to the company and only ever had trainees. the only group they’ve debuted is Promise, who later changed their name to Paradise in 2022, after member Astella left the group, and 2021 was the last year we saw Astella promote with promise. it was said that before debuting Promise, there was a whole different lineup, that only had Astella and Kyungmi in it, seeing as their positions in the group were main and lead singers. ❞

❝ also, side note, it has been rumored that all the members of Paradise will be terminating their contracts with Bubble, saying that they have come to a negotiation with the girls, letting them keep their group name, but will no longer be in the company. ❞

❝ now that the video is over, i wish nothing but prosperity and happiness for both Astella and Paradise, now that Astella is now in Starship, and Paradise are rumored to be leaving Bubble Entertainment, they can finally be somewhere where they are respected. ❞

[nayeonline]

My Top 15 K-Pop Songs of 2023

I genuinely don't know how, but somehow we have made it to December 10 2023, exactly 1 year after my top songs of 2022 post which I've decided to make a permanent thing on this blog. This year I was a lot more organized with formulating this list - I created a spotify playlist in January, and any kpop songs I cared about this year I added to it in chronological order. This list includes songs released between 2022/12/10 and 2023/12/10, and is entirely based on my personal opinion - feel free to let me know ur top songs of the year in the comments and rbs <33

(15) BYOB (bring your own best friend) (English Ver.) - Billlie

I just know some eyebrows are being raised but HEAR ME OUT, this song just speaks to me. It’s not a club banger, it's not an anthemic stadium hit, but it is something for the girlies, and I love it.

(14) Girls' Capitalism - TripleS LOVElution

What a hilarious concept for a song, TripleS is too good. Is this song literally just ‘Generation’ the sequel? Yes! I don’t care!! It’s really good!!!

(13) Standing Next To You - Jungkook (BTS)

Now I’m not an army, and none of Jungkook’s previous singles really spoke to me, they were catchy of course but not for me. This song, on the other hand, is artistry. His passion for what he does is so obvious in this song, I am severely impressed.

(12) Spicy - aespa

Aespa just KNOWS how to do a concept. So many other groups would feel stagnant with the futuristic concept, but aespa keep reinventing themselves perfectly while retaining a sound that is so distinctly them. Spicy is peak girl pop; Ningning you outdid yourself on this one.

(11) Drama - aespa

Can aespa release a bad title track??? Drama would probably be higher if it came out earlier, but based on the month I’ve been listening to it, this is an absolute punch up for aespa. Our stint in the real world was fun and all, but we’re in kwangya again and it feels fucking good. Aespa, keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll keep streaming.

(10) Fast Forward - JEON SOMI

People didn’t like this song this year, but I fucking loved it and this is my list. As a UK resident and 80s music enjoyer, this spoke to me on a molecular level. I know it's trashy, I know it's been done before, I don't care. Fast Forward is amazing.

(9)  In Bloom - ZEROBASEONE

Category is: Boy Group Kpop (but it's actually good). Pure excellence, this is how to sample a classic song, this is how to debut, this is how to break the mold of boy groups and do it with actually good music (cough cough boynextdoor cough cough). Imagine if they kept this energy for their first comeback. Imagine lol

(8) Cherry Talk - TripleS +(KR)ystal Eyes

People (including tripleS stans) loooveee to shit on this song but it’s literally their best song since Generation, and I will stand by that. This is extremely LOONA coded, if you don’t like it, that must suck for you. BOOM CHERRY TALK CHERRY CHERRY TALK.

(7) Cool With You - NewJeans

They’re literally too good. I have no words.

(6) ETA - NewJeans

NewJeans said this year that being consistent hitmakers is easy actually, this song is fucking excellent. Controversially, I love the production, it's so funky and subversive. I got this song from day dot, if you get it you get it, if you don’t you don’t, and if you don’t I feel sorry for you xx

(5) Attitude - fromis_9

This is fromis_9’s second time showing up very high on my yearly roundups, I’m thinking I need to pay more attention to them. This song is the shit I live for in kpop, its SO HIGH QUALITY. Not a second wasted in this song, just pure goodness throughout. Fromis’s ability to be so extremely on trend never ceases to amaze me. This song is really fucking good, and the whole album is too good as well. Fromis_9, you have my attention. (that actually wasn’t on purpose lol)

(4) Air Force One - ODD EYE CIRCLE

Utter euphoria. That’s what this song feels like. LOONA had a rough 2022, and orbits were feeling it. We were boycotting and fighting for the girls to be free of that fucking company, and when we won, we were happy of course, but mostly exhausted. Then Odd Eye Circle dropped ‘Air Force One’. This song feels like a second wind, it builds up and up from the first second, tension rising, exhaustion fading and then ‘ready set and GO’ and its ANTHEMIC. You can exhale now, the work is done, LOONA is fucking back.

(3) OMG - NewJeans

Oh look, more NewJeans. The audacity to release one of the best songs of the year on January 2nd is crazy. ‘OMG’ is so effortlessly catchy, it’s ridiculous. It’s full to the brim of hooks and creative melodies, this is pop music at its best. It’s serotonin in a song, and the ability and self assurance of the members in their skills is palpable, and oozes from the seams of the track. In a somewhat forgettable year of Kpop, NewJeans were constantly reinventing and redefining what a hit is, and OMG is the physical form of that. Congratulations NewJeans, nobody is doing it like you.

(2) Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo) - KISS OF LIFE

I am being deadly serious when I say this song altered something in my brain. I struggle to comprehend how much I love this song, and I’m struggling even more to express that in words. I found Kiss of Love’s other debut songs to be quite fun, but this song eclipses anything they have ever and will ever release. Natty is such a powerhouse, I am in awe of her skill. If you haven’t heard this song, which is upsettingly likely as while this song had a moment on TikTok earlier this year, it was still a quite niche trend that didn’t last long, PLEASE go and listen, this was the best song released in 2023. But, this list doesn’t just include 2023. It also includes that tiny window after December 10 when literally no one releases music. No one except…

(1) Ditto - NewJeans

Ditto is one of those songs where you listen to it for the first time and you’re left a little bit speechless at the end. I don’t think I’m ever going to forget this song, or how it makes me feel. Ditto has changed the kpop industry forever, and it will go down in history as a defining moment of the genre. It’s melancholic and nostalgic and heartfelt, it's laughing through your tears, it’s hugging your best friend before you go your separate paths in life. I still get a little tug on my heart whenever Hyein’s beautiful intro vocals come in, and I think I always will. NewJeans, you’ve released a lot of amazing music this year, but thank you especially for this one, I’ll love it forever.

[gojoest]

I'm still so tired, jet lag is a real thing 😭

Went to japan last week, this was actually my 2nd time. The first time was when I was still in uni, about 19/20 years old? Which was a while ago 😅

If anyone is planning to go japan, do NOT go during september or the summer if you cant handle humid heat. It got as high as 36°C and it was unbearable! The sun is so hot and air was so thick 😭 Nearly died, I've never used my asthma pump so much before lol

Anyways, enough about that! I was lucky enough to visit 3 cities! Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto ✨

In Tokyo, visited the Meiji Shrine, went up Tokyo Tower, went to a jjk0 themed cafe, tbh this was kind of a let down. It was just a cafe with like the official cafe photos plastered on the walls and themed food. I was expecting it to be more like those kpop group cafes with standees and like a table of official merch to take photos with. I did buy a satoru acrylic stand and a keychain gacha. When I opened the gacha pack, it was CHIBI SATORU 😭💙💙💙💙 I was so happy! Made the whole trip worth it ✨ Also went Shibuya Crossing! Last time I went, it was already busy back then but omg, this time, its waaaaaaay more busier! Like the streets were full, there were no gaps in between people. You just had to keep moving to your destination (No wonder kenjaku chose this place 😭)

In Osaka, went Dotonbori, Denden town, and Sumiyoshi Shrine. Idk if you know about this very popular store called Don Quiote, but Bruno Mars is promoting it, and he has an ad/song that plays on tvs throughout the store. It was so random to see him but then again, he does have that Las Vegas debt to pay off 🤭🤭

Kyoto 💖 This place has my heart 🥰 Its so beautiful and relaxing. So easy to travel, everyone there is so lovely, the food is delicious, the landmarks are breath-taking. If I ever go back, I would stay there longer. I visited the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, Tenryuuji Temple and Kiyomizu-dera - which the tokyo jujutsu tech college is (supposedly) based on!

I had such a great time! Spent so much on food and souvenirs, I am now broke, but worth it 🤣

I hope you've been doing well Ai, I saw some posts about someone/some people bothering you. Don't let them get to you, you're such a lovely person, I can't even imagine why they would send hate to you. Always put yourself first, and if that means taking breaks from tumblr or turning off anon, then do what you need to. Be selfish, and take care of yourself before anyone else.

If you ever decide to permanently turn off anon, I will literally make an account for satorus soft cock anon to keep interacting with you 🤣

Love you loads girl 😘💙💙💙💙

- satorus soft cock anon

i hope you were able to rest beloved, i can only imagine the toll it’s taken on your body :( but on the bright side, you’ve made so many precious memories!!!

i will note this down! i love summer and i usually don’t have issues dealing with heat but humid heat is an entirely different story 😭 glad you’re safe and sound though, please take care of yourself 🥺🤍

i want to visit japan so bad, the two cities i’d die to see are tokyo and kyoto and reading about your experience there makes me all the more excited >~< (side note, you’re a lucky one for getting chibi satoru waaaaaaah, it must be fate actually and not luck, i swear!! he was meant to be in your possession heheh)

i am sitting here, reading and vigorously taking notes of what to see and where to go AHAHAH i am so happy for you, glad you had such a lovely time there and thank you for dropping by to share your experience and impressions 🤍

i have been well! i appreciate your kind words so much, you and other lovely ppl like you make being here worth it all the more! love you and sending the biggest ever hug your way 🤍

[snowddeong]

Already had an idk how long hour rant session with Sarah about this shit but I'm still so annoyed so part 2 lmao

It's so profoundly frustrating and discouraging how itzy continues to be mistreated in every fucking facet you can imagine for the sin of literally being successful, talented women.

They're literally div 2's bottom line but the company acts like they're doing the girls a favour by even posting about their cbs on the accs that were literally made to promote itzy. We are just now getting some semblance of tiktok freedom 5 years into their career meanwhile idols that debuted after them have their own instagrams and their juniors in the same company have more freedom on all sorts of socials. We've confirmed that div 2 flubs so many of their opportunities for who knows what fucking reason after what happened with the CK Yeji event. And most importantly everything to do with Jisu — never fucking protecting her in any way, overwork, stifling her and the other girls' creativity, not utilising her voice well and every other fucking stupid thing they've done that's definitely made what she's going through so much worse. The girls are a cash grab to that fucking company (to the point we literally first learned about the cb and tour in the same post that was announcing Jisu's diagnosis) and they're not even allowed to express any frustration or sadness over that because "that's not professional" and they'd probably lose everything they've worked so hard for.

If they look sad you're not supposed to acknowledge to it or sympathise with it or treat them as human beings because it's "funny" to joke about how they want to get off work and anyway they're idols who gives af about idols anyway right? So called midzys are more concerned about making unfunny jokes than actually getting to know these girls. Every mf will say "ot5" then turn around and straight up hating certain members. Dehumanisation has become so fucking normalised in midzyville but then mfs will act surprised that the company gets away with this very obvious exploitation and mistreatment. If you view these human beings as a product that you can say whatever tf you want about on sites that you know they frequent because "it's just a joke lol" ofc the mfs presenting them as a product are going to benefit from it 😭

Then you have fuckass bitchass shitstain mnet and their hate boner for itzy. The largest number of most viewed videos on choom, the first choom performance to get more than 50 million views that's still consistently gaining more and more views, the first mix and max vid to get 50 million that's also still gaining views and gagged the kpop space so hard that Bebe Rexah released a korean specific version of break my heart myself and performed at fucking kcon because of Ryujin and Yeji, and their MAMA 2021 being the most iconic performance of that night (to the point that mnet decided to call back to it again last year mind you). You'd think wow hey these guys get us views let's be nice to them and keep them around.... but nah, deleted their iconic fucking performance that gave their boring award show relevance, deleted their debut stage, don't invite them to choom anymore, didn't even send ryeji their trophy or record something for Yeji when she got hers and then the bullshit that went on today lmao. Like it's so fucking obvious and you have to wonder WHY ffs

I have nothing against the group that won even though some of their stans are the most disgusting scum of the earth but like surely.... the numbers did not make sense. Even if you say itzy's digital points were too high okay fine that's just affirming that mnet isn't very honest with their numbers. They deleted itzy's untouchable stage for who knows what fucking reason then uploaded it later with reset views. How tf am I supposed to believe all this was above board when we've been beating that fandom in voting CONSISTENTLY even if they mobilised fandoms to help okay fine but did they enlist the whole of stantwt or something lmao how tf was the difference that great? Why were the sns scores so fucking weird when itzy untouchable shorts have consistently more views? Why is it "cope" or being a sore loser to call foul play when there's so much pointing to it being that AND mnet has a history of rigging??? The only real answer is it's because this happened to a girl group and specifically because this happened to itzy. They released one song people didn't like and suddenly deserve every terrible that happens to them is deserved and just "midzys complaining about nothing". And when it gets to a point where even the girls seem visibly frustrated and dissapointed? "Nah they just want to go home early lol don't read too much into it don't care"

This is so long and I feel like I could go on forever but tldr I just wish better for them man 🫠 every group is unique and important in their own way but itzy are really once in a lifetime performers. I know there's no such thing as a perfect world where everything goes smoothly especially for girl groups but fuck is it too much to ask for a little respect on their names and for everyone to leave them tf alone at the bare minumum 😭 itzy is the only group under div 2 just fucking do your jobs lmaooo

[orchidbloom]

So something that has always made me upset, is the lack of use of all the potential Blackpink has/had.

Yes, they reached global popstar status, their songs are known and are relatively hits. But damn, did it feel like these talented girls were only given the same formula over and over and over again.

And I'm saying this as a fan of their work and I'm currently back into listening to Blackpink. Something that comes and goes as time passes and everytime my interest comes back, I'm reminded of how much potential was missed.

I firmly believe that if the girls were allowed to have more creative freedom and just general freedom in their careers back then, they would have become even greater than they already were. The influence they hold is insane to me. Remember how mang people actually watched that one show because Jennie was in it, and all her clips combined was what, 10 minutes? I'm not gonna lie, those 10 minutes of Jennie were fantastic. (I did not watch the show, I watched the Jennie clips on youtube and saved myself some time)

It frustrates me so much, because I really do support them and I love seeing them each doing their own thing, but I feel like their company could definitely have done more with them. I still remember when it would take ages for them to comeback with another single or mini album and how literally years into their career as an idol group to finally release an album. I'm not even going to mention how long it took for each member to get a single.

There are many youtubers who can give a whole video essay about this and probably much better worded. I recommend mera (a youtube channel) who make well-worded kpop essays. Their videos were what made me realize what bothered me about Blackpink, way back.

I just want to clarify once more that I really do love Blackpink and their work. I will always support them and look forward to whatever they bring to the world. But I still feel robbed of what we could've had with their amazing talent.

[sonsband]

As Catiny’s main vocalist - who do you think has the spiciest vocals in kpop right meow?

How spicey do you mean?

(also if you like discussions of music I sometimes do those on my side blog changdyke and would love to talk about vocalists or music with people! okay shameless plug done)

Well, the spiciest vocals come from Changmin, who is a level 2 spicey boy at MOST. I mean, the 240105 Music Bank high note for "Down"? I don't know how half the boy groups didn't immediately vaporize as soon as he did That. I know it was probably just that he didn't hit the note at first, but he made it sound so good with that dissonance resolving into whistle register? (I would say something about Nissan Stadium Forever Love but until that's back up on YouTube I refuse to contemplate it so I don't burst into tears) But I'm a hater and don't like him so don't put him on the list.

EXID's Solji might not be active right meow, but she just did that musical so she counts!

Of course BTOB, Eunkwang and Minhyuk especially, I mean, "Boom" era was everything to me.

All of A.C.E, obviously, the world is a little brighter for their comeback. I can't wait for Donghun to absolutely devastate me again, but friendly reminder for your daily required viewing of their It's Live performance of "Goblin".

WayV's Xiaojun, I know Mujin Service is pitch corrected but the sheer emotion in "Ashes" is too much. He doesn't need to do as much as he does at all times, but thank god for it.

Does Forestella count as kpop? Because they've got the spice and the spicey vocals. All of them, but Woorim's wife was right to lock him down after that performance of "Bad Romance".

I might be ride or die for Seonghwa Main Vocal When, but back in like February 2021 I said San from Ateez strained a lot and he said "why would you say such a thing? btw hi lesbians" and just immediately went fuckin insane. I'm bummed it happened after they stopped actively promoting it but I will never shut up about how when he gets a mic for "Turbulence" he saves the whole song with that modulation to keep it from being a diminished fifth. I know he's a great dancer but he's vocal line for a reason. Watch "Breathe" btw.

SPEAKING OF "BREATHE"!!!! [edit: I got too excited to jump into IU that I forgot to finish this, sorry, I know it's a Lee Hi song] Lee Hi is that good good alto and the fact she had that voice at debut? We Love Altos.

IU!!!!! GIRL!!!!!!! No list of spiciest vocals would be complete without IU. "Love Poem" should be a UNESCO World Heritage piece of culture. I love her and I can't believe you're keeping her hostage and away from us, Addy.

Fun fact: DK is actually short for "DyKe rights" (editor's note: this is not true) and my sister will let me blast "Hot" in her car specifically so we can vocalize along with his chest voice there. He's got such a good ear.

The Boyz genuinely has some power vocals. Why do you think his name is SANGyeon? That video of him singing in a parking lot plays behind my eyes while I try to fall asleep.

Shownu simply does not get the credit he deserves as a vocalist. His voice is more subtle, so maybe not particularly spicey, but he's my husband and I will not let him go unappreciated on this list. What's the opposite of spicey? That's how I feel about I.M, except he's actually got interesting vocals, he's technically weaker but I think that makes him more interesting vocally. Plus he's the King of Vocal Fry (complimentary).

Another vocal fry master -- Taehyun from TXT. I feel so much about that kid. Most of it good.

For the hags, all of 2pm! (I'm not taking antipsychotics right now so I'm allowed to be delusional and they're active in my heart.) "Make It" was THE song of 2021, no notes at all. And "ADTOY" had no right to be that good. Also we love grown men being grown up spicey.

Woodz, don't talk to me about enlistment if I don't acknowledge it then it isn't happening. The live versions of "Chaser" and "Trigger" and "Accident" and and and and? I think his harmonizing gets overshadowed sometimes by his vocal power, especially since he has to harmonize with his backing track rather than another singer, but bro... bro... Also he was the closest to a Changmin "Mirotic" note, I will ignore any arguments to the contrary.

Red Velvet's Seulgi has really good vocals when she's given the chance to flex them, I really wish we could hear more from her. Underappreciated, tbh.

Highlight's Dongwoon, do we need to talk about that performance of "Fiction" again? Because I will talk about that performance of "Fiction" again. And I choose to believe his scene in "Good Luck" is part of the most watched section because of that little C# Major moment. Yeah his only other band mate Yeoseob is good but I gotta give the crown to Dongwoon. Also his outfits from last May's concerts were so spicey.

I'm so excited for Chungha's comeback. I know she's not really appreciated for her vocals since she's definitely a pop vocalist, but "Play"! I'm not even mad when she uses playback on music shows, she's in chest voice enough.

I can't believe I'm about to put a manlet on this list but Hui's got the spice. He's got the vocals. He deserves. That's all.

And how about Doyeon from Weki Meki. Siyeon from Dreamcatcher (omg that "Overdose" cover). Ailee, obviously. BB Girls Yujeong. Sistar just as a whole but especially Hyolyn, "Layin Low" changed me as a person and I swear it wasn't just the Nicole Kirkland choreo.

Okay I've just powered through so many Vocalists that my brain's been turned to mush. Tell me what else you think!

[petrichoraline]

EIGHT SHOWS TO GET TO KNOW ME

tagged by @littleragondin mwah🥰 these are not all my most fave but they all represent a bit of me so i find them suitable

W.I.T.C.H - now i'm not gonna pretend to be the biggest fan but this used to be THE show for me before WINX came along and i'll always pride myself on being a witch girlie first and winx girlie second (the "not like other girls" syndrome began very early on for me); their powers, the visuals, the adventures combined with the daily struggles of teen girls, the boyfriends, the intro song omg, there is sm about this show, the countless books, the og comic.. good stuff <3

also those two >>>

Lovely Complex - my first anime iirc, i wish people would pay attention to it (but also i'm the only one who's allowed to get it, y'know); only a young romantic towering over her classmates could have the chance of understanding my feelings for it

also read the manga <3 but uh you can skip the live action lol

Hana Yori Dango - broooo- bro. this show was made for my basic romantic ass, it was my first asian drama (or one of the first), it introduced me to Matsumoto Jun, had me hooked for two seasons (though im pretty sure i binged the second season and movie in 24 hours, long after i had watched the first season..? idk what that was about)

i am of the opinion f4 thailand did best in many ways but this will forever be THE adaptation in my heart. the songs were unmatched, the drama breathtaking (there are so many cliches that i didn't know were cliches back then lol) and the experience surreal. i'll always treasure this questionable classic 💖

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - i enjoy this an unreasonable amount - my country's edition, that is; i just like having it in the bg and being a smartass, sometimes i run my mouth off so confidently and proceed to apologise to the tv when the contestant turns out to have been right lol

Weekly Idol - hear me out on this - aside from all of its issues, the show has always been my way of finding more about groups. especially back in 2015, those low quality episodes on yt helped me so much with getting into kpop; it can be very hit-or-miss but i have so many faves; many artists have been on multiple episodes throughout the years and yet show something entertaining every time. you can find new groups to stan through the mixed episodes and learn more about the members of groups you're already interested in (though for that i also rec individual shows like gose, wanteez, monsta x-ray etc.). i'm especially excited for eunkwang and minjoo as the new hosts, they are so funny on their own and i want to see their dynamic so bad

Pride & Prejudice - i've watched this just once but i can't not appreciate the accuracy to the book (except for the iconic lake scene lmao) and it covers british tv, 90s shows, austen books and period dramas all at once - all things i enjoy

Bridgerton - i had a whole piece written bout this but simply put - season 2 and kathony were a Thing for me. got me researching and binging a bunch of jonathan shows, reading most of the book and a bunch of tumblr posts..even looking through gifs now im going feral, i love them

New Girl - i usually play shows like this in the bg but i found myself paying a lot of attention and actually losing it laughing so many times, also nick and schmidt are the most precious intense bromance i've witnessed in fiction

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

Hello! I just finished reading your analysis on the recent le sserafim documentary, and I just wanted to say how well written it was! It captured every thought I had about the situation while also expanding upon certain things I'd initially glazed over. You worded it so constructively as well, and I was in awe at how invested I'd gotten in it.

I agree with all of your statements, especially when you reiterated the point that this was very much so a polished publicity stunt on Source Music's part. Everything felt so orchestrated and honestly uncomfortable with the way they flaunted around the girls' personal lives and what not. As you said, a serious documentary like this for a 2-year group is alarming and strange. I understand that many people like this inside view of the struggles the group experiences, but when you realize it's all just a means of addressing the hate le sserafim has received, redirecting the attention from the company and the girls to the haters and fans alike, it's rather disturbing how le sserafim aren't taken into consideration in the slightest.

I also wholly agree with your final statement about idols performing nowadays. I see it so often with 4th gen and 5th gen idols, but I never knew how to really word it until you said it. Everything feels so fabricated and rehearsed, like they receive a prompt and perform it based on prior knowledge of how an idol would usually perform it. It feels like the passion and actual spirit involved in performances and music as a whole has been drained. It's sad and boring, both hearing a song depleted of any genuine drive as well as watching performances that blend together in one big tapestry of modern day kpop. It's startling seeing the contrast between the older generations that would do their choreography and sing while also still finding that connection with the audience and the song, versus newer kpop performances that go on stage on autopilot without any real passion.

Anyways, to wrap up a long winded message, I really enjoyed your statement and I really appreciate the time and effort you took to write it out! There's a lot of discourse circulating, most people either immediately defending the girls and the company or immediately hating both parties. Seeing a reasonable and constructive analysis that serves as that much needed gray area is so refreshing.

Thank you so much for reading all of it and for your praise!! It made me really happy! "You worded it so constructively as well, and I was in awe at how invested I'd gotten in it." This, in particular, made me very happy! Thank you for getting sucked into my commentary haha!

I agree a lot with what you said about Source Music redirecting the hate and attention the girls are getting towards the fans and media. I feel like they wanted kpop fans to be held accountable to what they did to the girls. Of course, we have to take responsibility, but so does Source Music. It's pretty childish for the company to point fingers at us. It reminded me of James Corden redirecting the hate he received for his comments about Army towards Army for (wrongly) sending him death threats. Getting hate is sadly unavoidable in this industry. It's easier for the company to change than society :/

I feel like kpop companies, including BTS's own company, looked at BTS's success and interpreted it all wrong. BP and SKZ being so famous is proof that people care less about flawless performances and more about personality, authenticity, and vulnerability, which BTS have in spades. BP aren't perfect performers at all and they're super famous. SKZ aren't dance monsters and they eat up every other non-BTS bg. Like SKZ, Ateez are loved for being self-produced and enjoying the stage. Twice are pretty different from these groups, but their songs are easy listening, fun, and they all have very different charms. They're sweet and personable, and people like them. Idols are striving to be perfect, but people want quality and authenticity, vulnerability, inconsistency. It makes groups a lot more exciting.

Thank you so so much for the ask!!! You worded it beautifully!

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 3, The Girls Practice for the Challenge Mission

My dear friends who anxiously await my Produce 48 Recap Things! I forgot to post this -- sorry! This is the post that is supposed to go after this post but before this post. Sigh. I'll fix it sooner or later. So yeah, this post describes most of the second half of episode 3, where the girls begin practicing for their challenge mission.

So, this is the part of the episode where we see each group as it begins to assign parts and stuff like that.

Because MNET is *the worst* the girls clearly don’t have any translators working with them, so they can barely talk to each other if they don’t have a bilingual girl on their team. Great. Thanks, MNET Producers. Thmrucers.

PEEKABOO TEAMS 

The song:

Peekaboo came out in November of 2017, so it was the most recently released song among the eight at the time of filming. It peeked at #2 in the Kpop Hot 100 and was a critical darling. It’s also, in my opinion, just a great fucking song. I still remember being at Cafe Bene in K-town having some coffee when I first heard this song. I had to shazam it to find out what it was, and was surprised that it was Red Velvet. I had heard of Red Velvet, but as a fan of f(x), I had felt weird about getting into them. Seems dumb now! Anyway, this song was too good to deny and after that I was full on Reve-luv. The song is little bit trop house, a little bit pop, and 100% melodic, and the lyrics -- which compare love to a game played by children -- are fun and intriguing. The concept, too, was a lot of fun -- kind of mysterious, almost horror, but playful at the same time. Not totally sexy, but a little sexy; not totally cute, but a little cute; not girl crush, but the kind of girls you get a crush on. And catchy as all get out. It’s a great song to choose in the sense that it’s a great song, but it would be tricky to perform well, because the concept is so nebulous and mature. I mean, who else but Irene can make the word “Peekaboo” sound so elegant and cryptic? 

Team 2:

At 57:07, we have a super quick visit with Peekaboo 2.

Left to right: Yujeong, Yeji, Yubin, Yuuka, Miu, and Dahye

Hong Yeji, 16, one of the CNC girls, the one who fell down in her video evaluation and then fell from B to F, is ranked 76thth.

Kato Yuuka, 20, who auditioned with Funny People and rose from C to B, is ranked 73rd.

Kim Da Hye, who auditioned with I Don't Like Your Girlfriend and fell from A to C, is ranked 89th.

Kim Yu Bin, 16, one of the CNC girls, fell from B to D and is currently ranked a very low 93rd. OUCH.

Lee Yu Jeong, 14, future Lightsum member and C-class mainstay, is ranked 48th.

Shitao Miu, 17, who wore the hat on her waistband in her Mister audition, stayed in D and is ranked 45

Kim Yubin was the chooser, so it makes sense she would have chosen Yeji, her labelmate. Yubin has somehow been made both leader and center, and the team seems focused on what their team name should be. You guys, I never remember the names that they come up with for these teams. I don’t remember the names of most performance teams I’ve actually been on! I’m not sure they matter. They begin to rehearse, and we find out that Kim Da Hye is actually half Korean and half Japanese and speaks both languages fluently. What a VIP! The whole team is grateful to her. 

It’s weird, but this is all we see of this team! Slightly less than a minute. I’m sure the fact that this group has the lowest average ranking of all 16 groups (70.6, when the other groups range from 16.8 to 63.6) has no connection to their lack of screen time, right? It’s just a coincidence. 

Left to right: Jurina, Gyuri, AleXa, Gaeun, Yiren, Eunyeong

Peekaboo 1 (58:00):

Then we hop over to  Peekaboo 1. Jurina was the captain/chooser for the group, and they got their choice of song. The group was formed fifth, which means that Jurina had a decent talent pool to choose from. 

The members:

Bae Eunyeong, the mint Chewing Gum girl, who landed in B and was most recently ranked 30th

Jang Gyuri, the pink Chewing Gum girl and Fromis9 member, who landed in F and was most recently ranked 14th

Lee Gaeun, our Pledis queen, who was always an A+ girl and was most recently ranked 1st place

Matsui Jurina, queen Jurina, who stayed in B and was most recently ranked 12th

Wang Yiren, future Everglow visual, who landed in C and was most recently ranked 7th 

AleXa, who landed in C and was most recently ranked 86th place (ouch!)

Fun side note: Peekaboo was written by Swedish DJ/songwriter Cazzi Opeia, who later on wrote a bunch of songs for AleXa, including Back in Vogue! 

The group dynamic:

This group has a bit more language challenge than some, because AleXa is American, Yiren is Chinese, Jurina is Japanese, and the other three are Korean. Yiren speaks some Korean, and a few girls speak Japanese, but there are certainly layers of difficulty. 

It’s kind of interesting that Jurina chose AleXa -- they probably met when they were both in group B -- and also kind of interesting that she didn’t choose any Japanese trainees. I’m not sure what to make of that. Jurina also would have met Jang Gyuri and Wang Yiren in B group, so maybe she just mostly picked friends. Well, some Very Pretty friends! 

Eunyeong and Gyuri are labelmates and went through Idol School together before they came on this show. But there is definitely some tension between them, which might have something to do with the fact that Gyuri won Idol School and still came on this show.

The storyline:

First, Eunyeong volunteers to be leader since she already knows the choreo to Peekaboo. It doesn’t hurt that she also speaks Japanese. Then they start talking about who should be center -- The Inevitable Center Discussion, henceforth known as the ICD --  and Gaeun says that although all of the girls are suitable, she thinks that the center should be either Yiren or Gyuri. To me that seems like a good idea, as they are both “the prettiest ones” (per Korean standards). After a quick conversation, the group is starting to settle on the very highly ranked and popular Gyuri, but Eunyeoung interrupts and says that they should have both Yiren and Gyuri “audition” to be center. 

LTR: Jurina, Gyuri, AleXa, Gaeun, Yiren, Eunyeoung

They both do well, but Gyuri giggles a little at the end and I think that loses it. After seeing each of them try the ending pose, the team votes for Yiren. Yiren is overjoyed, and Gyuri does her best to accept it, but man, that had to hurt, having a labelmate do that. You really have to wonder what is going on between Gyuri and Eunyoung. Was there actual animosity, or were they such good friends that Eunyoung went overboard in being “fair”? 

Look, if I ran things, I’d have put Gauen in the center, because I think she might be the only one on the team who can do the Irene-esque mysterious gravitas. But failing that, I'd choose Gyuri, because (a) the popularity issue and (b) Yiren doesn’t sparkle in more girl-crush concepts. I know that’s what she does now in Everglow, and um, yeah. I said what I said. 

Lingering question: Did the team make the right choice putting Yiren in the center instead of Gyuri? Will getting 4x the screen time give these girls an advantage in the at-home vote, rendering the issue of the performance win kind of moot either way?

LIKE OOH AHH

The song:

Ok, I can’t help but love this song. It’s among my favorite Twice songs, actually. The lyrics should bother me -- bragging about how pretty they are and all that -- but am I bovvered? I also love the choreo -- it’s not particularly difficult, but it’s cute and varied, with fun little details like the air flute and the little choo-choo-train.  No surprise this song is great -- it was written and produced by Black Eyed Pilseung, a production duo that is also behind a ton of huge Kpop hits, including Twice songs "TT", "Likey", and  "Fancy"; Apink's "I'm So Sick" and "Eung Eung (%)"; Got7’s “If You Do,” ; Chung-ha’s “Roller Coaster” and “Gotta Go,”; StayC’s “ASAP” “Run 2 U” and “Beautiful Monster,” and Itzy’s “Cake,” which I really like so fight me I guess. Also “Beep Beep” by Ruann, which if you don’t know, you should check out. 

Like Ooh Ah was Twice’s debut, and it had a bit of a slow burn, entering the charts at 22 and hanging out for a while before eventually hitting 10th place. It has since, of course, grown into an enduring and well loved hit, with almost 500 million views on Youtube. 

This group will be performing the song in Japanese, but I still think that this was a smart choice for a song. The choreo is cute but not outrageously difficult. The tune isn’t too hard either. It would be completely familiar to the audience, and given Twice’s popularity, it’s hard to imagine many viewers who actually dislike it. And since the concept of the song was that the individual members were all dressed a little bit differently from one another, group coherence would be a lot less important here than it would be in other songs. 

Like Ooh Ahh 1 (1:02:00)

LTR: Moe, Soyeon, Doah, Chaewon, Riina, and Haeyoon

The next group we visit is Like Ooh Ah 1. The captain was Soyeon, and my best guess based on the evidence is that, as improbable as it sounds, this group was formed 9th or 10th. It’s a pretty stacked team, though. They got their choice of song -- in fact, from what we could see in the editing, this was their first choice. 

The members:

Goto Moe, the laryngitis girl, who moved from F to C and was most recently ranked 8th.

Hwang Soyeon, the flat tummied “little Sunmi” who stayed in A and was ranked 46th. 

Kim Chaewon, future Le Sserafim, who stayed in B class and was ranked 21st.

Kim Doah, future member of Fanatics and visitor to GP999, who moved from A to C and was ranked 25th. 

Lee Seunghyeon, aka H1-Key’s Riina, who moved from B to C and was ranked 60th.

Park Haeyoon, my new Cherry Bullet bias, who moved from A down to D and was ranked 35th. 

The group dynamic:

Soyeon was the captain and group chooser, and she chose two former A-group members, whose skills she would have been familiar with.  It’s possible that she’d been talking to her labelmate Damin, who was in group B, and would have met Chaewon and Riina and known what they were capable of. And Moe has a compelling story that would make her stand out among the Japanese trainees. So really, I think Soyeon did a great job choosing this team. 

Looks like they have chosen Haeyoon, the oldest in the group and a Japanese speaker, to be the leader. 

The storyline:

Of course, they dive immediately into the ICD. Riina and Moe are the only two who raise their hands as wanting to be in the center, and they each audition. Riina’s energy wins her the part. 

They dive into choreo, and Moe hits a bit of a wall with the classic “ooh-ah, ooh-ah” butt wiggle. Haeyoon kindly talks Moe through it. It's a cute scene -- I just don't have much to say about it.

Lingering questions: Is Riina the correct center? Will Moe be able to wiggle her butt? 

Like Ooh Ahh 2 (1:05:03)

LTR: Park Seo Young, Naiki Kokoro, Park Jinny, Cho Kahyeon, Choi Yeon Soo

Next, we visit Like Ooh Ahh 2. The captain and chooser was Naiki Kokoro, and was probably formed 10th, 11th, or 12th, something in there. 

The members: 

Park Seo Young, age 19, the blonde who sat in Chair 1, fell from C to D and was ranked 26th at this point.

Naiki Kokoro, age 20, auditioned with Funny People, rose from D to C, and was ranked 82nd.

Park Jinny, age 20,  is the other “individual trainee” who auditioned with Seoyoung. She fell from C to F and was ranked 49th.

Cho Kahyeon, age 14,  is the Starship girl who isn’t Wonyoung or Yujin. She held steady in B and was ranked 36th. 

Lee Ha Eun, age 13,  is the “mini Chung-ha” girl who held steady in A, and was ranked 58th.

Choi Yeonsoo, age 19,  is one of the YGK+ models, the one who fell from D to F, and was ranked 52nd.

The group dynamic:

There’s only one Japanese speaker here, the captain Kokoro. Looks like she picked Park Jinny first, then Cho Kahyeon, then Haeun, then Yeonsoo, and Seoyoung last. I really can’t figure out her plan. She may have gotten friendly with Yeonsoo when they were in D together, but her reasons for picking the others aren’t obvious to me. 

The storyline:

Turns out that this group thought that Seoyoung should be both leader and center, so they sidestepped the ICD. They’re trying to start to learn the choreography, but they’re in a huge room with a ton of other other people, no dedicated soundsystem, and no mirror, so it’s hard. It’s just the first few minutes of their rehearsal -- you can see that in the background, the other Like Ooh Ah team is still distributing the parts -- so it really doesn’t matter if they can’t get it on the first try. But even so, the scary background music lets us know that THEY ARE HAVING A PROBLEM. 

Model Choi Yeon Soo interviews, “Haeun was in Class A.  And nobody else in the group is in A. She was put in that group because she’s talented. So it almost felt like Haeun was the real leader…. Both of them were subconsciously competing. They gave different commands. Meanwhile, I just stood off from the side. It’s stressing me out, to be honest.” 

It’s awkward because Haeun is the youngest and the tiniest, but she’s also obviously the best. And Seoyoung seems to be losing more and more confidence by the minute. It’s not usually a great thing when someone is topping from the bottom. I get it, though. I am one of those people who can’t take it when the person who is supposed to be leading just isn’t doing it right. I try so hard to bite my tongue and hang back but… sooner or later, if the shit has to get done, then… I do it. 

Lingering question: Will they ever be able to have a smooth practice without stressing out Yeonsoo?

BOOMBAYAH

The song: I’m going to go ahead and assume you know this song, so I don’t need to tell you that it was one of Blackpink’s two debut songs and all that. It’s not my favorite Blackpink song of all time -- that’s Whistle, if you’re wondering-- but of course I like this one too. It’s hard to imagine a world where I had never heard of Blackpink at this point, but that time once existed. I remember hearing Boombayah playing in another room (I had left a playlist of new songs playing) and hearing it and wondering, who is that? Weird, right? Anyway, despite this song not really being about anything, it’s a pretty great song, with really hard choreo and a lot of fast rapping, and it’s going to be difficult for whatever team tries to do it. It’s got super low notes in the chorus (it’s hard to sing lower notes when you’re dancing), it requires a ton of swag, a lot of it is intentionally not synchronized, I mean, this is hard. 

Hell, it’s too hard for Blackpink these days. Yep, I said what I said. 

Boombayah 1 (1:06:51)

Left to right: Won Soyeon, Ko Yujin, Lee Chaejeong, Park Changju, Kim Sohee

We visit first with Boombayah team 1. Lee Chaejeong was the chooser, and the group was formed 9th or later. 

Won Seoyeon, age 18, who auditioned to Heroine by Sunmi, fell from C to F and was ranked 77th at this point. 

Ko Yujin, age 17, the “Hyuna lookalike” who auditioned with Lip and Hip and rose from C to A. She was ranked 34th.

Lee Chaejeong, age 18, future member of Alice, stayed in C and was ranked 94th at this point. Ouch!!

Park Chanju, age 19, label mate of Chaejeong’s, fell from C to D and was ranked 69th. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kim Sohee, age 14, future member of Rocket Punch, rose from C to B and was ranked 44th.

The group dynamic: Chaejeong probably picked Chanju because they’re label mates, and also, all five of them were together in C class initially, and they probably became friendly then. I think it’s smart to pick people who all get along with each other, since often the team that gets along better is the one that ends up winning. 

You may have noticed that there were only five of them, not six -- that’s due to the Japanese girls who dropped out. I scoured the footage and couldn’t find any shots in which there were six of them at any point. I can’t figure out why a team would volunteer to have only five members, but I can’t find any info to shed any light on this, so we’ll have to just sort of accept that something happened behind the scenes here. 

The storyline: 

To the strains of the Knight Rider theme song (possibly the best tv theme song of all time), we find out that Chaejeong picked the group with Boombayah in mind. Guess it’s a good thing that they got it! She thought Yujin would suit the song, that Chanju would learn it quickly, and that she needed Soyeon to sing. She added Sohee on purpose to provide cuteness. Naturally, given that she had a whole plan in mind, the team elects her leader immediately. 

Lingering question: 

Everything’s going so perfectly... Is it maybe too perfect? 

Boombayah 2 (1:08:47)

LTR: Asai Nanami, Asai Yuka ?, Kang Hyewon, Han Chowon, Sato Manami, and Chiba Erii

Then we visit with the miserable leftovers team, forced to do Boombayah as well. Weirdly enough, despite being the leftovers team, they have a higher average ranking than Boombayah 1 -- 57.3 compared to 63.6. They’re also more popular than Love Whisper 2 or Mamma Mia 2. And everyone is more popular than Peekaboo 2. So yeah, while the leftovers team might lack skills, they don't lack popularity, exactly.

The members:

Asai Nanami, age 18, aka Sailor Venus, who rose from F to D and was ranked 41st.

Asai Yuuka, age 14, who auditioned with Knock Knock, rose from F to D and was ranked 80th. 

Kang Hyewon, age 18, Miss Purity herself, consistent F class girl ranked 40th. 

Han Chowon, age 15, future Lightsum member who rose from D to B, ranked 79th. 

Chiba Erii, age 14, aka Sailor Mercury, consistent F class girl ranked 38th.

Sato Minami, age 14, aka Sailor Mars, fell from D to F and was ranked 66th.

The group dynamic:

Poor leftovers group. It’s interesting that all three members of the Blow Him a Kiss group ended up here -- all three sailor scouts. It seems clear how most of these girls ended up in the leftovers team; they were all F or D class, and most of them were on the younger side. I can only guess that Chowon was left behind primarily because she doesn’t fit Korean beauty standards, with her darker skin, stronger features, and larger body. She’s beautiful, of course, but the standards are so narrow and so specific… sigh. Lookism is such a thing in Kpop but it's still gross and I hate it. 

The storyline:

The girls are mostly pretty hopeless. This was the song that they had most wanted to avoid. Yuuka interviews, “I knew that there was no use in crying, but the tears just wouldn’t stop.”

But luckily for them, and for all posterity, they had Chowon. 

This 15 year old girl steps up to be both leader and center (and ultimately, main vocal) of this group, this group comprising one (1) perpetually bewildered Korean girl and four (4) terrified Japanese girls who she has trouble communicating with. The girls are scared to even sing for each other, and when Chowon brings up rapping, they say, “we’re even worse at rapping.” WHY ARE YOU ON THIS SHOW, THEN? Hyewon mumbles in a voice over, “I, um, was, um, gra..ateful or something? But, also um, sorry also? Too?”  After all, she wants to embody purity and innocence, which clashes with this song.

Chowon is like, “SOMEONE HAS TO RAP, YOU GUYS, BECAUSE THIS SONG CONTAINS RAP PARTS, HOW MUCH MORE SIMPLE CAN I MAKE THIS, THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHO WILL STEP UP, SO IT HAS TO BE ONE OF US, HOLY SHIT” and Hyewon, bless her heart, volunteers to be main rapper. I’ll hand it to the girl -- at least she isn’t just sort of “avoid the teacher’s gaze”-ing her way through all this. She's doing the damn thing. Good for you, Hyewon.

She interviews that her parents had teased her that she might end up having to rap, adding, “that’s why you shouldn’t make jokes like that -- they might come true.” 

Lingering question: What will become of Boombayah team 2? Truly, what will become of us all? 

MAMMA MIA

The song:

I don’t remember a lot about my first watch through of Produce 48, as I’ve said, but I do remember that I discovered the song Mamma Mia through it, and I’ve liked it ever since. It’s just one of those classic kpop songs where it sounds sort of retro but from no specific time, so it could kind of be from any time. If you don’t really know it, definitely give it a shot. It’s catchy AF. Hit the lights let’s GO! 

The song was produced by Duble Sidekick, who also produced Mr. Chu by A*pink, Pepe by CLC (underrated bop), You’re the Best by Mamamoo, Give It To Me by Sistar, and Thumbs Up by Momoland. Kara had debuted in 2007, so they were a well known senior group by 2014, when Mamma Mia was released. At the time of filming, the song would have been almost four years old, making it the oldest of the eight songs selected, but it was a pretty huge hit in 2014 and would probably have still been familiar to most of the audience at the time. 

Mamma Mia isn’t known for it’s extremely difficult choreography -- it’s more about being confident and sexy. But the vocals might be a bit challenging, with a lot of high notes. Also, I should mention that for Produce48, they’ll be performing the song in Japanese. 

Mamma Mia Group 1 (1:12:04)

LTR: Park Minji, Kim Hyunah, Chiyori, Park Ji Eun, Murase Sae 

We first visit with Mamma Mia, group 1. This one was formed 9th or later. 

The members:

Kim Hyunah, age 23, who I call husky voiced Hyunah, from B class, ranked a sad 72. 😣

Murase Sae, 21, who auditioned with Funny People, rose from D to C and is currently ranked 43. 

Nakanishi Chiyori, 23,  who auditioned with What's Your Name?, rose from D to C, and is ranked 37. 

Park Jieun, 20,  future ex-Purple Kiss, who fell from C to F and was ranked 70th. 

Park Minji, age 19, PD101 trainee and future Secret Number member, from B class, ranked 56. 

The storyline:

We learn that Chiyori is apparently a master of hilarious facial expressions and that at the auditions she even did quick impressions of several of the judges.  It’s nice to get a peek into her funny personality. From now on I’ll call her “wacky Chiyori.” That’s about all we get, but it’s actually a fun segment. We also learn that Hyunah is chosen as center.

Lingering questions: Will Kim Hyunah make a good center?

Mamma Mia 2 (1:14:23)

LTR: Ayana, Miho, Bibian, Suhyun, Soeun, Sarang 

Then we visit with the other Mamma Mia team.

The members:

Cho Sarang, 14, who sang Tomorrow at the audition, fell from B to F (ouch!) and is currently ranked 90th (ouch again!). She has an eyepatch on, and I did some digging but didn’t find out why. 

Choi Soeun, 16, who did Question Mark at the audition, fell from B to C and is currently ranked 92 (oh no!)

Miyazaki Miho, 24, our multilingual queen, who has stayed in D and is currently ranked 16th place

Murakawa Bibian, 18 but looks like a baby doll, firmly stationed in F class and ranked 31st

Shin Suhyun, 22, the show’s favorite punching bag, who fell from D to F and is ranked 57th 

Shinozaki Ayana, 22, one of the What's Your Name? group, with the beauty mark under her lip, firmly stationed in F class and ranked 87th

The group dynamic:

Bibian was the chooser for this group, and it was formed 9th or later. My best guess is that she picked people she knew or was friendly with, which at some point is just as good a reason to pick someone as any. 

The storyline:

We find out that Mamma Mia was on their “black list” -- a song they didn’t want to do since they didn’t know it. Sarang especially doesn’t know it -- well, sure, she would have been 9 or 10 when it came out. So they weren’t thrilled to get chosen to face off against Chiyori’s team and do this song. 

At the song chosing ceremony, as Miho's team walks over to stand next to Chiyori's team, Chiyori apologizes to her senpai/sunbae Miho, and host Lee Seungki asks, “Any words of warning to her as her sunbae?” 

And Miho replies, with (mock?) seriousness: “All I have is confidence! I definitely don’t want to lose against them!” 

Miho and Chiyori are both on AKB48, and they are 24 and 23 years old respectively, so they have probably known each other for a really long time. It makes sense that they would have a friendly rivalry. 

The team makes Miho the leader -- she’s the oldest in the group and apparently bilingual, so she’s ideal. I don’t know, gang, I just really like Miho! She just seems cool as shit.

We don’t see the choosing or any of the ICD, but Choi Soeun has been made center. 

We hear Sarang singing a little bit of the song, and she sounds great. She’s an obvious choice for main vocal. 

We glance back over at Mamma Mia team 1, where Park Minji is listening to Sarang’s singing a bit nervously. “Sarang-chingu is their main vocal,” Minji interviews, “and she hits the high notes well. I’m a bit conscious of her. In season 1, I got sent home when I was the main vocalist.” 

We get a flashback to PD101 Season 1, when Minji performed a different song by Kara -- Break It, another bop -- and fucking smashed it. Here’s a link -- she’s the one in the gray shirt that says “Babe”. Like, no question, she was amazing. Proof that these shows are dumb. Sigh. 

Lingering question: Which main vocalist will reign supreme?

LOVE WHISPER

The song:

This is one of those songs that if I’m not actually listening to it, I can’t remember how it goes. And when I am actually listening to it, I don’t know which Gfriend song it is in specific -- I just know it’s one of their earlier songs that all blend together. Is this Rough? Glass Bead? Me Gustas Tu? I don’t know. I don’t hate cute songs -- I love Secret Garden by OMG, for example -- but most classic Gfriend songs do nothing for me. (Exception: Navillera, which is a Never-skip for me. What can I say? It’s a bop.)

Even if it's not my personal favorite, Love Whisper was a big hit, and came out in August of 2017, making it pretty recent at time of filming. Like all Gfriend songs, the actual vocals required are quite challenging, and the dancing is tough too. Gfriend songs are no joke, no matter how cutesy they are. It’s not a bad choice for a team that can do it, but not everyone can.

LTR: Nako, Nayoung, Damin, Sae, Misaki, and Eunbin.

At 1:16:07, we visit with both Love Whispers, starting with Team 2, a team chosen by Nako. 

The members:

Aramaki Misaki, 17, who auditioned with the blighted Never Ending Ferris Wheel group, has been stationed in F class, and is ranked 61st.

Kang Damin, 14, the cute future member of Queenzeye, went from B to A, and is ranked 74th.

Kim Nayoung, 15, future member of Lightsum who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend, went from C to A, and is now in 63rd place. 

Kurihara Sae, 21, who had the great bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who went from D to F and is now ranked 84th.

Yabuki Nako, 16, who moved up from F to A, is currently ranked 27th.

Yoon Eunbin, 14, one of the CNC girls, stayed in B, and is ranked 68th.

The group dynamic:

They were actually the third team formed, and Nako had a plan -- to choose kawaii girls. MNET brings out the good ol’ “cutey pie” music to celebrate -- you know, the “la la la” music they play. Nako must have known Sae and Misaki from being in HKT48 together. I don’t think she would have known the other girls, but Damin and Eunbin were in class B together, and they’re about the same age, so they probably got friendly with each other. Not sure if anyone knew Nayoung specifically, but they all live together in big dorms and probably meet each other around.  Regardless of exactly how Nako picked them, I must say,  if there’s a group that can knock Love Whisper out of the park, it’s this one. 

Almost immediately after we meet the Kawaii Avengers, we go over to visit with Love Whisper Team 1, so let’s get the roster up:

Left to right: Motu Tomu, Serika, Manami, Wang Ke, Noe, and Eun Chae

Ichikawa Manami, 18, with the shorter hair, from What's Your Name?, rose from F to C, currently ranked 83

Muto Tomu, 23, who we are about to get to know better, a D class mainstay and ranked 28th. 

Nagano Serika, 17, who auditioned with Mister by Kara, has lived in F class and is ranked 81st.

Son Eun Chae, 18, future member of Bugaboo, who moved up from C to B and is ranked 85th.

Wang Ke, 17, a Chinese girl who had the red polka dots in Celeb Five, moved down from B to D and is ranked 33rd.

Yamada Noe, 18, with her gravelly voice, moved from C down to F and is ranked quite high in 9th place. 

We learn that our friend the palindrome, Muto Tomu, was the chooser for this team. This is kind of an interesting team in that it’s the only team with only 1 Korean trainee, and it’s one of two teams with four Japanese members. (All the other teams have 3 Japanese trainees or fewer.) Three of the Japanese members -- Manami, Tomu, and Serika -- are from AKB48, so Tomu may have chosen friends, but most of them haven’t really worked together much on the show. Tomu also chose a team without a decent vocalist. 

Having formed such a team, they decided that the only song that they absolutely could not do was Love Whisper. However, Tomu wasn’t the fastest runner, and by the time she got to the far wall during the race, the only song left was Love Whisper. She tried to just not win by not putting the sign in the sign holder, but somehow she was forced to “win” the race anyway. (Maybe both girls who grabbed Love Whisper refused to put the sign in the holder, so production had to intervene? It’s not clear.) Then because she came in second to last in the race, she had second to last choice of groups to face up against, and had a choice between the Cute Avengers or Sakura’s team, and chose the Cute Avengers. It was just not a good day for Tomu.

The storyline:

Tomu’s team all try to sing, but many of them cannot make sounds come out of their mouth. Of the group, it seems that Manami is actually the best singer -- she physically can hit the high notes. She doesn’t really want to be stuck with main vocal, but she’s the best option the team has. 

Meanwhile, over in the Cute Avengers, they’re choosing their main vocal, but they’re having the opposite problem -- they have a a few too many decent vocalists and have to choose the best one. Nayoung can sing -- well, she has “stable” vocals -- but so can Nako, who manages to sing while holding her mouth in a full, unmoving smile. 

This girl is currently singing.  

She’s not making an “eee” sound, more like an “uhh” sound. It’s wild. It’s like some kind of ventriloquist trick the way she can sing while keeping her mouth firmly in a smile. She ends up winning main vocal. I’d give it to her, too. What other spells can she cast if she can do this kind of witchcraft? 

Lingering question: Is Nako the right choice of main vocal? Will Tomu’s team be able to pull it off? 

HIGH TENSION

The song: 

Ok, I have to admit it -- this song is charming AF. It’s not super complex, and I think it would get old pretty fast, but it’s so cute and peppy that I can fully imagine playing it at my cousin’s wedding next May and having everyone get up and start dancing even though they’ve never heard it before. 

For the record, the title is an example of what my Japanese prof in college would have called “Japanese English” -- when they use an English phrase in a way that English speakers don’t use. You’re already familiar with this idea if you know the way that Koreans say “fighting!” In "Japanese English," “Tension” is supposed to mean something more like “excitement”, not stress.

[My favorite example of “Japanese English” is the word “viking” (pronounced more like “biking”)  which is the Japanese word for “all you can eat buffet.” Isn’t that great? I think we should just all start calling all you can eat buffets “Viking buffets” instead.] 

Team 1 (1:19:55)

Top row, team 1, LTR:  Nakano Ikumi, Mogi Shinobu, Iwate Saho, Cho Yeoungin, Kim Dayeon, Yoon Haesol

Bottom row, team 2: Takeuchi Miyu, Cho Ahyoung, Huh Yunjin, Kim Suyun, Oda Erina

Team 1:

Cho Yeongin, 16, who auditioned alongside Lee Chaeyeong, moved from B to C and is ranked 62.

Iwatate Saho, 23, who auditioned with Miyu to Dancing Hero, moved from B to D and is ranked 24th.

Kim Dayeon, 15, future Kep1er, B class mainstay and ranked 65

Mogi Shinobu, 21, the living meme, who moved up from F to D and is ranked 59

Nakano Ikumi, 17, “known for her dancing”, who moved up from D to B and is ranked 53rd.

Yoon Haesol, 20, who auditioned with Question Mark, moved down from B to D, and is ranked 50th.

Group dynamic: Saho was the chooser for this team, and picked some girls that she would have known from B class (Yeongin, Dayeon, Haesol) and a few girls she knew from AKB48 (Shinobu, Ikumi). I think this group was formed 9th or later.  They’ve chosen Youngin as the leader, which is kind of interesting since she’s definitely not the oldest, nor is she the highest ranked, but I *think* she might speak a bit of Japanese so that might explain it. 

We see a flashback of the trainees all watching a live performance of the song, which of course means that many AKB-48 girls who are on the show would be visible in the performance. Sakura, Juri, and Jurina are all clearly visible, and everyone squeals when they see them. But Iwate Saho is like, “I was there too for that performance -- where was I?” She’s barely visible in the crowd.

What if she were center this time??? Would something be different????????

Saho trying to charm the other girls into letting her be center. 

She auditions and, to her delight, gets chosen as the center kind of quickly, ending the ICD, and they begin practicing. She sighs happily, pats her “center” sticker, and says “Ganbarimasu!” (That’s the Japanese version of “fighting!”)

Meanwhile, over in team 2, they’re deep in the middle of the ICD…. 

Team 2 (1:21:56)

Takeuchi Miyu, 22, the one who auditioned in the awesome orange bulls eye dress, fell from A to B but is still ranked pretty high at 11th place. 

Cho Ahyeong, 16, who auditioned with future Cherry Bullet Haeyoon, rose from C to B and is ranked 78th. 

Huh Yunjin, 16, future Le Sserafim, who somehow fell from C to F, was ranked 15th

Kim Suyun, 17, future Rocket Punch badass, has lived in class C and is ranked 51.

Oda Erina, 21, who was supposedly known for her singing, fell from C to F and was ranked 67th.

This group was formed 6th, and the chooser was Oda Erina. She picked a few Korean girls she knew from class C and a talented Japanese trainee she probably knew personally. 

Miyu wants the center, but meets opposition from Erina, who says that “having a Japanese person as the center would be too predictable.”  Miyu and Erina talk about it in Japanese, and then Miyu says, “New High Tension hago shipayo-- hangul chingu wa jowayo  ” -- a mixture of English, Korean, and Japanese used to indicate they want to make a new style of High Tension, and a Korean chingu would be good center. The other trainees all say “ahhh!” in understanding -- and the editors play that over and over in case you miss it.  So the Korean trainees leave it up to Erina and Miyu to pick the center. Miyu eventually says, in Korean so basic and slow that even I understand: “We think… giraffe-chan.” Meaning, of course, our very own Huh Yunjin! These are girls who know quality when they see it. They like her “giraffe” image. Yunjin gives a cute, happy smile that was the image at the beginning of this post.

Meanwhile, Team 1 center, Saho, looks over and notices that Team 2 has chosen a Korean trainee to be the center. She wonders if that was a smart choice, given that the Japanese trainees know this song so well. 

Lingering question: Who will make the better center -- an AKB girl, or Huh Yunjin? My money is on Yunjin because, um, she’s Yunjin. But I don’t remember who wins! This will be interesting!

SHORT HAIR

The song: I wouldn’t call myself an AOA stan exactly, but I do like them a lot. I love Jimin’s “hey hey”s, I love Choa’s vocals -- check out her song with Primary, Don’t Be Shy, an enduring top-100-of-all-time song for me -- and I love Chanmi/Dohwa’s swag. They always have this laid back, casual confidence that is weirdly charming -- very like “you can look but will never touch!” -- and their song Like a Cat is a Never Skip for me. 

That said, Short Hair isn’t my absolute favorite song of theirs, and was probably one of the least well known songs in the mix. It came out in June of 2014, so even though it was a pretty big hit, by 2018, it would have been old hat. Also, by 2018, AOA was sort of on the way out; Choa quit for mental health reasons (good for her!!!) in 2017, and the group hadn’t had an actual hit since 2016. 

1:23:45 Team 2

We start off visiting Short Hair Team 2.

Group Dynamics: I’m not sure who chose this group, but I assume it was formed 9th or later. They’ve chosen Sian to be their leader, and it seems like Mina is using a bit of pigeon Korean to be the group’s interpreter.

clockwise/left to right: Rena (in gray), Miku, Mina, Natsumi, Sian, and Yewon 

Ahn Yewon, 17, model , stuck in F, ranked 88

Hasegawa Rena, 17, who auditioned alongside Noe, fell from D to F, ranked 54th. 

Imada Mina, 21, the tall one with no bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who rose from D to C and is ranked 64th.

Lee Sian, 19, one of the Idol School girls who fell from C to D, is ranked 18th.

Matsuoka Natsumi, 21, with the sort of distinctive face from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, rose from F to C and is ranked 55th. 

Takana Miku, currently ranked C, was initially in this group -- she was one of the girls who auditioned with the Banana song. More on her later. 

They are, of course, mired in the ICD. 

Mina, Natusumi, and Sian all want to be center. They aren’t sure how to decide who the center should be, since none of them really know the song yet. 

Sian suggests using facial expressions at a key point as the audition piece. Natsumi says, in Japanese, “I don’t think I can win if that’s how we choose,” and then, half-seriously, suggests rock paper scissors to decide (!!). Sian’s reaction is priceless.

Like, seriously, guys, did you seriously just suggest that we choose the center for this with Rock Paper Scissors? Do you want to win the challenge? What the fuck? Is this a game for you? Are you out of your minds? OMG. OMG. What. The. Fuck.

Sian politely points out that this is way too serious to decide that way. Since the decision is to be made based on merits, Natsumi bows out. All of this is making me not really like Natsumi that much, so I have to kind of take a breath and remind myself that they’re all pretty stressed out and exhausted. 

That leaves just Mina and Sian running for center. Sian’s audition is charming and lively, with just the right tone for the song. Mina’s is more muted, though still decent. It seems obvious to my eyes that Sian’s look and style are better suited to the Korean palette, and that they should choose her, but the girls vote on country lines, giving Mina the center. Natsumi says in an interview, “we thought that if we made Sian the center, we’d be Sian and the Girls.” Which… is almost like admitting that you know she’s better than you at this particular thing. It means you should make her the center and step up your own game. You know? 

Sian is frustrated. She says she realized that there’s a difference of opinion among countries. The editors play the trouble music to let us know that it isn’t just opinion at stake. 

Lingering question: Will Mina make a good center?

Short Hair 1 (1:25:33)

LTR: Mako, Juri, Minyoung, Minseo, Sihyeon, Yuri

Kojima Mako, 21, auditioned with Playing With Fire, rose from C to B and currently ranked 23rd. 

Takahashi Juri, 20, future member of Rocket Punch who auditioned with Mako, rose from B to A and is ranked 29th.

Yu Minyoung, 18, the always squinting mint polka dots wearer in Celeb Five who moved from A to B, is ranked 32

Kim Minseo, 15, yellow polka dots in Celeb Five, stayed in C, ranked 39th

Kim Sihyeon, 18, future member of Everglow who rose from B to A and is ranked 13th.

Jo Yuri, 16, future soloist, the one who fell from A to F, ranked 19th. 

Group Dynamic: Mako was the chooser of this group, and it was the fifth group formed, so Mako had a decent pool to pick from. She would have met Minseo in group C, and would have known Juri from the AKB franchise. I’m not sure how she picked the others, though I assume she picked Yuri and Sihyeon based on their reputations. Looks like they made Sihyeon the leader -- she’s certainly the most experienced, having been on the show in season 1. 

Storyline: They, of course, are in their ICD. But the contrast between this group and Short Hair 2 couldn’t be more stark. Sihyeon thinks the center should be either Juri or Yuri, and they both sing to audition. It’s hard for us to hear their voices since they’re singing over the track, but the girls can hear and decide that Juri should be the center.  Juri tries to explain, in a mixture of Korean and Japanese, that since it’s a group battle, she wouldn’t want to cause any harm for the group, so maybe Yuri should do it. But the whole team tells her that she’ll be great. They all like her and want her to be the center -- it seems like even Yuri is on board. Both Sihyeon and Yuri offer to help her, using a hilarious and random mixture of Japanese and Korean. 

Sihyeon: If there’s anything wakarimasen[Japanese for “don’t understand”], please ask.

Yuri: Watashi-wa (“I” in Japanese)…. towajesoyo (“will help” in Korean).  

We end on this split frame…

…Group 1 already beginning to work together, while Group 2’s Japanese contingent sitting down while Sian is up and practicing. I mean, this shot was cherry picked and who knows the context, but it’s hard not to be swayed a little by it. MNET editors!!! Why are you so evil?

VERY VERY VERY 

The song:

Aww, who doesn’t love nomu nomu nomu? Nomu nomu nomu nomu? Nomunomumnomunomnomnomo nomnonomnonomomnomono mnomnomunomunomunom..

It’s catchy and iconic and all the good things. I mean, JYP might be creepy and weird but he can write a hit. Bad Girl Good Girl by Miss A, Nobody by Wonder Girls, ADTOY by 2pm, A by Got7, Icy by Itzy, Feel Special and More & More by Twice, the guy’s a genius. And at least he’s not as overtly gross as YG. 

So yeah, Very Very Very was a monster hit and in a way it was responsible for the success of IOI. Their first few singles didn’t exactly set the world on fire, and they needed a hit to cement their status as a hit group. If IOI had never done Very Very Very, there might not have been a season 2 of PD101. Imagine a world without Wanna One or IZ*one! Wild, right? So yeah. We all have to be grateful to JYP for giving this song to IOI, because otherwise you might not be reading these words right now. 

In terms of difficulty, I’d say that this song isn’t super hard to perform. It may have originally been intended for Twice -- can’t you imagine it as a Twice song? -- and it has that kind of upbeat, cute-but-confident vibe that Twice has. I don’t think it’s an outrageously difficult concept to rock. The tune is easy to sing -- even the adlibs are easy --  and the choreography is more about cuteness than anything else. Any team would be smart to want to perform this one. 

So, let’s check in with the teams who will be performing this iconic hit.

At 1:27:10 we peek in with Sakura and friends. Sakura is learning the Korean word for water -- mul (pronounced more like bul) -- and sharing the Japanese word -- mizu. The other trainees think that Sakura’s team is the team to beat. 

An Yujin laments her situation. Everything else was great! She was chosen to pick the first team after Sakura! She got great teammates! But then she had to go up against Sakura’s team. “I thought we were absolutely doomed,” Yujin says. Park Minji speaks for everyone as she interviews: “Sakura’s teem is more popular, but Yujin’s team fits the song better. It’s like Captain America versus Iron Man.” 

It’s Spiderman versus Ant Man. It’s Cake versus Ice Cream. It’s Shark versus Tornado. It’s IVE versus Le Sserafim. Winner? All of us!

Let’s take a look at the two rosters. This is a juggernaut lineup. More than half the future lineup of IZ*one is represented between these two teams!

Yujin’s team, which was formed second: 

An Yujin, 14, future member of  IVE who rose from B to A and is currently ranked 2nd overall. Wow! And she’s 14, you guys. I always forget how young she is here. 

Choi Yena, 18, friendly Yena from Yuehua who kept us company for a lot of episode 1, fell from A to B, and is currently ranked 6th. 

Honda Hitomi, 16, the super cutey who worked her way up from C to A and is currently ranked 47th.

Jang Wonyoung, future Wonyoung, known for being Wonyoung, who has stayed in B and is ranked 4th.

Na Goeun, 18, future Purplekiss, A class and ranked 20th. 

Shiroma Miru, 20, future visitor to Queendom Puzzle, who fell from B to D but is ranked 22nd. 

Sakura’s team, which was formed first: 

Kim Choyeon, 16, fire-eyes girl and future Bugaboo, fell from A to C, ranked 75 

Kim Minju, 17, a Very Pretty Girl, rose from D to C, ranked 17 

Kwon Eunbi, 22, future soloist, fell from A to C, is currently ranked 3rd

Lee Chaeyeon, 18, future soloist, famous older sister and dancing machine, who stayed in A and is ranked 10th.

Miyawaki Sakura, 20, THE SAKURA, future member of Le Sserafim who stayed in A and is ranked 5th. 

Motomura Aoi,  21, sweet faced Aoi from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who rose from D to B and is ranked 42nd. 

(Because “Choyeon” and “Chaeyeon” are such similar names, I’ll call them Kim Choyeon and Lee Chaeyeon throughout this discussion to help you keep track of who is who.)

Fun fact: Though it was implied that Sakura’s team is more popular, Yujin’s team actually has a higher average ranking -- 16.8 versus 25.3. Sakura’s team is dragged way down by Kim Choyeon, though; without her, their average ranking would be 15! 

LTR: Yujin, Hitomi, Miyu, Gaeun, Yena, Wonyoung

We hang out with Yujin’s team for a bit. They’ve elected Na Gaeun leader, which seems smart; she’s one of the older members and is the only one who has been rated A the whole time. 

Naturally, they dive right into the ICD. It’s Yujin versus Wonyoung, and Wonyoung obviously suits being a center more for this particular song. (If it had been Boombayah or Peekaboo, I would have said Yujin.) 

Meanwhile, on Sakura’s team, they’re in their own ICD. 

Kim Choyeon has the AUDACITY to say she wants to be center. 

Sakura CANNOT BELIEVE IT.

After all she is THE SAKURA whose smile is completely natural and beautiful and not at all strained or weird. And she can be the ONLY CENTER. She raises her hand to say she also wants to be center, and you can almost hear Kim Choyeon's hopes shattering. 

Look, if I were on this team, obviously I’d be ok with making Sakura center, but given that she’s already THE CENTER of the whole show, it might be smart to let someone else be center here, like maybe Minju or Eunbi. However, as much as I feel for Kim Choyeon, I just don’t see a reason to make her center. The judges would yell at the team if they did. Honestly, the judges will probably yell if they make anyone but Sakura center. And they'll probably yell at you even if you do, to make more TV content starring Sakura. I think it’s just part of being within Sakura’s gravity well. You’re blessed, but you’re fucked, too. 

Lee Chaeyeon, who is a smartie-pants, recommends Minju. I see why -- she’s super pretty, she’s fairly popular, she makes a great center, and she help offset Sakura’s power a little. I know that for Lee Sian’s team, I said that they should just make Sian the center and step up their game, but in this case, Sakura’s overpowering popularity is not actually matched by her charisma, and it would just be smart to balance things out a bit with another girl who will do just as good a job in center and has the ability to be just as popular.

Sweet-faced Aoi unexpectedly backs Minju -- maybe she’s a little sick of the Sakura train? -- and so does Kwon Eunbi. And thus, both Sakura and Kim Choyeon are shut out; Minju is chosen. 

Minju is super flattered, but says, “I don’t think I deserve to be center.” 

And Sakura and Choyeon are like, What’s that, you say? You want one of US to be center? Well, if you absolutely insist…. 

So, each of the two candidates auditions, and Choyeon wins.

With the centers both chosen, we take a peek at each team as they start to try to learn the choreo.

Over on Yujin's team, Yujin is already a bit confused, but many members of Sakura’s team already know the choreo (notably Eunbi and Lee Chaeyeon, who are known for their dancing skills). Then Hitomi reveals herself as choreo learning machine, and the team starts following her. 

And that’s the end of this segment! 

So yeah I made this scatterplot to show you the rough correlation between average rank of a team and the screentime they get. You're welcome.

It’s slightly thrown off by the fact that some teams were sort of approached together, like the two Love Whispers and the two Avengers teams, and other editing decisions like that, but the trend is pretty clear -- the higher the average rank of the team, the more screentime they get.

The two biggest outliers are Short Hair 1 -- Juri and Yuri’s team -- which didn’t get a ton of screentime despite their high rank because they were getting along so well, and Boombayah 2, the leftovers team, which got a lot of screentime relative to their kind of low rank because their situation is so pathetic. 

Ok, thanks for reading (or skimming) this! I hope you enjoyed it. Things are heating up! Next we’ll actually be seeing some performances!! Wild. 

[sailorzakuro]

Actually I'm going to use this space to put all these thoughts down cos I keep thinking about it and idk maybe someone can relate but although I'm still very much a part of fandom culture (I recently joined the Stranger Things fandom if anyone's at all interested) I really just Don't give a fuck about shipping. Like it's not even like I'm actively trying to not care about it. I truly don't give a fuck.

So for example, I joined the Stranger Things fandom (very late I know I'm sorry I watched the whole series I'm obsessed with Robin Buckley if you want to see me talk about that my twitter is smalltownrobin) and that show is like ships galore, especially with the group of characters I have the most interest in. The "older teens" group of characters (like Robin, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Eddie, that lot) get most of that, and I've just never found myself caring. People heavily debating whether Nancy will "end up" with Jonathan or Steve? I don't care. I'm chill with either, I'm chill with none. Even people who ship Nancy with Robin, or prefer Robin with Vickie, honestly I just want Robin to kiss a girl I don't give a fuck who it is. THE STEDDIE RAMPAGE I'm glad it's making people happy but I'm fine either way, and I don't actively seek content for it out. I'd say the only pairing I care about on that show is Robin and Steve's platonic friendship, THAT I love I am obsessed but like. they've already reached the "goal" of their relationship so it's not like there's any official title that the show writers or fans can give to them or take away. It's an easier life overall and I'm pretty happy.

I really don't know what's done this to me, cos I used to LOVE shipping, I remember in high school my friends and I used to have seriously intense conversations about which Fairy Tail characters worked best together. I made two entire videos on why people should ship Cheryl and Veronica from Riverdale (and even now ages after I stopped watching and it turns out they had a 100% platonic fan service kiss I DON'T CARE THAT IT HAPPENED). The point is something's just happened to me since those days and now I just don't care. Maybe it's cos my main fandom is kpop where shipping is Not okay and I don't wish to involve myself in the romantic lives of real people dictating to them what I think they should do with their personal endeavours, but yeah. I don't care. It's not a bad thing if you are into shipping, you know, enjoy yourselves, if it brings you joy and it's not hurting anyone go ahead.

All that being said I still very much care about Thasmin but we're never going to get any more of them now so. fuck.

Did anyone bother to read that I'm sorry 🙃 I know I barely post on here anymore, I converted it to my SCD blog but then couldn't be bothered talking about it so this is kind of empty now. I talk about the fandoms I did talk about on here on my twt so I guess if you're still interested in my fandom opinions go on there? I cannot promise I'll convert this blog to anything to make it active again I might just pop in every so often and rant about something completely random ✌️

[dedbuny]

hi :) im bunny and im a chronic maladaptive daydreamer :)

ive been doing it for about eight years now and im curious to see how many others do it too !

my (only moderately depressing) maladaptive daydreaming story/timeline is below the cut, if that interests u at all :) id love to hear urs as well in the notes !

my first memory of maladaptive daydreaming (aside from playing house and stuff as a kid) was in 2014 when i was in sixth grade. my friend and i would pretend to be certain characters throughout the whole school day, even writing the characters’ names on our schoolwork and calling each other by those names. the most common characters were always sam and dean, which is .. something . sometimes it was the 5sos members. then as the years went by the chosen characters changed depending on my hyperfixation at the time.

in grade eight i had moved on to kpop. this is the worst it gets i promise. mostly the same continued, except this year i realized something revolutionary: i could include myself in the daydream ! so i started pretending i was whatever kpop idol i was interested in on any given day’s friend, every day, for the next five to six years. this is where it became an addiction i guess.

grade nine was more of the same but with some drag race girls sprinkled in. grade ten was more of the same but with some video game characters sprinkled in. as those five to six years went by i continued daydreaming about myself and any chosen person or character i liked, except i realized one other extremely important thing: i could also just make up my own characters…..

so i did . technically the first original character i ever made was in eighth grade, named jacob. as much as i’m now trying to slowly distance myself from the maladaptive daydreaming and all the characters that were born from it, jacob really feels like my friend. they’ve evolved with me every step of the way — they’ve gone through a whole appearance change, their personality has changed, their gender and pronouns have changed, their world views have changed, all alongside my own, so it really does feel like i’ve found a lifelong friend who just gets me. and upon realizing that i’m purposefully creating my own blorbos from my mind to perfectly match my needs and wants and behave exactly like i want them to, i started feeling extremely self conscious about it all.

over the last five to six years i’ve created roughly 23 different characters, all with intertwining relationships and backstories and personalities and interests and styles. it’s been really fun actually, to be able to essentially create an entirely made-up friend group and make up their relationships with each other and watch them all grow. the issue lies in the fact that i’m spending more time imagining i’m them and/or imagining i’m with them than i am actually being in reality.

because all these characters behave in the exact ways i want them to and understand me perfectly inside and out, i’ve become much more easy to irritate. i find myself having a much shorter temper with my friends and family. my ocs know what i’m thinking and always have the perfect answer, because they are me. they know what makes me uncomfortable and avoid doing so, because they are me. they never question anything i say or challenge any of my beliefs, because they are me. in other words , uh oh .

this has all made me extremely paranoid, extremely insecure, extremely anxious and extremely depressed. it’s gotten to the point where i don’t really know who i am anymore, because i don’t really feel like i’m the one who has evolved or grown over the years. i feel like a side character to all the ocs i’ve made who are living my life for me. it feels like all my decisions are made by whoever it is i’m daydreaming as in that moment. i’ve had multiple breakdowns due to remembering that none of this world i’ve built in my head is real, and none of it ever will be. but it all feels unbelievably real. and i feel like if i ever stop i’ll be punched in the face with the consequences of letting what is essentially my imaginary friends control my life for six years.

i’ve thought it might be either evolving into or had initially stemmed from schizophrenia or ocd or did or something similar but i don’t even know anymore. right now it just seems like a combination of having autism, depression, severe anxiety, an extremely vivid imagination, and being chronically lonely.

i truly feel like i’m suffering alone here. i know there are other people who maladaptive daydream but i’ve never heard of anyone who does it like me. if anyone reading this understands what im going through i’d love to hear from you !!!!!

if u got this far into reading, thank u for hearing me out :)

love, bunny (...and jay and marcus and darius and veronica and luca and hiroki and minki and advik and hannah and hanna and nayeon and shauna and joslyn and thomas and christian and jack and claire and marion and peter and frances and oskar and felix and frederick and svante and shaelynn and heather and more)

[leatherbookmark]

nnnngh i'm repeating myself but also

while musically this trilogy has been Alright -- not the best, hi maison, but definitely Solid especially in the b-side department -- conceptually... yeah. the "save the earth before it's too late" concept is a good and interesting one -- let alone making a whole trilogy centered around it, let alone as a girl group! the n/f/t thing sort of ruined it for everyone a bit, but honestly whoever sincerely believes kpop groups and kpop companies are going to be serious about activism is an idealist, to be polite. they're here to make money and also music. BUT. it just felt so... idk, disjointed? not fully there?

the dystopia trilogy at least had the "tree of language" bit, the thing that started a tiny little story and let the audience know what the comebacks are going to be about. and it tied scream and odd eye neatly! sure, they didn't achieve bts levels of sincerity in their lyrics (LET THEM WRITE LYRICSSSSS GOD), but the general meaning was there, and the story surprisingly ended badly. things are bad -> things shouldn't be bad -> well, we tried to find the ideal world where things wouldn't be bad but we failed. it was something!

but i feel like the apocalypse trilogy just... dropped the ball on more than one front. it doesn't even live up to its name! even if you don't associate the word "apocalypse" with darker, heavier and more guitarry sound, the first album literally had together, cherry and playground on it -- they're poppy and cheerful! come on! vision was a turn in the right direction -- once again the lyrics talk about mobilizing yourself and picking up the fight, hell yeah!, and fairytale was absolutely stellar, but on the other hand the rap quality and the number of actual songs on the album dropped, which only made the obligatory mellow piano ballad more irritating. but hey, onwards to the final part...! and the final part is. a love song.

don't get me wrong, i love bon voyage with all my heart in its gorgeous melancholic-yet-full-of-energy glory. but it's a love song. someone said it's a song about leaving the person you love for the greater good? to do your duties and save the world? but like, man, i don't get this from the lyrics. it's a love song from the point of view of someone who tries to leave because they have scars, faults, bad experiences under their belt, but despite everything they still can't, and keep on imagining the future they could share with their loved one.

this... would be something, definitely, if there was at least some sort of introduction, if the previous two title tracks weren't manifesto-type songs to Everyone. if the mvs showed deukae not just as cool warriors with superpowers fighting (?) some kind of enemy (?), but also real people with feelings and attachments -- for example to each other! everyone and their grandma is doing lore, but for example bts and currently ateez have those little diary things where members(' characters) write down their adventures. we're trying to change the past! overthrow the oppressive regime! while having our own problems, fears, people we worry about! holy shit, what happened to yeosang! and it would've really worked well with deukae! i don't really care about lore that much myself, but perhaps it could keep the fans occupied between comebacks and render references actually meaningful rather than "oh hey, this is the same dance move/similar (something) as in (mv title)!".

but it's just not there, and instead the trilogy is just a mess. sure, you've got a fucking. furry cell mascot out of absolutely nowhere, and yoohyeon is on a horse, and sua is jumping real high to... grab a pigeon mid-flight? but how does it actually connect to the story? what's going on? back in vision, dami was doing Something, was she a spy? in this mv, gahyeon is doing Something to the barrier, will she succeed? we just don't know! and it's irritating. the mv is just a slideshow of unfairly pretty shots, but they're pretty for the sake of being pretty and nothing else. we've gone a Long way since chase me, and while the budget sure is bigger... yeah, chase me and other older title track mvs actually kept you watching, because you were wondering where it would all lead. there's some guy! that's creepy! horror imagery! this is vaguely disturbing! where are they going with this? now it's just... oh she's pretty. oh she's pretty. oh she's pretty. that's it. and honestly, it's not like this is bon voyage's invention, deukae mvs have been steadily losing plot elements for a good while, but this mv is like... the epitome. yoohyeon's on a horse.

IF they're not breaking the... well, it's only two albums, so you can't call it a "tradition", but if they're not going to break the barely-there-tradition of special mini albums between the eras, their next comeback will be one and i'm already wondering what it's going to be. especially considering it's probably going to come out in like... november, and that's already fair into the Dark Part Of The Year, spooky season etc, so if they want to give us a darker sister of BEcause, i'm all ears, eyes etc.