#march comebacks review

[supercorpkid]

Ace Reporter - Final Part

Supergirl, Kara Danvers x Reader, Lena Luthor x Reader

Word Count: 3940.

You roll in your hotel bed thinking about the cheap shot you threw at Kara earlier. You've hated Kara for the longest time, with the burning passion of a thousand suns. But only because it was a lot easier to blame your failure on someone else. And while you were many kilometers away from her, you got away with it pretty effortlessly.

That was until you met her.

And Kara was nothing you built her up to be. No vulture trying to steal the spotlight, no untalented lucky bastard, no nerd with no life. Kara is the opposite of every single flaw you embedded her character with.

And yet. You can't, for the life of you, admit the truth. Because if you did, if you finally took Kara out of the equation, you'd see that the reason why you didn't get the prize, and then the promotion, and the reason why your career got side-tracked is because you didn't try enough. You yield to your editors every wish. You let Lois Lane and Clark Kent go on every single assignment you were more than capable of doing. You never stood up for yourself.

So you think about Lena's offer while you march into CatCo the next morning, with no idea on whether you'll be walking through these doors everyday from now on, or never again. 

Kara is awkward and barely amicable when you get there. You want to apologize, but you don't do it. You hold your truth even though it is a lie. 

It would be a lot easier to write the article together if you two were at least talking to each other, instead of sending emails back and forth while she is at the desk next to yours. In fact, you only regret taking so long to write and review it, when the last person makes their way out of the office and you're left alone with Kara.

You sigh for the hundredth time. 

"I'm sorry, is this bothering you?" Kara smirks, making as much noise as she can on the chair. You narrow your eyes at her.

"The chair, or you in it?" You bicker. She raises her eyebrow, and you look at her waiting for the comeback, but it's cut off by your phone ringing next to you. "I have to take this. Here, wear my noise canceling headphones and keep out of my private conversation, Supergirl."

Kara sighs, picking it up from your hands and putting it on. She yells. "SAY SOMETHING SO I KNOW IT WORKS."

"Yeah, it works."

"HUH?" You roll your eyes at her. "HEY, THIS IS GOOD! IT ACTUALLY WORKS! CAN I BORROW IT SOMETIME?"

You breathe deep before picking up the phone, knowing you'll need all of your patience for this conversation with your editor. "Yes?"

"Where is my quote, Y/L/N?"

"I don't have it yet."

"What do you mean you don't have it yet?" He is clearly stressed, so you prepare yourself for the upcoming outburst. "You were in the plane with Lena Luthor and you went to fucking Kaznia," His voice raises up in a crescendo. "And you're telling me you don't have one fucking quote I can use in an article? I don't think you realize this is a job assignment! You're not in National City to make friends, you fucking moron." You open your mouth to argue, but he doesn't even give you time. "Had I known you were so fucking stupid I wouldn't have sent you! Clark told me you're good at finding people's secrets, well I think you're good at wasting company's money! Pack your things and get back here. You'll be lucky if I give you dog shows after this!"

He hangs off the phone and you look at it. Tears welling up on your eyes, and whisper. "I have something better.” 

Kara turns on the chair, and is met with your eyes full of tears. She ditches the headphone on the desk and basically runs towards you. “Hey, hey.”

“I’m fine!” You snap, cleaning your tears aggressively. 

“Y/N…” She tries with a sweet voice.

“Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, Danvers!” You clean your nose with your hand. Tears come back to your eyes immediately. “I don’t need your pity, I know prize-awardee-Kara is much better than me and-“

Your words are cut off by her arms quickly evolving you. Your head is trapped between her chest and her arms in an almost bone-hurting hug, and you hate how much you love this. "You're alright." She makes sure, then whispers almost to herself, "I've got you. I've got you."

You can't tell for sure, being face deep into Kara's chest, but you think you feel a kiss being planted on the crown of your head, with sweet reassuring words coming right after. And you cannot not cry. No matter how much you try to be strong, and unbothered, and better than Kara Danvers. Right now, inside her embrace, is the safest you've ever felt in a long time.

It's a while before you can finally whisper, “I’m alright.” 

Kara lets go of your head. There are no more tears wetting your face, because they’re all wetting her cardigan. Her stupid, comfortable, nice scented cardigan. You want to say something, apologize for this ridiculous and weak behavior, you want to beg her to forget this ever happened, instead you say nothing.

“Ok.” Kara says, a trying smile. “Food break!”

And proceeds to order from her favorite Chinese restaurant because you have to try her favorite potstickers in the world and not another word is commented on your cry for help. And soon you're both back to the old ways. Can't really describe it better because what are the old ways? Flirting? Laughs and banter? Working so well together it reminds you of Lois and Clark? Whatever it is, you're back at it.

“Hey.” Kara waves her hand in front of your face. “The article is amazing, there are no typos or grammatical errors. You’ve reviewed it enough. Let’s go celebrate!”

"Celebrate?" You make sure. "What are you celebrating? Lex is still on the loose, you and Clark will still have to deal with it."

"Yeah, but we finally finished the article!" Kara beams, excitedly, touching your arm. She doesn’t know that you actually don’t have a quote yet because you’ve been debating with yourself whether you’d like to move to National City or not.

"Oh, so we're celebrating that I'm leaving." It’s what you choose to go with.

"What? No! That's not - I didn't - No." She fumbles and you make a real effort not to let your feelings show. It's really hard to hold back the truthful smile you wish to give to her adorable confused face.

"Relax, Danvers. I know what you meant. You could never celebrate that I'm leaving when you're so in love with me." You joke with a smirk, but are you really just joking or is this another failed attempt to not flirt with her? 

Kara also laughs, even though it sounds pained and strangled on her chest. Not funny. Not funny at all. 

"You know I can just come and visit, right?" Kara says, a dorky smile filled with double meaning and secrets. You hold back your own dorky smile, but it's getting harder by the minute. 

"Is that a promise or a threat?" Kara looks at you fondly, a smile still playing on her lips, because she knows better now and so you roll your eyes. "Don't count your victory too soon, Danvers. Lena offered me a job at CatCo."

"She did? That’s so great!” She celebrates, eager to have you close. Then she thinks about it for a second, not sure what it means. “And, um, are you? I mean, staying?"

You breathe deep, looking outside the window. You could get used to this view. You could get used to doing some actual investigative journalism even if it means you getting punched in the face from time to time. You could get used to Kara’s dorky face even if you want to punch her most of the time. 

You look back at her, kind blue eyes filled with anticipation and clear adoration, “I don’t know, Danvers. There’s probably space for just one investigative reporter in this magazine. You know I don’t like sharing the byline.”

“God, Y/N. Is that the only thing you think about?” Kara steps closer, her hands shake a little when she reaches out. “Don’t you ever think about sharing something more than a byline with someone?”

“Like what?” You ask, but you know the answer. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes. It’s clear as day when you can cut the sexual tension with a knife. It’s screaming at you in bright light and you are making sure you close your eyes so you don’t see it. 

“Life, maybe?” Kara’s hands travel slowly from your arms past your shoulders and up your neck.

“Life?” You parrot. Mouth running awfully dry, eyes so glued to Kara’s, you can’t even blink. And you only realize you’ve been holding your breath for so long when your lungs beg for it. 

“Yeah.” Kara Danvers stops staring at your eyes and stares at your lips instead and you’re so close you can’t help but dare a look at hers as well. Soft, pink, kissable.

“But maybe we can start simpler.”

“Oh?” It’s a strangled sound coming out of your lips full with want, but lacking oxygen.

“Maybe-” Kara’s hands make way to the nape of your neck, fingers brushing your hair gently and then, suddenly, not gentle at all when she grabs it, almost demanding.

If you want this to stop you gotta say something now! This is your chance! Stop your lips from meeting your almost-nemesis lips right now! 

“Maybe we can share a kiss.”

Your eyes widen even though you saw it coming, but when Kara’s face comes closer, your eyes just close, unwillingly. Wanting, needing, ready for what’s coming next.

You don't stop her when her face comes closer; you don't stop her when you feel her shallow and anxious breath on your cheek; you don't stop her when her lips lightly brush on yours asking for permission; you don't even stop her when she takes a second to utter your name out of her lips so full of desire and passion.

"Y/N, Rao."

And your heart stops when she finally takes your lips into hers, and you can't even think about how you'll have to fight anyone who says it was you who deepened the kiss, even though it was indeed your lips and your tongue that made the first move.

You stop thinking of how this is the lips of your almost-nemesis. You fail to see how this might ruin your reputation. When Kara's tongue slides into your mouth, and her demanding hands tightens around the nape of your neck and your hips, your brain cannot function properly to see all that is wrong with this, and the only thing it wants is more.

More of Kara. More lips and kisses. More hands on hips. You don't think you can get any closer to her, but you want to be close, and then closer. 

The closer you can get without letting her know how much you're loving this. Even though you're pretty sure she can tell by how hot your entire body feels, like you're being set on fire by your desire. Even though she can feel you're running out of oxygen and yet you have not tried to separate your lips to catch some air. You're sure she can listen to your heart beating almost out of your chest and the tiniest moans out of your mouth. She probably feels your arms so strongly wrapped around her, pulling her fully into you. Yes, Kara probably can tell you're as turned on as she is right now when her leg slots right between yours.

And that is so close, but still not close enough. You want to be the closer you can get without letting Kara know how much you truly like her. 

Your brain finally catches up, when you think about how much you like her, instead of how much you dread her. 

"This was a bad idea." You get away from her so fast, she is left dumbfounded, breathless, red cheeks and mouth wet. It makes you want to go back and kiss her some more because she looks dazzling. Gorgeous. Perfect. 

Instead, you force yourself to turn your back at her, quickly grabbing all of your stuff and making your way out of the office. 

"What?" Kara is finally able to come out of her shock. 

"You and I, it's not, it's just not-"

"It's not what? Right? Gosh Y/N, will you stop with this 'I hate you' act and admit your true feelings?"

You bite your lower lip, looking at her from the elevator, when it dings, you just step inside. "Fuck off, Danvers. Not everyone loves you."

You make it out of CatCo, and dare a last look behind yourself. You hope you never have to cross these doors again in this lifetime, because if you do you don't think you'll be able to separate your lips from Kara's again.

Lena texts you as soon as you get to your hotel room. You ignore the text until after you pack your bags, but you can't ignore her forever. She invites you to have lunch with her at L Corp the next day, and you think it's a good opportunity to ask her for a quote before you go back to Metropolis. It is the least you can do, anyway.

“I’m glad you accepted my invitation.” Lena points to the balcony. “You told me you liked the view. So I thought we could eat outside.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t talking about that view.”

Lena gives you a knowing smirk. “I know, darling.”

You follow Lena to the balcony, fancy food displayed on the table, the prettiest view of National City. Nothing like the potstickers and beer from last night. And yet, it doesn't seem to catch your attention any more than the improvised dinner on Kara's tiny work desk.

“So, have you thought about my proposition?” You open your mouth to tell her the news. “Before you say anything, remember I’ll be your boss and I can give you lots of benefits. Not at work, but definitely somewhere else.”

Lena winks at you and oh God, what have you got yourself into?

“Y/N, I really want you to stay.”

Your heart drops on your chest and the words fall out of your mouth without you being able to give a second thought to them. “I have to go.” 

You get up from the table, making your way out of Lena’s office. Your escape is put to a stop by her hand, pulling you towards her. 

You bump into her, face-to-face, bodies so close you can feel her warmth, flesh with flesh. Lena is staring right at your lips.

“Don’t run from this.” She whispers, breath hot on your own mouth and then, just like that, her lips touch yours and oh my God, what’s happening? Lena separates her lips, taking yours into hers and you can’t. Just can’t.

“Stop. I-I can’t.” She blinks at you, confused. “It’s not you, it’s-“ Lena is one second away from rolling her eyes, expecting a ‘it’s me’ out of your mouth, but it never comes. “It’s Kara.”

“Kara?” Her shock is visible, undeniable. To be honest, yours is too.

“Kara kissed me.”

“Oh!” Lena steps back, out of your personal space.

“And I hate her, I do. And you’re also the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen-“

“But?”

“I think I’m in love with her. I think I’ve loved her the whole time.” 

You see Lena's surprised face, and you're surprised too. Probably even more so than she is. How could this happen? How could all of that hatred and annoyance have just turned into love? How is it possible that when you hear Kara's name you don't want to roll your eyes because she is irritating, but rather because she is not here next to you. Was this love all along? Were you blinded by your fury and didn't see the obvious? Ugh. Why does Kara Danvers make you feel so many things? And why are all of them confusing as hell?

"I'm sorry." You walk a bit farther away, back turned to Lena in clear embarrassment, because let's be honest, you have been leading her on. "I promise you I'm just as confused as you are. I really thought I hated her."

"Well," Lena's voice is back to normal, no more shock. "Love and hate is such a thin line." 

"I'll get out of your hair." You start walking towards the door, but Lena holds you by your shoulder.

"Y/N, I meant what I said about the job in CatCo." She rounds you, so she can look at your face. "You and me, it was never a condition for it to happen. You are way too talented and I'd be stupid to let you get away." You blink your eyes in confusion, and she nods at you slightly. "Please, take the job. I promise it won't be weird in any way. Kara is my best friend and I see the way she looks at you. And now that I know your feelings towards her, I'll be the biggest supporter, trust me. Just don't let that almost kiss stop you from making a life-changing decision."

She is right. Lena Luthor is so right. It's time for you to finally stop sabotaging yourself. It's time to try harder than you've ever done. It's time to be honest for the first time.

You can't wait any longer, you've waited too long to tell her. You hid it (not so well) from yourself and the world for longer than you should've, so you can't anymore. It has to be now so you run out of Lena’s office and into the park adjacent.

"SUPERGIRL!" You yell, and yell and yell her name a few times until Kara lands in front of you. "God, what took you so long?"

"Caught a little bit of air traffic." She says with a doofus smile and you can't, won't fight yours anymore. So you smile at her joke, the biggest one you've let people see in a while. "Do you have an emergency?"

"I do." But you can't do this while she is in her Supergirl attire, because even though they are the same person, Supergirl isn't the one you fell in love with. You fell for dweeb Kara Danvers way before you learned her secret. "I need to talk to Kara Danvers."

"What?" Kara asks, confused. Given she is right in front of you and you know that all too well.

"You don't get it, Supergirl. I need to talk to Kara Danvers right now or I'll die. It's a real emergency." 

Kara tilts her head looking at you, confused. You keep running from Kara Danvers and saying the most mean things you can think of, and now you’re in front of her saying you’ll die if you don’t talk to her. Takes her a while, but she finally picks you up and flies you to her apartment. She disappears into her bedroom and comes back a full minute later into your sight, with her real doofus clothes. 

You can't really explain what happened to you when you saw her. Come to think of it, you haven't been able to explain half of the things that happened on this trip to National City. But your heart did a weird loop, your breath got stuck on your lungs and fuck, you had to kiss her right there, right then.

You run towards her, jumping on her arms and she catches you in shock, but you're so fast to kiss her, she can't even overthink this whole thing. 

So you kiss her, and kiss her. Until there's no air left in your lungs, until you realize her dweeb face is your favorite thing in the world, until you both fall into her bed entangled in each other.

"What is happening?” She manages a whisper in between kisses, unable to stop herself from kissing you, even though she doesn't truly understand what's going on.

"You were right. God, you are always right. You're my favorite person in the universe even though I hate you sometimes." She has a dorky smile, the one you would normally want to slap it out of her face, but instead you just kiss her again and again. "I never knew I could feel all of these emotions for just one person. Never realized I could feel so safe inside the embrace of the biggest nerd I know." Kara can't contain her happiness and you can't stop but showering her face with kisses. "I hate to admit when I'm wrong, but I was. I was fighting this feeling because it scared me, how-how could I like someone so much already?”

Kara’s smile reaches her eyes, she literally lights up when you say that and while a few days back you’d want to bring her down, now you just want her to be the happiest she can be.

“But you, Kara Danvers, you really do make it easy for people to like you that fast, don’t you?”

Kara kisses you, softly. “I wouldn’t say you liked me that fast. I mean, you were basically insulting me daily for two full weeks.”

“You have a real dorky face.”

She shrugs. “Yeah, but you like it.”

“I really do.”

And you thought it would be the hardest thing for you to admit. But right now, inside Kara’s embrace with her face so close to yours, you realize it is a lot easier to tell her the truth then fighting it so incessantly like you have since you got here.

"Can't believe we went from enemies to lovers."

"You were never my enemy. You're way too cute for that." Kara raises her eyebrows ready for a comeback. "And only half evil, anyways."

"Oh, you're getting quicker with the comebacks." You smile when you see how excited Kara gets with the compliment. "I still wanna punch your dorky face sometimes."

"Why don't you punch it with your lips." Kara raises her eyebrows suggestively a few times, and you can't help it but to laugh at her dorkiness and then to do exactly what she said.

Epilogue:

"Kara?" You hear Nia's voice next to the door, your eyes widen, and so does Kara's.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing in the closet?" You hold back the laugh from the double meaning, and Kara rolls her eyes at you.

"Changing back." She finally opens the door, leaving you hidden there.

"Because of Supergirl or because you've been making out with your girlfriend in there?" Nia knocks on the door. "Come out, Y/N. No one here wants you guys back in the closet. Also, the new boss is here. The making out in the closet era is over."

"But this was the first time." You defend yourself, slowly coming out of there.

"Oh please. It was the first time today. I might not have x-ray vision, but I have eyes, you know." Nia says and you and Kara share embarrassed smiles. "Now look alive, Andrea Rojas is here and something tells me she's not gonna give us special treatment like Lena did."

#supergirl #kara danvers #lena luthor #kara x reader #lena x reader #reader insert

[dreamaze]

.⟡. 2023 Year in Review .⟡.

cc year in review — every month in 2023 : link your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year

tagged by: @shorelinnes, @xiaojuun, & @gnanii, thank you lovelies! ♡ tagging (no pressure, & the gifs were extra!): @ye-xiu, @eggheons, @nervousnotion, @honeyimissjoo (if you’ve already done this, feel free to drop the link! ♡)

Hello!! A brief(ish) recap before the actual list. It’s been a pretty wild year in wingsland, mostly thanks to finishing up my second master’s degree in December (finally, BYE!). Looking back, I’m surprised at how much content I actually created, but this has been a refuge and source of comfort for me while running on fumes between work and school and general adulting. 2023 also marked some changes in my listening and sources of inspiration. I fell more out of interest with txt (apologies to all followers who were here for them… this is the second time this has happened, oops?) but fell even more in love with Monsta X while discovering some other new or new-to-me artists (more on that in another post). Reason was my first official comeback with them, and it really lit a fire in my brain. I have a few ongoing series that I intend to continue, whether they’re gifs or audio compilations. I giffed a LOT of besties (minhyuk + hyungwon, the soulmates of soulmate besties). It brings me so so much joy to work on those sets and the various audio edits or just being excited about musical details in my music box tag. I also managed to squeeze in a few angsty mv sets along the way, because tbh I feel like I am thriving most as a creator when something is pulling at the heartstrings. I know mbbblr has been quiet lately (and must seem exceedingly so to those who were around years ago), but I will keep being noisy about them until mx6 is reunited and beyond. Thank you for sticking around with me ♡

(P.S. I am calling these my favorites and audience favorites because what even is popularity on tumblr, and also I am horribly indecisive and can rarely stick to one. Please enjoy the occasionally unserious post descriptions!)

January ⟡ My favorite(s out of an unusually prolific month): ‘Beautiful Liar’ lyrics + reflected shots, control imagery, & Minhyuk/Changkyun choreo; besties livestreams ft. minhyuk about to get his ass kicked by an indignant noodle & besties again not fighting ⟡ Audience favorite: Reason concept ver.3 (where did all those notes come from) followed by Hyungwon in Love Killa/Gambler/Beautiful Liar

February ⟡ My favorite: Besties Lone Ranger recording, Honey PD ’괜찮아’ Recording (ft. bonus honey threatening offering to kiss minhyuk on the lips), Hyungwon ‘Beautiful Liar’ mv + photoshoot behinds, & the following ⟡ Audience favorite: Unofficial art director Lee Minhyuk

March ⟡ The (only) favorite: Hyungwon FRED x Marie Claire (my favorite photoshoot coloring of the year)

April ⟡ My favorite: Minhyuk in Reason era & besties ft. not-very-tsundere hyungwon ⟡ Audience favorite: Hyungwon John Varvatos x GQ

May ⟡ My favorite: Besties All In mv + filming (for the 7th anniversary of All In) & the following ⟡ Audience favorite: Lights album preview

June ⟡ My favorite: Overdrive & “always you and me” besties ⟡ Audience favorite: Minhyuk x Singles

July ⟡ My favorite: Hyungwon x MV water imagery ⟡ Audience favorite: 1/2 of besties enlists (sobwail)

August ⟡ My favorite: Fighter performance video (…ft. besties), besties massage (fail), & the following ⟡ Audience favorite: Changkyun x Marie Claire

September ⟡ My favorite: Jaechan ‘Time’ ⟡ Audience favorite: Minhyuk vs the prop pear

October ⟡ My favorite: Besties with or without mx ⟡ Audience favorite: A pretty Joohoney

November ⟡ The (only) favorite: Minhyuk x Floun

December ⟡ My favorite: Giuk 'My Blue' & the consequences of putting besties next to each other in dance relays ⟡ Audience favorite: Hyungwon Givenchy Beauty x Singles

#reused my calendar layout from last year because why not! #shout out to all the artists i loved & intensely listened to this year even if i did not create for them #you're in my heart if not in my cc archive #wings.original #kpop #for fun

[girlmontage]

GIRL MONTAGE is an eight member girl group that debuted on MARCH 18, 2018 under GARDEN LABS. they debuted with the song GIRL'S CAPITALISM with mixed reviews from netizens. the song didn't get popular until 2023, FIVE YEARS after the group's debut.

despite their underrated status as a girl group when debuting, GIRL MONTAGE would slowly begin to gain popularity throughout their rookie year. however, their slow gain in popularity would come to a halt when member ROSIE would announce that she would be leaving the group in DECEMBER 2018. losing one of their most popular members without any explanation, many netizens would voice their concern as Garden Labs never officially explained what happened.

however, despite losing a member, GIRL MONTAGE would continue forward until MARCH 2019 when the group would be surrounded in a scandal. a twitter account would claim that former member Rosie had left the group not due to personal reasons, but instead because of "bullying among the members and staff" which immediately caused a witch hunt on the remaining members by netizens. this would force the group to go on a YEAR LONG HIATUS.

in late 2020, the group would eventually comeback; however, not without backlash from the previous scandal. the group would continue to make comebacks and slowly gain more popularity thanks to all the girls' solo careers. everything for the group would seem to be going well until JULY 2022, when Garden Labs announced that member LONDON had passed away. this sudden news of her passing would shock everyone in the k-pop community along with the members who would once again go on a SIX-MONTH HIATUS in order to mourn their passed member.

it wouldn't be until FEBRUARY 2023, that leader and main producer of the group ARA would announce that she and the other members of GIRL MONTAGE had filed a lawsuit against Garden Labs due to mismanagement and not protecting their artist. the court would rule in favor of the eight members and their contracts with Garden Labs would be terminated. this would put the group on an indefinite hiatus.

in SEPTEMBER 2023, Ara would announce that she and ARTEMIS had made their own label L'S MUSIC and that the rest of the members had joined them under this new label.

Im Gyuri was born in Busan, South Korea on September 14, 1998 to office worker parents. She has an older sister who's an art teacher. From a young age, Gyuri had been in love with music. Often singing, dancing, and even putting on small shows for her family when she was younger. It wouldn't be until middle school did she begin to explore music as a career option when her sister gifted her a piano for her thirteenth birthday.

From there, she would begin recording herself playing both covers and original songs and uploading them to youtube under the name ARA. Gyuri would begin to skip school in order to audition to entertainment companies and practicing her singing and dancing. When she was sixteen, Gyuri would be accepted into Garden Labs originally as a producer, but would be put into the trainee system.

For the next four years, Gyuri would train under Garden Labs before she would officially debut under the company as the Leader, Lead Vocalist, and Main Producer for the group in 2018. Along producing 90% of the songs for Girl Montage, Gyuri has also produced for a number of other artist in both K-Pop and the west. When producing she goes by the producer name PRICE X.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : ARA

FULL NAME : Im Gyuri

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Yuri, GG, PRINCE X ( producer name )

BIRTHDAY : September 14, 1998

BIRTHPLACE : Busan, South Korea

NATIONALITY : Korean

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Producer

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Leader, Lead Vocalist, Main Producer

Harlow Janet was born in New York City, New York on October 1, 1998 to a hotel owner father and boutique owner mother. Growing up, Harlow lived in the luxury hotel her father owned with her parents. Throughout most of her childhood and teenage years, Harlow was mainly with her mother while her father traveled the world to manage his other hotels. Despite the lack of her father's presence, Harlow would grow up as a happy child who had a love for dance. This caused her mother to enroll her in different dance academies before she eventually joined the dance team "WANNABE" which covered K-Pop songs.

Through the dance team, that's how Harlow and several of her teammates were able to be scouted by entertainment companies like YG and JYP. Harlow would be scouted by YG Entertainment and would accept their invitation and fly to Korea with her mother. Throughout her time at YG, Harlow would grow better and better in her dance along with her singing ability. This is where she would be put into the lineup for BlackPink. Unfortunately, she would be kicked out of the lineup and moved to a smaller company, Garden Labs, where she would continue her training.

In 2018, Harlow would debut as the group's Main Dancer, Visual, Lead Vocalist, and Sub-Rapper. She would also easily become one of the group's most popular members ranking up there with Artemis and former member Rosie. In October 2019, Harlow would make her solo debut and would eventually start to stream on Twitch where she would become popular on the platform from both her idol status and comedic personality.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Harlow

FULL NAME : Harlow Janet

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Low, Janet, Monster Dancer

BIRTHDAY : October 1, 1998

BIRTHPLACE : New York City, New York

NATIONALITY : American

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Streamer

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Main Dancer, Visual, Lead Vocalist, Sub-Rapper

Juniper Fujiwara was born in Kyoto, Japan on January 1, 1999 to her single father. She has a twin sister who is a popular model in Japan. Growing up, Juniper's father was a popular retired singer in Japan and because of that music was a large part of her life. Since she was younger, her and sister have done both singing and dance lessons together. By their elementary years, Juniper and her sister were in a performing duo together that became popular all over Japan with their dad as their manager.

As she grew up though, the more she would sing and dance, the more she would eventually start getting compared to her father who was a singer in his earlier years. This caused her to slowly begin to resent singing and dancing as she got got older. It wouldn't be until she was scouted by an SM Entertainment agent that she would decide to give it another chance.

Training in Korea, Juniper would be wildly known as a popular SM Rookie and also appearing on the Mickey Mouse Club. She was also suppose to debut in Red Velvet; however, she was removed from the lineup last minute. This caused her to leave the company a year later where she would join Garden Labs to finish her training.

In 2018, Juniper would debut as the Main Vocalist and Sub-Rapper of the Girl Montage. During their hiatus she would find a passion in painting and begin working as a painter as a side career. She is seen as the most popular member in Japan which is where most of her fanbase is.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Juniper

FULL NAME : Juniper Fujiwara

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : June, The Shadow

BIRTHDAY : January 1, 1999

BIRTHPLACE : Kyoto, Japan

NATIONALITY : Japanese

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Painter

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Main Vocalist, Sub-Rapper

Artemis Song was born in London, England on February 14, 1999 to a professor father and writer mother. She is an only child. Artemis grew up as a social butterfly, not afraid to talk to anyone. She also had a natural talent for singing with her parents letting her compete in several singing competitions. It wouldn't be until her and her parents traveled to Korea to visit family that she would be scouted by several different companies after participating on the TV show "Sing It!" which also introduced her to the Korean public who all immediately fell in love with her and her personality.

This is was also when Artemis decided that she wanted to be a professional singer and idol. Originally she joined Jupiter Home Entertainment and after seven years she would be transferred to Garden Labs, their sub-label. Continuing her training her, Artemis would do several public busking performances and meet and greets, being seen as one of the most popular trainees at the time. Her popularity was also boosted thanks to placing 2nd on the first season of Produce 101 and becoming a member of I.O.I.

After I.O.I disbanded, Artemis would finish her training with Garden Labs and prepare for her official debut.

In 2018, Artemis would debut as the Face of the Group, Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer, and Visual of Girl Montage. She is the most popular member of the group thanks to all the invitation of variety shows, commercials, magazines, etc. she has gotten over the years.

In 2020, she started a podcast called "Art's Poetry" where she invites other K-Pop idols onto the show and talk with them. Along with that, she has also been an MC for SBS's "The Show" since 2022.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : ARTEMIS

FULL NAME : Artemis Song

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Art, Artie

BIRTHDAY : February 14, 1999

BIRTHPLACE : London, England

NATIONALITY : English

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Podcaster, Actress

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Face of the Group, Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Visual

Jeon Chaeryoung was born in Jeju, South Korea on May 4, 1999 to an art teacher father and math teacher mother. she has an older brother. Chaeryoung grew up as a shy girl who instantly enjoyed music thanks to her older brother. As she got older, the two of them would begin to busk around Seoul in order to earn extra money. This would continue until her brother went off to college.

After her brother went off to college, Chaeryoung would continue to busk on the streets, performing covers of different songs. She would then get the chance to perform on the TV show "Sing It!" where she would meet her future group member Artemis.

While she was eliminated early on the show, her talent was able to get her recognized by JYP who would recruit her as a new trainee. Chaeryoung would first be known for competing on the survival show SIXTEEN before she was eliminated. Two years after SIXTEEN, she would choose to leave JYP and move to Garden Labs.

In 2018, Chaeryoung would debut under the stage name "Cherry" as the Main Dancer and Lead Rapper of the group. She chose the stage name Cherry because that was the nickname her older brother gave her. Chaeryoung made her solo debut in 2023. She is seen as one of the lesser known and popular members of the group.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Cherry

FULL NAME : Jeon Chaeryoung

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : ChaeChae, Youngie, Pink Cherry

BIRTHDAY : May 4, 1999

BIRTHPLACE : Jeju, South Korea

NATIONALITY : Korean

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Main Dancer, Lead Rapper

Kwon Yulli was born in Gangnam, South Korea on November 17, 1999 to two lawyer parents. she is an only child. since she was born, yulli was raised by her nanny while her parents were away at work. She had always had a natural talent for the arts that her parents would force her into after seeing how good she was. Being forced to paint all day and night to improve on her painting skills.

When she was in middle school, Yulli would attend an art school and would compete in multiple art shows, place first most of the time. It wouldn't be until she was fifteen that she was scouted by Garden Labs. At first her parents refused to allow her to become a trainee, but after some convincing and several deals that Yulli would be allowed to become a trainee at the company.

Yulli would train for the next few years along with the other members of Girl Montage. Her parents would regularly check in on her and after her third year as a trainee told her that if her debut wasn't successful then she would have to leave the company in order to focus on school and painting.

In 2018, Yulli would debut as the Visual and Main Rapper for the group. Around 2020, Yulli would be diagnosed with social anxiety and would begin therapy in order to help her mental health. During the group's first hiatus, she would began creating and writing a Webtoon under the pen name Double Y. The Webtoon would become an immediate success to the public.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Yulli

FULL NAME : Kwon Yulli

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Lily, Double Y ( pen name )

BIRTHDAY : November 17, 1999

BIRTHPLACE : Gangnam, South Korea

NATIONALITY : Korean

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Webtoonist

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Main Rapper, Visual

Lane Gillian was born in New York City, New York on March 20, 2000 to a business man father and a model mother. She has two older sisters. Growing up, Lane was an active attender to her mother's shows and watched as she walked the runway. This caused Lane to want to grow up and become just like her mother. However, when she was in middle school her parents would divorce and she would forced to go and live with her grandmother and aunt.

This caused Lane to resent both her parents and she would begin to act out at school and as a result she her aunt put her in a ballet class. After several classes, Lane would fall in love with the dance. Because of this, she would also venture into other dance styles until she came across Hyuna and K-Pop. Lane would immediately fall in love with the genre and learn how to do several group dances.

It wouldn't be until her and her grandmother took a trip to South Korea that she would be scouted by SM Entertainment due to her looks and busking skills. This is where she met Juniper who was also a new trainee at the time. Lane would continue to train at SM and even become a popular and well-known SM Rookie. In 2015, Lane would decide to leave the company after Juniper, telling the other girl that they either "succeed together or fail together."

Lane would go on to debut as the group's Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer, and Visual in 2018. She is also considered as one of the most popular members to both netizens and brands. In 2021, she would become an ambassador for Vivienne Westwood and in 2022 she would become ambassador for Selkie.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Lane

FULL NAME : Lane Gillian

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Laney, Vivienne's Girl, Fashion Guru

BIRTHDAY : March 20, 2000

BIRTHPLACE : New York City, New York

NATIONALITY : American

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Fashion Designer, Model

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Visual

Juliet Carlson was born in Wellington, New Zealand on December 23, 2000 to a nurse mother and professor step-father. She has a younger half-brother. Growing up, Juliet never really had an interest in music like her group members. Instead she wanted to a game developer due to her love of video games.

This interest would only continue to skyrocket as games such as Five Night's at Freddy's and Undertale came out which were created by mainly one developer. This is where she would begin to full start working and making her own video game. However, this would eventually be put on the back-burner when during a trip to Korea, Juliet would be scouted by a Garden Labs agent due to her nature looks. Her mother was the one to force her into auditioning, as she originally wanted to be a singer before she became pregnant.

With Juliet passing her audition, her whole family would move to Korea in order to support her. Her mother would soon become unbearable with pushing Juliet to do better and better than the other trainees, and her original dream of being a game developer was soon lost. Juliet; however, didn't have the heart to say no to her mother and did what her mother wanted.

Juliet would debut as the group's Maknae, Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, and Sub-Vocalist in 2018. Along with becoming an idol, Juliet would also be pushed into acting. Apart from that, Juliet would also get to work on her game again and get to officially release it 2022.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Juliet

FULL NAME : Juliet Song but legally changed to Juliet Carlson

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Julie, Princess Julie, Princess Maknae

BIRTHDAY : December 23, 2000

BIRTHPLACE : Wellington, New Zealand

NATIONALITY : Australian

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol, Actress, Game Developer

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - Present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2023 ), L's Music ( 2023 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE

POSITIONS : Maknae, Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Sub-Vocalist

MEMBER FOR ETERNITY

tw. death / suicide

London Kang was born in Stockholm, Sweden on June 12, 1998 to a actor father and an actress mother. She has an older sister and brother. Growing up, London was always in the spotlight thanks to her famous parents. London, herself, would also begin acting at a young age, appearing in several commercials and even became a regular on the Korean drama "Happy Ways."

However, London would realize that she didn't want to act anymore and would instead want to pursue a career as an idol. Thanks to who her parents were, London was able to easily get into CUBE Entertainment and start her training in 2012. This however didn't sit right with several other trainees at the company who would bully and mock London despite her being at the same level as the rest of them.

Eventually, London would move companies and join Garden Labs. When she joined, she immediately became friends with the other trainees like Ara and Harlow. London was one of the more popular trainees at the company thanks to her talent and hard working attitude.

In 2018, London would debut as the group's Lead Vocalist and Visual. While not an immediate favorite member, many Pathfinders feel in love with London and her natural charm, catching the eye of many new fans. During the group's first hiatus, she would go back to acting and do several small, indie films.

Unfortunately, in July of 2022, London would be found dead in the group's dorm by member Juliet. The cause of her death as remained out of public knowledge due to her family; however, many netizens and fans have suspected it was suicide.

In 2023, two members of Girl Montage, Ara and Artemis, would start her own music label called L's Music in memory of London. The song "BLUE" was also dedicated to her.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : London

FULL NAME : London Kang

KOREAN NAME : Kang Sowon

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : London Bridge, Lonnie, Blue, L

BIRTHDAY : June 12, 1998

BIRTHPLACE : Stockholm, Sweden

NATIONALITY : Korean

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - 2022

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 - 2022 )

POSITIONS : Lead Vocalist, Visual

FORMER MEMBER

tw. death

Rosa Jung was born in Seoul, South Korea on April 1, 1997 to convenience store worker parents. She has two younger brothers and a sister. Growing up, Rosa had to take care of her younger brother while her parents worked. Compared to her former group members, Rosa grew up in a struggling household where her parents worked day and nightshifts in order to provide for themselves.

When she was in middle school, Rosa took a likening to idols and was inspired by idols like BoA and Girl's Generation. She realized while watching them on variety shows that she wanted to become an idol in order to famous. However, her parents discouraged her as the idol industry was a tough and ruthless place and had little faith in their daughter. Instead, they forced her to get a job when she was fourteen in order to help support her younger brothers and newly born sister.

It wasn't until two years later that tragedy would strike Rosa when her parents would end up in a car accident, killing them both. This left Rosa and her three younger siblings as orphans; however, their aunt would take them all in allowing them to be taken care of without the worry of money and support. Rosa's aunt would be the one to encourage her to audition and pursue her idol dream.

Rosa would pass her audition at Garden Lab's and be one of the last trainees to join the group that would eventually become Girl Montage. In 2018, Rosa would debut under the stage name "Rosie" and was the group's Main Dancer and Lead Vocalist. She was also quickly seen as one of the most popular members.

However, her idol dream soon changed as Rosa seen her popularity and began bullying the other members for not being as successful as her. This would cause a huge rift between Rosa and the other members to the point that she began hating all of them. A physical fight would break out between Rosa and Ara which would result in Rosa's contract being terminated in December 2018. Since then, Rosa has redebuted as a soloist under a new company.

BASIC INFORMATION

STAGE NAME : Rosie

FULL NAME : Rosa Jung

NICKNAMES / ALIAS : Rosie Posie, That Fucking Bitch, The Joker

BIRTHDAY : April 1, 1997

BIRTHPLACE : Seoul, South Korea

NATIONALITY : Korean

CAREER INFORMATION

PROFESSION : Idol

YEARS ACTIVE : 2018 - present

COMPANY : Garden Labs ( 2018 ), Petal Music ( 2019 - present )

GROUP : GIRL MONTAGE ( 2018 )

POSITIONS : Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist

ib : the blueprint @venusvity

#( the montage ) : profile #tw suicide #tw death #oc kpop idol #fake kpop group #kpop oc #kpop addition #oc kpop group #fictional idol group #fake girl group #girl group oc

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up with Old GMMTV: SOTUS Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. First official Old GMMTV Challenge review up: SOTUS.]

[NOTE, March 23, 2024: I want to note, from the future!, that my thoughts on Krist Perawat, his acting, and his career trajectory regarding his personal controversies, have changed quite a bit since the publication of this 2023 post. There is excellent commentary out there about the detrimental impact of fandom behavior on Krist and his reputation over the years that I’ve been influenced by, and his comeback to BL in Be My Favorite was a risk that I supported. I have a lot of nostalgia for SOTUS and SOTUS S now, and their impact on the Thai BL genre since their airings.]

I spent a lot of the weekend wrapping my head around the MANY thoughts I have about SOTUS -- but first, I want to say that the FEEDBACK I received on questions that I posted throughout my watch of the show really heartened me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU (!!!) to EVERYONE who made helpful comments on my posts (here, here, here, here, especially here, and here). All of you helping to set me up for how I understand the historical timeline of the development of BLs in Thailand was absolutely necessary for the lenses in which I ultimately watched the show.

And I think there’s a number of perspectives I ended up adopting over the course of my watch. It might help me to write this piece if I list out those lenses now:

- Lens #1: WHY, OH MY GOD, WHY WAS KRIST CAST IN THIS ROLE - Lens #2: People had to have enjoyed this in 2016 because there was nothing else like it available at the time, despite Krust - Lens #3: Maybe the first two points are related - Lens #4: Singto is reaching remarkable-level here - Lens #5: Maybe all of these points will help me understand why many fans still think of this show fondly, despite the subsequent Krust/KrustSingto drama and possibly questionable points made on sexuality and sexual preferences.

More than anything else, I think it helped me to watch this show while recognizing that I’m an #old. Being early middle-aged (early, I tell ya) helps me, literally everyday, to remember that history guides me to understand the world in which I view it now. So to watch a show from 2016, which is long-ago or not-that-long-ago, depending on your frame of reference, means that I was watching history. And history is.... a reflection of that one, singular moment in time, with the context of past events, people, and places influencing that moment in time. 

I went out of order on the Old GMMTV Challenge because I was too eagerly curious about Singto to watch Love Sick first, and wait on SOTUS (as I’m planning to reward myself after this journey with a big old watch party of He’s Coming to Me, running back to my snuggly Ohm/Nanon rabbithole). 

But as well, speaking of Bad Buddy: I also felt like I really wanted to get SOTUS under my belt after a number of separate and FABULOUS conversations about how Bad Buddy had purposefully relied on a BL framework (citing @miscellar), and how Aof and his team, plus Nanon and Ohm themselves, had set out essentially to create a critical meta-BL, complete with embedded reflection on BL tropes -- exactly the sorts of tropes that were borne out of SOTUS. (Here and here are two links to said fabulous conversations.)

I probably think about Bad Buddy at least once a day by way of how deeply layered it was a drama, so: to SOTUS I needed to go, to understand the tropes framework that @miscellar and others opined on, and for me to undergo a learning experience about how exactly today’s BLs are influenced by the ones that started the genre in Thailand. 

Considering the lenses I listed above, I’ll say this: at the age I was at in 2016, and knowing that, as an Asian, I’ve always had a craving for shows by Asians, set in Asia, within Asian family and social systems, about issues of acceptance and equity felt by Asians: I predict that, save for Krust’s performance, I would have been CRAZY for SOTUS as a new kind of show that I wanted and needed to watch.

During my excellent conversations with the Tumblr family, I came to understand that SOTUS was Thailand’s first true BL. It centered on a same-sex attraction-to-relationship, established various levels of perspectives and commentaries on power dynamics, and set up a number of important tropes -- pink milk, university settings, engineering-as-gay, the gay-for-you motif, side couples and best friends, etc. -- that we then saw and see repeated in subsequent BLs.

Where I was at in 2016 -- I would have eaten it almost all of it up.

Now? Now, I get to see all the problematic factors about it, through the lens of history.

So I want to be fair about the commentary this show receives NOW, because one thing I heard repeated in the feedback I received over the past couple weeks, in part, was about nostalgia. Reflecting particularly on Singto’s performance as Kongpob -- I mean, with a slightly more sophisticated, mature, well-rounded, better-written script, his performance would have been totally groundbreaking.

But I THINK, both from a 2016-lens and from a now-lens, that the script was terribly choppy. I don’t think the script did justice for the risks this show was otherwise willing to take. And I think, again, that’s because SOTUS is a product of its time, where there were no precedents for how to otherwise tell Kong’s story -- and that SOTUS was breaking the ground that the current crop of GMMTV’s screenwriters and directors are now tending. In essence: GMMTV was experimenting with HOW to tell the CENTERED story of a same-sex relationship, and we saw that unfold in SOTUS’s real time. 

Besides the choppy script, this show ultimately did not achieve creative groundbreaking status, for me, because of Krist. Not to be hyperbolic, but he’s one of the worst actors I’ve seen in an Asian drama, and I’ve watched some bad KBS daytime shit. If someone tells me that Krust has been great in certain cishet shows, that’s fine, but I’m not running to them (and now I’m SO disappointed about The Jungle, which I was otherwise looking forward to this year). And this feeling is not at all inclusive of his actual problematic homophobic behavior. He was just terrible in SOTUS. 

We know and have seen tsundere leads. We all love our biases who have played tsundere leads. The problem with Krust is that he had zero reactivity and chemistry to an excellent Singto, regardless of the script, regardless of his acting methodology, if he had any to begin with. 

So I have to think: did GMMTV cast him because, maybe, he was having trouble getting other projects that would have required, say, acting? And GMMTV was like, well, this guy’s under contract, let’s throw him a bone with this experimental show we’re doing, and see how it goes?

I am tending to think that that’s possibly what happened. And maybe, even, GMMTV could not have predicted how FANTASTIC Singto would be -- and, therefore, how wide the divide would have been between their performances. And, how much GMMTV was risking by putting this mismatched pair together for what ultimately was groundbreaking material.

GMMTV couldn’t have predicted the future, right? Hollywood tries with its predictive models, but this was new ground for this company.

Where the choppy script and Krust’s terrible acting really fails the show is, as I mentioned earlier, the issue that I bring up about power dynamics. Krust as Arthit was going to do something in this show that was rare at that moment: Arthit was going to move from a socially majority position to a minority position by falling in love with Kongpob.

That’s a big deal. That happens in two of my most dearest BLs, Old Fashion Cupcake and Cherry Magic, and many others, of course. The Asian collectivist perspective plays huge parts in both shows, unconsciously, that lead to the uke leads considering taking up with their semes. And it happens to Arthit, too. In the Asian collectivist perspective -- you, as a uke, respond empathically, and maybe even try to meet your seme where your seme is at. 

I think the only times that I saw Krust at least trying to show up in this show was by way of this power dynamic move, to attempt to respond to Kong/Singto emotionally. There was a little eye contact. There was a little instinctual responsiveness. But otherwise, there was really a lot of dead air and dead space, leveraged by an only-okay soundtrack that left Krust and Singto struggling to act in essential silence, with Krust barely scraping by on attempting to communicate his struggle in his developing attraction to Kong. 

I’m just wondering to myself: how much do I blame the actual show itself -- like the script, the director, the writers, etc. -- about how it ended up this way? I think I ultimately have a sympathetic heart about it, again, because of the history, and my betting (based on everything that everyone here on Tumblr has taught me about) that again, this was a kind of experiment for GMMTV, without the company knowing how HUGE KrustSingto would become. 

Other points about the show that I want to quickly capture before I wrap up on Kong/Singto:

- The hazing, while concerning, didn’t make me swerve, as it was clear from the start that it was sanctioned by their school. I want to say that this kind of hazing is important to many Asian school social systems, but I know things have changed a ton since I was a kid. As with almost all social and family systems, the hazing, I think, offered another commentary on power dynamics that I think was reflected throughout the show. I thought the hazing was actually an interesting mirror to what Kong and Arthit were struggling with individually, between themselves.

- I LOVED THE SIDE CHARACTERS. M, Wad, Prae, May. They were fun, well-written, and WELL-ACTED.

I want to wrap this up with a reflection on Singto/Kong and his acting vis à vis the script. 

Going back to the 2016 moment-in-time frame: I know I would have gone crazy for him seven years ago. Forget about it. Mans totally rose to the occasion of what this show was doing. I think the script ultimately failed to truly capture what he was willing to throw. (And that leads me to not being surprised that he was then subsequently paired with various leads in future shows, probably to try to capture a magic that he clearly demonstrated in SOTUS.)

In particular: I did NOT think the script did Kong justice by keeping the revelation about his budding attraction to Arthit until episode 11 (I *think* it was episode 11, but I could be wrong, and I’m not going back to fact-check, ha). I want to think that that’s one of the (many) kinds of mistakes that GMMTV is correcting for now. The comments about wives, the insistent “you like me”s -- they were non-contextual for much of the show, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE Krust could not catch a damn ball. That’s what ultimately broke me about this show. And I think that demonstrated a lack of fluency about how GMMTV could write scripts on same-sex attraction. 

As well, as I wrote in this post -- the post-Arthit-coming-out discussion between Kong and M threw me. M asks Kong -- “do you like men?”

And Kong had SUCH a specific answer. To me, as I wrote previously: his answer was, I definitely don’t like men. I’m definitely not gay. I just like Arthit.

My guess is, for Thailand’s first full-fledged BL in 2016 -- this dialogue HAD to be written this way. To enter into the kind of territory we see NOW, as we saw in Moonlight Chicken -- where we see one man’s (Jim’s) struggle with IDENTIFYING himself as gay, AND presenting another man AS HIS boyfriend -- we had to START somewhere. That somewhere was SOTUS, in almost total opposite territory, where the concept of the admission-of-gay could not be contemplated.

@bengiyo’s comments in the last post I linked above, in particular, collide in part with @absolutebl‘s analysis on the Asian collectivist vision. However, I can’t help but compare this issue, again, to what we recently saw in Moonlight Chicken...where conversations about Jim, about Li Ming, and with Wen, a fully out and identified queer man, all touched upon individual identity.

That’s where we are -- that’s where we CAN be -- now, in 2023, and in the near future. SOTUS was important for me to watch to understand how we ended up here, now, for what was okay and was not okay, in 2016. 

It’s okay, now, to appreciate collectivism WHILE ALSO identifying oneself as queer/gay. At least, it’s okay in fantasy BL-land. (Again, I’d peep @bengiyo’s comments about how that may not be reflective of what domestic Thai queer audiences may be feeling about these shows.) 

I have a lot more understanding to undertake regarding how Asian queer audiences see this. But at least from the perspective of this first-generation Asian American -- to see the progression of history as the doors slowly open, from dramas to Asian (and other) audiences regarding how one can identify oneself, safely and happily -- that’s a big deal, and I see how SOTUS was a harbinger of things to come. 

Singto was simply up to the task to break ground in this show, and it’s such a shame that he was let down, in my opinion, by his co-star. The subsequent history of that pairing breaks my heart, because I think it taints a lot of what SOTUS ended up bringing to the table. I’m glad we have Aof and Bad Buddy, now, to serve in part as a reflection for what SOTUS did, and how BLs and BL tropes could age, be manipulated, and be IMPROVED and developed upon, over the course of time. But the actual history of KrustSingto messes me up a lot in regards to how I might feel nostalgic, myself, for SOTUS, as I learn more about classic BLs.

It’s a confusing mindspace to be in, to move backwards in time to understand how things have developed -- but I gain such a bigger appreciation for the shows I’ve fallen in love with now, over these recent months, for where they came from.

[I want to give HUGE thanks to @absolutebl, @bengiyo, @nieves-de-sugui, @respectthepetty, @miscellar (especially for all the BBS context), @lurkingshan, @wen-kexing-apologist, @shortpplfedup, @clairificusrex, @dribs-and-drabbles, and everyone else who made comments in my SOTUS watch posts. All of you are my historians. More than the fun of writing these reviews is interacting and conversing with the Tumblr fam.]

(Love Sick is on deck. If anyone is following this journey, I’ll be fast-forwarding through the second season, ha -- I can’t commit to 36 lakorn-length episodes. I also have a HUGE and lengthy wedding trip coming up in a couple weeks. So the conclusion of this project will be delayed, but definitely know that I’ll be posting thoughts here and there as I plod through.)

#sotus #sotus the series #sotus meta #sotus the series meta #krist perawat #singto prachaya #kristsingto #turtles catches up with old gmmtv #the old gmmtv challenge

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - April 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on here or Ko-fi, at the end of the month I’ll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn’t use each week - almost double the content! (I’m new to taking tips on here; if it doesn’t show me your username or if you have DM’s turned off, please send me a screenshot of your payment)

1. Three Endangered Asiatic Lion Cubs Born at London Zoo

“The three cubs are a huge boost to the conservation breeding programme for Asiatic lions, which are now found only in the Gir Forest in Gujarat, India.”

2. United Nations Passes Groundbreaking Intersex Rights Resolution

“The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed its first ever resolution affirming the rights of intersex people, signaling growing international resolve to address rights violations experienced by people born with variations in their sex characteristics.”

3. Proposal to delist Roanoke logperch

“Based on a review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that the Roanoke logperch, a large freshwater darter, is no longer at risk of extinction. […] When the Roanoke logperch was listed as endangered in 1989, it was found in only 14 streams. In the years since, Roanoke logperch surveys and habitat restoration have more than doubled the species range, with 31 occupied streams as of 2019.”

4. Fully-Accessible Theme Park Reopens Following Major Expansion

“Following the $6.5 million overhaul, the park now offers [among other “ultra-accessible” attractions] a first-of-its-kind 4-seat zip line that can accommodate riders in wheelchairs as well as those who need extra restraints, respiratory equipment or other special gear.”

5. ‘The Javan tiger still exists’: DNA find may herald an extinct species’ comeback

“A single strand of hair recovered from [a sighting] is a close genetic match to hair from a Javan tiger pelt from 1930 kept at a museum, [a new] study shows. “Through this research, we have determined that the Javan tiger still exists in the wild,” says Wirdateti, a government researcher and lead author of the study.”

6. Treehouse Village: Eco-housing and energy savings

““The entire place is designed and built to meet the passive house standard, which is the most energy-efficient construction standard in the world,” says resident Wayne Groszko, co-owner of one of the units at Treehouse.”

7. 50 rare crocodiles released in Cambodia's tropical Cardamom Mountains

“Cambodian conservationists have released 50 captive-bred juvenile Siamese crocodiles at a remote site in Cambodia as part of an ongoing programme to save the species from extinction.”

8. The Remarkable Growth of the Global Biochar Market: A Beacon of Environmental Progress

“Biochar, a stable carbon form derived from organic materials like agricultural residues and forestry trimmings, is a pivotal solution in the fight against global warming. By capturing carbon in a stable form during biochar production, and with high technology readiness levels, biochar offers accessible and durable carbon dioxide removal.”

9. 'Seismic' changes set for [grouse shooting] industry as new Scottish law aims to tackle raptor persecution

“Conservation scientists and campaigners believe that birds such as golden eagles and hen harriers are being killed to prevent them from preying on red grouse, the main target species of the shooting industry. […] Under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill, the Scottish grouse industry will be regulated for the first time in its history.”

10. White House Awards $20 Billion to Nation’s First ‘Green Bank’ Network

“At least 70 percent of the funds will go to disadvantaged communities, the administration said, while 20 percent will go to rural communities and more than 5 percent will go to tribal communities. […] The White House said that the new initiative will generate about $150 billion in clean energy and climate investments[…].”

March 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

#hopepunk #good news #lion #conservation #zoo #india #intersex #lgbt rights #human rights #fish #endangered #disability #accessibility #amusement park #tiger #big cats #extinction #extinct species #ecofriendly #affordable housing #energy efficiency #crocodiles #global warming #climate change #scotland #raptor #eagles #hunting #solar panels #solar energy

[mjohnso]

Quarterly Debut Review: Q1 2024

Quarterly Debut Reviews are a supplementary series to my biannual Periodic Rookie Group Reports, which are published quarterly. Each installment covers three rookie groups that debuted over the past three months. For the fifth installment, I covered ALL(H)OURS (January), YDS (February), and Heimish (March).

As always, a full list of rookie groups that have debuted thus far in 2024 is available here: 2024 Rookie Groups Debuts

January / ALL(H)OURS Debut: January 10, 2024 Debut Song: “GOTCHA”

Although I have been tracking rookie groups for over a decade, I am no soothsayer. I cannot predict with any accuracy the number of new groups that will debut in 2024 or if more groups will disband this year than last year. Nor can I tell if the recent reversal of a multi-year decline in the number of boy groups I covered in Periodic Rookie Groups Report No. 22 is permanent or a temporary deviation. At best, what the numbers tell me is. 2024 is not off to a bad start, especially regarding boy groups. The four boy groups that debuted this year in January mirrors the previous year's total. While this may not crack 2019’s record of nine boy groups in January, it is better than 2018's where boy groups' poor performance was foreshadowed by a single debut at the start of the year.

No matter how this year shakes out for boy groups, it cannot be said that boy groups did not try like ALL(H)OURS who was one of the four boy groups to debut. Their name externalizes their ambition signaling, according to Korea JoongAng Daily, their intention to “pour everything it has at all times.” Their debut song doubles down on this message with the chorus, punctuated by a deep bass sound, emphasizing their laser focus on their goal.

Of course, it takes more than focus and hard work for idols to achieve their dreams—or stardom —in the industry. Those are only parts of an equation with multiple variables, many of which idols have no control over, including their image, musical director, or whether a group gets to come back and try again or build on the momentum. But at least ALL(H)OURS are committed to doing what they can do and working with what they have control over.

February / YDS (YeoDongSaeng) Debut: February 21, 2024 Debut Song: “A Fluttering Love”

YDS’s debut single “A Fluttering Love” can claim more so-called ‘firsts’ than your average debut single. The song is the group���s first release under a proper label, as well as, their official debut and first single. Contrarily, it is also the first song in the industry's history to qualify as both a debut and a comeback single, a fact that the marketing has not hidden but highlighted. On a teaser image released to promote the song’s release, above the two members seated back-to-back on a white table, it reads “YDS 7TH DIGITAL SINGLE ALBUM.”

This discrepancy in qualification is a byproduct of YDS’ unorthodox career trajectory. The duo began their career uploading covers of k-pop songs to their YouTube channel, before pivoting to producing their original songs in 2022. They released six singles and built up a small following before according to their December 2023 Instagram post, signing with HO Entertainment. Then as established above, in February they released their seventh single that doubled as their major label debut. In other words, unlike most k-pop groups who debut after being assembled through the industry’s traditional top-down method, YDS debuted in reverse.

While there are tradeoffs for both YDS and HO Entertainment for bypassing this usual path, I see the appeal. For HO Entertainment, in particular, it is a cost-saving measure. A group with a pre-determined lineup eliminates the need to recruit and train future members of a group, a process so expensive that according to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)’s 2023 Pop Culture & Arts Industry Survey, most agencies do not even maintain a pool of trainees. They also come with a pre-defined image and sound, which although certainly adjustable, HO Entertainment has left unchanged. Indeed “A Fluttering Love”, features their signature sweet acoustic sound and lyrics about a love confession. This is consistent with their previous releases, only this time it comes with a name attached to it and an accompanying promotional rollout, typical of your average group.

March / Heimish Debut: March 15, 2024 Debut Song: “Golden Hour”

So far, this year has gone according to Rainbow E&M’s plan. That plan, laid out across their 2023 year-end Instagram posts, indicated that they aimed to debut one group per month – a feat they have pulled off. Three months into 2024, they debuted at least one group under the Future Idol Asia banner every month: Flora in January, Bluebell in February, and now Heimish and Pearlys in March.

Practically speaking, these are all new groups in the sense that Future Idol Asia has never debuted a group under these names or with these lineups. Of the four groups that debuted, Flora and Heimish’s lineups are partly a patchwork of members from prior Future Idol Asia groups. In the case of Flora, of the group’s six members, four previously debuted under Redplum and Closer, respectively. As for Heimish, their group is comprised of one new member, two members of Blossom, and one member of Winsome. This is a byproduct of the nature of the project. As I have written before Future Idol Asia groups are not intended to be permanent homes for aspiring idols but a temporary waypoint on their journey. Ideally, a member who debuts as part of a Future Idol Asia group would catch the attention of an entertainment agency scout at a showcase who invites them for further auditioning before inviting them to join their agency. In reality, though not every member gets picked. For example, in the case of Closer, two of whose members re-debuted this year as part of Flora, only one of the ten members in the group was chosen for additional auditions with other agencies.

This poses a conundrum for the Future Idol Asia project, as they are left with groups with gaps in their lineup, although groups like Flora and Heimish point to their solution. Since last year they have been repackaging members from their previous groups into these new groups. That allows the project to pad its numbers, giving the illusion that the project has more recruits than it actually does, especially if recruitment does not meet expectations. More importantly, it also gives those not picked the first time another chance. With a new group, concept, song, choreography, and opportunity to perform at the showcase this time might be the charm.

#kpop #quarterly-reviews #rookies #future-idol-asia

[thislovintime]

Peter Tork, early 1980s (photo 2 taken in Japan).

“In addition to the [Studio 19] club shows, Tork and his band will play Sunday night [March 21, 1982] at Peaches Records in Clearwater at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. The Peaches shows were added because many of Tork’s fans are too young to be admitted into the club, said a spokesman for Studio 19.” - The Tampa Tribune, March 19, 1982

“Last weekend in Clearwater, Tork and his new band, The New Monks, broke up. Until then, his latest comeback attempt had been rolling along smoothly during the last 18 months. […] The breakup resulted from poor attendance at two Studio 19 concerts, an abruptly canceled canceled gig last Sunday and a flare-up resulting from an on-going friction between band and management, Tork said earlier this week. ‘It was the culmination of a long, slow descent,’ he explained. ‘It’s been a struggle. I thought things had been getting better.’ However, drummer Vince Barranco recently said that the band’s split-up is not final, just in limbo, pending working out problems with management. ‘Oh, it’s further out than limbo,’ Tork said. ‘The band is not intact, and not functioning.’ Calling from a pay phone at a YMCA in New York City, where he works out regularly, Tork said his trip to Florida, which coincided with the annual Monkees Fan Club Convention last week in Largo, has left him in less-than-enviable financial shape.
 He said the band members claim they did not get paid for the Clearwater concerts. ‘I’m broke,’ he said flatly. ‘I cannot buy a sandwich. Well, I can, but it’ll stop me from eating for two days.’ Tork said only bass player Paul Ill has served official notice of quitting the band. The rest are ‘not too anxious to get back to work,’ he said. Barranco, pianist Tom Myers and guitarist Phil Simon remained in Clearwater last week waiting to get paid for last weekend’s concerts from the promoter, Barranco said, adding that the break-up is not based on personal hostilities. ‘Peter’s a nice guy and all,’ Barranco said. ‘It’s strictly business. ‘I’m game (to rejoin) if everything’s comfortable,’ he said, noting relations between management and band members would first have to be cleared up. […] ‘When I left the Monkees, I found that I was not grounded,’ [Tork] said, referring to his lack of dues-paying and basic music industry know-how. ‘I wanted to learn the trade from the bottom to the top. In California, you can’t do that — there’s no middle ground.’ The small turnout at the Clearwater shows made him question his career direction. ‘I asked myself, “Do I not draw?” Maybe I overplayed my own value,’ he mused, ‘or maybe it’s Reaganomics.’ Due to cost of traveling, The New Monks have been giving small, well-received performances only in Boston, New Jersey and New York, shows featuring Tork on banjo and guitar. […] ‘Some reviews said “don’t do any Monkees material,“ some said “do only Monkees material,”’ Tork said. ‘We decided to call our own shots, but we don’t have enough consistency or experience.’’ […] [During Monkeemania] separating the musicians from the characters on the show was almost impossible. Cast as the dunce, Tork’s character undermined his formidable musical talent. ‘The Peter Tork character reached a lot of people,‘ he said. ‘He was an outcast — he lurched around, not getting hurt by his own bumbling idiocy.’ The character had a built-in protection system — that dumbfounded, naive look — that appealed to everyone, he said. One of Tork’s fondest Monkee memories came during a break in the filming for the pilot of their first TV episode, in which they had been pretending to play instruments. ‘We got them to give us power in the amps and we just started playing,’ he recalled, ‘and everybody started dancing.’ However, Tork is most proud of the second stage [of Monkees history], circa 1967. On ‘Headquarters,’ their third album, the group, for the first time, played almost all of the instruments. Other personal favorites from that period include ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ and ‘Goin’ Down,’ a one-take jam released only on the flip side of ‘Daydream Believer.
’ […] [I]n 1978, Tork started easing back into show business, circulating his picture in hopes of landing a spot on a sit-com but drawing few offers. 
After a brief stint as a strictly oldies act, he founded The New Monks, ‘and now here I am, broke in New York City,’ he said. But the 38-year-old [sic] singer is far from calling it quits. ‘I’m going to keep plugging,‘ he vowed. ‘I’m not done — this is my craft, my trade.’” - The Tampa Tribune, March 27, 1982

#Peter Tork #Tork quotes #The New Monks #80s Tork #The Monkees #Monkees #Peter deserved better #long read #'I'm going to keep plugging' #so much respect for PT #Headquarters #et al #<3 #been typing up a lot of interviews/articles so long reads will be frequent #love his mind #1981 #1982 #Tork reviews #The Tampa Tribune #can you queue it

[nayeonline]

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ari's review/essay masterlist . ݁⊹ ₊ .

monthly kpop roundups:

February 2024 (Twice, LE SSERAFIM, BABYMONSTER, JYP Family, BIBI + MORE)

March 2024 (ILLIT, ARTMS, VCHA + MORE)

April 2024 (NewJeans, IVE, RIIZE, Kiss Of Life, ARTMS, Loossemble, BABYMONSTER + MORE)

**COMING SOON** May 2024 (aespa, NewJeans, IVE, tripleS, ARTMS + MORE)

the k-indie corner:

**COMING SOON** the k-indie corner: spring 2024

rankings:

My Top 15 K-Pop Songs of 2023

My Top 15 K-Pop Songs of 2022

ranking every RED VELVET title track as a non reveluv

Ranking EVERY Post-IZ*ONE Single

ranking EVERY aespa song

ranking EVERY BLACKPINK song

kpop reviews:

newjeans - 'ditto' review

LESSERAFIM - 'ANTIFRAGILE' REVIEW

thoughts on KEP1ER - 'GALILEO'

mini review: EL7Z UP - 'CHEEKY'

lets talk... xdinary heroes 'freakin bad'

JISOO - 'ME' (FLOWER) REVIEW

mini reviews #002: 'Teddy Bear' - STAYC

mini reviews #001: 'Killer' - KEY

'Stamp On It' - GOT The Beat REVIEW

NMIXX - 'ENTWURF' REVIEW

IVE - 'After LIKE' REVIEW

BLACKPINK - 'Pink Venom' REVIEW

my thoughts on 'sneakers' - itzy

lets review: 'IM NAYEON' - Nayeon

kpop essays:

Why 'GLITCH' - KWON EUNBI Is The Greatest Song Ever Made

wtf is going on with ITZY?? (an essay)

Idolizing Imperfection: The Ancient Allusions of 'Midas Touch' - KISS OF LIFE

kpop misc:

SPACE.COWBOY (my imagined ITZY comeback)

my 5 favourite kpop music videos

the kpop girl group concept compass

non kpop reviews:

Melanie Martinez - 'Portals' REVIEW

'Midnights' - Taylor Swift REVIEW

#kpop #masterlist

[blaaaaask]

My Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review:

Spoilers ahead, you've been warned!

So here are pros and cons of what I thought about Rebirth.

Overall I really liked it, can't wait for the next installment. I still have a few items to wrap-up with side quests, but I did beat the game with a large portion of items done in 94 hours.

Pros:

Character development is on par. Lots of 'getting to know' not only your teammates but characters they introduced from the Remake version as well. This kind of feels like an Easter Egg moment sometimes, and gives the game consistency and charm.

Gameplay during battle is smooth, consistent, and the added synergy attacks are interesting. Playing as a larger group of people with their own assets can be a little overwhelming, but fun to find your favorite playing style. Using different characters feels absolutely necessary for differing battle mechanics, and I think they did a great job in providing the opportunity to keep all characters relevant rather than 'backseating' someone. The side quests and even main storyline ensure this.

Storyline. The intense amount of speculation people have been doing has been a little blown out of proportion and I kind of like that. I mean we weren't wrong about differing timelines, the game does have that, but the way it is incorporated was done beautifully. They followed the original story very well, and moments that were changed only seemed to enhance the clarity that was occurring in those scenarios. Moments that I had thought of prior were now in different tones, giving different meanings. I enjoyed that.

Voice acting. Using new voices can be a bit of a dealbreaker for those of us who enjoyed the original VAs, but I think they did a great job in continuing with VAs that fit the tone of this 'newer' version of the FF7 world. I do still miss some of the originals, but with the storytelling in this format I think it's done very well.

Music. I really don't know what else to say other than the blends and tones and meshing of songs and the moments they're in is just. It's everything. It really makes every. Single. Scene. If you played the demo you know exactly what I mean.

Scenery. Everything is so gorgeous. Ugh. I just want to paint every little scene into a pretty landscape.

The comedic value is gold. Random characters will bring up points from Remake that will make you die of laughter. Side quests can be beyond hilarious (looking at you, Johnnys).

The intense amount of flirting and goofy moments of people hitting on Cloud is beyond amazing and very fitting. The dating scene I ended up with was with Tifa, and it played out beautifully. I am totes excited to try out the others, too.

Cons:

Too many minigames? It might just be me, but it felt like every mechanic had an unnecessary 'challenge' to it that robbed the enjoyment of the side quests. Each mini game has its own rules, mechanics, and is oftentimes poorly instructed to the point you will be redoing them in multitudes. Precision is key to every single one of them, but getting there seems too difficult at times. It's probably just me lol, but the piano keys with a PS5 controller can be incredibly difficult to get accurate notes. The march portion of the game was increasingly difficult, too, borrowing from the dance mechanics of Remake and yet somehow making it more motion-sickness-y. Granted, it was still funny, but the practice rounds they allow you do not compare to the actual hell hole that is the 3 march portion. It felt like when a teacher tells you '1+1=2' but on the math test they give you 'If Jimmy sells 83 portions of apple purple, who is the sun representing in the third movie of cryptocurrency?' Fort Condor makes a comeback from Yuffie's DLC, which is fun and kind of annoying. I am terrible at timed things so don't mind my venting here. And don't get me started on MOG HOUSE. The weird slide mechanics of trying to 'push' things around in this minigame while trying to avoid haphazard death feels a little too much like reality for me and I cannot deal, yo. The 'Run Wild' or whatever Red XIII game has a similar mechanic, which only makes it frustrating for the harder challenges they throw at you in making goals. Also, every minigame seems to incorporate an insane amount of R2/L2 button mechanics. Being left-handed feels like a bit of a disadvantage in some of these games, and it sometimes feels like the PS5 controller has too much of a 'soft push' on it that doing full trigger clicks is like a whole hand exercise. These games crippled me hahaha. I would love a Story Mode for us cripple-y old fucks that makes it so I don't have to do minigames. To add to that, Queen's Blood ended up being a relief for me after the hell that I faced in all the other minigames, but only later in the game once you get better card decks. However, I am currently stuck on Dale in Nibelheim. Yes. Dale. Don't laugh at me.

Not all characters fit the aesthetic of the original game. I'm mostly thinking of Kyrie and Regina. It's such a dumb nitpick on my part, but I kind of wish they had toned down their looks to match the game a little better that way it isn't such a 'sore thumb' kind of vibe. The moogles are also a bit terrifying to look at. Why did they give them such horrifying teeth?

And speaking of sore thumb, Chadley and MAI. I like the banter but oof what an annoying duo, hahaha. The 'fun' mechanics they're trying to implement with having these two talk to you through the PS5 controller was a bit of a fun and novel concept in the first 2 seconds, but MAI's voice is a bit too grating for me that I had to turn off that feature.

Speaking of voices, Red XIII's splits back and forth at times between his 'pretending to be sophisticated' and 'teen' voice. I prefer his sophisticated voice, and it's a pity they don't have an option to choose what you want to hear. I think I just hate the sound of children's voices, so anything that is too high pitched sounds a bit like nails on a chalkboard for me. I am guessing no one else cares about this, hahaha.

Chocobo mechanics. I like sweeping onto a chocobo smoothly without button pressing, but sometimes Cloud gets off the bird in a direction that accidentally makes it possible to get back on the bird. Also, the open world trekking is only fun in the Grasslands area, after that it is a bit of a nightmare that continuously gets worse the hillier things get. I spend a lot of time staring at the map trying to figure out where I'm supposed to go because you can't actually 'go' wherever. This is a bit unfortunate because it can make simple tasks of 'I need to go here' turn to 'I need to make 70 different turns to get there.' And the traversing for specific regions can also feel like hell, mostly in Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon.

Controller mechanics. Kind of already talked about this, but because the PS5 is supposed to be a 'new, novel console' with things like speakers in the controller, touch sensitivity, motion sensors, etc, they go at it hardcore here. Tilt mechanics, sliding things, and all that garbage is just annoying. I turn it off as soon as I can. It is especially annoying during Cait Sith's time in the Shinra Manor. Boxgate. That is all, lol. If you like silly things like this then more power to you.

I am sure I am forgetting things, but to wrap-up: the storyline is what I'm in it for, and the story was beautiful and therefore I enjoyed it even with my stupid gripes. Please remember this is just my ridiculous opinion. I am merely a purple dinosaur on the internet and should not be held as gospel.

#video games #final fantasy 7 rebirth #ff7 rebirth #ff7 rebirth spoilers #spoilers #ff7 rebirth review #my garbage opinion #I will go hide in a hole now

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP!! How many people raised their objections at boba hair Jimin?! I wonder what’s happening to their words now that the Vogue covers have dropped 🤭 Ah Jimin-ah. Why do you do this to us every single time?!

Oh mon Dieu.

Now if he can just give us back tattoos some of us can retire in peace.

***

Hi Anon,

You sent me this ask several days ago and now more stunning Jimin footage has dropped:

(Not a soul alive who is doing it like him)

*

I kinda don’t want him to reveal his back tattoos… for reasons. But it’s likely he does in FACE promotions or MVs. We’ll see.

And for the Anon who was very impressed by the website designed like a new make-up line from Jimin that’s getting a lot of attention for his new album, a website that BTSChartData (BCD) and a Namjoon-biased ARMY made to promote Jimin’s FACE; for that Anon, welcome to seeing the care and thought ARMYs put into the tannies’ work during comeback.

You’re right that people are usually more able to look at something favourably if they already like the subject. And you’re also right that’s why the same group of people complaining that BTS’s promotional videos and material is sterile, basic, vapid, etc, are somehow able to put on their thinking caps to analyze and recognize the subliminal messaging present in Jimin’s material for FACE. One could say it’s only coincidence they happen to actually like Jimin rather than the group as a whole or the other members who have released music so far. But it also begs the question when a similar approach was used for the design and content of the promotional material for Namjoon’s album (indigo denim with sunlight and shadow patterns and angles); for Hoseok’s album (with specific colour motifs of green and red/pink); and before that, BTS’s Proof album. I mean, it’s the same team working on all the projects (with the exception of Hobi’s where the chief designer role was absent) and there’s a marked difference in BTS’s promotional material as a whole compared to what you’d see for many other k-pop groups in the last few years I.e. BTS’s media presentation is nearly all subliminal and often minimalistic as opposed to dramatic and sensational as is typical for k-pop promotional imagery. As I said in my On The Street review, BTS’s approach to media messaging is one where nothing is spoon-fed to the viewer, and instead there’s the expectation to do your own homework, intimately know the artist, and apply that knowledge of the artist towards their videos and media material. We saw it with BTS’s previous concept/video material, and most recently with On The Street and now Set Me Free Pt 2.

I suggest you not let it bug you Anon. The willingness to interpret material for Jimin’s work is less about hypocrisy and more about the very natural human sentiment of bias. If you’re already biased towards something, you’re more willing to make the effort of approaching that art favourably. It also helps that just as with all the previous members so far, Jimin’s concept is legitimately beautiful and thought-provoking.

I’ve said before I’m not really one to analyze concept photos, posters, music videos and such. The music is primarily what I’m here for though sometimes an understanding of the associated media can amplify the effect. For many people analyzing the content is all part of the fun, and frankly the work Jimin has put into his album necessitates it.

Make sure you’re staying in shape and hydrated for his pre-release on March 17th.

#park jimin #jimin #Jimin FACE

[weclassybouquetfun]

It's really about to be that time again.

Emmy season, which commenced in early April, comes to a close Sunday when the Primetime Emmys awards ceremony airs (the red-headed step-child, the Creative Arts Emmys concludes this weekend).

One awards season down and one would think there would be breathing room until another, right? As the title of Jordan Peele's film declares, NOPE.

We are in pre-cursor to Oscars territory now with film festivals taking place. Cannes took place mid to late May; The Venice Film Festival began Aug. 31st and concludes Sept. 10th; Telluride Film Festival started Sept. 2nd and ends on Sept. 6th., Toronto Film Festival starts Sept. 8 through the 18th, the New York Film Festival starts Sept. 24th and runs to Oct. 10th.

By late October FYC screenings and Q&As should start popping up. Come November is AFI from Nov.2nd through the 6th. Then a brief respite for the holidays until January when the nomination process starts for the varying around shows like the Spirits, DGAs, SAG, Producers Guild, Critics Choice; and yes there are still film festivals like Palm Springs and Sundance.

So now we wait for the films that will be bandied about for Oscar consideration and some will surely fall off come December. All the films with Oscar talk step up:

Not so fast, DON'T WORRY DARLING. Or as people are saying, "DO WORRY DARLING." Florence Pugh and Chris Pine's performances are being well-received; can't say the same for Harry Styles or the film overall.

The critic's score so far is hovering at 38 or 39%. I liked this cheeky "review".

People are more enjoying the soap opera level media circus surrounding the behind-the-scenes drama of the film.

The winner in the midst of this storm? This babe.

Just by nature of it starring Olivia Colman and Colin Firth and directed by Sam Mendes, EMPIRE OF LIGHT

, also starring Micheal Ward (TOP BOY) is expected to be an awards favourite. Already Colman's performance is being called "a career's best".

Ha! Surely, these people have never seen Colman mournfully sing, Lorraine Ellison's "Stay with Me" in BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (1:38 minute mark).

Darren Aronsofsky's THE WHALE (adapted from a 2012 play of the same name) so far is considered the lesser of Aronsofsky's work (it can't be worse than MOTHER. I refuse to believe that), but Brendan Fraser's performance is being praised. More than anything people are hoping that this is his big comeback (though he's been steadily working since 2018) considering we will never see his performances in the axed BATGIRL film.

He has a big supporter in his corner.

The Martin McDonagh/ Colin Farrell/ Brendan Gleeson reunion THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is also getting raves reviewed and, so far, has received the longest standing ovation of the fest this season clocking in at over 13 minutes. A friend saw a screening in March and said it was excellent and well-received.

Assume Cate Blanchett will be shortlisted for Tár.

Out of Telluride Luca Guadagnino's BONES AND ALL starring Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet was called '"tender and horrific";

with it's gory scenes reportedly led people to leaving. One person told Guadagnino afterwards that they briefly fainted during a scene. So...SUCCESS!

I don't even know what this means.

I don't expect more reviews just yet from the film when it test screens tomorrow here in Los Angeles (specifically in Glendale).

The screening invite summarizes the film as: "a dark and thrilling tale about two outcasts, Maren (Taylor Russell), a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee (Timothée Chalamet), an intense and disenfranchised drifter who fall in love and bond over their forbidden secrets. Their uncontrollable urges and deadly obsessions force them to embark on a liberating journey of self-discovery with no limits, no rules, and nobody to trust – not even each other."

Come November Steven Spielberg's film a' clef THE FABLEMANS will bow at AFI and surely it will find its way into awards consideration. What is THE FABLEMANS you ask? It's a film based on Spielberg's childhood. Think BELFAST but not Irish. The film stars Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogan, Judd Hirsch and Jeannie Berlin.

#Youtube #awards season #movies #movie talk #venice film festival #telluride #film festivals #luca guadagnino #bones and all #taylor russell #timothee chalamet #timmy chalamet #olivia wilde #don't worry darling #florence pugh #the banshees of inisherin #martin mcdonagh #cate blanchett #steven spielberg #the fabelmans #brendan fraser #dwayne johnson #empire of light #olivia colman

[halfseoulco]

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION — TOMORROW X TOGETHER: A review

Published Monday, February 13th, 2023 — The story of Peter Pan has been a beloved children’s fairy tale for many years and has been told and retold in a plethora of ways—but never quite like this.

Introduction

Big Hit Music, formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, under HYBE Labels (or HYBE Corporation) has a well-established reputation for storytelling through music. There are entire universes contained in the very fabric of their songs, birthing entire books and Webtoon series (see: BTS’s 花樣年華 The NOTES and 7FATES: CHAKHO; TXT’s THE STAR SEEKERS; and ENHYPEN’s DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR). Elements of these stories are presented through the artists’ music videos and, when watched in a certain order, help the viewer connect the dots and understand what the music and concepts are trying to convey. Because KPOP is an industry that relies heavily on concepts, continuous storylines are not necessarily common, although some groups may try to tell a story within the frame of one music video or a series of music videos released for a particular album. However, Big Hit Music has, much like with their older labelmates, BTS, given TXT a rich and immersive universe that flows from album to album, spanning the eras in a way that especially showcases the group’s growth and maturity into young men.

A Brief History of TXT’s Discography

When TOMORROW X TOGETHER debuted as a group on March 4th, 2019, the members were still young boys—as the oldest, Yeonjun was still months short of twenty; and Hueningkai, the youngest, was sixteen. They began their journey with a fresh and youthful concept highlighted by bright colors and graphics, debuting with “어느 날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (CROWN)” and “Blue Orangeade”, which presented a strong first impression and helped lay the foundation for their spots as leaders of fourth generation KPOP. Now, coming up on the fourth anniversary of their debut date, they have covered a variety of themes along the vein of growing up—the blissful ignorance of youth, isolation from peers, love and heartbreak—and this latest comeback presents the darker, more seductive side of leaving adolescence behind.

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION ties back to a similar naming convention for their previous series of albums, the first of which includes their debut release The Dream Chapter: STAR (2019), The Dream Chapter: MAGIC (2019), and The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY (2020); and the second of which includes The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE (2021) and The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE (2021). minisode 2: Thursday’s Child (2022)—part of another series that also includes minisode1 : Blue Hour (2020)—laid the groundwork for a seamless transition from the sadness and heartbreak explored in The Chaos Chapter series to whatever the next release would have in store. The title track of Thursday’s Child, “Good Boy Gone Bad”, demonstrated how heartbreak can turn into the kind of anger that changes a person for the worst—into someone who they or those around them can no longer recognize—and 2023 brought to light the next sequence of events for our five Lost Boys.

Teasing The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

With a title like The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, there is little room to misunderstand what is about to happen next. Currently at age 23 (Yeonjun), 22 (Soobin), 21 (Beomgyu), 21 (Taehyun), and 20 (Hueningkai), TXT is entering the period of young adulthood, where there are plenty of complex emotions, interesting sensations, and new experiences to be had. In the concept trailer released for TEMPTATION prior to the EP’s drop, the visual imagery immediately reminded fans of Peter Pan, showing the five boys moving through a window into a new world. There is a narrator who makes references to Wendy, Peter, and learning how to fly; and the language used made the concept quite clear and easily established expectations for the direction of the quintet’s next release while also showcasing the group’s dancing. The concept trailer was then followed by a preview of the EP’s tracks, which further reinforced the storyline previously presented. I didn’t need to hear the songs in their full capacity to know that this was a darker, more sensual take on the classic Peter Pan tale—which I will delve into deeper later in this review.

“Sugar Rush Ride” MV

Heading the group’s promotions is the title track “Sugar Rush Ride”. Preceded by two teasers (one | two), the music video takes some of the more traditional elements of Peter Pan’s Neverland and twists them into a Garden of Eden-like setting, enhanced by psychedelic effects meant to mimic ecstasy or euphoria, or the sensations of leaving one’s body. The video begins with the five members waking up on a beach before moving onto different locations, including an open field, an enchanting yet slightly sinister forest, a gorgeous waterfall, a cave full of butterflies, and an opulent setting dressed up by a tree with multicolored foliage. They return to the beach at the end, ready to leave this magical world.

On its own, the visuals tell the story quite well: five boys arrive in Neverland, where they stay and play for a while, seduced by the fantasy it offers. Loss of innocence is an archetype typically associated with growing up; and the temptations of Neverland are too great for them to resist. Furthermore, as many fans took notice, it is the most scantily dressed that Big Hit has allowed them to be since their debut, especially for Hueningkai, who as the youngest has a history of being covered up as much as possible when the older members have been in more revealing attire. All visual aspects of this concept point to a clear maturity that hasn’t really been tapped into prior to TEMPTATION—and the members lean into it quite well.

An Analysis of The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

The EP, consisting of five songs, flows like a story all on its own and for optimal enjoyment should be listened to in its designated order. The reason why I say that no one has really told the story of Peter Pan like this before reveals itself as soon as the first few notes of the record play—because no one has ever stopped to consider that maybe Peter Pan isn’t the hero—maybe he’s the villain.

TEMPTATION opens with “Devil by the Window”, an English track that refers to Peter Pan as not only the “devil by the window” but also “a wolf in sheep clothes”. In the most popular retelling of the story, Disney’s version, Wendy tells her younger brothers stories about Peter Pan’s adventures and heroic deeds; and getting to fly to Neverland with him is viewed as an amazing opportunity. However, “Devil by the Window” describes Peter Pan as a sinister figure in the night waiting to lure TXT away to Neverland, which is less of a paradise for children and more like an awful ride you can’t get off of. The brunt of the message is contained in the chorus: “I met the devil by the window, traded my life/Temptation touched my tongue, spread the wings of desire/He’s whispering, ‘Give up, don’t you put up a fight’/Said the devil by the window, ‘Dream on, dream on, good night”. In fact, the language of the song paints an image of Peter Pan that is quite similar to the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

The soundscape of “Devil by the Window” creates a richly seductive palette that weaves it way throughout the rest of the record. When paired with the gritty bassline and the breathiness with which the members infused their voices, the lyrics help set the scene for our Korean Lost Boys to make their journey to Neverland. The most interesting part is the end, which is rather abrupt after a tempo change that feels like floating right before a sudden drop, which might be interpreted as an indication that the flight from home to Neverland has ended.

TXT chose to perform “Devil by the Window” alongside “Sugar Rush Ride” during their promotional circuit; and the choreography helps further the storytelling aspect of TEMPTATION in a way that would leave the story slightly lacking if it were to have gone without.

There are certain expectations for title tracks in the KPOP industry and most groups choose to perform their most so-called “fun” or general public-friendly songs. “Sugar Rush Ride” is, in some ways, “Devil by the Window” repackaged as a title track with elements of pop music sprinkled on top to disguise the utter debauchery that it really is—and I really don’t mean that in a negative way. Sonically, the structure of the verses are more pop leaning, while the chorus falls back into a soundscape more similar to its predecessor. It incorporates the same kind of breathy singing, as well as some beautiful falsettos adorned throughout that add a beautiful layer of vocal color to the song. The sighs that punctuate the chorus really add to the seduction that they established in “Devil by the Window” and I am truly so obsessed with the hidden vocals, which create some amazing contrast between them and the members’ voices.

Lyrically, “Sugar Rush Ride” describes an experience of heightened sensation— hence the sugar rush, which feels like a euphemism for substance use, supported by Hueningkai’s lines “You’re so addictive/내 혈관은 (translated: my veins) full of sweets”—although sugar is also used as another name for desire. Now that TXT are in Neverland, Peter Pan is trying to convince them to stay, enticing them with whatever he is giving them to produce the sugar rush. They’re still aware that he can’t be trusted; Taehyun’s lines in the refrain, “꿈에 데려가는/침대맡에 liar”, translate to “the liar at [my] bedside who takes me into [the] dream”*, indicating that they know what he’s trying to do but they’re buying into it anyway. They also continue to refer to him as the devil; and during the post-chorus, which moves at a faster pace established in the second iteration of the chorus, there’s an acknowledgement: “You’re a bad liar/What are you doing to me (what did you do to me), sugar?”* Again, much like the story of the Garden of Eden, having previously not known desire, the Lost Boys are finding that they can’t get enough of it and the sensation is overwhelming.

The Kulture Study by Form of Therapy, my favorite KPOP reaction channel, pointed out in their review of the song that after the sugar rush comes a crash, something that I agree with. Exactly when that crash will come and what shape it will take is still yet to be seen at this point in the album—which brings us to the next track.

“Happy Fools” sits right smack dab in the middle of the EP, a brighter, more carefree song that describes wanting to stay in a state of blissful ignorance in spite of what it would mean for them if they did. Coi Leray’s verse adds a fresh-faced playfulness and an additional layer of “not a care in the world” vibes; and the members settle into their short-lived period of contentment before being forced to face the reality of their situation. You shouldn’t let the sound of the song deceive you; the title and the lyrics make it very clear that they know that they’re on borrowed time.

Tinnitus is a condition in which one may experience a ringing or buzzing noise in one or both ears, whether constantly or intermittently. With that in mind, “돌멩이가 되고 싶어 (Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock))” doesn’t carry the kind of unpleasant quality you might expect based on the title; rather, it is a soft, sensual track that takes influence from Latin beats. It’s definitely a tie with “Farewell, Neverland” for my favorite song on the EP, its dreamy instrumentals and vocal colors making it not so much a dance track as it is a song that gets your body moving. It’s short and sweet but describes both a longing for one to be more than they are and an admission that things didn’t happen the way they wanted them to. The lyrics do mention tinnitus both explicitly and implicitly, sometimes as a “deafening empty sound” or a “daze”—and more than the underlying layer of self-deprecation, it carries a more deeply rooted disillusionment. In other words, the enchantment of Neverland has been broken.

Following that train of thought, TEMPTATION ends with “Farewell, Neverland”. The Korean title is “네버랜드를 떠나며”, which translates more closely to “Leaving Neverland”*. Matching up with the title, the song contains plenty of imagery that ties it to the Peter Pan story, including the lines and words used such as “Boys don’t grow up”, “endless flying”, and “my Peter Pan”. If “Devil by the Window” and “Sugar Rush Ride” are more about Peter Pan himself, “Farewell, Neverland” is, obviously, more about Neverland. They call it a “paradise full of lies” and say that it is “no home”, indicating that whatever they came to Neverland searching for, they didn’t find it; and whatever temptation was presented, it ultimately wasn’t enough to make them stay. However, our Lost Boys speak of Neverland more fondly than they spoke of Peter Pan at the beginning of the EP, calling it “my love”. Paired with the acoustic guitar and Latin-influenced instrumentals similar to “Tinnitus”, it certainly does seem like a rather romantic goodbye, if not a little bittersweet.

Conclusion

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION is, as TXT’s work always is, a solid album. It presents a new side of the five young men that ties in with them growing up. The KPOP industry is often unkind to older groups, placing more favor with groups that maintain a youthful image; and while TXT are by no means old, their decision to fully delve into the processing of maturing into adulthood so explicitly in their music while also embracing sensuality that very carefully toes the line of propriety is to be respected and commended. As I mentioned previously, the EP tells a story and I would not recommend listening to the songs out of order. Interestingly, it splits quite evenly, with “Devil by the Window” and “Sugar Rush Ride” forming a pair and “돌멩이가 되고 싶어 (Tinnitus)” and “ 네버랜드를 떠나며 (Farewell, Neverland)” forming another with “Happy Fools” bridging the gap between them. Now, having gotten a taste of what an older, more grown up TXT is capable of, I can’t wait to see what they show us next.

Genius Lab USA Rating: We go up like the moon, [...] get it poppin’ like balloons. We gon party every day living like some happy fools doing what we wanna do.

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION Track List:

Devil by the Window

Sugar Rush Ride

Happy Fools (feat. Coi Leray)

돌멩이가 되고 싶어 (Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock))

네버랜드를 떠나며 (Farewell, Neverland)

*These are my translations.

#GeniusLabListens #TOMORROW X TOGETHER #TXT #The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION #KPOP #Korean Music #Album Review

[adotrevsleft]

Expergo album review:

Young, Dumb Stupid and Love Me Like This will be reviewed at a later date with the March comeback reviews coming on April 2nd/3rd but I will give a small review below. So, we will be have only the other tracks to review here.

Young, Dumb Stupid and Love Me Like This small review: Both songs were really good and I don't understand the hate that these songs are getting. I like the vibe that both songs have.

PAXXWORD: My least favourite song in the album. But not bad either. I expected more from the song tbh after hearing bit versions of the highlight medley. However, this weird and fun concept in the song is definitely something I really like, especially as a hard core Red Velvet fan.

Just Did It: reminds me of an f(x) b-side with its electronic funky sound in the verses and the intro and I immediately knew it was going to be a jam for me. The change in sound in the chorus actually doesn't annoy me if anything I can't imagine the song sounding like anything else and Bae's and Sullyoon's voice in the song are just exquisite in this song. It is really something to listen to and I really want to see nmixx perform this as they are such strong performers and their versatility would just make the song even more exciting. I remember when I first heard this song during my Graphics lesson, my mouth dropped at the chorus. Yeah, it was THAT good.

My Gosh: a really cute song to vibe to on a Sunday morning. Also their vocals >>>> This song doesn't really sound very nmixx but the fact that they were able to pull this off so we'll just shows how versatile nmixx is as a group. I would definitely recommend this track to anyone that likes sweet chill songs.

Home: This song sounds so nmixx. I don't know how to explain it but all of the members stand out and their vocals blend into the song so well. It sounds so honest. This song, unlike my gosh, you need to scream with. You cannot just listen to it, you need to feel the song, scream your fucking heart out and all the anger and then ending with the gratefulness of even being fucking alive. Never knew I needed this song until this very day. I would literally recommend this to everyone but I have seen people don't like it which is a bit sad, because ever since its release I've been playing it to let go of my anger at the world. An absolutely brilliant way to end the ep.

Thank you nmixx for such a gorgeous album, my ears were fucking blessed.

#kpop #kpop gg #kpop girls #kpop aesthetic #music #kpop music #music review #music recommendation #music recs #album recommendation #song recs #album review #album release #song review #song recommendation #nmixx #nmixx expergo #expergo #kpop album #album cover #albums #album #music album #ep release #nmixxnet #nmixx updates #nmixx instagram

[triedandthoughts]

PHOTOS ARE TAKEN ON MARCH 2023 (some expired on or before March of 2023)

WHAT IS IT: Make up (I fell out of love with or don't really see myself using)

*** going to split this up per category ***

THOUGHTS:

                                           LIP PRODUCTS

(left to right) Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow -  This one hurts. I believe I had this one before the pandemic I wanna say 2018 or 2019. One of my first purchase in Sephora. When Fenty released this glosses are making a comeback and boy it was hyped! Even though it was kinda a nude shade, I don't look pale when it was just this on my lips. There are some gloss formulas that's a lot lighter than this but Miss Fenty put glosses back in the map! I salute! I had to throw this one out even tho I know it's waaay past the expiration date but the last time I put it on it felt uncomfortable on my lips like stinging effect that I didn't feel the first time I used it.

Maybelline Lipstick in Honey Cherry - This one was a surprise because ever since my sister told me Maybelline tested on animals I try my best to stay away from the brand (except for their masacara lol) but the shade is so nice that it's one of the lipsticks from maybelline that leaves a stain. I don't know if there is a claim in this product that it leaves a stain but it does. It dried up after a long time of no use and I just don't see myself using it soooo.. BYE.

Sunnies Face Lip dip in LYSM & Boysenberry - When people reviewed this product, they compared it to the one in 3CE they said its similar but I don't know. Really velvety, light, nice smell and color pay off, leaves a bit of stain. The reason I'm saying bye-bye is that after using it recently when they're just waiting to be used up by me, I noticed they sit on the cracks on my lips when tho I moisturized my lips with lip oil before putting it on. The smell is actually the same, feels the same as the time I first put it on it just doesn't look good on my lips anymore.

#tried #thoughts #no filter #photos #tumblr #make up #oily and acne prone skin #local brand #western brand #fenty beauty #sunnies face #maybelline

[beardyboyzx]

2022 in writing

I was tagged by the wonderful @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed to look back on this past year of writing. 2022 saw me coming back to writing after a two-years pause, and exploring a new fandom. Let's see how it went ^^

Number of stories posted to AO3: 7

Word count posted for the year: 36373

Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

Pairings: Louis/Harry, Liam/Zayn, Liam&Louis

Story with the most: Kudos: Gray hair is our forever (110) Bookmarks: Gray hair is our forever (35) Comment threads: Twenty-Eight (9)

Work I’m most proud of (and why): If It Makes You Feel Alive (It's Alright) - it's just something that I didn't think I could write at this point in this language. I worked on it for almost two weeks, I put a lot of myself in it and... I just love that Liam so much

Work I’m least proud of (and why): If You Only Knew - I let my excitement to write for a new fandom get the best of me. I still thought I could try to write something in both Italian and English, so the English in that is not it. I'll come back to it, and rewrite that first chapter sooner or later.

Share or describe a favorite review you received: Being told that IIMYFA captured the bisexual experience well was... I was so nervous about it, I kept thinking I was messing everything up. It made me feel like I didn't just waste those two weeks. (And also, Mia telling me it made her cry. Something I'll put in my CV.)

A time when writing was really, really hard: Ever since I've started writing again back in April (or was it March?), it was like I didn't know how to. These last three months were the worst.

A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: Definitely Louis in Twenty-Eight. He wasn't supposed to be that way. But I loved going along with it.

A favorite excerpt of your writing: 

I'm bisexual. I'm bisexual. Bisexual. Bi. 

Bi bi baby. 

He shook his head, amused. 

I'm bisexual and I want… 

He swallowed, feeling something massive drop into his stomach. The fear was real. Telling himself what he wanted was way more difficult than telling himself what he was.

I'm bisexual and I like… 

He took a deep breath, feeling Louis' comforting stare on him. 

… Zayn. 

The word made a strange warmth spread all over his chest. He felt elated and relieved as he whispered to himself, "Zayn," not even caring about Louis watching him. He was too lost in the freedom he felt at telling himself what he actually wanted for the very first time. 

Liam had never felt like that before. Never that high on that simple knowledge. 

Never could he have thought that such a simple sentence could bring him such a unique sense of freedom that was able to make him feel both flying high in the sky and having his feet steadily planted on the soil at the same time. 

"I like Zayn," Liam murmured, not feeling sure enough to yell it, letting that be loud enough to be heard only by himself. A thought struck by his head, and Liam giggled, raising his head to look at Louis. 

"Tommo. I'm in love with Justin Timberlake."

12. How do you hope to grow next year? I hope to grow more confident in my writing skills, and I hope to be able to write daily (maybe give myself a little daily goal -- 200 words/day -- something that I can keep up with) and go back to the writing routine I had until 2 years ago. I also want to challenge myself more!

13. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, muse, etc): @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed, definitely. Meeting her this year made my comeback to writing more awesome. Reading her writing makes me want to get better 💕 @chai-hat-tea reminded me how starting to write felt, and made me want to get back to that excitement. Her constant support is priceless❤️ Then, my fellow writers at @writerscornercafe that made me feel less alone in a fandom that is practically a galaxy, and sprinted with me, cheered me on. I needed a safe space, and I got it with them 💕

14. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: Definitely IIMYFA Liam. I was him, he was me. Well, a part of him was me.

15. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Never ever let writing become a chore for you. Always remember to have fun while doing it.

16. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: Definitely my @onedirectionbigbang fic! I'm hoping to finish my kid!fic and write that femslash I have in mind.

17. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read. I'm tagging @chai-hat-tea, @wabadabadaba, @larrieblr, and @panye!

#2022 in writing

[lgcmanager]

VERSUS MISSION 002

SCHEDULE TYPE: TRIMESTER ( PART 1 OUT OF 1 ) SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: cannot be paired with another trimester schedule, unless stated otherwise. for reference as to whether your muse is eligible for this event, please click over HERE.

on MARCH 27, the VERSUS members met with their manager, LEE KYUHWAN for their trimester meetings. this time around, the meeting room is filled with colorful decorations to represent a celebratory event. 

“i know KYUWON and i have been meaning to do this, but congratulations to us for our first win! actually our three wins for versus!” KYUHWAN’s beaming smile is apparent as he shows them the cake that he had bought beforehand with the words “congratulations to v&a!” the manager then added in case anyone was about to ask, “this is our cake and agito has theirs as well. we thought it was cute to make the cake half vanilla and half chocolate to symbolize the two units.” 

but the celebration had to halt momentarily as KYUHWAN reminded himself of the reason behind this meeting, which is to tell them what their schedules would be for the next few months. 

LGC SPRING BOYS

KYUHWAN began with the first and most important schedule in their list so far, “while AGITO may be busy with their own projects, LEGACY has decided that all of you will be participating in LGC SPRING BOYS and their variety show! JAESUN will be the host of the show but the rest of you will take on the role as assistants. i’d say this is a fun project especially that you might get a chance to reunite or interact with some people you haven’t seen in a while.” 

more information about their activities can be found in the LGC SPRING BOYS post. 

VERSUS BREAK

“since we didn’t really have much of a break during the holidays because of the comeback and promotions, the company has decided to give all of you a week-long break. while this is a great time to unwind and relax, you are now even more popular than before so everything you do will be monitored carefully. please don’t mess this up, the managers and i have been really stressed out lately with what has been going on in the recent months.” KYUHWAN expressed his concerns to the members.

all of the V&A members will be having their break from APRIL 30 to MAY 6. during this time, the boys can stay in their dorms if they would like or visit their family members but do note that because of the recent events happening in the previous term along with their rise in popularity, there will be more scrutiny towards them. furthermore, if the idol chooses to stay in the dorms they will have very little time and opportunity to interact with the other idol groups, trainees, actors, and models due to everyone else's busy schedules. so it is strongly advised that everyone should be on their best behavior!

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT IN THE WORKS?

“i think with all of the language workshops that legacy has required you to participate in within the past year or so, you can sort of predict what i’m about to tell you.” KYUHWAN paused as he revealed a surprise that he’s been keeping a secret ever since last year. “due to the success of our last comeback along with the legacy boys tour, we’re happy to announce that VERSUS will be making their US debut!” KYUHWAN looked at all of the members with excitement, hoping that they would be just as elated as he was when he first heard about it. “however, due to all of the schedules we’re having this term, the company has advised us to continue working on other skills related to this and participate in opportunities that will help reach out to the international audiences. this means that we’ll have to review a bit on our interviewing and hosting skills!”

starting from now until the end of JUNE, all of the VERSUS members will be taking supplemental classes in MCING/HOSTING, VARIETY, and SINGING ( only for WOOKJIN and TEE ). the first two skills are to help prepare the VERSUS members even more for many of the videos and gigs that they will be participating in while SINGING is due to the song choice selected for the group ( which will be revealed next term/q3 ).

sometime around JUNE-JULY, the VERSUS members will slowly begin to film content in preparation for their debut but these videos will not be posted until it’s closer to their US debut. 

DREAM CONCERT

“oh, i’m hoping many of you are familiar with the dream concert?” KYUHWAN stared at all of the members, wondering if he had to describe in detail what the dream concert is ( despite it being one of the biggest annual concerts held in korea ).

“this year, some of the groups have been invited to it including us – yes, that means that this is the first time in the past few months that VERSUS and AGITO will be performing together. while VERSUS won’t be performing as much compared to how it was in the lgc family concerts, there are a few special stages they have in mind, mostly songs that they want you to perform that aren’t legacy songs.” KYUHWAN added the latter lightheartedly, knowing that all of the idols have performed countless songs from their senior artists.

details about this will be revealed later this month, so keep an eye on that!

‘V&A REACTS TO’ SERIES

with more and more of the lgc artists releasing more songs, legacy decided to give an opportunity specifically to V&A’s producer line ( JAESUN, JIHO, YEONWOO, and YUSHIN ) their own segment where they react to some of the legacy’s mvs! for this time around, there are only a few episodes which are split as follows:

JAESUN & YEONWOO ( EPISODE 1 / APRIL 22 ): reacting to ‘siesta’ ( CRYSTALLIS )

JIHO & YUSHIN ( EPISODE 2 / MAY 20 ): reacting to ‘antifragile’ ( FABULA )

JIHO, YEONWOO, YUSHIN ( EPISODE 3 / [REDACTED] ): reacting to ‘nxde’ ( BLAZING )

in terms of filming, they will be filming these videos whenever the pairing/group has some free time. during the reactions, they can give their thoughts regarding the song and music video ( and if applicable, any behind the scenes with writing the lyrics/arranging the song for the group ). these videos will be condensed to around 15 minutes each.

SCHEDULES

if you want a comprehensive list of all of the gigs that the group will be participating in during Q2 2023, you can refer to the Q2 2023 SCHEDULES post, which will be released after all of the career missions have been posted.

REQUIREMENTS

BREAK TIME: write a 300+ word solo or a 4 replies ( minimum 8 lines ) thread with another VERSUS member about anything related to their gigs or practice sessions (ex. taking the workshops, preparing for dream concert, notoriety tier gigs, etc). completing this will earn you +7 POINTS TO MCING/HOSTING, VARIETY, or SINGING ( only for WOOKJIN and TEE ) and +4 NOTORIETY ! this task excludes the lgc spring boys because those will only be counted for the task below. this can also be completed twice.

LGC SPRING BOYS: write a 4 replies ( minimum 8 lines ) thread with another LGC SPRING BOYS member or a fellow VERSUS member pertaining to the activities for +6 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE ANYWHERE and +4 NOTORIETY ! do note that whatever happens in the threads will be aired for the show. if you have started a thread related to this before this mission has been posted ( and after LGC SPRING BOYS post was posted ), you can use that thread to fulfill this requirement. this task can be done up to TWO times as long as it is with different people.

make sure to use the hashtag lgc:springboys for the lgc spring boys task and lgc:versusmission for everything else. you have until JUNE 17, 2023 at 11:59PM EDT to complete the requirements and validate your points. please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog.

MUSE NAME ∙ VERSUS MISSION 002 - BREAK TIME: +7 ( mcing/hosting, variety, OR singing [ for wookjin and tee only ] ), +4 notoriety [ LINK ] ** can be done up to two times ** - LGC SPRING BOYS: +6 ( skill listed for the muse ), +4 notoriety [ LINK ] ** can be done up to two times **

#lgc:q22023 #lgc:versusmission #lgc:event