#go ara icons

[velvetwolf]

y2k girlies with flip phones ~ *:･ﾟ✧

#y2k #2000s #y2k icons #y2k aesthetic #suzy #song hye kyo #go ara #seungyeon #kara #jang na ra #2000s aesthetic #y2k mb #y2k layouts #kpop icons #kpop layouts #kdrama #kdrama icons #flip phones #velvetwolf #miss a #pink

[edsbacktattoo]

Jams!! Love your icon 😚😚 a festive blackbeard, now i want to have a stede with a christmas hat too 🎅🏽🎄

DO IT!!! we can be matchy for the holiday season 🥹 🎄⛄️⭐️

#my bf actually made this icon for me hwjdjwkwn #i didn’t even ask him to he just sent it to me like ‘here u go’ #god bless him #also ara i adore you come join me in festive town #ask

[maiavonsneeper]

Am bored so heres my headcanon on what kpop artists Yakuza characters would listen to.

Disclaimer: I'm not that familiar with anything recent in the kpop. The most recent you would see here is around mid-2010s.

Kiryu

Of course his no. 1 idol is Haruka. But for kpop it would have to be Girls Generation.

Its all because while playing Y5 where hes a taxi driver and takes place in 2012. I concluded that he has to have listened to Mr Taxi and was like "thats me :)" and i guess from then on he considered himself a SONE (or just a fan idk if he would know about fandom names lol)

Majima

A girl group/solo artists stan.

Definitely a huge inspiration for Goromi and her performances lol

And his collection of albums played for all the Majima Construction crew while they work.

I made a Goromi playlist (priv atm) which I just put in a bunch of female kpop artists in.

This includes artists like Kara, 9Muses, EXID, Miss A, Sunmi, Hyuna, AOA, Sistar, T-ara, Brown Eyed Girls, Lee Hyori, After School...and yeah alot of artists i put in lol

Akiyama

This was all based on a meme I saw on twitter where Akiyama is a Blackjack on stan twitter lol

So I can see Akiyama being a fan of 2NE1. Started listening to them when he saw it was popular with the hostesses and staff of club Elise and they shared it with him.

Tanimura

He would listen to a general amount of artists but would have a lot of interest in artists that have an international appeal...Wonder Girls "nobody" anyone?

(...OK that is the thing with kpop lol especially since it has a presence in Japan for awhile)

I mean like a multicultural image or just have non-Korean members. I can see Tanimura immediately taking interest in those types.

And of course anything that's popular with the Little Asia community lol

Artists: Miss A, Super Junior-M, f(x), Twice, U-Kiss, Wonder Girls, Momoland, 2NE1, Blackpink, 2PM, Big Bang

Shinada

Definitely into girl groups. Particularly ones that would have sexy dance moves which become popular and iconic later on.

And look Shinada has certain assets...

So he really likes to try out popular dances that usually involve using his tush in some way lmao.

Ex. Girls Day "Expectation" "Female President", Sistar "So Cool" "Touch my Body", AoA "Miniskirt", Kara "Mister"

Mine

This is probably very biased of me XD giving my favorite character my ultimate bias group.

Ahh yes Infinite the "Idols of Obsession" ...hmmm..

I imagine he isn't the type to follow celebrities nor have the time or interest to.

BUT BUT one day he listened to one of their songs and couldn't help but think of...a certain someone...

He doesn't considers himself a inspirit but he did walk into a music shop and bought a few albums, went home and spent his break listening to their discography while having AMVs take place in his brain.

Daigo

I'm aware of his emo taste so I tried here ^_^*

I decided to go with that Daigo listens to kpop bands. From my head it'd be CN Blue, FT island, LEDapple.

A non-band it HAS to be Dreamcatcher, another one maybe Vixx'; their dark concept songs mainly.

Haruka

I can see the idol herself listening to some idols for inspo lol

Few artists I thought of were Orange Caramel, Crayon Pop, Twice, f(x), Wonder Girls, Blackpink..

I can see her getting into some boy groups especially when it's what her friends and peers are into.

#yakuza #yakuza headcanons #kiryu kazuma #majima goro #akiyama shun #masayoshi tanimura #tatsuo shinada #mine yoshitaka #daigo dojima #haruka sawamura #i might do other characters in the future? #kpop

[be-netz]

a short recap of the last episode opens up episode three, reminding the viewer of the stakes. this is the first team battle but more importantly it’s the first elimination round. at the end of today, at least three contestants will be going home.

“as a reminder,” next gen emcee RHEE JIAN reminds the viewers at home, “the winning teams will be safe from elimination this round. of the losing teams, our judges will decide who will be continuing on in the competition and who will be sent home. this is the time for our contestants to prove why they deserve to be here, how much passion they have for being an idol, and if they have the talent to back it up. good luck to everyone!”

the three judges are seen taking their seats in front of the stage that’s been prepared for the contestants today.

“this challenge is your expertise,” SEO RAN, sr media ceo, remarks to her co-judge and the ceo of studio delta YOON JIHUN. “is there anything in particular that you’re looking for in the performances today?”

“i know that you will be judging their stage presence and character, and YUNA will be paying attention to their basic skills, but i’m genuinely looking for someone who can take one of these iconic songs and make us forget about the original,” jihun explains to his fellow judges. “anyone can simply cover any of these. they’re popular, everyone knows how to sing and dance to them. but how can our contestants take this base and make it something completely their own? that’s what i’m looking for.”

the two female judges nod their heads in understanding. “last year’s FROST team showcased something similar,” yuna, the representative of lime entertainment, reminds her fellow judges. a short clip of the performance from last year reminds the viewers in case they hadn’t tuned in before.

“exactly,” jihun explains. “they remixed the song and created a new story with their stage concept. and their performance was impeccable. that’s the sort of performance i’d like to see from all of our teams today. i’m hopeful that they’ll make this a hard decision for us.”

“we’ll see,” yuna smiles tightly, as if unconvinced that they’ll truly be impressed by each and every one of the current contestants.

“it looks like our first group battle is the representatives from your company,” ran nods towards yuna after glancing at her cue cards. 

as if on cue, jian calls their attention from the stage. “our first battle will be between TEAM A and TEAM B for CAKE by PRIZM,” she announces. the two teams file on stage from either side, joining jian as she stands in the center. “do you have anything you’d like to say to your teammates or the competition before we begin?”

she takes a moment to let each team member say a few words, encouraging one another or challenging their rivals, and all of the reactions that entails.

“now, if we’re all ready to begin, let’s see TEAM A’s performance,” she announces, gesturing to her left side and the three contestants lead by LEE SEOJUN.

as the contestants and emcee file off stage, the scene changes to the preparations for this battle. it was a hard week for both teams, it seems, as short cuts of both HWANG YEJUN and KIM ARA on the verge of tears in the practice rooms flit across the screen. just what could have caused the heartbreak and tragedy during practice?

the camera decides to focus on YAMAMOTO KAITO first anyway, showing the young man seeking out his designated coach for help with his vocals.

“i wanted to do my best to not only improve myself, but to also not let my teammates down,” kaito explains to the camera in the interview room. “i know i still need to work harder to get my singing up.”

“make sure to sing from your diaphragm. it helps with controlling your breathing,” seojun explains to the contestant. they practice that for a moment before seojun recommends another technique: “humming and lip buzzing are easy ways to warm up your voice,” he suggests. the pair work through a few exercises for a moment before the scene changes again.

kaito comes across as a very diligent contestant. he and KIM ARA put their heads together as they start discussing the concepts for their performance.

“had a chance to think anything up?” ara asks, “wouldn’t mind brainstorming up concepts with you before we bring it back to our coach and the team.”

“maybe we could put our own little 'twist’ on the concept?” he suggests, “something different than the judges are even used to seeing… how does this look?” kaito stops playing with his phone and shows something on the screen to ara. “we could even throw in some concepts that others usually wouldn’t do? maybe like volleyball players, basketball players?”

the two continue to work together on the concept of their performance, throwing ideas between them. “i know that this is a competition,” kaito’s voice is overlaid on the scene where he’s writing down all of the ideas they’re sharing between them, “but we're still a team and have to rely on each other for what we each lack in.”

it’s ara, seen sitting in the interview room, who reveals the concept they decided on. “we ended up determining that we could do something that really showcases us as a unit, so we ended up as a volleyball team,” she explains, “our outfits were comfortable and cute in the end! and we changed some of our hand movements to match the sports moves.”

it seems that the highlight of this team was seojun’s patience and leadership. during a completely different practice session, it’s YOON EUNWOL who’s calling for aid. "seojun… help," he pleads with his coach. rather than ask for help with his performance, however, it appears that his problem is the sheer amount of food he has balanced in his arms. "i have made a grave error." it’s a bit comedic, to say the least.

however, figuring out how to make the food disappear among the four-person team turns out to be the least of their concerns. 

"i really, really don't want to get yelled at, I haven't been yelled at since bootcamp,” he confesses to seojun. "i can dance a bit? just a bit?" he pinches his fingers together, gesturing how little confidence he has in that particular ability. seojun is quick to reassure him, of course.

“seeing everyone learning what i did before just makes me happy,” seojun’s voice is heard over a clip of him helping eunwol with the choreography. “and i like being able to help do so.”

“when I felt I was behind or messing up I just looked to him and without a mean word he would help,” eunwol’s voice is heard as well, and the scene fades to him sitting in the interview room. “it is nice how someone can give advice without being rude, hmm?”

the last comment is clearly loaded, implying it was meant to be heard by someone else’s ears other than the staff conducting the interviews. as if on cue, the scene shifts back to eunwol’s conversation with seojun. "that judge had the nerve to tell me to go because I am scared to be here…” he complains aloud to his coach.

to remind the audience what eunwol’s talking about, a clip of jihun’s harsh words about eunwol from last episode plays again: “if you don’t want to be here, you’re welcome to leave. there’s thousands of children and young adults around the world who want to be exactly in the spot you’re in right now. if you’re not grateful for this opportunity, you may as well do them a favor and drop out now.”

seojun, to his credit, responds very diplomatically. “sometimes being unique for a challenge is good but some you gotta follow the dance as it is.”

as this portion of the broadcast seems to be wrapping up, eunwol takes over the sceen in the interview room once more. “i do have a question,” he asks the staff. “do the judges get to know us? i never saw the first season… i assumed the judges would interact more with us, and would want to get to know us.”

an awkward pause follows his question, no answer seemingly given at this time.

finally, the scene shifts to reveal just what that scene of ara’s tears had been from the beginning of the episode. she leaves practice abruptly, the redness in her face a clear sign of her frustration. ara doesn’t make it far, certainly not past the watchful eyes of the cameras, when she buries her face in her hands. is she crying?

“hey, you feeling alright?” seojun is the only one to approach her during her emotionally fragile time. “whatever is on your mind, i’m here for you. tell me whatever you need to. i want the best for you and our team.”

ara hardly hesitates to let her fears and frustrations out into the world. maybe seojun is just that good of a comforting presence, or maybe she just really needed to let it out into the world. “the competition is just so fast paced, i’m… i’m trying not to let it get to me but i’m getting so overwhelmed.”

she does her best to hide her face, but the cameras catch a glimpse of tears regardless. “i want us to do well. i just want to do well,” she confesses.“the idea of elimination is also getting me even more anxious.”

“overthinking is too easy in a competition like this. all you can do is the best you can.” seojun tries to comfort her. “just do the best you can and i’d still be proud of you. i believe you got this.”

the scene remains unresolved, the viewer never knowing if ara will truly be alright after all of this or not.

the time for the first CAKE performance draws near and the team of four are seen on stage wearing the simple sporty uniforms that ara had described earlier. after a brief pause to create some tension, the music finally begins and the quartet begin to sing and dance.

“oh?” yuna’s brow furrows in a frown, the scene shifting mid-performance to her reaction. “but they didn’t change anything about the song?”

“they seemed to have gone for a sporty concept,” ran points out. “but isn’t that close to PRIZM’s concept in the first place?”

jihun says nothing, but his expression remains unimpressed.

the song is allowed to continue uninterrupted for the remainder of their performance. they do change up the choreography a bit, as ara had mentioned before, but ultimately the song remains mostly identical to PRIZM’s original performance of the number.

“i did everything i could and i know that rankings can still go up and down. but i did the best i could so i hope it shows.” ara’s voice is heard as the camera focuses on each and every contestant individually at the conclusion of their performance. it even captures eunwol’s wink and salute.

the contestants finally are given permission to relax as the lighting changes and the judges prepare to deliver their critique. 

“we’ll give you your individual critique first, and then our evaluation of the performance as a whole,” jihun explains to the first group up to perform. “i want to start with ARA. why are you holding back? don’t you know that this is a competition?”

the man sighs. “i hope we didn’t damage your confidence with anything we said before. i can tell that you were trying to blend well into your group, but instead you should have just made sure they could all perform on your level. don’t sell yourself short, that’s not how you’ll improve.”

“i agree, i would have liked to see more from you, ara,” ran’s words are much warmer, though she essentially says the same thing as jihun. “you’re a skilled performer. i feel like this choreography could have really shown off your top skills if you allowed it to. i hope to see more confidence from you in future performances.”

“my favorite parts were when you were in the center,” yuna smiles kindly. “i think we could all tell that’s when you let loose and went all-out. it’s smart of you to conserve energy when you’re not the main focus, too. but if you could do that without losing a bit of your spark… wow, you’d be unstoppable.”

“i also want to give props to KAITO,” yuna continues. “you’ve improved a lot in a short time. i think i can speak for all of the judges when i say that we noticed how much your vocals have improved in just a week.” she glances around to ran and jihun, who nod their agreement. “good job.”

jihun picks up his microphone to continue kaito’s critique next. “i would just caution you not to neglect your other skills while you’re trying to improve one,” he warns. “your vocals saw great improvement, but i didn’t notice anything special about your dancing this time. you could have done better.”

“i think you shine very brightly on stage,” ran compliments the contestant with a smile. “you were fun to watch during this performance. were you enjoying it?” she waits for a confirmation before continuing. “that’s what’s important. if you look happy while performing, your audience is going to feel that as well.”

“we weren’t actually planning to say too much about our coaches,” yuna speaks again, gesturing to seojun. “but i did quickly want to point out how great a job SEOJUN did at managing everyone for this performance. you can tell that the team worked well together under his leadership. you’re already much more experienced than the team you’re leading, so we won’t say too much about your performance skills, but kudos for being such a great team leader.” 

when it comes time for EUNWOL’s critique from the judges, jihun’s face goes dark again. “seojun,” he asks the coach instead of addressing the contestant immediately at first, “did you know that eunwol was going to make a cutesy gesture at the end of your performance? or did he decide that on his own once he was actually on stage?”

“you don’t want to be yelled at, but you keep doing things that make me want to scold you,” jihun’s full attention is directed at eunwol now. “do you think you’re better than us? smarter? i don’t think you fully grasp what this relationship is. you can consider next gen to be similar to a job interview. if you make it to the finale and are signed, i, or seo ran, or KWON JAEHYUN will be your boss. we are not here to make friends with you. we are here to push you to see how far your potential goes and if we want to make an investment in you to continue. right now, that investment seems like more trouble than it’s worth to me.”

hardly anyone dares to speak after jihun’s rant, and still so early in the episode. however, none of the judges look particularly happy with eunwol. perhaps sending shade toward one of the ceos was not the best move to make.

“we are getting to know you,” ran tries to explain in a more gentle manner, though even she seems a bit perturbed. “but as jihun said, we are not here to be your friends. we’re learning about you through what you show us on stage, and we’re monitoring your activities in practice. it’s not helpful to you or your growth at this point to sit down and ask your favorite color, let alone all of the other contestants we’re trying to help cultivate on this show. i hope you’re able to keep that in mind as we move forward.”

“i can speak from the perspective as a performer as well as one of the judges,” yuna frowns into her microphone. “you come across as extremely disrespectful, whether you mean to or not. it’s a trait that’s broken countless idols’ reputations with the public. no matter how hurt you are, how upset you may be with someone, it’s our responsibility to smile and say ‘thank you for your concern’ anyway. it doesn’t matter if you can sing or dance if your attitude is poor. and i do think you have the talent, you wouldn’t be here otherwise. i’m just not convinced you have the personality to survive this industry at this point.”

“as for your performance as a team,” jihun takes the lead on the critique again, “it’s unfortunate that you seemed to lack creativity as a whole. the song was identical, the choreography was only very minorly edited, and volleyball isn’t all that far off from PRIZM’s original concept. they’re a group with a rather sporty image, after all. i’m afraid i was a bit disappointed by that aspect of your performance.”

“while that may be true, i think you all worked well as a unit,” ran speaks the positive out into the world, hopefully cheering up the team that’s certainly been through enough scolding already. “you looked like you were enjoying the stage. i’d guess that a few of you are PRIZM fans? right?” she smiles as she waits for someone to admit to it. “well done.”

“you performance skills are certainly improving as well,” yuna adds. “if i didn’t know it myself, i might not have believed that was your first time performing on stage together as a group. as a whole, you complimented each other’s strengths and filled in for your weaknesses very well. it was an engaging performance, if not the most inspired.”

“thank you,” jian takes over, allowing team A a chance to bow and thank the judges before they’re instructed to leave the stage. “after the teamwork powerhouse and mvp captain seojun, how will TEAM B compare?”

the second team in question are seen waiting in the wings briefly before the scene changes to the practice rooms again.

ITO SEIRA is the first focus of the team, the young woman shown in two split screens asking almost the same question of her teammates: to CHAERIN, “think you could help me with the dance?” to YEJUN, she asks “wanna help me with my lines?”

the scene with yejun is the one that the editors decide to focus on first, blowing that section of the screen up until it takes over entirely. “you seem to be good at singing,” she flatters her teammate with a giggle, “and i’m really not.”

“i’ll help how i can,” yejun promises, a kindness about him. and he is a good singer; the scene cuts briefly to his practice sessions for this episode and previous ones, even his audition. he has one of the better voices on the show, with so many dancers present in this season. the editors seem to think it’s a shame that he hasn’t been featured more prominently before. he’s really only number fifteen? the captions question the judgment of the representatives from each company.

“there’s some parts where my voice is supposed to go up a lot, but my voice can’t really do that,” seira explains.

“it could be out of your range,” yejun suggests with a frown, seemingly concerned about the ability of his teammate. “you should be working on your scales, that’s basic for every musician and singer.” is he calling her out or giving genuine advice?

the scene shifts to her request of chaerin. the coach, of course, is happy to oblige. “that’s what i’m here for, right?” she answers seira.

LEE CHAERIN is popular among the contestants who can’t dance, it seems. YUWOL, yejun, and seira all come to her with concerns about looking awkward on stage. she takes her time  with each of them, diagnosing the unique problems in their performance and making gentle suggestions to help them improve. “i did spend the most time working on the choreography and dancing with everybody,” chaerin admits in the interview room. “while they're all talented in their own ways, it was clear that they didn't have too much experience dancing.”

the scene cuts to yejun and HAN YUWOL. while chaerin had just been explaining how talented her team is, even if that talent doesn’t necessarily include dance, yejun seems to be continuously messing up the piece that he and yuwol are practicing together. yuwol, to his credit, doesn’t seem to be getting frustrated even though he’s playing violin flawlessly. yejun, despite how adept he proved to be in his audition, looks like he forgot how to play the guitar overnight.

“sorry,” yejun apologizes, “i’m just… not feeling well, i guess.”

“were your parents supportive of your dreams to be a singer?” a disembodied voice is heard beyond the camera as yejun sits in front of the backdrop of the interview room. yejun smiles in a way that betrays how much that question hurts him.

“they’re not,” he admits. “i’ve wanted this since i was just a kid, though. i never really stopped thinking about that dream.”

yuwol stops their practice. “are you alright?” he asks. “i know you’re skilled with the guitar too. it’s not that you’re fumbling your playing… but something seems to be on your mind.”

“no, you’re right,” yejun sighs, “there is something on my mind. that call i just took? it was my parents. they’re fine, i just…” he trails off, seemingly choked up by his own words. just what had his parents said on the phone? at least the editors decide to respect his privacy that much. 

“there’s a big mental battle,” yejun’s voice is heard over a closeup on his own face, the camera just barely catching the tears that well up on his eyes, even if they never fall.

the scene shifts again, this time to yejun and chaerin as she helps him through his dance practice. “i’ll practice until my feet fall off… or i get it right. whatever comes first,” he promises her. 

“i’ve always loved music,” yejun’s voice is heard over the scene again. “knowing that this performance will be the first eliminations, and that it’s the first time i have a team that’s relying on me to do my best… it’s a lot of pressure, you know? i’m trying to stay focused on the important things and to just give my best performance no matter what.”

the scene shifts to the team on stage. unlike team A’s bright, sporty concept, team B has opted for a grungier look, akin to villains about to rob a bank. their beginning is also entirely different with yuwol holding his violin at the ready with the bow hovering just above the strings, yejun with his guitar, and seira seated behind a piano.

the lights go on and the music starts rather hauntingly, the chorus of cake reimaged as a band concept with chaerin singing the lyrics in a rather stylized way. they only perform like that for the duration of the chorus, however. the team sets down their instruments and steps forward on the stage to sing and dance PRIZM’s song as it was originally imagined, though the background music remains entirely different from the original.

“we added a twist to the song, constructed a scarier flavor for the concept we were going for. leaned into a thrilling story, following a few pop culture media we thought of. i am confident, i know we performed with our best.” yuwol’s voice is heard as the team strikes their final poses, the camera catching a close-up of each contestant as an ending fairy.

a short applause can be heard from the judges as the contestants finally relax, standing at attention for their critique.

“i suppose we should start with our feedback,” jihun announces, glancing at his fellow judges. “let’s start with… han yuwol.”

however, it’s yuna who gives feedback first. “there’s no doubt that you’ve already improved,” she smiles. “it looks like chaerin helped you a lot with your dance, did she?” she waits for confirmation before continuing. “it’s refreshing to see that you take our advice to heart and can actually make changes in your performance rather quickly. it’s an important trait for a trainee or idol to have.”

“whose idea was this concept?” ran asks, curious more than anything. “yuwol, do you have any acting experience? you suit this vibe surprisingly well… i don’t know if we should be concerned or not!” she laughs, joking with the contestants before continuing her review. “it’ll be interesting to see how you handle other concepts moving forward.”

finally, jihun says his piece. “your violin skills added to the unique stylization of this performance,” he seems to approve. “however, i want to caution you against relying on them for the remainder of the competition. it served you well this time, but we’re producing idols, not concert musicians. we’ll be observing your other performance skills more closely from now on.” well, at least it wasn’t a scolding.

“yejun, i’ll say the same word of caution to you with that guitar,” jihun changes his attention to another teammate. “don’t think i haven’t noticed your passion, though. i appreciate anyone who puts their entire life on the line to meet their dreams. there’s a sort of charm to desperation that can’t be taught.” it’s unclear whether jihun is giving a compliment of if he’s just revealing he’s a bit of a sadist.

“your abilities have improved as well,” yuna nods approvingly. “chaerin taught you all well, as expected of a lime entertainment trainee. you’re more stable than you were last time, which is great considering you have one of the better voices in this competition. it’s about time we finally let that show properly. great work.”

finally, ran picks up her microphone. “i just praised yuwol’s acting, but i’m afraid i’ll have to say the opposite of you. you looked a little too focused on singing and dancing that without the costume, i would have never known the story you were telling. i just want you to be a little more aware of your expression for future performances. it’s what makes a good performer truly great.”

“good job, yejun,” yuna cheers him on one last time before turning her attention to the final participant in this group. “ito seira…” she murmurs, “what are we going to do with you?”

“i suppose i should at least praise you for having the sense to seek out more experienced individuals to make up for where you lack,” yuna sighs, “but i really don’t think you need to be praised for that right now. aren’t you worried about holding your team back by asking them to practice twice as hard and teach you everything? collaboration is a good skill, but you need to learn how to improve on your own as well. yejun shouldn’t be teaching you the basics of singing when he needed to work on his performance too.”

“you shine on stage,” ran at least opens with something nicer to say, “it’s clear that you’re a performer. but… how do i say this…”

jihun interrupts with his own commentary: “the circus is also full of performers,” he deadpans, completely hijacking ran’s critique. “i hope you’re taking this seriously and not just goofing off during this opportunity. this is twice now that you’ve fallen during rehearsals after we’ve warned you to take better care of your body, isn’t it? i hope that you keep in mind that we’re looking for singers and dancers and not a court jester doing slapstick comedy.”

ran shoots jihun a sharp glare, her normally kind disposition shattered for a moment as her irritation with the man shows through. she doesn’t, however, correct anything that he says.

“did you re-record the entire track?” jihun asks the team. “who arranged that? considering the time you had to prepare everything, it wasn’t bad.” of course he can’t give an outright compliment, however he’s definitely giving more praise than he had to the other team. “this is the type of performance we were looking for with this mission. it was almost unrecognizable from the original.”

“i want to know more about the story,” ran’s frustration with her fellow ceo melts away quickly in front of the cameras, smiling at the team in front of the judges instead. “i feel like you all were halfway there with it. you could have modified the choreography to better tell the story of a heist, or fighting superheroes, or whatever it was you were doing. it was a bit hard to tell from our point of view.”

“i’ll admit, i forgot about PRIZM for a moment there,” yuna says with a smile. “if you had done something different with the choreography, i might have forgotten them entirely. this is how you take a song and make it your own. you played to your own talents well and made the song have a new meaning by introducing the darker concept. well done.”

instead of team b being dismissed following their performance as team a had been, both teams are called back to the stage as they had been in the very beginning. “i think it’s time to announce the winners of our first battle,” jian announces. “i have the rulings from the judges in my hand here. the winner of cake battle is…”

“TEAM B!”

there’s time for celebration and mourning between the two teams before jihun picks up his microphone once more. this is, after all, his specialty. “ultimately, it came down to who reimagined the song better,” he explains the reasoning. “and team b won by a landslide.”

“unfortunately, that means a member of team a will be sent home today,” jian draws the attention back to the stage. “we’re so sorry to see you go and hope that you continue your idol dreams, even if this was not the right opportunity for you at this time. the contestant eliminated is…”

well, that won’t be revealed until the end of the episode!

the scene changes abruptly to the next song battle, TEAM A and TEAM B for PINK VENOM now standing on either side of jian on stage as she announces that they’ll be participating in the next team battle. “wish your opponents luck,” she tells each team, giving each captain a ‘fighting’ gesture with her fist before team B is dismissed from the stage for the time being.

like the cake teams, it’s immediately apparent that the trainee coach was an important piece of the puzzle for TEAM A. ZHOU RENYI is a familiar face to returning fans from the previous seasons of next gen and it seems that his hardworking attitude has not faded in the slightest since becoming a trainee. he’s seen first helping HAN JUEUN with her vocal parts in the practice room, sitting behind a keyboard and plunking out the notes she’s meant to hit.

“it’s easy to go flat with this song,” he explains to his teammate. “it’s doesn’t really move out of those same three or four notes for the most part. so if you don’t support every single one, they’ll start to muddy together. especially when you start moving around with the dance.”

jueun begins singing along immediately, diligently practicing the notes as renyi had instructed her to. but his critique isn’t over yet; it seems that the studio delta trainees take after their ceo to a certain degree. “watch your english,” he warns, “the pronunciation of ‘this that’ and 'taste that’; they mean different things but right now i can’t hear the difference.”

“this that, taste that,” jueun repeats again, trying to get it right.

“better,” renyi finally relents. 

jueun isn’t the only contestant seeking out the former champion’s help; SONG JIAYI takes a moment during practice to strike up a conversation, asking the tough questions that may very well help her through this competition.

“what was the hardest part about last season?” she asks, was it performing, or something else?”

renyi takes his time, pausing for a gulp of water before he gives her the answers she’s looking for. he glances over, the camera following his eyes as they watch the other pink venom team practicing in the same room. “that guy over there,” he speaks in english at first, nose wrinkling up annoyedly. but he answers more seriously a moment later, back in korean for the viewers at home: “being in the public eye the whole time. my dream was always being a songwriter; i never really saw myself as anyone people would watch, or even want to watch.”

“i think renyi was a good mentor to us,” jiayi tell the cameras in the interview room. “i couldn’t have asked for better!”

“ren is a little intimidating at first because of his actual status,” ASAKURA TOUMA also sings ren’s praises in the same room, albeit without jiayi present. “but it’s clear he wants the best for the team just like anyone else.”

it seems that the chemistry of this team went over well in general; shots of each of the teammates helping each other out flash over the screen one after another. "hey, how do you think this line sounds? you can be completely honest,” jueun asks touma. 

“i suppose… seeing how this song is like, you could be a lot more firm? powerful?” touma suggests.

jueun takes the feedback well, nodding as she replies: “i get what you mean.” 

this team in particular seems to be preparing a lot for their performance. as the days roll by, they’re seen practicing with prop weapons, discussing comic book character makeup, choreographing a new dance break, and arranging the song to their liking. they’re certainly taking the customization of this challenge seriously.

“our concept is cool! we’re doing venom—like, the comic book character. it made sense with the title of the song,” touma explains to the cameras, clearly enthused about the concept. 

“our decision to get rid of the rap verses may have been a little bold since we were switching it up quite a bit,” jueun reveals in a separate shot.

pink venom without quartz’s iconic rap lines? excuse the editors for being a bit dubious, but that certainly is a bold move!

in practice, the team is just as dedicated to coming up with new ideas. "what if we all took turns coming to the center, so everyone their chance to be at the front?" jiayi suggests.

“yes! that’s a good idea, each one of us deserves the center spotlight.” touma approves.

it turns out that jueun herself was the artist behind the makeup on team a’s faces. a short shot of the team backstage shows her applying the venom-inspired face paint. with all of their team chemistry, surely they’ll be able to pull off a good performance, right?

there’s only one way to find out!

a rather eerie vibe overtakes the stage as the decked-out pink venom team waits for the music to begin. and begin it does, the team showing off unique choreography with prop weapons introduced to the song. and they’re right; removing the raps and moving the dance break up to replace them (with entirely new choreography), and adding another chorus where the break used to be certainly adds a new spin to the song. it’s unrecognizable from the original, but is that a good thing?

the camera is sure to capture each member’s ending fairy moment as the song comes to a close. however, that also means that its time for judgment to begin.

“i suppose we should start with touma,” jihun begins, taking the lead on the judges’ reviews again. “i suppose i should just be glad you listened to us to some extent. you worked on your vocal performance, sure, but it seems like it was a bit of an afterthought, wasn’t it?” he gives the young man a look, asking him to be honest with himself. “dance may be more fun, but let’s not neglect the hard work, alright?”

“improvement is improvement,” yuna admits, piggybacking off of what jihun already said. “but if what jihun suspects is true, and singing still took less of a priority for you this round, imagine how quickly you could improve if you made an effort to be as excited about singing as you are about dancing. just to keep in mind.” she smiles.

“enough on that,” ran waves the opinions of the other two off dismissively. “you were clearly passionate about this concept and it makes you a very engaging contestant to watch. i hope you’re able to keep this energy throughout future performances and have fun on every stage, regardless. good job, touma.”

ran turns her attention to jueun next. “ah, jueun… i wanted to root for you so badly after that strong opening line but i’m so sorry to say you didn’t keep that same energy through the whole performance. i feel like i lost you a bit in there, which was a shame. you’re a wonderful performer i want to see more from.”

“we can tell your skills are improving, at least,” yuna jumps in. “but i have to agree with ran… honestly, i think your team did you a bit dirty with this arrangement. they seemed to be playing to their own strengths more than yours. advocate for yourself next time! if they’re going to add a dance break, shouldn’t they have helped you shine by playing up your strengths as well?”

jihun considers his words carefully before he speaks, seemingly undecided on what verdict he wants to give. finally, he picks up his microphone. “i think this boils down to pink venom not being a very good concept on you,” he admits. “as yuna said, we can see you’re improving. this song did not highlight that for you, though. it’s a shame that your teammates didn’t notice that they weren’t doing you any favors. i hope they weren’t counting on your elimination should the other pink venom team perform better.”

he sends a sharp look around at the fellow contestants, perhaps a warning to work on their teamwork.

“renyi, i hope this was an oversight on your part and not an intentional contingency plan for teammates you preferred.” he remarks sharply, scolding the coach from his company more than the contestant who was most affected.

“can i gush over jiayi tough?” ran changes the conversation quickly, moving to the next contestant. “this concept suits you very well. your expressions were good and you looked confident throughout the whole song, which embodies quartz’s energy so well. the girl crush concept is truly meant for you.”

“we can also see your improvement very clearly,” yuna adds, “your vocals are getting better with every performance and it’s good to see you maintain your confidence when our critiques can easily make a contestant overthink and panic. we’re here to point out your flaws so you can improve upon them, and you’ve taken that very well.”

“if i had to describe it,” jihun once again pauses to choose his words carefully before continuing, “it’s like you truly embody the concept of quartz. if we were auditioning for another member, you’d certainly fit the bill. but we’re not.” of course he can’t simply give praise. it’s unclear whether he liked jiayi’s performance or not.

“as for the performance itself…” he sighs, leaning down to rest his head in his hand as he looks over the notes he’s written in front of him. “don’t you think it was a bit too much?”

a pause falls over the room as judges and contestants alike wait for the studio delta ceo to explain his thoughts.

“quartz has a girl crush, feminine power sort of image. i suppose by bringing in super heroes and weapons you wanted to emphasize that, but the arrangement was just… bad. the dance break, supposedly the climax of the song, happened in the first half of the performance and the rest felt like a letdown. taking away the raps may have shown your talents better, but it took away the power of the song. it just felt a bit… underwhelming.” he sighs. “at least you tried.”

“i’ll admit, jihun is the real producer among us,” ran smiles apologetically. “he’ll know the technicalities better than i would. but purely as an audience member, it felt like the intensity was here,” she holds her hand parallel to the table, about nose-hight. “and it stayed there throughout the performance. something that starts here,” she holds her hand lower and as she speaks, moves it upwards, “and then escalates as it goes, maybe dips a bit, but then finishes with a bang!” she raises her hand up above her head, “usually is more captivating.”

“i think you did well to play to your strengths,” yuna at least has compliments for the team, “but i see what jihun and ran are saying. if you’re not good rappers, this was a good time to learn. renyi, you could have stepped up to help too. even if your rapping wasn’t good, it’s not like you’d get kicked out for it like your contestants would. better strategizing and use of your coach might have improved this performance, if you had thought about it.”

“ah, i’m sure you wanted to hear more praise than that for all of your hard work,” jian smiles sympathetically at team a. “don’t worry! we haven’t seen team b yet; you could still win this!” she cheers them on once more before they’re dismissed from the stage for now, replaced by pink venom TEAM B.

perhaps one of the most interesting storylines on this team is that of JANG HYUNKI. after coming into the competition at one of the lowest ranks, he suddenly rose to the top and secured the male center spot after last episode! 

“after seeing my name at the bottom, i didn't dare consider the idea of jumping all the way to first place. i just wanted to show the judges i was much more than i showed in my audition,” he explains in the interview room. “clearly, i did something to please the judges.”

“do you think you can maintain that ranking?” a voice from beyond the camera asks him. 

"i hope so," hyunki laughs while he responds, perhaps giddy at the thought.

“i'm happy we all seem excited for the song," hyunki enthuses to his coach, PARK DOHYUN. 

“i'm a sucker for catchy girl group songs,” dohyun admits, “and i think we can bring the right energy with all the different strengths we have."

it does appear that the team is working well together. it’s hyunki again who approaches MOON JORDAN during a solo practice session, catching him while he’s taking a break. based on the sweat on his face and soaked into his shirt, jordan had only been resting for a very short moment. 

"hey, not looking half bad," hyunki compliments his teammate openly. 

“thank you, thank you. i’m just trying my best especially in moments like this,” jordan responds, immediately stopping his break and putting away his phone. this team is full of hard workers, it would seem. 

the pair begin practice quickly, discussing which parts they need the most work on and which they think they can leave for later.

“i can tell you now, there was definitely not one single bad moment working with the venom flower crew,” jordan tells the cameras in the interview room, absolutely gushing about his teammates. “although it’s different personalities jumbled into one team, we all worked so well together during this process.”

while hyunki and jordan clearly know their way around a practice room, there seems to be a different story from RYU SIWOO. “i’ve never danced or rapped in my life,” siwoo admits to hyunki. how in the world did he make it onto the show with such little experience? did luxury-brand boy buy his way into the spotlight?

despite his glaring inadequacies, siwoo still seems very positive about the whole experience. maybe it’s, again, because the team gets along so well. “i’m sure we’ll do well. from what i gather we have to have good… chemistry? to pull off the rapping. i think we’re already halfway there.”

after the camera flits between a few more miscellaneous practice scenes, it finally comes time for the team’s performance. 

"we wanted to play with the different connotations and ideas surrounding the words 'pink' and 'venom,'" hyunki explains, his voice overlaid as the camera pans across their dimly lit figures waiting for their stage to start. "i thought a lot about how pink brings up thoughts of softness, cuteness, and overall gentle things while venom is, obviously, totally opposite. it was fun to visually play with those ideas through our styling. we all also picked out a flower that is poisonous but still beautiful to wear.” the camera takes the opportunity to zoom in on hyunki’s foxglove charm, so small that it may have been missed if it hadn’t been pointed out.

finally, the music starts. just like with the first cake team, it’s apparent immediately that there’s been almost no alteration done to the arrangement or choreography of the song, simply dressing themselves up in themed costumes and performing the song relying on their own stage presence to make it unique.

the camera pans across the judges’ disgruntled faces yet again.

the only saving grace is the performance itself; the chemistry of the team is certainly there and even siwoo, who self-proclaimed his lack of experience, seems to embody the quartz vibe exceptionally well. 

as the performance comes to a close and the camera focuses on each contestant one by one, a threatening silence seems to brew from one judge in particular.

“i think i’ll start,” ran seems to recognize the storm brewing sooner than yuna, picking up her microphone before jihun can speak. “hyunki, our center,” she smiles, “you do shine on stage these days. i think after a rough start to the competition, you truly came to life and continue to shine. you show your expressions well.”

“agreed,” yuna jumps in, and expands upon the thought. “you’ve definitely become a more balanced performer from when we first saw you. i can’t say for certain that it’s enough to keep first place, but you’re certainly making a good case for it. great job.”

jihun has nothing to say just yet, simply nodding his agreement with the other coaches for now.

ran, feeling more uncomfortable as her fellow ceo continues to brew in his emotions calls on the next contestant. “you’re also showing steady improvement, jordan,” ran compliments him. “i noticed you’re also paying closer attention to your expressions this time. it’s improvement like that that we’re excited to see and makes us want to continue to watch your growth. please keep up the good work.”

“if nothing else, i think pink venom was the perfect song to help this whole team practice their stage presence,” yuna remarks. “it’s not terrible challenging vocally and leaves a lot of room for attitude. you gave us a good performance this time, jordan, and i hope to see this sort of consistency from you moving forward.”

again, jihun remains silent.

“i think siwoo embodied the concept best, though,” yuna continues uncomfortably, “and we can tell that you were working hard for this performance, maybe harder than you’ve worked before?” she suggests, her smile turning a bit coy.

“please don’t take this the wrong way, but you play the ‘rich girl’ character very well,” ran praises the young man herself. “the attitude is perfect for most of quartz’s discography. this was definitely your song.”

the judges look at jihun, almost afraid to comment on the group as a whole until he says something. but it seems that group feedback isn’t coming the same way it had for the other teams. “bring team a back out,” he instructs jian and the staff. “i think everyone needs to hear this.”

as the other team shuffles uncomfortably back on stage, jihun stands up at the desk, fingertips just resting on the tabletop. the slightest tremor in his hands betrays his fury before his lips open.

“renyi, dohyun,” he addresses the coaches, “i understand that your role was limited in this competition and you were at the mercy of the teams we gave you. but i’ve never been more humiliated by a studio delta team in my life.”

the ceo shoots a sharp glare across each and every contestant, making sure everyone knows that no one is spared from his disappointment and fury.

“this challenge was made for us. it was assigned by me. and yet i sit here and listen to both teams do very little to make this song their own. at least team a rearranged it a bit, it was a mess of a performance and showed very little creativity but at least it was different. showing up in different costumes is not a show of creativity. it’s a complete lack of it. i would have thought that the studio delta teams would have blown everyone out of the water, and yet i’m sitting here and a lime entertainment team is the most unique rendition we’ve seen so far. aren’t you a little bit embarrassed?”

he lets his words linger in the air for a moment, the entire studio silent as he breaks protocol and simply decides what happens next on his own. jihun sits back into his seat heavily, still clearly angry as he scribbles something on the paper in front of him. “we don’t need time to discuss this. i’m sure yuna and ran already agree. the winner of this battle is TEAM A, but only because we can’t have two losers. get off the stage. team b, stick around a moment so we can decide which of you we’re sending home.”

the judges enter discussion about who from the losing team should be removed, but again it’s kept hidden until later in the episode. it’s just as well, since even the audience may want to cut away from this tense scene as soon as possible.

the audience doesn’t see the short break that’s taken for jihun to cool down and the rest of the staff and judges to get themselves ready for the final performances. they cut immediately to jian’s smiling face as she’s flanked by DON’T CALL ME TEAM A and TEAM B.

“our final battle of episode three will be giving us their unique spin on a.maze’s don’t call me,” she proclaims, her smile as unshakable as ever. “i’ll admit, i snuck into their stage rehearsals and caught a glimpse of what they have to show. i’m glad these are the final performances, since this is truly the big finale,” she winks at the camera, and then gestures to the two teams around her. “any last words before we begin?”

after the teams great, goad, or congratulate their competition, jian waves team b off of the stage. “as always, we’re starting with TEAM A!” she announces. for a moment, the team is seen taking their places on stage, but the long practice sessions that lead them here always comes first.

"may i ask you a question?" RYU INHO takes a short break with the coach for his group, YEOM SARANG, in the middle of yet another grueling practice session. sarang offers a warm smile and inho takes that as a sign to ask away. "do you feel like you have to think a lot about your image and how you present yourself to others? or do you think it comes natural?"

sarang is quiet for a moment, thinking before he responds. "as performers, we're shapeshifters,” he begins to explain, “we have to be able to pull off so many different concepts, we have to embody various outfits and styles... we have to show the best sides of ourselves all of the time, and i do think that takes effort and mindfulness." the young man shrugs, perhaps dismissive, perhaps unsure of his own response. “it's a balancing act, really.”

"the judges mentioned to keep my image in mind and be careful of how i act,” inho admits, clearly taking their feedback to heart.

"we all want to present ourselves in the best light possible,” sarang continues to explain, perhaps shedding some light on what the judges truly meant. “and we don't want to let those who adore us down either. so long as your intentions are good, no one can really fault you."

"we all got along extremely well and had good chemistry from the start,” inho explains to the cameras in the interview room, “it allowed for us to come up with some cool concepts for the performance, and help each other be the best we could be."

the same room is suddenly occupied by HWANG JINGREN, also gushing about his camaraderie with his fellow teammates. “everyone in the team was so helpful,” he explains. “jaeyoung was particularly good with keeping a smile on my face, even after hours of practice.”

“you again! my lucky day,” jingren exclaims, poking SONG JAEYOUNG in the arm with his ecstatic greeting.

“your lucky day? you better share that luck of yours then. god knows we need it,” jaeyoung jokes back immediately, initiating more contact by linking their arms together. 

“need it? we can do this without luck,” jingren insists. the chemistry within the group clearly is strong right off the bat as the pair settles down to start brainstorming ideas for their rendition of don’t call me. 

“after doing our line distributions, i wanted to honor the parts i was given,” jingren appears in the interview room again after a moment. “i did not want to drag my group down in any way. my biggest challenge was keeping my voice steady during the parts with heavy dance…”

“hey!” sarang’s voice cuts the scene again, he and jingren in a practice room together. “you look like you’re thinking a little too hard about something. i can tell you already that, if you’re having any doubts about the performance or your vocals, there’s no point. you’re, like, so talented.”

“o-oh, now you’re giving me too much credit,” jingren tries to dismiss the compliment, “you’re really good at performing. i think there’s a lot that you could help me with.”

sarang, ever the hype man, doesn’t take the dismissal easily. “i mean it when i say that you’re incredible. i realize you’re maybe trying to be modest, and i love that about you, but sometimes, it’s okay to feel good about your skills, too; to celebrate them, in a way.” he hypes up his teammate, helping him build the confidence he needs to stand on stage.

the two continue to practice, but there are other members in the team who have yet to be seen. namely, PARK AHYOUNG. she finally makes an appearance with ryu inho, the two practicing the choreography together.

“yeah i’m not much of a dancer…but my little sister might bully me if i mess this up so that isn’t an option,” inho jokes, but is he really joking? 

“yeah, i don’t have any professional dance training at all,” ahyoung sympathizes with her teammate. but that’s not going to stop her. “so, i was looking up exercises to help increase stamina and jumping jacks are supposed to be good. i’m really good at jumping jacks. wanna see if you can do more jumping jacks than me?”

ahyoung insists on going first, a sped-up version of her jumping jack set played on screen. “okay, that was 50,” she says as the fast-forward replay comes to an end, suspiciously short. “i’m just kidding, it was 17,” she admits, out of breath after only a few short minutes of exercising.

this team acts more like a family than a group of strangers, apparently bonding with each other incredibly quickly.

“they’re all creative people, we mesh well. thank god,” jaeyoung tells the cameras again how wonderful this team has been together, “it’d be hard to be in a team with people you just don’t… click with, you know? but we did.”

“and we came up with an ambitious concept for our performance.”

“can you explain your concept?” a voice from behind the camera asks him.

“retro vibes, think saloons but also cyberpunk. like mad max, if you know the movie,” jaeyoung tries to explain. “i think our storyline is sick too, honestly. a bittersweet fight, just like the song almost.”

the scene fades into the group standing on stage, ready to begin their performance. the music begins, unfamiliar to those who have heart a.maze’s original rendition of the song. the remix that team a is using is harsher, grungier, and with the combination of their stage outfits the mad max vibes come across clearly.

it’s hard not to notice the chemistry between the team members themselves. they don’t shy away from one another, making eye contact amongst each other and playing off of their energy and emotions. if this was purely a concept battle, they would have won for certain, as expected of a team represented by an sr media delegate.

the song comes to a close and a short round of applause is heard from the judges and jian, who stands in the wings while the groups are performing.

“finally,” jihun sighs, “something worth watching.”

“we do have to give our feedback, though,” ran smiles, “but i think we all agree you all put on a wonderful performance. but, i have to point out, jingren,” her smile becomes a bit strained, “you didn’t look like you were having fun with that performance. is everything alright?” the scene flashes back of a clear frown on jingren’s face that was caught not just by ran, but by the cameras as well. “please don’t forget to mind your expressions on stage. even if you make a mistake, you can sometimes cover it up with confidence alone.”

“but you did make a mistake,” yuna points out. “your voice wasn’t terribly stable, unfortunately. and ran is right, if you had acted more confident i may not have noticed, or might have been able to let it slide. but by scowling like that, you admit to your audience that you’re not happy with your own performance. how can you expect the audience to be happy with it then too?”

“you’re improving, but you still need to work on your stamina,” jihun’s frown somewhat mirrors the one that jingren had been wearing on stage, funnily enough. his critique is short but maybe that’s a good thing.

“ahyoung,” jihun seems ready to call her out immediately again, “it seems like you can take things a bit more seriously when there's other people's dreams on the line.” he fixes the young woman with a stern look, though perhaps it’s an admission that she did improve at least the slightest bit. “at least you didn’t completely let your team down.”

“admittedly, i feel like this concept didn’t suit you as well as it suited the others,” ran smiles sympathetically. sometimes it’s not the participants’ fault; there’s always going to be someone who falls somewhat behind in any category. “your performance has improved, but perhaps you lacked the maturity to properly convey the emotions in this song. i appreciate your efforts regardless.”

yuna also smiles this time. “your rap is getting better,” she praises her, “but this isn’t exactly a song by a group well-known for their rapping. you could still work on your stability and stamina more. you sounded a little out of breath… aren’t you one of the youngest contestants here? you should be full of energy.” yuna teases gently.

“i could tell you felt better about this performance, inho,” ran smiles endearingly. “i loved the expressions you were showing us, very snarky and confident. it matched the concept well, i think this suited you fine.” 

“you danced and sang well, but more importantly you seemed to have confidence in yourself,” yuna praises him as well. “you’ve been a joy to watch improve so far. if anything, i’d say that you want to try to keep this same energy regardless of your personal feelings about the song. i’ll be the first to admit that i didn’t love every song in my own discography, but i had to perform with a smile anyway. i hope you’re able to keep this in mind for future performances you may not enjoy as much as this one.”

“all we can ask is that you listen to our feedback and apply it to your practice and performance,” jihun speaks. “you’ve done that.” it’s close enough to a compliment from him.

“jaeyoung, you’ve also taken our criticism to heart,” jihun gives a similar appraisal of the final contestant on this team. “teamwork is also a skill. it’s good to see you finally learn some of that.”

“were you on fire?” ran grins, “i feel like we could feel the heat radiating off of you. the expressions! in this case, your intensity was perfect for the concept you chose for this song. the chemistry of this team really shines, actually. you all made each other better by working together.”

yuna smiles as well. “i think i’m a little jealous,” she remarks, “i’ve never had a team to perform with, but your group made it look like so much fun. i should talk to my ceo, maybe it’s not too late to build a new team…” she laughs, clearly not serious about the idea, though the compliment is genuine.

“i do think you could have pushed the boundaries a bit farther,” jihun frowns ever so slightly, though that seems to be his default expression. “this was more or less just a remix with a new concept thrown on top, it didn’t completely reinvent a.maze’s song. but based on what else we’ve seen today, it was certainly better than others.” he doesn’t seem to be over the disappointment that was the studio delta teams just yet.

“well i enjoyed it,” ran asserts, though of course she would appreciate the more theatrical approach. “as yuna said, your chemistry really sold the show. i think you had the best synergy of any group we’ve seen perform today. but i’ll admit, i did think of a.maze the entire time. maybe it’s because they’re my group, but i couldn’t help but be reminded of their own close teamwork. you embodied the song well, but i have to admit you didn’t completely reinvent it.”

“regardless, great job,” ran concludes, giving the team another round of applause as they leave the stage, only to be replaced by TEAM B.

the scene shifts, as it had several times before, to the practice rooms. this time, the cameras waste no time in capturing the moments when team b is planning their performance, from concept to choreography.

“putting a performance together took a lot more effort than it seems on the surface,” it’s RYEO JIHYUN who is the first to appear in the interview room for this group. “so i’m grateful that we were all supportive of one another, things processed quite smoothly too.”

the scene shifts slightly, now only PARK STEVEN and CHOI HANGYEOL monopolizing the practice room. steven mimics a flowing dance movement that hangyeol demonstrates first, and then adds on to it. “okay,” he muses aloud, “i think after that, it’d look nice with like- a twisty? turkey kinda thing…” he demonstrates with his body what his lips can’t seem to describe.

“oh!” hangyeol recognizes the movement immediately, “it’s called an illusion- where did you learn to do that out of nowhere?”

“i’ve been researching,” stevie explains, seemingly embarrassed by his own admission, “i was watching some videos this week to kinda help give me an idea of what i’m doing.”

the duo keep choreographing together, hangyeol making the next suggestion. “it might be nice as a quick roll-off too. ooh- what if we did something a little spicy coming out of it? maybe one of those reverse scorpions, since we’re already so close to the floor? here-” he demonstrates the movement. stevie approves.

jihyun’s voice plays over a few more moments of practice before the scene shifts to him sitting in the interview room again. “it’s a song that tells a story about the singer who gets betrayed by their loved one who’s trying to move on from their toxic ex that’s still obsessed with them. we added a contemporary twist to it, so the way we sang and dance is a little softer than the original, we wanted to convey the bitter emotions felt in a song,” as luciel explains, the graceful yet tortured movements of the dancers hard at work seem to make much more sense. “we’re puppets controlled by the puppet master, that’s why there’s strings that gets cut off eventually, to show that we can get out of that toxicity.”

JIHYUN is seen in the practice rooms next, he and LEE NAYOUNG replacing the two young men from the previous scene. the coach has only just walked into the room, jihyun’s singing suddenly paused by the entrance of another person.

“is everything okay?” nayoung asks her teammate.

“it’s been alright so far but… i’m struggling to feel the mood of the song even though on paper, i understand the concept.” jihyun doesn’t look quite defeated, but he’s certainly perturbed by his struggles with the song.

“when in doubt, fake it,” nayoung advises, “even if you’re never experienced a toxic relationship, you can think about how it would feel, and try to reflect that in how you perform. i think if you tap into some kind of desperation, and frustration, you’ll embody the concept and it’ll come across well.”

it seems that nayoung’s advice to get used to acting filters throughout the group, jihyun now partnering with steven to work on their performance. “could you try singing while making eye contact with me?” jihyun suggests to the other man, holding a hand out as an offering gesture. steven takes it, and jihyun starts quoting the lyrics softly, speaking them instead of singing, “tell me that if i love you, i have to let you go.”

steven matches jihyun’s gaze, but only for a moment before his face turns bright red and he’s pulling away to cover his embarrassment with his hands. “wait, i’m shy,” he sputters. obviously, jihyun has learned well from nayoung if he’s able to fluster his male teammate so easily! 

while the team gets along well, there’s clearly a business-like focus shared between them. compared to team a in particular, the chemistry of team b is strong in the sense of a well-organized group project rather than the family-like feeling of their competitors. just how will that play out on stage?

there’s not much longer to wait!

however, before getting to the actual performance, one more scene pops onto the screen. it’s dress rehearsal just earlier that day and the entire team is running through the unique dance break, the full choreography yet to be revealed. during a scorpion move, HANGYEOL suddenly shouts in pain.

“i’m okay,” he insists, though the music stops immediately and staff immediately flock towards him to see what’s the matter. “it’s just an old injury. i have a brace for it backstage. nobody panic.”

how could they not panic, though?

nayoung approaches him, his wrist a scary-looking combination of tape and the brace, likely much worse than it looks, even if it is quite bad despite hangyeol insisting, again, “i’m fine.”

“you’re not fine,” nayoung disagrees, “we need to-”

“-change the choreo. i know.” hangyeol is fully aware of the hiccup that is his last-minute injury. he tests the limits of his wrist, thinking about just how they’re going to pull this off. “i’ll adjust to something that makes sense, so they don’t have to change anything.” he assures nayoung.

whether she’s convinced or not, there’s no time to do anything but simply trust him. “ok. i’ll let them know.”

a few worried conversations later and the entire team lines up on stage, hangyeol’s wrist still fully wrapped. will he push through the pain and injure himself more? will he really come up with something on the fly that still suits the choreography without distracting the others?

that lingering question haunts the entire performance, adding another layer to their haunted, contemporary retelling of don’t call me. as the dance break comes closer and closer and no sign of hangyeol suddenly cured of his ailment, just what will happen?

perhaps the best made plans cannot substitute for happy accidents. while the other young men lean forward into the scorpion pose, hangyeol pirouettes in place instead, spinning once, twice, three times while the others dance with un-injured wrists. at the climax, hangyeol grabs at his neck and falls to his knees, ripping his necklace off like the final chain broken between him and the toxic relationship still trying to sink its claws into him. he stares directly into the camera, directly at the viewer behind the screen, and drops the choker off the edge of the stage as if taunting the viewer with his newfound freedom.

a cheer goes up from the female judges as the team finishes their performance, the cameras catching each in their ending fairy poses before finally leaving time for the judges’ critiques.

“i’m glad this performance was last!” yuna exclaims, “it definitely felt like the grand finale of this episode! congratulations to all of you for successfully pulling it off.” she pauses to clap a few more times, giving the team their well-deserved applause.

“ah, but hangyeol,” yuna’s brow knits together in concern, “how’s your wrist? we heard what happened during rehearsal, are you alright?” she waits for his response, her frown sympathetic. “injuries happen. but being able to work through them, or despite them, makes you a stronger performer. i’m thoroughly impressed with your ability to think quickly and to make sure your team didn’t suffer for the accident. if we didn’t know better, your adjustments to the choreography really looked intentional.”

“and your expressions!” ran exclaims, also taken with the performance and perhaps with hangyeol himself in particular. “the whole team did well, but i felt like you connected with the song in particular. something in your face moved my heart… i think if jihun wasn’t such a grump, he would admit it moved his too.” she smiles and elbows the judge next to her.

jihun rolls his eyes, though he doesn’t look nearly as annoyed as he has before. “we normally scold contestants for injuring themselves,” he remarks, “and for this reason entirely. you can’t perform your best if you’re not feeling your best, and we don’t want to make an investment in someone who doesn’t know their limits and will tear themselves apart before they can even make it to debut. you are the exception in this case. you’re wise enough to know when to back off and how to make a performance work despite injury. your previous experience on stage must have done you well.”

“jihyun’s expressions were also surprisingly good, for someone who was faking it,” jihun quirks a brow as he looks on to the next contestant. “it’s good to see you take nayoung’s advice and apply it to your practice and performance. it shows good character and an ability to learn. i would just suggest that you remember to put that emotion into your voice as well as your face. you’re a good singer, but this song isn’t about good singers.”

“i do think it’s important to show off your abilities, though,” yuna disagrees gently, or perhaps just refines the critique that jihun has already given. “you have a good voice, jihyun. it’s pleasant to listen to… but you’re allowed to make us feel unpleasant at times if the song calls for it. but at this stage in your career, i understand why you didn’t. it’s a fine detail thing that will come with time.” she smiles encouragingly.

“you made this one particular expression during the performance that was especially good,” ran remarks, trying to mimic it on her own face. the screen replays jihyun’s conceited smirk as he bitterly sings about how awful his ex was. “i don’t know if many people would have thought to smile there, maybe they would have cried instead. it was a really captivating choice. maybe you have a future in acting as well,” her smile seems to be filled with unspoken plans and ideas.

“and steven,” jihun is the first to give the young man a stern look. though, perhaps he only does it now because he finds it entertaining that the contestant is a little bit afraid of him. “you’ve grown a lot since last season. i know we keep saying it, but it showed in this mission in particular. using your own free time to research for your performance was a very smart and mature move and you helped your team a lot by staying focused on the concept and goal.” 

“if i recall, this was the episode you were eliminated on last season, correct?” yuna brings up the past, her smile a bit sly as she once again drudges up memories steven probably would rather leave behind him. “i don’t think we’ve had to scold you once so far, have we? at least not so badly that i remember it. you’re a strong dancer and it’s refreshing to see you take the craft more seriously. you could work on your vocals more, but a.maze are notoriously difficult to keep up with. you did well for your first attempt at covering this song.”

finally, it’s ran’s turn. “stevie park, you keep making us eat our words from last season and i couldn’t be happier about it,” she smiles warmly. “i think what stands out most this time is how you’re able to bring brightness and joy to your team without distracting them this time. it can be difficult to keep morale up during long days of practice but staying motivated while remaining focused goes a long way in delivering a strong performance. keep it up.”

“as for your performance overall, i think yuna said it best when she said this was the perfect grand finale of the episode,” ran continues. “you not only changed the song right down to its very tempo, choreographed your own dance in a place that made sense, and introduced a concept that enhanced the lyrics, you did it all while singing and dancing at a near professional level. i’m genuinely impressed,” she claps her hands together, a short applause to cheer on the team that had given them such a great performance.

“i thought it couldn’t get much better than team a,” yuna admits, “but you gave us everything they did and more. ah, i wish we could keep this team together for the next round. you worked well together, very professionally, and it served you well in delivering a phenomenal performance. you tugged on all of our heartstrings. great job.”

jihun sighs, folds his arms, and leans back in his seat. “why did you have to be a sr media team?” he groans. “ran isn’t going to let me hear the end of this. i don’t even have much to critique. you used your coach’s expertise strategically, so congrats to nayoung for leading your team so well. i hate to say it. you made the song your own, which was exactly what we asked you to do.”

he also gives a begrudging round of applause with his fellow judges as team a rejoins jian and team b on stage.

“after deliberation, our judges have revealed the winner of this battle,” jian reads from her cue card, glancing at the judges with a smile before looking down at the winner’s name again, eyes wide. “the winner of don’t call me is… TEAM B!”

after a moment of cheering and celebrating, jihun picks up his microphone again. “you both did well,” he explains, “but someone had to be the loser. team b better embodied the challenge and made the song more uniquely their own, beyond just remixing the track and wearing different costumes. at last, we can only have one winner.”

“unfortunately,” jian announces, “it’s time to say goodbye to some of our teammates and friends. if the losing teams could all join me on stage,” she gestured to the wings where the losing teams from cake and pink venom join her on stage as don’t call me team b exits for now.

“KAITO, JAEYOUNG, and SIWOO.. please step forward,” jian announces. “according to our judges you are… safe!” she smiles as the contestants all breathe a sigh of relief, the prank surely making their heartbeats increase a few notches.

“the next three names will be the eliminated contestants for this episode,” jian confirms, no pranks left before the announcement. “from CAKE TEAM A… we’re saying goodbye to YOON EUNWOL.”

a somber feeling fills the room as the contestants say their goodbyes to the eliminated participant. before he can leave the stage, however, yuna speaks up one last time. “eunwol, you have talent, but you lack the maturity to show it properly. while we’re eliminating you today, we’re doing so in hopes of teaching you a lesson and that this will only help you in your performing career. you need to be able to stand strong on your own and push forward without complaint. please believe me when i say that we hope to see you again soon.”

after another moment of farewell greetings, eunwol is escorted off the stage.

“next, from PINK VENOM TEAM B… MOON JORDAN.”

more tears, hugs, and goodbyes are shared as jordan processes his elimination from the competition. perhaps this one was more of a shock.

“jordan,” jihun addresses him this time, “unfortunately, someone from your team had to go. it wasn’t an easy decision as we felt that you all performed fairly evenly, but unfortunately you drew the short straw in this specific circumstance. i hope this doesn’t discourage you too much and you’re able to continue to pursue your performing dreams outside of this show.”

like eunwol, jordan is also given his final hugs and handshakes before he’s escorted away.

“our final elimination tonight is from DON’T CALL ME TEAM A,” jian announces. she sighs as she reads the name silently before finally revealing it aloud. “tonight we’re sorry to say good bye to… PARK AHYOUNG.”

the team that had formed such a close bond so quickly undoubtedly sheds more than a few tears as they say good bye to their eliminated member.

“your heart was never in this, was it, ahyoung?” ran smiles sympathetically from her place behind the judges’ table. “but you still delivered us a good performance. we were glad to see what you had to offer, but i hope you’re happier pursuing music, or whatever else you’d like to do, outside of next gen. maybe our paths will cross again someday.”

as the final contestant is ushered away, the survivors and winners are gathered on stage. one by one, the updated ranking is introduced to them, time given to react while the scores pop up one at a time.

most notably, CHOI HANGYEOL has reclaimed his seat at the top, achieving the number one position for the second time this season. “congratulations!” jian praises him. “i don’t recall anyone earning the honor more than once last year. it’s a huge testament to your achievement!”

“next week will be another elimination round,” jian reminds the contestants in the bottom ranks, most notably SEIRA, JUEUN, and JIHYUN. “you still have time to raise your ranking to remain safe after the next evaluation.”

“speaking of, forget your old teams, because you’re all being rearranged into three new teams,” jian lets the contestants know. “our next mission is the CONCEPT EVALUATION!”

“our judges have been watching you over the last few weeks and have placed you into the concepts that they feel you’ll perform best. of the many diverse concepts that have appeared in kpop, and even just in sr media groups, we’ve divided it up into three main categories: cute and bright, elegant and sexy, and teen crush.”

“in the next episode, you’ll be performing the concepts in the songs chosen for you by the judges to the best of your ability. the winning team will be safe from elimination while the losing two teams risk members being sent home at the end of the episode.”

“your new teams and songs are on the screen above. take a moment to greet your new groupmates and get ready! we’re excited to see what you’ll show us on the next episode of next gen!”

instead of do better, a 15-second clip of each of the songs the groups will cover next episode are played instead with the original music video played on screen. however, once those clips are completed, the next gen theme plays and the usual end card appears on screen.

#be:ngs2 #be:ngs2p3

[chiskz]

《 5-STAR ERA 》

♡ 𝙷𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝙾𝙵 𝙵𝙰𝙼𝙴

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

2:36 - 2:40 - shaking the industry / quaking reality / making it iconic (originally by Felix)

2:42 - 2:45 - shaking the industry / quaking reality (originally by Lee Know)

total: 7 seconds

𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚊

Chichi for her final part has a short dancebreak planned for herself in choreography for this song.

-> -> ->

♡ 𝚂-𝙲𝙻𝙰𝚂𝚂

-> -> ->

♡ 𝙸𝚃𝙴𝙼

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

1:29 - 1:35 - onmome neomchineun full MP, Achilles geon ttawin jonjaechi anneun nae jugineun skill / naega sondeulmyeon da ollagaji ak jilleo bwara nae arae da kneel (originally by Changbin)

2:23 - 2:28 - I do things that nobody can do, God blessed, I'm the one and only (originally by Han)

total: 11 seconds

𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚊

It took Chichi two days to create the choreography for ITEM. She herself mentioned that she had the chorus part in her head from the moment she heard the song.

Chichi shared her first line of lyrics with Changbin at first, but he suggested she should take over the whole thing.

The line "I'm the one and only" refers to Chichi's famous catchphrase "one and only".

-> -> ->

♡ 𝚂𝚄𝙿𝙴𝚁 𝙱𝙾𝚆𝙻

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

0:17 - 0:23 - taking over we don't play by the rules / if you wanna feel alive say the name (originally by Bang Chan)

2:23 - 2:29 - i'll do it again, just the way you want it / i'll do it again for the days to come (originally by Han)

2:44 - 2:50 - open wide, have a bite / make it mine, all the time (originally by Felix)

total: 18 seconds

𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚊

STAY liked the comeback vocalracha in the songs immensely - Chichi finally sings with/after Seungmin and I.N. She also got a lot of praise for her improved vocal.

-> -> ->

♡ 𝚃𝙾𝙿𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴 (𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚃. 𝚃𝙸𝙶𝙴𝚁 𝙹𝙺)

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

0:12 - 0:14 - geu nuga gamhi neombwa top class (originally by Han)

1:46 - 2:08 - look at me now, how 'bout now? you can't deny / but we're still running on this way 'cause we're never satisfied / imi al manhan saram da kkeudeogijiman the reason why / ajik nae gijun mot michin tase yeojeonhi, kept my speed on top / ain't nobody can do it like us, hurry / nal ttaraollam meoreotda but we're not cocky / attention, yeojeonhi neomchyeo, passion / dwieseo imanham dwaesseorago naebaeteum daedabeun eoltaengiga eopseo (originally by Han & Hyunjin)

total: 24 seconds

𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚝

𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚊

Chichi in TOPLINE received the longest (currently) uninterrupted part. Her line distribution for this song is also one of the longest in her career.

Chichi is very grateful to 3RACHA for the chance she received to show that she has grown a lot in terms of rap. Her part in the song was a hot topic for quite some time in Internet.

A charming headcanon prevailed among STAY talking about how Tiger JK as "older" tiger "passes the baton" to Chichi - younger tiger.

-> -> ->

♡ 𝙳𝙻𝙲

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

0:10 - 0:19 - nobody, nobody, please don't care about me, it's okay / let's go crazy until the sun rises (originally by Changbin)

2:08 - 2:12 - i better run, better run (better run, better run) [originally by Felix]

2:55 - 2:59 - amudo moreuge (originally by I.N)

total: 17 seconds

𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚝

-> -> ->

♡ 𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝙻𝙸𝚃

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

1:22 - 1:27 - pullin nuni jigeum gibun jeungmyeonghaneun symbol / gibuneun oreurangnaerirak eopsi jeo wieseo ping-pong (originally by Han)

total: 5 seconds

𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚝

-> -> ->

♡ 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙸𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

1:42 - 1:52 - mianhae geunyang naega jalmothaesseo (sorry, babe) / byeonmyeonghal saenggak eopseo dasi hanbeon / geuttaero doraga nal saranghanda malhaejwo (originally by Felix)

total: 10 seconds

-> -> ->

♡ 𝙵𝙽𝙵

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

1:46 - 2:01 - geop eopsi dallida neol nochilkka bwa, I shout, shout, shout / sueopsi bulleo bwado nan dasi hanbeon deo oechyeo / nan neoui geurimjacheoreom buteo isseodo so far, far, far / yeongwonhi ireoke jinael su eomneun nan (originally by Han & Changbin)

total: 15 seconds

𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚝

-> -> ->

♡ 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙸𝙵𝚄𝙻

𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

1:33 - 1:40 - let me tell a little story about the star that couldn't shine or blink (originally by Hyunjin)

2:18 - 2:25 - 'cause when you give me a glance, I am sure that I see universe in your eyes (originally by Bang Chan)

total: 14 seconds

-> -> ->

♡𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @alyszaen , @smh-anon , @neohyxn , @stealanity , @alixnsuperstxr , @juliawritingblog , @rizzshimura , @elizalabs3

#stray kids 9th member #kpop addition #kpop added member #kpop oc #stray kids oc #idol oc #stray kids female oc #stray kids added member #stray kids addition #idol!addition #fake kpop member #skz imagines

[jaeyunshfts]

KPOP GIRL GROUP IDEA

Group Name : Forever

Fandom Name : Together

Introduction : "Let's be together forever, Hello we are Forever"

Debut Date : 07.07.17 [ Your Choice ]

Company : N/A [ Your Choice ]

Colors : Purple & Blue

Members : 7

Concept : 7 girls hang out with each other and are always happy until strange and weird things start to happen to them. They find out they are in a dream and they want to wake up to find each other. They can't manage to wake up because the nightmares are keeping them in their dream. Little did they know that one of them is a traitor and is causing the nightmares. In order for them to leave their dreams they need to face their fears.

Members :

F : Faith [Real Name :Park Seo-Yeon]

O : Oh-Yeon[ Real Name:Kang Oh-Yeon]

R : Rina [Real Name : Shin Rina]

E : Eun-Ji [ Real Name :Jang Eun-Ji]

V : Vikki [Real Name : Lí Mingxia]

E : Eun-Sol [Real Name: Bae Eun-Sol]

R : Raylee[ Real Name:Raylee Solace]

Debut Album :

Title Track : Secret Story of the Swan - Iz*one

Bsides: Falling U - T-Ara

Sour Grapes - Le Sserafim

Iconic - Aespa

IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE IT GIVE ME CREDITS @Jaeyunshfts ON TUMBLR & TIKTOK

#own kpop group #kpop group #kpop girl group #kpop gg #shifting #shifting realities #desired realities #realidad #dr #cr

[werdivrse]

WHAT’S MY NAME ? … AHRI.

THE leader and center of DI-VERSE. Widely considered to be one of the industry’s “it girls,” AHRI is renowned for her skills as the group’s ace, and she’s one of the most popular visuals of the 2nd generation. Prominent as an idol, actress, and model, AHRI is the MOST POPULAR member of DI-VERSE.

BASICS !

BIRTH NAME ! park ah-reum

ENGLISH NAME ! ariana naomi park

NICKNAMES ! ari, reumie, riri

BIRTHDAY ! september 1st, 1994

BIRTHPLACE ! apgujeong, seoul, south korea

HOMETOWN ! palm beach, florida / beverly hills, california

ETHNICITY ! korean

NATIONALITY ! korean (nationalized american)

SEXUALITY ! bisexual

CLAIMS !

FACE ! nana (after school) + yooa (oh my girl) + bae suzy (soloist)

VOICE ! hyuna (soloist) + yezi (soloist) / eunjung (t-ara)

DANCE ! minzy (ex-2ne1)

PHYSICAL !

HEIGHT ! 5’7” (170 cm)

WEIGHT ! 116 lbs (52 kg)

BLOOD TYPE ! b

PIERCINGS AND TATTOOS !

see here !

CAREER !

PROFESSION ! idol, actress, model, mc, choreographer, songwriter

YEARS TRAINED ! 4 years

YEARS ACTIVE ! 2011–present

POSITION ! leader, center, main dancer, lead rapper, sub-vocalist, visual

REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI ! 🐱

history !

Park Ah-reum was born on September 1st, 1994 in Apgujeong, Seoul, South Korea. The second oldest of three daughters, she was born to two entertainment industry moguls. As the daughter of pop icon Ah-young Kim and renowned director Park Junghoon, and hailing from a family of actors, Ah-reum and her sisters were pretty much expected to go into entertainment one day. Ah-reum would get her start as a child actress and model, often appearing on screen alongside her mother.

In 2005, the family would move from their ritzy apartment in seoul to Palm Beach—one, for a change of scenery, and two, for Ah-reum to get a chance at furthering her career. After a few modeling gigs, Ah-reum scored a contract with Disney, and the family was quick to relocate to California. However, in 2006, Ah-reum and her older sister were persuaded to audition for SM ENTERTAINMENT alongside one of their friends. Ever the “momager,” Ah-young allowed the girls to audition, and they passed. There, they trained alongside the future members of GIRLS’ GENERATION and even met their future bandmate, KIM EUNMI. After only training for a year, however, the girls ended up leaving the company. They returned to california, and Ah-reum continued acting.

Then, in early 2008, Ah-reum and her sister were scouted off the streets again, this time by CSJ ENTERTAINMENT. A medium sized company, they had recognizable 1st generation names under their belt such as CODE RED and THE DREAM. The girls auditioned again, and yet again, they made it through. AS a trainee, Ah-reum modeled frequently, appearing in quite a lot of CFs. She also had bit parts in dramas, and appeared in music videos for Code Red, The Dream, and other groups such as GIRLS’ GENERATION and SHINEE. She, along with her sister and another soon-to-be member of DI-VERSE, JUNG MINA, were also backup dancers for the former.

In late 2009, CSJ began plans for another girl group, teasing the possibility on their website. Slated for debut in the summer of 2010 and meant to have nine members, the agency was quick to choose promising trainees for the new lineup. Ah-reum was known for her visuals and surprising rap skills, and she and her sister were both talented dancers. As a result, they and another trainee, KIM EUNMI, were three of the first members chosen to debut in what would become DI-VERSE.

The lineup went through a couple changes before landing on what would be it’s final one in early 2010. With their debut coming close, the girls were pushed even harder by CSJ. However, in may, Ah-reum went through a particularly severe anxiety attack, and was thus diagnosed with anxiety disorder, bipolar depression, and OCD. As a result, she was forced to temporarily pull from the debut lineup. Not wanting to debut DI-VERSE without Ah-reum, CSJ pushed the group’s debut to the end of 2010, before pushing it into 2011 to allow ample time for Ah-reum to rest. She didn’t train for 5 months, and ended up returning in October. At that point, a debut that year was virtually impossible.

Into 2011, Ah-reum continued training with the rest of DI-VERSE, appearing in more music videos and CFs alongside the members as their debut approached. And finally, after 3 years and a delayed debut, Ah-reum was revealed as the FIRST MEMBER of DI-VERSE, debuting as the group’s leader, main dancer, lead rapper, sub-vocalist, and visual.

trivia !

in 2012, AHRI replaced her sister as the center of DI-VERSE, shortly before the start of the HATE U era

predebut, she was a rhythmic gymnast and a classically trained contemporary dancer

as a child model, she modeled for brands such as chloé, miu miu, and chanel. she walked the runway for chanel with her mother in 2000

#💫 … AHRI ! #PROFILES ! #kpop oc #koc #kpop oc gg #kpop oc girl group #kpop oc group #kpop idol oc group #fictional idol community #fictional idol #fictional kpop idol #kpop gg #fictional kpop group #fictional kpop oc #fake kpop idol #idol oc group #idol oc

[stillresolved]

💕!!??! almost missed this 🥺 mx ferre, what if we... put (more of) our goons in (more) situations 🥺

@mythvoiced / send 💕 and I will tell you some muses…

ahhhh lenlen, the other person on here who enables me with 283948230 plots and dynamics...time for us to add like 8293048293 more 💕💕💕

okay so this was at the top of my list since you said?? That you were planning on bringing EUNJAE into our wonderful thg verse 🥺🥺🥺…and so the first person I actually though of throwing at them was ANNIE….I dunno?? I guess I just have a feeling that Annie would like eunjae for their personality- like they’re rough in mannerisms and a tad messy, both of which Annie doesn’t mind bc she’s used to being around ppl like that ( ie. Ga-ram & ara ) and also…I think she actually prefers…I think being treated completely like a piece of glass will begin to drive her up the wall :’D also my interpretation of annie is suspicious of most men/male-aligning individuals….so eunjae already checks all her boxes there <3

another dynamic I had been thinking about when you changed their fc :’D granted I’m not too sure how well these two would work out since SABRIEL isn’t the best at reading between the lines and ANNIE often operates in shades of grey but it would!! Be fun to see how they interact with one another especially at least for me throwing Annie at someone who is peppy and yet still for most part?? has good intentions?? even if sabriel can’t completely empathize with what Annie is going thru, I do think Annie would appreciate their good intentions at the very least :’D

DOE is a revolutionist (and a hacker, I could have sworn I read that somewhere but if not ignore me jfksljfsl :’D) and so is NELL, do I need to say anything more? granted they are on the same side when it comes to #revolution…but that doesn’t mean they agree to the degree which they should go for it. Doe is all for changing the system, where as team checkmate is more focused on….taking out one and only one enemy and looking out for their community. Perhaps interacting with someone like doe could radicalize her? also if doe is a hacker, nell can always have…a rival :)

okay HEAR ME OUT, I know that we do have EUNJAE and Patrick in verse one but WHAT ABOUT?? Eunjae and MYUNGDAE in verse two bc if Patrick is the competent if not a tad distant parent ( aka he had to adjust to fatherhood ngl ), then myungdae is…well think of say, jeo*ng jin*man from a shop of ki*llers, :’D aka parent that’s there, he just looks ( okay always looks ) a tad exhausted?? Out of it even? But he’s doing his best for four year old Yuri (Elise) even if he doesn’t quite feel his emotions fjskldfjs this is all to say since I’m seeing that lynnie is throwing Dante at them we might as well…bring the rest of the crime world to eunjae’s doorstep JFKLSDJFLD <3

If AERI knows of hyun, then she’s also gotta know…hyun’s sister, MIYOUNG 🤩🤩🤩 granted, Aeri might be a tad testy with miyoung since well, it’s not like miyoung could exactly be there for hyun when they were younger and is that really any different from the way bel and sera treated Aeri as condescendingly inferior :’DD ….but I also do like the idea of LGBTQ+ icons being friends with one another / media pals with one another….that and if hyun is hanging out with bel behind Aeri’s back, Aeri might as well…do the same 😂😂😂

you know who MARÍA reminds me of? Yeah that’s right, our favorite pink hair menace Nimona 🤩🤩🤩 they’re both little gremlins ( but very lovable) who wanna start shit. The revolutionary kind of shit…so this being said….WHAT IF?? Instead of Nimona being the cause of BALLISTER’S shift in mind, it could be maría instead?? We could even do it in their modern verse since I believe María does have one and is a werewolf there 🤔🤔🤔

so I know we already have a lot for them, PATRICK and MARÍA and I am a sucker for hurt/comfort with these two, but perhaps?? Later when the revolution is in full swing and should hyuk be kidnapped by the Capitol, a thread there? Aka Patrick cycles between being 💯 focused on the revolution efforts and being two steps away from a mental breakdown bc literally hyuk is his rock and his peace so take away that and uh….not good things happen. This is all to say, it could be interesting to see a scenario where perhaps maría for once is the stabler one ( however much Patrick will try to still be a pillar of stability for her tho 🥲 )

#mythvoiced #( answered. ) #( ferre answered. ) #fun fact....if you hadn't sent this in #i would have done it for you sooner or later anyways <3 :) #JFLSDKJFKLS anyways do let me know what you think and of course we don't have to do them all if any also!! #hahahaha for some reason there's a lot of eunjae here...but also eunjae is mi favorite enby so #more plots for them :) #if i think of anymore i will let you know also <3

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 14: The Stag and Lion

My reread continues! If you don't know the drill by now, let me clue you in: this is going to be chock full of spoilers for the whole damn Wheel of Time series and if you're not into those vibes you should find somewhere else to be! Not trying to be mean, just trying to help you help yourself. Those of you who do like spoilers are going to have to fend for yourselves though. I'm busy with the noobs.

Anyway, this chapter's icon is the Dragon's Fang again, reflecting the dream that Rand has this chapter courtesy of Ishamael. Pretty straightforward symbolism at this point.

Also, since it's not remotely relevant, I've decided that the Stag is the sign of some local nobility, either current or back from the pre-Andor days, and that's why it's mentioned alongside the nation's heraldic sign. Headcanons are fun!

With the winter we just had . . . well, as soon as it cleared enough for them to get down out of the mountains we were inundated—yes, that’s the word—inundated by men from the mines and smelters, all telling the most horrible tales. Wolves, and worse.

Have the Shadowspawn been spreading out beyond the Two Rivers? It might just be tall tales getting taller in the telling - that happens a lot in this story - but I wonder if maybe a few of these miners saw Trollocs coming out the wrong Waygates and trying to orient themselves. Maybe it was accident - I don't remember how well-marked the way to Manetheren was - or perhaps it was just a deliberate detour to escape Machin Shin.

“Oh, never you worry about them, Mistress Alys. They’re up to their usual tricks. Claim there’s an Aes Sedai in the town.” 

Considering how easy it is to recognize an Aes Sedai once you know the signs, it says nothing good about the Brown or Yellow Ajahs that a town like Baerlon, which isn't insignificant even if it is kinda the ass end of nowhere, could even make a plausible target for the tactic that Fitch describes.

A dozen tall, copper bathtubs sat in a circle on the tiled floor, which sloped down slightly to a drain in the center of the big stone-walled room. A thick towel, neatly folded, and a large cake of yellow soap sat on a stool behind each tub, and big black iron cauldrons of water stood heating over fires along one wall. On the opposite wall logs blazing in a deep fireplace added to the general warmth.

I have to say, based on the general wealth level of Baerlon and the lack of discomfort everyone has in disrobing in front of a total stranger, I'm a little surprised that there isn't just one large tub, like Moiraine and Lan share in the TV show. Lots of baths takes effort and resources and this is just one inn of no particular account on the edge of civilization.

“The Two Rivers,” Mat said, pronouncing each separate word distinctly. “It’s the Two Rivers. As for trouble, why—” “What do you mean, too?” Rand asked. “Is there some kind of trouble here?” Perrin, enjoying his soak, murmured, “Good! Good!” Thom raised himself back up a little, and opened his eyes.

Poor Thom, trying to relax and suddenly remembering he's the adult in a room with:

Samwise Gamgee trying to explain tubers

The main protagonist, who is always flailing into political shrewdness by dumb luck

And third guy, who has done almost nothing at this point to make Thom or even the reader think that he might be smarter than a dog with a head injury

Strange things in the mountains. I heard the other day there were Trollocs up in Saldaea.

Luckily for existence, Ara manages to out-stupid the boys by commenting that he heard rumors that the sun was going to set that evening. Mat could have told him everything about Trollocs in graphic detail and Ara wouldn't have been smart enough to repeat the story to anyone. That said, it's still for the best that Thom cuts him off.

“You just don’t tell them as well as Thom,” Rand cut him off hastily, and Perrin hopped in. “You keep adding in things, trying to make it better, and they never do.”

Oh thank goodness, Perrin can think on his feet. Guess I'll have to stop giving him shit for awhile now that Mat's officially established himself as the stupidest member of the party.

And if the Children of the Light heard Trollocs were after you, they’d be burning to get their hands on you. To them, it would be as much as naming you Darkfriend.

And this right here is what makes the Whitecloaks unquestionably the bad guys. When being pursued by the forces of darkness is proof positive that you are part of their ranks, there's nothing left but the witch hunt. It's really unfortunate, because whatever their opinions on channelers, the Whitecloaks are absolutely correct that Darkfriends have infiltrated every level of society (including their own!) and that they're a dangerous threat. They just go about the issue in the worst ways possible.

Just you put it in the front of your mind that we want no more attention than mice in a field. Concentrate on that. Moiraine wants to get you all to Tar Valon alive, and I will do it if it can be done, but if you bring any harm to her. . . .

This is exactly why Lan didn't want Egwene and probably didn't want to be dragging three boys around when they could have been focusing on one. He's worried that he and Moiraine are finally in too deep and while he welcomes that possibility for himself, he's much too attached to her (platonically) to be comfortable with the prospect of a bunch of idiot farmers bringing her down.

Naturally, Rand - the only one who hasn't been a target of his ire thus far - is the closest to being personally responsible for Moiraine's downfall out of anyone in the party.

When they left the bath chamber, Moiraine was standing at the end of the hall with a slender girl not much taller than herself. At least, Rand thought it was a girl, though her dark hair was cut short and she wore a man’s shirt and trousers. Moiraine said something, and the girl looked at the men sharply, then nodded to Moiraine and hurried away.

Can you just imagine an angry rant about how clothing isn't actually so gendered that pants would be universally masculine across 10,000 years of history so that I don't have to type it? You wanna do gender reversals, Jordan? Do a world where only women wear pants and dudes are rocking skirts. Call them kilts if you must, but come on. There's nothing intrinsically gendered about generic categories of clothing!

Also, hi Min. Lovely to see you.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but Egwene stiffened and turned her back before he could get a word out. Staring sullenly at her back, he swallowed what he had been going to say. All right, then. If she wants to be like that, there’s nothing I can do.

Bro she doesn't know an apology is coming and just doesn't want to hear your next rant.

“It isn’t what I would have laid before you a year ago, of course. Not nearly. The winter. Yes. The winter. My cellars are emptying out, and the market is all but bare. And who can blame the farm folk? Who? There’s certainly no telling when they’ll harvest another crop. No telling at all. It’s the wolves get the mutton and beef that should go on people’s tables, and. . . .”

The food crisis in Baerlon is a lot more severe than it is in the Two Rivers because of the huge population influx. Most farmers wouldn't be expecting their winter crops to be ready for harvest until the end of May (mid-Saven by the local calendar, two months off either way), if agriculture here is anything like North America and Europe. Frankly, it's a miracle that Baerlon didn't descend into a larger anarchy once summer came around.

“I suspect him no more than anyone else,” Lan replied. “But then, until we reach Tar Valon, I suspect everyone. There, I’ll suspect only half.”

Only a little overcautious, since a good third of Moiraine's sisters are evil.

“There, the news is better. No odd happenings, no strangers around who might be Myrddraal, certainly no Trollocs. And the Whitecloaks are busy trying to make trouble for Governor Adan because he won’t cooperate with them. They will not even notice us unless we advertise ourselves.”

A) Bad news, Rand will be advertising you, and

Also A) Jordan is hitting a lot of A names here in Baerlon. Moiraine and Lan go by Alys and Andra. The guard they talked to coming into town was Avin. The bath attendant was Ara. Now the governor is Adan! Eight a's in five names with a total of twenty letters.

S) Later he will pick a different letter to use fifteen million times and it will be the cause of much weeping and gnashing of teeth.

With the crowding at the inn there were only three rooms to be had, one for Moiraine and Egwene, and two to take the men. Rand found himself sharing with Lan and Thom, on the fourth floor at the back, close up under the overhanging eaves, with a single small window that overlooked the stableyard.

Considering that Lan and Thom both just dissed the boys for the trouble they'll be getting into, I'm surprised Mat and Perrin were allowed to have their own room. Maybe they were initially going to split one adult each but then Lan and Thom got in an argument about who deserved to have two boys and neither would back down from only rooming with the one least likely to give either a headache.

The stone hallway was dim and shadowy, and empty except for Rand. He could not tell where the light came from, what little there was of it; the gray walls were bare of candles or lamps, nothing at all to account for the faint glow that seemed to just be there. The air was still and dank, and somewhere in the distance water dripped with a steady, hollow plonk.

I'm going to say that this is a dreamshard and not T'A'R proper, since it is filled with implausibilities and impossibilities that don't really match how the World of Dreams renders the waking world.

One wall opened in a series of arches onto a gray stone balcony, and beyond that was a sky such as he had never seen. Striated clouds in blacks and grays, reds and oranges, streamed by as if storm winds drove them, weaving and interweaving endlessly. No one could ever have seen a sky like that; it could not exist.

Case in point. Yet... I will admit, this probably not an entirely alien sight in the Blight.

“Once more we meet face-to-face,” the man said and, just for an instant, his mouth and eyes became openings into endless caverns of flame.

Ishy's so excited he can't even keep his glamor going.

“You seem thirsty,” the man by the fire said. “Drink.” On the table was a goblet, shining gold and ornamented with rubies and amethysts. It had not been there before. He wished he could stop jumping. It was only a dream. His mouth felt like dust.

Is it poison? Something worse? It's hard to guess what the gambit here might actually have been, because even Jordan didn't know the rules at this point and he closed off most of the options once he did.

“Are you the one?” Ba’alzamon said suddenly. “You cannot hide it from me forever. You cannot even hide yourself from me, not on the highest mountain or in the deepest cave. I know you down to the smallest hair.”

It's an impressive contradiction. I know you intimately and I cannot recognize you. It's almost as if most reincarnations are complete reinventions of the person with only a few themes to follow them through the turning of the Wheel, Ish. It's almost like you can't possibly grow tired from incarnating because that's not something that even requires energy on your part. But please, keep pretending your extremist variant of nihilism is logically coherent.

“Are you expecting glory?” Ba’alzamon said. “Power? Did they tell you the Eye of the World would serve you? What glory or power is there for a puppet? The strings that move you have been centuries weaving. Your father was chosen by the White Tower, like a stallion roped and led to his business. Your mother was no more than a brood mare to their plans. And those plans lead to your death.”

Title drop! Ish is desperately trying to advertise the Blight's premier vacation destination, a green oasis in the midst of hell, a resort so exclusive you can only visit once, so book your reservation today, before the world ends! Not even stone cold nihilism can win against the love of money.

It's great reading this with hindsight because it shows how utterly and completely full of shit Ishamael is. He guesses that this is what happened, because it's what he would do, but the White Tower had nothing to do with Rand's conception, except that one Aes Sedai gave a Foretelling to his mother and let her do what she would with it. Her getting pregnant was the farthest thing from anyone's minds at the time, let alone with an Aiel clan chief.

The Amyrlin Seat will use you until you are consumed, just as Davian was used, and Yurian Stonebow, and Guaire Amalasan, and Raolin Darksbane. Just as Logain is being used.

And yet, it's possible that this is mostly true. Logain isn't being used by Siuan - she's trying to stabilize Ghealdan, not tear it apart, and she's not interested in False Dragons - but Guaire may well have been a project of Bonwhin Meraighdin, the Red Amyrlin who rose to power the year he declared himself. The others we don't know enough about, but Siuan and Moiraine react just oddly enough to Rand's accusation later that I think Ish is providing more truth than he had been.

“Fool, I have never been bound!”

I'd say that being free for 120 years out of 3,500, a mere 3% of the total, is still hella bound, Ishy. Still though, his own bragging is hella impressive. I strongly suspect that the Second Covenant was an era that was only a step or two down from the Age of Legends, and he wrecked that. Afterward, he ensured that the Seanchan would rise up and reinvent chattel slavery, which is hella evil on his part.

“Then go to the Aes Sedai. Go to the White Tower and tell them. Tell the Amyrlin Seat of this . . . dream.”

A smart play. I don't think Moiraine would have liked hearing about this dream, and Siuan less, but the truth is they still would have supported Rand to any degree short of his joining the Shadow. But Ish plants the doubt, and Moiraine's words last chapter give Rand little reason to think he'd survive this conversation.

With a snort he lay back. Were the dreams really bad enough for him to ask the help of an Aes Sedai? On the other hand, could anything he did now get him in any deeper? He had left the Two Rivers, come away with an Aes Sedai. But there had not been any choice, of course. So did he have any choice but to trust her? An Aes Sedai? It was as bad as the dreams, thinking about it.

See what I mean? Moiraine didn't just sink a ferry, she burned a bridge, and life is going to be a lot more unpleasant for everyone these next five books as a result. Let's see how that goes next time in "Strangers and Friends"!

#let's read #wheel of time #wot #wheel of time spoilers #wot spoilers #robert jordan #rand al'thor #moiraine damodred #thom merrilin #mat cauthon #perrin aybara #lan mandragoran #egwene al'vere #min farshaw #ishamael

[ssreeder]

okay so this is leekie (hiiii) and here’s my comment bc ao3 is being a bitch and cut me off:

SREEDYYHY MY LOVE I MISSED YOU *picks you up and shakes you around like I’m making a cocktail using fancy bar equipment*

ZUKO MY BBY HES ALIVE AND WELL

n o. sokka my love Do Not tempt fate you and zuko WILL BE BOTH SAFE AND HAPPY AND ALIVE AT THE SAME TIME you’re probably just going to suffer a bit more before that happens…

ahh sokka with his achy hands.. we don’t want our boy getting arthritis before he’s even 18 </3

YAY sokka’s getting his insatiable appetite back, nature truly is healing (even tho ZUKO YOUR FUCKING MORON EAT YOUR STEW)

dad-chief and fatherlord buddies lmao

ohoho shen with his fire nation knowledge about fire nation hair and fire nation intimacy ;)))

“the teen was incredibly skilled at concealing his emotions” my oh my how we have Evolved from dramatic ass zuko in the show.. it’s depressing.

okay I’m interested in knowing about how you’re depicting cultural differences actually. like hakoda thinks that zuko looking him in the eye is a sign of respect bc that’s swt culture, but (at least I thought) isn’t it respectful to not look authority in the eye?? in which case, absolutely fucking iconic that zuko is being a defiant little shit and hakoda is like “what a polite young man :)”

“that’s why we risked it all” OHOHO WE DO LOVE A SNEAKY LITTLE TITLE REFERENCE

okay wait I lowkey love the zuko and shen dynamic it’s legendary

lmao not hakoda finding out katara purposefully got herself imprisoned

“why are you arguing with me?”

“because you are fucking stupid”

way to make a new friend zuko <3

OH NOOO SHEN DONT ASK WHY ZUKO KNOW WHAT THE CAPTAINS QUARTERS LOOK LIKE I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD

nooooo katara your father is very much being a father to your very much not dead brother don’t be saaaaaad

bruh imagine if jet had been allowed in the war meeting that would’ve been an entire fucking mess omg

why is reho talking about sex it feels so wrong bc he’s such an innocent little fool.. omG ACE REHO??? i love this for him

oh no jet trauma :((

FUCK we’re gonna have a zukka and jet confrontation aren’t we

*moment of silence for boots*

yeahhh we’re getting a zukka and get confrontation.

ik this is going to evolve into a Bad argument but it’s hilarious that zuko of all people is the one lecturing sokka about having a short temper (also, something something taking on each other’s traits parallels something something)

wheezing at jet discovering that zuko is the blue spirit omfg FUCKING HELL REHO DONT SPILL THE BEANS ABOUT ZUKO BEING A PRINCE DO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE DISHSOAP FOR BRAINS

holy shit reho whyyyyyyy

ah yes sokka when if doubt, tackle the love of your life so that you can annoy them into expressing their trauma

I swear to fucking god sreeder if you having zuko run away from the camp I will hunt you down

jet. jfc. this boy. needs to be put on a leash.

also FUCK the dai li, the dai li can EAT SHIT

ALSO jet and ara parallels???? earth kingdom nonbenders with immense trauma who send a message to an evil big boss man to tattle on where zuko is hiding????

LEEKIE!!!!

*hoping I make a delicious cocktail*

Ughhhh Zuko is starting to feel better which means some of his dramatic flare may return….

Haha Zuko & Shen have a weird dynamic of “I fucking hate you” but “we get along for brief moments”

Everyone thinks Zuko in Zhaos quarters is all depressing & yeah it kind of is but I’m pretttttyyy sure it’s only because he and Iroh had tea there many times. lol

Yay for ace Reho he deserves nice things sometimes.

Yeahhhhhhhhh…. Confrontation is on the horizon, so you see it? I see it.

(Something something you’re onto something like always)

Zuko is a flight risk, someone tie him to something, ignore his trauma. Lock him down.

*claps* omggg yessss!! Ara & Jet parallels all day, they are two peas in a pod and 85% of the readers HATE that pod.

Love you very much sorry it took me a million years to get back to you. <3

#I know I didn’t respond to all your points #but they are all so great #I am obsessed with your comments #I did get like 3 partially complete comments form you haha #so this made me very happy :) #I love you #& you always point out such good shit!! #Reho just wants a friend #he just wants to have a normal loyal relationship with someone #it was just…. probably not the best choice for that to be Jet #Reho doesn’t know any better #Jet made a friend #& instantly sabotaged it #self destructive guy #couldn’t give the SWT 5 minutes to handle it #before he lost his trust in them and tried to handle it himself #GOSH JET WHYYYY #but ehhh no one was surprised #it’s a very Jet thing to do #love you leekie #NOW YOU GET A LEEKI TAG #LEEKI MY LOVE #<3 #liab #ria #ask

[custom-pronoun-pins]

———————–

Designs are no longer available on Redbubble as of April 2023, as they’ve started actively stealing money from artists. Sorry for the inconvenience. You are, as always, encouraged to save these designs to use as icons or in other art, and you are encouraged to print them out and make your own shirts or buttons if you’re able to.

-------------------

The List of neopronouns! Whenever I make a new pronoun pin/icon design from now on, I'm going to make one for every single pronoun set on this list at least.

I am no longer employed because it's past high time I admitted that I can't have a normal job and have an appartment that's livable in, so my twin's income is now our sole source of income. So from now on I'm going to try to make at least 60 new pins a day, since that's the limit for designs you can upload to Redbubble at once, in the hopes that more pins will mean more people are buying them.

If you would like to donate to help out, both my venmo and cashapp usernames are Rjalker! There is also our gofundme here. The Redbubble store is set up so that I get half of the listed price (instead of the default 20%), so if you buy a pin for $6, I get $3, and Redbubble gets the other $3, and same with more expensive products.

As always, if you are buying a pronoun pin from Redbubble that you want to be functional as a pronoun pin, I suggest buying the "large" size, since the "small" size is way too small for people to notice or read easily. You can see an example of how big the "large" pin is here.

If you don't see your pronouns on this list, or would like a specific combination (it/xe for example) or different spellings, please let me know, either in replies, reblogging, sending an ask, or whatever! :)

Any pronouns not on this list that are requested for other designs will also be added to this list so that hopefully nobody gets left out.

Maybe if I find a website that will do it for me, I will figure out how many unique combinations there are of these pronouns in sets of two and make all of them, we'll have to see, lol...

They have been sorted into alphabetical order to help finding them be easier.

Some of these have only just been added while making this post, so they aren't on the newest pin designs yet. That's on my to-do list.

You can request pronouns to be added to this list even if you have no intention of ever buying from my Redbubble store, because the designs will also be free to use for icons and other things! (or if you have a printer and are able to make your own buttons, you can print them out for that, as long as you aren't selling them or claiming the design is your own)

This list will be edited and alphabetized again anytime new ones are added :)

You can also read the list on this google doc with larger font.

Please use my name rather than pronouns

Ask for my pronouns

Any pronouns

Any neopronouns

a/ace ace/aces ae/aer ae/he ae/it ae/ryn ae/she ae/they ae/xe aero/aeros an/droid ar/aro ar/lok aro/aros ay/ace ay/li by/lar byt/byts char/chars clo/loc/locs/clockself club/heart cu/ti de/ad de/der de/dim de/ir deq/dir dey/dem dre/aras e/er e/im echo/echos es/lin ex/exself ey/eir ey/em ey/er fang/fangs fleur/fleurs fluff/fluffs gar/ros he/ae he/it he/it/she he/she he/she/it he/they he/xe he/xey hea/ler hop/hops hy/hym ido/eis it/ae it/he it/he/she it/she it/she/he it/they it/xe it/xey ith/iths ith/kir ix/hal ix/ixelf ke/kem ker/kri kit/kits ky/shal ky/tin kyn/areth ley/lem li/lia li/lim li/lir lo/lok ly/lyr mango/mangos mio/fel mley/mlem moon/moons moth/moths mus/ruum N/Z nat/zahl ne/nem ne/neo ne/rix nei/ther neo/neon ney/nem nix/nixself pe/per pup/pups rain/rainself rak/sura rot/rots ry/ryn sci/ence sci/scis shay/shayself she/ae she/he she/it she/it/he she/they she/xe she/xey shey/shem sia/lia singu/laer star/stars sy/sky tal/lyn tar/dis te/ter tey/tem they/ae they/he they/it they/she they/vee they/xe they/xey they/ze thi/hil thorn/thorns thun/thunder ti/tik twig/twigs vae/vam ve/vei ve/ven ve/vim ve/vir vee/veen vi/vir vo/vos voi/void wa/wir wave/waveself x/xself xae/xaer xe/hir xe/xem xe/xim xe/xir xe/xym xeno/bell xey/xem xi/kiyn xiy/rik xy/xym zag/rey zal/az ze/hir ze/zem ze/zir zey/zem zy/zem zy/zev zy/zym

#neopronouns #neopronoun pins #neopronoun icons #pronoun pins #pronoun icons #trans #nonbinary #transgender #pride #pride merch

[fourspiceblend]

Nobody asked for this but now that we have all the student trailers these are my actual thoughts on the redesigns (since I know we won't get a trailer for the faculty next week and even if they're unlockable/DLC later I don't trust IS to give them a glow up). I'm only talking personal preference here, no deep analysis into what the costumes signify or whatever.

Edelgard: on its own? It's a cute design, and the hair looks pretty nice in spite of how thin the braid looks. Coming from 3H? Uninspired and bland. The red emperor dress had presence, it signified power, it had that Enormous Bitch Who Will Ruin Your Day energy. I'm not sensing any of that here, it's like they wanted to remind us she's 5'2" and likes teddy bears and probably wears floaties to the beach. 6/10, isn't lower because I like red.

Hubert: massive downgrade. They masacred him for the meme potential. 2/10, would hate it less if his original TS design didn't exist and set such a high standard for Hubert swag, but sadly this is the timeline we live in.

Ferdinand: meh. The hair looks fine but his outfit says nothing. 5/10

Linhardt: Gender/10. The clear winner of the Eagles. He's even wearing a nun collar to boot! May as well be wearing that "I really wish I weren't here right now" button and I love that for him. His whole cozy outfit looks like it would be great for naps. I wish him the best.

Caspar: deserved better. I always hated his TS outfit to begin with, but his undercut gave him a cute shonen boy edge. This hairstyle makes him look like all of my male classmates in middle school, and I went to middle school in the 2000's. I can smell the Axe body spray from here. 1/10

Bernadetta: she looks like an onion. 4/10, and only because I like her outfit and color scheme. No, I don't care that "it fits her".

Dorothea: pretty, but doesn't do much for me. 7/10, but overall a downgrade. The braid is sick tho.

Petra: 9/10. It's grown on me. I like that they gave her sandals, and THE BRAIDS ARE BACK!! Braids good.

Dimitri: 7/10, not great, not terrible, always good to see him with both eyes. His original TS look will always be iconic though. Hard to top that honestly.

Dedue: 10/10. They took everything we love about his design and made it better, gave him his earring back, and gave him a BEARD! AND a BRAID! I am a simple human with simple tastes, and I love everything that's going on in here.

Felix: 6/10. No tsundere thigh highs, no poofy sleeves, he's wearing a bump-it. The hair itself isn't terrible but I got so used to the spiky volleyball hair that seeing him in a hairstyle that actually looks normal feels out of character for him. It's fine I guess, but his outfit is missing that wealthy douchebag energy the old one had.

Ashe: cute, very Ashe, a little bit of gender going on. 7/10, nothing much to say here.

Sylvain: 0/10. They didn't even try.

Mercedes: ara ara/10. Absolute perfection. I do admit I miss the hat, but her hair is so gorgeous she doesn't even need it.

Annette: 10/10. The winner of the Lions. It's like she's ready to open up her bakery. I do still have a soft spot for her old timeskip dress but the hair is very much an upgrade. I want to pick her up and put her in my pocket.

Ingrid: 3/10. I just wanted the braid back.

Claude: 8/10, would be higher if he still had a beard. The color scheme is pretty nice.

Hilda: 8/10, love her look but still prefer the original. I'm glad they didn't really change much and kept it very much her.

Lorenz: 8/10, again not much of a change, he's very Lorenz and I'm here for that.

Raphael: 9/10. It just fits him better than his original TS look. He looks ready to go rock climbing with you. He looks like he would host the sickest barbecue ever.

Ignatz: 6/10. Love the hair clips and side swept thing going on, not the biggest fan of everything else.

Lysithea: 7/10. I will not forgive them for taking the veil away, but the outfit overall is cute, it's just not as great as the original. It's just kinda... plain? Yeah, sorry.

Marianne: 9/10. HAIR DOWN!!! That's it. That's literally the only thing I wanted and I got it so I can't complain. Also she still looks very much like a holy woman, but her hair is short enough that we can see her back window... business in the front, party in the back.

Leonie: 7/10. While I'm happy the short hair is back, the actual haircut itself doesn't say much and would have preferred something much closer to her academy hair. Still a cute design overall tho.

#long post #few3h #i'm not tagging everyone or everything #this is kind of a shitpost but i'm very serious about those scores #i feel like the lions and eagles had clear winners and losers #meanwhile the deer had mostly everyone look pretty good and i don't feel particularly strong about anyone's looks

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

also: I just binged “akuma no riddle” and have come to the conclusion that it’s dissatisfying. not gay enough, not edgy enough to justify how seriously it takes its edge, not long enough to allow characters to grow past their archetypes. though tbf, i wasn’t really expecting much after seeing the premise and realizing they were going to cram character development for thirteen separate people into a 12-ep anime. they do an okay job of it but it’s not great, and the romance suffers as a result.

it also felt like…they were scared of leaning into how edgy the anime is? because it’s super edgy. there’s a serial killer who gets off on killing people and puts the main girl in a ball gag after stripping her, characters drink poison on screen in a double suicide to rival Romeo and Juliet, one girl was abused to the point of developing DID…the list goes on. but also, not a single character dies in an anime about assassination. the ending is trite, with everyone getting a happy/at least hopeful conclusion to their story, and very little has been gained by the end. it was definitely a fun watch—entertaining in the way low stakes edgy anime is entertaining—but not anything to write home about, imo.

i will say, though. the character designs are delightful and every character can be differentiated from the rest by personality and design. plus, they do a good job of differentiating character voices/speaking patterns. nio had a recognizable -ss vocal tic, haruhi has a distinctively masculine and brash way of speaking, and tokaku’s forthright speech was iconic of her character. haru’s third person habit (shared by isuke, interestingly, though isuke has the ara-ara himedere type vocal patterns) is also noticeable.

i Also wouldn’t be surprised if shutou had a more archaic way of speaking based on her backstory. then there’s hanabusa’s polite, mild mannered speech along with how drastically mahiru/shinya’s voice changes…the writing did a very good job of showing how each character’s “voice” reflects on their character. I’m also super gay for haruhi. oops.

#aurie liveblogs

[fiyr-cap]

The Great OC Alphabet Caper: A

Credit to @sleepyowlwrites​ for coming up with this idea. Basically, I will introduce each of my characters based on the letters of the alphabet. I’m averaging like 3-4 characters for most of the letters (with some letters having 0, like O Q X W and Y).

Alex the Thief

Seems somehow fitting that the very first character in this lineup is perhaps my oldest character. 

WIP: Hero (placeholder title) 

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 17 (in Hero) / 24 (in other stories)

Physical Description: Has brown hair and brown eyes and always wears his iconic red hat. Strong but lean and skinny, like a cat. 

Abilities: Stealing, sword fighting, lying through his teeth

Defining Traits: Alex is clever and quick-thinking. He’s also a bit of a jerk at times, but he has a strong sense of fairness and right and wrong. Excellent fibber. He’s very likeable for his great sense of humor but if he doesn’t like you he will annoy you to no end.

Excerpt:

“A little colder than I would have liked,” Alex called. “But it’s a lot roomier on this side of the door, I have to say. Want to join me?”

Brent whirled around, startled by Alex’s voice, now from the opposite direction, but he recovered himself quickly. “Are you crazy?” He moved to the cell door. “If any of the marquis’ soldiers see you there will be serious consequences! Escaping from prison is a crime in and of itself – there will be no pleading for innocence now!”

“You suuuure you don’t want me to let you out?” Alex asked. “I will if you beg?” 

Shaking his head slowly, Brent murmured, “If you just had a little patience they’d free you eventually. As it is now they will think you really are the princess’ kidnapper, and they will never stop hunting you. Don’t you see that you’re making a mistake?”

“It’s something I excel in. Personal hazard I suppose.”

Extra: Favorite food is fish (because he’s a cat-boy)

Althena Stone

Not gonna embarrass myself by putting really old art here, I haven’t drawn her in like a hot minute (several years)

WIP: KELJAR (also a placeholder title)

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 17-19? We’re not sure

Physical Description: She’s got green hair and pointy ears because she’s an anime character. All of her features are a bit pointy (chin, nose, etc). Her skin tone has a bit of a reddish undertone. 

Abilities: Archery, climbing, hunting

Defining Traits: Independent and stubborn. She is used to surviving in the forest alone so she doesn’t compromise with others well. She can be quick to anger but she is practical and will drop useless grudges easily. 

Extra: Demi-god. Can go super-saiyan. I made her when I was like nine, alright.

Ara Newton

WIP: Cyprus Hollow

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 16-17

Physical Description: Relatively short with a cute face. Something about her just makes people want to protect her. Has red (kinda orange-ish) hair. Wears a white robe.

Abilities: Healing magic

Defining Traits: Initially comes across as shy, but once you get to know her she is a bit more practical. She is often takes the caregiver role in her group, being the both the healer and the responsible one. She is best friends with Baku, who she grew up with.

Alta Lombard

Also known as the “Vigilante”, or called “Feathers” by the people who work with her

WIP: The Sword of Mikulhart

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 18/19

Physical Description: Her hair is brown but is so light it almost looks pink, cut in a short, boyish style. Has white eyes. Usually she wears a red scarf and a winged helmet. 

Abilities: Sword fighting, jumping great distances

Defining Traits: Alta feels responsible for a lot of things that are actually outside of her control. She is at times very serious and often doesn’t speak if she doesn’t feel any need to. She is quick to act and often makes poor decisions because of it. A notable example of this being when she jumps off a many story wall. She has a hard time standing by and watching when innocent people are in danger. 

Excerpt:

It wasn’t that Alta did not love Delita. It was that she could not love Delita. It wasn’t safe. She was a constant burden on her. To love Delita, to call her ‘mother,’ would be selfish. Alta had learned that lesson long ago. It was what had killed her father - no - what had killed Mikel. Alta had loved Mikel dearly, and he had loved her. If Alta hadn’t been around Mikel would never have died. He would still be there with his son and wife. 

Alta knew that Delita and Jericho didn’t blame her. But she also knew a trade had been made. Her life for Mikel’s. And she recalled it with great bitterness. Had they the choice surely Delita and Jericho would rather have their husband and father – whatever they may say now.

Extra: Sometimes lapses into periods of muteness, though not often. Holdover from when she was a child and had a couple years where she was mute. Her memory of her earliest childhood is very patchy. She was adopted into the Lombard family. Likes drawing. Can’t cook. Is a lesbian. 

#the great oc alphabet caper #writing #Mikulhart #Hero #KELJAR #Cyprus Hollow #long post #fiyrwrites #ocs #writeblr #if you actually read this whole thing props to you #apparently I'm really into the alphabet lately idk whats up with that

[araisbored]

In this lovely post, I will be reviewing the new album of a filipino artist Juan Karlos. I am not new in digesting albums as I’m a self-proclaimed music connoisseur. But what’s refreshing for this post was that it was from a Filipino artist. For the record, I always loved OPM. I love classic OPMS. I grew up, WE all grew up listening to them. But I just have never really dug into the deep. Album per album. Music industry in the Philippines was very different. The last thing a Filipino does is to support a Filipino music artist unless they’re colonized by the west or the artist got famous in the west. Everything was all about the west. But then things changed in the past decade. Which is a good thing. People started appreciating OPM again. I only have vivid memories of how OPM started. I’m not saying that OPM was not loved before. It always has been. But the younglings started loving it again when IV Of Spades released mundo. Then Juan Karlos’ Buwan followed. That’s when they all started catching the youth's and even not so youthful people’s attention. 

JK’s music entries to Ara’s Music chart wasn't always consistent but it’s not always a miss. I also disregard his somewhat homophobic remarks to Darren Espato. (if you know what happened there please tell me.) because I have no idea of what happened to them. My whole opinion and fondness for him is based on his music.

I am not new to JK’s music. I LOVE BUWAN and all its parts. (Wow) I love the Kundiman version of it even more. After he released buwan, and when it went viral. People just kept asking for more bangers and karaoke hits. He kept on giving but we almost believed that there would be no other hit that was going to be made. Shot puno happened which did well but never really peaked in my top 5. A few months later, ERE came. And she cooked, ate and washed the dishes.

When the song came out it was the perfect song for my situation. One of the biggest factors of charting in my personal music chart was always based on my mood. If I’m too happy or if I’m too sad. You wouldn't be on my top 10 no matter how many people like it or how heart breaking your song was. Safe to say she checks all the boxes.

Spoiler alert! Ere wasn’t my favorite in the album. It was my bias wrecker (lol for fuck sake my vocabulary is so 12 years old) from time to time but it wasn’t my favorite. It was paru-paro. You know me and my metaphors and similes and hyperboles. If you have those you got me, and I think Paru-paro hits all of it. Let’s get on to it for a little while. Also, I know I told you I was reviewing the whole album. Another spoiler alert…… I won’t be reviewing all the songs. So technically it was a half-album review or… maybe just my favorites. But still…. It is what I call it.

Let’s start with the album opener.

Track 1: Sad songs and bullshits. Which was the title of the album. The song was also registered as Sad songs and b******t. On a side note, it was very funny when it appeared on my car. 

The apostrophes are taking me out. Hahaha.  

Right off the bat, I think it's very smart and funny. And very straight to the point. A simple title that describes the album as it is.That's what exactly his album was. Sad songs and some other bullshit drama he has. And I might say, a good song opener. I like the parts where he encourages everyone to join him in his journey and to cry with him. Engaging with your listeners in a song is such a good song. 

Track 2, would be the ever famous, ERE.

I think what caught people’s attention was how sharp and bold the song was. It was very unusual for a Filipino song to actually include curse words. It’s a lot of risk as well because we all know how conservative a Filipino household was. So for this song to go viral let alone to be played in a house with you lola or mom listening? was truly a history. ICONIC. I noticed on some or most of JK’s songs is that he’s not afraid to utilize the silence. When you ask people what caught their attention in a JK song, it’s that he’s screaming or he’s belting, which is true, if he’s performing or when we reach the chorus or the bridge or the melody, which obviously are all true and good points. But what I noticed is the eeriness or the calm before the storm. It’s always calm on the start like he really wanted to tell you a story in a manner where it’s like he’s telling it to YOU. And only after he finishes that, that’s when the loudness and craziness comes in. And I love that about his music. It’s very expressive in that way. 

This song might be very catchy because of the use of words, specifically the curse word. But what the palaman of this song was really the story and the whole heart poured to a girl who hurt him. 

Track 3, may halaga pa ba ako sayo?

This is what I’m talking about when I say he’s not afraid of the silence. Although this is not my favorite track. This supports what I said earlier about the eeriness. 

If you like Track 4, close your eyes because I’m skipping it.

Track 5, Paruparo.

My favorite out of all the songs in that album. I think I resonate the best with this song. It’s such a let go and be-happy song. So comforting. And I might add… the words. The rhyming… just *chef’s kiss* When I listened to that song, after hearing the lines: “Kasing haba ba ng buong buhay ng isang.. Paruparo, paruparo, paruparo, paruparo” I immediately searched how long does a butterfly live. Look at that! JK teaching us some biology… who would’ve thought? 

The metaphors and personification and such are the main reason why I was captivated by this song. I just think it was really smart of him to compare the butterfly’s life to the span of their relationship. Such a smart way of comparing something and how brief they are. I also like how he rhymes the word Paru-paro, the title of the song, to some lyrics of the song(wow, arrah thats basically what songwriting is)For instance: 

‘Paano na tayong dalawa? Pa-paano, pa-paano, pa-paano, pa-paano’ , ‘Masakit man ang katotohanan na ako'y 'di

Para sa'yo, para sa'yo, para sa'yo, para sa'yo’, ‘Ayokong maging hadlang sa pagkamit ng mga

Pangarap mo sa buhay, aking sinta’

It won’t make sense if you haven’t listened to the song.

I also think that this song resonates the most with me. Or how I’m trying to be. Or what I wanted to say to someone who is not in my life anymore.

Track 6: Gabi (ft. Zild)

I love this song. Such a comforting song. Also good when you play it while driving. Bad thing if you’re sleepy. 

A song where two friends are drinking, and just talking about their breakups and life in general. Reminds me of Filipino walwalan days. If you’re pinoy, you know that kahit anong mangyari, shot lang katapat. Break-up? Tara inom. Lose a job? Tara inom. Masanggi lang, tara inom agad yan for sure. And this song reminds me so much of those times with my friends. Not the inuman part because we really don’t drink much. Me and my friends are not the drinker type of group. But the friendship and the presence of having them. We’re all far away from each other now. And this kind of song makes me hope that I was with them or wish I can see them if I’m having a hard time. This song will hit you if you have a solid friendship. 

I like Zild’s verse and voice. So calming. I also like how he rhymes everything. I know it’s basic songwriting but I wanna give them their cookies. They deserve it. The harmonization at the end is AMAZING! You can clearly hear both of their trademark, although I think this is more of a Zild kind of production. But I won’t know, I’m not an expert. And I’m not with them when they record this.

Track 7: Time Machine

I thought it was a sweet song because of the harmony and how upbeat it was compared to the other songs. But when the chorus hits, it turns out to be a sad song. A guy who reminisces about his past relationship and how he wishes he could turn back the time. Hence, the title: Time machine. I like the part that goes: ‘At tayo'y la-la-la-la-lalamigin’ I think that’s very JK. Very on brand. Just a little harot on the side. A lovely song.

The rest of the songs are getting skipped. Sorry. It’s just not my vibe and I don’t think I will form an opinion on something I care about a little. (Not in a mean way. All of his songs are good. And I will listen to them while I’m driving. I just prefer these songs over the rest. And I hope that you understand my stand. If you’re a JK fan, and you love all of these, GOOD for you. And if you’re JK who miraculously ends up reading my post. JK, I love this album. I can’t wait for what you will offer us next.)

And that concludes my review. Overall if I will rate this album, I will give it a 4 out of 5. I can’t wait for more JK albums in the future. I am really happy about the success of OPM these days. It’s about time. I hope this album or JK won't be the last OPM artist I will write about. 

Xx, Ara

#album digest #album review #music #juankarlos #sadsongsandbullshit #opm