☆

Strawberry Chuu

★

1999 — kIm JiwOo ( chuu ) ｡ * . ♡ㅤ

꒰ঌ twist it, like it ໒꒱

ot12 superstar loona photocards are up on my etsy!

help the boycott by supporting orbits instead of bbc directly! 🔥

The Loona Contract issue is so messed up, I don't even know how to process it.

On top of it there's the dispatch article acting like "it's both parties in the wrong" And a few people even victim blaming the members for signing the contract like, they were all very young, excited to debut, and I doubt legal contracts like that explain their terms so simply anyways

The fact that higher ups in BBC even thought to scam these young talented girls like this, chuu has every right to be mad at them and so do the others, like how has the group profited yet they are still in debt?? The contract where they receive 30% of the total revenue,but 50% of production cost is deducted from their cut of the revenue, its purposely written such that they'll never earn unless the profit to cost ratio was very high

The company was very much intentionally scamming them and it's disgusting and yet there's also the issue of them not having paid their other employees, and the debt they had with other companies too, god knows where all the money is going and what more they're hiding

loona on queer pride

(idols on our side🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️)

loona released some very queer coded music videos for yves solo New and chuu’s solo Heart Attack in their early career. in the years since, yves has stated on the subject:

When the song was being written and the video filmed, we didn’t see it like that, for us, it was a story about yearning, but we were also thankful when it was translated [in a queer] way. You may have realized it during ‘Butterfly’, but we want to go beyond gender, race, and nationality.

at a fanmeet, yves later named her sapphic fans ‘apples’ as a reference to her music video, and excitedly talked to a sapphic fan about said fan’s girlfriend.

chuu was later a voice actor for a lesbian short film called Dear Girl.

when asked by a fan at a fan meet whether she had any encouraging words for her WLW fans, vivi said:

It is very touching to me that you would ask me this! I would tell them ‘I am very thankful for you and all your support, and if you have any hardships, I want to take them away from you and send you my love and support. I want to meet face to face with you all and make you smile!’

almost all members have openly and excitedly carried or worn various pride flags on stage, including but not limited to: the generic pride flag, trans pride flag, bisexual pride flag and lesbian pride flag. their fan base is overwhelmingly queer which they are aware of and proud of.

loona is so supportive and there’s so much more i can’t even type 💞

(boycott to fight for loona like loona fights for us🏳️‍🌈)

LOONA [3 BODY]

the moon, the earth, and the sun

spotify wrapped 2022

my top artists: 1. red velvet 2. joy 3. twice 4. seulgi 5. loona

my top songs: 1. russian roulette - red velvet 2. peek a boo - red velvet 3. kingdom come - red velvet 4. rbb - red velvet 5. my second date

my top genres: 1. kpop 2. indie pop 3. k-indie 4. pop 5. broadway

minutes total: 84, 428

apologies for the lack of posting, i've been adjusting to schools (final season is so soon :((( ) but most importantly, i'm currently working on a huge post on minors on kpop! hopefully i'll get it out by the end of 2023 (don't expect much, i just keep forgetting i have it in my drafts)

as you have noticed, loona is my top 5 artist. i am no longer listening to loona nor will i support them. please boycott loona!!

Stan list!! + biases

My ults: Riize - Anton, IVE - Leeseo

Stan: Aespa - Giselle, red velvet - Irene, twice - Momo (ot8, don't ask me who I don't stan), loona - Chuu, newjeans - Minji, (g)-idle - Minnie

Casual listener: Le Sserafim (Kazuha is a huge inspiration to me though as a former ballet dancer so I closely follow her only), Kiss of Life (they are so talented and underrated), Itzy (I really like Yeji but I haven't gotten into the group to call myself a stan), Nmixx (The music was a bop when Jini was still in the group)

interact with me if you share an ult group or bias! :)

#HappyBirthdayLOONAtheBoycott

reminder that supporting the comeback (ESPECIALLY financially) has a huge risk of backfiring on the girls. any money that BBC earn from this comeback could very well be used against the nine girls that filed injunctions for lawyers. another reminder that boycotting the comeback will not harm the girls personally. we know they do not get paid anyway. we know 9 out of 12 members that filed the injunctions are boycotting fab. that speaks volumes. there is a very high chance that none of the girls want to be doing this. do not give that corrupt company a single fucking penny.

JUNE 16TH: HAPPY LOONA INDEPENDENCE DAY

Idolizing Imperfection: The Ancient Allusions of 'Midas Touch' - KISS OF LIFE (an essay)

I have missed writing kpop essays so much and after watching the new Kiss of Life MV, I couldn't resist doing a scene by scene (with some lyrics) breakdown of the allusions to ancient mythology - (there are lots of other modern references, especially to Britney Spears, but the ancient ones are what I will be focusing on here, believe me there is more than enough to talk about.) I don't have any official qualifications surrounding this field (yet), but I am studying classical civilization and roman literature for a qualification, and I have a long time obsession with Greek mythology especially. Obviously all of these are my interpretations, this is not a definite guide to what exactly the creative direction team at S2 Ent. were thinking about for this comeback, and if you think I missed something or have a different interpretation of one of the scenes, please let me know in the reblogs/comments.

Let’s begin with the title of the track, ‘Midas Touch’. It references the Greek myth of King Midas, who (according to Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’) after winning the favour of the god Dionysus, was granted any wish he desired. Midas chose the ability to make everything he touched turn into gold, a wish driven by greed. Midas revelled in his new found powers, but the problems arose when he realised that all food he touched would be turned to gold too - he had condemned himself to starve to death. The myth is essentially a cautionary tale about the effects of greed; Midas is a tragic hero that brought about his own suffering due to his hamartia (tragic flaw) - his blessing becomes his curse. Today, having a ‘midas touch’ means that everything you are involved with is successful, but the main association of Midas with greed still remains. In the context of the song, KOL are saying that a relationship with them, although destined to end in tragedy, would be worth it for the ‘gold’ they can bring - “위험할수록 재밌잖아” (“The more dangerous it is, the more fun it is”).  Midas may have died a tragic death, but his time alive was quite literally golden. Still, it feels slightly odd that KOL are associating themselves with someone so flawed - an idol should be the image of perfection, and in this way, the meaning of the song becomes quite subversive on a meta level. Keep this interpretation in the back of your mind, we will return to it later.

Within the music video itself, each of the four members are given solo scenes that I believe allude to different women of Greek mythology. Julie is first, depicted lying on a blush pink velvet heart with gold embellishments, shell and heart shaped boxes littered around her. The composition of the framing, as well as the beach imagery seems to allude to Boticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’, linking Julie with Aphrodite/Venus, the goddess of love. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is seen as beautiful beyond compare, but is also often characterised as highly vain and self absorbed. After hearing that some Greeks had begun to worship the ludicrously beautiful mortal woman Psyche instead of her, (and also out of protection of her son Eros to whom Psyche was married), she sent Psyche on a series of impossible trials designed to kill her, so she could remain the most beautiful. Once again, KOL compare themselves to people in the ancient world who were famously flawed.

Natty is seen next, intertwined with glittering spider webs. This is perhaps a reference to the tale of Arachne, a mortal woman who was highly skilled at weaving. She boasted that her skills were greater than Athena herself, the goddess of handicraft (and many other things), and Athena transformed her into a spider as punishment for her hubris (excessive pride). Like the tale of King Midas, Arachne’s story also centres around a fatal flaw bringing your own downfall, and like Midas and Aphrodite, Arachne is not typically remembered fondly within Greek Mythology canon.

Perched on a half dress, half throne that resembles a peacock, Belle is seen next. Originally I wasn’t certain who was being referenced here, but after some research I believe it may be Hera, although if you have another interpretation here I would love to hear it. Hera, the goddess of marriage and fertility, queen of the gods, and wife to Zeus, is affiliated with peacocks as they are one of her sacred animals, and are said to pull her chariot like horses. Hera is also, like Aphrodite, a goddess often portrayed in a negative light in mythology, repeatedly characterised as jealous and spiteful. A famous example of this is when Hera sent two snakes to strangle Heracles/Hercules, the illegitimate son of her husband Zeus, out of spite and jealousy for the boy’s mortal mother. Whether Hera had a right to be annoyed at her husband’s repeated adultery is another discussion, but generally speaking, when Hera is in a myth, she is often the villain.

Finally, we see Haneul, perched upon a corinthian style column (we love a greek column) surrounded by severed heads on spikes, a clearly war ridden scene. This is the allusion I am the least confident about, but I think perhaps she is supposed to be Helen of Troy? Helen is famous for being the catalyst for the Trojan War (perhaps this is the war scene she sits within?), she is the ‘face that launched a thousand ships’. Depending on the source, Helen is either a victim, kidnapped by the Trojan prince Paris, or she was seduced and went willingly, abandoning her Greek husband King Menelaus. The second seems to be the accepted narrative among many Roman authors, with writers such as Martial (in Epigrams 1.62) portraying her as the polar opposite of Penelope, who was seen as the image of loyalty. As a result, Helen is commonly portrayed as disloyal and unfaithful, the opposite of what an ideal woman in the ancient world was supposed to act like.

In their group scenes, there is also SO MUCH Medusa imagery - with snakes crawling all over their faces and hissing at the camera, and half broken stone statues littered here and there. As I am sure you are probably aware, Medusa is very much a villain in the myths she is depicted in, and despite modern reevaluations of her story (that I agree with) portraying her as a victim, in the primary sources, she is essentially an evil monster for Perseus to destroy - her death marks Perseus’s ascension to hero status.

So why oh why are KOL comparing themselves to figures so flawed? In their previous releases, especially their first comeback with ‘Bad News’, the girls are depicted trying to fix injustices in society - they expose corruption in corporations, they combat casual misogyny and sexual harassment, and they call out bullying and abuse. In ‘Midas Touch’ I believe they continue their addressing of injustices and double standards, this time with a focus on the idol industry, their own stomping ground. In the kpop industry, idols are expected to be perfect in every way - beautiful, highly skilled, never controversial, and loyal to their fans. Should an idol fail to uphold these impossible standards, they are relentlessly punished, especially if the idol is a woman. Last month, Karina’s earnest apology to ‘fans’  for falling in love exposed how ludicrous the standards are to the world, and other idols like Sakura, Wonyoung, and Jennie, continue to get bullied on a daily basis for not meeting all of the bars the industry sets them. A kpop idol should be talented, but never show off, they should be beautiful and care about their looks but never be vain, confident but never egotistical, and driven by passion, not the desire for fame and money. It’s all fucking impossible, especially when what constitutes being called the second traits is utterly arbitrary and depends on how many people woke up on stan twitter and decided they didn’t like you that day. In ‘Midas Touch’ KOL calls this out by openly depicting themselves with the traits that kpop stans hate - Julie is Aphrodite, beautiful but vain, Natty is Arachne, talented but boastful, Belle is Hera, confident but jealous, Haneul is Helen, influential but disloyal, and they all are Midas, spurred on by greed instead of passion. They recognise that these accusations are unavoidable, and by reclaiming the imagery of these symbols of undesirable traits, they call out and reject the standards the idol industry places upon them. Like Medusa, they may be seen by many fans as a villain, a hurdle for their favourite groups that have more promotion and budget to overcome on their way to the top, but in actuality, they are victims of an industry desperate to mould them into products to be bought and sold. I’ve seen lots of discussion online about what KISS OF LIFE’s concept is, as it seems to vary every comeback, but after ‘Midas Touch’ I am led to believe that their concept is rebellion, against society, idol culture, and the things they deem as wrong in the world. Other groups have  done concepts similar in the past, such as LOONA in ‘Butterfly’ (you really thought I wasn’t going to bring them up at some point?? Are you new here??) but KOL is doing it explicitly, and consistently, and to me, that's very exciting. The kpop industry is ever changing, and with the foundations of the new 5th generation being established as we speak, perhaps KOL could cause it to change for the better. In summary, I am SO excited to see what they do next.

That honestly took a turn I wasn’t fully expecting at the end, but I hope you enjoyed regardless - I didn’t really talk about the actual song here, but I fucking loved it, and my full review will be part of my April monthly roundup - see previous installments on my masterlist. I encourage all of you to listen to ‘Midas Touch’ if you haven’t already, congratulations KISS OF LIFE for graduating nugudom, stream Birth by ARTMS, stan loona, and prepare for the loossemble comeback - lmk if you have any thoughts on my analysis or any other interpretations, or any topics you want me to write an essay on. cya next time ~ ari

love myself today.

I hope whoever uploaded the boycott versions of all loona music on spotify gets a lifetime supply of pizza and everything they wish for <33

boycott bbc

This must be what thrill feels like, darling Eventually I fall into you

you attack my heart!