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blackmoonlightexpress · 10 months

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Luo Yunxi Appreciation Master Post: How can someone be so multi-talented?!

In case you did not already know, here are LYX's many talents. It's insane how many different things he can do at a near-professional level beyond acting!

1. Dance/Ballet

LYX graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy majoring in ballet with over 11 years of professional experience.

This is him doing 13+ pirouettes in a performance of Tchaikovsky Rhapsody (full video, he's on the right)

Interpret dance solo (燃烧的火苗) where he won the first gold ever for STA (video, news)

Swan Lake solo at the Taoli Cup Dance Competition in high school (video)

Modern dancing solo (黑白影画) at his graduation performance (video, he's the only guy in white)

He also taught at the Macao Conservatory for a year and danced in front of national leaders in Flying to the Moon (奔月) at the Macao 10th Handover Anniversary (video)

He's super flexible and has a strong core (despite being naturally thin)

In response to request from fans, he performed the Black Moonlight dance in a now viral video on Douyin.

2. Wuxia / Posture

LYX is known as one of the best actors working today for wire work - you can see him here doing 3 consecutive jumps 2-3 stories above ground (compilation videos 1, 2)

He does a lot of his own stunts and is often better (i.e. more graceful) than his stunt double, even though it's really risky and he's sustained some serious injuries from being dropped accidentally (And the Winner is Love: B roll video, actual scene, other BTS, other fight scenes)

He moves with elegance, not just in action sequences (Ashes of Love fight compilation 1, 2), but people have made video compilations of how he walks, kneels, works his sleeves and train

Of course, it's thanks to his dance foundation, but he also puts a lot of hard work into stunt training. Not something a lot of actors do because it eats up time to make more TV or go on variety shows (Ashes of Love stunt training, BTS)

3. Diving

He played a diver once in Flip in Summer (夏日心跳) and actually learned to dive... I mean he's no Tom Daley but this looks pretty good for an amateur... (full video)

4. Voice Acting

He’s always dubbed himself since circa 2018 (with the exception of And the Winner is Love due to Covid logistics issues), which is not the norm in Chinese drama (Ashes of Love dubbing BTS). In fact, he is sometimes the only person in the cast to use his original voice (e.g. in Princess Silver)

He also lends his voice to animations - he was the voice of Viktor in Arcane (BTS video), which received positive feedback (most people didn't realize he was not a professional voice actor)

He appears as a judge and live dubbing performer in Voice Monster alongside the top voice actors in China, Bian Jiang (aka voice of Yehua in Eternal Love, Nan Wangj in the Untamed) and Zhang Jie (aka voice of Donghua in Eternal Love, Sifeng in Love & Redemption). He has so much respect to those working behind the scenes, and it really shows (full video)

5. Singing

Some of you may know that he started out in a boy band called JL with Fu Longfei - these videos didn't age well, but here you go: JL (MV), 我们 (MV)

He has released a number of solo singles, including 缘起 (MV), 星星之火 (live), 不是我 (MV), 等风停 (MV). and 勇 (soundtrack), which he composed and wrote the lyrics himself (these are all mando-pop ballads if that's your jam)

He performed Big Fish 大鱼 at Tmall's 11/11 Festival (live video) - while his rendition is not as powerful as the original, he can hit really high notes with an impressive falsetto - I think it goes up to G5 (one octave above middle C)

He performed Pipa Xing (琵琶行) at the Douyin Festival (live video) - the notable part is his Peking Opera style singing at the end

He occasionally releases covers of songs on Chinese karaoke app Changba or Douyin: 要不然我们就这样一万年 (youtube), 黑月光 (youtube), 不染 (youtube), 山水又一程 (youtube)

He can also sing in other languages, including 喜欢你 in Cantonese (recording) - it's actually a very good cover and his Cantonese pronunciation is >95% accurate - there are parts where you can't tell he's not a native speaker.

6. Musical Instruments

He's an accomplished classically-trained pianist, which you can see in...

JL MV (video, starting around 3:30 mark) - don't mind the makeup, it's from ages ago

Mr Mossie season 2 (video)

Love is Sweet (BTS video) - impromptu jazz, he was deciding which song to play

Fan thank you recording (video)

He also plays the guitar, though probably at an amateur level

7. Music Gaming

During college he was obsessed with this music game called O2Jam (劲乐团) to the point where he created new tracks (i.e. arrange/compose the music) for the company under the username Dinoroy (explained by himself here, videos of him playing).

He became well-known within the fan community as the legendary D神 (D God). There are a lot of funny comments from old players saying that they thought D God is a bitter middle-aged recluse trying to screw them over with difficult tracks (read comments here).

D God was so prolific and reliable that gaming company accepted his submissions without review. Here are some of his best tracks - game arrangement only (Lydia, Croatian Rhapsody, Digital Emotions), music & game arrangement (黑暗魅影), original composition (光之乐章)

8. League of Legends

He's an LOL super fan, commentator, and player since season 2, went to see worlds in person twice, and was a cast member in a gaming show called Beyond It! Hero (episodes here)

He played the 2018 All-Star Event in Las Vegas teaming with reigning world champion Rookie and delivered the final blow that beat the other team 2:1 (video)

He got a quadra kill at a celebrity mobile game even though his team was crap (video clip)

He co-invested 1M RMB in a team led by Misaya 若风 - you can see them playing together in a live broadcast of the mobile game (video)

Update: Our longtime fan boy has become spokesperson of League of Legends and official commentator at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou! The love is reciprocated!

9. Calligraphy/Drawing/Culture

LYX is known for his Chinese handwriting (he practices regularly) - there's even a font based on his handwriting called 汉仪罗云熙体 (download here)

He does all his own handwriting for marketing materials (e.g. Immortality below) and doesn't need a hand double for scenes where his character is practicing ancient Chinese calligraphy

He's also got amazing drawing skills - check out the Queen of the Night 昙花 he drew as Runyu while waiting around on set in between takes (video)

While he doesn't go on a lot of variety shows, he's often a guest on cultural programs, like the beauty of Chinese Calligraphy 书法之美 (video), Chinese Fans in 指尖上的非遗 (video)

His self-produced Mr. Mossie covers a lot of cultural topics (seasons 1, 2, 3), the segment on Hanfu was featured in the UNESCO Chinese Language Video Festival (video)

10. Photography

Luo Yunxi is often seen taking photos on set with his top-of-the-line Leica camera. Here are some of the photos he has shared:

#luo yunxi #cdrama #till the end of the moon #chang yue jin ming #chinese drama #c ent #ashes of love #2ha #immortality

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odayakajanai · 7 months

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Vocaloid Songs You Might Have Missed - September 2023

Hi, welcome to my blog. I'm a long-time fan of the Vocaloid scene. In recent years, numerous Vocaloid star producers have broken out and become household names in Japan, while others have cornered the utaite market and find continuous viral success on YouTube and Nicovideo.

I want to highlight some of the best yet-to-be-discovered music being produced with Vocaloids and other vocal synths.

More under the break.

This is a personal list, so I'm mostly avoiding certain kind of song that I call "vtuber bait." I've struggled for weeks to articulate what that means, because I'm wary of saying that everything I don't like is "vtuber bait," but it's the kind of thing where you know it when you hear it, right? No hate (mostly) but there's just so much of it out there.

I left some notes on the most standout or interesting songs on the list, but I'll throw my weight behind every one of these being worth your critical listen. Finally, excuse the broad categories. It's mainly for my own organization, but it's also no fun to start a song expecting one thing and getting a face full of distorted gabber kicks.

Full playlist here, individual tracks below.

Pop

フールフールフール / ゆきち feat. 初音ミク Reminds me of namigroove. A lot.

Daze Heat / Rulmry feat. 初音ミク

.mp3 / イナナキ feat. 花隈千冬、重音テト

下の階の人へ / ノアミユウ feat. カゼヒキβ Lo-fi hip-hop beats with interesting chords and one of the stranger vocal synths currently out there.

愛してるときは同じ言葉で / Eiguft feat. 初音ミク

天使のニューゲーム / 阿修 feat. 鏡音リン

点 / Aa feat. 花奏かのんβ

死刑執行 / ドラネコ feat. 小春六花、ずんだもん Zundamon execution song.

Ranunculus / NoR feat. 初音ミク

Rock

リビングデッド / タオ feat. 初音ミク This song and the previous one are probably the closest to "vtuber bait" on the list. What's the throughline: song structure? A thumbnail image that suits drawing your own character in its place? I don't know.

焦燥 / kinoue64 feat. 初音ミク This one actually came out as a single earlier this summer, but was out with the album in September. It's rare enough to get Miku shoegaze at all, let alone anything this good, so I figured I could bend the rules a little.

ブリキの心臓 / Kay Kamio feat. 花隈千冬

Electronic

八月 / サセガワ feat. 初音ミク Miku over a 2 step beat.

アイドレイン / NAL feat. 重音テト

ドリミンガル / うめみや feat. 可不 Umemiya giving some serious Yasutaka Nakata energy.

sui / ukaihi feat. 初音ミク

film / 初音ミク、ナースロボ＿タイプT

KEEP YOUR HEADACHES / いおぎりょう feat. 重音テト Finally, Teto hyperpop!

虫我 / Kolaa feat. 言和AI It feels like the Chinese synths are way more rare in the wild, or maybe they're just walled in on bilibili. This one is insane.

PC_Angel / Kizuari feat. 初音ミク There's a lot of skittering programmed drums on this month's list, but I think this song has my favorite. Kizuari (and kinoue64) both got a shoutout on Patrick St. Michels' excellent Make Believe Mailer last week. Their albums can be purchased on Bandcamp.

感情透過性 / 橘しとら feat.初音ミク

#music #vocaloid #hatsune miku #kagamine rin #kasane teto #kafu #hanakuma chifuyu #nurse robo type t #yanhe ai #utau #utauloid #cevio #cevio ai #kazehiki beta #kanade kanon #koharu rikka

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pathesisa · 1 month

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the marketing strategy for wayv members is so wrong and i will try to explain: (this is not hating towards any members i love all of them)

1 - the first member is xiaojun, sm pushing xiaojun into korean market after that man left was a wrong move, he is not the most marketable member for korean people. he is mcing for 1 year and he is the wayv member who gets korean promo only (bare minimum compare to other units) but it doesn't work, never saw him in the brand reputation list; ten and winwin are the only members who made it to the list. anyways xiaojun is a vocalist who should be sent in singing programs korea already has kibum, bambam kind of male idols who have the same career strategy and are obsessed with gg groups yes short viral moments are good but being labeled as this would be bad for his future career because no one gaf about kibums albums in korea they only interesting his entertainer side, xiaojun is most versatile nct vocalist he needs to market himself as a singer more, if he wants korean fame he should sing in korean but even korean singers won't charting there so i think the best market for xiaojun is mainland, my boy is more talented than any chinese mainstream artist rn. he is just talented and needs to focus on his talents more than his entertainer side because it's shadowing his talents. i really want xiaojun release covers every week, i need his angelic voice. [someone asked about his visual, yes his visual is good and my top 3 in the whole nct but he is short and has a big head (idk why this is a beauty standard) which doesn't fit in korea and chinese beauty standards]

2- second one is winwin and probably most complicated member and i'm scared yunqis will attack me, please he and xiaojun are my biases don't attack me. winwin didn't set his foot in korea for months but being on the reputation list proves he is the most marketable member for korea, if i'm not wrong he fits kbs %90 or something, but he never makes friends there, never saw him with any korean idol outside nct members, he makes himself stuck in nct circle in korea, korean people loves handsome boyfriendable cute k-idols and winwin is perfect example for this but unfortunately ww never gaf about korean market all obsessed is chinese market. i went to nct nation at japan he got the most cheers, he was the only member trended on japan twitter, he went viral 3 times he went to japan which is even no wayv and any wayv member trended here because winwin become so popular after he made into japanese national news about his and satomi ishihara similarity, not even have to mention nct life osaka.he is the most popular member in indonesia but only went here 1 time. second most popular member in thailand. ph has his biggest fanbase he never went there. this dude has a terrible career plan, all he wants become popular in mainland china, he need to open his eyes. his manager probably hates him because it's not hard to make an overseas schedule for him.

3- hendery. he is the least interesting wayv member if we have to be honest. he doesn't know how to be a private. after that man left the company he had the most potential to shine but xiaojun handled the post-lucas era better than him. i don't like his and winwin's rap parts in wayv songs, even yangyang's these raps ruining wayv's songs for being pop perfection for me. i dont see a singer or rapper future for him, wukong was a terrible experience. but you know what he has big potential among all wayv members to become popular, he is so an entertainer. he should be sent with winwin into those variety shows instead of that man, he would be x2 big in the mainland rn. i mean with 0 promotions he is the 3rd most popular member in china, having bigger fanbases than xiaojun, kun, and yangyang who have more gigs in their bags. he is so popular in indonesia, i remember he went viral there every day after a hendery fic adapted to an indo-drama. he should consider acting in movies, wong kar wai needs to open his eyes.

4- yangyang.. a big wasted potential. he would be more popular than any chinese idol in korea if he debuted in a korean group.. he is so baby. he is so marketable there, hip-hop alt culture is so popular nowadays he could probably be friends with everyone. but the company made him mark 2.0, with no originality not saying he is the less talented because yangyang is the most talented member in wayv (yes more talented than ten) but the marketing strategy killed his all hype there. this man outrapping the top 2 nct rapper (ijbol) with his 3rd language with ease, but if marketing is wrong you will start 1-0 behind. the other marketing fault is making him ten's sidekick in variety shows, this is why his fanbase never grows. all yangyang stans also love ten they have very common fandoms he needs to promote with different people, 10velys will never let yangyang shine in a show there ten is also there. yall he needs to hang out with some korean dudes outside the nct members and do some collabs, trust me is would benefit him more than those tenyang contents. everyone thinks yangyang is benefiting ten in tenyang collabs but all yangyang get is overshadowed by ten because ten has a huge fanbase. being a duo with ten was the worst thing in his career now all he gets from these, annoying shippers and a hateful fanbase who hates him because they think he is using ten's opportunities. send him in a show as mentor than watched him. my talanted boy!

5- maybe he is not the most popular in any country but he has the biggest potential for his future after wayv because he is friends with every composer, and producer, improving himself, and growing his friend circle. he is the best with these. the friends that winwin, xiaojun, or yangyang made into the industry will never benefit them in the future but having producer friends means you have secured your position. instead of being hyped for 4-5 years and then being forgotten after new idols debuted, i will always prefer people like kun who have stable careers because he will still have the same fanbase even after 10 years. this is why i think he has the best strategy in wayv and dont want quick viral moments like didi line of wayv (hendery, xiaojun, yangyang), all people know him as the member who can do 20 things.

6- ten lee.. ace of the aces. being compared to with the ten lee would be biggest achivement for those nct members yall trying to believe us they are more taleted than him lol. wayv was the biggest miastake for his career. this dude want int fame, being 2000s popstar. relasing a fully english song without thai or chinese version just proving my point. he really dgaf about these markets. he should be debuted as a soloist at the first day now we probably would compare him with the taemin but now people only calling him taemin 2.0 and it's so sad. i think he and winwin really loves wayv because both of them have better chances outside the group but they are still with them. his album is doing so good and break some records and surpassed big soloist like taeyeon, seulgi etc. in spotify numbers. the company need to already start to organize his 2nd album even before wayv album sorry not sorry.

#kun #ten lee #winwin #xiaojun #hendery #yangyang #wayv #nct

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d0zenr0zes · 4 months

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EUNJI Profile and Facts (Updated):

EUNJI (은지) is a fictional Korean-American soloist under RAINBOW Entertainment, who became well known after a video of her performing her self-written song “the weekend” went viral. She officially debuted as a soloist on Febrary 18, 2021.

Fandom Name: Roses (로즈스)

EUNJI’s Official Accounts:

Instagram: roziepozie Twitter: emroze99 YouTube: EUNJI Official ; formerly ROZE Online TikTok: eunjifr

Stage Name: EUNJI

Birth Name: Min Eunji

English Name: Emily Min

Birthday: March 6th, 1999

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rabbit

Nationality: South Korean-American

Height: 163 cm (5’4”)

Weight: – –

Blood Type: A

EUNJI Facts

She was born Dallas, Texas

She has a younger sister named Hannah who was born in 2001

First auditioned for RAINBOW while on a trip to Korea to visit her grandparents (Weekly Idol)

She is also an in-house producer for RAINBOW under the name "ROZE"

Did theater throughout her childhood where she found her passion for music and performing

She was in the original lineup for La Vie

Trained for 1 year and 5 months

Didn’t debut with La Vie because of a hip injury 4 months before debut

She is fluent in Korean and English

She started working with DAY1 as a RAINBOW producer after her injury

Her producer name “ROZE” and her fandom name “Roses” come from her grandmother’s name (Lee Young Ji No Prepare)

Credited on 128 songs including all of her own

Debuted as a soloist after a video of her performing her song “the weekend” went viral

Writes the lyrics to all of her songs herself and produces most of them on her own

Rumored to have dated fellow producer DAY1, but it has never officially been confirmed or denied, though many people say she has dropped obvious hints

She says her manager is one of her best friends

She is very close with La Vie’s Tomi and Mari since training with them

She has a cat named Binnie, but she mostly calls him by nicknames like “Boonie” or “Beebs”

She has a regular vlog series titled EmiLog that features her day-to-day activities and often some of her idol friends

Her mom introduced her to K-pop as a fan of H.O.T

She has said that she has secret accounts on different social media to follow her fans, but she has also been known to like and comment on fan posts from her official accounts

Went to the same middle school as BAM!’s Sammy

Her favorite role from theater was when she played Sophie in Mamma Mia Jr. (EmiLog #24)

She would have been the lead rapper in La Vie if she debuted with them (Summer Camp ep. 3)

How do you feel about EUNJI?

▢ I love her, she's my ultimate bias

▢ I like her, she's ok

▢ I think she's overrated

#tears on rose petals ! ₊˚ପ⊹ profile ୨୧ .#fictional kpop community #fictional kpop group #fictional kpop idol #fictional idol community #fictional idol group #fictional soloist #fake kpop idol #fake kpop group #fake kpop oc #fake kpop addition #kpop oc #oc kpop group #oc kpop idol #oc kpop soloist

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bookgeekgrrl · 6 days

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My media this week (14-20 Apr 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

nothing long! not really a lot of reading at all this week tbh

💖💖 +163K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Appetite (the_deep_magic) - The Eagle of the Ninth: Marcus/Esca, 13K - very satisfying incubus fic

Too many men on the ice (imperfectcircle) - Original Work, Hockey: Himbo Bisexual/Neurotic Gay, Himbo Bisexual/Grumpy Bisexual, endgame Himbo Bisexual/Neurotic Gay/Grumpy Bisexual, 18K - just DELIGHTFUL! Sunshine himbo hockey player meets stressed doctor - they make it work but himbo's grumpy teammate might cause some friction? Luckily polyamory is there to save them all!

The Chase (saltandbyrne) - TW: Sterek, 10K - reread, fave - fun, deliciously filthy & wonderful omegaverse chase/claim

Think I'm Finally Clean (fuck_me_barnes) - MCU: Stucky, 4.6K - reread, fave - "In which sub Bucky wishes for rougher handling by normally gentle dom Steve, and gets probably more than he bargained for."

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Beyond Paradise - s1, e1-6; s2, e0-3

Ghosts (US) - s3, e6-8

Murdoch Mysteries - s16, e8-13

QI - series S, e14; series U, e1-3

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "The Last Stand" (s21, e15)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Nighttime Ecstasy" (s16, e15)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

⭐ Worlds Beyond Number - A County Affair ep1 "CRIME-a-doodle-doo!"

⭐ Worlds Beyond Number - A County Affair ep2 "FAIRmageddon!"

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for A County Affair ep1: "CRIME-a-doodle-doo!"

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for A County Affair ep2: "FAIRmageddon!"

The Sporkful - Alyse Whitney Brings Big Dip Energy

Throughline - The Union Strike That Changed The History of Flight

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Reppin our Weird Hometown Traditions

⭐ Hit Parade - We Want It That Way Edition

WikiHole - March Madness (with Rory Scovel, Natasha Leggero and Sabrina Jalees)

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Showgirl Magic Museum

Welcome to Night Vale #246 - A Story about Him

⭐ Switched on Pop - Berlin's Hottest Club is Rico Nasty & Boys Noize

99% Invisible #578 - Anything's Pastable: Eat Sauté Love

Vibe Check - Death and Taxes

Better Offline - How A Chinese Glycine Manufacturer Went Viral ft. Louise Matsakis and Tianyu Fang

It's Been a Minute - An argument for the art of whistling

Ologies with Alie Ward - Columbidology (PIGEONS? YES) Part 1 with Rosemary Mosco

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Hot Ones And Conan O'Brien

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - How to make the best show about New York with John Wilson

Wiser Than Me - Julia Gets Wise with Ina Garten

Throughline - Ralph Nader, Consumer Crusader

Today, Explained - The great American squatter panic

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Late Night

⭐ Song Exploder - War "Low Rider"

Endless Thread - Green Memes

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Fallout And What's Making Us Happy

Short Wave - An 11-Year-old Unearthed Fossils Of The Largest Known Marine Reptile

Dear Prudence - My Wife’s Bipolar Diagnosis Is Creating A Rift in Our Marriage. Help!

⭐ Strong Songs - "Heart of Glass" by Blondie

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Judith Butler

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #12: Prisoner's Dilemma

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep12 "Prisoner's Dilemma"

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

The Monkees 50 [The Monkees] {2016}

Exzavion Powells

HARDC0RE DR3AMZ [Boys Noize & Rico Nasty] {2024}

Boys Noize

"Low Rider" [War] radio

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yssjj · 7 months

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erasing meaning from gangnam style

Since we’re an Asian-interest magazine, I’m going to assume that you know what K-pop is, if you aren’t vaguely familiar with it. Living through the 2000s has been a very exciting time for Korean identities in the mainstream. One could sense the time dependence of my identity in the US; in elementary school, I mostly interfaced with the American joke wondering if I had come from the North or South, which failed to consider that all of my grandparents had come from the North, and would never see their family or friends again due to US intervention. But by high school, my fortunes had turned around! At this point, we were being accosted in Marshalls by well-meaning parents who wanted to ask us about BTS because their daughter looooved K-pop, which raised another question: how did they know we were Korean in a primarily Chinese community?

But regardless of my personal bitterness, it’s important (to me) to consider how this happened. And it was a gradual change, to some extent, but really a large paradigm shift happened to change the visibility of the Korean identity in the US, around when I was in 6th grade. K-pop at this point had been what my other Korean friend and I watched on old YouTube during playdates for her to fangirl over, and for me to vaguely stare off into. It’s not like K-pop hadn’t had any international success, but it felt limited to the Korean-American diaspora and niche internet communities. “Gee” by Girls Generation is a song I would like to argue really first crossed the border into mainstream success, but I think that’s wishful thinking for an iconic song I happen to like (seriously, go watch it).

I don’t think it would be a controversial statement to say that “Gangnam Style'' was a really big deal. Statistically speaking, it topped iTunes charts in 31 different countries, it was the first video with a billion views, and it’s still the 11th most watched video on YouTube. But I’m sure just mentioning it brought you back to whatever you were doing while I was arguing about how stupid Harry Styles and Call of Duty were (I wasn’t a particularly critical-thinking middle schooler). Gangnam style was all over the radio, blessing my 7 a.m. rides to school in my mom’s Corolla, and I’d climb back onto my main after-school activity of the desktop computer to see the thumbnail on YouTube before clicking away and watching two very large buff men put together a mega burger made out of bacon instead.

Not that I had a global perspective of things at the time, but what was interesting about the virality of “Gangnam Style” is that it seemed to originate from completely different reasons across the US and its original target audience in Korea. I sensed this as one does through the American cultural hegemony, another middle schooler friend, who confided to me that it was great that Korea would be seen in such a positive light thanks to “Gangnam Style”. I wasn’t sure. I felt a little uneasy knowing that my cultural diplomat was PSY freaking out over a lady’s ass.

“It’s awesome,” the guy who oversaw our after-school pick-up told me.

“Did you know,” I said, pausing my round of Touhou 7 that I would bring in on a USB, “that it’s actually about capitalist critique?” I had learned this after Googling the lyrics because it felt a little rude to not know what a song in my own language meant. I wasn’t 100% sure what that meant, either, but they were words I knew went together according to Tumblr.

The entire video, really, made me a little nervous. Who was I in the eyes of others at school? PSY? Who even was he?

I didn’t really want to be associated with this goofy Korean man who wasn’t very handsome. I wanted to be taken seriously.

We can chalk this up to the nervous identity crisis and desire for acceptance of any middle schooler, but this difference in understanding “Gangnam Style” wasn’t just personal, but a symptom of cultural differences. Not just cultural differences, but a refusal to translate or understand the spectacle of Korean messaging in the US. We can look at this with post-feminist theory as well as the pervasive use of ironic justification in the 2000s-2010s.

Background history

In Korea, PSY was already known for being a runaway success, starting as an underground artist who began to produce hit after hit, starting in 2001 with the success of his first full-length album because of his non-traditional styling (compared to the extremely polished and conventionally attractive looks of K-pop groups), use of comedic lyrics, as well as vulgar lyrics criticizing Korean society. So “Gangnam Style” wasn’t a far departure from that.

The lyrics of “Gangnam Style” feature a guy who describes himself as “macho” and wants a girl who “looks quiet but parties hard when she goes to party,” or is “sexier covered up than a girl who is scantily dressed.” This narrator’s thoughts lean into the post-feminist sexism of the idea of a “girl who isn’t like other girls,” but PSY openly mocks the narrator’s preferences through the narrator’s parallel ideas on his own looks and perceived attractive features. This narrator brags that he also “can get crazy passionate” and “has bulging brains instead of bulging muscles.” While not necessarily as applicable in the Korean feminist scene during this time period, in the US this can be understood as the attempt to validate “alternative masculinities” that are not based on the traditions of physical power, but instead “intelligence” that became popular in the 2000s and 2010s.

The hook, “Oppa Gangnam style,” can be understood as the narrator calling himself a cool guy from the Gangnam district, which can be thought of as posturing that you’re from a rich, high-culture district. The classical comparison is to Beverly Hills, but you can also think of people who brag about going to Harvard, being snotty about New York City, or so on. It mocks the idea of constructed masculinity through materialistic attempts at class mobility with commercial goods (the Mercedes car) and images of lifestyle (lounging at a “beach,” going to high-end spas) by showing these as tasteless, corny, and crass. “Gangnam Style” critiques the materialistic culture of Korean youths, who aspire to come off as rich and upper class through elegance and “taste.” But PSY lampoons this through an overtly corny music video that claims that he is portraying these “elegant” people who ultimately are chasing after masculine ideals of being considered attractive and meeting women who are feminine ideals in aesthetics. These men treat women like objects because they believe that they can achieve their masculinity through materialism and class.

But how many Americans know that “Gangnam Style” is a satirical critique of Korean materialism?

At the risk of being unfair, my two examples certainly didn’t know. Most other K-pop music videos have English captions, including the videos that were released before “Gangnam Style” caused a huge growth in interest in the genre. But “Gangnam Style,” 10 years after it’s been released, still has no translations on the video itself. Which seems strange since so much of the music video is guided by the lyrics. If the lyrics are lost on the American audience, where does the international appeal come from?

International Appeal

The answer is that the themes behind the lyrics were never part of the appeal. Most of the appeal comes from the music video. T-Pain tweeted, “words cannot even describe how amazing this video is...”, which is directly linked to the skyrocketing popularity of the video as news sites began to cover it. So the virality of “Gangnam Style” in the US must be studied through the lens of pleasure removed almost completely from the lyrics. Taking the music video at face value, then, we can get a different reading using post-feminist themes of irony, the choice of objectification, masculinities, as well as the construction of the consumer through advertising and sexuality.

The positive response to “Gangnam Style” has generally been attributed to the absurdist nature of the scenes in the video, as well as the dance itself. The Washington Post claimed that “'Gangnam Style' has made an extraordinarily stupid-looking dance move suddenly cool,” ignoring the fact that the dance was chosen to look stupid in the first place.

The Sydney Morning Herald claimed that the video “makes no sense at all to most Western eyes" and it "makes you wonder if you have accidentally taken someone else's medication."

The deliberate removal of meaning from the video is reminiscent of Adorno’s concept of the culture industry. The video loses the power of “psychology” over the “structure” of the music video. The Western viewers thus avoid the confrontation of culture in the music video by brushing the visual themes aside as “meaningless.” So it becomes “uncritical fun” and viewers can thus transcend the need to even know the lyrics. There is a racial aspect to this as well—the Korean-focused message is brushed aside since it “makes no sense at all” to a Westerner. So the minority Korean message is subjugated and destroyed, made invisible by mocking the silly Asian man doing his silly dance. In this way it becomes pleasurable to an audience that may otherwise be alienated by its themes.

Another way “Gangnam Style'' is understood in the US is through sexuality, as advertisements and other video forms have already created this sexualized “set of images.” It is likened to LMFAO, probably in reference to “Sexy and I Know It” for their satire of the grandstanding of masculinity. But LMFAO creates satire through the focus on male genitalia and body humor. The comparison of “Sexy and I Know It” can be understood by “Gangnam Style'' being seen as a video about a satire on male sexuality instead of consumerism, with American viewers focusing on the nudity and Noh Hongchul’s pelvic-thrusting dance. The latter dance is actually a trademark of Noh Hongchul’s comedy acts, but the American audience doesn’t know this, and thus interprets it in the language of images they are familiar with. As Sut Jhally puts it in “Advertising, Gender and Sex: What’s Wrong with a Little Objectification?”, the viewers are informed through the “system of images'' that are present in American society, and also happen to be obsessed with “gender and sexuality.” The one English lyric in the song is “Hey, sexy lady”—which adds to this perception and leads to a later ironic reading of other scenes where women are sexualized.

So of course there is no closed captioning—PSY understands the appeal for American audiences includes taking the lyrics as nonsensical and meaningless.

Another distinctly American reading occurs for the objectification of women, notably the yoga lady image that became the icon of “Gangnam Style.” With the context of the lyrics, it’s clear that this is a direct critique of the sleazy nature that comes from commodifying women. The women present in the music video are also traditionally beautiful, with the woman who seems to be interested in PSY in the music video being an idol herself. Without the context of the lyrics that deconstruct the delusion of a romantic, classy lifestyle where women only have value from being traditionally beautiful, however, this scene is transformed into the post-feminist “irony” that Rosalind Gill talks about in her paper “Postfeminist Media Culture.” American viewers thus participate in the sexualization of these women by the constructed “silliness” of the music video. By making “Gangnam Style” absurdist and bereft of meaning, PSY’s yoga lady scene is seen as “funny” and “subversive” towards sexism, even though the original critique is on materialism and commodification.

The real absurdity is the American response to “Gangnam Style” as a force to “understand Korea” in the US by Obama, and even as a way to hail world peace by the UN.

Even Noam Chomsky was part of an MIT parody of “Gangnam Style,” partaking in “mindless fun.” I felt a little disturbed at the time that this might be the image of Korea constructed for the American mind as actual interest in the culture was swept away by the exaltation of the video as nonsensical and meaningless. As a 6th grader, this wasn’t how I framed it to myself, but the way the Western viewpoint became dominant over the original meanings of the video signaled to me that my Korean experience would become destroyed and overwritten by the white, American viewpoint. The post-feminist mindset also created a post-racial mindset where irony was used to mock other cultures, setting a white gaze in media much like the male gaze asserted by Laura Mulvey in “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” That’s why so many TV shows were able to partake in blackface (like The Office and 30 Rock, just to name a few) and take pleasure in unashamed racial violence—to the white gaze, it is funny, because the original meaning of racial violence can be stripped away.

References

Gill, Rosalind. “Postfeminist Sexual Culture.” The Routledge Companion to Media & Gender, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203066911.ch54.

Horkheimer, Max, et al. Dialectic of Enlightenment. Stanford University Press, 2020.

Jhally, Sut. “Advertising, Gender and Sex: What's Wrong with a Little Objectification?” (1989).

Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. 1999.

#laura mulvey #male gaze #gangnam style #psy #korean identity #postfeminism #etc. who cares #writing

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wumblr · 4 months

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A self-deprecating meme popularized by unemployed youth took on a new political salience when censors took it as a threat to stability. A cohort of the overeducated and under-employed found consolation in a 1918 short story by Lu Xun titled “Kong Yiji,” about an impoverished scholar who is the object of local ridicule. Some began writing modern day “Kong Yiji literature,” lighthearted fare bemoaning their job prospects. The meme circulated widely and without incident until the Communist Party Youth League and CCTV published broadsides against the viral term instructing youth to exchange their “scholar’s gowns” for laborers’ “short tunics.” These insensitive pieces were met with widespread disgust, and inspired one parodic singer-songwriter known by his online name “Guishange” to write an anthem for the literature titled, “Sunny Side Kong Yiji.” With lyrics like “when I have the nerve to ‘maliciously’ ask for my pay, the cops drag my hungry ass away,” and “why’s it so easy for the elites to trample on our dignity?” the song marked a decidedly darker turn in the Kong Yiji meme. It earned millions of listens in just days but then was taken down by censors. “Guishange” had his account suspended, threatening his livelihood and causing him to ask: “They’ve forced me into a dead end, and for what? Just because I told the truth?”

#SoundCloud

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joy2paris · 7 months

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Paris To Do List!

Clubs:

- l’arc paris (jorja and burna went) - can’t go if you’re short apparently

- silencio 2nd (kaytranada did a set)

- pamela - disco. not as picky with who they let in but go on a thursday as more relaxed

- carmen

- wanderlust

- aquarium de paris cinéaqua

- la machine du moulin rouge

- JAZZ - caveau de la huchette (€10 entry)

- humeur exotique club

- raspoutine

- madeline

- bridge

- supersonic (indie vibes)

- the pop up (bar and concert venue with a free jazz night every tues by gare de lyon)

- SOULECTION NIGHT!!!

- palais de tokyo (izzybozzy did a set there)

- Pachamama (latin american bougie) also mainstream, cash only but bouncers can be weird

Bars:

- le tres particulier 18th

- la pelle

- saint gervais

- le progrès

- bar griffon

- no entry - speakeasy in the basement

- lavomatic

- le syndicat (on same studio road)

- chez prune: next to canal st martin (11/10 from nimue)

- la cidrerie du canal

- the cork and cavern (have pub quizzes every tuesday)

- le nouvel institut (fun student bar 5e and open till late)

- l’orée du parc (5e and recommends any of the spritz)

- au clair du lune (nice cocktail bar with happy hour)

- le balto (6e, great happy hour and vibes, right by christine cinema)

- ruprances - in le marie, lots of young people (louis)

- la perle

- la flèche d’or (kaytranada inspired night)

- Le pavillon des canaux - old house that has been turned into a bar/working space

- la cafe d’église near 10e

- sky drinks thing (vanessa)

- fanzone - place de la concorde. rugby match

Restaurants:

- Benedict - eggs (4e)

- big mama

- bistrot victoires

- kintaro opéra

- chez janou

- le bonaparte

- Jah Jah Paris

- Zinga

- super smash burgers paris

- pho tai - 13 rue philibert lucot 75013

- big black cook

- passage à niveau

- le petit bouillon pharamond (1e)‼️

- le jardin du petit palais

- walyfey

- cook n saj

- flottes

- candide in belleville

- Shana/shosh (2e)

- Chateau voltaire

- mouffetard saigon - most incredible food nimue has ever had in paris

- amagat

- chambre noire studio

- gros bao - amazing chinese/pan asian restaurant next to canal

- bouillon pigalle/république - best cheap french restaurant. good for cheap birthday meal: €15 for starter, main, glass of wine or alternatively their 3 litre bottle of wine to share

Cafes/Food spaces:

- le mazarin

- le mansart

- le très particulier

- chez meunier

- café saint honoré

- SAFE (sunday, work space) near Amar

- espeletia

- 45 rue olivier de serres 75015 paris

- carré pain de mie

- cafe bogata

- a fole

- le carre voltaire

- KITH

- carette, place du trocadéro (viral place w hot chocs)

- belleville market

- arabica coffee at beau passage courtyard

- oliera paris

- sonny’s pizza

- galerie paradis

- recto verso

- benchy

- café berry

- the coffee

- bar principal

- brasserie martin

- onii-san

- cafe charlot

- poilane bakery

- asian/japanese next to opera

- rue santan - known for asian food

- mouffetard - best road in all of paris: right by sorbonne/pantheon/ENS. filled with cheap takeaway places and cute bars

- Le Cèdre - great falafel wrap

- chez nicos - best crepes. good for a night out and open until 3

- trantranzai - yummy noodle chain, one right by pantheon

- nomas tacos - 2ere

- bobs bake shop - 18ere, english speaking

- bonjour jacob

- 207 rue du faubourg

- dumbo paris

- gramme (11e)

- Princess cafe (10e)

- boulangerie de quatre

- le pain retrouve

Cafes to work in:

- cafe husby

- cafe nuage

- l’anti-cafe

- maison fleuret

- SAFE

Shops

- la marelle 2nd - go upstairs

- come on eileen

- Nuovo (quite middle aged vibes)

- villa cœur

- bobbv

- acid violette

- merci

- at dawn

- relique

- louise gift shop

- puces de vanves

- puces de montreuil

- ^ best flea markets in my friend who has recommended me this’s life: enormous and so cheap and better than the central paris ones)

- life drawing in montmartre (class every sunday in a cafe, spenny but lovely vibes, coffee after, discussion, v social. go w a friend and then go to au claire de lune after)

- OFR Paris - magazine shop (3e)

- 8 cité d’antin 75009 paris

- bouliner les halles -

- freepstar

- la pharmacie des âmes - book store

- yvon lambert

Museums/Galleries:

- palais galliera 16th

- mad paris

- sis rue du pas de la mule july

- lacrapule

- 59 rivoli

- fondation h (closed sun, mon)

- YSL museum

- louvre

- tokyo palace

- LV foundation

- rodin museum

- musée de l’orangerie

- pino

- galerie angalia paris 3 - congolaise

- musée de quai branley

- albercon museum and gardens

- south side of siene - shakespeare book company english language

- abbey book store

- perrotin

- pompidou

- Galeries La Fayette

- Bourse de commerce - Pinault collection

Neighbourhoods:

- le sentier - beautiful passages

- montmartre

- the latin quartier

- place des vosges - marais

- PARK - parc de buttes chaumont (best park in all of paris, go at sunset with some beers)

- 9th - good vibes (louis)

- 18th, 6th, 7th nice

- 16th and 8th to avoid

- giverny (monets gardens)

- jardin lazare-rachline

- montparnasse cemetery - rue Daguerre nearby

- canal st martin + chez prune drink

- montparnasse for drinks

- sénat - palais du Luxembourg

- Place where you can see people dancing

Cinemas:

- @moviesinparis

- UGC les halles

- MK2

- christine cinema (6e, show lord of old english language films, do student discussions too)

- the filmothèque (best cinema in 5e, showing old 35mm films)

- la librarie du cinéma du panthéon

- la cinémathèque française - museum dedicated to history of cinema, masterclasses, special screenings

- le forum des images - debates, master classes, exhibitions related to cinemas

- l’arlequin- special screenings and cinema club

- cinema en plein air de l’hôtel paradiso screenings on the rooftop

- On rue Champollion - queue outside cinemas for tickets - you won’t be assigned a seat

- Le reflet Medicis

- La filmothèque (€5 tickets) - shows lots of older films

- Le champ - best programming - usually does all nighters

- Le grand action - shows new releases and English films in a cool cinema

- Lost in Frenchlation - works with cinemas around the city to put on French films with English subtitles! Reccommended at sorbonne nouvelle so lots of students go to meet people

- L’épée de bois

Other:

- BNF - national library and €15 for national student pass. access to all their reading rooms. lovely cafe

- eiffel tower

- 21st JUNE la fête de la music

- Arts et mètiers

- saint german des près

- JAZZ FESTIVAL

- sacré cœur

- banlieue blues

- la villette jazz festival

- le popup du label

- le compte “movies in paris” on IG

- @miaousb

- @bishopnast

- @vsaulz

- @monsieurbonheur

- Pigale (la fete)

- châtelet

- 99 ginger Bercy

- poissonière

- colonel fabien

- billard nation

- bi urban pop play game @mr.glo_ tiktok

- picnic by eiffel at port du belli (mia in france)

- bateaux mouches (1hr seine cruise, €15)

- disney land

- petit palais

- père lachaise

- journée de patrimoine

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universe-4 · 2 years

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─ birth name: kim eunwoo (김은우)

─ stage name: eunwoo (은우)

─ gender: male

─ zodiac sign: taurus

─ birth date: april 29, 1998 in seoul, south korea

─ nationality: korean

─ height: 5'10" (177 cm)

─ blood type: o

─ face claim: kino (pentagon)

─ voice claim: joshua (seventeen)

─ groups: CORE4, UNIVERSE-4

─ positions: main male vocalist (of CORE4), vocal captain, lead dancer, visual, writer, face of the group

─ entertainment label: stellar entertainment (2011-2019) / p nation (2019-2022) / sm entertainment (2022-PRESENT)

─ former television series: kingdom: legendary war (2021) / the secret diaries (2022)

─ languages: korean (advanced) / english (advanced) / spanish (moderate) / japanese (moderate) / mandarin chinese (beginner)

EUNWOO trained for a total of 8 years, he began his trainee journey in 2011 & has the longest training period in CORE4.

all of CORE4 are multilingual, but he tops the members by being fluent in almost four languages and is currently learning a fifth. his native language is korean, but it was also tradition amongst his siblings to learn english.

he’s known SAKURA the longest, they met in 2012 when she joined STELLAR ENTERTAINMENT because she could speak very little korean at the time but was fluent in english with a thick foreign accent that was difficult to translate.

in episode 3 of CORE4’s docu-series, "the secret diaries" (air date: february 14, 2022) EUNWOO publicly came out as bisexual; he also admitted that his parents no longer support him, and that both of his sisters are all he has left besides his members’ families.

EUNWOO is related to LOTTIE KIM of BTS, this was revealed in 2022 during CORE4’s docu-series titled "the secret diaries" and was kept from the public for quite some time due to EUNWOO being a rookie. EUNWOO is the youngest out of three siblings: LOTTIE is the middle child and they have an older sister.

EUNWOO was in a private relationship with SEONGHWA from ATEEZ for nearly a year.

he wanted to become a trainee because of LOTTIE, she is his biggest inspiration. when they were kids, they would sing together out in public and that’s how they got scouted by different agencies.

EUNWOO is known to be the mood maker of CORE4, he often goes viral for his mischievous behavior and amusing antics.

his representative animal is a lion.

because SAKURA has a very thick accent when speaking english, EUNWOO sometimes translates her phrases that some may not understand due to language barriers.

his favorite artists are SHINEE and EXO.

he enjoys exercising & working out, he always tries to get his members to join him.

on december 16, 2021, EUNWOO made his debut as a soloist with the chart-topping LP album, "CLOSURE," that included 13 tracks that dip into the genres of pop, r&b, and soul. the album is about exploring his identity, friendship, forbidden love, and his shattered relationship with his family.

#deluxeocnet #universe4 ::: general #universe4 ::: members #universe4 ::: eunwoo #core4 ::: general #core4 ::: members #core4 ::: eunwoo #fictional idol community

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brostateexam · 1 year

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The administration’s contradictory approach to TikTok — its embrace of the app as a vital conduit to the public, and its fear of the app as a potential tool of foreign influence — is perhaps a fitting response to the utterly unique problem that TikTok poses. Seemingly overnight, TikTok has managed to remake American culture both low and high, from media and music to memes and celebrity, in its own image. TikTok turned Olivia Rodrigo into a household name and propelled the author Colleen Hoover to the top of the best-seller list, with more copies sold this year than the Bible. TikTok coined “quiet quitting,” one of the hallmark phrases of 2022, and introduced a whole new dialect of algospeak — “seggs,” “unalive,” “le dollar bean” — that is now spreading across pop culture. Corporations and brands, from Goldfish crackers to Prada, have redirected billions of dollars worth of advertising to the platform in recognition of its all-encompassing reach, which can, at seemingly any moment, turn even a decades-old product into a must-have item. Last year, TikTok had more site visits than Google, and more watch minutes in the United States than YouTube. Facebook took almost nine years to reach one billion users; TikTok did it in five.

The app’s extraordinary success is made even more remarkable by the fact that it is a product of America’s greatest geopolitical rival. Despite decades of trying, no Chinese company has ever conquered American society like TikTok. It’s difficult to imagine a Russian or Iranian company — or, increasingly, even another Chinese company — pulling off a similar feat. TikTok’s provenance has stoked persistent and longstanding worries about its vulnerability to exploitation and manipulation by the Chinese government. Over the last year in particular, TikTok has faced an unceasing stream of bad press, with each week seeming to bring a fresh revelation about the company’s questionable data practices and spotty internal safeguards. In just the last six months, TikTok and ByteDance have been accused of lying about the access of China-based employees to American user data, using a news app to push pro-Beijing content abroad and allowing Chinese state media accounts to run unchecked and unlabeled as they criticized the American political process.

If TikTok’s popularity has thus far provided it some insulation against government action, the app’s time may be running out. In November, Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the F.C.C., said it should be banned outright. Senator Mark Warner, co-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said of a ban, “The sooner we bite the bullet, the better.” Christopher Wray, director of the F.B.I., told Congress he was “extremely concerned” about TikTok’s operations in the United States. Earlier this month, Senator Marco Rubio introduced legislation that would effectively prevent TikTok from operating in the United States by banning all apps “subject to substantial influence” by China, Russia and other foreign adversaries.

#long reads #you should delete tiktok btw #not for these reasons but you should absolutely delete tiktok

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zizz-asdf-re-r-o-u · 2 years

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Chaotic reactions why I really frickin like “Zachary Ying & the Dragon Emperor” so far in the first 10 chapters:

- Humanizes a Chinese ethnic minority. Also disapora issues that I found relatable being a Chinese American. - Chinese history! Including historical figures & mythology that is not taught in the US. - Proudly age-appropriate political criticism of BOTH US and China (and European colonizers). Xiran Jay Zhao- never let yourself get censored! Ever! I personally think everything mentioned is totally fine for middle schoolers to find out about. The younger the age that kids know their country’s dirty history, the better. - I frickin LOVE the banter. And the world building has been very easy to pick up on. - So many video game references i LOVE it. “Ready Player One”, move aside. - It makes a big difference, but I like third person POV narration significantly more than 1st person. - I love me some Percy Jackson, but most of my problems with it… literally squashed within these first 10 chapters of Zachary Ying (see below cut).

Spoilers!

-Surprise age appropriate queer rep! Zack clearly likes boys and he doesn’t know it yet (in the first 10 chapters). And its not a 1 line sentence type thing- oh no its everywhere in the subtext so much that you’d be blind to not realize it. One thing white writers, even queer writers, forget is that a queer BIPOC person is not gonna experience queerness the same way- any stigma against their cultural background & physical appearance is irreplaceable in their experience. -Speaking of which, I am very very very happy that Xiran does not market any possible queerness the same way as Iron Widow. I think this should be one of those series that are casual rep. - Also even if you’re not Chinese, I feel like queer kids could realize “hang on. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with me and these ‘different’ feelings i had as a kid are not bad.” -Melissa is feminine power?!? No “not like other girls” and can still kick ass. -I like Wu Zetian in Zachary Ying more than in Iron Widow. -Nice way of sneaking in history lessons- between bantery conversations, Mythrealm “cards” (ie Pokemon/Yugioh cards), and dreams/flashbacks/visions. That one card that was like “Americans stole these horses. BRING THEM BACK TO CHINA.” A+ chefs kiss.

Ok now my problems with Percy Jackson that this book does better in the first 10 chapters: - Diversity! But like well-rounded and researched diversity thats also seems to be based on personal experiences, rather than checkbox diversity. It also addresses stereotypes. Some of which I can relate to myself. - Unsupervisored 12year olds running around: They kind of have a brainwashed adult chaperone. Kind of. They still do dangerous magic things that no 12yearolds should be doing, Chinese or western lol. - Mist inconsistency: instead it’s a active spray of soup that erases people’s memories. I like Harry Potter’s version of muggle view blinding best though. I can see this soup becoming a bit of an issue if they ever run out. Who makes the soup anyways? -Cell phones & tech: Part of the premise is that there’s tech eeeverywhere and I’m always worried about a writer not being able to balance hiding supernatural stuff amidst tons of surveillance. PJO doesn’t make sense bc somehow the kids are able to keep up with pop culture, even the ones that live year round a camp with no technology that we see. Due to the video game premise, ZY is full of it and it balances it well so far. I’m awaiting for a truly chaotic event that goes viral/problematic on the internet tho xD Also THANK YOU for introducing non-US internet! - Pop culture references: Riordan’s references were reeeally cringey, especially in Trials of Apollo. I like the references here, even though I’m sure they’ll be outdated in 10 years. (Unless ATLA references manage to stick around!) - “Being different.” Ok Zack and Percy have very different personalities. Some people may like Percy’s personality. I kind of like Zack’s approach to “being different” bc he’s more subtle about it- Zack’s internal “I’m different” thoughts are not in your face. It’s more assimilation, although I can predict that by the end of his character arc, he’s gonna accept his differences. (And I like it better than Iron Widow’s “I’M DIFFERENT!!!” thing). - The historical/supernatural beings are not good: The gods in PJO start out being black&white good and bad, and we don’t start seeing the bad sides to the “good” gods until later. Here, we get the “that historical figure possessing you is terrible” right away in the first 10 chapters. - We all know Riordan’s various plotholes- heck he literally admitted to it publicly: There’s only 1 Zachary Ying book so far, but the world building seems consistent and like it makes sense. Xiran’s still a newly published writer tho, and hopefully they don’t accidentally retcon/make plotholes in sequels. - Multiple cultures/pantheons co-existing: MCGA & Trials of Apollo kinda made things muddy. However, Xiran addresses multiple pantheons early on in a way that is culturally sensitive. - The gods & DNA: OH BOY. I’m just bring this up cause none of the mortal human main characters are biologically related so if any romances happen, not gonna run into that weird “Gods dont got DNA” problem lol. I do look forward to see if any slowburn romances happen eventually. - Prose: This is only a personal preference. Original PJO was written in first person so everything sounded like a childish 12-15 year old boy because he is a child. Zack is in 3rd person and that allows the prose to be eloquent, even for a 12yo. It’ll be enjoyable for a teen/young adult/adult to read. I’m not sure a really young kid would be able to read it, but if a really young kid can read Harry Potter, they’ll be more than fine with this.

My favorite use of historical figures in modern day fiction is still Secrets of Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. But I still find this enjoy and look forward to finish Zachary Ying and

#zachary ying and the dragon emperor #zachary ying #xiran jay zhao #personal #book #review #reactions

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vermillioncrown · 1 year

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Oh my I didn’t know ‘Chinese Viral Pop’ as genre…. What type of songs are there???? 👀

bruh i don't even know haha

prob my #nineone binge in sept

or stuff i listen to at the chinese skewer shop [x] <- link for the curious

#there was one song that was on Spotify for a bit and then got removed #江辰 - 无感 (jiang chen - wu gan)#and that one is i think...500+ times if you count spotify&winamp&listenonrepeat #and this other one from a douyin??#inquiry #anonymous #verm is listening...#ok ok upon further inspection it's my skewer shop stuff lol #2022 feels so long and so short. been through a lot #some of my music feels like from ages ago

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synergysilhouette · 1 year

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Continuing on with my Choices ideas for books from my banned Reddit account, here is "Four":

The fourth album curse is starting to weigh on your shoulders. By the time an artist releases their fourth album, it's believed that they're no longer popular, no longer a commercial success--of course, there have been exceptions. Do you have what it takes to be one?

Gameplay: your choices matter. Being a household name in the world of music, you'll decide whether to stick with the genre you love (pop, rock, hip-hop, or country), or if you want to experiment with a new sound. Along with this, your decisions will decide how your public views you, and if it tracks with your musical style. Are you into flashy, costume-changing performances, rhythmic dance routines, or intimate vocal performances?

LIs:

Dawn Diaz--a pop and R&B singer known for her phenomenal voice and having released 7 #1 albums ever since she began her career ten years ago. Over the years, she's become a master of the media, altering her image to supoort her music and shock her audience while remaining tasteful. When you collaborated on her hit single last year, she volunteers to collaborate with you on your new album. Her diverse style may be just what you need. (Argentinean-American, usually wears stylish designer clothing--unless she's anywear where there are normal people. Get ready for sweatshirts and jeans!)

Antonio Sousa--a former Olympian and your bodyguard. You met him at one of the ceremonies when he was competing in karate, and you hit it off immediately! He's protective ith you but understands the price of fame you have to pay, allowing you to grow from success and failure. You mean the world to him, and since he puts family at the forefront of everything he does, he helps you gain perspective on a possibly intimate fourth album. But are you ready to take the pain that comes with how personal it can get? (Brazilian, usually wears suits, but can be found in a sleeves shirt and jeans if you catch him on an off-day.)

Mursi Bono/Mercy--a rapper and former girl group star. After she embarked on a solo career, her first album went viral two years after it's release, leading to her record-breaking second album! Can you help her keep the momentum going with her third album? She usually only writes with a select group of people, but her manager suggests your creativity is perfect for the visual album she's planning. (African-American, employs an emphasis on blue, pink, and purple for her out of this world wardrobe.)

Nathan Wrighter/Bright Boy--dubbed as "punk's airhead" for his soft-rock albums that employed a sense of nostalgia and naivete, he's one of the chillest people you've ever met, at least off-stage--when he's under the spotlight, his dancing and outfits are loud and show-stopping. His likeability and professional attitude is inspirational for you, wanting to remain kind and assertive at the same time. When you get to meet your hero, what advice will he give about defying expectations and redefining yourself? (Caucasian, leather and colorful clothing, secure masculinity in anything he wears.)

Rhiannon Lou--a renound songwriter known for her immaculate skill. But she's also known for her little patience; if she feels like your collaboration won't go anywhere, she'll stop and she won't mince words. However, she's not unkind, just direct, and you'll find that she's quite different when she's out of the studio, embracing a minimalist viewpoint that combats her maximalist cowriters. Her impulsive perspective may challenge the cohesiveness of your album, but perhaps you need to start from scratch. (Chinese, casual clothing that embraces an almost childish aesthetic.)

Darius King--an actor who you costarred with for a blockbuster animated film, he approaches you for a musical role opposite one of the most famous opera singers in the world, someone you grew up listening to a lot in your household. Your musical training (and acting skills) is about to be tested when you take the role, but it gives you more time to spend with your idols, and makes you think that maybe acting is a career you should pursue as a break from music. (Afro-French, classy and high-end fashion that is nothing short of regal.)

#choices #choices stories we play #choices app #pixelberry studios #play choices #choices stories you play

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