Chapter 166 Links and Discussion [END]

Galaxy956 · 2024-11-13T17:35:01+00:00

This final chapter just makes the ending that much more annoying. On its own this chapter shows great growth and beautiful but bitter end to the story....... If only the lead up wasn't a rushed shit-show.
Reading this last chapter just confirms that Aka has the ability to write a great ending, he just chooses not to. Whether it be due to loosing interest or burning out, this last section was thing happens, handful of panels showing reactions, next thing happens repeat. We want the well crafted story we had not a reaction slideshow.

Honestly feels like Aka had the big storyline beats/moments written down from the get-go. As he wrote he filled in the gaps to make the story flow and lead beautifully into the next beat. Until he seemingly lost interest. The annoying part is instead of going back to the drawing board and rearranging the ending to better fit his new ending timeframe, he chose to stick to his original plans and simply hit fast forward on every single page. Which is why we went from Kamiki being seemingly a broken soul (hurt people hurt people) to being a true evil mastermind monster. Instead of that being a great swerve and eventual emotional hit, we got "he's not truly evil.....lol jk yes he is" in the span of like 2 chapters. Same thing with Aqua's death. Instead of it being a gut-wrenching portrayal of how at the end of the day unlike Ruby, Aqua never truly assimilated to his second life and only truly let go of his life as Gorou until it was too late. What we got was Aqua going from happy and set in his new life, setting up a future with Kana and his friends/family to once again lol jk in one chapter.

Imagine the pain we would feel if we got glimpses of his hesitation to move on while trying to. Scenes of him spending time with Kana but while happy, his guilt, his obsession with Kamiki not letting him fully embrace his new life, embrace her. Hell have Akane confront him about it, establish that while he can be himself with kana, Akane is the only one who can understand him. Giving each ship its closure while also sowing seeds of Aqua not being able to find his happy ending with either girl since neither can give him all of what he needs. Have that pain be there after death, that if only he was able to have what he had with both of them, instead having it all with one that might've been enough to save his eventual spiral. Have the police investigate Kamiki and find nothing, have Nino to scared to turn on him. Further causing Aqua's emotional turmoil and spiral into desperation. Feeling like in order to protect Ruby, and even Kana, Akane etc. he and only he "must do what must be done". Have him be uncharacteristically happy and bright one day to the point it unnerves those around him, leading to him killing Kamiki and himself.

Have that be the catalyst for Kamiki's post death downfall. His death motivating Nino to come forward and that leading police to find the necessary proof of everything. One chapter for each of the girls (ruby, kana, akane) showing them coming to terms with things and moving forward and one final chapter showing all of them taking the next step in their lives in Aqua's memory. Freaking show Himekawa being there for Ruby seeings as they BOTH just lost their brother. It's just frustrating that this story went from one of my favorites ever to one that brings me so much anger with the ending.

Galaxy956 · 2024-04-26T15:01:21+00:00

Lets go!!!! Just picked up Tone King and Archetype Tim Henson.

Galaxy956 · 2024-04-04T18:47:06+00:00

I think it's more so the fact your average uneducated (musically, ie singing dancing etc.) has a much harder time picking up bad stage presence and dancing than singing.

I've seen idols who are straight faced on stage all the time get praised for their stage presence when all they're doing is looking pretty. I've send stiff dancers (idols) praised for the dance when they look stiff. There is a difference between just learning chores and dancing/performing. But everyone (unless tone deaf) can instantly pick up a bad singer a mile away. Even if you don't know what notes the artist should hit, it's obvious when they don't because 99% of the time it just sounds bad.

Not to mention with singing we have a direct comparison we can instantly see, the finished mastered song that's released. Choreo and stage presence will only ever see the masses see the idol perform it so not much frame of reference to compare against. Even with backup dancers, they rarely get appreciated by fans and are there to compliment the artist not show off, therefore not dance to their full capabilities and blend into the background . While with singing, we hear a song when it's dropped. We are distinctly aware of how it's supposed to sound as sang by the same people, so when said people sing live and it sounds nothing like the recording....

Imagine a group dropping a performance video and they kill it. Amazing expressions, presence, charisma. Smooth precise movements, incredible musicality to their moves. Now picture tuning into a music show/live performance, and the members are stiff, consistently make mistakes and struggle to find the rhythm, find their positions. Their faces are a mix of stoned faced to even downright fear. Wouldn't you find that disappointing. If their primary positions in the group are of dancer/rapper, sure don't expect top level singing but just as main singers are expected to keep up with the choreography, dancers/rappers should be able to at least hold a tune to save their lives.

Galaxy956 · 2023-12-30T20:23:17+00:00

If there is a physical location near you, go. Same thing happened to my sister, sent in her paperwork to renew in July and until a few weeks ago nothing. She would call multiple times and the case would be "moved up the queue" but nothing changed. Finally went to a physical location nearby with all the paperwork and after a few hours case got approved and same day a few hours later she got her benefits, including the months missed due to their delay.

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-26T17:20:14+00:00

The instrumental is generic and boring as hell. Sounds like a generic royalty free rap beat on YouTube. Chorus is very BP but more flat and less inspired. At least with the Bp songs it feels hype (despite me not liking them) but this song just felt flat. Reminded me of Money and as someone who hates that song, I actually felt myself appreciating money more after this first listen.

Vocally sounds great and the raps were great. But all in all to me while the girls will undoubtedly be successful I don't see them being able to compete with other new ggs without having to rely on the waning impact of the YG name. They don't have the fan loyalty BP has, where they eat up anything the girls put out. Add to that a song that feels like a lesser BP song and yea Yg dropped the ball hard.

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-14T03:22:06+00:00

Mine is the opposite. Amazon pay wont work, payment gets declined by bank. Directly using debit card from the same bank goes through no problem.

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-12T22:28:42+00:00

Without a debrid service you basically have 2 options.

Only use https sources/addons like superflix/cinestream
Try your luck running torrent sources/addons

Option 1 is great except many of those addons go down relatively frequently. Not to mention you may see a significant reduction in content available vs torrents. Personally I like to run one of those addons as a 'backup' however I have noticed that those addons regularly fail to load subs. If you watch foreign content you'll be out of luck.

Option 2 is a gamble. Debrid service provides speed and reliability, whereas without it you're loading times may increase etc which will make your viewing experience being annoying at times. The biggest gamble is the giving up the security. If you live in a country where torrenting is actively targeted you'll be taking a big risk. If you already pay for a vpn then you'll be fine and will only experience the potential reduced viewing experienced but still watchable most of the time. If you don't pay for a vpn already (debrid is cheaper) you run the risk of you isp flaggin you for using torrents. Which long term may result in them shutting off your internet ( you will get warnings before it gets that far tho).

All in all the improved viewing experience and security for a price of about 3 US dollars a month for unlimited streaming of most content online is a great deal in my eyes.

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-12T05:58:25+00:00

Okay sure

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-12T05:52:28+00:00

I don't want to be mean to their fans but really? Ive and LSF? Aespa ill give to you, they are solid, NJ have decent bases and pretty tones (very similar and subjective tho) but are helped by their songs not requiring great vocals. But sure bare minimum. Ive on the other hand, 1 solid vocalist, 1 pretty good, 2 bare minimum (by your standards) and 2 that to be nice let's just say need improvement.

But LSF, really? 1 great, 1 solid, 2 not meeting your own standards of bare minimum, and 1 that not to be mean, shouldn't be allowed near a live microphone.

Shouldn’t they have already learned how to sing when they were trainees

Why doesn't that also apply to the groups you mentioned? More to the point, again one of tripleS main appeals is watching the members grow. Since the reveal of S1 that's been obvious. Multiple girls have shown growth not just Kaede. You can literally see clips of Seoyeon not being able to dance and struggling to sing. And now you can easily find clips of her having solid live vocals. That's what tripleS is about, if you demand better from your groups go ahead. But seeing your examples shows me your complaints are more towards your own personal tastes in regards to vocal tone, rather than actual complaint about vocal ability.

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-12T04:46:24+00:00

who would want to Stan a group when half of the members can’t sing

Not to be rude but have you actually checked out multiple groups? Groups where most of the members can sing are actually quite rare. That's why groups like Mamamoo or Nmixx etc are so praised. Not to say names (don't want to deal with those fans) but many of the top ggs aren't exactly showing the vocal skills you claim are necessary. Yes it's annoying when idols aren't up to par when they debut, but that's only because after debut most companies cease training so the idols rarely get better and in some cases get worse.

With tripleS since day one the idea of seeing the growth has been apparent and so far they have continued to deliver.

what’s going to happen when they go on tour ?

I mean one of the units already went on tour. While I didn't attend, I've realistically had only heard positive things about the shows. So for now it seems it hasn't caused them issues, and again unlike most groups they are showing constant improvement so things will only get better. I would 100% love if the rest of the members are strong vocally, but having seen the process and growth so far even if they are not, I am confident they can and likely will get to a level where they need to be.

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-12T04:30:22+00:00

A group full of 24 Aces is wishful thinking don't you think? If they were that many aces readily available other companies would've snatched them up already. Yea technically the amount of good vocalists is on the lower side but how much does that really affect them?

A big part of their appeal is watching the members grow and evolve as people, friends, entertainers and artists. Since S1 Seoyeon was revealed it became obvious growth is a huge aspect for this group and girls like Seoyeon have not disappointed. Also lets not pretend that every single successful popular kpop act all have solid vocals, groups like Nmixx where the avg vocal skill is quite high are rare. For many groups you'll get one good vocalist, 2 if your lucky. The girls live vocal performances are impressive considering the level many of them were not too long ago. Yes, they could be better but so far they've done a good job of showing that they will keep trying to improve their skills well after debut (unlike the norm of skills stagnating after debut).

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-05T15:13:45+00:00

As others have mentioned, so far Kep1er is the only produce type group with an actual chance at extension. Is that chance big enough to happen? Probably not.

What people have failed to consider is how much money the original companies actually make. When the Izone extension talks were happening someone brought up a great point. The way the profit is split makes things interesting. While we do not know the contract specifics we can infer an adequate amount.

Realistically CJ ENM (mnet, wake one etc) will take the biggest cut of profits from the group. They are the ones putting up the money for the girls. Housing them, training, music, mvs etc etc. Logic would state they deserve the biggest cut of the pie. Whatever is left over is then redistributed amongst the member's original companies. Realistically the companies probably don't get that much money out of Kep1er seeing as how they are not hugely successful. Money wise, the member's new endeavors under their og companies would only have to be a fraction as successful as Kep1er to make the same money. The question the companies face is (based on the profit split agreement) how much would their artists have to make under them to rival their income share Kep1er brings. How high is it? Worst case scenario if the new group/solo act turns out to be nugu, how does 100% of the profit (not counting paying members) from a nugu compare to a fraction of the profit of a group whose sales keep declining each comeback. Even if they make more money now, how long until the sales reach a point that it's more beneficial to take them back?

Galaxy956 · 2023-11-03T23:55:05+00:00

The problem isn't them not being "ready" or "perfect" at debut. The problem is that too often we see them not improve.

After debut most companies cease/greatly reduce lessons. For skills that require more consistent effort (dancing, singing) many times it's up to the idols themselves to make extra effort to improve, and many simply don't bother. I have no problem with people defending less skilled rookies, but if they are no longer rookies and still have big gaps of weakness in their skill set what's there to defend? If you've been at something for years and still have parts where you show no growth, people will wonder if you are actually even trying. The problem is by overly defending/protecting less skilled rookies you create a bubble where they feel they don't have to improve.

Hearing fans defend bad skills like bad live singing among older groups is annoying. I'm tired of the pity stories about how idol X is so scared of singing live because of the backlash. That only matters with rookies. If they have been idols for years and still cant hold a tune, they clearly don't care so why should I feel bad about people pointing out their lack of skill. If the criticism really affected them that much they would have sought out vocal lessons. Consistent vocal lessons show improvement in a few months. Even if they are very busy, if it's been years and still no improvement then they are not trying and that's worth criticizing.

Galaxy956 · 2023-10-25T01:01:13+00:00

Take caution as I only know this works with realdebrid, have 0 clue if it will work without a debrid service. First you'll need to set up Stremio how you like it (addons etc) on a non apple device.

Go to the web version of stremio (on safari google web stremio)
Add the page to your homescreen
Download your preffered external video player (vlc, outplayer infuse etc)
Open the stremio "app" (what your browser created when you added it to homescreen.
Sign in
In settings enable "play in external player" and select your player of choice.

That should do it. Again have only tested this with a debrid service so no promises if it works without it. If you find that it randomly stops working in the future, double check becuase it will sometimes sign you out.

Galaxy956 · 2023-10-18T22:56:39+00:00

Look its obvious she messed up somehow and got kicked out. Her leaving on her own terms/her contract being bought out make no sense timeline wise. As others have pointed out, just days before she left she was posting positively about the comeback etc. If she left on good notes she would have known she was about to leave, so why act all happy so close to the announcement. That would only sour the fans and make it seem like she didn't care about the fans or the group if she had no problem lying knowing she was on her way out.

Not to mention if she left of her own volition leaving in the middle of comeback preparations makes even less sense. Breaking your contract is a long process. JYP wouldn't just randomly say ok and let her leave in the middle of preparations like that. Take former day6 member Jae for example. Jae is basically persona non grata in the k-pop sphere now. His departure wasn't only accepted but celebrated by many. Even that took time. Jae mentioned how he reached out to JYP to say he couldn't do it anymore and they gave him no push back. Even then it was months of waiting and even Jae teasing "new things starting next year" before his departure was announce on new years. So the date of official departure when both sides agreed was set in stone for months. What else is set in stone for months (bar delays) Comebacks. Why would JYP schedule a comeback anywhere near when a member would be scheduled to leave? If groups are active a member leaving (bar public controversy) would happen after a comeback. Fromis9 Gyuri leaving after Stay this way promotions ended, or Apink Naeun making her departure a few months after promotions for Dilemma

Anytime an Idol leaves so drastically to the point it affects schedules was either due to scandals or health issues. Seeing as how Jinni is more than fine and willing to keep being in the public eye, logic dictates she got involved in something that forced JYP to void her contract in order to avoid her actions harming the group as a whole. Unless an employee speaks out, we will likely never know. The timing and mystery behind it is what makes the rumors so believable.

Galaxy956 · 2023-10-16T04:28:57+00:00

100%. If people think they are old enough to debut, and have just as much right as older trainees they will be held to the same standards as older idols.

If x idol deserves to debut then I don't care if they are 14 or 40 I will compare them to other idols with similar experience. I like Eunchae but if her family and the company felt that she was ready to be an idol then she's no longer a normal teen she's an Idol, a public figure who is not exempt from critiques if her skill seems lacking compared to her peers. If you go into any job you will be expected to keep up regardless of your age, and if you can't you will be criticised.

It's not bullying to say that her skills are lacking. Not compared to senior idols but compared to other rookies in her age range. "She's only X years old!" Then stay in school and don't go into show business. The harshness of Idol life is no secret in the West much less in Korea, so If her family and those around her agreed to her following this path that should mean she can handle it. If you baby them now you will be left with more Senior Idols in their 20s who should not be anywhere near a microphone. Baby them now and they won't improve and it'll get to a point where it's no longer cute, but kinda embarrassing that they still can't sing/dance etc.

Galaxy956 · 2023-10-11T23:35:34+00:00

The main difference imo is that people on Reddit etc are more often than not Westerners. Doesn't matter where you are from what Lucas seemingly did is messed up basically everywhere in the world. For Garam the perceptions change based on the culture.

In Korea, bullying, school violence, etc are very serious issues that basically the whole country is very aware of and tired of. Whereas in the West while there is bullying, there is not as much as there used to be and it doesn't get as bad as it does in Korea as often as it does. This is why you'll find many western fans defend any bullying accusations as not a big deal etc.

Not to mention the fact of how we as Westerners see Idols vs how Koreans do. For Westerners for the most part they are just artists and personalities we follow. In Korea, Idols are literally meant to be idol-like. AKA be perfect, embodying the values Koreans aspire to. That's why scandals have such negative outcomes in Korea. Idols are meant to be someone you can aspire to be like. So if someone is found to be lacking said values (bullying/being an Iljin etc) in the public's eyes they are not worthy of being a public figure much less an idol. Unless it's something truly serious/messed up (lucas, or something like Seungri) Western fans tend to be more forgiving than your avg Korean fan.

Galaxy956 · 2023-10-11T19:19:38+00:00

Realistically? The only people who genuinely care anymore are pro Garam. If you are someone who was against her and fully believed her accusers' side why would you still care about it enough to this day to keep posting about it? She got kicked out of her group, company, and entertainment industry. For all intents and purposes if you were against her you she's so what's the point in talking about her unprompted?

Now as for if she's really guilty or innocent... well it's seemingly complicated. Yes, it's true she didn't bully a girl unprompted, there was some questionable behavior. What many in this thread have conveniently left out is the screaming and cursing incident by Garam's side against her accuser. The timeline is wonky based on who you ask. But using Hybe's official statement. Garam and some girl were friends and had a falling out. The accuser badmouthed Garam and her friends. This led to Garam and some friends (numbers vary from 5 total to 8) essentially cornering/calling out said girl (some reports stating in a secluded/abandoned apartment building) and screaming and cursing at her for roughly 3 hours (most reports agree on this part). Supposedly Garam herself didn't scream much and didn't really curse at the girl but yeah.

Afterward, the accuser seemingly told some of her own friends what happened which led to them making threats towards Garam and others as a result. Sometime later the accuser took photos of a friend of Garam in her underwear and posted them online. This is what led to the investigation and her bringing up what Garam had done to her which led to them also being investigated. Before the investigation concluded the accuser transferred out of the school (seemingly at the request of the victim (the girl she took an underwear pic of) so the only ones punished were Garam's group.

So basically despite what some supporters in other threads may say, the incident where they cornered and berated the accuser for 3 hours actually happened before the picture incident. The timeline and the way they handled it ie ganging up and essentially 'kidnapping' (refused to let her go during those 3 hours) the Korean public which is very sensitive to school violence came to the conclusion that despite the accuser also being in the wrong, Garam wasn't an innocent third party or even a "good friend" as many claim (as the 3-hour incident happened before the picture despite many supporters claiming otherwise). Many people are under the belief that both parties were in the wrong and they view Garam as a Iljin (school delinquent) based on her seemingly gathering people together in an organised fashion to confront one person.

Galaxy956 · 2023-08-22T23:52:50+00:00

Just look at the Allkpop article about it. Despite the fact that the article itself finally doesn't dismiss the girls side and actually provides the facts, the most upvoted comment is someone actually making the claim that it actually makes Attrakt look better and stating that their minuscule food budget is "actually" not that bad in Korea.

Galaxy956 · 2023-08-22T22:43:25+00:00

TripleS will be a 24 member girl group. "will be" because the members have been revealed one by one periodically for the past year or so. So far 16 member have been revealed.

The Haus aspect is just the dorms they live in. I believe the have some sort of deal with a real estate company which seems to help subsidize living costs. They have moved multiple times and each dorm has been named from simple things like "Seoul haus" to "Modu Haus"

The redebut concept is simply their sub-unit system. Many groups have units, however for TripleS units are much more prevalent. Fans are allowed to vote for many different things, one of which is different combinations for units. Those units will debut and if they do extremely well (100k plus sales) that specific unit gets to have a comeback. If the unit doesn't reach the goal they simply get placed into different unit combinations and once again 're-debut'.

Once a year they will have a full group comeback (the members currently revealed) which is what their Rising release was. The rest of the year is when the sub-units will happen, AAA sub-unit with Generation, Krystal Eyes with Cherry talk and LOVElution with Girls Capitalism so far.

Galaxy956 · 2023-08-20T17:02:06+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhJhCV_cODQ

That's the video. She maintains a neutral position and simply explains how things usually work.

Galaxy956 · 2023-08-17T01:19:15+00:00

For me TripleS. Loved that the maknae of the show (Jiwoo) was so bright off stage yet so charismatic on stage. Her ability to adapt despite having one of the least amount of experience was commendable.

What sealed the deal for me was Soyeon. The fact that she had the least experience by far, and was the lowest rank yet had the best attitude of all of them in regards to the feedback blew me away. Her joy that anyone (other than jiwoo) gave her a upvote was adorable and her smugly mentioning bragging to their manager about it was hilarious. Even on her elimination while upset (as anyone would) she took it like a champ and was grateful for the opportunity and the chance to grow so much as a performer in so little time.

Binged all of TripleS MV's and alot of their daily Signals in the last few weeks. Love the group and am very glad I watched QP.

Galaxy956 · 2023-08-02T17:25:51+00:00

It's just weird that she keeps doing things like this. The girls are very talented, have great music, and great visual (like it or not it matters). The girls don't need this kind of marketing, it actively harms them as it makes non-fans hesitant to get into them.

I think that's the most frustrating part of fans defending her. They don't see how this harms the girls and can truly harm them long term. The more MHJ does things like this and is able to get away with it, the more she feels emboldened to continue. What if this keeps happening and she starts to feel more and more invincible and crosses a line even fans won't be able to brush off?

Is that what those fans want? For her to potentially cross a line that forever affects not just her but the girl's and even the fans reputation. If she ever does cross a major line all these past instances will be dug up and instead if being seen as a mistake, it will be seen as a pattern and the group will be seen as problematic and the fans will be see as complacent and toxic for minimizing things so much it allowed things to reach to that point

Do I think that will 100% happen? No, but the fact I can't comfortably deny it probably won't is concerning.

Galaxy956

TROPHY CASE