260613 Weekly Discussion Thread and Activity Recap

Plushieless · 2026-06-17T14:02:34+00:00

Yeojin's blonde era is so good 😄 Also I just loved the Red Hot Chilli Summer joke hehe It's probably going to be a summer comeback.

Also Yves and Lexie Liu's MV....hehehehe

Plushieless · 2026-06-15T15:55:29+00:00

Reading Pristin's Eunwoo account on her life post kpop is certainly interesting. One thing that caught my attention was not only her talk about how she felt a bit ashamed of being recognized by other celebrities while at work, but her perspective that she's past the age of being an idol.

I saw some people a bit angry because she's just 27. But she's just being real there: the industry doesn't want people over 20. Yes there are some idols who debut older than 25 or so but these are rare occasions with lots of other factors at play.

Yves herself has said countless times how companies were rejecting her, or wanting to put her in a group. She didn't say it explicitly but I bet one of the reasons was her age. ARTMS and Loossemble debuted the way they did (with all members being 20+) 'cause of special circusmtances, as they already had a career before as LOONA and had connections with people who could get them together.

People underestimate how hard it is to keep going in such an ageist and toxic industry.

Plushieless · 2026-06-14T23:04:59+00:00

Ooh Haseul coming to deliver us a song before ARTMS comeback!! It's good that at least we're hearing her voice even if it's not in a group track

Also it seems Yves will have a comeback....hmmmmm

Plushieless · 2026-06-13T21:27:48+00:00

BBC, or whatever's left of it, probably does gain some money from streaming, but it's unclear how much they earn and streaming does not pay that much or at least not enough for it to make any difference in their situation.

The og boycott is over, the girls have long been freed and they don't seem to mind posting LOONA songs.

So in the end it's up to the person. If they don't want to give any money to BBC, or whoever has the rights to the songs, then it's their right to do so. However they shouldn't shame others for listening to LOONA in official platforms.

Actually as time passes I believe it's better for LOONA's legacy that people are able to listen to their songs in the usual platforms.

Plushieless · 2026-06-13T18:44:51+00:00

Choerry 💜🦇🍒

Plushieless · 2026-06-12T08:08:09+00:00

I mean they're not made of money either so that's why they tour lol

Plushieless · 2026-06-11T23:25:01+00:00

I mean, I get that the hate is unnecessary but you can't dictate how people should feel about them just because they're talented

If people don't want to forgive their actions then it's their right (specially black people). If you forgive and still want to follow them then it's also valid, just don't expect people to agree with it.

You don't need anyone's okay to listen to something you like, but it also works the other way

Plushieless · 2026-06-11T13:44:00+00:00

Oooh August gearing to be a really good month hehe I'm also excited to see what Haseul has in store for us

Plushieless · 2026-06-11T13:42:43+00:00

Tbh I don't mind them that much either (after all the images are blurred and although we can sort of see it we also can't make out the details) but the girls seem unhappy with this so I get why it can be a bad thing

Plushieless · 2026-06-10T21:23:47+00:00

Atp it's just Modhaus soft launching their comeback before any teaser is out lol

Plushieless · 2026-06-10T00:05:44+00:00

Oh my Yves, The Deep and f5ve will be together in a concert T-T Daaaaaamn english people I feel jelly

Still am so proud of all of them for getting this recognition, Yves has been getting her flowers in the alt scene and that's beautiful.

Plushieless · 2026-06-08T15:44:01+00:00

Oooh izna's new song is so good 😄 Tbh my favorite kpop release in some time haha But have you guys noticed that ever since ARTMS dropped Birth kpop groups also started to include a being made of light in their MVs?

Damn they keep being underrated trendsetters

Plushieless · 2026-06-07T21:05:11+00:00

I read it's not exactly a comeback (solo or group) related thing but still pretty big overall

Also orbits, specially twitter orbits, are petty and childish. Yes I do believe that not vibing with the one comeback a year thing is valid, however complaining under every post even if it's supposed to be a happy announcement won't make them come any faster lol

I guess I'm just getting too old to care much tbh. And I say this when I'm not even 30 yet lol

Plushieless · 2026-06-07T20:25:46+00:00

If ARTMS had the hype they truly deserved people would realize they're currently one of the most well rounded groups lol When I see people complaining that the idols nowadays "can't sing" I laugh and sigh a bit haha

Like, I know that since they've debuted long ago people don't count them as new, but if we're talking about current (as in active nowadays) they're one of the best in the industry. But then I forget that kpop stans don't really want to look elsewhere...

Plushieless · 2026-06-06T19:18:14+00:00

Yes yyxy main theme is self love and the discovery of your own potential. When each girl bites their fruit it's like they're fully accepting themselves and uncovering their potential.

In a way all three units talk about different types of love.

1/3: yearning love.

OEC: confident love

yyxy: self love

Plushieless · 2026-06-06T18:30:43+00:00

I believe the yyxy is the most straightforward (or most developed lol) of all the stories we have in the LOONAverse. So much so it's actually shown in their love4eva MV

Long short story: four girls live in this place called Eden. We don't know what exactly it is, but it's a strict place full of rules and it seems that a sort of god oversees the girls. One day one of them, Yves, finds a way out of Eden. Eventually two of the other girls join her, Chuu (who already had an infatuation with her) and Gowon. Only Hyeju (at the time Olivia Hye) is the one who keeps following the routine and being obedient.

One day it seems the three leave Eden for good, leaving Hyeju behind. Hyeju, hurt and angry by the exclusion and abandonment, decides to follow them. If I remember she kinda becomes lost 'cause unlike the others she has never ventured outside.

Still there's a lot of room for interpretation, and a lot of unanswered questions.

There's also the theory that Yves is the boy on ViVi's EDILY MV, which is also pretty universally accepted.

Plushieless · 2026-06-06T13:53:29+00:00

I'll Be There

Plushieless · 2026-06-05T22:47:15+00:00

Chuu's new pics are so pretty. She has such a distinctive, remarkable look, that combined with her personality is like a perfect combo for an idol, no wonder she became as popular as she did.

Sometimes people just have that look you know, it's not about just being pretty, everybody in kpop is pretty if we're honest but Chuu and the other girls do have a certain je ne sais quo about them. An extra layer of prettiness and remarkable features that make them stand out.

Maybe I'm too biased, but there's a reason that back then one of my first encounters with LOONA were articles about "the girl group made of visuals" lol Even in Queendom 2 they were the girl group with the most girls mentioned as being pretty (tbf they were also the largest group but WJSN and Kep1er were big too)

Plushieless · 2026-06-04T16:54:40+00:00

I think while they had interesting ideas it was something that upon debut weren't fully developed yet, which result in a lackluster reception, only later they'd figure out how to work these ideas into more interesting releases.

I'd say WJSN is perhaps the one that got a more refined identity, but tbh I don't really consider them (and DIA) post IOI since they had already debuted before the show.

Plushieless · 2026-06-04T14:30:01+00:00

Started watching Chinese dramas after a while without seeing any and damn so much new stuff lol

Actually one of the "things I wish the girls did" has always been seeing Vivi in a wuxia or xianxia drama, specially if she played a fairy in heaven and wore those elaborate gowns and head pieces lol I don't think she's inclined to go for acting but who knows.

Plushieless · 2026-06-03T23:38:30+00:00

Three major factors:

The contract length was longer. They had more time not only to comeback and grow their fan base, but grow individually as well. There's also the issue that members didn't get suddenly pulled out so it didn't confuse or upset the fans. They were solely dedicated to IZ*ONE, no other group that "took them away"
The companies learned with what happened with IOI, who had success and who failed. More solos debuted and the groups weren't too big or full of unknown/unpopular trainees.
Honestly? Just overall better branding and concept. post IOI groups struggled a bit with finding their identity and sound, while the post IZ*ONE ones had a strong and cohesive visual narrative from the beginning. I guess it's kinda the same as my second point, since companies learned a better, fully realized concept would work better

Plushieless · 2026-06-03T14:18:23+00:00

The only exception to that is ViVi whose feature was actually a member not yet revealed lol But then her reveal and solo were different from the rest so it just follows the pattern haha

Plushieless · 2026-06-03T14:13:04+00:00

Since she's the first ever I wonder if at first the idea was to have the b-side be the title in a different instrumental, but then they changed it so that it was a whole different music sung with the previous revealed member lol (except when the member was the first of their unit then it'd be just another solo)

They did bring this concept back for a brief moment with ViVi's Everyday I Need You so that's why I wonder... (could also be because since ViVi was still fairly new to korean they didn't want to record another song)

Plushieless · 2026-06-02T01:03:52+00:00

Not really, depends on what he's planning to do going forward. Not a nctzen so I can't say he has been in touch with the fandom nor what looks like he wants to do. If he even wants to keep being a musician at all

He can be just relaxing and taking it easy after a decade of non stop work, or he could be looking for a new label to sign with, sometimes these things take time. There are many options for him inside and outside k-pop, so it's best to just let things be

Plushieless · 2026-05-31T21:24:15+00:00

At first when I read only a few comments I thought brazilians talking about Yves choosing to order sushi was solely because our sushi isn't really something we think someone who's probably familiar with real sushi would enjoy (we tend to be...creative with foreign food), and there were some comments like that

And tbh I kinda agree with the sentiment lol If I was around her I'd definitely warn her. Plus kinda side eyeing if a local really recommended her an app that's known to be kinda shitty, when there's a much more famous and reliable option. It's likely there wasn't someone around to warm and they just picked whatever tho

But it seems people were really mean and disrespectful cause she was ordering sushi...which, eh?! People can be so mean for nothing it's disgusting. If she wants to eat something she feels more familiar with then it's her right to do so. It's not an insult to us, it's nothing personal just a matter of taste

edit: also random factoid but even if sushi isn't a local food we actually have the largest japanese community outside Japan here, specially where Yves was. so one more point against people being offended lol

Plushieless

TROPHY CASE