Cube_ptg - Tumblr Posts

Happy New Year to everyone!! Have the best year, and dominate!!

So, I’d like to share something with all of you:

My name is Kathryn Yareena Oliver. My artist name is K. Oliver. My nickname to my friends is Nerdy Owl, Oliver, Oli. It’s awesome.

I’m in the 91-liner, and I’m a 2nd generation Kpop fan. I love art, books, music, film, anime, and food.

According to the MBTI, I’m an avocado (Advocate for everyone else). According to the Roman Zodiac based on my birthday, I’m a Leo. According to the Chinese Zodiac based on my birth year, I’m a Ram.

So, here’s my zoo: 🐏🦁🦉🥑(not an animal, but whatever)

If you have a conversation with me, the only things coming out of my noggin is art, books, music, film, anime, and food. If it’s politics, I’m sorry, but no. I’m as dumb as a nut when it comes to politics. I just am. I look at culture as gems whenever I talk to someone I feel a good vibe with. But politics? Yeah, good luck.

I do believe in education, but the educational system? Yeah, it needs to be updated like yester-century. It’s like when a person fails to update their Windows Vista to A Windows 10.1, but then it means buying a new computer...or not. Idk.

For more info, check out my carrd: koliver.carrd.co (the link is in my bio). If you have any questions, ask me in CuriousCat (the link is in bio). To respond, please share your name so I can respond to someone, or just be anonymous. Whichever.

Anyways, BYE!

I want to follow people who support the following musicians and groups.

Please help find me moots!

Hui may be gone for 21 months, but It’ll feel like a century. It’s the same with Jinho (18 months), and somehow it forces me to make every moment count with anyone I’m friends with, and take care of every task laid in front of me.

Hui-ssi, please be safe, be healthy, and get plenty of rest. While you serve your country, I will serve in the community.

#OurEternalFlameHui #우주의자랑_휘야_잘다녀화

Is it wrong to have Basquiat by Pentagon on repeat?

No matter how many times I play that song, it STILL feels brand new.

I even put Daisy on repeat too...

Help...

Now WE:TH is on repeat...

I’m all over the place...

Is it wrong to have Basquiat by Pentagon on repeat?

No matter how many times I play that song, it STILL feels brand new.

I even put Daisy on repeat too...

Help...

I’m just torturing myself with watching Hui’s video before he was sent away for his service.

I have never been this way before, but ever since I got into PENTAGON, my cry baby self came back with a vengeance....

The moment I wake up this morning to check on my friends, I’m seeing posts about Pentagon, and it’s either praising them for their work, or giving opinions that no one asked for.

I’m gonna be real with y’all: everyone has a right to their opinion, but the moment you start dragging people down with your opinion, yeah, noooo. That’s not an opinion, that’s an insult. You can just simply say, even admit, that someone’s work isn’t your taste. You good, homie. Nothing wrong with that.

I may not like other people’s music, but whatever not-so-nice thing I would say about them will stay at home, in the trash bin, because I won’t let that shit fly around my personal space. I may have my opinion, but with some I keep to myself, and others I will freely express them, as long as it helps the other person. That’s it.

For those who are still waiting for their albums. That they ordered months ago, I do hope that you get your albums soon.

To hold on to something that you bought because you invested money, and time, into getting something that brings you joy.

I hope your merch gets to you safe and sound. That’s it.

Such an amazing feeling when you see your favorite artists finally rise to the occasion. Makes me want to work extra hard.

In other words, PTG FTW!!!!!!!!!!

My copies finally came in! My copies spell out EVA, and the back is super cool! Also, the plastic picture can be passed off as a “bookmark” for the “manhwa” lol.

My top 7. Although, there are some albums and songs that I do put on repeat, depending on the mood, and what I’m currently doing. But these are ALWAYS on repeat.

With whichever fandom you belong to, hug them with love and faith. Whether you’re a STAY, an ATINY, a UNIVERSE, an INSOMNIAC, whichever, love them as if they’re an extended family,

I have never seen such true friendship within a fandom, and they are just a standard to what friendship is, at least in my eyes. I have never been able to keep a friend in my life, and every time I make a friend, it’s either they turn their back to me, or they were never really a friend, just someone I can conveniently talk to.

Always surround yourself with people that help you rise to the occasion, that help you make your day better, and that can tell you what you’ve done wrong, not even caring if they make you cry, AND THEY STILL STAY AROUND, cherish them with all your might. It’s the Cosmos gifting you something.

Be yourself, put yourself first, but have good friends with you.

Can’t we just call them Emperors? That position is so much bigger than a king, and I feel like this group is a group of EMPERORS.

No?

I guess only in my dreams then....

210401 Mnet M! Countdown

Bro... You can't make this shit up..

He’s getting extremely good!!!

cube_ptg twitter update:

[Yuto] Stray Kids - MIROH (Guitar practice) 😁

Love this song and their new album IN:VITE U! Makes me want to dance all day and night!

Music Within My Life

I would like to share my story with you.

Ever since I was little, I have always enjoyed the music I’ve listened to, and I would have a habit of going back to listening to them as an adult. Music takes me to a place where I can be myself, have fun, and be at peace. If there was any song that I liked, I’d either danced or sang to it. And while growing up, I have seen the success of one group, a downfall of another, even one-hit wonders. It’s to a point where I saw a group that was successful for 3 years of their career, then they broke up overnight. I couldn’t grasp what happened, but I didn’t fully understand as I was still young, so I moved on. All I know was that one group’s break-up was not going to stop me from enjoying more music. There were plenty of artists that were putting out music, and it was extremely comforting to know now that I grew with them. 

If you can see my iTunes account back then, trust me, I had something and someone to listen to. Even now! This much I know: I will always be a music fan (or stan as people nowadays would call it.) before I show any loyalty to anyone. If the music is comforting, exciting, warming, thought-provoking, and even emotional, best believe it’s in my playlist. And before these audition shows and survival shows, companies always found talent, either at venues or talent shows. There are stories from the award-winning artists who share how they got to where they are today, and majority of the time it’s moving. What’s even more moving is when they share who inspired them to make music. 

I would go on and on about what I’ve experienced with music, but then this essay would be too long. And it’s about to get really long with what I want to share.

Fast forward to 2010: I never thought in my entire life that I would ever transition into K-pop until I saw Ninja Assassin (yes, strange I got into K-pop because of a movie). Here’s the thing though, I got into K-pop because the actor in that movie happened to be Rain, who’s one of the most influential K-pop artists in South Korea, and I learned that from doing research while I was in my 1st year in college. From then on, I began listening to other artists and groups (mainly groups because I’m a group-type girl). Now, of course I still listened to other American artists, but K-pop music basically has taken over my playlist. When I got into 2ne1, however, that’s when I stayed in K-pop. I could have stopped at any time I wanted, but I didn’t because what I saw in 2ne1 felt familiar with what I was used to, but they were extremely different from the rest of the groups that were present in the genre. And trust me, there were plenty of groups to get into, and with so many options, why would I stop? Overall, I just enjoyed listening to K-pop for not only being so theatrical and colorful, but also for expressing individuality. 

But after years of listening to K-pop, I started to feel exhausted, and it started when I came across Pentagon in 2020. Not to say that their music is exhausting. It’s actually the COMPLETE OPPOSITE. However, after 2ne1 disbanded, I held on to their songs and kept listening without giving other groups and soloists a chance. Of course, I did listen to BTS and BlackPink, but even though they took the world by storm, I still couldn’t let them in with my love for 2ne1. Yes, they’re different from each other, but I wanted some familiarity from the big groups, and I couldn’t find them. So, between 2014 and 2020, I was just casually listening to other groups, including BTS and BlackPink. That is, when 2020 came around, and with the pandemic, I came across Pentagon. Now, I didn’t fully recognize them until I saw clips of different content when I realized that maybe I was meant to give this group a chance. When I did, not only did their music bring that familiarity in my life, but I also started to consider my career path very seriously. Their love for music is what encourages me to love art altogether. Immediately, I wanted to be part of their fandom. Of course, I went through my ups and downs, but my ups overshadowed the downs, and I said to myself, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Here’s where I started to feel exhausted: I was so oblivious about what was in the shadows of K-pop that I didn’t even know about the problems until later. All I was into was the music and the expression behind it. Music has always been my comfort, and I never wanted to lose that. It’s gotten to a point where I wanted to protect music at all costs when I learned about the scandals and the drama between the companies, the artists, and their fans. Then I remembered, my fear for the exposure of K-pop started to come true as more people would know about it, and I would fear that it would blow out of proportion. 

What’s also exhausting is the increase of standards with album sales, charting, streaming, collecting, and voting, and to spend so much time just being concerned about those things instead of being concerned whether a song is good or not activated my anxiety. It was bad enough that I felt anxious about life outside of K-pop (with work and home), to be active in voting and helping the group succeed in a genre so competitive was basically icing on the Christmas fruit cake. To even keep my favorite group relevant when there are groups with an increase of numbers in fans BEFORE debut caused me to not sleep as if I was back in college writing 8 to 10-page papers. Of course, at the end of the day, I made the choice, but I made the choice because I don’t want to lose another group because I truly believe in them and their music. 

It’s exhausting to have to “properly” stream a music video so many times to make them count towards any music show criteria, to make more than two accounts to help with pre-voting and live voting, to collect tokens in apps that keep crashing and slugging, and I NEVER HAD TO DO ANY OF THAT WHEN I WAS INTO K-POP IN THE BEGINNING. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THERE WERE CRITERIAS TO GET ANY TROPHY. I just saw that the groups from the big 3 were selling albums, getting so much attention, and getting awards. All I did was listen to their songs and have a great day. Yeah, I will sit here and tell you that I have played music videos on repeat or played different music videos countless times because of how much I enjoyed them. Now, it’s just not fun anymore. It’s exhausting, almost a nightmare. Even as much as the fandom makes it fun to stream and collect, it’s exhausting. I wanted to stop after the 2nd week of promotion, but I didn’t because I would feel extremely guilty to not have helped my favorite group even stay relevant in this genre. 

My breaking point was when the fandom and I learned about what was going on between the artists and the company. It was like the straw that broke the camel’s back, and it was painful, agonizing even. I learned so much about this group, but there’s still so much to learn as time passes by. Usually, groups that have gone through scandals and horrid rumors, they would either split up or go through a long hiatus, especially when they lose supporters. But not this group. This group have fallen so many times but proven numerous times that they can get back up and they have supporters that have their own stories they can share themselves. They have so much faith, so much willpower, and so much creative juice that can last a lifetime, and it’s something that I’m working to develop and amplify for myself. 

What’s ridiculous to me is that people lose their morals, or if they had any, by going after a group of extremely talented people because they haven’t reached the same type of success as the other groups and insult them. They would use words like “flop” “ugly” “lame” “disbanded” “fuck pentagon”, spread false rumors about them, and hold their past against them to bring them and the fandom down. It’s exhausting to ask “why? why do that? did they do something to you for you to say these things about them?” The usual answer would be, “because they want attention.” And they lose their morals for what? Is it to look cool? Is it to help their favorite artists succeed? Last time I checked, that damages the artists more than it helps them. 

(I also learned that their actions say more about the harassers than it does about the harassed. It also just screams jealousy. Or is to basically express their self-hatred and take it out on good people.)

I don’t mean to seem mean, rude, or insulting in any way, but the music being broadcasted now compared to back then just lacks expression and individuality. Actually, no. That’s wrong. That’s not what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is, in as much as how they sound good, what the “popular” music lacked for me was familiarity. There are songs where I can put them on speaker, and it takes me away into the night. Those songs are playlist songs. But then there are songs where I almost thought my ears would bleed, or my brain cells would explode into dust. The songs that do that for me are first-time one-time listen. Then, there are also songs that seem like, “meh, it’s pretty good. Hopefully someone else will get to enjoy it.” To those songs, I’d say, “Thanks, but someone else will enjoy it.”

I have never thought that listening to music would be exhausting when I’m so used to music being enjoyable and comforting. A good number of people would say that art, let alone music, is subjective, which is absolutely correct. But to throw it like a frisbee around to defend something that is just bad waters the meaning down. At that point, I feel that music is just being disrespected in my eyes. There have been songs back in the day that were so bad, and they were either a hit or miss, but in this case if the popular groups sing it, it’s going to always hit, no matter how bad the song is. It’s as if people just gave up on quality of music and just went with the status of the artist. Why? I don’t know. All I know is that I’ll never give up my faith in music for the sake of popularity. 

I didn’t follow Pentagon because I felt pity for them, nor because of their growing popularity. If I did, I have no right to support them nor listen to them. They deserve more respect than that. They deserve more appreciation than that. I follow them and listen to their music because of their music, and their love for it. Not only that, but their fandom is also filled with people with creative minds, talent, willpower, and character; things that the group uphold even for themselves. Not to say that other groups don’t have it, as I’m sure they do, but I just feel it more from them and their music. I have listened to their older songs, their newer songs, watched their performances, and even their own entertainment, and I just genuinely enjoy them. 

This may fuel some angry people, maybe even force someone stop reading by the 5th paragraph, but My point is groups like Pentagon deserve respect. They deserve recognition, and they deserve love just like everyone else deserves it. Each member of Pentagon has their own individual talent that embodies their own aura, and yes, this is me praising them. I praise people who have talent and are full of character and demonstrate them towards others. What I feel exhausted about is that there are groups who have potential, but half their fandoms just demonstrate something completely different. I don’t expect the fans to behave and act the same way as the artists, but there’s no need to bring in toxic behavior and start shooting venom at others. I do hope that one day, at least a quarter of them will change. 

This is getting too long, so I may, or may not, write a part two of this, but to conclude this, I will have to say that K-pop has changed within the music industry, and it’s gotten to the point where I am starting to steer myself into other music genres just to breathe. K-pop went from expressing individualism in a world of tradition to numbers and popularity as if it’s a math class. Music may be complex, but it’s not complicated. It’s simple: listen to a song, if you like it, great; if not, move on. No need for explanation, no need to criticize it, no need to be of concern as if it’s end of the world. To me, it feels more like The Hunger Games than it is a festival. 

That is all for my long ass rant. I bid you a good day.