[minuscle-tea]

Get to know your mutuals!

I was tagged! wow. thank you @sihaiya

What is the origin of your blog name?

None. I may have used one of those random word creator things. I only made this account to lurk and save things by liking them.

What’s your overused emoji?

😭 because it is universal. It can be used for funny things, for sad things, to pout etc. Closely followed by 😦 and 🤗. But I think the last oke is not a hug, it is the arm movement I do when I am happy or excited about something. And that is the problem with emojis, everyone can interpret them differently. And the worst thing; they look different everywhere. Wdym I am using my adorable crying emoji who is showing off its little bunny teeth and the other person mightnot see them because they use android!? We need international and cross platform emoji standards now.

What’s your current comfort show/movie/book?

I really really love media about haunted houses. Maybe because I don‘t believe in the supernatural, so it is a perfect distraction from my own worries? Last year I read The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons for the first time and it was the perfect comfy spooky read, so I really want to read that one again.

Song you’ve had on repeat this week?

Cruel by Javkson Wang (thank you @syster19 ). But I actually listened to a lot of different things this week, pretty balanced.

What’s the last thing you hyperfixated on?

I mean… Ateez. Mingi. Don‘t talk to me, I don‘t know why 😭 (I mean unless you want to talk to me or even talk to me about these things)

What’s an oddly specific thing that brings you joy?

Okay, hear me out; grocery stores. Yes, doing groceries can be annoying but how wonderful is it that we can go to a store and buy all sorts of food?! And sometimes they make new food like those frozen fruit shaped desserts!! But honestly, buying a nice carrot or fresh bread already feels so luxurious when you think about it.

What smell instantly makes you happy?

My cats fur.

What’s something you loved as a kid that you secretly love now?

I am much more immature and love things way more openly than I did as a kid. I don‘t remember much. The joys of living with and caring for a depressed parent I guess.

What’s your phone wallpaper right now?

I like to keep it simple, so this is boring.

Are you a morning person, night owl, or something else entirely?

I really wish I was a morning person but I am not. I can‘t sleep at night which might be part of the problem.

Lastly, if you work, what is your work profession? And do you like it?

I work in a research library and I really like it, it feels useful and I like it when I get to work on IT projects. Sometimes I am a bit sad I don‘t use my original degree much but I worked in a museum for a bit and I prefer this.

I don‘t have that many mutuals so I apologize if you have already been tagged and you are also free to ignore me. I would like to learn more about @ladyqueth and @syster19 and @ididntwantomakethis

I will check if you already have been tagged and done this after, as is the strategically correct order.

[sihaiya]

GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5 Concept Trailer - Mingi

[sihaiya]

A little rant about Dinero lyrics

The other day I watched a video by Jang Hyogyeong about the sugar daddy culture in kpop industry, then Mingi released Dinero and I spent two days just vibing to it, then while I was blasting it in my car this morning while going to work something clicked and a whole other layer of interpretation opened up in my mind.

Disclaimer 1: I’m going to briefly touch 🔞 themes regarding (of course given my intro) sex, consent and the way consent can be bought, so proceed only if you feel comfortable with those.

Disclaimer 2: I’m entering the realm of rpf, because I don't personally know Mingi or YOUHA, I don't know what they really think or feel nor why they wrote their lyrics that way, so what's next it's purely personal speculation and it doesn't pretend to state some kind of truth about anything. I don't have proof or whatever, I'm just going wild with the vibes. Keep that in mind. 

Now back to it under the cut.

Okay, so, the lyrics in question that stuck to me are ‘We could make money, dancing with somebody’ and ‘I said “No,” it said “Dinero”’.

To me the core of the song’s meaning is, at least in a way, about how under all the glitter of the kpop freaky friday party there’s more and that the more is the tiredness coming from the grind and the hustle, to the point that stopping or resting doesn’t even feel like an option anymore (‘Turn down for what. The time is now.’ and ‘Sin descanso’ which translates to ‘without rest’ and ‘쉬는 법 잊어버렸지’ which translates to something like ‘I forgot how to rest’).

Mulling over the lyrics I realised that Mingi isn’t really rapping about wanting dinero (so money, fame and so on), but about how, in a way, he’s being owned by it, by the machine he’s part of, to the point that it’s like the system has its own personality, its own volitions and its own voice (the ‘I said “No,” it said “Dinero”’ in question). Inside this metaphor, then, the dance floor at the start of YOUHA’s lyrics isn’t fun escapism anymore, it becomes one of the many other stages where the grind and the cycle continue (and this brings us to the ‘We could make money, dancing with somebody’ as in 'gotta work' and of course it's a work made also of networking).

The whole song, then, feels a lot more like a really personal confession than like a boasting celebration of what fame and wealth one has reached and that’s why the other layer of meaning I was talking about suddenly popped up in my brain.

Now, in her video Jang Hyogyeong says stuff like ‘Are K-pop sugar daddies actually real? Honestly, yeah.’ and ‘I think this kind of stuff easily comes to non-famous idols or trainees because they know that we aren't making any money. They all know.’.

So what if there’s also another meaning to those two lines? We all know how often dancing with somebody on the dancefloor of a club can imply something else (sex), sometimes to the point of mimicking it, so stating ‘We could make money, dancing with somebody’ in my speculation could also translate to ‘we could make money having sex with somebody’ and that’s why it had me recall the video I was talking about.

Have Mingi and/or YOUHA experienced something like that? Has someone proposed that kind of exchange to them or to someone they know? Of course we will never know, as I said in the disclaimer this is pure speculation, but it really fits within the themes of the song and the exchange ‘I said “No,” it said “Dinero”’, if you’re going to change the it with a he/she/they, I’m pretty sure it’s something a lot of us experienced more or less directly in our lives in front of unwanted sexual advances. You don’t have to take the ‘dinero’ literally for it to work, sure you can and it could be, but it could also be a metaphor for a lot more kinds of propositions.

And, on a side note, I love how the last bar in his rap leaves us with an open question, because sure, he built his paradise inside the machine, he did it by himself, with his sweat and his constant grind and networking, but is he actually living in it or is he too busy hustling for that? It’s a really bittersweet end if you ask me and it makes Dinero so damn interesting.

Where am I going with this? I don’t know, but I know that I have feelings, a lot of them, because once again Mingi hit us with a banger while hiding inside of it a whole lot of meaning, both in the mv and in the lyrics. It’s honestly not a coincidence that he’s my bias, because not only I really vibe with his music style and his aesthetic of choice, but he also has a lot to say and he never pulls his punches. So yeah, you can at least consider this my love letter to Song Mingi’s craft if nothing else.

[skelejor]

mingi wants you to vibe with him

@minuscle-tea made this post about dinero which i agree with wholeheartedly. love it. required reading for this unhinged ramble.

most of this is just copy and pasted from messages i exchanged with @handlebarstiedtothestars but i think i'm gods gift to atiny (joke) so i'm posting them

so my initial reaction was very simple

"no thoughts just love for mingi no analysis just banger i love him"

because my brain didn't really light up the way it has for other things, i didn't go into analysis mode, i just went 'this is fun, i like it'.

which is NOT a complaint at all

and then i saw tea's post

and i started thinking about what he said on his last live, that he didn't learn the spanish he put in the song, he just put in words that sounded good to him. (i'm working off of translations so don't eat me if that's not what he actually said)

now, this is the same man who made the outfits and art and damn near everything on his roar set. who does silly ass shit when recording to make sure he has every sound down perfectly. who says that every layer of a mix is important and has purpose. he is meticulous when he wants to be. so i don't think this was out of laziness AT. ALL.

i said to handle, "this whole song isn't JUST a vibe but it is literally vibes based. its a collage of shit that sounds good, its just fun!"

they replied with, "That feels like such a [neurodivergent] process, 'This word feels fun to say' *says it 50 times as a vocal stim*"

THAT'S LITERALLY THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE! he really just wrote a bunch of shit that was FUN TO SAY

freaky friday party, ten toes down, turn down for what, the literal word dinero said multiple times back to back despite him NOT LEARNING THE MEANING OF THE WORD? the whole song is a vocal stim!

why is it a vocal stim song? why would he write something like this? well tea already told us: he's been "attending edm shows where the crowd enjoys itself instead of only being focused on the artist and him enjoying that vibe."

he wrote something that's fun to say for him, fun to just have as a backdrop to your own experience as an audience member (his line in choose comes to mind, 'ill be your backdrop'). the goals here aren't to express HIMSELF like with youth and autobhan, its to get others to express THEMSELVES with his music as a canvas! bro said 'its time for VIBES' and i love him for it!

even the breathing feels tied to the edm inspiration and the whole point i've laid out here;

the breathing is about how the audience would feel mid edm show/rave but its also a break for them to do exactly that, breathe but also its anticipation that echos beat drop build ups but also its just an interesting choice but also its giving HIMSELF a break when performing incorporated into the song

im pretty much done so have some shit i loved that i couldn't tie into this cleanly

THE NECKLACE ZOOM SHOT. WHAT DOES THAT FUCKIN' TAG SAY, MINGI? TELL MEEEEEEEE THE SMILE ZOOM IN SHOT? THE STILL SHOT OF HIM AND THE DANCERS? THE SMEARING OF THE BODIES AS THE CAMERA JUST PANS OVER IT? such a cool choice THE BLACK PERSON TOWARDS THE END? WHO WAS THAT? THEY WERE SO PRETTY! THE SIDEWAYS CREDITS! hes so creative even in the small and simple ways and i love him for it

in conclusion:

MINGI MINGI MINGI MINGI MINGI MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

tag list: @elvenpathed - @n1k9l1n4 - @handlebarstiedtothestars - @moonlightpirate - @iovemingi

[minuscle-tea]

Mingi: ‚Some people care about every single detail. I care about details too but what‘s more important to me is the mood and vibe! I like it when the overall mood is cohesive or gives off the aesthetic that i like. Even if it lacks a bit of detail I prefer having that kind of vibe.‘

From his recent Singles Magazine interview.

Are you in Mingi‘s brain?!? Do you share his vibe based approach? I loved reading your thoughts!!

[skelejor]

I DIDN'T SEE THAT (or remember it, i have a shit memory i might've seen it)

I DO SHARE HIS VIBES BASED APPROACH! that's why i got so excited to talk about it! its part of what i love about mingi, like, all the time! he picks and chooses what to pay attention to according to what makes HIM happy, not according to the rules of others. i'm very similar in that way!

we both leave things behind that don't serve us even if we're 'suppose' to use them. i love the freedom he grants himself, especially in an industry that can be SUFFOCATING in a lot of ways

[minuscle-tea]

sadly half of my brain is dedicated to a database of what mingi has said in every interview and live i have ever watched, so when I read your impressions i was like ‚uh, i have heard this before?‘

and yes, i love it tooooo. you vibe based people are so cool.

[skelejor]

mingi wants you to vibe with him

@minuscle-tea made this post about dinero which i agree with wholeheartedly. love it. required reading for this unhinged ramble.

most of this is just copy and pasted from messages i exchanged with @handlebarstiedtothestars but i think i'm gods gift to atiny (joke) so i'm posting them

so my initial reaction was very simple

"no thoughts just love for mingi no analysis just banger i love him"

because my brain didn't really light up the way it has for other things, i didn't go into analysis mode, i just went 'this is fun, i like it'.

which is NOT a complaint at all

and then i saw tea's post

and i started thinking about what he said on his last live, that he didn't learn the spanish he put in the song, he just put in words that sounded good to him. (i'm working off of translations so don't eat me if that's not what he actually said)

now, this is the same man who made the outfits and art and damn near everything on his roar set. who does silly ass shit when recording to make sure he has every sound down perfectly. who says that every layer of a mix is important and has purpose. he is meticulous when he wants to be. so i don't think this was out of laziness AT. ALL.

i said to handle, "this whole song isn't JUST a vibe but it is literally vibes based. its a collage of shit that sounds good, its just fun!"

they replied with, "That feels like such a [neurodivergent] process, 'This word feels fun to say' *says it 50 times as a vocal stim*"

THAT'S LITERALLY THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE! he really just wrote a bunch of shit that was FUN TO SAY

freaky friday party, ten toes down, turn down for what, the literal word dinero said multiple times back to back despite him NOT LEARNING THE MEANING OF THE WORD? the whole song is a vocal stim!

why is it a vocal stim song? why would he write something like this? well tea already told us: he's been "attending edm shows where the crowd enjoys itself instead of only being focused on the artist and him enjoying that vibe."

he wrote something that's fun to say for him, fun to just have as a backdrop to your own experience as an audience member (his line in choose comes to mind, 'ill be your backdrop'). the goals here aren't to express HIMSELF like with youth and autobhan, its to get others to express THEMSELVES with his music as a canvas! bro said 'its time for VIBES' and i love him for it!

even the breathing feels tied to the edm inspiration and the whole point i've laid out here;

the breathing is about how the audience would feel mid edm show/rave but its also a break for them to do exactly that, breathe but also its anticipation that echos beat drop build ups but also its just an interesting choice but also its giving HIMSELF a break when performing incorporated into the song

im pretty much done so have some shit i loved that i couldn't tie into this cleanly

THE NECKLACE ZOOM SHOT. WHAT DOES THAT FUCKIN' TAG SAY, MINGI? TELL MEEEEEEEE THE SMILE ZOOM IN SHOT? THE STILL SHOT OF HIM AND THE DANCERS? THE SMEARING OF THE BODIES AS THE CAMERA JUST PANS OVER IT? such a cool choice THE BLACK PERSON TOWARDS THE END? WHO WAS THAT? THEY WERE SO PRETTY! THE SIDEWAYS CREDITS! hes so creative even in the small and simple ways and i love him for it

in conclusion:

MINGI MINGI MINGI MINGI MINGI MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

tag list: @elvenpathed - @n1k9l1n4 - @handlebarstiedtothestars - @moonlightpirate - @iovemingi

[minuscle-tea]

Mingi: ‚Some people care about every single detail. I care about details too but what‘s more important to me is the mood and vibe! I like it when the overall mood is cohesive or gives off the aesthetic that i like. Even if it lacks a bit of detail I prefer having that kind of vibe.‘

From his recent Singles Magazine interview.

Are you in Mingi‘s brain?!? Do you share his vibe based approach? I loved reading your thoughts!!

[minuscle-tea]

My Dinero interpretation no one asked for:

In the beginning Mingi is being monitored and walks on a narrow path, the scientists observing him are all women, which could symbolize his many, overwhelmingly female, fans watching him, having certain expectations for how he should behave has an idol. But he breaks out of it once he steps off the treadmill, he forges his own path and the initial reaction is shock and not understanding where he wants to go with this. When he comes back to them the energy of his music frees them and changes them.

They turn into dancers but they don’t dance for him or with him, like we see it in so many MVs in which female dancers accompany male rappers, they dance to the music and seem free within it. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but to me it feels like Mingi telling us to come along with him as he finds his own way outside of ‚just‘ being an idol.

It also fits what he recently said about attending edm shows where the crowd enjoys itself instead of only being focused on the artist and him enjoying that vibe.

[sihaiya]

Wanteez ep. 44

[@minuscle-tea you know this is for you]

[minuscle-tea]

you really had to slow it down AND call me out?!

[minuscle-tea]

for the atiny ask game

✂️🎧

Answering these is so much fun - even though I tend to go overboard.

✂️ Favourite hairstyle your bias has had?

I feel like you asked this to see pictures of Mingi's hair over the years because you knew exactly that this is what this would turn into.

So, to be honest I am a bit boring and I like it when he has it black. I like it a lot when it is shorter and out of his face like he had it at Summer Sonic with the black outfit. Lemon Drop Mingi was a superb black hair era as well.

My favorite is when it is longer though, maybe like in these pictures. I also really liked when they styled it slightly wavy.

Also man bun Mingi?!

Then it got a bit longer during autumn and I adored that as well.

Towards the end of the year it got a bit long for my taste, but you know what?! I will forgive this extremely gorgeous man for wearing his hair slightly longer than I prefer, I am generous like that.

I can‘t not mention Pinkgi, I can‘t imagine what a crashout I would have had if I had been an Atiny in this era. It would have rivaled the PFW crash out.

And since I already mentioned PFW; I didn't think I would like the blond as much as I did, but yeah... (Again I like it better when it is styled mostly away from the face though, or well, not covering the forehead too much)

Also Princess Mingi... What a silly hairstyle. Why do I want more of it???

The more I think about this, the more I begin to suspect that this is actually more about Mingi and less about his hair 😭 What happened to me?! You should have asked about my least favourite hair instead…

🎧 Favourite b-side?

Does Outlaw count as a B-side? Or more as a... co-title track? I love Outlaw so much.

If it doesn't count... Does Face count? Basically this is me being unsure what counts as a B-side.

[minuscle-tea]

For the ask game!

🕺💜🍜

thank you so much for the ask, this is so fun! I have to go through everyone's posts and see which ones they have not answered yet, since I am a little behind.

🕺Favourite stage?

Ah, there are so many, it is difficult to decide. If someone asked me this question multiple times I would probably have a different answer each time, but for now I will go with the 2024 MMA performance of Work & Ice on my Teeth (I mainly mean Work though). I adore the marching band version of Work, I love Hongjoong's and Mingi's little intro, I love how the other members are being raised onto the stage with the pirate imagery in the back and I love the costumes. So fun.

💜 If you could put two members together for a date like an episode of Ateez+ who would you put together and what would you have them do?

This is very self indulgent but I can't stop myself from promoting Minsang every chance I get. I find them so interesting together, I love watching them and I feel like they might give each other the space to just be without as much chaos or interruptions as the other members can bring occasionally. I can imagine them as friends who can be open with each other and might have really interesting (and maybe weird) conversations because they give each other the time to actually talk. I also think their senses of humour match very well. There were two videos last year in which Mingi was especially sassy and they both reminded me so much of Yeosang's quick and dry humour.

I would want them to go to a museum. Again, this is very self-indulgent because I want to hear Mingi talk about art. I am slightly worried Yeosang would get a bit bored though, because I am not sure how interested he is in art and whether just looking at something stimulates his brain enough. So I think the museum outing should not take too long, and they should take a painting class after. I want to see Mingi paint more. But I also feel like Yeosang really likes to do things with his hands. During Ateez+ he commented on how nice it was to feel the clay and in the Good Bye 2025 video he was really into stroking Mingi's bathrobe. I think he would enjoy some good sensory play with thick paint and layering it in different ways, which seems to be at least one of the techniques Mingi uses as well.

Also how cute would they be! Also have we ever talked about how differently Mingi behaves towards Yeosang depending on whether he is in Fix on mode or not? Also- okay, I'm normal about them.

🍜 Is there anything you’ve bought solely because you saw a member eat/use it?

I bought Alo sweatpants because I kept seeing Hongjoong wear them and they looked so soft 😭 I also really want to eat Abura Soba.

[minuscle-tea]

sometimes I just randomly remember this outfit

[cherryhwajoong]

ateez as squirrels because i'm extremely autistic about both and had to distract myself from a breakdown

also don't ask me to elaborate, this makes perfect sense to me so idk what to tell you.

Hongjoong - Abert's Squirrel

(i might be biased as that's my favorite squirrel)

Seonghwa - Japanese Squirrel

Yunho - Variegated Squirrel

Yeosang - Spotted Ground Squirrel

San - Hopi Chipmunk

Mingi - Eurasian Red Squirrel

Wooyoung - Douglas Squirrel

Jongho - Calabrian Black Squirrel

[minuscle-tea]

My favorite things about the NASA Performace Video Making Of:

Seonghwa getting to live his glossy chrome silver dreams

Hongjoong's moon bunny agenda for Seonghwa

Yeosang assessing Woosansang's lack of competence when it comes to space travel

Mingi taking the question very seriously and blessing us with his thoughts about traveling and living in space (I want it to be Mingi's random knowledge time every day)

San having no skills for space travel (or opening his eyes)

[comintoyoulive]

ateez choreography will have a killing move where hips have to move and only mingi gets it and they make fun of him for it

[snug-gyu]

a blushy mingi for @thirstkanaphan

[minuscle-tea]

someone needs to save this man from the chewy cookie trend. he cares about dental health!

[mininging]

i know how people know that yeosang is shy but i don't think people realize that mingi is too? does that make sense

cause yeosang is shy AND timid. mingi is only shy. like he gets stressed interacting with people and tends to overthink before doing anything new but HE'S NOT TIMID. he's the type to just 'fuck it we ball' things. maybe that's why everyone's so intimidated by him, cause he's not the type of person to say or demand anything if he doesn't need to (cause again he's shy) but he will speak on things (being very direct) if he feels like he's not being appreciated or isn't being respected (ie. when he calls out atiny for saying bullshit or when he calls out the members and suddenly he can speak straight and doesn't jumble his words) and others find that intimidating because we tend to associate confidence with extroversion but you can still be confident while being introverted

and yes mingi is an ENTP but even ENTP's are the introverts of the E's. mingi likes connecting with people he likes but not with large groups of people.

[minuscle-tea]

I loved this and I think you are totally right. Mingi seems shy in certain situations but it is a shyness in a way that people maybe don't really understand at first glance. Even if he is quiet it can come across more like a judgmental silence or him not *wanting* to engage due to his mild rbf. Plus when people see someone who is handsome, talented and successful they often mistake shyness or insecurity for arrogance. (This is my theory about MG's trainee days or why people who meet him first describe him as intimidating).

What follows will be pure, wild specualtion with no proof. But I think that, possibly due to his anxiety (which to be fair we have no idea how that manifests for him or how much he still deals with it), he likes to be in control of interactions. He has mentioned preferring small groups and hanging out one on one. In one Interview (I think the one mentioned in the comments) he even says he prefers to go out alone so he can choose what to eat and where to go. But, he still wants to be invited and know that the others would theoretically like to have him with them.

That just screams anxiety to me; the wish to be included but not being able or willing to give up the security of being the one to decide what exactly you feel comfortable with or when to end an outing at any time. So there is something soothing about doing things alone. (It is funny because this contradicts the way Jongho approaches going out, he seems to be much more nervous about going out alone).

In my head I also suspect this might be part of why he approaches fan interactions the way he does. Yes, he probably loves the barking because he is genuinely into being adored in this way by fans and it is part of his brand by now (and he is very good at building his brand), but it is also a way to set a frame for his crowd work and make sure it happens pretty much the same way each time, a reliable ritual. Both him and a good amount of people attending concerts or events where Ateez perform know exactly what will happen. It also means that the interaction does not rely on him alone, because the people who do not know about his barking will quickly catch on just by observing the other concert goers - by the time he leads the chant they have probably already learned it. This might be especially important because he can be shy when it comes to quick banter or being very eloquent on stage. (Not that I think he can't do it, Mingi can be very witty, but again, maybe more in settings where he feels more comfortable) During send-off or on fan calls he can be very forward, but I sometimes feel like it is a way of controlling what is happening, going on the offense before they can switch it up on him too much. Which just adds to him not necessarily being perceived as shy in any way.

[minuscle-tea]

Hii i saw a post of yours talking about fountain pens and how you prefer pilot fine and extrafine nibs because of the size of your writing and i have a question, since my writing is just slightly larger than yours. So, I've been loving the muji 0.38mm, idk if you've tried them, and I've been thinking about getting a pilot fountain pen, in either F or EF. In particular, I've been eyeing the kakuno, although I haven't really decided what i want. Which nib size would you recommend? is the EF too scratchy? Thank you in advance!!

Hi hi!

I love talking about pens, so thank you very much for this ask. I tried the Muji pens and I would say they are more equivalent to the EF nib, I did not find the Kakuno in EF scratchy but I do somehow prefer the EF on the 78g but I think that is very subjective.

I bought two Kakunos from this series since I like the colours so much but they only come with an F nib. For me personally they felt too broad but if you happen to be in Europe and would like to try one you could DM me your address and I could send you one? (Only if you are comfortable with that of course)