Pop scenarios, usually as pertaining to Japanese or Korean pop groups, are works of fanfiction in which a situation is created, and the reactions of each member of the group are given, either to create fanservice or provide accurate characterization of a star's personality. History The first scenarios (written in English) surfaced with the widespread use of the internet. Primarily found in small fan quizzes or polls, these usually entailed scenes like "star name" was trapped on an island. What do you do?" However, these were more focused on what a fan's thoughts were, as opposed to how the star might respond to a given situation. Korean blogging sites have been doing such scenarios for quite some time, presumably when the internet became the media of choice for top entertainment companies. English-speaking scenarios began in this fashion: In late summer of 2010, a LiveJournal blog called "NEWScenario" surfaced, tentatively posting material on the J-pop group NEWS' fanpage, NEWS_jpop, and wrote short responses to different scenes. It began with smaller scenes written by the author, then expanded to add another author to the community, as well as to taking requests from readers. As fans began to gain interest, the posts grew longer and more detailed. A focus of the author was to maintain accuracy of the stars it was discussing (NEWS). All works were entirely fictional, but the style in which each "NEWScenario" (NEWS Scenario) was written was intended to display the different and unique personalities of the group. Situations that made it past the request stage and were actually processed into writing were only those that were believable; most were quiet, romantic scenes. Later that year, another author signed aboard the NEWScenario team to help produce more scenarios. Both authors write similarly in style, and upkeep the quality of scenarios that a close-knit reader community has come to recognize. Around February/March 2011, a tumblog titled "ohsnapitsdongwoon" started the English-speaking kpop scenario craze with her B2ST scenarios. Her short, cute scenarios quickly charmed their way to the top! Wildly successful in the B2ST fancommunity, the idea of scenarios spread throughout the kpop world like wildfire. At present, there are dozens of tumblrs dedicated to various kpop artists that create scenarios for other fans. The idea was generated separately from the jpop NEWScenarios, therefore that tumblr is the leader in kpop scenarios. (It seems that great minds think alike, after all; NEWScenarios, "ohsnapitsdongwoon," and the original Korean scenarios appear to be created without inspiration from each other!) Having been overshadowed by the enormous Korean pop fan community, jpop scenarios are generally lesser known, and if so, only to a small community of fans. Adaptations Since 2011, the kpop fan network has developed their own version of these fanworks, usually printed in image format, with a picture of the kpop group on the image somewhere. Situations are generally very short, as are the responses. Oftentimes, responses are given in first person or second person points of view, as opposed to the omniscient third person/slight 1st person tense of the original NEWScenarios. These "kpop scenarios" have gained increasing popularity over the last 3-4 months. These "kpop scenarios" function primarily on internet, the popular photoblogging portal, which allows for easy tagging, following, and processing of such fanwork. "Jpop" scenarios, while there are very few, function primarily on livejournal. Popular Topics Popular topics for such scenarios are generally romantic, and involve the reader as an OC (other character). The immersion of the reader links directly to fanservice, yet this "fanservice" is written by fans, for fans. What is becoming extremely popular in kpop scenario tumblrs are bawdy sex scenes, which tend to be over-the-top and somewhat unrealistic. Situations tend to be possible only in imagination but not in real life. Criticism The highest criticism such works receive usually reference OOC-ness (out of character), in which the response written by the author does not seem to match the star's personality (or perceived personality). This has become a problem in many of the newer, enthusiastic but unskilled with literature writers, many of whom have surfaced in recent months. Oftentimes, these authors write primarily of sex and lust, and let the characterization go out of hand. With such scenarios, it is presumed that they are written to fulfill the author's private fantasies, or an asker's fantasies, as opposed to retaining subtle and surprising reactions that are still believable. However, with tumblr's accessibility, these scenes become extremely popular, despite some fans' disagreement with the level of refinement and accuracy. Oftentimes, the authors are in their early teens, and are fervent netizens. One tumblr site that calmly criticizes the core of the problems with kpop scenarios is "kpopscenariosoffail" While most scenarios are written in 2nd-person English, many more recent scenario writers tend to be less proficient in English than the older authors. This is generally due to the wide expanse of the kpop fan network, with fans in countries all over the world.
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