Stray Kids

Stray Kids, often shortened to SKZ, are a popular K-Pop group formed by JYP Entertainment (JYPE).
Stray Kids was formed through the 2017 reality show of the same name, released their pre-debut extended play (EP) Mixtape in January 2018 and officially debuted on 25 March 2018 with the EP I Am Not.
They made their Japanese debut in 2020 with the compilation album SKZ2020 through Epic Records Japan. Following their Japanese debut, they released their first studio album Go Live in June of 2020. Their second album Noeasy followed in August of 2021. The Sound, their third studio album, was released in February 2023, and their fourth album 5-Star came out in June 2023.
==Members==
The lineup currently consists of eight members:
* Bang Chan (leader, producer)
* Lee Know (dancer)
* Changbin (rapper, producer)
* Hyunjin (dancer)	
* Han (rapper, producer)
* Felix (dancer)
* Seungmin (vocalist)
* I.N (vocalist)
And formerly, Woojin.
==Units==
The units within the group are often referred to with the suffix "-racha". This is a reference to the pre-debut group 3racha that was formed by three of the future members in 2016. One unit, 3racha is an official sub-unit, but others such as Danceracha and Vocalracha are quasi-official, while the rest are fan-made or inside jokes between the members and the fans.
===Official===
* 3racha (music production unit)
* Danceracha (dance unit)
* Vocalracha (vocal unit)	
===Quasi-Official===
===Fan-Made or Faux===
* 3rdwheelracha
* Bunnyracha
* Carbsracha
* Dilfracha
* Familyracha - Felix & Lee Know & Seungmin or Bang Chan & I.N & Lee Know
* Lesbianracha - Felix & Han & I.N
* Loudracha - Changbin & Felix & Han & Lee Know
* Visualracha	
* Nyangnyangracha
* Paboracha
* Petracha - Petracha is composed of the members' :
** Bang Chan's dog Berry
** Lee Know's cats Soonie, Doongie and Dori
** Hyunjin's dog Kkami
** Han's dog Bbama
* Savageracha - I.N & Lee Know & Seungmin - link
====3rdwheelracha====
Seems to mostly apply to the Minsung ship. There's an inconsistency as to who is an official member of this fan-made racha, but appears to be applicable to anyone who does, indeed, end up 'third-wheeling' Han and Lee Know. On Reddit, it was suggested to have Felix & Hyunjin & I.N, while on a TikTok, Changbin & Felix & I.N were mentioned, and then finally just Felix & I.N on a YouTube Short.
===Non-Racha Units===
In addition to the rachas, Stray Kids and their fans have many ways they refer to themselves when grouped into smaller units, including: 
* The 00's: Hyunjin, Han, Felix and Seungmin, the 4 members born in the year 2000
* The sunshine twins: Han and Felix who were born a day apart
* The hyung line: Bang Chan, Lee Know and Changbin, the three oldest members
* Hojuz or Aussie line: Bang Chan and Felix, the two members who grew up in Australia
* Boddaramji: Lee Know and Han
* Bokseungah: Felix, Seungmin and I.N
* Daengnyangz: Seungmin and Felix
==In Reality==
===Awards & Titles===
====BOY GROUPS CHARTS====
On the 2nd of January 2024 it was announced that SKZ had been voted the #1 K-Pop Male Idols by Japanese teens.
====Circle Chart Music Awards====
In the 13th year for the award, SKZ won "Artist of the Year - Physical Album" for their 2023 album ★★★★★ (5-STAR).
====Mnet Asian Music Awards====
Also known as MAMA, saw Stray Kids nominated for two awards in 2018: Mwave Global Fans' Choice & Best New Artist – Male. They won Best New Artist – Male.
===Candids, Photo Shoots & SelCas===
===Events===
====Idol Star Athletics Championships====
Otherwise known as ISAC, Stray Kids were participants for a few years.
In 2018, they wore white hoodies with black shorts and leggings.
In 2019, they wore baby pink track suits with baby blue shirts, and a fan jokingly listed out the Kids' sports as:
In 2020, they wore red rack suits with white shirts.
====KCON====
On the 18th of August, 2019, Stray Kids attended the Los Angeles convention. Tickets went up for sale on the 12th of July that year.
====Met Gala====
On the 6th of May, 2024, SKZ made history as the first K-Pop group to attend the Met Gala in full. They collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger to mixed reactions from fans.
===Fanmeets===
====Fanworks====
:GIFs
* by strayklds thanks to hyunehans, published 31 March 2024
===Music===
====I am WHO====
This was their second EP, and the second part of the I Am trilogy. They released lyric cards on their Twitter account for each track:
# "WHO?"
# "My Pace"
# "Voices"
# "Question"	
# "불면증"
# "M.I.A."
# "갑자기 분위기 싸해질 필요 없잖아요"
# "Mixtape#2"
====I am YOU====
This was their third EP, and the third part of the I Am trilogy.
Fans had a 'Unveil Support Dinner'.
====LEVANTER====
This was their sixth EP, and the third part of the Clé trilogy. It ended up being their departure from Woojin despite originally being recorded with him. It became their second 'Debut.'
:"Double Knot"
This was their first Korean digital single. A fan wrote up a meta thread on Twitter; in it, "Double Knot" marketing would be compared to another single's marketing, for their upcoming 2024 comeback.
====GO生====
:"청사진"
::GIFs
* by minbinchan for pscentral event 26, published 10 April 2024
====ALL IN====
:"ALL IN"
::Graphics
* by Lee Mishya, published 16 October 2022
====Christmas EveL====
:"24 to 25"
::Fanart
* by uno_oun_, published 13 January 2024
====ROCK-STAR====
:"MEGAVERSE"
::Fanart'
* by si_kch_, published 16 January 2024
===Side Projects===
See its wiki page.
==Fandom==
The official name for Stray Kids fans is Stay, which was announced on 1 August 2018. Collectively, Stays have called themselves Stayville.
There is no official fandom color. However, when asked, Changbin suggested rainbow.
Fans see Stray Kids as having been a positive influence on music production in the K-Pop industry.
As is common in K-pop fandoms, Stay often have one or more biases within the group. Some members or fans of members have also given their fans an individual fandom name, such as Seolars for fans of Changbin.
===Activism===
====Reaction to Israel/Palestine War====
In 2024, some fans chose to boycott Stray Kids works, specifically if a Zionist was involved. JYPE began contracting them to work with Coca-Cola ("Like Magic"), Tommy Hilfiger (September 2023 “Always Together” Photo Shoot, April 2024 Spring Campaign Photo Shoot, 02 May 2024 Airport Departure Photos, 06 May 2024 Instagram Photos, 06 May 2024 Met Gala Attendance), Charlie Puth & Johnny Goldstein ("Lose My Breath").
The hashtag & #JYP는시오니스트를퇴출하라 was created on Twitter to encourage JYPE to stop having SKZ interact with Zionists.
:Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)
A fan made graphics explaining how the BDS Movement applies to Stays.
:Levanter RE-COMEBACK
As the release date of Stray Kids track with Charlie Puth & Johnny Goldstein was set on the 10th of May, 2024, it was suggested that fans could boycott the release while still supporting the Kids, by, instead, streaming their other works. A project hosted by skzrecomeback came to be, called "Levanter RE-COMEBACK", encouraging Stay to stream "Levanter" on the tenth. They even released a schedule which featured a build-up to the date, combating the marketing schedule for the boycotted track.
To make the event go smoothly for everyone, they made an infographic explaining how to stream.
:The Palestine Children's Relief Fund
The ARTDDINARY EVENTS Twitter started a fundraiser: Stay for PCRF.
On the 4th of May 2024, a list of participating Staytists was shared:
* binnniebunnny
* chococonene
* hearteyedchan
* hymukiyo	
* kiroujidraws
* maieekman
* manarosae
* miraxs_r	
* mooniemoonieee
* pyxisoo
* saridell_
* Sisrachas	
* Solaryargh
* SpadesAhoy
* starrybins
* t_rinosaur
:Song Boycotts
While some fans wished to boycott their collaboration with Charlie Puth for several reasons (including him being considered a sexual assault apologist), other Stay felt that it was an affront to the Kids and negating their work and contributions to the song. Others felt that it was a chance to break through in the Western market, while others felt that sentiment was disrespectful to Stray Kids, wondering if people really thought they needed someone else's help to gain momentum, rather than doing so based on their own merit.
A Twitter account under the username skz_us_digital made a post stated that a collective had 'donated' over three thousand US dollars into a pool to help Stay in the USA purchase the digital song, in order to help boost its likeliness of hitting the Billboard Hot 100™ music chart. They temporarily privatized their account, possibly related so some backlash received, wondering how they could care more about giving money to the millionaires in charge of SKZ than those who were struggling. Perhaps the money was ill-placed, and could have gone to a Palestinian cause. The money could have been used to try and uplift any other song, one that was produced in full by SKZ rather than one that featured other, controversial, artists. One fan posted about the possibility of being able to report the Twitter account for financial fraud, while another suggested how foolish it was for those who donated money to the account - though the account never specifically said how the money was collected, or from whom. But another, yet, reiterated how it was their money to do with as they please.
One fan announced that they would be creating a thread of Twitter accounts that "apoyan o incitan el boicot", thereby creating a Block/Soft Block/Unfollow list.
===Challenges & Exchanges===
* Merry XXXmas Collab
** (Hyunjin) & (Han) by choco_bangart & DeathMortifer_, published 21 December 2023
** (Bang Chan) & (Lee Know) by sevngkneefuckr & straybees, published 22 December 2023
** (Felix) & (I.N) by sungsnail & svngsapphire, published 23 December 2023
* Stay Secret Santa
* White Day Exchange - run by st4ytistevents
** Minlix by heartsvng for mlkittenn, published 13 March 2024
===Common Tropes & Fanon===
* Alternate Universe - College/University
* Friends to Lovers
* Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
* Alternate Universe - High School
* Strangers to Lovers
* Enemies to Lovers
* Alternate Universe - Fantasy
====SKZ-Centric Tropes & Fanon====
* Lee Know is Whipped
* Stray Kids Marvel Multiverse of Madness:
** IntoTheSKZverse
*** Spider-Han
===Fan Participation and Support Projects===
====C Bars====
Due to Chinese laws limiting the ability of Chinese businesses to sell kpop albums, fans operate C Bars in order to purchase, import and distribute Stray Kids albums and merchandise to fans based in China. C Bars are often formed in support of a particular member and function somewhere between a very large group order and a private online only store.
====Events====
* held by Sugarrrrrracha
====Fancalls====
These occur when a fan is allowed to speak one-on-one with one of the group members for a short period of time.
====Fanclub====
The official Stray Kids fan club is run by JYPE. Enrollment is open for a limited amount of time, generally one month per year. Fan club benefits include limited edition merchandise such as photo cards and posters, access to an online fan space where fans can interact with each other and the members, pre-sale ticket purchasing for certain events such as concerts and fanmeets, and ability to enter the lottery for tickets to events such as music show broadcasts. The online fan space was initially hosted on JYP Fan’s, but moved to VLIVE in 2019 and then to Bubble in 2022. Although the posts in the fan spaces are intended to be private, many membership holders share the content with other fans through social media.
:STAY HIDEOUT
The concept for the 4th Gen fanclub was STAY HIDEOUT, a clubhouse for STAY. Fans could only purchase access to the club from 15-28 January, 2024 on YES24 TICKET. Stray Kids did a Photo Shoot for the concept.
Some fans expressed concern over the safety of using YES24 TICKET to purchase their ticket. 
The kits were shipped out in May 2024. A fan did an unboxing. One fan claimed that the kit carried a bed bug, and another a live bug, which led to several people posting that they were nervous to receive their kit, would open it outside Update, or after putting it in the freezer Update, then celebrating when there were not bugs. One fan joked:
::Fanart
* (Seungmin & Han) by gomokunabe, published 16 January 2024
====Fansites====
Fansites (not to be confused with fansite web pages) are fans who follow the group around the world and take professional quality photographs and videos of them at official appearances such as fansigns, fanmeets, concerts, award shows and public areas at airports. Stray Kids have had many fansites since pre-debut, some dedicated to a particular member, some to a ship, and more rarely to the whole group. Fansites often publish teaser images on Twitter with higher quality versions available for purchase.
====Fan Translators====
JYPE provides some translations to fans, especially on variety and behind the scenes videos produced and distributed by the company. However, there is a large quantity of content that is not officially translated such as live streams, magazine interviews, comments on stage, and some song lyrics. There are many fan translators that provide unofficial translations of this content. The content is often originally in Korean, Japanese, English, or Chinese and fan translators will translate between these languages and also into many others including Spanish, Russian and Thai.
* ddeskz - , since October 2020
====Group orders====
Many fans purchase albums and other merchandise through group orders. A group order is when fans order items together in big purchases, usually run by a single person (commonly referred to as a GO manager) who receives, packages, and ships out the items themselves. The benefits of buying through a group order includes receiving store specific pre-order benefits, being guaranteed a particular member's photo card instead of relying on chance, the ability to purchase albums only sold in select countries (usually Japan) and lower costs due to bulk international shipping. The benefits to GO managers are that the bulk buy in their name can help them attend fansigns and fan call events, as an album is one entry into the ticketing lottery.
====Reactors====
There are many people who film themselves reacting to Stray Kids content and then upload these videos to sites like YouTube, Patreon and Tiktok for others to watch. They react to various types of content such as official music videos, songs, variety content, compilation videos, and live performances. Because much of the content is copyrighted, the reaction videos are often not able to be monetized on YouTube. Some of the reactors are fans who do it for fun while others are professionals who make an income from reaction videos, such as by having extra content available on Patreon for a fee.
====Streaming and Voting Projects====
See its wiki page.
====Twitter====
On Twitter, these are the tags used to denote Stray Kids tweets: , , & .
To celebrate their anniversary, fans used the following tags: , , & .
Some other fan tags are: , & .
====Update and Voting Accounts====
Many fans run social media accounts on places like Twitter or Instagram dedicated to promoting Stray Kids. Some accounts focus on promoting a particular member and will curate and re-post any media of that member such as fancams, magazine appearances, interviews, etc. Other accounts promote the various voting competitions fans can enter such as voting for them for awards shows or for online competitions like "best kpop dancer".
* fanbase_kids - , since January 2018
* StayVotingZone - , since August 2020
====Video Editors====
There are fans who create videos of or about Stray Kids and upload them to various sites such as YouTube, Tiktok, Twitter, and Instagram. Common types of fan created videos include compilation videos featuring a particular member, ship or theme, introduction videos to help new fans, and short clips from content or live performances, sometimes slowed down or set to a popular meme song.
===Important Moments in Fan History===
* survival show in late 2017
* debut on 25 March 2018
* Rookie of the Year and Best New Artist awards in 2018
* first music show win for Miroh on 4 April 2019
* Woojin departure on 28 October 2019
* Go Live album KOMCA platinum achievement in 2020
* Hyunjin hiatus in early 2021
* Kingdom: Legendary War participation and win in 2021
* Performance of the Year first Daesang (Grand Prize) in 2021 
* 1st 5mil seller album with 5-Star in 2023	
===Member Interactions With Fans===
* Twitter reply parties
* SKZ talkers
* Fansigns and fancalls
* Video and audio lives (vlive, youtube, insta, tiktok, bubble)
* Chan's Room
* Bubble private messaging service
* Instagram
===Nachimbong===
The Stray Kids light stick is called a Nachimbong, which combines the Korean words for compass and kpop light stick, and was teased on Twitter the 24th of October, 2019, then revealed on November 15, 2019 for their “District 9: Unlock” tour.
The original light stick spun in the middle:
One fan summarized a reaction to the light stick:
Some fans were disappointed that in the version 2 teaser, it looked like the central piece no longer had a spinning function. However, some fans believed this could be intentional, as a metaphor, but others pointed out that it's more likely just a feature change.
===Response to AI-Generated Content===
====AI for Fanart====
===="Stray Kids" AI Covers====
==Shipping==
There is debate within the fandom about the appropriate limits of shipping; however, in practice it is very popular with many and, as is the case with most kpop, it is subtly encouraged by the company and members themselves.
===Self Insert===
Self Insert fanfiction, commonly referred to as y/n (your/name) fic, is when a fan imagines themselves dating or interacting with a Stray Kids member. These types of fics come in many different formats and can be written in first, second or third person. For third person fics, authors can use the term y/n or an OC for the reader to substitute themselves in. 
====Examples====
* by HoratioK
* by healinghyunjin
Due to boyfriend fanservice being a big appeal of kpop, Stray Kids have filmed music videos that show themselves as the perfect partners. The most obvious examples of this are the music videos for “” and “,” which were filmed for their Japanese releases Circus and The Sound respectively. Both music videos are shot in first person perspective, intended for the viewer to imagine themselves with each Stray Kids member. The videos are infamous in the fandom; Stray Kids themselves to "Your Eyes" in a VLive.
==Fanworks==
===Fanart===
The tags on Twitter are & .
====2020====
* by 楊皓, published 29 March 2020
* by KF, published 20 April 2020
* by paro_skz, published 22 April 2020
====2021====
* in SKZOO costumes by nnasunasuu, published 21 February 2021
* by Lawleighette, published 24 September 2021
====2022====
* Pokemon crossover by ohprcr, published 19 January 2022
* by letoscrawls, published 12 March 2022
* DnD fusion by cowboyracha, published 14 April 2022
====2023====
See its wiki page.
====2024====
* by mco_o325, published 01 January 2024
* by apaapancho, published 12 January 2024
* by coma_c_, published 13 January 2024
* by dishchan_skz, published 16 January 2024
====Gallery====
File:PanyPrany.jpg|Merman AU from eldest to youngest, by PanyPrany, 04 July 2023
====With Former Member Woojin====
* by bluetala, published 28 June 2018
* by Lucy K, published 14 January 2020
* by kkuljaem, published 28 May 2020
* & by kkuljaem, published 30 May 2020
===Fanfiction===
 tag at Archive of Our Own.
===GIFs===
* by linolinoing, published 25 March 2024
===Memes===
* by channiessky, published 19 December 2023
* by loveskzly, published 05 May 2024
===Meta===
* by 1818STAY, published 03 January 2018
* by hyunebuns, published 31 December 2023
* by nyanrachas, published 12 January 2024
===Questionnaires & Surveys===
* by kersenvla, for 2022
** 
** 
** 
** 
** 
* by kersenvla, for 2023, which linked to as a resource
====2023 Questions====
File:Screenshot 2023-12-30 NSFW RPF STAY TWT SURVEY 2 Electric Boogaloo 1.png|Page 1
File:Screenshot 2023-12-30 NSFW RPF STAY TWT SURVEY 2 Electric Boogaloo 2.png|Page 2a
File:Screenshot 2023-12-30 NSFW RPF STAY TWT SURVEY 2 Electric Boogaloo 2b.png|Page 2b
File:Screenshot 2023-12-30 NSFW RPF STAY TWT SURVEY 2 Electric Boogaloo 3.png|Page 3a
File:Screenshot 2023-12-30 NSFW RPF STAY TWT SURVEY 2 Electric Boogaloo 3b.png|Page 3b
File:Screenshot 2023-12-30 NSFW RPF STAY TWT SURVEY 2 Electric Boogaloo 4.png|Page 4
===Text Post Edits===
* by DollyD1saster, published 16 August 2023
===Twitter Accounts===
* - Fic Promotion
===Zines===
* BLUEPRINT
* In Every Universe
* Skirt Kids Zine - organized by piapi__
==External Links==
* 
* 
==References==
!