Caskerbox
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | caskerbox |
| Alias(es): | cΔsker 🍫 |
| Type: | Translator, Fan Theorist, Fanartist |
| Fandoms: | LOONA |
| Communities: | Team Subbits |
| Other: | |
| URL: | Twitter (Wayback from 2019, since deactivated), YouTube, Patreon |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
caskerbox was an well-known Orbit. They are often considered the first fan translator for LOONA. They were also one of the founding members of Team Subbits.
They were also a Loonaverse "theorist", known for their Twitter threads and for popularising many of the early fan theories.
They left the fandom in 2019 after flaming and harassment.
Fanworks
- Mapping the LOONAverse (2018) — an animatic series that aimed to create a "cinematic map" of the Loonaverse.
They also made LOONA quizzes, theory threads, live translations and more. They also uploaded some of their content to Patreon.
Closing Account
In 2019, they officially closed their account and departed the fandom, following flaming and harassment.
They wrote the following note addressing the wider fandom:
A parting & thank you noteHello all, @caskerbox here, I am sad and sorry to bring you news that as of today, I will be discontinuing all activity on this account.
For the past two years, I had an opportunity to translate and share about LOONA with Orbits from all around the world. It has been a surreal experience, something that I would have never imagined getting into when I first found LOONA. And over two years, I got to witness the growth of LOONA as a group as well as the Orbit fandom. I’ve watched LOONA become more recognized and loved for their unique charms and talent, and saw the fandom become more united, organized, powerful, creative, and loyal. And somewhere along the way, I received much undeserved support from Orbits and was given a platform to reach more than others. I took this as a privilege and never took it lightly, and I made it my goal to promote LOONA in a positive light, and to help unite the Korean and international fandoms.
But the truth is, it hasn’t been exactly easy running this account, and there had been a lot of pressure that I received that I couldn’t share with you all. And in light of recent events especially, I’ve come to realize this may be the end of my time. In my 20k tweets, I can say that I have never once portrayed the girls in an inappropriate way, minor or of age, or said anything that I would be ashamed to show to the members. I have also never once supported inappropriate behaviors of other Orbits. It’s true I always tried to be friendly to all, but I had very few friends on Twitter. My silence never implied support, I simply unfollowed and moved on. I also have never spoken on the gender topic because I believe there is truth to the pain, and I believed it was not my place to comment. I also don’t believe that male fans should ever be praised or put on a pedestal for doing what should be considered normal. When reading many false accusations to my name, and associations to those I didn’t support, I deliberately chose not to clear my name and bring attention, but instead focus on what I loved doing, which was to promote LOONA and help Orbits. Yet over time, words cut deep and I found myself enjoying my time less and less and my old anxiety issues began to resurface, to the point I realized I needed to put a hard stop for my own good. It’s a reminder to all that behind every fansite and fan account is a real person.
Yet I also know there have been far more Orbits who have been supportive, and I truly thank every one of you. I also am grateful to my friends who supported this decision, trusting me to do what I believed I needed. I met so many great Orbits on here and I will never forget the crazy things we did together, like staying up till 3AM live translating LOONAirth leaks, resurrecting an 8-month album to the top of charts, writing mass fan-letters to bbc, experiencing the entire 4 days of LOONA-con, waiting for every MV and music drop, discussing and analyzing every last detail of the LOONAvverse, getting mad together for LOONA, and crying of joy together for LOONA. If this is really the last, I really want to say I thank you all and that I love Orbits. I will continue to support LOONA in my own ways from behind. Farewell!
From @caskerbox[1]
Response
In response to their departure from the fandom, fellow fan translator and Team Subbits member daebak jjang commented:
Maybe you can finally finish the Mapping the Loonaverse Series? 😆Joking aside, I remember the time when you finally became an Orbit and decided to become more active on twitter initially as just an "art" account.
But quickly you realized that there are many misunderstandings between wuebits and hanbits due to our unfamiliarity with each other. And so you took it upon yourself to try and bridge that gap so we could all understand and ultimately accept one another.
Slowly but surely you filled in those gaps, cleared the misunderstandings and unite Orbits as one fandom. In doing so, many started to look to you as their source for everything Loona. In time, you became one of the most influential Orbits.
Whatever you post, many take it as Loona gospel. People look for your opinions about many issues regarding the group. People started to expect everything from you. As the saying goes, "with great power comes great responsibility".
And you shouldered that responsibility all by yourself. I can only imagine what a burden that must have been. The beauty of social media especially twitter is the amount of people you can reach just with a few words.
But it also has an ugly side. Your words can easily be misunderstood. Your messages twisted. People start to forget that behind that account there is a real person who have their own struggles, their own battles.
Part of the reason why I never became active here until just recently is because I know how easily things I say/do can be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Even if you have the most innocent and good-willed intent, people can and will turn it into something malicious.
Knowing how busy you are with your job and everything else, it really amazes me how you managed to keep up with everything that's been going on. That said, you're only human. You smile, you laugh, you get hurt. You can only bear so much before it becomes too much.
As one of the few people who had the privilege of meeting you before you even stanned Loona, I am deeply thankful for the role you played. It wasn't an easy one but it was a vital one. The fandom will not have been where it is right now without you. And I mean that wholeheartedly
Being an Orbit since day one, I've promised myself to always put Loona first in everything that I do. Knowing that you did the same, it really fills me with unending gratitude.
Now it's time that you put your well being first. Get your mind away from all this. Take your time with your recovery. Enjoy the things you enjoy without worries.
And whenever you feel like fanboying or just want to talk about Loona, kpop or life in general, you can always go back to the place where this all started 😉
For dedicating your precious time translating. For uniting Orbits all around the world. For being our voice of reason on many occasions. Most importantly, For stanning Loona...
Thank you @caskerbox! You will forever be ingrained within this fandom. Your contributions will never be forgotten. You don't have to carry this burden any longer. You did well![2]
Another fan on his departure:
Obviously not great from a fandom perspective, but it will probably be greatly beneficial to Casker's health. He's talked in the past about his long work hours compounded by the fandom "work" — not a ton of sleep because he was getting up at odd hours to watch/livetweet LOONA live content. He had to take a few breaks from the account because of wrist pain. I also recall that he once said he was "literally shaking" because some commentators on Naver said they didn't like Chuu which, at least to me, speaks to the anxiety issues he mentioned in this letter.
I looked around on Twitter and couldn't find any proof related to the accusations he touches upon — just a bunch of teenage stans conducting a baseless witchhunt. Hate for this of all things to be the reason, but glad to see him taking a step back for his own health. He's too good for stan Twitter.[3]
Legacy
They are known as one of the most influential Orbit accounts, known for being the main translator while LOONA's fandom was smaller and nugu. They also helped in popularising Loonaverse theories. Similar to barttheworld, they have left the fandom due to personal reasons, but their name is regularly included on Iceberg Tiers.[4]
Some fan comments:
caskerbox: one of the biggest orbit accounts before. also one of the main theorists for loonaverse. they eventually fizzled out of the fandom due to fandom issues[5]
omg im such an old orbit some people don't know who casker is 😭😭😭[6]
Fanwork Gallery
A snippet from the Mapping the LOONAverse series
A fan theory/infographic on the LOONAVERSE
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