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MY LIBERATION NOTES (2022) CALL IT LOVE (2023)

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DAMN IT

2023 EXO WRAPPED

newton's 4th law states that for every "it's so over" there's an equally opposite "we are so back" so taking that into account i present to you the 2023 EXO WRAPPED so we can take a look at how truly insane EXO's career was this year

so we started out the year on a positive note. baekhyun was about to come back from the military - every other member was available, and the rumors of an EXO comeback were growing stronger. things were looking UP!

sadly - our first "it's so over" comes into play a mere month into the year, when news broke that lee sooman was being ousted from SM after a hostile board takeover resulted in him reaching out to hybe to get enough juice to fend off the witch hunt

no one knew what the fuck was going on - every idol in that company was sending out coded messages begging for help and all the scheduled comebacks got delayed, half assed or canceled. thankfully the succession plot got discarded quickly and hybe dropped out from the race, resulting in kakao investing in SM as major shareholder and lee sooman officially leaving the company.

after a few months of uncertainty EXO were finally reunited for their anniversary fanmeeting - we are so back!!! this was the first time the 8 members were together on stage since 2018 so of course everybody was losing their shit. and then we got confirmation that the comeback was finally happening.

this was it. it was happening. the FIRST full group comeback IN FIVE YEARS... we had confirmation, so they couldn't take it back - right? RIGHT??? except.... the weeks kept passing and as time went on we knew nothing else about the comeback. the members were radio silent and SM was still getting their shit together from the hostile takeover. both EXO and shinee's comebacks got delayed (among others) and no one knew what was supposed to happen. every day we got another news article about the EXO comeback but the EXO in question was nowhere to be seen - the full spectrum of the exol experience:

what happened next constitutes what experts have called the biggest "it's so fucking over" in recorded history so you better buckle up....

the comeback was first confirmed on social media by numerous music producers who were often seen working with EXO. SM was still radio silent but we KNEW the album was being made at the very least. expectations were building up and the members were seen practicing together in the SM building.... and then.

kai got notified that he had to enlist WITH ONE WEEK'S NOTICE.... the comeback wasn't even done shooting. kai was dying his hair a different color everyday to cram an album's worth of content in a couple of days. in hindsight this was truly our biggest L of the year

and then SM lied about how the military had suddenly changed the rules of enlistment so they didn't know kai had to go. AN ACTUAL MILITARY OFFICIAL had to go on the record to disprove this and it turns out SM had lied because they fucked up kai's paperwork and he couldn't defer any more. just your average SM fuck up

anyway. we'd facen worse right? an exo member enlisting has never been a problem to release a comeback - so after sending kai off to his bootcamp the rest of exo went right back to business. that album wasn't gonna record itself.....

and then on june 1st the second airplane hit the exo towers.

the amount of articles and updates we got every hour from different parties was insane. no one knew what the fuck was happening and SM was busy fighting this PR nightmare with a smear campaign against CBX and by association the rest of EXO

exoplanet was on fire but we had a silver lining: SM stock was plummeting to an all time low. it looked like EXO freedom was on the horizon, but in a classic EXO move the members had ghosted us. no one had heard from them except for legal statements from their lawyers - but hey at least SM was a dumpsterfire!

mind you the comeback hadn't even been announced.... at this point we assumed that was the least of their worries and then word got out that the members had been trying to film the MV in the middle of the lawsuit and SM hadn't allowed CBX entry to the set... which was later disproved but no one even questioned that cause it's literally something SM would do

and then in what constitutes the single most bizarre album rollout in kpop the comeback was officially announced - with two prerelease songs and three MVs! and three members in a legal battle! sounds very 2014 right? well exols didn't give a shit, and then we got our next we are sooo back. the hype was THERE

after a lot of 📈📉📈📉 the lawsuit against SM was settled and CBX decided to remain in the company for the sake of the group, and the songs they prereleased were actually good so it was safe to say exoplanet was on their WE ARE SOOOO BACK era.... but SM wouldn't let us have it so easy so of course this happened immediately after

they started cancelling albums and understocking distributors but nevertheless... WE PERSISTED. the album was finally released and once again EXO, true to their title of the cockroaches of kpop, managed to break several records despite SM sabotaging them left and right. they had ONE music show win and THREE streams but it didn't matter. EXO was back.

after their comeback promotions lasted a whopping SEVEN days and then dipped from the face of the earth exoplanet was finally looking back to normal

baekhyun drunk texted fans on bubble and held live spaces on twitter where he fell asleep and snored in front of 30 thousand people. kyungsoo dropped a mini album that had been recorded and ready to go for over a year and then rumors of someone leaving SM started circulating on korean foums again. exols were busy counting down the days to sehun finally hauling his ass to the military and every time EXO SC had a fanmeeting we were sure he was going to leave. and THEN....

surprising absolutely no one, kyungsoo didn't renew his contract with SM and left amicably in mid october. suho sent this bubble the same day the news came out btw

we were back in our it's so over era which at this point for EXO and exols it's closer to our we are so back era.... it's kinda hard to keep up but at least nothing else was gonna happen. it was already november, the end of the year was coming and no one expected anything else in exoplanet for at least 6 to 8 months. this is already longer than exo's career so i'll just wrap it up in a second part!!

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Die, kill, fight, shout

This is not a war

Clash, hit, take sides, fight

This is not a game

- EXO // MAMA

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It feels like I'm turning away as I have lost it.

I have to hold it in, though I shut my eyes.

-EXO // MAMA

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Hey! Could you maybe recommend a more cozy feel good kdramas? Thanks! 😊

We all love a good Cozy Drama!

Warm & Cozy K-dramas:

Hometown Cha Cha Cha: Slice of life drama that takes place in a small town. Lots of great characters and the romance is cuuuute.

Your House Helper: A very sweet drama centering three woman who live together and the healing each of them needs. This one is waaaay underrated!

Soundtrack #1: A short drama about two friends. One of them is helping the other write a love song (while also being in love with her). It's cute!

Romance Is A Bonus Book: Noona romance, workplace drama about two family friends who fall in love.

I'll Go To You When The Weather Is Nice: A small town drama about an introverted book shop owner and a woman that moves back home. They have a bookclub with the neighbors that is excellent! One note: Some streaming sites block the conversation at book club and just place music over it (I think it's a rights thing). If you don't hear words, try and watch it somewhere else. (That edit is really annoying)

A Piece Of Your Mind: A melo romance that takes place primarily at a small music studio. The domestic bliss in this one is very adorable.

12 Nights: A short drama about two people that meet and spend a total of 12 nights together.

One Spring Night: A Slice of life love story about a single dad and a librarian.

Touch Your Heart: A more traditional rom com between a lawyer and a celebrity, but there's almost no tension whatsoever so I really enjoyed that.

Run On: I'm not sure if this counts as cozy but I found this drama to be super comforting. Must be all of the soft people in it!

Just Between Lovers: I'm not sure this drama is actually warm and cozy because there is a LOT of trauma, but the couple is one of my comfort couples so I'll just put it here anyways.

Enjoy!

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She is back... There's only one reason why I like winter. The leaves that were covering my window have fallen so I can now see your window across the street. And because of Christmas and New Year's Day, she comes back to this town and spend a few days here...

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Eun-seob places a great deal of importance on nurturing others, which is evident when he explains his store’s name: “People have a hard time doing basic things, so I hope they will eat well and sleep well. That is my hope.” This is the ethos of the drama, which takes a realistic approach to telling its story. The show roots itself in the real world by depicting characters enjoying coffee, biking to school, reading, and doing other everyday tasks.

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If someone doesn’t love me like ram and sita love each other, I’m okay being alone for the rest of my life

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Just me and my obsession with military boyfriends, wives and girlfriends anticipating the return of their lovers, fake dating and romance through letters against the world

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Lee Gon's narration: Someone who does not age. A near-immortal life. That is what you want to achieve. Eternity. "Traitor. LEE LIM!"

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"... I missed you so much like crazy. So I was going to just hear your voice and leave." "My voice?" "I was going to call you from that pay phone over there."

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"I also realized that I never told you this. I love you. I'm deeply in love with you."

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"There will come a moment when it seems I have disappeared. I don't want you to worry too much when that happens. It just means I'm walking through the frozen moments in time."

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"I've been thinking about it. I'm just going to live for today and not think about anything else. As if today is the only ordinary day where we're allowed to be scandalous. That's what we should do. Let's just do that."

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"When courage is needed she becomes a warrior."

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"Protect her! She's the future queen!"

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"Let me skip the thanks." "You're skipping so much." "I missed you. I missed you. I missed you."