#caged bird teaser

[georgiapeach30513]

This are going well for Caged Bird 🥴

@rainydayandmondays this one is for you

[ofswanlake]

Melting

Melting is the first full album released by Nari. It was released on May 8th, 2024 through VIE Entertainment and Republic Records. It is available digitally and physically.

GET YOUR PHOTOCARD HERE!

PLAY ALBUM HERE.

TRACK 01. Espresso (orig. by SABRINA CARPENTER) is a funk-pop English song written by Nari and produced by Julian Bunetta. On Genius, she explains that she compares herself to coffee to emphasize how energetic her partner gets with her. The lyrics further explain that she can get the guy— any guy— and she is this person’s dream come true. Nari references pop culture with Nintendo and Mountain Dew in this song.

TRACK 02. Melting (orig. by KALI UCHIS) is a dreamy love song written by Nari and Kino and produced by IO and Diplo. The song details falling in love with someone who makes you lose all your worries.

TRACK 03. Rooftop * (orig. by YOOA) is a hip-hop dance number with addictive string sounds and the booming percussion sound of an 808 bass written by Nari and Ryder Kim, produced by Jimmi. On Genius, Nari states, “Rooftop compares the line between reality and dreams to a rooftop— and a bird in the cage represents being stuck, and the bird wants to fly away and be free.”

TRACK 04. Kitty Cat * (orig. by JULIE of KISS OF LIFE) is a hip-hop based pop genre song composed of both vocals and rap. It’s written by Nari and Jennie, produced by IO. The song defies society’s expectations that a woman should be tame and submissive, and Nari is exactly the opposite. The lyrics further that while it may she like she has everything, she feels unloved and feels objectified and controlled by those around her. The societal “gaze” becomes too much for her to handle, and she just wants to break free from everyone’s expectations.

TRACK 05. Nothing (orig. by KISS OF LIFE) is a medium-tempo R&B song inspired by the 2000s written by Nari and Lainey, produced by Sade. The song is about a love reaching its end, a love that changed and the lack of emotion in the relationship.

TRACK 06. Sugar Rush (orig. by BIBI) is a playful and empowering anthem with upbeat R&B pop with a sparse hip-hop beat. It’s written by Nari and Pink Slip and was produced by Pink Slip and inverness. The song emphasizes Nari’s allure and charm while also warning those who try to take advantage. This song in particular is popular for its lyrics, hidden meaning in lyrics and surprise guest appearances by the rest of BLACKPINK in the music video.

TRACK 07. Don’t Let Me Go (ft. GIRIBOY) (orig. by JEON SOMI & GIRIBOY) is an upbeat song with a catchy whistle tune and smooth rapping featuring K-rapper and producer, GIRIBOY. The song discusses the need to be with the one you love.

TRACK 08. Teenager in Love (orig. by MADISON BEER) is a doo-wop pop song written by Nari and One Love, produced by One Love. The song references Dion and the Belmonts’ 1959 song “A Teenager in Love”. The original is about

TRACK 09. Feeling Lucky (ft. Jackson Wang) (orig. by BIBI, JACKSON WANG) is an all English sultry pop song written Kurtis Wells, Aldae & ABSOLUTELY and produced by Aldae and Kurtis Wells. The song is about a mutual attraction and the thrilling dynamics of a romantic relationship. It is the only song not written by Nari on the album.

PHYSICAL ALBUM CONTENT

1 disc + photobook (68 photos) + two versions + one random photocard out of three + one out of two random mini posters + one out of two random solo polaroids + one ot5 blackpink polaroid + stickers + one big folded poster + one swan keychain (PRE-ORDER ONLY)

STYLIST’S CHOICE

Rooftop Stages

Kitty Cat Stages

Espresso Stages

HIGHLIGHTS

Espresso was released first as a surprise with one teaser announced on social media on May 6th, 2024 at 12AM KST. The song was an English pre-release single.

The music video for Espresso had 76 million views in the first 24 hours. It debuted at #1 on Worldwide iTunes Songs Chart, as well as charting #1 on Bugs and Genie, #3 on MelOn, and #94 on Flo. On all music platforms, the single cover was what captured many attention.

Melting was soon announced with teasers posted on May 8th, 2024. It received over 200k pre-orders in the first 24 hours and within two weeks, it had 1.5million pre-orders.

There are two versions of the album, HEART and FACE.

Melting was released across all platforms on May 27th, 2024. All songs charted in the top 100 across Bugs, Genie, and MelOn. Rooftop debuted at #97 on Flo. The track Sugar Rush was banned from music shows.

Rooftop gained 59 million views within 24 hours, debuting at #1 on Bugs and Genie, #2 on MelOn and #97 on Flo. Nari promoted Rooftop on Korean music shows for two weeks, gaining seven music show wins during the time but in total had eleven wins for the song and performed Kitty Cat three times.

Nari promoted Espresso first, after she went to the Met Gala. She performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

She also went on Genius Verified to explain the lyrics, along with Wired! for Nari Answers the Web’s Most Searched Questions.

She was super excited to do the Puppy Interview with Buzzfeed, she even posted a selfie teaser before the video and some videos on her Instagram once the video was out.

When promoting in Korea, she made sure to go on a lot of variety shows, mostly because she never got the chance before.

She went on Jaefriends, Knowing Bros, Let’s Eat, XYOB, The K-Star Next Door with Jonathan, D&E’s Wanna Come Here, PSICK Show, and The Killing Voice. She really enjoyed being on all of them, making sure to show her appreciation for being invited.

Nari explained on Genius Verified about Teenager in Love, “It’s not about anyone you know.”

VIE Entertainment (Nari) posted a live performance and dance practice for Espresso, Rooftop, and Kitty Cat on YouTube. Along with a lot of vlogs after the era was over, including her GRWM video for the Met Gala (which was posted before), preparing for her comeback, videos of her in the studio, etc.

She also opened her own TikTok account and began posting dance challenges with other idols, along with current trending challenges. She was the first idol Jennie did the Spot challenge with, and likewise for Espresso and Rooftop.

On social media, BLINKs were more ruthless than ever with getting rid of hate posts. VIE Entertainment also had to post a statement about taking legal action against malicious posts.

If she knew anything about said malicious posts, she never spoke out against them or seemed down at any point.

Not once did Nari answer any questions about Jungkook if she was asked by a reporter who couldn’t get the memo, known for either staring at them in silence until they changed the topic or laughing and ignoring them. But everyone knew they were still together as it somehow got out that she went to visit him.

Each time she went somewhere to a known schedule, she had multiple bodyguards with her just in case. And even for her just being out, she had bodyguards with her, no matter what. Which a lot of BLINKs (and Nari’s circle) were glad for.

All in all, it was a really good surprise comeback for Nari.

[clericsong]

sunday and robin ramblings 🕊

long post ahead containing some thoughts on sunday and robin because i'm really obsessed with them.

to start this, i want to talk about how self-sacrificial sunday is. even going past his plan where he literally intends to suffer to create paradise in true jesus figure fashion, robin mentions that while she confides in and receives support from sunday, he doesn't tell her anything. in her letter, we see her being concerned for him because she knows he's so overworked as well, taking on so much on his own, and from the robin pc, we see how much he tried to bear his loneliness in her absence. it's clear he didn't want to worry or burden robin, but i also believe he was doing this to prepare for his role past a certain point.

i headcanon that this self-sacrificial nature comes partly from witnessing his mother's death and having a survivor's guilt reaction to it, as well as a protectiveness for his last living family, robin- feeling guilt perhaps that his mother could not be saved, he's determined to protect robin from the same fate, at the cost of his 'unworthy' life; (once again, this is mostly inferred) the belief of this unworthiness may stem not only from wishing his mother had been saved instead, but also the way his inability to effectively protect robin as he wants- from her audience, from getting shot, then 'murdered'- is dangled over him time and time again, thus highlighting his failure properly parent her in their mother's place. this nature of his is then further cultivated by gopher wood to fit his agenda; i am also of the belief that he purposely encouraged the divide between the siblings, specifically robin's differing philosophy (it's shown he was indoctrinating sunday specifically with the teachings of the order as opposed to robin who was taught the odes of harmony), then her career and absence from her brother's side, in order to further isolate sunday so he could groom him.

and building off of that, i think it shows a paradox in sunday's sense of self-worth: with his monologue on it against the individualistic philosophy of the strong exploiting the weak, sunday is collectivist to the point of self-effacement, and yet he's extremely isolated in that he cannot trust in or rely on anyone, not even his sister. he's so ready to throw himself under the bus for "the greater good," and yet he also cannot believe in a world that isn't under his control.

and that brings me to robin, who embodies the very contradiction in sunday's logic: hope and kindness, the humanity in helping one another that ties us all together in true harmony. robin, who even in opposing sunday, cares for him so much that she asks him to reconsider his plan bc she does not want him to compromise himself. who embraces him in his defeat, and searches for him afterward. it feels as if when she challenges him during the boss fight is the first time it occurs to him that there's someone who would wish for his salvation and happiness as well, that robin loves him too much to let him do this to himself. he was ready to make a perfect world for her where she wouldn't need his support, a paradise where she would forever be shielded, but robin's core is helping people; she wouldn't be satisfied with an escapist fantasy where she's detached from the people she wants to help, and that includes him. she never stops reaching for him.

we have already heard countless times how despite robin's caged bird imagery, sunday is the truly caged bird in his isolation and ideology, along with the sort of world he seeks to create, emphasized further by his design elements (especially in contrast to robin): pierced wings, a set of wings that can't be spread, a more covered up, stiff, confined design, etc. but i'd like to add another inversion: in robin's teaser, we see that sunday is the one crying between them. i like to think this detail was intentional: even if sunday tries to be strong, and does everything to protect robin, he is resultantly the more vulnerable of the two siblings, or rather "the weaker": restricted by his position in the family, isolated without a support system, exploited by the strong through gopher wood's grooming, and made to suffer for the sake of a paradise for others. meanwhile robin is the stronger of the two: she comes out of her trauma with her own wounds, but rises from them with a renewed will to help others, she questions the role she's put in, she breaks out of her confines as an idol to do humanitarian work, and even wakes from ena's dream on her own. and once again, she never stops reaching out for sunday, embodying her very philosophy, whereas sunday contradicts his own philosophy in that to create his paradise, "the weak," in this case being himself, must suffer.

but sunday also contradicts his philosophy in a different way. he believes in a cruel world where the strong and individualistic take advantage of the weak, and yet there's someone who wishes to help others so much he is ready to damn himself for their happiness, someone who, despite being misguided, feels so much responsibility over helping the weak, someone who has unconditionally supported his sister without seeking anything in return. perhaps robin has such strong convictions in people helping each other because she witnessed it from him.

[miss-nandini]

Hey ehehe 👉👈 if you were the write a short snippet about this post how would u proceed with it? Im very curious 👀👀

A/N: Rin, you asked for this. Didn't want to break the 'Mal' cycle. So, I named his son Malthus. Now, let's take a look at this!

Thorns & Roses

[TEASER]

Twisted affections, delusion? Blind Trust?Or, was it the karma of ignoring the warnings of time?

All is well...

until...

Suddenly, the world is in the face of a disaster. The cruel claws of reality threaten to take away your loved ones. Your property, your life — everything.

Suddenly, ignorance isn't bliss anymore...

"Fantasy seems like heaven until you realize that at least reality won't scam you with fake promises."

Malleus thinks he gave you everything. Things he never had. Your own family, love, care, loyalty. What else you can ask for? You are perfectly happy here, no? You will never find out, you may never...

Yet...

A bird locked up in a cage is still a caged bird and it will take flight once set free.

You weren't supposed to be suspicious of him. You weren't supposed to meet HIM. Silver?! How did that happen? He was fully in control!

You start to question everything.

He threatens to take your baby boy away from you.

You disobey the orders.

He snatches your sweet kid from your lap and locks you up in your own room.

"Trust is a fickle thing..."

Does that breaks your heart? Yes. Does that make you furious? Yes. Does that make you loathe him? Absolutely Yes.

He should know that a shattered glass is still glass. One wrong move and you will bleed to death. He shouldn't have tampered with something that would leave him broken and bleeding, exposed to the freezing cold.

You beg Sebek to let him see your son. The poor child, who kept asking for his mother. Yet everytime...

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Sebek repeats every single time.

Days pass, Weeks pass, Months pass. But, Malleus's frozen heart doesn't melt from the pleas of a broken mother. Sebek doesn't let you see him either.

That's when you make up your mind. Suddenly, everything becomes crystal clear. What you thought of as gold was nothing but plastic. They should know...

"An wounded mother is the most dangerous person in the whole world."

Your love is long gone. Every thought of forgiveness withered like dried rose petals, only leaving a ghost of the past behind. Somewhere in the other world your son (?) Malthus stands before your younger self, sword in hand, hatred in his eyes.

"The right choice isn't always the good choice."

" If killing him is the last thing I will ever do, then so be it. Mother, I promise to save you and the world. I promise."

"Once you step in, there's no going out darling."

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓬 [Teaser]

You're supposed to keep him in check and integrate him into earth's society while he recovers from the aftereffects of catching a viral infection on his planet. All that, while you get to earn a pretty good monthly compensation for your efforts from the government of his and your planet.

Or more simplified: You're a paid babysitter for a 7' tall alien who's caught a virus that makes him act purely on instincts, rather than logic. Oh yeah- and he tried to eat your neighbor's pet bird. Yeah...

Tags/Warnings: Alien!Jungkook, Human!Reader, Yes I'm writing that story..., mentions of doctors visits (needles, injections, medical terms, blood), mild Angst, so much chaos, he almost eats a bird once oops, mild Angst, strangers to lovers, more TBA

Length: unclear

A/N: THERE IS NO TAGLIST. THERE IS NO TAGLIST FOR THIS. THERE REALLY ISNT. DO NOT ASK.

Out Now!

━━━━━━━━━━.~°👽°~.━━━━━━━━━━━

"Jungkook…" You say, at a stand-off with the big cat-like alien across from you who stares you down with his stupidly cute big round eyes as if he's not doing anything wrong. "Where is pudgy?" You ask, and at that he fully turns around, squirming bird in his hand. "Jungkook, no, no no no-!" You dramatically call out, hands reaching for him- when he looks at the bird, then at you. "Give him to me, yeah?" you try, and he seems completely taken aback for a moment, and almost- shy?

Unbeknownst to you, he thinks you want the bird for something entirely different. In his mind, you're not asking for the bird itself- you're asking for him to offer it for you.

You want him to... court you?

He seems to deeply think for a good moment as he watches the bird breathe heavily, it's life probably flashing before it's very eyes before Jungkook brightly grins, sharp canine teeth making his happy grin look more dangerous than it probably is.

You don't know why he's suddenly so chipper, tail held high and eyes sparkling.

Suddenly, he holds the bird out to you like he's offering it rather than returning it- and you carefully take the poor thing from his rough hold, accepting it. It's something that makes the tip of his tail snap upwards in excitement, eyes scanning you for every reaction as you walk back.

"I'll be... right back.." You carefully tell Jungkook, who shrugs. "Do not do anything while I'm gone." You warn, before you dash out the front door to return the pet yet again, violently knocking on your neighbor's door.

"What?!" Seokjin yells almost, when you hold out his bird to him. "Pudgy!"

"Yeah, fuck your bird Jin!" You yell at the young man. "Jungkook almost fucking ate him, keep the thing in his cage for god's sake! Do you know how much trouble I would've been in if he actually ate him? I'm not ensured for accidental pet-ingestion!" You complain, making the man laugh a little.

"I'll keep the windows closed from now on." He reassures you, and you nod, pinching the bridge of your nose as you make your way back downstairs into your apartment-

where a not so happy Jungkook waits, arms crossed and tail whipping angrily from side to side behind him, knocking down some papers on the kitchen table. He's clearly unhappy, growling a little with every breath, eyes sharp and glaring at you dangerously.

"What happened?" You wonder, and Jungkook himself wants to just yell at you.

You're so stupid, he thinks to himself. Why would you insult him like that? He caught that bird, and you wanted it- so he offered it, thinking you finally understood his intentions at this point- but no. Instead you insult him by giving HIS offering to that stupid human man upstairs, as if to mock him!

Do you want something more impressive? Maybe a tiny bird isn't enough to win you over. But on earth, there's not much prey to hunt- and considering he's a little bound to the interior of your apartment, he doesn't have any other options, really. And even if he was to catch something better- like the deer he'd almost caught if it wasn't for you scolding him for it- you still don't seem to like that at all. He doesn't know what else he could do to impress you.

What the hell do human woman want?!

Maybe he just really chose to court the most stupid and ungrateful human he could find- but he'll make sure you understand his intentions soon enough, and he'll teach you proper manners as well, once he's better. Right now, he's still unable to really do much in his state- but once he recovers a little more, he'll make sure.

He'll make sure you know exactly what he wants from you.

[eleventeeny]

An Analysis on the New Manson Era

Marilyn Manson is holding his first headlining show since 2019 tonight. The past few days have been pure bliss for Manson fans everywhere. We've gotten a new single, new music video, first stage appearance in 5 years, and soon the first headlining performance in 5 years.

In this post, I want to analyze what we've seen so far. I spoke on the new single a bit in my previous post. I spoke on the new single in my previous post, please check that out if you're interested.

Starting with the MM x NB teaser from May 2024, the costume designer has apparently confirmed that this video is part of a full music video that will be released at a later date.

Within this video, we see a ton of symbolism. In the opening alone, he holds or presents a few items that could have a specific meaning.

He first holds a book, however I'm not sure what this could represent, and I don't know what the book he's holding is either.

After, he holds a key which represents knowledge, strength and contempt, as well as having control.

The throne shown represents authority and the sword in front of the throne represents justice, but in Greek mythology it can also be a sign of vengeance.

The apple he holds represents wisdom or the forbidden fruit.

I noticed a lot of symbolism relating to the human body as well, for example the glass oxygen mask he holds to his face, or the costume he wears that represents the veins in the body.

Throughout this whole era, we've seen a lot of imagery with flowers. When we see this full image of Manson, we can see calla lilies. These flowers are poisonous if eaten and represent resurrection and rebirth. Behind him, we see a structure covered with white flowers which could be these same flowers, roses, and yellow birds.

At the end of the teaser, we hear the outro to As Sick as the Secrets Within: "Keep sleeping, I'll make you dream of me"

In the lyrics for As Sick as the Secrets Within, we get a bit of a reflection of the past few years for Manson, which is why the cover is an image of his reflection in a piece of a broken mirror.

"I built this cage we've been trapped in together, can't remember where I hid the keys" -- This could be about Manson starting problems and dragging others into it and then struggling to get them out of the mess he created. He is realizing that his actions have negatively affected himself and those around him.

"A reason for me, for me to get by became a need, a need to get high" -- Manson first started using drugs, like he says, to get by, but it became a need, an addiction.

"Then into a life that was no life at all" -- In his addiction, he was alive he wasn't truly living.

The chorus, to me, is about how your trauma and hurt can only control you as much as you let it. You can become your full self when you stop letting your problems take over you. The beast he mentions can be a representation of misery or the struggle to break pattern, and it tries to pull us back in and control us.

"Keep sleeping, I'll make you dream of me" -- Manson saying that even if you ignore him or turn a blind eye, he'll make you notice and hear him. He's always said that he doesn't care what you think of him as long as you think of him.

In the music video for As Sick as the Secrets Within, we see a lot of imagery with tentacles. This could just be a reference to Evan Rachel Wood's documentary, Phoenix Rising, which depicts Manson as a creature that uses his tentacles to bring her down. But these images could also serve as a very literal metaphor, symbolizing a strong, threatening force. He is a force to be reckoned with.

I noticed in the first image we see with the tentacles, it appears as the white part is the body of a woman and the black tentacles are reaching around the legs to get inside.

We see a lot of black and white imagery in this video, similar to the Say10 music video. Black represents evil and dark, white represents the good and purity. This picture could be an image of evil infiltrating good.

We also see a lot of red poppies in the opening. These signify hope for the future, but also remembrance. We also see a car in a field of these same poppies. It looks similar to the car JFK was assassinated in.

We see a skin-like sack entrapping Manson through the music video. It's covered in purple and red lines that look like veins. This could be a nod to his "wormboy" image he's used throughout his career. His arms are folded over his chest and he breathes through his mouth in an apparent struggle. He lays on a metal-like table, like an experiment.

Maybe this is the "skin" he refers to when saying there's a trick to get out of your skin. He's telling you that you can only be reborn by letting go of your trauma and secrets.

There's an image of a cross in front of a cross in front of a symbol on the wall made up by different papers with writings of suspected lyrics for the new album and a sort of spiral drawing. The papers appear to make up the shape of the image we see in the stage of his recent performance as well as other promotions.

An image of a triangle with a horizontal line through it flashes on the screen with a foggy background. This sign is the symbol for air in alchemy.

Manson waves around a key while saying "you're only as sick as the secrets within", he'sa saying he is no longer controlled by his secrets, he now has the key to break free.

The cup he drinks from causes a shift in the video. As he drinks, blood pours into the background. This may represent the wrath he will bring onto those who have hurt him.

He then breaks out of the yolk sac containing him, the birth of a new version of himself.

These last few years have been hard on him, but he came out on top, and he wants to show us that with this video and with this song.

[shima-draws]

Saw your tags and omg HARD AGREE. Dragon Cry is SO bad nfkanmdsa

ME AND YOU SHAKING HANDS

Actually yes thanks for giving me the excuse to rant. Hold on. I'm typing furiously rn.

-Okay first of all they gave us the most ridiculously confusing plot I've ever seen. The twist with Sonya being Animus was kinda cool but they never really. Explained why she had a bond with him? She mentioned he used to be kindhearted at some point but we never see that literally ever at any point in the movie?

-The storyline is so all over the place it's a HOT mess. Especially the scene right after Natsu escapes the weird bird cage thing he runs off to find the others and suddenly they're all there? For some reason? Where did they come from. Why didn't they have a little reuniting scene. I literally rewound the movie to make sure I didn't accidentally skip a scene but nope they just made the most awkward cut/story progression in history I guess!!!

-The fanservice was so. SO bad. Like yeah the majority of the time I can at least tolerate it but this time it just made me extremely uncomfortable. Why are Erza and Lucy's boobs SO fucking large. Why did they have to make Lucy dance in like two strips of cloth. I thought I woke up in an alternate universe where Fairy Tail was a hentai. I genuinely wanted to vomit lmao

-The animation style really threw me off like I can tell it was either animated by a different studio or they wanted to try a different art style for the movie? But it just felt wrong and the proportions and faces were weird and. Yeah idk.

-What was up with the Three Stars?? Iirc we never got to learn their names or what their motivations were they were literally just. There. And they were built up to be these super powerful wizards only to get their asses kicked by FT like two scenes later. I get that being a movie obviously the fights had to be shortened but they literally did the same thing in Phoenix Priestess but WAY better. They really were like yeah uh we need some enemies for Team Natsu to fight let's just go with these guys and not give them any personality or backstory or motivations. (Except for the doll dad he was okay I guess)

-WHY WAS LEVY THERE. LITERALLY. ACTUALLY. She literally did nothing she served NO purpose in the movie she was just there?? Did they just want to shove in as many cameos as possible??? I know generally Levy isn't much of a fighter which is fine, I was kinda expecting them to do a Gajevy scene where Gajeel rescues her from some soldiers or smth which would have been fine but they didn't even do that. She literally just stood there and had like 2 voice lines. GO GIRL GIVE US NOTHING

-SPEAKING OF CAMEOS this is more personal beef than anything but man WHYYY wasn't Loke in the movie,, my boy my beloved my stupid idiot lion I'm so mad he wasn't even onscreen for like, 5 seconds

-I'm sorry but Juvia was so unhinged this movie her possessive/stalker behavior over Gray was actually super fucking creepy lmao

-What did they do to Happy. What the FUCK did they do to Happy

THEY MASSACRED MY BOY. LOOK AT HIM. HE'S GOT ANXIETY

-ALSO the scene where Happy and Lucy were crying over Natsu and we got tons of flashbacks from his POV of people who are important to him? WHY THE FUCK WASN'T HAPPY THERE?? They literally showed everyone from Fairy Tail precious to Natsu except Happy and I'm just sitting here like. HELLO?? You are SO wrong for that

-I will say I DID enjoy the little Nalu teasers we got especially the scene where Natsu showed Lucy the stars 🤧

But yeah I was here for this and this only:

The Nalu + Happy family bonding moments made it OKAY

Anyway sorry rant over. Dragon Cry bad. Natsu's brief moment of looking half dragon was a super sexy character design choice but the buildup is not worth it imo

[diorkyeom]

.. MASTERLIST

「 also diorkyeom on ao3 」

☁ fluff, 🌪 angst, [i] idolverse, [au] alt. universe

.. ONESHOTS

◆ such sweet love ☁ , [i]

"the thing is. seungkwan loves these two. very much.

but when seokmin is making cooing sounds at his boyfriend and making joshua laugh while taking photos of him on the steps of some fancy building, it's all seungkwan can do to stop himself from bashing his head against the light-up steps until he ceases to exist anymore."

◆ like you hung all the stars in the sky ☁ , [i]

"so what if joshua watches him so attentively as he talks and is always the clingiest with seokmin in particular when he’s drunk and always whispers the sweetest, softest compliments when seokmin is at his lowest and always... oh.

joshua was in love with him."

◆ in the shapes in the clouds ☁ , [au]

"joshua just hums. the balcony railing is cold under his touch, seeping into his fingers, but it’s not exactly an unpleasant cold. not when seokmin’s arms are warm around him.

“it’s a soft night tonight.” "

◆ love, love, snapshoot ☁️ , light🌪 , [au]

"it was the fourth time this month that seokmin had come to the park, the fourth time he'd seen the pretty stranger sitting there, and also the fourth time his camera instinctively came up to his eyes, pressing the shutter with a small click.

it was, however, the first time the stranger looked into his lens at the shuttering sound."

◆ love me back? ☁️ , [au] / [i]

" “fifteen calls in the span of seven minutes,” joshua said into the phone. “your house better be on fire, seokmin.”

on the other end of the line, seokmin giggled, seemingly delighted by joshua’s deadpan tone. “hello to you too, hyung.”

cute, joshua thought, and then blinked. woah. who said that? "

◆ oh, how i adore you ☁ , 🌪 , [au]

teaser

"and joshua.... well. joshua had realised something. seokmin's laugh was, without a doubt, the best sound that he had ever heard."

◆ angel. ☁️ , [i]

"seokmin had dyed his hair recently, and joshua had to admit it looked really good on him. especially when he was like this, with his soft, pale hair fanned out all around him, the white gold fringe moving with every blink that seokmin took, making him look like some golden, warm, mystical being.

“angel,” joshua murmured. “angel, seokmin. you look like an angel.”

seokmin's eyelashes fluttered, beating softly like feathered wings."

◆ songbird. ☁️ , 🌪 , [i]

"“hey,” joshua said as seokmin brushed past him, looking intent on booking it out of the waiting room, out of the stadium and back home. “seokmin, wait.” he placed a hand on seokmin’s arm, before his eyes widened and his fingers gripped tighter, startled. seokmin was shaking. “hey,” joshua said again, softer. seokmin didn't meet his eyes, gaze flitting around like a nervous bird, panicked at being caged in. joshua's heart constricted. “just slow down a little for me, okay? what's wrong?”"

.. SERIES

◆ you be my venus, and i'll be your sun [au]

[complete]

masterlist ; teaser

"lately, seokmin had come to a realisation. joshua hong, seokmin thought, was a little bit of an enigma."

[dkniade]

Translating the Narrated Poem of the Story Teaser: “The Boy and the Whirlwind”

It’s an interesting thing, knowing that Venti’s poetry is not meant to be Chinese stylistically (usually traditional Chinese poetry has a specific syllable count per line depending on the style and is very condensed in imagery), but rather it’s in Chinese only in language. It carries a certain form and meter that makes it hard to recognize what it’s trying to mimic… But I’ll take a look at this lost ballad waiting to be found anyways.

This is the story teaser known in English as “The Boy and the Whirlwind”.

This is also the story teaser known in Chinese as “微风与少年”, or in other words—

“The Breeze and the Boy”.

——

.

Original Chinese Title: 微风与少年

Original Chinese Transcript

.

我要说的故事

开始于旧蒙德。

.

在那暴君统治的国度，

我认识一位少年。

.

少年懂得弹琴，

寻着自己的诗篇。

.

但他生在风墙之内，

从来不曾见过蓝天。

.

「我想看见飞鸟翱翔的模样。」

少年眼神倔强，瞳中有光。

.

但他的声音被呼啸风声盖过，

因为龙卷只会收取颂歌，不再留下其他声响。

.

真正的天空，囚笼外的诗与歌，

难道不是值得为之而战的愿望？

.

所以少年对我发出邀请：

「与我同去吧——碾碎暴君，撕开风墙。」

.

少年接起反叛之旗，

我亦投身追求「自由」的战争。

.

冲破囚笼之人一路得胜。

令神位崩毁，千风卷乱，诸国动震。

.

在硝烟中，我们见证暴君之末。

在灰烬中，我们见证高塔崩落。

.

如事，「新蒙德」之造史。

至此，无人再登王座。 ------

My Translated English Title: The Breeze and the Boy

My English Translation (Prose)

The story I’m about to tell

Starts in Old Mondstadt.

.

In that kingdom ruled by a tyrant,

I met a young boy.

.

The boy knew how to play the lyre, 

Searching for lyrics of his own.

.

But he lived within the storm-walls,

Having never seen the blue sky.

.

“I wish to see the birds soaring freely.”

The boy’s unyielding eyes had hope in them.

.

But his voice was lost in the howling wind,

For the whirlwind only accepted hymns, and left no other sound.

.

The true sky, the poems and songs beyond the cage,

Are they not wishes worth fighting for?

.

So the boy extended his invitation to me:

“Come with me. Let us pulverize the tyrant, and rip through the storm-walls.”

.

The young boy raised the flag of revolt,

And I threw myself into the fight for “Freedom”.

.

Victory followed those who broke through the cage,

Making the god’s seat crumble, the thousand winds whip, and nations shake violently.

.

In the parting smoke, we witnessed the end of the tyrant.

In the flying ashes, we witnessed the crumbling of the spire.

.

Thus, the epic of “New Mondstadt”.

So far, none has again taken its throne.

.

-----

Official English Title: The Boy and the Whirlwind

Official English Transcript

In Old Mondstadt transpired the story to be told,

.

Where a tyrant ruled, 

I met a boy, not that old.

.

The lyre he played, 

and for a song he sought,

.

But storm-walls blocked blue sky — 

he was sincerely distraught.

.

“I do so wish to see the birds in flight,”

Said he, his strong eyes filling with light.

.

But his voice was lost in the howling wind’s churn.

For the whirlwind takes, and gives naught in return.

.

The true sky, and songs that cageless soar…

Were they not wishes worth fighting for?

.

So the boy turned, extending his hand:

“Let us cast down the tyrant and his walls from this land.”

.

The young boy raised then the flag of revolt,

And I threw myself into freedom’s tumult.

.

Victorious were we who fought to be free.

Gods fell, winds whipped, nations shook violently.

.

In the smoke, a despot met his doom,

And we watched as his great tower fell none too soon.

.

Mondstadt began anew, the story passed down—

And since then never has another worn its crown.

. ----------

.

Noteworthy Terms and Phrases

少年 (Shàonián / shao4nian2)

(modern term) young boy, around the age of ten to eighteen years old. The nameless bard should be around this age, but it’s hard to pinpoint due to the general artstyle. (literary term) youth.

—

少年眼神倔强，瞳中有光。

(Shàonián yǎnshéng juéjiàng，tóng zhōng yoǔ guāng / Shao4nian2 yan3sheng4 jue2jiang4, tong2 zhong1 you3 guang1)

Literally “The young boy’s eyes [were] unyielding, there’s light in [his] pupils.” 倔强 could mean stubborn but in this context it’s closer to unyielding. 光 means light but here it means something more metaphorical like “his eyes filled with hope”. 

I have also considered “with a glint in his eye” but it sounds too mischievous (like he’s about to pull a trick) so for the more righteous bard I went for the first interpretation.

Thus, “The boy’s unyielding eyes had hope in them.”

—

冲破囚笼之人一路得胜。

(Chōngpò qiú lóng zhī rén yīlù déshèng. / Chong1po4 qiu2 long3 zhi1 ren2 yi1lu4 de2sheng4)

More literally it’s “Those who broke through the cage achieved victory throughout the entire path” but in English it’s better to say “victory followed those who broke through the cage.”

—

神位 vs 王座 (shénweì / shen2wei4; wángzuò / wang2zuo4)

Literally speaking, the first means seat of god and the second means throne. However—

神位, also known as 排位, means spirit tablet (or memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet). It’s part of East Asian culture, though it originated from traditional Chinese culture. Simply put, it’s a sort of wooden tablet with the name of a spirit, ancestor, or deceased person on it, along with some auspicious sayings, placed on an altar for sacrifices and offerings.

(Here’s a Wikipedia link)

Why such a word is used in a poem about Mondstadt, which is based on German culture with some Greek mythology influences, is beyond me.

Though, it seems multiple tablets (thus, for multiple spirits, deities, ancestors, etc.) can be placed on the altar at once, and the word does appear in the poem when the Thousand Winds break free (令神位崩毁，千风卷乱). One could argue that the 神位 in question was for the thousand winds (be it the group the wind spirit Venti once belonged to or the thousand winds of time Istaroth), along with Decarabian, the God of Storms himself. After all, the Thousand Winds Temple exists in Mondstadt, and both Barbatos and Istaroth were worshipped around Decarabian’s time (according to the Sacrificial Fragments weapon lore).

But taking the context of the rest of the poem, I’d say 神位 should still mean something like seat of god or the position of god here, and 王座 would be throne.

——

如事，「新蒙德」之造史。(Rúshì，“Xīn Méngdé” zhī zàoshǐ. / Ru2shi4, “Xin1 Meng2de2” zhi1 zao4shi4.)

It's pretty formal to say this. Directly, it’s “These events, the creation Epic of ‘New Mondstadt’.” 造史 itself isn’t an actual word but the first character means creation (as in 创造) and the second character could either mean history (历史) or epic poetry (史诗) here. I figured that this is meant to be a poem about a hero, so I’ve chosen the epic sense.

So it’s rendered as “Thus, the epic of ‘New Mondstadt’.”

------------

Rhyming Scheme

Original Chinese Poem

AX / XB / XB / XB / CC / XC / XC / XC / XD / DD / EE / AX

.

Official English Stylization 

XA / XA / XB / XB / CC / DD / EE / FF / GG / HH / II / JJ

.

Okay, so the rhyming scheme between the two versions is similar in this section:

少年懂得弹琴，(qín)

寻着自己的诗篇。(piān)

但他生在风墙之内，(neì)

从来不曾见过蓝天。(tiàn)

「我想看见飞鸟翱翔的模样。」(yàng)

少年眼神倔强，瞳中有光。(huāng)

or 

The lyre he played, 

and for a song he sought,

But storm-walls blocked blue sky — 

he was sincerely distraught.

“I do so wish to see the birds in flight,”

Said he, his strong eyes filling with light.

.

The last two lines of both are couplets, and the three pairs are the only instance where the two versions rhymed at the same place. It’s the XB / XB / CC part of the above rhyming scheme.

The official English stylization primarily uses rhyming couplets, but as to why the length of the couplets became shorter after “‘I do so wish to see the birds in flight,’ / Said he, his strong eyes filling with light” is… unknown, unless it’s to show turning point, and thus emphasis on the couplets make you pay more attention to the events that followed? The rhyming scheme is not as noticable in Chinese… But the syllable count isn’t particularly noticeable in Chinese either, so it’s probably closer to a modern Chinese poetic style. 

But then, without a strong rhyming scheme nor meter, the structure of the poem is a little weak in Chinese, and it didn’t seem like it was freestyle, since they were clearly trying something with the rhyming. (With that said however, Chinese isn’t a very rhythmic language compared to English, so it’s okay.)

I want to see if I can write it into an English poem that follows the rhyme scheme and meaning of the Chinese poem.

----

Rhyming Scheme: AX / XB / XB / XB / CC / XC / XC / XC / XD / DD / EE / AE

Meter

okay so the Cecilia which has three main petals is shown in reverse on the flag of rebellion so it would make sense to use a trimeter

Old Mondstadt was used by Decarabian, one ruler, so the first syllable should be stressed, with three syllables per meter 

In other words, dactylic trimeter (which is not as common as iambs and is therefore hard to write with!! Start with an unstressed syllable to make it easier!) 

In other words, catalectic amphibrachic tetrameter 

And iambs have a better flow so it could be used for the parts representing freedom (and good for rhyming couplets too)

Let’s say for the free parts to use iambic tetrameter (four winds) 

And also a nonspecific tetrameter for Those Particular Parts where the Chinese cut it up into phrases of four characters (and thus syllables)

Meter, Summary

catalectic amphibrachic tetrameter (- / - - / - - / - - /)

iambic tetrameter (-/-/-/-/)

Amphibrach  (- / -) for Decarabian, the one ruler, ruling Old Mondstadt, which causes an imbalance in power, hence the lopsided feeling of the meter 

Trimeter (foot repeated three times) for the three-petaled Cecilia 

Iambs (- /) for the balanced feeling of freedom and peace, and New Mondstadt having no ruler

Tetrameter (foot repeated four times) for the four winds, thus the better flow of the meter 

Link to my rewriting of the poem in English

[scarsnfevers]

To the Stars — Hyunjin pt. 3

pairing; hwang hyunjin x female reader, (mentions of other members)

genre; titanic!au, romance, fluff, angst, tragedy

summary; the most famous and youngest violinist of her time and a young artist of the lower class on board of the Ship of Dreams? Pathetic, yes, and yet opposites seem to attract.

parts; Teaser | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 soon

warnings; mature content, mature language, cursing, tw!death, drinking alcohol (only a little bit), a little bit of smut, smoking (might add more warnings later)

word count; 2,6k (2,669)

taglist; @hyunskizz, @daiyoon

authors note; So I edited this in hurry and it's already late af. I might re-edit this part tomorrow, 'cause I'm half asleep while writing this right now. So please have some mercy with me.

!minors do not interact!

"And you know what you're doing?" I stood on a small pedestal while Jisung measured me from head to toe. "Are you still asking?" He looked up at me as he noted my leg length. "You will be the star of the evening. You can count on that." He gave me a confident smile. My arms crossed uncertainly. I knew it was quite a hassle. And to do it in such a short time was almost impossible. "Ji, you don't have to-", "No back talk. I offered it to you, so let's do it Y/n." he interrupted me. My eyes rested on him, perplexed, but I finally gave in. "All right." I agreed and got off the platform to slip back into my dress. If I hadn't been friends with Jisung for so long, I certainly wouldn't have done something like that. Which friends have seen each other in underwear? Probably the fewest. "I'm already nervous." I sat down on the sofa in his suite and looked at him. "Kim Seungmin asking me to play here is nice and..." I paused to find the right expression to reflect my feelings. "Overwhelming?" Jisung's eyes were fixed on his notebook as he helped me along. I nodded and made myself comfortable on the sofa. "I get stage fright every time I have to play somewhere." I explained and looked over at him. "Even if it were you or Felix. The presence of others always makes me nervous." I confessed with a sigh. Jisung now looked up. His eyes met mine. "You know Y/n." He started. There was something very soothing in his voice. "No matter what you do, you have always mastered it. There is no point in running away from something. Neither from situations, feelings or people."

Silence fell between us as my friend's words rolled through my head. Earlier we were sitting in a crowded ambiance with an incredible number of influential people and now that we were alone we were able to express what we felt. And for that, I appreciated Jisung so much. He understood me and my feelings the best, probably even better than Felix. Because he knew what it was like to be locked up like a bird in a golden cage. I bit my lower lip and finally replied, "I wish I could run away from all of this. My life, my commitments." I've had this wish for some years. And ever since I became so famous, this desire grew day by day. I sighed and tilted my head back to pause for a moment. I heard Jisung get up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him moving toward a closet, as he took something out of it. Glasses rattled, and someone opened a bottle. I sat up and looked at Jisung as he stood in front of me and offered me a glass. "So this is supposed to be the solution?" I frowned but took the glass. I immediately smelled the whiskey that he had poured for both of us. "Only for today." He sat down in a chair across from me and sipped at his glass. "Felix will be there soon. I called him over because I thought you might need a distraction."

And Jisung was more than right about that. I thought back to my mother's enthusiastic face as I told her about what had happened in the dining room a few hours ago. I had seldom seen her so happy. My gaze slid to the glass in my hands "That's right." I affirmed Ji's statement before feeling the familiar burning sensation in my throat as I took a sip of the whiskey. I heard a knock on the door. Jisung rose to let Felix in. A smile tugged at my lips as my childhood friend joined us. "So you've already started without me? Th, outrageous." Felix sat down with me on the sofa while Jisung also poured him a glass of whiskey. I sat up so I could see both of them. "You're just in time." I remarked with a smile with the glass in my hand. Felix gave me a grin, "Okay? So the wine wasn't enough before?" His insinuation made me blush for a moment before clearing my throat. "The wine was just the beginning." I countered, even if I wasn't so sure about my own words. He wasn't the type who liked to drink or often, especially not in such a situation. But I knew that Felix and Jisung would take care of me. "Only the beginning?" Felix laughed.

"So we have to carry you to bed later Y/n?" I had to giggle "Maybe?" I cocked my head before taking another sip from my glass. "It's a good thing we're both strong enough." Jisung intervened, having returned to his old seat. "Pft." I commented amusedly. "As if that were such an act."

The glasses emptied faster than expected while the three of us philosophized about a lot, laughed and for a moment could forget everything around us. Those moments were rare because we all had our commitments and rarely got together. It was a change that I more than welcomed. But gradually I felt a slight dizziness, which worsened my vision. I leaned back and looked at my friends a bit lost in thought. I slowly waved the whiskey glass in my hand. Felix noticed my absence and brought me back to reality pretty quickly. "Hey, Y/n? What are you thinking about?" I blinked and met his gaze. I hadn't thought of anything, which amazed me. "I'm sure she imagined both of us naked." Jisung giggled. An indignant gasp escaped my mouth all of a sudden, "Hey! As if I didn't know that!" I started to grin when I saw Ji's stunned expression on my counterattack. Felix also had to smile.

We had completely lost track of time. It was well past midnight and after a few more drinks I felt my eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Felix put his glass on the table in front of him and turned to me, "Would you like me to accompany you to your room?" He noticed that I had not participated too actively in the conversation. I looked up at him and nodded slowly "Yeah, that sounds good." I whispered to myself, more or less already in dreamland. The young man rose and held out his hand to me. I grabbed it somewhat awkwardly and got up unsteadily. "Bye Ji." I waved to my other friend, who said goodbye with a smile. I was glad it wasn't far from my room.

Felix opened the door before we stumbled into my suite. "Y/n, you shouldn't drink so much." He straightened me up to look me straight in the eyes. My forehead wrinkled slightly as Felix looked at me. I made a face, but I knew he was right. "I know." I replied, swaying from one leg to the other. Tiredness made me close my eyes again. "I'm going to bed." I mumbled and then looked at Felix. "Thanks for accompanying me." The drunkest smile he'd ever seen graced my lips. Felix smiled and took me to my bed "Sleep tight Y/n." I felt the soft pillow on my face and a warm blanket over my body. "Hmmm" I heard footsteps walking away, and the click of a light switch, before darkness began to spread around me.

___

The feeling of nausea and a slight headache made it difficult for me to get out of bed the following morning. In my morning dress, I sat on my room's private terrace while the servants provided me with some tea and food for breakfast. Not keen on having more drama in the dining room, I decided to stay in my suite. So I could at least escape my mother for a while. I sipped the tea which tasted actually good and relieved my stomach cramps. It wasn't just the slight hangover that caused this, but also the nervousness. Tonight I would play after Kim Seungmin's speech. Although I had played in front of more people, I couldn't contain my excitement. A soft sigh escaped my lungs as I sipped my tea and watched the people on the lower decks. So many people. Women, children, old and young. I wondered where these people from the other classes were housed. How did they fare? I put my cup back on the table before getting up.

I wanted to find out, to find out how other people lived who weren't born with a golden spoon in their mouths. I threw a silk cloak over my dress, slipped into other shoes, and left without telling the servants what I was about to do. Otherwise, they would tell my mother about it. I could more than imagine that she would be beside herself.

But I didn't care.

I stepped onto the lower deck of the Titanic, which was intended for the second and third class on board. Immediately I noticed that this deck was much busier. I saw children playing, young women gossiping and laughing, and some older men sharing their life stories while others enjoyed the view and the sun. I felt comfortable right away, even though I stood out like a sore thumb. My clothes screamed that I didn't belong there and yet everyone was so friendly and always greeted me with a smile as if nobody cared that I was there. I also treated people with the same kindness they showed me, even though I wasn't 'one of them'. And for the first time, I felt something like freedom.

"Miss you look beautiful!" Being so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed a young girl tugging at my coat to get my attention. I blinked in surprise, a little overwhelmed. "Oh thank you." I looked down at her and gave her a gentle smile as the girl eyed me up. "Where did you get that? It looks really expensive." She remarked, holding the silk in her hands in fascination. I paused for a moment and was about to answer her when a middle-aged man joined the conversation, "Olivia!" His voice sounded horrified as he picked up the child. He was probably the father of that kid. "Sorry Miss, that wasn't meant to disturb you." He then spoke and gave me an apologetic look that was filled with regret. I blinked in disarray, not realizing that people in the lower classes held either awe or resentment toward the rich. In this case, it was probably awe. And yet I didn't quite understand what that was supposed to mean. "It's okay." I finally replied before looking at the girl who was looking at me with wide eyes. She probably realized now what she had done. She stared at me in horror, almost pushing back with fear. I had never seen such a facial expression before. Fear and Loathing. And that's just because I was someone who had a better life and could do something to them if they said something wrong.

"The silk comes from a distant land." I finally said to the girl. "They say you have to sail around the world to get to this country." The last thing I wanted was for anyone to be afraid of me. Especially a little girl. I took off my coat before handing the child to the father's arms. "It's the softest thing you can imagine." I smiled. My gesture came as a surprise, I could see that clearly on the father's face, but my focus was on that little girl. "Keep it. It sure suits you beautifully." I smiled while the child took the thin silk coat. A smile tugged at her lips while her eyes twinkled like thousands of stars in the night sky. "Thank you, Miss." She finally looked up at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her before Olivia and her father wished me a safe journey and said goodbye.

But my well-intentioned gesture had not gone unnoticed.

My path finally led me further across the deck to some benches that stood at the front of the ship. Slightly exhausted, I sat down and leaned against a cold wall of steel behind me. Although I felt a bit better after this little walk, I could feel the headache making its way back. And having someone around me smoking didn't make my situation any easier. It was probably the best solution to go back to the room and get some rest before the hustle and bustle of tonight started.

___

"If you keep scrounging like this, my cigarettes will be gone in no time." Hyunjin sighed, just handing his box to Minho and Jeongin. "Don't worry, I'll get you new ones in New York," Minho said as the smoke began to rise in the air while the three young men stood at the railing and watched what was going on around them. Hyunjin just grimaced and left Minho's answer uncommented before his gaze wandered and he began to look at the people. The young man had noticed how many families were on board the ship. They all probably hoped for a start to a better life as soon as they got off the Titanic.

Who wouldn't?

Hyunjin puffed on his cigarette before noticing a little girl being carried across the deck on his father's shoulders. He probably wouldn't have noticed this if the girl wasn't wearing a much too-large and yet very conspicuous silk coat, which was dyed in a beautiful dark blue. The girl laughed and her father seemed to share the child's joy. He blinked slowly and dragged on his cigarette, which was almost ending. Where do you think the girl got this coat from? He would have asked her about it, but the child and its father had already disappeared from his field of vision. So he turned his attention to other things. Hyunjin always had a pen and paper with him, which he used to draw certain scenes that were stuck in his head or he perceived right in front of him. He decided to look around the deck by himself. His steps led him toward the bow of the ship, where to his surprise there were fewer people. Hyunjin almost turned back to go back, because drawing sailors wasn't very exciting, but at that moment, dark blue fabric and a hint of silk caught his eye, which made him pause. It was the same color as the cloak the girl had worn before. And now it dawned on him where this coat came from.

It was the young woman he had spotted yesterday on the first-class deck. So she had given the coat to the girl? Hyunjin eyed her suspiciously, not knowing why someone like that would do anything like that. And yet something told him that it had to be a heartfelt gesture. This was something he had to capture. He wanted to frame that moment of the young first-class woman without her coat just sitting there on the lower class's deck as people passed her as if she weren't even there.

And even though it was just a sketch, it reflected exactly what Hyunjin had hoped for.

He looked at his work with satisfaction before looking up again after a while. To his surprise, the young woman on the bench had disappeared. She must have left when Hyunjin concentrated on the final details of the drawing. And somehow he regretted it. Hyunjin would have liked to watch her from afar a little longer. Because it seemed as if she had something about her that magically attracted him. Even if he didn't know her. She was a distant dream that he would probably never dream. She seemed to embody chaos, which he called art. Something fragile and beautiful at the same time.

What would he give to know her name...

[songofstrawhats]

Okay I just finished reading Alabasta and here are my thoughts!!!

Okay I see why people like Vivi so much, and also why people ship her with Nami, they are extremely cute. Reading about her in fic I was a little like 'idk why people consider her part of the crew so much if she's not with them??' but no I get it now I love her. I'm gonna miss her!!

Usopp!!!! Had so many cool parts!!!!! He's really a very slapstick character and I'm impressed they got him in live action as well as they did even tho I think he was the most changed one. I loved his bit with the hammer, and also the flashback where Nami was getting him to make the climate staff..... where you see him building the hammer before hand!!

Zoro going into a fight like 'cool this'll be a great chance to learn to cut steel' HOW IS HE SO COOL AND ALSO RIDICULOUS and also is this observation haki?? Perhaps???? Idk idk. Also I want an AU where Zoro ate the sword fruit I'm just saying

Chopper is so good and any time any of the crew is interacting with him is so good. Love Zoro scrubbing his fur in the bath!!!!!

Okay so Crocodile is literally just Captain Hook with all the Crocs and the clock shots and the hook, does this make Luffy Peter Pan? Because accurate tbh

Also rip bird guy you were so cool bird guy idk your name but I love your style

Also all their outfits were so cute this arc!!! Esp Luffy!!!!! I wanna draw himmmm

I fucking love the den den mushis and also the running gag with them and Sanji, good stuff. I kept forgetting who was and wasn't with the group so when he called while everyone else was stuck in the cage I was like OH RIGHT lmao

The Supersonic Duck Squad are absolutely not making it into live action but I love them and also their new camel buddy SO MUCH

ALSO shout-out to Smoker omg I now see why people were so excited about the teaser at the end of opla, although I def agree with my sister that 'he is going to invent new kinds of lung cancer' lmao

There is so much more politics than I expected there to be in one piece!!!! The diagrams of where all the different factions were at all the different times were EXTREMELY necessary

okay so I knew from fic that Robin just sort of shows up on the ship and Luffy is like 'yeah sure you can join our crew'. NOT ONE PERSON MENTIONED THE MUTUAL LIFESAVING BEFOREHAND!!!!! SHE SAVED HIM AND HE SAVED HER AND THEIR FATES ARE ALIGNED SHE HAS THROWN IN HER LOT WITH THEIRS!!!! Like idk what her deal is but I'm willing to see where this goes!!!!!

[merge-conflict]

actually tell me a lil about cast not your stone too cos that is a killer title

:3 I can't take credit for the title, it's a lyric from wayward daughter by brown bird:

cast not your stone / at the wayward daughter lay down the gavel and the robe if not for the lure / of darker water no salvation we would know

This is part of the alternate ending (4 of swords) I'm working on for thread-safe! Basically, what if Goro failed to retrieve V and instead got captured himself. Instead of V focused on keeping her sanity, it's more like let's dig into all of the painful and awkward social interactions that follow:

V learning a copy of her engram exists and is working in Arasaka Tower

V learning that Goro has been sent to bring her back specifically as leverage/a hostage to make sure that her engram stays in line

Goro feeling extremely guilty that his anger at her abrupt departure almost led him to do something truly awful (put her back in a cage with herself)

Johnny extremely betrayed and hurt that V was ready to leave him behind without a word (sensing a pattern here)

And More!

I think I've underestimated the effort required on this one– I had the chapter already written and want to make it better but so far I've just torn things apart and haven't put them back together in a smooth way yet, so... still tinkering!

teaser:

V presses her lips into a thin line and doesn’t reply. She finishes cleaning the cuts and applies some numbing gel which allows him to finally relax. By the time she secures a few protective bandages over her work he begins to drowse, replete with the sensation of her fingertips running over his undamaged skin. “I don’t get it,” Eurodyne says, voice pitched low. “What kept you apart? You’re obviously…“ He trails off, and Goro makes the effort to open his eyes. V rarely looks at anyone face to face unless she’s giving a report, so it’s a shock to find her staring back at him. Her bright gray eyes are always intense, but now they bore into him, peeling back skin and chrome so that she can see straight to his core. She’s looking at him the same way she looks at problems. The same way she looks at something broken, before she disassembles it and puts it back together. He understands after several painfully silent seconds that she is also waiting to hear his answer. “It is my duty to protect the Arasaka family,” he says, stiffly. “All other attachments…are a distraction.”

[kadextra]

24 + 25 :D

HI MARIGOLD OK LETS GO >:D

24. What lore/arc have you enjoyed the most?

The eggs of course, and the entire mystery and investigation lore about the codes, federation, is my favorite thing ever. I like how it has a slow build-up but it never stops and we keep learning new stuff pretty often!! the ARG era was also so much fun to participate in, watching those streams where Cellbit would try and decode it while being jumpscared in his office was really good times. I’m still holding onto my ticket waiting to use it…

As for a specific character’s lore? q!Arin and q!Jaiden.

I was wildly invested in what was happening with Arin and I need the lil cubito to come back one day soon <3

q!Jaiden’s recent arc was so well done. everything with bobby causing her to befriend cucurucho, her doing the tasks, and the lead-up to the awesome blue bird mission… then it ended so satisfyingly with a teaser to a part 2 continuation??? LOVED IT SM

25. drop a lore hot take 🔥 or cold take 🧊

Science fiction stories where the plot is how the people are Happy until the cracks form and it’s revealed they are actually in a terrifying dystopia of some kind will always be amazing and qsmp lore being based on this concept is the greatest. fill it with false utopia, crapsaccharine world, gilded cage tropes, idc, I enjoy it all, I have read soooo many stories of this genre it’s one of my favories give me more por favor

[twopoppies]

Is everyone ignoring this new IG account? https://instagram.com/iniduohs?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU= One of their stories this week was a partial image of the book cover for “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelo. Made me think of the flying yellow birdie BTS that’s been floating around. Here’s the book cover image https://images.app.goo.gl/kCD7PwKftRXYTtwEA new MV teaser?

Hi love. Yeah, Twitter and TikTok seem to be the only ones interested. I posted about that book cover thing yesterday.

Is it just me, or does this all feel very obvious and heavy-handed?

[placegrenette]

So apparently Ninety One’s new single, from the long-delayed second album, is coming out tomorrow. Today, their time. (Today, my time, too, now. It took a little while to write this.) Which means if I’m going to contribute any observations about the pre-release build-up -- and, really, if I’m not going to, then why does this Tumblr even exist? -- might as well do it now.

To be honest I’m feeling a little curmudgeonly about this set of teasers. They are very much dependent on Ninety One’s own history, as opposed to being dependent on Kazakhstani history: self-referential Easter eggs. It feels a bit like loremaking for the sake of loremaking, digging further down in the rabbit hole for the sake of keeping Eaglez in. Which is unfair on my part, admittedly: generally when the guys try to say that they’ve got something on their minds, there’s no real downside to taking them at their word. So let’s see what they’ve got on their minds, shall we?

Although I should add: by “they” I mean not just Ninety One themselves but also Askhat Bayanov, who directed all four of the teasers (and the music video for “Why’m,” and most if not all of the ARTJAQ videos, if I recall correctly), and his chief henchpeople, Nurila Shakirova (and her cute cat) and our beloved Nurs Bazarbay. I’m betting whatever video comes out tomorrow, this trio will have directed it as well.

So: each teaser was preceded with pictures of a card for each member, with text. (Ace, Alem, Bala, ZaQ.)  The text in each case isn’t clearly related to each member: it’s all somewhat abstractly on the theme of growing up and finding yourself and keeping in touch with the inner child (yes, really) and continuing on the journey of self-discovery. And text and video both come with an accompanying date.

First up: accompanying date is 1 Sept 2015, debut. At one point Ace wipes dirt of a copy of that terrible early photo of all of them wearing sunglasses that accompanied the infamous Radio Liberty piece that is the reason I’m here, pat yourself on the back, Radio Liberty, I guess. Then there’s a quick cut to a shot of burning wood that’s from the “Why’m” video -- hence my pointing out Askhat Bayanov’s involvement up top: he’s reflecting too, in a way. And then Ace picks up a key, and just when I think my favorite group is going to pay tribute to my other favorite group by reenacting the video for “The Chaser,” he catches a glimpse of his aged self in a shard of glass and skitters away in horror.

My personal, backed-by-no-evidence theory is that each teaser is inspired by that member’s personal source of angst. For Ace, who’s simultaneously the most practical member (the one charged with figuring out production schedules and procuring offices) and the most likely to embrace esoteric theories, the fear is of growing old without growing wise: time has passed, but all it’s done is cover what knowledge he might have in dust and grime, he’s no closer to figuring anything out, the key doesn’t lead him anywhere. But the feather accompanies him back from the dream world to the waking world, and allows the possibility of keeping the wisdom he’s gained.

And the bird has fled the cage! When I initially saw this I figured Juz Entertainment was the cage, but given the date (and given that we’re about to refer to Ninety One leaving Juz in the next teaser), I’m now wondering if debut itself was the act of leaving the cage: the time when Ninety One had to collectively break out of the strictures of traditional Kazakhstani manhood and define their work for themselves, even in the face of opposition.

(Obviously one possibility is that the feather represents Eaglez, but that feels like too much of a sop to fans, I’m hoping not.)

Date: 11 March 22. Now the four birds have fled the cage we all thought they were fleeing. Meanwhile, Alem starts in a bathtub listening to a phone ring, as he did in “Why’m.”

He then wakes in a moonlit room and, accompanied by “eMoji,” finds three flowers in vases labeled B, Z, and A. He picks up the Z flower and brings it to the sink, and through his mirror he somehow sees ZaQ agonizing in front of a wall covered with papers. More phone ringing! Only now Alem’s in his “Kaytadan” jacket. When he picks up he gets a dial tone. And the phone booth is from Pacific Bell, somehow? I wish I could submit this teaser to the back of 2600 Magazine.

Okay, so: in “Why’m” Alem went into the pool of water and ZaQ tried to save him; at the very end of the video we saw Alem come out of the bathtub -- the only even mildly hopeful ending of that video’s five mini-stories. Now ZaQ’s the one in trouble, and calling, and Alem can’t connect with him. It would make sense if Alem, who’s consistently presented as the most caring and softhearted of the four, feels angst over not being able to help when his bandmate might be suffering. The “Kaytadan” reference might be there just because they could, or it could be, combined with the date, a suggestion that Juz-era Alem was less equipped to be helpful to the others.

The date is 21 December 2020, which the Q-pop Discord says is the day the “Oinamaqo” video was released. And I wish I had a translation of them talking about “Oinamaqo” so I can give you a better idea of why that video among all the others might be meaningful.

We start with a closeup of a nineteenth-century painting I can’t identify. Bala’s leafing through a book when he hears the other three talking -- but they disappear when he tries to take their picture. Scary whispery music plays, and then “Synbaim.” The lights go out. Bala lights a candle, and then looks through a boarded-up window (another “Why’m” reference) to see himself in his “Aiyptama” outfit, watching Peter Pan. Let’s go with the obvious interpretation: Bala is afraid of getting trapped in his youthfulness, of not being able to connect with the three older members the way they connect with each other.

Date: 5 August 2020, the day AZ left. When I saw that that was the date on ZaQ’s teaser, of all of them, I said, “That is perhaps some salt.”

One bit of background I haven’t talked about much because, again, I haven’t been able to comprehend enough: apparently AZ has been making publicly reconciliatory noises towards Ninety One, saying he’d work with them again given the chance. This has apparently inspired Eaglez to flood both his and Ninety One’s Instagrams with comments amounting to GET BACK TOGETHER PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE OH PLEASE. Regardless of any personal animosity that may or may not have developed (AZ was apparently also public about being miffed at not having been invited to ZaQ’s wedding), getting him back into the fold would be logistically difficult: if they’re four co-CEOs of a company, would that make him their employee? I don’t think it’s happening, in short. I think naming his departure as an important date in their development is a big honking neon sign saying it’s not happening.

Anyway. Papers on the wall, papers on the desk. Mel of @qpoptranslations says that the words painted on the wall papers translate to “to come back” (clearly, another Infinite shoutout) and “open it.” “Drift” plays in the background as ZaQ taps, frustrated, with his pen on the desk. Yep, not being able to write sounds like it would rank pretty high on his list of fears. We see the fit Alem witnessed earlier. Then he’s alone in a white room with cameras. “Name?” asks a disembodied voice. “ZaQ.” “Name?” it asks again. He answers, “Dulat,” this time, and that doesn’t satisfy it, as it keeps asking “Name? Name? Name?” over and over again. We see a phone hanging off the hook, a figure in suspenders walking away from the camera (if that’s supposed to be AZ, again, salt), and a candle blowing out. ZaQ starts chanting his “Bata” rap to himself. The chanting gets louder; papers circle around him as did the horses in the “Bata” MV. Then he opens his eyes and he’s with the other three, and everyone is wearing colorful sweaters. We see the cage from Ace’s teaser and the moon from Alem’s, and Alem is holding the feather. (So he was able to reach ZaQ after all? Through the power of music! Er, lyrics!) Then everyone looks at the camera, assuming the poses they hold on their respective card fronts, while what is presumably a snippet of “Gap” plays. (I don’t love it, but you know me, I’m going to say I don’t love it and then play it 300 times.) So it seems that ZaQ’s fear would be losing his creativity and sense of self, although I’m not sure if the cameras are meant to represent general scrutiny of celebrity or be more of a political statement.

There’s a final video, but it’s just them standing around a literal blank canvas and adding the Ninety One logo and the word “Gap.” But since I’m overthinking this anyway, I’ll add that in that final video, Ace provides the stand and Alem the actual canvas, and then they largely stand back as ZaQ and Bala color in the logo, as if to hammer home the idea that each of them has something to contribute.

So what does it all add up to? Again, there’s a cranky temptation on my part to call it indulging Eaglez like me in our desire to read the tea leaves, so we’ll all feel accomplished for having done so, and meanwhile be on tenterhooks until “Gap” drops. I guess the question is: what are they saying for themselves, as opposed to for us? Anything? I wonder if there was something cathartic in filming these, in putting a portion of their actual angst (if I’m right) on camera. As if they had to get all that symbolic mess down before they could be in a position to present something new.

It’s been a while! Over six years between full albums, and over a year since they left Juz, and six months since they started teasing the damn thing. They’d be only human if they felt the pressure. Whatever the album actually is -- and y’all know I’ll be here to record my reactions to it, however belatedly -- at least we’ll all be done with the waiting.

[lokisasylum]

Theories from the poster teaser (so far)

Its a WET stage and Jimin's about to bust out Black Swan pt2

Its a Panopticon; a prison with a watch tower.

A bird cage.

A planetarium and Jimin's gonna reveal his moon tattoos.

Jimin's gonna dance SHIRTLESS.