#ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT CHOREO

[wanderlustinwonderland18]

Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Versluis

2024 Grand Prix Helsinki - Free Dance

[flagbridge]

I Saw the Phantom Proshot at the NYPL

Happy 36th birthday to Phantom's first preview on Broadway! I was going to save this post for the actual 36th, but I figure all of us need some more Phantom Broadway "original" content since the official Insta accounts are reminding us today that Phantom is no longer (though it should be) on Broadway. I'm going to post about what I saw, and I'll follow up on January 26 with all my answers!

Some time ago, @or-what-you-will and I went to the NYPL's Theater on Film and Tape Archive, and viewed the archival pro shot of the Original Broadway Cast of Phantom of the Opera, filmed live on May 25, 1988. There is only one copy, and its purpose is artistic preservation (not commercial distribution--the library owns it). It was kept under lock and key during the show's run. All information about how to access the archive is on the website. I can't really tell you anything more besides what's out there because it will become identifying. You get set up in a room with monitors and can pause and rewind, although you can't touch the media.

This was not my first TOFT proshot, but it was the best-filmed. Some, there's a single camera just parked, or there's some generation loss because of when the tape was transferred to digital. This had absolutely vivid colors, a multi-camera shot, and brilliant and clear soundboard audio. I heard lyrics I have never heard (especially during Notes when everyone is singing over one another), the sound balancing was so good. It was as transformative as seeing it live.

These are all the notes we took while there (apologize if they can seem disjointed) More below the cut.

ACT 1 NOTES: 

-Multicam shot

-amazing audio (soundboard), vivid colors

-Raoul/Barton is crying in his voice during the auction

-there’s a “voice” that sounds like a woman singing with the overture (maybe a theramin?) We jumped in shock at this. We've never heard this before, not even on soundboard.

-Sarah Brightman comes on stage during the Hannibal rehearsal, moving across the stage with Meg during “Rome not Roma”--so she dances in the front row during the Hannibal ballet

-Hannibal ballet then has 10 dancers and since Christine is in the whole thing, there is slightly different choreo

-there’s a synth under Meg’s “he’s there, the phantom of the opera” 

-Firmin lights a cigarette and Andre (Future Phantom Cris Groenendaal) stops him right before “Think of Me’ which makes the “Defense de Fumer” on the back of the curtain make even more sense

-Think of Me Gala skirt is not as full (but of note, Carlotta’s Elissa costume is much more ornate than we have now or even at the end of Broadway)

-Raoul sings slightly different notes in Think of Me. Steve Barton goes down a few notes on “young and innocent” (it’s not belted) and is clearly wistful. 

-The think of me cadenza is absolutely effortless

-The “Bravi, Bravi” is haunting and perfectly sound balanced!

-Meg can actually sing and the Angel of Music harmonies work

-Raoul (Steve Barton) is nervous before going into the dressing room. He taps his fingers on the banister and takes a deep breath before going in

-He’s also nervous inside the dressing room–you can see him going from seeing an old friend to suddenly having feelings, being attracted to her. When he’s standing behind her he has a slight moment when he nearly touches a lock of her hair. 

-Raoul is wearing a ring on his right hand (signet?)

-Steve Barton says MY Little Lotte

-Christine (Brightman) is excited about meeting the Angel of music and has a wanting and longing in “Enter at LAST master” (in a way that Lily Kerhoas does now and we haven’t had many Christines who do this) 

-The picture is VERY CLEAR and NO WASHOUT when we see Michael Crawford appear in the mirror for Phantom’s entrance. You see everything

-When the door opens for Raoul to the dressing room after they go through the mirror, it opens slowly (vs banging open). It’s the same tempo that Phantom moves to take Christine through the mirror

-1925 Phantom silhouette vibes at the first “sing for me” 

-Not a particularly aggressive cape twirl, but def a twirl. 

-They get VERY close on “turn your face away”, almost kiss (like, Russians, Panaro/Joseph close) 

- he has a nice portcullis sprawl but she does not press against him, there is visible space between them the entire time

-”Caress” and “hear it, feel it” are explicitly seductive, the former in how it’s sung, the latter because he self-caresses on “feel it”

-the “Touch me” in touch me/trust me is half sung/half spoken order, she strokes her hand over the mask and he does not pull away

-He does have a little panic when she faints and he covers her with the cloak. He’s holding her hair when he sings to her there

-At the unmasking, MC holds for a brief moment before covering his face with his hand so the audience gets a peek of the deformity (before “damn you”) 

-Vixen not viper

-Crawls on knees, not stomach. We get…lots of crying and whimpering 

-Christine sees his face a lot during this sequence. MC lowers his hand as soon as he’s on her side of the stage from “secretly dreams of beauty” to “Oh Christine”, when he turns away–but she is looking at him the entire time. MC is angled right by a mirror shard so we can see a bit of the deformity reflected back

-Right before “come we must return”, MC is about to cup her face with both his hands before changing his mind–she starts to reach for him as well. 

-His Mandarin robe is much longer than we have now (ankle length vs calf length) 

-This Giry has witch vibes

-Steve Barton is playing eager puppy Raoul and it shows even though he looks older (Barton was 35 at the time)

-The sound balancing is so good that you can hear lines you don’t normally hear during Notes 1 and Prima Donna–including the Managers thinking that Christine has just been off with Raoul all night. 

-Sarah Brightman does a different pose on the bed as the pageboy during Il Muto. She crosses her legs vs putting her hands on her hips. 

-Firmin yells “the role of Christine Daae” to the proscenium, clearly directed at Phantom

-Barton Raoul’s “There is no Phantom of the Opera” comes off more as “Christine this is just some dude” vs “he doesn’t exist at all.” 

-Raoul loves Christine so much. He strokes her hair gently to comfort her right before “No more talk of darkness”--his eyes are soft and he’s genuinely caring and concerned (vs trying to be a hero) 

-”All I ask is for one love one lifetime”--different lyrics, she does it twice (This is on soundboards from the time)

-Raoul puts his face to Christine’s hands at the proposal. 

-Christine is clearly kissing his cheek right next to his mouth during the kiss (the final lair kiss is a real kiss) 

-Christine’s “I must go” is not as playful as we often see it later. She really is trying to go. 

-Raoul is nervous at “Christine, I love you”--he lowers his head for a moment worried that he said something wrong. He’s excited when she replies “order your fine horses”

-AIAOY Reprise: Michael Crawford is partially slumped over the angel, he’s holding hands with it to the audience’s right, and arm is slumped over on the left. We get a lot of anguished weeping, and little distressed moans as Christine and Raoul sing, there is rocking and head shaking and then covering his ears. It’s a HUGE difference then when he stands up fully for “You will curse” (he does this again during final lair between “unfeeling scrap of clothing” and “pity comes too late) 

-He also roars before standing

-The Phantom laugh/cackle continues well into the chandelier drop into intermission at the light cut out for about 15 seconds. 

Act II

-Carlotta masquerade costume has no mesh in the skirt–it’s much more of a see-through skeleton crinoline, so the feature is the purple tights

-Not surprising since Sarah Brightman is a dancer, but Christine does the proper choreography during Masquerade--she's the center of attention. Barton also does quite a bit of dancing.

-There’s an organ (almost like a circus organ) underlying the finale during masquerade

-Red Death double doesn’t run down the stairs, he stays at the top

-Giry/Raoul exchange after masquerade–both holding the lantern and super closeup

-Reyer is clearly gay–coded. Some voice and hand gestures during Sitzprobe

-Wishing–only one “help me say goodbye” (when did the second one get added?)

-”Far-reaching” gaze, Wandering Child is a duet

-Piangi says “conquest” is assured (at some point, this became “congress”)

-Michael Crawford imitates Piangi until “past the point…”

-Sarah as Christine is listening intently to Phantom’s voice and immediately noticed something is off–she doesn’t figure it out right away but she notices something. She is suspicious the entire time. It's not clear when she knows for certain.

-Christine never flees from him, during the first caresses, he hovers over her body, she turns to kiss him, he turns away, her hand lingers on her back, before she gets up to sing her solo part away from the table

-Michael Crawford’s hands are in in his crotch when Christine’s singing on the other side of the stage (“you have come here”)--he’s moving his palms in his lap the whole time, his hands are shaking, we only get glimpses of him, most of this part it’s focused on her

-There is none of the arm waving circling while their hands are held, she takes his hands, he switches his grip to hold one of hers, and they keep them on him

-She figures it out when she reaches down–she’s holding his hands above him and she pushes her left (our right) hand down and he pulls and she notices something–we can only see to his upper waist but her hand disappears and her expression changes, it’s implied he has an erection

-she doesn’t ever feel the mask, either accidentally or on purpose

-She doesn’t actually ever try to escape. It’s not the current West End or the past blocking–but more accurate in that she is aware of the situation and plays along. She keeps going with the blocking

-they both get up and keep singing, neither drags the other to the centre, they move together and keep singing 

-The last “return”--he sings it at the unhooding, she doesn’t

-”Say you’ll share with me”--he is really pleading and almost crying on “say you want me” 

-The managers don’t come out to try to usher her offstage, she doesn’t signal to them to stay

-When Phantom gives her the ring, she takes it, but doesn’t put it on–she just holds it

-He doesn’t scream at the unmasking, he just looks shocked and sad

-Ratcatcher order is different–it’s after Raoul and Giry’s first lines, that’s the indication that Giry needs to turn around, Giry screams

-Phantom is crying at “flesh” and through “unfeeling scrap of clothing”, he’s also hunched over through this sequence, and then stands to his full height at “Pity comes too late.”

-Phantom makes a big show of raising the portcullis, hands fully raised

-Raoul swats at Erik with one hand (the other is still on the noose) when Phantom grabs Christine on “start a new life” 

-Phantom is probably the “minimum” amount of rough as we see Phantoms be with Christine in this sequence, as in, he’s definitely scary and menacing but he’s not harming her. He does grab her and spin her around on “start a new life with me.” There are a few wrist grabs (which is book accurate). He’s realizing more that his plan is absolutely crumbling. We get some shots of him on the organ looking panicked.

-Phantom makes a low growling noise before “you try my patience”, which is delivered quickly and almost casually. It is not menacing as some later Phantoms do. 

-”Pitiful creature”..MC’s hand is subtly shaking by his side

-The kiss: the 1st one MC stands with “claw hands” at his side, on the second one, the “claw hands” start shaking

-MC hunches over after he burns the noose

-He stands over the monkey, conducting it with one hand, he is mimicking the symbol clashes, he doesn’t touch it or cover its face

-When Christine returns the ring, his hand shakes as he takes it, he’s hunched over again. 

-She does seem conflicted about leaving, but she doesn’t press her hand back around his, she holds out the ring and his hand shakes as she takes it. She doesn’t linger very long. 

-He says a second “I love you” after she’s gone.

-He’s about to say it a third time, he says “I love…” and then see the veil, and grabs it and screams into it, and then turns and sees the boat leaving

-He sobs and keens a lot

-Raoul bends in the boat to caress Christine’s face on “say the word”)--this is halfway across the stage as opposed to during the stage right exit.

-Deliberately cracks voice on the "can" in “you alone can make” 

-MC Cradling the veil like a baby at the very end

SEND ME YOUR QUESTIONS! You can put it in comments, reblogs, AMA or DM's. I will answer all of them on January 26!

[forbebeandjam]

My Sleepy Head Pt. 1 | Minah Lee X Fem Reader | Fluff

Summary: you and your girlfriend haven’t seen each other in a week and you missed each other so you suggest a brilliant idea that she loves.

Word count: 945

No warnings. Only fluffy stuff🤭

A/N: there is a second part that contains 21+ content but that’s for later *wink wink* Enjoy this soft Minah moment.

You called your girlfriend as soon as you got off work. You hadn't seen each other in a while since you were always in school and at work and she was too busy being the star dancer she is. You were so proud of her for gaining so much recognition after the show she was in.

"Hello?" she said as soon as she answered.

"Are you too busy? I just got off work and you could come over for a while if you want," you said and heard her yawn over the phone.

"I'll be over in an hour. I have to finish this choreography before I go," she replied.

"Babe, if you are tired, we can just hang out some other day,"

"No! I miss you so much. I'll be there soon. Love you," she said before hanging up. You giggled and put your phone away.

Minah and you hadn't seen each other in exactly a week and you were both dying to see each other so It was understandable that she wanted to go over when you were free.

You cleaned up your apartment a little bit and went to cook some food. The time passed by fast and an hour was gone.

You eagerly waited for the knock on your door. When you finally heard it, you walked to open the door.

"Babe!" She said as she launched herself into your arms. She walked in and took her shoes off. She grabbed your hand and kissed your lips.

"I missed this. I missed kissing your lips so much," she said and you chuckled at her being cute. She's not the type to be cute often. She usually has this cool aura even when she's around you.

"I missed you too, Lee Minah. Come eat something. I made some food," you took her to the kitchen and gave her a plate of the food you had made. She smiled and thanked before she started eating.

She told you about her day and how badly she's been working on new choreographies in the new studio their leader made for them. You rested your chin on your palm as you heard her talk about everything.

"Am I boring you?" She asked as she at the last spoonful.

"Absolutely not. I just love it when you get all happy when you talk about the studio and your dancing," you said and she smiled as she blushed slightly.

She brushed her teeth and you did the same. You went to your room and she followed behind. You had your laptop out as you sat on the bed.

"Do you have a lot of schoolwork?" She asked as she sat next to you.

"No, I just need to turn in some assignments and finish this essay but it will take only a second," you said and she nodded as she wrapped her arms around your torso.

You heard her talking for a while until she was completely silent. You thought she was trying to read the essay on your screen. You finished it and shut your laptop but when you looked at her, she was completely asleep. You laughed in silence trying not to wake her up.

You slowly adjusted your position to hug her and placed the blanket over your bodies. You could see her small pout as she breathed out and her brows slightly furrowed as the sunlight hit her face.

You used your free hand to pull the curtain close and her face relaxed a bit.

You didn't know how long you two stayed like that but you both ended up drifting off.

-

You woke up and saw Minah still sound asleep. You sat up slowly and grabbed your phone to snap a picture of her. You looked at the time and it was already 3 o'clock. You had fallen asleep for about two hours.

You felt Minah shuffle and she sat up. She rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the blurriness.

"What time is it?" She said.

"It's three," you replied and she rubbed her face.

"Gosh, I stayed up all night trying to put that choreo together. This is so embarrassing. I fell asleep while talking to you and we were supposed to spend time together," she said and she pushed her hair back.

"Babe, it's okay. I enjoyed napping with you. That was still spending time together. Plus, we still have time to go out on a date. How about it?" You said.

"I would love that,"

After she got washed up and changed, you headed out for some ice cream at the park. You walked hand in hand. The sun was beaming but the wind was cool and refreshing. You sat at a bench and talked about your life this time.

"So does that mean that we won't see each other again till you finish finals?" She asked with a slight pout.

"Unfortunately. I'm so sorry," you said and she nodded.

"Unless..." you started and her head shot up.

"Do you want to move in with me?" You said and her eyes lit up. Her smile grew wider and she looked like the happiest girl.

"I do! I want to be with you all the time," she said and hugged you tightly. You hugged her back and finished your ice cream.

You walked back to your apartment holding hands. She started swinging your hands cutely and you looked at her.

"What's up with you today? You're acting so cute," you said and she shrugged.

"I just can't wait to fall asleep next to you every day," she said and pecked your lips leaving you looking like a grinning mess.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ ♡ ໒꒱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Part 2 (smut)

Should I do a tag list?? Reply to this post or DM if you want to be added to tag list.

[acesofspadess]

And We're Live!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Worth The Risk Masterlist

You still couldn't believe that you had all made it to the live shows. You were excited to see Beverly and Bentley again as you hadn't spoken to them in a while.

"Making their debut performance, and the last of the groups, Simon." Dermot briefly introduced giving the floor to Simon. 

"Last act up tonight. Get ready. Its One Direction." The cheers were loud as your video played. 

“Being through to the live shows is absolutely incredible.” Harry started and you all agreed. 

“Im Louis. Im 18 and I'm from doncaster.”

“Im Harry, Im 16 and I'm from Cheshire.”

“Im Niall. Im 17 and I'm from Mullingar in Ireland”

“Im Liam. Im 17 and I'm from Wolverhapmton.”

“Im Zayn. Im 17 and I'm from Bradford.”

“Im Autumn. Im 15 and I'm from Hazel Grove.”

~~~~~

“You wouldn't connect this band with song normally… but it works.” 

~~~~~

As the screens opened you were standing next to Louis and Liam as the song started and Liam took his solo.

All of your solos, and choreo ran as best as they could. The chorus was the best as you all got to sing with each other. And you got the last line for your solo which you nailed if you say so yourself.

The cheers were loud as you all hugged shakily, the adrenaline still rushing through you. “When I heard you were gonna do Coldplay I thought it was a big big risk, but I love what you did with the song. You totally did it your own and I love that the band is working cause even though Simon is gonna say he put this band together, it was my idea originally Simon. It was. It was my idea and it worked.” Louis and Simon argued as you stood next to Louis who rubbed your shoulder happily. “I believe you could be the next big boy band… with a girl.” You laughed at that knowing you were in fact a boy band with one girl. “You have a lot of work to do with- Simon do you have a stylist? Or is it you?” the audience booed as you guys looked at each other slightly off put.

“I dont know who put you together because I wasn't there but you guys fit together so well.” You all jumped around at her words. “The song was great. You truly did make it your own. I wasn’t thinking of Cold Play then. Perfect pop band performance.”

The audience cheered and Danii’s words. “I have to agree with Danii, you look like you were meant to be together and in a group. You look fantastic. You've got all the ingredients for the perfect pop band. The girls and boys at home are going crazy for you, but you've got to take a little bit more time to develop as a group. That's all, just a little bit.” You grabbed Nialls hand after that and he squeezed it tightly. 

“As far you go in creating the group Louis lets rewind the tapes.” Simon fired back and everyone laughed. “Essentially you guys came together because your bootcamp auditions were not good enough, but you were too good to throw away. We took a risk. I’ve got to tell you what was so impressive about that- because its a big leap going on that stage- is when one of you started to screw up at the end Autumn and Liam stepped in and you brought it back together. Thats what bands do.” You and Liam- who was behind you- looked at each other and smiled as you rested your head against him briefly in gratitude. 

“And regarding the whole style issue, Louis… I don't want to style this band because I don't know how to style a band like this. We want the band to do whatever they wanted to do. I'm not gonna interfere, they're gonna do it their way. It was brilliant guys.” 

As Dermot came on stage you all got closer and saw Harry wink at someone in the crowd and you giggled at him making him look toward you and smile. You still held Niall's hand in yours and you let go of it only to wave as you walked off stage before everyone was wrapped in a giant hug by Louis. “Tommo!” you screamed laughing as it was your back he jumped on in the hug. Everyone laughed as you pulled apart and you saw Bev and Bentely. 

You ran to them giving them both hugs. “You did so well!” they cheered you on and you laughed anxiously. “We’re so proud of you, you know? We might not be able to make it to any more shows, but we want you to know that.” Bev told you and you shook your head knowingly. “Yeah I know. School and the drive must be really hard to balance. But I'm so glad you came when you could.” Bentely handed you a box without saying anything. “Man of many words.” you joked as open the box to see a new Blackberry. “No way you didnt.” you gasped as you jumped at him and he hugged you laughing. “First performance gift.” you laughed knowing how he would spoil you whenever he could. “Thank you Meadow.” he hugged you again. “Always Fall. Your Nan and Pap would kill me if I forgot but they said they'll try to get her soon. With the bakery being busy and the distance.” You understood and knew they wouldn't want you to think they didnt care. “I'll call them later and tell them its all alright.”

“Hey Autumn! We're going out to eat.” Harry called from a little ways back. “You gonna join?” you faced back to them. “Gotta get miss studious back to school. Sorry Fall.” you laughed it off because Beverly was the least studious person you knew, but school came easy to her. “Autumn!” Louis called.

“Okay I'll see you guys later.” You gave them another hug before running off and jumping on Zayn's back. “Ride like the wind.” you spoke mockingly until he actually started running and you couldn't help but laugh hysterically as all the boys chased you both through the stadium and to the car park. “Where are we eating?”

“KFC.”

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Worth The Risk Masterlist

tags:

@youcan-nolonger-run @ravenclawdirectioner

@luxiorchive @maeflowers653  @purple9950 @forkmeniall @nathalielovesonedirection @hopsydaisy @shortie-niya 

[teamcurtflake]

Cinderella's Castle Review

At long last, what everyone (no one) has been waiting for - my review of Cinderella's Castle! Fair warning, there may be spoilers ahead! Mkay you've been warned. 💚

First, my general thoughts. Overall, I thought this was a fantastic addition to the long list of excellent musicals from Team StarKid. The story was familiar yet innovative, the characters were immersive, and the combination of the music and choreo was incredible. I may have laughed more during this show than any other StarKid show, but there were also some absolutely devastating and emotional moments. Also, everyone is so hot in this show it's unfair.

The choreo? PERFECTION. Lauren really outdid herself with the dance choreo. It was so different from that of other StarKid shows, but it absolutely matched each song immaculately. In addition to this, every cast member executed the choreo excellently. Special shout-out to Curt for slaying the fight choreo.

Speaking of the songs though - Jeff Blim the man that you are. All of the songs are so cool and catchy and, again, different from what we've been used to with Hatchetfield. Shout-out to the band aka the Whippoorwills for CRUSHING it! Everyone's voices sounded fantastic, 10/10, and I don't think I'll ever be able to pick a favorite song.

Nick and Matt Lang are geniuses, and this just confirms that. They created a story around something that is well-known and potentially overdone BUT made it their own with some special StarKid magic. The story is dark, hilarious, and touching all at the same time. They've come up with these brilliant characters that you can't help but fall in love with (which is obviously a combination of the writing AND the brilliant portrayal by the cast).

Sidenote - the wardrobe is STUNNING.

Now I could keep rambling, but instead I'll leave y'all with my summary of each cast member's performance in five words or less:

Angela - regal yet evil

Bryce - haunting and powerful

Curt - dadius (but also MOOD)

James - side-splittingly hilarious

Jeff - the realest

Joey - I wanna squeeze him

Jon - so so noble

Kim - ETHEREAL

Lauren - sweetie pie

Mariah - gross in a good way

[today-it-is-this]

today, it is this — i watched romeo + juliet on broadway yesterday. yes the one starring kit connor and rachel zegler <3 i had written so many of my thoughts in my journal yesterday but i have more today so i thought i'd type them here. i'm so in awe of the whole ensemble, truly. and this applies to most theatre! day in, day out, they show up and consistently perform for a different group of people every single time. that must take so much energy, and for romeo + juliet specifically, they're on stage, running up and down the aisles, climbing up and down the ladders, jumping off the ledges, executing fights and choreographies... all while balancing delivering those shakesperean lines with absolute precision and emotion. two hours and 30 minutes almost everyday, sometimes even twice a day. it's mind-boggling to me! and the fact that they'll be doing this for five months total is even crazier. kit and rachel are amazing on stage and have such intimate chemistry. it's wild to me to watch these two, who've always been on film and tv, give live performances. it is such a privilege to watch them perform live (and SING live too!!!) with no cuts or edits. pure and raw performance. they draw you in and take your breath away. i remember feeling so mesmerized by kit when he was speaking to benvolio, really close to my side of the stage. the pure joy and relief in his eyes! his and rachel's soliloquies are so beautifully done! however, i do think that the rest of the ensemble really solidify the whole show for me. every single one of them is so ON it. and of course, sam gold's direction, sonya tayeh's choreo, and jack antonoff's music. this idea to make romeo + juliet for gen z was so off-putting to me that i thought it was gonna be dumb and corny, but sam gold did it so well. it makes so much sense. it's old english, yes, and the emotional beats are never taken lightly, but certain intricacies and mannerisms here and there feel so accurately rooted in gen z culture. it's unafraid to be hedonistic (lots of close make-out calls, grinding on each other, and vaping) and gen z humor was incorporated so seamlessly (especially from gian perez. so iconic I LOVE). i love that despite being limited to a small circle stage, they maximize and think outside the box to make it feel as BIG as possible, using all the aisles, under the stage, the overhead walkways. it's brilliant and just adds to the production value. i'm so happy to have my doubts proven wrong. this was such a blast, i hope everyone involved is so proud of themselves.

13/10/24

[goginaporter]

rina + iconic couples in media

this is my fun way of responding to the alternate universe prompt for @rinaweek <3. rina and their parents in every universe, finding each other and falling in love. alsooo this post was slightly inspired by this absolutely brilliant edit linked here (x) and if you want rinatroyella or rinajacey edits, please lmk and I'll send my favorite ones <3333

troyella

the essays that can and have been written about troyella and rina are extensive (and I'm happy to do a longer form one in a separate post). but from being the new girl x boy who's never moved, girl encouraging boy to audition for the musical and actually commit, kissing in the rain, starring in the school musical together, to making a huge commitment to the other person on a stage in front of a bunch of people, rina is quite literally troyella reincarnated. and yeah, lots of people can argue that troyella is perfect as is, that they didn't need another version. and on one hand, i agree. but the way in which rina takes core parts of troyella's story while standing on their own as a ship is beautiful and truly does justice to the original franchise by anchoring the story around these two, both individually and as a couple, just as was done with troyella in the original trilogy. my favorite troyella parallel moment from s4!

4x01 - ricky sneaking into gina's room just like troy would come into gabriella's room through her balcony

4x02 - the note ricky gives gina in the hallway to meet in their secret staircase is just like the note troy slips in gabriella's locker in hsm to meet on the rooftop. (honorable mention to them auditioning for and getting the roles of troy and gabriella in this ep as well <33)

4x03 - of course, it has to go to their rendition of can i have this dance. their voices sound gorgeous and though the choreo they do has similarities to the original, they've made it their own.

4x04 - this one is kinda reaching but I wanted something for each ep! in hsm2, sharpay forces troy to sing a song with her, one she prepared for the talent show, instead of allowing him to go on a date with gabriella. in a similar vein, though with considerably less scheming from dani's side, dani is selected to replace gina as gabriella because she is so busy with the movie, though this is done behind her back.

4x05 - has to go to the rain kiss obviously. although troy and gabriella only ever kiss under sprinklers, it's the same vibes. there's also a still (not included in the scene) of the rain kiss of ricky holding gina's waist as she throws her arms up that's so reminiscent of troyella in the rain during cihtd.

4x06 - ricky and gina running down the hallway at the beginning of the episode feels like a direct parallel to troy and gabriella running to auditions in hsm. also rina fighting to save the show is super similar to gabriella (and troy once gabriella convinces him) pushing for the theater department to put on a show about them for their spring musical.

4x07 - they're literally playing troyella in this ep so I could say so much. i'll just use this space to talk about how much I love them in a night to remember and how much it looked like they were dancing at their wedding. I will say that terri, gina's mom, telling ricky about gina's movie with a smile on her face, reminds me a lot of gabriella's fans setting troy up to talk shit about her on camera to convince her to focus on the decatholon. also reflects sharpay telling troy about stanford, again with a smile on her face.

4x08 - again, this ep is rife with toryella coding because they're literally playing troyella, but the show goes super meta in having them sing the right here, right now reprise as ricky has just found out that gina is potentially moving across the world to film her movie, just as troy finds out about stanford and struggles with gabriella not being there for the rest of their senior year. on a much less angsty note, ricky singing love you forever to gina has the same vibes as troy choosing gabriella and going to school close to her, not to mention that lines in the song directly reference the song "high school musical" (which you can read more about here <3). gina also deciding to move the movie to salt lake is very much her "I choose basketball but I also choose theater but more than all of that, I choose gabriella" her version is "I choose filming this movie but I also choose theater but more than all of that, I choose ricky" just a beautiful perfect scene all around.

these s4 moments only scratch the surface of the troyellarina tether but i'll stop ranting for now and move on to rina's teen drama parent sets.

jacey

after s1, tim federle did an interview where they asked him about him about the ricky / nini / gina triangle, he directly mentioned dawson's creek in guiding his writing process, stating that at the center of his thought process was "how do I surprise audience members with who they're going to ship?" (x). for those who don't know the jacey lore, to make a long story short, their love triangle centered around joey, pacey, and dawson. joey and dawson were childhood best friends and joey has a crush on dawson. pacey and dawson are best friends and joey and pacey do not get along initially. after events of life, dawson asks pacey to "look after joey" at the beginning of s3, the two get super close and eventually catch feelings for each other and they secretly date as they figure out a way to break it to dawson (sound familiar?). they do break up but come back together at the end of the show and are endgame. the parallels between jacey and rina exist both on and off screen. dawson and joey were the initial endgame for the show, just like rini was the show's s1 endgame. however, electrifying chemistry between katie and joshua (jackson) & sofia & joshua (bassett) in their respective shows changed everything. rina is one of the strongest examples of continuing this legacy of disrupting the initial plans concocted in the writer's room to make way for insane chemistry. some of my fave jaceyrina parallels

rina and jacey having a formative, chemistry presenting moment in a car (rina in 1x05 during homecoming, joey and pacey in 1x during their science project)

the sheer parallels between them in 3x19 of dawson's creek and 3x08 of hsmtmts with their kiss scenes. just watch here (x) and here (x) to see. the "stop me" "wait" parallels actually make me go crazy

joey tutoring pacey in 3x09 and gina (presumably) becoming ricky's tutor after 4x06

i'm rewatching 3x09 in preparation for this and jacey has a scene where dawson catches them talking about pacey helping joey with a ballroom dance scholarship thing in exchange for tutoring and he asks them what no one can find out about and a) pacey sucksssss at improv just like gina it's like that 4x02 scene with rina and ashlyn and b) it also feels like rina with the chocolates, again with ashlyn LMAOOO in 2x04

ALSO in this ep (wow it's a goldmine), when dawson and jen catch joey and pacey ballroom dancing, they're forced to join the class and the instructor psychoanalyzes both couples. for jacey, she mentions that the tension and bickering between them suggests their underlying attraction for one another. this is literally what val (their choreographer!!) does after watching rina perform wdykal in 3x05

too much to explain for the final scene of this episode but i just encourage everyone to watch 3x09 to get the same sense of a major scene in a coat check and an ensuing apology

pacey telling joey he remembers everything in 3x22 and ricky telling gina he's never forgotten a thing she's said in 4x03

pacey telling joey that the simple act of loving her is enough for him and that she's "off the hook" and ricky telling gina that of course she has to go and be a star, as well as singing lyf not knowing that she was staying in slc, so he just wanted to let her know that he loved her for the sake of it, not to convince her of anything

pacey having to tell joey something but lying to protect her (and ricky having something to tell gina but lying to protect her (3x07)

naley

another paragon of teen drama royalty is naley. literally the best people ever and it makes sooo much sense that rina is similar to them because they're actually rina's grandparents. naley birthed troyella, who birthed rina. a beautiful family tree. anyways, naley doesn't seem to, on the surface at least, seem to have a lot of parallels to rina. a shy tutor girl and a cocky basketball player who get married after knowing each other for less than a year? (though I will go down with my headcanon that rina gets married super duper young, will not be taking any arguments). despite this, at their core, naley's love for each other is so reminiscent of rina's love for each other, not to mention some incredibly direct parallels that the two have, listed below:

nathan dropping haley home after a party & ricky dropping gina home after homecoming ("yeah, this is my house" & "so, this is where I live")

connecting over dubious circumstances (nathan requesting haley as a tutor/getting close to her to get back at lucas & gina convincing ricky to stay in the show so she could get gabriella, attending hoco with ej to psych nini out but instead connecting with ricky)

nathan putting haley's hand to his heart after telling her it's racing (it was because of drugs but still, it beats for haley) and ricky putting gina's hand on his heart after telling her that his heart's racing (i'm telling y'all this scene is the same, just with the characters and setting swapped)

alllllll of naley's s2 angst is like the intense and more painful version of rina's angst in s4

naley invented rain kisses (even if they existed before them, no they didn't) and rina obviously does justice with their own rain kiss in 4x05

when nathan proposes to haley (their first proposal), he tells her that "I could love you forever." audience, what's the title of ricky's love song for gina? i rest my case

haley being nathan's tutor and gina being ricky's tutor <3333

nathan sneaking into haley's bedroom to study and makeout and ricky sneaking into gina's bedroom to sing and makeout

nathan and ricky being haley and gina's biggest fans when it comes to their careers, putting their success over their personal feelings (nathan collecting clippings of haley's tour, paying chris to let her record music & ricky decorating gina'ss trailer, encouraging her to go to nz to be a star)

rina served cheerleader x basketball player (though at different times and both were fictional but wtv) just like naley

this was super nonexhaustive as rina also has parallels to jam, mondler, sethmer, romeo & juliet, and so many other ships. however, I'm lazy and didn't want to write all of those out. maybe I'll return to them another time, but for now, pls enjoy this <3333

[wanderinghedgehog]

I got another thing to add to my list of hilarious confrontation choreography in high school productions of Les Mis. This production I’m watching seems to be very good overall, but the confrontation is absolutely bonkers. The first round of fight choreo is very basic until Valjean backs away and gestures like “WAIT A MINUTE put the fight on hold I wanna talk to Fantine.” And Javert is just fine with that????? But now it’s time for round two, so the fight choreo is back. Valjean then proceeds to punch Javert, knock his hat off, and fucking BOOK IT offstage. Javert then has to pick up his poor hat before storming off to chase Valjean.

You just don’t get stuff like this from watching professional productions. Brilliant.

[thatboleyngirl77]

Hamilton choreo is brilliant

Like, if this show didn't have music (an absolute crime, but hypothetically), this would be absolutely hilarious to watch. But the choreo, no matter how random, JUST WORKS! I don't know how choreographers do it. Andy Blankenbuehler needs so much credit for this.

[chaosandwolves]

Ok my thoughts on s2 of Shadow and Bone

What I liked:

The first four eps were the strongest imo

I loved how they incorporated the crows into this

The costumes!!! (hello Jesper)

Most of the fight choreos since they were perfectly fitted to the character (actually didn't like the choreo in ep6 though)

Tolya and Tamar (thank you queer gods)

Genya

Genya and David

Ben Barnes was outstanding and so fun to watch

I liked the pace up until the last 3 eps

Mal as Stormhond? I dig it

They kinda speed ran Kanej but it was still well made and we got the "I'll have you without your armor" quote

WESPER (seriously they were the cutest ever and had such great chemistry)

Wylan (I KNEW Jack would be perfect but actually watching him being the perfect Wylan was amazing)

Jesper

What I didn't like

I'm mighty pissed about David. Given how important he was for Nikolai in the books and that we didn't even get the relationship between him and Genya properly. There was no need to kill him off so early. I'm really pissed about that (I feel like it's Eskel all over again although we at least got a few scenes with him)

Though I loved Tolya and Tamar I think they didn't quite manage to explain their role in all of this and why they're doing what they do so they seemed a bit randomly placed at times

I didn't like that they sidelined Zoya and that she wasn't with Genya and Nikolai. Obviously they've changed Nikolai's and Alina's story now but man we didn't really get to see any of what makes her Zoya. I mean they hinted that they'll still give her the storyline with that bee but yeah

Like 5 minutes in total of Matthias... Like what was that?

Pekka Rollins now ruling Hellgate - and probably more- kind of negates what Kaz did to him. If it all ends up with Kaz destroying him after all, I'll be happy but that way they really took away from the importance of what Kaz did. It was all he worked for why he is who he is... So I'm like... Yeah they either need to fix this (which I think they'll do or at least they'll revisit this story) or they absolutely built and destroyed that storyline in one go

I'm really not the person who's like "but in the books" or "the books were better" cause these are different mediums, different ways of storytelling and different ppl working on it.

I'm not sure what I think of Alina's storyline now. And which way this will go. I guess they did that to keep her on the show and I sure as hell hope Ben will make a return as well. But I was very... Ok.... When that happened cause it's actually an integral part of who she is that she's NOT drunk on the power in the end and doesn't turn into a person like the Darkling.

I'm gonna be mighty pissed if next season we finally get more Matthias but then he's killed off.

Yeah. I mean finally s3 will be the Crows season.

Also I think even though they upped their gane with Kaz, I think he still could've been more brutal... More Kaz

I hope next season there is more brilliant scheming. Cause imo we haven't really seen Kaz' brilliance yet.

Ok I'm done

[manysmallhands]

Favourite songs of 2024: 45 -38

Just 8 today: tumblr will not post more than ten links at a time and so i have had to modify my plans slightly in order to post a top 10 when i get to it. Anyway, the countdown continues!! (and you can see the first ten here if you so desire)

45. Dua Lipa - Training Season

My Dua hot take is that Training Season would have been a better lead single to save the album campaign than Houdini. A more accomplished and substantial song, it trades off of its hooks rather than a groove and might easily have caught a few more ears early on before everything went down the toilet. As it is it still stands as one of her best singles, the clipped rhythmic guitar building up a tension which is blasted away by its disco showtune chorus.

44. Halsey - The Great Impersonator

While recently derided for having ‘main character syndrome’ (having committed the great crime of writing about her brush with severe illness), I’ve found Halsey’s candour about her problems both refreshing and identifiable. On this, the closer from her LP of the same name, she's still reflecting on an end that’s averted for now but is resigned to her eventual doom, wondering “does a story die with it narrator?” over a backing delicate and playful enough to undercut some of the heavier implications. A bittersweet joy from start to finish.

43. Georgie and Joe - Student

A light, airy dance bop from an act who I know absolutely nothing about. Like most of my club tunes it sounds very 90s in its way: those little stabs of synth feel quite rave culture to me, but I like the shuffling garage beat too and there’s a melodic lightness that comes off like Aphex Twin in his more delicate moments. My first feeling with this was that it’s quite a basic sort of thing but there’s a song in there if you listen closely enough, with the vocal that drifts thru the track sounding almost disembodied enough to form part of the scenery.

42. JADE - Angel Of My Dreams

(Shout out to my) ex-Little Mixer JADE’s long awaited solo debut seemed to look at the failures of her former bandmates and say fuck it, we may as well go all out. There’s something a little bit k-pop in here, a certain trashiness that feels almost arch, but the key thing that comes off of it is a wild momentum, the way you careen thru the verses, roll up at the mannered, almost prissy chorus and then go off hard again into a whirlpool of bass. A brave marker to set down and, regardless of anything else, an absolute tune.

41. Bebe Rexha - Chase It

I didn’t really like last year’s Bebe LP but this was a strong comeback, one of a couple of brilliant but brief club bangers she released in 2024. Chase It recasts Bebe as a hot n messy party girl (again?) but the key moment is the chorus, where the music steps back and the beat comes in incredibly hard, alongside her “mmm da da da” hook and the endearingly dumb neck dancing choreo. She seems to have been floundering a bit in recent times but an album full of these would be something worth waiting for.

40. Post Malone ft Morgan Wallen - I Had Some Help

A problematic artist has hit the top 40 (there will be more), tho tbf Wallen isn’t in charge of this show, functioning more as a bit of authenticity dressing to let Posty into a country world that might otherwise have stayed closed to him. In fact the real star of this show is the unbelievably catchy hook that runs throughout the song, a guitar line and vocal melody that rang out of radios for months on end and left me agog, both at how ecstatically happy it made me feel and how easily it transmuted the whiny bloke narrative here into something I was comfortable enough to sing along to.

39. Billie Eilish - Chihiro

Billie’s album sometimes felt to me like a lot of flash and less substance but Chihiro found her at her best, a lowkey electronic rumble that gets into the mumbling, hypnotic territory of some of her best material. Occasionally fizzing over after sustained periods of steady building, Chihiro feels as planned in its way as other parts of Hit Me Hard And Soft just felt thrown together, an example of the subtle but devastating songcraft that she and Finneas are capable of.

38. Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

Sabrina’s four quadrant megahit took its cue from the kind of post disco 80s funk that Doja Cat so effectively mined on Say So, reanimating it with enough soft sexuality and unapologetic goofiness to set up one of the most commercially successful pop eras in recent memory. While her other #1 hits have palled a little as the year went on, this is the one i still can’t stop singing along to even as we move towards the depths of winter. Is it that sweet? I guess so.

Back with more soon!

[intoloopin-archive]

MAKE BELIEVE IT'S HYPER REAL.

starring: Lee Hanjae, Im Yoora; featuring: mentions of Fukunaga Haruki, Jeon Heejin, fellow LOOPiN and Hashtag members; set in: Mid September, 2022. word account: 5,401 words. tws: none that came to our notice!

author's notes: 1. Yoora belongs to the amazing, talented, brilliant Amber, and can be find at @hshtag​ alongside all of her show stopping bandmates! This piece was originally a thread we did together over Discord, which was a first (successful attempt of making that format work, lkkdj) for me. I’d like to use this space again to thank her for making this experience fun, and for being so patience with me as always! Other then that, the uhze: 2. English is not my first language, and it might show to a native speaker or someone who’s more fluent then I am. I tried my best to iron this piece out, but if any grammatical errors flew over my head, I hope they don’t ruin the overall experience. With that out of the way, have a good read!

Hanjae sets the phone tripod at the center of the room more or less at the height of his chest – which totally isn’t housing a heart beating like a drum –, and tries his best to not let it slip through his fingers – that very much aren’t shaking like a leaf – when he takes his cell phone out of his back pocket and opens the front camera. He raises his head – which, for the record, absolutely doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode with a migraine at any minute – just to find his undeniable meek reflection all over the mirrored walls of the Melody Media practice room already looking at him, his two restless eyes just right there, obvious for Yoora to see, and point at, and comment on.

Drying his palms on his jeans, Hanjae mutes the thought and turns around at her. He says, with a tiny smile that feels terribly wobbly on his face, “All done. We can, you know, do the thing. And by the thing, I mean– the dance thing, that we planned, which is why I’m here. Ha. All done for that.”

He coughs, just to make up an excuse to shut up. For very little, he doesn’t give in to the urge to bang his head against the wall. Fuck. Fuck. He really gotta learn how to be subtle someday.

Hanjae knows he has no real reason to be anxious; it’s Yoora, whom he trusted with his most chaotic truths, whom in the years they’ve been friends, saw all of his oddest habits and transparent flaws and still allowed him to stick around. Maybe the only person in the world who’ll understand why he wants to do what he wants to do, why this is the only plan that makes sense, and still, he starts quivering every time she does as little as look at his direction.

He clears his dry throat, gethers all the little courage he still has in him, stored for the stages and the fans, and decides to try again: “Uh, actually, Yoora, before we do anything, can we– Do you feel like sitting down? I really, really feel like sitting down.”

And Hanjae sits down, crossing his legs on the cold floor and letting his hands go to cover his face, no longer trying to not look like the poster child for a meltdown.

Yoora was exceptionally tired today. She was normally worn out on most days, but it was different somehow. She wasn’t really sure why she agreed to film a whole dance routine with Hanjae, but maybe it was because he sounded a little desperate, like he really needed her there, so she complied and tried to fight off the sudden waves of exhaustion she felt whilst they practiced the choreo before they had even decided to start filming it. 

It was clear that Hanjae seemed a little off recently and Yoora had noticed this. At the beginning, it could’ve been the occasional bad start to his day to explain why he had been acting like this but he began to seem more and more distracted and tense as the days moved by. Yoora wanted to ask Hanjae what was going on, but she didn’t want to force him into telling her all his thoughts just because she wouldn’t stop bothering him about it. 

Even during their meeting, he seemed extremely awkward, if not nervous. That’s what confused Yoora, what was there to be nervous about? Sure she got nervous around Hanjae sometimes, but that’s because Yoora was just always nervous around people in general, it would take a long time before she began to get comfortable with them, and before that, would come a whole string of awkward situations or conversations due to Yoora’s lack of communication.

She heard Hanjae clear his throat uncomfortably causing her to break herself out of her thoughts that were endless. Yoora watched as he restlessly looked around the room for something to focus his attention on when he suggested that the pair should sit down instead of filming the video, just when they had perfected everything and finally managed to stay in sync with each other without someone making the wrong move or turning the wrong way. 

Hanjae sits down and Yoora sits next to him, smiling. “Sure, we can sit down for a bit. I’m actually getting kind of bored of repeating the same moves over and over again, I need a break.” She breathes out, pressing her hand against her chest to steady her breathing. “You look like you have something to say, you keep wanting to speak then pausing. Is that why you brought me here?” Yoora asks, rapidly, not bothering to give him time to answer the questions and firing them at him instead. 

She nudges his shoulder, leaning against him. “Whatever it is, you can tell me, it’s a judge free zone when I’m here.” Yoora states, fidgeting with the bracelets that adorned her wrist. “Whatever it is, It’s serious right? You’ve been acting weird all week because of it. So, what’s going on?” 

Yoora is gentle with the nudge, still, Hanjae’s body sways to the side at the impact. What’s not going on, he thinks, but doesn’t say.

What he does says it’s something that he hasn’t got the chance to speak out loud yet. It's been tormenting him like he’s holding onto it for years, not less than a month. A piece of truth so secret it comes out of his mouth in a rush, like pure word vomit: “The thing is Haruki and I, we– well. We’re not– having fun anymore. Permanently. That’s– I wanted to tell you that.”

It’s been well over three weeks since they both had sat down inside that rented car in nowhere South Korea, no plans to where to go, no fixed destination, and what should have been another weird date had turned into a disaster when all of Hanjae’s suppressed emotions exploded on his face. He’s never been a spontaneous person, but he thought he could pretend to be anything as long as he had been doing it for the sake of finding love at the end of the road. He can’t believe that for a bit, he really thought there would be love at the end of that road.

Hanjae recognizes now that he doesn’t have a clear idea what love even means.

How can he start to explain these feelings? Yoora knows the nature of their whole situation, spared the occasional nauseating detail – the side of the story that is not in his business to tell, because it’s Haruki’s and Haruki’s only. Hanjae couldn’t bring himself to stay quiet in front of what was arguably one of the closest friends he ever had about what had been, at some point, something important.

They weren’t ever dating, but he and Haruki weren’t not not dating either. They had been stuck in this weird Can We, Can’t We game for four endless months, and Hanjae never did get around to learning all the rules before he had enough and found himself wanting out. 

He takes a pensive pause, collecting all of his thoughts, searching for the right words. He fidgets with one of Yoora’s shoelaces until it unties, a timid attempt to amuse her through his silence – he really likes the sound of her laugh. Hanjae’s not particularly funny, but he wishes he had some comedic talent just to be the cause of it more.

She’s the right one for this, the loud thought that popped into his head days ago returns, louder; Yoora can make it all work.

“I ended it, you know, and I tried to do it gently, but I don’t think it worked in the end,” he clarifies with a helpless shrug of his shoulders. “He’s been weird, ever since. Distant, but not just with me, and– I know I messed up, and I misunderstood things, I then made them worse, but I keep having this one thought– Like I know what could help, really help him and me, I guess, but it’s not something I can do alone, or ask just anyone’s help, so… Enters you, maybe, but just if you want, okay? No pressure. None at all.”

Hanjae dares to reach for her hand and when he gets a hold of it, squeezes gently. He wants to look her in the eye as he says it all, from now on, so he does. “But what I want to ask you first, Yoora, is if you trust me enough to do something a bit crazy with me.”

She snorts quietly, attempting to hold back her laughter. She notices how long it takes for Hanjae to answer and just looks at him. It’s quite funny that she can almost see the cogs in his brain turning as a crease between his eyebrows appears, signaling that he’s still lost in thought. When he finally does answer, Yoora is a little shocked. “So, what you’re saying is, you two aren’t together anymore? Like, seriously?” He nods in reply and her eyes begin to water a little. It wasn’t because she was upset, definitely not, she had no right to act that way, it was due to the fact that she felt bad for Hanjae. 

His whole life story could make Yoora cry. She had always felt some sort of lingering remorse for him, especially when they first met. He seemed like a quiet person, the odd one out of a bunch of evens but it suited him. Even if he was the odd one out, it always made him seem different and different was always good for Yoora. She hates silence, she absolutely hates having to sit quietly for too long, or avoid the awkwardness that comes with it but when it comes to Hanjae and Yoora, silence is always comforting for her. Maybe it was just Hanjae’s presence, but she could sit and do nothing with him forever and not once say that she was bored. 

Maybe it meant that they were soulmates or something. Yoora didn’t really get that stuff very much, it all confused her, how could you possibly be soulmates with someone you haven't met yet? Her view changed a little once she began to get closer to Hanjae, she was certain that now, soulmates definitely meant something to her. They also had so much in common that it was easy for them to become friends. Yoora had friends, but none of them were like Hanjae. Hanjae understood every single choice or action Yoora would do, because he would’ve done it too. It was as if they just clicked together, like a puzzle piece, and couldn’t function properly without the other.

As Yoora lays her head on Hanjae’s shoulder, she can feel him begin to untie her shoelaces, which makes her smile a little. She finds it funny, she finds everything Hanjae does funny. He may not think it, but Yoora thinks Hanjae’s the only person she knows that’s naturally funny without trying too hard. She would laugh if she could, but she doesn’t have enough energy for that, so instead she lifts her head up and turns her body to look at him. “I laughed internally, now can you please re-tie them?” Yoora asks, using her head to point down at the shoelaces draped across the shiny floor. 

He listens and finishes tying Yoora’s shoelaces when he begins another sentence. “Sometimes ending things gently isn't the best thing for both parties. ‘Cause then it just makes everything seem like it was perfect, when it wasn’t.” She replies with a small, tight smile on her face. “Of course he’s gonna be distant Jae, Haruki’s probably got a lot going on and ending whatever you two had, was just something else he could add on to his king list, you know? Don’t stress too much about it, one day he’ll be back to normal and you guys can rebuild your friendship, somehow.” Yoora chooses her words carefully, not wanting to say something she shouldn’t by accident since she knows she’s getting a little more nervous as time passes by. 

Hanjae’s hands feel softer and warmer than usual, or Yoora’s paying too much attention to them. He squeezes her hands, and it puts her at ease. The nerves die down once they make eye contact with each other. Yoora has never been good at holding eye contact, but at this specific moment, it didn’t seem like a challenge, just a normal reflex. She’s always noticed how detailed Hanjae’s eyes were and how depending on the light, they would get lighter or darker. They were pretty, much like him. “You know that I trust you, and I’d help you with almost anything,” She pauses. “As long as I’m not like murdering someone, I’m in.” She gently removes one of her hands from his hold and slaps him on the arm. “Hurry up and tell me! I’ve been waiting for too long.”

“It’s not murder,” Hanjae says, lips curling up despite everything. He can feel a small wave of relief starting to wash over him, as Yoora’s encouraging energy takes over all around the room, gently untying the knot on his chest.  “The idea I had was more… simple.” 

“I figured that the quickest way to make it all normal again, might be just to show him that I moved on, because I really did move on. I’m doing fine with all the feelings– there’s not even that many to consider. Things were never all that nice between us, but nothing about it came close to crushing me. I don’t feel like running off to a mountain and becoming chaste for the rest of my life. I’m not gonna just give up all relationships, that’s not the right thing to do, but I feel that’s he’s assuming I’ll do, for some reason I don’t get. I think it would be good to make him think I’m seeing someone else soon– someone that he knows I like and that likes me, in a way, like you, because you’ve been my friend for a while and… You see what I’m hinting at? Maybe?”

The thing is: Hanjae doesn’t want to rub it all over Haruki’s face and parade Yoora around in a fake relationship as a big ‘got ya’ moment, that’s far from being a part of his plan, but he does want him to see that progress is a real option. Hell, if he weren’t such an introvert and Dispatch was never a thing, he really would be trying to get himself out there instead of running to Yoora with a grand scheme.

What’s really breaking his heart here is that no matter what he’s tried to say these last few days, no matter what he’s tried to do, Haruki just can’t recognize they both had been at fault; he keeps acting like a criminal waiting to be convicted, which is far away from the truth. For all the times Haruki had been evasive, and mean, and acted inconsiderate of his very obvious feelings, Hanjae had been terribly selfish to match, demanting time he knew his bandmate could not give him, ignoring the few real terms and conditions he got for the sake of signs he made up out of thin air.

But just because they couldn’t get the steps right between them, it doesn’t mean they can’t do this dance with other people.

There’s a joke here somewhere, about being about to make this one ask in this setting, with the one person Hanjae feels like he could dance with without his feet failing him. He has the feeling that he can’t deal with the punchline just yet. 

“So, with all that in mind,” Hanjae prompts, letting his free hand hover over Yoora’s wrist and picking over the jewelry around it, just as she did shortly ago. He’s looking up at the ceiling as he finally asks, "Would you fake date me, Yoora?”

It’s a bit ridiculous, but he feels himself blushing, out of all things. Hanjae has only had relationships that started off on the wrong foot so far; the only girlfriend he did have was still the partner of a friend when they first kissed, which definitely isn’t a feat to be added to the highlights of his teenage life. He doesn’t think he’s ever been in a situation where he even got to ask this one question to anyone seriously, which is a realization that makes him feel a bit sad.

He tries to not let his face fall again as he amends, quickly and firmly because Hanjae knows it’s important to get this one thing out of the way: “I’m not trying to do with him what Heejin did to you, Yoonnie, I promise. It wouldn’t be real, and it wouldn’t be long.”

“I didn’t think you were capable of killing anybody anyways, don’t worry.” Yoora giggles, letting out the laughter she’d been holding back for a while. She wanted to keep the mood light since Hanjae seemed uncomfortable with whatever idea he wanted to propose to her. “No, I totally get it. You want to prove to him that you’re capable of seeing other people and that he hasn’t, like, completely ruined your dating life forever.”  Yoora hums, nodding at his words to indicate her understanding. When she says she gets it, she really does get it. She felt the same exact way when she had just broken up with Heejin, she had moved on so quickly that Yoora didn’t even get a chance to be upset or anything, she had to move on quickly as well. 

That’s what she hated about Heejin, how unfair she was, she was always making things difficult for Yoora during their relationship but it made her feel better knowing that Hanjae understood where they were both coming from. Their situations may not have been similar, but they had the same exact feeling when it was over. “I would love to say that I know where you're heading with this explanation, but I’m getting a bit lost over here..” Yoora trails off, not knowing what else to say to continue the conversation. She had a lot of questions to ask, but she wanted Hanjae to finish speaking before she got too confused and fired all her confusement at him. 

Yoora averts her attention back towards Hanjae’s face, studying his anxious expression as his eyes flick upwards. “Sure, I'll be your fake girlfriend, what’s the worst that could happen?” She replies, uncrossing her legs and stretching them back out. Realistically, no-one should agree to something like this so quickly but Yoora was Yoora, meaning that she would do just about anything as long as it didn’t lead to her death.

She had sort of gotten the hints earlier, but didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. Hanjae finally blurting out what was plaguing his mind confirmed her initial thoughts and Yoora was quite proud of how fast it took her to get the gist of what he was trying to say. 

The only thing she was worried about was how she was going to convince everyone else that it was real. Obviously her group members would notice that something was off with her, but she didn’t want to tell them anything without Hanjae’s permission, in case it ruined whatever he had planned. Yoora wasn’t very good at keeping secrets from people closest to her, she was a good secret keeper in general, but this one was a little too big to hide. She feels the beads around her wrist tighten and loosen as they’re picked and Yoora somehow finds it quite calming, she’s not afraid or anything, just a little jittery after thinking about too many things at once. Bringing her legs closer to her chest, she notices the faint blush painted over Hanjae’s face. She wants to smile at how easy it is for the boy to be flustered over simple things, but decides to keep it hidden so that she doesn’t ruin the serious atmosphere.

“Oh don’t worry, I know you’re nothing like Heejin. You’d be a better fake boyfriend than she was a real girlfriend, anyways.” Heejin had many flaws, so there was no reason for Hanjae to reassure Yoora. The only thing they had in common was the first letter of their names and Hanjae had always been a good friend to Yoora, helping him out with this one small thing was the least that she could do for him. “It could be as long or as short as you wanted it to be and I would still help you, I’m in.” Her shoulder collided with Hanjae’s as she leant back a little to stretch out her sore limbs. “We have to be careful about it though. We should make a list!” She suggests excitedly, clasping her hands together as things come together in her head.

Hanjae lets out his first real laugh of the day – or maybe the week, he isn’t quite sure how long it’s been – as Yoora reassures him Heejin isn’t a concern, as well outrights gets on board with an enthusiasm that, somehow, has cemented in him. He doesn’t like to think of himself as someone who seeks much validation, but it would be a lie to say her approval doesn’t make him feel confident. There’s nothing to disapprove of, anyway: it’s a good, harmless plan. 

Hanjae mimics her stretching, raising his long arms up and spinning his head to relax his neck, then gets up to go fetch his abandoned phone to put his Notes app to use. She’s right, after all. They’re remarkably bad liars, and will need to construct this out if they want to be convincing.

“I did want to treat you to something to eat, after everything had been discussed, so that could be our first ‘date’? It's been a while, right, since we got to go out?” He pauses. “Our PR manager has been insisting I go out more with ‘friends that remind me to take photos’. I need material to add to my Fab and Instagram feed.”

Hanjae lets himself chat away as his cloudy mind dissipates, leaving him with only two troughs to fixate over. 

The first is a surprising realization: Hanjae is pretty sure that this might be the easiest bit he’s ever attempted to keep up. Haruki will only need as much as hear him saying ‘I’m seeing Yoora’ once to get it, and none of his other members have ever cared enough for what he does to ask too deep into it or even register any plot holes if he gives them a story, except for maybe Seungsoo and Jiahang, but that's just because they both need gossip to live more than food and water.

There’s a very small chance Dylan will want more than the odd detail into his dating life from now on, since he's seemed to have picked up something of what went on, which Hanjae always knew had been a bit inevitable given his current position as Haruki’s roommate and latest emotional hostage. In a way, Chihoon might have been the one who planted this fake dating idea into his head with all the romcoms he made them sit through ‘for no reason at all, dude’, so it’s only fair.

The second thought, louder and more exciting, is simple: Hanjae is just optimistic that by doing this, they can just go all in on the light and fun and make this ‘relationship’ exactly how they want it. Hanjae’s a bit of a romantic, he admits, and the limitations that come with being an Idol haven’t stopped him from wanting to do silly couple routines like matching outfits or even outright sharing things.

He gives Yoora a discreet up and down, and finds himself suppressing a smile. Hanjae knows from experience that all of his jackets look big enough on her to cover her hands, when she wears them – it would be very, very nice if she did wear them more.

He taps into his phone ‘topic of conversation: couple look’, and tries not to look too pleased.

Yoora thinks Hanjae’s laugh suits him, and it doesn’t seem forced like the hundreds of other ones she’s encountered, it sounds exactly like him.

“I’m being serious! I hate not having everything planned out in front of me, we can just use that notes app, right?” She asks as she watches him open his phone and scroll to the said app. She had always been someone who needed everything to be planned out, otherwise she was sure she wouldn’t be able to keep things going. Or maybe that was because Yoora wasn’t an organized person and wanted at least one thing to go perfectly planned in her life. 

“Yeah, It has been a while since we hung out properly, without any hidden meanings or something and it is true, you definitely need to take more photos. Your fans are probably questioning what you’re doing right now.” Yoora smiles and gently hits him on the shoulder as she remembers how empty Hanjae’s instagram looks compared to her constant posting schedule. If she didn’t keep to the schedule, she’d probably be yelled at a few times, but it was easy for her to stick to it since she loved taking photos and social media in general. She also loved to be anywhere but the company building or the group’s dorm; it always felt too cramped there despite the fact that there were only five other people that took up the rest of the space Yoora wasn’t using. 

As Hanjae goes silent, she realizes that she has no idea how she was going to attempt to hide this from the rest of her members. They simply wouldn’t understand if Yoora just sprung it upon them and told them that she now had a boyfriend, it would be too weird or oddly timed. But then, she didn’t really want to tell them everything about the situation at hand, it wasn’t really her place to share anything that Hanjae had chosen to share with her out of trust for the girl.

Yoora didn’t feel any sort of resentment towards Haruki, but his name being brought up always made her feel bad for him, and Hanjae. Whatever they had trapped themselves into was a tough journey, especially with what they both had going on, it seemed like neither was truly happy. 

This led Yoora to her current thought, how was she meant to act? Obviously, she knew how to be a girlfriend, but she didn’t know how to be a fake girlfriend. She wasn’t sure if it required different needs to what regular relationships needed and Yoora wasn’t sure that she was a good actress. She already knew Hanjae could act, and it was clearly a gift of his, but she was a little short on that end. Maybe she could practice, or maybe she was thinking too much and getting too into the whole fake relationship mentality, but that’s just how her brain always worked. It was always coming up with stupid ideas, so she wasn’t surprised that she agreed so quickly, she had nothing better to do. 

It wasn’t as if she saw Hanjae’s proposal as a simple task or a good way to cure her boredom, but Yoora had absolutely no reason for her to object because it didn’t really affect her negatively or positively and Hanjae was as close to being her best friend as anyone could get to, she was simply helping him out. She was scared to get too deep into her thoughts and decided to shrug it off, coming to the conclusion that she would just have to figure everything out a little later.

“Okay…what other rules are we meant to have? Oh! We have to be really careful to not get caught, everyone needs to believe that it’s real, I know it’s obvious but it’ll ruin everything if we do.” The way Yoora was pushing her words together so they came out too quickly showed how interested she was getting, and when she was interested in something, she was never going to let it go. Yoora placed her hand on her chest, groaning quietly. “Actually, I’m exhausted, anything else I need to know?”

Hanjae will not lie: there are a billion steps they might need to take to orchestrate this pretend boyfriend and girlfriend scheme – improvising is really not his forte, and he personally could overthink this for hours on end, but–

Yoora brings her hand in front of her face to hide a yawn, and suddenly Hanjae’s hit with the delayed realization that they’ve been doing choreography for hours with little to no filmed content to show for it, since he looked like he was at his wits end during most of it. A part of him feels drained, too, physically but especially emotionally, maybe even for way longer than he allowed himself to stop to think of.

He might need a very intense drum session to work all the lingering tension off this weekend, or even an improvised retreat into Taesong’s yoga corner of the living room. He hasn’t had enough time to sit with just himself, lately.

This operation should start soon, yes, but not exactly right now. No good plan is made in one single sitting, and Hanjae can barely think of dos and don’ts now, when his knee muscles are threatening to start killing him in minutes.

“No,” Hanjae says to her, softly. “Just that– Thank you again for saying yes, Yoonie. I’ll try my best, with you. Even if it’s pretend, I’m not gonna mess it up. I promise.”

To himself, he goes deeper into the vow, and swears that he’ll not make a mess while trying to fix another. Hanjae will easily let Yoora go, when the time’s right, and he’ll be grateful for her time and for her help, and it’ll be all. He’s not going to suffocate her with a million ideas of what the two of them should look like, to pass as a couple in his eyes. He’ll not get too used to it to forget why they’re doing it in the first place. He’ll not want something he can’t have despite his selfish and grabby nature.

It’ll be a good and fun exercise, and– a flash of when they first met comes to his mind, of how captivated he was by Yoora and her everything – it could be a challenge, which he’s okay with. Maybe there is some sort of tiny part of Hanjae that needs something to put his strength to the test, a monitored try-out before he’s dunk into the big dating pool, some evaluation he can pass and deem himself… adjusted.

(He feels his jaw tense up immediately. He might have gotten Haruki’s initial deal with him better just now. Yikes. Big, big yikes.)

In front of him, Hanjae sees Yoora enthusiastically nod, hair swinging side to side, cracking a smile that communicates relief and amusement. He’s struck by the sudden urge to buy her heart shaped chocolate as a joke, probably. He starts mentally tracing roots to all the confectionery places nearby, but stops himself before his hand itches for his phone. 

Hanjae walks side by side with her to leave the room, stops by the door to crack it open, and just as Yoora is about to pass him by, he makes a less dubious humorous decision: Hanjae signals for her to stop, takes off his nylon jacket and places it over her shoulders, almost like it’s a cape. It’s a bit awkward and clumsily done, but that’s part of his goal. Their shared laugh is light, and it radiates fun.

More than anything, he wants to show Yoora that he’s serious, but just the type of committed serious one can be while playing pretend. Nothing is going to change, when it’s just the two of them. They’ll keep on being friends, which is what they’ll always like each other for.

Maybe that’s the complicity you should feel, he thinks just then, quicker as the practice room lights being turned off after he presses the switch; when you have a partner.

Sometimes, it’s really hard for Hanjae to believe that he’ll ever get to know.

[that-irrelevant-ricecakeaddict]

My Review/Analysis of Stray Kids' new album

💫 ROCK STAR 💫

(Part 1/6)

Track 1: MEGAVERSE

I am, as quoted from kim seungmin, "speechless, wordless". The introduction of snare drums mixed with use of electronic beats and sound effects is JAW-DROPPING. I love the combination of the forever classic and iconic snare drums with the freshness of the electronic sound effects and beats!!

Changbin and Han's rap following Felix and Bangchan's opening lines was an AMAZING choice!! It definitely feels like a build up, and it had me on the edge of my damn chair while listening lolol.

Moving on, Seungmin's vocal lines RIGHT AFTER the heavy, punchy rap created an absolutely BEAUTIFUL contrast.

Followed by Leeknow and Hyunjin's buildup with the drum beats steadily building up to Felix's beat-dropping chorus? BRILLIANT.

Side note: they really did an amazing job of making use of Felix's contrasting deep voice for this track 🙏🙏

Followed by Changbin dropping another punchy rap verse!! His rapping accent always carries Stray Kids' songs.

Followed by Seungmin and Leeknow's combined verse together. Their voices seriously compliment each others' so well. I love the addition of Bangchan's (?) humming adlibs here. Then Jeongin getting a verse to himself!!! His singing is seriously underrated like omg it's so soft yet impacting.

Combined with Han's iconic line "everywhere we go, the universe will follow" and Leeknow's "welcome to the stray kids hot megaverse" with that GROWL??? OML IM LIVING FOR IT. GO OFF KINGS 🗣🗣🗣

Side note: the chorus is seriously such good choreo material?? As a dancer, I found myself itching to move when listening to its beat-heavy instrumental

Now we reach the bridge before the outro chorus. Felix and chan's or jeongin's(?) low voices creates the PERFECT steady build up.

THEN "STRAYKIDS" BEING SHOUTED OUT IN UNISON BEFORE THAT DRAMATIC AF BEAT DROP. OMG.

And Chan's line "This our megaverse, big bang" WRAPPED IT UP ALL SO WELLL. Seungmin singing the same line GOT ME too!!! Their vocals contrasted deliciously with the heavy bgm and the other members' adlibs. Like omg.

Finishing off with Felix's "welcome to the straykids hot megaverse" and the electronic sound effects fading out. Amazing contrast. I've always loved how SKZ makes use of contrast in their music. It's so fresh and fun to listen to.

Overall, MEGAVERSE gives me major badass main-character intro theme!! It would be an amazing song to use for the opening song of a concert. It was the first track I listened to (after watching LALALALA mv ofcourse) and my jaw DROPPED.

Thank you for reading my review!! Stay tuned for my reviews on the 5 other tracks in their new album. Stream 💫ROCK STAR 💫!!

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

hey what are your favorite bts songs? If you had to choose only one song to listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be? for me definitely Black Swan orchestral version

Uhhh... I used to say Black Swan's the best BTS song but at this point the song feels a bit overrated lmao. It's very powerful but I think the production quality of it has aged a bit. It's not the smoothest listening experience and I blame Hybe for always fucking things up with their sound engineering or production or whatever.

There are songs that I feel are very artsy and powerful that I consider the best, and perhaps my favorite, songs but those aren't necessarily the songs I listen to the most: First Love, Idol, ON, Black Swan, Tear, Fake Love (PDogg version).

I really consider First Love to be a masterpiece and probably the best BTS song. But Idol's my very favorite song, no contest, and I think it's also a masterpiece in a different way. Same with On and Black Swan. Fake Love is brilliant but only the PDogg remix imo, since it had what the original was missing to me. Tear is another masterpiece, duh.

Other than those, I absolutely love Go Go (one of their best songs imo), Fire (my favorite HYYH title track), Dope, Run (ballad version especially), My Time, No More Dream, Love is Not Over, Butter, Spine Breaker, etc. These are some of their most iconic songs to me, but there are a lot more... For example, Baepsae, Mic Drop, Attack on Bangtan, You Never Walk Alone, Film Out, Your Eyes Tell, Stay Gold (the Japanese trifecta), Interlude: Shadow, Dionysus, and even DNA, BWL, etc. I like the brighter and funner BTS songs over the ballads or softer tracks like Just One Day (great song, but not my style overall).

If I had to choose a song to listen to for the rest of my life, the answer is clear to me, hands down, Idol. That's just my favorite song. I love the lyrics, the choreo, the passion and the energy, it's hype and the rhythm is insane and brilliant, it's LY era personified, the real answer to Love Yourself. I get excited just thinking about it because it's so brilliant but I feel like no one sees that? Everything about that song is iconic and brilliant and showstopping to me...

I would miss Jungkook's vocals though, if I only ever heard Idol for the rest of my life... But his rap in the song is iconic anyway. Btw, for Jungkook, I would pick My Time as his solo song to listen to forever (which might change when he drops JJK1 though! Fingers crossed!).

I absolutely get you picking Black Swan though. I used to prefer it over Idol when the song came out, but these days I'm not sure how much I love it. I love it though! But, honestly, I don't even remember the orchestral version. I still prefer the original.

Thanks for the ask! I'm curious as to what you think of my answer and what other BTS songs you love?

[ddeongies]

wow, should i be surprised to absolutely love chap 11? probably not, that’s the usual feeling after reading all of your works, i have a hard time trying to put into words all my thoughts about this chapter (english it’s not my first language 😿) but i’ll try cause i feel it’s the least i can do

god ryu is soooo fucked (no pun intended), her being nervous to finally see yeji after a month and after the kiss but at the same time wishing it happens sooner, damn ryu really fell harder, btw those pictures were indeed for YOU ryujin !

reading the “yeji is sweet” line, made me remember the first time i came to ur blog confessing about trying to read the word count kajskdjd, that line made me so happy 😭😭

and ryu planning everything 😭😭 as an anxious person i get her soooo much, that would be so me, also she’s so smart like killing to birds with one stone, her assignment and getting the girl, brilliant

i don’t think i have said it before but i just love the way you write the characters, it may be cause i find so easy to relate to them, to feel what they are feeling even through words, i was probably in the same nervous level as ryujin during her whole plan, shes stronger than me tho, yeji naked on her bed ??? yeah no drawing would be done on my side

it does kill me the fact that they both want the exact same thing but they think the other doesn’t 😭 and they are so respectful about it like, ‘i’ll take anything the other would give me’ 💔💔

i have a question, i don’t know if it’ll be answered later but it’s been bugging me since i read the chapter, did they hold each other after they finished? 🥺 i know they both think they’re casual, but they are also friends so, i just need to know 😭😭😭

thank u for another amazing chapter, i’ll patiently wait for the next one and also choreo epilogue and new fic (???) omgggg

ps: to the anon who said something about yeji in lingerie, how am i supposed to do anything productive with that thought on my head now ????

-🍬

i am finally here.... catching up with my asks.... thank you for your patience it's been a time 🫠🫠🫠

hank you for liking the chapter (and the fic and my writing and everything 😭😭😭)

ryu is so fucked but at least yeji is too. like can it really be “ryujin falls harder” when yeji is how she is LOL they’re just the same at this point (and yes every single picture yeji posted over break was for you ryu LMAO)

omg yes the infamous “yeji is sweet” that you caught during the brief yunjin drama lmaaoooo so observant. every time i screenshot my wordcounts i’m like “what are people gonna manage to catch in the background here”

and yessss ryu is such a planner. i think she likes to really think things through and attempt to have control of a situation especially when it’s scary or she feels vulnerable. and also she’s just a smarty lol like whose plans have gone better so far 🤔

thank you for saying that! i’m really glad i can write people in a relatable way :) i just want these two (and the side characters) to feel real and to have a realistic relationship. it’s just more fun that way for me as a writer and as a reader

the way they’re on the exact same page but in a kinda bad way like…. you like each other the same way AND you’re being idiots in the same way??? please 💀

omg yes okay they’re def cuddling after and there will be onscreen cuddling in future chapters i promise you 😤 very good question thank u

im writing far too many things at once rn lakdjfl so thank you for the patience with me answering this very very late

ps: not the yeji in lingerie thoughts agin i’m running away now BYE 🏃🏽

[woozi]

hiii yza! it’s car crash anon… now that we’re a few weeks into god of music’s release, I was wondering if you had a ranking / any thoughts on the tracks for seventeenth heaven?

also, when there’s a comeback, is there anything you tend to anticipate / are super excited for outside of just the MV?

for me I’m OBSESSED with the dance practice behinds. any behind for award ceremony practices are also pretty fun, but I just personally loveee hearing them sing little bits and pieces of the song live in the dance practices. this is actually how I characterize booseoksoon in my head—they’re the three members most likely to burst into song (seriously. that mmtg vid I pointed out before with hoshi imitating a violin player? in that vid seungkwan starts singing manmanhani by ukiss and dk and hoshi join in. yeah I just know this in my head. no I couldn’t tell u a single member’s bday in svt I just keep lots of strange and minuscule factoids in my head)

anyways, because of that I TREASURE the inside seventeens for fighting (the dance practice, the promotional activities, and the circle chart awards practice) because there’s just so much. ~performance~ going on. impromptu singing and such. I actually wasn’t a biggest fan of the song but after watching the behind stuff and the going seventeen (mr. cha you’re an icon to me) I was completely sold on the vibe of it all.

also I think I just like dance practices. every month I remember some svt performance and text my friend like “listen I just think whether you like the song or not spider has such a good choreography. like it absolutely represents the feeling of prey and predator so well. also like the props are so effectively used like. it’s literally just glorified pull-up bars but the layering of them creates this really interesting enhancement of Depth and makes it really FEEL like one is being pulled deeper into a web—and when they switch to a side view, these same props almost give off the image of prison bars. the execution is genuinely so brilliant—” [cut for time] I could do this abt most svt choreos tbh I LOVE picking out details!

hello bestie 🥰🥰🥰

my ranking atm is GoM > back 2 back = monster = yawn > diamond days > headliner > sos (sorry the lyrics make me .... 🤨🤨🤨 jkdsfjsdkjkdskjds 😭😭😭 but it's understandable eng is not their first language!!)

hONESTLY????????? i always look forward to the dance practice fdfdkdfkjdfjk i think it's because i also used to dance and i just find it very fascinating (esp bc the choreo/performance aspect is a huge part of what svt has to offer)

ALSO WIGGGGG ure so valid for that <3 it rlly is nice to see what goes on behind the scenes!! would also add jeonghan to the burst-into-song unit 😋

ALSO NOT MR CHA 😭😭😭😭😭 icb we lived to see that, also love how they try not to break character but ultimately fail 😭😭😭

AGREED W SPIDER TOO????????????????????????????????/ and ure right omg i havent thought abt The Imagery