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fff777 · 3 days ago

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here it is! we have the eng subs to got7 on youngjae's radio show! i'd watched it when it aired but no understanding korean, i was just going off of vibes lol. but i'm excited to watch again this time with more context!

hype!!! when youngjae was introducing the show there were so many fans outside cheering him on

lol fanchant to miracle in 2025

miracle is a really sweet song though <3 i was going to fast forward through this to get to the interview but i kind of want to listen to the full song

this is over two hours so we're going to get a lot of interview i am buzzinggggg i'm so excited for talk7. but also tumblr limits posts to 30 images so we shall see if i need to break up this post into two if i have too many screenshots

omg right it's the middle of winter and it's apparently midnight? the fans must be so cold TAT stay strong ahgase TAT

aw youngjae is excited too <3

youngjae's otter doll became coco's toy

lol hamburger-nim

entry music for the members <3

aegyo king as always

they are NEVER letting go of super sexy aegyo

youngjae really making jaebeom do all the memes

wait since when was mark and angel and a prince :3 anyway he is very pretty thsi comeback <3

angry mark-hyung <3 he's so cute when he's animated

seunie~ welcome back

the way jackson was like i'm out as soon as youngjae asked for super sexy aegyo

jinyoung!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why did he walk in like this though lmfaooo. like a 老大

here comes bambam, swagmaster hypebeast himself

yugyeom last but not least, walking in like a ceo lol

btw i love that youngjae was like just sit wherever you want. like they're really going casual, i love it.

youngjae being told to go outside so they can call him in lol

they're at a point where it's fun to interact with the fans :P

the guys commenting on jaebeom's cute librarian look :3 yes is looking cute and soft today

mark and yugyeom equal and opposite concepts XD

jinyoung so defensive when he said his sweater was new. "it's not fucking stained bro."

jinyoung's completely anticlimactic introduction lol. i love how nonserious these guys are being, they really are sticking to the concept of no formation, no preparation, just vibes and hanging out.

this entire comeback jinyoung and jackson have been especially playful. and so far they've just been sitting facing each other like guys remember this is a group activity lol.

what is bambam being so cute for (his concept is being maknae today :P)

guys: youngjae already introduced himself before we got here guys: then why doesn't youngjae introduce himself to us

listener: jay b, can you please calm down listener: i worry you'll get in trouble with jinyoung afterwards jjp continue to be mom and dad lel

the guys explaining korean slang to jackson and mark. probably like old times :P

who was it who said that show about korean slang kept showing up on their algorithm lol

youngjae said his radio skills are rusty and he doesn't know how to move on from a convo anymore

jinyoung knows the fans, he knows we love them talking comfortable like this :3

yeah every time they have a comeback there's a new meme among themselves. for nanana it was sheee~. this time i'm not sure what it is. maybe it's "bambam made it" because they keep saying it when they're introducing python lol.

oh never mind they said it's PYTHON but in a high pitch

fan: mark, why are you so handsome mark: thanks mom and dad that's very american humour lol

the guys trying to downplay their fight. they're like "we've changed!!! we're not like that anymore!!" but also they're honest and they have no problem about spilling the beans.

bambam: leave in the comments who you want to see fight, we'll arrange a showdown

bambam was nervous because it was his first time producing for the members :3 well he did well (y)

so there's going to be a making of video for python then. these guys just yolo with spoilers.

they've been talking about python for 1.5-2 years

would it have been possible for them to have released this in may though? when jinyoung and jaebeom were still serving?

aw, jinyoung admitted he was happy from beginning to end of the entire album making process. he's letting himself be sappy.

they're hyping up this fight so much

yugyeom is so frustrated about jaebeom forgetting the dance choreography lol

LOL yugyeom watched compilation videos of jaebeom's mistakes ToT let him live pleaseeeee

bambam: at the concert, please focus on jaebeom LOL

jinyoung saying that he thought they were cool during dance practice and yugyeom laughing and jinyoung being like ??? should i say we suck?!?!?! he went full grumpy old man lol

lol jinyoung's defense about spoiling

youngjae: can y'all let me do my job and guide the convo got6: no

jaebeom came up with the name winter heptagon

aw...they shine apart but also together as a constellation <3

oh TRUE it matches with this being the year of the snake (though when winter heptagon dropped it was technically still year of the dragon) and bam being snake in korean. python IS bambam's song.

yeah i heard that originally tidal wave was supposed to be a title track

lol python is a song about the love between cat and owner lmao. bambam would know as cat dad/cat butler.

jackson hiding after his tom and jerry joke ^^;;

they're just gonna be like this whole time eh

jinyoung was gonna make a joke but he stopped himself because he knew it was going to be cheesy but the guys were like noooo do it so jinyoung reluctantly did it and wanted to dip right after lol

yugyeom pointing out how the fans want to hear it but still give jinyoung shit for bad jokes. this is the proper idol/fan relationship, never let the man live X'D

ohh was tidal wave was supposed to be the title track instead of nanana? anyway jay b said he kept pushing for tidal wave.

jaebeom switched the chorus with bambam. i think it's so interesting how they guys have complete creative control.

jinyoung: yo bros weren't we so cool just now, not even one skrrt, we've made it, we've grown up

of course, they're serious about the album :3

YEAH EVERYBODY wanted jaebeom's part so they could just sing and be done with it and focus on the dance >3

i love that they're not afraid to admit that they get out of breath lol

interesting, bambam originally wanted mark to do the first chorus, and jaebeom was ok with rapping

YEAHHH request for jaebeom to sing the chorus and the guys were also like YEAHHHH

jaebeom never disappoints <3

yeah i remember in an old part switch video where jaebeom was saying he's not as confident with falsetto

yesss please bring back part switch ver :3

this is when they cleared up the fanchant lol

music break for python

there's ahgabong on the premises

there's the little fat birdie ahgase cake next to yugyeom :3

jackson: what does that mean? guys: *explains* jackson: ohhh jackson: i don't get it

jackson not remembering the cabbage hair incident and bambam was explaining and jackson was like stop you don't even remember it. i think it was pretty simple, just that jackson was pushing mark too hard when stretching and mark grabbed his hair like a cabbage. i don't know what that means though lol.

ameri-thai-kong fighting in multiple languages B)

so jackson says he swears in korean lol

lol asia song festival

jinyoung and jaebeom saying they don't fight anymore, it was very cute when they both denied it :3

back in the bounce days they fought every day huhuhu. the teen boy spirit.

wait i don't know what this jj cross is lmao. but it was the first entry in a cringe test youtube compilation XD oh bambam

jinyoung being like "...when we shot it we actually thought we were really cool." it always amuses me how easy the guys are to laugh and cringe at their old stuff XD like they obviously know they're cool and they don't feel their image is threatened by looking and acting silly because fun must be always!!!

lol so yugyeom has fantasies about cussing people out. reasonable tbh, i think it's how a lot of people get rid of their angry feelings.

aww there as a time when they were trainees that yugyeom was really really angry and he called jaebeom and jinyoung

music break~ smooth was made by jackson! :3 the guys are also taking a break to stretch their legs and then switch sides

mark, jackson, and bambam dancing to smooth as they come back in :3

jaebeom: is it ok to feed meat to the baby birds? 🤔 got6: it's ok, eagles exist

they guys getting soooo offended that the listener said they're bad at games

YEAHHH jinyoung picking the A reenactments and i love how bambam proudly shows the fans while jinyoung just holds his head in defeat and shame

lol they all bullied jinyoung into doing all of the videos as punishment for picking the mission

ok but you can tell jinyoung is having doing the other guys' videos

jinyoung stayed cool for all of them except for his own X'D

jackson's plan completely backfired, he wanted youngjae to be the other mission man but everyone instead turned on him. the guys are SO PROUD of the birds for getting the memo LMAO it's always so hilarious when they use the fans to turn on each other.

they're trying to get jackson to reenact the videos too and jinyoung was like "??? then what did i do all that for??" and yugyeom quietly said to jinyoung "it was fun 🥰" yugyeom was and is jinyoung's baby

jackson hates this SOOOOO MUCH X'D

now jackson trying to flip the script onto bambam lmao

bambam @ yugyeom: now do my part yugyeom: ?? why??? bambam: i can't die alone maknaes forever X3

jackson just making up a listener message to further his agenda lol. FAKE NEWS

music break for our youth! this is soooo youngjae style

next is the presentation segment where they talk about the songs they made :3

jackson wrote smooth in one day :o

i have to say it at least once, but jackson is really so handsome like this. simple styling, prince hair.

next is youngjae with our youth

i will say this song, while it does sound very youngjae style, also sounds a bit like got7's b-sides back in the day. so i believe youngjae when he said he wrote it with got7 in mind :3

youngjae messing up the lyrics :P

yugyeom with remember

they're making yugyeom reenact his cringe video from a million years ago. NEVER let your bro live anything down lol

LOL jinyoung went to the coin karaoke in the military often

jaebeom with darling!!! :3 him singing that one line and the girls going CRAZY. i did too huhuhu

jackson said he felt like he was attending an online lecture and jaebeom went into teacher mode :P

the guys all commenting on jaebeom's messy writing ^^;;

weirdest thing to pause the man about lmao. like thanks kayi but what am i supposed to do with this information.

tidal wave was also written by bambam? :D

little shimmy after a little fanservice :P

so many guys are saying jinyoung did well :3

mark with out the door! i really liked this song on the track, might be my favourite on the album

mark wrote this with his band. it was supposed to be in a lower key for him but they raised it up three keys for got7 :o interesting

mark also named jinyoung as the member who did well and he said that jinyoung's pronunciation of the english lyrics was very good. honestly jinyoung has always had very good pronunciation of languages. i remember the first time i saw got7 doing an interview in the state and i was literally :o when i heard jinyoung speaking because he was able to do the american accent so well

bambam said that out the door reminded him of high school and mark said out the door felt nostalgic to him. it's true, this song sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a teen movie.

jinyoung with her

LOL the final showdown

LOL jinyoung smoothly avoiding jackson's hug and jackson touching jinyoung's face on the poster instead

lol jinyoung sleepy

jinyoung's the only guy who picked to have someone else's face. all the other members picked to keep their faces. interesting. well he's an actor so i guess he likes living other people's lives

LOL jinyoung wants to wash he other guys instead of being washed. all the guys are so suspicious of other people washing their bodies lmao.

last song, yours truly :3

omg...2-5-1 chord progression of jjp + other members + ahgase...that's sweet

awww a 10 year old fan who's imagining what it's like to be an adult...aw...

guys...i guess we're shoebills now

lol mbc had to register 19 cars for got7 XD there are too many staff.

bambam's turn to foot the bill huhuhu

never mind jaebeom pays again lol. leader is leader is leader.

lol time to pat each other on the backs >3

markbeom <3

bambam: we need to remodel the nest youngjae: bambam, please do it for us bambam: bambam: ok

music break for her

why are they flipping bottles in the year 2025

hello by got7 to lead us out

waving to fans :3

and there we have it :3 i missed them a lot, got7 are sooo much fun, thank you so much for doing this ;v;

#screencaps & commentaries #got7

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perhaps-in-anotherdream · 1 year ago

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[CN] Li Zeyan’s 2024 Birthday: Former Times Date (Eng Translation)

“Perhaps, from the moment we met eighteen years ago, fate had already quietly written our today.”

“Li Zeyan, it was your appearance that made me start to believe in the existence of fate.”

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, ��年约会, that is yet to be released on the global server! ♡

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

【Subbed Video】

youtube

──────────────────

【Prologue】

As soon as I arrive at the main entrance of the Riverside Plaza, I notice a woman in professional attire walking towards me with quick steps.

??: Miss MC, hello. I’m Wang Yi from the Publicity Department of the City Hall.

MC: Hello, Miss Wang.

After shaking hands with each other, I take out a pre-signed agreement document from my tote bag and hand it to her.

MC: I’ve already signed the temporary usage agreement for Riverside Plaza’s venue. Please have a look.

She efficiently flips to the last page, confirms the signatures, and hands me a temporary access ID card along with a map of Riverside Plaza.

Wang Yi: I’ve already taken care of informing everyone involved and have reserved the time you’ll be needing.

Wang Yi: On January 13th, there won’t be anyone bothering you here, except for the patrol staff.

MC: Really, thank you guys so much.

Wang Yi: No worries. Director Chen mentioned you have very important memories here… and besides, you are the main person in charge of the promotional video for Riverside Plaza.

Wang Yi: In terms of both emotions and reason, this little help is nothing.

It’s not until I watch her departing into the distance that I begin to earnestly take in the recently completed Riverside Plaza before me––

The use of minimalist lines sketches out several strikingly modern structures, while in the not-so-distant surroundings, an artificial mountain rises, cloaking everything in front of me in lush greenery.

Such a strong contrast momentarily makes me forget what the park where I first met Li Zeyan looked like.

MC: I wonder what his reaction will be when he sees the drastic transformation here.

Saying this, I lower my head to look at the bag full of birthday gifts I’ve brought, and a smile slowly spreads across my face.

MC: But no matter what, Li Zeyan, I’ll definitely make you happy~

Just as these words leave my mouth, my phone in my pocket suddenly rings. I take it out, only to see the familiar avatar unmistakably displayed on the screen.

Smiling, I answer the call and start speaking even before he can say anything.

MC: Hehe, I was just thinking about you, and here you are calling. What’s up~?

LZY: A certain dummy hasn’t made a peep all day, and I’m a little not used to such quietness. What are you up to?

MC: Ah~ Turns out someone was missing me.

Grinning, I sling the “gift bag” over my shoulder and head inside, chatting as I walk.

MC: Me?... I’m preparing a birthday surprise for you right now~

The voice on the other end of the line clearly freezes for a moment, followed by soft laughter.

LZY: How come you’re not keeping me in suspense this year?

MC: Because your birthday happens to be on the weekend this year.

MC: Since we don’t have anything else in our itinerary, you must know that I’m planning a surprise for you!

MC: So, there is no point in keeping you in suspense. I just need to work hard to not fall short of your expectations~

My eyes crinkle into a smile, and I halt in my steps. Then, I take out one of the gift boxes and place it under the bench in front of me.

Just as I’m mulling over where to hide the remaining gift boxes, Li Zeyan’s voice sounds once again, his tone neither too soft nor too heavy.

In the winter breeze, this voice inexplicably brings me a touch of warmth––

LZY: Dummy, you don’t need to work so hard.

LZY: As long as you’re around on that day, it doesn’t matter where we go or what we do.

LZY: Because the most important thing has been by my side for a long time now.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 1】

MC: Happy Birthday!!

Early in the morning, the second I hear the sound of movement coming from the bedroom, I immediately burst in, carrying the cake with Pudding accompanying me.

Li Zeyan, who has risen from the blanket, watches us as we shower rose petals on him, his eyes widening slightly.

After processing the situation, he laughs somewhat helplessly.

LZY: A certain someone disappeared early in the morning; turns out she was preparing a surprise.

MC: Judging by the birthday star’s expression, bet you must have been shocked by my surprise, huh~

Hearing this, a glint of teasing surfaces in his eyes.

LZY: Indeed, you did give me a good scare.

LZY: I even thought someone was “breaking in.” [1]

MC: Well, I’m certainly gonna hijack all your unhappiness today!

He smiles and pulls my randomly flailing arm, hugging me to his side. Then, he glances down at the cake in my hands.

LZY: Looks like my stomach has already been hijacked by you first.

LZY: You squealed me out of bed at twelve a.m. for a bowl of longevity noodles, and now you want me to eat cake?

MC: These are all my blessings~

At this moment, Pudding suddenly reaches out his paw, lightly smearing a bit of cream on Li Zeyan’s face.

Seeing him momentarily frozen, I can’t hold back and burst into laughter.

MC: Haha, our Pudding is also wishing you a happy birthday~

LZY: After being with you for so long, even he has become more childish.

MC: It’s only natural for a family to become more and more alike~

He nods contemplatively. Then, he bends down and gently nuzzles against me, leaving a cool sensation on my face.

MC: Whoa! Why did you pull a sneak attack on me?

LZY: You said it yourself – it’s only natural for a family to become more and more alike.

Even though his tone is composed, a twinkle of amusement betrays his eyes. The overlapping laughter and soft cream melts and spreads in the sweet-scented air.

After washing up, he slices a piece from the cake and doesn’t forget to put the reddest strawberry in my mouth.

LZY: Your blessing tastes good.

LZY: So, what’s your plan for taking me to do later?

Smiling, I wink at him.

MC: Haven’t you heard? The construction of the Riverside Plaza is already complete~

–

───── [FLASHBACK STARTS] ─────

MC: The next time we come here, it will be called “Riverside Plaza.”

Ten months ago, the park where Li Zeyan and I first met when we were kids was slated for redevelopment by the city hall and was soon to be incorporated into a large urban public space – “Riverside Landscape.”

Before the construction began, we returned there once again after several years.

The park, dust-laden in memories, had remained almost unchanged in its original appearance. It beckoned to us from across the long years.

MC: Though, don’t you think the park seems to have gotten a bit smaller…

Holding Li Zeyan’s hand, I repeatedly measured the size of the sandbox with our footsteps and couldn’t help but feel a sense of incredulity.

MC: I can’t believe it only takes a dozen steps to make a circle now. I remember how I could play the whole afternoon in the past.

LZY: It indicates that a certain dummy has been particularly engrossed in playing this game since childhood.

MC: Well, you’d still be next to me and watch me play~

MC: Speaking of which, thankfully, this little me had big dreams.

MC: That’s how I could become your one and only best friend among so many kids in the entire park!

Hearing my exaggerated tone, he seemed unable to hold back a small laugh.

LZY: That’s your standard for a “big dream?”

MC: Of course! Zeyan gege was so cool back then, and he never seemed to rashly make friends with others. [2]

MC: Mm-hmph, but if I had known you were a kid without dreams, I might not have played with you!

LZY: …who said I didn’t have dreams when I was a kid?

The next second, seeing me immediately cast a curious gaze his way, he seemed to stop talking somewhat regretfully.

I kept swinging his hand, adopting an expression that vowed not to give up until I heard the answer. After waiting for quite a while, I finally got a soft sigh of compromise from him.

LZY: You can listen, but you have to hear the premise too. It was just a casual remark I made when I was little, not exactly a serious dream.

MC: So, you were playing coy earlier. But if CEO Li doesn’t say it today, he won’t be adorable anymore! Tell me, tell me~

LZY: …Pianist.

My eyes widen for a moment, picturing Li Zeyan playing the piano, and I can’t control my eyes crinkling as I smile.

MC: Hahaha, even CEO Li had such a whimsical dream!

LZY: [extremely helpless laugh] I told you, it was just something I said without much thought when I was a kid.

MC: But when I imagine how you’d look in a tailcoat, it does quite suit your temperament.

MC: So, when we return home today, will I be fortunate enough to hear the playing of the Grand Pianist Li?~

LZY: Nope.

MC: Oh, c’mon, just play it casually; even just putting on a show would be fine too.

LZY: [helplessly amused tone] Your current dream is not small at all, I must say.

Our light-hearted, trivial laughter and chatter scattered throughout the park, and in a trance, we brushed past our childhood memories.

We strolled aimlessly, and when the curtain of twilight fell, neither of us uttered a word about leaving.

It wasn’t until we saw the construction vehicles approaching from a distance that we tacitly cast our gaze for one last time at this piece of land.

MC: I wonder what this little park will turn into the next time we see it?

LZY: If you’re curious, let’s come and check it out together once it’s completed.

His voice was soft, but he spoke with sincerity.

LZY: In any case, its finest appearance has already been preserved in the passage of time.

───── [FLASHBACK ENDS] ─────

───────

[Tidbits]:

[1] It’s a small nod to his 2nd birthday date, where MC “broke into his house” to surprise him LOL, though this time it wasn’t necessary b/c she lives here haha~

[2] don’t think I need to again; still just a reminder– MC used to address Li Zeyan as “Zeyan gege” when they were kids. For those unaware, when a Chinese girl addresses a boy as gēge (an intimate term of address), if not used to address her own older brother, she’d use it to address her boyfriend~ and the reason it got both Victor and MC flustered the first time they reminisced in Preference SP~ It’s similar to how oppa (in KR) and onii-chan (in JP) works in cases like this haha~ (//∇//)

You can refer to this post for more details: ♡♡

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 2】

In the damp winter haze of the south, two interconnected artificial mountain ranges embrace the brand-new Riverside Plaza.

The lines of modern architecture in the square appear to escape from the shackles of steel and concrete, blending seamlessly with the natural landscape.

I take a satisfying deep breath, allowing the fresh air to instantly fill my nostrils.

MC: Looks so much more beautiful than before.

LZY: The concepts for this renovation are very new, and the execution on the ground is pretty commendable.

LZY: But I recall that this place will only be open to the public around mid-year.

MC: Yeah, you’re right. But it’s your birthday today, so it’s perfectly normal for magical things to happen~

Seeing my wink that hints at my intention to keep it a secret to the end, he helplessly raises his eyebrows.

LZY: A certain someone seems to be leveraging her personal connections for me a lot recently.

MC: If it weren’t for CEO Li’s help along the way, I wouldn’t even have the small network I’ve built up today.

MC: “Always think of its source when you drink water”-- it’s but a fundamental principle in life.

LZY: [laughs softly] Does your fundamental principle also include sweet talk?

MC: This is called the use of some rhetorical devices to convey a heartfelt expression. Every word of mine is sincere~

Amidst the laughter and chatter, as we approach the place where I had placed a gift in advance, even my footsteps gain a little excited spring.

–

3… 2… 1 –– I silently count as I lead him around the corner, and a delicate gift box appears on a bench not too far away.

I discreetly sneak a glance at the person next to me and see that he seems to be in a daze for a moment. Soon after, he quickly catches on, and a smile of realization spills out from the corners of his lips.

LZY: Looks like a certain someone has already been here in advance.

MC: After all, this place holds very special meaning for us. But more importantly, it’s your birthday today~

MC: Since we have the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with it once again, I want to create some new memories that belong to us~

With the expectation in my gaze, he opens the gift box–– inside is a bottle of wine labeled with the year he was born.

MC: Hehe, your first gift is a red wine meticulously selected by MC~ It’s the best-tasting one I selected among many wines!

LZY: Does a certain someone’s idea of the best taste mean it’s “very sweet?” [3]

MC: Huh? How did you know…

A barely imperceptible curve graces the corners of his lips, though he doesn’t reply to my question.

LZY: So, did you just say this is the first gift?

It’s only now that I remember something, and, akin to presenting a treasure, I pull out a gift map.

MC: That’s right~ There are still nine more gifts scattered in the streets, waiting for their owner to bring them home.

LZY: You’ve prepared ten gifts for a single birthday? [4]

MC: Uh-huh. After all, my feelings outweigh these gifts by far, but at the very least, the figure gives a hint, right~

Seeing me use my hands and feet to gesture exaggeratedly, he laughs in spite of himself and takes hold of my hand.

LZY: [gives a precious laugh] Well, let’s hurry up then. I don’t want a certain dummy’s feelings that are lying scattered to wait for too long.

–

MC: Jeez…

As I watch him retrieve the final gift box straight from the ice cream parlor, my eyes widen in astonishment.

MC: How did you do that?

LZY: It’s not difficult to guess a dummy’s thoughts.

Noticing a glint of complacency flicker in his eyes, I pout a little, unwilling to resign myself.

MC: If you’re really that good, then take a guess at what’s inside the gift box?

LZY: What if I guess correctly?

MC: In that case, you can put forward any conditions you please~

He lowers his eyes to the gift box, and soon, a hint of interest curls at the corners of his lips. Watching him muttering to himself irresolutely, I swiftly regain my complacency.

MC: I knew it! How could you possibly guess~

LZY: Is it a flipbook comic?

MC: …!

I find myself rooted to the spot in incredulity, falling into serious contemplation.

MC: Seriously? I drew this at the store, so there’s no way I could have accidentally filled in the wrong recipient’s phone number…

MC: And, I intentionally didn’t bring it home… so, there’s no chance you could have seen it beforehand!

MC: Weird, how on earth did you figure it out?

He gives me a playful look, then turns the side of the gift box towards me.

A label reading “Hand-drawn Flipbook Comic” is prominently affixed on it.

MC: …how could you cheat!

LZY: You said it yourself–– the birthday star has the final say today.

He laughs candidly, opens the gift box, and takes out the comic book.

As he slowly turns the pages, the changing sequence of images gradually brings a story to life.

The soccer ball that came flying knocked down the sandcastle. Faced with the girl’s loud sobs, the boy was flustered and at a loss for what to do. Finally, he quelled her tears with a pudding.

Probably because the girl always had something to say, and the boy was always willing to listen–– as a matter of course, the two naturally became playmates.

Seeing that an unforeseen accident took place and caused the two to lose contact, Li Zeyan slows down his pace of flipping the pages.

During that prolonged separation, the girl, just like him, grew up well in her own world.

When his fingertips turns the final page, a sunshower drizzles down without warning, bearing witness to their reunion on the sidewalk of fate. [5]

With yearning, his gaze lingers on the page for a long, long time, as if he is looking back to that day through the paper.

MC: It’s a bit of a pity; this was already the thickest book in the store. I originally wanted to continue drawing more into the future.

He looks at me, his gaze deep.

LZY: We already know how the story unfolded after that.

LZY: As for the story that will unfold in the days to come, we will know that, too, as time goes on.

──────────────

[Tidbits]:

[3] It’s a nod to a term MC often uses for Li Zeyan– “世界第一甜李泽言” (world's sweetest Li Zeyan) and the nickname CN fans have for him 李甜甜 (Sweet Li); which is also discussed in the call for this date that she wanted to choose a wine that fits him the best and apparently drunk texted in the process LOL.

[4] Guess all Li Zeyan stans know the significance of the number “10” ahah the source of all angst, but in the light of this date, it’s also a nod to Li Zeyan’s age when he and MC first met.

[5] Likely not necessary LOL, but a refresher anyway — it’s the reference to S1 CH 1, the impending car crash and their fated reunion ahah— ༼⁠;⁠´⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠༎ຶ⁠༽

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 3】

MC: I hereby declare that the gift-finding mission is a complete success!

Watching me dancing for joy and ticking off the last empty space on the list, Li Zeyan can’t help but break into laughter.

LZY: Obviously, I’m the one who received the gifts, but you seem even happier than me.

MC: Because once again, your reunion with this land has been branded with my mark!

MC: No matter how that little park’s appearance may change, whenever this place crosses your mind, you will always think of me!

LZY: [laughs helplessly] Dummy, thinking of you has never had anything to do with time or place.

The next second, as if a realization has struck him, he lifts his gaze to meet mine.

LZY: But how come you didn’t place any of the gifts in that little park?

I scratch my head and unfold the map of Riverside Plaza to show him.

MC: With the artificial mountains they’ve built along with so many public structures, the topography here has changed dramatically.

MC: I couldn’t figure out the location of the little park…

MC: Perhaps it was leveled to the ground, or it might have become a part of the mountains, or maybe we’ve just passed right through it.

As he listens to my conscientious conjectures, a soft chuckle escapes from the corner of Li Zeyan’s lips.

LZY: As expected, you dummy.

—

MC: Does the venue usage agreement also include riding the cable car…

As the cable car slowly ascends, I flip through the thick agreement in surprise.

But before I can find the relevant clauses, my eyes are captivated by the gradually unfolding panorama of Riverside Plaza.

Emerald water and azure stones breathe in and out the refreshing breeze, embracing modern architecture and blending into a highly artistic urban landscape.

MC: It seems like the blessing of the birthday star’s halo really makes things magical, huh?

MC: Then, if I get closer to you, perhaps I can catch some of your magical aura.

As I speak, I snuggle even closer to him, crashing into his gaze fixed on me.

LZY: Even if the halo does exist, it wouldn’t spread through such childish methods.

MC: Well, you never know, and you––

The next second, he leans down and silences my unfinished words with a kiss.

LZY: [in an adorably serious tone] The success rate should be higher with this method.

Seeing him making jokes in a deadly earnest tone, I can’t help but burst into laughter.

LZY: If a certain dummy keeps giggling, she might miss the place she’s been yearning for.

MC: Huh?

Seeing him lift his chin slightly, I look perplexedly to the left side of the cable car.

In the next second, I spot the small park within the construction enclosure of the Urban Construction Group.

The sense of familiarity hits me right in the face, leaving me astounded and frozen in place.

MC: I can’t believe it’s still here… is it that they haven’t gotten to renovating this area yet?

LZY: Take a closer look.

With my eyes, I trace over the landscape before me, overlaying it with the images in my memory.

The old soccer field from the past has now taken a brand new appearance, incorporating the previous open space and expanding to at least twice its original size.

Meanwhile, the small sandbox seems to have become the best viewing area to watch the game, nestled inseparably against the edge of the soccer field.

MC: It… has been preserved?

LZY: Mm.

LZY: In the future, whenever you want to visit, it will always be here.

All my uncertainties vanish into thin air, and even the excitement turns into a sense of reassurance.

The unexpected surprise makes it impossible for me to resist turning my gaze toward that small area; I can’t seem to get enough of it no matter how many times I look.

The cable car ascends a bit more, and on the construction barrier previously obscured by tree shadows, an inverted triangle symbol that I couldn’t be more familiar with comes into view.

MC: Huh? Isn’t that the logo of LFG?

In my bewildered gaze, he nods.

LZY: I mentioned to you before about the collaboration between LFG and Urban Construction, and this is the project.

MC: So, you are the one who preserved it?

LZY: I was indeed involved in the decision-making process.

LZY: However, the redevelopment plan originally called for a youth activity area, so we retained the outdoor park and added more activity spaces.

I nod thoughtfully, but as I look at the small sandbox, I can’t shake the impression that it doesn’t really fit in with the surroundings.

Seeming to notice my trance, he speaks first.

LZY: [extremely softly] My selfish desire did indeed take part in this.

LZY: Since the soccer field was already being preserved, there was no reason why the sandbox shouldn’t be preserved as well.

MC: Even if it doesn’t quite fit the planning requirements?

He gently lowers his eyes, remaining silent, but the upward curve at the corner of his lips seems to have long declared the answer.

Partiality towards someone that causes a person to break the rules is always a source of joy, and I am no exception.

It’s just that being loved can subtly give rise to greed, making it impossible to resist the temptation to seek more confirmation from him.

MC: But… didn’t you say before letting it be preserved in the passage of time is enough?

The moment my probing gaze meets the light in his eyes, everything is laid bare in his knowing smile.

LZY: Even now, I still believe that time always leaves its traces.

LZY: But you seemed so unwilling to part with this memory.

He pauses for a moment, gazing gently into my eyes.

LZY: [IN THE GENTLEST POSSIBLE TONE] So, if you wish to seek the traces of time, I can preserve the entirety of time for you.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 4】

As the sky gradually imbues with darkness, the cable car reaches the end of its journey.

The words Li Zeyan said just now still linger in my ears, filling my entire heart with elation.

His love is omnipresent, allowing me to crash into it and be embraced by it at every turn, no matter where I casually roam in this world.

I want to hurry up and bring him to the destination; I want to present him with my surprise and give him all of my heart; I want to make him as happy as I am in this moment.

With this in mind, I pull him by the hand and start running in small steps.

His question echoes from behind, sinking into the night again, but I don’t say anything, only smiling at him.

We run all the way to the river side and spot the bubble house coming into view from afar. Quietly, I press the light control switch.

The dreamlike lights embrace flowers, fine wine, swaying candles, balloons and fireworks… At this moment, my innermost feelings seem to spill onto all the existences in the world.

MC: Happy Birthday, Li Zeyan.

Saying this softly, I look up to find his gaze and see his slightly dazed eyes illuminated brightly by the flowing light. But his eyes seem to be infinitely more resplendent than the moonlight.

LZY: When it comes to creating surprises, no one can ever surpass you.

He allows me to lead him by the hand and walk into the “bubble.” Then, he watches me as I take the cake out of the mini refrigerator and light the candles.

The candle flames dance, causing those eyes that have always been fixed on me to become even softer.

Drowning in his eyes, I softly breathe out a relaxed sigh.

MC: To be honest, until I arranged everything here and set up the gifts, I wasn’t entirely sure if this would be a good venue for your birthday celebration.

MC: Upon coming back here again with you today, I suddenly realized…

MC: Perhaps, from the moment we met eighteen years ago, fate had already quietly written our today.

MC: We just didn’t know it back then.

We didn’t know that we would lose each other, and then we would meet again after going around in circles.

We didn’t know that we would be so favored by fate, becoming such important parts of each other’s lives.

Li Zeyan, it was your appearance that made me start to believe in the existence of fate.

You’re such an incredible person that all my yearnings and adoration seem to naturally and rightfully find their way to you––

Becoming my unique and unmatched destiny.

I lift the cake towards him, as if holding my heart full of sincere wishes in my hands.

MC: The cake from the morning was pawed on by Pudding, so it could no longer shoulder the important task of making wishes.

MC: I hope this unblemished cake can hold all of your wishes.

He solemnly accepts all of my heart and sincerity, gazing at me for a long time, so long that the candle burns down another inch.

LZY: From the very first second of today, I’ve been blessed by a certain dummy with all of her heart and soul.

LZY: The old place where I met you in the past, today has given birth to new memories, all because of you.

LZY: Life wasn’t all bad before I met you.

LZY: But it wasn’t until I was constantly thought of, cared for, and loved by a certain dummy day and night that I realized the happiness fate had bestowed upon me was a million times greater than I could have ever imagined.

LZY: Once a person has known happiness, they will naturally want to preserve everything the way they are indefinitely.

LZY: This is my wish.

He gazes at me with an earnest and profound expression in his eyes, and then he blows out the candle.

MC: Hmm… although I really want to promise you this––

MC: But I’m greedier than you. I want every day of yours to be happier than the one before.

MC: I want to make you the happiest person in the whole world.

He gently lifts my hand and draws me into his arms.

LZY: You already have.

LZY: So, accompany me to an even longer and more distant future, and let’s witness the surprises fate has already written.

In a daze, my memories drift back to the day we first met when we were kids.

Just as I was certain back then that he would show up with a pudding for our rendezvous, at this moment, I am equally sure that I will accompany him to that future.

I gaze at him and nod emphatically.

Beneath the starry sky, we eat cake and drink wine, laughing and making clamors for a while, and then we just cuddle together quietly.

We let time silently slip away before our eyes, because it feels as though as long as we can be just like this, it’s enough to make us happy.

It’s not until the moon quietly shifts its position that the winter night brings with it a nip in the air.

Probably sensing that I’m a bit cold, he enfolds me in his arms, gently rubbing my hands until warmth blooms in them.

But he still appears a little uneasy, his brows creasing into a slight frown as he looks at my light clothing.

LZY: The weather is too cold; let’s go home.

MC: Since it’s a birthday celebration, it’s not considered over until the very last second.

I shake my wristwatch at him; there are still more than twenty minutes until the new day.

Probably because I’m being a bit too insistent, he can do nothing but hug me even more tightly, letting his body heat encase me.

Vaguely feeling a sound of helpless sighing on the verge of escaping above my head, I hurriedly press my finger against his lips gently.

MC: The birthday star is not allowed to sigh!

LZY: [IN THE MOST ADORABLY PLEADING TONE] I’m worried that you might catch a cold.

MC: I’ve got a solution.

I stand on tiptoes and kiss him. Then, resorting to my old trick, I take his hand and pull him along for a run towards the outside.

MC: Let’s run around, and we’ll be warm in no time!

But this time, after being taken aback for a split second, he steps ahead and overtakes me, pulling me along and leading me to run forward.

There’s something even more enchanting beyond hugs and kisses, and that is – lovers sprinting through the silent night.

The night is so thick with darkness that it engulfs any sense of direction, and I find myself momentarily uncertain if we are running toward the past or moving forward into the future.

Or perhaps, all along, we’d constantly been running towards each other in every passing moment.

Perhaps fate is not willing to treat such a fervent and sincere love unkindly, and so in the boundless night, a winding piano pathway unfolds before us like some kind of miracle.

We both freeze for a moment, then look at each other with a hint of delight.

LZY: Walking on the same path with a dummy, I guess a person is bound to run into surprises along the way.

Stepping onto the pathway, I hear a “clink” sound, so I hop a few more steps, and suddenly, the air is filled with tinkling noises.

I turn around, smile at him, and pull him onto the pathway.

MC: The journey to becoming a grand pianist can take various forms, and the one before us right now seems like a pretty good one.

The next second, I feel a force on my lower back, and I fall into his arms.

LZY: [THE OVERWHELMING JOY IN HIS VOICE x1] Well, in that case, dance with me.

The entire world resonates with the sounds created by us.

We hold each other tightly in an embrace, stepping on the musical notes flowing from the black and white piano keys.

As the notes intertwine, I close my eyes. Suddenly, I have the feeling as if I’m in a magnificent concert hall, playing a tacit ensemble with the person I love the most.

MC: How does it feel to have your “dreams” come true, my grand pianist?

LZY: [x2] This moment is far superior to any dreams.

MC: Then, how about allowing this moment to become a little more joyful?

As I speak, I gently lift his hand and twirl around with the dance steps.

The notes that do not form a melody fall into our hearts, giving birth to an unparalleled sense of fulfillment.

I find myself unable to resist looking at the person in front of me, only to find him gazing at me tenderly.

MC: Are you happy?

MC: I seem to only remember wishing you happiness, but I haven’t asked you yet. Are you happy?

–

Hearing the girl’s question, Li Zeyan is momentarily caught off guard.

Amid the disorderly notes, they dance with steps that keep getting tangled time and again, laughing together like two dummies.

Perhaps as long as she just stands there, her presence alone will make everything in front of him lovely, making it impossible for him not to be happy.

So, he nods.

LZY: [the overflowing joy in his tone here literally broke the last surviving barrier of my tear flood] Hm, I’m very happy.

Happiness doesn’t seem to be that difficult. After all, thanks to her, it has become a presence that is attainable at his fingertips almost in every second of every day.

It’s just that when a person becomes accustomed to the existence of happiness, they will naturally grow reliant and insatiable.

“So, hold her hand tightly, until the end of time,” — he thinks to himself.

The girl in front of him checks the time, announcing loudly that the hour hand is about to usher in a new day.

4, 3, 2, 1–– along with the countdown, she leans into him and wishes him “Happy Birthday” for the last time today.

Almost instinctively, he leans down and kisses her.

For all the years to come, may every sunrise and nightfall be as perfect as this moment.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

【Anika’s after-notes】

those of you who know me on twitter/X or are on the official discord server, you guys may have already seen me having multiple meltdowns on this date. so, you can imagine just how much i still have to yell and scream about lmao, but this time, i’m not gonna write a whole essay that’s what my twitter threads are for lol. it’s one of those writing that is very self explanatory, everything is at your face but in the best possible way, and leaves you little to no room for second-guessing. so, hope you enjoy this treat packed with emotions and infinite beauty, and happy crying ahah~ ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ💕

───────────────

#I'M PLEADING WITH EVERY SINGLE VICTOR STAN OUT THERE— DO NOT PASS BY THIS DATE. DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS DATE. PLEASE DO NOT.#AND ISTG IF IT'S NOT EVERYTHING YOU HAD EVER HOPED FOR AND DOESN'T MOVE YOU TO TEARS — my ask box is open. feel free to come for me lmao #😭even translating the date turned me into a sobbing mess. LI ZEYAN WRITERS CAME FOR MY THROAT WITH THE VERY FIRST CONTENT OF THE YEAR #THE PERFECT CULMINATION OF ALL THE CHILDHOOD TIDBITS!! THEY GRANTED MY WISH AND GAVE ME SO MUCH MORE #THIS IS MY MOST FAVORITE BIRTHDAY DATE SO FAR. PERIOD. THE GODDAMN WRITING GODDD #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc #mr love victor #mr love queen's choice #恋与制作人 #李泽言 #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations #Youtube

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nso-csi · 1 year ago

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240213 Taemin instalive2 (eng sub)

“I hope to see you guys soon, I hope to do world tour so you guys support me please”

#taemin

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floydhat · 7 months ago

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SSR DIVUS CREWEL SUB ENG: LESSONS OF ZEN PT2

Crewel: STOP!!!

Npc Students: Ugh!

Crewel: I cant Belive it... what a mess

Why the experiment materials that we will use today are spilled on the floor?

What kind of stray dog stepped on the ingredients and all of them was mixed?

That is what Im asking but all as you are doing is bark saying what you doesn't do it and not even point at the responsible.....

A puppy who hides his mistakes is not better than a mixed race dog! Not even deserve be called dog!

Npc Students: UGH!

(Crewel is using his whip)

Crewel: Now....Who is the responsible? If you are honest I will forgive the intensive discipline lessons

Npc Students: Well....that is....

(Grimm Appears)

Npc Students: .....

Grimm: Mgh?

Grimm: What the hell? Don't look me like this! All of them!

Yuu:

Option a) Its better if you apologise honestly....

Option b) If you say it, your punishment will be slight

Grimm: I didn't do it! Yuu, Yuu do it!

Scarabia Npc Student: Dont Blame Yuu! Grimm! You wont escape from this!

Octavinelle Npc Student: Yes, you was the first one who flip the desk! We wont be involved in this!

Grimm: Heh! Do you have any proof what say that I did it ?

Crewel: I see...Certainly is not good accuse someone if you dont have evidence....

Crewel: By the way Grimm...

Grimm: Uh?

Crewel: The fur of your paws is turning black, whats up? Is like if you are a black cat.

Grimm: Heh? My paws?

Ah! So true! My gorgeous grey fur is turning absolutely Black!

What up with this?? I cant remove it!

Crewel: Its pointless cleaned, the sap of the tree what I plantea use today turns black as soon as it come into contact with air.

If it sticks in your clothes or your hair, doesn't matter how much you rubs it or clean it using water, it doesn't remove it.

By the way, the faster way to repair the darkess zone is making other reaction and make it colourless.

Look! Pay attention!

If you puts the extract of this medicinal herb over Grimm's paws....

....

Look! They back to the normality, remind this reaction carefully.

Students: wow! *claps*

Crewel: So...Grimm, Do you have any idea of what causes thst your paws were covered with the experimental material for today?

Grimm: Funah!....

Its not my fault! Is your fault that desk is in my way!

Crewel: spoiled dog! Stay in the class after the lesson, you are punished, you get it?!

Crewel: Yuu! You must guard Grimm! Is a problem if you can't care of your pet!

Yuu:

Option a) I have a meeting after class....

Option b) Im sorry....

Crewel: Oh, a metting haves priority than my class? No, true? Thats okay, good boy.

Truly are problematic puppies....my dog's behaviour is better than yours.

All, sit down.

Grimm: *whispering* all materials that was on the floor are again over the desk...altough are come back the normality, he stills complaining....

Crewel: I will prepare the materials again, I will explain the method of the experiment now, please, pay attention.

(To Grimm) I hope that u be good.

Grimm: what? Hes is cursing me....

(Please! Tell me any mistake!)

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst #night raven college #twisted translations #divus crewel #twst divus

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lesbiansloveseokjin · 2 years ago

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day 69/547 of seokjin’s military service x

this selca was tweeted on 140107, after their japan showcases on the 6th and 7th of january (the first event yoongi attended since his appendectomy!), with the caption:

Japan schedule finished!

(trans cr: Juliana @bts-trans x)

~bonus pics & vids (including full 140106 showcase) under the cut~

they flew to japan on 140105, and tweeted this pic:

We'll be back soon, take care~

(Juliana @ bts-trans x)

full 140106 performance in tokyo:

youtube

and a fun behind the scenes video (with english subs!)

youtube

tweeted on 140106:

Memories from today!

(trans cr: Denise @ bts-trans x)

behind the scenes pics from 140106, tweeted by @ kstyle_news:

A wild Jin appeared! All the BTS members are very cheerful (laughs) x

BTS, the night show is coming to and end soon! x

(trans cr: Iraide @ bts-trans x)

The night show ended! Jin who prepared a surpise letter for SUGA. He hid to practice. He told us that he was nervous. x

(trans cr: Iraide @ bts-trans x)

jin also tweeted a public message to yoongi:

You aren't completely well yet but you still participated in today's performance with lots of energy! Suga, I always respect you because you always work extremely hard. Suga, the one who refuses to show his weak side. It's okay to lean on your members sometimes. I love you.

(trans cr: @ bts_onlyjin (jap-kor) & @ ltsChristie (kor-eng) on twt x)

The performance in Tokyo ended! Today BTS burned it out! Tomorrow we'll advance into Ôsaka too^^ You all, good job! x

(trans cr: Iraide @ bts-trans x)

jimin also posted this namjin pic on the fancafé:

Waddup~~~ Today's showcase in Tokyo has ended well~~ Today Suga hyung performed together with us and it seems like there's many of you who are worried about our Suga hyung. I'll just say something. He has once again, started to annoy me… Worries end.. kekekekeke I’m kidding~~ (half honesty!) Suga hyung's recovering really fast so don't worry too much hehe Actually today I've come to tattle-tale! Leader hyungie! Leader hyung! Rap Monster hyungie! It is Namjoon-ie hyung!!.. .. he keeps picking on me ㅜㅜㅜㅜ So I've suddenly come onto the (fan)cafe to tattle-tale. Please scold him!!! And so in revenge I'm secretly pitching a picture~~ Jin hyung who's in the picture too, I love you!!! Namjoon-ie hyung meh-rong ㅡ..ㅡ (T/N: sound/action of sticking out the tongue)

and lastly, yoongi’s fancafé post on 140107:

Hello I'm Suga who's discharged from the hospital and after a long while, at a schedule in Japan with my members! It was really regretful that I couldn't be (standing) together on the end-of-year stagesㅠㅠ No matter what I'm very healthy now!! Performed yesterday, today as well!! It's nervous standing on stage after a long time, but hearing the sound of all our fans cheering, in that very moment, the nervousness disappeared from my eyes I'm probably made for the stage eungkyakya Since my body's also recovered completely, I'll go find our ARMYs again heh Just wait for a while more!! Now on worrying's no-no-no!! The picture’s of Bangtan downing orange juice after the event kyakya

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valiart · 8 months ago

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GBC Ep. 10

Well, the only copies of Girls Band Cry I can find out there are subbed in French, which thankfully I speak. I'll keep most of the spoilers out until the Anglophones can pick up this one, but it's a soft, cute episode with a heartfelt shift. Might not please the angst-lovers out there, but I for one am happy to see a bit of family understanding rather than pure villainy.

It's also nice to see actual parents in an anime?? I feel like 95% of them just pretend that parents don't exist.

Hopefully the Eng subs come out soon!

#girls band cry #french subs #anime #get back to the lezzing plz

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p-h03n1-x · 5 months ago

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Found: very cute little Yibo drawing in the poster for Exploring the Unknown

#wang yibo #Wang Yibo exploring the unknown #meet you soon #explorer wang yibo #Eng subs please #so cutie #Chibi Yibo

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yoiasa · 1 year ago

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Countdown to 3rd Anniversary Login Story - Nightcord at 25:00 (Eng sub)

transcription below:

Miku: Oh… Kanade. Welcome. Kanade: …Sorry. Have I interrupted your singing? Miku: Not really. I'm glad that you came. Kanade: That's good to hear. Kanade: Although, I didn't come here specifically to ask your thoughts about something. I just seem to have hit a wall with composing… Kanade: I just want to write that song to save Mafuyu as soon as possible… Miku: Kanade… Miku: Oh… Miku: (So many feelings are stirring… Are they reacting to Kanade's firm resolve…?) Miku: (Ever since Mafuyu told her mother about what she really feels, the feelings around this Sekai have been gradually getting stronger.) Miku: Kanade… Miku: I know you can do it. Soー Miku: Please… save her. Kanade: Miku… Kanade: …Yeah, you're right. Kanade: I will definitely save Mafuyu one day, I promise.

#project sekai #project sekai translation #my translation #kanade yoisaki #miku hatsune #nightcord at 25:00 #kanamafu #might as well put it in the knmf tag too since it's all yoiasa

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jokeroutsubs · 1 year ago

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ENG translation: If we believed that we were "kings", that wouldn't be us

An interview with Bojan Cvjetićanin for Slovenian newspaper Delo, originally published on 24.12.2023. Audio version by IG GBoleyn123

Original article is available here for Delo subscribers. Original article written by Lucijan Zalokar for Delo; photos by Jože Suhadolnik; English translation by a member of Joker Out Subs, native proof reading by IG GBoleyn123.

If you repost quotes from the interview, please link back to this post! And if you repost the photos, do not crop out the photographer credit.

With Bojan Cvjetićanin about the international breakthrough of Joker Out, the movie Kaj pa Ester?, about life on the road, football, sociology…

I met up with Bojan Cvjetićanin in Ljubljana's Stegne industrial zone, where the members of the popular pop rock (in their jargon: shagadelic rock'n'roll) group Joker Out created a rehearsal space for themselves two years ago. "Lately we've been on the road a lot, but this is still a great second home. If only you knew about the parties that happened here. There were fifty people dancing downstairs," he proudly looked from a small gallery towards the space that measures approximately thirty square metres. Even though the clock had just struck three in the afternoon, the 24-year-old Ljubljana resident had a long day behind him, which had been entirely dedicated to media obligations.

In journalistic circles, we often hear indignation about how modern day influencers - especially those who had gained their influence on social media - have no books on their shelves. Joker Out are first and foremost musicians, of course, but with 150,000 followers (Bojan's personal profile has 190,000) on Instagram, we can count them among the big Slovenian influencers. And there are plenty of books on their shelves.

I don't want to falsely portray the popular fivesome as enlightened donors to the Slovenian literary market: most of the books resemble those you can buy for little money in second-hand bookshops, or even get for free at library write-offs, but they still deserve praise for both the aesthetic sense and the content.

I also don't want to falsely portray the books as the only notable objects in the rehearsal space. There are also the golden plate for the Eurovision single Carpe Diem, which got over two million streams in Finland, a transfusion bag (Rh-) that Tomi Meglič¹, Cvjetićanin's biggest teenage idol, personally brought to them, and a small shop's worth of props given to them by fans: pillows with hand-embroidered patterns, plushies, bras with Instagram accounts written on them, various sweets, you could even find a vinyl from a Soviet cover band of The Beatles. If things continue like that, they soon won't have any space left for instruments, but those are just sweet worries. Joker Out, who were formed in 2016, are currently conquering Europe in a way that the Slovenian music scene has never seen before.

¹frontman of Siddharta, whose third album was called Rh-

I've heard that you approach your job with the utmost professionalism and that you wake up at five in the morning for media obligations.

That's true, today we started early in the morning in Maribor. The first few hours were the most tiring because we were constantly changing locations and driving around the city. After the third or fourth activity, we relaxed a little because we got to the studio. After that, everyone started coming to us instead of the other way around.

Slovenian cinemas have started playing the movie Kaj pa Ester? in which you play a boy who enrolled in high school just to get close to his ex girlfriend again. Did you have any problems with trying to get into the high school mentality?

We filmed the movie two years ago, when my memories of high school were much more fresh than they are today. But on the other hand, I played a boy who had just finished the ninth grade of primary school, so I had to put myself into the shoes of a primary school kid, which is much harder. We're also pretty different personality-wise. But almost the entire cast was around the same age, so too old. We joked about that a lot during filming.

Still, that's nothing unusual in the movie world.

Of course, there are 35-year-olds starring in High School Musical and no one is complaining.

Could you draw any parallels between a musical stage performance and filming a movie? You have to play a kind of role during a concert too...

I have to admit that it's completely different. On stage, I never feel like I'm performing. Of course I am actually performing, but I'm still in the role of myself, Bojan, whereas in the movie, I'm someone completely different. It might be easier to compare filming a movie with recording music in the studio, but there are big differences there as well. The biggest one is that for a movie, the director has the main and the final say. You have to trust him. When you film a scene, you don't even see what you've filmed for a long time. The movie in which I play one of the main roles will be played in cinemas, and I don't even know what I will look like on the big screen. It's different with music, because us authors listen to the songs a hundred times, a thousand times; we're the ones who make all the final decisions. That's quite a mental leap, but I didn't have too many problems with it, because I knew the previous projects of that team. V dvoje ('In a tandem') is my favourite Slovenian TV series. On the other hand, I needed time to get used to this new method of working. If I asked to see the scene we'd filmed one more time, but the director said it was good, we kept filming without hesitation.

You said that on stage, you are always in the role of yourself. Does the nature of that role change from concert to concert? And what influences it? The audience, the outfit…

The outfit has an influence for sure. More than I initially thought. Lately we've been playing with our stage look a lot and looking for the right combination. I currently find that the outfit suits me very well, it's just the shoes that bother me because they're too rigid. I have to change them. They're huge and massive, which makes me feel like I'm clumsily marching around the stage, whereas during rehearsals I wear sneakers and I'm therefore a lot more in the mood for dancing.

What about the language you sing in? Many people say that they feel as if by switching between different languages, they are also switching between their personalities.

I agree. When you change the language, your voice has a different colour and register, you come up with different jokes than in your mother tongue. If I lead a concert in Slovenian, Serbian, or English, I'm a different dude every time. This is also influenced by my notion that each time, I'm performing for a different group of people who are connected by a certain mentality. In Slovenia, I'm performing as a local for locals, and I feel like there are different "game rules" than for example in Croatia or Serbia. Elsewhere, I feel like I don't even think about this.

How did you get the idea to start creating and singing in English? You already broke through internationally with Slovenian.

Us creating in foreign languages isn't so much a result of wanting to break through internationally and the mentality that only English ensures global success. If we thought that way, we wouldn't have gone to Eurovision with a Slovenian song. We're primarily driven by a desire to learn new things, to push the boundaries... In the studio, it's similar to being on the stage. If you change the language, you're not only a different person on stage, but also inside your head. Your creativity is different. Playing with languages is actually also playing with your own creativity, because you enter a different space, a different mentality. The song Sunny Side of London could not have been made if we hadn't mentally transported ourselves to an English-speaking space. We want many more projects like that, not necessarily in English.

Can you be more specific? What kind of mentality do you associate Sunny Side of London with?

That song is a sort of homage to all the people who have suddenly become part of our story. Sunny Side of London has nothing to do with London as such. I was looking for a name of a well-known place with which to name all our concerts, and I decided on London.

The first time I said the words Are you guys real? – Is this really happening, are you really here and singing our songs? – on the stage, certain English phrases snuck into my mind. What the hell is going on? and so on. We also experienced, for the first time, foreigners coming up to us and talking about their own experiences connected to our music. That was something completely new for us. We listened to all those stories in English, as our fans of course can't speak Slovenian, even though they can sing our Slovenian lyrics. Sunny Side of London therefore emerged as a collection of all the experiences and stories that fans told us after gigs.

You've already touched on fans who sing your lyrics by heart from Finland to Spain. Could you highlight the nation with the best ear for the Slovenian language?

On the latest tour, when we visited Lithuania, Poland, Czechia and Croatia, there were moments when I felt like I was singing in Slovenia. In Prague, I filmed the audience singing Umazane misli without me. As if I were in Križanke, for example. But it's even more fascinating that people sing well in England and Nordic countries too. It's understandable that our Slavic brothers have the best ear for Slovenian, but northerners aren't far off either.

How much of your international success do you attribute to the Eurovision performance?

A huge amount.

If you had to express it in a percentage?

99.9.

Really?

Definitely. It was an incredible catapult. Whenever I ask the audience at our international concerts if anyone was already with us before Eurovision, a few hands shoot up every time, but those are rare exceptions.

How do you explain the fact that you finished in the relatively humble 21st place in Liverpool, but your visibility still grew in leaps and bounds?

We were very, very, very dedicated to the Eurovision project. We put a lot of time and energy into demonstrating to the people who were open to it that we weren't just a three-minute performance, but very much an existing band that has made many songs and that lives on stage. With time, and of course in connection with the Eurovision performance, more and more listeners got to know that. We clearly showed them: we are here, we are real, try it, connect with us.

Because they had so much different content available, this actually happened. I think it was also because they saw that Joker Out really was made out of five completely regular dudes from Slovenia who live a totally normal life, and at the same time we make music and have a great time doing it. That is already a slight deviation from what's been happening recently, when we're being bombarded from all sides by messages that we need to distance ourselves from each other, that we have to hate each other...

That was the sociologist in you talking.

That's true. The atmosphere in society nowadays is such that it emphasises individuality more than building a team. Young people, however, need and want to be part of a community. And we offered them that chance.

Where does your interest in social sciences come from? Your father is a gynecologist, your mother a pediatrician, and you have a degree in sociology.

I had a very good professor in high school. If you wanted to listen to him, he offered a lot of knowledge. Even though sociologists often think about society in an abstract way, the subject always felt tangible to me. I recognised it in very concrete life situations that I was trying to understand. At my final exams, I did a great job with sociology with very little effort – and then made a mistake and enrolled in economics. I wavered between those two options from the start, and in the end, what tipped the scales were the warnings of many people I knew that sociology doesn't have good employment prospects. I gave in to the pressure and very quickly realised I had made the wrong decision. I gave up on economics after the first semester. That was when I seriously threw myself into the band, we made Gola, and then I transferred to sociology and there was happiness all around.

You clearly won't work as a sociologist for a while yet, if ever...

But I am a sociologist.

In your soul?

No, as my profession. Us musicians are sociologists. A lot of sociological terms could easily be transferred into our environment. Locale, for example. In third year, the professor asked me several times: Well, Cvjetićanin, if you have a concert, is that locale or something else? And then I said it was locale and started rambling on. (laughter)

So you are a singing sociologist?

Exactly.

How do you explain the success of Joker Out from a sociological point of view? How do your songs address the zeitgeist?

I write the lyrics exclusively based on stories that really happened. Not necessarily to me, but to people I love. Therefore, I have a strong emotional relationship with the subject matter. My opinion is that there will always be people who will connect with the story if it's real. Because it's easiest for us to connect with real emotions. Our songs are love songs, they talk about finding yourself and personal growth, some are socially critical... I think that I have managed to find the right balance between being direct and being poetic.

I'll word it differently. The Beatles already sang about love and personal growth. And they weren't the first ones by far. Later on, those same themes were covered by hundreds of successful bands and an infinite number of slightly less successful ones.

I think that nowadays, we most often associate societal changes with technological development. Technological advances largely dictate the rhythm of our life. But those advances are mostly just a substitute for something that already existed in the past. The basic emotions have therefore certainly stayed the same. Love, fear, hatred... I think that the use of language is very important here. Even though the emotions don't change, the way we put them into words does. In music, too. I don't sing about a topic the same way my peers would have in the 1970s. Consequentially, our relationship with emotions is changing and evolving as well. As if our entire society is gravitating towards the point of holding the belief that it's better for an individual to feel less and less, and in a more and more censored way.

On the one hand, excessive use of social media and other media causes us to feel like distinct individuals. On the other hand, it connects us to the world and places us into a very wide picture. In every moment, we are only a click away from becoming cosmopolitan and being able to access all the information, events, and people, but at the same time, that's exactly what reminds us that we are a small and actually not very important dot on this planet. The magnitude of everything that's constantly available to us makes us feel small. I think that we mostly listen to, watch, and use those who manage to poke the spot that unnerves people the most in this context. If performers manage to break through the firewall of someone's VPN, then those people will also show their interest in an analogue way. Otherwise, they will only be a swipe away.

And now a question that's more psychological than sociological: do you ever try to get into the heads of the people who time and again show their interest in very analogue ways?

I have an infinite appreciation for their dedication, because for myself, I don't see the chance of a phenomenon exciting me so much that I would be ready to dedicate so much time and love to it.

So you've never been a very hardcore fan?

If, at twelve years old, I had to highlight one musicians that I would've wanted to meet more than anyone in the world, that would definitely have been Tomi Meglič. That hasn't changed to this day. The only difference is that we meet up with Tomi and we're friends. I still feel the highest possible level of respect for him. Every time he calls me, I am extremely proud of myself. But I still cannot imagine going to, say, Berlin tomorrow if Siddharta were playing there and I had a free day. I'd go to Maribor or Zagreb, but absolutely not across all of Europe the way the biggest fans do. Not even at twelve. I could sooner imagine that at that age, a football match rather than a concert would be the thing that excited me beyond all reason.

We're probably talking about two groups of celebrities that get worshipped as deities by the masses in Western society: footballers and pop and rock musicians. And this is probably linked to emotions again.

True. The thing that wakes up a person's sense of smell, sight, and all other emotions that overcame them as a child, is what has the best possibility of succeeding.

Now please explain how this is connected to football.

If I go to a concert by Siddharta, Big Foot Mama, Magnifico, I turn into a ten-year-old kid who will explode from happiness. There's no Bojan anymore. He gets lost. It's the same with football. When I watch it, I dream about how I played for Slovan² as a kid and what I wanted more than anything was to score a goal and for everyone in the stands to yell: Yeeeees!

²ND Slovan is a football club from Ljubljana

You don't score goals, but you are in a similar position that Tomi Meglič used to be in.

All the band members come from very loving families that have always provided us with a very good support system and instilled basic values in us that we internalised deeply. That is why everything that's currently happening around us hasn't gone to our heads in a way that would make us think that we're bigger or more important than anyone else. If we started believing that we were "kings" because everyone was clapping for us and singing our songs, that would probably be a very strong feeling, but that simply wouldn't be us. We mostly love to see all the people, because we know how much we mean to them and how much they mean to us. Without them, we wouldn't be able to focus on what's most important to us – our music. On the other hand, I can say with a thousand percent certainty that I would easily and happily do my job if I was performing at venues like Cankarjev dom. So, in front of a calmer audience, without unreal hype.

But what I would like most in the world is to turn into a footballer for ten seconds and score a goal at an important match. You know why? Because that is the biggest adrenaline hit that exists. When we perform on various stages, there's mayhem around us for two hours straight. But in football, when a goal is scored, that happens in a millisecond. You go from nothing into total chaos. Everyone loses their minds. I'd love to experience that. Well, I did – much like everyone who played football in primary school. When I scored a goal for Slovan and a hundred people in the stands clapped for me, I felt like I was on Maracanã. Imagine what it would be like to experience that on the real Maracanã.

It's interesting that you highlighted a loving and stable family background. Many of the biggest pop and rock stars in the world grew up in a diametrally opposite environment. From John Lennon and Janis Joplin to Prince and Rihanna. There are actually so many of them that we can talk about a pattern.

I know, because I love to read their (auto)biographies, and I agree with your assessment that their family circumstances are fundamentally different than ours. That is always my answer to the question when someone wants to know how debauched our tours are. When I tell them that we mostly drink water and tea on the road, they just can't believe it. But it's the truth, because we've realised three things. First, we enjoy what we do immensely, and from the experiences of many musicians, we know that you can almost definitely forget about a long career if you start doing everything that we perceive as the proverbial rock'n'roll lifestyle. A band like that breaks up sooner or later, either because of frayed nerves, or exploding egos, or because of money. Second, we've all had to go to work hungover and we know very well that it's unbearable. I especially can't imagine how we could stay healthy and keep our strength and our voice if we were constantly hungover on the road. In that case, the only short-term solution is drugs, which we fortunately [knocks on wood] don't do. And third: I'm sure that you have a much better time on stage if you're aware that you are on it.

Your international breakthrough doesn't have a precedent among Slovenian musicians. Would you dare to point out where the difference is, why you made it and not for example Siddharta, who had filled Bežigrad stadium and later did not hide their international ambitions?

We have to understand that Siddharta didn't have the chance to perform at a festival like Eurovision. It's hard to understand what it means for 160 million people to watch you. That is a bizzarely huge number. All this happened in the time of social media, and we had set up a pretty good mechanism in that area even before Eurovision, and then also used it, whereas Siddharta established itself as a band in the time of analogue media. I can't even imagine how it would've been possible to break through abroad from Slovenia at that time. Because even we are already – even though some things have opened up for us very nicely and we've been joined by the right people – finding out how much of an investment going international demands. Dreams of megalomanical earnings and a luxurious life brought on by a European tour shatter quickly. Even when you start filling up venues, you stay in a kind of hustle mode. You fight. Unfortunately, the costs in the music business are so high that performing abroad is more or less just for promotion for a long time.

You're probably thinking of logistical costs?

Yes. Some of my colleagues have total misconceptions about our earnings. They think that we're literally swimming in money, while we actually earn what amounts to a normal salary.

In March next year you will have eighteen concerts. You will start in Helsinki and end in Milan. How will you travel?

With a tour bus. We've rented it twice so far: for the UK tour and for the tour around Lithuania, Poland, and Czechia. There are beds on it, so we can sleep while driving from one concert to the next. The tourbus is prohibitively expensive, you pay almost half of your royalties for it, but it's the only way for a musician with such a packed schedule to survive in the long run. Sometimes people ask me why we don't travel with a van instead, but you have to understand that we sometimes have concerts two days in a row and the venues are 800 kilometres apart. If we spent all night in an uncomfortable van, then looked for a hotel in the morning and so on, we might be able to endure it for a week, but definitely not all month.

Do you ever sleep in a hotel?

Only on free days.

Will the March tour be your most exhausting one so far?

It will definitely be one of the more exhausting ones, but I am definitely happy that we will be able to sleep on a tour bus. We haven't been on a month-long tour yet, so it's hard to predict anything, but on the Nordic tour this year we played six concerts in five days, because we had two concerts in one day in Helsinki. We didn't have a tour bus there, we flew instead. That meant that after the concert, we got to the hotel at midnight, then we had to be at the airport at three in the morning, a few hours later we were already at the new location, we napped for two hours on a couch, had a soundcheck – rinse and repeat for five days in a row.

Let's not talk only about the negative sides of tours…

Of course. I love sleeping on the bus! I fall asleep like a baby who's being taken for a walk in a stroller. I can't sleep more than nine or ten hours in my bed at home, on a tour bus I easily get twelve hours. Maybe it's because it's constantly shaking a little. The other guys also sleep very well on the road.

But the most magical thing on tours is when I visit a city for the first time just because we have a gig there. That seems unimaginable to me. To meet new people, wonderful fans, to bond as a band, experience new, funny situations, to bring home a bunch of new inside jokes and incredible gifts that fans have made themselves. [Points towards a hand-embroidered pillow in the part of the studio where they keep the gifts.]

Elite athletes often lament that it's true that they compete all over the world, but they often only see the airport, the hotel, and the sports venue.

It's similar for us. When we travel with a bus, we only see the venue. If we happen to have a free day, we walk around the city, but we definitely don't visit all kinds of tourist attractions as some people might wrongly imagine. When we go to Paris, we definitely won't go to the Louvre, and we will see the Eiffel tower through the bus window if everything goes well.

But you meet a lot of interesting people.

That's true. I find it the most fascinating if we meet fans when we don't expect them at all. In a restaurant, on a plane… When we were flying to Poland, it turned out that one of the flight attendants was a big fan of ours. She told us that she was going to three of our concerts and brought us champagne and a model of a Lot Polish Airlines plane.

I was even more surprised in Helsinki. I went to some kind of dark club that had a techno music party. Suddenly I was approached by three people, two guys and one girl, and they told me that they were our fans and that they couldn't believe that they met me in that club. I also couldn't believe that people recognised me in the middle of Helsinki. What's going on?!

In the summer, you took a step back from Instagram for a while. What brought you to that decision?

Many things. I felt creatively empty. I also, for the first time in my life, experienced the internet – not just Slovenian, but global – being completely oversaturated with me. That started negatively pressuring me and eating me up. I thought about it a lot, and the first time I asked myself whether I'd be less Bojan Cvjetićanin if I didn't have an Instagram profile, I turned it off. Immediately after that, I wrote three songs; I felt as if I had cleaned up some of the mess that had built up recently. I returned to social media some time ago; with much healthier habits than before, I think.

How do you see social media? As a space for playfulness, for promotion, part of the job, part of private life?

I think that at the time when they started killing me, I perceived them too professionally. I had a feeling that Instagram was a platform through which I had to achieve all sorts of things. Lately, I prefer to joke around more.

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#bojan cvjetićanin #bojan cvjeticanin #joker out #Spotify #type: article #jo: bojan solo #year: 2023 #source: delo #jos original: podcast #og language: slovenian

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