#i did think the early access was shorter than people hyped it up to be

[whimsiwitchy]

Controversially Young Girlfriend (part three)

Hugh Jackman x popstar!reader 

series masterlist & main masterlist

summary: y/n is a globally beloved pop star. She is known for her talent and dedication towards her craft. Recently, she has also been known for her preference for older men. After a breakup with her former older boyfriend, she had a run in with the hottest dilf right now, Hugh Jackman. Y/n tried to warn him, but what can she say, she has an effect on hot, older men. 

warnings: age gap (23/55), cursing, y/n used, implied shorter reader, afab reader, she/her pronouns, sexual themes, fighting (verbal).

warnings will change as the story progresses! all descriptions of real people in this story are FAKE. I do not know these people and this is purely fiction. Please let me know if I missed anything!! <3

authors note: idk yall, this kinda ate ngl. I’m so proud of this and I really hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! <3 also I’m sorry to all the Pedro girlies…I had to. 

part three: uninvited

The past few days seemed to drag on slower than you wished they had. The rest of your time in London was spent doing various interviews centered around your upcoming album release and Ashley dragged you around to every possible tourist attraction around. It was all rather mundane- every interview was the same and every attraction too crowded for your liking. You were being a grump but you were tired and anxious. All the hype around your sophomore album delighted you, truly it did, but the doubts always took up more space in your mind than you cared to admit. With this album, you took a lot of inspiration from the pop girlies of the early 2000s, Britney being the biggest influence. You allowed yourself to explore your sexuality and true self. The songs were erotic in the best way and in just a few weeks, everyone would have access to that side of you. The image you’d been portraying wasn’t that of a ‘soft good girl’ per say but you hadn’t been this open and honest before. It was terrifying. 

You landed at LAX around two in the morning, giving you a few hours of sleep before your 11am meeting. This was one of those times you didn’t mind using the perks of your fame. You had a car waiting to pick Ashley and yourself  up to take you straight home, allowing both of you to get some sleep as the driver fought through the airport traffic. The moment you reached your small house, you threw your luggage across the living room and dropped face down into the couch, falling back into a deep sleep with Ashley right next to you. When your alarms go off at nine am, you’re banging your head into the couch cushions, the seven hours of sleep feeling like a blink. You roll slightly allowing yourself to fall the short distance from the couch onto the floor. “Ow…” You mumble, rubbing the back of your head. Dragging yourself up, you sluggishly made your way to the bathroom to take a quick shower. It was something you should have done last night. Just thinking about all the germs sitting on your body right now made a quick chill of disgust roll down your spine. You heavily disliked sleeping in your ‘outside clothes’ but the tiredness beat the cleanliness last night. 

Sweat pants and a hoodie weren’t exactly meeting appropriate but it wasn’t anything serious, just a little gathering to figure out some last minute details for the album listening party being thrown for your friends and family. You didn’t want it to be a huge deal but your label saw it as a marketing opportunity. If it were up to you, it would be a simple get together at your house but they insisted on it being at some club that would have paparazzi waiting to take pictures. You aren’t even sure why you're needed at the meeting because your input wasn’t even being considered, you just sat and gave the ‘stamp of approval’. Ashley was still knocked out when you walked to your kitchen to grab a small breakfast- a protein yogurt and some apple slices. You’d much prefer french toast but your trainer has been onto you about your diet with a tour coming up. You needed to be in good shape to dance and sing at the same time, it was ridiculous how hard it was. 

“Hey Ash, imma head out, i’ll be back soon.” You shake her shoulder lighty. She opens her eyes to some degree and mutters, what sounded like, an ‘okay’. You sighed as you started the engine to your 2000 green Toyota Corolla. It had been making a funny noise before your trip overseas that you had forgotten all about it. A lot of your newer, richer, friends have made fun of your car but you couldn’t find reason to part with it. It still ran and got you where you needed to be. You loved your fugly little car. The car ride was surprisingly short, traffic light. Pulling into the office parking lot, you sent a quick text to Stacy. 

You: please tell me you’re here already 😭

Stacypoo <33: I am. 4th floor, take a right. I’ll wait in the hall for you. 

You sent a thumbs up and made your way to the front doors. The elevator ride was quick, luckily you were the only one in there, saving you from making any awkward small talk with some random person. You were too tired to keep up your friendly demeanor. Stacy was standing outside of an office door when you first saw her. Giving quick hellos, she motioned you into the room. 

“How long do you think they’ll have us sitting here this time?” You ask jokingly. You’ve made yourself as comfortable as possible in the cheap plastic chair with a thin cushion on the seat. With your elbows propped up on the table, your head sat heavy with both hands holding up your cheeks. 

She lets out a snort before responding. “Who knows. I swear these people make us wait on purpose as some kind of power move.” 

Stacy had left London a day before you had. The moment your last interview was over, she was jumping on the first flight back home. She looked well rested and put together. You envied her ability to bounce back into routine so quickly. The two of you filled the small room with back and forth conversation about the day in London she had missed. Three people from your management/ label came tumbling in fifteen minutes later. As you suspected, you were doing a whole lot of nothing. 

“The team we hired are allowed to go into the club at noon to start decorating and the party will start at 10pm.” One of the people spoke, you think his name is Mark, but you aren’t completely sure. 

“Will y/n need to be there at a certain time or is 10 fine?” Stacy asks. 

“She can show up at ten but she won’t be in the main room until 10:30 so she can give a speech and introduce the album.” Stacy gives a nod and types that into her laptop. You didn’t like the idea of giving a speech. 

“Okay, let's go over the guest list one more time and then we can wrap this up.” Mark, you think, says. You’re paying closer attention now, they hand you a list and you skim it. There's a lot of names of people who you consider more of an acquaintance than a friend but you can’t really uninvite them. 

“Um, can I actually add two more people to this list?” You ask and Mark nods. Stacy is giving you a questioning look. 

“Can you add Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman? I um.. I met them the other day and they said they were fans. It would be cool to have them there.” You smile and from the corner of your eye, you can see Stacy pursing her lips, trying to hold back a laugh. One of the other people in the room, not Mark, adds their names to the guest list. Stacy and Mark talk for a few more minutes before the meeting is coming to a close. Once Stacy and yourself are enclosed in the elevator, she’s looking over at you with a lopsided grin, shaking her head slowly. 

“What?” You give her a small chuckle, feeling extra giddy. 

“You're unbelievable. Why even extend the invite to Mr. Reynolds when all you want is to see Huge Jackman.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at the play on Hugh’s name. 

“So not true. They like my music, why not invite them to hear the album before anyone else?” You deny her accusations. 

“Whatever you say y/n.” She drags out the ‘ever’ a little too long to emphasize just how much she doesn’t believe a word you say. The elevator is opening and the walk to the parking lot is silent. Stacy bids you goodbye and says that she would be in touch soon before she’s walking away. 

“Wait! Stacy!” You call out to her and she’s turning back to you.  “I need you to track down Hugh’s number, I want to personally invite him.” You smirk and she’s just shaking her head in a joking manner. 

“Byeee Stacypoooo!” 

—

When you got home, Ashley was awake and watching tv on your couch. You sat with her and talked about everything you had learned at the meeting. She was more excited for the event than you were, it was her type of scene. You knew you'd end up having fun once you were there but you were nervous. You might have left out the fact that you had invited Ryan and Hugh as last minute guests- it was something she could find out the day of if they showed up. She left not too long after, leaving you to pick up your home a little bit. You cleaned it pretty thoroughly before leaving the country but you felt a little overwhelmed by the unpacked luggage that sat in the middle of your living room floor. You packed too much clothing for the short trip, a lot of what was in the suitcase never even got worn. You decided to throw it all in the washer anyway. Dirtys clothes touching clean clothes makes them all dirty in your mind. In the middle of moving your laundry into the washing machine, your phone quacked signaling that Stacy had messaged you. She earned her own notification sound after the endless mixed texts and calls over the first few months of her working for you. It was a terrible habit you had, not answering your phone, but you usually paid attention to it when you were expecting contact. You pressed start on the machine and sauntered over to the kitchen counter your phone sat on. 

Stacypoo <33: the deed is done…have fun loser 

There was a second text that contained a number to which you assumed was Hugh’s. You smiled brightly as you texted Stacy a quick ‘thank you, love you’ text with a million heart emojis. You wasted no time, immediately creating contact for the man you were so eager to see again. 

You: hey hugh, it’s y/n! my label is throwing a listening party for my album that’s coming out soon and I thought it would be really cool if you were there. no pressure to come if you don’t want to but it’s on september 14th at Disco Lights at 10pm. 😊💕

You hit send, put your phone back on the counter, and ran across your house, needing to be as far away from the device as possible. Keeping yourself busy was probably your best option right now, so that’s what you did. You continued where you left off by putting your suitcases back into the storage closet in your hallway. Living alone made you realize how neat of a person you were. Back home it felt like you were constantly cleaning but you didn’t have to do as much in your own home. It was a simple three bedroom with one and a half bathrooms. Two of the three rooms weren’t used that frequently- one being a guest bed and the other being an at home studio/ office. The most you had to do was an occasional dust and sweep. You ran out of things to do too quickly. It had maybe been an hour since you sent the text and you were too nervous to even take a peek at your phone yet. You walked over to the counter comically slow and stared down at the phone screen, too afraid to look at the notifications. There were only three outcomes to this situation- one he doesn’t respond, two he can’t come, or three he agrees to come. You were hoping it was the latter option. The worst outcome was him ignoring you, you hated being ignored. It would also overall be the awkwardest outcome because his team will more than likely extend the invite to him as well. Maybe it would have been easier that way but you really wanted an excuse to get his number and talk to him. 

It felt like eternity had passed before you finally grabbed your phone, but in reality it was probably only a minute, you’ve never had the best self restraint. You unlocked it, opening the home screen, not even bothering to look at the pile of notifications, instead opting to go straight into the message app. 

Hugh Jackman 🥰: Hey y/n. I’d be delighted to come. 😁

You let out a loud screech after reading the message. If you were laying down, you’d be kicking your feet in the air and twirling your hair. You knew he was old but the way he texted did something to you. It was weird but the simplicity in his words was such a turn on. Everything about him turned you on, he was sex on legs, and he was coming to your party. You checked the time he sent the message to see that he responded only ten minutes after you had sent yours. You felt bad for leaving him hanging for so long. 

You: YAY!! I’ll see you there 😘

The added kiss was bold and flirty, you’d hope he would see it as such. You wanted to continue texting him but didn’t want to bother him, so you left it up for him to decide to text you back or not. Just as you were about to swipe out of the app, three little dots popped up at the bottom of the screen. 

Hugh Jackman 🥰: What should I wear? I haven’t been to a club in awhile. 

You: wear whatever you want. I'm sure you’d look good in anything ;)

Hugh Jackman 🥰: Thank you sweetheart. I genuinely do need help though. I’m too old to pick out club clothes. 😂

You: hmmm.. if it would help I could send you a picture of my outfit? maybe it will inspire you 

Hugh Jackman 🥰: Yeah we can try that. 

Ashley begged you to go shopping with her the moment you told her about the event and you both have had outfits picked out for a few weeks. When you got home that day, you put on the outfit, snapping a quick mirror picture to send to your hair and makeup artist so she could start brainstorming. You opted to send the same picture to Hugh. 

Hugh Jackman 🥰: Oh! That’s nice. 

You laughed at that. The picture of you wasn’t the best quality but you still looked hot. You were wearing a silver mini skirt that was lined with large sequins, ones that reminded you of a purse you had when you were younger. The top was a silver latex halter top that made your cleavage look devine. To top the look off, you wore a pair of shiny silver heels that could almost be classified as stilettos, but you wanted to be able to move around comfortably. You could have easily pulled the outfit out of your closet and snapped a picture of it but you wanted to tease him.

You: thank you! did that help at all? 😊

Hugh Jackman 🥰: Yeah, it did... Thank you sweetheart. 

You: no problem! 

He didn’t respond right away this time and being the menace you are, you were hoping it was because you made him flustered. 

—

The two and half weeks leading up to the listening party seemed to drag on now that you were more excited for it. Now that Hugh was coming, you were also extra nervous. While you got your hair and makeup done, all you could think about was how everyone was about to hear about your sex fantasies for almost an hour straight. You were counting on the beat of the music and the fact that this was everyone's first listening to distract them from processing the lyrics right away. You hadn’t heard much from Hugh and you were scared that you might have offended him with the picture you had sent. You decided to send a text two days ago asking if he was still planning on coming, to which he replied positively. 

Butterflies danced around your tummy as you posed for a few pictures before you went out to join the party. You could hear it in full swing, a playlist that you had curated playing in the background. Breathing in and out slowly, someone handed you a microphone and you were being ushered to a small stage that sat in the back of the club. The music got turned down and the lights centered towards you, a wave of quiet flooded the room. 

“Hi everyone! I’m beyond thankful for everyone here tonight. This album has been so much fun to make and I feel like it really represents me as an artist. It pays tribute to the amazing women of the late 90s and early 2000s who changed the pop game and who inspired me to make music. I really hope y’all like it! Without further ado, here is ‘Secret Sounds’!” The gathering of your friends, family, and acquaintances cheer as the first song starts to play. You rush over to the side to hand the mic back to the crew member and you begin to make your rounds. You stop here and there, speaking to people you hardly know, thanking them for being here. The club was packed, making it hard to move around without stopping to talk every step you took. There were only a few people you really wanted to see right now. A smile is glued to your face, soaking in all the love in the room, with it only being partially forced. You can see Ashley across the crowd and you start making your way towards her. You don’t make it far before there's a hand on your shoulder stopping you. 

“Hey baby.” A familiar voice comes from behind you causing your smile to drop as you turn around. 

“Pedro…what are you doing here?” You ask with a mix of shock and irritation in your voice. 

“You invited me, remember?” He’s smiling as if he hadn’t broken up with you in the cruelest way almost two months ago. 

“I thought you’d be smart enough to take the breakup and me ignoring you as being uninvited.” You roll your eyes. 

“Don’t be like that baby.” He’s smiling down at you with those stupid puppy dog eyes. He reaches down to grab your waist but you step back before he can. 

“Don’t touch me!” You say louder than anticipated but no one’s paying attention to you over the loud music. “You broke up with me, remember?” You’re thoroughly pissed off. 

“I know, baby and  I regret it everyday. I want you back y/n. I need you back…” He’s reaching for you again, you step back again. 

“I said don’t touch me..” You don’t yell this time. You need to get away from him. This was supposed to be your night and he’s ruining it. You go to turn around but you’re stopped by a very hard object.

“Is everything okay over here?” A gruff voice asks and you feel two hands grab either side of your arms. “Are you okay?” You look up to see Hugh looking down at you, concern in his eyes. 

“Hugh..” Your voice is weak and breathless. 

“Oh don’t tell me you already moved on?” Pedro lets out, anger lining his words. “What is he, your boyfriend? I wasn’t old enough for you y/n? You had to run and fuck my friend?” His voice grows louder and louder but miraculously no one seems to notice the commotion. 

“He’s not my boyfriend…” You mumble, too embarrassed by the situation. 

“What’s it to you? Huh? Why don’t you mind your business and leave.” Hugh’s voice matches Pedro’s energy effortlessly. He lets go of your arms and instead points an angry finger at Pedro. 

“You know what, I don't need this and I don’t need you.” Pedro says looking into your eyes with a malicious stare. “Good luck with her, she’s nothing but a good fuck and trouble.” He’s walking away before either of you could answer. You felt Hugh go to move towards the directions Pedro went but you stop him by putting your hand on his chest. 

“Don’t…” You whisper and you weren’t sure if he could hear you over the music. Tears were starting to pool at the bottom of your eyes, threatening to escape. 

“Are you okay y/n?” Hugh asks and that’s all it takes before you let out a soft sob. He puts his hand under your chin and is lifting your head. “Let's get you out of here, is that okay?” All you can do is nod. You grab his hand and walk towards the hallway that leads to the room you got ready in. You open the door and make your way to the couch that sits along the wall. Hugh follows behind, closing the door and takes a seat close to you but not too close. He doesn’t say anything, what could he say?

“I’m sorry.” You let out, tears still falling. You pull your knees up, trying to hide the tears from Hugh, even if he already knew they were there. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart.” He cautiously places a hand on your back and rubs it in soft circles, soothing you. You untuck your head for a moment. 

“You shouldn’t have had to deal with that.” You frown at him. 

“What he did is not your fault. Okay?” You can’t find the energy to answer him right away, not sure if you truly believe his words, but you nod anyway. 

“I shouldn’t have asked you to come.” Sadness fills your voice.

“What? Why not?” He asks confusingly. 

“Everyone is going to think what Pedro thought, that you’re my boyfriend. We shouldn’t be seen together. It won’t be good for you.” 

“Hey, don’t think like that sweetheart. Whatever we are is our business, nobody else's. I want to be seen with you, I'm here to support you. I don’t care what people have to say. I’m not him.” His hand stopped moving around your back, eyes filled with an emotion you can’t quite place. 

I’m not him

You don’t respond but you do feel better about the whole situation. You can hear the fourth song of your album playing and you get hit with another rush of sadness. 

“I should probably go back out there, people will start to wonder where I am.” Your voice is barely above a whisper. 

“Let's get you cleaned up. Stay right here.” Hugh stands up and grabs a tissue, wetting it slightly by pouring a few drops of water from a water bottle onto it. He walks over and bends down, sitting on his knees right in front of you. Even at this angle, his head is still resting above yours. Hugh grabs your chin lightly and begins to dab the tissue, wiping your tears away. You can feel the heat from the air leaving his nose hitting your face. It’s comforting in a way.

“There we go, good as new.” He says with a big smile. Your faces are inches away from each other and you wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull him in. 

“Thank you Hugh. For everything.” You return his smile, eyes locked onto his. You took a moment to appreciate his appearance. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a gray, almost silver button up, as if he tried to match with you. 

“Don’t mention it sweetheart” He stands up and offers his hand to you. “Now let’s get the star of the show back out there, yea?” 

You grab his hand and smile. “Do I look okay?” You ask, afraid that your disheveled state might have ruined your hair or outfit somehow. You pull him towards a mirror to check your full appearance, a firm grip still on his hand. It engulfed yours beautifully. 

“You look gorgeous.” You can tell he means it by the look in his eyes and the small smile that sits on his face. You see a flicker of something in his eyes, you don't fully catch it, but before you can think it over, he’s leaning down to leave a soft kiss on the crown of your head. 

“Let’s go.” He says pulling you out of the room and back into the sea of people, never letting go of your hand.

Thank you for reading!!

part four

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[lovemesomesurveys]

an internet/social media survey. 1 - Are you one of those people who shares absolutely everything on social media? What do you think about those who do? I do tend to overshare in surveys and I share quite a bit on Twitter. I’m pretty quiet on my other social media sites, though, in terms of that. It only bugs me when people share something and then someone asks about it and they’re like, “I don’t want to share it on here” or “I don’t want to talk about it.” You just did, though? Why post about it then? Plus, my nosy ass wants to know haha. I see that all the time on Facebook.

2 - Does anyone in "real life" know that you take surveys? Would you be embarrassed if they found your blog? I don’t think so. Back in the Myspace days people knew cause I posted them there, but no one in “real life” follows me on here. I’m surprised I shared those back then cause I don’t want anyone to see them now. Although, I wasn’t as open back then in surveys. I took the more basic ones and didn’t elaborate like I do now.

3 - When you receive a text message, do you reply straight away or wait a little while instead? It depends.

4 - Who was the last person you blocked on social media? Did you have an argument that lead to that happening? I don’t recall. It was probably some spam account on here.

5 - Aside from Tumblr, what websites do you spend the most time on? I spend a lot of time on YouTube. 

6 - What was the first social media account you remember signing up for? Are you still a member of that particular website, if it even still exists? Ooh. I’ve had an online and social media presence for so long... like it was probably something that doesn’t even exist now.  I remember some teen sites I was on that I guess were like the social medias of the day. For example, there was this one website I remember called Kiwibox, where you could interact with other people, post stuff, and it shared like trending topics and whatnot that I was a member of in the early 2000s. It was pre-Myspace. I don’t think it even exists now, but if it did I’m sure my account was deleted long ago for being inactive. 

7 - How many social media accounts do you have now? Do you use them all regularly? If not, which ones do you think you update the most and why? I’m on all the common ones. I use them all, but I’m more active on some than others. Some I check regularly but rarely post. For instance, I’m super active on here and I post on Twitter quite a bit. I check Facebook a few times a day and “like” some stuff, but I very rarely post. I check Instagram and Snapchat, but not daily and I rarely post or even interact on there. I spend the least amount of time on those two.

8 - Are there are any popular apps/social media sites that you've never got into or signed up for? How come? Hmm. Like I said, I have all the main ones I think.

9 - Do you take surveys on any other website apart from Tumblr? Nope. 

10 - Before Tumblr existed, what kind of blogging site did you use (eg. LiveJournal, Xanga etc.). I had a Xanga and LJ account. 

11 - Is there anything you miss about websites like MySpace, or do you prefer social media the way it is now? The Myspace days were interesting that’s for sure. I miss the hype of changing up my page and adding stuff, picking my profile song, rearranging my top 8, changing my display name, follow forever trains, comment 4 comments... haha what a ride.

12 - How old were you when you first got the internet at home? Was it broadband/wireless or did you use dial-up? I remember it wasn’t long after my brother was born, so it was sometime in 1999. I remember when my mom brought home our first computer. Those were the days of dial up/AOL. Gah, I do not miss that. 

13 - Are you old enough to remember life without any kind of internet access whatsoever? What kind of things did you do to fill the time? Ha, yeah. It’s crazy to think of the days before the internet, but I did have them. I actually used to play outside *gasp* That’s shocking cause ya’ll know I’m a hermit crab. I used to get so tan back then cause I spent so much time outside. Other things I used to do was play Barbies for hours, play with my cousins, read, color, and watch TV.

14 - Have you ever gotten into an argument with a stranger online before? Lol yeah.

15 - Overall, would you say social media is a good thing or a bad thing, or does it depend on how you choose to use it? It definitely has its pros and cons. There’s a dark side to social media and the internet in general, but a lot of good can be done with it as well. 

16 - How much time do you think you spend online each day? Is this something that varies depending on the weather? I spend a decent amount of time online for sure, but it does vary. The weather has absolutely nothing to do with it. 

17 - If your internet went off right now and you knew it wouldn't come back on for several hours, what would you go and do instead? Well, it’s 3:50AM so I’d watch some TV and attempt to go to bed.

18 - Since getting the internet, what's the longest period of time you've gone without access to it? Did you miss it as much as you thought you might? Probably the times I had surgery. I didn’t have to go completely without because once I was able to I was able to rent laptops that were available for patient use or access a computer while there. That was really nice during the couple times I had to spend a few months in the hospital. Even the shorter stays, like a week or two, I had some access at some point. But yeah, I definitely wasn’t on nearly as much during those times. Not at all the first few days/week. Then when I was back home and had my laptop I still wouldn’t feel up to spending much online. I did miss it, but I spent so much time resting and sleeping during the early stages of recovery so it was fine for awhile. I did start to get stir crazy, though.

19 - What's something you find yourself doing less of because you spend too much time online? Hm. I can’t think of anything I do less for that particular reason. 

20 - What websites do you spend the most time on? Do these fall into any particular category or are they just random? Tumblr, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

21 - What website from your childhood/teen years do you wish still existed? I miss Xanga a lot. The survey community was poppin back then. I miss the days, not so much the websites themselves, of Myspace, Neopets, playing games on Disney Channel’s and Nickelodeon’s websites, making dolls, and the AOL teen message boards. Good times, good times. Much nostalgia. 

22 - Have you ever met up with anyone in real life that you first met via the internet? Did you get on as well as you thought you would? Nope. I had online friends back in the day that I talked to all the time and actually texted with. I even talked to them on the phone a couple times. :O That was during my Jonas Brothers days and I got close to a few people that I met through a Jonas Brothers’ message board and chatroom. I was pretty involved on there. I can’t believe I used to do that cause I wouldn’t do that now.

23 - What's your thoughts on internet dating and is it something you would ever consider for yourself? I probably wouldn’t do it myself, but hey if that works for people then go for it. *shrug*

24 - Do you tend to shop more online or in person? Is that something that's changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic? I do all my shopping online now since the pandemic hit, but even for a few years prior I was doing most of my shopping online. 

25 - Speaking of the pandemic, did you find all the stories on social media quite scary or overwhelming at the beginning? Absolutely. 

26 - If someone on social media annoys or upsets you, are you likely to tell them or just hit the hide/block buttons? Nah, I’ll just keep on scrolling. If it’s that bad then I’d likely mute or just delete. 

27 - Are there topics you won't post on social media about, simply because they always end up in an argument? I don’t post about politics. 

28 - Are you friends with your parents and family members online? Do you limit what you say because you know they can see it? Yes and yes. Like, even though I don’t post anything bad or risqué lol I still hide some stuff from my grandparents just because they wouldn’t get it, ya know? I’ve done that before and my Nana called my dad and asked if I was okay cause I posted some relatable self-deprecating meme or something haha. It’s sweet of course that she cares, but yeah I didn’t want her to get worried and concerned over stuff like that.

29 - Are you using the internet for anything else except this survey right now? I’m watching ASMR videos on YouTube as well.

30 - Do you access the internet more via a phone, tablet or laptop/PC? Which device do you prefer overall? I use my phone a lot for certain things and my laptop for others. Like, I much prefer the Facebook and Twitter apps, and I access Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, the Kindle app, and my email on my phone as well. I use both for YouTube. I only like to access Tumblr on my laptop, though, as well as Pinterest.

[evilprincesskeri]

Teen!Dean - Part Six: Pick and Roll

Bobby looked up from his spot at the kitchen table and squinted at him suspiciously.  “You’re going to a high school basketball game?”

“Yeah, well, what else am I going to do here Bobby?  It’s been a month.  You won’t let me go find Dad.  So, yeah, I’ve gone native.  What about it?”

Bobby put his hands up in front of him to forstall more arguments.  “I’m not gonna stop you from going to do a little bit of living while you got the chance.”  

“This is not my life Bobby.  I’m a Hunter, that’s my life - and at this rate I’m gonna have to match a corsage and a cumberbund and I only know what one of those is for.”  Dean huffed in frustration and kicked the door frame.  “You aren’t worried about him, Bobby?”

“Ain't my job to worry about your old man.  He’ll be back when he’s done chasing his tail.” Bobby stood up, and crossed the room to lay a hand on Dean’s shoulder.  “Boy, there ain’t much in a Hunters life but blood and pain.  You get a chance to have a little bit of something else - you gotta grab ahold of that.”

Dean scoffed, and headed for the door.  “I guess cheerleaders are a good way to pass the time.”  

“Take Sam with you.” Bobby suggested.

“No way!” Sam shouted from the study across the hall at the same time Dean did. Sam lowered the lore book he was reading and grinned over top of it.  Dean couldn’t help but grin back at the little nerd surrounded by all the occult books the little egghead could devour.  

“I’ll be back late.” Dean said as he bounded down the stairs into the early spring evening.  He drove back to school at a leisurely pace.  The route was familiar so his mind kept drifting to an image that had been stuck in his head for a solid week now.  His mind lingered on the memory of a wisp of blonde hair caught among obscenely thick caramel coloured lashes and those coffee colored eyes.  With effort he pulled his mind away from the thought.  Again. Instead he focused on Jenna’s familiar curve of cleavage and the way the sweater of her uniform pulled up from the waist so you could see her tummy peek out easily enough.   Although, going to a school game of any sort was a new low, cheerleaders really were the best way to pass the time.

He pulled into the parking lot, surprised to find it nearly full.  He parked and walked around to the gym doors, following the crowd of teens and parents.  Once inside he found a spot mid-way up the bleachers that was dead center, so he had a good view.  

The cheer squad were milling around on the court, some still arriving.  Mostly the girls, Jenna among them, stood in a clump chatting and laughing.  The last of the three male cheerleaders walked up to the bench where the the other two were sitting and dropped his duffle on the floor.  He said his hellos and then brushed a lock of blonde hair out of his eyes.  Dean held very still as he watched the gesture lift the bottom edge of his sweater to allow just a glimpse of his tummy.  He licked his lips thoughtfully as he remembered the first day he’d come to see Jenna at practice.  It had been Brandon that she had been talking to as he walked up that day.  Realizing that he was staring he dragged his eyes back to Jenna and the girls and tried his best not to think.  At all.  

It didn’t work.  He’d been thinking about all the books Brandon had suggested, the passion in his voice when he talked about all the subtleties of Shakespeare's lesser known works and had wandered off on a tangent about the Sonnets.  It had all seemed like so much chick-flick lovey dovey BS before, but Dean had found himself sat at a corner table in the library yesterday leafing through a ‘Collected Works’ during his free period.

Once the game started and the cheer squad got going it was easier to stay focused on Jenna and the other girls.  They were front and center, and very… energetic.  Still, he had never before noticed how much work male cheerleaders did, but he found himself impressed.  They smiled, kept pace with the girls bouncing, blended into the routines doing occasional acrobatics themselves all while lifting, catching and stabilizing the girls.  

He thought he finally understood why a guy would choose to be a cheerleader.  There were some perks.  Still, the dichotomy of Brandon’s cheerleading and his tutoring activities struck Dean as at odds with one another.  The guy read voraciously, was good enough at math to get paid to tutor it, and was a cheerleader; it was an interesting combination.  

At half-time Jenna, and two of the other girls, started their routine with an acrobatic set of flips and cartwheels to the center of the court and slid down into the splits when they landed.  Dean leaned forward, a smile pulling up the corners of his lips as he remembered how she had shown him just how flexible she was in a different context.  The girl was bendy.  Brandon stepped close to Jenna and offered her a hand. Taking his hand she got up in a whirlwind spin of legs, and with Brandon’s help continue the momentum, she spun up along the length of his torso until she basically sat on one of his shoulders.  Shoulders that were surprisingly broad and well muscled.  

Dean simmered with confusion and did his best to keep his attention on Jenna.  She was delicious; and he meant that both figuratively and literally.  Her barely contained breasts bounced wildly and her short skirt regularly flipped up flashing the audience.  Her outfit was designed to tantalize.   It should not take this much effort on his part to focus on her.  Instead, he kept finding his eyes drifting back to the intriguing triangle that Brandon’s wide shoulders and narrow waist drew.  Or the way the muscles in his thighs were outlined through the tight polyester pants when he squatted before going into a lift.

He told himself he was just impressed.  Or surprised.  Brandon had struck him as scrawny at Jenna’s house but he’d been dressed in loose fitting layers and jeans.  He’d just assumed he was gangly and skinny because of the nerdy stuff.   And, to be fair… he was skinny; but the shoulders took him by surprise.  

As the game ended and the bleachers emptied, Dean dug his book out of his pocket and read in his seat until the crowd started to thin.  When there the majority of the crowd was off the bleachers and were clumped around the doors Dean put the book away and headed down to greet Jenna.  She was excited to see him, or was still riding the adrenalin from the performance, because she threw herself at him and wrapped her legs around his waist to kiss him.  After kissing him she slid down his body and bounced away saying “I need a shower, and then we’re gonna go do something fun.  Because I’m totally hyped and we gotta go DO something.”  

Dean chuckled “Alright, are you going to be long?”

Jenna laughed “I’ll be quick.  I promise, don’t bail.”  Jenna took off after the other girls who were headed toward the changing room.    

Dean shrugged “Sure.”  He glanced at the crowd of people clumped at the doors around the doors.  They didn’t seem to be going anywhere as they were moving in a ‘calm and orderly manner’ out the door on their way out to the parking lot.  He turned around to head back to the bleachers to wait, until Jenna was done or the people at the doors were gone, which ever was first.  He was surprised to see Brandon was sitting on a bench hunched over a book.  Dean’s brows furrowed as he realized where he had been hiding those shoulders earlier this week.  Brandon slumped his shoulders forward, making them look narrower and himself shorter than he actually was.  It was a neat trick.

Dean took a few strides over and plopped unceremoniously down next to him.  “What’cha reading today?”

Brandon’s head shot up and he jumped sideways on the bench by almost a foot.  He held the book between the two of them like a shield; his breath coming short and fast.  There was genuine terror in his eyes.

“Woah, woah, woah…” Dean held his hands up at his sides.  “Didn't mean to startle you there.”

Brandon swallowed hard and made a visible effort to calm himself.  He set the book slowly down on the bench between them, cover side up; The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.  Then, after a moment, he blinked at Dean in confusion  “Uh.  Sorry… I uhm?  What?”  

“No problem man.  It’s a good book.” Dean flashed a warm smile, feeling bad for having sat down so abruptly.  “Seems like you’re into it, though.”

Brandon blinked owlishly, staring at Dean as though he might not be real.  Or worse.  “What?”  He said again, but then, before Dean could answer he continued, his voice shaky and confused.  “Oh, the book… it’s one you’ve read?”  

“Yeah.  Some of it gets a little rambly, but Heinlein can be like that.”  

Brandon nodded and his eyes darted to the doors, to all the doors; the exit to the parking lot and the doors to the school and changing rooms.  “Uh.  Yeah… a little… rambly.”  

“Man, are you okay?” Dean asked leaning forward in concern.  

Brandon finally took a deep steadying breath and squared his shoulders.  “I uh, didn’t realize you were here… and didn’t… uh.  I wasn’t paying attention like I should have been.  What are you doing here?”

“Jenna wanted me to see the routine.  She wants to go out.”

Brandon nodded.  “Ah.  That makes more sense.”  

Dean very nearly asked what he meant by ‘more’ sense, but, Brandon was rattled so he let it go.  “I didn’t realize you were… er, on the team.”

“Yeah.  I’m super manly so I can see how it would be a surprise.”  

The sarcasm in Brandon’s voice made Dean laugh.  “Well, seems like it’s got it’s perks.  Full access.”  

“Uh… yeah.  Sure.”  Brandon was less nervous now, but his eyes kept moving, as though he were on look out for something.  It reminded Dean of how he felt when he was on a Hunt, but, there was nothing dangerous in this school.  Nothing here at the game either.  

Dean wanted to ask about it, but, got the sense that if he did it would only make things worse.  He rested his forearms on his thighs and turned his attention away from Brandon to the slowly thinning crowd near the door.  “I’ve been reading Catch 22.”  He said

“Oh.”  Brandon’s voice tried hard for neutrality.  

“Yeah.  It’s a strange book.”  Dean was unsure what he was doing here.  When he’d seen Brandon sitting here he’d been excited for the chance to get to talk to him again, but it didn’t seem like Brandon felt the same way.  It had been a whole school week since that day at Jenna’s and he hadn’t even seen Brandon since then, but he’d picked up Catch 22, he’d read Shakespeare, and he couldn’t get that little wisp of hair out of his mind.  

“... yeah.”  Brandon agreed and he seemed to debate what to do next.  He chewed on his thumbnail and swallowed nervously.  

Dean glanced sideways at him.  “Jenna’s got some family thing tomorrow.  You want to grab a pizza and talk about weird ass books?”  

Brandon stared at Dean for a long moment.  Those dark chocolate eyes swam with a torrent of emotions, but eventually he nodded.  “Uhm, yeah.  Tomorrow?”  

“Yeah.  There’s this dive of a pizza place I found.   All of the tables wobble and the wallpaper is peeling, and I think it might be a mob front, but god love ‘em they can make a pizza.  Tony’s.”  

Brandon blinked in bewilderment.  “On 12th?  I know it.”  

“Yeah.  That’s the place.  I have some stuff to do tomorrow morning, but could be there by 1 or so.”  

By now the crowds had pretty much cleared out and Jenna came bounding across the Gym with the rest of the girls.  They were all showered and preened.  Jenna was wearing a short pleated skirt and shirt with a heart shaped cut out over her chest.  Her jacket was on, but unbuttoned and her hair was down out of the braid it had been in.  Dean grinned at her as she approached.  He stood as she got close and she stepped into his arms to give him a short but very wet kiss.

After the kiss she seemed to notice Brandon.  “Oh! Thanks for keeping Dean company again B.”

Brandon’s cheeks flushed pink, and those dark eyes fluttered over Dean’s face and then down at the ground.  “Sure, Jenna.  I was waiting for my dad to pick me up, so it’s no big deal.”  

Dean wrapped an arm around Jenna and asked her “Where are we off to?”  She told him where ‘the gang’ was planning to go after the game.  Before turning to leave Dean looked back to Brandon “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Jenna asked “Is B gonna tutor you, so you can like… pass any of your classes?”

Brandon nodded stiffly, his shoulders were already sagging back into their slump.  “Yeah.  Tutoring… tomorrow at 1.”  

Dean gave Brandon a slight scowl before deciding, once more, not to argue the point.  As he left with Jenna he fought the urge to look back over his shoulder at Brandon.  Something was off with him, but, now wasn’t the time to push him about it.  The after party wasn’t some Hollywood fiction; Sure… pop music blared from the stereo loud enough to wake the dead and the beer was free flowing - in cans, not from a keg - but there was no dance floor.  No teen drama.  Just… 8 couples who had found a quiet place to make out or have sex.  

He was glad that Jenna had drawn a hard line in the sand because by 11 she was so drunk she was barely awake.  He poured her into his borrowed junker, drove her back home and helped her unlock the front door before he headed back to Bobby’s.

Bobby was, of course, still up when he returned.  His feet were propped on his desk, a glass of whiskey in his hand while he paged through a thick old tome.  “Midnight is late now?”

“Eat me.”  Dean said without malice and went to grab a bottle of beer from the fridge.  He plopped down on the couch and propped his foot on the stack of books on the floor in front of him.  

“Feet off the books boy.”  Bobby grumped.  “No cheerleader tonight?”

Dean grudgingly dropped his feet to the floor.  “We hung out for a while.  Then she drank her third beer and pretty much passed out.” Dean took a swig off his beer.  “What are you workin on?”

“Hunter in Des Moines is up against what he thought was a vengeful spirit.  Little girl keeps popping up, wreaking havoc.  She’s killed three people so far, but no one knows who she is and everyone who sees her gives a different description.  Something just ain’t sittin’ right with me about it.”

Dean pursed his lips and nodded.  No name meant they couldn’t dig up bones, no bones to burn meant the spirit was free to do what spirits did.., so that sucked.  He took another pull from his beer and sat in silence as Bobby went back to his reading.  

Bobby looked up about 10 minutes later and set his book aside “You got somethin on your mind?”

“Nah.”  Dean started.

“Okay, so, you’re just sitting here watching me read hoping your pretty face is gonna inspire me?” Bobby joked.  

“Can you take Sam shopping tomorrow?  He’s got some project he needs supplies for, and I told him I’d take him, but I got plans tomorrow now.”

“I thought the cheerleader had family stuff to do tomorrow?”

“No, not like that.  Jenna’s fine and all, but it’s not like we’ve got a lot to talk about.  Gonna grab a pizza and hang with this guy I met.”

“Awww.  Did you make a friend?” Bobby smirked and took a swig of his whiskey.

“Shut up.”  He took a final swig of beer and set the bottle on the table, before storming out of the room. 

Like what you just read?  Go back to the beginning: Part One: Arrival Part Two: Too Cool For School Part Three: The More You Know… Part Four: Ground Rules Part Five: Puzzle Peices

[cellerityweb]

A Virtual Experience That Made A Real Difference [part II]

War. One of the most popular and never depleted themes accompanying our widely understood (pop)culture. On the pages of fantasy books, it brought wealth and glory to victorious heroes. In real life however … In our second part of “A Virtual Experience That Made A Real Difference” Patryk Grzeszczuk, Marketing Director at 11 bit Studios, discusses war in video games by focusing on the studio’s hit game “This War Of Mine”. Enjoy it.

The Social Media Aspect

Earned media and organic reach are dead. Most social media specialists will tell you that. And they will be right and wrong at the same time. I won’t fight with data and I know the trends. Between January and July 2016 there was a 52% decline in organic reach on Facebook. Not the first and probably not the last one as well. That said, in our case a highly engaged community worked wonders. Mostly because we treated social media as part of our game’s universe. We did some paid advertising, of course. Mostly sponsored posts with the addition of ASU on Facebook, targeted at gaming users from »hi-potential« markets, usually to boost key content releases. We also focused on providing people with bits prolonging and/or teasing the experience provided by the game itself. We also tried to be as responsive and in touch with the community as possible – on Facebook, Steam and Youtube as well as bunch of smaller platforms our fans were active on. On top of that, we distributed our game among youtubers to increase the momentum and gain credibility among gamers. That gave us over one million views even before launch day. Gamers appreciated our overall approach and we did appreciate their engagement by not limiting any of their initiatives as long as they were in line with what we had initially established as This War of Mine’s ID. That approach gave us steady growth without paid acquisition of any kind, 30% to 60% of organic reach and, last but not least, a brilliant tabletop version of our game along with few smaller initiatives that emerged from the community. A steady and active fanbase keeps This War of Mine alive and kicking, despite the fact we did not and do not plan any sequels. At least for now…

Presentations at Events

I won’t give you wheel-reinventing recipes as our approach to events was quite straightforward. We tried to build as big an exposure for the game as possible (considering the limited budget) and generate coverage afterwards with intense follow-ups. That said, there are few key profits from participating in gaming events that we consider the most important. First of all, it’s still the easiest and most efficient way to reach media people and make them aware of the existence of your game. Having a skilled PR person or even an agency at your side definitely doesn’t hurt, but even being on your own you can build up decent coverage as long as you have a good game and an equally good idea on how to present it. Secondly, events allow you to build the initial interest of the community before the title hits the shelves. Nowadays, we’ve got many other ways to do that, including Kickstarter, Early Access, Itch.io amongst others but meeting people in real life from time to time is healthy, isn’t it?

This War of Mine playable at several events.

Last but not least, we used events as an opportunity to test the game and gather valuable feedback. We still stick to that rule as it is cheap, easy to implement and quite effective. Seeing other people play your game gives you fresh perspective and allows you to spot worth-solving issues you could miss in the development process. We usually prepare questionnaires to gather feedback and have something to analyse afterwards. It worked for This War of Mine as well as other titles which were and are present on various show-floors. Marketing-wise, events allow you to see how people react to different elements of the game and how their experiences align with what you communicate in your campaign. Having this additional feedback you can adjust your communication and shift some pressure points to emphasize all the details especially appreciated by gamers. It’s that simple. And simplicity works.

PR and Marketing

It’s a booksize topic and there actually are a lot of books about it. In gaming, strong PR is a must as gaming media are crucial for building reach and awareness for the game, especially when you want to reach so called »hardcore gamers«. Because of the importance of media exposure the clutter is dense as hell, so to break through you have to act smart but also have the best content possible. Remember that most of the media outlets measure their success by the scale of their audience. The more attractive your content is, the bigger the chance of coverage. So, when working on your assets, analyse them from start to finish – the messaging, the quality of the craft but also if the title or the description works well enough. How will your piece present itself next to all the other things that are being published on a daily basis? Is it different? And if so: does it stand out in a good way? The people you want to convince to cover your game will most probably check out these boxes and so should you beforehand. That said, our experience shows that even the best topics and the best pieces of content are usually one shots. So, to maintain the tempo you have to find new topics and new ways to approach your title (while staying in line with the overall strategy). It is not easy by any means. But it is a must.

This War of Mine puts you in the role of civilians, not that of trained soldiers.

After the release and the initial success of the game we did not want to stop, so we were looking for some new opportunities to enhance the overall impact. Having a game about civilians in a time of war and the upcoming expansion pack about children  – »The Little Ones« – it was a natural path for us to do something that addresses that issue in real life. This is how our cooperation with »War Child« happened. And it ended with our raising of over 200k$ for the underage victims of war. We are proud that we could use virtual experience to make a real-life change. However, the reason I am mentioning that initiative at this point is, because even though it lasted for almost two years, we were able to generate significant coverage only once. It only proves how difficult it is to break through the clutter nowadays. There are a lot of initiatives happening and everyone is fighting for exposure. All the time. Not only do you have to do your best quality-wise but also prepare a long-term plan taking into account the fact that not all of your activities will be covered and not all the information will reach the audience. Relying on big shots is risky – too risky to bet solely on it.

The expansion The Little Ones focusses on children and their survival within a warzone – too hard for quite a number of players, especially parents.

Shaping the Failure into Success

Working in games, you get shivers every time you hear the word »torrents«. Piracy became an issue for us as well and sooner than we expected. We decided not to fight it as we were not Metallica (*Ba Dum Tss*). Instead, we decided to show some empathy to people downloading our game, so we posted a bunch of steam codes for our game on Pirate Bay (the most popular torrent site) along with a short message. In the message we thanked people for showing interest in our game and encouraged them to make the purchase. At the same time we assured them that we understood if for some reason they were not able to buy the game so they were free to use the codes we provided to play it legally. The results exceeded our expectations. The community loved the initiative and we gained additional media coverage from some of the major outlets including Polygon. And while PR-wise it proved to be a solid move, for us it was something more. I believe that fighting people you always lose. You lose time, you lose energy and your money. Supporting your community, on the other hand, you’re gonna end up just fine. Ok, maybe these people on Pirate Bay will not buy your game, but there is nothing you can do about that. Starting a fight won’t change much. That said, they can contribute in so many other ways just by spreading the word, building the hype and/or the perception of your title. They won’t give you money, but because of them other people will. And that is important as with this money we can work on new projects and steadily grow.

Keeping up the pace

Our pre-release campaign for This War of Mine ran for about 7 months and I consider that a perfect timing as it gave us the opportunity to release a significant amount of content establishing the idea, then developing the discourse around the game and finally serving as a build-up for the launch of the game. Then we had a long-term communication support based mostly on PR and social-media coverage. It’s a frequently used way of promoting games, even years before they finally appear on the market. It’s impossible to keep people engaged for such a long period of time and maintaining the proper communication becomes a struggle, especially as games tend to evolve during the development process, changing drastically with time. So, all the things you say in the beginning may be quite far from the reality after a period of time. Six to seven months give you a reasonable window in which you can be certain about the scope and the identity of your project. It also gives you more than enough time to run an efficient campaign and reaching whomever you have to, while not losing focus on your way. Keeping in mind how the market evolves, I think that, if anything, this timeframe will shrink making our marketing runs shorter and more exhausting.

The Resonance

Now a bit of bragging. After more than two years we are happy to say that people appreciate our game (I intentionally try not to say »like« as the emotions This War of Mine evokes differ from what you usually get from games). The overall media coverage was also bigger than we could wish for and so was the number of the awards we received in the process. Regarding our sales, there is one thing I would like to underline as it directly relates to the marketing planning. While the initial sales are mostly related to the strength of your campaign, because with the appropriate budget and communication plan you can generate the spike, the quality of your game is what decides on your success in a long run, at least that’s what we learnt. We still support This War of Mine, not only bug-fixing what is to fix (and there always is something, am I right?) but also providing new content as much as we can. Last year, for example, we released the Anniversary Edition, including new scenarios along with some NPSs and brand new endgame mechanics for the game. It came as a free update as we are lucky enough to have a community big enough to be able to invest our time and effort into further enhancements. As we said in the video introducing the Anniversary Edition: »We made the game, but our gamers made it great«. And I strongly believe that to this day.

Patryk Grzeszczuk

  is Marketing Director at

11 bit Studios, focusing on

game marketing and

digital communication

The post A Virtual Experience That Made A Real Difference [part II] appeared first on Making Games.

A Virtual Experience That Made A Real Difference [part II] published first on https://thetruthspypage.tumblr.com/

[oracles]

Do you have any favorite songs by BTS that you would recommend to your followers? Idk if any fans of them (aside from you) follow me, but I'd love to spread the word since they're a good band

god this is way harder than i anticipated since i genuinely love their entire discography (since i have a Thing where when i get into a group i try to listen to everything they put out asap)

also, my day’s been pretty good! finals are a toll but i’m managing to push through. i hope yours go well too, kendra ❤️

as for my answer, i decided to just list some of my favorites from all the albums/ep’s because otherwise, i have no way of choosing favorites. they’re gonna be list under the cut so as not to spam the dash any more than necessary 

warning : this is Super Long because i’m the most extra person alive when it comes to the things/people i love 

there’s a great deal of different types of songs here - while i didn’t do the best job at describing the genres of each one, i’m sure there’s something out there by bts that may appeal to you a bit so give a couple of these songs a try. i’ve provided links as well for ease of access (either to a music video, if applicable, or to a lyric video that has english translations of what they’re saying).

obviously, i wasn’t able to encompass their entire discography (even though i wanted to - it’d have just taken up so much space … not that this already doesn’t do exactly that) so feel free to add on your favorites that i may have missed! also, do feel free to let me know if you enjoyed any of these or just drop me a message if you wanna talk about bts in general because i really enjoy that as well ❤

➜  2 COOL 4 SKOOL

no more dream : this is a Must because it’s their first song and it’s always nice to take a blast to the past to see how much they’ve grown since then; not to mention that this song is still genuinely really good even now

좋아요 (i like it) : the melody of this song is really nice to me and the ‘i like it pt 2′ (which is in japanese) has a dance practice. personally i prefer the japanese version a bit more because of how it sounds but this one is still a perfect classic

outro: circle room cypher : this one’s not exactly a song, per se but it’s grown to be a favorite of mine. for one, because i stan all the cyphers so hard so to have a version that’s more lighthearted and includes all the members is really nice. idk, this track just puts me in a really good mood every time i listen to it

➜ O!RUL8,2?

n.o. : this is an iconic track, truly. there’s a mv for this and i think it’s quite a nice intro to the sort of stuff that bts talks about in their songs

진격의 방탄 (attack on bangtan) : honestly, this song just gets me hype. it’s upbeat and the performances of it were always fun to watch

팔도강산 (satoori rap) : i’m including this one because i’m a complete sucker for the rap line and i love hoseok’s satoori so much so this is really a win for me on all fronts

➜ SKOOL LUV AFFAIR

어디에서 왔는지 (where did you come from?) : an extremely underrated track. in some ways it’s essentially bts flirting with you, though before i even knew what the lyrics were saying it was appealing to me because of hoseok’s satoori part so if you’re into that like me, this is a song for you

하루만 (just one day) : another song with a mv and while it’s one of their slower title tracks, it’s definitely not bad! in fact, it’s one of my favorites. such a feel good song and also quite underrated, in my opinion

tomorrow : one of my early hardcore favorite songs by them. i don’t even really know why it resonated with me as much as it did, but i say it’s worth a listen!

cypher pt 2: triptych : of course all of the cyphers are most definitely worth a listen but pt 2 is one of the really good ones, in my opinion. it really does a great job at displaying how strong the rap line is, despite their differing flows

outro: purpose : if you love pretty, pleasant sounding songs, this is a good bet! it’s one of my favorite outros they have out

➜ DARK & WILD

호르몬 전쟁  (war of hormone) : a main reason that this song is on the list is because it was actually the first bts mv i ever watched and as a result, holds a special place in my heart. while the actual lyrics can be questionable to some, i do think the mv is worth a watch for the Looks the members are serving in it

cypher pt 3: killer : this is one of the most Infamous cyphers of all time. if you only wanna listen to one cypher, then it should probably be this one. another strong addition to the list of reasons of why bts’s rapline is amazing

rain : as the name suggests, i think this is a really pretty track to listen to if you wanna wind down on a rainy day. it’s chill and easy listening but just as good as any of the other more upbeat songs

여기 봐 (look here) : ever since someone mentioned that this song reminded them of a bollywood song, i’ve latched onto it pretty hard which is why it made the cut onto this list 

➜ THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE PT 1

i need u : an iconic title track with equally iconic choreography. because i know watching mv’s is usually more fun than just reading lyric videos, don’t be surprised that i included so many title tracks

잡아줘 (hold me tight) : frankly, one big reason i loved this song is because taehyung wrote part of it. it’s also a really soft enjoyable song

쩔어 (dope) : this is The most iconic of their title tracks, dare i say it. the mv was at least. i remember it was their first one to hit 200m views and easily one of my long time favorites by them. so, this is another must-watch, in my opinion

➜ THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE PT 2

intro: never mind : yoongi’s voice and the passion in it is one of my most favorite things ever so if you want to see more of that, this is a good track!

run : another super good title track with another great mv. tbh, all of bangtan’s music videos are always so amazing and i’d definitely recommend checking out all of them

butterfly : you can check out either the prologue mix (which only has the vocalists) or the other version which includes the rapper. despite being a softer song, the rapline manages to work really well in the song and the vocal line sound so beautiful

뱁새 (baepsae/silver spoon/crow-tit/try-hard) : this song has so many different translations but baepsae is really That Song. it was the first song i ever listened to by bts before i ever even knew it was their song so it holds a lot of meaning for me in that regard. it’s also just genuinely an amazing song, super catchy and upbeat and i feel like the majority of people really enjoy it so it’s a catch-all

outro: house of cards : it’s disappointing to me that i couldn’t list every single song by bts, especially all the ones on this ep so i decided to wrap this one up with another iconic vocal line song. this is a common fan favorite so i definitely recommend it

➜ THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE: YOUNG FOREVER

불타오르네 (fire) : one of the most hype title tracks, in my opinion. it’s really catchy, really fun, and very visually appealing. as always bangtan never disappoints and i think this’ll be an enjoyable song for most

save me : another underrated song. i especially love hoseok’s part in this song so keep an eye out for that. it doesn’t seem to be everyone’s cup of tea but i really enjoy it personally, which is why it’s included on this already extensive list

➜ WINGS

intro: boy meets evil : easily one of the best intros to an album that bts has ever had, not to mention hoseok’s Amazing choreography that he put so much hard work into. how could i not promote it? 10/10 should watch

피 땀 눈물 (blood, sweat & tears) : one of their most visually appealing mv’s so if you’re a hoe for aesthetics like i am, this is an amazing mv to go and watch. the choreography is amazing (and pretty damn attractive as well) and the song is really catchy. a perfectly deserving award-winning song

awake : every single solo track on this album is perfection and such an intriguing look into all the members. i want to list every single one of them but because this is already so extensive of a list, i’m just gonna give jin the promo. awake is a softer song that’s proof that jin is an amazing vocalist and deserves more time to shine. please go appreciate him and the song

cypher pt 4 : how could i not promote the last cypher we got (thus far)? super catchy song and the rap line goes Off as always. if you’re a fan of the other cyphers you’ll probably enjoy this one as well

둘! 셋! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를) – [2!3! (still wishing for better days)] : this is a song that bts wrote for the fans and essentially emphasizes the strong bond we have with them. it’s really touching; especially when it’s sung at a concert and the fans sing along. easily one of my favorite songs ever by them because of how hopeful and uplifting it is

봄날 (spring day) : another one of my favorite title tracks with an equally beautiful mv. if you’ve enjoyed the ballad tracks that they’ve had thus far, you’ll definitely enjoy this wistful track

not today : this is usually the first track i recommend to new fans of bts because i feel like it’s usually the most accessible one for people who’ve never listened to kpop before. the mv is also very well done so if you appreciate cinematography, there are some amazing shots here that you’ll probably enjoy

outro/interlude: wings : there’s two versions of this song. the interlude is shorter and the outro (which is the one i’ve linked) is the longer version. take your pick since they sound the same in both. it’s really upbeat and just a super fun song

➜ LOVE YOURSELF: HER

intro: serendipity : this song, y’all … the music video is so soft and beautiful and jimin’s voice in it is absolutely angelic. it’s, quite frankly, one of my favorite songs of this entire year and i feel like most people’ll at least be able to appreciate the vocals and the mv, even if they don’t find that the song itself is their cup of tea

pied piper : many people felt mixed opinions on the lyrics of this song but i thought it was interesting take that corresponded with the title of the song. i wouldn’t exactly say it’s ‘ironic’, per se, but it’s more than what it seems on the surface. lyrics aside, it’s a beautiful song and one of my favorites on this album

mic drop : another iconic song starring the rap line. unlike the cyphers this actually includes the vocal line as well in the chorus so while it retains the same sort of feel as the cyphers, there also is a nice taste to it. there’s a remixed version with a mv out that has more english, but the beat of the original holds a special place in my heart 

➜ OTHER MISC SONGS

good day : this song is actually from their japanese album, ‘youth’ and it’s one of my feel good songs when i’m feeling low. maybe it’ll have the same effect on some of you guys as well. another song that gives me similar happy vibes is another japanese song of theirs called ‘for you’; please give it a listen too!

arirang (cover) : this is bts’s cover of the traditional korean folk song of the same name. it gives me really nice vibes and i really enjoy their vocals here. i wanna list a lot of their other cover performances here too, like ‘as i told you’, ‘rainism’, ‘perfect man’, etc but you can check those out later if you want

come back home (cover) : another cover that i really really enjoyed by bts! they added their own spin to a classic by seo taiji and boys and it’s super catchy and upbeat

agust d : this is yoongi’s title track of his solo mixtape that was released in 2016. it’s one of the other early bts related songs i listened to before properly stanning the group. it’s a great example of what a skilled rapper yoongi is. if you enjoy this one, please listen to ‘give it to me’ as well!

crystal snow : this is actually a very new song (relative to the others i listed here) because it came off of their new japanese album. the vocals in this are stunning and i think it’s well worth a listen