#it’s giving me streaming wars vibes in all honesty

[creativity-deficient]

I think my main complaint with all these specials coming out is that they no longer feel…special?? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to be getting new content and I always end up enjoying them regardless (and I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one too it looks like it’ll be very funny) they just lack any sort of nuance to me. Like the plots to them feel like fairly ordinary episodes, just longer, and they’re always either Randy or Cartman focused. I get that they have a contract and are obligated to put out a certain amount of specials, I just wish they’d change them up a bit? Like they just don’t hit like past specials anymore.

[cavehags]

live action atla cast with only characters from sitcoms we like. doesnt have to be racially accurate or age appropriate AT ALL but you DO need to justify these choices at least a little bit. go

okay keeping in mind that this is indeed NOT accurate to race or disability nor is it age appropriate as per the parameters of the assignment:

aang: well this is a starring role and there are a lot of dimensions to it. there's a silliness to it and also a petulance and both of those are masking major trauma. so right off the bat I'm going to throw in a completely out-of-left-field suggestion for this twelve-year-old monk, and that is a 34-year-old black british man who has played jewish before. that's right, it's luke youngblood, best known as magnitude, and also sid from galavant. yip yIP

sokka: since this is a nostalgia reboot geared at older teens and twenty/thirtysomethings, sokka's sense of humor is to become less silly and pun-driven and a lot meaner and more brutal in its sarcasm. standard streaming service edgy fare; you know how it is. so fittingly, the role is going to someone who can rise to the occasion: miss vella lovell

katara: erana james from the wilds. she's got the humor, the righteous anger, the jocky confidence, the perfect hair and the unshaven pits

zuko: we've talked about this before. zuko must be portrayed by a gifted satirist, an authority on camp, a very very gay man, and a guy who can get really... angry mad

toph: the vibe here is sharp intellect, it's mischief, it's blunt honesty and independence. i am out of images to add to this post but pretend i have a gif of aparna nancherla as michelle giving poppy backtalk

suki: i'm sorry i'm stumped on this one... i don't think pop culture has given us a suitably talented performer who can play a chilled-out bi drag king with huge muscles.

ty lee: coming back to the the wilds well, we want a liar, we want a con artist queen who's pretending to be a tiny little baby, we want a dawson-cast adult who can't hide her australian accent--it's mx chi nguyen

mai: basically, my only idea here is elijah wood. or you. are you doing anything rn?

azula: i just want someone who moves through the world with cocky republican egomaniac manspreader energy while visibly projecting that she is on the verge of a breakdown. hey you know who can do that?

iroh: you know how in spiderman movies aunt may keeps getting younger and hotter? well, in this version, iroh is a twink. a wise twink. he still did war crimes but he was also on poppers at the time and he was just very distracted. anyway, here he is now

zhao: the network asked for a white man :(

june: is leila taylor avail?

yue: i thought for a while about this. as you know, i have issues with yue's character... i want to see a more opinionated yue, a funnier yue, an angrier yue. a yue who is more than simply a love object. and let's be even pickier than that! let's have a yue who can play to the illness and disability metaphor. perhaps someone who has played disabled before. by now i think you must know where this is going. let's cast the one and only icon, maitreyi ramakrishnan from never have i ever

ozai: let me have this.

[aaronmaurer]

TV I Liked in 2020

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

Was there ever a year more unpredictably tailor-made for peak TV than 2020? Lockdowns/quarantines/stay-at-home orders meant a lot more time at home and the occasion to check out new and old favorites. (I recognize that if you’re lucky enough to have kids or roommates or a S.O., your amount of actual downtime may have been wildly different). While the pandemic resulted in production delays and truncated seasons for many shows, the continued streaming-era trends of limited series and 8-13 episode seasons mean that a lot of great and satisfying storytelling still made its way to the screen. As always, I in no way lay any claims to “best-ness” or completeness – this is just a list of the shows that brought me the most joy and escapism in a tough year and therefore might be worth putting on your radar.

10 Favorites

10. The Right Stuff: Season 1 (Disney+)

As a space program enthusiast, even I had to wonder, does the world really need another retelling of NASA’s early days? Especially since Tom Wolfe’s book has already been adapted as the riveting and iconoclastic Philip Kaufman film of the same name? While some may disagree, I find that this Disney+ series does justify its existence by focusing more on the relationships of the astronauts and their personal lives than the technical science (which may be partially attributable to budget limitations?). The series is kind of like Mad Men but with NASA instead of advertising (and real people, of course), so if that sounds intriguing, I encourage you to give it a whirl.

9. Fargo: Season 4 (FX)

As a big fan of Noah Hawley’s Coen Brothers pastiche/crime anthology series, I was somewhat let down by this latest season. Drawing its influence primarily from the likes of gangster drama Miller’s Crossing – one of the Coens’ least comedic/idiosyncratic efforts – this season is more straightforward than its predecessors and includes a lot of characters and plot-threads that never quite cohere. That said, it is still amongst the year’s most ambitious television with another stacked cast, and the (more-or-less) standalone episode “East/West” is enough to make the season worthwhile.

8. The Last Dance (ESPN)

Ostensibly a 10-episode documentary about the 1990s Chicago Bulls’ sixth and final NBA Championship run, The Last Dance actually broadens that scope to survey the entire history of Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson’s careers with the team. Cleverly structured with twin narratives that chart that final season as well as an earlier timeframe, each episode also shifts the spotlight to a different person, which provides focus and variety throughout the series. And frankly, it’s also just an incredible ride to relive the Jordan era and bask in his immeasurable talent and charisma – while also getting a snapshot of his outsized ego and vices (though he had sign-off on everything, so it’s not exactly a warts-and-all telling).

7. The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

This miniseries adaptation of the Walter Tevis coming-of-age novel about a chess prodigy and her various addictions is compulsively watchable and avoids the bloat of many other streaming series (both in running time and number of episodes). The 1960s production design is stunning and the performances, including Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role, are convincing and compelling.

6. The Great: Season 1 (hulu)

Much like his screenplay for The Favourite, Tony McNamara’s series about Catherine the Great rewrites history with a thoroughly modern and irreverent sensibility (see also: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette). Elle Fanning brings a winning charm and strength to the title role and Nicholas Hoult is riotously entertaining as her absurdly clueless and ribald husband, Emperor Peter III. Its 10-episodes occasionally tilt into repetitiveness, but when the ride is this fun, why complain? Huzzah!

  5. Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC)

A limited (but possibly anthology-to-be?) series from creator/writer/director/actor Jason Segal, Dispatches From Elsewhere is a beautiful and creative affirmation of life and celebration of humanity. The first 9 episodes form a fulfilling and complete arc, while the tenth branches into fourth wall-breaking meta territory, which may be a bridge too far for some (but is certainly ambitious if nothing else). Either way, it’s a movingly realized portrait of honesty, vulnerability and empathy, and I highly recommend visiting whenever it inevitably makes its way to Netflix, or elsewhere…

4. What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2 (FX)

The second season of WWDITS is more self-assured and expansive than the first, extending a premise I loved from its antecedent film – but was skeptical could be sustained – to new and reinvigorated (after)life. Each episode packs plenty of laughs, but for my money, there is no better encapsulation of the series’ potential and Matt Berry’s comic genius than “On The Run,” which guest-stars Mark Hamill and features Laszlo’s alter ego Jackie Daytona, regular human bartender.

3. Ted Lasso: Season 1 (AppleTV+)

Much more than your average fish-out-of-water comedy, Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso is a brilliant tribute to humaneness, decency, emotional intelligence and good coaching – not just on the field. The fact that its backdrop is English Premier League Soccer is just gravy (even if that’s not necessarily represented 100% proficiently). A true surprise and gem of the year.

2. Mrs. America (hulu)

This FX miniseries explores the women’s liberation movement and fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and its opposition by conservative women including Phyllis Schlafly. One of the most ingenious aspects of the series is centering each episode on a different character, which rotates the point of view and helps things from getting same-y. With a slate of directors including Ryan Bowden and Anna Fleck (Half-Nelson, Sugar, Captain Marvel) and an A-List cast including Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Tracey Ulman and Elizabeth Banks, its quality is right up there with anything on the big screen. And its message remains (sadly) relevant as ever in our current era.

1. The Good Place: Season 4 (NBC)

It was tempting to omit The Good Place this year or shunt it to a side category since only the final 4 episodes aired in 2020, but that would have been disingenuous. This show is one of my all-time favorites and it ended perfectly. The series finale is a representative mix of absurdist humor and tear-jerking emotion, built on themes of morality, self-improvement, community and humanity. (And this last run of eps also includes a pretty fantastic Timothy Olyphant/Justified quasi-crossover.) Now that the entire series is available to stream on Netflix (or purchase in a nice Blu-ray set), it’s a perfect time to revisit the Good Place, or check it out for the first time if you’ve never had the pleasure.

5 of the Best Things I Caught Up With

Anne With An E (Netflix/CBC)

Another example of classic literature I had no prior knowledge of (see also Little Women and Emma), this Netflix/CBC adaptation of Anne of Green Gables was strongly recommended by several friends so I finally gave it a shot. While this is apparently slightly more grown-up than the source material, it’s not overly grimdark or self-serious but rather humane and heartfelt, expanding the story’s scope to include Black and First Nations peoples in early 1800s Canada, among other identities and themes. It has sadly been canceled, but the three seasons that exist are heart-warming and life-affirming storytelling. Fingers crossed that someday we’ll be gifted with a follow-up movie or two to tie up some of the dangling threads.

Better Call Saul (AMC)

I liked Breaking Bad, but I didn’t have much interest in an extended “Breaking Bad Universe,” as much as I appreciate star Bob Odenkirk’s multitalents. Multiple recommendations and lockdown finally provided me the opportunity to catch up on this prequel series and I’m glad I did. Just as expertly plotted and acted as its predecessor, the series follows Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman on his own journey to disrepute but really makes it hard not to root for his redemption (even as you know that’s not where this story ends).

Joe Pera Talks With You (Adult Swim)

It’s hard to really describe the deadpan and oddly soothing humor of comedian Joe Pera whose persona, in the series at least, combines something like the earnestness of Mr. Rogers with the calm enthusiasm of Bob Ross. Sharing his knowledge on the likes of how to get the best bite out of your breakfast combo, growing a bean arch and this amazing song “Baba O’Reilly” by the Who – have you heard it?!? – Pera provides arch comfort that remains solidly on the side of sincerity. The surprise special he released during lockdown, “Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera,” was a true gift in the middle of a strange and isolated year.

The Mandalorian (Disney+)

One of the few recent Star Wars properties that lives up to its potential, the adventures of Mando and Grogu is a real thrill-ride of a series with outstanding production values (you definitely want to check out the behind-the-scenes documentary series if you haven’t). I personally prefer the first season, appreciating its Western-influenced vibes and somewhat-more-siloed story. The back half of the second season veers a little too much into fan service and video game-y plotting IMHO but still has several excellent episodes on offer, especially the Timothy Olyphant-infused energy of premiere “The Marshall” and stunning cinematography of “The Jedi.” And, you know, Grogu.

The Tick (Amazon Prime)

I’ve been a fan of the Tick since the character’s Fox cartoon and indie comic book days and also loved the short-lived Patrick Warburton series from 2001. I was skeptical about this Amazon Prime reboot, especially upon seeing the pilot episode’s off-putting costumes. Finally gaining access to Prime this year, I decided to catch up and it gets quite good!, especially in Season 2. First, the costumes are upgraded; second, Peter Serafinowicz’s initially shaky characterization improves; and third, it begins to come into its own identity. The only real issue is yet another premature cancellation for the property, meaning Season 2’s tease of interdimensional alien Thrakkorzog will never be fulfilled. 😢

Bonus! 5 More Honorable Mentions:

City So Real (National Geographic)

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

How To with John Wilson: Season 1 (HBO)

Kidding: Season 2 (Showtime)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs The Reverend (Netflix)

[nad-zeta]

An ikemen sengoku match perhaps? I’m open and honest, socially awkward and a personal cheerleader for my friends. However much I cheer them on though, I’m a very low energy person and kind of introverted. I wear my heart on my sleeve and try to be optimistic and a ball of sunshine for my friends. I ramble, like a lot, I sometimes hum or mumble when I do things. I love to read and write as well as act, it’s really easy to fluster me, and my ears go bright red. Thanks so much, have a great day!!

Hi hi, love! Thank you so much for the request! Sorry for making ya wait sooo long! I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have a good day!

(˶◕‿◕˶✿) 

So I match you with................. Hideyoshi

The first time you interacted with someone in the castle, it was with the cute hedgehog with all his all spikes out. He called you out for being weak and naïve and told you that you wouldn’t last a week in the past. Before you could even reply he storms off. You were left standing alone in the hallway, you had always worn your heart on your sleeve so its no surprise that Mamayoshi catches a glimpse of your upset expression painted across your face. He gave you a gentle smile and patted your head lightly, “Don’t take what he says too seriously, he has a tendency to say the opposite of what he means.” You gave Hideyoshi a small nod and shy smile, although it still did bother you that the porcupine didn’t even give you a chance to speak and that his first impression of you was clearly horrible. 

After seeing your genuinely concerned expression Hideyoshi could help but drop all suspicions you of being a spy or assassin, beside you were way to smol and cute, so instead his MOTHER MODE was activated. He looked at you concern clear in his eyes and scratched the back of his neck trying to come up with a way to cheer you up, that’s when an idea popped into his head, and he asked you if you would like to go out to tea with him. Hideyoshi found it cute how introverted and awkward you were. He couldn’t help but smile at the way you fidgeted with your sleeve as he ordered the two of you some tea and snacks. The two of you enjoyed a nice warm cup of tea and a few sticky sweet buns. Of course, during this little outing, Hideyoshi had done most of the talking cause you still felt a little shy.

The next day Hideyoshi came to your room to show you the ropes. As castle chatelaine you needed to know all the ins and outs and workings of the castle, Hideyoshi was patient, and kindly took his time explaining everything to you, even handing you a few notes he that had prepared for you the night before, to help you in better remember everything. As the day progressed, you found yourself opening up to him more and more. He really enjoyed spending time with you and found your open honesty to be refreshing, a trait that not many in this time posses. As the two of you sat together in the garden, taking a break and sipping on some tea, he asked you about your life. You had told him all about your family and friends, and well.. the fact that you were from the future. He was shook, but something in him, told him he could trust and believe you, plus it explained your naivety and pure innocence.

You worked hard for the castle, and its people and everyone loved you, you were like a big ball of sunshine, bringing so much light into the lives of the people around you. One, in particular, took a big liking to you and that would be Hideyoshi. He loved your positive, upbeat attitude and your ability to find the bright side in every seemingly dire situation. In fact, it seemed like your sunshine smile was infectious, as the warlords would often comment that when the mother hen was around you, he would never be wearing less than a bright, brilliant smile. The two of you spent an endless amount of time together, visiting teahouses or sitting in silence together, each writing their own reports of the day for Nobunaga to review.

Although the true test of your optimism was soon to be tested. As Oda force lucky charm you were basically forced to go to war with them, a terrifying experience, might I add. You helped the prickly porcupine in the medical tent during the day and the one-eyed dragon in the cooking tent in the evenings. Everything was going well until you had been kidnapped, one night while you were out helping Ieyasu collect some herbs. News had reached Nobunaga and Hideyoshi of your disappearance, and Hideyoshi was in a tizz. He couldn’t think straight, all he wanted to do was rush into the enemy lines and get you back. An unknown pain and sting in his chest burned with rage at the thought of someone hurting you. Nobunaga smiled a knowing smile, almost all the Oda warlords had realised that the monkey had long ago fallen head over heels for you.

You were held in a dark hut, you strained your ears slightly to hear what the men outside were talking about. Things were looking grim for you as one of them spoke of killing you before Nobunagas eyes, as they had heard that you were his favourite. You rolled your eyes and sighed, yes, you and Nobunaga had spent some time together, but you saw him more like a brother, the real one your heart belonged to was Hideyoshi. 

A chill went down your spine at that moment when you thought that you might not live to see another day and confess your feelings to the castle mother. Just as all hope seemed to be lost the very person you longed to see, burst through the door, guns blazing. He was heavily outnumbered, against a better judgement from his lord, the stupid monkey rushed through the woods alone to come to your aid. He fought hard when finally, the rest of the warlords managed to catch up to him. Before the two of you could celebrate the victory, one of the enemy monks emerged from the shadows and held a sword high above your head. He brought it down intending to kill you before the eyes of the Oda forces, but the blow never came. You opened your eyes to see Hideyoshi had blocked the sword with his body. He toppled to the ground and grunted in pain, Mitsuhide had without a second thought shot and killed the monk. Nobunaga cut you free from the bonds holding you in place, and you wasted no time rushing to Hideyoshi’s side, tears streaming down your face.

Honeyed eyes looked up at you, “Please don’t cry, love.” Those were the last words that left Hideyoshis lips before he passed out. Ieyasu brought him back to camp and worked on him through the night, he was in critical condition, and you were told not to get your hopes up. The next few weeks passed by in a blur, Hideyoshi was healing quickly thanks to his own personal cheerleader, cheering him on and making sure he doesn’t overexert himself. You were tasked with looking after the Mother hen while he healed from his injury, a job which you gladly accepted. The two of you had grown even closer during this time. The moment Hideyoshi had opened his eyes for the first time, after being unconscious for days, you confessed you loved and kissed him. You were so happy that he was alive, even more so when he returned your feeling.

You would often let Hideyoshi rest in your lap while you read your newest piece of writing to him. He loved the stories you would write, he would get lost in the world you would create with the endless words written on the pages. He loved it even more when you would soothingly pull your fingers through his hair as you would read him your stories.

He loved the way you would hum and mumble as you cleaned. He would often lean against the doorway and close his eyes, just listening to the sound of your pleasant hum echoing off the walls. He loved you so much from your low energy vibe to your cheerleading optimism. He loved to dote and spoil you rotten as well. Often he would see you overworking yourself and lead you by the hand to your favourite teahouse, where the rest of the day would then spend walking with him, hand in hand through the markets where he would insist on buying you a small gift.

What does this Mamabear love the most you may ask well that’s easy, he loves how easily flustered you get, for you see even though Hideyoshi is a kind man he is also quite the charmer. He will send you teasing comments all through lunch just to see your face flare-up in the most adorable blush. He can’t help but chuckle at the cute way even the tips of your ears get coloured in the light pink shade from his teaing flirts. 

Often the two of you can be found spending a quiet evening together in Hideyoshi’s manor. He will pull you into his arms and snake his arms around your waist while he rests his chin on your shoulder. He loves to listen to you ramble off about your day, telling him everything that had happened and spilling all the tea. 

Hideyoshi will definitely be the type to drop a kiss or two on your forehead or cheek when he catches you in the hallway. He loves to see that bright sunny smile on your face and secretly hopes to catch a glimpse of it whenever he moves between meetings, as it just renews his energy and gives him the strength and patience he needs to sit through the next boring war council. Not to mention the fact that catching you by surprise like that, always leaves you flustered and red to the tips of your ears, which this man absolutely adores 

Other potential matches...........Ieyasu 

I hope you enjoyed it, dear! ✿◕ ‿ ◕✿ And I hope you gave a really good day! 

[dungeondivebar]

Dungeon Dive Bar Crawl - Into the Crystal Realm

As we announced previously, we’ll be running a 24 hour stream for Extra Life on November 6 and 7! Check out that link for some more information on the stream and how to tune in.

Each Friday until the event itself, we’ll be publishing an interview with the GM of one of the adventures along with other material to get everybody super jazzed for the stream.

This week we’re talking to David J. Knight

How did you get into tabletop roleplaying games? I’ve been playing TTRPGs for seven years, give or take. I got into the hobby thanks to forum and text-based roleplaying, and wanted something more structured and with dice. Went to a game store one day when I was 18, tried out a Pathfinder Society game (Paizo’s organized play campaign), and was hooked.

What is your favorite thing about TTRPGs overall? The combination of topical improv, collaborative storytelling, and game mechanics. Lose any one of those, and it’s something completely different. My favorite of those three is probably the mechanics, and, as a subset, building characters.

What do you like the most about the Pathfinder 1e system? Through a combination of first party and balanced third party (psionics, Legendary Games), there is not a single character concept that you can come up with that doesn’t have a representation in some form. 1E even has a rule, a written rule, that states you can reflavor whatever you want to be whatever you want, so long as the mechanics do not change. It’s also a fantastic, if daunting, skeleton to build high-powered games off of. It’s not as universal as 5E’s skeleton (which, ironically, is a great skeleton for everything but high-power games like D&D and Pathfinder typically are), but damn is it spicy. Sure, it has some things that need to be addressed, some holes to fill, and there are some absolutely ridiculous rules (as written, fire resistance makes you immune to lava, but not a hot day), but as a foundation, it’s really damn good.

What are you most excited for during the Dungeon Dive Bar Crawl? Starfinder. I’m not big on the mechanics, the pseudo-bounded accuracy and weird enemy scaling isn’t exactly consistent, but I appreciate the wiggle room, and the setting of Starfinder is just so damn interesting.

What is your favorite class to play? I like pet classes or anyone that has some sort of companion to bounce off of in-game. Support roles are also fun. As are “main character” roles. I can find fun in just about any of them.

Is that why Ray has Honesty? Sort of. I find my roleplaying works best when I have multiple perspectives to work from. Ray and Honesty aren't a true pet class, but the relationship they have is a lot more fun for me than just a single character.

Tell us a bit about one of your characters for the stream. A N I M E. Watch and find out.

What is your favorite part of being a GM? Having full creative control of the backend of a project, and adjusting the writing to account for player interaction. Living worlds are neat.

What will you be running for the Dungeon Dive Bar Crawl? I’ll be running “Into the Crystal Realm”. It’s a homebrew I ran as a sort of test for Fantasy Grounds a year or so ago, and really enjoyed the setting I had built for it. Essentially, Pathfinder characters are called to another reality as the last ditch effort to save the realm from collapsing in on itself.

What are you most excited about when it comes to Into the Crystal Realm? There will be mechanics that are not present in 1E. I’m looking forward to seeing how these players of mine adapt and change their strategy accordingly. I’ve kind of set things up to play more like a video game on my end, and there are justifiable reasons for that. What do you think players are the most excited about? Getting to use third-party stuff they don’t normally get to use. Path of War, Psionics, etc. My game will certainly be the most over-the-top and bombastic/cinematic of the games being run. Being able to lean into their characters and do cool shit is what I hope they’ll get enjoyment out of.

What do you think our viewers will enjoy the most? There’s a lot of #coolshit in this “module” on the enemy side as well.

Most of your module is homebrew, including homebrew monsters and enemies. What do you like most about homebrew material? There’s not a single first-party entity on the GM’s side of this. It’s all built from the ground up by me. There are even completely homebrew mechanics, as well as taking Lair Actions from 5E, because it’s honestly a great idea and I’m glad the system has it. As for what I like most about it, it’s a form of expression. Pathfinder, despite the characters tending on the side of minor gods by the end of the game, tends to actively shy away from making characters seem like these epic protagonists that they are. The games, as written, tend to ignore optimal build paths as well as optimal play styles. Too many times will Paizo make an archer enemy that doesn’t have any of the correct feats, or give their boss characters completely useless tactics, abilities, feats, or spells. Not so with homebrew. In addition to letting the story be about whatever you want, and encouraging people to, again, do cool shit, you can also have enemies that provide proper antagonist vibes, even against the heroes that Pathfinder characters are.

And that’s it for this week’s interview! Tune in starting at 9PM Central on Friday November 6 for the stream and in the meantime, join us at the bar for new Dungeon Dive Bar episodes every Monday at midnight Central!

[bangtan]

Inside BTS-mania: A Day in the Life of the K-Pop Superstars

The screaming begins just beyond baggage claim, when the first bob of purple-gray hair peeks up over the security wall separating the biggest Korean pop band in the world, in history, from its fans. Amid shrill hysteria, the seven soft-faced men of BTS stride through Los Angeles International Airport flanked by human trains of burly people in yellow “Event Staff” shirts. The boys smile, wave and, with the efficiency of British royals, slip past a few hundred young women and teen girls into black Escalades, their portal to the heart of the American mainstream. It’s mid-November and BTS have flown here from South Korea, propelled by the fervor of their admirers, a diverse group that calls itself ARMY (short for “Adorable Representative M.C for Youth”). The band is here for a string of high-profile TV appearances: They go from the airport to James Corden; Jimmy Kimmel the next day; then they’ll meet Ellen Degeneres, who’ll compare their U.S. arrival to that of the Beatles in 1964. But BTS are mainly in town to perform their hit song “DNA” at the American Music Awards – a performance that will make them Google’s top trending topic and set a Guinness record for Twitter engagement. Group leader RM (short for “Rap Monster”), 23 and palpably ambitious, compares the whirlwind trip to being “like surfers on a big wave.” But at 9 a.m. the day after BTS land, the vibe is more like “showing up for work.” We’re at a rehearsal studio when AMA reps arrive to shoot promo photos in the parking lot. Bubbly ham J-Hope, 23, an MC and onetime street-dance champ, walks out with his arms up, shouting, “Hello! AMA! Whoa!” The others trickle out with less ado and take turns getting primped, on the asphalt, by a team of stylists also in from Seoul. There’s Jimin, 22, the prettiest yet most puckish, a former top modern-dance student who’s currently shaving his chin while a woman holds a mirror. The perpetually wide-eyed singer V, 21, another art-school kid, who made his screen debut in a Korean historical drama last year, gets his purple-gray bob brushed and parted. A man uses a pick to dislodge something from the teeth of Suga, who like RM started his career as an underground rapper. Lead singer Jungkook, 20, a devout Belieber who joined BTS at 15, gets a streak of eyeliner. Meanwhile, singer Jin, 25, an aspiring actor so handsome he was recruited by a boy-band casting agent while walking down the street, shuffles quietly through the flurry. Their entourage is massive; I lose count in the mid-thirties. There are managers, publicists, a choreographer, a masseur, the interpreter, groomers, folks with cameras, unsmiling guards and several drivers with earpieces. Back home, BTS are pretty much only breaking their own records at this point – for video views, album pre-sales and chart placement – and it’s spilling over to other countries. Their recent EP, Love Yourself: Her, which features a song written with Andrew Taggart of the Chainsmokers, topped iTunes’ album chart in 73 countries, and BTS have become the first Korean-pop group to crack the American mainstream, with a Steve Aoki remix of their “MIC Drop” recently crashing the Top 40. ‪"We are so lucky that we’re living in this time, in 2017,“ says RM, the only one who can carry on a conversation in English. “When we post a tweet, it becomes translated to more than 30 languages.” The group’s lyrics – which are almost entirely Korean but close-captioned on YouTube and translated for sites like Genius – are a big part of its international success. BTS songs tackle issues like depression and anxiety. They promote progressive social ideals like female empowerment and accepting people from different backgrounds. They even address the internal unease of ditching less commercial career paths to become “idols,” as K-pop stars are called. BTS fans appreciate the band’s empathy, honesty, and independence—themes that are particularly in-demand amongst Western pop audiences these days. Plus, BTS set their message to canny hyper-modern production (frequently done by the members themselves) that devours all manner of EDM- rap- and R&B-leaning pop – think Major Lazer, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Logic, the Chainsmokers, Nick Jonas – and spits out a deeply catchy, slightly askew pastiche. After the photoshoot, the guys go in to practice their AMAs routine. From the opening whistle of “DNA,” they are a single-minded, many-limbed organism. Jin, who normally seems like he’s brooding, deploys pouty looks and precise hand jives. They goof around a bit – Jimin grabs Jungkook’s ass after the latter executes a balletic twirl – but are in the zone. An hour later, at 10:40 a.m., they’re chugging water and getting cooled off by women who use their entire bodies to swing paper fans emblazoned with the boys’ own faces. Jin quickly nods off in a rolling chair but is soon awoken by the masseur, who wants to jam an elbow into his shoulder; Jin winces as he does. Minutes later, V is yowling in pain, mouth wide as a handler treats a canker sore inside his cheek. Later, RM will dance with a bloody tissue in his nose – the wages of jet lag and constant hustle add up. An early lunch of cold burgers and fries seems meager compensation, but they eat with abandon. BTS, an acronym for Bangtan Boys (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean), was built around RM and finalized via auditions. The group was assembled by a small company – Big Hit, run by songwriter “Hitman” Bang Si Hyuk, who co-founded one of the so-called Big Three agencies, JYP, before leaving it behind – which gives them underdog appeal. And while BTS came through the famously rigorous K-pop system, living in dorms together and training constantly, RM says Big Hit offers relative artistic freedom. To wit, in a unique spin on K-pop fan service, BTS build mythologies around their albums, like last year's Wings, whose theme comes from Hermann Hesse’s 1919 bildungsroman Demian. The concept appears in the lyrics, art and videos. Exactly how these subplots take shape is unclear, but it’s feasible that RM, who reads heady authors like Haruki Murakami and Albert Camus, is involved. “We try to make our own BTS context,” he says. “Maybe it’s risky to bring some inspiration from novels from so long ago, but I think it paid off more. It comes through like a gift box for our fans. That’s something you can’t find easily from American artists.” Instead, he likens it to Star Wars. “The big thing about creating our universe is expandability,” adds Suga, the most contemplative of the group, via interpreter. “Because it draws from our personal lives and interests, we can expand it as much as we want and it’s not alien for us. Having that allows us more diversity in the stories we can tell and the music we can make.” Do they feel free enough to write about Korean politics? RM says they’re working on a song that does so subtly, but Suga cautions that the subject “is fraught with danger, not in a literal way, but because of the risk of being misunderstood by young people who may not have fully developed sensibilities.” He’d rather focus on fostering understanding than “inciting conflict.” The rest of the group stays silent for our midday interview except to shout out ARMY and admit they’re eager for more crossover opportunities. As J-Hope puts it, “It’d be an honor for us to work with anyone.” RM says that, instead of breaking more records, the band’s mission is to promote individuality, which isn’t always encouraged back home. “Especially in Korea, there are all these standards: Get married, go to a nice university.” How will they spread that message? He smiles. “Better music and doper performances.” After selling out arenas in California, Chicago and New Jersey, BTS are planning a bigger U.S. run in 2018. They’re in unprecedented territory. Unlike PSY, their success here didn’t spring from a novelty hit – their rise up American charts was gradual and shows no sign of slowing. While they’ve brushed off the idea of an English-language album in the past, RM dropped English verses on a Fall Out Boy remix and Wale collab this year. At 1:30 p.m., it’s time to get ready for Kimmel. I follow BTS from the dance studio into the hall near their dressing room. There’s a folding table covered with silver rings, flashy necklaces and dangly earrings for the choosing. On the floor is an outsize ziplock full of identical Puma slides. After hair is redone and outfits adjusted, they load into the four Escalades with no fuss at all. As our caravan passes Hollywood Boulevard and turns onto the small street leading to Kimmel’s backlot and outdoor stage, we see them: more than a thousand BTS zealots who explode when they see us. They’d been waiting for hours. Kimmel music producer Mac Burrus later tells me a group of five teens spent two nights out there, on the street, in sleeping bags. In the green room, there is finally downtime. Suga and RM eat bananas. Jin plays his Nintendo Switch. Jungkook and J-Hope sleepily lean into one another on the couch. V lays on the floor to get his neck adjusted by the masseur’s bone-crunching assassin-twist before settling into a sofa to stream “Carpool Karaoke.” Around 4 p.m., producers bring in a couple ARMY moms for a skit where they taunt their girls, who are still in the line, via FaceTime from BTS’ inner sanctum. The daughters eventually come back and I steal them for a chat. Both discovered BTS on YouTube. Adriana, 24, is teaching herself Korean “slowly but surely” so she can hear the boys in their own tongue. Rosa, 18, insists, “Language isn’t a barrier when it comes to music.” At 6:20 p.m., BTS head to the stage. From the back, it sounds like there’s a roller coaster full of shrieking riders on the other side. A grizzled staffer walks by with a kooky grin, muttering, “This is nuts.” From the wings I watch the band rip into a six-song set that inspires face-clutching and tears. For “Save Me,” a “Where Are Ü Now” soundalike, the crowd deploys a coordinated K-pop “fanchant,” roaring each member’s birth name in perfect rhythmic succession. I can barely hear the music, so it doesn’t occur to me until the end that BTS don’t seem to be using vocal backing tracks, as a U.S. or U.K. group might – they rap and sing every last part while doing constant choreography. When it ends just after 7 p.m., an exhausted J-Hope flops onto the asphalt out of view of the crowd and his team, chest heaving, eyes wide. After 30 seconds, he picks himself up and rushes to join the other members of BTS disappearing into the hall leading to the green room. As he turns the last corner, a voice squeals, “Oh, my God! J-Hope looked back at me!”

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