#minisode one: blue hour

[tomorrowxtogether]

In the name of youth! TXT dreams of tomorrow

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s teasers that were released prior to dropping their new album entitled minisode 3: TOMORROW traces along the team’s past.

The first one, “TXT minisode 3: TOMORROW Concept Trailer Teaser” in which the members appear donning crowns is a nod to their debut song “CROWN”, while the photos and concept clips of the other three versions “Light”, “Ethereal”, and “Romantic” overlap with the many moments since their debut up till the present. “Light” in which the members look like young princes amid nature that they have all to themselves reminds us of the group’s early years, when they landed on the music scene as fresh, mysterious young boys up to their “Blue Hour” period. The members look like fallen angel-turn-rockers in “Ethereal” which reminds us of the rock number “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You) feat. Seori” where the members emulated young boys who got lost along the way. In “Romantic” the rose from the music video of “Good Boy Gone Bad,” which is a song about a boy’s overwhelming emotions over breaking up with his lover, makes another appearance except it has now withered and dried up. It’s indeed a “Deja Vu” much like the lead single off minisode 3: TOMORROW. The same events are repeated, but they’re not quite the same. TOMORROW X TOGETHER dance in the “minisode 3: TOMORROW Concept Trailer” just like they did in the “Blue Hour” music video. But instead of in a beautiful plain in “Blue Hour” they dance in a wasted forest with overpasses running through, trees strewn about. Things in the present have gone miserably wrong, unlike in the past. They are in the real world; the members jumped in willingly in the last album The Name Chapter: FREEFALL. Here, nobody believes that they were once young princes. 

“I’ve fun away countless times” in “Deja Vu” recalls the lyrics that asks us to run away with them in “Run Away,” that they want to run away in “CROWN,” and that they are running away in a gray car in “LO$ER=LO♡ER.” “Before our dusty crown” is reminiscent of “CROWN” and “A big crown on my, they aren’t hideous horns anymore,” and of the relationship between horns and a crown. “Deja Vu” is a culmination of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s past. All of their pasts made TOMORROW X TOGETHER who they are here, in the real world. Just like in the opening of “CROWN,” there’s a Morse Code in the second track of the album that comes before “Deja Vu”: ‘- --- -- --- .-. .-. --- .—’. This signal that marked the team's appearance is still being sent out today. However, the signals in “Deja Vu” are “Morse Codes from the ruins” The boys have come to the present from the past, from fantasy to reality, but their present, right here is in ruins. The brutal reality of the present demolishes all the good times, just like the waves erode the sand. The beat and melody of “Deja Vu” continue, like Morse Codes sent from the past reaching us in the present. However, just like TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s past that is reflected in “Deja Vu”, the past that remains in their memories stops them from accepting reality just as it is. They want to keep believing that they were young princes, even if nobody would believe them. And reality is here to aggressively eliminate this wish. This is how they become overcome with an emotion that is neither just sadness nor rage. While “Deja Vu” is a mix of lazy trap and emo-rock, it is more of a combination of complex feelings than a simple mash up of genres. The slow buildup of pent-up emotions along with the beat erupts in the latter half of the second verse in an emo-rock sound with guitars and drums at the fore. It seems like we are severed from our past, but the past can also be the driver that awakens our emotions that have been suppressed by reality. It can create the miracle of tomorrow like in “Miracle,” the track that follows “Deja Vu.” The emotions that are repressed in “Deja Vu” climaxes in the second half of the second verse, then transforms into a bright explosive rock sound in “Miracle” - “tomorrow is visible when your eyes are closed.” We’re not sure if this miracle of tomorrow will ever come true. But like in the last track “Quarter Life,” save for the acoustic rendition of “Deja Vu,” “Deja Vu (Anemoia Remix),” they are in fact stumbling through a dark time, just “a quarter way into a long, long tunnel,” which is quite a far way from nine and three quarters. The adults say, “you only get these beautiful days of youth now,” failing to understand the younger generation, but the boys want to shout out “which way do we go”?! TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s past journey that has been compiled into minisode 3: TOMORROW flips the young people’s relationship with the past and the present, their dreams and reality. Adults in the real world say that young princes don’t exist, that we need to live in the real world. But minisode 3: TOMORROW tells us that all our dreams and love of the past is the way to a “tomorrow” that transcends reality. Young boys who are born in the age of hip hop meets rock to leap into tomorrow. 

Once you’ve listened to the whole album, go back to the first track “I'll See You There Tomorrow” and give it another listen. While you may not know which way to go and things may feel bleak, “Quarter Life” tells you to tells you to wander a little, work your way through it, then “I'll See You There Tomorrow” tells the young child who told me “see you again tomorrow” when “I wanted to run away,” and says “I believe that we are meant to be, it’s okay if you’re late, I will always wait for you tomorrow.”  In this moment, “I'll See You There Tomorrow” becomes the last moment when TOMORROW X TOGETHER passes through the dark reality and reaches “tomorrow” together, while showing us a glimpse into TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s future as the first track of the album. Reality is depressing, miserable. But future TOMORROW X TOGETHER invites themselves in the present, and the child that says “see you again tomorrow” to the beyond. The explosive voice from "Deja Vu” expresses the overwhelming emotion of tomorrow’s arrival without too much strain, accompanied by electronic sounds. 

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s journey has been moving through the dreamy past and the present reality, and towards the future. minisode 3: TOMORROW encompasses the past, present and future all in one album to show us that the young boys are about to embark on a new journey. It seems like they have made it through a quarter of their lives in reality, but in the far future, they may be completely different luminous people. Like the message of the fourth concept trailer “Promise,” reaching what is “beyond” together is all a part of the youthful days shared by TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s generation. 

[pommpuriinn]

. ݁₊ ⊹ .⊹₊｡ꕤ˚ ݁ MINISODE 3: TOMORROW

LIGHT

outfit | makeup | hair | nails

｡𖦹°‧ ot6 blonde was something everyone talked about and finally got

｡𖦹°‧ Joohyung’s puffy blue dress was giving princess vibes along with the blue ribbons tied around her legs giving a doll like finish to the whole look

｡𖦹°‧ moas were speculating if Joohyung went blonde again or if it was a wig since recently she’s been hiding her hair with hoodie and beanies 

ETHEREAL

outfit | makeup | hair | nails

｡𖦹°‧ moa never get tired of grunge Joohyung, she just suits this concept so well and with her piercings!!

｡𖦹°‧ Joohyung’s red era was revealed with these concept photos making everyone change their icons to all these pictures

｡𖦹°‧ moas thanked Joohyung’s stylist all over her instagram making her stylist post a story of a closer look of the outfit while having a little caption saying ‘thank you ☺️🙏🏼’

｡𖦹°‧ everyone’s crush on Joohyung just grew and they’re intrusive thoughts were winning on Twitter 

ROMANTIC

outfit | makeup | hair | nails

｡𖦹°‧ these photos deserve to be a museum

｡𖦹°‧ the custom dress, the pearl necklaces, to the simple but classy makeup everything about this look was serving

｡𖦹°‧ locals were gagged about Joohyung’s photos and started asking ‘who is she?!’ some moas started promoting the group while other still wanted to gatekeep Joohyung from them 



PROMISE

outfit | makeup | hair | nails

｡𖦹°‧ everyone were in awe with Joohyung’s beauty

｡𖦹°‧ moas loved the gem look and praised her makeup artist for it

｡𖦹°‧ this one was one of Joohyung’s favorite to shoot since it was a more lay back vibe and she loves taking photos with her crown, she liked it so much that right after they released the photos she posted more on her instagram

little update

hey I hope you guys been alright. I just wanted to give a little update on life since I haven’t been posting so much. Firstly, I just have been working more hours at my job so I would just come home and crash. Secondly, I got txt tickets!!! for both days and I got vip for day 1 that was so stressful 🥴. Finally, the album is so good I love it 🫠

[sxnctu4ry]

⋆˚࿔ chapters of our stars

۫ ꣑ৎ a series where I write one shots according to txt's discography. requests are open ! just give me the trope or sypnosis, member you'd like and the song in asks.

this series will be pure sfw !

the dream chapter , star :

˙⋆✮ blue orangeade

˙⋆✮ crown ( one day a horn grew on top of my head )

˙⋆✮ our summer

˙⋆✮ cat and dog

˙⋆✮ nap of a star

the dream chapter , magic :

˙⋆✮ new rules

˙⋆✮ run away ( waiting for you at platform 9¾ ) / harry potter au

˙⋆✮ roller coaster

˙⋆✮ poppin' star

˙⋆✮ can't we just leave the monster alive?

˙⋆✮ magic island

˙⋆✮ 20cm

˙⋆✮ angel or devil

the dream chapter , eternity :

˙⋆✮ drama

˙⋆✮ can't you see me ( in the night the world was on fire, we were... )

˙⋆✮ fairy of shampoo

˙⋆✮ maze in the mirror

˙⋆✮ puma ( a puma escaped from the zoo )

˙⋆✮ eternally

minisode 1 , blue hour :

˙⋆✮ ghosting

˙⋆✮ blue hour ( at the sky of 5:53, i discovered you and i )

˙⋆✮ we lost the summer

˙⋆✮ wishlist

˙⋆✮ way home

still dreaming :

˙⋆✮ force

˙⋆✮ everlasting shine

the chaos chapter , freeze :

˙⋆✮ anti-romantic

˙⋆✮ 0x1 = lovesong ( i know i love you )

˙⋆✮ magic

˙⋆✮ ice cream

˙⋆✮ balance game ( what if i had been that puma )

˙⋆✮ no rules

˙⋆✮ dear sputnik

˙⋆✮ frost

the chaos chapter , fight or escape :

˙⋆✮ lo$er=lo♡er

˙⋆✮ moa diary

chaotic wonderland :

˙⋆✮ ito

minisode 2 : thursday's child :

˙⋆✮ opening sequence

˙⋆✮ good boy gone bad

˙⋆✮ trust fund baby

˙⋆✮ lonely boy ( the tattoo on my ring finger )

˙⋆✮ thursday's child has far to go

good boy gone bad :

˙⋆✮ ring ( loving someone that's not you )

˙⋆✮ hitori no yoru

the name chapter , temptation :

˙⋆✮ devil by the window ( the devil's voice that i met by the window at midnight was sweet )

˙⋆✮ sugar rush ride

˙⋆✮ happy fools

˙⋆✮ tinnitus ( wanna be a rock )

˙⋆✮ farewell, neverland

sweet :

˙⋆✮ hydrangea love

the name chapter , freefall :

˙⋆✮ growing pain

˙⋆✮ chasing that feeling

˙⋆✮ back for more

˙⋆✮ dreamer

˙⋆✮ deep down

˙⋆✮ happily ever after

˙⋆✮ skipping stones

˙⋆✮ blue spring

˙⋆✮ do it like that

minisode 3 , tomorrow :

˙⋆✮ i'll see you there tomorrow

˙⋆✮ deja vu

˙⋆✮ miracle ( miracles happen every moment you and i are together )

˙⋆✮ the killa ( i belong to you )

˙⋆✮ quarter life

chikai :

˙⋆✮ we'll never change

˙⋆✮ kitto zutto

the star chapter , sanctuary :

˙⋆✮ heaven

˙⋆✮ over the moon

˙⋆✮ danger

˙⋆✮ resist ( not gonna run away )

˙⋆✮ forty one winks

˙⋆✮ higher than heaven

ost and others :

˙⋆✮ your light

˙⋆✮ love sight ( when i look at you, time stops at any given moment )

˙⋆✮ valley of lies

˙⋆✮ free falling

˙⋆✮ goodbye now

˙⋆✮ sweet dreams

˙⋆✮ sweat

˙⋆✮ can't stop

˙⋆✮ ggum

˙⋆✮ boyfriend

˙⋆✮ ps5

𓏲𝄢 / this is going to be such a long journey and i can't even wait to start :( my 2025 goal is to finish writing this in a year.... hopefully, taglist is open but i'm not sure if I can handle it so.. we'll see, but comment or ask to be in the taglist just in case.

© all rights reserved to user sxnctu4ry, please do not copy or repost, reblogs are welcome !

[twiishaa]

my favourite txt songs !!

disclaimer even though im a moa i don’t know many of their songs so this isn’t gonna be a ‘underrated songs’ series i only know their popular songs 😞🧑‍🦯

—

farewell, neverland the name chapter: temptation

chasing that feeling the name chapter: freefall

back for more (txt version) the name chapter: freefall

0x1=lovesong (i know i love you) the chaos chapter: freeze

lo$er = lo♡er the chaos chapter: fight or escape

magic the chaos chapter: freeze

tinnitus (wanna be a rock) the name chapter: temptation

lonely boy (the tattoo on my ring finger) minisode 2: thursday’s child

ghosting minisode 1: blue hour

eternally the dream chapter: eternity

9 and three quarters (run away) the dream chapter: magic

wishlist minisode 1: blue hour

note there’s a lot of the same albums and i do plan to listen to their entire discography one day, so i’ll def update it when i do

feel free to reblog with your favourite txt songs, or any music recs i love new music 🧍🏼‍♀️

- teatea 💗

[xiaoderyy]

PICK ONE, KICK ONE✿

{KPOP}

[ineffableigh]

Timeline of Suspicious Events Brain Dump - PART 2

Ran out of characters. See previous post here! [linky]

We resume during Muriel's initial visit to the bookstore. They're having a nice look at a cupperty.

Crowley arrives in a bluster with all his plants - we've only seen him angrily say No about the Bentley and yet he seems to be going along with it anyway. He asks the important question: why not take the train? Why go by car? It's an eight hour drive each way! Train or even plane is WAY FASTER!

Crowley's the one that does the 'humans are weird/a few days' line for some bloody reason. Crowley what are you doin' man lol pick a better lie!

It feels Important that we see so many one on one moments with Nina, but not Maggie. Like we're building Nina as a character, but not really Maggie, y'know?

The show also really wants us to see how uncomfortable Nina is with discussing her love life at all, but everyone in the story just kind of blows past it.

"Dance Macabre" in the Bentley eh? A tone poem about Death calling the dead from their graves to dance for him? Like, I dunno, Gabriel says later in his Tempest line? A piece that quotes Dies Irae?

I love the musical conflict going on in the background once Crowley takes control of the Bentley's Vibes back lol.

Interesting that we have an entire moment to see that Beez is unhappy with the status quo in Hell, and the lack of recognition for all the work they seem to constantly have to do down there. Especially since we hear later they're very 'short staffed'.

Crowley moving seemingly random books from upstairs to downstairs, cosplaying a bookseller (ostensibly). Seems very chill about chatting gravity with Jimbriel, and we get our first Direct Fly Callout. Might be the second, not sure re: 'flyswats' when the archangels visited.

Pub imagery: Jesus raising Lazarus on one side, and the 'butcher' Dalrymple on the other side. Hmmm two sides of Heaven anyone?

It has to involve Aziraphale somehow because the Production Designer had that painting of Jesus done with the tomb opening being exactly like the 'eastern gate' of Eden in s01. Seems like a big effort to go to if not to draw parallels!

I find it interesting that Aziraphale a) seems super excited to hear about the 'Masons' b) there's a lodge next door to the pub, but c) we don't investigate that OR the person Gabriel was with. Y'know, the little shaggy haired demon with a bowler hat covered in flies? Normally would be quite conspicuous, yes? We know that Azi knows what Beez looks like from the end of S01.

Post-minisode we cut DIRECTLY to Aziraphale at the graveyard. What did he do between the pub and then? Did he walk there, drive there? Another huge gap to account for that's just swept under the rug.

Convenient that No Regerts and Friend are there, both being comically intense tough guys openly talking about Grindr lol. Just hanging out in the fog with no phone minutes left like ya do. Very convenient they were there, though I'm not sure what the advantage of that phone call even was. It's so strange a scene across the board that it feels like something is missing.

Back in town, Maggie is chasing Nina to talk about getting stuck in the cafe. I don't know what it is about their talks but to me they feel strange, or at least Maggie's side does. Might just be a by-product of us not seeing Nina 'acting like it's Maggie's fault' but it all feels very out of the blue, y'know? Always when Nina's busy working and can't really escape.

"I'm not your type." "You have no idea." Maggie SHE HAS A PARTNER AND SHE JUST SAID THE PARTNER SUSPECTS CHEATING, NOW IS NOT THE TIME LOL. See what I mean about Weird Vibes though?

Sudden Tempest Prediction from Gabriel. Very weird that he has these moments, either by forcing himself or these triggers. Do you have to be Empty to channel God?

Multitude of Shax Visions - this sequence seems odd to me. We've seen Shax impersonate a human once, yes, but this back to back thing seems unusually competent for her. I do wonder if we're getting a Crowley's Very Stressed Perspective thing going on here. Poor lad sure is stressed.

I was wondering how Shax figured out where Aziraphale was, but I bet she probably just tried to teleport to the Bentley like most demons seem to when Crowley was in it, but probably got punted outside by the Invitation Only magic. Or something.

The interaction with Shax here is really weird, though. It seems purely designed to freak Aziraphale out rather than actually get information. She says now she knows Gabriel is in the bookshop, but nothing about the discussion actually pointed to it any more than she would have known beforehand.

Shax then goes on to tell Beez that Gabriel is in the bookshop. Why she's so confident, I still don't really know, like I said above. All she knows is both the Husbands are being obfuscating dorks, but maybe that's enough.

Also like, Beez, you maybe should have just. Gone to the bookshop? Instead of attacking it? When you know Hell is short staffed? This is a Weird Plot Point too, if Beez just wants Gabriel. Why go straight to war?

As they're bringing Crowley's plants back to the car I hear glass shattering??? What's up with that??

Azi you dingle why are you hiding the Shax visit from Crowley. They really DON'T talk and for no good reason.

Next Instalment: [Linky]

[theonevoice]

Two halves of the same being

Ok friends, it had to happen sooner or later: I wrote a thing. I was stuck in a train station yesterday evening and this thing was screaming to be put on paper, so I did it. I wrote it all down directly as a post, over 3-4 hours of total estrangement, therefore I don't even know exactly how long it is, and it is probably encrusted with typos and titanic grammatical errors. It is also written in a language that I don't master at all, and it is my first attempt at narration since - I kid you not - the year of our lord 2006. This is really less then a draft, it's a test-drive of the storytelling side of my hyperfixated brain. If someone feels like skimming it and pointing out mistakes and things that sound wrong, I will be very grateful! Anyway, as far as fanfic genres go, I guess this would qualify as historical-minisode one shot: Aziraphale and Crowley are in Rome in 1509 and get more or less accidentally involved in the creation of a certain Renaissance masterpiece.

November 1509, Rome.

The heavy robe swooshed quietly as a white-blonde bishop entered the chapel door with a satisfied smile, like a man who had just escaped boredom for fun.

A man in a leather apron full of pockets and stained all over was standing at a cluttered table by the wall, staring gloomily at the figures sketched on a large sheet of brownish paper.

- Maestro!

The man raised his curly dark-haired head and pointed a pair of firey eyes on the newcomer. The dark circles around his eyes gave out the strange impression of a feverish man on the verge of collapsing mixed with a feral beast ready to jump at its prey. It was freezing in there, but he was wearing a shirt with sleeves rolled all the way up to his elbows, and his hairy forearms were covered in white dust and paint dribbles. He was a rather short man, but well-built and muscular, and even if the bishop was considerably taller and not thin himself, he felt that he could have easily knocked him down in one move.

- Monsignor Fell, back again...

The man didn't sound pleased, but he didn't sound displeased either. Considered his well-known temper and given the circumstances, his reaction was relatively welcoming. One could have even called it encouraging. After all, noone was ever really at ease in Rome. Especially not in that part of Rome.

- I was eager to see your progress. - Aziraphale said with a honest smile. - I hope I'm not disturbing your work. Please don't mind my presence.

They both instinctively looked up.

The enormous vault of the Sistine Chapel was looming over the empty hall as a giant shield, halfway covered in massive figures. Those bodies looked so real and heavy that they felt like they could plummet any second all the way down to the floor and crash the unfortunate bystanders. It was like a threatening storm of colors and shapes slowly covering the old starry sky.

- Not much progress to see. - Growled Michelangelo, turning back to the sketches and tossing a piece of reddish chalk on the table. - I'm bloody stuck.

Aziraphale moved his eyes across the ceiling, down to the farthest end of the vault, where the golden stars were still dimly shining on a deep blue background, on the two sides of the large ugly crack, now filled with bricks, that had scarred the old affresco when the south wall had shifted. It was a sad spectacle. He had liked the starry sky. It was beautiful.

- Stuck? How do you mean?

Aziraphale forced himself to look away from the ceiling and gently stared at the painter, who had turned his back on him and was angrily standing over his desk with his stained hands on his hips, like a severe father in front of a misbehaving child.

- I mean stuck. - The artist repeated drily, throwing an annoyed look at monsignor Fell. The bishop offered him a sympathetic smile, a strangely maternal smile that seemed to be saying that he took his worries very seriously but at the same time he was sure they were not insurmountable.

Michelangelo sighed forlornly. He didn't like priests, but he didn't mind this one. He curiously seemed very little concerned with church matters and a lot more interested in random things like paintings and statues and choir rehearsals. He had even spotted him more than once in a couple of his favourite osterie, and he meant the good ones, those small half-hidden godforsaken places that only the locals knew, ignored by travellers and definitely not visited by clergymen. And he had seen him sitting there in plain sight, amidst the common people of Rome, as if noone could tell that he was a bishop - and God knew if bishops were a hatred species in the streets of the Holy City. It was truly a miracle that he could just walk in there, eat and drink like he were any carter or boatman, and not end up robbed or stabbed or poisoned. He had even seen Teresina at the Gatto morto pour him the good wine once, the one that the innkeeper kept only for himself and his closest friends. Furthermore, he had a nice eye for drawing: in the past few weeks he had been visiting the chapel almost daily, and had dropped some genuinely good remarks. Some of them even brilliant. He relaxed his shoulders and continued with a softer tone:

- This is not working and I'm not putting this up there, con tutta la fatica che costa.

Aziraphale looked up again, this time at the wooden structure that was stretching upwards like a dark solid cobweb. It took indeed a lot of effort, to climb up there, dragging along the large cartoni with the refined lineart to transfer on the plaster, standing hours and hours arched backwards to paint over your head, seventy feet above the ground, with the colors running down the brush and dripping on your face...

- Do you mind me seeing the sketch?

The painter made a vague gesture to let him approach the table and eyed him with a certain curiosity when the bishop let out a little gasp and a peculiar nostalgic expression settled on his face. It was the sketch for the campata of the Original Sin.

Aziraphale felt a warm mix of emotions filling his chest, not all of which he dared to name. He focused on the drawing. Michelangelo was right: it was wrong, even if he could not imagine how wrong.

In the sketch, Adam and Eve were sitting at the center, under the Tree, Eve reaching up for a fruit, Adam following her movement with a concerned look. On the right half of the piece, in a stretch of desert, the confused shape of an angel was roughly outlined: he was standing all straight and rigid with his sword raised above his head and a threatening finger pointing at the first humans. The left side was mostly filled with a generic looking garden, too lush and too earthly at the same time, and the only other presence was a little, ugly dragon-like creature, with a grotesque charcoal snut, sharp teeth and a biforcated tongue sticking out.

Aziraphale at first didn't pay it much attention, but after a second he suddenly realised what he was looking at and his jaw dropped.

- Is that supposed to be the Serpent of Eden!?

He asked in a high pitched voiced, sounding somewhat scandalised.

Michelangelo frowned and pulled out his most intimidating look.

- What else should it be?

- But that's not how it looked at all!

The bishop exclaimed, entirely unfazed. "Here it comes," thought to himself the painter, letting out a huff of resigned annoyance, "another punctilious catechist who wants me to stick to some stupid half line in the Bible." But, much to his surprise, monsignor Fell did not bring up any biblical reference. He looked vaguely offended and at the same time, for some reason, deeply amused.

- And how did it look? - Michelangelo asked sarcastically, posing like someone who is interrogating an eyewitness. But the bishop didn't seem to get the hint, and instead answered with a focused face, as he were actually about to recount him old memories.

- Well, it looked... - Aziraphale paused, searching the right word. He found himself suddenly assaulted by a number of adjectives that he had not anticipated. - He looked... - his tongue ended up picking one before his mind had time to evaluate the implications - ...seductive.

- Seductive. - Michelangelo looked at him with an incredulous face and his eyebrows were all the way up to his hairline.

Aziraphale stumbled.

- I mean... He- he was the original tempter... - He tried to regroup. His thoughts were strangely tumbling in his head. - You see, in order to be effective in his... tempting, he couldn't have look like an ugly little monster. - Yes, that was reasonable, it was a logical explanation, just a sensible thing that nobody could disagree on. - He had to look... - but then again, Aziraphale felt a sense of warmth of unclear origin raising to his face, and his voice cracked in a weird way, - ...beautiful. Charming. He had to be so, so fascinating, that you couldn't help listening to him, considering his reasons... I mean, the poor, naive humans, that is. They couldn't help...

His voice trailed off mid sentence. Michelangelo was still staring at him with a certain look, but the words of the bishop were not completely absurd.

- And he didn't crawl. That was not what he was. - He finished with a sort of fond determination.

- You make it sound quite impressive, for the one who damned humanity.

- Oh but he didn't mean to! - Once again, Aziraphale ignored the astonished expression on the other's face. A deep, obscure feeling of injustice was tugging at his soul. He didn't mean to have them damned. It was an overreaction. His voiced lowered ever so slightly, sounding somewhat sad. - From his point of view, he was... freeing them. He was giving them a choice, he didn't force them. He was letting the door of their cage open to see what they would do.

- Does the Pope know that you go around spreading this sort of ideas?

- Pah, what should he know.

They both startled as that last sentence echoed in all its outrageous blasphemy on the high walls. They looked around in the empty chapel tucking their heads between their shoulders, like two kids who had just inadvertently laughed out loud during the silent bit of the mass.

A moment of embarassed silence fell in the room. But the words of monsignor Fell had already stirred the painter's imagination.

- Beautiful, you say... - He repeated, almost speaking to himself, squinting at the left corner of his sketch as a different version of the scene started emerging in his mind. - Not crawly...

The chapel door opened suddenly and a very alarmed young seminarist run inside.

- Monsignor Fell! - He cried. - I've been looking for you everywhere! The assembly started half an hour ago.

- Did it indeed?

The bishop replied, looking like someone who knew perfectly well when the assembly was scheduled and had deliberately made sure to miss it. Michelangelo found himself wondering once more where on earth had they found such a singular minister of the church, who was now tenderly smiling at the seminarist, visibly moved to pity by his distressed expression.

- Well then, I suppose I will be coming right away. - He gave one last look at the sketch as he stepped away from the table. - Thank you for your time, maestro. And forgive me for... - He hesitated, as if trying to free himself from some last string of thought that was keeping him tied there. - ...for my suggestions.

The painter watched the white-blonde head disappear beyond the door that the alarmed seminarist closed after them, and all of a sudden the vast chapel felt colder than it was moments before. In the silence he could hear that it was raining outside. He took a deep breath, felt the freezing air filling his lungs and a shiver running down his spine, but his mind was on fire: an entirely new image was coming to life, one that the pope would probably not appreciate, and that was the best part.

He decided to take the rest of the day off to work on his idea and run to the Gatto morto, where he knew that Teresina would free the little corner table near the fireplace for him, with a light good enough to draw and a wine good enough to keep himself inspired.

- Now that is quite the progress since the last time I saw it!

The man had approached him so silently that Michelangelo almost spilled his jug over the new sketches.

- What are you doing here, Antonio? Aren't you supposed to stay away from the city after the ban? Se ti prendono gli svizzeri ti fanno la festa.

- Oh come on! Do you really think anyone would notice me? - The man threw himself on the chair on the opposite side of the table and crossed his long legs, unwrapping himself from his large black cloak.

- Yes, I do. - He replied, expressively pointing at the man he knew by the name of Antonio, all clad in black, with his exotic smoked spectacles and his bright red hair brushing his shoulders.

Crowley raised his glass with a bright white smile, like he had just been complimented.

- I thought you were in Florence.

- I've just come back from a lovely visit to your dear friend.

- He's not my friend.

Crowley's smile grew even wider, and the painter suddenly felt ashamed and annoied. He had spent the last several years convincing everyone including himself that he did not consider Leonardo his rival, that he was perfectly indifferent to his achievements and was not at all vexed by people talking about him, and it had took all of ten seconds to this man to make him snap without even naming the other one.

- He is making some formidable machinery, these days. Oh, and some really masterful portraits. - His irritating grin was unbearable. - You should see them.

Draining all his will power, Michelangelo managed to keep his mouth shut and focused all his attention back on his new sketches.

- I'm busy, what do you want?

- I've come to see your progress! - Antonio said cheerfully, grabbing his drawings before he could stop him. - Quite impressive, indeed...

His expression became imperceptibly more serious as he was examining the small piece of paper where the painter had sketched a new version of the Original Sin campata. Michelangelo knew that he had not liked the first version: months before, he had come to his shop all swagger and cockiness as always, and after seeing the initial sketch of the Eden had left without saying a word and somehow had earned himself a ban from Rome. Not that it had stopped him from coming back on a whim just to mock him with news of Leonardo's incredible machinery, apparently. And after all, the swiss guard really seemed to ignore him to an impossible degree, as he were invisible. Michelangelo had a certain suspect that Antonio was having an affair or more than one with someone inside the Curia, earning the protection of a dame or two. Or a monsignore or two. Or both, whatever. Now he seemed struck by the new version of the scene.

The sketch was nothing more than a bunch of thick lines on a small piece of paper, but you could make out that the Serpent was no longer on the ground, but wrapped around the Tree, had no monstruous features but a human-like torso, and his head was towering higher than all the other characters in the scene.

Michelangelo watched him staring intentely at the drawing, with an unreadable expression on his face, until he put down the piece of paper with a careful movement.

- You're good, good job. - He said, trying to make it sound casual, but with a weird note in his voice.

- I know I'm good. - The painter said, grabbing the drawing angrily. - But this change is throwing off the entire composition. Now I have three characters in the middle and this one over here. - He muttered, pointing all disgruntled at what was supposed to be the Angel of Eden, who was sadly standing alone on the right side of the image like a piece of a column that someone had built there by mistake. A tentative detail of his profile, stern and scowling, was sketched sideways on the margin of the sheet.

- Why did you draw him so angry?

Michelangelo raised his head from his composition puzzle, not quite understanding what Antonio was talking about, until he saw his finger tapping over the profile.

- He's the Angel. - He said with a tone indicating that the implication was obvious. But the man sitting in front of him didn't seem to get the point. - He's the Angel who delivers the fucking wrath of God. He has to look angry!

- No he doesn't!

The painter straightened up in disbelief. What was with everyone that day? Why did every last person in that damn city had opinions on his work, all of a sudden?

- Oh sorry, should I make him all cheerful and smiling?

- Why would he be smiling?

- And what would he be?

Antonio took a second, and then aswered, deadly serious.

- Heartbroken.

- Why heartbroken?

- Because! - Crowley was not sure how to explain it, but he felt outraged at the idea that in all those century mankind had assumed the Angel was angry that day. - Because he was the Angel assigned to guard the garden of Eden, the first living bit of the creation! They left him there alone, to watch over the first humans, didn't give him istructions! Didn't tell him what to expect! And then he blinks and bam! they're damned, out of the garden, off you go struggling and suffering, you and all your kind for the rest of time!

Michelangelo was staring at him in utter surprise. He had known him for the kind of man who never loses his cool, and now here he was, losing it over the Book of Genesis.

- You didn't strike me as a man who would get heated over some biblical minutia.

Crowley leaned foreward, gripping his jug of wine so tightly that the painter could have sworn that he heard the glazed ceramic handle made a worrying crackling noise. The painter felt the instinctive urge to pull back on his chair.

- He was there, you see? Watching it happen, struggling to understand wether he had failed them or it was all part of God's blasting ineffable plan.

- He's the Angel of Eden! He would know the will of God!

- How would he know? - Crowley rebutted, now visibly enraged. - He's just an angel! And God doesn't speak to anyone. He's just an angel, he was there alone, scared to death... - he paused for a moment, like he had been struck by his own words, - scared to death because they were punishing the humans and making him deliver the sentence, but maybe they would punish him as well... for letting the Serpent get in.

He ended the sentence on a broken tone, and immediately after draw a small breath and gulped down his wine, all in one go.

Michelangelo wasn't sure what to make of it. Antonio didn't seem drunk, but that had been a wild rant. And yet, it could be interesting to draw an Angel of Eden that was not, for once, the usual severe messanger of death burning with God's divine rage, but a sad, sorrowful pal who had messed up his job. He thought of the merciful expression of monsignor Fell, earlier that day, when he had looked at the poor seminarist knowing that he had possibly gotten both of them into trouble by skipping the assembly.

Now he was starting to resent his composition, leaving that forlorn Angel out there, all on his own, while the others were grouped together under the Tree, as if they were having a pick nick. The humans and the tempter...

- The poor, naive humans... - he muttered, repeating the bishop's words.

- Well, - Crowley objected, apparently back to his usual composure, but still with an indefinible shadow on his brow, - they were naive only at the beginning. But after they became quite quickly aware of how the world runs.

- Well too bad, it has to be one or the other, I don't have two squares for the Eden scene.

But as he was saying that, a new image clicked in his mind, and he stared down at the piece of paper that he had been torturing for the past several hours, trying to solve his composition issue. The Tree was there, dead-center on the campata, dividing the space in two perfectly symmetrical spaces. The Serpent was already up there, in the branches: he could put the Angel there as well, and make the time flow from left to right, from happy but naive humans to desperate but aware ones, the two emissaries of Good and Evil standing in the middle as the two-faced needle on the scales of human destiny... no, not of Good and Evil, rather of Law and Chaos, of Safety and Freedom.

He raised his head with excitement and looked at the man in front of him. He was now sitting inhumanly still, and somehow Michelangelo could feel his eyes piercing through the smoked spectacles. He froze.

- Oh I know that glare. - Antonio said with a voice that he had never heard him before, a ghostly whisper, almost a hiss coming from another world. - That shine that sometimes burns in the human eyes, a spark from the forge of Creation itself...

Michelangelo felt an icey feeling gripping him from the inside, but he could not look away. He was hypnotised by invisible eyes, and even if the physical body of the man in black was still perfectly motionless, for a moment he believed he could see a different body, in a different shape, slowly swinging side to side with only his head fixed in the same spot, yellow pupils cutting through his soul like sharp knives through warm butter.

He wasn't sure how it had stopped. Next thing he knew, he was staring at Antonio who was looking at his drawings again, absorbed in his thought, with a sort of distant nostalgia in the curve of his mouth.

- I shall go. - Michelangelo said with a husky voice, as if he had been asleep for a long time. But he didn't get up.

- You shall. - Crowley repeated, looking back at him, this time with nothing strange happening. - That was a lot of inspiration to process for a human in just one day.

He launched his lanky body out of the chair with a movement that didn't seem possible, draped himself back in his heavy cloak, gave him a quick last look, and strode away, the light of the fireplace caught in his bright red hair. It was still raining outside, but there was a promise of snow in the air.

July 1510, Rome

The two corner doors of the antechamber opened at the exact same time and two hurrying figures rushed in and stopped just a split second away from running into each other.

For a moment they stood there, staring at each other, locked in place, the hem of the white robe and the flap of the black cloack swirling happily together like two puppies eager to meet again despite their owners.

- Good Lord!

Aziraphale gasped, finally stepping away from Crowley.

- Ah! What in Hell are you doing in here, dressed like that? - The demon snorted with a mocking grin, moving his gaze down Aziraphale's episcopal outfit and back up again, lingering on all the lacy bits with the most overtly suggestive motion he could perform. The short black capelet made a rather dashing contrast with the fair curls.

- I am on a diplomatic assignment. - The angel answered primly, ever so slightly blushing at the base of his neck, looking in turn at Crowley's tight fitting black attire under the cloak, all velvet and metalwork and shiny damasque. And then he lowered his voice and added, in a deliciously indignant tone, - What are you doing in here? We are on consecrated ground!

- Not quite yet. This is only an entryway and you should know damn well that nobody here is saint enough to make a single tile sacred outside the chapel.

Aziraphale tried to hoist an outraged expression, but it was hard to pretend that he didn't actually know damn well Crowley was right.

- Anyway, - the demon continued looking at the door on the other side of the entryway, - I was just passing by to take a look at the famous ceiling.

- It's not completed yet. - Aziraphale pointed out, immediately regretting it. He caught himself thinking that he didn't actually want the demon to leave. Not that he wanted his company, of course. But it would have been unpolite, with him being in the hosting party, so to speak, to send him away like that.

- I know, but I hear the last bit has made quite the impression around here.

- It has indeed! - The angel exclaimed, smiling and muffling his excited voice in a goofy way that made something twitch somewhere in the demon's chest. - The cardinals were utterly scandalised! I was going to take a look myself!

The angel moved to the door of the chapel and opened it cautiously, peeking inside.

- There's noone in there! - He whispered visibly thrilled, like the silliest conspirator who ever lived. Crowley stepped closer, thinking to himself that there was no end to the angel's childlike enjoyment of those little innocent transgressions. Not that he enjoied them too, of course. But it would be unworthy of a demon not to appreciate such evil deeds.

They both peeked out from behind the door. The chapel was empty, pleasantly crisp in contrast with the hot roman summer. A choir of cicadas was relentlessly chirping outside. The wooden structure had moved foreward since the last time Aziraphale had been there. A giant curtain was draped between the already completed campate and the ones still in progress.

Crowley managed to chart himself a path across the room, using the spare planks left on the ground as safe spots, holding his arms out to keep his balance, jumping from one board to the next and taking only a couple of quick steps on the floor when the distance was too great. Aziraphale was observing his movements from the corner of his eye and thought the demon looked like one of those large water birds that you could see flying by the river during winter, so big and yet so light and graceful.

The new part of the ceiling was hidden by the curtain. Without saying a word, they both moved to the ladder on the side of the wooden structure and climbed almost all the way up to the top. A strange expectant silence had fallen between them, and neither of the two wanted to break it. They knew exactly what they were about to see, but for some reason they were both pretending that they didn't, and the higher they climbed, the more they were steering their thoughts away from a certain shared memory that now, all of a sudden, was becoming inexplicably significant. A moment that had always been there, tucked away in their minds, but now seemed too bright to look at, too hot to touch, too heavy to handle.

They finally reached the main platform, the last large surface before the precarious scaffolding that brought the painter in reach of the ceiling, all still cluttered with buckets and rags and dried out palettes.

They stood by each other, breathing in the pungent smell of the paint, and with a synchronized movement looked up.

There it was. There they were. Their first meeting on Earth, as Michelangelo had envisioned it, channeling what the angel and the demon, unbeknownst to each other, had unintentionally lead him to imagine. He had turned the Original Sin into a backdrop, Adam and Eve into little more than extras on scene, leaving the center stage to them.

There it was. Their very first meeting as they, a recalcitrant demon who didn't mean to do anything properly bad and a doubtful angel who couldn't figure out what God wanted him to do. They were emerging from the Tree, the Wily Old Serpent stretching his beautiful androginous torso to the left, no man nor woman but both, passing Eve a fruit; the Angel of the Eastern Gate floating next to him, holding his arm out to the right, a disheartened look on his face as he used his sword not so much to threaten the humans as to direct them toward their earthly new existence.

- Look at you! - The angel smiled, - You're...

But the words died on his lips and he couldn't finish the sentence. Something heavy and mournful was tied to that part of his memory, like an iron anchor holding it under the surface of his conscience.

Aziraphale focused on the affresco, trying to distract himself with shapes and contours and brushstrokes... he felt a sudden burst of heat burning the skin of his face as he was studying the Serpent's coils spiraling up the Tree, and was startled when the demon spoke.

- He did make you sad.

The angel examined his supposed representation.

- I was sad.

- Yes, I remember.

- I felt so bad... so guilty...

Aziraphale felt Crowley's gaze settling on his face and lowered his eyes, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

- Guilty? Why? - The demon asked, with a hint of wonder in his voice.

The angels shrugged, twisting his hands and biting his lips with a tormented expression on his face.

- Because they were being punished, but I was the one who had failed them. - He looked up at the picture, but he was looking past it, rewatching a different scene. - And... and... - His eyes started stinging and watering, the effect of all that fresh paint no doubt, - And... had I spoken up for them...

He suddenly turned to look at Crowley, who was staring at him with his golden eyes wide open.

- They were only being curious... - the angel pleaded, and the effect of that paint was really terrible because an entire teardrop rolled down his cheek as he was speaking. - They only wanted to know things. And I let them be cast out and didn't say anything. - He took a short breath and his voice came out thin as a whisper - How will I be forgiven?

Crowley stood there without breathing, transfixed. His brain was struggling to process the angel's discourse, that pain for the humans, for their fault and their fall, and beyond that another pain, older, deeper, bleeding through his words like ink through thin paper. But the pain on the surface was easier to grasp and the other one was tangled in too many frightful thoughts, so the demon pretended that he had only caught the human part of that lament.

- I was the one who tempted them into that. - He said quietly after a moment of silence that could have lasted a second or a century. He felt like he was slightly suffocating. That paint smell truly was unbearable. It was even making his voice crack. - Do you still hate me?

A shocked expression darkened Aziraphale's face, and something behind his blue eyes seemed to crumble. There had to be a cloud hiding the sun, right in that moment, because up there under the vault the air became suddenly darker and colder.

- I never hated you. - He murmured. And then, with a wounded tone, - How could you think that?

The cloud moved away.

- It was my fault.

- I don't think it was.

They stood in silence again, and their confusion was so deep that a moment later none of them was able to tell anymore who had said "It was my fault" and who had replied "I don't think it was".

- We should get down, this smell is making me hazy. - Said the angel, sniffling.

- Yeah, this was enough church attending for me.

- Would you like... - Aziraphale paused, suddenly interested in a dented tin bucket who was draining all his attention, - Would you like to have lunch? I know a place.

Crowley opened his mouth and closed it again without making any sound, then opened it again and let out a couple of stumbling syllables before finally managing: - Well, I don't suppose that would hurt.

They exchanged a hesitant look and turned their eyes up at the two towering figures in the Garden of Eden one last time.

Michelangelo had given them two identical faces, the identical hair color, a shade that had been mixed somewhere in between a pale blonde and a bright red, and had put them up there, looking in opposite way but close to each other, almost hugging - the right arm of the angel almost around the serpent's waist, the right arm of the serpent almost around the angel's neck - as if they were twins, or lovers, or rather the two heads of the same chimerical creature. Two halves of the same being.

[hueningsloverr]

౨ৎ not your song !

chapter seven : NOT YOUR SONG

pairing : hueningkai x 6th member!reader  summary : tomorrow x together, or txt, wasn't always six members, and for some unforeseen reason, it wouldn't stay six either.  set in : mid 2022 extra : last chapter 🤧 it's a little longer than my other chapters usually are, and hyuka's a little asshole word count : 1.3k

prev / masterlist

it had been one year, 3 months, and 14 days since (y/n) had left txt. now, they were a group with three years of experience under their belt, and of course, they were popular as ever.

kai still found himself checking her account every day, not that he was her stalker. she was just a girl. the duo never spoke, kai promised himself he wouldn’t waste any words on a girl who abandoned him, and he kept true to the promise.

however, he had kept a voicemail she probably thought he deleted, in which she whined and whined about her new group.

“they’re trying to be txt- isn’t that crazy?” she laughed, her voice as sweet as ever. “they want to be us, well, not us… you. they want to be you guys. i guess there isn’t an ‘us’ anymore, is there? please call back when you get the chance, hyuka, i miss your dumb voice. same company, yet i feel like i never see you.”

it was short, but sweet.

he never did call her back.

whenever kai did check her twitter, he only felt heartache. she clearly missed the group, txt was really all she posted about.

his favorite post was arguably her worst, a stupid one of her on a carousel with some shitty txt reference as a caption. though it was dumb, he loved looking at it.

‘feeling blue this hour’.

“oh c’mon, be more original.” kai laughed to himself, hiding his face in one of his many plushies.

it was a plushie she had gotten him, a gift after surviving the long haul of debut. at the time, kai had no clue the gifter was her, he thought it was soobin.

god, he should’ve asked around sooner.

kai was never one to really check her page for actually updates, he just scrolled through the photos.

she didn’t post much about her members. she didn’t seem to like them.

and she didn’t post much about her music. which she also didn’t seem to like.

she didn’t seem to like a lot about her new life. kai didn’t like it either.

the one day kai decided to actually pay attention to her account, he was shocked.

an official announcement that (y/n) would be releasing her own music, original songs written by her.

when kai asked around, yeonjun had confirmed everything the post had said. it was the ‘lost tracks of the original love machine’, according to her, or so yeonjun said. all seven songs were written by her, and her fellow ex-members, who all came together to agree on finally releasing them. it just so happened she was the only one still a singer at all, so she would release them for the group.

he was ecstatic.

every day, he checked her page, reading updates and listening to teasers she posted.

she sounded young in the audios, and kai wondered if maybe it was the original original love machine lost tracks.

until, of course, there was a shocker.

kai didn’t pay attention to most things about the post - how (y/n) seemingly was in the txt dorm, or how her username had changed to incorporate txt again - all of it went right through his thick skull. the only thing he could focus on was the mention of thursday’s child, a new minisode in the work for txt. there had been no promotion for it, or anything like that. the only ones who really knew about it were the members themselves, the song writers, and few other people involved.

when kai confronted soobin about the post, the older male simply shrugged it off, saying that perhaps she had gotten into poetry, or something along those lines.

kai didn’t buy it. but, he wasn’t going to break his promise to himself and contact her.

rumours started to fly, and as the news got more in more interested in the girls strange instagram post, so did kai.

after dispatch reported on the incident, kai decided to read the comments, wild replies theorising that she was leaving love machine and rejoining txt, or that she was leaving big hit in general.

and ever the stubborn one, kai found himself deep rooted in the fact that she was coming back.

and of course, he was right. naturally, everyone else knew about her rejoining txt, just not kai.

she had begged soobin not to tell the boy, wanting to surprise him instead.

“hyung, please, i don’t want someone else to tell him- he was so upset with me when i left, he might get upset again!”

“he’ll be upset when he finds out we kept this from him.”

“but i want to be the one to tell him. he hated me for so long, and i doubt he’ll trust me for a while, but i need to take the first steps.”

“i don’t like the idea of keeping it from him, you know how sensitive kai is.”

“i haven’t even spoken to him in like, a year, he’ll get upset that i wasn’t the one to tell him.”

soobin, ever the people pleaser, decided to let it go.

“your funeral when he blows up at you for keeping this a secret.” he laughed before walking away.

kai knew he was right and she was coming back when he found her on his bed, in his old green hoodie, playing with the plushie she had bought him those three years ago.

“you never called me back.” she frowned, a playful look lingering in her gaze. “i called you six months ago, and not a word back.”

“i was busy.” he mumbled, attempting to avoid her gaze. it was awkward, like meeting your first love years later by accident. feelings still there, yet so detached - they say you never fully get over your first love. a piece of your heart is always theirs.

“the way you treated me kai - i would’ve never done that to you.” tears were forming in her eyes now as she stared down the boy. the playful look was gone, all that was left was heartache. “i sat awake on my bed in the middle of the night for weeks, hoping to receive just one last text from you.”

kai scoffed, trying his hardest to not care, but he did care. he cared so much it was unfathomable. “it’s hard missing someone who's not gone, so yeah, i never returned your call. because i would rather know i could never have you then live under some false pretence we would work out.” he spat, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared down the girl.

both of them were hurting.

“i’ve missed you, for so long, and you’re telling me you don’t even think of me? of us? i hope more than anything that in another life, you have my photo in your wallet, but god i wish that in this life the same was true."

"well i don't. i never will. you left me."

she shook her head, standing up from her place on the bed.

"i'm rejoining txt. lovemachine won't disband, but i gave an ultimatum. i either rejoin txt, or i leave big hit all together. you can't get rid of me hyuka."

hyuka. god, why did she have to sound so sweet like always?

"it's huening. you're not my friend."

"i saw the songs you wrote - 'dear sputnik'? it's good. taehyun teased me by saying it was about me."

"it's not. and i can't say the same about the song you wrote. i didn't like it."

why was he saying all of this? it wasn't true. both of them knew that. kai loved her music. he loved her voice, and the way he could hear her smile in it.

"i got you to like me once, i'll get it to happen again. i'll write a song about you just like you did for me."

"why? your writing sucks, i don't see why you're trying."

(y/n) laughed, the tears gone but the hurt still visible. as she moved to exit the room, she placed a hand on kai's shoulder and turned slightly back to look at him, "well, kai, it's not your song."

©2023 — all rights reserved to hueningsloverr , please do not plagiarise or translate any of my work

[thedaytheworldburned]

Happy 9 3/4 Day!!!

I can’t believe I’ve been a MOA for four years now!

I remember writing, a few years ago, after FIGHT OR ESCAPE was released, about how I felt TXT were in the best position in the industry - they have longevity, creativity, a great concept, and a balanced lineup. And then, they went on something like an 11 month hiatus.

I then wrote that I felt they were no longer in the best position in the industry.

And while I don’t think they’ve risen again to being in the best position, the past few years have DEFEINITELY made them rise up again. They’re getting back into the intricacies of their concept, they’re getting wins, they’re popular internationally, they have English collabs and songs, and they still have 3-4 years left in their career before the military. It’s been a combined effort of the company, members, and fans which has brought them up again, which is great. (That said, it’s interesting that they’ve had several dips in fans/interest - after Crown, after Loser Lover, after GBGB - an interesting phenomenon to be researched further)

And to top that growth off, and mark a half decade of their existence, they close out the third chapter of their career with the announcement of Minisode 3: Tomorrow.

This is all we have so far, but you know that I’ve analysed TXT’s logos before, and I think we can see concept from logos.

This one is doodly - a return to a schoolboy attitude or life - perhaps to the magic school, youth in general, or the magic island they rediscovered in school. The roses and angel wings are obviously romantic, but also have classical and religious connotations. They evoke religion, Romeo and Juliet-esque stories, and classics like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Prince, all of which have already influenced TXT’s storyline and concepts, to varying extents. We of course also have our mandatory stars.

The combination of roses and angel wings also reminds me of two of their comebacks, or, kind of 3. CROWN and Angel or Devil both had explicit angel imagery (Eternally also included this, and GBGB contrasted it). Meanwhile, GBGB used roses - and specifically, burning roses a lot to show how their love and life had died. It was also a stand in for cigarettes, often a symbol of degeneracy and lost hope in media, but obviously one that the Korean GP would be more receptive to.

So, a lot of potential meaning here. To summarise my predications; a romance concept, maybe forbidden romance. Religious concerns, and neither a dark nor light concept - think LOVESONG and Sugar Rush Ride rather than CYSM/GBGB or Blue Hour and Blue Orangeade.

The black version is my favourite - it looks nice and clean and has a good balance, I think. Hence why I used that version. Interestingly, black, red and orange are used, reinforcing my belief in a middle of the road concept - red is romance, black is a neutral, and has ALL THE MEANING but can also be dark, and orange is light, lacking specific commonly accepted meaning. Very balanced.

[tomorrowxtogether]

The 10 best Tomorrow X Together songs

Ahead of the boyband’s 2024 ‘Act: Promise’ world tour, NME picks the best cuts from their enchanting back catalogue 

There’s always been something magical about Tomorrow X Together, even before they started adding elements of enchantment to their music in late-2019. Over their first five years together, the Big Hit Music boyband have been consistently spellbinding in their approach to sharing their experiences of youth, whether weaving colourful creations in their early days or dialling up the angst as they screeched into young adulthood.

Along with their penchant for genre-hopping, it all makes for a vibrant back catalogue that doesn’t always follow the expected path. TXT will always keep you guessing and never stay in one spot for too long. Ahead of their upcoming 2024 ‘Act: Promise’ world tour, which kicks off next month in Seoul, NME looks back on their enchanting catalogue.

Honourable mentions

‘Blue Spring’ (2023) ‘MOA Diary (Dubaddu Wari Wari)’ (2021) ‘Puma’ (2020) ‘Wishlist’ (2020) ‘LO$ER=LO♡ER’ (2021)

10. ‘Ghosting’ (2020)

The opening track of 2020’s ‘minisode 1: Blue Hour’ glistens in its gloominess. Through clouds of shoegaze-y guitars, the five-piece tell stories of friends who’ve become like spectres and the isolation that comes with growing apart from those you love. It’s a beautiful piece of songwriting that highlights TXT’s knack for taking trending lingo and using it to share their tales of youth.

9. ‘New Rules’ (2019)

Since their beginning, Tomorrow X Together have served as guides and companions through life and that’s no different on ‘New Rules’. The funky hip-hop track details rebellious phases sparked by the frustrations of life, piled on by social media, teachers and class. If you’re looking for a way to break free from it all, this addictive cut will help you.

8. ‘Can’t You See Me?’ (2020)

Even without watching the flame-filled music video for ‘Can’t You See Me?’, you can feel the scorching emotions that course through the song. Rather than showcasing them in the big rock anthemics that would come later in TXT’s journey, it’s the more seemingly subdued moments that sizzle here. “With resentment, my heart is heavy / ‘Cause you don’t understand me,” Beomgyu and Hueningkai murmur in the second verse, every ounce of that weight pouring through their words.

7. ‘Good Boy Gone Bad’ (2022)

On the lead track from 2022’s ‘minisode 2: Thursday’s Child’, TXT fully embrace the moment when it feels like you’ve hit an emotional rock bottom. Instead of wallowing in the misery, they make it their new super power – there’ll be no more “pathetic days” left on the calendar when you rise up with hearts “gone dead”. Set to searing rock, it’s become one of the most electrifying moments in the group’s concerts, not least Yeonjun’s bridge that ends in the laughter of someone truly cold-hearted and the declaration: “I like being bad.”

6. ‘Crown’ (2019)

The song that started it all. Tomorrow X Together’s debut single ushered in a boyband who sounded refreshingly bright but, beneath the bubbling synths, were dealing with the complicated growing pains of adolescence. Years on from its release, it still feels like a perfect snapshot of the dichotomy of youth – at once energetic, curious, self-doubting and concerned.

5. ‘Tinnitus (Wanna Be a Rock)’ (2023)

The boyband dabble in Afro-pop on this standout from ‘The Name Chapter: Temptation’. Despite its slinky rhythms that are practically a call to groove onto the dancefloor, lyrically it finds the group wanting to sink into a stillness caused by a crisis of confidence. “Rockstar minus the star / Just a rock, OK?” Taehyun sighs, preparing to descend.

4. ‘0X1=LOVESONG (You Know I Love You)’ (2021)

The moment TXT leaned all the way into the raw, serrated sensitivities of emo. With the help of featured singer Seori, ‘0X1=LOVESONG’ wears its feelings on its sleeve so viscerally it’s hard not to get swept up in its storm of emotion. Although the five-piece’s storyline would later disavow the need for connection, here it was still an essential, the group crying out for a loved one to “take my hand” and save them from being swallowed up by life.

3. ‘I’ll See You There Tomorrow’ (2024)

The concept of fate emerges on this sunkissed house jam, the beats forming a linking pattern between TXT and the person they believe is “meant to be”. ‘I’ll See You There Tomorrow’ is fresh and breezy, while its post-chorus refrain of “there’ll be no more sorrow, I’ll see you there tomorrow” could serve as a slogan for the comfort that spills out of the group’s catalogue.

2. ‘9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)’ (2019)

The title track of ‘The Dream Chapter: Magic’ more than lives up to the sorcery in the album’s title. Sprinkled with sparkling melodies that form the aural equivalent of the magic dust that accompanies wands casting spells in movies, the song captured the heart of much of TXT’s early storyline. It’s an ode to friendship and the feeling of finding people to run alongside you as you buckle up for the rollercoaster of life.

1. ‘Eternally’ (2020)

Tomorrow X Together have never been ones to shy away from trying something new, and that spirit quietly fuels ‘Eternally’, the stand-out track from ‘The Dream Chapter: Eternity’. What starts out as a gentle lullaby pleading soon morphs into something darker and prowling. The beat switch is tellingly signalled by a rapid-fire gunshot and the verse that follows feels like a villain origin story. That the group are able to pull off the revolving door of switch-ups on this track with such elegance is nothing short of impressively exhilarating.

[tteokdoroki]

aalibokki what are your favorite txt tracks?!

HAIII MIRA MIRA!! thank u for asking omg… a can of worms has been opened. i had this whole ask answered and then tumblr deleted it but i shall go again!! in no particular order

can’t you see me - dream chapter eternity:

literally saved 2020, one of the best comebacks of that year and the music video is amazing considering it was during covid. i love the whispering in it, the Melodies, i think it was txt’s first EMO/bad boy concept and they had something to prove a kpop industry TO SAVE !!

way home - minisode blue hour:

another 2020 banger, she’s so underrated but she sounds like glitter and pixels and magic i love her, she makes me feel so in love with everything <3

ghosting - minisode blue hour:

my favourite song ever she’s so gentle with it the boys sound amazing. she’s a song for coming of age or falling in love :( it’s like listening to fairies singing a lullaby

magic island - dream chapter magic:

comfort song gives me the motivation to keep going, i listen to her whenever i need a hug or a good cry

our summer - dream chapter star:

txt had just debuted and they needed to show 4th gen how it’s DONE ‼️ definitely a summer road trip song, the orchestral version is equally as incredibly, it makes me wanna hang out with my friends and reminds me of picnics with sunsets idk

0X1=LOVE SONG - chaos chapter freeze:

hello hello? the song that solidified my love for txt and as my ult group (sorry bts) this song is so 3rd gen kpop coded, so angsty but so beautiful i think i cried the first time i listened and then learned the lyrics right after. would give anything to hear her for the first time again

9 and three quarters ( runaway ) - dream chapter magic:

came out during my first year of uni ever and i rmr running home after class to watch the music video, she’s so perfect and i love her plus the choreo is amazing

honourable mentions: frost, thursday’s child has far to go, opening sequence, trust fund baby, ito, free falling, everlasting, deep down, magic shine, popping star, 20cm, i’ll see you there tomorrow, deja vu, quarter life, devil by the window, farewell never land, the killa, no rules, new rules

[shipaholic]

Episode 2: “The Clue” / “A Companion To Owls”

Good Omens 2 Episode 2 liveblog! Beware spoilers!!

- Crowley is such a troll in this opening scene. I've come around on the beard/glasses combo. He looks like a wisecracking talking Disney goat.

---

- Jon Hamm’s impression of Buddy Holly is amazing. “Ah-hey, ah-hey-hey” yes give me those weird, grandpa-like hiccups.

---

- I can hear a fly during the zoom in on sleeping Crowley in the Bentley... does Beez have one spy in the bookshop and one on Crowley at all times?

- Hmmm, Shax tells Crowley right away about Heaven detecting the miracle. That could be evidence for my Beelzebub theory, I guess...? Beez wants Crowley kept informed about the danger, so that he’ll continue to keep Gabriel safe, but they get to keep up plausible deniability with Shax and the other demons that they’re only threatening Crowley.

- Poor Shax. Crowley’s bullying her.

- LOL are all the other demons afraid of driving at high speeds? (See: Hastur.) All he had to do to get rid of Shax was rev the engine.

---

- I like Maggie, but she’s a little clingy with Aziraphale. You’d think the euphoria of having 8 months of overdue rent forgiven would have lasted longer than 24 hours. On the other hand, her encyclopaedic knowledge of music history is really cool.

- Aziraphale conducting every time he sings Everyday is the cutest thing ever.

---

- Crowley orders Talisker! I assume John Finnemore insisted.

- OMG, Mr. Brown is holding a newspaper with THEE headline in it about the Nebraska woman who taught her duck to play the accordion.

- “Get humans wet, and staring into each others’ eyes. Vavoom.” I. I don’t think Crowley knows where babies come from either.

- THAT JANE AUSTEN LORE. AND CROWLEY DISAPPROVES?? SHE SOUNDS AWESOME

---

- Aziraphale is so hesitant when he says he doesn’t think God wants to kill Job’s children, and so utterly certain when he says he knows Crowley doesn’t want to. He already has more faith in Crowley’s mercy than God’s. 😭

- THE UNBELIEVABLE LEVELS OF SASS

- OK Ty Tennant is very funny

- Both the older kids treating Aziraphale like a waiter is hilarious actually, as is Jemima wanting to be a blue lizard and Crowley obliging

- I’ve been jossed a bunch already this season, but the biggest shock to my system by far is Crowley tempting Aziraphale into enjoying human food. I genuinely assumed Aziraphale has been nibbling on whatever was around to nibble on since he was first deployed on Earth. It took him a millennia and a half to try barbeque?? Poor deprived bb

- Whoever wrote that post about Aziraphale discovering honey and tearing into a beehive like an especially feral Winnie The Pooh, I hope they’re patting themself on the back right now.

- I am more into the sight of Michael Sheen falling onto an entire ox corpse like a starving werewolf than I am comfortable with, but fine, I guess this is who I am now.

- ALL I’M SAYING IS, Crowley and Aziraphale’s first kiss had better go EXACTLY like this.

---

- I’m here for hungover Crowley wobbling across the sand.

- I suspect this minisode is difficult to follow for any viewers who didn’t swot up on the Book of Job a fortnight or so ago, like I assume we all did.

- Michael is the only angel in this scene who possesses more than a single braincell, but they’re all clearly thick as can be. The only people thicker than them are Job and Ennon, who are somehow even worse at lying than Aziraphale and Crowley.

- Crowley has such immense fucking panache this entire episode. I do love him and his terrible beard.

---

- That little tongue in cheek thing Aziraphale does on “investigation” - he cannot get any cuter now. it’s literally impossible. please.

- Crowley slapped his hand omg

---

- Oh god, the conversation on the bench... Aziraphale is in actual tears, and Crowley is so wry and gentle and reassuring, even while delivering words that are, taken on their own, a stark form of comfort. He’s just a calm presence while Aziraphale experiences shrimp emotions on the other side of the bench. I can’t even speak about Aziraphale, honestly, but I’ll give it a shot... he is so brave and scared 😭😭😭 Hell?? He really thought he belonged in Hell? Crowley was absolutely right to gently laugh at a notion that ridiculous (and awful) (and then again, Crowley also used to be a sweet little curly-headed bunny of an angel, and look at the unspeakable thing that happened to him). There’s that little moment where Crowley says he’s not going to tell anyone, and asks Aziraphale if he’s going to tell anyone, and Aziraphale gives this little ashamed headshake, like he’s realising for the first time that he’s not, he’s willing to lie (by omission) about this too. And then he glances at the sky, as if verifying that God isn’t going to send down a thunderbolt, and realises that he’s actually safe. There aren’t going to be any consequences; he’s going to get away with it. And that’s almost worse, the idea that he doesn’t live in a world with clearly defined rules, and he truly can’t predict what God thinks, or what she is going to do. She spoke directly to Job, but she’s a closed book to Aziraphale.

---

- The ending credits are on fire so far this season.

---

Right, um, next up, an episode I haven’t already seen. asdhkagsd.

[mainfaggot]

txt's vma perf preview looked pretty solid and like. at least they weren't lip syncing the entire time (only some of it . Lol) but not the point like the song seems fun! I just miss the old txt. like txt after loser lover got boring imo. gbgb as a title was meh (bsides on minisode 2>> the title song) and then srr was sexy and good! But im gonna be honest the bsides aren't that special? I looped them for about two weeks, but after all these months, I only ever go back to listen to srr and tinnitus. so. Idkkkkkk also do it like that does not exist in my books. Fuck the jonas dudebros for ruining a perfectly good discography. God. Anyway. Idk. Anitta x txt is really random and no one asked. The song genuinely seems fun like I think I'll listen to it whenever I'm feeling silly or whatever but ?? It's not txt. It's just what big hit wants txt to become. Like what they wanted bts to become: money making, american dollar earning, western attention grabbing, global sensations .... the thing is... txt is not bts. like obviously they are their own group. they came to the company while bts were still flops. but they didnt debut until bts got big and now the stupid ass management thinks they hit the jackpot formula LETS ALL DIE WHEN WILL I EVER GET ANOTHER ZERO BY ONE LOVE SONG? ANOTHER FUCKING CAT AND DOG? ANOTHER BLUE HOUR? ANOTHER RUN AWAY? WHEN . WHENEEEEEN

[halfseoulco]

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION — TOMORROW X TOGETHER: A review

Published Monday, February 13th, 2023 — The story of Peter Pan has been a beloved children’s fairy tale for many years and has been told and retold in a plethora of ways—but never quite like this.

Introduction

Big Hit Music, formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, under HYBE Labels (or HYBE Corporation) has a well-established reputation for storytelling through music. There are entire universes contained in the very fabric of their songs, birthing entire books and Webtoon series (see: BTS’s 花樣年華 The NOTES and 7FATES: CHAKHO; TXT’s THE STAR SEEKERS; and ENHYPEN’s DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR). Elements of these stories are presented through the artists’ music videos and, when watched in a certain order, help the viewer connect the dots and understand what the music and concepts are trying to convey. Because KPOP is an industry that relies heavily on concepts, continuous storylines are not necessarily common, although some groups may try to tell a story within the frame of one music video or a series of music videos released for a particular album. However, Big Hit Music has, much like with their older labelmates, BTS, given TXT a rich and immersive universe that flows from album to album, spanning the eras in a way that especially showcases the group’s growth and maturity into young men.

A Brief History of TXT’s Discography

When TOMORROW X TOGETHER debuted as a group on March 4th, 2019, the members were still young boys—as the oldest, Yeonjun was still months short of twenty; and Hueningkai, the youngest, was sixteen. They began their journey with a fresh and youthful concept highlighted by bright colors and graphics, debuting with “어느 날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (CROWN)” and “Blue Orangeade”, which presented a strong first impression and helped lay the foundation for their spots as leaders of fourth generation KPOP. Now, coming up on the fourth anniversary of their debut date, they have covered a variety of themes along the vein of growing up—the blissful ignorance of youth, isolation from peers, love and heartbreak—and this latest comeback presents the darker, more seductive side of leaving adolescence behind.

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION ties back to a similar naming convention for their previous series of albums, the first of which includes their debut release The Dream Chapter: STAR (2019), The Dream Chapter: MAGIC (2019), and The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY (2020); and the second of which includes The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE (2021) and The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE (2021). minisode 2: Thursday’s Child (2022)—part of another series that also includes minisode1 : Blue Hour (2020)—laid the groundwork for a seamless transition from the sadness and heartbreak explored in The Chaos Chapter series to whatever the next release would have in store. The title track of Thursday’s Child, “Good Boy Gone Bad”, demonstrated how heartbreak can turn into the kind of anger that changes a person for the worst—into someone who they or those around them can no longer recognize—and 2023 brought to light the next sequence of events for our five Lost Boys.

Teasing The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

With a title like The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, there is little room to misunderstand what is about to happen next. Currently at age 23 (Yeonjun), 22 (Soobin), 21 (Beomgyu), 21 (Taehyun), and 20 (Hueningkai), TXT is entering the period of young adulthood, where there are plenty of complex emotions, interesting sensations, and new experiences to be had. In the concept trailer released for TEMPTATION prior to the EP’s drop, the visual imagery immediately reminded fans of Peter Pan, showing the five boys moving through a window into a new world. There is a narrator who makes references to Wendy, Peter, and learning how to fly; and the language used made the concept quite clear and easily established expectations for the direction of the quintet’s next release while also showcasing the group’s dancing. The concept trailer was then followed by a preview of the EP’s tracks, which further reinforced the storyline previously presented. I didn’t need to hear the songs in their full capacity to know that this was a darker, more sensual take on the classic Peter Pan tale—which I will delve into deeper later in this review.

“Sugar Rush Ride” MV

Heading the group’s promotions is the title track “Sugar Rush Ride”. Preceded by two teasers (one | two), the music video takes some of the more traditional elements of Peter Pan’s Neverland and twists them into a Garden of Eden-like setting, enhanced by psychedelic effects meant to mimic ecstasy or euphoria, or the sensations of leaving one’s body. The video begins with the five members waking up on a beach before moving onto different locations, including an open field, an enchanting yet slightly sinister forest, a gorgeous waterfall, a cave full of butterflies, and an opulent setting dressed up by a tree with multicolored foliage. They return to the beach at the end, ready to leave this magical world.

On its own, the visuals tell the story quite well: five boys arrive in Neverland, where they stay and play for a while, seduced by the fantasy it offers. Loss of innocence is an archetype typically associated with growing up; and the temptations of Neverland are too great for them to resist. Furthermore, as many fans took notice, it is the most scantily dressed that Big Hit has allowed them to be since their debut, especially for Hueningkai, who as the youngest has a history of being covered up as much as possible when the older members have been in more revealing attire. All visual aspects of this concept point to a clear maturity that hasn’t really been tapped into prior to TEMPTATION—and the members lean into it quite well.

An Analysis of The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

The EP, consisting of five songs, flows like a story all on its own and for optimal enjoyment should be listened to in its designated order. The reason why I say that no one has really told the story of Peter Pan like this before reveals itself as soon as the first few notes of the record play—because no one has ever stopped to consider that maybe Peter Pan isn’t the hero—maybe he’s the villain.

TEMPTATION opens with “Devil by the Window”, an English track that refers to Peter Pan as not only the “devil by the window” but also “a wolf in sheep clothes”. In the most popular retelling of the story, Disney’s version, Wendy tells her younger brothers stories about Peter Pan’s adventures and heroic deeds; and getting to fly to Neverland with him is viewed as an amazing opportunity. However, “Devil by the Window” describes Peter Pan as a sinister figure in the night waiting to lure TXT away to Neverland, which is less of a paradise for children and more like an awful ride you can’t get off of. The brunt of the message is contained in the chorus: “I met the devil by the window, traded my life/Temptation touched my tongue, spread the wings of desire/He’s whispering, ‘Give up, don’t you put up a fight’/Said the devil by the window, ‘Dream on, dream on, good night”. In fact, the language of the song paints an image of Peter Pan that is quite similar to the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

The soundscape of “Devil by the Window” creates a richly seductive palette that weaves it way throughout the rest of the record. When paired with the gritty bassline and the breathiness with which the members infused their voices, the lyrics help set the scene for our Korean Lost Boys to make their journey to Neverland. The most interesting part is the end, which is rather abrupt after a tempo change that feels like floating right before a sudden drop, which might be interpreted as an indication that the flight from home to Neverland has ended.

TXT chose to perform “Devil by the Window” alongside “Sugar Rush Ride” during their promotional circuit; and the choreography helps further the storytelling aspect of TEMPTATION in a way that would leave the story slightly lacking if it were to have gone without.

There are certain expectations for title tracks in the KPOP industry and most groups choose to perform their most so-called “fun” or general public-friendly songs. “Sugar Rush Ride” is, in some ways, “Devil by the Window” repackaged as a title track with elements of pop music sprinkled on top to disguise the utter debauchery that it really is—and I really don’t mean that in a negative way. Sonically, the structure of the verses are more pop leaning, while the chorus falls back into a soundscape more similar to its predecessor. It incorporates the same kind of breathy singing, as well as some beautiful falsettos adorned throughout that add a beautiful layer of vocal color to the song. The sighs that punctuate the chorus really add to the seduction that they established in “Devil by the Window” and I am truly so obsessed with the hidden vocals, which create some amazing contrast between them and the members’ voices.

Lyrically, “Sugar Rush Ride” describes an experience of heightened sensation— hence the sugar rush, which feels like a euphemism for substance use, supported by Hueningkai’s lines “You’re so addictive/내 혈관은 (translated: my veins) full of sweets”—although sugar is also used as another name for desire. Now that TXT are in Neverland, Peter Pan is trying to convince them to stay, enticing them with whatever he is giving them to produce the sugar rush. They’re still aware that he can’t be trusted; Taehyun’s lines in the refrain, “꿈에 데려가는/침대맡에 liar”, translate to “the liar at [my] bedside who takes me into [the] dream”*, indicating that they know what he’s trying to do but they’re buying into it anyway. They also continue to refer to him as the devil; and during the post-chorus, which moves at a faster pace established in the second iteration of the chorus, there’s an acknowledgement: “You’re a bad liar/What are you doing to me (what did you do to me), sugar?”* Again, much like the story of the Garden of Eden, having previously not known desire, the Lost Boys are finding that they can’t get enough of it and the sensation is overwhelming.

The Kulture Study by Form of Therapy, my favorite KPOP reaction channel, pointed out in their review of the song that after the sugar rush comes a crash, something that I agree with. Exactly when that crash will come and what shape it will take is still yet to be seen at this point in the album—which brings us to the next track.

“Happy Fools” sits right smack dab in the middle of the EP, a brighter, more carefree song that describes wanting to stay in a state of blissful ignorance in spite of what it would mean for them if they did. Coi Leray’s verse adds a fresh-faced playfulness and an additional layer of “not a care in the world” vibes; and the members settle into their short-lived period of contentment before being forced to face the reality of their situation. You shouldn’t let the sound of the song deceive you; the title and the lyrics make it very clear that they know that they’re on borrowed time.

Tinnitus is a condition in which one may experience a ringing or buzzing noise in one or both ears, whether constantly or intermittently. With that in mind, “돌멩이가 되고 싶어 (Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock))” doesn’t carry the kind of unpleasant quality you might expect based on the title; rather, it is a soft, sensual track that takes influence from Latin beats. It’s definitely a tie with “Farewell, Neverland” for my favorite song on the EP, its dreamy instrumentals and vocal colors making it not so much a dance track as it is a song that gets your body moving. It’s short and sweet but describes both a longing for one to be more than they are and an admission that things didn’t happen the way they wanted them to. The lyrics do mention tinnitus both explicitly and implicitly, sometimes as a “deafening empty sound” or a “daze”—and more than the underlying layer of self-deprecation, it carries a more deeply rooted disillusionment. In other words, the enchantment of Neverland has been broken.

Following that train of thought, TEMPTATION ends with “Farewell, Neverland”. The Korean title is “네버랜드를 떠나며”, which translates more closely to “Leaving Neverland”*. Matching up with the title, the song contains plenty of imagery that ties it to the Peter Pan story, including the lines and words used such as “Boys don’t grow up”, “endless flying”, and “my Peter Pan”. If “Devil by the Window” and “Sugar Rush Ride” are more about Peter Pan himself, “Farewell, Neverland” is, obviously, more about Neverland. They call it a “paradise full of lies” and say that it is “no home”, indicating that whatever they came to Neverland searching for, they didn’t find it; and whatever temptation was presented, it ultimately wasn’t enough to make them stay. However, our Lost Boys speak of Neverland more fondly than they spoke of Peter Pan at the beginning of the EP, calling it “my love”. Paired with the acoustic guitar and Latin-influenced instrumentals similar to “Tinnitus”, it certainly does seem like a rather romantic goodbye, if not a little bittersweet.

Conclusion

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION is, as TXT’s work always is, a solid album. It presents a new side of the five young men that ties in with them growing up. The KPOP industry is often unkind to older groups, placing more favor with groups that maintain a youthful image; and while TXT are by no means old, their decision to fully delve into the processing of maturing into adulthood so explicitly in their music while also embracing sensuality that very carefully toes the line of propriety is to be respected and commended. As I mentioned previously, the EP tells a story and I would not recommend listening to the songs out of order. Interestingly, it splits quite evenly, with “Devil by the Window” and “Sugar Rush Ride” forming a pair and “돌멩이가 되고 싶어 (Tinnitus)” and “ 네버랜드를 떠나며 (Farewell, Neverland)” forming another with “Happy Fools” bridging the gap between them. Now, having gotten a taste of what an older, more grown up TXT is capable of, I can’t wait to see what they show us next.

Genius Lab USA Rating: We go up like the moon, [...] get it poppin’ like balloons. We gon party every day living like some happy fools doing what we wanna do.

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION Track List:

Devil by the Window

Sugar Rush Ride

Happy Fools (feat. Coi Leray)

돌멩이가 되고 싶어 (Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock))

네버랜드를 떠나며 (Farewell, Neverland)

*These are my translations.

[taebinstarseeking]

୨⎯ "masterlist" ⎯୧

Characters:

Star One / Tomorrow X Together

Soule / Soobin

Eugene / Yeonjun

Viken / Beomgyu

Taho / Taehyun

Avys / HueningKai

Eras:

The Dream Chapter: STAR

The Dream Chapter: MAGIC

The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY

Minisode 1: Blue Hour

The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE

The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE

Minisode 2: Thursday's Child

The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

The Name Chapter: FREEFALL

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

[dokiyeom]

DWWW u will see that from now on I'll just pop on ur inbox with random pics or just . rants LMAOOO hihiih do u have maybe dc or twt?? i feel like that would be easier to interact on yk? + i have a little something i wanna show u 🤭 PLS SHARE THEM WITH ME YES!! im such a sucker of ranting about fics & fic ideas with friends istg..

ill try it when I can but i live in a small village so they don't have that here 😞 ill go to the city for uni though so ik ill explore more diff foods since im a big fan of that yk!

mmmm ok ok now ik when to send u an ask 😝 && that's so interesting?? do u still have family there or will u go alone if u move there! tbh france is only cool from a touristic pov 😭 like i could write an essay about how much i hate certain things here it's Awful BUT i do like the museums and more artistic side so yayay OHHH??? HELLO that's so cool i love how u remember only that 🙏🙏 i love tulips they are my fav flowers too 😞💔

TWT THEORIES SAID SO TOO !! that would be a very unique announcement actually ohh :O for my friends 18th bday party another friend lent me a black dress w a v line collar? it was very light and just overall v cute but simple so i might just go for something with the same vibe ngl bit im picky too and i haven't really been able to find clothes i like for a few years rn so it's a bit of a problem 👎

OMG WHAT ALBUMS?????? i want to have the carat bong so bad but ill buy it (for now) if they come here in concert yk & if i can still use v2 for concerts! i hope u soon can get ur carat bong 🙏 omg show me PLS PLS PLS i have one too and i love seeing other people's collections 😞

i have . a lot 😭 rn i have 18 albums with 2 more for my bday...... PREAPRE URSELF. i have aespa girls, astro switch on, atz treasure ep fin all to action, bts love urself answer & proof, enhypen dimension dilemma & manifesto day 1, lsrfm antifragile (I PULLED SAKURA YAYYY), nct dream glitch mode, svt director's cut (THE LUCK I HAD FOR THIS ONE got it WITH PCS for 20€) semicolon & face the sun, skz no easy & christmas evel, tbz maverick, txt minisode blue hour & tcc fight or escape and woodz only lovers left!! for my bday i alr bought enhypen border day carnival + bss second wind hehe 🫶🫶

THAT NEW THEME WOULD BE SO COOL!!! omg tell me when u did it i wanna see it first hihi 💥💥💥

omg i have both !! but tbh i don’t think i’ve logged into discord in months,, but i’ll send u my twt :D AND RIGHT !! i feel like just talking abt ur fic ideas helps a lot w the writing process

oo id rec just making it at home if it’s possible !! i feel like sukiyaki would b a bit pricey at restaurants,, but the ingredients may b a bit inaccessible :0 && agh dw abt timing for asks !! i have an extremely turbulent sleep sched so pls just send them whenever it’s convenient for u :D

&& yesyes i have family there !! but tbh id probably want to move there alone if i could,, && that makes a lot of sense !! is it like the short stay that makes france fun for tourists ? or like general novelty of things wear off over time :0 ALSO HELLO SVT DIRECTORS CUT ?? that’s so cool hello ??? whod u pull :000

and dori,, i’ve unfortunately been collecting¿ buying albums for a while now,,, like i quite literally cannot list them all fjdjshs but i have svt, lsfm, twice, stayc, aespa, nct, txt, enha, ive, nmixx, izone, red velvet, and itzy albums :D i got really lucky w where i live bc there’s an album store nearby,, so sometimes my friends n i go together :D AND YES DEF U WILL B THE FIRST TO SEE THE NEW DOKIYEOM CARRD !!!