#〔 ERAS 〕 ⋮ — sugar rush ride.

[binniesoob]

The Name Chapter: Temptation Explained

This analysis is going to include the lyrics of the songs, as well as the choreographies and the Sugar Rush Ride music video!

Feel free to share your insights and/or theories, or to point it out if you see any inaccuracies :)

TW: slight mentions of themes such as violence, death, drugs and sensuality. I decided to include them to not leave out core aspects, but I didn't go in depth for any of them to keep this as friendly as possible.

Before we dive in, just a reminder that I've already analysed The Name Chapter concept trailer and the new logo in my storyline summary here, while you can find my analysis of the tracklist posters here. I recommend reading both before this, if you haven't yet! Especially because I'm going to reference themes that I've already explained there, such as the game and seasons motifs, and their true names.

— INTRO: what the album is about

Let's start with the group’s official website that provides a description of the album:

"The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION depicts youth on the brink of adulthood. After experiencing conflict and chaos, the boys feel a desire to postpone their growth and linger in the freedom of Neverland. Their journey forward despite this desire is a representation of today’s generation as they continue to grow through the challenges of the world."

As we know, this Chapter is strongly inspired by Peter Pan, who has become a cultural icon symbolizing youthful innocence and escapism. Just like he leads children to abandon real life for Neverland, a place where they will never have to grow up, the Cat does with TXT, who find their escape at Magic Island.

(continues under the cut)

In the tale in it also hinted that Peter Pan used to "thin the Lost Boys" out when they got too old or when there was too many of them, meaning he may exile or kill them (cr. peter pan wiki). Some theories suggest that the Lost Boys who grow up become pirates who, with Captain Hook, try to fight Peter.

Especially with this album though, there are also numerous similarities with the story of Doctor Faustus, a play by Christopher Marlow which was later taken up by J.W. Goethe, in which this scholar is so greedy for knowledge that he is not satisfied with academic knowledge, venturing into the field of black magic. He makes a pact with the devil Mephistopheles, who makes him the false promise of enabling him to obtain greater knowledge, when in reality he'll only take his soul. Throughout the opera, Faustus is continually debating with two angels, one good and one evil, symbolizing the two sides of human nature.

Likewise, throughout their discography, TXT are always represented vacillating between their good side, "the angel", and their bad side, "the demon". See Angel or Devil of course, Eternally, but also the duologies New Rules-No Rules and Puma-What if I'd been that Puma (in Korean Balance Game).

It also perfectly connects with TXT's villain, the Cat: in The Star Seekers, he temps Yeonjun to make a pact with him, promising more power to defeat the Dragon Clan (see the animation The Doom's Night), when in reality he will bring their dark sides (which we see in Eternally) to prevail, so that he can control them at will taking advantage of the power that TXT already have. Its aim is to prevent them from reaching "tomorrow", their future, and therefore their goal: to remember the promise they made as children with the Star and renew it, so that the latter lights up again and restores hope for people's dreams. After all, their name, Tomorrow By Together, means a group that "comes together under one dream in hopes of building a better tomorrow".

"Tomorrow", defined as "the one in which nobody believes" is also Soobin's true name, the one who has visions about the future of the group. Certainly, the prospect of leaving behind the visions that make him suffer so much is nothing but a relief, but it also means giving up his crucial role in achieving their goal, and above all himself.

In real life these metaphors can be transposed as our inner demons that induce us to bask in the temptations the world offers, distracting us from suffering but also from achieving our goals, and finally leading to losing ourselves.

— THE SONGS

Temptation is a concept album, meaning that listening to the songs in the order they are put is crucial to understand the story it tells. That's why the first song we are going to talk about is...

— Devil by the Window

It's Korean title "자정의 창가에서 만난 악마의 목소리는 달콤했다" translates into "The voice of the devil I met by the window at midnight was sweet".

The song depicts the devil, aka the Cat, tempting TXT with the false promise of taking them to a place where they can enjoy their youth forever, exactly as we saw him do in The Name Chapter concept trailer.

This is the Lullaby stage of the Temptation. Let's analyze the lyrics of the song integrating it with the choreography to see how it happens!

🎶 Lie, lie, lie, lie down / Go rest your eyes / Just fall asleep, sweet dreams / You can't get off the ride 🎶

These verses give the feeling of the devil luring the group by humming them a lullaby, however immediately revealing his purpose: prevent them to return to reality. The emphasis placed on "lie" is interesting: the word plays with its double meaning of "laying down" and "lying", and whose repetition gives us the idea of ​​the incitement and impatience of the devil. In the choreography, Hueningkai plays the devil outside the window (represented by Soobin and Beomgyu's shoulders) waiting to enter their room once they are alone and under the covers, just like Peter Pan used to do.

🎶 A wolf in sheep clothes / His disguise / In the ni-ni-ni-night / You'll be hiding inside 🎶

Now it's Soobin's turn to play the devil: in the choreography he metaphorically takes off the mask that hides his true intentions. The alliteration of "ni-ni-ni-night" gives us the idea of ​​the lullaby again, but also of the footsteps of the devil advancing in the room: in the choreography Soobin approaches and seduces Hueningkai.

The line "You'll be hiding inside" can refer to the devil hiding in the shadows of the room, but could also be a metaphor for inner temptations, anxieties and worries, which usually haunt us when we go to sleep, after a whole day trying to avoid them.

🎶 Oh, what ya doing? / You got some time today? / Oh, what a nuisance / Come, come, come out to play 🎶

The role of the devil passes onto Taehyun, who rhetorically asks Yeonjun if he has time for him, complaining about his possible negative answer, and rather inciting him to use the time by playing with him.

🎶 High, so high, the crimson sky / It's way too sweet to turn down / I scream and shout, but no one's 'round / There's no way to escape it 🎶

With the pre-chorus the mood of the song starts to change. TXT are tempted by the red sky, so by twilight, which we know is the moment in which it is possible to travel between the real world and the magical one.

The devil shows them a taste of what they will find if they follow him, and this is all too fascinating and sweet to be rejected. At the same time, however, the group (everyone's good sides) protests and tries to escape, in vain. In the choreography, Taehyun walks among the others to "exit", but they prevented it, turning him to "enter" again.

🎶 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" 🎶

The chorus references the pact Yeonjun makes with the Cat, trading his life unwittingly as the Lost Boys do once they follow Peter Pan to Neverland. TXT themselves have explained that the move they perform during the line "traded my life" represents the devil who catches them when they try to escape from danger. The devil dissuades them not to fight him, supported by the temptations that are irresistible and greedy: after a taste they are won't stop wanting and asking for more.

🎶 Waste, waste away / In the gutter with me / No, I can't tell what is fake / In my reality / I see the waves, see the waves / Wash over me / Oh, stay, you can stay / When you're tempted to leave 🎶

Being in the gutter means being in a state of degraded condition, that's exactly the situation the group finds itself once they fall for the lie of the devil, but they don't really understand it because their reality is altered and they can't tear truth apart from falsehood. In real life these effects can refer to when you are under the influence of hallucinogenic substances, but "have your mind in the gutter" in slang also means constantly thinking about sex related things, in addition to the fact that frequently pleasure is compared to waves that wash over the body.

At this point, in the choreography we see everyone in the chokehold of temptation, Yeonjun literally (after all, we know that in the story he is the weakest one in the face of temptation), while Beomgyu reaches out towards the viewers (as we will soon see, also in Sugar Rush Ride), which can be interpreted both as an attempt to lure them in as well, but also as a request for help to get him out, since he is the one who's most aware of all of the dangers they face.

🎶 High, high, high / I feel my body drifting into the sky / I won't come down, come down, come down, I'll fly / Weightless without a worry into the night / He said, "Dream on, dream on, dream on" 🎶

The mood of the song changes completely now: these lines allude to when pleasure, whatever temptation it is caused by, hits. Therefore, TXT are surrendering to temptations. If before they were lying in their beds, now they start flying to be taken to Neverland, with the illusion of leaving their worries behind on the ground. This time the devil doesn't wish them good night: in his plans the group is destined to continue dreaming again, again and again, in a loop that never sees the arrival of the night, and so the end.

This not being able to stop reminded me of a legend in Irish and Welsh folklore concerning fairies (after all, Peter Pan is accompanied by Tinkerbell, a fairy), according to which one must stay away and respect the fairy mushroom rings in the woods or they risk being dragged inside by the fairies, to dance with them without being able to stop until you drop from exhaustion. This legend seems to be referenced in another TXT song: No Rules from The Chaos Chapter, whose lyrics are also strongly connected to those of Devil by The Window. Some examples:

"Close your eyes again/ And continue your dream"

"Is it A.M. or P.M. right now? / I'm confused because all of the broken patterns / Don't know what's right, I don't get it / Woo, my world is panic"

"The vi-i-ibe that I dreamed of every day / A dri-i-ive that can't be stopped / One more time, yeah / I just wanna dance / Dance until we can't no more"

The third chorus then changes into: "I don't wanna feel this vi-i-ibe / I want to stop this real vi-i-ibe / I'm getting tired / I don't wanna dance / Dance anymore"

Now, going back to the Devil by the Window's choreography, it's also important to note that most of the steps refer to being controlled like a puppet, just like the Cat does in the concept trailer:

The sigh that ends the song seems to recall waking up startled, only this awakening won't happen in their room...

— Sugar Rush Ride

Now it’s time for the Daydream stage of the Temptation. The group awakens in Neverland and we can notice that they have been brought there by the train, a vehicle that appears frequently in the storyline, not only in Magic Island and Run Away, but also in Frost, in the Can't You See Me comeback show and in the scenes included in Act:Lovesick

An important detail is that the train has two engravings: "promise" and the number 304. The first refers to the promise that TXT made as children, but also to Yeonjun's real name. The second refers to their debut, which happened on March 4, and it's also the date associated with the Star Festival (which can be seen in Soobin's vision in Eternally) during which TXT met for the first time as children and made the promise.

The boys look around disoriented, but it doesn't take long before they adapt to the new environment: Yeonjun is obviously the first, who drags Taehyun with him, and the two start running along the beach.

🎶 The thoughts soon stopped breathing / When you get back / My determination comes instantly undone / For you 🎶

Thoughts and worries are suffocated by the relief and light-heartedness that Neverland and the "sugar rush" bring, as well as the determination to not fall into temptation.

The group becomes one with nature, their clothes are soiled with dirt and they have vines on them, to be exact, grapevines, symbol of fertility, transition and well-being, as well as being related to the Greek god Dionysus (which we will talk about again later on).

The fact that the victory of temptations is placed in an idyllic landscape is no coincidence: the figure of Peter Pan is connected to that of the ancient Greek deity Pan, whose flute Peter learns to play, thus acquiring his name. Pan is the god of forests and lives in Arcadia, an idealized land where men and nature live in perfect harmony. Does this name ring a bell? 👀 One of the two versions of the album The Dream Chapter: Magic has it, the album which includes TXT's first escape to Magic Island.

Pan is also linked to fertility and has strong sexual connotations, he is agile and perpetually cheerful, but also feared: his name derives from "panic" because, if annoyed, he causes havoc and terror. His image was then taken up by Christianity as an iconography of Satan, after all Pan has attributes such as goat foot, tail and horns. It's all coming together, right? Peter Pan, Pan, the Devil and the Cat are all superimposable figures.

🎶 Come a little closer / You whisper / Swallow / The sugar rush / Feast up in the night sky / Sweet desire / Taking me into the dream / The liar on the bedside 🎶

These lyrics, in addition to being very sensual, refer to Devil by the Window: the devil, "the liar on the bedside", takes them to the dreamy dimension that is Neverland where he incites them to take advantage of the "sugar rush". "Feast up" recalls the dissolute and wanton parties and rituals in honor of Dionysus (called Bacchus in Roman mythology), the archaic Greek deity of vegetation, later identified as the god of ecstasy, wine, inebriation and liberation of the senses. Dionysus also embodies the primal instincts of human beings, which can violently resurface if repressed and not properly elaborated.

It is no coincidence that this move is included in the choreography, which is very reminiscent of the representations of the banquets in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. TXT themselves have called it "the grape move", in which they metaphorically approach a bunch to their mouth. In the latest behind-the-scenes photos shared on Weverse, we can see that Yeonjun is holding grapes.

But the places depicted in the music video also refer to the iconic ones of Peter Pan: The Hangman's Tree, his and the Lost Boys hideout, and the Mermaid Lagoon:

🎶 I can feel it I can’t resist it / That sweet devilish smile / You open my locked door so easily / Oh my, I see the stars / The devil said

Gimme, gimme more / Come here, more / Let’s play, more* / Sugar rush-ush, sugar rush-ush, ah / Gimme, gimme more 🎶

The boys can't resist the sweet temptations that easily pervade them and make them metaphorically and literally see the stars. In the chorus we can hear the devil whistling: in many countries of the world, whistling is superstitiously associated with him. The "sugar rush" that boys experience is fast and addicting, and therefore pushes them to want more. The way it is sung, using the rhetorical figure of the climax, reflects this perfectly.

*In the official video the verse “같이 놀자 더” was simply translated as “let's play more”, but it has deeper connotations: it can also be translated as “let me give you a piggyback ride” because these lines come from 춘향가 (Chunhyangga), the most famous and one of the only five surviving traditional pansori (a folk genre of Korean musical storytelling) from the Joseon Dynasty era (1392–1910). They symbolize the whisper of the devil. During the press conference on the album release, Hueningkai shared: “We made a lot of new attempts this time, fusing different elements in an unfamiliar way. We used some parts of Chunhyangga in our lyrics and featured the movements of Korean traditional dance in our choreography.” And Taehyun added: “We believe our Korean fans will find this combination fresh, and our international followers will get the chance to explore Korea’s traditional culture and story.” (cr. Genius lyrics annotations)

In the choreography, apart from it clearly reflecting the corresponding lyrics, TXT take turns playing the devil who tempts the group, manipulating them like a puppet and preventing their escape, like in Devil by The Window:

🎶 You’re so addictive / My veins full of sweets / The forbidden lines slowly / Fade away / This daze-like anemia / But I prefer it that way / Every cell under my skin / Becomes more sensitive 🎶

I think these lyrics are pretty self-explanatory: this is how the "sugar rush" works once it enters the body. They seem to especially hint to the symptoms experienced when under the influence of drugs.

During their time at Neverland, each member of the group experiences their temptations and "sugar rush" in a different way, as shown in the video. Let's see how exactly 👀

HueningKai finds a gecko, and when he touches it, it changes color to purple. The gecko is the animal associated with him in his debut Questioning Film, while in Magic Island Kai is associated with a dragonfly, and in the debut Comeback Show, he turned the goldfish purple. Yellow and violet fishes can be seen in 0x1=Lovesong as well.

Now, which other semi-animal being in TXT's storyline is purple? The Dragon.

We know that Kai is the one who builds the labyrinth to contain their "secret", aka their dark sides or "monsters" or inner demons, but he is also associated with the role of videogame programmer, for example in the "Boy" version of the album The Chaos Chapter: Freeze: Kai is the one who made/will make the game that TXT are playing to escape real life, and it was therefore him who created the final boss, the Dragon!

Later in the video, Kai is the first to be shown covered in glitter, the fairy dust that allows the Lost Boys to fly to Neverland, while he experiences his "sugar rush".

Yeonjun on the other hand, both in the debut Questioning Film and in the music video of Sugar Rush Ride, is associated with two elements:

1) the caterpillar, symbol of transformation, metamorphosis, and growth. Caterpillars do not just become butterflies, but they go through many changes to get there: same thing goes for Yeonjun. (cr. animalhype.com)

2) pink flowers that in Sugar Rush Ride are fern flowers, which have magical connotations in Baltic mythology. According to the myth, they bloom for a very short time on the eve of the summer solstice. In Polish folk legends a person who manages to find the flower will be filled with exceptional supernatural wisdom, but the seekers had to be exceptionally careful, and used protective rites. For example, people were getting completely naked and girding their body with garlands made of an herb called mugwort... anything familiar? In the video, Yeonjun removes his shirt while running and has vines around his waist.

'Looking for a fern flower' was also often a pretext for young people to hide together in the woods and spend romantic time alone. In the Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian tradition, in addition to the idea that the finder of the fern flower will become rich or happy, it is sometimes perceived as a symbol of fertility. (cr. Wikipedia and lamusdworski.wordpress.com)

Yeonjun, attracted by the flowers, approaches and crushes them in his hand, and their nectar causes him the "sugar rush". These scenes have a strong suggestive charge, hinting to someone indulging in their sexual desires.

The flower's nectar dripping down his hand made me think of the "gods nectar", Ambrosia, the god's food in Greek mythology. The word comes from the Greek a- (negation) and βροτός (mortal) and can be translated as "food that only immortals can consume" but also "food that makes immortal": TXT don’t want to grow up, they want to stay young forever, and therefore immortal. Plus, we know that TXT keep dying during the game they are playing, especially Yeonjun, so one of the temptations could also be obtaining immortality.

Next, we have Soobin, who is associated with:

1) the mantis, symbol of courage and persistence. The people of Ancient Greece and Egypt saw the praying mantis as a guide for those who needed direction, either in life or death. In Buddhism, the praying mantis represents patience and perseverance (cr. birdsandblooms.com)

2) a white flower, which looks like a Narcissin Anemone, delicate white flower similar to daffodils/Narcissus flowers. In his Questioning Film Soobin has Anemones!

3) water, the medium through which he experiences temptation, literally sinking into it. When they're on the beach in the beginning, he plays with the waves, and later he finds a puddle and looks at himself in it, like Narcissus did to admire his beauty. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was punished by the gods for his disdain for anyone who fell in love with him, making him fall with his own image reflected in water, in which he died by drowning while trying to reach for his reflection. Furthermore, Narcissus is also considered a symbol of autoeroticism. Soobin pushes himself further and further to achieve his "sugar rush", not realizing the danger he is in.

Taehyun is instead associated with the element of air, where we see him levitate. Precisely, his animal symbol are birds: in the Questioning Film we see a parrot, while in Sugar Rush Ride an eagle and feathers, that surround him when he experiences his "sugar rush" in front of the tree. The latter has a different appearance in this setting: in addition to recalling that of the Nightmare concept, it refers to Yggdrasil, the sacred tree in Norse cosmology linked to the real name of Taehyun. We have already seen Yggdrasil several times in music videos: in Magic Island, in The Doom's Night, in Blue Hour and in Frost.

Beomgyu has the butterfly as a symbol, which we already know stands for the announcement of winter's, and therefore adulthood's, arrival in We Lost the Summer and Frost. In this album the butterfly was used to announce the arrival of the devil, as in the tale Tinkerbell preceded the arrival of Peter Pan.

In Sugar Rush Ride the butterflies enchant and lure Beomgyu into temptation, but they don't have it easy: he fights back and tries to escape, taking refuge in a cave. Unlike the others, he opposes so much resistance because we know that he is the only one who is fully aware of the dangers they are facing, and he's the one who experiences the "tinnitus", ringing in his ears triggered by his subconscious that tries to keep him awake and alert. However, sooner or later, Beomgyu also succumbs.

🎶 You're bad, you liar / What did you do to me, sugar? / It's me who's bad / I know this bad desire, sugar 🎶

“Get away” Hueningkai yells. The Daydream turns into the Nightmare when the boys realize that the devil is a liar: the promised eternal bliss given by the sugar rush is actually only temporary and leads to addiction and to the arise of their dark sides.

We will deepen this with the analysis of Farwell Neverland, but, at the end of the music video, the group decides to leave Neverland. Kai turns to the viewer as he did in the Concept Trailer of The Dream Chapter: Magic, where he asked if "should we run away" to Magic Island, while here he seems to ask us if we should abandon it.

— Happy Fools

🎶 There’s a lot of things to do / But no plans to do them / They say the future’s always more important than the present / No matter what they say / I don't know, give it up / Already hopped on it, so I’ll properly enjoy this crooked ride

They say I'm stupid / Even if it’s a little delayed, I’m not afraid / It's happy every day / I’m trapped tightly in a sweet moment / Leave the worries to the me of tomorrow / This moment won’t come again, yeah 🎶

The lyrics of this song are pretty self-explanatory. As TXT themselves explained, they wrote it with the intention of expressing the desire to enjoy life and the present moment, without being pressed by things to do. However, this also means ending up procrastinating if a balance is not found between not taking life with frenzy and indulging in sweet-doing-nothing. That's why they become Happy Fools: enjoying their time at Neverland/Magic Island they ignore their responsibilities, leaving them to their "tomorrow" selves, and delaying their growth.

🎶 I don't want to leave / This path of pleasure / I'm like a butterfly (Butterfly) / A honeybee that only works / Even that sky where the sun’s setting / Won't know whether it’s pretty (Get it, get it) 🎶

The pre-chorus was written by Beomgyu, who revealed in his interview with Marie Claire Korea that:

(cr. @/translatingTXT on twitter)

🎶 Don't wanna do my thing / I won't regret it / I'll be the laziest Superman / So follow me / The pleasant taste of laziness / Is very sweet / A dream-like guilty pleasure is right in front of me 🎶

In this song, TXT's temptation is laziness, which they carry like a contradictory superhero who invites listeners to act like him. TXT themselves are the tempters, like in the Sugar Rush Ride choreography, as they themselves explained during the Comeback Showcase with the press.

— Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock)

🎶 Baby, I just wanted to be / Wanted to be hot stuff (You know?) / Party every day, like the weekend / Raise the volume, as if I am fish that met the water (Higher)

At the end of the day, feed is a disaster / Last night was overflowing with filters (Ah) / Momentarily let out a sigh / I know that I can't be a rockstar 🎶

Yeonjun and Taehyun participated in writing the lyrics to this track. They wanted to express the feeling of dreaming of becoming a big, famous, acclaimed rock star but thinking you don't have what it takes or the talent for it; as well as the disappointment when discovering that the entertainment world it's not all shimmering gold as it seems.

🎶 Even if I cover my ears, the daze gets louder / The empty sound is deafening / As if submerged in a fishbowl, the bruises and tinnitus fills it up / In the empty noise, feel so lonely 🎶

In the pre-chorus they refer to the “tinnitus” aka “when you experience ringing or other noises in one or both of your ears. The noise you hear when you have tinnitus isn’t caused by an external sound, and other people usually can’t hear it.”

In spirituality, Tinnitus can indicate that you are being influenced by someone who is negative in nature, the presence of a harmful energetic being in your space, causing a triggering of false belief systems and chaotic energy.

So, tinnitus it's used by TXT’s subconscious to alert them of the danger and lies behind the Cat, Neverland, and their temptations. They try not to listen, to deny the truth, but it doesn’t work and it keeps on dazing them. And they feel lonely because, as we said, the person that hears the ringing is the only one that can hear it, and TXT don’t share the experience with the others.

In Sugar Rush Ride Beomgyu is the only one experiencing it, but in TXT’s videos we have already witnessed this phenomenon: in Magic Island (minute 6:45, 7:40, 8:55) it happed to Soobin and Yeonjun and it resembled the ringing of a bell: it was a warning of the Cat approaching.

The line "As if submerged in a fishbowl" reminded me of the fish imagery they have been using especially in 0x1=Lovesong:

🎶 Rockstar minus the star / Just a rock, okay? / I had a dream / Without knowing anything / A noisy dawn / But a void at the end / Tinnitus filling my ears / It's deafening as if I am locked inside

I don't have that kind of talent / Deep story / I admit it, I'm not a "born to be" / Even when I see myself, I know I am nothing special / My twinkling dream / It's been long since it faded away / Waiting for every second / I want to become a rock 🎶

TXT feel hopeless in front of the hardships they have to face. It's easy to get discouraged by difficulties, especially when you fear that you won't succeed. Insecurities makes you think you're not made for something and/or that there are way better and more talented people out there, and you're nothing special in comparison, even if it's not true, because everyone has their precious contribution to give to the world.

These feelings perfectly connect to the storyline: their "twinkling dream" can refer to dreams they had as children that were lost once they separated, forgot their promise, and the Star turned off. While, the line “I had a dream / Without knowing anything” can reference how childhood dreams can seem unfeasible and illusory when you grow up and you know more of the world, but it can also be traced back to the dreams/premonitions TXT have been having but not understanding.

Being that TXT reach Neverland/Magic Island via dreams, when they wake up with tinnitus the dawn becomes "noisy", which leaves room for inner emptiness given by the loss of the carefree time spent there.

🎶 Wanna live a new life / But I'm a bit lazy / What is my existence? / Give me an answer / I think being a rock / I think it would good / Just rolling around / My own rock 'n' roll 🎶

One of the reasons behind their insecurities are the temptations that have led them away from the right path and from their goals, especially the laziness we talked about with Happy Fools. TXT feel lost and come to think they'd rather be an inanimate object that has no feelings or responsibilities to worry about, and console themselves with the ironic thought that it could become their way of doing rock 'n' roll.

— Farwell, Neverland

Ultimately, the temptations and Neverland only brought suffering to the group, and so they decide to abandon them once and for all.

🎶 Every day is warm, every day is the same season / Boys don't grow up / A kiss from the sun that never sleeps / No one can see the stars / A paradise, full of lies / I wanted to turn a blind eye 🎶

The "paradise full of lies" reminded me of another TXT song: Valley of Lies. Not surprisingly, the animation for the video closely resembles the location in Bali where they filmed Sugar Rush Ride:

🎶 My last refuge / I hoped for endless flying / It's the end, it's true

Everything that was beautiful / I know it's not true / Trying to spit out that cruel lie / To the paradise of irresponsible dreams / I'll say my last goodbye / My Peter Pan 🎶

In Neverland/Magic Island it's always summer and day, also because when sunset comes, before night falls, TXT are forced to leave it. Staying there TXT believe they can never grow up, and that's a beautiful lie promised by a lying devil: they can't delay or prevent adulthood, no matter how hard they try. Time is up for them at Neverland, they acknowledge and accept it.

🎶 Neverland, my love, goodbye now / And I'm free falling / Stars, sleep with comfort / 'Til I be calling 🎶

Yeonjun's says that "stars" can "sleep" comfortably until TXT are going to be "calling" them: this is of course a reference to the Star, that is still asleep and is going to wake up only when TXT sing the promise song.

🎶 No matter where I go / This is no home / Even if I'm afraid, I'm going down / Goodbye, Neverland, my love 🎶

If Peter Pan flew them to Neverland, which they realize can't be their home, now they're falling down to the real world.

These last two verses also reminded me of Icarus that flew too close to the sun, causing his wings to melt and him to fall down, free falling. After all, Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the one who built the labyrinth in which the two were then imprisoned by the king who had commissioned it. To escape, father and son built wings.

We know that Hueningkai is the one who builds the labyrinth, plus he is the member to which the wings are associated, therefore he is Daedalus (he has mechanical wings in Nap of a Star), but, who is Icarus?

In Sugar Rush Ride, we saw that Taehyun is the one associated with air, his temptation and "sugar rush" at Neverland consists in flying, we know that his animal symbol are birds, plus there's actually a TXT music video where we see TXT fall down from the sky and Taehyun has mechanical wings: 0x1=Lovesong Japanese Version!

So, later in The Name Chapter, after TXT will enter Kai's labyrinth to confront their dark sides (as seen in the Concept Trailer), they will abandon it, and Taehyun/Icarus, may not save himself. This seems to be confirmed also by the fact that, while the other members are in different locations wearing casual clothes and despairing about the stars (which are their dreams) falling from the sky, Taehyun wears an uniform in an abandoned school, and at the end of the music video he disappears, leaving it behind.

Taehyun himself said that this song already anticipates what we will see in The Name Chapter 2... does it include his death?

(Just a reminder that TXT die several times in the storyline but always come back to life, because 1) the events take place in Magic Island/Neverland, their fantasy and/or 2) their characters experiencing these things are inside the game txt are continuously playing in real life until they win and so conclude it.)

And that is all for now!

Thank you so much for reading!! Stay tuned for my The Name Chapter 2 predictions post and feel free to share your thoughts if you want <3

masterlist

[txt-ruby]

⌗ Sugar rush ride shooting sketch !!

⊹ word count. 1.5k

⊹ era. sugar rush ride

⊹ emma talks. first request and i know it's very choppy TT but pls bear with me! It's been almost two years since I've properly written something TT lmk if you found anything wrong and I'll fix it!! I'd love it if i get any feedback!! Constructive criticism is also welcome as long as it's not you just bashing me for my bad writing 💔

Bella looks around as she enters the sugar rush ride music video set. Looking at the camera, " today is our first day of filming for our title song, sugar rush ride in Korea. I heard my shoot is with butterflies in my hand! Of course I know they're not real butterflies but I'm excited to shoot for the upcoming days!! Fighting!!" She says excitedly. She laughs when yeonjun mentions he feels like winnie the pooh. Looking at the eldest whose hands are currently busy with the honey.

When the lights went out during Soobin's shoot, she let out a scream to which she quickly apologized embarrassed. She stayed and watched everybody's individual filming and cheered for everyone! During the group scene, she was seen standing in the corner with her hands and legs spread out. When asked why, she replied "I don't like the feeling of glitter on my skin hahaha that's why I'm standing like this". When beomgyu heard her say this, he immediately ran to her and hugged her which made her scream at him and they chased each other for a bit before calming themselves down.

For the next outfit change, when they were fixing their hair and makeup, she asked soobin, "are you not wearing anything inside?" To which he replied "yea I'm quite cold".

She looked at taehyun with pure eyes of adoration as he spoke to the camera "our muscles are a part of our outfits. The choreography this time started off as refreshing and sexy but it's been corrupted to just sexy sexy haha. That's our choreography. I was really surprised to see ruby's muscles. I knew she worked out but i didn't know she hit the gym everyday" she laughed at his speech.

" There are a lot of points where we have to sit and then stand which makes the choreo very tiring " ruby said with a pout on her face while fanning herself and monitoring the group performance.

" But we'll have to overcome it to have the best performance, " she said while the rest of the group were trying to go through the choreography once again.

Laughing at Beomgyu's antics, she and Taehyun were bouncing around to which the other members except yeonjun soon joined.

After the last scene, the group finally finished their first day of filming. Gathering as a whole, they stood in front of the camera and ruby next to beomgyu and soobin when huening kai spoke about how their first day of filming had come to an end. Taehyun explained that it was their only shoot in Korea and most of it was dancing and asked them how they felt.

Ruby replied " I think the image shots came out really well and of course our choreography scenes always look really cool so I'm really excited for it!! The camera movements were very cool too!!"

She finished when Huening added that he was there too and soon one by one the members were starting to add themselves in as Bella laughed at their childishness. "Yeah yeah but it came out well so we're happy and let's do our best in the remaining shoot!! Well done everyone!" Huening kai said as the group followed with a 'lets meet at Bali!!'.

"Shoutout to our Indonesian fans," Yeonjun said as he pressed a kiss onto the camera with his hands. " It's my first time here in Bali but it's so nice and it feels like heaven!!" Ruby exclaimed as she looked around at nature.

" Ooh there are goats here!!" Ruby said to soobin and he and Beomgyu turned back to look where she was pointing. "The goats here are the size of Maltese" soobin said to which beomgyu replied "these two love little things. You can see their likes right here" ruby gave Beomgyu a side eye when he started singing baby goat and explained that the goats would come if he called like this which made the staff around them burst out in laughter.

Ruby saw that soobin and Beomgyu were running around chasing each other which brought a smile to her face. Her turn was to run with yeonjun. Him and Bella were standing there waiting when Yeonjun said it was too hot to which Bella agreed, fanning her face.

She then ran along with Yeonjun laughing and looking around when the director instructed them to. When they heard 'cut', they ran to their original place. "It's soo beautiful here. I can't believe a place like this actually exists". Yeonjun exclaimed looking at the beautiful place they were at, to which Ruby agreed by saying " i know right! I can definitely see why we decided to shoot here! So when we were checking on how the scenes turned out, it looked so beautiful" soon they were starting the group and the choreography scenes.

They were running around happily and smiling and laughing at each other.

Waiting to start the choreo, bella spotted a bug near soobin to which upon seeing it she lightly screamed startling poor beomgyu who was next to her. Soon they were done with the second day of total filming and first day of filming in bali. They once again gathered as a group to end the video for that day while clapping.

The second day of filming in bali, they were at a natural waterfall and the members were all taking pictures of the place and some sneaky pictures of Bella because she looked absolutely ethereal. "Why do you look like an angel today" beomgyu asked her which made her chuckle and ask him if it was a compliment or a genuine question.

She laughed along with soobin as he teased huening kai for stirring the water like it was iced tea. She pouted when she heard that Soobin had to get into the water for his scenes. She could see his shivering from where she stood. She went up to their stylist and asked her to bring a few more towels for soobin. After soobin finished, all the staff and the members clapped for him because he worked so hard. For the group scene, she had to walk in the water a few meters next to beomgyu. They were preparing to shoot in a new location and Bella looked mesmerized by Yeonjun who was quietly filming his scenes. "Waah Choi yeonjun you're soo cool".

Bella said as soon as he finished it and he gave her a genuine smile. As Yeonjun was filming his scene, beomgyu called out for kai and ruby. "yah bella and kai feel my heartbeat" to which the two younger ones kept their hand on his chest to feel them. Kai laughed at the elder who's heartbeat quickened because of a honeybee.

The group monitored their dance as Bella tried to steady her breath. They continued their choreo passionately. They filmed their last scene for the night and the members left quickly just waving to the camera.

The last day and it was to be spent on the beach. Bella was seen wowing at the water's colors and pointing it out to yeonjun who stood next to her because of the girl's fear of the water. They filmed the scenes and when they were monitoring, Yeonjun, who found a hermit crab, called out to bella. The group soon huddled around the poor crab.

They film their own scenes and bella is seen emotionally looking into the ocean while sitting down on the shore in a position which seems like she's been washed ashore. She nods while beomgyu explains it to the camera. They end the group scenes with yeonjun, her and taehyun run around on the beach and then walk tirelessly to just run back again.

The four members, huening kai, soobin, beomgyu and taehyun talk to the camera explaining that the four of them are done with shoots and only bella and yeonjun are left. Soon a wild yeonjun and a calm ruby are seen running up to the rest of the members and the group conclude their three day shooting in bali as a successful one.

Bella is seen on the beach as she watches the boat turned upside down and she turns around to the camera in tears and then the screen turns black.

Bella is the only person left and she turns to the camera, " we've completed our shooting for our title track sugar rush ride!! It's our first time here in Bali and it's so pretty and it's really meaningful now because it's our first overseas location!! We've worked very hard for this comeback so I hope everyone is looking forward to it!! Bye!!"

taglist: @stealanity @alixnsuperstxr @riikiblr lmk if you wanna be added!!

[seong-star-hwars]

I’M COMPLETELY OBSESSED DON’T TALK TO ME

[shoejin]

would the crowd cheer if i said claude clawmark is like yeonjun txt to me... would they get the vision or would tomatoes be thrown...?

[honeytonedhottie]

my girly arts and crafts era⋆.ೃ࿔*:･👛

WHATS IN MY ARTS AND CRAFTS BAG ;

♡ hot glue gun sticks

♡ ribbons, lace, frills etc

♡ stickers and rhinestones

♡ hole puncher, stapler, hot glue gun etc

♡ buttons, charms and other miscellaneous things like that

SOME PROJECTS IM DOING ;

so i've started decorating my photo card holder bcuz i traded one of my yeonjun photo cards with my friend because i wanted her sugar rush ride era soobin. im going to decorate it simply but i wanna make sure to attach it to a keychain, that way i can carry it around on my bag and it'll make just the cutest accessory.

♡ i've decorated my phone charger with stickers and rhinestones so im going to decorate my mac charger also

SOME PROJECTS I WANNA DO ;

♡ i wanna go to one of those places where u can decorate ur phone case and make it super cute

♡ i want to learn to sew and eventually see if i can recreate some designs that i've made

[tyunzonlystar]

mentioning this in anon cus i get so shy typing things like this but the idea of big dick soobin gets me so bad omfg esp if he shoves his big fingers into ur mouth while he’s pounding deep inside you, telling you how good you take him and how you were made for his dick

bros at least packing 10 inches down there ALSO REMEMBER THAT ONE LIVE WHERE HE WAS MANSPREADING (sugar rush ride era i think) 🍓💋

TWW!!! Fem!reader, big dick!soobin, Slight breeding kink if you squint, tit sucking, pet names (pretty, good girl, princess, doll, slut), big dick (9-10 inches😭), penetration, vaginal sex

THIS ISNT PROOF READ BTW AND LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED ANYTHING!!!

word count: 688

Soobin walked through the door of your apartment and took his shoes off then sat next to you on the couch

“You okay pretty boy?” You asked him as you shuffled closer to him

“Mhm yeah just tired” soobin mumbled back

“Seriously Soob tell me whats wrong”

“This fucking hard-on has been pissing me off ever since you posted yourself in that slutty new outfit!” He said as his bucked his hips up to get more comfortable (hes now man spreading) 

“‘Nd you just called me pretty boy and wearing my top-“ 

You put a finger over his mouth to shut him up and straddled his lap. You removed your finger from his lips and replaced it with your lips now resulting in you two making out. Soobins hands were all over your ass and tits groping at the flesh while you let out small whimpers into his mouth. 

“C’mere princess”  He mumbles into your mouth before picking you up and carrying you to your shared bedroom and placing you on the bed as his big hands find the hem of your (his) top and lifts it over your head and latches his lips onto your left nipple while he plays with the other one. He then stops and looks up at you and kisses you before latching his lips onto your opposite nipple and playing with the one covered in his saliva.

“Mm soobie.. w-want you..”

“Impatient slut hm? So desperate for my cock” 

You just nod your head without saying anything as he undoes his trousers and throws them on the floor and taking his blaze and shirt off and piling it on the floor. His long thick fingers find their way to your white cotton panties and he rips them off you and takes his boxers off. Your eyes widen in shock even though you’ve seen his cock before and you’ve had it inside you. 

“Lay back pretty” 

You shuffle further back on the bed and he picks you up and flips you onto your stomach and from your muscle memory your back arched and had your ass in the air for him. 

“Good girl” 

You whimpered in response as he slowly pushed his length into your pussy

“Mm s-soobin… too m-much! T-too big!” You cry out tears pricking the corner of your eyes and he hasnt even entered you halfway yet!! 

“Its gonna be okay you can take it like you always do, hm?”

He entered you fully and you swore you could’ve cum on the spot.

“Ready?” 

“Mhm! Please!”

Soobin started thrusting in and out of your pretty pussy while gripping at your hips hard enough to make bruises as he slapped your ass. At this rate you couldnt keep your mouth shut, saying every cuss word under the sun, whimpering into the sheets, begging for more.

“You want more? Is my cock not enough?”

He muttered while grunting. You felt Soobin hit your g-spot repeatedly to the point you practically screamed his name. So Soobin did what he had to do.. he pulled you up by your hair now in a new position that felt even better than the others. You started whining again as he used one of his hands to make you bounce on his cock while his other hand gently pressed around your neck

“F-fuck! Soobin!! ‘m close!!” You whimpered loudly

“Shhh you loud girl” He whispered in your ear before he shoves 2 of his big fingers into your mouth. “Be a good girl and suck okay doll?” You obviously obeyed and sucked on the two of his fingers which quieted down your whimpers and moans

“Such a g-good fucking girl for me taking my cock nd your p-perfect pussy made for my cock hm? All mine yeah? Let me cum inside?” He grunts loudly as you just nod

“Mhm! All y-yours!! Please cum inside me bin!!” 

Soobin smirked as he done one last thrust up into your pussy and let his hot load into you pussy as you clench round him and squirt.

“Holy shit princess you have to do that again but on my face yeah?”

EEEEE I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!! I TRIED MY HARDEST SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST DRABBLE??? OR IS IT TOO SHORT OR TOO LONG TO BE A DRABBLE😭

ALSO IM GUESSING YOU MEANT THIS SOOBIN

Feel free to reblog!!

[sunshyni]

sugar rush ride | lty

w.c: 1.2k | avisos: nenhum | notas: sim, eu escrevi isso quando “Sugar Rush Ride” do txt lançou há 1 ano atrás, mas tô postando agora por causa dos posts recentes de idols vestindo jaquetas de f1. A escrita pode estar diferente do usual e tem muito mais descrição do que diálogo, mas espero que vocês gostem!

Boa leitura, docinhos! 🏁

Você apertou os olhos, seu olho direito estava posicionado atrás do visor da câmera profissional, a cena à sua frente parecia uma tela manchada por bisnagas de cores diferentes antes de ajustar a lente, e tornar o cenário finalmente nítido, você não se importou com a paisagem da fotografia porque estava apenas testando o foco da máquina, porém tão logo o botão do obturador foi acionado e ele se expandiu para voltar à posição retraída de sempre, uma figura parcialmente da sua altura se pôs ao seu lado, contemplando o retrato com você.

— Eu também acho que sou bonito em qualquer enquadramento — Você se deparou com um Taeyong graciosamente convencido do seu rosto de proporções perfeitas, podia não estar de acordo com cálculos matemáticos, mas você preferia compartilhar aquela beleza com um grupo limitado de pessoas, certamente, caso contrário, a esfera científica entraria em colapso, até mesmo sua cicatriz não podia ser estabelecida feito uma “falha”, nenhuma cicatriz deveria.

Na fotografia, Taeyong piscava para a câmera, seus lábios suavemente rosados, por outro lado, excessivamente tentadores acompanhavam o canto da sua boca, formando um meio sorriso espirituoso, você correspondeu o sorriso risonhamente, emitindo um som esquisito como se não conseguisse conter a emoção de revê-lo após pouco menos de uma década, você afastou a câmera presa ao seu corpo por uma alça em torno do seu pescoço, e o abraçou de forma gentil, você sentiu seu corpo ir de vibrante e cheio de energia para um estado desfalecido quando ele envolveu-lhe a cintura com os braços, até então o clima quente da Itália não era um incomodo, agora você tinha esse palpite de que não existia como se sentir mais lânguida.

— A gente não se vê desde a formatura do ensino médio — Você colocou a mão na nuca porque Taeyong pareceu fungar o local sem muito se acanhar, deveria ter sido um movimento discreto, no entanto os pelos do seu pescoço se eriçaram de uma maneira nem um pouco cuidadosa.

— Você também não apareceu em nenhuma das reuniões com o pessoal da sala — Você não tinha dúvidas da ausência dele porque compareceu à todas as reuniões esperando que ele estivesse lá, você estava no auge da expectativa nos dois primeiros anos que se sucederam pós-formatura, suas mãos suavam e tremiam toda vez que alguém adentrava no restaurante familiar chinês acionando o sino da porta, você caia na ilusão de que encontraria o garoto de grandes olhos escuros, todavia isso nunca aconteceu. O tempo passou, você envelheceu e aqueles hormônios adolescentes costumeiros cederam lugar a monotonia que os encontros eram.

— Sabe como é, eu estive ocupado trocando 4 pneus num piscar de olhos — Você não demorou muito para constatar que ele trabalhava na garagem, pra dizer a verdade, combinava com ele, no ensino médio, Taeyong não estava numa colocação excelente, todavia isso não significava que ele não ocupava um lugar importante na hierarquia escolar, Taeyong costumava ser tão adaptável que ele poderia conviver facilmente com o aluno mais encrenqueiro do colégio e o líder de um dos clubes de estudo ao mesmo tempo, sem menção a conflitos. Fato é que a atenção de Taeyong se desviava dos livros os quais ele julgava enfadonhos para modelos de carros atuais e velozes, além disso, ele sempre dava um jeito de converter um problema matemático para algo relacionado à veículos, você até chegou a pensar na probabilidade dele se tornar um professor estrela da matéria.

— Tá brincando! — Foram as únicas palavras que você conseguiu verbalizar.

— Eu nunca brincaria com você — Ele disse com firmeza, você tinha se esquecido de como era mergulhar naqueles olhos brilhantes, responsáveis por tornar a tarefa de apontar o final da íris e o começo da pupila muito mais difícil que o normal, era tão bonito observar como as duas partes se mesclavam, reluzindo sua imagem perfeitamente que você se deixa ser enfeitiçada com facilidade, como se você tivesse consciência de que não deveria nadar até o fundo do mar, mas a linha do horizonte é tão atrativa que é melhor ceder a todas as suas convicções éticas. Mesmo sabendo do que Taeyong é capaz de estimular no seu interior, você simplesmente não conseguiu evitar ser pega por aquelas duas bolinhas de gude.

— Vou te mostrar uma coisa — Ele segurou sua mão e te conduziu por um caminho conhecido pelo autódromo repleto de visitantes turistas, você se deixou ser arrastada até uma área de acesso privativo, confiando cegamente no seu guia particular, em parte porque não havia mais para onde fugir, em parte porque andar apressado com Taeyong na sua cola era uma experiência inédita e você queria aproveitar cada momento disso. Você sorriu nervosamente com a visão do circuito normalmente ostentando carros de F-1 competindo uns com os outros, Taeyong permitiu que você recuasse dois passos pequenos para então te puxar para si como se seu peso fosse equivalente ao de uma pena.

— Taeyong, eu me recuso — Como um corredor desajuizado, ele ignorou sua renúncia. Seu coração batia forte como se estivesse no início de uma tortuosa overdose de açúcar, a proximidade entre vocês definitivamente não ajudava, uma vozinha maligna te dizia com o auxílio de uma frase clara o que você deveria fazer, entretanto você não tinha determinação bastante para agir de acordo com seus desejos. Você achou que Taeyong fosse um médium, porque ele persuadia sua parte decorosa, esperando que aquela tensão explodisse feito plástico-bolha.

Vocês não entraram num automóvel profissional, mas Taeyong acelerou o máximo que pode, você achou que fosse vomitar, todavia seu cérebro e consequentemente corpo estavam imersos numa nuvem de adrenalina que todos os seus pensamentos eram de viés único, não haviam curvas como naquele circuito, tratava-se de apenas uma estrada retilínea onde limites de velocidade eram um desrespeito para os motoristas.

Respirar já não era mais uma atividade involuntária e inconsciente assim que vocês deixaram o veículo, os cabelos claros de Taeyong estavam desalinhados como se (Sua mente não deixava de ressaltar) traquinagens tivessem sido feitas, um sorriso largo brincava-lhe no rosto, os olhos negros penetrantes tinham os seus sempre muito atentos, ele te puxou para trás de uma pilastra preservando alguma privacidade enquanto ambos tentavam inutilmente recuperar o fôlego, afinal, desejo é alimentado por respirações descompassadas e sorrisos sem o menor motivo.

Você se retesou quando Taeyong tirou com gentileza a câmera até então pendurada no seu pescoço, não deveria soar tão promíscuo, porém você sentia como se sua camiseta estivesse sendo descartada por cima da sua cabeça, seu corpo se arrepiou com um efêmero roçar de dedos na sua pele e sua pulsação deliciosamente acelerou quando um dos braços dele a enlaçou pela cintura, ao passo que a mão livre segurava a máquina fotográfica, se sua alma romperia da sua carne logo após a morte, aquele era o momento perfeito para isso acontecer.

“Minha nossa, eu tô vendo estrelas”.

A mão de Taeyong apertava sua cintura e você pensou que o fim realmente estaria batendo à porta caso seus lábios não se encontrassem com volúpia, por isso o fez, optando por uma doce e lenta morte. Cada parte do seu ser pinicava como se formigas transitassem livremente por você, e somente a calidez de Taeyong poderia salvá-la dessa sensação incômoda, então vocês precisavam estar o mais próximos que as barreiras têxteis permitissem.

— Você disse que nunca brincaria comigo — Seu sussurro foi quase inaudível.

Taeyong esbanjou um sorriso diabólico.

— Eu mudei de ideia.

[tomorrowxtogether]

TXT announce third studio album, ‘The Name Chapter: Freefall’

The K-pop boyband will return with new music in October

K-pop boyband Tomorrow X Together (TXT) have announced their third studio album, ‘The Name Chapter: Freefall’.

On August 30 at midnight KST, the five-member act unveiled a new teaser clip for ��The Name Chapter: Freefall’. The full-length album will be released on October 13 at 1pm KST/Midnight EST.

The new visual features TXT’s logo for their last mini-album, ‘The Name Chapter: Temptation’ transforming into an edgy new blue and white logo for the upcoming era.

At the time of publishing, the group have yet to share details like the project’s tracklist and format. More details are expected in the coming weeks.

The announcement of TXT’s return comes eight months after the release of ‘The Name Chapter: Temptation’, which marked the first installation of their ‘Name Chapter’ series. That release featured the title track ‘Sugar Rush Ride��.

In a five-star review of the record, NME’s Rhian Daly said that “as they continue to grow as artists, TXT are giving us one thing to count on in this life: they’ll be by our side, providing the soundtrack to our pain, joy, confusion and hope”.

Since its release, the boyband have also dropped a special collaboration single ‘Do It Like That’ with the Jonas Brothers, and debuted their new Our Lost Summerdocumentary on Disney+.

Earlier this month, TXT also became the first-ever K-pop act to headline Lollapaloozaafter previously becoming the first K-pop act to perform at the festival last year. Fellow HYBE artists NewJeans also performed at the event.

[rociiev]

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ sweet desire ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃ a Soobin fanart based on a picture from the shooting of the sugar rush ride mv! i loved this era, there’s so many ideas for txt fanart that i want to draw, i really enjoy drawing them a lot

[txt-ruby]

( 🌊 ) . . . — ERAS TAGS DUMP !!

[facethesuns-moved]

gifmaker / cc wrapped 2023!!

thank you max (@irlvernon) for tagging me to talk about my top 10 creations that i've made this year!! i haven't posted that many gifsets on this blog, but i still managed to find a couple sets that i'm still pretty happy with <3

here's my top 10:

seventeen on it's live: a chaotic summary

soobin + purple

gbgb soobin x sugar rush ride soobin

seventeen fallin' flower

s.coups melon bread side quest

dk in the god of music mv

let it be summer mv

hoshi - kbs interview

seventeen - anyone mv

yeonjun feat. my favorite hair color ever

+ bonus skz gifset that I just made: bang chan x oddinary era :)

tagging some of my fave ccs - ty guys for always creating such beautiful stuff i love seeing u guys on my dash <3

@yeonjune @choiliner @raplinenthusiasts @heeseunq @tmpttion @go-saeng @simleez (aka @bandzboy & @karomiiz hehe) @chanrizard @lee-minhoe @minchanz 🫶🏼

[boba-beom]

I’m not over the fact that txt9 is on the friday the 13th october— SUGAR RUSH RIDE I WILL MISS U BUT IM SO READY FOR A NEW ERA TOO :>

[under-theweirwood]

@oknutzyweek2023 day five ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

my brain is a machine that produces harvard era finnlo so this is what i have to offer. pls don't ask me what happened to day four hehehe. instead enjoy college boys and sillysoft bus ride feelings. featuring a new hoodie and a playlist from alex.

Finn was cold. He was cold and he was annoyed and his feet hurt and it was all his fault. And it was a Sunday night and they were going to get back to campus so late. He could feel himself pouting but he couldn't bring himself to snap out of it. 

“Why is it already cold now?” Finn complained, hunching his shoulders in. It wasn’t like it was winter, but he had left his sweatshirt almost certainly in the away team locker room. His perfect, reliable, heavy enough for a chilly day but easy to bring to practice sweatshirt. 

Logan went along with the bitching, though. Reliable Logan.  Logan whose quiet, private jokes had been distracting him from everything all evening. Logan who looked so pretty after he scored a goal it made Finn catch his breath suddenly. “Man, I know.” 

Logan looked at Finn sideways. They were standing in line at a gas station in upstate New York, headed home from an away game. The bus was getting gas, so the team was released onto the store, stocking up on snacks like they wouldn’t reach civilization for weeks. “Did you leave your sweatshirt?” 

“Yeah,” Finn sighed.  One of them always forgot something, either on the way, which was annoying, or on the way back, which was disappointing. 

“No wonder you’re cold,” Logan said. “You’re always cold. Merde, no wonder you’ve been like an ice cube.” 

Finn blushed and tried to cover it up by tweaking Logan’s beanie. His stupid, silly beanie that pushed down his dark wavy bangs around his eyes. “No one said you had to take a nap on me if I was so cold,” he said. And it was true; no one had told Logan that he should lean his head on Finn’s shoulder and knock out with his headphones on. It was just something he did, instinctual, like the way he’d sometimes reach out and rub Logan’s ankles while they watched TV, or the way he’d fallen asleep instantly in Logan’s bed the other week during a movie and slept there through the night. 

Then it was Logan’s turn to blush. It made a little rushing feeling go through Finn when Logan blushed back, or when their eyes caught in a look they wouldn’t name. The feeling of possibility--  and then a whole flickering array of other things, like hope and excitement and panic and fear fear fear-- and then, putting it away. 

“Stay here. Get your snacks. I’ll be back,” Logan called as he turned to walk, toward the bathroom or something, Finn figured. He shrugged. He knew what Logan wanted. 

Finn caught up with Will and Percy in line, scooped up twizzlers and cheez-its and some peanut m&ms for the journey ahead. Percy was acting out something from a movie, it seemed like, gesticulating wildly with the hand that wasn’t clutching a bag of sweet chili doritos. Finn rubbed his hands up and down his arms and let himself be distracted. 

Moments later, they were headed back out, armed with enough sugar to raise the dead. 

“Got you this.” Logan jogged to catch up with Finn. He didn’t look right at Finn but he was smirking as he shoved something into Finn’s arms. 

Finn shook it out. It was a thick gray hoodie, with some text in garishly sparkly neon green lettering reading out, “New York is for Lovers”. 

Finn had to laugh. It was so kitschy, so cheesy, but also...something in his silly, unreliable heart tweaked out a little at the word “lover” on anything that Logan was pushing into his hands. He didn’t want to ruin it by overthinking.

Not thinking about it at all, he pulled it over his head, sighing in relief. It was somehow incredibly soft, smelling like cleaning chemicals and faintly of movie theater popcorn butter. And it was from Logan who was so sweet and so unpredictable. Finn could not have seen this coming. 

“So you’re not an ice cube for the rest of the drive,” Logan said, yanking the hood down over Finn’s eyes as soon as it was over his head. 

“Uhhuh, I knew you had an agenda,” Finn laughed. His heart was beating quickly, though, his whole body warm in a way that had set on too fast to just be from the hoodie Logan had handed him. No, this was a fizzy, pulsing warmth not unrelated to how it felt lining a shot up into open goalspace. 

Logan looked right at him, just for a second, and it was just the two of them. Locked eyes together in the parking lot of a Kwik Trip in nowhere, NY, on a Sunday night on the way back to campus. The night, dark and chilly and quiet besides for the whooshing of cars passing just up on the highway and the murmur of conversation from inside, from the bus. 

And then just as quick as the moment arrived, it was over. With a sharp, and frankly unnecessarily screech of whistle, Coach was herding everyone back onto the bus, announcing their ETA back in Cambridge and starting to issue reminders about morning practice the next day. 

Finn followed Logan to their normal spot, halfway up on the right side, and slid into the aisle seat. He pulled his arms in to hug himself, cocooned in the sweatshirt. Standing outside with Logan had been enough of an adrenaline rush to cause a little crash, and Finn felt impossibly tired all of the sudden, his feet aching once again as he pulled out his phone and looked at the practice schedule for the week. 

Next to him, Logan’s headphones were back on, his eyes closed as he tilted his head back. Finn wiggled his shoulders over minutely, enough for Logan to do what he was undeniably waiting for the opportunity for. 

The bus accelerated onto the highway, everyone seeming to quiet down and nestle in for the last leg of the trip. Logan didn’t disappoint; he dropped his head back against Finn’s chest and wiggled over so their thighs almost overlapped. Logan was toasty, of course, a little scowling space heater conveniently positioned on Finn’s right. 

The lights were down, so Finn didn’t worry about the blush staining his cheeks or the goofy smile he quickly tucked away. He pulled out his headphones and scrolled back through texts until he found the playlist Alex had sent him a few days before. They didn’t have the exact same taste in music but it always felt good to think about his brother down in Tampa, jamming out or running to the same songs as him up in Cambridge.

Finn pressed shuffle and closed his eyes. His feet were sore but he felt perfectly content, going 60 miles per hour toward home with Logan next to him and his team all around them.

[lesseraive]

gifwrapped 2023!!! i was tagged by @facethesuns @irlvernon and @doyeons thank you guys so much <333

rules: link your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year (totally fine to skip months) and tag some CCs you love!

ps: i'm including gifs posted across all the blogs i'm apart of! i did a similar tag on my enhypen blog

january: - most popular: the boys yunjin - my fav: sugar rush ride mv

february: - i barely giffed this month so just gonna share my fav: ay-yo mv i love the colors in this one!

march: - most popular: jennie for calvin klein - my fav: liz and liz !!!!

april: - most popular: giddy xiaoting!!! - my fav: coachella jennieee

may: - most popular: MY MANNN MY MAN MY MAN MY MAN - my fav: my man ^^ and spici winter

june: - most popular: chaechae :] - my fav: apple jungwon

july: - most popular: eleven wonyoung - my fav: fav releases and gee eff :]

august: - most popular: jihyo in the rain + carrie bradshaw 😭 (including both bc im pretty sure they are the most popular sets i made this year) - my fav: the return of blonde liz and long hair gaeul!

september: - most popular: samantha jones,,, okay satc fandom outperforming kpoppies - my fav: rainbow after like!

october: - most popular: ending baddies~ - my fav: off the record whispering and performance so sad this one flopped

november: - most popular: winter ヾ(☆▽☆) - my fav: criminal love hee and all my 111823 stage gifs

december: - most popular: jay peekaboo - my fav: i've mine era + do not touch mv and my ive/aespa gifs from gayo daejeon!

i'm just gonna tag ccs i love i'm not sure who has done this so !! @twiceland @fawad-khan @jeonwonwoo @emoremix @ajusnice @saerom @tutontawan @komca @toplines @kwon-eunbi @shnryjn @prkjihyos @solojihyo @backformores @mimisamo @miyawaki @yutito

[sorryimananti-romantic]

im terry loyal but HOLY HECK BLOND SOOBIE BOOBIE MADE A COMEBACK IM CRYINNGNGNNG LEGIT IN TEARS RN OMDSDS 😭😭😭😭 bro looks majestic like he looks too expensive to look at 😞 lord have mercy 😭😭😭

N BLOND YEONJUN?? i dare say he looks better in blond than pink?? 🙃 he looks so ethereal oh my goodness i can totally see him in a fantay book like hshjsjdjxbdjjdkskd im honestly living for this era 😭 i think its the combination of subtle makeup and js the background in general that makes the photos look so realistically unreal if ygm

ALSO those rhinestones r prolly smth important lore-wise like the fairy dust in temptation cod i noticed one on terry's finger

SPEAKING OF TERRY

blud looks so pretty in long hair like i love his short hair but long hair taehyun is what i never knew i needed N THE CONTACT LENSES like ive had a love-hate relationship w idols wearing blue lenses but pair them with the right shade of blond n fix the lighting and you'll get some divine concept photos

ALSO notice how it's golden hour? opposite of blue hour?? and the field they're in looks like the field from blue hour ygm? lemme get a pic

it looks like this field but the grass and wtv those other things r have grown out cos the eras have changed

i may change my profile to blond soobin 😞😞😞

when i tell u i fell in love when temptation concept photos came out n now tomorrow concept photos??? I NEED A BLOND SOOBIN PHOTOCARD 👹👹👹👹👹

honestly i feel like it's a bit too early to begin a next chapter in their discography storyline. or maybe its js cos im a moa that i feel like its going too fast idk 😭

😭😭😭 you're absolutely right about all of this idk where to begin

first of all omg the aesthetics this time around are unreal?? the glowy look and all the golden ahhh this comeback is ethereal and this is like sugar rush ride era but light mode iykwim 😭

and they look so ethereal each and everyone of them 😭 this shade of blonde on yeonjun lemme go kiss the stylists and terry long hair he looks so fluffy argghhh AND OFC SOOBIE BOOBIE 😭😭

you're right about the lens too i dislike lens bc most of the times they're very very obvious and honestly looks really bad on camera 💀 but when coordinated with the hair and the whole look sometimes it creates the best looks ever

oooo ive heard bits and pieces about their lores i honestly don't keep up with any sort of lores but i do have a general idea what youre talking about. but this is a new chapter you say?? that really does feel early 😭 i swear time goes so fast i just stopped listening to their prev comeback and they're already here with a new one 😭 this girlie can't keep up AHAHA

[goldennika]

Initial Thoughts on TOMORROW X TOGETHER's The Name Chapter: Freefall

Ok so i just listened to TNC: Freefall in full and damn, okay. Really solid album, sonically. And i say sonically bc i haven't read up on the lyrics just yet (i don't think the eng trans are out yet ☹️)

Am loving how they're showcasing more of their vocals (txt lower register enthusiasts, we are being fed at last 😭) and the whole band/session feels of the music really emphasizes that.

can we take a minute to talk about beomkai's vocals?? bc i really think this might be their era 🥹 and seeing as all of the boys have at least 2 credits to their name in this album, it really feels like this is their sound, and their personal music preferences came through too

i'm on the fence about DILT's inclusion in the album though. we all know it was not a planned track at all but it was a really good opportunity for them to collaborate and have a fun summer track out before headlining lolla 2023.

that said, it just doesn't seem to fit in (at least sonically) in this album. i don't know if moving it higher up in the tracklist would have been better since i haven't read the lyrics yet but sonically, it might have worked more since the more powerful/complex sounding tracks are in the first half, imo

but overall, this album is full of surprises, and very good ones at that!! I'm sure i'll love it even more when i listen to it again but yeah, from the first listen alone, i would recommend this album!!!

Track first impressions under the cut! very raw reactions ahead haha

Track 1: Growing Pain

oh damn gritty TXT ???

LOWER REGISTER LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO

legitimately gave me goosebumps

EXCUSE ME THE OOH's IN THE CHORUS???? DELICIOUS

H U E N I N G K A I

that's it. that's the thought.

the guitar is so good ugh

ROCK BAND TXT LET'S GOOOOOOO

this will absolutely kill when performed live 😵‍💫

Track 2: Chasing That Feeling

HERE FOR THE SYNTHS(??)

giving TCHFTG and Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (i love The Weeknd btw)

Yeonjun's voice is so soothing??????

wait is the nod to the TCHFTG instrumentals intentional??????

maybe this is just me but their choreo (based on the MV) looks like it goes so hard but this song feels relatively chill/easy listening (esp compared to their last few title tracks bc sugar rush ride was a doozy to take in) so it seems a bit... off? idk idk

looking forward to a stage/practice vid to come out to appreciate their performance more!

Track 3: Back for More (TXT Ver)

already reacted to this before and ugh so good

HUENINGKAI POPPED OFF IN HIS VERSE UGH

Yeonjun's is also so good

love their adlibs so much 🥹

super interesting to place this track right after Chasing That Feeling 🤔

dance break instrumental and adlibs have my whole heart actually

like i can see them dancing in my head even if i'm just listening

Track 4: Dreamer

oh shit i love the bass already??????

FIRST LINE IN AND I'M IN LOVE ALREADY???

kinda scared to check the lyrics ngl

oh this song is delicious

i can already see all the tiktok edits happening (not necessarily a bad thing for them imo)

ooh shit "let me break it down for you" jdfh;kdjsfb;nsfkja

I LVOE THIS TRACK?????????

WAIT IS TAHT ALL SOOBIN IN THE CHORUS??????????

or is taehyun there too?

the "let me break it down for you" is going to haunt me in my dreams thanks

Track 5: Deep Down

strong start. nice

WTF IS THIS DIRECTION THEY'RE TAKING I LOVE IT????? 😳

yooo the minimal instrumentals in the start was so good

oh it got clubby in the chorus

OH HELL BEOMGYU IN THE CHORUS SHOULD HAVE COME WITH A WARNING (deep down i need you more)

this feels so different from the usual TXT but it works??

okayyyy the trumpet sounding stuff in the outro was a nice touch

Track 6: Happily Ever After

pretty sure i'll cry if i read up the lyrics of this one haha 🥲

oh this track is so smooothhhh in the pre-chorus

oohhh the la la la's are growing on me

it's like happy fools but more refined?????

LOVE the blending/harmonization 😩

GIVE ME ALL THE LAYERED VOCALS @ BIG HIT

SOOBIN I LOVE YOU (outro ver) 🥹😭

Track 7: Skipping Stones

the cymbals? hi-hats? at the start oh god *chef's kiss*

feels like a band session up in here!!!

HUENINGKAI LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO

oh damn beomgyu???

taehyun with the high notes mhmmm

band txt is the future i can see it all so clearly now

LOVE the way they start off each line durign the verses. scratches my brain sooooo good when they give the little oomph then blend it down ugh (sorry idk musical terms)

kinda obsessed with this music already wtf

the female vocals too!!

HUENINGKAI EXTENDED NOTE LET'S FUCKING GOOOO

HE MADE IT SOUND SO EASY?????????????

mhmmm soobin's falsetto

wow

just wow

FUCK ME WITH THOSE OHs AT THE END OF THE SONG GODDAMN

Track 8: Blue Spring

i know we were joking around about band txt but what if it's not a joke anymore bc we've had track after track of band/session sounds and i am not okay anymore

i'm never gonna be normal about this song sorry not sorry

POP OFF HUENINGKAI GODDAMN

what if i cry.....

hmmm the rest of the instrumentals kicking in. so good.

and then they strip it down??? to let the vocals shine????

so so good

COME THROUGH WITH THE DRUMS

soobin's verse with yeonjun's adlibs is what dreams are made of actually

god yeonjun and hueningkai are gonna make me cry

NO FUCKIGN WAY THEY ADDED MORE OF TAEHYUN'S ADLIBS????

STOP THE FUCKING CAR THEY'RE HARMONIZING INT EH CHORUS TOO??????????????

TYUNNING ADLIBS IN THE OUTRO????????????????

MY JAW IS DROPPED AND I CANNOT BREATHEEEEEEEEE

Track 9: Do It Like That

ok yeah ngl the mood shifted dramatically after all the band txt sounds lol

DILT is a cute song but i don't think it makes sense in this album

or at least not in this placement???

i may reconsider if this was a TXT ver lol

or maybe they were thinking about our mental health when they decided to keep it in the album

i would probs be a sobbing mess if tnc: freefall rly just ended with the studio ver of blue spring 🥹

Track 10: Chasing That Feeling (English Ver)

including this here bc why not it's on the tracklist anyway haha

tbh i wasn't feeling this track much from the teasers

but hearing the song in full changed my mind

the build up is good

why does yeonjun's voice sound so good in this genre like how is it soooo good

time's a thief that won't stop stealing -- well damn did i feel that

taehyun our belting star 🥺