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Fannish 50 S3 Post 37: Is Jin a good liar?

Lolarious because of how game Jin is throughout this video. I also liked the snarkier tone the interviewer had (mainly cuz the 🤔 was nicely contrasted by Jin's 😇 vibes.

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Fannish 50 S3 Post 36: Hobipalooza REDUX!

Hobi made history AGAIN for being the first Korean soloist to headline Lollapalooza Berlin! He did a shorter version of his "Hope on the Stage" concert that was still thrilling to watch.

Here's a 26-minute Bangtan Bomb that details how much time and effort he and Team J-Hope put in to make the performance such a fantastic experience for the audience.

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And, here's the full, one hour and 35 minutes concert. Trigger warning for: a lot of zooming in and out, panning, the audience happily screaming and doing fanchats, and flashing lights.

One thing I also HAVE to mention is that the combination of stage smoke (dry ice) and bright red background lights made it IMPOSSIBLE to actually see Hobi for the first 6 minutes. You can hear him, but he's lost in a world of fog and red flashes. Which is a pity, but there we are.

THANKFULLY, the smoke machine is turned off and the light set up becomes more camera friendly as the show continues.

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books-a-go-go

Talking abt books...

Re-reads. HUH

None for this post.

I DNF'd

* A Little Turn by Alexandra Caluen (M/M Romance) - Bob is a 36-y.o. sports agent in Los Angeles who just happens to have the worst luck with dating women. After his latest girlfriend not only tells him she's in love with someone else BUT also turns down his marriage proposal, he goes to a bar to figure out what's going on. While there, He strikes up a conversation with Jade, a fabulously dressed, 35-y.o. LA stylist. And it is through this conversation that Bob realizes he's gay!

I imagine the rest of the story is abt Bob navigating life as a gay dude, falling for Jade, etc. NO idea what actually happens cuz I dropped this at the end of the first chapter. It was overwritten and repetitive. My library has a few more books by this author. I'll give them a try later. Maybe. I gave this 1 star out of 5.

* Saddle Studs by Max Walker (M/M Romance) - Book 3 of a series called "Rainbow Ranch" which follows the romances of 4 siblings who own and run a ranch in Oklahoma. This book is abt Sam, a 29-y.o. guy whose life has gone sideways. He finds out that his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his best friend AND there's some dramarama with his job at a PR firm. In need of a break, he decides to go to Rainbow Ranch in order to fulfill the requirement for an inheritance he's named as the sole heir. He'll get a parcel of land (of a substantial size) and a miniature pony IF he spends 3 months working at the ranch. Sam is DESPERATE to leave NYC behind. Only problem is that he'll be living and working with Benny, his first love (that he ran away from many year ago.)

My best guess is that this is a kinda second chance romance story. Unfortch, I HATED Sam's opinions, thoughts, and behaviors in the v. first chapter. So I ended up DNF'ing this 10% in. I gave this 1 star out of 5.

Had an awesome time at first (but it all went downhill from there)

None!

Good vibes all around

* Stirring Spurs by M.A. Wardell (M/M Romance) - Boone is Rainbow Ranch's main cook. He loves his job, loves working alongside his family, and has always enjoyed being the younger twin (his brother Beau is oldest by a few minutes.) Boone's dedication to making sure everyone's taken care of and well fed has resulted in him putting himself last.

Things change when Wylie, a temporary ranch hand, shows up. Will Boone open up his heart? Will Wylie stay put for once instead of moving on to the next gig????

A breezy and fun novella that has a lot of queer characters, some cute moments, and two horses with a lot of personality.

My main gripe had to do with the dialogue. Half of it which was v. much like out of a Western movie. The other half was OTT with how sassy it was (think of S1 Gilmore Girls). Like, to the point where I felt like I was reading a sitcom script at times. Cuz ppl can most deffo be funny, but it was as if the author wanted EVERY LINE to be quippy AF. I ended up lowering the rating cuz that became a little tiresome for me. I gave this novella 2.6 out of 5

* Lasso Lovebirds by Clio Evans (M/F/Nonbinary Romance) - The 2nd book in the Rainbow Ranch series AND the main reason why I started reading this series in the first place, LOL.

This one is abt Beau (Boone's older twin) who has loved Priscilla (the ranch's gardener) for years but thinks pursing a relationship with her is impossible; Priscilla who has had the hots for Beau for years as well but also has her own baggage; Sky, a storm chaser nonbinary person who is attracted to both Beau and Priscilla.

Yet another sweet (and steamy!) entry in the series that features a quick lust-to-love throuple, some v. kinky times, and low-angst considering all the goings on.

I was more forgiving with a couple of things cuz the novella format meant that there wouldn't be any space to develop things at a more leisurely pace. FWIW, this "forgiveness" extended to the fact that this throuple was not only v. much into each other BUT also polyamorous AND ridic compatible in terms of kinkiness, hehehe. I gave this novella 3 out of 5

* Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews (Urban Fantasy) - The 12th (!) entry in the Kate Daniels series finds Kate and Curran going abt their lives until someone shows up asking for their help...

This one is a classic KD story: the Big Bad is scary and weird AF, Kate is snarky, Kate and Curran's relationship remains a true partnership of the heart (and the nether regions, heheh), and there's the usual level of violence and action any fan of this series can expect.

What makes this novel shine, however, is having all of those familiar elements and then throwing in all the ways that Kate, Curran, and their world has changed: they're a decade older and have a whole new set of responsibilities that neither could've dreamed of back in the main series. There's also some moments of introspection for both characters (but especially Kate) that show their maturity and how they have evolved as characters. Finally, space is made into the plot to add some callbacks, Easter eggs, AND (most importantly) updates on some of the other characters' lives.

As for the negatives, I was uncomfortable with how Conlan became part of the story. Yes, he's a v. special kid, but he's also 8. IDK.

Also, I'm of two minds abt the ending (thought I ultimately liked where the story ends...for now?) SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING, AHOY!

No, seriously, I'll be talking abt the ending

It IS hella weird that Kate and Curran are tremendously rich as the story comes to a close. Also they now have new members of their pack which include pre-historic ppl (some of which are half-elf HYBRIDS) as well as a stable of pre-historic animals to take care of and feed?!?!?!?

BUT, at the same time, they have enough coin and space to work into establishing a new (and better!) Keep. Fate (and Curran's own ambitions and inclinations) is determined that he will be The Beast Lord and so here's a golden opportunity for doing just that!

Meanwhile, I got the reasoning behind Kate embracing her own legacy as the Sharratum, etc.

It truly is all fascinating stuff. THIS IS NOT A STANDALONE NOVEL, btw. Which means, that readers will get the most out of picking up the other 11 novels in the series. IJS. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5

Current fic tally

Have picked up 152 fics and DNF'd 75.

Up next...

I've got a non-fiction, a biography, and a couple more of queer romances on my immediate TBR. Gonna keep on reading! :D

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Fannish 50 S3 Post 35: Killin' It Girl x 3

"Killin' It Girl (featuring GloRilla)" was the third and final song of J-Hope's English Trilogy. Like the rest of the fandom, I 😵 after watching the MV. Nothing, though, could've prepared me for the HOT AF live performances.

It's the weekend, so I figured I'd share the top 3 music show performances in ascending order.

Trigger warning: The camera moves around a lot as expected in a Korean music show (panning, zooming in/out, shaky-cam effects happen, etc.) The background graphics flash. There are lots of stage lights. The audience is happily screaming the fanchants and/or Hobi's name. These are not videos you'll want to sit thru IF you have any kind of photosensitivity. <3

3. Love the fit and the set design for this one.

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2. OTOH, this is the set with the truest minimal aesthetic. OTOH, the (on purpose) glitches, busy background graphics, and (once again) wild camera work overwhelm me in the best way possible.

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3. My absolute and ultimate fave. Not only does it have an epic, minute and a half intro, BUT it also features Hobi wearing one of the fits from the MV...

Had anyone told me, a few years ago, that there would be a day where Hobi would be onstage wearing a leather jacket without anything else underneath, I'd have thought I was being pranked.

In any case, this performance!!! He's so intense, sensual, and magnetic from the second he steps onstage. 🥵🥵🥵

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Fannish 50 S3 Post 34: Jin and his Unique Tour

At the end of the last (as of the date of this post) episode of Run Seokjin, an announcement was made that Jin was GOING ON TOUR!!! This 18-date, 9-city tour (titled #RunSeokjin_EP. Tour) ended up being unlike anything else I've seen.

Yes, Jin sang most of his solo catalogue (including his two solo albums). BUT the "twist" in the concerts is that they were designed to be an extension of his variety show. So there would be games played between him and ARMY, there would be "penalties", and a lot of happy chaos.

Due to the short planning period (IIRC, he and Jin Crew (his team) had abt 4 months to set everything up), the tour had few stops. OTOH, however, these included cities in South Korea, Japan, the US, England, and the Netherlands. Every venue sold out. There were two special live screenings for the first and last shows (one online, the other one at the movie theater.) Ppl DRESSED UP and SHOWED UP R-E-A-D-Y to sing with and cheer Jin along. It was an overall magical tour that got everyone feeling equal amounts of 😍,🥰, and 🤩.

As of right now, there's no official way to rewatch any of the shows (except if you bought a ticket for the opening weekend performances. Then you can watch it on Weverse.) THAT SAID, where there's a will, there's a way: there most deffo are places to find uploads. Also, a lot of the performances are on YT as fancams.

Here's a 31-minute Bangtan Bomb abt the opening weekend. The cameras follow Jin as he gets to the venue, warms up, does soundcheck, and performs. I like how it gives a clearer picture as to how, despite not having any dancers, choreo, or a spectacular stage set, Jin's tour was AMAZING.

Bonus: the rest of the Tannies attended on different days. RM, Hobi, and Taehyung went to Day 1 while Jimin, Jungkook, and Yoongi went to Day 2.

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NB for the next two videos: they're bona fide fancams. So the sound might not be the best AND there aren't subtitiles. However, they're really great examples of what the VIBESSS were like at Jin's concerts and why ppl had such a fantastic time in person as well as at home (watching livestreams.)

As shown in the video above, one of the things that Jin did during the concert was be "forced" to wear one of the outfits he wore in his Run Seokjin episodes when it was time to perform "Super Tuna". This one instance, he had to wear the sauna outfit...

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Finally, here's video of Jin and Red Velvet's Wendy performing their song "Heart on the Window". This was the second time they performed it live and it was just as GLORIOUS as the one time they sang at Jin's showcase. Added context to their convo (since I watched it live): Jin thanks Wendy for singing with him, she thanks him back. Then she starts to talk to the audience and Jin (v. playfully) shoos her off the stage. I lurve their sibling energy, LOL.

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Fannish 50 S3 Post 33: A ranking of BTS documentaries

This post is abt 8 of BTS' docus--including a quick overview of what each one is abt, my opinion on them, where they're available for streaming, a score (out of 5), and trailers for each.

Let me be nice cuz it's Monday and this post is pretty long...

Group documentaries

I'm placing the spotlight on the first and the latest of the already-released docus.

Burn the Stage (2018) consists of 8 episodes that cover the time period from debut (2013) up to the Wings Tour (2017). This is content I've returned to a few times. What makes it special is the level of rawness in what is shown; the members being so unguarded in a way that I doubt we will ever see again. Adding to that are the dramatic things that happen during the tour (including injuries, ppl losing their passports, etc.) . I find it super fascinating to see past!BTS and compare them to their current selves.

The first ep is available for free ninety-nine on YouTube. If you have a YT Premium account, you can watch the rest of eps too.

Le Trailer

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BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star dropped in 2023 as an 8-episode miniseries on Disney+. Although not presented in linear form, the series does cover a little bit from pre-debut era up to early 2023. It gets an extra kudos from me cuz they compressed the often-trod LYS Era and tour to a single episode (number 3.) HALLELU!

The reason for my \o/ is cuz this meant there was enough space for other things to be covered*. I also appreciated seeing the guys discuss things in a more frank manner. Finally, the last two eps have additional footage (including some of the members' homes). It ends riiiight around the first year of Chapter 2 as enlistment era begins.

THAT SAID, I'm not sure how well the series works for locals? Especially with the time jumps and certain things (that, again, have been covered in other content and docus) being mentioned rather than dove into. FWIW, the series feels geared more toward ARMYs more than anyone else. WOMAN SHRUG EMOJI.

In between these two docus I've mentioned, there are two other ones (Bring the Soul (2019) and Break the Silence (2020).) AFAIK, both are available as paid content on Weverse, as part of the Kocowa subscription, and in certain Netflix regions.

* Gotta mention that I know a lot of ARMYs love these docus a ton. OTOH, there are some cool/key scenes that make them worth checking out. Including things that have become important highlights in BTS' history (for both shippy and non-shippy reasons.) OTOH, however, both cover THE SAME TIME PERIOD. Bring the Soul focuses on the Love Yourself Tour (62 shows, 2018-2019) while Break the Silence dives into the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself tour extension (20 shows, May-October 2019.)

And so, to me, they feel repetitive. YMMV, etc.

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Here's a bonus!trailer for the Permission To Dance Los Angeles concert (available on D+).

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Docus that focus on Chapter 2 (solo) in ascending order

6. J-Hope IN THE BOX (2023) - Streaming on D+ and also available as paid content on Weverse. This is an hour and a half of Hobi working on Jack in the Box, his first solo album, including the albu's listening party. The second half or so of the film is abt him preparing to take the (eventual) headliner stage at 2022 Lollapalooza Chicago. It's a good intro to seeing the level of professionalism that fuels him as well as all of the moving parts (choreo, music, etc) involved in that v. important and historic performance.

Once he's in dancer mode, he's super focused to the point of making the viewer awe at him.

The reason why I ranked it last is cuz there are two behind-the-scenes Bangtan Bombs for the "Arson" and "More" MVs, an 11-min Bangtan Bomb for the listening party, another one for the album photoshoot, a 22-min Bangtan Episode abt the v. same thing PLUS an hour and 16 minute recording of his entire Lolla set. So, to me, all of this content is an abbreviated version of the docu. The movie does have a handful of additional scenes (especially when it comes to Hobi writing and recording the album, but not enough for me to feel more enthusiastic abt this specific docu. Locals and casuals might end up enjoying it a lot more. I'm giving it a 2.3 out of 5

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5. I'm Still (2024) - Streaming on D+. An hour and 30-min docu (split into three episodes) that covers the 8 or so months leading up to AND performances of JK's first solo album Golden. Although I liked seeing the focus on Jungkook, I felt quite meh abt it overall.

CONFESSION TIME: out of all of Chapter 2's solo releases, Jungkook's is the one that I found just okay. IDK! "Standing Next to You" is a good song, I liked "SEVEN", and yet...

He was v. clear as to what his goals were for his first solo album; kudos to him for achieving them! HOWEVAH, compared to other stuff he's released before it (like "Stay", "My Time", and "Begin"), I'm underwhelmed with his new music. Again, there are some good moments, but my neutral feels abt it have expanded to this docu as well. *Hands*.

THAT SAID, there ARE some good and OJO moments. And, it ends (just like the BTS Monuments docu) on a half-bittersweet, half-tender moment as SPOILER Jungkook shaves his head as he prepares to enlist END OF SPOILER. Anyways, I'm giving this a 2.4 out of 5

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4. HOPE on the Street (2024) - A 6-episode miniseries that is available on Amazon Prime Video. It's got a companion album under the same name. Each song of that album's tracklist is a title of an episode in this miniseries.

Viewers join Hobi as he travels to the US, France, Japan, and also films in some parts of South Korea. Each episode centers on a specific dance style (like pop-and-lock, house, etc.) One of the things that made it such a delightful watch was seeing how much Hobi respects and loves dance. He understands and loves it to the point of remaining curious and wanting to continue learning despite having spent decades perfecting his own dance language. My fave ep was the Paris, France episode. A+++ vibes.

The cutest surprises pop up at the end of the each 30-min. episode in the form of showing some behind-the-scenes footage of the album recording (including each of the artists who featured.) I'm giving it a 3 out of 5.

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3. Road to D-Day (2023) - SUGA, a.k.a. Min Yoongi, dropped an hour and half docu that's available on Disney+ and as paid content on Weverse. It follows him working on D-Day while traveling to California, Las Vegas, Tokyo, and some places in Korea. Along the way he meets up with some famous artists. There are lots of scenes of him working at his craft, getting frustrated, and then diving back into the process.

It was brutally honest on the ins and outs of songwriting. Pushing aside the "mystique" and more esoteric aspect of creativity to showcase the reality of music pursuits. There are tons of scenes where Yoongi's working on a song, trashing it, and then tweaking what he needed to tweak in order to make the song actually listenable. I also love the different performances throughout. It's one of my fave docus for sure. I'm giving it a 4 out of 5.

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2. Jimin's Production Diary - A v. surprising entry! This is one of those docus I wish more ppl would watch. It's got Jimin, PDogg, GHSTLOOP, and EVAN doing a mini-songwriting camp at PDogg's apartment as they work in what would eventually become FACE, Jimin's first solo album.

There's a quick scene with RM (lending songwriting help) and Jungkook (who shows up to do vocals for "Letter"). The bulk of the ppl onscreen are Jimin and the three BigHit producers writing, joking, and coming up with melodies.

Part of the reason I love it is how it's proof that Jimin was quite hands-on with his first album. Other than Jin, he's had a general image of not being quite as involved with the songwriting. [This is, btw, despite the fact that he's contributed to a lot of BTS' music through the years. But I digress…] I do fully understand how Jimin's singing and dancing skills are eye-catching. He should most deffo be celebrated for displaying his artistry using his voice and body! Buuuut, that's not all that he is. And so I like the way that this documentary is able to reveal more of him as a person who is insecure but cute and impish but also lovely.

This docu is split into three parts: the main film (which is a little over an hour), a 23-minute commentary with all four guys, and a short (I think it's 12-15 mins?) "quiz show". So, like the rest of the docus, it all adds up to an hour and 30 mins +/-.

IMO, the only "downside" is that the docu is only available for sale on Weverse, so that's a bit of a barrier for casuals and locals. Like all things, ofc, there are other places to find it at, IJS.

In any case, I was mesmerized, charmed, and delighted at seeing this aspect of Jimin. Especially since all but 1 of the songs from his first album were co-written by him! I'm giving this docu a 4.5 out of 5.

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RM: Right People, Wrong Place (2024)

NO spoilers, just a bit of rambling from when I went to see this docu in the theaters.

This movie is all about Namjoon's process during this second solo album, Right Place, Wrong Person (often abbreviated to rpwp.) It first debuted in October '24 at the Busan International Film Festival to a ton of acclaim. THANKFULLY, there was a weeklong worldwide distribution deal in early December '24. At the time, I didn't know when or even IF the movie was gonna be available for purchase (it is! Over at Weverse as of late spring, IIRC),so I headed to the movies.

What follows is a transcript of what posted elsewhere:

Starting with: I didn't cry while watching it, but now that I am painfully slowly processing what I just watched, I have teared up almost to the point of fully crying. Because I am SO fucking moved by how much access there was into Kim Namjoon's psyche. For those that have watched the 2-part "All Day" RM thing from 2 yrs ago, this docu is a similar vibe BUT MORE INTENSE.

In some ways, this docu was like the indie version of Jimin's "Production Diary". Same approach to how an artist creates and how having a team helps the artist until an album is born. Aside from the obvious (two different artists for two different albums), the most stark difference is that Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (what Jimin named his team) was all BH while Team RM brought in a whole new crew.

Moving on, hehehe. A+ cinematography too! It was a v. visually stimulating (tho not to the point of becoming overwhelming) movie.

*EXTREMELY MILD SPOILER* They also show all of the MVs behind-the-scenes. Which was a treat. And it explains why there weren't any Bangtan bombs for those videos.*END OF THE EXTREMELY MILD SPOILER*

I know this docu has a super limited release window (it's 2 wks in the US, I think?)--which is a real shame. Because EVERYONE (both ARMYs and locals) would benefit from watching this movie. I cannot think of anyone who wouldn't be super 😍 by the end of it.

Sadly, I couldn't stay til the credits rolled. 🥲 The lights went on and the usher came by. I was robbed of the experience. ROBBED I TELL YOU! Anyways, 1000000000/5 docu. I am even more in love with Joonie than before. 😅

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