BTS Universe Story: 花樣年華 'Map of the Soul'

I'm not a huge gamer, but I am READY for this to drop. Whereas we play BTS World as BTS' manager to get through different levels of their careers, it looks like we get to control the destiny of all seven of them in BTS Universe Story (set in the Bangtan Universe, of course, wherein Jin has to time travel to save the other six boys). BTS World is cute and fun, but this looks EPIC. 

Photolog 2020: Day 232 of 366

Opened Box #3 out of my mass BTS merch delivery from Monday, and inside today's box was the BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package! The Special Package is the limited edition set that includes all five Graphic Lyrics books in the series. What are Graphic Lyrics, you ask? They're illustration books featuring stories from the BTS Universe, which is the fictional storyline that runs throughout BTS' music videos and short films. Each book is based on a BTS song and features the lyrics of that song, and all five volumes feature a different illustration style and layout format.

  BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Outer Box 
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 1: A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 1: A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone
The first volume is A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone. (This song is from BTS' 2017 album, You Never Walk Alone.) This book features the beginning of the BTS Universe storyline and serves as the introduction of the seven boys and how they got together. This is the only "normal" layout format of the five volumes.

BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 2: Save Me
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 2: Save Me
The second volume is Save Me. (This song is from BTS' 2016 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever.) This book features J-Hope and Jimin's storylines from the BTS Universe. It features illustrated vellum paper inserts throughout the whole book. This one's my personal favourite.

BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 3: House of Cards
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 3: House of Cards
The third volume is House of Cards. (This song is from BTS' 2015 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2. The full-length version of this song is found on their 2016 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever.) This book features Jungkook and Suga's storylines from the BTS Universe. It's the only volume in the set that has a vertical layout, with pages flipped to the top and read from top to bottom.

  BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 4: Run
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 4: Run
The fourth volume is Run. (This song is from BTS' 2015 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2.) This book features RM and V's storylines from the BTS Universe. This is the only volume that has a horizontal orientation, and is short and wide. It features extended fold-out illustration pages.

  BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 5: Butterfly
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Vol. 5: Butterfly
The fifth volume is Butterfly. (This song is from BTS' 2015 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2.) This book features the BTS Universe from Jin's point of view. It is the only volume that features 1/3 cuts in its pages.

BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Illustration Cards 
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Sticker Sheets
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — File Folders and Music Sheet Notebooks
BTS Graphic Lyrics Special Package — Drawing Pad
And, naturally, as it's a special edition set, it comes with a whole slew of goodies as well, including matching illustration cards, illustration stickers, file folders and music sheet notebooks in the case cloth colours, and a huge blank drawing pad that matches the outer box design. (Basically, I have enough notebooks for years. Maybe decades.) What I love about these books, aside from the fact that they're STUNNING, is that they're such a unique idea. I've seen lyrics in graphic form, adorning artwork and clothing and posters. But to have full song lyrics in beautifully illustrated books, each one capturing a different story within a singular fictional universe? And making it not only marketable, but coveted? (The Special Package sold out within 30 minutes, y'all.) Only BTS, man. The creative geniuses at Big Hit have done it again.

BTS — Stay Gold

Obviously, I'm still up to watch the premiere of the "Stay Gold" MV. It's giving me some serious "Run"/"I Need U"/"Fake Love" vibes... which can only mean one thing. This is totally apart of the BTS Universe, and it's probably a link or a hint to Volume 2 of HYYH The Notes, which is slated to be released later this year. AND SO, THE PLOT THICKENS.

Photolog 2020: Day 30 of 366

Since I've had so much free time this past month, I've randomly gotten back into origami folding. I used to be really into origami when I was younger — my childhood bedroom was literally filled with origami flowers and strings of paper cranes and jars of paper stars — and then I stopped having time for it after high school. But my interest in origami started all over again this past month after I decided I wanted to make a bouquet of smeraldo flowers, which is a fictional flower in the BTS Universe (of course, BTS is always the catalyst for all my interests, but there is literally an entire history and storyline for this flower and its origins, and it's actually really interesting!). 
Origami "smeraldo" flowers
As it's a fictional flower, we only know what it looks like based on the bouquet of smeraldos that Jin holds in the Love Yourself Highlight Reel — kind of like a cross between a lily and an orchid, in varying shades of light blues and purples. I started off with four- and five-petal lilies and then glued them into partially folded lilies to give them more body. I think they turned out pretty cute. Don't know how accurate they look as compared to the creator's original vision, but hey, it's up for interpretation, right?
Origami roses and peonies
After that, I sort of got addicted to making origami flowers, so I looked up different styles. So far, I had only really made lilies and lotus flowers, which only require folding. But I wanted to make roses and peonies, and all the tutorials I found on YouTube require cutting and gluing. So I went to buy extra materials. I was determined. Each flower uses six sheets of paper (not including the stem) and half an hour to make. It was my first time putting this kind of effort into making origami flowers, but I think my first attempt came out decent.
Origami lotus flowers
Then I thought a bouquet of massive lotus flowers would look really pretty — it's basically the same method as making peonies/roses, but curling every single "petal" inwards — so I went to Oomomo and bought differently textured paper that would be easier to curl. Y'all, it was like a full-on crafting station in my room. I had scissors, different types of glue, chopsticks, and toothpicks, along with four different packs of paper scattered all over my desk. These took the longest — nearly 45 minutes each flower — but I think they turned out the prettiest. Anyway, yeah, half my room looks like a flower shop now. But they totally brighten up the space! And I don't have to water them! And I finally found uses for my extra mugs!

My next project? Black origami swans. (Inspired, of course, by BTS' "Black Swan.")

Photolog 2019: Day 301 of 365

BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set — Jin and Suga; Jungkook and RM
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set — J-Hope and V; Jimin
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set — Sticker Sets
BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ART TOY Set — Premium Photocards
FINALLY. After some production issues caused a big delay in shipment, the limited edition BTS 花樣年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in LifeART TOY set I ordered nearly two months ago finally arrived today! The set features toy figures of all seven members in their roles in the Love Yourself Highlight Reel (proof that BTS could easily transition into dramas if they wanted to), which is apart of the Bangtan Universe that started in The Most Beautiful Moment in Life era. It comes with a diorama of the bus stop scene that is seen in the Highlight Reel to be used as the background for the figures. The set comes with sticker packs for all seven members and, of course, since it's BTS merchandise, it also comes with premium photocards of the boys from the Highlight Reel as their characters (because is it really official BTS merch if there's no photocards?). The set now sits proudly on top of my newly-built BTS shelving unit. I've become a full-fledged toy collector now, and there's no going back.

Photolog 2019: Day 72 of 365

My order of the Bangtan Universe's HYYH The Notes 1 arrived today! I ordered the set of three, which comes in English, Korean, and Japanese. I cannot read Korean or Japanese, but I am nothing if not a super-dedicated and diligent BTS multimedia collector, and BigHit was offering the three versions in a set so I obviously got all three. (Plus, the covers are really pretty.)


In case you're not an ARMY, The Notes refer to the diary entries that tell the story of the Bangtan Universe (a.k.a. the BTS alternate universe). It started in the HYYH era (with the 2015 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, which is translated from 花樣年華 or Hwa Yong Yeon Hwa, the Chinese idiom that they used for the title of the album, hence everyone refers to this album and era as "HYYH"). Since that era, BigHit have been incorporating this fictional storyline into almost all of BTS' music videos, short films, and trailers, and especially, their album concepts, leading fans to create complex theories as to what is happening in this alternative universe (a lot of BTS music videos and concepts leave riddles and symbolism, so anything could be a hint or a clue at solving the mysteries of the Bangtan Universe).


In the Love Yourself era, starting with 2017's Love Yourself: Her and ending with last August's Love Yourself: Answer, they added in The Notes in the form of little booklets into all their physical albums. But each version of The Notes include different entries from different members on different dates. So, as the Love Yourself era came to a close last year, BigHit decided to release all these notes in sequential order (and fully translated!) as a book so we can read it as one big story rather than in pieces (this also coincides with the release of their webtoon, Save Me, which is like the graphic version of The Notes). I presume it's to catch up and fully comprehend the entire existing storyline so that we can move into the next era (titled Map of the Soul). Also seeing as this release is called The Notes 1, I'm assuming this is the first volume and we'll be getting new notes as this universe gets deeper and expands. (In fact, the upcoming BTS album, Map of the Soul: Persona, will include HYYH notes according to their pre-order info page.) All I gotta say is that this new era is gonna be one hell of ride. And also that BTS' creative team needs a fucking pay raise ASAP.

BTS Universe: SAVE ME

From the BU (BTS Universe)
Seven boys. Best friends. Their fates intertwined through the good times together, but also the tough times. One will do anything to save them, but can he? #BU_Official#SAVEME#BTS

➡️ Available only on Webtoon: https://t.co/gH6YuygRINpic.twitter.com/aPFty2zhNU

— LINE WEBTOON (@LINEWebtoon) January 17, 2019

So all those tweets referencing parts of the Bangtan Universe in BTS music videos from Smeraldo Books? The ones that had the entire fandom wondering what BigHit had planned — a book? A comic? A graphic novel? All led up to this. I cannot wait to start this Webtoon. A total of 16 episodes, a new one released every Thursday, which will end on April 11 (the day that is hypothesized to be the day Jin turns back time). I've already put it in my subscriptions. I really hope we'll finally get some answers to the BU with this.