Hello, netizens! This is going to be me breaking from my recently established three-point formula, just because of a recent attention-vacuum for me: the approach of WONDERCON ‘26! I am going as something that should make the Anaheim Convention Center the Second Happiest Place on Earth! That was a clue, if you couldn’t tell.
Because of all the hustle and bustle of wig-spiking and clothes-dyeing, I have not been able to focus on any of my bigger projects. But I did get swept up in a lesser-known hyperfixation of mine just the other day, and THAT is what we are here for. I proudly present…SWEET SEVENTEEN, a comeback for the K-pop band Seventeen that I made up!
To preface, I started being a carat in January of 2024, and Seventeen helped me get through the last of my truly dark times. They were a light in my life, and I have them (and SEANNA TV, look them up on YouTube if you can) to thank for a lot of joy I have felt.
Without further ado, the concept! Inspired by DK’s role as King Arthur on stage and a video gamey pun on his name, in this concept album comeback he plays the revered prince of DK COUNTRY, a lavender wonderland of towering toadstools and winding roads! Oversized treats in quaint colorful shops line the streets, and no earthly human has ever witnessed the wonders…until now!
Before we get there let us introduce some of the cast of characters native to this K-pop candyland:
First we have DK as the stern but sympathetic titular prince of DK Country. Then we have his princess sister with whom he squabbles over key bureaucratic decisions, played by…YENA! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a collab. Lastly we have the stubborn and scowling royal guards, Mingyu and S.Coups.
The main conflict of the main music video (for a song that I will be calling “Masquerade”) is the unprecedented arrival of seven strange earthlings visiting the land of DK Country. (These foreigners mostly have menial jobs back in the Unnamed Big City that inspire their outfits by the way. It’s a very slight Mario reference, especially in the case of Joshua.) These included:
Hoshi as the Lovestruck Man
Joshua as the Construction Worker
In the music video, they all emerge via a magical slide that connects Earth and DK Country, and are immediately wowed by the sights they are taking in. DK and the rest of the royal roster catch wind of this, and are generally very begrudging towards the idea of visitors, especially the grumpy guards Mingyu and S.Coups.
The seven then begin their journey to the castle to introduce themselves to the land’s leaders. Along the way they have a few quirky encounters with other Seventeen members playing locals of DK Country, including:
Woozi as the Wise Wanderer
Vernon and Wonwoo as the Shopkeepers
As their trek comes to an end, they arrive at the aforementioned castle, right as the royal ball is taking place! The seven all attempt to persuade the guards to let them in. S.Coups shakes his head staunchly, and then so does Mingyu.
BUT! In this moment of defeat, Prince DK and Princess Yena behold the humble earthlings and finally decide “why not?” They let them into the ball and the final bit of choreo occurs over the last utterance of the chorus. Seventeen dance their hearts out, with even Prince DK and eventually Mingyu and S.Coups joining in, and when all is said and done, they all take a bow and the lights go down.
I hope any of you carats out there enjoyed this bit of alternative history storytelling. Making up fake music, movies, etc. is among my favorite things, as you might guess from my YouTube channel Betrailers (which I will be advertising soon by the way)!
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for a potential part 2…
(P.S. here are the seven visitors from the Unnamed Big City! I know the art is unfinished but maybe one day it won’t be. From top to bottom we have Dino, Seungkwan, Hoshi, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, and The8.)