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i was scrolling through my gallery AND I FOUND THIS??? LMFAO i totally forgot about it

also here's one more meme with keunmoon that i did recently but it seems i forgot to post it here(?), so here you go⬇️

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hi! i came here after reading court or die, and it was awesome! could you please tell me where to read the novel debut or die? i'm new to webnovels, but i'm very interested now. thanks for any help!

Please dm!!

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Introducing Character Trope: STEBS (Stoic Traumatized Epic Bastard Softie)

I have tried to look this up on TV tropes, but it does not exist. Not officially, at least. So I decided – I'm introducing new trope. It already exist, someone might as well try and give it a name.

And yeah, this acronym SUCKS, feel free to come up with a better one! But let's talk about what a "STEBS" character is for me, because I've come to the conclusion that it is actually my favorite character type.

First, context. Ever since I've read TCF, I have come across other medias and I was often like, "Hey, this character is basically just like Cale!" – which I feel like, it isn't really fair? I mean, Cale is a great and complex character, but making this comparison constantly makes me feel like I'm undermining the complexity of OTHER characters. Just because Cale shares similarities with other characters doesn't make them copies of him.

So, what exactly is a STEBS?

1) Stoic

This character has a very specific way of acting in non-confrontational situations. It can be respectful, it can be casual, but it is neither extremely friendly nor extremely rude. It's in a calm, pleasant zone, where the character treats others like... well, people. The character doesn't make themselves superior nor inferior, it doesn't matter to them if the other is a beggar or a king. They just are, calm and casual. That's what makes them stoic - NOT lack of expressions or emotions, or lack of humor. It's the way they carry themselves on the regular. This character type makes others feel relaxed because of it, and subconsciously encourages trust and friendship (much to the character's confusion). They will also make a great educator because of it, and will likely act as a mentor or a teacher more than once.

2) Traumatized

Despite the stoicism in their behavior, they actually have a complicated background. Commonly an orphan, even though not always, this person has been through a LOT. But, they don't usually express it. Seeing this character cry or break down is EXTREMELY rare and always a very important scene in a story. It's not that they're not emotional or they always try to bury their trauma, although that does usually apply to them; they're just not vocal about it due to their personality. But oh boy, are they traumatized! Wait for that reveal later in the story though, when it actually becomes plot-relevant.

3) Epic

Despite the character being a stoic type, with a backstory that makes them crave very simple things – be it retirement, respect from their peers, a safe house to live in, a stable job, a family, a specific successful career – they are actually freaking epic where it comes to things they do. They either have great knowledge, memory, or skills in a particular field and they always manage to surprise others with just how competent they are. It can be literal combat skills, magic, being a life-saving surgeon, or even a therapist. But whenever they get their chance to shine, they become a real star.

4) Bastard

A trait that adds a surprising amount of charm and humor to their other traits. Being stoic makes them likeable, being traumatized makes them sympathetic, being epic makes them cool – but being a bastard? It actually just means they're mischievous and have a penchant for chaos. Because this character is meant to make changes in the narrative, like an accidental revolutionary or a transmigrator, they have to possess a cunning streak that might seem mean or selfish at first, but actually never crosses the line into making them despicable. It just makes them an occasional manipulator, but it's usually portrayed in a way that still makes it impossible to make you hate them. In fact, it makes you love them more for it. They are not naive, even if they can be oblivious or silly at times; being a bastard to those who deserve it means being able to get out of sticky situations that would be problematic for paragon heroes. It includes stuff like acting, pranks, cheating, manipulation, shady deals, gambling, stealing, and even criminal behavior, that is actually very understandable due to their specific circumstances.

5) Softie

And if all the previous traits haven't convinced you to love this character yet, the last one surely will. This character, despite having a mean streak, is in fact never mean to innocent people. Actually, they are surprising soft and/or sentimental, especially towards the helpless and children. This character will probably have at least one animal sidekick, at least one paragon protagonist type on their payroll, and most importantly an adopted child - if the previous two don't already fill that spot. This character will make excuses of course, they will claim that they are taking care of others for their own benefits. But you will see quickly that they don't treat others like a heartless manipulator, but more of an overprotective mother-hen. This character, no matter their gender, will eventually become the typical Mom Friend. They will make sure everybody eats well, sleeps well, they get their allowance, pack their lunch before heading out to participate in the plot and probably try to sacrifice themselves for them more than once. They will of course become the mentor figure on top of it, and possibly even be a straight up legal guardian and/or teacher to other important characters.

And this, my friends, is what I call a STEBS character. While it outlines a general, it's not a strict definition, mind you. Even if a character exhibit one trait less than the others (for example not being much of a bastard, or not being very stoic), it still counts as long as you still recognize them as fitting in this "category".

Characters in this category include:

Cale Henituse from Trash of the Count's Family

Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars

Aizawa Shota from My Hero Academia

Kakashi from Naruto

Remus Lupin from Harry Potter

Faramir from Lord of the Rings

Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Rimuru Tempest from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Park Moondae from Debut or Die

Won Hwabu from I Reincarnated as a Legendary Surgeon

And many, many others.

Let me know if you have a better name for this very specific character type!

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Hi! I have no idea how to promote this fic other than this, so here’s my best attempt!

I am writing a historical romance AU about debut or die, but here’s the catch! Moondae is in an otome game! Who will he choose? What will happen? What dress will he be forced to wear?! (He isn’t a woman, but the story reads him as one against his will. It’s plot relevant I promise)

Please check it out if you have the time!! It would mean the world to me… I’m also looking for beta readers, so if you read and are interested, please dm me!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57780238/chapters/147059944

(Also, as stated in the desc of the fanfic, if you want sources for dod, also send me a message here!)

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Hey 👋 I recently got into dod and prodigy idol sunfish do you know where i can find the translated novels as i only found a few translated and mostly mtl ?

Do you have anywhere specific for translations of novels like these?

Please help I am obsessed 😭

pls dm!

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[Ridi Debut or Die ebook event] Park Moondae fansign animation (official)

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I am embarrassed to be so late to the party but in my defense I was busy being sad (love you Chungwoo)

Happy birthday Ryu Chungwoo!!! (10/28/2024)

To our beloved leader of the stars happy birthday

The theme of the 4th year birthday art is Korean Birth Flowers! Chungwoo's birth flower is "Rose of Sharon"

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Debut or Die official eBook release on Ridi November 13th

Bro we getting TeSTAR High-Five mv baseball concept art before the webtoon gets to it lol

It's nice that they also publishing it on Ridi soon cause apparently Kakaopage is shutting down/ blocked in some countries which makes it hard to support the authors (and artists)

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Hiii just discovered your blog (because of TCF/LCF) and just had to ask - where is your profile pic from? And do you have any other recs like ‘The Malicious Member is Back’ because I started reading it after seeing it in your posts and am loving it so far :D

Hallooo! My profile picture is Do Seojoon from [I Became the Youngest Member of Top Idol]/[My Comeback as the Youngest Member]! He is the older brother of the MC, Do SeohanXD

If you're interested with this one, get ready to face how strikingly different the novel and manhwa is, but overall it's all good!

Other recommendations you might want to give a try to:

In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

I'm a Genius Idol But My Passive is a Sunfish

Debut or Die

The Trashy PD has to Survive as an Idol

You might already know Debut or Die since it is the biggest in fandom too, plot-wise all of these have more progression while not very heavy to follow. With [I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is a Sunfish] and [I Became the Youngest Member of Top Idol] being the lighter ones. I love all of them. Very much. If you're looking for a character with typical krs!Cale or Cale!krs morally grey tendency, then Seo Hoyun from [The Trashy PD has to Survive as an Idol] will be a good start to familiarize yourself. (personal feeling but this one actually got the best of me from how similarly coded he is, even the 'blackmailing'/'scamming' and 'taking advantage of someone but actually cares for them along the way' is strikingly more pronounced:D)

Surprisingly, [Debut or Die], [The Malicious Member is Back], [I Became The Youngest Member of Top Idol] are the three where the group is build up through Idol competition. While the others are making a comeback after trouble or more agency-focus debut-trainee if you did not want to go through another musings for who would likely debut in the end. Which is, fun and engaging either way!

[Debut or Die]'s Park Moondae is literally Kim Rok Soo in some unique ways.... But, hmm, maybe more of a reliable narrator in comparison? As reliable as it can be with his personality.

If you want different characterization, as in cute and adorable MC instead of the genius and cynical characters, [I Became the Youngest Member of Top Idol]'s Do Seohan and [I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is a Sunfish]'s Han Baekya are remarkably some refreshing change! Where as [In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe]'s MC Sun Woo-Joo is more heartwarming. I think these three are actually the most mentally sounds and healthy out of others, which is sparsely seen these days.

Each of these recommendations is refreshing and is impactful in their approaches. And I personally eager to tell you that all of them are worth reading for!

[Debut or Die], [I Became the Youngest Member of Top Idol], and [In This Life, The Greatest Star in the Universe] already got manhwa adaptation, so if you need more visuals feel free to give it a long shot to go!

It's most likely that I'll missed many points considering it's been a while since I catch up, I strongly advised to take my words with a grain of salt and take a look yourself for a better judgement<3

p.s. If you want to have the Coughing Up Blood shenanigans, [The Trashy PD has to Survive as an Idol] and [I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is a Sunfish] will give you exactly that! I'm not sure about the latter since I haven't read much but the probability is high! >///< if you want a character who's constantly in the danger of death then [Debut or Die] took it seriously with its premise lmaooo

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On my knees begging.

Doesn't matter if you're into kpop or not, read "Debut or Die" by DS. Back. Trust me when I say this is a fantastic series with a lot of depth, heart and themes. It's fun! It gets crazy! It made me want to cry!

Official novel: Has wait every 3 hours for free chapter event often, and right now. First 10 chapters are free to read.

Official webtoon: Currently on hiatus to prepare for season 3.

The official illusts used are mainly from the novel artist @/ clumsyoranges , and the webtoon artist is @/ SOHEUN_ . (Both on twitter)

For legal reasons, I will not be linking the fan tls publicly + the official tl updates 3 times a week consistently.

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I adore dod pls read it sobs

On My Propaganda: Why You Need To Read DEBUT OR DIE

It's a transmigration story taken place in modern world, specifically idol world. The author has done lots of research, with how realistic the setting is, whether it's within a company that sees its employees as objects or within the fandom, with how scathing, brutal, utterly familiar comments from antis.

The MC, Park Moondae, is utterly loveable. In a sense, he is similar to Cale Henituse. He is intelligent, cool, calm, decisive and collected. He is also like a father , or brother figure, protective and caring of his teammates despite initially wanting to distance from them, thinking them troublesome, etc. He also has a puppy nickname (from fans). He is also an orphan who has to grow up too fast and think people around him don't care for him.

FOUND FAMILY: his whole teammates LOVES and WORRIES about him. They are very sweet and funny but because there are 6 of them (7 if you count MC) it can take a while to remember the names.

There is more to see regarding the body where MC transmigrated into.

Pretty boys. Enough said.

There is a manhwa adaptation on Tapas but it's ongoing. I think it's about to be on 2nd arc(?). Not sure but the art is beautiful and do justice to the novel in my opinion.