#my charisma 2 bb +*~*

[dailyhelldorm]

Welcome Fes! Learn more about Hell Dorm in the room 'finding your favorite' ♪

About your idols

Shiratori Aira - Loveliness has thorns

Agency: STARMAKER PRODUCTION

Height: 167cm

Weight: 53kg

Blood type: B

Birthday: 27/11

Hobby: Studying about idols

Specialty: Knowledge about idols

Aira is a fresh face in the idol industry, debuted along with his fellow members in the unit 'ALKALOID'. He is the one responsible for the 'cute' role in the unit, but even the loveliness also has thorns! Aira is very passionate about his hobby of studying idols and he helps a lot of people with his idols knowledge.

Aira is the only child in his family, and he joins the basketball club at his high school too! A little small fact about Aira is that he isn't good at cleaning up after himself.

Idols hashtags: ♯Cute ♯Only child ♯From athletic club ♯Not good at cleaning up after himself

Tenshouin Eichi - The idol conductor performing dreams

Agency: STARMAKER PRODUCTION

Height: 179cm

Weight: 59kg

Blood type: O

Birthday: 10/1

Hobby: Collecting teacups

Specialty: Ballroom dance

From the high heaven above, Eichi is the leader of the angelic unit 'fine'. He is an intellectual person, good at everything he does and Eichi has the ability to mimic any skill he sees for the first time! He is the only heir of the famous Tenshouin Foundation and his family is part of the noble families, along with the Himemiya - Suou - Tomoe families.

His hobby is collecting teacups, and he likes to make tea in his free time. In high school, Eichi formed the tea club along with Sakuma Ritsu - Rei's younger brother, which lately extended to their circle FLAVOR.

A little fact about Eichi, he is left-handed!

Idols hashtags: ♯Intellectual ♯Only child ♯Left-handed ♯Heir ♯From art club

Sakuma Rei - The demon king tempting in the dark

Agency: Rhythm Link

Height: 179cm

Weight: 61kg

Blood type: B

Birthday: 2/11

Hobby: Strolling in the garden

Specialty: Jazz dance

The demon king tempting his fans in the black night, the self-proclaiming mysterious vampire, Sakuma Rei is the cool leader of the unit 'UNDEAD'. He is the only one in the dorm room whose agency is different. Rei possesses an irresistible charisma, and he is a world-wide-known top idol.

He also has a little brother - Sakuma Ritsu - who he loves and dotes on very much, to the point that his brother finds him annoying.

Rei is well-versed in a lot of things and is good at everything. In high school, together with Ogami Koga and the Aoi twins, they formed the light music club and later, extended to their circle BB Band.

A small fact about Rei, he has a driving license and knows how to ride a motorbike.

Idols hashtags: ♯Cool ♯Big bro ♯Has driving license ♯From art club

Q&A Corner: Learn more about the dorm!

Q1: On the first date, where do you want to go?

Aira: I want to bring my date to see the lottery premiere of my favorite movie! To bring us closer and learn more about each other, won't that be the perfect chance?

Eichi: You would want to make a good memory of your first date, right. How about letting me bring my date to a place that has beautiful scenery they can enjoy freely?

Rei: I will invite my date to my favorite jazz club. We can enjoy an atmosphere that's different from normal life, and they can listen to my favorite songs ♪

Here is a graph for their first date question! All of them are indoor-type, but Aira and Rei really like to be inside. Rei and Eichi are more of the leading type, with Eichi leading more than Rei, while Aira likes to enjoy the time together!

Q2: Your favorite subject?

Aira: I got bad grades, so I don't really have a favorite subject. It would be great if all the classes turned into idols' lessons, I wish.

Eichi: When studying, I don't confine my range of knowledge but try to master a lot of different fields and learn every day. You can say that every subject is my favorite.

Rei: No matter if it is an art class or a science lesson, I'm good at every subject ♪ However, when you talk about my knowledge, I feel that I have been accumulating more humanities knowledge.

You can see here that Eichi and Rei are on the same spectrum of being good at literary subjects and both have good grades. They also overlap each other and it depends on the idol you pick first that you will see that Rei or Eichi has better grades. While Aira is bad at studying, but he can do okay in science class.

Note:

They are on the same level of academic grades and both are good at art subjects. In the original, they overlap each other.

Because both Rei and Eichi are in the same spot, so it depends on your order when picking your favorites, their position on the ‘Good grades’ axis will change.

In the second chart without the original position, the blue line is the position of the first idol you pick (in my case, I picked Eichi first). The red line is the position of the second idol you pick (in my case, I picked Rei second).

The image when you pick Rei first belongs to childeslav on Twitter/X. Sorry for the broken pixels but I had to rescale it to make the comparison.

Q3: As a member of your unit, what was the last email you sent?

Aira: Our 'unit' talked about the next time going out together, about where we should go and I had sent a lot of suggestions. The four of us planned to discuss our destination and we would decide later!

Eichi: While we were contacting each other about our work, I had invited everyone to have tea with me. Instead of spending my time alone, spending it with everyone feels more relaxing.

Rei: I finished my work and I contacted everyone saying I would get some eye rest. And thanks to the message, Kaoru-kun had come and woken me up ♪

A graph showing the frequency of mailing and the content of their texting. Both Eichi and Rei don't text much while Aira texts a lot. Eichi texts seriously, and Aira often sends silly things. Rei is in the middle of them with both being silly and being serious.

Q4: Recently, what is the first thing you do after waking up?

Aira: I always unconsciously touch my smartphone. I'd get instantly wide awake whenever I find the merch I want is being sold on the flea market.

Eichi: I often check for the news or the received messages during my night sleep. I want to spend my time more leisurely, but when you are busy, time surely keeps flying away.

Rei: I first have to pick up my eye mask that has fallen on the ground. I use it so I can sleep better, but lately it keeps falling away.

A graph showing how they are going to wake up. Both Aira and Rei like to chill and can't get out of their bed. While Eichi is an early bird.

Q5: Why are you so cool?

Aira: It is a little bit embarrassing... Maybe it is because of 'ALKALOID''s color? I think it is possible that you can attract people with the color!

Eichi: Fufu, thank you for your praise. One can't let their fans see them in a disturbing appearance, and I want to look good naturally.

Rei: Being cute, being cool. It's only because I'm an idol that people give me the words of assessment for the ways I show myself ♪

Here is a graph to show you how they are going to react!

Aira isn't used to being praised and he gets embarrassed because of it, while both Eichi and Rei are used to it and happily receive the praise! The graph also shows Rei and Eichi are overlapping. Rei is used to being praised more than Eichi in this below comparison.

Becoming your ‘Favorites’ video messages!

Eichi: Yah, I am Tenshouin Eichi, the leader of 'fine'. I also work as a representative of STARMAKER PRODUCTION, every day I give my best effort to send the brilliance of idols to the world. Of course, as an idol myself, I don't forget to shine as brightly as I can. If you are intrigued, please come to my live and see my figure. After that, if you choose me to be your favorite, I promise I will show you what you want to see the most. If you are to support me, I will be overjoyed.

Aira: Hello! I am Shiratori Aira from 'ALKALOID'! I love, love, love idols so much, and I want to become the person who brings joy to others just like the idols I admire so much. I also am a fan, and I understand it is not easy to pick a person as your favorite... But please, please pick me as your favorite idol!

Rei: I'm Sakuma Rei, the leader of 'UNDEAD'. With this message, you have the chance to learn more about me, and I thank you for that. To learn about me, how about we talk about the thing I like? Firstly, I have a younger brother, who is the apple of my eye, my cute Ritsu. And I like to stroll around the garden too. Although I don't like to go out at the time when the sun is still high, and my heart feels at ease more when I walk around at quiet times like early morning or in the middle of the night... ♪ They are some basic things, but that's all. If you are going to support me I'm happy, but if you simply take an interest in UNDEAD then I also am thrilled ♪

[telomeke-bbs]

OUR SKYY 2 x BAD BUDDY x A TALE OF THOUSAND STARS – A REVIEW AND PARTIAL ANALYSIS

Yes, I'm well aware that it's been more than two weeks since the Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars 4-ep closer for OS2 aired, and I'm far behind the bandwagon in posting this.

Thing is, I've had to take some time to gather my garbled thoughts on how I feel about the mini-series, and I have many. Also, the longer I dawdle, the more others have posted similar musings, and I then have to edit down my own write-up to avoid repeating stuff that others more knowledgeable and eloquent than I have already made public.

This is like my fourth or fifth re-write, and I've already chucked so much aside. But now the ideas jangling in my head seem a bit more coherent, and maybe it's time to solidify them in the written word.

I think part of the block I was facing had to do with the fact that I was expecting the Bad Buddy portions of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS to be doing more than they did, and when they didn't I was left a little directionless. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the episodes though; I most certainly did. How great was it to see Pat and Pran back in action again? 😍 Even though their dynamic and storyline weren't as deeply resonating as what we saw in the original Bad Buddy, they still managed to charm me no end.

While I certainly wanted more information regarding Pat and Pran's relationship (and we did get to see a tiny bit), what I'd really been hoping for was more of the intellectual gamery that had been so carefully interwoven into the original BBS, that was densely layered with metaphor, allegory and messaging. It was also rich with linguistic wordplay and cultural content, and I was on the lookout for more of the same in OS2 the moment Pat and Pran appeared. But these were mostly missing, even though they delivered callbacks and charisma in spades.

It was only upon re-watching that a number of realizations crystallized for me, chief of which was the fact that I'd been looking for things in the wrong place. The subtextual (and even metatextual) cleverness I was expecting actually was there, but it had been woven more into the ATOTS portions instead. And while I like the original ATOTS, it didn't inspire in me the same kind of obsessive love that Bad Buddy had done, so I have never gone in for a re-watch or examined it in greater detail, and thus wasn't paying as much attention to the ATOTS portions of OS2.

More fool me. No wonder my first watch of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS missed what it did, because I kind of sped through Phupha and Tian's story, when the mini-series was leaning more on ATOTS than BBS to telegraph its messaging.

I really shouldn't have been surprised. We know that the creators of Bad Buddy (Director Aof mostly, but Ohm and Nanon were in on it too) viewed BBS as having told all that needed to be told of PatPran’s story, and this was signified by the apartment door closing on the happy couple’s continued rough-housing at the end of Ep.12.

(above) BBS Ep.12 [4/4] 18.22 and 18.23 – the door closes on Pat and Pran's story (dunno who was swinging it shut though – Nong Nao maybe? 😂)

And this is why OS2 x BBS didn’t show us events post-Ep.12, but chose instead to position the mini-series during the timeskip between Episodes 11 and 12.

So when BBS became the success it did, pressure must have mounted on all sides but especially from the higher-ups to squeeze out a sequel somehow, because it would undoubtedly be a money-spinner. But what more is there to spin out when you, the maker, are convinced that not only is the whole yarn already spun and done, the tapestry you wove from it is pretty much complete as well?

I will go so far as to say I think OS2 x BBS x ATOTS was Director Aof’s escape hatch – instead of trying to spin out more from nothing, he shone a spotlight on a previously unseen section of his opus (letting management and fans know we would be getting Pat and Pran back, but then showing us their timeskip rather than events beyond Ep.12). And a short while later he segued artfully into a related piece, wrangling PatPran into a crossover with ATOTS that would have its message revolve a lot more around PhuTian’s story instead. I'm sure we find out more about Phupha and Tian's relationship too, but I'm not going to go into it in any detail because I'm not as au fait with their backstory as I feel I am with Pat and Pran's; I'm pretty sure though that their story in OS2 was the primary vessel for deeper messaging.

And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to pick up on Director Aof making ATOTS do the heavier lifting – see @wen-kexing-apologist’s write-ups linked here and here.

To my mind, Director Aof's bait-and-switch (kind of a hallmark with him) was also signaled at the end of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [4/4], when Pran had to hike up to Pha Pun Dao just as Tian had done in the original ATOTS.

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [4/4] 10.28

Pran found it as much of a physical ordeal as Tian did, and the parallel with Tian's trajectory is unmistakable (while also being oddly illogical, since Pran should still be pretty fit as an ex-rugby player while Tian is a heart transplant recipient 🤷‍♂️).

But in service of the narrative, when an exhausted Pran finally reaches his destination – it’s the waiting Phupha who faints, not Pran-as-Tian. (In the original ATOTS, it was Tian who fainted at the end of the long hike up to PPD and Phupha was the one who caught him.)

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [4/4] 11.28

For me, this signals that a switch-up has happened, and Phupha's story has somehow taken up continuity from Pran's (and we do see him learning from their similar experiences when they talk in the forest in Ep.3). More than just a callback to ATOTS, it also represents the moment when the red thread of the narrative, the coursing of the prana or qi, symbolically transfers from PatPran's storyline to PhuTian's.

So, summarizing the structure of this four-ep mini-series:

Ep.1 was basically a set-up to get PatPran up to the mountains, padded out with lots of gleeful fanservice moments for BBS fans (not that I'm complaining! 💖);

Ep.2 was devoted to setting out the main subject matter at hand and establishing the framework within which it would be discussed (PhuTian’s relationship, juxtaposed against PatPran’s);

Ep.3 – the jungle jaunt – introduced external conflict as the tool by which the subject could be dissected under scrutiny; and

Ep.4 was of course the resolution, drawing matters to their natural conclusion.

And with regard to Bad Buddy, what we see in OS2’s BBS portions is really a kind of compromise. It’s not a sequel to BBS by a longshot, but mostly a flourish of fanservice instead (hence the generous gifting of callbacks and re-creations of iconic moments from BBS, especially in Ep.1 of the four-parter – some scenes, like the one starting at Ep.1 [1I4] 8.31, consisted almost entirely of callbacks).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 8.47

This is not to say we don't see anything at all with regard to growth though. By situating PatPran's storyline during the timeskip between the original BBS Episodes 11 and 12, we were effectively allowed a glimpse into the state and development of their relationship sometime after the heady hormonal rush of their honeymoon period in Ep.11, and before its relative maturity in Ep.12, and there were some choice moments on display.

OS2 called this out at Ep.2 [2/4] 10.29, when Pat asked "Since we’re here in the North, should we make it our honeymoon trip?", which Pran then dismisses with a reminder of their task at hand (getting PhuTian's permission for his play).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [2/4] 10.51

The honeymoon reference was a callback to BBS Ep.11, in which Pat was wanting to live indefinitely in a sort-of forever honeymoon by the sea (that even he knew was only illusory). Pran's dismissal of Pat's suggestion in OS2 was a reminder that their honeymoon period was over, and it was time for them to be dealing with the growing pains that every couple faces on their journey to a stable pairing.

What wasn't addressed in the original BBS is that PatPran's natural propensity to draw each other into conflict could not have been healthy for their longer-term relationship post-honeymoon, unless they found a way to corral the constant infighting and invent a set of gentlemen's rules that would prevent damage to their bond.

(above) BBS Ep.5 [1I4] 3.19

And I think this is part of what OS2 was trying to show us (however briefly): Pat and Pran moving toward finding a balance between loving each other and punching each other up (emotionally), despite conflict and rivalry paradoxically being the age-old rockbed of their relationship.

The following are some of the relationship dynamics that they explored in OS2:

Transitioning from an individual mindset to a couple-based one (which was highlighted by Pran's solo expedition to the mountains, before Pat managed to catch up);

Adapting to each other's personal styles (Pran's is spikier, and Pat's more embracing);

Learning about give and take, and looking for win-win outcomes rather than keeping score (in OS2, this was illustrated by how their earlier duels – like who gets the auditorium, who gets the HighTem sponsorship – were framed as zero-sum win-lose situations, where a win for one would mean a loss for the other; it was also given a nod in Pran's talk with Phupha at Ep.3 [4/4] 1.19 regarding his insecurities about who gives more in a relationship).

There are possibly others, but these are just the ones I could suss out with my one haphazard re-watch, and I'm not ready to go looking for them. 🤷‍♂️

Now I was originally going to go into these in detail, but I realize it's not what interests me the most about OS2 x BBS x ATOTS, nor do I think OS2 adequately dealt with these (and/or other) relationship issues between PatPran during the mini-series itself (as in, we aren't shown enough of Pat and Pran working together on detangling the knots in their bond for any suggested resolution at the end of the fourth episode to feel logical and satisfying).

It seems almost as though OS2 x BBS x ATOTS was expecting us to believe that PatPran's Ep.3 trial by forest (which they also went through mostly apart from each other) was enough to be some magically purifying crucible, imparting wisdom via its sufferance.

(above left) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [1I4] 15.16 – Tian, Pran and Kampung lost in the forest; (above right) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [1I4] 17.46 – Pat and Phupha on their wilderness search

We do know that PatPran's journey to arrive at a steady-state couplehood will continue unseen beyond OS2 and that they eventually end up on rock-solid footing, with a set of mutually-agreed ground rules for engagement that is acknowledged and respected, because it's obviously what they have in place by the time we see them in BBS Ep.12 (so much so that their relationship could withstand the difficulties of a long-distance commitment after Pran moves to Singapore).

(above) BBS Ep.12 [3I4] 8.15

I'm willing to accept this because I think OS2 x BBS x ATOTS was not meant to be a PatPran vehicle in the main, and so I will take whatever crumbs are on offer and view their forest ordeal as more metaphor than real-time depiction of their actual process to ground their relationship in greater maturity. (If you'd like to look at PatPran's learning track more in detail however, I can point you to the ever-incisive @miscellar's breakdowns linked here, here and here. 🤩👍)

But what I find really interesting about OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is when PhuTian's storyline gets drawn into the mix – and it happens much earlier than you would think on first watch.

One part of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS that stood out for me was all the discourse around the Engineering play, because quite frankly it felt incongruously spotlighted. First of all, why Snow White? And why an entire scene of Pran demonstrating the art of theater to Pat backstage? I now believe Director Aof was doing this to call attention to some underlying significance.

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 9.15

Tumblr user @ranchthoughts has very astutely pointed out that the story of Snow White has many parallels with the original ATOTS (e.g., the gallant woodsman; the fragile, privileged damsel who falls in a swoon; the journey through the forest; the misappropriated heart that doubles as proof of good faith – see these links here, here and here for more 🤩👍).

(above) An illustration of the seven dwarfs finding Snow White by Franz Jüttner, from Sneewittchen (1905)

So by bringing up Snow White, Director Aof was already slyly alluding to PhuTian in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4].

Although it is not a strict retelling of the fairytale, I think that OS2 x BBS x ATOTS also contains elements of Snow White:

Another character (Phupha) swoons into unconsciousness (like Snow White did after biting the poisoned apple);

There is also a journey through the wilderness (mirroring Snow White's abandonment in the woods and finding her way to the dwarf house);

A cast of supporting characters parallels the seven dwarfs (Kampung is one, and this is perhaps why they dressed him in oversized windbreakers, playing with his proportions to make him seem more dwarf-like; this is also possibly why Pat jokingly mentions Korn playing one of the dwarfs in the Engineering play at Ep.1 [1I4] 13.26 – Drake may have been originally envisioned as part of the cast, in character as Rang, up in the mountains);

The magic mirror, that always tells the truth, is actually PatPran, in whom PhuTian see their own relationship problems reflected, and whose truths help them to better their own dynamic (see Phupha's comments at Ep.4 [3I4] 0.53 and 1.05 – "It has to be you two who play the parts" and "No one gets us better than these two" as well as PhuTian's more light-hearted callbacks to PatPran's cheekier moments, e.g., at Ep.4 [2/4] 1.25 and 1.59).

But it's really Pat and Pran's interaction backstage at Ep.1 [2/4] 8.54 that both illuminates and foreshadows some bigger themes to come in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS (when Pran demonstrates how a simple bench can transform onstage, depending on how you frame it for the audience via the narrative).

(above left) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 10.12 – Pran shows Pat how a bench can be a dining table; (above right) BBS Ep.3 [3I4] 9.01 – Pat shows Pran how roleplay can spark a creative bus stop design

On the surface level it's a parallel and callback to PatPran's roleplay at BBS Ep.3 [3I4] 8.38 (although flipping the roles with Pran turning educator doesn't quite gel, given that Pat was fully aware of how to use the power of imagination at the bus-stop).

It's also a tip of the hat to theater legend Peter Brook who famously said "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged", which invokes the same kind of metamorphic magic that turns Pran's bench into a mirror, a dwarf dining table and a glass coffin. (Peter Brook also passed away just a few months before the Our Skyy 2 trailer aired, which lends a poignancy and weight to this moment.)

(above left) Theater legend Peter Brook; (above right) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 11.03 – PatPran roleplay Snow White and the glass coffin

The bench as glass coffin is also a metaphor for the constraints that PatPran must face living their relationship in a glass closet – open to view yet limited on all sides by expectations (remembering that they've officially broken up but still have to interact in public on school matters).

And of course it's unmissable that both Snow White's glass coffin and PatPran's relationship are a metaphor for queer lives in the closet. (PatPran leaning in for a kiss on that bench only to be interrupted by a uniformed security guard, is also a tongue-in-cheek reminder about how higher authorities can and do impinge on the freedom of queer people to love freely.)

However, in the context of BL and of Our Skyy 2 as a BL anthology, OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is also a metatextual comment on the telling of queer love stories in the media. The entire four-parter can be seen as a metaphor (or more correctly, an allegory) regarding the commodification of LGBTQ+ love by the BL industry itself, if you will, as well as some of the issues this stirs up.

In OS2 we have:

PatPran turning PhuTian's love story into a drama for public consumption;

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 7.00

The emphasis placed on consent for that story to be used (in the words of Ajahn Pichai at Ep.1 [2/4] 12.15, 12.31 and 12.38, and PhuTian's exchange at Ep.2 [1I4] 16.30) and the comment that partial consent is not enough (from Pran at Ep.2 [1I4] 10.18 and 20.22);

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 12.38; (middle) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 16.32; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 20.22

Phupha's objection to being portrayed as a one-dimensional love interest, reduced to only his romanticized and/or sexualized self (Ep.2 [1I4] 18.35), instead of being seen as a fully-realized human being in his own right (Ep.2 [1I4] 18.25);

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 18.35; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 18.25

Pran detecting Phupha's self-doubt and commenting at Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58: "Why do I feel like you’re just insecure and not sure if you’re good enough to tell anyone that story?";

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58

Phupha finally giving permission for PatPran to dramatize his and Tian's story, with the proviso that Tian and he be played by PatPran themselves (Ep.4 [3I4] 0.48).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 0.48

The parallels with the BL industry are striking. (I'm sticking with BL as the established industry here, but you could perhaps apply the same points to the nascent GL as well.) No disrespect to allies, but Director Aof is pointedly saying the following:

Queer love stories are constantly being dramatized in Thai media (by cishet-dominated parties and largely for cishet consumption) – but this is often done without the LGBTQ+ community having much say, let alone any consent, in the matter;

The commodification of queer love (especially in the BL industry) has resulted in most productions forefronting the romantic and/or sexual aspects of the narrative (understandable, because these are romance-driven), but this also has the unfortunate result of reducing the queer characters to pretty vessels for love stories, deified and/or fetishized, and with limited room for more to be said about other aspects of their queer lives;

Perhaps because of discrimination, people might still be carrying the idea in their heads that queer stories are somehow less valid than the cishet ones that dominate media (remembering how SOTUS had to break the mold for BL, and InkPa for GL) – and the call sometimes even comes from inside the house, when queer people feel that their stories may somehow be unsuitable for mainstream channels (as echoed by Phupha's insecurity, called out by Pran at Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58).

Not only are queer stories that exist beyond the romantic/sexual dimension worthy of being told in a more expansive arena (Pran's Architecture play, and its reception), the LGBTQ+ community should be mindful when control of how these stories are told and who gets to tell them is not in its hands (echoed by "neutral" Ajahn Pichai's reminder about consent, and Phupha's insistence on having a trusted couple incarnate his and Tian's story).

But remembering Director Aof's leanings toward LGBTQ+ activism in his work, it's also possible to read the drama in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS as an allegory itself for real-life situations, beyond this BL anthology's metatextual comment on the BL industry. I think that this is the ultimate message with PhuTian's story being the finale for Our Skyy 2 (landing not coincidentally during Pride Month and all).

With the metaphors in Pran's theater class backstage and the BL allegory as a launchpad, OS2 x BBS x ATOTS (and Ep.4 especially) is also allegory for queer life in a broader context:

In wider society, the narrative for queer lives has for so long been dominated by the cishet majority and dictated by it (just as the queer romances in BL have had to respond to cishet impulses).

So many queer people have to live their lives with varying degrees of (in)visibility, subject to unseen but still suffocating constraints (Snow White's glass coffin, standing in for the proverbial closet).

Queer lives often take on a performative public face and people have to pretend to be less than their whole truth (Pran's bench, actually so much more than meets the eye).

Queer individuals' self-worth and self-acceptance are influenced by the views of those outside the community, whether coming from family or larger society (Phupha's insecurity, called out by Pran at Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58).

Remembering how Heart in Director Aof's recent (and also mega-important) work Moonlight Chicken was sequestered away by his parents because he was different (i.e., he was a Heart who did not fit what they perceived as "normal"), there is also a parallel in OS2 with Tian whose heart is one step removed from what is considered the norm by wider society (being a transplant from Torfun in ATOTS).

(above) Moonlight Chicken Ep.5 [4/4] 12.23 – Heart weeps in silence at his isolation

Tian's heart often causes him pain, and he is often enfeebled or constrained by it, but even so he loves with his heart just as hard as the next guy (maybe even more, seen not just in his relationship with Phupha but also in his compassion for his students and especially the lost Kampung).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [3I4] 2.57

We are shown that Tian is not willing to be held back by his difference, and expects to live his life to the fullest. It's just that he needs to live his life a little differently, and indeed he thrives when he is given the right circumstances (controlled exertion, and the right sustenance/medication) and freedom to do so. And all this is of course a metaphor for queer people, whose hearts also love differently from the cishet majority's, and who are simply asking for the freedom and space to live their best lives.

So in a sense – just as PatPran were a magic mirror to PhuTian – OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is also Snow White's magic mirror held up to its audience, reflecting truths about queer life back to all who are watching.

But as is typical of Director Aof's work, Our Skyy 2 also suffuses its message with hope, so it's not all hard truths, raw and unvarnished. The series draws to a close on an uplifting note, and as an allegory it hails on behalf of the queer community the hope of a positive future that is presented as not only attainable, but also deserved.

Homophobia is not shown to exist in this universe (as was the case with BBS and also ATOTS). So when Phupha meets up with Tian in Bangkok, they're surrounded by a supportive network of family, friends and allies who were working together to make Phupha's attendance at Tian's birthday celebration a reality.

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 3.06 – Tian's birthday celebration with his parents, best friend Tul and surprise guest Phupha; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 4.32 – Tian's parents give Phupha their blessing to marry Tian

Tian's parents also giving joyful, proud and formal blessing to their union, as well as Tul and Yod's cheerful assistance, all signal the aspirational message that a better, more accepting world is possible for the LGBTQ+ community.

And of course that super-romantic wedding proposal caps it all off:

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 8.46 – Phupha kisses Tian's hand after placing the engagement ring on his finger; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 12.16 – Phupha and Tian's post-engagement kiss by the pool

But it's not just trumpeting support for marriage equality, the cause célèbre that BL series have been championing over the past few years. Noting that Thailand is expected to legalize LGBTQ+ marriage in the coming weeks or months, queer people in the country are now daring to look to the future with much more hope in their hearts. 💖

With this as the context, Phupha and Tian's engagement in the present, with matrimonial union set for the future, can also be seen as symbolizing the hope of even better days to come – when members of the queer community will finally be afforded equal rights in all respects. And I think this has given Our Skyy 2's last episode a rainbow flourish truly worthy of Pride Month 2023. 😍

‌ P.S. Not to take away from the importance of Director Aof's vision, but this is a Bad Buddy blog after all, so I will close this write-up with a bit of a rewind back to PatPran. We didn't get to see a whole lot of information regarding their relationship growth in the four episodes of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS, but there is an Easter Egg hiding within the layers near the end. One of the issues that Pat and Pran had to deal with as a new-ish couple was how to move away from scorekeeping in their constant, competitive jostling. Their first few contests that we saw in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS were win-lose ones ("if you get it, it means that I won't", e.g., the use of the auditorium and the HighTem sponsorship), and that kind of dynamic would only have been corrosive for their couplehood in the longer term. What we see in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is that in the end they somehow arrive at a win-win instead (just as their Ep.6 Beachside Bet in Bad Buddy sidestepped a black-and-white win-lose outcome and gave them both the winner's prize of being in love). I don't have proof that it's intentional, but Director Aof and his team are certainly clever enough to have planned it to be so. For if ATOTS really is a version of Snow White, both of them got to stage their plays (and share in the sponsorship) since Pran's play (ATOTS) is also Pat's play (Snow White). OS2 x BBS x ATOTS winks at this with Pat – an Engine boy – playing Snow White/Tian, and by showing Wai and Korn in cahoots backstage (why should Engineering student Korn be helping with the Archi play anyway?). 😍

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 6.55 And then PatPran are of course forced to kiss onstage (celebrating their union in more ways than one).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 7.13 Another sly little wink from OS2, they're lovers pretending to be enemies pretending to be lovers, which in a way is also emblematic of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS's deeper message, told matryoshka-style with layers of allegorical meaning. 💖

‌

[breakonthroough]

Parallels in Trigun and One Piece.

Today I would like to share my thoughts about the parallels and references in One Piece, which I noticed for myself when watched the anime Trigun — both versions old and new (and yes, I came to them after I caught up with OP ongoing). I may have imagined something, but some parallels suggest themselves. I think Oda-san, like many other mangakas, took a lot of inspiration from Yasuhiro Naitou's classic work.

Analysis may and does content ! spoilers !

1. First of all, from the direct references and easter eggs of Oda-sensei, I would note the similarity of Sanji holding a wounded Zoro on his shoulders, bandajed like a cross, in the Wano arc with Nicholas D. (!) Wolfwood, with his big weapon-cross at the ready. It was a funny gag from Odacchi :)

2. Then, the "Sandsteamer" in Trigun reminded me very much of the "Sea Train" in OP. I don’t know if this is a reference or not, but they definitely have something in common. The principle of movement of steam vehicles in an atypical environment.

3. Another point - the antagonist character of one of the episodes (just about the Sandsteamer), Brilliant Dynamites Neon, very much reminded me of Arlong, both with his toothy design and his charisma.

4. Well, the gang of the Donquixote family reminded me in many ways in its diversity of Knives’ organization “The Gung-Ho-Guns”. (And also it reminded me the BB crew too).

5. Well, the most important parallel for me is the clear and definite similarity of the story and the contrast between the main characters of Trigun - Knives Millions and Vash the Stampede with the Donquixote brothers. I’ll go into more detail here, because there are plenty of references, besides the fact that each of them is a handsome blond.

💙💙💙

▪️If Vash, in fact, bears little resemblance to Rocinante, except for his wounded and scarred body and the fact that, unlike his brother, he is also kind and soft-hearted. Both of them often play the fool, posing as awkward, stupid simpletons (with different goals, of course), and at the same time almost never show outsiders their deeply sad soul, traumatized by losses and experiences.

▪️Doflamingo personality as character imo was largely inspired as personality of Knives, as it seemed to me. The parallel is that he and his brother are similarly representatives of a superior (in their opinion) race, but they only treat ordinary people differently.

▪️Knives and Doflamingo, unlike their kind brothers, are evil incarnate. Proud, arrogant and cruel. Intolerant and merciless towards human weaknesses and any manifestations of kindness and gentleness. Both have a justified and (from their pov) very logical reason to hate people as a race and the whole world order.

And both also have a plan to destroy the world that does not suit them and build their own, ideal one. Both of them are involved in the murder of people dear to their brothers (father for Roci, Rem for Vash). Well, in both cases, the good brothers are trying with all their might to prevent the implementation of the grandiose plans of the evil brothers.

▪️Well, I must say that the showdown between Vash and Knives ends in the anime much less disastrously than that of Doffy and Roci. But even in the general plans of these scenes, analogies and parallels are visible, as it seemed to me. 😢

Well, as you know, the brilliant refers to the great. I'm glad that for all their similarities, these stories and characters turned out to be different. Oda may have been inspired by the work of his predecessor, but he created his own epoch-making story with a great plot and beloved, touching characters.

Russian translation below 👇

Параллели и отсылки к Тригану в One piece.

Сегодня я хотела бы поделиться своими мыслями насчёт параллелей и отсылок в One piece, которые отметила для себя, когда посмотрела аниме Триган — обе версии (да, я дошла до них уже после того, как нагнала онгоинг Куска). Что-то, возможно, мне померещилось, но кое-какие параллели напрашиваются сами собой. Думаю, Ода-сан, как и многие другие мангаки, немало почерпнул для вдохновения из ставшей классикой работы Ясухиро Найто.

1. Прежде всего, из прямых отсылок и пасхалок Оды-сенсея я бы отметила сходство Санджи, держащего на плечах раненого Зоро, перемотанного как крест, в арке Вано с Николасом Д. (!) Вулфвудом, с его оружием-крестом наперевес. Это был смешной гэг от Одаччи:)

2. Затем, Песчаный Пароход мне очень си��ьно напомнил Морепоезд. Не знаю, отсылка это или нет, но что-то общее в них точно есть. Принцип движения парового транспорта в нетипичной для него среде.

3. Ещё один момент — персонаж одного из эпизодов (как раз про Песчаный пароход), Brilliant Dynamites Neon, очень сильно напомнил мне Арлонга, как зубастым дизайном, так и своей харизмой.

4. Ну и банда семьи Донкихот мне во многом напомнила своим разнообразием организацию Найвса "The Gung-Ho-Guns".

5. Ну, и самая главная для меня параллель — явная и определенная схожесть истории и противопоставления главных персонажей Тригана — Найвса Миллионса и Вэша Урагана с братьями Донкихот. Тут остановлюсь подробнее, ведь отсылок, помимо того, что каждый из них прекрасный блондин, предостаточно.

💙💙💙

Если Вэш, по сути, мало чем напоминает Росинанта, кроме израненного и покрытого шрамами тела и того, что он, в отличие от брата, также добрый и мягкосердечный. Оба они часто придуриваются, изображая из себя неловких глуповатых простаков (с разными целями, разумеется), и при этом почти никогда не показывают посторонним свою глубоко печальную и травмированную потерями и переживаниями душу.

Дофламинго же, как мне показалось, во многом списан с Найвса. Параллель в том, что они с братом аналогично являются представителями высшей (по их мнению) расы, только относятся к обычным людям по-разному.

Найвс и Дофламинго, в отличие от своих добрых братьев — воплощённое зло. Гордые, высокомерные и жестокие. Нетерпимые и беспощадные к человеческим слабостям и любым проявлениям доброты и мягкости. У обоих есть обоснованная и очень логичная с их точки зрения причина ненавидеть людей и существующее мироустройство. А также есть план по разрушению не устраивающего их мира и построения своего собственного, идеального. И тот, и другой причастны к убийству дорогих для их братьев людей (отец для Росинанта, Рем для Вэша). Ну и, в обоих случаях, реализации грандиозных планов злых братьев всеми силами пытаются помешать добрые.

Ну и, должна сказать, разборки между Вэшем и Найвзом заканчиваются в аниме куда менее плачевно, чем у Доффи и Роси. Но даже на общих планах этих сцен видны аналогии и параллели, как мне показалось. 😢💔

Что ж, как известно, гениальное отсылает к великому. Я рада, что при всей своей схожести, эти истории и персонажи получились все же разными. Ода, возможно и вдохновлялся работой предшественника, но создал свою собственную эпохальную историю с великолепным сюжетом и любимыми, трогающими за душу персонажами.

[bonefall]

omg ....i cant believe i never asked this, but how is BB!Riverstar different to canon? hes probably one of my favorite cats despite DoTC being sort of forgetful

I am keeping the emotional core of River Ripple being a peaceful hippy... with a twist

NO CLAN is allowed to sit out the First Battle. Unlike canon, all Five are locked and loaded at that fateful event, and thus, will be getting setup before then.

Park Cats are the other cultural group present in the area. About 2 years ago, the Park was destroyed and all of its cats followed the river to White Hart Wood. They've been here since then. River Ripple was only a baby at the time-- Heir of Arc, king of the Park Cats, legendary leader who lead his people to a new land.

River Kingdom is loosely associated 'fiefdom' that lives beyond the river. The cats there are all beholden to Arc, but are allowed to sort of do their own thing on the territory as long as they understand Arc has final authority. River Ripple, meanwhile, is currently a bit of a good-for-nothing.

He just wants to swim and chill. Not a fighter, he's a lover, doesn't really want all that responsibility, y'know. Lazy prince type. Has natural charisma and mysterious ways, but doesn't like conflict.

While Thunder Storm is staying in Sky's Clan, he goes to the riverbank for some alone time and roasts himself up a mouse. They don't speak the same language yet --Thunder speaks Tribemew and River speaks Parkmew, the two mother languages of Clanmew-- but Thunder Storm knows what salivating means. So, no big deal, y'know? Passes the wet guy his mouse and roasts up a new one.

Clear Sky did not like this, but River leaps back into the water and can't be caught. He does remember the hot food and the kindness though.

After Thunder Storm saves Bumble, she becomes his MOST IMPORTANT asset, because she is Trilingual. She speaks Tribemew, Parkmew, and her mother tongue is Townmew.

(Bumble and Turtle were also mates, explicitly. Turtle escaped Tom and Bumble followed shortly after.)

So Thunder gets to work on diplomacy with River Kingdom across the river, and the Wind Coalition jokingly referred to on this blog as the tri-state area to the north. Wind Coalition doesn't really work out super well, but River Kingdom does, thanks to Thunder Storm's breaking of the bread.

Eventually, Clear Sky Clear Skies and like canon, they are calling for a diplomatic meeting. But this time, he takes a political hostage. River Ripple. It's not Jackdaw's Cry, he is starving the prince of a rival group.

And THAT is how River Kingdom gets involved in the First Battle! Arc brought his strongest warriors because Clear Sky was holding his HEIR hostage. They were forced to break their neutrality.

So River, I don't imagine my version's personality is super different from canon! I'm just giving him more stuff. More roles and politics behind him, while keeping him as the laidback, non-confrontational dude I like so much.

[katyspersonal]

2, 11, 46 for creighton o:

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

2) Did you always like this character?

Yes, and even before I as much as knew his name, let alone lore! It was fated... I've started the Soulsborne downspiral from BB and then ER, but naturally I've caught some DS fanart and lore here and there. And I remember I always spotted this guy and thought he looked soooo good?? Since I didn't know the lore I was just identifying them as "some spikey boy", "the guy in weird yellow hat" (didn't know Heysel was a she fsdhfsdh), "slutty-looking dude I keep seeing" and "the one in really sexy armour" sdfhhdsd So, the latter one always captivated me the most X'DDD I just felt like he had the vibe I'd love, talk about the design being just right!

11) How did you “fall in love” with this character?

Instantly, actually? Shortly after I've learned from my friends that Creighton originally came from DS2, not 3, and with "evil twin of Patches" in package. I was sick staying in my bed, and decided to check both his and Pate's lore and dialogue. I fucking LOVED Creighton's over-the-top murderous guy voice acting SO goddamn much?? He made me laugh, but in a good way, it was genuine joy. Like 'holy shit he sounds exactly how he looks' XD

I also liked how kinda.. 'straightforward' he was? I feel personally betrayed by him since this sort of direct, angry, blunt, "threatening" way of talking IS something that tends to make me feel very safe. This is dear for me, like a person that means well but has negative charisma, when "polite" people, like Pate to not go far, I am practically allergic to fdhhsd I expected him to fall for the trope of 'actually a nice guy but cursed with giving bad vibes'! Still I am not disappointed that he was not a guy who only seemed threatening like I thought, but actually whereas he sounded like how he looked, he acted like how he sounded 💀 Still a really fun character! (Also @heraldofcrow is a huge chicken for claiming to love all the murderous white-haired characters but ignoring Creighton! FIGHT ME LOOSER)

46) How much do bad interpretations of this character upset you?

I will admit, I do not go into DS fandoms, so I would not know what bad interpretations of him could exist. How does anyone even misinterpret a plain serial killer character...? If I saw the point missed in some way, I can envision myself having a very mild headache and yelling "Stop it, he is literally a serial killer, not a tsundere teenage girl!" or something like that? I don't know fhsdhdf And then that'd be all for laughs, in the end, I would not be upset! There is no much depth or controversy to cherish about the character. Which is GOOD! Some characters are just bold!

[unsleepingtales]

Ravening War Reactions Ep. 2!

Here we goooooo (said like Peter Pan)

Every time I remember that Colin has 6 charisma I giggle a little bit

Lou mentioned something to do with Scottish history and Brennan immediately went to Thinking Face (tm) and this is part of why I’m so excited that they’re in the same camera shot this season

Commendable 🥲

Anjali has Strong lettuce opinions and honestly? I respect it.

“Trust is bad” seems to be the motto of the season so far

BRENNAN

No one wants to trust that sneaky little radish. Unfortunately the dice deem they must.

Raphaniel has major dirt on Allium, noted.

God the name being the FDA is so fucking good.

Raphaniel has a cork board covered in red yarn and you cannot convince me otherwise

I know he’s being sneaky and suspicious etc but I’m happy that the bishop is taking care of Karna

Come on provolone! Little cheese knight!

Ooh my girl’s got demons!

“A chess piece… or at least the head of one” TERRIFYING THANKS BABE

He’s a hero. Vegetania doesn’t need heroes.

I wanna know where he goes when he thinks too tbh

Bulbian religion is fascinating to me

Colin who are you I desperately want to know

Oh she’s just murdering them okie dokie

OH that’s straight up self mutilation. Ok. Okokok.

He sneakyyyy

Raphaniel shut up they are onto you I don’t care how well Brennan rolls

Colin Provolone: big abstinence guy?

Boy what are you t a l k i n g a b o u t

“I feel bonded” “Well good luck with that” babe WHAT

Ohohohoh I do not like that language. That is fucking creepy. Nope.

A language we haven’t heard her speak before but very carefully not specifying what language it is

Child????

Amangeaux child???

Oh god that’s gonna kill me

Colin is good at his job. He IS.

Tiny chili pepper crush aaaaaaaaa

Colin <3

Making enemies: one way to know you’re on the right path!

Brennan is too good at bullshitting proverbs

A QUICHE????

Is he actually cool or is he another Johnny Spells

Raphaniel you are talking about this too knowledgeably for a man of your station. Take it down a notch.

He has Plans. He’s good at his Job.

Gross

Bishop kinda wingmanning for Karna?

Bishop stay away from the cheese man I need him to be ok

The DOME

Ooooh board games :D

NoT mUcH oF a SeCrEtS gUy yeah right ok sure bb

Karna dreamily asking about Deli’s murderous past & Raphaniel getting overwhelmed by the horny energy

Amangeaux surrogate mothering for Karna is giving me emotions

Karna! My love my light! Whatcha doin honey!

Mans kicked off a world war but he’s the guy with the hat.

Something they had in common 🥲

She can do magic but everyone needs to be so chill about it. No one say anything ok. She’s fine.

This feels like a little more than baseline trust tbh

What does a frazzled tomato look like

Oh Matt’s gory description skills are on point

Karnaaaaaa I know it’s your job but that is a child.

On the one hand I am very happy for her and glad she’s doing well for herself. On the other. Tiny child has been found out and reported.

Dome!!

Preview reactions:

*chanting* BATTLE SET! BATTLE SET!

Miniiiiiiiis

God Aabria’s makeup fucks so hard

[naturally-dazed]

She actually talked to him and surprisingly after like almost 2 weeks of not seeing each other or speaking since he lost his temper with her, it seems like she still has all the sentiments & feelings for him (despite their romantic relationship being fully red?) and he is still single apparently, it kinda brought up all the jealous emotions she used to have seeing him mentor another girl at the gym and she even got flirty while talking to him. Her feelings are just a whole mess when it comes to this guy.

She kept working out on that treadmill for a few more hours, dumbass hollywood body standards smh i think she lost a little bit of the weight she gained over her young adulthood from all that cardio - but she's still not level 5 fitness. So, she's going in for an auditon to play a doctor instead. Charisma is easy, she has what she needs already lol

pets make life feel so much fuller man both irl and in game ;-;

a bb

also, it just so happens to be winterfest/christmas and she got the relative left her an inheritance etc call but In my mind, a relative sent her money since they heard she got scammed for the millionth time out of her last 20$ lol

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #220

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're building the Beach Babe, the Baddest Bitch, the one, the only; BB. We're not doing the whole alliteration thing this time, sorry. She's a Hexblade Warlock to pull any weapon she could possibly want out of hammerspace and a Chronurgy Wizard for some time loops. And fire. And turning people into pigs. And turning into a giant and crushing people. You do a lot of stuff, huh?

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: But first; lemme take a selfie!

Race and Background

The good news is this part barely changed at all since last time. She's still a Custom Lineage since WotC won't return my calls about the omnipotent AI race I keep asking them to put in 5.5e. She gets +2 Charisma, a medium size, Darkvision to dunk on the humans, and the Lucky feat. Three times a day you can react to roll another d20 when you make a check, save, or attack roll and use either result. It's a time loop, you literally just do the same thing twice for a different result. You can also use this on an enemy's attack if they're hitting you, they tend to get sloppy after making the same attack for three days straight.

If anything, making you a Rakdos Cultist makes even more sense now, what with the elder god powers and fireballs. You get Acrobatics and Performance proficiency, as well as a bunch of spells. We'll talk about them more when we get your wizard levels.

Ability Scores

Your Intelligence should be number one, you're an AI and you're from the future, and you already know how this stuff'll turn out since it's the third time you've seen it happen. After that is Charisma, you somehow manage to motivate your senpai to keep making manga well into the second century of his vacation; that's impressive. Your Dexterity comes next, we don't need it for weapons, but you do some impressive pirouettes at times, and we need you to not die while bringing a bathing suit to a battle. Your Constitution isn't that high, but you're not one for a fair fight anyways. This means your Wisdom is a bit low, haphazardly designed AI aren't the most rational, and we're dumping Strength. You don't need to do heavy lifting when you can just trap people in time loops until they do it for you.

Class Levels

Warlock 1: Starting as a wizard would probably be more in-character, but you need all the health you can get so we're starting with the bigger hit die and the free mage armor. You don't get the latter yet, but as a Hexblade you do get plenty other goodies. You can invoke a Hexblade's Curse as a bonus action once per short rest, cursing a creature for up to a minute. While it's cursed, you can add your proficiency bonus to damage you do to the creature, deal crits on 19s and 20s, and when the target dies, you regain HP. Your second skill is kind of a grab bag, so I'm glad we got a little healing in place. You're also a Hex Warrior, so you can use medium armor if you really want to. Also, after a long rest you can touch a non-two-handed weapon and use your charisma instead of strength/dexterity when you use it to attack. Finally, your Spells. You cast them using your Charisma, and the slots come back on short rests. Err, slot. Sorry. Pick up Eldritch Blast for some caster balls, Prestidigitation for smaller reality bending, Hellish Rebuke for a little fire power out the gate when someone hits you, and Illusory Script. Write one contract, then go back in time and replace it with another! The most devilish of time manipulations. That makes sense, right?

Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, mini-feats you get for being a warlock. Armor of Shadows lets you cast mage armor for free, forever, as long as you only help yourself. You also pick up the spell Protection from Evil and Good, so you can strike up a conversation with an elder god without going mad.

Warlock 3: Third level warlocks get their pact boon, and with the Pact of the Blade you can now summon almost any weapon in the game as an action. Since you're a hexblade, this weapon automatically uses your charisma instead of anything else. Also, you're supposed to get two invocations at level 2, but we always save the second for Improved Pact Weapon around here. Your attacks and damage rolls get +1, and the list of weapons you can make expands even further. I think the only ones you can't make now are bows, and maybe slings? Flails, scythes, and... whatever you'd call those tentacles are all on the table. You can also cast Mirror Image to create three copies of yourself to take hits for you. You'll get more tangible options later, but your AC is pretty bad now.

Wizard 1: Bouncing over to wizard starts you off with a wizard spell list, giving you an absolutely bonkers six 1st level spells now, and two more every time you level up. That's a lot, so we're not going over all of them in this article, check the character sheet for the full list. Most of them will fit under the categories of fire damage, eldritch madness, or time mischief, so take those as guiding tenets. We will still go over spells we feel need justification, fall outside of those categories, or are central to the build. You also gain an Arcane Recovery, so once per long rest you can regain some spell slots on a short rest. A wild concept, to be sure. Also while we're on the subject, your warlock and wizard spell slots don't mix, so just treat your slot numbers as if you weren't multiclassing and add them together. You can use warlock slots for wizard spells and vice versa, but don't use the multiclassing table. Pick up the Mending cantrip to bring small items back to when they were whole, and Comprehend Languages so you can understand your new penpal. Oh right, the background spells. I'm not entirely sure how this works with wizard spells, but your spell list is big enough you could probably get away with it if they aren't added wholesale. You get Fire Bolt and Vicious Mockery for cantrips, plus Burning Hands, Dissonant Whispers, and Hellish Rebuke for first level spells.

Wizard 2: Second level wizards learn their school of magic, and as a Chronurgist you specialize at fucking with the time stream. At second level your Temporal Awareness adds your intelligence to initiative rolls, and you can activate a Chronal Shift twice per long rest as a reaction. This lets you force a re-roll on any check, save, or attack roll within 30' of you, and the re-roller has to use the second option. One time loop is rookie numbers, but we have to start somewhere.

Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells, Enlarge/Reduce makes you bigger. Or smaller, but we want to be bigger for crushing craters. You add 1d4 to your attack rolls while big and get advantage on strength checks and saves, vice versa if you're small. You also get Crown of Madness, Enthrall, and Flaming Sphere from your background. Insanity and fire, all nice things.

Wizard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Dexterity and Intelligence for a +2 to your initiative! Also, better AC, and stronger spells. You also learn Sword Burst to swing your weapons all over, and Hold Person to do that tentacle lock-in thing from your extra attack.

Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells! Our main spells are just fire, but you get Fear and Haste from your background.

Wizard 6: Sixth level chronurgists can put a large or smaller creature into Momentary Stasis as an action, forcing a constitution save against your spell save. If they fail, they're trapped in a time loop for a round or until they take damage. A round outside. Who knows how long inside. You can do this int mod times per long rest.

Wizard 7: Fourth level spells baybee! Evard's Black Tentacles is fun, as long as you aren't slumming it with a bunch of melee fighters. You also get Confusion and Wall of Fire from your background.

Wizard 8: ASI time! Bump up your Intelligence for better spells and more smarts! Also, you can now Banishment people into a time loop outside of this reality, for up to a minute. If they're from outside our world, it'll be permanent after that. Take that, Mysterious Heroine!

Wizard 9: Fifth level spells! You can Mislead people to sneak up on them while your illusory copy distracts them, or you can Dominate Person thanks to your background. Everyone comes around to your side eventually. You have all the time in the world to get them to change their mind.

Wizard 10: You can now use Arcane Abeyance to slow down your own spells. If you really want to, I guess. When you cast a spell that's level 4 or lower, you can turn the spell into a bead that lasts up to an hour. The bead has 1 HP, and if it gets crushed or the hour is up the spell goes poof. Otherwise, give the bead to a friend, let them pop the bead to cast the spell, and boom! It uses your DC and attack bonus, but the popper's the caster for any effects of the spell. Try this out once per short rest!

Wizard 11: Now that you have sixth level spells, you can use Tenser's Transformation to fight people without, y'know, dying. You get 50 temporary HP, advantage on weapon attacks, deal extra force damage, proficiency in strength and constitution saves, and attack twice per action. It lasts up to ten minutes with concentration, and afterwards you have to make a constitution save or you get one level of exhaustion. Also, you can't cast spells while using this one. But that's why you have the beads.

Wizard 12: Since we can hit people without dying now, use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for better warlock spells and better scythings. Also, grab Mental Prison and Soul Cage to keep senpai locked away forever.

Wizard 13: Seventh level spells! Reverse Gravity pulls people up and slaps them back down, kind of like your Cursed Crushing Crater.

Wizard 14: We save the best time nonsense for last! As a reaction, you can force a Convergent Future when a creature makes an attack, check, or save. You ignore their roll, and decide for yourself if they succeed or not. That's right, you're the DM now! There's technically no limit, but every time you use it you get one level of Exhaustion, and this one can only be removed by a long rest. So, six times. But that's to be expected, going through a thousand time loops to find the one way to seduce the dragon is going to be taxing. You also get Mirage Arcane so you can restructure some hawaiian islands. It's technically an illusion, but it has tactile sensations? So? I really don't know how it's an illusion?

Wizard 15: Eighth level spells are where we really get the cool stuff. Turns out elder gods use high level stuff. Wild. You can create some Clones to hold your costumes, and use a Reality Break to properly slap people into the dirt.

Wizard 16: Use your last ASI to bump up your Constitution. It's pretty useful for you.

Wizard 17: Your last level, and your last spell level! Ninth level spells are fun. Foresight lets you travel back in time with all the information you need to succeed, making you immune to surprise. You also have advantage on attacks, checks, and saves, and other creatures have disadvantage on attacks against you. Also, get True Polymorph to turn Robin into a pig. Did you think we forgot that? :P

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Being able to force dice rolls is great, there's a reason it's usually reserved for the DM. Even before you can make a Convergent Future you've still got Chronal Shift and plenty of Lucky points to help make sure everything runs smoothly.

Being able to mess with saves also means your Illusions are way more likely to work in your favor. Your other spells too, but you can mislead an entire army with a well placed Mirage Arcane. Or stick your BBEG away for safekeeping with Banishment. Really, do whatever the hell you wanna, you're BB.

Going further into that last bit, having tons of spells and weapon proficiencies gives you plenty of variety when it comes to tackling problems. Use illusions to avoid them entirely, blast fireballs from the back, or pop a Tenser's Transformation and Foresight to wade into the thick of combat.

Cons:

Wading into the thick of combat without Tenser's is a bad idea. You have barely over 100 HP, and your AC is 15 unless you break character for some medium armor.

On a related note, both TT and your Convergent Future feature plays with Exhaustion, the single deadliest status effect in the game. Forcing the future or getting unlucky with the transformation will quickly mess your day up, ending with your own death after six levels.

While you have variety with your spells, almost all your damage comes from Fire. It's not a great damage type to focus on.

[tepidtrashpile]

covering taeyong’s parts

I am HEATED.

tldr: i don’t usually do stuff like this but i’m highly caffeinated and have nothing better to do so prepare for a (very convoluted and long) rant cause omg im so fucking mad. 

so for those of you who don’t know, nct 2020 had a resonance vlive/concert last night (dec 26/27) and taeyong and jisung were unable to perform due to a back injury (herniated disk) and knee injury respectively.

I’ll mainly be talking about taeyong in this just due to his extrEmely large presence within NCT and also jisung was there to vocally cover his parts.

(also not to take anything away from jisung, however in the sheer amount of screentime and tracks ty is in, him missing is much harder to disguise within a performance with or without vocals) 

in order these are the members that covered ty’s parts in each song (tbh i may be forgetting some, but the point is look at how hard they had to work to even fill ty’s dance position within the concert, the boy is in like 50% of their performed tracks)

nct u - boss - sungchan

nct u - the 7th sense - shotaro 

nct u - light bulb - yangyang

nct 127 - touch - haechan (first part), johnny (iconic ty and mork), yuta (pulls up in the chorus to fill in ty part to the stage right of jh) 

nct u - make a wish - jeno (first part), jaemin (basically rest of the song)

nct 127 - kick it - mark (usually the center parts), jaehyun (first rap), yuta (end dance break), johnny (mark stepped on him rip lol)

nct u - misfit - johnny (start), sungchan (end)

nct 2020 - resonance - jeno / jaemin (?) - dude idk im having trouble keeping up at this point

// I want to make it very clear that NCT would not be where it is without taeyong. I’m not suggesting that he is replaceable in any way, shape or form. however as a person with two parents in the performance industry - and im sure that many of u understand just from general life experience -- the show mUst go on. when you have a presence as large as ty missing, it is undoubtedly going to take a toll on the overall energy and performance but i personally think that the boys fucking killed it -- especially with such a short turnaround from learning that ty would not be performing. (jaemin said that jeno legit had one HOUR to practice the beginning of maw (and by proxy the beginning of resonance) and that amount of talent and skill is unfuckingbelievable) but I digress. 

// there is nothing wrong with being disappointed that taeyong cannot perform. (get well soon ty!) he is an incredible performer and human being. there is nothing wrong with seeing (and understanding) that another member filling ty’s part is going to FEEL different, even if they do a phenomenal job. there is nothing wrong with feeling the difference in energy and performance -- there is obviously ANOTHER PERSON doing the part that we are accustomed to. there is nothing wrong with having a conversation and discourse about the performance. however... there IS something wrong with putting down members and harshly criticizing their performance in a malicious way. constructive criticism is one thing, but a lot (not all but an overwhelming amount) of what I have seen in the comments and the little bit of twitter i have been on has just been bashing members (one in particular) about their performance. 

//

// let me get the easy part out of the way here. jaemin and jeno killed it during maw. yuta’s dance break, mark’s center time, jaehyun covering ty’s rap, and johnny stepping up to get stepped on (hehe i’ll stop now don’t mind me) were all surprisingly refreshing. yangyang covering lightbulb was (imo) one of highlights of the concert. for a rapper who often doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves he did a PHENOMENAL job covering the entirety of ty’s parts in his own way and conveying his emotions. yes, the members weren’t the same as taeyong, however, they added their own twist and their own personalities to it. it is in fact BETTER to do this and be remembered for their own style than attempt to emulate someone else’s performance. it is the sign of a great artist to take something and make it your own. 

// now, onto the two newest members. i will be candid about this. the biggest difference I felt within the performance was when sungchan and shotaro were covering ty’s parts. tbh this is to be expected (?). i’m not trying to put down the boys but the reality is that they debuted 2-3 MONTHS ago? all of the other members covering ty’s parts have had significantly more experience in every aspect of performing. jaemin and jeno may be about the same age as chan and shotaro but they have upwards of 4 years more experience (debuted anyway, and anyone can tell u that practicing vs the real thing can be a very daunting change) than the other two. the other members have performed in front of a live crowd, they have had time to deal with criticism and learn from it. they are just in every way more experienced, and although we expect great things out of all the members, it is simply unrealistic to expect the same level of performance out of members with 2 years less experience than anyone else on the stage. 

aneway...

shotaro covered one of the hardest parts in nct history - taeyong’s 7th sense. in every way - the rap, the technicality of the dance, the sheer charisma ty brings - this was a daunting task. him being a rookie DID show in the performance. this isn’t a bad thing. the tone of his rap did sometimes lack nuance and the level of sophistication that we know taeyong to have. however, i do think shotaro was the right choice for this song. you have to give rookies experience for them to grow, and a concert like this (even without a live crowd) is a great time to do it. (i’ll get into logistics later but bear with me)

the sad reality is that we’re probably not going to have large in person concerts for at least the next year and it will be a long time til travel, concerts, and simply life return to what they were before covid. it will be a very long til the boys get to perform on a stage with the energy of a crowd in the same way they have up til now. 

now sungchan. my poor bb sungchan :(

sungchan covered ty’s part is boss (and a little bit in misfit but johnny covered the first part and its more of a hype rap song than one with designated dance moves and centre parts). the dance (in boss) may not be the most technical but this is an unfORGETTABLE song when it comes to taeyong’s part. the beginning “nct leggo?” *chefs kiss*. from what i’ve seen sungchan is the one receiving  the most criticism (read hate) about his performance. look, i’m not going to argue that out of all the members who filled ty’s part he was the weakest. (im not trying to hate, but imo his performance was the weakest, u can disagree with me). he definitely less comfortable with covering taeyong’s part than anyone else was - including shotaro. i think most of the criticism is coming from the fact that he just looked anxious and unable to throw himself into the choreo and when comparing him to taeyong (who again just -- idk he’s unexplainable) his performance does fall a little flat. imo the rap was okay, his tone is actually somewhat similar to ty. i really think that most of the hate is stemming from the execution of the choreo rather than the rap. HOWEVER... calling him “stiff as a board” and commenting “cap” emojis does absolutely nothing except spread unnecessary hate. sungchans position is NOT as a dancer. he is only listed as a rapper. shotaro, however, is listed as both a dancer and a rapper. not to say that these listings are the end all be all of a member’s position, but because they are so new they are a decent representation of what SM thought their strengths were. we would love our idols to be aces at everything, but they are human and humans have their strengths and weaknesses. compared to taeyong, and also shotaro, sungchan does not have the technical ability nor the confidence while dancing. I’d like to believe that anyone who analyzes their performances and takes an objective view can understand where i am coming from. 

tldr: you are placing unrealistic expectations on a rookie who’s main position is NOT main dancer. you are asking him to fill the shoes of arguably one of the most charismatic and talented rappers, leaders, and centers of 4th gen kpop... as a ROOKIE. his performance is most likely going to show cracks of being relatively new to the stage. its okay to acknowledge that, but don’t be fucking rude when discussing his performance. 

// the amount of posts i’ve seen calling sungchan “untalented” “stiff as a board” just im so fucking over it. yes, his performance had its weaknesses but name-calling and just straight up hate does nothing to help a performer and just ruins everyone’s mental. you can bet your ass that every single one of these boys has worked their ass off, given up unimaginable things, and faced challenges to get where they are today. not to mention that (in particular the case of sungchan and shotaro) these boys are young. the other youngest/newest members have had about 2 years (yangyang, xiaojun, hendery) to become accustomed to the criticism and also hatred that comes with being in the spotlight. sungchan is less than a MONTH older than me. shotaro is just a year older than me. my best friend is legit older than both of these boys. idk your age but think about yourself at their age, or where u think you’ll be at their age. they have accomplished SO much and are so young. they’re 19 and 20 and in an internationally recognized band. we know that a lot of these boys (and idols) do read our comments. i don’t care how much media training you’ve received, how strong your mental is, getting called untalented and being hated on is going to take a toll on your mental. along with that, what is the NEED? to spread hate? to show that “huhu, im such a big deal that all these people are responding to me”. like, legit wtf do u gain from this? 

// when you are a performer you do open yourself up to criticism, it is part of the job. but criticism and hate are two very different things. to get where nct is today, every single member has to be humble enough to accept guidance AND constructive criticism. we all know how much the boys value nctizens opinions and take them into account when performing. when you are a performer like that you also have to criticize your own work. no matter what profession you are in, no matter what you do, you analyze ur own work and attempt to make it better. i can all but assure u that shotaro and sungchan (and all the boys) know their strengths and weaknesses, know when a specific move, performance, or other area of their ability is not up to par (or they just want to improve which is imperative to success in the music industry)

just be a decent human being. put urself in all of the boy’s shoes and think “hmm how would i feel if some stranger on the internet said this about me” before you make hateful statements. 

again, there is nothing wrong with having a discussion and understanding that humans have strengths and weaknesses, but don’t just put someone down because u feel like it.

//

in case you aren’t convinced to be a decent person, have a more logical (?) approach -- not that u should have to shown a dissertation to be a decent human but i digress.

(think about how many other songs the rest of rap line has to perform, logistically, who else are you going have cover the entierty of boss and 7th sense.)

rap line is: taeyong, mark, lucas, hendery, jeno, jaemin, yangyang, shotaro, sungchan, and jisung (?).  

everyone except lucas and hendery (and jisung but bb was injured :( ) covered ty’s part in some aspect. in fact, people not in the friggin rap line helped cover some of ty’s rap (johnny, jaehyun, haechan im looking at you) and other members covered dancing and center parts when they were asked to.

mark is in just as many tracks as ty and was RUNNING around to get to the next song this entire concert. you can legit see his outfit change with jackets and hats. he filled in for ty in kick it (group effort but u get the point) but in 7th sense just to the way that the song works and the dance etc etc, you can’t have mark doing his part as well as ty’s without it falling flat and taking a huge toll on mark. same with boss, marks filling just as big a role as ty and like, legit how do u give this boy mOre lines than he already has. (u can see that sm did a similar thing with jeno and jaemin in the beginning of maw, jeno covers the first part and then jaemin the rest of the song because jaemin can’t leave an open space at the vEry beginning of the song) (10/21 total performances)

lucas isn’t in as many as say mark but he is in boss and make a wish (boss being very hard for him to cover ty’s part, and jeno and jaemin covered maw. if i’m being completely honest i don’t think lucas has the same tone or technical ability to fit into ty’s parts in the songs as much as say - sungchan on a pure technical and tone pov (6/21 total performances)

hendery, similar to lucas isn’t in an absurd amount of tracks but still enough to tire a guy out lol. because of him performing full choreos in other songs it doesn’t make sense for him to learn a completely new choreo while simultaneously having to memorize and practice the others songs. also, in a similar vein of lucas, i just don’t think hendery is the first choice when choosing someone to cover ty’s parts (dont kill me hendery and lucas stans lol) (6/21 total performances)

jeno while jeno isn’t in the sheer number of performances as other members, he does end up covering ty’s starting part in maw (see reasoning for jaemin above). this by proxy means he covers the maw part in resonance. while he does a fantastic job covering the starting part, asking him to learn the entirety of boss or 7th sense would be a fuckton of work. u can legit see him yEEt himself out of camera view after his part - not to mention again that he had an hour to practice lol (6/21 total performances) 7/21 covering

jaemin - first off u can literally see jaemin’s energy fall throughout the final song the boy is so tired by aneyway... it makes total sense for him to cover maw as he already knows the choreo and it take less effort than learning an entirely new song. also, when ur comparing popularity/center time between jeno and jaemin vs. hendery (even lucas sometimes) they simply have more, and when u aRe in the center u have to expend more energy becAuse u are holding the performance together (6/21 performances)

yangyang let me get my yangyang simping out of the way, but this boy is so fucking talented and his rap deserves more praise. lightbulb compared to other songs ty is in, is a more melodic and emotional based song. there is no choreo, therefore the person covering the rap just has to focus on the rap itself rather than the rap AND the choreo. imo this was the best possible choice for someone to cover ty’s part in lightbulb (6/21 total) 7/21 covering ty’s part

shotaro shotaro is only in 4/21 performances. it simply makes sense for the rap line member with the fewest songs to perform to learn a a full choreo. as stated above, 7th sense is the more technically difficult of the songs that required learning and covering a full part. assigning shotaro (the dance line member) to the more challenging choreo is just the easy choice -- especially if ya’ll gonna come for sungchan’s dancing skills, give the damn song to shotaro smh (4/21 performances) 5 when covering 7th sense

sungchan tied with shotaro for the fewest performances (just by nature of being the newest members) in the same way that it makes sense for shotaro to learn a full choreo, it makes sense for sungchan. reasoning for the assigned songs above. (4/21 total performacnes) 5 with boss

// the songs where they didn’t have a designated member cover most/all of taeyong’s parts were in the 127 songs as well as in baby don’t stop (ten and taeyong duet). 127 is the most veteran of the nct subgroups, and is in general just more accustomed to filling in parts (ie winwin - screw u sm lol). they have johnny who trained as a rapper who can fill in, jaehyun, haechan, and yuta have all proven that they can cover rap with more a sing-rap style and mark can take/cover parts when it is logistically possible. 

// in 127′s songs although ty does often take center and many lines, in general 127 is just a more well rounded group. (don’t come for my ass). in the same way that dream has an undeniable chemistry, 127 is the same way. when you work with the same group of people for an extended period of time without many (if any) changes you just build better chemistry. in nct u taeyong takes more of the spotlight just due to his charisma and raw power. think about it. which performance suffered more due to taeyong’s absence: touch / kick it or make a wish / boss / 7th sense. 

also: because 127 is a fixed unit all the boys know the choreo and have consistently performed it at concerts allowing for member to step in where they know they are comfortable without the amount of discussion it might otherwise take in a rotational group

// take a second to think about a certain performance without taeyong in it. it may just be me, but i think 127 fare much better without their leader than any rotational group without taeyong very (firmly ?) bolstering the performance in the center. (taeyong doesn’t hold all these titles for nothing, he is truly another breed)

// in baby don’t stop they didn’t even attempt to cover taeyong’s absence. idk if that was ten putting his foot down and saying that he didn’t want someone covering the part or if it was more of a choice based on marketing and fanservice. baby don’t stop is truly ten and taeyong’s song and idk if even pairing 10 with a dancer with ty’s vocal in the backtrack would have received positive feedback. 

//

if you have somehow made it this far props to you lol. a rant that started because i wanted to defend sungchan has turned into a long analysis of members... whoops.

tldr: just be a decent human being. everyone in nct is human. a talented, multifaceted, human with strengths and weaknesses. being a nctizen doesn’t mean not being proud, disappointed, happy, or any other emotion about the boys. but it does mean treating the boys and other fans with respect. 

[happy-beeeps]

So Kriffing Pretty

Pairing: mechanic! Reader x Poe Dameron

Summary: Mechanic! Reader is hopelessly smitten with Poe, and he is with her. After some intervention from their friends, Poe finally gets the courage to talk to her.

WC: 1,391

Warnings: Like, 2 swear words

Oops I was totally gonna write a drabble for Obi Wan but I was really feeling Poe tonight. Sequel to Drinkin’ problem is next!

* * *

As one of the best mechanics the rebellion had to offer, you never shied away from a project. Any ship, any size, you could have it up and running quicker than any other mechanic on the system. Currently your project was big, which meant, you were strapped in to the ceiling of the Millenium Falcon, harnessed to the roof and hanging attempting to fix one of the dozens of fuses you were sure were broken along the walls. For company, you had dragged Finn along for idle conversation and entertainment. You had to admit you were a little distracted, as your eyes kept wandering over to a certain dark haired pilot standing just past the ramp of the ship.

“If you think he’s so pretty, why don’t you go talk to him?” Finn had started, noticing your staring as the wrench you held in your hand started to slip from your grip. Passing it up to you, you mumbled a thanks and got back to work. “Because, Finn, we barely ever have normal conversations. That would be weird.”

“I don’t think so, he’s nice, you guys would get along great,”

“I don’t know if I agree with your logic on that,” you huffed, crossing your arms as you looked up at the tall officer in front of you. 

“What would be weird?” a new voice chimed in, and your mouth dropped open as you attempted to turn yourself right-side up to look at the handsome man in front of you. “Stop. Thrashing.” Finn mumbled down to you, causing you to blush and settling to hang upside down as you tried to avoid Poe’s eye contact. “Poe! You’ve met Y/N L/N right?”

“Of course! We’ve met before I’m sure,” he spoke, and you attempted to nod before chiming in, “I think the mess? I got mad at you because you took-”

“The last of the blue milk! Yes I remember. Well, I’ve heard nothing but good things about your handiwork so far L/N. Don’t make me regret trusting you with the Falcon. Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll let you work on my X-Wing next.” He winked, and a loud beeping sounded near the base of the ramp. He rolled his eyes and clasped Finn on the shoulder, “well, I’ll leave you two be. BB-8 can’t be left unattended for more than three kriffing minutes.” And with that, he sent you both a smile and spun on his heel towards the door. Once he was far out of earshot, you looked up towards Finn. “So. Kriffing. Pretty.” He smiled back down at you and responded, “Then. Go. Talk. To. Him.” Before heading out of the ship towards the mess.

* * *

After you had finished what repairs you could on the Falcon, you headed towards your quarters to rinse some of the grease off your hands and face. Your hands felt rough and your muscles were sore, and you decided the only rational next step was to find a good snack, and an even better spot to destress. Only a few minutes later did you find a worthy snack, a ripe jogan fruit that must’ve just gotten smuggled in earlier that day, and were looking for a quiet spot to eat it, when you heard an excited beeping and turned around to see a certain BB unit whizzing towards you at full speed. “BB-8! Hey buddy!” You yelped as it knocked into your ankles, and you crouched down to look at the buzzing droid. An exasperated Poe Dameron followed behind the droid, before stopping in front of you as a wave of relief washed over his eyes. “Y/N, thank the maker. I know ships are more your thing, but can you help me out? BB-8 has been complaining all day that something is wrong with his processor and, well,” he ran a hand through his hair before looking back at you, “I only wanted the best to do it.” You flushed an inhuman color of pink before busily looking back at the droid. “Of course Poe. Let’s head out to the hangar, I need more space.” He smiled at you gratefully before gesturing towards the door. “Lead the way.”

* * *

“And that’s when I said, ‘Now this was the RZ-1 model, which is way different than the early R-22's. I mean those were basically just stunt flyers, y'know?" and they just ate it up.” Poe spoke, leaning on a box of supply crates as he told you a story about evading some pirates on a past mission. You breathed out a laugh and looked up at the man. He just seemed to glow, he practically radiated charisma and personality. You were absolutely smitten. Right now, however, you were focused on the task of repairing the BB unit’s damaged processor, checking and triple checking for any errors on his prized droid. “So, what about you Y/N? What led you here? No one just joins the rebellion.”

“Technically, Finn kinda did.”

“Well I convinced him, and that’s a pretty glowing recommendation.” You smiled at his response before humming and starting your own. “Well, I’m Correllian. There isn’t much to do on Corellia aside from fix ships, study ships, build ships, look at ships, you get the idea. I had heard stories about Han Solo, the famous Correllian who got out and saved the galaxy. When I heard about the resistance, I knew I was okay enough at fixing things, so I thought it was my turn to get off that shit hole and try my hand at the whole saving-the-galaxy business.”

“Huh. I never knew that about you,” he murmured, looking up at the shadow of the Falcon leaning over your heads, “So fixing up the Falcon must be a dream.”

“You have no idea. It’s even better than a dream.” You whispered, and fell back into his eye contact. His brown eyes seemed to completely capture yours, and you felt your self blushing despite yourself. Only the rapid beeping of BB-8 was enough to bring you both back from space, and you closed up his panels and pulled your hair down out of the cloth keeping it back. “Poe, I’m sorry but I can’t find any issue with his internal circuitry. I’ve triple checked everything, but if BB-8 is still complaining, take him to a droid specialist. I’m sorry I can’t help more.”

“Oh gods, I forgot about that part. Kriff this is embarrassing. Uh, Y/N listen, I just kinda used BB-8 as an accomplice. I needed an excuse to talk to you, alone.”

“Me? Why? Is everything okay?”

“Yes! Yes absolutely it’s just, uh,” he looked around the hangar before shoving his hands in his pockets and looking back at you, “Look I think you’re really cool. And badass. And really pretty. And I just wanted to get to talk to you more. And I think, I think, that this,” he gestured between the two of you, “was nice, like by ourselves. And I think, maybe, we should do this again. Alone. Without BB-8.” You were practically fuchsia at this point, and you were sure how bright your cheeks were glowing was nearly a security threat. “I-I agree. I liked this. A lot. I’d love to do this again.” You spoke, standing to face him. “Thats, thats great! Tomorrow? We can grab dinner at the mess and head out somewhere. You ever been in an X-wing? We can go for a ride?”

“Sure Poe, that would be perfect.”

“Ok, great! I’ll see you around then Y/N, BB-* appreciates the help.” he said, before flashing one more dazzling smile and heading off in the other direction, leaving you alone with your heart thumping in your ears.

* * *

“So, how’d it go?”

“She said yes! Finn you’re a genius!” Poe stammered, shaking Finn’s shoulders. “I mean, it was definitely more of my idea,” Rey said, siding up next to Poe and grabbing his arm, “But really, I’m so happy you finally got man enough to do it.”

“Yeah guys she’s just. She’s just so. Kriffing. Pretty.” Poe said, earning him a knock on the shoulder from Finn and a laugh from Rey but it didn’t matter. Tomorrow night Poe Dameron would be eating dinner with you and taking you on a tour of the cosmos in his fighter, and nothing else mattered. 

[cmescapade]

my long overview/review of ‘Star Wars: Journey to Batuu’ after forcing myself to play it almost nonstop

so i said i was going to amend what i said in response to this ask after playing to min/max shit so here is a tldr version of my opinion after playing:

I consider this pack to be a 2/10; It's enough to kill time as a temporary distraction, but not for long. There’s absolutely no replay value after going through all those missions as each outcome is ultimately the same by faction. There also doesn’t seem to be any negative outcomes for each prompt in the little “choose your adventure” pop ups--And if there is, it is extremely low since I have never gotten a negative outcome. 

The aspirations are fair, and are the only things I found in this pack that’s anyway redeemable since I believe the rewards can be used well in conjunction with general solo/super-sim gameplay.

kinda sat on this for a while bc i wasn’t sure if i should post something so lengthy but then i remembered this is my blog n i can post my left toe if i wanted to

even tho i would never post a pic of my left toe anyway

.......at least for free. With the right price, however....

anyway more details under the cut if you’re interested bc i like to ramble :))

I decided to split this into 5 sections to organize my thoughts a little better. I’ll be separating my thoughts on each faction, the ships as a rabbit hole, the faction missions, the star wars aspirations, and then the breakdown of my 2/10 rating. 

1. Factions

When you travel to Batuu, the game gives you a starting “mission” or quest to get you acclimated to the areas, and each area has a specific Faction associated with it.

And yes, you cannot live anywhere, nor are there any lots, as was already stated.

Every area has a similar makeup which has:

Control Panels

Supply Crates

1 non-rabbit hole area

1 interactable ship

The Black Spire Outpost is the biggest area and has:

Two places to grab food, three if you count the Cantina

Aside from the Cantina, the other areas are rabbit holes

The two eateries are:

Docking Bay 7

this one has the most food options

you’ll never go hungry in batuu because the cheapest items on the menu are Outpost Popcorn Mix and Water at 0 credits lmao

the other two foods not shown in the screenshot above are Yobshrimp Noodle Salad and Braised Shaak Roast

Ronto Roasters

This food place has two of the same options Docking Bay 7 has as well as two additional food items

Oga’s Cantina

The only area that you see the inside of

yea the bar serves batuu-only drinks too

also where you find the guy who would give you Scoundrel missions, Hondo Ohnaka.

You can essentially max your Scoundrel reputation without it hindering whichever side you wanna take, and you can keep it when you essentially max out your rep on either the Resistance or the First Order.

There aren’t any real pros to being a Scoundrel aside from some socialization interactions. It doesn’t do anything for initial Batuu gameplay aside from unlocking Scoundrel outfits in CAS and some upgrades for your droids, but this goes for all of your options (Resistance, First Order, & Scoundrel).

The Dwelling

This is a rabbit hole where your sim goes to sleep, pee, or shower… If not the closest bench. 

It’s located opposite to the Cantina. 

If you’re ever lost, there’s a spire you can sit/nap on right in front of it–or you can just wait till your sim wants to pee. 

they’ll automatically run there 

that’s… how i found it, tbh

Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities

Another rabbithole

This place sells items you can use to complete missions, like Dataspikes and a couple of Lightsaber parts

Majority of the inventory are decorative stuff to bring back with you

Savi’s Workshop

Right behind the antique shop is the lightsaber place where you can find more hilts, kyber crystals, and display cases for your lightsabers.

You can also click on the shop to start a lightsaber challenge.

Outside this area, you have the First Order District which has more supply crates and control panels than the other two neighborhoods, and a lot more activity–Makes sense since this is basically the hub for the First Order in general. 

There’s only the Droid Depot in this area, and the only real shop that has use for credits. Food wise, there’s a food stall, and if your sim is stinky or tired, they’d basically disappear for a few minutes to recharge and come back. 

Droid Depot

Each faction has specific Droid personality traits

Aside from “voices,” these personalities don’t do much

I guess the First Order one is a lot more zap-happy though

The Resistance Camp is even smaller. Like the other areas, it’s littered with supply crates, but only has one control panel and no shops. However, there’s a rabbit hole toward the back in the Caves.

This doesn’t lead you to anywhere interesting, and it’s just another ‘choose your own adventure’ kind of thing. 

2. Ships

In the Black Spire Outpost, you’ll find the iconic Millennium Falcon. You can do kessel runs and explore in the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca if you have a high Scoundrel reputation. 

However, although I said you get to ride with Chewbacca, you don’t ever see him come out 

He just kinda……………..stays there

and the prompts tell u he’s there

n ur gonna have to go with it and use the power of your imagination to believe he really do be there

In the First Order District, there’s the TIE Echelon, which functions the same way as the Millennium Falcon… But, you can’t do anything outside of exploring or using it for missions. This is how the X-Wing Starfighter in the Resistance Camp functions as well. 

It’s all pretty copy and paste, but w/e, that’s how EA does it  

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. Missions

There may be several different missions per faction, but to no one’s surprise, they’re all literally the same one but worded differently.

Regular missions only have one plus (+) and one negative (-) icon

Regular Scoundrel missions only have one plus icon and no negatives since they don’t impact other factions

Each faction has a regular mission that pertains to:

Obtaining information

Exploring with the faction’s designated ship

Stealing from Supply Crates

Hacking a Control Panel

Yes………………….They’re very repetitive

You don’t have to do all of them though

You can spam the same one over and over as long as it fits the time slot

For example, the Resistance’s ship exploration mission is limited to only the day time and seems to disappear when it gets late in game

also there’s an error with the TIE Echelon where it’s missing a whole ass prompt

……As you can see, the options make no sense because the prompt is the same one that came before it 🥴

anyway…

Story Missions are the only missions that seem to differentiate from each faction.

All missions that pertain to the “story” are indicated with prerequisites of higher ranks within the faction

All of them give a double boost toward your faction

If it’s a Resistance story quest, it’ll always increase hostility from First Order members

Vice versa for the First Order faction

The Scoundrels are neutral, and do not impact any faction 

It’s only the Resistance and First Order factions that have very similar plot lines

but I’m guessing it’s only like that since they’re supposed to follow the vague cause/effect the two of them have?

4. Aspirations

The initial Aspiration you get when you pick the Star Wars umbrella in CAS (or in game) is “Hope VS Order.” After completing this one aspiration, you unlock the 3 that pertain to each faction.

Paragon of Hope

Resistance aspiration

Reward trait gives a boost to Charisma skill building

This is probably nice for those careers that need Charisma to be high, like the Political and Business branches

Enforcer of Order

First Order aspiration

Lowers chances of “Death from Anger”

Since I like killing my sims, I think this aspiration is pointless lmao

Galactic Privateer

Scoundrel aspiration

“Sleight of Hand” reward trait

Unlocks pickpocketing outside of Criminal branch usage

Best one here tbh

Works outside of Batuu, you’ll steal simoleons instead of credits

Also you can cheat whenever u play Sabaac and no one will notice

5. Reevaluation of Initial Opinions

I’ll be going through my initial list from my Response to the Ask I got before. I originally stated that it seemed promising and it was a 3.5~4/10.

Aesthetics/Visual: my opinion is unchanged, it still made me sad i can’t have a little shanty house out there or rent a garbo lot, 0.5/5

The longer I played, the more I didn’t find any new animations

The lightsaber sparring slowly began to look like a mash between GF and RoM duels after a while

I still hate that the areas were beautiful (+0.5) but the interactive places forced cutaway

why do you wanna ruin my screenshots like this, man

CAS/BB still is hard to integrate–Unless your sim is a geek with figurines, the ship models might be nice to add to their collections

Otherwise……

….

I don’t have a follow up for that, sry

Gameplay: uhhh at least i found something i could use outside of Batuu, 1.5/5

I think that playing 3984729847 repetitive missions for a long period time really orientated me to the whole map

…but the fact that i had trouble the first time around still makes it not-user friendly

the issue I had with the resistance members not having an icon? It’s a thing, I guess

The resistance quests take you on a weird trip to “prove” yourself so i guess the icons are supposed to show that they’re “not” resistance members or something idk

they’re supposed to be the sneaky underdogs who wanna do good or w/e

I guess that’s immersive…….. +0.5

sry im first order trash

they also have “Ignite the Spark” and “Ask about Missions” both leading to the same mission screen……………….

convenience?? i guess??

missions are still confusing, made worse when the game itself glitches up a storm

there was one mission where i had to go to the cantina to find someone

and they wouldn’t spawn within the time frame………….

i had to go in and out for like 3 days until they actually spawned

i only knew this bc i arrested half the people in the cantina while i was bored

so anyone without a red bar was probably them lmfaoo

also, as i stated above……. there’s some mission errors in the prompts 

Currency is still worthless.

Everything can be done by purely stealing from supply crates

Credits are only worth to blow it off on sabaac! 

The only real need for credits is to have 1,000 so u can buy a droid

Then slam the rest of those credits on the table to bet bajillions on a game of sabaac!

Aspirations………. Useful +1

Despite them being sorta niche, they’re pretty decent

Can abuse the rewards for optimal gameplay for a super sim

Honestly i just love the pickpocketing reward off the Scoundrel aspiration, just because it works outside of Batuu (and that he didn’t have to be in the Criminal career for it either)

In total, my personal rating for this pack is 2/10.

It was nice, but I don’t really see this pack being replayable, considering that i did everything there was to do on Batuu in a single trip. Sure I could’ve taken my time, but since everything would end up the same anyway, it felt like it was set up to be a one-time gig. 

At least with JA you’re moderately forced to return so you can collect treasures that are RNG–In JtB, you can snatch up all that you need on Batuu from grinding everything like a nutcase. There’s also chances of failure in JA, but on Batuu that percentage is almost little to none. The most you’ll ever get is a dazed moodlet that barely lasts, a negative relationship, and being escorted to a loading screen.  

I feel like this pack could be a little better if there were more risks involved, but there are barely any that I encountered. It’s just another weird, rehashed cash grab by EA.

[urirealvibekiller]

꒰ ꒱ this is an idol life ship for my sweetest and softest bb @sarahbkwl​​ !! hope you like it hehe !! <33 

----------------------------

꒰ ꒱ your entertainment company

꒰ ꒱ your training years

you trained for a year before debuting. 

you auditioned for the company through yg global auditions and got accepted because they saw immense potential in you and your talents. 

you were pretty shy as a trainee but goddamn, with just one year of training and consistent hard-work, you glowed the hell up as a performer and artist. [kind of the same scenario as bae jinyoung (my bb <33) of cix and wanna one]

before debuting, you appeared in some of winner and ikon’s music videos, which is where fans began noticing you. 

꒰ ꒱ number of members in your group

there are five members in your group; two koreans, one korean-american, one japanese, and you. 

two koreans :: one is the oldest, sub vocalist, sub rapper, and the visual while the other is the main rapper and face of the group 

one korean-american :: main vocalist and the leader

one japanese :: lead dancer, lead rapper, and maknae

꒰ ꒱ your positions

you’re the main dancer, lead vocalist, center, and face of the group 

꒰ ꒱ your roles

you’re the fake maknae of the group; you may look and dress in a way that is a bit intimidating, and your charisma be through the roof on stage; but off the stage, you basically radiate babie energy and your group members as well as your fans feel protective over you because of your sensitive and clumsy nature. 

also the photographer; you’re known for your photography skills and you have over ten million followers on your instagram where you often post very artistic and aesthetic pictures of yourself, sceneries/places, your group members, and anything else that inspires you really.   

꒰ ꒱ your group’s concept 

a mix of badass and girl crush with a hint of sexiness. very similar to ddd by exid.  

꒰ ꒱ your idol best-friends

felix from stray kids || as foreign idols, it’s no doubt you guys hit it off immediately as soon as you guys met and got closer at MAMA. you may be shy at first but with him, it was like an immediate sort of connection. 

you’re definitely hype bestfriends !! constantly complimenting, supporting, and basically just hyping each other up. 

vedi affectionate best-friend. sends you memes at 2 a.m. 

oh and you both mc -ed for pops in seoul together and your close friendship is evident on camera; it’s just a very wholesome energy. needless to say, your friendship is one of favorites in the kpop industry.

seulgi from red velvet || you two would be the sweetest angels adskj 

you guys did a dance cover as a collaboration stage and have been inseparable since then. you’re often on each other’s instagram and openly shows support for each other’s comebacks and professional projects. 

she’s the type of best friend you can talk about anything and you would just laugh about everything. expect lots and lots rofl and majority of the time, you wont even know what you’re laughing about. 

lots of cute dates at cozy and underrated cafes or restaurants in town, which are perfect places for your photography and perfect for her to try new food, especially desserts. 

also she’s really good at art, especially drawing !! you’re both just so artistically talented and similar yet different in the best way - no wonder fate brought you two together as best-friends. 

꒰ ꒱ your fanboy(s) 

the members of verivery are huge fans of your group and have done a number of covers of your group’s songs. 

kangmin especially is a huge fan of you. 

꒰ ꒱ your boyfriend (public)

chittaphon leechaiyapornkul (can you tell i copy pasted that) aka ten. 

i mean we ain’t surprised at this point. it’s an established fact that you + ten = purfect. 

okay, so i see you guys being only professionally involved at first like your group and a few members of nct were doing this collaboration stage for an award show and it’s a sort of like group couple dance stage and you and ten were paired together. think of the who’s your mama dance stage at 2016 sbs gayo daejeon. similar to that aaaa 

but through the whole process of rehearsing and practicing together, you guys ended up becoming closer because i think your personalities would just click just like that. i think ten is someone who can just connect with anyone but with you, it would just be a different and special sort of connection. 

honestly, i think your relationship would be a mix of slow-burn and fast-paced. it would take him a while to ask you out or to confess verbally but his actions would show otherwise like he would do all those cute things like text you good morning or good night and face-time you regularly. he would buy you gifts. he would smile and laugh a lot more around you. 

i don’t know why i also see him following you on his finsta accounts (that you already know about) and would probably comment cheesy pick-up lines on your posts.

when he does decide to confess, he’ll be so straightforward about it but not in a way that’s overbearing - just very sincere y’know. 

you guys would probably keep your relationship private at first although he wouldn’t be the biggest fan of that but that really wouldn’t last that long. 

the dispatch catches you on a date and pictures of you two are released and both of your companies would confirm the relationship. 

and it’s a praised relationship and fans are supportive - of course there are inevitably and unfairly some negative response but overall, there’s an immense amount of positive reactions from fans that the negative ones are overlooked. 

you guys would be the epitome of a romantic couple and so artistic too augh !! 

oh and guess what, ten’s new best-friends are felix and seulgi now. eeep 

꒰ ꒱ miscellaneous 

your group gets your first win just a week after debuting, making you guys one of the fastest to win at a music show 

even as an idol, you pursue art and photography as more than just a hobby. you make your debut as an artist two years after your debut and some of your pieces are displayed at art galleries. 

your group is extremely popular and active in the US and you have collaborated with some western artists like Lauv, Little Mix, and Anne Marie. 

----------------------------

thank you for requesting angel <33 have a beautiful day/night !!

[katyspersonal]

i hate to be that guy but i wish there were more bb fics that were less smut and more lore bc for such a rich story there is mostly just nsfw stuff in the ao3 tag lol. but no offense if ppl like that..

Your feelings are valid, anon!

Like, yeah, it is one of those 'kinda petty gripe' moments I was talking about! People are completely valid to spend their time and effort on what makes them (and often their mutuals and fans) happy! Yet at the same time, I am myself a huge fucking NERD about timeline, concepts, worldbuilding, messages, philosophy, specifics of factions and covenants, systems of 'magic' and science within the lore and all that, and if presented with a choice between the hottest fanfic for my OTP or an oddly detailed fictional research paper on something complex that went within the lore, I'd not even hesitate to pick the latter xd

There ARE many things to think about in BB, yes! My personal favorite to dissect were how Kin works and headanons about Great Ones (ALL of them). I have not found a cool way to put my BB worldbuilding dissections into a fic, tho... :') Me and @val-of-the-north also dream of writing a large prequel of Pthumerians history with what predated dungeons and some known characters. But we are more visual artists than writers. Sigh!

I could offer an advice for the situation when you have a gripe with something that is most popular in a fandom, and wish people did more interesting stuff:

1) Have a tiny group of people who are bitter about the same thing (can also be conveniently put in a Discord chat)! It is extremely therapeutic to have a few friends with whom you can be haters together, so you vent it all out and go to the 'public' fandom all happy and cheerful, not carrying this negativity to the open internet where people that love [a thing] can see it. I mean- I do have a group like this! Our most frequient petty haters sessions are pouting at the fact that this or that character only gets remembered as part of a ship and not as their own person xd Feeling heard in a small group where your words can't hurt anyone, nor anyone will guilt you for being "entitled" is just. good.

2) Create the stuff you would like to see more of (drawings, fanfics, essays, theories, headcanons, memes prompting an idea in a subtle way even), or encourage people to think more about this stuff (prompting discussions, buying art/fic commissions, doing trades (art for fic, for example), catching a person that accepts requests and spending yours on what you'd like to see more of, sending people asks that could trigger to develop something about lore etc). Really mind the latter, though! Like... trust me dude, even if you can't draw or write, nor have enough money for commissions, you can still cause pretty tangible influence on creativity! If you just say right things at the right time to the right people. Heck- I more or less got some skill at inspiring people creatively <:3 Like... I prompt a person to think of this or that theme or character, and before I know it they already developed something because of that discussion? (not tryna boast xd) Or another good example is @heraldofcrow who mastered the skill of prompting discussions about Bloody Crow sooooo well that people keep becoming his fans because of her, and some are even drawing him thanks to her! I constantly see people creating more content of the boy thanks to her, and all she did was simply talking to them! xD A gripe at a character, theme, concept etc not being popular enough can cause GREAT things to happen and you can become people's MUSE! 😎

_______________

Hmmmm I think that's it! Basically? You probably have more charisma to inspire writers (including to fiddle with lore) than you are aware of. They need readers, AND they need ideas. You will figure this out! ...or even write a killer fanfic yourself.

[himitsu-luna]

🎶 Idol life ship - @lovemyhyunjinnie 🎶

Hiii!!! ❤️ Omg, I lived your whole idol life here in my mind xD I hope you like it!!!! Thanks for requesting bb!!! ♥️♥️

*idol life ships are open. Please, read the pinned post before requesting.

✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬

✨ Your company

You actually applied for a lyricist spot at JYP, but when you were asked to sing a bit of the lyrics you wrote, the staff saw you had great potential and could become an idol

You were already training for 1 year, when JYP came up with a new reality show to create a new girl group

The reality show was not easy at all. You worked hard to get through all the tests every week.

Your improvement, talent, charisma and your amazing and funny personality won the heart of the public and the heart of JYP himself

You ranked third at the end of the show, and could join the group

✨ Your group

The concept of the group is girl crush. You have a really pop culture inspired style, that can be fun, edge and sexy at the same time

The representative color of the group is red

There 8 members

3 Koreans (ones is a main vocalist, the other one is a visual and lead dancer, and the last one is a main dancer and lead rapper), 2 japaneses (one is a main vocalist and lead dancer, and the other one is a main rapper and lead vocalist), 1 thai (center of the group and main dancer), 1 australian (main vocalist and lead dancer) and you (leader, main rapper, and lead dancer)

One of the Koreans is the oldest of the group, and the australian member is the maknae

You are the only one of your line in the group

You got really close to each other during the reality show

You all live in the dorms, and you share a room with the australian girl

You are the one who is always hyping the girls and making them feel happy, creating a light mood

You also are the most excited member when there are new things and new works to do

You also are the mom of the group. The reliable one, the one who the members always look for to talk

You write a lot of your songs, and participate directly in the creative thinking process of all of your comebacks

✨ Your debut

Because of the reality show, your group was already well known by all Korea and internationally.

You already had a strong fanbase before the debut

You debuted with a pop song, with a pretty strong base, hip hop elements, and an audible electric guitar sound that gave a rockish feeling to the music

The MV was vintage themed, in which you would go back and forth through time. Really fun and cool.

You topped the charts for weeks, and got your first win really fast

You were really happy when giving your first speech as the leader of the group, and all the members were hugging you

✨ Your female idol best friend

Ryujin, from Itzy

Before debuting, you made an appearance in one of Itzy's MV.

And that's were you met Ryujin for the first time

You already admired her a lot

Ryujin was always a good sunbae, but you two got really really close when you helped her when she was going through a not nice phase because of the idol life struggles

You two have a lot in commom, and understand each other like no one else does

You are always there for each other, and you can be found practicing at the practicing room until late night

You compose music together too, and are the most reliable pair at JYP

She really loves you, and the admiration you have is mutual

You love going to Itzy's dorms to spend a night with your bestie

✨ Your male idol best friend

Felix, from Stray Kids

Felix and you met at the company

When you were still learning Korean, he helped you a lot

He soon got attached to you, and felt really comfortable with you

You became best buddies, like a sister and brother relationship

Felix loves to hang out with you, and he is always following you happily

You have a beautiful and pure affection for each other

You are always texting each other

✨ Your idol boyfriend

Hendery, from Nct

It will always be him

Actually, when you debuted, everyone already started to state how similar Hendery and you were

There were a lot of edits of your photos around the internet

Because of that, Hendery got really curious about you, and he actually wanted to have an opportunity to meet you (you felt the same, ofc!)

And you finally met at ISAC.

You two were really excited not because of the competition, but because you wanted to see each other in person

And, guess what, your groups got lined up side by side

You exchanged glances and smiles. You felt the connection

When you had the opportunity, you exchanged numbers

You started to get to know each other and then started dating

Your relationship became public when Dispatch revealed you as the new year's couple

But your fans accepted easily your relationship, and supported you two (because they just couldn't deny the chemistry)

You became the most liked couple ever, because of your Fun and cute interactions

You wear a lot of couple itens, but your favorite are your rings

Handery loves you more than anything, and he is the kindest and most perfect boyfriend ever❤️

✨ Other random things

Blackpink's Jisoo once named you as her ideal type

In a reality show with your group, you had the chance to skydiving. It was an amazing expirience

You are known as one of the smartest idols out there

✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬∘˚˳°♪｡☆✧*♬

[kdramafeminist]

|| 18 Again || Eps 1-4 Thoughts

I love how we’re slowly unravelling the various secrets and complex lives of every member of this family. I look forward to watch their bonds grow closer as they learn to lean on each other.

I love Da Jung’s storyline about her anchor dream and the struggle she has to achieve it bc of her age and status as a mother. I mean, it gets me SO FREAKING MAD but only bc it’s so realistic for so many women. I’m rooting for you bb

Oth I don’t care at all about her having so many suitors. It just seems a waste of time I’d rather spend on literally anyone else. Maybe have 1 as means to show she’s still desirable as a woman but 2 seems like pointless overkill. We all know how it’s going to end so I’m bored.

(Wi Ha Joon - the baseball player - is so hot though so at least my eyes are blessed even if my mind is bored lmfao)

I’ve never liked Yoon San Hyun as an actor tbh but luckily this is definitely a Lee Do Hyun train and I am ALL IN for him. Just one of the many fans after he stole every scene in HDL and love how this drama is forcing him to stretch his acting chops in so many ways. He has charisma for days.

Whilst the A-plot of the eventual reconciliation of our main leads is obvious, I’m looking forward to seeing the smaller plots play out too see if our family is led down any unexpected roads & lessons before the end.

Overall I’m enjoying it!! So far it’s smooth sailing, I won’t hype it or claim it a new favourite or anything but it’s ticking all the kdrama boxes in a good way so no complaints from me ^^

(Ps. The actor playing the school bully is the silent bodyguard from Nokdu right?? His eyes are distractingly pretty oml)

[undermounts]

Gaius for the character thing

favorite thing: his eloquence and wit. He’s probably one of my favorite characters to write dialogue for because it comes so easily. He has such a strong personality and it’s like I can hear him making some snide remark or spout poetry; he just sort of comes to life on his own. And he’s just so intelligent. You can’t forget that on top of being a king and the oldest dude alive, he’s also a brilliant strategist, military and otherwise, but he’s not super condescending about it. 

least favorite thing: rheya’s influence lmao. Honestly, I don’t dislike anything about him but one thing that does make me sad is that he associates worshipping with love and doesn’t see himself 100% as an equal, which is what we see with him and Rheya. He deserves better than that :(

favorite line: 

hm okay in Bloodbound, my favorite line has to be either “this is not the way the world should be” from the psychic fragment in book 2 because at his core, Gaius was a dreamer who truly wanted a better world for his people, or “If we’d met in another life... I think things could have been different” for OBVIOUS reasons.

in Bound, I have a lot of favorites but to avoid spoilers, we’ll go with “Tell me, Diana. You know who I am and what I have done. You set me off to do some good in the world. Do you not think me deserving of punishment along the way?” I feel like it really sums up his character and state of mind following BB3 and the beginning of Bound.

brOTP: I’m rooting for him and Jax honestly because I think they could help each other grow. Of the BB gang, the only other bro is Adrian but they already have a foundation set from when Gaius Turned Adrian. Jax and Gaius don’t have that and I think that its important for Gaius to build a relationship with someone on his own without either Rheya’s influence, his own motives for growing a shadow kingdom, or his charm and charisma at play. Jax would certainly make Gaius work for his friendship. As for Jax’s benefit, I didn’t romance him but imo he’s definitely the type of dude who can’t let things go. Takeshi’s death is certainly one of those things, which is absolutely understandable. Befriending Gaius or at least accepting that he wasn’t completely himself would be the ultimate demonstration of learning to live and move on, and I think that if Jax could do that, he would be able to realize he can do that with many other things. 

nOTP: rheya. that’s all. Oh and lester. someone mentioned them and i want to die every time I think about it.

random hc: Gaius loves music because it helps put him at ease and he can play the piano

unpopular opinion: he deserves a redemption arc, but post bb3 and I don’t really blame kamilah for responding to him the way she did.

song i associate with him: The Main Theme of the OA and Work Song by Hozier. You can find both here in my Bound playlist. The OA’s main theme just has so much sorrow and hope in it without lyrics and it’s such a beautiful song. And as for Work Song, I feel like the lyrics capture Gaius pretty well in Bound. 

fav picture: honestly I love his neutral face and the sheer arrogance that single raised brow exudes.