#another day of not shipping the most popular ship in a k-pop group lol

[forcebookish]

luv 2 write a big whole rant and then discard it. feels good

[i-am-baechu]

Chapter Ten: The One About Visiting

Summary: “Did you just ask me if I sell coffee in a fucking coffee shop?” And with that, Taehyung was smitten by the Barista in the crazy flower sweater vest. Friendships will form but most importantly Taehyung will finally meet his soulmate. 

•——————•°•✿•°•——————•°•✿•°•———•

Genre: Idol au, strangers to lovers au, barista reader!, slow burn (friends with benefits to lovers kind of), semi-short storyish format, friendships, romance, angst, comedy, and smut

Main pairing: Idol! Taehyung x Barista! Reader 

Side ships: Hoseok x OC 

Warnings: Explicit language, smut, mature themes, homophobia, smoking cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol usage

Note: It's sex time lol

⇜ Masterlist ⇝

•——————•°•✿•°•——————•°•✿•°•———•

The two months quickly turned into five. Five months of pure agony for her. It was dramatic but it's the truth. Missing someone is so hard that words don't do it justice. Sure they called each other almost every night and sometimes they had Facetime sex but it wasn’t the same. Taehyung apologized for how long it's been but she always changed the subject. She wasn’t angry at him but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t sad.

A lot has changed in five months. Y/N took over Marie’s parent's book store as Marie’s mother recovered from her health scare, visiting her when she had time. Basically being a store owner is hard but on top of that working at the cafe was even more exhausting. Nikki quit her job at the cafe and started her job as a program developer for this company. She hated it but she got paid a lot. In her words, “Thank you college for the money.” Julia still works at the cafe but she also started a small business on Etsy. She created knitted bags of K-pop groups and it really took off. Julia and Hoseok were officially-ish together. Julia said they weren’t together but Hoseok said another thing to Taehyung, it’s complicated. The person that she has been worried about is Marie. 

Marie is quiet but this time the form of silence from her isn’t normal. She would only respond to questions about her mom and she barely made eye contact with anyone, it was alarming. It made Y/N feel nervous about the outcome of everything but she tried to be positive for her. 

Y/N was in the bookstore and she was finally closing after a long day. She never realized how popular the bookstore was until she worked in it. She was putting some books back when she heard the bell at the door ring. She raised her eyebrow and sighed, “Sorry we’re closed.” 

“That makes things easier.” 

She rolled her eyes and put the books on the shelves. She went towards the front door with her arms crossed, “Carlo, leave me alone.”

Carlo Lincoln aka Y/N’s ex-boyfriend. You would think that a person would change from a breakup but that’s being hopeful. Carlo was a charmer and he knew it. He was the reason why she was drinking so much at the beginning of the year. He broke up with her by sending her a picture of his new girlfriend when she was waiting for him at a restaurant. They were dating for four months but she liked him since college so, this was devastating. She never told Nikki why they broke up, she just told her it was mutual. She knew if she told her the truth then she would see her on the news. 

She actually forgot about Carlo when she met Taehyung. The only person that’s been on her mind was him and no one else. Carlo was just a memory. A bad one. 

“How can you treat me so badly? We have history.”

“So, not all history is good. I’m sure you heard of World War II.” 

He rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, “I’m a customer.” 

“I didn’t know you could read. Good for you.” 

He glared at her but he quickly shook it off when she started to walk away, “Why don’t you go out with me? You look like you're done for the day.”

“That’s a hard no. I have a boyfriend.” He doesn’t need to know the truth. 

“A boyfriend!? My ass!” 

“I don’t need you to believe me.” 

“What’s his name then? You can’t even come up-”

“My name is Taehyung.” 

Her eyes widened and looked past Carlo to see Taehyung who didn’t look so happy. He was in his usual attire but what made him different on this day was the bouquet of roses in his hand. This isn’t what Taehyung was expecting on the day he was visiting his girl. He had to plan so much ahead to see her and he didn’t even tell his leader that he would be gone, his manager would do that for him. 

Namjoon was a sensitive topic for him. He saw him as his brother but he couldn’t get past the attraction to Y/N. How could he like the same girl as he did? It just didn’t feel fair all around. They tried talking about it but it always ended up with Taehyung leaving the room. Namjoon would say the same thing, “She’s just so pretty and funny.” He didn’t need to hear that from his leader. After five months, they started talking to each other but it would only be about work. Nothing more. Namjoon tried and tried with him but Taehyung wouldn’t budge. In all honesty, he doesn’t know what his leader has to do to get his forgiveness. He was just hurt. 

“Neh, Taehyung.” 

Taehyung turned his head towards Jimin with a raised eyebrow, “What?” 

“When are you going to forgive Namjoon?” 

Taehyung sighed and placed his shirt in his bag, “I honestly don’t know...it's obvious he still likes Y/N.” 

“How is it-”

“Every time I call her, he always wants to be in the room. It feels like he's listening in on our conversation sometimes.�� 

“I doubt he does that, Tae. Just give him a chance.” 

“I wish I could. I just need more time.” 

Time is what he needs but the question is, will he get it? 

Carlo turned around and stared at him with a small smirk, “And who the hell are you?” 

“Her boyfriend. Now what do you want with my girl?” 

Carlo glanced at Y/N and then back at Taehyung, “You just love to play games, Y/N.”

She rolled her eyes at him and glanced at Taehyung with a small smile appearing on her face, “I don’t play games. Now leave, we’re closed.” 

Carlo rolled his eyes and looked at Y/N, “I’ll talk to you later.” 

“No, you won’t. Now leave before I make you leave.” 

Carlo and Taehyung stared at each other with glares. Y/N should’ve felt uncomfortable with their stares but she couldn’t help but feel hot. Taehyung looked so hot when he was mad. Carlo scoffed and bumped his shoulder with Taehyung’s. He glared at him one last time before leaving the store. Y/N let out a sigh of relief and she glanced at Taehyung, “Tae.” 

“Baby.” 

Y/N ran into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, something that almost made Taehyung fall. He let out a chuckle and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head as she looked up with sparkles in her eyes, “I can’t believe you're here.” 

“I wanted to surprise you. Now, who was that?” 

“He’s my ex-boyfriend...an idiot too.” 

“How long has he been bothering you?” 

She let out a small laugh and kissed Taehyung’s clothed chest, “For a couple of weeks...this was the first time he asked me out though.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Tae, you're rich. I would be scared of what you can do.” 

“I’m not in the mafia.” 

She let out a laugh and pulled away from him, “You would look hot in a suit.” 

He rolled his eyes and handed her the roses. She smiled and gladly accepted them, “You would look sexy on my arm...girlfriend.” 

She felt her face get hot and she looked away from his teasing eyes, “Shut up...how long are you here?” 

“For three days.” 

“That’s not long.” 

He frowned at her sadness and walked up to her. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “We can make it last.” 

“Don’t have a choice......No one is at home right now.” 

“Oh? Why are you telling me this?”

“So I can give you a proper surprise. If you don’t want then-”

“Let’s go.”

The ride back was filled with touches, Taehyung touching her thigh with light touches as she focused on the road. The shivers and goosebumps that appeared because of his long fingers made her excited for when they got home. Five months was too long for both of them and they were going to fix that. 

The moment they entered the elevator, they were all over each other. Taehyung pinned against the silver surface with her arms above her head. She looked at him with a red face and he smirked at her flustered look, “Why so shy?”

“Sh-Shut up. If you're going to do something, do it.”

“I plan to.” 

He leaned down and kissed her lips with passion. The passion was so hot that the whole elevator felt hot. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding slowly into him. He pulled away from her lips and let out a groan, “Fuck baby, don’t do that or I’ll fuck you.”

“Maybe I want that.”

Everything froze around them. He looked at her with wide eyes and swallowed his spit, “You want to have sex?”

“I do. I missed you Tae...”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head and started kissing her neck gently, “I need to hear you say it.” 

She let out a moan and ran her fingers through his hair, “I-I want to fuck you, Tae.” 

When the doors opened, Y/N bit her lip as he looked at her with pure lust, “Show me, your apartment.” 

“Yes sir.”  

He put her down and she grabbed his wrist with a small smirk on her face. She quickly ran out of the elevator and he couldn’t help but laugh at her actions. She handed him the roses as she took out her keys to unlock the door. He had to hide his laughter when she was struggling to unlock her door. When the door opened, she turned around and unbuttoned three buttons with a small smirk. She pushed her breasts together and leaned towards him as he watched, biting his lip. He brought up his hand and pinched the tops of her breast causing her to moan, “You can’t even wait till we get inside. Such a slut.” 

“Your slut.” 

He raised his eyebrow and let out a low chuckle, “Glad you know. Get in before I fuck you in this hallway.” 

“Yes, sir.”

They walked into the living room and placed the roses on the coffee table. Before she could say anything, Taehyung picked her up and put her over his shoulder. He smacked her butt harshly, making her moan out loud, “Which one is your room?” 

“Th-The one on the right.”

He opened the door and slammed the door closed. He tossed her on the bed and she let out a gasp from the roughness but she loved it. Usually, she wouldn't be into the rough side of sex but with Taehyung, it was everything she wanted. He took off his shirt and she watched with lust. Yeah, she's seen his body before but every time she sees it, it just makes her excited. His lightly tanned skin with his plump lips, he was just so hot and he was all hers. She unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it to the side as they kept their eyes on each other. 

He moved to the bed with his knees on either side of her body as she stared at him. He gently touched her lip with his index finger, “You don’t know what you do to me.”

“You can show me, I’ve been waiting for five months.” 

He rolled his eyes and flicked her nipple through her bra, “Such a brat.” 

“Wh-What did I say about calling me that?” 

“Like I would listen to you.” 

He flicked her nipple again and she let out a moan, “Fuck, Ta-Tae.” 

He flipped their bodies and she was on top with her skirt raising showing off her thighs. Her clad cunt pressed against his clothed growing erection. He smirked at her flustered face and pushed her bra down to let her breast escape the nude fabric. He pinched her nipple and she bit her lip as he grinded into her, “Feel that, baby?”

“Ye-Yes.” 

“All mine.”

They both took their bottoms off as they kissed each other. Fingers going through each other’s hair and the gasps of air. She straddled him again with her dripping pussy on the top of his cock. She leaned down to kiss him, it was soft and warm but with each passing second the grinding of their hips was making her needy. Their tongues slipped as Taehyung’s hands touched her soft skin. His hands rubbed over her ass, pushing her body so he could feel her lips all around his cock, “You're so wet.” 

“Only for you.” 

She pushed herself back and placed her weight onto her knees. She reached down between her legs to grab his cock. She looked up at him and smiled, “We’re doing this.”

“We’re doing this baby. You’re the only one I want to fuck.” 

The tip of Taehyung’s cock touched her hole and she couldn’t stop the moan. He looked up at her with a smile on his face, this was his girl for now and forever. She slowly began to sink down on his cock and Taehyung couldn’t help the loud moan leaving his lips, “Fuck your so tight.” 

“Ah~.” 

Taehyung brought his hand down to rub her clit, making her body relax, “That’s my girl, your so fucking hot.” 

The stretch from Taehyung was different from all the other guys she slept with. It was more pleasurable. She pushed herself up and down, Taehyung watching with a proud look. She placed her hands on his chest as she focused on her movement. Soon enough, Taehyung felt her get clamped down as she fell forward on his chest. Taehyung let out a small laugh as she cummed all over her, “Are you done?” 

“You haven’t finished. Use me.” 

That’s all he needed to hear. He flipped them over and he glanced down to see her cock splitting her open. Her chest went up and down as she looked hazed out, it was so sexy. He started to thrust and the room was filled with moans. She was so tight and Taehyung couldn’t hold himself back. He started thrusting at a fast pace and he watched her breast going up and down. It was pornographic, “Almost there, Y/N.”

“Fuck, Ta-Tae.” 

Taehyung thrust in one final time with their hips flushed together. Feeling him emptying his balls was a feeling that she wants to feel again, “Fuck, Y/N.”

They stayed like that for a while. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips as she turned her head to deepen the kiss. When they pulled away she gave him a smirk, “Want to go again?” 

“I would never say no to you.” 

Extended Ending: 

After two hours of sex, Y/N and Taehyung lay there tired. She was fast asleep as his arm draped around her waist. She was everything he wanted and more. His fingertips gently touched her hip as he leaned down kissing her cheek. He sat up and grabbed his phone heading to the bathroom. He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at himself in the mirror. Marks all over his chest and he was sure he had cuts on his back. He smirked to himself but it quickly disappeared when he saw a message on his phone. 

He glared at the text and shook his head, “I thought I blocked her. What does she want?” 

He was about to open the message but the door opened to Y/N looking at him with a smile. He ignored his phone and looked at her with a smile, “What are you doing up?” 

“I missed you.”

“I’m shocked that you can walk. You almost drained me.” 

“Shut up...want to take a shower with me?” 

“Now why would I decline that.”

[overthinkingkdrama]

Hi! So, I’ve just recently gotten into K-Dramas, and... I have a small issue, and that is though I LOVE them in the beginning, by the end they always disappoint me? Like, they start lighthearted and fun, and then by the end suddenly everyone’s in mortal peril, and I don’t care? Or they start all fantasy, and then it’s all about the romance in the end? So... Could you possibly recommend me ones that are good, or tone consistent, throughout? Please?

Hi! Thanks for dropping by for recs. These are some of my favorite asks. I just love going back through my watch list and finding dramas that fit a given criteria. It gets more fun the more dramas I've seen.

The thing about Kdramas that makes them a uniquely sticky beast is that many of them are live-shot week to week, at least for part of their run, and often the scripts are not fully written before filming begins. Popular Kdramas will also occasionally receive extensions which can cause further pacing and plot issues and (sometimes) cause a story to sputter out entirely. With the increasing prevalence of entirely preproduced dramas there's been an increase in overall drama quality and consistency in past years. That being said, Kdramas are still a decidedly mixed bag in terms of overall production quality. So it pays to either drop things with extreme prejudice if you stop enjoying them and watch widely, or to have a good drama filter friend (like me!) to give you vetted recs. As a genre a lot of the more "classic" feeling dramas have a tendency to start really light hearted and then swing super dramatic in the latter half. That's something I occasionally like, but lucky for you not all dramas are like that!

Your ask doesn't really tell me what genre of Kdrama most appeals to you, so I went through my list and tried to find you wide a variety of dramas that I think of as being well-paced and tonally consistent throughout. I've also tried to limit myself to dramas that I rated highly on MDL, although my primary criteria was "good and tonally consistent" so this list of dramas is kinda all over the map. But then, so are my tastes. Also, I kinda got the impression from your ask that you're not a fan of the uber-melodramatic side of kdramas and you want something a little more restrained and less soapy, so I tried to steer away from those more makjang dramas but did not entirely succeed, lol. I gave a couple sentences of description so you can more readily narrow down what you're interested in, and if you would like a more thorough review of the dramas some of these have full reviews on my blog which I went ahead linked where they exist.

Age of Youth: A well written slice-of-life ensemble drama about a group of 5 college age women who end up boarding together. There are a couple moments of high drama/trauma toward the end of the show that might be a turn off. But other than the finale the tone is consistent. 9/10 

Arang and the Magistrate: A dark fantasy fusion sageuk with a romance. I included this drama because it does a good job of developing the creepy worldbuilding and fantasy throughout. Though at points it can be a bit slow and the special effects are hella cheesy. 8/10

Argon: A tight, journalism driven suspense drama. Not always my genre but I found it very engaging, and at eight episodes it does not overstay its welcome. 8/10

Be Melodramatic: Another female-centric slice-of-life ensemble drama, though with an emphasis on fourth wall breaking comedy and clever dialogue. Very funny and heartfelt.  8.5/10

Cheese in the Trap: Maybe a controversial inclusion, but I very much enjoyed this drama. A slice-of-life college romance with psychological thriller elements. Some critics felt that the drama focused too heavily on the second male lead in the later half of the story, but YMMV. 8.5/10

Coffee Prince: Classic cross-dressing romance and still probably the best of its kind. A wonderfully nuanced and progressive handling of the subject matter, even after 13 years. Deals with serious subjects but doesn't go too melo with it. 8.5/10

Children of Nobody: My best of 2019, a dark psychological thriller about a child psychiatrist and a police detective who have to confront gray morality while attempting to track down a serial killer who only targets unrepentant child abusers. 9.5/10

Ex-Girlfriend Club: On the lighter side, a friends-to-lovers type romantic comedy about the writer of an autobiographical webtoon who has to figure out a way to get along with a group of his ex-girlfriends to make a movie based on his work. Only 12 episodes. 8.5/10

Go Back Couple: Also only 12 episodes (these shorter dramas tend to be better paced I find) a time-slip drama about a divorced couple who get the chance to relive their twenties and end up realizing they still have feelings for each other. This drama is both very funny and it had me bawling on multiple occasions. 9.5/10

Healer: A favorite of a lot of drama fans, this is an action-focused romance about an awkward soft boy with a secret identity as a highly skilled errand boy to criminals and an intrepid tabloid reporter who is his biggest fan. This drama is pretty tropey, but it's fun and the romance is great. 8.5/10

Hello Monster (aka I Remember You): A police procedural with a background love line about a criminal profiler looking for his lost brother and a detective looking for her father's murderer. One of my personal favorites. 10/10

Hit the Top (aka The Best Hit): A time-slip fish-out-of-water comedy about a 90s pop star who winds up in modern day Seoul and ends up befriending his biological son and meets old friends who his disappearance left in the lurch. 9/10

Incomplete Life (aka Misaeng): A realistic office drama that gave me real world work anxiety, focusing on a failed Go player who winds up an intern at a highly competitive shipping company and has to find a way to earn his keep even without the background and college education of his coworkers. Unbelievably well done ensemble drama. 9/10

Just Between Lovers: A romantic melodrama about two people whose lives were irrevocably changed by a tragic mall collapse that nearly killed them as children, meeting again as adults and finding comfort and healing in each other. A rough sit at times, but a wonderful love story with incredible acting. 9/10

Just Dance: High school, slice-of-life, drama about a dance club in a technical high school and a group of working class kids who reluctantly become involved in this club and befriend each other. Only 8 episodes (or 16 thirty minute episodes, depending on how you recon it.) 8.5/10

Life on Mars: Remake of the British show of the same name, this is a surreal time-slip police drama, about a forensics expert who gets shot in the head and wakes up in 1988. Or does he? He could also be dying on an operating table. It's hard to tell. Dark, suspenseful and trippy. 9/10

Matrimonial Chaos: An off-beat comedy about two dysfunctional couples who become inescapably mixed up in each others lives. One that's having a hard time getting divorced and another that's having a hard time getting married, and all the messy weird emotions that go along with that. This is another one of those, makes you laugh/makes you cry throughout dramas I have an affinity for. 9/10

Moment of Eighteen: A heartfelt high school drama about a straightforward but awkward loner who is forced to transfer to a new school, immediately earns the ire of a powerful student and experiences first love. Not my usual thing, but very well written with complex and likeable characters. 8/10

Mother: A cold and socially isolated woman becomes a temporary teacher and upon discovering one of her students is being severely abused and neglected, decides to pose as the child's mother and go on the run with her. Like Children of Nobody, this can be a bit of a rough watch because of the subject matter but it is very well done. 9.5/10

My Mister: A healing, human drama about a structural engineer in his 40s and a debt-ridden young woman in her 20s who end up crossing paths and saving each other from a miserable existence. My current all time favorite drama. Cannot say enough good things about it. Practically perfect in every way. 10/10

One Spring Night: A very restrained and naturalistic slow-burn romance about a woman who is about to get married and suddenly begins to question her relationship and a single father who had given up on love who find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another. 9/10

Prison Playbook: An ensemble slice-of-life drama centered on prisoners and correctional officers in their day to day lives. I find the actual het romances in this drama totally useless, but it's a large and talented cast playing a variety of lovable characters. 8/10

Psychopath Diary: Recent fave. A screwball black comedy about a mild mannered pushover who loses his memory and finds a diary that convinces him he's a psychopathic murderer, which gives him a huge boost of confidence from his new found identity, much to the chagrin of those around him and the actual owner of the diary himself. 8.5/10

Queen In Hyun's Man: A drama about a Joseon scholar who time travels to modern day Seoul and meets an actress who just landed a part playing the queen he served in the past. This one might be on the border line of too dramatic or tonally inconsistent, but it's got one of the most pitch perfect finales in Kdramas and the 45 min episodes keep it a snappy watch that doesn't drag or meander too much. 8/10

Reply 1988: A late 80s nostalgia drama about a group of families who all live off the same alley. Lovely family drama, comedy with a variety of romances. Long ass episodes especially later in the run, but I have rewatched the whole thing and I loved every minute of this show. 9.5/10

Save Me: A dark drama about a young woman who finds herself forced into a dangerous cult by her family, and is desperate to escape, and a group of 4 local young men who try to help her. One of the more unique and well done OCN thrillers. 9/10

School 2013: High school ensemble drama that launched a whole bunch of careers. In general I avoid school dramas (I know there have been three on this list so far, but those are like the only three, lol) but this show got me so invested in all these students and teachers. Also the two male leads are so shippable. 9.5/10

Secret Love Affair: A romantic melodrama about a piano prodigy from an underprivileged background who catches the eye of a married older woman and the two fall into a passionate affair. This drama involves cheating (obviously) but it's beautifully filmed and written and the music is to die for. 9.5/10

Signal: This is a supernatural crime thriller and a perennial favorite in the Kdrama community. An imbittered criminal profiler finds an antique police radio which allows him to speak with a police detective 15 years in the past, and uses this to crack cold cases and try to prevent brutal crimes from ever happening. 9/10

Six Flying Dragons: This one is a bit different from the others on the list, first of all because it's a more traditional historical drama, and secondly because it 50 episodes long. But it is so, so very good. And if you're looking for overall consistency in terms of storytelling and tone this drama has it in spades. 9/10

SKY Castle: A unique melodrama about a group of affluent competitive mothers who will go to any lengths to get they're children into the best medical schools, and a mysterious school coordinator with shady motives who gets brought in as a ringer to give them an edge. This show is kind of hard to sell but very entertaining and watchable. 7.5/10

Stranger (aka Secret Forest): The story of a stalwart prosecutor who, due to a childhood trauma is unable to feel the full spectrum of emotions, works with a bighearted police detective to root out corruption around a series of murders. This one’s rather cerebral and requires your full attention but the leads are amazing and there's a second season coming out this year I'm very much looking forward to! 9/10

The Nokdu Flower: Another sageuk drama about the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty surrounding three people who fall on different sides during the Donghak Peasant rebellion. Incredibly well written and involving historical drama. If you're not sure you're ready to commit to something like Six Flying Dragons, I think this would be another good entry point into the genre. The acting is amazing. 9/10

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes: A romantic melodrama and psychological thriller about a dangerous enigmatic young man on the cusp of becoming either a human being or a monster. He becomes involved in a fraught relationship with the sister of a police detective at the same time her protective older brother begins to focus on him as the prime suspect for a murder. High key moody and tragic if you're into that kind of thing (I am). 9/10

Touch Your Heart: On the complete other end of the drama spectrum, this show is pure unadulterated fluff, which managed to keep me giggling and swooning throughout the run, even though it's typically not my thing. An actress joins a law office as research for a role and falls for the ace attorney she's assisting. 8.5/10

WATCHER: Another OCN thriller about three different people with shady motivations who are connected to the same murder case and become involve in a corruption task force looking into dirty cops. One of those "trust nobody, everyone's a suspect" dramas with lovely complex characters and a fully engaging plot. 8.5/10

Sorry that got so out of hand! This is what happens when you don't give me a little more direction I guess. These are all dramas I quite enjoyed and I believe you will find something in there that will suit your fancy. This is a pretty accurate cross section of my tastes.

Happy watching!

Jona

[kpopbooksandmore-blog]

Collecting K-pop merchandise on a budget or for Cheap

 This is actually my first blog in a long time so I thought I should do a blog about expanding a K-pop collection while having a budget and also how to find legit merchandise for a cheap price. I have been into K-pop for I think 2 years now and I recently started buying last year once I started working at the library I’m currently at as a Youth Services Assistant. While I was in high school I couldn’t afford the albums and photocards as I was a high school student who didn’t have a job and I would’ve had to ask my parents for they’re card to order stuff and I can tell you my parents wouldn’t even give me the card. 

    Once I got into buying I started ordering albums through Amazon as there were stores that sell on Amazon like Kpopmart and they were the main store I would go through and trusted. The one thing that Amazon didn’t have was just the photocards for sale. So I thought why not look on eBay for photocards and some of them were pricey. Which I wasn’t about to buy a photocard that’s only worth 8 dollars and pay $16 like no thank you I’m in college can’t do that. So I looked around for a different approach towards buying photocards and other things for a low and affordable price. That’s when I got into buying on Facebook buying groups. In order for me to buy through Facebook groups I had to send in inquiries to join the groups as some groups are closed groups and for a good reason like people who aren’t selling kpop and to also keep a certain amount of posts in the group so it doesn’t get crowed. I sent in my inquiries and that’s when I started to look into buying in the groups.

     I made my first purchase and the person I bought from was very sweet and the cards I got were very cheap I’ll put a picture of them down below (When I get home i’ll put it in lol). I bought 2 of 3 of Jaebeom from GOT7′s 4th Fanmeeting Polaroid cards and for 2 of them I paid $8 shipped. Which I was shocked because these cards were available at the fanmeeting, on certain kpop shops websites, and I looked all over eBay for them and I couldn’t find them. One thing I really love about Facebook buying groups is that you can post what you want to buy so I usually post what group and members cards or whatever I’m looking for and post it and wait for people to answer me with the stuff they have.

    Always think about the rarity, the popularity of the group, the member you want, and the era the card is from. For example, with BTS even though I don’t collect them but I try to get my favorite eras and favorite Jimin cards some of he cards differ in price because the group has popularity, the member of the group starting from popular to not, and the era. There are also rare cards that BTS have such as in the newest comeback Love Yourself there were special group cards that ranged in price from I think I saw one sold for $300 which I was like I wish I would have pulled one of those lol just kidding I probably should have done a giveaway with it. But I forgot how many albums they were in but with this there can also lead to fake cards which I will talk about in another blog along with signatures. 

    So I’m sure you are wondering how do I collect on a budget with low prices? If I were you I would look on twitter, Facebook groups, and also eBay. Even Instagram have some pretty legit sellers. There are other places you can get photocards but I mostly use Facebook and Twitter. Twitter for group orders and Facebook for photocards, signed albums, and other goods. Most cards in Facebook groups are cheaper than the ones on eBay. For GOT7 I have seen cards range from 6-16 dollars on average. I have also seen rare cards for 30 dollars which isn’t that bad. Album wise I have seen albums from $5-12 at most. I bought a seventeen album for I think $8 and a Monsta x album as well from the same person. It came with free shipping which is always great but most of the time shipping can be from $3-10 on an album but it matters about shipping supplies but also the weight of the item. Even tracked or untracked. There is also a trend of selling grab bags which are bags with photocards, stickers, and washi tape so shipping a grab bag can be cheap compared to an album.

    There are also a lot of people who are selling they’re whole collections through flash sales. now flash sales are great some people do flash sales with many things like albums signed and unsigned, photocards, fansign pages and many other goods. When you see a flash sale that is a great time to get merch for cheap trust me that’s where I get most of my photocard and album collection from. Since it’s a sale sometimes the prices will be lower than what the card or album is actually worth. I recently participated in a flash sale and got 2 albums of $18 total and that’s with free shipping since I bought 2 things. Most of the time you would have to pay shipping but if you get more they will offer you free shipping either with or without tracking. But I’ll talk about flash sales in my next blog with the pros and cons.

   So how I budget my K-pop spending I just write down my bills and how much I want to spend on groceries or if I need to buy anything for school like scantrons so then I see how much money I have left. Usually I try to keep my spending down to a minimum on K-pop so I just join a group order and pay for the first payment and call it a day but when I want albums or something I start to think about the money. I look and see if the groups I’m interested in are releasing anything if not then I just look on the group pages and see what people are selling. If there is something I’m interested in I look for the price and write it down. What the item is, who is selling it, and the price with shipping. I usually budget my self to a $30 limit and stop after that amount. So if there’s a ton of cheap items then I have to think of storage. With cards I can put them in my binder but with pillows, slogans, and albums I have to think of places to put them, how I’ll clear out space and buy protection that’s why I limit myself so much. Literally budgeting while collecting can be hard but you just have to look at prices and think is this the best price or can I find it for cheaper. Until next time when I blog I think next blog will be flash sales and the one after that will be my collection haul which I’ll show my photocards, albums, and fansite goods! Who knows possibly unboxings as well as I have a ton of albums to open…

[theinsanecrayonbox]

Q&As

 What prompted the killing of Wondergal to begin with?

Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what prompted it. Gotta remember that back in 2010 when I started the STT, I wanted Timmy to become a Nightwing parody, and just killing off his love interest seemed the easiest way to do it (I also was hard core shipping Timmy with Tootie, so that was the easiest way to make him choose her ^^; ). I actually started it when I was dog sitting, and 2 dogs don’t exactly give you the best creative feedback lol. It was also because my non-super hero FOP stuff at the time, I was writing Trixie as the mean popular girl, and not part of the main core group, so writing her out made sense. I was also hard core shipping Trixie with Remy, so again, needed to make her a bad girl for him.

 Why did you bring her back then?

I actually never had the intention to bring Trixie back. Once I had the idea of SuperTrix, she was going t be the main and only Trixie, and thus a bad guy to follow with the teenage drama story lines. But my best friend @twisted-persona loves Trixie, and she came up with Star-Gal. so I went “Ok, since Trixie is a clone to begin with, shy can’t there bed more of her?” and bam! That’s how we wound up with Star-Gal.

 Why make her a clone?

Because Donna Troy. I know Wondergal was meant to be a Wonder Woman parody, but I always thought of Wonder Girl. Then add in some of the visual similarities Trixie shared with Joan Jett, and how Goldenlocks is basically a Wonder Woman as well, it just seemed to make more sense for Trixie to be a clone. That and I like hybrid-/clone kids in super hero books lol

 How/when did you come up with the idea of “Glamazons”?

Free Comic Book Day 5/2/2015. I was standing in line at 7 am, waiting to get into the first comic shop of the day right when it opened, had been up since like 4/5 am since I had to drive 2 hours away to get to the shop, and the idea just popped into my head so I wrote notes about it on my iPOD. I was also wearing my Superverse tanktop

 How many “Wondergals” are there really?

Well there are 2 answers, since not every “Wondergal” is a Trixie, but every Trixie is a “Wondergal” (usually). These are what I’d consider the most distinctly different Wondergals that we’ve seen/met (gender swaps and minor changed What Ifs aside)

Trixie!Wondergals: 9

Primeverse, Negaverse, MoT, Ultimateverse, JYU, AoC, Arachnidverse, Eraserz, STS

Other!Wondergals: 6

Power Swapped 1 (Missy), Power Swapped 2 (Tootie), CoT (Chloe), PPR (Chloe), Wandergal, FTT (Roxy)

 So is W(a)ndergal (Shannon?) now part of the Superverse?

No, not *really*. Her show is set in an alternate universe, so there’s a chance that we could meet her (young or old) at some point. But there is no “Shannon Karter” in the Primeverse

 What made you pick that name for Goldenlocks/W(a)ndergal?

Goldenlocks was named Marigold Lockheart because her first name is Goldie, and Hair Razor said she had Goldie’s “heart locked up”. It was @twisted-persona’s idea lol

Wandergal was named Shannon Karter after two famous Wonder Women, Shannon Farnon and Linda Carter (with a K because it sounded/looked too much like Sharon Carter/Aget 13)

 Why is Trixie sometimes called Trisha?

That’s another of @twisted-persona’s contributions. She had this head canon that Trixie’s real name was Trisha, but she changed it to be cooler. So when I started using the clone back story for her, it just made sense that “Trisha” was her personality donor then, you know, to help her be a “real girl”

Arts

 Power Pals: Resurrection:

So this is something that I started a while ago…it’s not a *real* fighting game obviously (and not canon to anything), but I haven’t shared any of it yet because I was going to do individual character profiles, but getting to those in the off time and being motivated to do so isn’t really working…

 Hi-Res SuperTrix:

Made for PPR. Turns out the last time I drew SuperTrix was in like 2011 and yeah…^^;

 Hi-Res Wondergal:

Again, made for PPR. I hadn’t a decent drawn Classic!Wondergal in a long time either

 Hi-Res Wandergal:

Had to try my hand at drawing Wandergal (with some artistic liberties of course), and I honestly do like her. I just…don’t have room for her in my Superverse ^^; thus the creative meta-history I wrote up to explain her character.

 Spoiler sketch compilation:

And last but not least, a sketch compilation of ideas I have in the works for upcoming plots and what not

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the 2017 SDCC Superverse Event

[minblush]

Can't read the korean words, what did Jimin say right before he logged off vchat? and omg, I feel really sad about the whole touring in Japan thing after reading your stuff. In a way, I sort of understand what they're doing so many tours in Japan, and all in 1 month too because they practically rehearse a new setlist (many songs in Japanese + choreo) so makes sense to earn more from all those hours rehearsing but still no excuses at how they're ignoring europe & other places!

ah it said what i translated -lots of talk about the tour-, i put in the screenshot cause i wanted to show how plainly he said it before leaving without saying goodbye ;; and yeah that tbh is the least important factor, they don’t really have many new japanese songs from when they did epilogue, ofc that is still hard, but it’s mostly the other things i talked about, the thing is i really understand why they are doing this, but i dislike it anyway… they are doing the usual thing for a k-pop group (trying to get a solid position in japan for the future, which is all the more important now that china is restricting korean activities), but i feel like bangtan are really unique with their popularity in the west and they could really change the status quo and set new grounds for k-pop, but instead they’re just doing the same thing and chasing japanese money instead of trying to get THAT and other places as well :x ah well

 I’m curious, what change in management? (regarding your tags to that ask about it basically being an Asia Tour)

they’re not under pony canyon anymore (now the last best of release they did in japan makes sense, companies usually do that as a last chance to make money off someone who is about to leave), they’re under ‘digital adventure’ now (which is under ‘key east’), it also explains why bae yongjoon attended their concerts in japan last time, they must have been negotiating by then already, they’re aiming for bangtan to promote in japan ‘more actively’ (as if it’s already not excessive enough, but anyway)

the more I think about it I realize you’re right and I’m just gonna prepare myself now lol. and I agree about the music. it’s not my style so I’m very :/ when groups release japanese songs (snsd has some pretty good ones tho). the idol culture worries me sometimes too because they seem much more strict from some incidents I’ve read ;; but they’re definitely getting money so good for them I just hope their health will be okay will all of those concerts..

i like some snsd’s too! but i’m worried because i used to be a shinee stan and them being shipped off to japan and releasing bad music there is what made me drift apart from them, and bangtan really try to cater to japanese taste with all their original japanese songs, and even though a lot of them grew on me over time most of them are still :x not to mention the fact that the lyrics aren’t really theirs either, so it’s just another thing removed from what i like about them as a group… and yeah i don’t like the idol or fandom culture in japan overall either, if you think it’s not ideal in korea.. yeah… japan… dear lord… idk about their health… 5 shows in 6 days at some point… i hope the money will be worth it -_-

[eluqa]

Korean Music Rec List

tl;dr: Lim Kim, Lee Hi, Anda, Akmu, Bolbbalgan4, Hyukoh/Oh Hyuk, Code Kunst, Primary, Suran, Mayson the Soul, Sungwoo Junga, and WINNER,

Most of these artists are self-composers as well and these songs aren't strictly k"pop"  ~~this is mainly a Korean indie rec list LOL.~~ These are my absolute favourite Korean artists that I can listen to for eternity and beyond hahha.

**LIM KIM** - One of the most unique female singers out there with the coolest blend of a sultry voice and electropop sounds in [Awoo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXPADwU05OQ), [Stay Ever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-9-0v3vvw8), and [Love Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKlJXpjeYC8). If you like her, you'll probs like **Lee Hi** (Seoulite) and **Anda** (Touch) too.

**HYUKOH/OH HYUK** - An indie group/soloist who's husky voice can melt you and leave you breathless. I'm not exaggerating when I say that everything he releases is gold. [Comes and Goes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECMc1SB60E0), [Wi ing Wi ing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr4GaRPX6cM), and [Gondry (w/ Lim Kim)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3RAU0T2RC4) are must listens. All of his collabs are mindblowing too - it's like whatever he touches turns to gold (or maybe he's just absolutely good at choosing people to work with). Check out **Primary** (Bawling, Mannequin), **Code Kunst** (Parachute, [Beside Me ft. Suran](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3GAkXvKQ4c)), **Mayson the Soul** ([Bushwick,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpWb3geGxxw) Holiday) too. Bonus: He featured on Infinite Challenge - [Your Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDa8KlZDAFA).

**AKMU** - Cute brother-sister duo with a charming indie-folk/pop sound.[ Re-Bye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST8O-AeY3Uo), [Melted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUCIzn0mRHc), [How People Move](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbc2yBheAbo), [Reality](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M17VbuwIe5k).

**BOLBBALGAN4** - Another indie folk duo (2 girls this time) who's popularity exploded in Korea last year with [Galaxy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U8uA702xrE). They're a perfect example of an underdog becoming successful *within* a year of debut. [Fight Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ri7I32Auhg) and [Tell Me You Love Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5MAgMVwfFs).

**Sunwoo Junga** - She's relatively unknown (not rly kpop more indie) but mmmm her sultry smooth voice that just connects with me entirely, I love her so much. She also likes delving into diff. genres that I'd recommend checking out her [entire discography](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuM2SxvMhWY&list=PL5eevznEUBHalLRURHlFn8xr7MfsGnfQz). Some songs are jams while others are full on ballads that make me want to cry haha. [Sooni](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJizuwQEXs), [Hot and Cold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Kc0WcOG7g), [SPRINGIRLS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO7L9Lwe8s4), [Far Away,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VnMtLpptsU&index=2&list=PL5eevznEUBHaM2gTl4L65bcrcflii9xBc) [You Are So Beautiful,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5xqqtm_Zk0&index=6&list=PL5eevznEUBHalLRURHlFn8xr7MfsGnfQz) [It's Raining](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuM2SxvMhWY&list=PL5eevznEUBHalLRURHlFn8xr7MfsGnfQz), and [Don't Cry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73dVeUGEslo&list=PL5eevznEUBHalLRURHlFn8xr7MfsGnfQz&index=8).

**WINNER** - Winner was the group that got me hooked and blew away all my prejudices about kpop with [Sentimental](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV9NJGTLm-4) and [Baby Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBBy2p5EQhs). What I absolutely love about them is that they hit a diversity of sounds/genres (as a group and as soloists) and they do it So. Damn. Well.  Here's a glorious performance of [Okey Dokey + Baby Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkZ1pK2ChZ0) where they look classy as hell that I *highly* recommend watching. [Empty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEqlF5N8UMs), [Color Ring](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQIfXg7UukI), Immature, Different, [Pricked](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knyUO0He_B0) and Don't Flirt are great too. Check out their entire discography (most on [Spotify](https://play.spotify.com/artist/5DuzBeOgFwViFcv00Q5PFb)) there's bound to be something you like. ~~stan WINNER they're having a comeback soon~~

* **Mino**, their main rapper is one of the top idol rappers in the industry right now and both [I'm Him](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQnAL-f2grI) and **[Body](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlJHZJ8EqeA)** are fantastic. I was never interested in rap or hiphop until I discovered his releases lmao. Check out [Shoot!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5MAgMVwfFs), [Fear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgLah5W7yK0), and [Turtle Ship.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0qTjRGXGdw)

* **Seungyoon**, their lead vocalist and leader is more into rock/R&B. Some of his solos are [You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G293hRiR1EE) (R&B), [Wild and Young](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYktOE77oog), and[ Stealer.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orPDXm41C3M)

* **Taehyun**, their former member ;-; lovesss indie music (blues, rock, etc.) and experimenting with different sounds on his SoundCloud [South_Club](https://soundcloud.com/user-337858352). He's also deleted a bunch but their still on YT, like [Good Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqlYpfWcPqU), [Annyeong \(Hi/Goodbye\)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOv2QGLuhds), [Hug Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10eezuDM6e0), and [Who Is This Song For.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGd0FNSLv-Y) There are so many more I haven't mentioned like his covers of [Creep](https://soundcloud.com/user-337858352/creep-cover) and [Forrest Gump](https://soundcloud.com/user-337858352/forrest-gump-cover) that are just absolutely soulful and emotionally packed, you NEED to check him out.