#exo male review

[shineemoon]

ONEW•JONGHYUN•KEY•MINHO•TAEMIN… '15th Anniversary' SHINee's 'RACE'

Since the debut in 2008, SHINee has been considered a role model for many K-pop artists as both a group and solo artists. Not only did all the members release solo albums, but they also have a solid career in various fields such as entertainment, acting, musicals, and fashion. SHINee, who has been developing personal skills not only through the team but also through solo activities, announced that they will reunite to mark the 15th anniversary of their debut this year. While high expectations are being placed on the synergy that 'Complete SHINee' will show, we looked back at SHINee's brilliant solo career.

Unrivaled ‘VOICE’ Onew. Onew, who sang many drama OSTs and collaboration songs, released his first solo album ‘VOICE’ in December 2018, which was filled with his own lyrical music, once again proving his warm tone and outstanding singing ability. He solidified his position as a unique vocalist by presenting a fresh and refreshing charm with ‘DICE’ and a healing song that comforts the listeners with his first regular album ‘Circle’ Last March, he held his solo concerts in Korea and Japan, thrilling his global fans with a high-quality performance that combines colorful music, performance, and scent production. He also played the role of Haram in the musical 'Midnight Sun' and received favorable reviews for his delicate portrayal of his shy character. Unchanging team's ‘BASE’ Jonghyun Jonghyun, who was recognized for his solid skills early on with his refreshing vocals, has released his first solo album ‘BASE’, his first collection 'Story Op.1', his first full-length album 'She Is', his second collection 'Story Op.2' and his second full-length album 'Poet | Artist', the albums that show a wide spectrum of music have received enthusiastic responses from music fans. In addition, he participated in the lyrics and composition of various songs that cross genres, such as his solo album songs, SHINee's hit songs 'Juliette' and 'View', Taemin's 'Pretty Boy', and EXO's 'PLAYBOY'. For about three years from 2014, he communicated with listeners every night as a radio DJ and gave warm comfort, and he was active in various fields such as publishing the novel “Skeleton Flower: Things That Have Released and Set Free”.

Always new ‘FACE’ Key Key is showing off his versatility in music, entertainment, fashion, etc. to the extent that he is called 'all-around cheat key'. He opened wide the door as a solo artist with his first full-length album 'FACE', and with the so-called 'retro trilogy' leading to his first mini-album 'BAD LOVE', his 2nd full-length album 'Gasoline' and repackage 'Killer', he presented music and performances with a unique charm that can be heard. In addition, Key is displaying an excellent sense of entertainment in popular entertainment programs such as tvN's 'Amazing Saturday' and MBC's 'I Live Alone'. Accordingly, it was realized that he was receiving high public attention by winning the Male Excellence Award in the variety category at the '2022 MBC Broadcasting Entertainment Awards', and winning the '2022 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards' and the '2022 Brand of the Year Awards' for two consecutive years in the entertainment idol male category. Challenges with passion ‘CHASE’ Minho Minho, a 'passionate character' in the music industry, has played a prominent role in various entertainment shows, including sports variety programs since his debut, combining his superior physique, passion that burns like a flame, wit and sense. He also showed his smooth hosting skills as an entertainment MC, including various award ceremonies and the original TVing ‘Webtoon Singer’. In addition, Minho showed a variety of performances across the spectrum through dramas such as tvN's ‘The Most Beautiful Goodbye’ and Netflix series ‘The Fabulous’, as well as movies 'Inrang' and ‘Jangsari: Forgotten Heroes’. In December last year, he released his first mini-album ‘CHASE’ filled with hip-hop and R&B genres with his own emotions, filling the last puzzle piece of SHINee's solo album. K-pop ‘ACE’ Taemin Taemin announced his solo debut as the first member of SHINee with his first mini-album ‘ACE’ in 2014. With the hit songs ‘MOVE’ and ‘WANT’, he caused the so-called ‘Move’ and 'WANT' syndrome and won awards in the album and best dance performance solo categories at various awards ceremonies. In addition, Taemin is loved by fans all over the world for his excellent vocals and powerful performance skills, as he has various modifiers such as 'Yeoksolnam (all-time solo male singer)' and 'Taemdol (Taemin is also a role model)'. He has established himself as an irrefutable "ACE" of K-pop by proving his powerful global power by successfully completing his first arena tour 17 times in six cities across Japan in 2019.

SHINee is set to release a new full-length album to mark the 15th anniversary of their debut this year. (Source: xportsnews)

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Ep 8 Recap Part 3: Waterfire's Drama

Welcome back to my increasingly unhinged recaps of MNET’s Build Up! In the previous one, we all got pregnant, whether we have uteruses or not! In this one, our ears will be both blessed and challenged. Let’s talk about it! 

LTR: Hayoon, Sunyoul, Wumuti, and Suhwan

So, the team comes up on stage and Dahee asks leader Sunyoul about their name. Sunyoul explains that he and Hayoon are “like water” and Suhwan and Wumuti are “fiery” so their team tries anything, whether watery or fiery. 

Backstage, Woong points out what every person in the room is thinking: “When water and fire mix, the fire dies!” In my opinion, they should have called themselves Steam, since that’s what is created when water and fire mix, and steam is powerful. 

Wendy says she’s heard that the team had trouble choosing a song, and Suhwan says that since they were the leftovers they didn’t necessarily have a shared musical style. We’re reminded of how they were the ones left. Aww! It’s especially galling since they all have gotten great reviews and have won top tier and stuff like that. 

I mean, I think I know why Hayoon and Wumuti were left for last. It’s just that neither of them really meets the Korean standards of male beauty. I’m not calling them ugly, but Hayoon looks like a real Korean person, like someone you’d actually see on the street, which is not what K-idols look like. And Wumuti -- please forgive me for saying this, but Wumuti’s face is sort of unusual looking. I think he’s had a bunch of fillers put in there and it just looks a little odd sometimes. I love his personality so, so, so much and I think he has a lovely singing voice. But yeah. Neither of them would qualify as a "visual" in a kpop group, to the best of my understanding.

As for Suhwan, he easily might have been picked earlier if things had played out differently, but also, I think he kind of lacks sex appeal. Maybe if he got a different haircut it would help. 

But even though they were left for last, Wumuti’s optimism is unflagging. He’s like, great, they expect nothing from us -- but we’re going to do great anyway. That’s what I love about Wumuti! Remember back on Boys Planet when his whole team on Switch was pretty sure they’d get eliminated, but Wumuti kept working his hardest to get the performance ready? And then he cheered from the audience for the performance like he was their biggest fan? He’s such a sweetheart. 

Back in Sunyoul’s Small Room of Serious Decisions, he tells his team, “Since we were the last ones left, let’s be the last ones left on Build Up as well!” Heck yeah!

If you don’t love Sunyoul, you’re wrong. 

We skip ahead to something we haven’t seen thus far -- the round four interim inspection. 

I love how they put a bunch of round folding tables in a high school gymnasium and had Baekho and Eunkwang just sit awkwardly to one side. That's that MNET budget showing again.

Team Waterfire is nervous to perform at this evaluation. They had a lot of trouble choosing a song and eventually decided to sing Drama by Aespa just as a placeholder, I think. They should have asked me! I have an Exo song for all occasions! 

Ok, hear me out, hear me out:

I think they would have done great with Young by Baekhyun x Loco. Yes, it has a lot of rapping, but Hayoon is actually a fantastic rapper. And I can also imagine his vocal tone sounding really cool on the choruses. Plus, there’s also all those tight, crunchy harmonies on the bridge that would have made use of their skills. Not saying it would have won the night; just saying I would have enjoyed it a lot.

Alternatively, they could have done Blooming Day by EXO-CBX. All four of these guys are charming, and charm is what this song needs. They could have done the “can I be your boyfriend?” stuff with aplomb. They could worn jeans and soft looking t-shirts and looked like they smelled like clean laundry out of the drier. They could have offered Dahee flowers and pulled heart shaped confetti out of their pockets. They could have had some backup dancers, and done a little bit of choreo here and there. Tell me I’m wrong. 

Or, or, if they really really wanted to do a girl group song, why not Wow Thing? Bright, cheerful, flirty, perfect. Hayoon could do most of the Soyeon parts, Wumuti could be Seulgi, Sunyoul could be Sin B, and Suhwan could be Chungha, more or less.

Drama is such a weird choice. It’s one of those weird Aespa songs that isn’t so much a “song” as it a series of noises accompanied by choreo. I’m not saying I don’t like it. In fact, it is on my “angry kpop” playlist that I listen to whenever I’m mad. I love the “trauma, I break trauma” bit. I love the idea of just embracing drama. Too often, girls’ and women’s issues are dismissed as just drama. We’re told to hold back under threat of being labeled "dramatic," and it’s like, no, you WILL listen to my concerns because I am NOT scared of that label. 

But I might be putting more into the song than is really there. As it is, the lyrics barely make sense. There’s probably some Aespa/ Kwangya/ naevis lore that explains what the hell they’re talking about but I do not have the time to invest in that. Also, there isn’t really a tune? And it’s mostly rapped? And it keeps talking about "my girls in the back," which sounds weird when men say it...? I don’t know -- I could probably think of 50 other songs that would have been better than Drama. It feel like they wrote the names of 1000 kpop songs on pieces of paper and pulled one at random out of a hat.

Anyway, this is the world we live in -- the one where they’re singing Drama.

They sing for their fellow contestants at this midterm evaluation, and...

... Bain is all of us. 

The reviews are poor -- Yeo One is like, yeah, my team could easily beat this. So they decide to turn things upside down.

s w e a t e r

To symbolize their intentions, they go to an action school and, I don't know, jump on trampolines.

A true feat of strength and agility!

They learn a lot and um, they become better... performers? question mark?

And that brings us to performance night!

Full version without reactions

My take:

I really respect the hard work, skill, talent, and time that went into this. Every note that was sung was perfect in terms of pitch and rhythm. All four of them sounded great.

But I didn't like it very much.

Did you watch Road to Kingdom? Pentagon did a weird cover of Follow by Monsta X. Hui did the remix himself and it was very dramatic. It also wasn't fun to listen to. The charm of the original song, and the tune, was surgically removed. The soundscape they made was impressive but it actually kind of hurt my ears at points.

I don't know where kpop groups got the idea that wearing military inspired outfits and singing harsh, discordant songs would be charming. I know a lot of them do it, but I wonder if fans actually *like* it?

For me, the part at the beginning where Suhwan and Wumuti are sort of "talking" to each other was incredibly cringey. Like I had to turn it off and try watching it later.

In fact, in general, Wumuti's spoken word rap style makes me want to evaporate. Sorry, friends.

The weird discordant harmonies hurt my ears sometimes, too.

On the positive end, all the singing was technically very good. Suhwan in particular stood out for me as having a strong, confident voice. Sunyoul sounded sweet and light. Hayoon added a bit of spice at times, and also demonstrated that he can clean his vocal tone when he wants to, which is a valuable skill. And Wumuti held things down as the ideal lead vocal. Their harmonies were on point -- they hit these little bursts of crunchy 3- and 4-part harmony that were truly impressive.

But like, why? Why do this? Why sing this song, and why sing it this way? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

I also have to comment on how awkard Suhwan is on stage. Even in the ending pose, when the other three look over their shoulders at the audience, Suhwan just sort of turns his head to the left and looks off into the distance.

I showed My Fella first the original version of the song and then this cover, and he said it was like a whole new song, and then added, kind of embarrassed, "But I mean, I didn't like it. I didn't like how it sounded. I felt like the original song had this "mean girls" energy to it, but this just sort of didn't make sense." He specifically picked out Suhwan and said, "This guy looked so awkward standing there, and then when he actually sang, I thought, oh, so that's why he's here." So some mixed feedback there. He and I don't always agree on stuff, but we sure as heck agreed here. (I don't tell him my opinion on stuff before I show it to him -- I like to hear what he thinks.)

For comparison's sake, here's Hayoon's ending pose:

It's actually really good. He manages to bring an almost sexy energy to it. Hayoon is an interesting guy -- the dichotomy between onstage and offstage Hayoon is so bizarre. But it's cool.

And Wumuti...

PLEASE STOP DOING WEIRD THINGS TO YOUR FACE LIKE PUTTING STICKERS ON YOUR NOSE and fillers in your cheeks and lips

The MNET edit emphasizes how amazed the judges are, and they have every right to be.

Eunkwang can't believe the harmonies.

We also see a lot of shots of the audience who look amazed. But like, are they amazed at how good it is, or are they amazed just at how different it is?

When the performance is over, the audience cheers loudly, the judges applaud (Jaehwan stands up) and the guys backstage say things like "This team did a good job" and "The vocal composition is well organized." But it's not like, "Wow, I loved that."

The judges vote, and we get the high score: a 95 from Jaehwan.

Honey-badger Jaehwan don't care.

Well, he's a judge. He gets to vote how he wants.

Dahee asks Jaehwan about his score, and he says that he thought it was pre-recorded vocals at first. That's fair -- their vocals were technically perfect. He also thinks they had good teamwork and harmony, which is also true. Unlike in Jay's team, where Jay stood out, there wasn't one person who stood out significantly more than the others. Jaehwan also compliments Suhwan's vocal fry, which makes everyone try their own.

There's also a lot of praise for Hayoon, who says "thank you." VCG repeats the way Hayoon says "thank you" in a high-pitched tone that verges on mocking, though I don't think that's how VCG meant it.

Ok, before I go on, I have to say that I'm absolutely bewildered at the judges' response to the performance, because I feel certain it can't be how most people honestly feel about listening to it. I have a theory, though, if you'll take a short walk with me.

I work as a tutor for people who have to take difficult tests. Something I've noticed is that certain types of high-scoring students sometimes talk themselves out of the right answer because it's "too obvious." The reason it seems obvious is that it's right and they're good at it, but the right answer is boring to them, and they can imagine a whole convoluted explanation for how the other answer would be right if you squint and look at it from across the street.

I kind of feel like that's what's happening to these judges. Their ears tell them "this is unpleasant to listen to" but their brain is bored by things that sound nice at this point, so they convince themselves that the obviously good performance is not as good, and that this highly technical display of vocal skill is preferable.

VCG says he gave them a high score because "I thought if you sang a ballad, you would kill it." See what I mean? He's grading not based on whether or not he actually enjoyed THIS performance that he just watched. He's grading based on some imaginary thing he's making up as he goes along.

I tell my students all the time: Just answer the question in front of you. I want to tell these judges: Just grade the performance you watched and listened to. Just that. Just. Do. That.

Anyway, that's about all we get for judges' feedback. No kind words for Sunyoul or Wumuti at all, which is a bummer.

So here's a nice picture of Sunyoul, whom I adore.

No mention of who specifically did the arrangement (I feel like it was Wumuti, don't you?). No comment on the song choice or the "girls in the back" or anything.

So, that brings us to the end of this recap! Sorry if this was your favorite performance of the night, but also, I'm glad that someone liked it, since I like these guys as humans and as performers and I know they must have worked so hard on it. I really wish I liked it.

I'll see you in the next one, when I cover Uptown Funk by a team with no name! Just no name at all.

[yuuana]

Music Monday #242: SUPER JUNIOR-L.S.S. - Joke release: February 2024 genre: Kpop cw: flashing, utter nonsense

When I made my non-binding poll on Mastodon yesterday, this was not one of the options. But for all that I low-key loathe April Fools Day, the more I thought about it, the more it felt like the right time to do the review. So. Here we are. With yet more Kpop. Feeding into the "holiday" like a fool.

After twenty years together (dear lort, how has it been that long), Super Junior's newest subunit are 5th gen rookies Leeteuk, Shindong, and Siwon for SUPER JUNIOR-L.S.S. Yes, I said 5th gen and rookies and without joke quotes around them, even though it is something of a running joke, both that L.S.S. are rookies and that RIIZE and aespa are their seonbaenim, with TWS as their now-rivals (originally, they cited RIIZE as rivals). I mean, it's the same logic that lead to EXO's Kai winning a Rookie of the Year award after his solo debut, so while you can tell every time the guys say it they aren't being entirely serious, it's still a thing.

"Joke" was the third of three consecutive singles released in January and February as part of the subunit's full and official debut. As a song, it's perfectly fine, though not one I can listen to very often. Cute and fluffy and innocent like a debut boy group love song ought to be, but with a dance twist that makes it just a bit weird even without the video.

Of course there is a video, obviously, and we can't just not talk about it, but even after all these weeks, I still don't really know where to start. This is arguably the least serious of the three MVs (and Suit Up and C'Mon aren't that serious), but also there's definitely references here that I, as someone who hasn't watched much K-drama, am mostly not getting. Which is fine, but it's kind of distracting and the video fell out of rotation almost as soon as it popped up. As always, though, that's a personal thing and your mileage may vary. Especially if you have more familiarity with the tropes.

All three debut singles along with their pre-debut Japanese EP, Let's Standing Show, are available for streaming on all the usual suspects. They also have quite a number of dance challenges they exchanged during the promotion of the three singles, available on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, if one wants to do a little digging and snickering. Perhaps unsurprising, given the nature of the "Joke" dance challenge, that one was only done with other male idols.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[baenxietydad]

An Incomplete List of Kdramas Mu-yeol Makes Hatter Watch With Him

@davidhatter

He tries to avoid anything from like .... pre-2017 if he can help it bc HOLY misogyny and toxicity from these male leads Batman, but sometimes a show is either A. GOOD, B. iconic staples for the genre; or C. so awful he must subject him to it.

This list only has some of the good dramas lmao

Her Private Life

A cute romcom! He started him off with this one. It includes some classic kdrama tropes: memory loss of a specific traumatic event, childhood connection, rich man not rich woman, long-lost brothers. It's cringe and camp enough to be a good primer for K-dramas-- it's good, great even, but not so good that it ruins every drama after it. But it also does avoid a lot of the most annoying and cringe tropes, things that an avid drama watcher might eat up but not good for a first look into the genre. The leads, Park Min-young and Kim Jae-wook are two of Mu-yeol's favorite actors so it's worth it just for them. Also, it goes into fangirl culture and idol fandom which, fan culture IN Korea is it's own interesting subculture that he can use the drama to explain that aspect to him.

Vicky said Hatter's review of it was positive, he had a nice time, which means now Hatfish watch dramas together lmao. Mu-yeol explained that after HPL there were five plans of attack for first-time drama watchers he explains to Hatter:

A. you like the lead actor a lot, so you watch something else he's in (Crazy Love, Marry Me, Mary, or for a small role when he was younger Coffee Prince)

B. you like the lead actress and want to see her in something else (Healer, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, Forecasting Love and Weather, Marry My Husband)

C. you liked the second male lead (Eun-gi's actor) and want to see a drama where he gets the girl (See You in My 19th Life)

D. "we go to Netflix or Viki and watch the first thing that I've seen before and liked" (Crash Course In Romance, Jealousy Incarnate, Flower of Evil, When The Camellia Blooms, It's Okay That's Love, Oh My Ghost, Twenty-five Twenty-one, Reply 1988)

E. "we go to Netflix or Viki and watch something I haven't vetted yet for cringe level"

Crash Course In Romance

A cute romcom about middle aged people falling in love! Also there's a serial killer subplot lol happens a lot, you and Hatter will get used to those in K-dramas. The female lead is a single mom! Well, tech aunt but that's HER CHILD she raised her!

Jeon Do-yeon is a cutie, amazing as the female lead and Jung Kyung-ho as Choi Chi-yeol is so pathetic (affectionate, highest praise.)

Reply 1988

This is one of Mu-yeol's favorite dramas! Anything set in the late 80s-early 2000s is so nostalgic for him. This is a great period piece for 80's South Korea. It also delves lightly into the political turmoil at the time which he'll happily pause to explain to Hatter in more detail. It's his favorite in the Reply series, even though he really enjoys Reply 1994 and Reply 1997 too, which he eventually makes Hatter watch but not all back to back.

The song that open's Reply 1988, To You by Shin Hae Chul is like one of the most iconic Korean songs. Your cat knows this song if you live in Korea lmao. It's so beloved that EXO, a current K-pop group (well 3rd gen but still active) performed it a few years ago and this massive audience of people who were not around in the 80's when it came out were screaming and singing along, so ofc Hatter had to listen to the whole song too lmao. Just getting a full Korean pop culture history lesson.

Prison Playbook

UGH Prison Playbook is so GOOD. It stars the male lead from Crash Course In Romance alongside Park Hae-soo, one of the leads from Squid Game. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it's about friendship! It's about family! UGH!!!!

Twenty-Five Twenty-One

Another one that is SO GOOD. This one deals with the 1997 IMF Crisis that rocked Southeast and East Asia. Mu-yeol has detailed memories of this time period and explains what that time was like as he observed it while they watch this. It's a drama with a bittersweet but realistic ending, it will rip your heart out it will make you laugh, it's everything.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Another romcom! This time with a proper happy ending! But not without ripping your heart out too :):):) Gongjin is giving Swynlake lmao Mu-yeol thinks Hatter will really like it.

Jealousy Incarnate

Now, this is MY favorite drama. I've watched it 6 times straight through. It's so good and the description doesn't do it justice! I love Gong Hyo-jin but find a lot of her characters frustrating and just not good characters despite her being a great actress. But this drama gives her an interesting character!

And the soundtrack? AMAZING.

Youth Of May

Another drama that takes place in the 80s! This one is centered around the Gwangju Uprising which happened the year before Mu-yeol was born. This one is really good for Mu-yeol pausing to explain history lmao but oh my god this drama is UGH I loved it, he loved it.

When The Camellia Blooms

Another Gong Hyojin vehicle! She's a single mom! Good drama for explaining several aspects of Korean culture, stigmas, norms, etc around single parents, orphans, the concept of your fate affecting people around you.

Welcome to Samdal-ri

I'm watching this one right now. I like it a lot!

It's Okay, That's Love

One of the only sympathetic portrayals of schizophrenia I've seen in media ever. EVER. And the soundtrack of this drama? One of the best.

Also D.O. from EXO is in it!

Love To Hate You

A good palatte cleanser after some heavier dramas. Not the silliest of silly romcomc but a romcom nonetheless. Also Kim Jihoon and Yoo Teo are hot!!!

This scene lmao

Money Heist: Korea

Based on the Spanish show, also slaps. Mu-yeol finally gives Hatter a Manly TM show to watch after making him watch romcoms. A dudebro show, as a treat. Except it's actually really good!!! and it's got hot middle-aged men (Kim Ji-hoon, Park Hae-soo) for them to look at!

Hell Is Other People

It's homoerotic, it's got Lee Dong-wook, it's got serial killers, it's got homoerotic serial killers, what more do you want?

Touch Your Heart

A cute romcom! Yay!!!

But honestly, Mu-yeol thinks Lee Dong-wook's chemistry is...kinda wack with women. His on-screen chemistry playing opposite other men like in Goblin, Bad & Crazy, and Tale of the Nine-Tailed and Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 is SO good, but to him (and me) it tends to fall flat with women.

He's cute here with Yoo In-na though!!! But in Tail of The Nine-Tailed his best scenes are with Kim Bum lmao

Summer Strike

It's just so good!!!

[starillusion13]

Hey there👋🏻 for fanfic writers ask game, I really wanna know what inspired you to write your masterpiece so I'm gonna ask about numbers 6, 7, and 8

(and if you are uncomfortable with question number 7, just ignore it. I don't want to make you uncomfortable with my ask)

Have a nice day my star🌟

☕

ooohhh interesting.....

6 -> am literally smooth with modern life characters but want to experience writing more supernatural characters...I have written maybe one or two but the EXO series which am working on is totally based on this. I appreciate all the writers who write Supernatural Aus, you all have got some real talents

7 -> okay ig its safe to reveal but My Muse is literally my real story but a bit diff. coz I rejected him back then as I was not sure with my feelings so I actually wrote it for him (its okay I still have a crush on him but he is happy with his gf)

8 -> ngl Winning Dessert was my first time writing SMUT so I was literally worried with the result but when people loved it and gave me reviews I swear I was so happy and also Four Seasons of Love coz I have literally expressed my emotions with the flow (I want someone like the male character in the fic)

You have a nice day too sweet anon!

[cherryeol04]

Looking for RP Partner

💖Intro💖

 Hello wonderful people! 👋

I'm looking for some roleplay partners. I don't really have a limit on how many I want to take in or anything, so if you're interested, then let me know in the dms! But before you message me, please kindly read the following notes about me and what I'm looking for. Even if you don't meet all the criteria, I'm more than willing to give you a chance! Though age is a hard requirement that has to be met! Anything with a * next to it is a requirement I’m looking for in a partner.

Most, if not all roleplays will be NSFW

Yes, it'll have some spicy times in it, but it's mostly deemed NSFW because of the themes I like to write.

Dark themes, triggering situations, adult content - everything, of course, will be preplanned with long discussions of triggering topics, hard limits and such.

🔞 Partners must be at least 19+!🔞*

My style is 3rd pov, past tense.

I’m looking for someone who also does 3rd pov, past tense, but I will also accept present tense as well!

Semi to Literate*

I love long replies and I do enjoy giving them as well. However, I understand that sometimes you can't always give long responses, and that's okay too. I just ask no one-liners

Currently looking for MxM pairings and plots!*

I do not stick to one plot!

This just means I'm open to having more than one plot going with many different face claims. So if you would like to plot a pirate au with Hongjoong from Ateez and a wolf au with Chanyeol from EXO, I'm the person for you!

Currently there is no limit for the amount of plots I will do with one person.

I control more than one character

This is different from god-modding

This just means that in our plot, I can (and prefer) to control more than one character. So while my main face claim may be Chan from Stray Kids, I may also play Felix and Seungmin to add a little more substance and character development to the plot. 

While I would like for you to also have more than one character, I don’t expect it of you if you’re not comfortable with it. 

With regards to NPCs (the barista working at the café they visit, or the random people they meet along the way), either one of us can control them at any time as long as it’s to move the plot along.

Preferred platforms:

Line

Discord

As of right now, I think that's everything. Again, if you're interested, pm me! If you have any questions, also pm me!!

⚜ OC Information ⚜

Age: 25+

Time zone: -5 EST

Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 8-5

Replies may be sporadic throughout the week, with the majority of replies coming in the evening time.

Weekends will bring more replies, unless I have plans with friends/family or I’m on call for work

My face claims are never set. So if you're looking for a specific person, please review the list of face claims I rp and let me know. Otherwise I'll base my face claims on what the plot is.

❣ Preferred Plots, Themes & Genres ❣

Fantasy Au

Omegaverse AU / Wolf Au / ABO Au

Fluff, Romance, Humor

Horror

Dystopian AU

Post-Apocalyptic AU

Academy Au

Boss/Employee AU

College/University AU

Disney Movie AU

Mafia/Gang Au

Magic AU

Pirates AU

Royalty AU

Soulmate AU

Mythology

Tropes:

Arranged Marriage

Class Difference

Exes to Lovers

Fake/Pretend Relationships

First’s (date, kiss, ect.)

Forbidden Love

Male Pregnancy

Polyamory

String of Fate

💫 Face Claims 💫

*There is no specific faceclaim I want at the moment. Most of my face claims will be male. Looking for more Stray Kids plots!!!*** The 🌸 next to the name indicates my preferred face claim from that group.**

EXO

Chanyeol

Baekhyun🌸

Cen

Suho

Sehun

GOT7

Mark🌸

Yugyeom

Nu’est

Minhyun

Ren🌸

Stray Kids

Chan

Hyunjin

Jisung🌸

Seungmin

Minho

Vixx

N🌸

Hongbin

Hyuk

🖋 Writing Samples 🖋

OC Character - Kayden Park

Kayden was overjoyed. He hadn’t thought tulips would grow at this time of the year, but entering the garden he found a wide variety of them, pristine and in full bloom. They were the one flower that Kayden had really hoped would grow because after he read what their meanings were, he knew almost instantly who he wanted to give them to.

Specifically the red tulips.

Some might say he falls too easily and others might say he loves too hard. But in reality, Kayden couldn’t control who he was or how he felt about people. When he found someone he liked, he became attached to them, trying to be as close as possible while nurturing their growing relationship - whatever it might be. Even if that person got on his nerves all the time, or they ended up doing things that very honestly scared him, ending a relationship just wasn’t in Kayden’s vocabulary.

Red tulips symbolize true love, or a soulmate. Kayden had a specific person in mind and while he wouldn’t say it was true love - hell Atreyu could barely stand him in a good - he did think the other was his soulmate. Despite their ups and downs and the multitude of times he was locked out of the dorm and left to fend for himself for the night, Kayden knew that what he had with Atreyu was special - indescribable even.

And while he couldn’t find the words, he knew the flowers would do the best job. So after carefully plucking five of the tulips, he handed back inside and to his room where he had left his roommate. Atreyu had been in one of his moods again, refusing to speak to Kayden, so hopefully the flowers would double as something to cheer him up.

“Atreyu~!” he sang happily as he opened the door, hoping he hadn’t disturbed the other but knowing he probably did. He braced himself to be hit with a pillow or something, even a “go away” in his harsh and icy tone. But when he got no greeting in return, Kayden took a moment to actually look around the room.

It was empty.

And not just in a way that said Atreyu left to go mope somewhere. It was truly empty. The smile on his face slowly fell as he stepped into the room. His bed was made, but it lacked a lived-in feel - as if a maid had come in and just fixed the bed to make it look presentable. The nightstand next to the bed was barren, everything Atreyu had kept there gone.

Kayden didn’t want to jump to conclusions but his mind was already racing. He crossed the space quickly and yanked open the drawers. Barren. Turning, he moved to the closet next and opened it. Nothing. Everything that had belonged to Atreyu was gone.

He was gone.

As Kayden stood there, reality slowly came crashing down as he realized he was alone. No note. No text. No goodbye. He clenched the tulips tightly in his hand before releasing them and letting them drop to the floor.

Stupid.

He had been so stupid and this is what he got.

Silently, Kayden walked over to his bed and sat down on it gingerly, eyes staring blankly ahead.

Alone.

No matter what he did, he was always going to be alone.

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

ABO AU - Chan, Jisung, Seungmin, Changbin

Jisung laughed and nodded, pulling back some from the other. “Tonight…supposedly.” He said and shrugged. “But my body has been weird lately, so it may hold off another day. I hope it does cause I wanna be able to spend time with you. It’s been so long.”

Jisung had honestly missed the omega. He hadn’t seen Hyunjin since the night of the attack. The last thing Jisung could recall was rolling on top of Hyunjin to protect him from the blade before calling for help. Chan had told him already that if it weren’t for him, Hyunjin probably would have ended up dying. 

So if that meant Jisung suffered from nightmares and a sore side (with a near death experience of his own), then so be it. It was worth it. 

He grunted when Felix suddenly tackled them both, hugging them tightly. “Yeah! What Lixie said.” He said and whined. “Felix, my side.” He hissed softly. 

Chan watched the three, smiling fondly. He walked over and patted Felix’s head gently. “Come in Lix, be careful with them.” He said gently. “They’re both still healing.” 

Seungmin peeked his head out of the kitchen before hiding once more, afraid to face Hyunjin. He felt so guilty still for turning his back on the omega so fast. Things from that had been hectic, chaotic. Feelings were hurt, people were hurt and Seungmin may have chosen the wrong side. 

He still fully believed how things were handled was inexcusable and that was mostly on Chan’s part but knowing the other was Hyunjin’s soulmate and seeing first hand what a soulmate bond looked like through Jisung and Minho, Seungmin sort of understood where everyone was coming from. It couldn’t be helped, the attraction.

He wanted to apologize for being such an ass but he was afraid Hyunjin wouldn’t accept it. He didn’t want to cause discourse in the pack because the others seemed so hellbent on getting Hyunjin in the pack and they were happy. He would be happy too, he just wasn’t sure if Hyunjin would be happy around him. 

Meanwhile, Changbin made his exit from the kitchen and smiled. “We’ll looky here.” He called. “Chan really did bring us a present.” He teased. 

If you have made this far down, thank you so much!!! If you're interested at all in rping, please send me a dm or an ask! I'm looking for long term partners to create beautiful worlds together! 💖

[maqqy96]

I posted 9,299 times in 2022

That's 1,943 more posts than 2021!

9 posts created (0%)

9,290 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wilwheaton

@kuraiummei

@your-exo-highness

@collegeofwinterhold

I tagged 30 of my posts in 2022

#long post - 6 posts

#sanguine - 3 posts

#sailor moon - 2 posts

#the elder scrolls - 2 posts

#mass effect - 2 posts

#skyrim - 2 posts

#hircine - 2 posts

#pride - 2 posts

#senate - 1 post

#united states - 1 post

Longest Tag: 70 characters

#as smooth and straight as a seismic needle during a level 7 earthquake

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapters: 70/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Elder Scrolls Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn/Sanguine Characters: Sanguine (Elder Scrolls), Original Nord Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Vigilants of Stendarr, Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Hircine (Elder Scrolls), Clavicus Vile, Barbus, Molag Bal Additional Tags: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol Withdrawal, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol, Vomiting, Male Gaze, Leering, Undressing With Eyes, Slow Burn Summary:

The Daedric Prince Sanguine, whose sphere was hedonistic revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures, was currently suffering from the worst hangover in his entire existence. Vague memories of a deal gone wrong are all that he can recall of the last few weeks. To make matters worse, he found himself stuck wandering around with a virtuous, vindictive vixen and a young Vigilant of Stendarr as his only clues to what he'd done on what was clearly his most epic bender to date.

Now, if only he could remember it.

1 note - Posted August 20, 2022

#4

Chapters: 68/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Elder Scrolls Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn/Sanguine Characters: Sanguine (Elder Scrolls), Original Nord Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Vigilants of Stendarr, Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Hircine (Elder Scrolls), Clavicus Vile, Barbus, Molag Bal Additional Tags: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol Withdrawal, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol, Vomiting, Male Gaze, Leering, Undressing With Eyes, Slow Burn Summary:

The Daedric Prince Sanguine, whose sphere was hedonistic revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures, was currently suffering from the worst hangover in his entire existence. Vague memories of a deal gone wrong are all that he can recall of the last few weeks. To make matters worse, he found himself stuck wandering around with a virtuous, vindictive vixen and a young Vigilant of Stendarr as his only clues to what he'd done on what was clearly his most epic bender to date.

Now, if only he could remember it.

-- 68 chapters into what was supposed to be a short project to keep me busy during Quarantine. I think I can officially announce that this story is now out of control --

1 note - Posted July 22, 2022

#3

Newly added for Pride this month, have a Demisexual Pride Flag!

1 note - Posted June 6, 2022

#2

🦀 time for crab 🦀

today i summoned one crab and then caught it 💰 i guess that's dinner solved for tonight

1 note - Posted April 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Silver or Gold? Personally, I’ve always been fond of her silvery appearance, but gold is pretty too! And both versions are available in the shop!

13 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sanstropfremir]

i’m curious - how would you rank kpop dancers? i think taemin is the Standard because he’s just that good. others who stand out to me are boa, kai, and chungha

i should probably preface this to the new people that have come around since i started doing kingdom reviews and don't know: i'm not a trained dancer but i have worked extensively and had very close relationships with dancers for the last decade, and i do consume a fair amount of dance-related content outside of kpop.

i actually have a few categories that i rank kpop dancers on, so i wouldn't say i have a definitive ranking of best dancers, but i do have a scale of the ones that personally I like watching the most. my enjoyment of watching a dancer depends on three points: how technically skilled the dancer is, their style and charisma, and ability to execute the concept/choreography (with the obvious caveat that not all kpop dancers have been active long enough or are in place where they have artistic control over concepts). my personal preferences lean much more heavily towards personal style and concept, because technical skill is just practice. something i consider to be the sign of a true artist in any field is synthesis; the ability to understand how to create something that’s optimized specifically for the circumstances. i do agree, i think taemin is the standard because he does have this holy trinity. but he has an advantage because he’s been active for SO long; he's had the time to develop a signature style and the dude is insanely smart. he knows how to deconstruct his concepts and his movements into the bare essentials that are sharped to the most effective precision. this interview with jaejae is an excellent watch if you’re curious and have 20 minutes because it's just him talking about the specific movements he makes and why he makes them. he also works to a very high conceptual degree that is uncommon within kpop, so it makes him stand out even more as an artist. rain and boa i would also put up near the top, because they have had insanely long careers to hone their skills and artistry. my other top female dancers would probably be hyoyeon, chungha, and hyuna. i really enjoy watching hyuna’s choreos because they're always a little bit weird and fitting to the songs themselves. flower shower is one of my faves of hers. 

as far as male dancers go, taemin is, unsurprisingly, my favourite. i do think kai is deserving of a top ranking because he is extremely talented and i LOVE the concept film for his solo debut, but his personal style really irks me because he never finishes his extensions. i think this is partially an sm training thing and also partially because the dude has like, a permanently fucked up back. i enjoy watching zhang yixing (lay) much more, and yes i am going to include him because he’s still technically a part of exo and that counts. i find him more expressive, and also he, like taemin, has very clear conceptual intentions for the work that he makes. also his main style currently is krump, which is extremely funny because he’s such a softie and also fuckin KRUMP? it's both a difficult street dance subgenre and a very uncommon style to see in east asian media, so the fact he’s out there doing it at all is impressive. here’s a favourite stage of mine, and also this stage from sdc3.

there’s a number of younger generation male dancers that i think are very talented and given time, could come close to reaching this triple threat level. hwanwoong from oneus can perform, plus he’s pretty adept at switching between different styles and also he’s got a good choreography brain. ten also, it would be very remiss of me to not mention him; he has a very distinct style and the lovely choreo he did with winwin is a beautiful piece of contemporary dance. also hoshi, i dont watch any seventeen content but spider?? damn boy, you might give taemin a run for his money if you keep this up while he’s away.

there’s a lot of others that i think are skilled and i love watching, but don't necessarily have the same sort of all encompassing draw; runners’ up include yoo taeyang, shownu, yugyeom, and key.

now if we want to get talking on favourite choreos, as a separate entity from dancers, that a whoooooole ‘nother post (that’s probably twice as long lmao)

[letsbeoutoftouch]

Back in December 2016, during a sleepover, my friends and I decided to watch EXO's Chanyeol's most recent movie, "So I Married an Anti-Fan". It effortlessly became one of my favourite movies, so much so that I rewatch it —at least— once a year.

Therefore, when it was first announced that South Korea was going to produce a drama based on the same story, I was thrilled. The feeling only increased when I found out that the male lead was Choi Tae-Joon, whom I loved because of Suspicious Partner. Later (to be more precise, this year), I discovered that the other lead was the one and only Sooyoung from SNSD!

The drama was filmed back in 2018, and it was supposed to air a loooot sooner, but it had a few problems and it finally came out this year. Since I don't like waiting for episodes to come out each week, I waited until it finished airing to watch it... And, today, I finished it!

So, here's my review, fresh out the oven!

· · ·

So I Married an Anti-Fan is a 2021 South Korean drama, featuring Choi Tae-Joon, Choi Sooyoung, Hwang Chansung and Han Ji-Ahn. It's based on the novel "그래서 나는 안티팬과 결혼했다" (So I Married an Anti-Fan), written by Kim Eun Jun and published in 2010.

· · ·

♡ PLOT:

The story revolves around Hoo Joon (Tae-Joon), a well-known idol, and Geun Young (Sooyoung), a magazine reporter. They meet during an event, where a series of misunderstandings leads them to have a bad impression of each other.

For this reason, when Geun Young loses her job, she's under the impression that it was Hoo Joon's doing and is therefore keen on "reveal" Joon's real character. However, her retaliation backfires, and she attracts a lot of attention as his "anti-fan".

Later, a TV producer approaches them both to star in a reality show. Geun Young and Hoo Joon accept and think to give each other a hard time on set. But, as time goes by, they get to know each other better and better.

· · ·

♡ EPISODES:

It's made up of 16 episodes, running for an hour each (i.e., your typical k-drama).

· · ·

♡ CHARACTERS:

-Geun Young (FL): She's the best character, hands down (I swear I'm not being biased because I love Sooyoung).

For some reason, I've seen a lot of bad comments about this character. I don't truly understand why some people said that she didn't stand up for herself or that she was so-so, when she dealt really well with everything that had happened to her. I'd like to see all those people in her shoes—I bet they'd have cracked up quickly.

Also, she's like the least toxic character I've ever come across in a drama. She waits patiently for Joon to deal with his problems and doesn't jump to conclusions regarding his relationship with In Hyeong and Jae Joon. She lets him do his thing, is an independent woman, and tries to be as little of a burden as she can to the people she cares about. So, props to her!

▫ ▫ ▫

-Hoo Joon (ML): Although I overall liked his character, I admit that if I hadn't previously watched the movie, I'd probably be wary of him at the beginning. But, don't worry: as the story progresses, you get to know him better. He's patient and thinks of other people's feelings and well-being a lot (sometimes, a little too much for his own good, but he's a good boy).

I felt the need to include that there was this one scene where he acts... In a way that I didn't find appealing. Fortunately, he isn't like that all throughout the drama. Also, he isn't toxic like a lot of the male leads in drama-land. If you're wondering which scene I'm referring to, here's a spoiler: *SPOILER ALERT* When he and Geun Young start dating, they are requested to film an advertisement together. In the filming, he acts all "jealous" because the dress she was wearing was too short for his liking. I'm sorry, but she's the only one who has a say on how short a dress she's wearing is—not you, not even if you're her partner *END OF SPOILER ALERT*.

▫ ▫ ▫

-JJ/Jae Joon (SML): Jae Joon is the second male lead, and he was portrayed by 2PM's Chansung.

I'm sorry, but I never could come to terms with this character, not even during the last episodes. If the writers' intention was for me to hate him, they (and Chansung's acting) totally achieved that purpose.

He is incredibly selfish and keeps this attitude up to episode 13/14. Towards the ending, the story tries that the audience feels some sympathy towards him—it is shown why he acted the way he did. Nevertheless, in my opinion, while his past may explain his actions, it doesn't justify any of them. That's why I couldn't bring myself to feel sympathetic or empathetic towards him. *SPOILER ALERT* In fact, I think Hoo Joon was too nice to be there for him in the last two or three episodes. *END OF SPOILER ALERT*

He's also outright abusive. *SPOILER ALERT* I mean, he slapped In Hyeong and broke her laptop ¿?... Even though I didn't like her that much, nothing justifies that kind of violent behaviour. *END OF SPOILER ALERT*

▫ ▫ ▫

-In Hyeong (SFL): She's the second female lead, portrayed by actress Han Ji-Ahn.

Oh, man. I had a hard time trying to wrap my head around this character. I was just going to say that I couldn't stand her because she was always purposely putting a spanner in the works, making everyone's life difficult.

However, as I was drafting this review, I began reflecting on the character and felt sympathy for her. She was in a vulnerable place—leaving aside that she felt abandoned by her first love, she had trouble trying to make her career take off, and she was in a really abusive relationship. It could be argued that JJ and In Hyeon were both toxic to each other, but it was clear that he was the one with the upper hand (he was the CEO of her new agency, which brings a real disbalance of power).

Moreover, it was hinted several times that all she went through took a toll on her mental health (*SPOILER ALERT* she was always taking pills to calm down, and she freaking tried to kill herself!!!!!!! *END OF SPOILER ALERT*). I believe she needed professional help to put herself back together, so she could let go of her past and finally leave that abusive relationship.

· · ·

♡ COUPLES:

Since this drama mostly gravitates towards romantic relationships, I'm including this section.

▫ ▫ ▫

-Geun Young x Hoo Joon: They are your typical enemies to lovers.

In the beginning, their relationship was tainted by a lot of misunderstandings, which led them to hate each other's guts (but, where's the charm in a k-drama that isn't filled with misunderstandings, am I right?). Once they started to spend more time together, they began understanding each other better. In time, they were able to leave their pride aside and got rid of their prejudices (yes, the story gives Jane Austen-ish vibes, so much so that "Pride and Prejudice" is mentioned a few times).

Their chemistry was alright. I would have changed some parts of the script that made a lot of scenes to be super cringey—especially, before some of their kisses (like, what a way to ruin such an awaited moment!).

The thing I liked the most about them was that neither of them was toxic, and they knew how and when to give the other person space. They were sweet, but not unbearable sweet—just the exact amount.

▫ ▫ ▫

-In Hyeong x Jae Joon: I don't know if they can be considered a true couple, but I'm adding them here just to repeat that I HATED THEM TOGETHER.

· · ·

♡ SOME PERSONAL INTERPRETATIONS AND THOUGHTS:

For me, the story tries to show the two sides of the same coin: things that may seem completely different, but are essentially the same. You can see it with Hoo Joon/Geun Young, their friends, and even with Hoo Joon/Jae Joon. Of course, this could be argued—it is just my personal impression.

Also, while the drama condemns some of the toxic fan behaviour, it sometimes romanticises it. *SPOILER ALERT* one fan freaking kidnapped him, and everything was suddenly alright ¿¿ Nuh-uh *END OF SPOILER ALERT*

· · ·

♡ DRAMA VS. MOVIE:

As I mentioned above, there's a prior Chinese movie from 2016 that was based on this novel. It features EXO's Chanyeol, Yuan Shan Shan, SNSD's Seohyun, and Jian Chao.

For obvious reasons, the story is shrunk down in the movie. There are a lot of things that weren't included in the movie, other things were overly simplified, and some stuff was missing and/or changed.

If you want to have a good laugh, then I recommend you to watch the movie. It's filled with non-sensical comedy that, in my opinion, China excels at. However, if you are more inclined towards drama, then the South Korean version is the one for you (you'll laugh, too, don't worry).

· · ·

♡ SUMMARY:

This is, basically, a sweet enemies-to-lovers, famous-person-and-normal-person story. If you like any of those troupes, then you're in for a treat.

It's a really lighthearted story that will make you laugh. Don't expect a complicated plot because there won't be one. It's ideal to have a break from all those dramas where you can't miss a single detail because you'll get lost, or from those dramas which plots are so heavy they end up tiring your mind out.

I loved the cast, and their acting was great (especially Chansung's, because he made me hate his character with a passion, lmao).

ALSO, if you like Sung Hoon (My Secret Romance, Oh My Venus) like me, then WATCH THIS DRAMA, lol. He has a guest role in some episodes!

· · ·

So I Married an Anti-Fan is available on VIKI!

· · ·

If you read the whole review, thank you very much! I hope you liked it.

[bedtimebrain]

EXO Baekhyun: Cry for Love Part 1

Boldly writing this very unlikely scenario about baek. Part of me just feels like there might be a part of baek that might be in such a situation if he ever feels so deeply for someone that is not be able to handle the stress of dating an idol.

Using the song title of one of my favourite songs from his latest album for this~ there’s going to be 2 parts(hopefully not 3), and just a disclaimer the ending might not be fluff, so don’t get started if you’re not prepared !

Edit: Part 2 is up! (No part 3 tho, thankfull)

Part 2

Characters: Baek x You

Baekhyun finds himself falling for you, but feels he cannot be so selfish to put the burdens of dating an idol upon you. In an attempt to control his feelings, he tries to stay away from you

Standing across the narrow road opposite to Wendy Cafe, Baekhyun looked intently inside, with a sort of sourness at the back of his throat. This is at least 5th time this guy has been here, and it’s been the second time this week already. His inner self was literally scowling at that thought, but what could he do?

His phone that vibrated in his pocket called him out of his thoughts. It was a call from his manager, asking him to return to the SM building.

Taking one last look at you, at the guy, and at the cafe, he placed both his hands back in his pocket, head facing down and walked back to where his car was.

During the ride back, he thought long and hard, was this the right thing to do?  Just 4 months ago, was the first step into the cafe the beginning to this unwanted path ?

He can’t help but replay once again all that started 4 months ago...

——

‘Bye! See you next week!’

Ending his gym session for the week, baekhyun headed for the carpark, eager to get there quickly. Today, he was to be home for a family dinner.

He had been up till late yesterday, practicing and preparing for EXO’s new album. With just 4hours of sleep, his ruined body clock woke him up in time for a gym session in the afternoon. Beating himself to be disciplined so that he can show his best image to Eris during the comeback, he got himself to the gym. 

But now, the sweat from the gym session coupled with his sleep debt, was making him feel extra sleepy.

Needing some caffeine in his system, he stopped his car by the roadside to search up coffee houses nearby. Scrolling through, Starbucks -too crowded , dal.kom- he was not a fan , Daebak Coffee and Tea - seems very popular among reviews, Wendy Cafe - no reviews.

Feeling it’s best to avoid crowded cafes on a Friday afternoon, he decided to give Wendy Cafe a try. Following the voice of Google maps, he found himself along a narrow road, secluded and outcasted from the bustling roads just 2 minutes ago.

‘Am I at the right place? Why would someone open a cafe here?’ He loudly spoke in a typical monologue with himself

Just as he was about to give up, a small signboard peeked out from the brick wall stretching along the road.

‘Ah yes, found you! I hope I didn’t make the wrong choice’

After parking his car, he crossed the road to the cafe.

Wendy’s Cafe was clad in wood and white, wooden tables, white chairs, surrounded by grey walls. It was so small only about 6 people could be seated by the tables. To make up for it, a counter-side table was made available and soft music played in the background. Walking in, Baekhyun felt a comfortable sense of peace and relax.

‘Hello, 1 Ice Americano please’

‘Hello, that will be $5.. omo’ Just as you looked up at him, you were shocked to recognise him as Baekhyun from EXO. But you quickly recovered in time, taking the money from him and continued your chores.

Seeing that you have recognised him, he nodded politely. He appreciated your politeness and professionalism to not overreact. And proceed to wait patiently for his coffee.

‘Thank you, have a nice day’ you smiled brightly at him and handed the coffee over.

Just then, it started pouring heavily outside, stopping Baekhyun in his tracks.

‘Should I drive back now ? It’s a long journey back and it’s raining so heavily ...’ he thought

‘Do you want to wait out the rain instead? It’s not too safe to drive in such heavy rain. No one comes here on rainy days, I can put out the close sign for you if you like’ 

You asked rather sincerely 

Looking out again at the rain, he weighed his choices. He was going to be drenched if he crossed the road but what if you were one of those fans that would expose where he was to everyone? 

He was feeling a little suspicious inside, afterall why would you close the shop to business just for him?

‘You can take the table furthest away from the window if you’re worried’

He looked at you, judging a book by it’s cover. And decided it doesn’t appear like you would turn out to be one of those crazy fans and took the option of waiting out the rain. 

His phone was running out of battery, so instead of sitting by the corner table all bored and lonely, Baekhyun sat on the bar counter table instead; facing you and the other male employee who were busy with fresh bakes.

You presented a bite size muffin on a white plate and gave it over to him. ‘It’s on the house, we’re not going to have any more customers anyway’

Being curious since the start, he asked ‘why would your boss open a cafe right here? It’s really not the best location to be attracting people right?’

Laughing slightly, you replied

‘My boss? That would be me, and does this cafe look like I want to attract people in? The tables are all for 2s, I’m just encouraging solitude here’

‘You own this place? Wow I would suppose you’re only in your early 20s right? Anyway this place does give a sense of quietness that we dont quite get outside. I like it’ He lively replied

‘Yeah, I just wanted people that come by to be able to stop and find quietness they don’t get anywhere else. Finding time for themselves to be away from noisy city life just a few minutes away’

Not really having anything to say to that deep thought of yours, he simply replied ‘Ahh... I see. Uh, thanks for muffin, it smells tasty’

You smiled politely and left him to himself as you cleaned up the open kitchen.

The rain that was beating the ground outside was almost like a lullaby to Baekhyun. The warmth of the shop and the music aided the rain and drowsy effects he was having, shortly without knowing, he drifted to sleep. --

‘Baekhyun ssi, Baekhyun ssi’ you tapped him lightly till he woke up

‘It stopped raining, do you want to head off’

‘Oh my , can’t believe I slept, but that was certainly the quietness I need, haha. I’ll be leaving. Thank you for the coffee’

As he left, he thought to himself that he will surely be back.

—

A week later, he came back. On that day, he saw from outside that you were casually sitting down by on of the tables, chatting with a middle age office lady.

Opening the door, he caught your attention and you smiled slightly to acknowledge. As you were the only working employee today, you got up from the table to serve him.

‘Hi Baekhyun ssi, I see you’re back. Ice americano for you? Or would you like to try something else? Wendy’s special for a bright sunny day’

‘Sure I’ll go for the Wendy’s special’

Handing over the coffee to baekhyun, you asked

‘I heard EXO’s preparing for a comeback. How’s it going for you?’

‘Did you search up on EXO after you saw me last week? Hahaha. Anyway it’s fine, it’s just the discipline in diet, exercise and health that’s annoying’

‘I see. And nah, don’t make me sound like a stalker fan please. I just moderately keep up with kpop in general’

‘Anyway is the middle age lady there your friend? Or do you just chat with your customers all the time?’

‘Oh, she’s just a customer. Really depends though, some people come here seeming to have heavy thoughts, sometimes when I notice I’ll just casually chat with them. Some others are here really putting up a do not disturb sign. Those I wouldn’t bother’

Being cheeky, Baekhyun asked ‘what about me?’

You thought for a while before answering

‘Like a cat? Like those I would give some affection to before letting them run off so they don’t start scratching me. I mean not saying you would be aggressive, but rather, I’m sure a good balance of chat and quietness would be best for you’

Raising his brows and thinking through what you just said, he smiled after a while and went on sipping his Wendy’s special by the counter again. Occasionally, he would look up from his phone to chat with you.

—-

For that 1 month, it seems like he started developing a routine to drop by your cafe for short breaks. He enjoyed your company and somehow your cafe seemed like a place of comfort and refuge. With you, he could talk about anything, from the laughters to the deep insides. Over there, the burdens of being an idol is always momentarily lifted.

On the first week of the 2nd month you guys met. He dropped by again, only to find that the lights were off. A little surprised, he went up to the door which pasted a notice

‘the shop will be closed till further notice due to the owner’s personal reasons. Sorry for any inconvenience caused’

His regular high spirits whenever he came by was dampened as he read the notice. Turning back, he headed off.

The next two weeks, he drove by repeatedly, at least 2 times a week, but your shop was still closed.

It made him a little worried, did something happen to you? But seeing how you left this shop behind with just a notice also made him feel a little down, strangely. It made him think that was he nothing but just a customer to you? He had thought you guys were friends, friends with a special bond, one who he could tell everything to, and place so comfortable almost like his home sofa. But the sign that hung coolly by the cafe’s door left no sign of that friendship held.

Whenever he wasn’t working or was by himself, he pondered over what happened to you. Looking at his phone, he suddenly felt a disconnect. You both knew so many things bout each other but not each other’s numbers. There was nothing to call to reach you. Wherever you are, were you thinking about what you left behind?

He thought to himself 

let’s not be too invested into this coincidental friendship

He made up his mind, tomorrow he was going to make a final intentional trip down. If you were still closed, he told himself he would never drop by intentionally again just to check if you were open.

—-

Driving by the next day, his heart was beating fast. And was as if the heavens heard his words, the lights of your cafe were on.

The sign outside still hung closed, but he walked briskly over and stood by the door. You saw him and beckoned him inside.

‘Hey! What’s up with you? Where did you go? ’ Within him he heaved a sigh of relief, finally seeing you again. But his heart wouldn’t stop racing as he waited for your answer. Looking at your face, he can’t help but notice you’ve lost some weight, making him a little worried.

‘Hey Baekhyun ssi, it’s nice seeing you again’

You smiled at him your normal smile and there was no hint of anything extra apart from the normal customer service you gave him. Your lukewarm reply bothered him a little, was he the only one who considered you both as friends? That thought came but left quickly

‘I went home to visit my parents, unfortunately I fell ill. Pneumonia.. Got me in bed for a really long time’

‘Oh no, no wonder you lost some weight? I hope you’re feeling much better already. But you’re not opened today?’

‘Yes I just came back to tidy up this place.’

Not really wanting to leave yet, he offered to clean the place for you, also worried you might not be feeling the most recovered yet.

‘Do you want to have dinner together tonight?’ Baekhyun asked on impulse.

You looked up, a little surprise, but didn’t reject it. 

‘Probably not at restaurants or something though. Delivery , do you mind?’ He added

You were never someone who seemed bothered about such trivial things, as expected you agreed.

Over dinner Baekhyun was his chirpy self again, telling you about all he wanted to say the few weeks you guys didn’t met. You listened to him without much words, only saying words when it mattered, as usual.

As you guys were eating and chatting, there came a point where a comfortable silence settled between you both.

Till you broke it

‘Baekhyun ssi, can I share something with you?’

Though he wasn’t expecting this, he was ready to listen.

‘Go ahead’

‘When I went back, I found out my one and only best friend had died in a car accident. And no one told me because they were afraid I wouldn’t be able to handle it alone in Seoul. He.. was all I had.. when I was bullied because people thought I was weird... when I didn’t fit in... he.. he..’ you couldn’t continue as you burst into uncontrollable tears.

Handling such situations was definitely not something Baekhyun was most comfortable with. Catching him off guard, he internally panicked, Omo, what do I do. What should I say? Deciding the only appropriate thing to do was to pat your back or your head. He reached out and gently comfort you, feeling a little awkward.

After a good 3 minutes you finally calmed down. But still, Baekhyun didn’t exactly know what to say to a crying girl

‘Are you feeling better? Care for some BingBing now? Ice cream cannot solve your problems, but it’s sweet at least ’

You managed a laugh, and Baekhyun went to the kitchen fridge to pull out the ice cream that came with the dinner earlier.

On the drive home, Baekhyun decided that sometimes a friend is the ultimate remedy to sorrow. And as much as you have been there to hear him out, he wanted to pay it back to you too. 

——

But slowly, their comeback preparations were getting more and more hectic. He no longer had the liberty of time to plan what he wanted to do. But today, there was a short 2 hour interval of free time and they were free to do whatever they wanted.

Deciding between whether to crash at dance practice room or to head to your cafe, he decided to do the latter instead. Though he was feeling rather tired, it has been at least 3 weeks since he came by to say hi. He left after telling suho he’ll be back swiftly.

—

Reaching your cafe, he was surprised to see you smiling and laughing so heartily as you were chatting by the counter with a fashionable young man. When you both spoke, you were always giving him polite smiles and laughters, somewhat out of manners? It somehow hurt his pride a little that while he still thought about you when he was away, did you just think of him as a normal customer who would just come and go? It made him feel like his spot in the cafe was easily replaceable.

As he entered, you did not even break away from the conversation you have with the young man. Only until he reached the counter did you look up.

‘Ah! It’s you! It’s been really long! What would you like today ?’

‘6 Iced americanos, thank you’

‘Alright you can take a seat at the corner table first’ handing him his change , you pointed him to the one at the furthest end of the shop.

He came by having the intention to have a short catch up with you, but apart from the exchange of greetings you had pointed him so far away from the counter and busily went off to prepare the amercianos as if he really was just another customer. He laughed a little bitterly and went to sit where you told him to.

When you were done, you brought the coffee to him and dropped to a whisper suddenly.

‘Baekhyun ssi, are you doing well? Sorry I had to cut our conversation short at the counter because of the oppa sitting there. Didn’t want to bring you trouble in case I accidentally say your name’

Smacking himself on the head internally for being so sensitive earlier on, inside of him also wondered what kind of magic does that ‘oppa’ have for you to be so comfortable? The friendship has almost been 3 months but there always seem to be a strange distance between the both of you. Baekhyun knew himself that his personally was not one people found hard to warm up to and neither did he take very long to warm up to others. He was confused, how sometimes your friendship felt so close yet sometimes so far.

‘How have you been? That guy’s your new customer friend?’

‘Not too bad, I started attending some baking classes and in my free time now I just read as usual. Nothing much as changed.

Yeh he’s been coming quite often because he’s back in this area to visit his parents and there’s nothing for him to do’

‘Ahhhh so what kind of customer is he?’ He arrowhead his eyes at him then back to you.

Laughing you replied ‘ just a really funny and nonsensical kind. Kind of just reminds me of my childhood friend I told you about.... oh right, there’s something I want to give you’

Rushing to the kitchen then quickly walking out, you handed him a box. You explained

‘Baekhyun ssi that day I was at a mall and i walked by this tea shop and I dont know why,I thought about you. It’s all without caffeine. I know you’re having your comeback now and you should be really busy. I purposely picked out some that would help you sleep, some that would revitalise you and just some others that could just help you relax.

I’ve kept it for so long but you didn’t come by again. I almost just kept it for myself already.. anyway I’m glad you’re here today so I could pass it to you’

Hearing this from you really made him touched on the inside, but on the outside he didn’t really know let those emotions show. Instead, he merely said

‘Thanks y/n ssi , for thinking about me. I’ll use them well.’ Looking at his watch , he added,

‘I got to go now, see you sometime soon!’

After saying the goodbyes, Baekhyun returned to his car. Setting his Americanos aside, he held the gift in his hand and looked through his driver’s window at you.

At that very moment he finally came to terms with his feelings.

He did not just want a friendship with you, he wanted you as a partner he could tell his everything to, someone that belonged to him and someone he belonged to.

This should make him feel happy and elated, warm and fuzzy. But there was discomfort lying in his heart.

Deep down he knew that desiring anything more than a friendship with you was putting chains on you.

You liked quietness and freedom. But in his world, parts of his life are made public and his freedom was not really freedom at all.

He cannot sink deeper into this, but could he stay away ? His heart clenched.

He tossed the gift aside and drove off.

—

To be continued!!

Sorry for stopping at such an awkward place, but I couldn’t find a good place to stop this at, hahaha.

Anw, I’m sure you guys already know bout baek’s medical condition? My respect and love for baek just hit another level. I really think we are such lucky fangirls to be stanning someone like him. The effort he puts in for us is above and beyond what is required. Sigh. Baek I hope you know we really appreciate you💛

Tag(s): @wooya1224

Edit: Part 2

[kpop]

K-Pop Spotlight: K-Pop Critical

All month long, right here on @kpop on Tumblr, we’ve been highlighting creators from the @blackintokpop coalition of Black K-pop podcasters. For the final installment, we spoke with Virginia native Morgan and New York City-based Catrina about K-Pop Critical—a podcast that deconstructs K-pop and ponders the commodity of art-making and intersections of pointless and perfect in pop culture.

Tell us about yourselves. How did you start your podcast?

I feel like any intro to our show needs the preface that we were both staunch Directioners. I was literally turned into a 1D meme on Tumblr for going to a 1D show in a white t-shirt and shorts with Zayn's face printed on both asscheeks! We also both happened to be working on degrees related to culture, media, and criticism at the time. After years of a mutual friend trying to get us to meet, we finally did and talked about 1D for an entire night. Somehow K-pop climbed in priority again for both of us, and a couple of months later, we started the show.

The podcast industry is still largely white and male-dominated. How can we continue to shine a light on BIPOC women podcasters?

Monetary support is always incredibly appreciated!!! A LOT of independent podcasters do this for $0.00, so if you see a CashApp/Venmo/Paypal/Patreon link, RUN UP ON IT! Especially if you're learning something new or just enjoy aspects of the show. Beyond this, kind words, shout-outs, questions, reviews, and other interactions on social media are huge morale boosters to keep us motivated. 

What has been your favorite episode that you’ve created?

This is a great question because I know Catrina do not be listening to our episodes often LMAO!I think we'd both agree that our second episode, #FREEHANBIN, is probably our favorite because it is the most gut-reaction recording. It featured our friend Moses, who also did a NCT 127 x Grace Lee Boggs mashup intro for an episode. We also had a great viewer phone call that helped add more context to our understanding of drug culture and South Korean legality. I think more standard/informative/less reactionary favorites are all of the episodes in our Trauma series and Blackness series.

The K-pop community is a wonderfully inclusive one, but the industry continues to have its instances of cultural appropriation. What changes in the industry do you hope to see going forward?

A doozy of a question. I never have super high hopes for cultural consciousness from ANY pop system operating with money as its main priority. That said, I am hopeful that more artists take ownership of their images and schedules and loudly proclaim their influences and what they care about, along with acknowledging when they're wrong. Hearing different idols PUBLICLY connect their love for Black music to their understanding and empathy for Black people and our struggle this past summer was such a minor (in that context) but interesting and necessary thing to witness. Hopefully, that type of appreciation continues.

When you hear Black Excellence, is there someone in or adjacent to the K-pop industry that comes to mind?

I've gotta say, I never grouped Black Excellence and K-pop in the same thought until I learned who CHIKK and Adrian McKinnon were. Without these songwriters and producers, we would be missing a huge portion of SM Entertainment's music, including massive singles. It obviously doesn't stop or begin with just them—add MNEK, Dem Jointz, Cha Cha Malone, Tayla Parx, Tiffany Red, Devin Morrison, The Stereotypes, and, obviously, Teddy Riley, to name a select few. Imagine a world without Girls Generation's The Boys, or EXO's What Is Love, or Shinee's Juliette, or *insert almost any K-pop track that is obviously RnB-leaning*: simply another marker of Black people being everywhere and doing excellent things constantly.

If you could choose any K-pop idol to appear on your show, who would your dream guest be?

So. many. people! We literally tried to get Seventeen on our show in 2020 while they were in New York touring, and it kinda drives me a lil nuts that we didn't, but it was also a ridiculously ambitious plan. 2022 though, we'll be ready. If you see a GoFundMe for buying thirteen extra cameras, don't @ us—just reblog.

What can we look forward to from you in 2021?

More episodes!! We're a little under two years into the show, and we have a lot of ideas and unfinished series to go. We'll be updating our Trauma series and Blackness series, and will hopefully get back into company and idol group episodes soon!

Thanks for sharing your stories! Check out more from K-Pop Critical here. Find more awesome Black K-Pop podcasts, and keep up to date with all things @blackintokpop over on their blog.

This interview has been condensed for clarity.

[spacequokka]

2021 was one hell of a year for me. Here we are at the end of one chapter, ready to start another one. Here’s a look back on what I did.

I posted 163 times in 2021

70 posts created (43%)

93 posts reblogged (57%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.3 posts.

I added 131 tags in 2021

#bts jungkook - 25 posts

#bts taehyung - 20 posts

#smn: poll3 - 14 posts

#got7 jackson - 14 posts

#bts v - 13 posts

#exo x reader - 11 posts

#bts jimin - 10 posts

#smn - 9 posts

#drabble - 8 posts

#exo baekhyun - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 60 characters

#but the plot is really good and i wanna share the full thing

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

50 notes • Posted 2021-06-17 21:53:15 GMT

#4

Private Dance

Summary: Kai, an assassin, poses as an exotic dancer in a dank male strip club to kill you. Pairing: Jongin/Kai x Reader Word Count: 3.3k Rating: 18+ Genre: Thriller, Suspense Warnings: mild smut (fingering, choking), attempted murder via strangulation

50 notes • Posted 2021-05-13 02:26:44 GMT

#3

Moon Rise

Summary: Baekhyun reaches his breaking point with you. Pairing: wolf!Baekhyun x reader Word count: 3.5k Rating: M Genre: Paranormal, Wolf AU, Smut Warnings: Dom!Baekhyun, unprotected sex, impreg kink, possessive thoughts, biting with a brief mention of blood.

68 notes • Posted 2021-11-12 01:01:54 GMT

#2

Say My Name | 07

Word Count: 4.2k Pairings: Junmyeon x Reader Summary: “You love goading me on with that dirty mouth, don’t you?”

Previous | Masterlist | Next

69 notes • Posted 2021-02-06 01:00:47 GMT

#1

On Guard

(credit)

Word Count: 966 Warnings: None, just mild angst and fluff. Pairings: King!Jackson x Reader Summary: The king wants to spar with his personal guard and childhood friend.

89 notes • Posted 2021-04-17 00:02:13 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[shaalk]

Back to you

Type: Oneshot

Characters: Baekhyun X Reader

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Idol AU

Warnings: None

Status: Completed

Summary: Many people find long distance relationships difficult to maintain. But to Baekhyun and I, as long as both parties put in effort, nothing is impossible.

Words: 1372

I sigh in relief when the elevator doors slide open to reveal my front door. 

It had been an utterly tiring day at work. I couldn’t wait to shower, order some junk food and watch a movie. 

Thankfully it is Friday already. I literally cannot wait to spend my weekend lazing around in my apartment. A Netflix and chill-by-myself weekend plan formulates in my head and I am excited to put it into play.

Since the big office relocation is coming up, I have been making the final few confirmations so that the move can begin without any mishaps. With me running back and forth between the old and new office multiple times a day to review interior designs and other decisions, it is truly a blessing that I have managed to arrive home before 9pm, when I had been knocking off past midnight the last month.

As soon as I am in my apartment, I all but throw my bag onto the sofa and shrug off my clothes immediately, wanting to take a warm shower to relax my body. 

I turn on my 90s music playlist and am just about to step into the shower when my doorbell rings. I sigh in annoyance.

I was so close to paradise! 

Well, my definition of paradise at least. I quickly throw on my bathrobe and head to the door.

I look through the peephole to only see a bunch of flowers. Unconsciously, a smile makes its way onto my face. 

My boyfriend sends me flowers sometimes, especially when he finds out that I am stressed from work or am feeling lonely, and they have never failed to cheer me up. 

Once again, he has worked his magic because I can already feel some of the fatigue and stress leaving my body.

I unlock the door quickly, excited to receive my boyfriend’s gift but before I can reach out to grab the bouquet, it is lowered and I find myself face-to-face with the person I want to see the most.

“Oh my god, Baekhyun!” I squeal and pull my boyfriend towards me for a hug.

The male wraps his free arm around my waist and lifts me up so that I am perched on his hips. My legs automatically wrap themselves around his body, not wanting to fall. I nuzzle my nose into his neck to take in the favourite scent I had been away from for too long.

I hear Baekhyun chuckle huskily. Unknowingly, tears start to form in my eyes. I really missed him.

I feel Baekhyun manoeuvre us into my apartment and kick the front door shut with his foot. He then proceeds to remove his shoes, all while he is still carrying me. 

Once he puts on a pair of house slippers, Baekhyun trudges further into my apartment and plops me down onto my kitchen counter. He pulls me away from his neck to take a good look at my face.

“Hi, love,” he coos.

I feel my insides churn and a smile instantly plays on my lips. I can’t help myself when I pull him by the neck to plant pecks on his lips. 

Baekhyun just giggles in response, letting me have my way with him. He was never one to complain when he’s getting a bunch kisses from me.

He then hands me the pretty bouquet. I thank him and took a proper look at the flowers. 

It is the exact bouquet I had been gushing about on my Instagram story almost a week ago. He had gotten the same one for me! I can't believe Baekhyun actually saw the post despite his busy schedule. 

My boyfriend is such a sweetheart!

I set the flowers down beside me.

“Thank you so much for the pretty flowers baby. But what are you doing here Baek? I thought you had a schedule today?” I ask, worried that he might get scolded by his manager or the company. 

Baekhyun grins in triumph at the fact that I know his agenda for the day. He doesn't usually update me about his schedules. However, I make it a point to keep myself updated with the help of his fanbases and his company’s website just to know what my boyfriend is up to and where in the world he is.

“I got tired of seeing you through video calls, so I decided to come see you in person,” he says passingly with a shrug, like he has the luxury to do this every time. 

I have to purse my lips to control the big and goofy smile that is about to spread across my face. I can feel my heart beating wildly because of Baekhyun's mushy confession. 

But I am still concerned that he might get into trouble. 

Baekhyun must have caught my worried expression because he continues, “also, Exo got a week off from work so I decided to come spend time with my favourite girl.”

I squeal in delight and do a mini celebration dance while I am still seated on the counter. 

As an idol, Baekhyun rarely gets off days and even when he does, they are only for a day or two. Since my job is based in Singapore, it is basically impossible for us to meet each other during his off days. We are only able to spend an extended period of time together when I visit him in Korea during the holiday season every year. Even still, we couldn’t spend a whole day together since the end-of-year period meant that Baekhyun would be busy with award ceremonies and concerts.

We usually only had a few hours a day with each other and those were before Baekhyun had to go to work and after he came back from work. Most of the time, Baekhyun's schedules started really early in the morning so I try my very best to wake up with him just so we can have breakfast and spend a little more time together.

That is saying a lot since I am not an early bird.

Spending a whole day with Baekhyun was something I had always wished for. But now, knowing that I will have Baekhyun to myself for a whole week is literally a dream come true. 

Not wanting Baekhyun’s holiday to go to waste, I start listing all the things we can do and places of interest we can visit. 

Of course Baekhyun has been to Singapore multiple times. But those trips were only for work purposes. The few places he was able to see properly were the airport, his hotel room and the concert venue. 

Considering that I have been working in Singapore for almost three years now, it is technically a second home to me. I want Baekhyun to be able to explore his girlfriend's 'hometown' and take in all the pretty sights that I have grown to fall in love with.

I am in the middle of rambling to Baekhyun about some of the must-try food in Singapore when he silences me with a finger to my lips. I raise my eyebrows in question. 

I still have so many more places to recommend him!

“Sweetheart, let’s plan the itinerary another time. Oppa flew here to see his baby girl, not the attractions. I just really want to spend time with my girlfriend first, hmm? I missed you so much!” Baekhyun confesses as he leaves a plethora of kisses on my cheeks. 

I blush and let out a squeak of acknowledgement.

“Now, it looks like you were getting ready to take a shower. Luckily, your handsome boyfriend needs one too after that super long plane ride. So, how about, we save water and shower together?” He proposes with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. 

I am pretty sure taking a shower isn’t the only thing we will be doing in the bathroom, but I have no qualms against his offer.

I guffaw with laughter but agree with him anyway. 

Baekhyun immediately pulls off his shirt and flings it across the kitchen. He then picks me up bridal style and runs to the shower, leaving me in a fit of giggles at his eagerness.

It’s great to be back in Byun Baekhyun’s arms.

A/N: Let me know what you think! Please drop a comment :)

[baekterflyeffect]

half moon ― two

You remembered the messy clothing sketches sprawled on the desk, and also remembered how proud you were when you modeled for his final assignment. The promise of you being the first one to wear his first official product was made. Years passed by and the promise was forgotten as it wasn’t meant to be kept; until you received an invitation that has B.B.H signed on it. Ironically, you found yourself confronting your past at your ex-boyfriend new collection launch event with your memories with him flashing through your mind.

☽    pairing: byun baekhyun x fem reader ☽    characters: exo members, red velver members, others. ☽    genre: angst, slice of life, adult-hood, hurt-comfort.   ☽    aus: ex to something!AU, beauty youtuber Reader, fashion designer Baekhyun ☽    warnings:  vague description of depression, suicidal situations, unhealthy relationship. ☽    word count: 2.4k

☽   half moon masterlist  |   general masterlist

― note: please take the warning seriously! i personally have a very hard time writing this because it reminded me of all those times i have been put in a situation similar like that. enjoy the short update!

― taglist: @fullsuninbloom / @in3vitably3v3 / @itsbaekhyunsbutt / @byunbeautifulb / @yeol-wish​. let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged!

Eighteen years old her would not believe how she would be standing in her current position right now. With people of influence from across the globe crowding inside a room to attend a launch event of a brand that is successful. Her past self wouldn’t believe that she would be standing in the middle of a crowd, taking pictures to upload on her social media with champagne on her hand. 

The night after the awkward encounter with Baekhyun feels so surreal for her, walking back to her friends with her cheeks flushed red and thoughts in a jumble of mess. She couldn’t blame it on the liquor, she hadn’t taken one when she talked to her ex-boyfriend. Yet, his presence was enough to make her drunk. 

Great time, can’t wait to review the new products soon! Xx. She typed for her instagram story that showcases the event of the night. Before she even gets to press the post button, Seulgi is calling out to her name, ever so softly.  

“It’s picture time, you want to come?” Seulgi questioned her. There is nothing new about taking pictures at the designed booth of an event, but she hesitated to agree. Baekhyun would be there, she knew as much. After all, nobody could go home from an event without taking a picture with the owner of it. 

A sigh escapes her lips, she knew ten years had passed since her romance with Baekhyun died, but it would be a lie if she doesn’t feel the same spark when she encountered him earlier. Then again, a picture wouldn’t hurt.. right? So she grins at her best friend, nodding her head then to agree. 

But of course, it would. 

Baekhyun didn’t change at all, at least with his act of affection. He was flirty with every of his guests―male and female―, putting his arm around them, smiling at them so sweetly, and even holding one of the guest’s hands for whatever reason it was.

She shouldn’t feel like this, like her emotions are eating her up alive. There is no valid reason on why she should be jealous; knowing that Baekhyun is a man whose language of love is skinship. She tried her best to shrug it off, to not look, and it wasn’t until Seulgi nudged her shoulder that she realized she had been glaring at Baekhyun for a good two minutes. 

“Coming here is a bad idea. Very, bad.” She groans, gripping on Seulgi’s arm ever so tightly. The chuckle that came out of Seulgi’s lips are comforting, it was one of her chuckles that indicates she understood. 

“It will be okay. We’ll get out of here, he’ll be gone again, and you’ll forget about him.” Seulgi reassures.  Oh, how she wished she could trust her best friend. 

And it is frustrating how she knows she wouldn’t forget about him as when it was her turn, Baekhyun’s smile turned into something that is different. His smile was gorgeous, the smile that she remembered was reserved for her and only her when they were dating. His signature smile where only the edge of his lips curled, a lopsided smile that always made her body tremble. 

Oh, how much she wished Baekhyun was still hers. 

It was nonchalant, the way Baekhyun leaned in to her and wrapped his arm around her waist to take a picture. But she wouldn’t miss how tight his fingertips are on her skin, as if he wouldn’t let go. She genuinely wished he doesn’t, but when the stutter sound reaches her ears, Baekhyun pulls away right away. 

What she didn’t notice was when Baekhyun slipped in something to her slightly opened purse.

The entire ride back home with Seulgi and Sehun is quite awkward on her part, only listening to the couple’s random banters without her joining. She usually helps Seulgi in bullying Sehun, but with her mind filled with Baekhyun, she couldn’t find the strength to do so. 

She wasn’t always like this, she was always cheerful despite the hardship she faced, her head always held high as if nothing will ever ruin her happiness. It was only after Baekhyun left her and took those parts of her away together with him. 

For some people, ten years is a long time for someone to move on. And she used to think the same way too, because who could stay in love with someone even after ten years of separation? Then again, her relationship with Baekhyun has always been more special. 

Baekhyun was not her first love, neither was he her first everything. She had her fair share of ex-boyfriends before Baekhyun, even after him, but nobody ever came close to what she had with him. 

Because nobody went through so many hardships with her for five years, nobody held her close the way Baekhyun did and made sure she’s safe and sound, nobody loved her permanent wounds as much as he did, and nobody loved her as much as Baekhyun did.

There was a point in her life after her separation with Baekhyun where she realized she depended herself too much on him, that she knew being apart from him was a good thing, that her love for Baekhyun had started to get unhealthy. Relapses are not uncommon in her part where she collapsed in her bathroom door begging for someone to save her, but she managed to walk past that, opening a new chapter in her life with memories and wounds forgotten. 

If there was anything Baekhyun had taught her, it was how to love herself. If Baekhyun was able to love her through and through; why couldn’t she do the same?

The road for her to be able to value and love herself wasn’t easy, there are so many trials and errors. What matters is the fact that she managed to pick her life back together and be as successful as she is now. 

Baekhyun coming to her life after ten years of separation only made her realize that after all these times, her feelings for Baekhyun are still deeply rooted inside of her. She may have realized that she no longer depended on her happiness to him, but she acknowledged that she wished her romance with Baekhyun never came to an end. 

Her thoughts are cut short when Seulgi calls her name, questioning her how she’s feeling. Making her sigh before answering to her best friend.

“I’m not sure, honestly.” Mumbled her, her fingers unconsciously playing with the hem of her outer shirt. “I never imagined I would be able to converse with him, let alone meeting him at an event like this.”. It’s a lie, of course she knew it is inevitable to not meet him under her earlier circumstances. 

“I was shocked when you came up to him like that. What did you guys even talk about in that short period of time?” Sehun asked her, taking a glance at her from his rear view mirror. 

A groan escapes from her lips the same time Seulgi pinches him, leave it to Sehun to be rather insensitive in a situation like this. She stays quiet for a little, recalling her little reunion with Baekhyun earlier at the event, in the middle of the venue with curious eyes focused on them. 

“He only asked how I’ve been, and automatically I asked the same,” she huffs, “which are dumb because I know very well how he had been.” 

Sehun chuckled then, quietly making a U-turn to her apartment complex. “That’s good, at least he didn’t make you cry.” 

Before she could answer Sehun with insulting words, her phone rings indicating there is a new notification. Taking it as a great chance to ignore Sehun to check her phone that she had been ignoring throughout the event. The first, newest notification, manages to make her squeaked rather uglily. 

INSTAGRAM: [baekhyun]: mentioned you in a story.

“How the fuck he knew my Instagram account!?” She screamed to her phone, completely forgetting the presence of her two best friends. Her heart beat is going faster, she could even hear how loud her heart thumping because of that one notification. 

“Has it crossed your little brain that it might be his social media admin who posted it?” Sehun questioned her mockily. She shook her head right away, defending her statement then. 

“No, this is his personal Instagram account, not his official brand account. Whatever, he was probably just posting every picture he took with everyone earlier.” 

Before she could even think about what Baekhyun posted, Sehun announced that they had arrived in her apartment building. Both her best friends bidding her goodbye and an unnecessary good luck for no reason at all. She did notice the soft smile adorning Seulgi’s lips though, making her wonder what’s inside her friend’s head.

She doesn’t remember much what happened the night at the event the moment she opened her eyes. There is no after taste of alcohol in her throat and she doesn’t wake up with a massive headache. It is enough of a sign that she didn’t drink alcohol the night before. With a sigh, she took her phone to check her notifications―nothing weird, just the usual new partnership emails and contracts that she needs to review later. 

As she mindlessly scrolled through her notifications bar, she noticed one unopened notification from Instagram. She winches a little at the username, getting a reminder of his husky yet soft voice and gentle touches last night. Her sleepy state decided that it is time to open and see what Baekhyun had posted on his Instagram Story. 

The post is nothing out of the ordinary, just a picture of them―rather awkwardly―standing next to each other with a smile on their face. What led her heart to beat faster was his caption, and the way he slipped his hand inside her shirt pocket. 

Lovely to see you again. Here’s to a smooth sailing future for the both of us. Was what he wrote as a caption, for his fans, of course it wouldn’t be odd that he wrote his caption that way.. but a smooth sailing future? For the both of them? What the hell it was supposed to mean. 

What’s more unsettling for her is the fact that Baekhyun didn’t post another story with his other guests, only with her, with a caption that led her heart beat faster. 

She doesn’t want to think about it, because if she does, she would read too much into things and nothing great would come from it. So she shrugged it off, placing her phone down on her bed to even out her breathing. 

Inhale, exhale, everything is going to be alright. After all, she’s nothing like her past self. She has a great stable job, lives in a good environment, and is crowded by only the best people. There is nothing to worry.

With a reminder of how grateful and how much she loves her job, she gets up from her bed to stretch her sore limbs. Opening the curtain in her room to greet the sun with a smile on her face. It is only ten in the morning, she notices. The day is still long and she could do her job peacefully without any deadlines rushing her. 

There are plenty of things she could do, going out to get herself a cup of coffee while editing one of her videos that she had recorded the days before would be a great choice for her to not procrastinate, she deems. Nonetheless how much she adores and loves being alone inside her apartment, she of course enjoys being outside too. 

She didn’t have much thought when she was done dressing herself up, going out with only a t-shirt and a pair of worn out jeans, dressing for her own comfort as she knew she would spend at least two hours sitting and looking at her laptop screen.

The smell of the familiar brew of coffee greeted her nostrils the moment she opened the door to the coffee shop she often visits. Making her lips stretch into a smile and positivity filled her body. Right away, she walks towards the line of people that are queuing to order, minding her own business by focusing on her phone to reply to any texts she received. 

She barely notices her surroundings, making her jump in shock when a very familiar voice calls her name. It doesn’t take her a second to even realize who had called her, knowing how she used to listen to that voice every day in her past. 

Turning her head to where the voice belonged, her eyes widened at the figure in front of her. Byun Baekhyun; fresh and blood, extremely attractive with his slightly oversized black hoodie and messy bed hair. She timidly waves her hand at him, unconsciously stepping to the side to give him space to stand next to her. 

“Didn’t know I’ll see you in here.” Baekhyun softly said once he stood next to her, his eyes set on her figure. She nods her head as an answer, not knowing what else she could talk about. Of course, he was right. Out of all places, she never thought she would see her ex standing next to her in her favorite coffee shop. 

“I live nearby,” she said shortly, continuing her words then for the sake of courtesy. “What about you?” 

Baekhyun's eyes rounded at her answer, then his lips stretched into a smile. “I just moved to this neighborhood, actually. Too many people have discovered where I lived so, yeah.” 

“I see. I hope you enjoy being around here.” 

He just laughs at that, nodding his head towards her. They stood in silence then, both of them aware of the awkward atmosphere around them. When it was their turn to order, Baekhyun took the liberty to tell the cashier her order, making her stunned. He doesn’t say much as they wait for their order, she doesn’t dare to say anything too. 

Only after they received their order did he break the silence, “I have to go,” was what he said as he took a glance on his silver wristwatch, then patting her head with his left hand. “I left you my number the other day, maybe you didn’t realize.. but, contact me, yeah? I would love to catch up.” 

She just nod awkwardly at him, seeing his lopsided smile before he turned around to walk outside the coffee shop. The supposedly cold drink in her hand feels too warm. After all the years they separated, he still remembered her favorite coffee order―and she’s sure her heart will soon fail her with how rapidly it is beating.

“One cafe latte with two espressos shot for the lady.”

― additional note: this chapter is so tiring to write and that is why i couldn’t even bother to continue writing more even though the gdoc has around 4k in it, so i decided to finish the chapter right here. do let me know what you thought of this one!! i appreciate it a lot <3

[fangsandforests]

Calcifer’s Story: One Year Later

Last October, I saw a post from our local reptile rescue asking for fosters for a pair of leopard geckos. The female was showing obvious signs of metabolic bone disease (MBD). The male had sores on his tail, swollen back feet, and since he was housed with the female, was likely also at risk of MBD.

Though at this point I’d never owned a leopard gecko before, I felt like I had done enough research on their care to help out at least one of the geckos, at least long enough to go through the medical treatments required. So I picked up the male, who I quickly decided to adopt. This is Calcifer’s story.

Unfortunately, Calcifer’s story isn’t uncommon. I see this happen far too frequently, and it’s really depressing. People pick up reptiles from pet stores or wherever without fully understanding how to care for them. Then they quickly end up with MBD, stuck shed problems, burns, and other common health problems. 

Leopard geckos are pretty hardy creatures. They can even do well without UV-B as long as you provide the right supplements. (And supplements aren’t expensive!) Many people successfully house them quite cheaply. So it baffles me when people fail to provide even the bare minimum for these guys. This is why I always say if you’d like to get a leopard gecko and have done all the research, please look into rescues before buying from a pet shop or breeder. There are a lot of geckos out there who need a good home! 

But back to Calcifer... We started Day 1 with a chlorhexidine soak and a dose of antibiotics. And this was his routine for the next 10 days, even though his swollen feet were already looking less red and inflamed by the second day. 

And he seemed to recognize that I was trying to help, at least enough to put up with the treatment. 

His enclosure setup during this time was very simple and sterile -- paper towels/cage carpet as substrate, hides that were easy to clean, etc. This was not only to prevent infection but because all new animals should go through a quarantine period. To properly quarantine a reptile, you should keep them in a separate room from any other reptiles in the house and in a setup that allows you to easily monitor for issues like parasites and diseases.  

I was, however, experimenting with the heat source during his quarantine. I settled on the Deep Heat Projector, which you can read all about in my review. I also added a UV-B light and, once he was ready to eat again, started using Arcadia Earth Pro supplements. Due to the MBD issue, one of my priorities was making sure he was getting the best possible sources of calcium and D3. 

For Calcifer, I knew his first shed in my care would help me gauge his progress, since his swollen feet came from stuck shed. And, much to my surprise, that shed came off perfectly -- not even the tiniest piece left behind. 

He improved very quickly from there. His appetite came back in full force, and he started to associate me with food instead of foot soaks and nasty medicine. I started improving his enclosure, adding in natural rock, wood, and substrate. 

It took a few months, but eventually his back feet were back to a normal size and his tail grew back. Unfortunately, the stuck shed issues in his past caused him to lose the tips of some of his toes, but he gets around just fine.

For a male leopard gecko, Calcifer seems to be on the small side. He averages about 45 grams. So even though he uses every inch of his enclosure, I haven’t felt the need to upgrade to a size up from the 18x24 Exo Terra he’s in now. (I'm not completely writing off the possibility though!)

Out of all my geckos, Calcifer is by far the most personable. He’s very curious and regularly pokes his head out of a hide or comes up to the door when I’m in the room. 

Would I ever rescue a second leopard gecko? Well, it was definitely worth it to see Calcifer make a full recovery and watch his true personality come out. I didn’t fully understand how wonderful leopard geckos are until I brought this guy home, and that’s what makes it even harder for me to grasp how people can fail to give them the care and attention they deserve.

So, yes, when I have the space and resources available, I’d love to help out another gecko in need. 

And if you read all this and are now thinking you’d also love to rescue a reptile instead of buying one, that’s great! 

I’d encourage you to see if there’s a reptile rescue near you. Reptiles are becoming more popular, which unfortunately means that more of them aren’t taken care of properly. So if you don’t have a local reptile rescue yet, there may be a need for one soon!

[lutrevia-blog]

Exo Male – Natural supplements that lift up testosterone are overall for the most part used in light of the fact that they are not having any responses. These supplements engage the trademark age of testosterone, which is useful for developing men, weight lifters, and contenders. Before you purchase any it is important that you get some answers concerning them and don't mix up them for unlawful steroids. Basic promoters vitalize normal creation and afterward again steroids give made hormones. They are moreover having huge and even risky indications if your body reacts unfavorably. This is the inspiration driving why we revolve around giving you the best proposals.

Exo Male is one typical testosterone support that is affected using standard fixings and preferably to can give charming results. It is pivotal that you check about the fixings first and after that go for the purchase. Here in this post, you will find all the essential unpretentious components that will help you in taking an informed decision. In case you are a weight lifter or making arrangements for any such contention, encountering ED issues or contender, by then this is a champion among different supplements you can endeavor. It will give happens that you may have never experienced.

About Exo Male

This thing is an all ordinary testosterone promoter that helps customers who are encountering cruel conditions in their working out process.Exo Male It can help supporting your activities with the objective that you get speedier grabs. Each one of the people who are on lifting weights goals drastically bind their eating regimens, works out, yet in the meantime disregard to get occurs. This is the place they need and others exceed expectations. Each one of the people who are acknowledging lifting weights and getting speedier results are using quality testosterone supports. Taking this T support can help since it is titled as the principle testosterone promoter of 2017.

Exo Male It can help your body in ordinarily raising testosterone with the guide of an a lot of standard fixings. It contains boron (mineral) and is an exhibited segment to help up testosterone. There are various such effective fixings this supplement is contained. You will be upbeat to understand that it is having a monster after in perspective of its shocking results and no side effects. If you have used a quality supplement by then there is no convincing motivation to look further. It is regularly going to help up your testosterone without bringing about any responses.

Components of Exo Male

This supplement is having best fixings and each one of them are consistently illustrated. It is having

Saw palmetto: This is a herb and is wealthy in unsaturated fats. There are different examinations done on this settling and it is shown to help testosterone inside a male body. It is similarly intense in caring for prostate. It is also convincing in redesigning your execution in the room.

Horny goat weed : It is an acclaimed settling used as a piece of the ordinary pharmaceuticals to upgrade male sex prosperity. It can encourage your testosterone and moreover your imperativeness levels. As demonstrated by the examinations, it can moreover help you in upgrading heart prosperity and mental limits. Remarkable focus verifiably helps in overhauling realizes the activity focus. It is a remarkable herb which will encourage hypertrophy and quality.

Boron: It is a take after part and is best known to help up testosterone and can let down estrogen. This settling begins from the space matter and meteoroids. It is accessible in the soil anyway is found in a little entirety. It can help customers from different points of view, for instance, increase vitamin D, which is worthwhile for both testosterone and bone. There are various examinations that show its gainful results.

There are no synthetics, fillers. Synthetics, steroids, and stimulants present in this thing. Get it, use it and experience the take a gander at its extraordinary properties.

How does Exo Male work?

Exo Male The more muscles you make the more testosterone your body produces. For the majority of the men depleting testosterone infers nonattendance of focus and mass. Men can lose testosterone at a speedy rate after 30sso it is essential to center around this dive. On the other hand, various consider estrogen a female hormone, anyway it is effectsly influencing the male body as well. For example, estrogen helps the body similar to fat amassing and associates in getting less greasy. Boron is one settling that can decrease estrogen and aides in keeping up a key separation from perplexities. Boron is in like manner remarkable to decrease globulin.

When you are getting any supplement it is crucial that you know how it capacities, honest to goodness cases, fixings et cetera with this supplement you get the confirmation of significant worth, convincing working, and safe fixings.

Purposes of enthusiasm of Exo Male

Exo Male When you are picking this testosterone promoter you will get an assurance of an a lot of inclinations. Here are a part of the ideal conditions that charmed customer's needs to consider it.

This thing is a through and through inspected thing

There are reasonable and each and every normal settling in it

There are no side effects of taking this T support

It causes you in getting tore snappier

It helps in shielding mass snappier

It is a quality supplement with 100% guaranteed comes to fruition

It ordinarily bolster your testosterone levels with no synthetics

It isn't having any synthetics or stimulants that reason danger of oppression

Are there any side effects of Exo Male?

Exo Male is an inside and out examined testosterone supplement having all regular sythesis. According to the lion's offer of its customers, it is a quality supplement so there is nothing to worry over any indications. It is free from hazardous substances and free from any sort of responses. Regardless, complexities can rise if you are not following the guidelines said on its check or suggested by the pros. Take it and you are undeniably going to get best and safe results.

Where to buy Exo Male?

Get your Exo Male bottle from its official site. They are in like manner offering an unequivocal guarantee and a free preliminary.

>>>>>>> https://lutreviacream.fr/exo-male/