#i love pran and pat so much

[thegayneurodivergentagenda]

There's also a deeper more insane version of this in my head where Pran sneaks into the apartment because of the spare key he has to surprise Pat. And when Pat returns he smells Pran first in the doorway, and the kitchen, and the living room to the point that he feels like his mind has finally descended into the sixth stage of grief: delusion. (And maybe he breaks down in the living room because he just misses Pran so much and he avoids the bedroom just a little longer)

Until, Jazz-Hands Pran walks in to find Pat on his knees crying and looking blindly at the door of the bedroom and he understands and they both cry.

thinking about singapore-era pran just walking through the front door of pat's apartment one evening for an unexpected visit, and after pat has gotten over his shock and hug-tackled and kissed the hell out of him, he goes, "baby why didn't you tell me before?" and pran just shrugs a little and says, "you said if i missed you i should just come in"

[nick-nellson]

[thamekisspo]

People say it’s rushed, I choose to think that the minute Colin kissed Penelope, he realized he cannot live without her in his life. And not as a friend, but as a partner. As a lover. As his forever. The minute he realized his feelings for Penelope, he couldn’t let her go. I honestly think if he was to yearn for any more eps, he would die. I mean literally. His heart wouldn’t be able to take someone who wasn’t him courting Penelope. You call it rush, I call it being all consumed by your best friend and being stupid to realize it too late

[inventedfangirling]

bad buddy textposts part 9 🥹❤️

[jimmysea]

OUR SKYY X ATOTS X BAD BUDDY Episode 3

[greenteadumplings]

Can't stop thinking about @sinistergooseberries tags on this post pointing out that since Prans name origins from the Sanskrit word Prana, which means 'life' or 'life source' in Telugu, Hindi and Sanskrit. So everytime Pat calls to Pran as "My Pran" he is pretty much referring Pran as "his life".

My heart can't handle it when Pat calls Pran "My Pran" whenever I read it in fics. Now I'm sure I'll never recover after this.

[ohmnnnezz]

i think they kissed too

[neonsbian]

rewatched bad buddy ep 3, the engineering hot girl scene was crazy

[inventedfangirling]

thinking about pran having to deal with his "unrequited" crush on pat while pat remains an oblivious clingy puppy who continues to pull at his heartstrings who then ditches their bus stop project for the girl he thought he lost him to in school, who comes back and acts all concerned and calls his dimples cute and proceeds to confuse him more who then annoys him on the morning of the match and then annoys him even more by flirting and then actually caring in front of others and then if that wasnt enough he had to be all wounded sad puppy outside his room to end up getting invited in and then have the audacity to ask him if he were ink if he would have liked him and making him lie to his face and then sleeping right next to his bed peacefully like pran's heart wasnt unravelling blood vessel by blood vessel every minute and yet in the morning when he wakes up, he does it so quietly and softly that pat has no idea that he has to wake up until he smells the breakfast (that pran had made for him and its) scent wafting into the room and now im sad.

[negrowhat]

Hello Neighbor

Well now that we know that Cir "just happens" to live in the same building as Phu, but just one floor down, I think we should talk about some other BL couples who just so happen to live in the same damn building as each other. Sometimes someone is aware and sometimes it's a total shock for everyone.

CirPhu from The Boy Next World. Like I said, last week Cir just casually revealed to Phu that he lives in the same building but just one floor below him. It's a bit weird for him to suddenly reveal that especially after claiming that he and Phu are lovers in another timeline somewhere. Do we believe he's a stalker? Or do we believe he's truly from another world and it's just coincidence that he lives in Phu's building? Let's place bets rn.

WinTeam from Until We Meet Again/Between Us. Win lived on the floor above Team in their dormitory and his room was right over Team's. Team living in Win's dorm definitely came in clutch for Team because he had somewhere to go when he couldn't sleep...which was every, single night. And Win gladly welcomed Team into his space and even offered him a key. They weren't just neighbors, Win's dorm was Team's sanctuary.

GeneNubsib from Lovely Writer. Nubsib was a proud stalker of his beloved Gene. He purposefully bought the condo directly next door to Gene's and didn't tell him. So when Gene kicked his ass out he just silently moved in next door and was just like "SURPRISE SHORTY!" And we all just ran with it. It is 1000% possible that Cir is pulling a Nubsib.

KongArthit from SOTUS. Kongpob was BOLD because he pulled this stunt TWICE on Arthit. First he didn't tell that man that his dorm was directly across from his in the opposite building. He just spent a few months lurking at Arthit from afar, enjoying the show of his cute senior fumbling around. THEN when Kong went to intern at the engineering company Arthit worked at (something else he didn't mention) he purposefully moved into the condo right next door to Arthit and once again DID NOT tell him. He just let his mans find out and was like, "See...what had happened was..."

PatPran from Bad Buddy. The Gods just blessed them to be in each other's spaces eternally. We all know PatPran were warring neighbors since childhood, the Romeo and Juliet of it all, but not them being across-the-hallway neighbors at uni too. Of course Pran seemed annoyed but Pat couldn't be more thrilled to be living next door to his most favorite dimply guy. Pat did seem to spend most of his free time at Pran's place, but that was partially because his baby sister was cramping his style when she moved into the dorm with him. But whatever because he got to annoy and snuggle his favorite guy.

VeeMark from Love Mechanics. What's fun about VeeMark living directly next door to each other was that Mark was Vee's side piece. Some days he was burning with rage that Vee lived next door with his girlfriend but also cackling other days because he was fucking that girl's man on the regular right under her nose. They was on some messy type shit. Wait, now that I think about it...that was ole girl's apartment so Vee was legit just bouncing around from room to room with whomever he felt like cuddling with that night. With his choosing ass.

GodDiew from Monster Next Door. They win because they were semi-anonymous next door neighbors for a long ass time. Gettiing to know each other without seeing each other. Dating while not meeting up. Romance blossoming while vaguely in each other's presence. Bonding without actually breeching a physical boundary until they were both ready. Their being neighbors and how they were neighboring was actual poetry.

I think 2025 might bring back my lists. I can't contribute much but I can make a fun random list. Hope you all enjoyed this.

[inventedfangirling]

bonus :

when pran made that elaborate breakfast complete with sausage and a fried egg AND veggies! for pat (cos we know from ep2 that pran usually eats just toast for breakfast) and then proceeded to be mad when pat stole his toast not cos he didnt wanna share food but because he put so much effort into making the actual breakfast for him and this brat just snatched his own breakfast.

Smirk all you want pran but we SEE right through YOU. And we love you, i love you! Does he know that!? I need him to know. Do i cook and send him food across the multiverse? But idk abcs of cooking this is so embarassing goodbye😭

cant stop thinking about how love is stored in the kitchen. when somebody cooks for you or you make food for somebody that’s the purest corner of the heart that gets on the plate

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Because I've really enjoyed Peaceful Property and contributed to the discourse on here around it, I want to spend some time exploring the thoughtful critiques of the show by @bengiyo, @lurkingshan, @twig-tea, @respectthepetty, @my-rose-tinted-glasses, and @one-of-tankhuns-neurons. I started writing this out but then it got all annoying and academic so imma just list rant with the utmost respect for everyone's thoughts for making me think so much about this show.

1.I wondered about what shows might be examples of class division themes done with an orientation toward the lived experiences of the working class in BL, cuz honestly it's just not super prominent and well-done in much of media anywhere. The Aof series where he takes screenwriting credit seem to be the best representatives: ATOTS and Moonlight Chicken, especially, but he touches on macro and micro economic issues in all his works. Aof's really willing to depict the hardships and compromises required when living with less financial security, and I can def agree that Peaceful Property is not offering that. I just personally feel okay with that, because I see the latter show as doing a more theoretical and symbolic narrative about economics, and overt symbolism seems pretty in-line with the ghost story horror genre its using.

2. To me, I see Peaceful Property's main critique of class issues as being about Marxist alienation. So we've got our first two ghosts being really literal with this, where they have a labor they do and a final product that they don't get to partake in. Builder wants to have a meal in the house he built. Wig maker wants to wear the luxury wig she sewed. Then, with rider, we get a lil more abstract with him wanting him and his delivery to be recognized and build a meaningful relationship with someone. And since then we've been getting more and more abstract about people finding personal meaning and supporting others through their labor. But all of it still connects back to this idea of alienation from their labor, the magician, Chef Hong, and Peach are all prevented from performing the labor that brings them fulfillment by different circumstances.

3. For my reading, the queerness is very much part and parcel of its capitalism critique. Agree with it or not, but man x man loving stories have been used historically to run counter to the competition between men fighting for the top spot encouraged by capitalism. Maurice is a pretty prime example of this, where Maurice, instead of pining upward for Clive, ends up choosing the lower-class Alex and running away to be happy together. Pat and Pran's love in the face of their family's business related feud in Bud Buddy is an even closer example to how I think Peaceful Property is contrasting queer love and capitalistic competition. There's a few signals for me that Peaceful Property plans to explore this a bit more. The Cok Long sign reminds me way too much of the slang of "dick measuring competitions" and I don't think they gave us a character named 'Best,' who has reappeared a couple of times for no reason. With the magician, Pang, and Chef Hong, we also have a repeating motif of lost assistants who made the work meaningful and possible, a socialist emphasis on the value of all workers and the need to connect with others to produce their labors of love, which we see thwarted for the queer story line. The fact that the Thai dancing was two men working together to create the art offers an alternative to a competition between men. And I want to say that I'm just talking about narrative devices here, not the reality of how capitalism works. We're very much in symbolist land, with this take. I'm just a sucker for symbolist land, and it's hard for me to watch horror especially without taking my brain there.

4. And then there's the way queerness alienates one from the accepted 'normal,' which has emerged as a dominant theme in the last few episodes. But if we take this theme and apply it back on previous episodes, we can see traces of it throughout the characters. Home's statements have been the most explicit in illustrating an internalized homophobia with his desire to be part of a 'normal family.' And the tensions with his family about whether he deserved to inherit the properties has queer connotations about queer people's inclusion in their families and the legal and financial repercussions of that (What Did You Eat Yesterday is the top tier of detailed impacts of queer rights in that vein). Peach's social anxieties and depressive behaviors, ostensibly related to his close call with death and ability to see ghosts, parallels queer experiences, too, and we see how it shapes his and his sister's financial predicaments. (Aside: I wonder, regarding some of the complaints about their behavior in the context of poverty, if we might better read the two of them as broke middle class characters. We don't have much context about their childhoods, but their behavior has never really presented as people familiar with getting by on a dime.) Queerness and the threats of financial insecurity have been articulated as interrelated by the series.

5. Home's redemption? We'll know more as things get revealed, but it seems that we're meant to see Home's biggest failing as the negligence that allowed him to hit Peace and his cowardice in not standing up to his family and taking responsibility for the harm he caused. If that is his chief issue, in my view of a restorative process (and thank you so much @respectthepetty for naming this aspect of the show!), the necessary amends are...

facing up to his family (partial check)

admitting his mistakes and seeking forgiveness from Peach (he was in the process of doing so in the latest ep)

addressing the distraction that led to his negligence so that he can attend to Peach and people like Peach so it does not occur again (hmmm...)

That last point is key because we still don't know why it was significant that he was on his busy ignoring the call of girlfriend number 32 or whatever. But I'm suspecting it will connect to Home's internalized homophobia (and @heretherebedork has done some great writing about that subtext). That would give the accident a significance regarding horizontal violence between gay men that the privileged can then run away from while others who can't escape have to suffer the consequences. There's lots of ways queer men can and have done this to one another in everyday life and hook-ups but at the most extreme historically we have the the AIDS crisis, where someone's negligence regarding sexual health inspired by the psychological fear induced by being in the closet could truly be a life-or-death matter with major financial ramifications. For Home to truly own his mistake he is going to have to risk his own financial security in standing up to his family, and he's going to have to stop hiding from himself so he can develop compassion for others in the world. And the last scene in which we see him in the same predicament as Home I saw less as a cop out so Peach and the audience would feel bad for him and forgive him and more as a representation of his ability now to truly understand what Peach has gone through.

6. Do I think this series is going to solve capitalism? This show is about the spiritual dimensions capitalism robs from people, and I think it has real answers about disrupting capitalism through reconnection with our relationships to our work and to other human beings. I'm not religious, but I respect religion's ability to help people find and emphasize a deeper meaning in life, and I think that that doesn't necessarily but can challenge capitalist practices. Peaceful Property is working to show how caring about spiritual well-being breaks up the automaticity of capitalism and has never let go of that thread. To discuss Peaceful Property's takes on class division without speaking about its religious elements seems disingenuous to its greater purpose and a bit disrespectful to the Thai culture the series is so infused with. I'm intrigued about how Kan's plot will play out with the Vimarnsukmun family and it's impact on their finances. What would actually disappoint me and run counter to the show's themes is if the gang somehow inherited the family's wealth or properties other than the ramshackle Cok Long Cocktail Lounge. In Aof's work and in Maurice, the endings involve a disinheritance to represent that life is about connection not financial gain, which contrasts philosophically with the upward fantasies of capitalism. So in ATOTS, Tian moves to the village, in Moonlight Chicken, Jim trades out his diner for a smaller food truck, etc. To find the true meaning of home, Home will need to release himself from his attachment to his inheritance of financial privilege. Of course, being dead might be an option for that lol, but we'll see how the rest of the series plays out.

[telomeke]

MY GOLDEN BLOOD – EPISODE 4 IS REALLY AN HOMAGE TO BAD BUDDY

I haven't seen anyone post about this yet, so I'm just going to dive right in… After watching Episode 4 of My Golden Blood, I'm absolutely convinced the writers were winking left, right and center at Bad Buddy. 😂

Yes, I know this sounds like more BBS brainrot talking, but there are just too many parallels in MGB Ep.4 for me to think otherwise. I also didn't notice any obvious BBS nudge-nudge wink-wink in Episodes 1 to 3, which makes the concentration of parallels in Ep.4 simply too much to be mere coincidence.

So what are these call-outs to BBS? Here are some I've found.

First of all – surprise! Guess who's your neighbor across the corridor:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [1‌/4] 10.28 – Tong points at Mark after discovering he’s staying across the corridor; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.2 [2/4] 4.56 – Pat and Pran point at each other after discovering they’re dorm neighbors (and across a passageway too)

‌

And looming large over the drama – big jocks with scent kinks:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 1.54 – Mark inhales the Golden Scent suffused in Tong's t-shirt; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.3 [3‌/4] 5.04 – Pat beams after inhaling some Eau de Pran in the music shop

‌

And then there's the laundry reference punchline:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 2.01 – Tong blames the fabric softener after Mark exposes how besotted he is with Tong's Golden Sex Pheromones; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.3 [3‌/4] 5.16 – Pat follows up his "You smell good" with a request for a bewildered Pran to do his laundry (not realizing that it's Pran's special sauce he really likes, rather than his detergent or softener)

‌

There's the gloaty mid-game clinch, more sensual than sporty (with white bandanas as a bonus):

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [2/4] 9.07 – Mark smirks as he tightly shadows Tong on the basketball court; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [4/4] 3.44 – Pat smirks as his plan to waylay Pran with a full-body grapple on the rugby pitch pays off (explanation linked here)

‌

There's Tong's Friendship Checklist v. Pa's Love Guru Signs:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [1‌/4] 8.26 – Tong's Friendship Checklist; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [2/4] 2.17 – Pa dispenses Love Guru advice, starting with the first of her Telltale Signs

‌

Sandwich desire as sublimation of lust for the sandwich-maker:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [1‌/4] 10.52 – Mark (who isn't supposed to be able to taste anything, nor even need to eat) asks a befuddled Tong for his sandwiches; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [1‌/4] 2.01 – Pat unconsciously casts himself in the role of a romantic partner while munching on the sandwich he stole from Pran

‌

University project work based on an alliance uneasily forged – with one member also secretly undercover:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [1‌/4] 5.03 – somehow Mark, Tonkla and Tong end up in the same group project; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [1‌/4] 1.20 – the Archi and Engine gangs discuss their joint project to resurrect the bus-stop they wrecked

‌

The Kiss that comes unexpectedly early in the series:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [4/4] 11.49 – Mark, unable to fight primal urges more powerful than he, plants a big one on Tong; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [4/4] 12.16 – PatPran give in to their long-suppressed passions and break all BL records in the process

‌

Domestic BL boys go supermarket shopping:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 4.24 – Tong and Mark with their shopping cart on their way to the car; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.10 [3‌/4] 19.30 – Pran and Pat with their shopping cart on their way to the car

‌

Ketchup-laden sausage snackery that hints of duplicity:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 5.51 – Nakan nibbles on Tonkla’s sausage sampler, red ketchup dripping from his lips boding ominously for Tonkla’s storyline; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.8 [1‌/4] 3.24 – Pran smears ketchup on his lips with Pat’s morning wiener before going on kissy attack

‌

"Don't bother knocking; I was already waiting for you":

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 3.15 – Mark opens his door before Tong has a chance to knock; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.3 [4/4] 6.44 – Pat opens his door before Pran has a chance to knock

‌

There’s also drink-gifting across the divide:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 3.31 – Tong offers Mark a box of his favorite tomato juice in the corridor; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.2 [1‌/4] 10.26 – Pran crosses the boundary with Oishi Vitamin C Song Roy Percent green tea

‌

Big blasé boy invades his honey’s apartment and infringes on his personal bubble:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [1‌/4] 7.09 – Tong pleads with Mark for more personal space; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [1‌/4] 13.21 – Pran pleads with Pat to end his apartment incursion

‌

And even song lyrics that echo each other:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [4/4] 12.28 – a clip from Mark’s theme; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.8 [3‌/4] 10.57 – a clip from Pat’s theme

‌

While dining in public – one gets all worked up over being noticed, while the other doesn’t care:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [1‌/4] 5.53 – Tong admonishes Mark for attracting attention; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.3 [1‌/4] 6.51 – Pat chides Pran for worrying about them being seen together

‌‌

A rendezvous in the library:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 9.15 – Mark fixates on the Golden Moistness of Tong’s lips, while a book on the library shelf captions their biological differences and the unspoken words between them struggle to be made clear; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.7 [2/4] 6.16 – Pran teases Pat in the South Technology Library with bodily closeness and innuendo between the lines

‌

"We have the same taste in books!"

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 9.36 – Tong blocks Mark’s attempted kiss with his favorite novel (that Mark also knows and tries to quote from), quite literally echoing how Mark’s pride and Tong’s prejudice continue to come between them; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [1‌/4] 13.31 – Pat is delighted to find that Pran owns the exact comic book that he wants to read

‌

Food/drinks that look like they should be product placement, but really aren't: 🤣

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [4/4] 11.12 – Tong takes a sip of Mark’s juice; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [2/4] 9.28 – Pran munches on toast with his favorite condensed milk on the tabletop

‌

Smirks and bare-bodied teasing:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [4/4] 8.28 – Tong and Mark re-enact the age-old gay men’s code of sidelong glances and knowing smiles in the shower room; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.7 [2/4] 2.57 – Bet Era Pat tries to turn Pran’s head with the help of water and shirtlessness

‌

Still on the same topic, resident hunk questions his life choices in the shower: 🤣

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 10.48 – Mark contemplates his existence stripped bare; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [4/4] 6.31 – Pat tries to clear his mind even as he cleanses his physical self

‌

Egos unchecked, as pointed out by their less prideful counterparts:

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [2/4] 7.01; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.8 [2/4] 3.22

‌

They also have favorite t-shirts!

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 1.10 – Tong tells Mark about his favorite Pirates t‑shirt; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [4/4] 11.03 – Pat discovers his favorite tee

‌

Crimson roses! (OK this one is probably just a coincidence): 🤣

(top) My Golden Blood Ep.4 [3‌/4] 0.58 – crimson roses on Tong’s favorite t-shirt; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [4/4] 6.04 – a crimson rose adorns Pran’s favorite condensed milk

‌

If there were only a few parallels, I could chalk it up to coincidence (you know BL series do like to rehash tropes). But there are so many, and I think it can't be just chance anymore.

A lot of MGB Episode 4 was about Tong trying make new friends of strangers, when he already had a greatly-familiar and amply-qualified candidate (Mark) applying for the job.

And this echoes both Bad Buddy's Thai title (แค่เพื่อนครับเพื่อน, roughly translated to "I'm just a friend, buddy") and all of its ensuing Friend/Unfriend discourse, as well as BBS Pat needing to discover that the one he was searching for was right there beside him all along.

I’m guessing the writers of My Golden Blood recognized these links to BBS, and then went on to pepper the narrative with tons of other references as well.

Clown theorizing again! I'll see myself out... 🤣

‌

[lurkingshan]

The Ride or Die Drama Couples List

So the other night I got a little sassy on main because some of the girlies were complaining that King the Land is focusing more on the couple moments (aka relationship development) between Gu Won and Sa Rang and doesn’t have enough plot. Which is a very typical fandom complaint about romcoms that I absolutely hate, because in a good romance the relationship is the plot, people! It’s bizarre attitudes like this that get us random murder plots spliced into every other romcom for the ratings, and I am begging y’all to stop the madness. 

Ahem. Anyway, that post seemed to resonate with some folks and get them discussing other dramas, and so inevitably @troubled-mind wandered into my notes and said gee Shan, it seems like maybe you should make a list of dramas that show us couples in a relationship and explore how they make it work and ultimately stay together. And I’ve warned y’all before, if you make a stray comment in my direction there will be a list coming your way. So here I am again, doing the absolute most.

Today I present to you a list of my favorite dramas that show you not only how the couple gets together, but also how they stay together. Criteria:

The couple doesn’t have to be together when the drama starts, but they do have to actually begin their romantic relationship no later than halfway through the drama’s run so that we have substantial time with them as a couple

The relationship development between the couple is a primary plot driver (so no dramas where there’s a great long term couple just hanging out in the background)

The relationship story may include some physical separation or even a temporary breakup, but not the betrayal kind–these are the sort that actually force an unaddressed issue to the surface and ultimately bring the couple even closer 

Happy endings only, these pairs are sticking together 

Ride or Die Drama Couples

Bad Buddy - Pat and Pran

(Thailand, YouTube)

This is tumblr so do I really need to tell y’all about Pat and Pran? There is a reason we all lost our minds over this show and it’s because we got to be in this relationship with them so intensely and see them fight to stay together despite it all. Their ending is bittersweet because of their families, but the show leaves us no doubt that they both think the other is worth it and they will always stick it out together. 

Dark Blue Kiss - Pete and Kao

(Thailand, YouTube)

Shout out to the OGs! Pete and Kao originally got together in the Kiss series (you can watch it, but you really don’t have to, fam) and Dark Blue Kiss brings them back three years into their long-term relationship to give us a peek into their struggles with the closet and the toll it takes on both of them individually as well as the strain it puts on their relationship. 

Flower of Evil - Hee Sung and Ji Won

(S Korea, Netflix or Viki)

Hee Sung and Ji Won are already married (with an adorable daughter) when this drama begins, and the backstory of their relationship is unspooled alongside the larger mystery at the heart of the show. One of the most fascinating and heart wrenching love stories I have ever seen, centered on a character who is so emotionally damaged that he genuinely believes he is incapable of love even as love pours out of him. Damn, I’m gonna make myself cry into my oatmeal.

It’s Okay, That’s Love - Jae Yeol and Hae Soo

(S Korea, Viki)

Speaking of crying, lord. Ahhhhhhh. Let me pull myself together. It’s Okay, That’s Love is a healing drama about two people who fall in love and support each other through serious mental health challenges. I don’t really want to say much more than that. Bring tissues, besties!

La Pluie - Patts and Saengtai

(Thailand, iQIYI)

My beloved! This Thai drama is about a pair of soulmates–or are they–who find each other and try to make their relationship work. That’s it, that’s the show. In this drama, the relationship truly is the plot, despite some of the fantasy elements being used to highlight its themes. La Pluie is about the importance of choice and a rebuke of romantic fantasies that fate and destiny will handle your love life for you. I and many others have written about it extensively, so if you decide to watch, you can go nuts on meta. 

Lighter & Princess - Li Xun and Zhu Yun

(China, Viki)

I really love this show. This is a long format drama so there will be longer stretches where the couple still has not officially gotten together, but the relationship between them is the heart of the entire show, and we get the distinct pleasure of watching them fall in love twice, and the second time figure out how to make it stick. Such a treat.

One Spring Night - Ji Ho and Jung In

(S Korea, Netflix)

Oh how I love this quiet little drama about two people who fall for each other while one is still in a relationship with someone else, and figure out how to untangle the mess they’re in. We get to see them not only fall in love, but figure out how to become a unit who can withstand the harsh judgment coming their way and become a family on their own terms. Bonus adorable child alert!

Tomorrow With You - So Joon and Ma Rin

(S Korea, Viki)

This time travel melodrama is one of those that I started with no expectations and then sat up part way through and said what gave you the right to be this good! This is another one where the relationship begins for dubious reasons, but the suspect motives are quickly taken over by genuine feeling. We really get to live with the relationship in this one and the message is all about treasuring the life and time we have together. 

The Rebel Princess - Awu (Wang Xuan) and Xiao Qi

(China, Viki)

I think the phrase Ride or Die was actually invented for them. Talk about a power couple. Once these two get to know each other (this is a historical so as per usual, their marriage wasn’t actually their choice but rather the result of some asshole’s machinations in a quest for power, joke’s on them though) they are in, baby, and their devotion and loyalty never wavers. This is a historical epic in war time, so the couple will be physically separated multiple times, but it only makes them stronger and each of their reunions sweeter. Their relationship is the heart of the show and the throughline in their chaotic lives.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? - Shiro and Kenji

(Japan, the ether)

Saving the best for last because this right here is the GOAT in this category. It sits at the top of my all-time favorite dramas list and I love it passionately. Because y’all? This drama is explicitly about a middle-aged couple learning how to be together in a long-term relationship. That is the entire plot. And it’s fantastic. Stop reading this and go watch it!

Honorable Mentions

Yumi’s Cells - Yu Mi and Goo Wong 

(S Korea, Viki)

This one is not on the list proper because (gasp) the couple doesn’t end up together. I know, I’m still sad about it, too, even though I went into this drama fully aware of the concept (a season about each of Yu Mi’s major relationships). But man. Yu Mi and Goo Wong just have that something, you know? Even knowing they don’t stick it out, it’s a delight to watch them fall in love and settle into a relationship together. Technically there is a second season featuring Yu Mi’s next relationship (Babi? I don’t know her), but I don’t want to recommend it and you can’t make me.

I must also give a shout out to the bl season 2s that exist expressly for the purpose of showing how the characters settle into a relationship after the first season get together:

Gameboys 2 (Philippines, Gaga) - Cairo and Gavreel

Minato’s Laundromat 2 (Japan, Gaga)- Shin and Minato 

SOTUS S and Our Skyy (Thailand, YouTube) - Kongpob and Arthit

Still 2gether (Thailand, YouTube) - Tine and Sarawat

Utsukushii Kare 2 (Japan, Gaga) - Hira and Kiyoi

And because this is my post and I make the rules, I am also doing some honorable mentions of the friends to lovers slow burns where technically they are not together until the final arc of the story but let’s be serious they are together the whole time and just don’t realize it yet so you know exactly what their relationship is going to look like:

Fight for My Way (S Korea, Viki) - Dong Man and Ae Ra

Happiness (S Korea, Viki) - Sae Bom and Yi Hyun

Hospital Playlist 1 and 2 (S Korea, Viki) - Song Hwa and Ik Jun

My Only 12% (Thailand, iQIYI) - Seeiw and Cake

My Ride (Thailand, Gaga or YouTube) - Mork and Tawan 

Romance is a Bonus Book (S Korea, Netflix) - Dan Yi and Eun Ho

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo (S Korea, Viki) - Joon Hyeong and Bok Joo

Whoops you woke the beast @troubled-mind. @rocketturtle4 @neuroticbookworm @chickenstrangers here are more for your mile long rec lists. :)))

[xoxodropletsneedsmorefanfics]

Telling The Jerk Squad Boys You're Pregnant

Heavily Inspired by This Ask from the GB Patch Tumblr. I've reread all the XOXOD Asks on their blog and now I'm strongly motivated to write out some scenarios I found.

The Jerks have different relationship stages btw. Some are married (Nate, Bae, Pran), some are only dating (Everett, Shiloh, Jeremy).

Everett

You scroll through your phone absentmindedly, doing anything to keep yourself busy while you wait for Everett.

It hasn't even been a full year since the two of you decided to move in together, and honestly it was hard to believe it. There was so much of you and Everett scattered around your apartment, that it looked and felt like you've lived here for years. Most of your collective moving boxes were stuffed away into an extra room you never thought you would used...

Oh, how wrong you were.

The doorknob jingles, and Everett's voice could be heard on the other side. "Yeah, Mom. She tried to drop all her work on me. Why should I help her out? If she's not gonna offer me her check, she shouldn't ask me to do her work!" Everett’s rant becomes louder when he steps inside the apartment. He sees you on the couch and narrows his eyes, "You could've let me in." He huffs. "No way, the doors too far Shortie, I can't reach it." You say, draping your arm over your eyes. Everett rolls his eyes, his attention shift back to his phone call...more accurately, his mom.

"Mmhm, I'm just getting home," Everett states, he frowns, "What? Come on, you don't have to hang up...Alright. I'll call you after dinner.. Love you too. Bye." Everett hangs up the phone, taking off his shoes and throwing them in the general direction of the shoe rack Nate bought the two of you because he was tired of having nowhere to put his shoes when he visited. Everett stands in front of you as you lay on the couch, "Alright, move the fuck out of the way." He says, you shoot him a smug look. "Aw, why are so nice to your mom, but so mean to me?" You sighs, Everett rolls his eyes, he grabs your legs and drags them off the couch. You move to sit up, "My mom's not a bitch." He states, plopping down beside you, "I'm your bitch, though? Aren't I?" You can't help but tease.

Everett smirks with red cheeks, "Ugh, I haven't even been home for 5 minutes and you're already trying to get into my pants? Freak." He snorts, wrapping an arm around you.

Oh, yeah. You almost forgot.

"Ha, speaking of getting into your pants." "At least let me shower first-"

"That's not what I mean," You state, Everett can feel the whiplash from how serious you suddenly became "I needed to tell you something." "Ooooh, sounds serious. Yeah, not sure if you've been paying attention, but I just got home. So...no thanks." Everett sighs, immediately growing defensively. You don't falter, you've been with Everett long enough to know that this is how he gets when met with pressure of any kind. Even though he's mellowed out a lot over the years, any form of pressure will trigger him to act like how he did when you first met him. "Come on! It's not even that bad. And I've waited all day to say this!" You sigh. Everett groans, he crosses his arms, "Fine! Fuck. Just get it over with so I can enjoy the rest of my day."

"I'm pregnant." You keep your words blunt and straight to the point. Everett's blue eyes blow wide, "You're...what?" He asks, Everett's throws his head back and shoots his hands up to cover his face. "Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! HOLY FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" He shouts, "Yeah, that's kind of how it happened, Shortie." You tell him, your little joke earns you an instant glare, "Please, for once in your life. Shut the fuck up." Everett stresses. You pat his arm sympathetically, "Calm down, Everett. It's not the end of the world." You say.

Everett shoots you a look of disbelief, "Not the end of the...Did you forget who I am?" He asks. Everett grabs your hand and shakes it with a fake grin, "Hi, I'm Everett Gray. The guy who can barely fucking take care of himself, and now he's supposed to take care of a kid. That baby is screwed!" Everett releases your hand, the stress clear on his face. Even after all the time you known him, it's rare you get to see Everett impacted in this way. Sure, you've seen him get pissed so many time, but it was rare you could actually make out genuine fear in his eyes. "Eve, Shortie, calm down. You're not going to be taking care of a baby by yourself. You'll have me, your mom, and probably Nate." You state, Everett takes a deep breath, "...Yeah. Right. We'll probably be shitty parents, but our kid will have the best grandma and uncle..." He says.

Since he's starting to calm down, you decide to let the commet about you being a shitty mom slide.

"Besides..." Everett continues "You're not going to pop that baby out tomorrow. We've got time..." "That we do, Everett. We’ve got 9 whole months to get our shit together." You say with a grin filled with confidence. Everett lets out a breathless laugh of disbelief, cracking a grin of his own. Unsurprisingly, Everett stands up and grabs his phone, “I gotta call Mom back.” He mutters, leaving the room. You roll your eyes with an affectionate smile.

Everett pops his head back into the room for only a second, “Oh, and you’re in charge of telling Nate.” He quickly says before disappearing, your eyes widen.

“WHAT?!”

Nate

Nate walks into your shared bedroom, “Hey. Since when do you let me come home without immediately being at the door to tell me—” Nate pauses, spotting a box of tissues on the bed and a nervous…yet somehow still confident grin on your face.

“…Hey, Nate. Can we talk for a moment?” You ask, Nate’s guard goes up the exact second he hears the seriousness in your voice. You’re never serious. He’s the serious one. What could possibly be going on that you’re acting like this?! Nate stares at you, his eyes are already wide from panic. He shuts them and crosses his arms protectively his chest. “God, make it quick.” He says—maybe a little harsher than he should’ve, but it’s not his fault. All he wanted to do is come home and spend time with you relax.

What if you want to break up with him?

After all this time, you’d still abandon him?

Nate won’t be able to deal with that! You’ve already become so integral to his life!

You know better than to drag things on when Nate’s clearly already beginning to panic and overthink, “Congratulations, Mr Lawson. You are an amazing swimmer.” You tell him lightheartedly, he raises an eyebrow. “What?” He asks, his tense shoulders dropping only a little bit. You shoot finger guns in his directions, “I’m pregnant~”

The world freeze around Nate, his shoulders are tense again, he feels the exact same way he did before, but worse. You watch him carefully, you were expecting a big reaction out of him—like tears or something, but you weren’t expecting him to be so silent. Nate opens his mouth, all that comes out of him is a strained breath. “Candy…hey, can you talk to me?” You ask, cautiously reaching out for him.

Nate’s breathing is short and quick, the tears you were prepared for were already beginning to swell in his eyes. “Nate, listen, it’s going to be ok. A baby isn’t the end of the world. In fact, it just more of a guarantee that we will be together for the rest of our lives.” You tell him as you cup his cheek. Nate flinches before he shuts his eyes, he takes deeper breath, “You’re right. You’re right,” He starts “It’s not like we’re two dumb teenagers. We’re married now. This…this is something that comes with marriage.”

“Yeah, this is fine. I’m fine. I would—and will—be a wonderful dad.” Nate says “Yep. The best of the best. Expect no less from Nate Lawson.” You agree, the tenseness completely disappears from Nate’s body. “Come on.” He says, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the bedroom. You raise an eyebrow when he grabs his car keys, “Where are we going?” You ask. Nate looks at you with a determine grin, “We’re going to look at cribs and bassinets. There’s no reason we shouldn’t start planning early.” He says. You laugh, “I guess you’re really gonna bring your A Game even in parenthood, huh?” You nudge him gently. Nate chuckles, his grin showing no sign of leaving anytime soon, “It’s the only way to be.” He says.

Shiloh…

Uh, I feel like I should mention that for this I’m writing “Mr Fields” Shiloh, (according to the OLBA wiki: “The “best” version. He’s polite and friendly and seems to mean it when he says he doesn’t want to be so phony anymore.”) mixed with my own interpretation of the guy. I honestly can’t remember if he was the version of Shiloh that had a dog, but he’s gonna have one anyway. The dog’s name is Popcorn, I’m stealing my neighbor’s dog’s name.

Shiloh sits at his desk, occasionally stopping whatever it is he’s doing to watch Popcorn run back and forth around the room. Shiloh chuckles, “You have a lot of energy. Just like your mama.” He says, resting his head on his palm. Both Shiloh and Popcorn snap their heads towards the door when they hear the doorknob jiggle.

You walk into the room, you pause when you see Shiloh’s wide grin. “…What did you do, Shya?” You ask knowingly, Shiloh only chuckles, “Nothing, but we were just talking about you literally a second before you came in. Your ears must’ve been burning.” He states “Huh, looks like I’ve turned into the stalker in this relationship,” You snort, Shiloh says nothing to confirm or deny that, “Anyway, listen up, Shya. I got something important to say—” “You’re pregnant.” Shiloh hums.

“How the hell did you know that?” You ask with wide eyes, “There were a lot of signs. You’ve been extra snippy and your period’s late are a few signs.” Shiloh explains. You stare at him with a dumbfounded expression, “Glad to know my assumption was right. I think that’s nice. So, is it mine?” Shiloh asks, he’s way too comfortable with casually asking you if you cheated on him. “What the—of course it’s yours!” You say offendedly, Shiloh’s causal grin drops slightly, “Huh…even it if is mine. Don’t you think you should fine someone else to help you raise it? We wouldn’t want me corrupting the poor kid with all my…issues.” He states.

Shiloh watches you, there’s a hopeful glint in his eyes. Whether it’s because he’s hoping you’ll stay or hoping he won’t have to raise this kid is mystery. “No way. I’m not just going to let you ditch me with that shitty excuse! If you can make the baby, you can raise the baby.” You tell him firmly. Shiloh stares at you with an unreadable expression, after a few moments, he smiles widely.

He stands up from his desk and wraps his arms around you, “Well, then…Ok! That’s amazing!” He says, pressing his freckled cheek against yours. Shiloh chuckles dryly, “Let’s just hope for the sake of humanity that this kid only inherits our good qualities…” He sighs gently. You pat his cheek, “All our qualities are good, Shya.” You state, Shiloh shakes his head, his smile strained and exhausted. “And thanks for not ditching me. I mean, I wouldn’t have let you, but I do appreciate you not putting up a fight.” You add, kissing his cheek.

“Anything for you…”

Bae

Shortest one because this pregnancy was actually planned

“Well?”

Bae sits on the edge of his seat as you exit the bathroom. He stares at you expectingly, “It’s positive.” You announce. Bae uncharacteristically launches up from his seat and wraps his arms around you. “Finally! Very soon, Muffin, we will have a baby. A perfect little bundle of joy.” He says “It’ll be the start to our army, huh?” You chuckle.

“Oh, yes, Starfish. We’ll be able to take over the world very soon. Once the baby starts walking it’ll be all over.” Bae jokes alongside you.

Jeremy

“Thanks so much for locking up for us, you two!” Jennifer says, she and Jackson wave goodbye as they make their way to the exit, “It’s no problem,” You say “Me and Jerebear could use the alone time. Huh, Jerebear?” You nudge him with your elbow. “Get away from me.” Jeremy sighs with zero hostility.

Jennifer and Jackson share knowingly looks before Jennifer chuckle, “Well, we will definitely get out your hair then. Make sure to clean up when you’re done, I don’t want any stains—” “MOM!” Jeremy snaps, she shoots her hands up with an unapologetic grin. The pair get into their car and drive off. Jeremy shudders in disgust, “Why must you always set her up for comments like that?” He asks “I can’t help it. It’s in my nature.” You snicker.

Jeremy rolls his eyes, walking away, “Slow down there, Jeremy.” You sigh, Jeremy shoots you a disgusted look, “Please don’t tell me you’re seriously trying…ugh, no. Not here. Especially not when that’s what Mom already thinks we’re going to do.” He says bitterly. “Not that. I had something important to say to you.” You snort, placing your hands on your hips. “Oh…? Uh, what is it?” Jeremy asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m pregnant.”

Jeremy’s eyes widen, “U-uh. Uh….um…” He mutters, Jeremy takes a second to study you as he tries to figure out what to say. He’s shocked expression fades once he sees how happy you are, he cracks the smallest of smiles and finally settles on saying, “Um…ok.”

There’s a pause, “Congrats?” Jeremy offers awkwardly. You laugh, “I don’t know why you’re congratulating me. You’re apart of this too.” You remind him. “Sigh, I know. But what else am I supposed to say here?” Jeremy sighs “Would’ve been a nice time for you to finally make good on that proposal you promised me.” You tease, Jeremy tenses. Right, he did agree to marry you at graduation…but it’s been a few years and you haven’t mentioned it until now. He thought you forgot about it.

Of course you didn’t forget…

“You still want to marry me? The past 5 years we’ve been together hasn’t scared you off yet?” Jeremy asks, and you notice that a lot of this conversation has been him raising his eyebrow or looking at you with wide eyes. “The part 5 years we’ve been together hasn’t taught you that you’re never ever getting rid of me?” You ask, Jeremy squishes his face into a pout, “Fine, but we’re not telling anyone about the baby until after we’re married.” He states.

You tilt your head in an unspoken question, Jeremy answers, “Everyone will probably assume this is a shotgun wedding.” “Ha, yeah, this is the setup for a shotgun wedding, isn’t it?” You laugh. Jeremy smirks a little, “Since this wedding is happening, you have to take over the cleaning.” He states “Uh, excuse me? And why can’t you help?” You ask, watching Jeremy walk off to another room.

“I have to make our wedding rings.”

Pran

Moonlight shines through the window as Pran quietly sketches on a large king bed. It wasn’t rare for him to be awake during the night. For most of Pran’s life, the late hours of the day was the only time he’d get to himself…it was the only time he could be himself. This still hasn’t really changed for Pran, whether he was staying with Jeremy or on campus at SSB. Even in his early adult years…now, Pran still refuses to sleep at a reasonable hour. This is the only time he can just exist as himself, by himself.

…Although, that’s technically not true anymore.

Pran glances away from his sketchbook to look at you. You were silently curled up in the blankets beside him, sleeping with a relaxed smile. Because of you, Pran doesn’t get to be alone anymore when he shuts himself off from the rest of world for the night. You’re here…you’ll still be here.

Even when Pran pushes you away, even when he purposefully tries to make things harder for you, even when he tells you again and again and again that he’s not worth dating.

You won’t go away. You’ve stuck by him more than his own parents would’ve…

Night time is the only time you’re quiet. Maybe except a little snores and deep breaths every now and then. It’s the only time where you’re still enough where Pran can truly look at you. Maybe even…appreciate you.

The sounds of Pran moving pencil is the only thing that can be heard in the room right now. He knows he’s never going to show you this sketch, but he wants to get the details right. His attention slowly shifts from your face to something further down.

Practically glowing in the moonlight, a ring rests on your finger.

Pran married you, he legally agreed to be stuck with you for the rest of his life…

And he’s…happy about it.

Your body tenses and your face hardens. Pran raises an eyebrow as your mutter to yourself. “Nooo…Panda…I’m sorry…” is the only thing he was able to make out. All your squirming and whining for him was starting to really make Pran feel…bad. And you’re supposed to be one of the few people that didn’t make him feel bad. Pran shuts his sketchbook and places it on the side of the bed. He shakes you awake, you flinch and look around with wide eyes. Your attention lands on Pran, the two of you stare at each other for a moment. “You were too loud.” Pran decides that will be the reasoning he gives you for waking you from your nightmare.

“Pfft. Sure, Pran. You’re not worry about me at all.”

Of course, you know him too well now…

Pran doesn’t bother responding to that comment, he has other things on his mind now. “What did you do?” He asks, raising an eyebrow, “Huh?” You ask. Pran narrows his eyes, “You were muttering apologies to me. What did you do?” He asks suspiciously, you frown. Well so much for telling him in the morning.

“First of all, I didn’t do anything. We’re both responsible for this.” You state, Pran looks more confused…until you utter out the words “And second…I’m pregnant.”, now, he just looks…horrified. Pran says nothing—which is common in your relationship. What isn’t common is for Pran to seem so…affected by your words. “Pran…?” You ask gently, you poke his cheek with your finger. Pran snaps out of his horrified state, he frowns and his eyes shift to glare at the floor.

You let out hum, “I know it’s hard to believe since I’m so talented, but I’m not a mindreader, Panda. Can you tell me what you’re thinking?” You ask. When Pran first met you, he would’ve saw that confident smile and assumed you were taking the situation or him seriously. But now he’s been around you for half a decade. Sure, your smile’s confident, but your eyes…your eyes are filled with fear.

Did you think he was going to leave you to take care of the baby on your own?

“I…” Pran sighs “I don’t know the first thing about being a parent.” You smile sympathetically, “Well, I hope not. I’m expecting this kid to be your first.” You joke. Pran still frowns, “Come on, Panda. I don’t know much about being a parent either, my only experience is that one time I worked at that daycare with Bae,” You state “Actually, you know what. I’m basically an expert. So, don’t worry. I’ll help you understand fatherhood. Besides, you could never be worse than your own parents.”

You wink at Pran, he rolls his eyes, but you could still see a small smile forming on his face. “Fine. You’re right…there’s no parent worse than my parents.” He states, letting out a quiet sigh to calm himself, “Exactly.” You say, you glance at the clock. “Oof, it’s that late? Well, I think that I’ll be able to rest easy now. Night, Panda. Try not to stay up too late~” You chuckle, blowing him a kiss as you lay into a comfortable position.

Pran doesn’t say anything, he waits a few moments until he hears the soft snores leaving your mouth. He leans over and picks his sketchbook back up.

If he wasn’t motivated to sketch you before he sure is now.

…

What? Thought I was done? HA! Nope, one more person!

Jerk Lynn

Jerk Lynn is 18 in this, but you guys are still in your senior year of high school.

Lynn’s eye twitches in annoyance, “I can’t believe this…she asks me to take time out of my day and meet her, and she can’t even show up on time?” He grumbles to himself. He whips his head towards the sound of footsteps, he glares at you once you’re in his sight.

“Oh, finally! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?! Unlike you, I actually have better things to do than go on dates-” “Lynn, shut up for a second.” You sigh, rolling your eyes. He does stop talking, but it does nothing to soothe the irritation radiating from him. “Look, we need to talk.” You start, Lynn’s eyes widen, “There is no way in hell you’re breaking up with me. You don’t break up with me, I break up with you.” He says.

“That’s not what I called you for, but I’m glad our relationship means that much to you.” You scoff lightheartedly. Lynn rolls his eyes, “Yeah, right, Twerp. Let’s not forget, you’re lucky to be dating me, not the other way around.” He states, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “If it’s not to break up, why did you want to meet?” He asks. “You and that stupid thing in your pants got me pregnant.” You say bluntly, Lynn stares at you.

“There’s no way-”

“There is.”

“And it’s mine?”

“No, duh, dumbass.”

Lynn groans, “How are you gonna take care of a baby?! You’re supposed to be taking care of me.” He sigh, stomping his foot against the path. “Wow, yeah, that’s the main concern here. How am I gonna take care of you—not the new life I’ll be bringing into this world or whatever.” You scoff “You can focus on both.” Lynn huffs, you shake your head. “Man, it’s a good thing you’re hot and I’m shallow…” You sigh. “Whatever, Twerp. It doesn’t really matter how, you’re stuck with me.” Lynn snickers.

“Now, was that it?” Lynn asks, you wave him off with an annoyed sigh, “That was it.” You state, pinching the bridge of your nose. Lynn smirks at your reaction, “Good. See you around, nerd.” He says as he walks away. His expression grows more and more panicked the further away he gets. “Shit. Shit…” He sighs, kicking a soda can into the street…

Whatever, he’s not going to let some kid ruin the good thing he’s got going with you. He’s not going to let you go, and you’re not getting rid of him that easily.

[airenyah]

#see everyone is on p'aofs case for indulging himself#but i also think it is gay rights to say#hey these men are NOT just 'gay for that one guy'#like honestly its only right that they acknowledge that everyone here is hot#and also i kind of love bi pat being like I WOULD#like this scene is very much a confirmation that THEY WOULD#they're both just super committed#and i support it#silly as it is it is Gay Rights (via @miscellar)

#only friends (bad buddy x atots version)