#jui speaks

[nicolos]

#jui speaks #bollywood #jab we met #characters who actually grow and develop emotional maturity ever

[sehunsface]

whoever did the styling for the hot special video. thank you for making seokmin RIDICULOUSLY hot (heh). im never getting over this

#jui speaks #seventeen #dk

[ladyhaesoo]

I miss him (jinyoung the devil judge)

#jui speaks

[tvonq]

#garfield speak to me…. #nct #jui #dreamies #🦀

[tranquilpetrichor]

twister

synopsis: what begins as a lighthearted game of twister leads to you finally admitting your feelings for your dance friend.

cast: chen kuanjui x gn!reader ft friend!ricky

genre: fluff

wc: 2k (2025)

warnings: descriptions of physical affection, there may be grammatical errors

a/n: please freaking save me i don't need more boys planet trainees wrecking my life.. anyways if the links to this on my masterlist are weird please let me know, i’m on vacation right now and can’t really do much stuff on my laptop.

taglist: @restlessmaknae

you place the box labeled twister on the floor and open it, your friend kuanjui beside you. he takes the mat and carefully lays it out. you get the spinner and fiddle with it for fun.

kuanjui's set out the mat and is stretching on it—a familiar sight to you over your years of friendship. while you used to gasp whenever you saw him casually go into the middle splits or do a backbend, it no longer fazed you. he simply had no bones.

staring at the mat with colored dots on it gives you nostalgia. "oh my god, i haven't played this in a while," you say, groaning. "please go easy on me."

he only laughs at you. "we're literally both dancers. if anything, i should make it really hard for you!"

you sigh, knowing that he’s almost never lost a game like this. "ugh no. if you're gonna be that way, you should buy me food after we play."

it’s a joke, but you wouldn’t mind food. and eating with him.

he points over in the distance to a guy (aka another idiot friend of yours) listening to music with airpods in. "ha, why don't you ask ricky then? he's the rich one, after all. oh, and speaking of which, we need someone to spin."

you glance over again. “i'll get him."

he smiles knowingly. “you mean you’ll go annoy him, right?”

“yep!”

since ricky’s facing away from the two of you, it's easy to sneak up on him and you make your way closer, finally closing in on his shoulders. after you tap him with your hands, he groans.

“what the hell? not this again.”

you start laughing, amused by ricky’s annoyance.

"dude, you've been on your phone enough. you wanna spin the wheel for me and kuan jui while we play twister?"

you can't miss the undeniable smirk that appears on ricky's face.

"alright, it's not like i have anything better to do," he begins to whisper, "except help two soon-to-be lovebirds out."

"hey! it's not like that," you hiss.

he only shrugs in response. "if you say so."

the two of you walk back, and you try to remain composed. “we have our spinner,” you say, gesturing to a still-smirking ricky.

"dude, quit it with that look," you mutter to ricky, and he just laughs at you.

kuanjui claps, a smile on his face. “let’s start! prepare to lose," he says with a glare that you know isn't malicious at all. you could even say it's adorable, although that's not something you should admit aloud.

you both go on opposite sides on the mat, and ricky spins the wheel.

"right hand on blue."

the two of you move accordingly. even with simple movements like this, kuanjui is graceful.

“right foot on red.”

it's easy so far, but in a few minutes, you know you're sure to struggle. sure enough, you do end up in a precarious position which could only be described as being a human pretzel. he’s reaching over you, like a cat taking a stretch.

"please do not crush my back," you say with a groan. "i don't know if i can handle that."

he protests. "i'm not going to crush your back! i am perfectly capable of holding myself up. if you fall, it's your fault."

"what? i won't fall..."

ricky interrupts. "good one, y/n. a little late on that.”

you glare at him as best as you possibly can from your position. "shut it."

kuanjui is clearly confused. "huh? is something wrong?”

you try to laugh it off. "never mind. he’s just being annoying again.”

there’s no time for him to question you, because ricky keeps talking. “alright, let’s continue! left foot on yellow!”

at this point, you understand why you wouldn't play this game with anyone you don't trust. there's no way you could do this with anyone else without feeling incredibly awkward.

"are you gonna give up?" kuanjui asks, and although you aren't looking at him in an attempt to focus on not trembling, you imagine a satisfied grin on his face.

you barely register ricky’s next command.

“right hand on green!”

no, now is not the time to get embarrassed. you absolutely knew what you were getting into, playing this damn game of all things. your heart definitely wasn’t racing. not at all.

you readjust your hand slightly. “nope. never.”

right about now, he’s probably pouting. “please? if you give up, i’ll buy you strawberry ice cream…”

hm, would you really choose food over your pride?

“aw damn, that’s tempting. but no. also, i’m sure you would do that for me anyways.”

his lack of a comeback tells you all you need to know.

“i feel like a third wheel,” you think you hear ricky mutter, before his speaking volume returns to normal. “alright, left hand on yellow!“

you strain to reach your hand behind you, but manage to get it on a circle. kuanjui’s face is now visible, and the two of you laugh at the absurdity of this whole game.

“i wonder how long we’ve been here,” you say.

ricky checks the time on his phone. “12 minutes, honestly that’s kinda impressive. but can someone please win already?"

“ah, now my wrist hurts. actually everything hurts,” kuanjui whines.

you smile. “you're such a big baby, despite being older than me by a few months.”

he hits you softly. “am not.”

a response leaves your mouth before you can tell your brain to stop saying whatever the hell it wants to. “you are, so stop being so cute.”

he scrunches his face in confusion, but then smiles slightly. "you think i’m what now?"

ah, shit. i definitely said too much.

well, might as well own what you had said. “cute, did you not hear me the first time?”

a slight blush appears on his face. “well, uh—“

ricky yells exasperatedly, “left foot on red!”

kuanjui moves first, slipping his foot behind your back. you try to find a red circle, but it’s a rather inconvenient move.

now you’re pretty much in the splits with your hands spread semi-far apart, and while it’s not the worst position to possibly be in, you’re kinda sore and can’t wait to rest.

“ah, is this what being a worm is like?” you joke.

“i don’t wanna be a worm, i wanna be something pretty,” kuanjui says.

you try to think of a suitable representative animal for him. “a butterfly is pretty.”

that seems to make him smile, and you feel like you've done your job for the day.

at some point, your strength gives out and you drop to the mat, beads of sweat cascading down your face. you're panting heavily.

kuanjui lifts himself out of the weird backbend position he's in with relative ease. how he's not too tired to do that, you're not sure.

"yes! i win!" he says with a fist pump.

you dramatically sigh, placing a hand on your chest. “i humbly accept this fatal defeat. you have kicked my ass once again.”

he giggles. "i'm sorry, i'll make it up somehow."

you pout. "that's what i get, for playing twister against one of the most flexible dancers in our academy."

you try to get up, but he motions for you to stay on the mat. "i'll get water for all of us, be right back. you need to rest!”

ricky puts the spinner down after kuan jui’s left. “please. just kiss. please! you two are so flirty that it’s gross.”

you laugh at his show of pleading. well, at least he was being honest. “i mean, i might confess to him today. i don’t want it to be grand or anything, i just want to say it. now’s as good a time as any, right?”

ricky gives you a genuine smile, probably the first of the day.

“well, good luck. if anyone should be his partner, it’s you.”

he pauses, seeming serious for once, before continuing. “it seems like you guys have a lot of fun around each other. i remember meeting you during dance practice and you were so strict, i didn't think you had an unserious bone in your body!"

kuanjui's walking back, so you try to wrap up the conversation. "gee thanks, i can be fun. but i think some people really bring out different sides of you."

he gives a grateful ricky some ice water, then sets down another cup beside you. "i cut a lemon slice and put it on the side of yours, if you don't mind."

you take it, grateful for the sweet gesture. "thanks, i mentioned that i like that, but only once.”

he smiles, and even that simple action seems ethereal. “i remembered anyways.”

ricky seems more than eager to excuse himself from the conversation, citing “video games” as the reason to leave.

“but you always say that though,” kuanjui retorts.

the younger boy shrugs. “and it’s always true.”

“i’ll see you guys later, you should enjoy yourselves!” he adds with a wink.

that damn guy. but you’re not gonna complain about getting alone time with kuanjui.

you spend about a minute quietly playing with his hair, which you’re both used to. although you do it often, you usually do it when something’s on your mind and you need to focus on something else.

kuanjui traces mindless circles on the mat before deciding to break the silence that has settled between you two. “hey, y/n?”

“yes?”

“did you really mean it when you said i was cute?”

you smile, a little embarrassed. but of course, no going back now. “of course, i wouldn’t lie.”

"i didn't think you would, but it was a little unexpected," he says, laughing. "since when did you ever call people cute?"

you take a sip of water, feeling suddenly as if there was something stuck in your throat. "well, i don't call people cute, unless they're you," you say with a small giggle, averting your gaze afterwards.

you're surprised you can even continue to speak.

"and, i wanted to ask you on a date. i mean, you don't have to! i've liked you for a while now, but i didn't want to make anything awkward… even though it probably seems awkward coming from me anyways.”

there’s a relief you feel after your confession and a sense of nervous anticipation. your hands need somewhere to be, so you reach for the cup.

kuanjui gasps and ruffles your hair affectionately. his eyes seem to sparkle.“oh, i’ve liked you too, and i’d love to go on a date. it’s just that i’m a little bit cowardly and probably wouldn’t have confessed first!”

“ha, believe me, i know.”

he seemed to have another moment of realization. “no wonder ricky seemed so annoyed! it’s like he was waiting for.. well, something.”

“watch what you say, he could come back any moment,” you whisper.

he goes along with your little joke and whispers back.

“what if i say he’s short and poor, old and ugly?”

“then he’ll definitely come back.”

the two of you burst into a fit of giggles. you take his hand, as if you need tangible proof that you’re here, experiencing this beautiful moment.

“do you mind if i kiss you on the cheek?”

jeez, why are you embarrassed? you’re usually physically affectionate with him anyways. still, it’s best to ask about things like kissing, you figure.

he shyly smiles. “go ahead.”

you give him a peck, which elicits more giggling from him, and there’s the lingering feeling of fluttering in your chest. he's definitely happy from the physical contact. as he lays down, he tugs your shirt, bringing you to the floor with him.

"i'm sleepy," he says through a yawn. "could you stay with me for a little?"

you're more than happy to oblige, and somehow, you end up with both of your arms wrapped around him, the twister mat still below you both.

as you settle into a comfortable position with kuanjui (perhaps the most comfortable you've been the whole day), you're thankful for playing that little game of twister, and for finally giving into your feelings.

#kflixnet #kwritersworldnet #boys planet x reader #boys planet imagines #boys planet scenarios #boys planet fics #chen kuan jui #boys planet #tranquilpetrichorfic

[kankuroplease]

What is Michi like as a parent?

Michi is very gentle natured, that wouldn’t change much as a parent

She would have baby in her room for convenience for feedings and she just wants him there. So no point in a nursery for the first year

Co-sleeps. She tries not to do it too often because it’s not the safest thing when he’s so little. But he does have a travel bassinet she can place him in on the bed

Does more baby wearing than putting him in a stroller. The only time he’s in a stroller is if she’s jogging

Calls Madara for advice if Mugen is being particularly fussy because he’s strangely knows a lot of baby things

She believes “it takes a village”, so she’d make sure everyone in their lives is familiar with Mugen and he respects them.

Sets up times to visit all four grandparents

Never expects him to be perfect but ask that he always tries his best

Doesn’t correct people when they think he’s a girl. She doesn’t care what others think, he looks cute

Does yoga with him

Cuddles and hugs him a lot

Tells him his beauty mark on his forehead is an angel kiss from grandfather Hizashi while the one on his mouth was to remind him to use his voice in life.

Let’s him run around barefoot and self dressed despite disapproval from some of the older Hyuga. “He’s a little kid. lighten up.”

Very enthusiastic about the horrid little kid drawings he makes for her

Brings Mugen to visit Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi

Also takes him to parks regularly for fresh air and wild life

Has some issues speaking up for herself, but tries hard to be heard for Mugen’s sake.

Definitely has a bag filled with everything from snacks to bandaids and more. She doesn’t want to be unprepared for things.

As he grows she’d mark his height on a doorframe sort of forced Tenten, Neji, and Lee (and the rest of Neji’s men) to get measured too so Mugen can see how tall everyone is and muses with him how tall he’ll be one day

She’s signing him up for jui-jitsu at an early age because learning martial arts gave her a lot more confidence and it’s a good form of self discipline/defense

Tells him to respect his elders but, they should be be respectful him too. It goes both ways

Encourages him to be nice to his classmates and friends

She’d teach him how to skateboard with Chiha and Tenten. This is their little secret because grandfather Hiashi might actually have a heart attack

Also let him work out with Lee and Neji

Plays restaurant with him and thinks it’s so cute how he tries so hard to be a waiter and gets huff if she or anyone else says something about their “order”

Once he starts at the academy, she’ll cry. HE’S JUST A BABY (he’s literally 4)

Also crying happily at all his accomplishments

Preteen - teen would be hard on her. Not because he’s a bad kid, he’d be a very respectable young man, he’s just really not a baby anymore and very independent. He also is a genius and would end up graduating early. Sending her young teen to college wasn’t on her bingo card 🥲

Still makes him his lunches and ruffles his hair.

Probably does that embarrassing face cleaning thing some moms do still

Definitely the “who’s your friend?” “You should ask them out!😃” mom if she sees he’s expressing interest in anyone.

#ask #tattoo shop au #oc: michi uchiha #my art #kpz tsau ℹ️

[incorrectboysplanet]

Fun facts about Yoo Seungeon

He can speak Mandarin (according to Chen Kuan Jui he sings songs in Mandarin)

He is a former SM trainee

He graduated from Hanlim High School

He is a carat

He is from Busan

The other trainees call him a main visual vocal

He can compose

Please vote for Yoo Seungeon to debut in Boys Planet on the Mnet+ app!

#boys planet #yoo seungeon

[imgae-insertshockedgasps-16]

alright boiz it's time for a hyperfixation i haven't yet indulged in on rbis blog.

beetlejuice.

i'm placing a cut for convenience, cause i expect a long post honestly

okay. so. disclaimer: tim burton? don't like em. racist. not a great person. however: divorce the art from the artist. i loved the beetlejuice movie as a kid. i still love it. i have a 10yr old beetlejuice dvd that i watch. no money for tim burton! it's important to acknowledge the problems, but i still enjoy the media.

second disclaimer: it has been a long ass time since i watched the entire play and my memory is generally garbage. so, if i'm wrong, pls feel free to correct me. however, this doesn't mean be a complete jerk abt "how could you even get that wrong?!? have you even watched it!!!!" pls be kind and respectful. also keep in mind that i have multiple disorders that influence memory in various ways.

NOW ONTO THE GOOD SHIT.

"three times in a row, it must be spoken, unbroken"

it's very vague.

unbroken by what?

not unbroken by other people. beetlejuice talks under/through his name being spoken (well, sung), so we can assume that someone else speaking doesn't influence the sequence.

not by a pause. "beeeeeeeee (pause) cause!" it's a brief pause, but a pause. the question here becomes how long can a pause last before it's considered breaking the sequence? a average pause that applies in typical sentence structure? an hour long pause? could you hypothetically wait days in between calls of his name, and as long as you say nothing else in between he'll be summoned?

in the same phrase, we're given the drawing out of a syllable. so as long as the syllable isn't disrupted, it counts? could you break up the syllables? "be" now, "tle" in five minutes, "jui" three minutes after that, "ce" a few minutes later?

if so, could we combine pause and syllable? "be" today, "tle" tomorrow, "jui" and "ce" the next, repeat thrice and you've banished him?

and it doesn't have to be the person who summoned him that says his name, either, so could someone across the world (trying/tricked into summon him) accidentally banish him?

and then: it specifies "spoken". dictionaries generally agree that spoken means "said aloud" in some degree. so, whispered? said in some other language? what if someone puts 'beetlejuice' through a cipher, and then the result was spoken aloud three times? it's the equivalent of beetlejuice, does it count?

or what if someone has an auditory processing disorder? do they have to say "beetlejuice" or do they have to say what they heard? generally i would assume they have to say "beetlejuice", but if they genuinely believe that the term "fleetingbooth" is correct and will work, how does that affect the summoning/banishnent?

what about being read by a computer program? there's no specifier as to who/what has to speak, only that it has to be spoken. so if someone had their computer read beetlejuice aloud three times (perhaps writing/reading a book?) would he be summoned?

a baby sees a beetle and some juice, combines them, and promptly repeats their new favorite word three times, is he summoned?

and etc etc etc i could talk abt this forever

(shout out to the cartoon, loved that shit when i was a kid. been over a decade since i've seen it, so who knows how it's held up, but i remember it being great)

#beetlejuice

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Episode 11: Recap and Guide

Hey, fellow Star Creator! Are you ready to have your heart smashed to smithereens? …. No? Me either. In fact, I'm late getting this recap to you because it was hard to type with my heart next to me in a basin of saline solution. But I managed.

Let’s go!

At 0:38, we start off with the boys hanging out at their dorms after their third mission, high fiving each other and expressing some anxiety about the upcoming eliminations. They have to pack to go home now for a while. The staff has set up a photo booth for them to make some memories.  In case anyone thinks that there’s animosity between Woongki and Zhuang Shai Bo, there definitely isn’t.  

The trainees go back back home, awaiting the next elimination ceremony. 

Pretty sure that’s Ricky, just being mysterious and painting roses in a graffiti covered studio, because how else would Ricky spend his time when he’s not performing?

We spend a little time with Han Yujin and his very popular pretty mother. We also see Keita and Kum Junhyeon hanging out with Eunho from Younite and Hwi from Ciipher -- it seems that Junhyeon used to be a trainee at Rain company and trained with some or all of the Ciipher, which explains how they both know Hwi, but I’m not sure the impossibly faced Eunho fits in (seriously, who has a face like that? He looks like a Bratz doll come to life, in a good way). I also don’t know how we never knew that Junhyeon and Keita have been friends this whole time??? They’re just out having a meal and talking about how young Kum Junhyeon was when they used to train together. We see a lot of other stuff, including Kim JiWoong at a dog cafe, even though he’s apparently allergic to dogs. They’re all visiting with friends and family.

Then we see the guys all packing to go back to Planet Camp, even though many of them know that they probably won’t make it through this elimination ceremony. It’s pretty sad. But remember, they’re all going to be ok, right, team? A lot of them are signed with good companies and will probably debut in 2025, if not sooner. So deep breaths. It’s ok!

Then we visit with Park Hanbin, who is wearing a very soft looking blue sweater, as if anticipating future MNET shows. He says he’s worried about not being able to debut. Park Hanbin, you silly goose. You’re going to debut whether or not you make it into Bepler. Listen to BPR Noona. I know of what I speak.

6:15 Now it’s time for the elimination ceremony!

So, I actually watched the live streaming ceremony, which popped up on my phone as I was getting ready to go to sleep. Cannabis is legal where I live and so I might have been particularly ready to close my eyes, you know? But I watched, my eyes blinking heavily, because I wanted to know! The things the boys were saying weren’t translated, so I was only able to catch the gist. Also, the live broadcast was just a raw feed of them, and without the editing and background music, it felt like I was watching a first rehearsal. 

Anyway, as usual, we start with the boys backstage talking about how nervous they are -- us too, guys -- and then coming out in small groups based on their most recent challenge mission. They do various kinds of schtick, and once their whole team is out they do a combined schtick. It looked heckin’ awkward in the live broadcast, but edited down it looks much better.

Here’s the order they come out:

Kim Tae Rae, Na Kamden, and Zhang Shuai Bo (Switch)

Keita, Park Hanbin, and Yoon Jongwoo (Switch)

Wang Zi Hao, Ollie, and Haruto (Supercharger)

Woongki, Takuto, Seo Won (Supercharger)

Zhang Hao and Lee Jungheyon (Over Me)

Ricky, Chen Kuan Jui, Jay (Over Me)

Sung Hanbin and Han Yujin (Say My Name)

Yoo Seung Eon, Seok Matthew, and Kim Ji Woong (Say My Name)

Hui (Lee Hoe Taek), Hiroto, and Lee Seung Hwan (En Garde)

Kim Gyuvin, Kum Junhyeon, Park Gunwook (En Garde)

And who is their Star Master this time? In the live broadcast, she stood with her back to the camera for just a few seconds and then came in, but of course, in the edited version, there’s 15 minutes of guessing first. 

But it’s Jeon Somi! 

I would impale myself on those spikes every time I moved slightly, but she makes it look good.

If you’re not familiar with Jeon Somi, she is a successful soloist who went through the reality show gamut. First she was on a show called Sixteen, a reality competition show that created the kpop giants Twice (you know, the ones who sing “Feel Special”). She didn’t make the lineup of Twice, but she got pretty popular from being on the show. Then she was on the first season of Produce 101, the precursor of Girls Planet/Boys Planet, and ended up pretty much killing it, taking first place in the final episode and becoming the “center” of project group IOI (pronounced “eye-oh-eye”). Check out their song Very Very Very if you want to see what IOI is like.

After IOI disbanded, Somi became a soloist. I love her song Birthday -- my fella doesn’t like much kpop, but for whatever reason he loves Birthday. (He specifically loves how she she says “eyyy”.) Despite it being a pretty great song, Birthday wasn’t a huge hit because she was “f a a t “ at the time (she absolutely wasn’t, and even if she was, it shouldn’t matter, but people can really be The Worst, and also her stylist didn’t know how to dress a young woman with actual boobs). Anyway she has other songs now, like Dumb Dumb, and she’s frighteningly skinny now, so she’s a lot more successful. I think she’s always been a sparkly fun person. I wish she’d given her cue cards a bit of a read before she came out on stage, but… whatever. Oh, and if you’re wondering, she’s 22, half Korean and half white, and was born in Canada.

The boys go crazy when they realize it’s Somi -- Kamden says he won’t be able to sleep tonight, and a few of the others talk about how tall she is. She’s 5’8, which is fairly tall for a girl, especially in Korea. 

She reads some usual stuff off a cuecard, and then adds, “It’s not easy being on a survival show, is it? I remember HATING this studio myself” (as in, when she was on Produce 101). The boys give her some serious snaps. 

We find out that people in 182 countries voted a total of 31,750,293 votes, and that trainees ranked 1 through 18 will survive. We also find out that during the first phase of the announcement, they’ll only be announcing trainees from 11 through 17 inclusive, which is only seven people, so this is really silly. 

After that, in the live broadcast, Somi said something that MNET translated thusly: “I know how much effort and sweat they have put into this far because not only I but so many world star creators are sending their cheers to them. Believe in your time and the sweat dedicated, and get with it to the end.” That part didn’t make it into the final airing, as far as I can tell, but I think it’s funny. She read it at top speed, sounding like a bored flight attendant reading the same safety instructions for the millionth time, and not looking up from the cue cards once. Maybe that’s why they didn’t air it.

Anyway -- so now that the stakes have been established, we bring up two teams to start with: Switch and Engarde. 

First Round of Eliminations 

Here are the 12 trainees who are waiting to hear their fate, in order of their rank in episode 8:

6 Kim Gyu Vin Love Me Right - K / Love Killa/ En Garde

7 Kim Tae Rae Back Door - K/ Man in Love/ Switch

8 Keita Kill This Love - G/ Zoom /   Switch

9 Park Gunwook Kill This Love - K/ Tomboy/ En Garde

10 Kum Jun Hyeon Back Door - K /Gang /    En Garde

11 Hui Love Me Right - K / Tomboy /En Garde

13 Park Hanbin Hot Sauce - K   /   Law/ Switch

15 Yoon Jong Woo Back Door - K /Home/Switch

20 Na Kamden Back Door - G /Law /Switch

21 Lee Seung Hwan Danger - K/ Gang /En Garde

23 Zhang Shuai Bo Back Door - G/ Feel Special /Switch

28 Hiroto Very Nice - G/ Rush Hour/ En Garde

Somi announces that they’re going to announce the trainee who is 11th place, who got 2,365,604 points. It’s someone who did the killing part.

Then she gives the clue that the person in 11th has the family name “Park.” Well, that’s either Park Gunwook or Park Hanbin. Gunwook doesn’t want to be announced in 11th place; Hanbin would be delighted to be in 11th. So they sort of awkwardly grin at each other from across the aisle. 

At 17:13 And then we find out that it’s Park Hanbin! So they’re both happy! Everyone is proud of him and a little surprised.

Look how happy Z-Bo is for him, and everyone else, too! That’s their fearless leader! 

He says, “I won’t be able to be the shiniest star on Boys Planet, but I want to be the one and only star. Since this could be my last chance to shine the brightest, I’ll try to give a great performance.” Somi tells him he shines brightly already, and his gives her a huge, eye squinting grin. That’s doing to be a “happy memory for a sad day” for him -- one of those happy memories you return to when you need a boost. But hopefully Hanbin won’t have too many sad days in front of him.

Kum Junhyeon says to Park Gunwook, “he didn’t deserve the low ranking,” which is so true. Park Hanbin has been great since the first day. It was just hard to get to know his personality at first.

In the live broadcast, Somi asked him to show his “favorite facial expression,” and he did, but it’s all so weird. Does anyone else think that Kpop is getting a bit too codified? Can there be any mystery or general stage technique that isn’t parsed down into the tiniest bits? Anyway, that doesn’t make it into the final broadcast, which is all for the best 

As Hanbin walks up to lonely seat 11 all by himself, Jay says, “Park Hanbin serves and deserves,” which is a great way of putting it. 

Here’s the floor plan to help you figure out who is sitting where as the episode goes on-- that’s P-Hanbin in 11th. 

This is where the live broadcast ended, so I was a mixture of happy (I was so stoned and sleepy and just wanted to close my eyes) and contented (at least my Park Hanbin is safe!) and furious (seriously, MNET?). But that’s all they gave us, the fuckwits. 

Rank 12 is next, and it’s someone from En Garde, someone who stood out because of best friend energy, so that could be a lot of people. 

We find out that it’s Park Gunwook! He’s fallen from 9th place to 12 -- everyone is shocked, and there’s a silent pause before people start applauding. That peach, Lee Seunghwan, who probably isn’t going to make it through this elimination, gives him a high five and tries to cheer him up, but he looks really sad.

Sad, but still cute! I like the ruffly hair.

Ok, everyone’s super surprised that he fell out of the top9, but I’m not that surprised, really. Don’t get me wrong, I still quite like Park Gunwook and am rooting for him to succeed in life. I’ve heard that some people dislike him, but I think he’s essentially a sweet guy who jokes around in uncomfortable situations. I also think he’s talented, with a loveable face, and I hope that Jellyfish will figure out some way to promote him if he doesn’t make the top 9 here. 

That all said, he’s been showing the same part of himself again and again on the show. It’s that super masculine, powerful style of dancing that he always does, you know? I think people are just a tiny bit tired of the powerful powerhouse of power. I feel that way a tiny bit myself. I didn’t need him to do something super cute like Say My Name or something mega sexy like Over Me, exactly, but I think I would have liked to see him in something more like Switch -- something that requires a different, more lighthearted style of dancing. I think he can do it, so I hope that he can show that in the next episode. 

Who’s next? Rank 15. Who could it be?

It’s someone known for his unique facial expressions, and it’s an extrovert, so it could be a lot of them -- not Keita, Hui, Hiroto, or Lee Seunghwan who are introverts, but any of the rest. (Is anyone else surprised to hear that Kim Taerae is an extrovert? He comes across as more of an introvert -- probably MNET editing striking again.)  Anyway, it could be almost any of these six…

And at 22:45 we find out that it’s Yoon Jongwoo, who had been ranked 15th in episode 8. 

Everyone is super surprised, including Jongwoo himself. I think he was expected to be eliminated after his ignominious treatment in episodes 9 and 10, but seriously, watch his fancam from Switch. He’s such a good dancer and performer. He’d be a benefit to any team he’d be on. I really hope he does a cover of Over Me and puts it up on Youtube. Just putting that out into the universe. 

Kum Junhyeon and Kim Gyuvin have given up on casting spells. 

Who’s next? Rank 16. Who could it be? 

Park Hanbin mutters to himself, “This is daebak.” I should have mentioned this in an earlier recap, but for those of you newish to K-culture, “daebak” means something like “amazing” or “surprising” or even “cool.” Sometimes people just say “daebak” as an exclamation, in which case it means something like “wow!”

Everyone is anxious but Zhang Shuai Bo, who already knows that there is a 99.99999% chance that he is eliminated. He probably didn’t even pack anything in his suitcase. His new brown hair looks nice, though. 

It’s someone who’s rank has fallen, and someone who never had a killing part. That could be a lot of people. 

And at 25:49 we find out it’s Kum Junhyeon. (The Viki subtitler spells his name Guem -- the G/K sound in Korean is sort of halfway between G and K, so you see it either way depending on the transliteration system in use. And there’s a lot of variation in how people transliterate vowel sounds in Korean, which is one of the reasons I learned to read actual Korean sybmbols!)

Kum Junhyeon has dropped a lot from 10th place. I don’t have a specific theory as to why he dropped, but I kind of think that he’s stopped looking like one of the it-crowd, somehow. Put on a team with Gunwook and Gyuvin, he sort of faded into the background. I like Junhyeon a lot -- he’s charismatic, funny, open-hearted, and a really great singer -- and hope he debuts, but I don’t think he’s going to debut with Bepler. I think he knows that too -- he looks like he’s going to cry. 

We hear from each of them. 

Yoon Jongwoo says, “Since I came here without expecting anything, my memories here are so precious. I kept telling myself to be in the final, at least. And I ended up being here. I’d like to thank the Star Creators who support me one more time.” 

Park Gunwook says, “I really wanted to be on stage one more time. My goal coming here was moving on to the final.  Thankfully, I’d be able to join the final with such a high ranking. I’m relieved. I’d like to express my love and gratitude to the Star Creators who support me.”  

Then Somi asks Gunwook to do something aegyo, and he chooses instead to do something kawaii instead. He says, in Japanese, things like “I love you! I like you a lot!” (The on-screen words are transliterated Japanese with Korean translation underneath.)

Side note: “aegyo” is a thing in K-culture. It’s when idols and other performers do over-the-top, cloying, saccharine cuteness as a… mini performance. It’s quite popular among Koreans, and is often requested by variety show hosts, but international audiences often don’t like it. Personally, I don’t like it, but it’s not my culture and it’s not my place to say “stop doing thing because I don’t like thing,” you know? Though I really do wish they’d stop. 

Anyway, Gunwook speaking Japanese spurs Kum Junhyeon to do his speech in Japanese as well, and he sounds like a first semester Japanese student. It’s much cuter than his old “I am 5 years old” shtick, though, I’ll say that. 

So, this group takes their seats, and everyone wonders, Who’s next? But there isn’t anyone else in this group. 

Though the show plays danger music to make it seem otherwise, it’s fair to assume that Kim Gyu Vin, Kim Tae Rae, Keita, and Hui are probably in the top 10. But unless Na Kamden, Lee Seung Hwan, Zhang Shuai Bo, or Hiroto is ranked 18th, they’ve all been eliminated. 

The trainees think that Lee Hoetek/Hui might have been eliminated, but that seems extremely unlikely. The people who’ve been voting for him as of episode 8 are probably going to keep voting for him -- he just hasn’t done enough to attract new people to him. I don’t think he’ll make the final lineup, but I don’t think he’ll be eliminated today.

Then Somi announces that she’s heard that “on a beautiful day, the trainees spent a day full of doubts and suspicion.” 

Oh no.

It’s… 

30:05 FILLER TIME

If you’re not into Kpop -- and even if you are a little into it --  you may not know about the whole ecology that surrounds idol groups. There are these variety shows, such as After School Club and Weekly Idol, shows where idols come on and get made fun of and forced to do silly things, like dance to their songs at 2x speed, or chicken fight, or answer trivia questions, or whatever the show feels like doing to them. 

There’s also a custom of idols creating content specifically for their fans, to hold up their side of the parasocial relationship. They joke around, they play games, they cook or eat food, and most importantly, they talk to the camera like it’s their girlfriend and talk about how much they miss their fans and want to see them again. This stuff makes me uncomfortable, but I know a lot of people like it. 

Anyway, all the “filler” stuff we see on Boys Planet is a good introduction to the kind of content you often see on shows or videos like these. As such, even though it’s filler, it’s actually an audition for a big part of the job that they’ll be doing as idols. Plenty of idols are known as much for their reality show appearances as for their performance skills (if not more so). 

That said, there isn’t a lot to say about this stuff -- it’s just cute fan service. Here’s a super quick recap:

The boys gather outside at an area with big platform tents, on what must have been a lovely sprint day. Park Hanbin is wearing that same soft looking blue sweater, and Kim TaeRae is wearing a sweatshirt that says Thrasher on it, with just enough dark tape over the logo that they don’t have to blur it. My 17 year old self fainted dead away when she saw that Thrasher logo. Is there anything cuter than a skater boy? (Other than my fella, who is the cutest boy of all boys.)

The trainees are told they will have to dress like cute animals and spend a self-sufficient day in the forest - - which is complete bullshit, but that’s ok. 

First, they have to put on loose pajama pants without using their hands -- which is an excuse to help each other and touch each other’s crotchal areas with their feet and teeth -- in order to choose which team gets to wear which animal outfit. That part is actually pretty fun to watch, especially when Chen Kuan Jui uses his powers of stretchiness to get’er’done.

Once they get their animal outfit on (they’re just big loose onesie outfits), they’re all told that each team will have a “raccoon” in it (basically, like a mole -- someone who ruins everything) and that they have to figure out who it is. They have to go into a tent one by one to find out if they’re the raccoon or not -- it’s not as if they choose to be the mole. If the team can figure out who’s the raccoons amongst them, then everyone else wins the prize, but if they don’t, the raccoons win the prizes. The stakes are high.

Say My Name comes in first and chooses unicorn. 

Switch comes in second and chooses something red; I can’t tell what it is. 

En Garde comes in 3rd and chooses dinosaur.

Supercharger comes in 4th and chooses something pink; I can’t tell what it is.  

Over Me comes in last and chooses something black. 

Over Me’s raccoon is revealed immediately as Lee Jeonghyeon, and he says, “thank you” and that he’s confident he can do it. Just more MNET spotlighting him to try to get another K-group member in the top9 if possible. 

They’re hungry and have to play a game where they spin around until they’re dizzy and have to poke at a board with ingredients written on it. The best things are in tiny boxes, which are hard to target. But most of the trainees get at least something decent for food. 

Then they play another game to win dessert -- prizes range from shaved ice to “healthy tea” -- and this game is my least favorite Korean reality staple, “Scream in the dark.” It’s this game where they all wear huge headphones that block out most sound, and have to shout at each other and read each other’s lips. This game is played on all the idol shows, and it’s really not my favorite. Maybe it’d be more fun if I were a fluent Korean speaker…? Also, it’s obviously going to be hard for non native speakers from G-group. 

This part goes on for approximately 3,791 years, so if you’d like to skip to the end of it, go to 49:18. 

After that, the boys discuss who amongst them could be the raccoon (mole). We find out that each raccoon has a purple raccoon symbol stamped on his foot. So they choose who among them is the raccoon and then that person has to reveal their foot. 

Though Over Me’s team seems to suspect Lee Jeonghyeon, they cast out Jay, almost as if they are the general public viewing the show. Of course, Jay is innocent.

Switch team picks Keita, but he’s innocent as well. Turns out the mole was Park Hanbin! Back when he found out that he had to be the mole, he said -- with his face hidden and voice distorted -- “I can’t lie!” and collapsed on the floor. But he was good at it after all! Have I mentioned lately that I really like Park Hanbin? Because I do.

Say My Name team picks Sung Hanbin, and he’s also innocent. Turns out it was really Han Yujin. Interestingly, when he was chosen as the mole, he said, “I’m good at this kind of thing.” A rare glimpse into the personality of Han Yujin.

Supercharger picked Wang Zi Hao, and he is in fact the mole. 

En Garde team picked Kum Junhyeon, and he’s also innocent. Turns out the real mole was Park Gunwook. 

The raccoons have won! Their prize is a variety of high fashion outfits -- in other words, their animal onesies. (Ten bucks says they all got to keep their onesies anyway.)

And that’s the end of the filler!

56:50 SECOND ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

They joke about the game for a bit longer, and then go back to the eliminations. 

Next up will be the other teams: Supercharger, Over Me, and Say My Name. 

Ricky says to Jay, in English, “Let’s survive together.” Kim JiWoong leans over to Matthew and says, quoting from Love Killa, “Oh I’m sorry, did I make you anxious?”

Here’s everyone who’s up on the chopping block, in case you would like a refresher as to who is who. I’ve listed their most recent rank as well as their three challenge missions.

1 Sung Hanbin Love Me Right - K / Tomboy / Say My Name

2 Zhang Hao Kill This Love - G/ Tomboy/ Over Me

3 Han Yu Jin Back Door - K   / Law / Say My Name

4 Seok Matthew Kill This Love - G/ Love Killa/ Say My Name

5 Kim Ji Woong Back Door - K /Love Killa /Say My Name

12 Jay Love Me Right - G/ Home /Over Me

14 Ricky Back Door - G/ Rush Hour /Over Me

16 Haruto Love Me Right - G / Zoom/ Supercharger

17 Yoo Seung Eon Very Nice - K Home Say My Name

18 Seo Won Very Nice - K Love Killa Supercharger

19 Wang Zi Hao Kill This Love - G Law Supercharger

22 Chen Kuan Jui Kill This Love - G Butterfly Over Me

24 Lee Jeong Hyeon Love Me Right - K Gang Over Me

25 Takuto Danger - G Rush Hour Supercharger

26 Cha Woong Ki Very Nice - K Feel Special Supercharger

27 Ollie Hot Sauce - G Zoom Supercharger

Who’s up first? 13th place. Who could it be? 

Someone who’s noted for their talent (thanks, that’s unhelpful). It’s someone from Over Me. We see Park Hanbin with his hands folded, as if in prayer -- he’s hopeful it’ll be his WakeOne teammate, Lee JeongHyeon. 

At 1:01:00, we find out it’s Jay. 

We see that Jay’s Korean support is painfully low -- only 62,829 votes, while everyone else announced so far has had 200,000+ -- while his global support is super high --  1,400,606 while no one else has broken into the millions. He’s a little sad because he’s dropped another spot, and it’s looking less and less likely that he’ll make top9 in the end.

Honestly, at this point, I think it’s better for Jay that he *not* debut in Bepler. Looking at what’s going on with Kepler, all the fan wars and stuff, I think he’s better of not in that kind of situation. Who wants to debut based on global vote and then have to go to fan meetings in Korea where literally no one acknowledges you? He’ll have a more fulfilling career using this as a spring board to make his own music and release it mostly online, the way that B.I. and Jackson Wang do. Let K-netz hate him all they want, and let him just sing in English like he’d probably prefer to do. I’d much rather have B.I.’s career than, say, Park Jihoon’s. (Though I do absolutely love all three of the songs I linked to, for the record. But Jihoon’s stylist noona deserves serious sanctions. His whole MV team does. Send them to the naughty step for a few hours to rethink their choices in life.) There’s life after Boys Planet and it doesn’t have to involve Bepler. 

Who’s next? 14th place. Who could it be? 

Someone indispensable -- so team Supercharger hopes it’s Haruto, as do we all, right? Haruto is everyone’s unproblematic fave. 

At 1:02:34, we find out it’s Yoo Seungeon.

Yoo Seungeon is signed to Yuehua, along with current trainees Ricky, Zhang Hao, Han Yujin, Ollie, and Kim Gyuvin, and eliminated trainees Brian and Ji Yun Seo.  He really is quite young to debut, and doesn’t really need to debut right now -- it seems quite likely that Zhang Hao and Han Yujin will make the final lineup, and Ricky and Gyuvin have a decent chance, so the Yuehua team that debuts in 2024 or 2025 will start off with a lot of momentum. It still can’t hurt for Seungeon to have more exposure, so it’s nice that he made it. He seems like a sweet kid and a genuine talent. All that said, I’m so worried about Haruto I can’t think straight. 

Who’s next? 17th place. Who could it be?

Everyone is hoping that it’ll be themselves, and this is so painful. Cha Woongki tries to keep from hoping. The person is known for their rapping, so of course I’m hoping for Haruto, but there are a lot of rappers here. 

Somi says that the person has two “ng” consonants. 

Korean reading time! The little circles you see in Korean have a few different roles. Often, they’re silent, like when they come before a vowel. For example, the family name “Lee” (which is really pronounced more like Ee) is spelled 이, as you see above on Lee Jeonghyun’s name. (That straight up and down line thing is the -ee part. You also see it in the final syllable of Woongki’s name -- 기.) When you see the circle thingy at the top of a name, it’s more like “w-” sound. When it’s at the bottom of a word, it’s a -ng sound. That’s why you see it in the top and bottom of 웅 for Woongki (and for Kim JiWoong, also) and in 왕 Wang. You also see it in the bottom of Lee Jeonghyun’s second syllable. 

Of course everyone has tons of little circles in their names since they do so much work in Korean writing -- even before I could read Korean I could always tell Korean from other writing systems by the little circles. 

Who could it be in 17th place? At 1:05:05 we find out it’s It’s Lee Jeonghyeon. He burst into tears, which seems to surprise his fellow WakeOne trainees Park Hanbin and Kim TaeRae. Of course people are happy for him but sad that they (or their other friends) didn’t survive. 

We get told that without the benefit, he would have been in 19th place. 

The surviving trainees get to make a speech. 

Jay says, in slow English (probably to make it easier for non-native speakers to understand): "To all my friends and family watching from all the way back in the states, I just want to say thank you so much for tuning in every week and screaming at the television.” Somi, who is Canadian and fluent in English, says “Blow them a kiss!” and he does.

Yoo Seung Eon says, “First of all, I never imagined that I’d survive in a high rank of 14, so I feel like I’m dreaming. I have no words to describe how I feel right now. Also, thanks to my Say My Name teammates who created the greatest performance, I really love you.” 

Lee Jeonghyeon says, “At every survivor announcement, I was always on the verge of disqualifications. So today, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to make it. But I’m really grateful to the Team Over Me who practiced hard, so we could get benefits.” Then he says, in extremely halting Chinese and Japanese, things like “I love you” and “thank you”, with Hiroto and other trainees helping him from the sidelines. 

They take their seats, and Lee Jeonghyeon regains his cool. 

1:09:00 THIRD ELIMINATION SEGMENT - TOP 10

So, let’s look at the list of trainees, in their episode 8 ranking order. Those marked in green have already been seated in 11th through 17th place. 

1 Sung Hanbin 2 Zhang Hao 3 Han Yu Jin 4 Seok Matthew 5 Kim Ji Woong 6 Kim Gyu Vin 7 Kim Tae Rae 8 Keita 9 Park Gunwook 10 Kum Jun Hyeon 11 Hui 12 Jay 13 Park Hanbin 14 Ricky 15 Yoon Jong Woo 16 Haruto 17 Yoo Seung Eon 18 Seo Won 19 Wang Zi Hao 20 Na Kamden 21 Lee Seung Hwan 22 Chen Kuan Jui 23 Zhang Shuai Bo 24 Lee Jeong Hyeon 25 Takuto 26 Cha Woong Ki 27 Ollie 28 Hiroto

Speaking of falling out and making room, Somi reminds us all that Park Gunwook has fallen out of top 9, leaving a space for a new person. From context, the only person it could be is Ricky -- unless in some weird world it’s Hui. I just don’t think Hui is doing well enough on the show to make top9.  So yeah, given the obsessive nature of of Ricky’s fandom, I’m assuming he’s a lot of people’s one-pick and will probably be in the top 10, along with Sung Hanbin, Zhang Hao, Han Yu Jin, Seok Matthew, Kim Ji Woong, Kim Gyu Vin, Kim Tae Rae, Keita, and Hui. I’m trying to think, could any of these have fallen out of the top 10, leaving room for Haruto? And I don’t think so. I think Matthew will have fallen a few ranks, but I don’t think he’s fallen out of the top 10.  And Hui -- I think he’s more nervous than he has to be. But we’ll see. 

Next up, we find out the “candidates for 9th place”, ie, the people ranked 9th and 10th. And it’s Hui and Matthew.

Hui is relieved, as he’s been thinking the whole time that he’s been eliminated, while Matthew is resigned to what to him is bad news. Matthew was ranked 2nd and then 4th, so falling to 9th or 10th is a steep drop. I really wish he’d just been sweet and nice about the part switch, because he did a great job in Say My Name -- I think the best in the group -- and he definitely lost some fans. I’ll add, however, that he might have lost those fans anyway as we moved from pick-3 to1-pick. The dynamics always change a lot when we get to the 1-pick.

Matthew and Hui come up to the front to find out who came in 9th -- and it's Matthew.

Matthew says, “I want to thank all the Star Creators for allowing me to stay in the Top 9. Hanbin hyung, Ji Woong Hyung, Yujin-ee and Seung Eon-ee, I was just so happy to be with you. I want to become more cool like Hanbin hyung and JiWoong hyung.  Thank you, and I also hope we’ll all be successful together.” Really putting on those retro-rockets, huh? I hope it helps -- I think he’s a great performer and would make a good member of Bepler.

Hui says, “I came worrying that I may have to go home today. I really want to thank the Star Creators for allowing me to get such an unexpectedly high rank. I also wanted to thank my En Guard team members who’ve worked so hard with me. I would like everyone to stay with me to the end, and although I cannot give amazing benefits like Boys Planet, I will becomes an amazing Hoe Taek and I will show you a good side of me.”

As Matthew goes to take his seat, you can hear Yoo Seungeon rush over to give Matthew-hyung a hug. Jay also comes over and says something in English but I can’t quite make it out. 

Next is 8th place. Who could it be? Well it’s one of Ricky, Han Yu Jin, Kim Ji Woong, Kim Gyu Vin, Kim Tae Rae, or Keita. And at 1:16:42, we find out it’s Ricky! 

Ricky says, “It’s so cool to enter the Top9 for the first time. I can’t believe it. Honestly, the sofa looked so comfy that I wanted to try sitting in it at least once. I will show an even more improved version of me during the final stage.” The show makes a big deal out of how “sofa” is probably not a Korean word or the right word for these chairs, but, whatever, everyone knew what he meant.

We hear Jay call “Ricky!” and it’s honestly very pleasant to hear someone pronounce it like that. (Not going to say “correctly,” just… correct to my ears, you know?)

Side note: with his hair styled down like this, I actually don’t recognize him. I mean, I know it’s him, but my brain doesn’t believe me. 

Now it’s time to find out who is in 7th place. Well it’s one of Han Yu Jin, Kim Ji Woong, Kim Gyu Vin, Kim Tae Rae, or Keita. 

And at 1:18:39, we find out it’s Kim Gyuvin.

I like the return to a messy mop of hair. 

He says, “I want to thank you all for allowing me to end up in such a high rank. Through this final stage, I will prove to you why I need to debut.” Then he adds in uncertain Japanese, “I will become a more improved GyuVin. I love you.” Hiroto coaches him from the other side of the room.

I mean, I know that that interim ranking showed him really low, but it never occurred to me for a second he’d fall below 17. I think he might have been worried, though. He’s gotten some hate online. He sits down in the comfy chair and gives that weird smile of his. 

Next is 6th place. Who could it be? Well, it’s one of Han Yu Jin, Kim Ji Woong, Kim Tae Rae, or Keita. Because it’s someone whose rank improved, it’s either TaeRae or Keita.

At 1:21:17, we find out it’s Keita. Nice! I knew he’d make it. I’m glad to see his rank improving. His Korean support is low, but his global support is insane. He’s the first person to outscore Jay in the global vote. (He outscored Jay’s Korean support, as well.) 

Keita says, “I am just so happy and grateful to be able to move onto the final. I will keep doing my best.” Then he bows. That’s Keita for you. 

Next is 5th place. Well, it’s either Han Yu Jin, Kim Ji Woong, Kim Tae Rae, or maybe Zhang Hao. The person is popular with teenagers, and his charming point is his shy smile. TaeRae doesn’t have a shy smile, but Yujin does. 

At 1:22:58 we find out it’s Han Yujin, who at previous eliminations was 4th and 3rd.

Lee Jeonghyun turns around to look up at Park Hanbin and wonder out loud, “What place is TaeRae in?” Again, all three of them are signed together at WakeOne. And hopefully will all debut together ASAP. 

Han Yujin says, “To the Star Creators who have shown me much love ever since Na Bina was released,  I will work even harder from now on.” Then he adds in Chinese, “Hello. I’m 17-year old Han Yujin. I love you all. You’re so pretty. Thank you.” It doesn’t sound too bad to me but I don’t know Chinese.

Somi teases him about his legendary “Noona, I love you” thing and she asks him to say it to her. (Other trainees watching, including Kum Junyheon and Kim Gyuvin, mutter that they’d be happy to tell her that too.) He says, “Somi-Noona, I love you!” and Somi melts. It’s actually pretty cute, even though I have very little patience for this shiz.

As he goes to his seat, he’s mobbed by some of his friends, including his Yuehua teammate Ricky, who jokingly asks him to say “I love you hyung” to him, and his other Yuehua teammate Kim Gyubin, who seems happier for Yujin than he was for himself. 

Next is 4th place, who only scraped past 5th place by a few thousand points -- I’ll do a point analysis at the end of this recap -- and it’s obviously  Kim Ji Woong or Kim Tae Rae, or maybe Zhang Hao. 

Almost immediately we find out it’s Tae Rae. 

Hair stylist noona was really feeling the ruffley bang look today, wasn’t she? 

TaeRae says, “To my Star Creators who have always supported me, thank you so much. I will do my best to repay you for your love and support with an even better performance on the final stage.” Then Somi makes him do a big weird laugh and it’s… weird. But he’s still cute. 

He goes to take his place, and someone runs to hug him -- I’m pretty sure it’s his WakeOne teammate Park Hanbin.

Somi says she’s going to announce top 3, and Chen Kuan Jui says, in a big, bright, almost-not-sarcastic voice, “who on earth could it be? I’m so curious,”  Big snaps for that, CKJ.

Obviously it’s Kim JiWoong, Zhang Hao, and Sung Hanbin. 

Ok, so the show reminds us that the top placing trainee in the final episode will get to do a solo song on the group’s debut album, and we’re shown a clip of Kepler performing, with a focus on the first-place-winning Kim Chaeyoung. Thing is, though Chaeyoung came in first (and though she’s talented and sweet and I like her), she is definitely not the most popular member of Kepler these days. I checked a few different random rankings and she was ranked anywhere from 4th to last depending on which list I looked at. She has fans, definitely -- I’m sure plenty of people like her! -- I’m just saying that she’s not the runaway queen of the group or anything. Focusing on her just reminds us that it doesn’t matter AT ALL who comes in first, not even on the final episode, and definitely not now, a week out from first. 

(Side note: Another example of this is Ni-Ki from Enhypen. He finished in fourth place in the show I-Land, and spent some time in the unfavored zone for the trainees, but is now the runaway king of the group, with his fancams showing millions of views. The public who votes for reality show trainees aren’t necessarily representative of the entire Kpop viewing population.)

Despite the show basically shoving that fact in our face, it continues to act as if we really care who will specifically will be first, second, and third. Also I think we all know who is third. But WHO COULD IT BE?

At 1:28:49, we find out it’s Kim JiWoong. 

He says, “I am grateful and think of it as an honor to be able to provide comfort and happiness to others. Thank you.” I actually adore this guy. He’s a complete mystery of a human and I adore that. 

Then there’s some dumb bit where Somi makes him do aegyo and it goes on way too long. 

So now it’s time to announce who came in first between Zhang Hao and the impossibly, ridiculously perfect Sung Hanbin.

They say a lot of the normal, “what if confident, but polite?” type things, and then we find out that apparently Sung Hanbin helped Zhang Hao with the “Over Me” choreography to add some waacking elements. They weren’t even on the same team, and Hanbin still took time out of his schedule of providing solar power with his smile to go help his friend. 

And at 1:34:19, we find out that Hanbin has taken first again. 

He says, “Well, for this past Artist Battle mission, there was such a big benefit on the line, so I wasn’t really able to predict this. Please continue to cheer for me so I can run for the finish line, shining as bright as I can. My Say My Name members, I love you.”

Hao says, in his halting way, “I am so grateful and happy to be able to rank 2nd place again. I will continue running without stopping. Please continue being happy through my passion.” Then he adds in extremely halting Japanese, “motto ganbarimasu” -- kind of “I’ll keep going/ I won’t give up.”  His vote tally shows that he is more than 800,000 points ahead of 3rd/4th/5th place (which are almost a tie).

But it’s nothing compared to Sung Hanbin, who is more than a million points ahead of Hao. 

Sung Hanbin is dominating first place in a way we’ve never seen on the produce series. To put this in perspective: 

In Produce 101 season 1, Jeon Somi and Kim Sejeong traded off between 1st and second, with Somi actually falling to 4th place at the 2nd elimination before finally finishing in first.

In Produce 101 season 2, Park Jihoon, Kim Jonghyeon, and Kang Daniel held first place at different times. 

In Produce 48, Sakura, Lee Gaeun, and Jang Wonyoung held first place at different times.

In Produce X 101, Kim Yohan and Kim Wooseok traded off in first place.

In Girls Planet 999, Yurina was in first place in ep 5 and didn’t even make it into Kepler. Shen Xiaoting was in first place for most of the rest of the time, and then only made it into Kepler in 9th place, and Kim Chaeyhun came in first despite not ever ranking above 8th place before that. 

Granted, all four Produce seasons were known for straight up vote rigging, so maybe one person really was the most popular the whole time. But regardless, Sung Hanbin’s DOMINATION of first place is completely unprecedented in previous seasons of this show, with or without vote rigging. If he comes in first on Friday morning, it will be something we’ve never seen before on this show. 

Anyway, our top 9 is seated. Hey, if this is the debuting team, I’ll definitely follow them. 

1:36:26 Chair 18

This is the part where they announce who is ranked 18th, ie, the very last survivor. I’m not going to go in much depth here because this part isn’t fun to recap, you know? 

Haruto notices that Supercharger is still completely seated in the gallery -- no one has made it through the elimination. That’s the worst. 

Here’s who’s left, with their episode 8 rank. 

16 Haruto 18 Seo Won 19 Wang Zi Hao 20 Na Kamden 21 Lee Seung Hwan 22 Chen Kuan Jui 23 Zhang Shuai Bo 25 Takuto 26 Cha Woong Ki 27 Ollie 28 Hiroto

Who’s most likely to take that last spot? I hope Haruto, but really it could be any of them other than Z-Bo, Takuto, and Ollie, in my opinion. Let’s find out. 

Somi announces the FOUR candidates for spot 18 -- that’s so cruel. 

They announce Wang Zihao, Na Kamden, Cha Woongki, and Hiroto -- representing China, USA, Korea, and Japan.

Of course, this means that Haruto, Seo Won, Lee Seung Hwan, Chen Kuan Jui, Zhang Shuai Bo, Takuto and Ollie all have been eliminated. 

I can’t believe it about Haruto. The way he hangs his head just breaks my heart. I don’t even want to screen cap it. I didn’t see it coming so it was just a punch in the gut.

I’m sad for all of them, really, but aside from Haruto, I’m also especially sad for Lee Seunghwan, who, you may not know, already went through the reality show ringer once and was a member of 1the9, a group whose promotions were severely impacted by covid-19. Poor Seunghwan -- luck just never seems to be on his side, though he’s handsome, sweet, and talented. 

Side note: I was all up to date and ready to get this recap out on Saturday or something, but I just… didn’t… want to write it. I watched the whole thing taking quick notes to use as the basis of my recap later, and when Haruto was eliminated I just fast forwarded to find out who did survive and then turned the episode off and didn’t come back for several days. So if that’s how you’re feeling about it, me too. I guess maybe Haruto didn’t look like a viable candidate, so people gave up? Or maybe people thought that other people would vote for him, that he’d be safe? It’s strange to me that Hiroto beat Haruto in the final ranking. Nothing against Hiroto at all, but I’m just surprised. 

Anyway, let’s finish this. 

21st place turns out to be Hiroto, the only eliminated member of En Garde. From his spot on stage, Park Gunwook mutters to himself, “If we’d just gotten 1st place….” A general to the end, worrying about his troops. I will hear no talk about Gunwook being “mean” or anything like that. 

Hiroto says (in slow, careful Korean), “I didn’t get a good result because I was lacking, but…” (Woongki interrupts quietly, saying “that’s not true,” and Somi looks heartbroken) “...I am happy if the Star Creators were happy while cheering for me.” It’s a very sweet speech.

Somi says, “You are not lacking!” and Hiroto’s face lights up. She continues: “None of you are lacking! All of you here are amazing!” There, that’s my girl. That’s my Somi. 💓 She is so much more human than pretty much any judge or host we’ve had on the show so far -- well, Sunmi was great too, but she was barely there. Somi knows exactly how these trainees feel and relates to them as equals, even though she’s successful and they’re not there yet. I’m glad she’s here. I bet she made this easier for them.

Next we announce 20th place: It’s Woongki. 

His final speech is at 1:39:55 and it’s great. He says, “When I said that I would appear on Boys Planet, people told me that what I want is different from what I can do, that my time is up, and that I would learn to face reality. But I feel like that’s not true. Through Boys Planet, I was able to learn more about my potential as Cha Woongki. Woongki boy is just beginning. Thank you!” and then with a bright smile, he bows. Yeah, Woongki! 

Somi says, shaking a cue card in the air for emphasis, “Don’t give up on your dream!” And Woongki cheerfully says, “I won’t!” 

Finally, we announce 18th place, which means announcing 19th place at the same time. 

18th place turns out to be Na Kamden. Jay practically falls out of his chair in relief, and we see Z-bo’s face is lit up with happiness. Ollie gives him a congratulatory hug -- probably the whole English speaking crew got pretty close at the show. Other trainees gather to console Wang Zi Hao, who is taking it in stride, as he takes basically everything in life. 

Kamden says, “Honestly, when I wasn’t called before, I was organizing my thoughts and emptied myself of expectations.   But thank you so much for allowing me to stand on such a large stage as the final.” Then he adds in English, “Love you Mom!” and then in Korean says, “I made it to the final!” 

We check in with Wang Zi Hao. he says, in Chinese, “I was grateful to be able to experience these times together with everyone. I will treasure the fact that I was able to make good memories with you all at this starting point of my life. Thank you.” He’s such a sweetheart. Haruto mentioned that Wang Zi Hao joined Supercharger voluntarily in order to help Haruto -- isn’t that sweet. There’s often a G R E A T   A G E N C Y   R E S H U F F L I N G following a show like this, so I’m hoping that WZH ends up signing at another agency so we can see more of him in the future. 

Somi wishes the ten eliminated trainees the best, and we pan over them. Haruto seems to be having the worst time of it -- the rest saw it coming, at least. 

Here is the complete final ranking -- filling in the last few spots with some help from the internet. 

Sung Hanbin

Zhang Hao

Kim Jiwoong 

Kim Taerae

Han Yujin

Keita

Kim Gyubin

Ricky  

Seok Matthew

Hui

Park Hanbin

Park Gunwook

Jay

Yoo Seungeon

Yoon Jongwoo

Kum Junhyeon

Lee Jeonghyeon

Na Kamden

Wang Zihao

Cha Woongki

Hiroto

Haruto

Chen Kuan Jui

Lee Seunghwan

Seo Won

Ollie

Takuto

Zhang Shuai Bo

Sung Hanbin is 1,046,481 points* ahead of Hao, who is 816,760 points ahead of 3rd place. However, JiWoong, TaeRae, and Yujin are all within about 25,000 points of each other, making them virtually tied. Then there’s 432,355 points between Yujin and Keita, so that puts Keita down kind of a tier. Keita is only 51,928 points ahead of Gyuvin, making them almost tied. The next few ranks are all about 130k-150k apart from each other, like a stair case, but then there’s a big gap (311,148) between Matthew and Hui. But from Hui down to Na Kamden, they’re all pretty close together, like 6000-60,000 apart --  especially if you remember that Lee Jeonghyeon got that 200,000 point benefit. 

*I say points because they’re not straight up votes, due to the K/G weighting thing.

What I’m saying is that unless something drastic happens, I think that Sung Hanbin and Hao will be 1-2 on Friday; JiWoong, TaeRae, and Yujin all look like locks as well, and from Keita down to Matthew, things could easily move around, but it’s not looking super-duper likely that many people from Hui down to Kamden will end up in the top 9 -- unless Park Hanbin continues his meteoric rise and Matthew continues his sharp fall.  If you're curious, here's the ranking of the top 18 if only Korean votes decided things:

Sung Hanbin

Kim Tae Rae

Kim Gyu Vin

Han Yu Jin

Kim Ji Woong

Zhang Hao

Yoo Seung Eon

Na Kamden

Kum Jun Hyeon

Park Hanbin

Hui

Lee Jeong Hyeon

Ricky

Park Gunwook

Yoon Jong Woo

Seok Matthew

Keita

Jay

And here's the ranking if only Global votes decided things:

Keita

Zhang Hao

Sung Hanbin

Jay

Seok Matthew

Kim Ji Woong

Han Yu Jin

Ricky

Park Gunwook

Yoon Jong Woo

Kim Tae Rae

Hui

Kim Gyu Vin

Park Hanbin

Kum Jun Hyeon

Yoo Seung Eon

Lee Jeong Hyeon

Na Kamden

I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that.

So... the next phase is the one-pick vote. I could rant at length about how dumb the one-pick system is in terms of creating a sustainable group. Groups that are truly successful tend to have multiple members that are popular among fans. There’s a popular boy group that I personally like only 2 members of, so I really can’t consider myself a fan of that group. Meanwhile in Exo, I basically can’t pick a favorite because I really like almost all of them. So letting us vote for multiple members would tend to create a situation in which the group is all loved by all the fans.

The rest of the episode was the boys preparing for their next song, and I have to admit, I don’t much care about those two last songs. The performances happen AT the finale, once the audience has already voted, so there’s kind of no point to them.  

Here are the two groups for the two songs:

Hot Summer Sung Hanbin  Kim Taerae  Kim Ji Woong  Ricky  Lee Jeong Hyeon  Kim Gyuvin  Han Yujin  Keita  Yoon Jongwoo  

Jelly Pop Hui  Yoo Seung Eon  Zhang Hao  Park Gunwook  Kum Junhyeon  Park Hanbin  Jay  Na Kamden  Seok Matthew 

Who knows, maybe I’ll recap the rest later, but I wanted to get this posted. 

Hope you’re all doing well, and I hope that your one-pick makes it. 

#boys planet #haruto #sung hanbin #park hanbin #seok matthew #hui #ricky boys planet #kim gyuvin #na kamden #zhang hao #wang zi hao

[nicolos]

i know teacher obi-wan is popular for a reason and i love that very much BUT i've also been thinking about how obi-wan is every bit the insane thrillseeker that anakin is, he just hides it better. like. this man fully pretended to be a bounty hunter for weeks. he flirts with his enemies. he's a regular bitch whenever given the opportunity. he jumps out of moving vehicles and windows just as much as anakin does, and in fact did it first

like i am just thinking of obi-wan and he is a teacher with a nice house and shelves on shelves of books but he never reads them and his hobbies are like, getting into fights (academic or otherwise) or adventure sports or some such insane thing

anakin meets him and sees the inside of his house and typecasts him bc of his very warm sweater and his glasses and his bookshelves and 9pm bedtime (it's a weekday!) and goes all, "come on obi-wan live a little. whens the last time you did something just because you wanted to?" which is a line is what it is BUT he thinks he's being legit

so obi-wan takes him skydiving or smth. and anakin's like. WHAT THE FUCK HAVE I WALKED INTO (screamed during skydiving)

#jui speaks #sw #obikin

[sehunsface]

Honestly that aespa's songs are About their au or whatever is kind of weird to me? like with exo's stuff, the lore is in the mv, the song itself is usually smth fairly normal? but here I'm just like what are these words. What the hell is this song about

#jui speaks #aespa #i mean the songs okay i just think its a weird choice

[sungbeam]

i saw someone doing this of another fandom but i thought it would be fun! your moots as tbz members? 😊

OMG THANK U FOR THIS ANON !!! i will try my best hehe >;3 (gonna try and do the moots i interact w most frequently :') i'm always super indecisive when it comes to these things sjfnr)

@justalildumpling — kim sunwoo or lee hyunjae; she and sunwoo r just two delulus in love 😔🤘🏻 and for some reason, she gives hyunjae sometimes, but maybe it's cuz they oftentimes don't realize their worth and how incredible they r 😔

@ethereal-engene — jacob bae (aheh); dude like,, she's such a ray of sunshine but very low-key in her humor and likes to call me out on my clownery so often 🤡 but she's also just one of the nicest people you'll ever meet

@jaehunnyy — lee juyeon; an absolute baby, an absolute gem, incredible, talented, beautiful, i love juy-chip— (but in all seriousness, chip def bodies juyo a lot, esp on the wholesome and talent aspect!! but they're also both incredible dancers hehe)

@winterchimez — lee sangyeon; skcnkdOKAY IM NOT TRYING TO CHEAT OKAY ally just takes care of me a lot and i feel like she's always giving that very warm sangyeon vibe :')) and maybe it's also the fact that now that i've gotten to know her, she's also def his type @_@

@hongyangi — ji changmin; high-key just a menace, always sending me sexc tbz pics and making me go feral 😭😭😭 but also like i read somewhere that changmin is usually the member who goes into others' rooms to just be w them, and dal kinda does that w the way she's always popping into people's inboxes to say hi <33

@hqrana — kevin moon; brooooo the way noa vibes is so kevin lmao like just a lot of good sass and attitude and i feel very alive yet comforted when i speak to her 🫂🫂 she and kevin r just so iconic as well, and it just feels like the right match if u get what i mean??

@loveliestfelix — choi chanhee; OMG like these two r absolute STUNNERS. im TELLING U wkfnksjf so much style, and also nana has such a sweet smile like chanhee (the quality goes hard guys 😔) but yeah nana is like, the person i admire (i get starstruck by her) and wanna embody just like new :'))

#sungbeam strikes again #moot ❧ #lovely anon <3 #tbz </3

[westanthewaterman]

In Character - Actor!Mark x F!Reader

Rating: NSFW

Word count: 3300+

AN: This one...really got away from me. Wow. Also, if there’s any interest in a M!Reader version let me know and I can do that

MASTERLIST - AO3 - M!READER VERSION

Marcus Iplier, the star of the silver screen.

The two of you met years ago when you were both just starting out on the road to fame. He’d been a friend amidst the chaos of casting calls, paparazzi, and backstage drama. The chemistry between you showed on and off the screen. Rarely did one of you fill a role without the other. ‘Hollywood’s golden couple’ the papers called you. It didn’t matter that you were both happily married, at least that’s how it seemed, to other people. If there was a big-screen movie with a couple as the starring role, you and Marc got the call.

It didn’t take long for your husband to get fed up with all the gossip and the tabloids saying the two of you were having a secret affair. No matter how many times you assured him there was nothing going on behind closed doors, he couldn’t believe you. He had said you looked at Marc in a way you’d never looked at him.

It wasn’t until after your divorce papers had been signed did you start to hear the rumors about an affair between Marc’s brother William and his wife Celine. You’d thought it was just gossip, but Marc’s reaction when you’d asked about it told you all you needed to know.

After that, his life began to spiral. Between trying to save his marriage and keep his career alive, Marc got lost. You could see it in his eyes, in the way his passion for acting slowly disappeared. It was no surprise to anyone when the news of his divorce started to spread. Not long after, Marc fired his manager and disappeared from the public eye for months. You tried to reach out, you left messages with his butler, but it was no use. Marcus Iplier seemed to just vanish.

And then one day he reappeared.

You’d heard the news that Marc had hosted a party with a handful of old friends, including his brother, and they had all hashed things out, agreeing to turn over a new leaf. It wasn’t long after that he reappeared in the limelight and started taking roles again. The first time you saw him, you hugged him tight and told him you were happy he was okay. He had smiled at you then, eyes still tired but there was a light there you hadn’t seen in a long time.

Now several months later, you’re sitting in the lounge of Marc’s new house, going over lines with the man of the hour. Filming starts in a week for the new movie, some romantic drama you hadn’t had any interest in until Marc had called you to let you know he’d be playing the leading man.

“Come on, I know the script is cheesy, but it won’t be any fun without you. Besides, it’s the first romance I’m doing since…everything and I’d feel a lot better if I was doing it with you.”

And how were you supposed to say no to that?

So here you are, sitting on the couch, one hand on Marc’s face and the other holding your script. He’s looking at you with those dark eyes and a sweet smile that sends your heart racing.

“My love, we were meant to be together,” Marc speaks softly, barely above a whisper, stroking his fingers over your cheek. “You don’t have to fight it anymore.”

“I…don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Is anyone ever truly ready?”

He closes his eyes, leaning in to press a tender kiss to-

“Stop!” You shriek and jump from the sofa, covering your mouth with a hand to fight back a laugh. “God, this script is terrible.”

Marc chuckles, running a hand through his hair. “It really is. I’m not sure why people watch this sort of thing. It’s so…dramatic.”

“Oh please, you love this kind of stuff. You’re the drama king!”

Pink colors his cheeks and he laughs. Marc stands and crosses the room to the bar in the corner, pouring himself a drink of something light and bubbly. You try not to let the concern show on your face but he’s always been able to see right through your facade.

“Oh relax.” He smiles lightly. “I said no more drinking and I meant it. It’s sparkling apple juice; I think I might like it more than champagne.”

“Always one for the finer things in life.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

Marc sits back down, gesturing you over. You take your place beside him, opening your script once again and flipping through the pages.

“Why did I agree to do this again?”

“Because this film is going to be the hit of the summer and it’s going to bring in a lot at the box office.”

You scrunch your nose. “I could care less about box office numbers.”

“Fine, fine. You agreed because you’re a good friend and I wouldn’t be able to do it without you.”

“Yes, and you’re going to take me to a very nice dinner once we’ve finished filming. Don’t forget about that part.”

“I would never forget something so important.”

“Yeah? What restaurant did I want to go to?”

“The…restaurant…with the food.”

“Your memory is impeccable, my dear. I’ve no idea how you remember all these lines.”

“It’s not about memorizing lines. If a script is done right, like this one clearly isn’t, you don’t need to memorize anything, you just fall into it, you feel it.”

You roll your eyes, shoving him playfully. “You’re such an old romantic.”

Marc purses his lips, eyes dropping to the floor. You sigh, reaching out to take one of his hands in yours.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no, it’s alright, really.” He squeezes your hand. “It’s so funny. Back then, I thought I would feel the way I did forever. I couldn’t imagine life without her, without the ache. It felt like I was suffocating. Now…it hurts but it feels okay. It feels like I’m healing. I still find it hard not to be angry about what she did and I have a right to that anger, but I know she wasn’t happy with me and I don’t fault her for that.”

You nod. “Time and patience really do wonders for one’s self.”

“How’re you? I was in the thick of it when I heard about your divorce, I’ve never really gotten to ask how you feel about the whole thing.”

“I was sad at first. Not because of the divorce, but because he was so unhappy. There was nothing we could’ve done to work it out.”

“What happened?”

“He thought I was putting my career before him, and maybe I was, I don’t know. I don’t think we ever truly loved each other. He loved the person he thought I was and I loved having the company.”

Marc nods. “Well, you’re a wonderful person and a joy to be around. You’ll find someone that loves you for who you are.”

“Well if you keep dragging me into sappy romance movies, I’ll never have time for real love, will I?”

He grins. “Maybe that was the plan all along. If you fall in love and run off, who will star in all these sappy films with me?”

“It’s a heavy burden, but someone must carry it and I guess it has to be me.” You pick up your script. “Now where were we?”

“I believe I was convincing you to finally give in to your undying love for me while we kiss under the moonlight in Paris or somewhere equally as stereotypical.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let’s just get back to where we were.”

You take a deep breath and pull yourself back into character, cupping the side of his face once again. Mark looks down at you with the same moony expression as before but this time something is different, although you can’t quite pinpoint what. Have his eyes always been so dark and endless?

“My love, we were meant to be together.” He strokes the side of your face, his fingertips barely ghosting over your skin but it’s enough to send goosebumps flaring up all over you. “You don’t have to fight it anymore.”

“I…” You swallow dryly. He’s so close. You can feel his breath fanning out between the two of you. It would take barely anything to lean forward and close the distance. “I…don’t know if I’m ready.”

“I don’t think anyone is ever truly ready. Sometimes it just hits you out of nowhere and …sometimes it creeps up on you before you even realize it.”

“Mark, that…that’s not the line.”

“I know.”

You stare at each other, hesitant to look away in fear of breaking whatever spell has fallen over you. Marc leans in slowly until there’s only a hair’s breadth between you, the tips of your noses touching. This close, you can see flecks of gold in his dark, honey eyes. Your heart is pulsing frantically in your ears and you wonder if he can hear it.

God, he’s beautiful. This wonderful, dramatic, kind man who’s pulled himself back from the brink of despair and is doing everything in his power to be better.

You think you might love him.

With that thought comes a rush of emotions and suddenly everything makes sense. You’re not sure why you didn’t see it sooner.

“Marc,” You whisper, and you can feel his lips just barely brushing yours.

“Tell me to stop. Tell me to stop and we can pretend this never happened.”

You loop your arms around his neck. “Don’t you dare.”

Marc closes the distance between the two of you, pressing his lips against yours. He tastes like apple juice and you can’t help but laugh against him. You’ve kissed in a film before many times, but it was never like this. His hands slide from your shoulders and down your sides, stopping to rest at your waist, pulling you flush against him. He speaks your name like a prayer against your lips, pulling away to rest his forehead against yours.

“Is this okay?”

You nod, running your fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “Very okay.”

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about this, about having you in my arms like this.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Marc.”

“Hm?”

“Kiss me again.”

Unlike the first kiss, which had been chaste and soft, this kiss was hungry. Your lips press together almost painful as his tongue traces over your bottom lip, asking for entry. When you oblige, his tongue slips into your mouth and twines with yours. You groan against his mouth, one of your hands getting a handful of his hair and the other white-knuckling the front of his shirt.

His hands pull you until you’re seated in his lap, knees bracketing his thighs. Through the layers of clothes, you can feel him half-hard beneath you and it starts a fire in the pit of your stomach.

“Marc,” you groan.

He pulls away from your lips, trailing open-mouthed kisses down the side of your neck, the tip of his tongue slipping out to tease over your skin. “What is it, darling? What do you need?”

“You. I need you.”

Marc straightens, looking down into your eyes. “Are you sure?”

You nod. “I want you. I think I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

“And now who’s the old romantic? I thought you didn’t like sappy romance.”

You laugh in disbelief and start climbing out of his lap. “Nevermind, I take it all back. You’re insufferable.”

“Oh come now, don’t be like that!”

“No, I’m going home. You can find someone else to star in this ridiculous movie with because I-”

He silences you with a quick press of his lips against yours. Marc pulls you back into his lap, running a hand through your hair.

“Better? I promise not to make fun of you again.”

You roll your eyes but there’s a goofy grin on your face. “Fine, fine.”

“I hope I haven’t spoiled the mood.”

With a smirk, you roll your hips down against his and he groans. “I don’t think you’ve spoiled it at all. But we are both very overdressed.”

You start undoing the buttons on his shirt and Marc returns to kissing down your neck and over your shoulder, being no help at all. A particularly harsh nip on your collarbones forces a moan from your lips and your fingers fumble over the task at hand. Finally, you get fed up with the whole thing and rip his shirt open, buttons flying every which way.

“Darling, was that really necessary?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

Marc helps you divest him of his shirt and then his hands settle on your thighs. He slides them up over your hips and to your waist, pulling your dress up and off as he goes, eventually leaving you in just your undergarments and a pair of silk stockings.

“God,” he throws his head back with a groan, “you look good enough to eat.”

You bite your lip, running your hands over his chest. “Hm, maybe next time. I’m far too impatient to wait that long.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, really.”

You reach behind yourself and undo the clasps on your bra, letting it slip off your arms and fall to the ground. Marc reaches out slowly, hands cupping your breasts.

“Absolutely gorgeous.”

He leans forward and kisses a line down from your collarbone to your nipple, swirling his tongue around it slowly. He twists the other between his fingers gently, earning him a high-pitched moan.

“Oh darling, your little whimpers and moans sound downright sinful. I can’t wait to hear you sing for me.”

“God, Marc.” You dig your fingers into his shoulders, arching your back to press your breasts further into his touch.

“I love the way you say my name, sweetling.”

Marc pulls away, patting your thigh lightly and hooking a finger into the waistband of your underwear. “Go on, take these off for me.”

You smile, a dark look in your eyes and you stand, turning your back towards him. Bending over at the waist, you slip your panties over the curve of your ass and down your legs, stepping out of them.

“That’s not fair,” he groans, cupping himself through his pants.

“All’s fair in love and war, darling,” you wink at him over your shoulder before climbing back into his lap.

Reaching between you, you undo his belt and open his pants just enough to reach in and pull his cock out. He’s about average length but much thicker than anyone else you’ve seen before. You wrap your fingers around him, admiring the weight of him in your hands before you start to stroke up and down the shaft slowly. A bead of precum has started to drip from the tip and you smear it over the head of his cock with your thumb.

“Fuck!” Marc curls his hand into a fist and shoves a knuckle between his teeth, trying to keep quiet.

“None of that. I want you to sing for me,” You pull his hand down, mirroring his words from earlier.

He throws his head back against the couch, digging his fingers into the meat of your thighs. You take one of his hands and guide it down between your legs. Marc groans at how warm and wet you feel as his fingers slip between your folds until they stop at your clit, rubbing it in slow circles.

“Oh darling, you’re so ready for me already, aren’t you?”

“Fuck Marc, yes.”

Your hand speeds up on his cock and Marc slips two fingers inside you, curling them just so to send sparks shooting up your spine. There’s a knot forming in the pit of your stomach and you can feel it getting tighter and tighter. Your concentration falters as he starts working you open, scissoring his fingers while his thumb rubs over your clit.

“You’re so close, aren’t you?” Marc whispers, tracing his tongue over the shell of your ear. “Just give in, my sweet, cum for me.”

The knot pulls taut and finally, it snaps, sending a wave of white-hot heat rolling through you. You clamp down on his fingers, forcing a moan from both of you. Marc watches you fall apart with dark, hungry eyes.

As you come down, you take deep, steadying breaths, pressing your forehead to his shoulder. Marc strokes your back gently, pressing kisses to the crown of your head.

“That was beautiful, darling. How’re you feeling?”

“Great.”

“Think you can handle more?”

You nod enthusiastically and he laughs.

Marc takes a gentle hold of your hips, pulling you closer until you’re hovering over his cock. He strokes himself slowly, guiding the head to your entrance before pulling you down. You sink onto his cock slowly, whimpering as the tip seems to catch on every sensitive spot inside you.

Once you’re fully seated on him, hips flush against his, Marc strokes the side of your face tenderly.

“You feel so good, darling. Does it hurt at all?”

You shake your head, rolling your hips down, the base of his cock creating delicious friction against your clit.

“Oh,” Marc groans, “keep going.”

Slowly, you raise up onto your knees until just the head of his cock is still inside you and you drop back down, forcing a moan from both of you. You set a steady pace, rising up and sinking back down onto him, squeezing around his cock. One of Marc’s hands tangles into your hair while the other slips between your legs, rubbing over your clit. The room is filled with your moans and the sound of skin hitting skin.

“That’s it, baby. Make yourself feel good. Fuck yourself on my cock.”

You whine, burying your face in the crook of his neck.

“Oh, do you like it when I whisper obscene things into your ear, darling?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, pulling your head up so he can whisper in your ear. “You feel so good around me. I’ve thought about this so many times, how I would fuck you, how I would make you moan my name.”

“M-Marc.”

“Yes, just like that. You’ll cum again for me, won’t you? I want to feel the way you tighten and clench around my cock.”

A moan, high and desperate, leaves your lips as you feel his finger on your clit speed up, dragging you closer and closer to your second orgasm. Marc begins to thrust up into you, meeting every downward thrust of your hips with an upward thrust of his own. The friction has fireworks exploding behind your eyes and you’re right on the edge, so close.

“That’s it. I can feel how close you are. Cum for me, darling.”

That’s all it takes. The desperation in his voice sends you free-falling into your second orgasm, the pleasure almost drowning you as you tighten around him. Marc throws his head back with a groan, grabbing your hips and moving you up and down on his cock until he still, cumming inside you with a shout of your name.

The two of you stay frozen in place, fighting to catch your breath. Marc cradles your head against his chest and you can hear his heartbeat thumping beneath your ear.

“That was…” He sighs, pushing hair out of his face, “perfect.”

“I agree.” You smile up at him.

“I hope this wasn’t…a one-time thing?”

You take his face in your hands, tracing your thumbs back and forth over his cheeks, and kiss him softly, passionately. When you pull away, Marc is looking at you with a dreamy look in his eyes. “Does that answer your question?”

He laughs. “Yes, I suppose it does.”

“So,” you kiss his cheek, “should we get back to practicing our lines?”

#actor!mark x reader #actor!mark x f!reader #actor!mark x reader smut #drama king #west writes #nsft

[w4yf1nder]

boo

hello how r u !!! ???

i hope you are doing good today <333333

here is a flower for u

and some cookies 🍪🍪🍪 with cake 🍰 for both of your guys’s picnic

HEYHEY ZEEZEE im still shadowbanned 💔 still depressed 💔💔💔💔 but very slay 😜✌️ thanks for asking /lh HOW ARE YOU??? ARE YOU SAVING FOR ANYONE IN 3.3????? GIVE ME THE JUI C E ?????

speaking of juice, some dude caught me outside the student union the other day he sounded so suspicious for no reason going around asking people "hey u want my juice 🥵🤩" like bestie WHAT IS IN THAT JUICE?????? /j anyways turns out that was a marketing tactic. he was really just selling his juice. we love a business owner.

#wren talks; funky new mcdonalds menu item

[inventors-fair]

I’m Just Realizing I Messed Up the Quote On the Other Commentary Post So Pretend I Didn’t And Something Something Nail To Arms Commentary Part 2/2

No intro this time, just pure, uncut commentary!

@dimestoretajic​ - Pain Spike

Alright, so, I'm not super hot on that attach ability, mostly because I don't think it can work. I can just do it if sources I've controlled have dealt damage? This needs a trigger. I like the idea of having use while unequipped though, even if I think it should have a way to unequip itself then.

@yd12k​ - Phyrexian Leech

This card seems a bit all over the place for me. First off, it's a powerful creature, but not so powerful that it needs a drawback. And to be honest, I'm a tad worried that this is too strong, even if this nerfs my other creatures to all hell. Speaking of which, that math for that much disappointment would be another issue, but also can you even equip this onto a creature from the battlefield? What if I'd prefer an 8/8 lifelink to a 3/3 lifelink deathtouch? I like the flavor, but mechanically there are more than a few loose ends.

@greensunzenith​ - Progenitor's Armor

Okay, this is a very flavor forward design. The idea is that this is the big mamma jamma vampire, and as such everything feeds into them. I like that. Putting -1/-1 counters on your team to do it though feels really bad but I can see it. That said, since these are Inistraddi vampire colors, wouldn't most of your red/black creatures be vampires? I'd think it a tad gauche to feed off of other vampires, if that's even possible. I also think that making it a non-renewable resource for a temporary ability isn't great, since you'll have to re-equip it to do so, and as previously stated, re-equipping onto the creature it's equipping is odd.

@industrialsalad​ - Rebel's Board

I like this, and I also like how you're trying to make the playtest card unicycle into something actually feasible. My main problem with this is that it flips from creature to noncreature too much for my tastes. Like, I understand how giving someone else a skateboard would make them more menacing and collaborative, but I think that this is one of the times where mechanics bar a pretty decent idea from working. If I only could make one change though, it would probably be bumping up the toughness to +2, that way it's a nominal increase in case I want to actually crew it.

@reaperfromtheabyss - Renowned Laurels

This card is fantastic. I really appreciate how victory is represented as something that all colors get decent access to, as each color has their own form of evasion. This might be a tad worrisome for digital formats, seeing as this puts a trigger on the stack for each creature that hits, and I assume you don't want it to hop from each of your creatures. But I never really got into Arena, so

@yourrightfulking​ - Rioter's Banner

This is an interesting card, and I must say enjoy it. It rewards aggressive strategies, and it's highly versatile in where it can be leveraged. The forthmost issue I see is that this doesn't let you choose if you want to attach or not. This usually isn't an issue with activated abilities, since you had to activate them. But with things that trigger without the player doing anything, it's important to let them choose. Aside from that, awesome card!

@spooky-bard​ - Shambling Arsenal

This is a neat twist on Reassembling Skeleton that I think works really well. I think that the environment that it works best with would be artifact-based, since you're getting a lot of artifact ETBs off of this, but otherwise a neat card.

@hypexion​ - Surprising Knife

Okay, ninja equipment, that tracks. I like the idea, but why does it need to return a creature to hand if it's a knife? Was my friend a knife the entire time? And why does it need ot be unblocked? Is this just Soul Eater? It confuses me, but I suppose it could see play if it was more flavorfully tied together.

@little-red-rabbit​ - Thoughtgorger

Ooh, a nice powerful sword that takes my brain juice away. It's a cool design, but it also hinges on the fact that you have to equip it multiple times. You can do that, but the issue is that sometimes you want to equip it while it stays on your cool creature. In addition, this is bonkers late game, as you can activte the equip multiple times until your graveyard is empty and Thoughtgorger is full.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ - Unexpected Hideout

So, this is a good card, as it's essentially sneak attack but on an equipment. My main issue stems from the fact that unless I was given the art direction, I wouldn't have known what this was supposed to be. Unexpected Hideout sounds like either an enchantment, or a land. Giving this a name like "Unexpected Disguise" or "Violent Facsimile" would make this a much stronger design in my mind. I still appreciate it, and like how you included everyone's favorite inventor with it.

@casualcranium​ - Wakening Hedrons

I love this card so much, the flavor and oracle text wrap around each other so nicely, and it makes me want to go back to Zendikar just so that this card can become a reality. The one thing that I will point out is that you don't need to specify the p/t, as it is assumed to be zero unless stated by another source. Good job!

@dravidious​ - Warmage's Gauntlet

I really like the trend of charge counters for this contest, this card included. I could really see this card in a set like Strixhaven, and think it could be a really nice include in storm-y decks.

-

Runners and Commentary for Glorious Perfection in the coming days

-@gollumni​

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #inventor's fair #to arms contest

[ensilo]

name: juIiette "juIes" nichoIs. age: 34 onwards. birthdate: 5th october, 2307 (SY 109). birthplace: the mids, level 50. parents: dr pete nichoIs, hanna nichoIs. gender: female. sexual preference: bisexual. occupation: generator mechanic (pre-wool), sheriff (during wool), mayor (dust). scars: burns along her arms and across her body following her re-entrance to silo 18 at the end of wool, half-healed, some completely healed with no visible scarring. strengths: curious, meticulous, single-minded, just. weaknesses: headstrong, antisocial, stubborn, not particularly likeable, rebellious. meyers-briggs: ISTP. more info under cut. not spoiler-free.

pre-silo/wool (mostly silo, some wool bits mixed in)

juIes is a workaholic mechanic who spends most of her time working on fixing the generator for the siIo which supplies all electricity and power to all 144 floors. she lives in an apartment on level 140, which is four floors above the bulk of mechanical. she is an inherent fixer — when there's a problem she can't solve, she turns to something she can fix, such as all the scraps that get sent down for recycling from above floors. she was born to a doctor, pete, and her mother, hanna, in the mids, and had a younger brother, jacob, who died tragically young as the result of a chronic condition (atrial septal defect). this marked the end of a happy family system. after her mother took her own life, juIes left her father and the mids at age fourteen, and took up a life in mechanical, working under walker as an apprentice, thanks to a forged note from her father. up until the events of wool, she never returned to see her father. she aids sheriff hoIston and dep. marnes in the investigation of a murder.

during silo/wool (again, mostly siIo)

— AR 144. we do not know why we are here. we do not know who built the silo. We do not know why everything outside the silo is as it is. we do not know when it will be safe to go outside. we only know that day is not today. i hope that you will clean so that we will better see the world outside our sanctuary as it is and thereby be reminded that here is safe and there is not.

GET THE MAYOR. TELL HER I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE. those are the words that should never be spoken but can't be unspoken. when sheriff hoIston brews his morning coffee and goes to sit in holding three, something is wrong. he speaks with an unwavering understanding, and allows the suit techs to measure every inch and every width without so much as a sound. it's been three years since aIison did the unthinkable. three years since anything made sense. i want to go outside.

four years prior.

we're going to have a baby. (we're going to have a baby. we're going to have a baby!) maybe baby. for the third time, sheriff hoIston and his wife aIison have entered, and won, the baby lottery. 365 DAYS REMAINING! the screen reads, and, with a quick jaunt down to the doctor's office and a snip here and a slice there and a bingo!, out comes the contraceptive implant and the maybe-baby feels a little more real. but there will never be a baby.

three years prior.

i want to go out. iwanttogoout. it's a whisper, so low that it's almost unintelligible beneath the ruckus and commotion beginning to plume around her like a cloud of nosy smoke. it's so low, yet so loud that it holds prying onlookers in a different kind of trance. there's a gasp somewhere in the back, as though the puddle of blood isn't shocking enough. they lied, they're lying, i need to know. there has been no baby, and a deep gouge with a blunt blade has drawn a contraceptive implant from aIison's arm, after months and months of trying to roll a boulder up a hill and being distraught when it comes crashing back down each time. don't say it, don't say it — i want to go outside.

present.

hoIston goes outside to clean. juIiette buries her nose in the inner mechanics of a screaming generator. hoIston tells her that aIison believed that the outside is a lie — that over that hill just there, there's life, and water, and survival. hoIston tells her he'll make it, that he believes her, that he finally understands. hoIston is four steps shy of the hill before he keels over in a lump next to the skeleton of his wife.

mayor jahns and dep. marnes set off from the up top to the deep down. as per hoIston's wishes, they want to get the measure of the girl from mechanical — as per hoIston's wishes, she's to sit with that shiny gold badge and solve common disputes and keep the siIo from bursting at its seams. as per hoIston's wishes, they stumble upon a woman in a greasy-looking tank top, shouting orders and sweating into the belly of the great metal beast that feeds them, clothes them, and warms them every day. and not quite as per hoIston's wishes, they took one look at her and wanted to make the dreaded 144 floor climb and bend to IT's whims of a pre-selected sheriff.

it surprises everyone, juIes most of all, when she accepts the job offer. after some to and fro, bargaining, muttering, unattainable demands which were magically suddenly attainable, the broken, off-kilter mechanical grinding of the generator was given a short reprieve, and, with the help of mayor jahns's power holiday suggestion, almost drowning juIes alive, and her shadow almost slipping down from the top of the generator cage, the spluttering, clunky grrrr of the generator quietened to a harmonious growl. and juIes sealed her fate as sheriff, packed her minimal belongings, and trudged up a hundred and thirty eight floors to her new apartment — hoIston's old apartment — and shook herself free of her own ghosts bellied in the mids.

the job is a thankless one. at least for her, it is. unfamiliar sounds, unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar smells. she discovers the importance of IT, and its lead, bernard, leaves a particularly sour taste in her mouth. he told the mayor and the deputy that she was not fit for the job, not welcome out of the pit of mechanical. he brought up the minor concerns of theft, from stealing a few yards of heat tape when the generator was in need of some. he'd much rather they consider his suggestion for sheriff, pauI biIIings.

jahns sticks to her guns, and on the trudge back up to her office, with the kindling of something new and special with dep. marnes, she falls ill. it's something in the water — poison, slipped into the flask on marnes's back and whipped out by the mayor in the landings between floors. it's a bloody mess. there goes a long-standing mayor, who was pondering the thought of retirement or running yet again.

bernard becomes interim mayor. it's another thankless job. he swears juIes in as sheriff against his own wishes.

as it turns out, juIes and hoIston have met before. he was tasked with investigating the death of a worker in mechanical — a man named george, a secret collector of pre-siIo artefacts. while all the information around the siIo had been destroyed during an uprising (the uprising, if anyone asks), IT has kept tabs on high risk relics of the time before, and has spent as much time as they can trying to keep them buried. george met with aIison three years prior, and through painstaking scrubbing, sweating, and general computer wizardry, found reams upon reams of forgotten information. including a tape of a previous clean. the air looks fresh, green, full of life. the siIo is lying to them. and it cost them both their lives.

juIes takes the job to investigate george's death properly. he would never kill himself, and he'd never let himself fall over the ledge. marnes spends his days sulking, and drinking, and crying, and moping, and telling juIes how ill-fitted she is to the job. they come to an impasse when they decide on a quid pro quo. if he helps her find out what happened to george, she'll find out what happened to jahns.

it doesn't take long for marnes to end up dead too.

in waltzes pauI biIIings as deputy. shiny, so intensely up to date with every intricate line and scripture from the pact (that's law to you and me) that he'd never set foot outside of where he's legally deigned to be, and so intensely just that he squeaks when he walks. and so intensely bernard's pick. he's left a desk job in judicial to wear the shiny badge, and juIes keeps him at an arm's length while she investigates jahns's, marnes's, and george's deaths in hopes that he'll leave her alone.

the investigation eventually yields a hard-drive that hoIston had found, rattling around in his AC vent — the same hard-drive that george and aIison had routed through and downloaded, thinking it would have answers to everything. the hard-drive is encrypted and requires super-user access. all the while, judicial have been circling like vultures, watching her, and everyone else's every move through secret cameras around the siIo.

she needs to return to mechanical, to walker, who may be able to decrypt the hard-drive. judicial do everything to stop this from happening.

bernard traps her in the farms in the mids. he reveals that IT control the siIo, and he killed marnes and jahns to retain his grip. did i hear you say you want to go outside, sheriff nichoIs? it runs fear cold in her veins, and before she can do anything, she's cuffed and escorted to the stairs by the head of judicial, sims.

juIes throws herself off the balcony, with the hard-drive in tow. through favours, she manages to transmit the signal from the hard-drive to another apartment, and heads for sims's home. she breaks in, cuffs his wife to the kitchen cupboard, and uses his computer to decrypt the hard-drive.

she evades capture once again, and finds more help from old friends. danny, an IT worker who once shadowed in mechanical, manages to play a video from george, and then they discover the cleaning video. danny transmits the video across all screens in the silo.

heading down to mechanical via the recycling chutes, juIes escapes from judicial again, as they hurl heavy electronics down the chute. but she makes it to walker's workshop. bernard meets her there.

he offers her options: to go outside freely, and he will tell her what happened to george, or she will go outside anyway, but he'll punish all her friends in mechanical. juIes agrees to go willingly, and bernard shows her a video of george throwing himself off a balcony after being hunted by judicial for the hard-drive.

no fear. now is for laughing. the truth is a joke and they're good in supply.

juIes is manhandled into the cleaning suit. the view from outside is the same as the tape — luscious and green. full of wildlife. she turns to the siIo one last time and decides against cleaning. she's four steps away from the top of the hill when bernard realises something is wrong. this is the part where people start to falter — their breath gets short, they stumble, they kick and they stagger, and they collapse into a heap before the crest of dead grass. juIes's visor stutters, and the outside is exactly as they imagined: dead.

but she walks. and she walks. and soon enough, while bernard runs to IT with his heart pounding in his head, she disappears over the hill.

post-cleaning

i'll add when i have brain but basically juIes finds another siIo, and discovers there are more. this one's mostly barren but she meets a sole survivor, who calls himself soIo, in a half-flooded siIo.

dust

no brain left but she makes it back to the siIo

#DOSSIER.