1. he's a really cute texter, who loves to use ~ and ㅋㅋ and various emojis: 😎👻💛🫠 (this is supposed to be a melting face but it won't show up on my computer OTL). this is not new, if you look back on things like his old cyworld acc from middle school, for example: https://www.tumblr.com/exotranslate/125270664108/pann-exo-chens-cyworld-past. the fact he retained these habits as a 30 year old man is hilarious though.
2. bubble, for as much as soons were apprehensive about him using it and us signing up, is the PERFECT socmed platform for him. i don't think it's necessarily true that "sm were holding him back" from communicating with fans in that manner, as some people claim. he's expressed self-consciousness about taking selfies and being averse to the "formality" of instagram, where you have to think up a caption and consistently maintain appearances. meanwhile bubble lets him yap to his heart's content without pressure!
3. and yap he does! it's something i've expressed awe at before, but it's another thing to see it directly in action: his ability to talk about ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR AGES. he clocks in almost everyday to chat about COFFEE and song recs, then clocks out. i'd liken it to customer service, except he genuinely enjoys it!! it's why he's so beloved by staff and fansigns. he's an expert at making small talk, while leaving a warm, enthusiastic, friendly impression. it's also one of his tried-and-true methods of enforcing his boundaries and steering the conversation away from unwanted topics like his personal life.
4. he is more open to fanservice? which we already observed in him during last scene era as gratefulness and appreciation for those who stuck around after chengate. this is evidenced in the fact this bubble exists LOL, as well as messages like "C+S=💛🦖" and "you are always enough". the latter also speaks to an awareness of fan culture, and how he's "always watching" nowadays, which is a marked turn from how he actively distanced himself from external perceptions of himself and his work, such as music charts or sns comments. the newness is something he acknowledges himself with his peek-a-boo profile pic and past bubble bio.
5. he's nosy as FUCK, lol. especially after chengate, i think, he has a vested interest in who exactly his fans are? hence him encouraging fans to change their bubble pfps to their faces, and having a #soon selca day. all done without ill intent, ofc! it's part of his likeability - he's such an active listener as he does so. it's also consistent with past irl behaviour, like how he couldn't resist inquiring about "a breakup" he overheard backstage during his undercover82 vocal teacher video, and how he interviewed as many polaris attendees as he could while touring. genuinely hilarious how, for as much as he's excessively private about himself, he LOVES hearing about his fans' lives.
6. he really is a Normie when it comes to taste in media, OTL. though i sometimes wonder if he's self-censoring the more interesting ones because he seems to recycle "safe" song recs from years ago. i'm thinking back to when he let slip that he watched baki once and was then embarrassed that he admitted it LOL. (though i don't think he formed any particular attachment to it, but again, there seems to be a buffer between what he does and what he deems acceptable to say, not only because of the taboo circumstances around his personal life but because he genuinely wants to be a good role model to soons, in quite a paternalistic way? i often joke he's akin to a "benevolent kindergarten teacher" because of this.)
7. he's very playful! a troll! and thrives off being teased and goaded. you can see it in how he livens up and responds most to messages that poke fun (like at the way he drinks iced coffee, or has basic bitch music taste), rather than coddle him. he gives it back too in deliberately withholding spoilers and selfies after riling fans up LOL. irl, i think this also explains his affinity with baekhyun, why he prods at junmyeon in the rough way he does, and his closeness with minseok.
8. he much prefers being a dinosaur LOL. (and i support him!!) part of this is that he has almost zero affinity to pets - he prefers babies instead - and thinks the dinosaur is stupid and amusing as a representative "animal". the way he placated fan demand for kitty!dae made me CTFU because he doesn't actually say he looks like a cat, only that he likes them AFTER a troll-y process of reasoning ("ahh! they both have a tail!") and settles on some strange dinocat hybrid instead. so, so funny. (and another source of playful banter between him and soons now which, as we've just discussed, he loves best.)
9. he actively differentiates between exols and soons, which has been the subject of much debate on twitter. part of this is compartmentalisation (he separates his solo and exo work quite clearly), and another is awareness that the two are not mutually exclusive after chengate. rather than exclusion meant to offend, it's fairly obvious he intends the opposite: to only address those who want to be addressed.

we've finally reached the end. thank you for the ask. hopefully it wasn't too long! jongdae really has made this bubble subscription worth every cent, hehehe~