[Pimp Post] Seeking Revenge on the Vertically Blessed: Dandyu Pimp Post
I’m not sure what inspired me to do this primer. Is it because I absolutely love their friendship? Is it because I woke up today and thought that Sunyeon needed a whole post dedicated to their lurve? Or is it because I have a life determining final exam in a few days- and this is just what I do in that situation.
I don’t ship Sunny/Taeyeon in the sense that I think they're real and dating, and that's not what I'm trying to prove with this pimp post. But I ship them because I love their friendship and I want them to be bffls forever and ever and whatnot. And if SNSD got into a lawsuit and somehow Sunny and Taeyeon were split, I’d want one of them to write unsubtle pining tweets for the other.
I’m not trying to convince anyone they’re real and dating. But as far as best friends who love each other go-- they’re totally canon.
Kim Taeyeon
Born: March 9, 1989
Position: Leader, Lead Vocalist
Everybody loves Taeyeon- absolutely no joke. Amongst the SNSD fandom she’s probably the most popular. For good reason.
1. The girl can SANG. You can tell Taeyeon aims for something more, she loves her 8 sisters, of course she does. But for her, SNSD is like a chapter in her life rather than the whole book. She wants to be a singer known for her singing- and with a voice like hers- I don’t doubt she’ll get there. She’s been named the best female singer in kpop several times, and generally all ‘Top 10 Kpop Singers’ lists you’ll ever come across will include her. Once she starts belting that voice of her’s, it’s just like- wow. She’s undisputably SNSD’s best singer. Without her the group wouldn’t be nearly as vocally able as it is (not that there aren’t other good singers, it’s just that... Taeyeon!)
2. She’s an absolute dork. And a complete tomboy- no joke. No one gets as dorky as the kid-leader does. She’s described as having an ‘ahjumma’ laugh and just very... boyish in what she does.
Taeyeon seems extroverted and friendly on shows-- but she keeps the most things to herself out of all the members. It is common to see the girls complain about how they ‘don’t know’ Taeyeon and whatnot. Sometimes it seems like Taeyeon is in a funk, like she just doesn’t belong. That she finds it hard to fit in with everyone. That probably comes from her tendency to be closeted, so closeted that people who were once completely close to her (like Tiffany) seem to have distanced. It’s like shes created a cocoon around herself-- and the closest person I’ve seen to cracking it is Sunny.
Lee Soonkyu
Born: May 15, 1989
Position: Main Vocal
Sunny is sort of the love of my life. Whilst Taeyeon is probably the most popular amongst the fandom, Sunny is one of the underdogs. Which is fine by me, because I get her all to myself. Despite not achieving mass popularity, Sunny gets plenty of exposure outside Soshi. She’s considered the most ‘variety savvy’ of the bunch. She knows how to entertain people and she’s so very pro at variety (see Invincible Youth for proof). You can tell that everything she does on shows is so calculated and thought out, to a point where you almost feel distant from her, except you don't, because it'd go against her pro-ness to make you feel that way.
What I found truly awesome about Sunny is how she seems really close to like, everyone. I mean, I know they're all close to each other, but with Sunny it's different. Most of the SNSD girls have known each other since middle school, whereas Sunny was more of a last minute placement. She basically only got to know the other 8 girls a few months before they debuted. Awkward right? Nah, not really. Sunny knows how to make friends, she's just so very likable. Honestly, watch Girls Go To School, and you wouldn't even know Sunny bunny had only met the rest of them a few months prior.
Also, there's the thing about her doing aegyo. Which I refuse to talk about.
The Dynamic
So I just realised that I don't really know what to talk about. I don't know how to describe their relationship, to be honest. They just are. It's like you have the closeted loner that is Taeyeon, and then you get the preppy new kid who's Sunny. And somehow the loner and the new kid hit it off so well, it's just like -- um, when did this happen? Sunny and Taeyeon have a bond that comes close to breaking the walls they both (mostly Taeyeon) have built around themselves.
Sunny/Taeyeon are known as 'Dandyu' or 'Danshin Duo' which basically means 'short duo'. The reason why is sort of obvious, they're both the shortest members in the group (with Hyoyeon, but she refuses to associate herself with these two it seems). The origins of Dandyu are explained in this wonderful video where Sunny claims Korea's average height is 155cm and Taeyeon hates how no one gives them any milk.
Click to viewAdorable, right?
Aside from that, they really do mean a lot to each other. As I said before, the one Taeyeon feels most comfortable with in SNSD is Sunny. I think at the middle of 2009 SNSD switched up their roommates, and guess what, Sunny ended up rooming with Taeyeon. I think this was a huge step in these two becoming as close as they are. Plus they absolutely love bringing up their roommate factor, no joke, they mention it all the fracking time. Usually when they bring it up it's so they can complain about their sleeping habits. Oh you two.
Intimate Note:
Then again on Happy Together, and during the making of 'Oh'.
As said before, Taeyeon, although possesing very refined technical social skills when it comes to MCing/DJ-ing/Being, is an introvert. She keeps to herself a lot and it can come to a point where the others feel closed off from her. Somehow, I feel as though Sunny is exempt to this, she somehow managed to worm her way into Taeyeon's little niche of trusted people -- and fast too. I'm going to mention one example which is the Haha Mong show, where basically these two cross-dressing men play as mothers to Soshi (Oh, K-Variety shows, never stop being). During one section where SNSD girls were forced to address complaints about each other, Taeyeon spoke up against Yoona and her crew (Yoona's crew consisting of mostly Hyoyeon, Yuri, and Tiffany, I am guessing) for always leaving her out. Of course Yoona and her crew laugh it off and shoot back at Taeyeon, but you can see that the kid leader was visibly rather hurt (or at least I could see, metaaaaa). I think Taeyeon must of felt awkward because she then randomly called out Sunny to complain about how she always leaves her extension cable lying about where Taeyeon can fall on it. I feel like this is a metaphor of how Taeyeon works with everyone in real life, she just... doesn't seem to quite 'fit in'. Not to say she isn't close to them, because she is, but when it comes to groups I think she feels a bit like a loner. However, whenever it's her and Sunny in the same group, they tend to almost cling onto each other. Sort of like Sunny is her safety net. And a lot of people have said this, even non-Dandyu shippers, but Sunny tends to be really good at drawing Taeyeon out of her 'moods'. I think Taeyeon has this guilt free relationship with Sunny, where there's no extra baggage weighing them down, Sunny is that one friend who's stable, the one who Taeyeon can rely on through thick and thin.
This being said, the feeling isn't one-sided on Taeyeon's part. If anything, it's sort of one sided to Sunny. Taeyeon shares special relationships in the group with other people; like her and Tiffany and their on-off status, her and Hyoyeon's awkwardness, her and Sooyoung's history. On the other hand, Sunny's sole best friend in the group is Taeyeon. Seriously, the girl does not shower anyone with as much support and affection as she does with Taeyeon. And it's sort of very endearing to watch. Unlike Taeyeon, Sunny can squeeze herself into any group, she can fit in with any member, she's bright and friendly and if she doesn't belong, dammit, she will make herself belong. This being said, it's sometimes interesting to see that there are times where the other girls are together whilst Sunny and Taeyeon sort of latch on each other in kind of a funk. I really don't want to say they prefer each other's company over the rest of SNSD, because I know that's not true, and all 9 of them share a very close bond, but I think it's a fair assumption to say they do feel most relaxed when around each other. This is based less on my own girly point of view, and more on their own words. Taking their messages to each other out of the SNSD Paradise in Phuket Photobook:
Sunny to Taeyeon:
First, Taeyeon, we're roomates and I treasure you! Thank you always, and sorry. Since we are roommates, we spend the most time together, even more so than with our families, and I feel like I'm not very considerate to you and I'm sorry for that. However, you are my closest friend, Taeyeon, and I rely on you the most, and you know all my secrets! Thank you, always-- I trust and depend on you. Love you~
Taeyeon to Sunny
Foremost, my roommate Sunny... hi.[haha] Mmm.. You seem to really like tropical fruit, right? Papaya, mango, mangosteen... Seeing you enjoying Phuket and the fruits makes me feel good. All the members are bright and positive, but I'm really glad to be roommates with the energizer of Girls' Generation, and hey, we're roommates again in Phuket.. Ah... this is so awkward, what do I say? Ah.. I prepared for this, ordinary interviews are easier, I can't go on blabbering myself... what do I do?
So I read the first part of her message and I was just like: "Come on, seriously Taeng? The other girl leaves a letter telling you that you're her best friend and you're blabbering awkwardly about tropical fruit? Who are you? Me?" But how wrong I was, see it turns out Taeyeon left two messages to Sunny (her first message and last message respectively, ohohohoho). The second message being much more deep and meaningful than the first, I assure you.
Dear my roommate Sunny... We share the most time together since we're roomies. Before I go to sleep, after all the schedule, when I rest, you're always the one in the same space with me, so I'm really comfortable with you. And comfort means that I need to be aware more because sometimes, just because there's the two of us in the room, we talk about so much stuff. I'm thankful that I can let my inner feelings out to someone, even the things I couldn't tell my parents, and the fact that I can talk to you means a lot. And you're so mature...more mature than I had thought originally. Every day, I think I'm the one with too much thoughts, but you seem to have more thoughts...you cheer me up when I'm down and laugh with me when I'm in joy, so thank you so much...
That's pure bfflery, right there.
Randomly Cute and Adorable Moments
Okay, so it's not as if Taeyeon/Sunny is low on moments or adorable-ness. So I'm just going to link to some of my favourite moments with those two here.
Comforting during the GDAs: Now, this is just precious. This was last year when SNSD won the GDA for Album of the Year 'Daesang', and they're all celebrating and hugging each other and whatnot. And then you have Taeyeon at the end and she's just crying, of course Sunny notices and fluff occurs. Just naturally:
Super Sunny vs Fanboy: So this is an infamous incident where a random psychopath fanboy walks on stage and just... steals Taeyeon. However, Sunny is the quickest to react and runs back to try and free Taeyeon from his grasp with the help of the namja MC:
We Got Married fluff time: So Taeyeon is getting married to this old comedian who's like ten years older than her (once again, K-Variety, thank you), and of course she spends 50% of the time getting skin-shippy with Sunny:
Fluffy Hugging and No Sharing: Okay, so I can't explain this, but they're playing a game and the winner gets to have some red bean delicacy. So Sunny wins and then tries to help the other girls, however Taeyeon is the only one that gets it right. And what ensues is cuteness and 'no sharing' aegyo:
Comforting Taeyeon: Okay, so I think the SNSD girls went to the offices of School of Rock to ask for another chance at broadcast since they didn't make a good impression the first time. The staff say yes, and they're all happy, but Taeyeon is experiencing happy-sadness-relief, and so Sunny comforts her. Mind you, this is like, only a few months after Sunny joined SNSD, so it's interesting to see how fast they really hit it off.
*cling*: Yeah, I can't explain this:
Titanic parody: Any OTP that does a titanic parody = instead embedding. Just saying:
Kiss kiss fall in love: Kissing You, as cheesy and saccharine as the song was, had the best choreography. Harharhar. Yoona, miss more performances please:
Dragging Sunny: Okay, so once again, another 2007 scene. This one is a classic, where Taeyeon just grabs Sunny and pulls her off the couch (what follows is a cute SunSica moment too, which I'm sure you can find... somewhere):
Duet: Sunny and Taeyeon have one official duet together called "It's Love" for the Heading to the Ground OST (I recommend no one watch this drama, nothing is worth witnessing Yunho's horrible acting). They both sound beautiful on it, naturally.
Live:
Okay, so I think I've overblown you with videos, so it's time to bring in the pictures:
- Sunny and Taeyeon Singles Photoshoot
- Byuntang in action, hurhur
- Kissing You, come back to me
- For real, come back
- Man, if I were in SNSD I'd just squeeze all their cheeks. All day, errday.
- More fluffy hugging at the GDAs
- More byunTange from several angles
- The image used in the banner :3 One of my FAVOURITES
- Do it, do it, chu~
- Selca whores in Thailand
- I... still do not understand this. It's like Taeyeon invited Sunny to slap her butt? o.O
- Aside from Kissing You, Run Devil Run was some pretty good stuff
- As was Oh!
- Cling cling cling
- Dorky radio goodness
- Airport Superstars
- Kissing You for the win
- Some more adorable hugging
- Don't know what this is but sort of creeper face
- Chortle chortle chortle
- Skinshiiiiip, yeeeahh
- BFFs :3
- Backhugs for the win
- So close, yet so far
- SUNYEON SKINSHIP IN MENSWEAR, YOSH!
- Let's end with a hop, skip, and a jump
UFO
UFO is a service in which K-Pop idols can interact with fans... basically the ultimate fan service device. Sunyeon is no exception.
This makes no sense but it's mysterious and ambiguous and leaves me thinking... what is 'that'?
Some classic and good old possessiveness:
The Awkward Conclusion
So that's Sunyeon for you. I'm not really sure how to finish his pimp post except to say... well, if you don't ship them now, I'm not sure if you'll ever ship them. Because they're so shippable. Honestly, they're just really really close friends who depend on each other a lot -- and that fact alone overrides any skin-ship they may or may not do. That's really the true beauty of the pairing, the fact there's a tactic understanding between Sunny and Taeyeon, and they honestly have a bond that's special and different. I'm pretty sure I said it in the introduction, but I'll say it again. As far as best friends go, Sunyeon is as canon as you're going to get.
As for sources as to where you can find Sunyeon goodies, I direct you here:
Danshinduo.com: the ultimate Sunyeon tumblr, seriously, I got all my crap from here: photos, videos, UFOs. A must visit.
Sunyeonnie1: The official YT channel for the Sunyeon sissified thread. SERIOUSLY. THEY HAVE EVERY MOMENT UPLOADED. Check out their other channels that's linked on their page, because their uploads are spread across four different channels. They also have some really adorable FMVs of the two uploaded, which incorporate lots of little moments with the two of them.
As for fan works... I can't help you there :x I admittedly do not read many Sunyeon fics, not that I wouldn't read fics with them in it if I could find some. You can search around the sunny/taeyeon tag in soshipops though, and see if you can find a good read. But I will recommend the one sole Sunyeon fic I have read, which is Push and Pull by little_bibelot which is based of the Taeyeon being stolen off stage moment.
This primer is probably constantly going to be updated, but for now, enjoy what I have. And spread the Sunyeon love!