News of my death have been greatly valid.
I haven’t posted in so long that I’m sure some of you have assumed I’ve died. Indeed this is about what has happened. Death by final papers. Ah, academia. But in happier news I am on the homestretch, ergo post.
i. Eleonore and I are making way on an evil plot to induct Lizzie into the SHINee world. Thus, we have carefully compiled an evil intro playlist* designed to wreak havoc and appease the dark lord &c. &c. (Note to certain flisters: Don’t even think about arguing over song choices yo, y’all know “Dazzling Girl” is secretly their best song.) fyi I've used music videos where applicable on account of the fact that SHINee has some truly terriblemazing MVs that frankly must be seen for oneself. The "best" is probably the one for "Lucifer" (the first one). The more you see it the less sense it makes. Why does it play like a musical car commercial. WTH are those wispy patronus things about? Are they supposed to represent the devil possessing them (to dance complicatedly in front of a bunch of shiny cars)? We may never know. But everyone looks bangin' so who cares?
I'd also advise watching their lives because melodramatic yet technically sound belting + choreo porn ("how do they breathe" -- that too we may never know). Please follow the links and cry.
*not including the latest album as that has already been linked accordingly and produced excellent results mainly thanks to Lee Taemin’s propensity to whore around shirtless in a tacky black fur coat, Satan bless that disturbed child
ii. I have been watching The Heirs.[LOVE IS THE MOMENT /cue]
+ This show is half terriblemazing, half scarily on-point and cynical about power dynamics. Needless to say, I'm obsessed. (For the longest time I have had a hole inside me where good teen trash should be, friends. Pity my life.)
+ KRYSTAL IS EVERYTHING. E V E R Y T H I N G. tbh I'm a bad stan and had no idea she even had an acting career but in fact she is absolutely hilarious and charming and inhabits the role flawlessly. I just want to puke all over her face!!
+ Bo Na/Young Do is the OTP. (CANON IS FOR THE WEAK TBH.) If it happens you need convincing of this fact, I'm just gonna leave this here.
+ lbr Bo Na/everyone is the true OTP of the universe. Y'all know how I feel about happy people in love but Bo Na/Chan Young are literally the greatest thing. LAUGHING TO MY GRAVE OVER THE ENTIRE PAINTBALL SEQUENCE. Hell, I even have shippy feelings about Bo Na/Tan despite her being too good for his ass, because Bo Na's presence makes literally everything better. And lbr this show will not be complete without Bo Na and Eun Sang driving off into the sunset together.
+ Sad to see Eun Sang doesn't seem to be getting the love from fandom. I can understand why, though. (Besides the fact that haters gonna hate, especially when there's a love triangle concerned.) Eun Sang has had to be a primarily reactive person, which isn't her fault at all, but I can see how this could be perceived as passivity.
THAT SAID, opaque women are where I live, so obviously I love her. And I have absolutely zero problems with her characterisation. She makes all of the sense to me. Firstly, the "be quiet and do nothing" approach is explicitly a survival strategy. Secondly, it's also been established that Eun Sang DOES want to "do things" -- she wants to get out of her situation and go to a good school and get opportunities and achieve things //for herself//. She's just never allowed to. She is having to play the Madonna role despite being very very ill-suited for it. Life has made her bitter and numb. What's more, she has trouble expressing positive emotions because she basically never gets what she wants -- and since she can never have nice things she also has trouble differentiating what she really wants from what she feels obliged about (SEE: TAN, SMH). Park Shin Hye remains queen because she communicates all of that very clearly IMO. Basically, this is a Eun Sang appreciation blog now, deal or eat a tree.
+ lbr I am easy about women, so Rachel is also my girl. Though I won't disagree with the call for more fleshing out, I'm not that mad about what we've had so far? Particularly loved the shit out of her threatening to break up the engagement just to make Tan's life hell. Grab for power where you can, bb.
+ Tan is the worst. I am pretty sure the show agrees. Possibly I'm being optimistic about authorial intention. I had my doubts at first, but the episode in which Tan straight up told Eun Sang to forget compassion and stay out of it (while pointedly ignoring himself Woo Bin's abuse of Joon Young) soothed my soul somewhat.
And then he premeditatedly set up a situation in which his childhood friend would be physically abused by a family member and I O__________O -ed but was also \o/ because the gloves are apparently off concerning Tan being motherfucking evil?
Or maybe not. But fwiw I do think Tan is a pretty consistently drawn character: He's illegitimate, yet he's still grown up with all of the privilege ever, ergo he has manly angst about his alienation but no actual insight into people who have it harder than him (see: Eun Sang). His situation has taught him that power is superficial, ergo he has perfected the emotional manipulation and controlling of his image (see: with Young Do's father) to stay at the top of the hierarchy. At the same time he's bored and yearning to make/get something "of his own", ergo his fixation with Eun Sang, whom he met in a different country and who is "different" from everyone else he knows, someone with whom he can reinvent himself. And who really cares if she doesn't want to play along. I don't like him, but I buy him.
+ Ditto Eun Sang/Tan. There's not much I can add to Eleonore's epic wrong!ship manifesto of doom + headcanon, so I will probably not attempt to. Except to say that I AM KEEPING MY EYE ON THEM. I've been convinced that it makes sense for Eun Sang to be vulnerable to Tan's guilt-tripping (seriously, such a good emotional manipulator, that pos) considering the aforementioned desire v.s. obligation issues, but it remains to be seen whether the show will keep portraying their relationship as problematic or whether it will all be unironic LOVE IS THE MOMENT montages. Prayer circle.
+ Actually, forget Tan being the worst, WON IS THE TRUE WORST. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE AND THE WORLD, DUDE? I basically tune out during his scenes now.
+ I must say, Lee Min Ho is getting his ass kicked by Woo Bin. I think both of them are fantastic actors but hilariously, Min Ho had about ten times more presence on Boys Over Flowers (a show that on the whole was beneath him tbh!).
+ Speaking of, I love how the one thing my flist can all agree with about this show (besides Krystal Jung's objective perfection) is our collective boner for Kim Woo Bin. Ha. Ha. Ha.
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ngl I fear next episode because of the, er, state he is apparently in in the preview. DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT IT.
Ahem.
+ It's hilarious that Young Do is prob my fave dude considering how much I loathed him in ep one. (Seriously, I have the biggest squick that ever triggered about school bullying.) I can actually pinpoint the moment I came around and it is a laughable one, guys: It's when he insisted on playing emo thrash metal in the car while Rachel side-eyed everything. This is the way I roll.
And then later he inadvertently made some little kids cry and I was like, "how can u h8, self." So now I have stopped hating him and instead starting hating myself. Ah, life's twists and turns. :|
+ Also, ngl I totally wrong!ship Eun Sang/Young Do. Actually, it makes me less uncomfortable than her and Eun Sang in some ways, mainly because both Young Do and the show are unambiguously upfront about him being the worst. Plus, there is zero visceral obligation on Eun Sang's part to return his attention (unlike with Tan, ugh). I can understand the confusion about Young Do's interest in Eun Sang, but I think it's interesting because it exposes his true existential dilemma, i.e. wanting authenticity v.s. wanting to keep the upper hand with everyone and so never lose his coping mechanism. The show may fuck it up later, but rn I buy everything.
+ Hold up. Forget the Kim brothers being the worst. YOUNG DO'S DAD IS THE TRUE WORST. END.
+ AND THAT IS ENOUGH ABOUT THIS SHOW SMH.
+ Oh no, wait, Hyo Shin and Hyun Joo should bang.
+ THAT IS REALLY THE END.
iii. I want to belatedly do that Halloween Trick or Treat meme but I worry about time/responsibilities. So, I guess, comment on this post with "TRICK OR TREAT" and I will probably link you something cool but maybe with a bit of delay because the real life? Alternately, depending on who you are, I may give you a trick instead. :D
P.S. Dear Kelsey: I can't believe you sent me a Namu-shaped fridge magnet. (Btw, lol that these even exist.) I will never be able to put it up for fear of other people in the house asking if it's "one of those Korean dudes that I like who look like girls". We will not talk about the contents of your letter. NOPE.