026. they say love is a virtue, don't they
... so, in case it wasn't already evident, the december ramble meme is on hold b/c real life got real. hoping to fill the rest of the prompts over the next month. in any case, they will be done.
WAS planning to get some more done before the end of the month but then made the mistake of watching the doctor who xmas special. and then... rewatching the rerun the following night. i do these things to myself. nonsensical episode, only relevant part was the last five minutes. i will be ready to talk about it when i'm dead.
... i did, however, finally manage to mainline love potential and liveblog it as requested by jessica.[the journey of my feels is p hilarious tbh.]
let's do this
EP 1
ok so 5s into ep 1 and i'm side-eying??? "i met my ideal type"? "while he never once dated gieok hoped for his 'princess' to appear and 10 years later finally he met her". um?
"from middle to high school got rejected by 15 different girls" lol this is not a good start.
"i believed there must exist somewhere a girl with innocence". this monologue plays over ki eok literally cutting out body parts to create an "ideal girl". W T F.
gieok's father telling him to masturbate WHILE THE NUTCRACKER THEME PLAYS. I'M CHOKING.
so jihyun is gorgeous, obviously. which reminds me eleonore told me she's 4minute's LEADER even though she gets 5s of screen time in every mv, wtf. so, lookin' forward to seeing what she can do. NOT looking forward to anti-shipping her and sungyeol's character-- gieok imagining his cut-out "ideal type" over her and then calling her "princess" is possibly the worst start to a main ship you could give me. PRAYER CIRCLE THIS SHOW IS REALLY ABOUT DECONSTRUCTING THIS EXACT TROPE.
EP 2
fuck sungyeol's woobie face.
O M G DID SOMEONE JUST SAY "FUCKERS" IN A KDRAMA? I'M SCANDALISED.
CRAYON POP REFERENCE!
btw i like that sungyeol is so convincing at playing a nerd b/c it ~confirms~ my highschool/college!infinite headcanon that he and myungsoo were total l0sers at least until sungyeol grew up hot and then cheated on myungsoo with the plastics a.k.a. the 91-line. BUT THIS IS A STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.
ok good minah gets her own pov time. this is promising.
EP 3
so i like that minah is mostly initiating things w/gieok but still wary about this whole trope of "nerd who's never known love finally gets appreciated by hot girl"? we'll see.
lol i bet sungyeol had fun filming that bus scene. i mean, what.
L O L MINAH'S GAY HEADCANONS. FAVE TBH.
i ship these two dudes tbh (sorry idr anyone's names).
oh em gee minah is such a dork ilh. they could have made that dance studio scene ~sexy but nope.
fml teacher!sungyeol. hold my sexual frustration.
tbh idr what happened in the rest of the ep after that.
oh no wait ramyun. ofc there must be ramyun.
EP 4
ok i like this inadvertently getting drunk together thing. IF I IGNORE THE GROSSNESS OF ALL OF EP 1 AND THE SETUP OF GIEOK'S CHARACTER THEN I CAN LIKE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS FRIENDSHIP/RELATIONSHIP.
w t f @ this angel/devil scene where gieok tries to decide whether or not to feel up mi nah w/o her consent? THIS IS SO MOTHERFUCKING SQUICK-TASTIC?? i mean, on the one hand, props to the show for actually saying it'd be sexual violence BUT OTOH EW.
k gieok's father's homophobia when mi nah lies about him being gay is not amusing.
"which part of you looks gay? you look so manly and strong." no.
ok now they're doing a school play together and gieok is being told he should try out for female roles as well as male ones and looks vv displeased about it and i lol @ all the sungyeol overlap.
EP 5
awww, gieok making a bunch of real props for the play.
OMFG I SHIP THESE TWO DUDES SO MUCH.
can we not with this action teacher's male-gaze pan up drama teacher lady's body.
"it's because my heart hurts too much" you loser.
yesssssssss minah being the boss of gieok and calling him pabo 10 million times VV GOOD.
lol no show don't make me feel bad for gieok b/c minah didn't want to kiss him.
sungyeol's woobie face is truly terrible tho.
EP 6
i wonder if gieok is gonna have the male equivalent of the ugly duckling transformation where he gets hot and then minah will finally want to kiss him. BOOKMARK THIS QUOTE.
i love this unimpressed drama teacher ngl. what a boss.
ugh can we not with this bikini runway male fantasy.
SUNGYEOL IN PINK TOWEL.
"i like rides that aren't fun too!!!" WHAT. A. LOSER.
but yes good ferris wheels are my shit continue.
ok this ferris wheel confession is sweet save for the "no other girl was worth paying attention to until you" part. APART FROM THAT.
SHE'S REJECTED HIS PROPOSAL. ANGST. \o/ \o/ \o/
EP 7
bless drama teacher lady's constant cussing.
"gieok's acting has really improved!" how meta. seriously though, sungyeol is great in this -- i hope his next project is just better/less frustrating (and longer).
el oh el this entire sequence where gieok's friend does elaborate calculations to figure out who minah's crush is.
lol i'm glad people in the show actually recognise that gieok/sungyeol is handsome -- if he was supposed to be some fugly twerp that'd be motherfucking stupid.
and the ol' yeollie scream makes an appearance.
O M F G whatsisface throwing other whatsisface (sorry idr anyone's names apart from sungyeol and jihyun's characters) into the ocean O T FUCKING P !!!!!!!!!!!!
the yeol is wet. and once again i forget what happened in the rest of the ep.
EP 8
i hope gieok comes out of this drama with a firmer sense of self -- "if princess minah likes something i'll like it just as much because she does" is a delightfully pathetic sentiment but also no.
why is sassy drama teacher lady so invested in gieok/minah though.
… so, i've never actually had a legit hangover (b/c i get sick of alcohol before i can drink TOO MUCH). do people w/hangovers actually dry retch everywhere or what.
obligatory couple montage time.
DRAMATIC RUNNING SEQUENCE.
so minah has called gieok over and caused him to run like 10 blocks just b/c she wants to get drunk AND THEN SHE DRUNKENLY PINCHES HIS CHEEKS AND CRIES ABOUT HOW CUTE HE IS AND BURSTS INTO TEARS AND OH NO YOU DON'T SHOW DON'T MAKE WANT TO SHIP IT. AND JIHYUN IS THE MOST ADORABLE, WHY HAVE I NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO HER BEFORE???
lol this men's room scene where gieok's cronies confront the dude on the toilet wtf
O M G MINAH WITNESSING THE GAY SMOOCHIES
EP 9
gieok being broody bedridden minah's slave while she pays no attention to him, now this is the kind of dynamic i can be on board with, trololol.
why is sungyeol's whiny begging so mothereffing qt
MINAH SCREAMING AT GIEOK AND TELLING HIM NOT TO COME OVER AGAIN. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHOW, GIRL-TREATING-BOY-BADLY IS MY DOWNFALL. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
btw jihyun is great??? does anyone who's better versed about 4minute things know what other things she's been in?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIEOK DOING STUPID AEGYO TO MAKE MI NAH LAUGH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. (also that was 150% sungyeol there tbh.)
drama teacher lady is such a disdainful bitch, god bless.
NOW THEY ARE STUCK IN THE RAIN TOGETHER AND THIS IS SO CLICHE BUT I AM EATING THIS SHIT UP. WHEN DID LIFE GO SO HORRIBLY WRONG.
EP 10
"you were weird before but now you're not weird" is the title of this ep hmmmmmmmmm
MORE WET YEOL. WHY.
ok look i am all over girl-takes-guy-friend-for-granted-to-disguise-nascent-feelings b/c i'm trash but there is really no need for minah to feel guilty about rejecting gieok? that was totally her right.
ugh but now they are talking through the wall via paper cups NOOOOOOOOOOOO :( :( :(
WHAT IS THIS QT UPBEAT CATCHY SONG PLAYING OVER THE SEQUENCE OF THE DRAMA CLUB BUILDING SETS?? IT IS A JAM TBH.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT IS DESTINY!SUNGYEOL ON THE POSTER. A+++++++++++++++. THAT IS SOME MOVIE POSTER BULLSHIT RIGHT THERE.
I KNEW IT. HE'S UNCURLED HIS HAIR FOR OPENING NIGHT. THE UGLY DUCKLING HAS BECOME A HOT PIECE. I KNOW HOW THESE THINGS WORK. (to be serious though this unruly curls = ugly duckling trope needs to stop.)
DRAMATIC FAINTING
EP 11
oh yay i like that we get to see the actual play!
SUNGYEOL THE LOAN SHARK!!!!!11111 THE HAIR GAME IS SO ON POINT.
SUNGYEOL GETS TO CUSS. OH EM EFF GEE.
gangsta sungyeol is so inappropriately motherfucking attractive i want to rip open my couch and eat it. (that said i don't find him to be threatening vibe at all.)
btw jihyun and this other dude she's married to in the play are good job.
murder by knife is always a good way to end things.
EP 12
noooooooooo now the wife has to save the husband!! this story within a story is so compelling, lmao.
OHO NOW THE WIFE IS DEALING W/LOAN SHARK SUNGYEOL TO SAVE HUSBAND. SUNGYEOL IS DISTURBINGLY ATTRACTIVE WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING. I QUESTION MY TASTE FOREVER.
… why do i want fill-in-the-blanks fic of wife/gangster sungyeol during the time she was enslaved to him. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. WE MAY NEVER KNOW.
this whole story-within-a-story thing is interesting. i wonder there's something there about gieok fashioning fantasies for himself and then getting so lost in them that he hurts himself. I AM PROBABLY OVERTHINKING THIS.
lol now sunglasses dude w/his terrible acting has to fill in. NO WAIT GIEOK IS BACK.
FUCK. WHY. AM. I. WRONG!SHIPPING. THE. WIFE. AND. GANGSTER. SUNGYEOL. WHY IS THIS MY LIFE.
KISSING.
oho now the drama has morphed back into gieok/minah HOW META. but lol why is the audience cheering for the abused woman to get with the gangster who has literally treated her like property for two years. wtf. (WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT MY WRONG!SHIPPING.)
more couple montage.
AND KISSING. LEGIT KISSING.
you know, all this kissing now makes me bitter about myungsoo and woohyun apparently being forbidden from making out with their love interests in their previous dramas (fine, woohyun is more pressing to me b/c out of the two of them he actually has chemistry with women, TROLOLOLOL sorry soo). i wonder if sungyeol has more freedom here b/c he wasn't specifically asked to appear for idol fame reasons and therefore possessive angry fangirls was less of a concern? THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS HOT PEOPLE KISSING IS GOOD.
ANYWAY. VERDICT:
so this has been a vv weird journey with this show where i hated it and then by the end i loved it.
mostly, i wish we could excise all that "ideal type" nonsense from the first few episodes. if i ignore all that then the gieok/minah relationship arc is ~everything i wanted~. him falling in ~love at first sight~ and projecting all his problematic romantic fantasies on to her (which was evident enough without the show spelling it out), followed by her rejecting him and totally blowing apart said fantasies -- and then him learning how to be her friend and see her as a person rather than a romantic object. and then she realises her feelings for him because they've actually grown close and she can rely on him.
OKAY, THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY ARC IN ITSELF TBH.
all the "poor nerd rejected by 15 girls" setup was just unnecessarily manpain-y and now i am sadly wondering if the moral of the story was supposed to be "poor rejected nerd finally finds ideal woman who appreciates him where those other bitches failed." which. NOCURR, I REJECT THIS PREMISE, MINE IS BETTER.
moving on. so, sungyeol and jihyun were both GREAT. although sungyeol was a lot more convincing to me as gieok than the loan shark, which i guess is b/c gieok was the one acting as the loan shark. that, or sungyeol's strength as an actor lies in loser nerd roles. (on that note he was good in "while you were sleeping", too, at least the cuts i saw.)
anyway. chemistry: they had it especially during the wife/loan shark scenes b/c i'm trash.
and i've now become somewhat a jihyun stan. girl is fab, where has she been all my life.
WHAT DID Y'ALL (i.e. the other five people on my flist) THINK? :D
hope everyone's xmas/last week was acceptable.
WAS planning to get some more done before the end of the month but then made the mistake of watching the doctor who xmas special. and then... rewatching the rerun the following night. i do these things to myself. nonsensical episode, only relevant part was the last five minutes. i will be ready to talk about it when i'm dead.
... i did, however, finally manage to mainline love potential and liveblog it as requested by jessica.[the journey of my feels is p hilarious tbh.]
let's do this
EP 1
ok so 5s into ep 1 and i'm side-eying??? "i met my ideal type"? "while he never once dated gieok hoped for his 'princess' to appear and 10 years later finally he met her". um?
"from middle to high school got rejected by 15 different girls" lol this is not a good start.
"i believed there must exist somewhere a girl with innocence". this monologue plays over ki eok literally cutting out body parts to create an "ideal girl". W T F.
gieok's father telling him to masturbate WHILE THE NUTCRACKER THEME PLAYS. I'M CHOKING.
so jihyun is gorgeous, obviously. which reminds me eleonore told me she's 4minute's LEADER even though she gets 5s of screen time in every mv, wtf. so, lookin' forward to seeing what she can do. NOT looking forward to anti-shipping her and sungyeol's character-- gieok imagining his cut-out "ideal type" over her and then calling her "princess" is possibly the worst start to a main ship you could give me. PRAYER CIRCLE THIS SHOW IS REALLY ABOUT DECONSTRUCTING THIS EXACT TROPE.
EP 2
fuck sungyeol's woobie face.
O M G DID SOMEONE JUST SAY "FUCKERS" IN A KDRAMA? I'M SCANDALISED.
CRAYON POP REFERENCE!
btw i like that sungyeol is so convincing at playing a nerd b/c it ~confirms~ my highschool/college!infinite headcanon that he and myungsoo were total l0sers at least until sungyeol grew up hot and then cheated on myungsoo with the plastics a.k.a. the 91-line. BUT THIS IS A STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.
ok good minah gets her own pov time. this is promising.
EP 3
so i like that minah is mostly initiating things w/gieok but still wary about this whole trope of "nerd who's never known love finally gets appreciated by hot girl"? we'll see.
lol i bet sungyeol had fun filming that bus scene. i mean, what.
L O L MINAH'S GAY HEADCANONS. FAVE TBH.
i ship these two dudes tbh (sorry idr anyone's names).
oh em gee minah is such a dork ilh. they could have made that dance studio scene ~sexy but nope.
fml teacher!sungyeol. hold my sexual frustration.
tbh idr what happened in the rest of the ep after that.
oh no wait ramyun. ofc there must be ramyun.
EP 4
ok i like this inadvertently getting drunk together thing. IF I IGNORE THE GROSSNESS OF ALL OF EP 1 AND THE SETUP OF GIEOK'S CHARACTER THEN I CAN LIKE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS FRIENDSHIP/RELATIONSHIP.
w t f @ this angel/devil scene where gieok tries to decide whether or not to feel up mi nah w/o her consent? THIS IS SO MOTHERFUCKING SQUICK-TASTIC?? i mean, on the one hand, props to the show for actually saying it'd be sexual violence BUT OTOH EW.
k gieok's father's homophobia when mi nah lies about him being gay is not amusing.
"which part of you looks gay? you look so manly and strong." no.
ok now they're doing a school play together and gieok is being told he should try out for female roles as well as male ones and looks vv displeased about it and i lol @ all the sungyeol overlap.
EP 5
awww, gieok making a bunch of real props for the play.
OMFG I SHIP THESE TWO DUDES SO MUCH.
can we not with this action teacher's male-gaze pan up drama teacher lady's body.
"it's because my heart hurts too much" you loser.
yesssssssss minah being the boss of gieok and calling him pabo 10 million times VV GOOD.
lol no show don't make me feel bad for gieok b/c minah didn't want to kiss him.
sungyeol's woobie face is truly terrible tho.
EP 6
i wonder if gieok is gonna have the male equivalent of the ugly duckling transformation where he gets hot and then minah will finally want to kiss him. BOOKMARK THIS QUOTE.
i love this unimpressed drama teacher ngl. what a boss.
ugh can we not with this bikini runway male fantasy.
SUNGYEOL IN PINK TOWEL.
"i like rides that aren't fun too!!!" WHAT. A. LOSER.
but yes good ferris wheels are my shit continue.
ok this ferris wheel confession is sweet save for the "no other girl was worth paying attention to until you" part. APART FROM THAT.
SHE'S REJECTED HIS PROPOSAL. ANGST. \o/ \o/ \o/
EP 7
bless drama teacher lady's constant cussing.
"gieok's acting has really improved!" how meta. seriously though, sungyeol is great in this -- i hope his next project is just better/less frustrating (and longer).
el oh el this entire sequence where gieok's friend does elaborate calculations to figure out who minah's crush is.
lol i'm glad people in the show actually recognise that gieok/sungyeol is handsome -- if he was supposed to be some fugly twerp that'd be motherfucking stupid.
and the ol' yeollie scream makes an appearance.
O M F G whatsisface throwing other whatsisface (sorry idr anyone's names apart from sungyeol and jihyun's characters) into the ocean O T FUCKING P !!!!!!!!!!!!
the yeol is wet. and once again i forget what happened in the rest of the ep.
EP 8
i hope gieok comes out of this drama with a firmer sense of self -- "if princess minah likes something i'll like it just as much because she does" is a delightfully pathetic sentiment but also no.
why is sassy drama teacher lady so invested in gieok/minah though.
… so, i've never actually had a legit hangover (b/c i get sick of alcohol before i can drink TOO MUCH). do people w/hangovers actually dry retch everywhere or what.
obligatory couple montage time.
DRAMATIC RUNNING SEQUENCE.
so minah has called gieok over and caused him to run like 10 blocks just b/c she wants to get drunk AND THEN SHE DRUNKENLY PINCHES HIS CHEEKS AND CRIES ABOUT HOW CUTE HE IS AND BURSTS INTO TEARS AND OH NO YOU DON'T SHOW DON'T MAKE WANT TO SHIP IT. AND JIHYUN IS THE MOST ADORABLE, WHY HAVE I NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO HER BEFORE???
lol this men's room scene where gieok's cronies confront the dude on the toilet wtf
O M G MINAH WITNESSING THE GAY SMOOCHIES
EP 9
gieok being broody bedridden minah's slave while she pays no attention to him, now this is the kind of dynamic i can be on board with, trololol.
why is sungyeol's whiny begging so mothereffing qt
MINAH SCREAMING AT GIEOK AND TELLING HIM NOT TO COME OVER AGAIN. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHOW, GIRL-TREATING-BOY-BADLY IS MY DOWNFALL. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
btw jihyun is great??? does anyone who's better versed about 4minute things know what other things she's been in?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIEOK DOING STUPID AEGYO TO MAKE MI NAH LAUGH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. (also that was 150% sungyeol there tbh.)
drama teacher lady is such a disdainful bitch, god bless.
NOW THEY ARE STUCK IN THE RAIN TOGETHER AND THIS IS SO CLICHE BUT I AM EATING THIS SHIT UP. WHEN DID LIFE GO SO HORRIBLY WRONG.
EP 10
"you were weird before but now you're not weird" is the title of this ep hmmmmmmmmm
MORE WET YEOL. WHY.
ok look i am all over girl-takes-guy-friend-for-granted-to-disguise-nascent-feelings b/c i'm trash but there is really no need for minah to feel guilty about rejecting gieok? that was totally her right.
ugh but now they are talking through the wall via paper cups NOOOOOOOOOOOO :( :( :(
WHAT IS THIS QT UPBEAT CATCHY SONG PLAYING OVER THE SEQUENCE OF THE DRAMA CLUB BUILDING SETS?? IT IS A JAM TBH.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT IS DESTINY!SUNGYEOL ON THE POSTER. A+++++++++++++++. THAT IS SOME MOVIE POSTER BULLSHIT RIGHT THERE.
I KNEW IT. HE'S UNCURLED HIS HAIR FOR OPENING NIGHT. THE UGLY DUCKLING HAS BECOME A HOT PIECE. I KNOW HOW THESE THINGS WORK. (to be serious though this unruly curls = ugly duckling trope needs to stop.)
DRAMATIC FAINTING
EP 11
oh yay i like that we get to see the actual play!
SUNGYEOL THE LOAN SHARK!!!!!11111 THE HAIR GAME IS SO ON POINT.
SUNGYEOL GETS TO CUSS. OH EM EFF GEE.
gangsta sungyeol is so inappropriately motherfucking attractive i want to rip open my couch and eat it. (that said i don't find him to be threatening vibe at all.)
btw jihyun and this other dude she's married to in the play are good job.
murder by knife is always a good way to end things.
EP 12
noooooooooo now the wife has to save the husband!! this story within a story is so compelling, lmao.
OHO NOW THE WIFE IS DEALING W/LOAN SHARK SUNGYEOL TO SAVE HUSBAND. SUNGYEOL IS DISTURBINGLY ATTRACTIVE WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING. I QUESTION MY TASTE FOREVER.
… why do i want fill-in-the-blanks fic of wife/gangster sungyeol during the time she was enslaved to him. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. WE MAY NEVER KNOW.
this whole story-within-a-story thing is interesting. i wonder there's something there about gieok fashioning fantasies for himself and then getting so lost in them that he hurts himself. I AM PROBABLY OVERTHINKING THIS.
lol now sunglasses dude w/his terrible acting has to fill in. NO WAIT GIEOK IS BACK.
FUCK. WHY. AM. I. WRONG!SHIPPING. THE. WIFE. AND. GANGSTER. SUNGYEOL. WHY IS THIS MY LIFE.
KISSING.
oho now the drama has morphed back into gieok/minah HOW META. but lol why is the audience cheering for the abused woman to get with the gangster who has literally treated her like property for two years. wtf. (WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT MY WRONG!SHIPPING.)
more couple montage.
AND KISSING. LEGIT KISSING.
you know, all this kissing now makes me bitter about myungsoo and woohyun apparently being forbidden from making out with their love interests in their previous dramas (fine, woohyun is more pressing to me b/c out of the two of them he actually has chemistry with women, TROLOLOLOL sorry soo). i wonder if sungyeol has more freedom here b/c he wasn't specifically asked to appear for idol fame reasons and therefore possessive angry fangirls was less of a concern? THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS HOT PEOPLE KISSING IS GOOD.
ANYWAY. VERDICT:
so this has been a vv weird journey with this show where i hated it and then by the end i loved it.
mostly, i wish we could excise all that "ideal type" nonsense from the first few episodes. if i ignore all that then the gieok/minah relationship arc is ~everything i wanted~. him falling in ~love at first sight~ and projecting all his problematic romantic fantasies on to her (which was evident enough without the show spelling it out), followed by her rejecting him and totally blowing apart said fantasies -- and then him learning how to be her friend and see her as a person rather than a romantic object. and then she realises her feelings for him because they've actually grown close and she can rely on him.
OKAY, THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY ARC IN ITSELF TBH.
all the "poor nerd rejected by 15 girls" setup was just unnecessarily manpain-y and now i am sadly wondering if the moral of the story was supposed to be "poor rejected nerd finally finds ideal woman who appreciates him where those other bitches failed." which. NOCURR, I REJECT THIS PREMISE, MINE IS BETTER.
moving on. so, sungyeol and jihyun were both GREAT. although sungyeol was a lot more convincing to me as gieok than the loan shark, which i guess is b/c gieok was the one acting as the loan shark. that, or sungyeol's strength as an actor lies in loser nerd roles. (on that note he was good in "while you were sleeping", too, at least the cuts i saw.)
anyway. chemistry: they had it especially during the wife/loan shark scenes b/c i'm trash.
and i've now become somewhat a jihyun stan. girl is fab, where has she been all my life.
WHAT DID Y'ALL (i.e. the other five people on my flist) THINK? :D
hope everyone's xmas/last week was acceptable.