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ever_neutralWHAT UP, BROS.
+ Today/yesterday I submitted my final massive boring 35 page report required for the completion of my degree. \o/ Ergo, I will now be more alive. \o/ (Or, you know, /o\ depending on your view.) I'm pretty sure I missed a ton of things while in the depths of my final papers, so if you think there's something of yours I should be commenting on then drop me a link.
+ Chilling with my dearest mother watching The Heirs and suddenly in the middle of the episode she's like, "IF I~ WERE PARK SHIN HYE I WOULD TAP THAT [Kim Woo Bin] AND LEAVE LEE MINHO TO BE FOREVER ALONE WITH HIS UGLY SWEATERS." Ah, the indefatigable wisdom of mothers. Not that she's wrong, mind you (my favourite is the one that makes him look like a "wall with antique pictures hanging from it", personally).
So yeah, on account of said 35 page report eating my brains, this is not going to be an especially coherent post. Nonetheless, let us gather round and discuss the latest offerings.
+ First of all, I am aware that fandom is positively leaping to diss the teen trash that is this show and therefore, as a wise friend once put it, win at Not Liking The Problematic Thing and Being Too Good For This Genre. But tbqh this show is (near) perfect 2 me. Sorry not sorry but watching attractive miserable people make each other miserable is my way of life. It is what it is, friends. Therefore, unpopular opinions abound.
+ So bored of everyone bitching about Eun Sang's "passivity". If this is actually a "feminist" complaint you have about the show then I would seriously question your supposed understanding of justice. And direct you to this post. Which is actually about Sansa Stark, but same principle applies. Heroines do not owe it to you to be empowered. Especially when they are underprivileged and lower-class and vulnerable to abuse from people much more powerful than they are. The fact that this show stresses Eun Sang and her mother's situation so much is a point in its favour, not yours. Please to be taking your thinly veiled Strong Female Character (TM) misogyny and choking on it.
+ Tan and Young Do's pissing contest is endlessly entertaining to me ngl. Firstly, their man love clearly will go on. Even my mother agrees. ("I think they're secretly attracted to each other and using Park Shin Hye as a proxy.")
Secondly, it is pretty obvious they're making Eun Sang a pawn in their personal war, ergo the aggressive triangularity is a power struggle. Not romance. So long as one keeps this in mind I'm convinced the "romantic" plots become 95% more enjoyable. And lbr the drawn-out sequences in which the three stare at one another with simultaneously enraged and aroused expressions while a dramatic score plays is the highlight of each episode, don't even front like you disagree.
+ Hyo Shin needs his own spinoff, stat.
[X]
Enough said.
+ lol Eun Sang/Tan. Okay, so there are some small things I like. Firstly, that Eun Sang said the setting of their "date" on camp reminded her of Friday the 13th. And then later (obliquely) referred to their relationship as a "horror love story". Ha ha. And despite the fact that I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to date Kim Tan, I think it made sense for Eun Sang to consciously decide to let herself go along with the fantasy since they were far away from home. The whole "dreamcatcher" theme of their relationship is vv consistent. And when Young Do taunted that Tan's only going to ditch her in the end, Eun Sang was literally like, "bitch, I know." THAT'S interesting.
HAVING SAID THAT... this ship is just flat out boring me to death. Imma quote Zoe on this because her words are a balm to the soul tbh:
Indeed. I mean, WTAF was the ending of ep 12?? nhf the two of them staring at each other for five minutes while Lee Min Ho does some weird gasping thing to convey the depth of his emotions. I would rather take the aggressive triangularity, thx.
Also, gdi, Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Ho have negative chemistry. It is genuinely baffling considering their faces but there it is. At this point I just wish the show would cut 90% of their scenes so that this show could be ACTUALLY perfect.
+ The entirety of the pool scene. Only this show, man. Plus, it brought us this. Amen.
+ I love how Young Do complimenting Hyo Shin's angry!voice is now a thing, LMFAO????? Like, "Sunbae, the voice you use when threatening me... is really nice". I mean, yes good, more Hyo Shin worship. Also they should bang. But I am generally of the opinion that Hyo Shin should bang the universe.
+ BONSANG IS REAL. I'M SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF THEM HAVING SLEEPOVERS AND HOLDING HANDS ABOUT THEIR GAY LOVE?
+ Still shipping Rachel/Young Do tbqh. I mean, "Normally when two people become siblings they fall in love"/"Now I'm thinking that's the solution to breaking up this marriage"????? YOU DON'T JUST PUT THAT IN FRONT OF ME AND EXPECT ME NOT TO SHIP IT. LIKE.
+ Myung Soo is the most hilarious. I'm convinced that Myung Soo/Young Do along with Bo Na/Eun Sang are basically the most functional relationships on this show, L M A O.
+ Still nocurr whatsoever for Won. Why is he still a character.
+ I resent so much that Eun Sang/Young Do are hitting all my ship kinks but dammit THEY ARE HITTING ALL MY SHIP KINKS???? Like
[X]
Plus, he tossed his classmates' shoes in a bucket of cold water as "revenge" for them talking smack about Eun Sang. And she offered sympathy about his bad family news in the form of "I'll postpone my revenge on you." Like. I am not made of fuckin' stone, people. It is Park Shin Hye and Kim Woo Bin, for the love of Satan.
(I also have a lot of complicated feelings about how they are actually considerably less problematic than Eun Sang/Tan by sheer virtue of the fact that Young Do has zero emotional power in their dynamic. As I said to Zoe: The way the show set up Young Do from the beginning established that Eun-sang owes him nothing - because she was given full license to hate him. (Whereas, Eun-sang/Tan STARTED with her being in his debt. And he has continued to take advantage of that.) I mean, besides the fact that All Girls Want Bad Boys and I only ship it because I want to ride Kim Woo Bin's dick, &c. &c., the power dynamic is just a thousand times more appealing.)
Also, I've decided that they should be BFFs on the basis of their mutual ramyeon noodle appreciation. Bring on the bromance, yo.
+ To conclude:
[X]
+ Today/yesterday I submitted my final massive boring 35 page report required for the completion of my degree. \o/ Ergo, I will now be more alive. \o/ (Or, you know, /o\ depending on your view.) I'm pretty sure I missed a ton of things while in the depths of my final papers, so if you think there's something of yours I should be commenting on then drop me a link.
+ Chilling with my dearest mother watching The Heirs and suddenly in the middle of the episode she's like, "IF I~ WERE PARK SHIN HYE I WOULD TAP THAT [Kim Woo Bin] AND LEAVE LEE MINHO TO BE FOREVER ALONE WITH HIS UGLY SWEATERS." Ah, the indefatigable wisdom of mothers. Not that she's wrong, mind you (my favourite is the one that makes him look like a "wall with antique pictures hanging from it", personally).
+ First of all, I am aware that fandom is positively leaping to diss the teen trash that is this show and therefore, as a wise friend once put it, win at Not Liking The Problematic Thing and Being Too Good For This Genre. But tbqh this show is (near) perfect 2 me. Sorry not sorry but watching attractive miserable people make each other miserable is my way of life. It is what it is, friends. Therefore, unpopular opinions abound.
+ So bored of everyone bitching about Eun Sang's "passivity". If this is actually a "feminist" complaint you have about the show then I would seriously question your supposed understanding of justice. And direct you to this post. Which is actually about Sansa Stark, but same principle applies. Heroines do not owe it to you to be empowered. Especially when they are underprivileged and lower-class and vulnerable to abuse from people much more powerful than they are. The fact that this show stresses Eun Sang and her mother's situation so much is a point in its favour, not yours. Please to be taking your thinly veiled Strong Female Character (TM) misogyny and choking on it.
+ Tan and Young Do's pissing contest is endlessly entertaining to me ngl. Firstly, their man love clearly will go on. Even my mother agrees. ("I think they're secretly attracted to each other and using Park Shin Hye as a proxy.")
Secondly, it is pretty obvious they're making Eun Sang a pawn in their personal war, ergo the aggressive triangularity is a power struggle. Not romance. So long as one keeps this in mind I'm convinced the "romantic" plots become 95% more enjoyable. And lbr the drawn-out sequences in which the three stare at one another with simultaneously enraged and aroused expressions while a dramatic score plays is the highlight of each episode, don't even front like you disagree.
+ Hyo Shin needs his own spinoff, stat.
[X]Enough said.
+ lol Eun Sang/Tan. Okay, so there are some small things I like. Firstly, that Eun Sang said the setting of their "date" on camp reminded her of Friday the 13th. And then later (obliquely) referred to their relationship as a "horror love story". Ha ha. And despite the fact that I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to date Kim Tan, I think it made sense for Eun Sang to consciously decide to let herself go along with the fantasy since they were far away from home. The whole "dreamcatcher" theme of their relationship is vv consistent. And when Young Do taunted that Tan's only going to ditch her in the end, Eun Sang was literally like, "bitch, I know." THAT'S interesting.
HAVING SAID THAT... this ship is just flat out boring me to death. Imma quote Zoe on this because her words are a balm to the soul tbh:
"I'M NOT GOING TO WRONG!SHIP A BORING SHIP, THAT IS JUST ANTITHETICAL TO MY IDEA OF WRONG!SHIPPING AS A WHOLE. I wrong!ship stuff that I can tell is wrong (and hopefully the narrative can too) but it's just so good and/or hitting my ship kinks that I don't even care and can't even help it. But I'm not going to go out of my way to wrong!ship something, THAT IS AN OXYMORON."
Indeed. I mean, WTAF was the ending of ep 12?? nhf the two of them staring at each other for five minutes while Lee Min Ho does some weird gasping thing to convey the depth of his emotions. I would rather take the aggressive triangularity, thx.
Also, gdi, Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Ho have negative chemistry. It is genuinely baffling considering their faces but there it is. At this point I just wish the show would cut 90% of their scenes so that this show could be ACTUALLY perfect.
+ The entirety of the pool scene. Only this show, man. Plus, it brought us this. Amen.
+ I love how Young Do complimenting Hyo Shin's angry!voice is now a thing, LMFAO????? Like, "Sunbae, the voice you use when threatening me... is really nice". I mean, yes good, more Hyo Shin worship. Also they should bang. But I am generally of the opinion that Hyo Shin should bang the universe.
+ BONSANG IS REAL. I'M SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF THEM HAVING SLEEPOVERS AND HOLDING HANDS ABOUT THEIR GAY LOVE?
+ Still shipping Rachel/Young Do tbqh. I mean, "Normally when two people become siblings they fall in love"/"Now I'm thinking that's the solution to breaking up this marriage"????? YOU DON'T JUST PUT THAT IN FRONT OF ME AND EXPECT ME NOT TO SHIP IT. LIKE.
+ Myung Soo is the most hilarious. I'm convinced that Myung Soo/Young Do along with Bo Na/Eun Sang are basically the most functional relationships on this show, L M A O.
+ Still nocurr whatsoever for Won. Why is he still a character.
+ I resent so much that Eun Sang/Young Do are hitting all my ship kinks but dammit THEY ARE HITTING ALL MY SHIP KINKS???? Like
[X]Plus, he tossed his classmates' shoes in a bucket of cold water as "revenge" for them talking smack about Eun Sang. And she offered sympathy about his bad family news in the form of "I'll postpone my revenge on you." Like. I am not made of fuckin' stone, people. It is Park Shin Hye and Kim Woo Bin, for the love of Satan.
(I also have a lot of complicated feelings about how they are actually considerably less problematic than Eun Sang/Tan by sheer virtue of the fact that Young Do has zero emotional power in their dynamic. As I said to Zoe: The way the show set up Young Do from the beginning established that Eun-sang owes him nothing - because she was given full license to hate him. (Whereas, Eun-sang/Tan STARTED with her being in his debt. And he has continued to take advantage of that.) I mean, besides the fact that All Girls Want Bad Boys and I only ship it because I want to ride Kim Woo Bin's dick, &c. &c., the power dynamic is just a thousand times more appealing.)
Also, I've decided that they should be BFFs on the basis of their mutual ramyeon noodle appreciation. Bring on the bromance, yo.
+ To conclude:
[X]
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no subject
Date: 2013-11-19 02:45 pm (UTC)I knew you'd vote for that. :p
(GIVE ME YOUR AtS FEELINGS!)
no subject
Date: 2013-11-19 03:17 pm (UTC)I'm on s3 (3x08 or 3x09, I think?), and "Billy" just happened. Joss generally seems to be less enjoyable now that I recognize the problematic stuff, but I kinda don't give a fuck, because JESUS FUCK CHARACTER PORN. I love how he builds Wesley out of very different blocks. Wesley has great leadership talents, but he lacks confidence, so he only learns to be a leader when he's forced to assume leadership (his cold tactics clashed with Gunn's "good seargant" attitude in s2 finale? GOLD). Amazing brains -- so amazing, in fact, that he can predict outcomes and calculate risks too well, which leads him to terrible choices. THE ABILITY TO ACT LIKE AN EMOTIONLESS ROBOT!!!!!!! And at the same time he craves human relationships and warmth, he can be clumsy or goofy, he genuinely likes people. On top of that, Alexis is incredible. NEVER OVER THOSE FEELINGS.
I'm also freaking out over Fred and the way she pulls her personality back together in s3. I adored her cave sequences in s2 finale. And I'm wrong!shipping Fred/Wesley like no tomorrow, because the first time Wesley saw Fred, her hands were covered in blood. *priorities*
Cordelia is growing on me (still a bit uneasy about how the painful visions "made her better"), Lilah is a fucking queen of everything, Lorne is the best sidekick ever, and even Gunn is giving me feelings (what with his relationship with his old gang). Angel bores me a little, but he holds together the whole team, so okay, he can stay.
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 01:27 am (UTC)Dude, "Billy" is one of my favourites, no regrets. Also, Alexis was super hot in that episode tbqh. /terrible person
Ahem. Yes to all your thoughts. Ruthless!Wesley is the best, the end. Speaking of him and Gunn, my friend William came up with a super interesting analysis of how that bromance started to fall apart once Wesley was promoted to a position where they were no longer on equal footing (followed by Gunn becoming incredibly disillusioned with his former BFF).
I don't remember that bloody!Fred moment. /o\ But I approve of your wrong!shipping. Wrong!shipping is the way. (Also, this reinforces my annoyance with the theory that Wesley ONLY EVER!!! saw Fred as pure and innocent. Like. He was the one who actively helped her plot to kill his professor. Dude.)
Elaborate on your unease with Cordelia's arc? (I mean, it is the grossest, no argument there.) And do you usually not like Gunn? This is exciting -- we haven't talked about this show in great detail before!!
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 06:21 am (UTC)(Btw, Wesley would be an absolutely terrifying vampire, wouldn't he?)
Speaking of him and Gunn, my friend William came up with a super interesting analysis of how that bromance started to fall apart once Wesley was promoted to a position where they were no longer on equal footing (followed by Gunn becoming incredibly disillusioned with his former BFF).
Oooh, this makes all the sense! I think Gunn's biggest disillusionment was when he saw how Wesley is capable of sacrificing people for the cause. That's not the way Gunn does things. But Wes? Once a Watcher, always a Watcher. It's the mission that matters. He's too smart for his own good, and he can see the consequences too well.
LOL, pure and innocent Fred. Wesley sees her like this when he wants to see her like this. Fred isn't an illusion for him, she's a consciously built fantasy. Your example is the best example -- they PLOT MURDER together! Wesley knows who Fred is, he just sometimes chooses not to think about it when he entertains a fairy tale fantasy that makes him feel better. I think the most of this misconception that Fred/Wesley is made of cotton candy comes from how they are in s5 -- when they don't have a big chunk of their memories, and everything they do is a bit artificial.
I'm uneasy that Cordelia only became ~truly deep and compassionate when she got those killer visions that tortured her for years. Because they made her ~feel the misery of the world. Lol no. Cordelia always had a good moral compass. Makes sense that witnessing all that pain made her less bubbly, but this arc would've been so much better if her moral growth had simply been a consequence of her growing up, and not a consequence of her being ~corrected by prolonged torture.
It's not that I don't like Gunn -- I like him very much (I like almost everyone on this show tbh). I just usually have trouble connecting to him. I think most of my attitude is the fact that when I first watched AtS, the social/racial context that's very important in his arc was lost to me, and now I'm able to appreciate it much more.
THIS IS SUPER EXCITING, AND I'M SO HAPPY I'M FINALLY REWATCHING THIS SHOW! Today I should get to Wesley kidnapping Connor *_*.
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 09:19 am (UTC)*_______________________*
(WHY WOULD YOU PUT VAMPIRE!WESLEY INTO MY IMAGINATION. SEXUAL FRUSTRATION BLOG.)
lol our taste in men.
Your example is the best example -- they PLOT MURDER together! Wesley knows who Fred is, he just sometimes chooses not to think about it when he entertains a fairy tale fantasy that makes him feel better.
IAWTC. Also, I think the appeal of Fred to Wesley is that she's so traumatised and has so much buried rage but still manages to be a good person and positive force. In other words, I think he has a redemption fantasy about her -- if someone like Fred with all her trauma and anger can recover and persevere, and if she can somehow see the good in him too (e.g. as you mentioned, her consoling him at the end of Billy about being a good man), then there's hope for him.
but this arc would've been so much better if her moral growth had simply been a consequence of her growing up, and not a consequence of her being ~corrected by prolonged torture.
Ughhhhhhhhhh, yep. I can't think too much about Cordelia's arc tbh. :|||||
re: Gunn, makes sense. I look forward to your feels in S5, which is like the ultimate Gunn arc IMO.
Today I should get to Wesley kidnapping Connor *_*.
lol, "yay". Be sure to report your screaming.
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 09:38 am (UTC)I really like the redemption fantasy theory. I think it doesn't just have to do with Wesley's trauma, but also with his brains? There's a recurring theme of Wesley's intelligence working against him (kidnapping Connor is my favorite example). Meanwhile, Fred is just as smart as him (maybe ev en smarter), and she doesn't let it weigh on her. Wesley was trained by the Watchers to always take the worst possible income into account, and be guarded against it; he assumes everything is malevolent and will do its worst. Fred's purely academic education makes her appreciate randomness. She can see the worst outcome, but she can also see twenty other outcomes, and she perceives the world as random, not malevolent, so she doesn't obsess over things. Wesley is fascinated by this, and jealous. He tiptoes around Fred, because he hopes mimicking her bubbly goodness around her will somehow make her coping mechanisms rub off on him. Basically, Wesley wants to be Fred, but he knows he can't, so he falls in love with her instead.
I might just make a screamy post tonight, because why would be just screaming without ten other people around us?
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 01:46 pm (UTC)ITA that a huge part of the attraction is their mutual IQ and the different ways their intelligence manifests. Wesley was pretty much raised not to enjoy the things he learned because (i) it was always a responsibility first and foremost and (ii) his shitty support system pressured him to overachieve or be otherwise demeaned. But Fred loves what she does and does it purely because she wants to, which is totally alien and intensely attractive to Wesley.
Basically, Wesley wants to be Fred, but he knows he can't, so he falls in love with her instead.
Y E S. (I swear this is like the crux of every interesting relationship)
Scream away.
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 02:32 pm (UTC)Screamed!
no subject
Date: 2013-11-19 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-19 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-19 08:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 01:37 am (UTC)If/when you can, I vote for a gifset of bruised & battered Alexis Denisof. /kiddie pool
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 05:52 am (UTC)I might or might not be unhealthily obsessed with the line "I had my throat cut, and all my friends abandoned me".no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 08:41 am (UTC)CRYING @ YOUR CHOICE OF GIFSET. I never noticed how done with life baby Connor was (although come to think of it that is consistent).
I might or might not be unhealthily obsessed with the line "I had my throat cut, and all my friends abandoned me".
AS YOU SHOULD BE. Alexis's delivery is everything. Just that slight pause and the way he looks down after he says it. (Yes I have memorised his acting choices, what of it.)
no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 08:52 am (UTC)Dude, my very first AtS edit was the "I had my throat cut" scene. You should have his acting choices memorized, otherwise what's the point of your brain?