#han jun hui

[ailurostheendless]

OH MY GOD SOMEONE POINTED THIS OUT TO ME THAT SEO DONG JAE AND HWANG SHI MOK ARE LIKE REMIXED ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF RYU SOO YEOL FROM BAD AND CRAZY AND HAN JOON HWI FROM LAW SCHOOL.

LIKE DO YOU GUYS SEE THE VISION?!?!!

Like I just imagine that maybe in another reality Han Joon Hwi comes across this corrupted pathetic cop Ryu Soo Yeol that keeps slipping from his hands and Ryu Soo Yeol being annoyed with this pain in the ass sarcastic kid who thinks he's such a smart guy and looking down on Ryu Soo Yeol as if he's pathetic (he is lol)

They remind me so much of Hwang Shi Mok & Seo Dong Jae. Like we need this crossover! And also hints of Hwang Shi Mok being somewhat related to Han Joon Hwi or at least working with each other and Seo Dong Jae working with Ryu Soo Yeol at the beginning as corrupted ones. They give same vibes so.

Somehow things starts becoming odd with Ryu Soo Yeol acting crazy and Han Joon Hwi gets dragged along the journey when Ryu Soo Yeol is starting to discover more about himself and his past while Han Joon Hwi has to also deal with getting targeted and also trying to figure out why Ryu Soo Yeol sometimes acts really nicely with him (that's k then) and then again becoming his old self.

But then Ryu Soo Yeol himself (when he's not K) starts becoming more naturally open with Han Joon Hwi who is surprised and he becomes more easier on him. Helping him especially when they start to discover about Ryu Soo Yeol's past. To think Han Joon Hwi who is rarely that friendly with anyone (only those he cares for) let alone someone corrupted like Ryu Soo Yeol is now actually being more soft and teasing towards him. Even helping him even when he's not sure who he should trust and what he should do. What in the world is happening?

Like ??? Guys I need this so bad. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE IF SOMEONE MAKES THIS IDC IF YOU MAKE IT INTO A SHIP OR FRIENDS OR ANYTHING JUST TAG ME I NEED THIS!!!!

[ladynamie]

Sword and Fairy 4 仙剑四 (2024) | Episode 21

[themardybum]

Vincenzo (빈센조) • Endings (Episodes 16-20)

previous

[iwouldhaveadoredyouinfinitely]

"There was a girl there in her past, a teenager who was willing to do anything to get out of that poor neighborhood and to climb in society, to have money and luxuries, to get them the easy way.

And there was a woman here now, in her present, a completely different woman who recognized her every mistake and was ashamed of the thoughts and desires she once had.

But then again, if she hadn't had them all…

Min Hui could never regret her Han Seo."

Song of the Hopeless Ones, chapter 17.

[kdram-chjh]

n.SSign (엔싸인) - 'Happy &' MV

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRzLDQdp4xE

[offbeatcappuccino]

a colossal disaster ~ impossible heir final reflections

I recently finished watching the last two episodes of impossible heir and I am convinced that this show will go down as one of the biggest disappointments of 2024. After being a close follower of Lee Jae Wook's career for several years, I was excited about him playing another cold traumatized morally ambiguous character. However, there are too many weaknesses in the writing that cannot be made up by the spectacular acting from Lee Jae Wook, Lee Jun Young, and Choi Hee Jin. We all already know how I feel about Hong Su Zu and her character Na Hye Won. Like many predicted, the big reveal in this show is that Lee Jun Young's character Kang In Ha is a backstabber that has been secretly plotting to frame his best friend Han Tae Oh as the murderer of Kang In Ju in order to fulfill his dream of ascending the Kang-oh throne.

I do think that the shift in In Ha's becoming an overly ambitious fake friend was somewhat well justified with the writing. There were signs in the earlier episodes that he saw Tae Oh as his "dog" and held very little regard for him. One notable example is him "stealing" Na Hye Won despite being very well aware that Tae Oh had a crush on her. When In Ha is finally recognized by his father as his son, In Ha makes several independent decisions without consulting Han Tae Oh- suggesting the very early signs of a schism between the two men. However, its hard to swallow that out of nowhere he becomes capable of conspiring in the murder of his own brother, his best friend, the man that helped him kill his brother, his father, and finally, physically assaulting his wife and having her institutionalized against her will. What is actually quite bewildering in all of this has to be the relationship between In Ha and Mo Gi Ju, the murderer of Kang In Ju.

In last week's episodes, we are shown that Han Tae Oh comes across video evidence from the murder scene, which directly implicates Mo Gi Ju and Kang In Ha. This subsequently allows Tae Oh to be declared innocent and have his charges dismissed. When Gi Ju is interrogated, he refuses to disclose In Ha as his co-conspirator and in the last episode, we see that Gi Ju initially considers In Ha to be his friend. This is what is incredibly perplexing because at what point in the plot did these two become friends? It's one thing to be co-conspirators or to make a mutually beneficial deal, but to become close friends to the point that one of them is willing to take all the blame to protect the other? This is a loose thread in the plot that the show runners never seem to take the time to address.

Another thing that is never explained in the show is In Ha's extensive connections with the prison system. However, this could just be me being picky and maybe in the short span that he was able to be recognized as a legitimate son, he also was able to bribe a prison guard to help him carry out his dirty work. Despite these flaws, I will say that Lee Jun Young is absolute perfection when it comes to playing a maniac.

Apart from this arc, one of the biggest flaws in the last episode was the drastic shift in the characterization of Kang Seong Ju, one of In Ha's older brothers, who along with his mother was scheming to become the CEO of the company. However, after his mother's arrest, Seong Ju tearfully exclaims to his mother that he's sick of vying for the top and wants to prioritize his happiness. This is a sharp departure from his conduct just a few days prior when he was attempting to fill the vacuum left by his father's illness. What is even more difficult to swallow is the sudden respect that Seong Ju develops for Tae Oh, even going as far as respecting him as the next chairman of Kang Oh and bowing to him even though like everyone else in the family apart from Hui Ju, believed that Tae Oh was lesser than and a threat to their ambitions due to his proximity to the chairman. Seong Ju's arc is almost too good of an ending that you can't help but feel that the writers resorted to deus ex machina in order to tie all the ends.

Hye Won as usual was a disappointment and its confusing why they would market her as a main character when she had barely any lines or things to do in this episode. She has been one of the weakest female characters I have seen in a while with her existence mainly serving as a prop used to justify the conflict between the two men. She, herself, does very little to move the plot forward. Perhaps one of the saving graces of the show and the only reason I stuck with watching it is a brief scene that we see in the last few minutes of the show. Kang Hui Ju decides that she is going to travel the world and during the three year time leap, we see Tae Oh smiling at a picture of Hui Ju in Cancún, which she sends as her "survival update". The ending is very open-ended and ambigious, but if you were me, you interpreted it as Tae Oh finally reciprocating his feelings for Hui Ju.

While The Impossible Heir has been an utter disappointment, one of the good things about the show was the chemistry between Hui Ju and Tae Oh. Luckily, this has captivated the minds of some amazing writers and there's a flourishing AO3 page for the show with some of the best angst fanfics I've seen in a while.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

Keep watching kdramas and living your life like one,

offbeat_cappuccino

[orenji-iro-no-sora]

I love complex narratives so a time called you was super fun for me. But I couldn't help but feel like they neglected the original Yeon-Jun a bit.

Imagine your bestfriend tells you he loves you (indirectly) and before you can even say it back the way you've been practicing all this time, not only he dies in car accident on the way to a trip you held hands for the first time, but also your soul is gone. They didn't explore his story at all but I think even if Nam Si-Heon didn't time travel, Yeon-Jun's story was independent of the time loop and would've ended the same tragic way. Even if he survived, his bestfriend (lover) would've been dead.

I wish they had shown something about all the characters once the time loop was dissolved.

I also feel so bad for Min-ju. It's true. Holding hope for reality to meet your expectations is one of the most painful ways to live. What you want and what you are, what you want and what is is so far away from each other, the deep chasm between the two is full of misery. I am glad that she started to accept herself by the end.

The ending between Han Jun-hui and Nam Si-Heon reminded me a bit of Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) which was very cute. Being connected through something beyond your comprehension, something like fate is a top tier trope imo.

[kdramaqween]

To finish off the year, here's my TOP 23 Ships from dramas I watched in 2023

1. Kim Doo Shik ♥ Lee Mi Hyun

Moving

2. Cha Jin Woo ♥ Jung Mo Eun

Tell Me That You Love Me

3. Seo Do Guk ♥ Han Yi Joo

Perfect Marriage Revenge

4. Xin Qi ♥ Min Hui

The Love You Give Me (C-Drama)

5. Choi Kang Ho ♥ Lee Mi Joo

The Good Bad Mother

6. Dongfang Qincang ♥ Xiao Lanhua

Love Between Fairy and Devil (C-Drama)

7. Jung Ki Ho ♥ Seo Mok Ha

Castaway Diva

8. Moon Jang Yeol ♥ Bong Ye Bun

Behind Your Touch

9. Gu Won ♥ Cheon Sa Rang

King the Land

10. Cho Yong Pil ♥ Cho Sam Dal

Welcome to Samdalri

11. Yoo So Joon ♥ Song Ma Rin

Tomorrow With You

12. Kang Hee Shik ♥ Kang Nam Soon

Strong Girl Namsoon

13. Dong Go Yun ♥ Jung Da Eun

Daily Dose of Sunshine

14. Gong Tae Gyeong ♥ Oh Yeon Doo

The Real Has Come

15. Jang Seon Gyeol ♥ Gil Oh Sol

Clean With Passion for Now

16. Cha Min ♥ Cho Se Yeon

Abyss

17. Heo Joon Jae ♥ Shim Cheong

Legend of the Blue Sea

18. Kim Tae Hee ♥ Baek Dong Joo

May I Help You

19. Jung Gu Won ♥ Do Do Hee

My Demon

20. Nam Si Heon ♥ Han Jun Hee

A Time Called You

21. Jang Tae Sang ♥ Yoon Chae Ok

Gyeongseong Creature

22. Lee Kang ♥ Moon Cha Young

Chocolate

23. Cha Eun Ho ♥ Kang Dan Hee

Romance is a Bonus Book

[reinaka42]

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) Masterpost

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) is a Vocal synth (Vocaloid and SynthV) music project. It consists of songs themed around different figures throughout Chinese history. The project is a collaboration between different artists and creatives, with music and videos featuring prominent traditional Chinese elements. The project's title translates to "The Records of Magnificence of the Wangchuan" - In Chinese mythology, "Wangchuan" (or River of Forgetting) is a river in the Underworld that can rid one of their past life's memories, similar to the river Lethe.

A mobile game adaptation has also been developed by NetEast. Unfortunately, I haven't played it so I can't give much insight on it. However, I assume that its premise is similar to that of the idea behind the project as a whole: all these historical figures meeting each other in the Underworld after they died. Maybe.

You can find all the songs on Bilibili. The official Weibo can be found here. The game's website, which includes all characters appearing so far in the game, can be found here, and its Weibo can be found here.

(If you prefer YouTube, I've also put together a handy playlist. Please know that most of these videos are reposts though, so please watch the original Bilibili MVs if you can!)

This blog is where I will be posting everything I feel like I need to say about the songs in this project. A lot of it is lifted from my Twitter account but will be in much more detail. Note that I probably won't touch collab songs, or songs that don't focus solely on the project's own characters.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Chinese, nor am I an expert on Chinese history. Therefore, I cannot reliably translate the lyrics to these songs, nor my words should be taken as gospel. I am merely a nerd gushing about my hyperfixation.

Playlist

多情岸 【Duo Qing An】 ➼ B link

洛阳怀 【Luo Yang Huai】 ➼ B link

易水诀 【Yi Shui Jue】 ➼ B link

山河令 【Shan He Ling】 ➼ B link

簪花人间 【Zhan Hua Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

栖凰 【Qi Huang】 ➼ B link

心上秋 【Xin Shang Qiu】 ➼ B link

祖龙吟 【Zu Long Yin】 ➼ B link

如见青山 【Ru Jian Qing Shan】 ➼ B link

竹林间 【Zhu Lin Jian】 ➼ B link

天下局 【Tian Xia Ju】 ➼ B link

青鸟衔风 【Qing Niao Xian Feng】 ➼ B link

木兰行 【Mu Lan Xing】 ➼ B link

好字唯之 【Hao Zi Wei Zhi】 ➼ B link

不可道 【Bu Ke Dao】 ➼ B link

水叙湖风 【Shui Xu Hu Feng】 (collab) ➼ B link

是非 【Shi Fei】 ➼ B link

风起甘露 【Feng Qi Gan Lu】 (collab) ➼ B link

谓剑 【Wei Jian】 ➼ B link

万象霜天 【Wan Xiang Shuang Tian】 (New Year event song) ➼ B link

千秋梦 【Qian Qiu Meng】 ➼ B link

易安难安 【Yi An Nan An】 ➼ B link

惊鹊 【Jing Que】 ➼ B link

高歌破阵 【Gao Ge Po Zhen】 (collab) ➼ B link

不赴 【Bu Fu】 ➼ B link

西行 【Xi Xing】 ➼ B link

大航海家 【Da Hang Hai Jia】 ➼ B link

牡丹乱 【Mu Dan Luan】 (collab) ➼ B link

倾国 【Qing Guo】 (collab) ➼ B link

相虎 【Xiang Hu】 ➼ B link

补天裂 【Bu Tian Lie】 ➼ B link

此期盈期 【Ci Qi Ying Qi】 (1st anniversary song) ➼ B link

破云来 【Po Yun Lai】 ➼ B link

归钓吟 【Gui Diao Yin】 ➼ B link

始见千秋 【Shi Jian Qian Qiu】 ➼ B link

临川浮梦 【Lin Chuan Fu Meng】 ➼ B link

将军行 【Jiang Jun Xing】 ➼ B link

妄语人间 【Wang Yu Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 (2nd anniversary song) ➼ B link

问剑春秋 【Wen Jian Chun Qiu】 ➼ B link

起战令 【Qi Zhan Ling】 ➼ B link

人间应又雪 【Ren Jian Ying You Xue】 ➼ B link

旷古回响 【Kuang Gu Hui Xiang】 ➼ B link

墨隐侠声 【Mo Yin Xia Sheng】 ➼ B link

桃源故人 【Tao Yuan Gu Ren】 (3rd anniversary song) ➼ B link

燕双归 【Yan Shuang Gui】 ➼ B link

拜云台 【Bai Yun Tai】 ➼ B link

思华年 【Si Hua Nian】 ➼ B link

承天 【Cheng Tian】 ➼ B link

*Note: The anniversary songs are probably for the game's anniversaries, as the project itself is more than 5 years old.

Albums

Vol 1: 溯洄 【Su Hui】 Includes character songs from Duo Qing An to Zhu Lin Jian. Features human vocals.

Vol 2: 踏浪 【Ta Lang】 Includes character songs from Tian Xia Ju to Yi An Nan An + Shui Xu Hu Feng.

Vol 3: 数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 Includes character songs from Bu Fu to Yan Shuang Gui, and the two anniversary songs.

Visual character guide:

PRE-QIN | QIN | WESTERN CHU | HAN | THREE KINGDOMS | JIN | NORTH & SOUTHERN DYNASTIES | TANG | FIVE DYNASTIES & TEN KINGDOMS | SONG | YUAN | MING | QING | DREAM

[444namesplus]

Ba Baa Baas Bae Baes Bais Bam Ban Bao Baos Bau Baus Be Bees Bei Beis Bem Ben Beo Beos Beu Beus Bi Bias Bie Bies Bii Biis Bim Bin Bio Bios Biu Bius Bo Boes Bom Bon Boo Boos Bou Bous Bu Bua Bues Bui Buis Bum Bun Buo Buu Buus Chi Chia Chias Chie Chies Chii Chiis Chim Chin Chio Chios Chiu Chius Chu Chua Chuas Chue Chues Chui Chuis Chum Chun Chuo Chuos Chuu Chuus Da Daas Dae Daes Dais Dam Dan Dao Daos Daus De Dea Deas Dee Dei Deis Dem Den Deo Deu Deus Dha Dhaa Dhaas Dhaes Dhai Dhais Dham Dhan Dhaus Dhe Dhea Dheas Dhee Dhees Dheis Dhem Dhen Dheo Dheu Dhi Dhia Dhies Dhiis Dhim Dhin Dhio Dhios Dhiu Dhius Dho Dhoa Dhoas Dhoes Dhois Dhom Dhon Dhoo Dhoos Dhou Dhous Dhu Dhua Dhue Dhues Dhum Dhun Dhuo Dhuu Dhuus Di Die Dies Dii Diis Dim Din Dio Diu Dius Do Doa Doas Doi Dom Don Doo Doos Dous Du Duas Due Dues Dui Duis Dum Dun Duu Fa Faa Faas Fae Faes Fai Fais Fam Fan Fao Faos Fau Faus Fe Fea Feas Fee Fees Fei Feis Fem Fen Feo Feus Fi Fia Fias Fiis Fim Fin Fios Fius Fo Foa Foe Foi Fois Fom Fon Foos Fous Fu Fua Fuas Fue Fues Fui Fuis Fum Fun Fuos Fuus Ga Gaa Gaas Gae Gaes Gam Gan Gaos Gau Ge Gea Geas Gee Gei Geis Gem Gen Geo Geu Geus Gi Gia Gias Gie Gies Gii Giis Gim Gin Gios Giu Gius Go Goe Gom Gon Goo Goos Gous Gu Guas Gue Gui Guis Gum Gun Guo Guos Guu Guus Ha Haa Haas Hae Haes Hai Hais Ham Han Haos Hau He Hea Heas Hee Hees Hei Heis Hem Hen Heo Heu Heus Hi Hie Hies Hii Hiis Him Hin Hio Hios Hius Ho Hoe Hom Hon Hous Hu Huas Hui Huis Hum Hun Huo Huu Huus

Ja Jaa Jae Jaes Jai Jais Jam Jan Jaos Jau Jaus Je Jea Jeas Jee Jem Jen Jeo Jeos Jeu Jeus Ji Jia Jias Jie Jies Jii Jiis Jim Jin Jio Jios Jiu Jo Joa Joas Joe Joes Jois Jom Jon Joos Jou Jous Ju Jua Juas Jue Juis Jum Jun Juo Juos Juu Juus Ka Kaas Kae Kai Kais Kam Kan Kao Kaos Kau Kaus Ke Kea Keas Kee Kei Keis Kem Ken Keo Keos Keu Keus Ki Kia Kie Kies Kim Kin Kio Kios Kiu Kius Ko Koe Koes Koi Kois Kom Kon Koo Koos Kou Kous Ku Kua Kue Kues Kum Kun Kuos Kuu Kuus La Laa Laas Laes Lais Lam Lan Laos Lau Laus Le Lea Leas Lee Lees Lei Lem Len Leo Leos Leu Leus Li Lia Lie Liis Lim Lin Lio Lios Liu Lo Loa Loas Loe Loes Lom Lon Loo Loos Lou Lu Lua Lue Lui Luis Lum Lun Luo Luos Luus Ma Maa Mae Maes Mai Mam Man Mao Maos Mau Maus Me Mea Mee Mei Meis Mem Men Meo Meu Mi Mias Mie Mies Mii Miis Mim Min Mios Miu Mius Mo Moa Moas Moe Mois Mom Mon Moo Mous Mu Mua Muas Mues Mui Mum Mun Muo Muu Muus Na Naa Naas Nae Naes Nai Nais Nam Nan Nao Naos Naus Ne Nea Neas Nee Nees Neis Nem Nen Neo Neos Neu Neus Ni Nii Niis Nim Nin Nio Nios Niu No Noa Noas Noe Noes Noi Nom Non Noo Nou Nous Nu Nua Nuas Nues Nui Nuis Num Nun Nuo Nuos Nuu Pa Paa Pae Paes Pai Pam Pan Pao Pau Paus Pe Pea Peas Pee Pees Pei Peis Pem Pen Peo Peos Peu Pi Pias Pie Pii Piis Pim Pin Pio Pios Piu Po Poas Poe Poes Pois Pom Pon Poo Poos Pou Pous Pu Puas Pue Pues Pui Puis Pum Pun Puo Puu Puus Ra Raa Raas Rae Rai Rais Ram Ran Raos Rau Raus Re Reas Ree Rees Rei Reis Rem Ren Reo Reos Reu Reus Ri Ria Rii Rim Rin Rio Rios Riu Rius Ro Roa Roas Roe Roes Roi Rois Rom Ron Roo Roos Rou Rous Ru Rua Rues Rui Ruis Rum Run Ruo Ruos Ruu Ruus Sa Sae Saes Sais Sam San Sau Se Sea Seas Sees Sei Seis Sem Sen Seos Shi Shia Shias Shie Shies Shii Shiis Shim Shin Shio Shios Shiu Shius Shu Shua Shuas Shue Shues Shui Shuis Shum Shun Shuo Shuos Shuu Shuus Si Sia Sii Siis Sim Sin Sio Sios Sius So Soe Soes Sois Som Son Soos Sous Su Suas Sui Suis Sum Sun Suo Suu Suus Ta Taa Taas Taes Tai Tais Tam Tan Tao Taos Tau Taus Te Tea Teas Tees Tei Tem Ten Teo Teu Thi Thia Thias Thie Thies Thii Thiis Thim Thin Thio Thios Thiu Thius Thu Thua Thuas Thue Thues Thui Thuis Thum Thun Thuo Thuos Thuu Thuus Ti Tias Tie Tiis Tim Tin Tio Tios Tiu Tius To Toas Toe Toes Toi Tom Ton Toos Tou Tous Tu Tua Tuas Tue Tues Tui Tuis Tum Tun Tuo Tuu Tuus Va Vaa Vaas Vae Vaes Vai Vam Van Vaos Vau Vaus Ve Vea Veas Vee Vees Vei Vem Ven Veo Veos Veu Veus Vi Vie Vii Viis Vim Vin Vio Viu Vo Voa Voe Voes Voi Vois Vom Von Voo Voos Vou Vous Vu Vue Vues Vui Vuis Vum Vun Vuo Vuus Wa Waas Wae Wai Wam Wan Wao Waos Wau Waus We Wea Wees Wei Weis Wem Wen Weos Weus Wi Wia Wias Wie Wies Wii Wim Win Wio Wiu Wo Woa Woe Woes Woi Wois Wom Won Woos Wou Wu Wua Wuas Wue Wui Wum Wun Wuo Wuos Wuu Wuus Za Zaa Zaas Zae Zaes Zai Zais Zam Zan Zaos Zau Zaus Ze Zea Zeas Zee Zees Zei Zeis Zem Zen Zeo Zeos Zeu Zeus Zha Zhaa Zhae Zhaes Zhai Zhais Zham Zhan Zhao Zhaos Zhau Zhaus Zhe Zhea Zhee Zhees Zhei Zheis Zhem Zhen Zheo Zheos Zheu Zheus Zhi Zhia Zhie Zhies Zhii Zhim Zhin Zhio Zhios Zhiu Zhius Zho Zhoa Zhoas Zhoe Zhoes Zhoi Zhom Zhon Zhou Zhous Zhu Zhuas Zhuis Zhum Zhun Zhuos Zhuu Zhuus Zi Zia Zias Zim Zin Zio Ziu Zius Zo Zoe Zoes Zois Zom Zon Zoo Zoos Zou Zous Zu Zuas Zue Zues Zuis Zum Zun Zuos Zuu

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[ailurostheendless]

Kim Beom please choose a new script after your play on stage is done, the kids (us fans) miss seeing you onscreen showing your talented skills.

[bookofjin]

Biography of Zhou Fu (JS061)

Fu, courtesy name Zuxuan, was Jun's junior cousin. His father Rui was Grand Warden of Anping. Fu as young was equally famous as his friend Chenggong Jian, they rose from their families together to become literary teachers for the various kings. He amassed to move to Aide for Western Dependants to the Minister over the Masses. The Minister over the Masses Wang Hun petitioned:

Fu's reasoning and understanding is clear and straight, he also has talent and ability and is a master at deciding the Nine Grades, his examinations pull to together essentials and details. Your Subject entrust and rely on his duties' fulfilment, his praise and blame being apt and fitting, and request he fill the vacancy of Gentleman of the Masters of Writing.

Allowed it.

Bit by bit he moved to Senior Clerk of the Left to the Minister over the Masses and Gentleman of the Personnel Section. His selections and recommendations were essential and compact, and discussions on his prospects increasingly commendable. He shifted to Central Assistant to the Steering Clerk and Attendant-at-Centre, and was designated Inspector of Xu province, concurrently General of the Best of the Army, Acting with the Tally. He was summoned to be Commandant of Justice.

Emperor Hui favoured Ye, and the King of Chengdu, Ying, used Fu as Interim Governor of Henan. Li Zhen, Shangguan Si, and others offered the King of Qinghe, Tan, to be Heir-Apparent, and promoted Fu to General of Guards, Recording the Masters of Writing. Fu declined and did not accept. Tan ordered Fu to combine armies with Shangguan Si. Fu understood that Si was a small person who indulged in brutality and in the end would be a traitor to the state. He therefore together with the Minister of Personnel Man Fen and others planned to together remove him. The plan leaked, and they were assailed by Si. Fen was murdered but Fu fled and managed to escape.

When Si was defeated by Zhang Fang, [he] summoned Fu to return and adminster as Governor of Henan, and when the King of Donhai, Yue, welcomed the Great Carriage, he used Ying as [General who] Leads the Army of the Centre. He had not yet gone when he moved to Colonel Minister of Personnel, concurrently Cavalier Regular Attendant, Acting with the Tally, Chief Controller of the Various Army Affairs at Mianchi.

When the Emperor returned to the palace, he set out to be General who Pacifies the East, Chief Controller of the Various Army Affairs of Yang province. He replaced Liu Zhun as General who Garrisons the East, and together with Zhou Ji and others he chastised Chen Min, wiping him out. For his merits he was ennobled Earl of Yongning.

Fu, who himself had gone through the mishaps of the era, always wished to safeguard and rectify the court's changes, his loyal feelings were sincere in the extreme. Since the King of Donghai, Yue, had not fully the steadfastness of a subject, he always told his opinion sharply. Yue deeply dreaded him. Fu observed the crowds of traitors were a blazing fire and that Luoyang was isolated and imperilled. He therefore built a strategy to welcome the Son of Heaven and move the capital to Shouchun. 4th Year of Yongjia [310 AD], he and Senior Clerk Wu Si and Marshal Yan Shi sent up a letter which said:

[We] did not consider the difficult cycle would carry on until this point! The Rong and Di invade one after the other, and the capital domain is imperilled and pressured. Your Subject on his own together with Zu Na, Pei Xian, Hua Tan, Sun Hui, and others, 30 people, humbly thought of a great plan. In all instances, as the people of Yin had the affairs of frequent moves, and the King of Zhou had the move of Qi Mountain, just now the royal capital is emptied, depleted and not possible to dwell in for long, north of the He is barren and bleak and Yao [mountain] and Han [valley] are hazardous and rugged, the Wan capital has frequently fallen and the Jiang-Han area has many troubles, at present in the flatlands the south-east is the better. The land of Huai-Yang to the north is blocked off by Tu Mountain, to the south is shielded by the Ling Peak, and famous rivers surround it in four directions, they have the strength of important defiles. This is why the people of Chu when they moved east thereupon took refuge at Shouchun. Xu, Pi and Donghai also are sufficiently defended and secure. Moreover canal transportation connects it in four directions, and there are no worries of deprivation and depletion.

Although the sagely sovereign is divinely astute, the primary supporters worthy and bright, dwelling frugally and defending restraint, and employed in guarding the ancestral temples, it is not as good as assessing the terrain and moving location, and so relish in eternal fortune. Your Subject has carefully selected 30 000 finest soldiers to serve in welcoming the august carriage. [I] on my own have called to arms the former Commander of Central Gentlemen of the North, Pei Xian, to act as Envoy Holding the Tally, Overseer of the Various Army Affairs of Yu province, and Commander of the Central Gentlemen of the East to swift as the wind proceed forthwith. Jing, Xiang, Jiang, Yang should each first transport the 4th Year's grain tax, 150 000 hu, and cloth and tabby silk, 140 000 bolts each, to provide for the great carriage. [I] have ordered Wang Jun and Gou Xi together to pacify north of the He, Your Subject and others will join forces to open the southern road. To move the capital and stop the robbers, these plans are both obtainable.

When the August Conveyance comes on tour, Your Subject ought to move to occupy Jiang province, to expand the royal boundaries. Knowing there is nothing [they] would not do is what the ancients applied themselves to do. [I] dare to be utterly loyal and sincere, in the hope of repaying one ten-thousandth. In the morning to succeed and in the evening to fall is still the ambition of a lifetime.

Yue was not in concord with Gou Xi, and Fu did not first inform Yue but straight away sent up the letter, and Yue was greatly angered. Before this, Yue summoned FU and the Grand Warden of Huainan, Pei Shou, but Fu was not willing to travel and he ordered Shou to lead the troops and advance first. Shou was disloyal to Fu and therefore raised up troops, claiming Fu instructed him on his own initiative. He had already received Yue's secret directive to plot against Fu. He then assaulted him but was defeated by Fu. Shuo withdrew to guard Dongcheng and sought help from Emperor Yuan. The Emperor dispatched the General who Spreads Power, Gan Zhuo, and the General who Establishes Power, Guo Yi, to attack Fu at Shouchun. The Grand Warden of Anfeng, Sun Hui, led a multitude in response to them, and had Xie Chi make a call to arms. Chi was Fu's former general. When Fu saw the call to arms, he, with tears flowing, said:

Surely it is Xie Chi's expressions.

Chi heard about it, and thereupon destroyed the draft. After ten days, Fu's multitudes dispersed and he ran to Xiang. He was seized by the King of Xincai, Que, The anxious frustration brought illness and he passed.

Earlier, at Hua Tan's loss of Lujiang, he went to Shouchun to rely on Fu. When Fu's army was defeated, he turned back to Emperor Yuan. The Emperor asked him, saying:

How did Zhou Zuxuan end up in rebellion?

Tan replied, saying:

Though Zhou Fu is dead, Under Heaven still has gentlemen of upright speech. Fu saw the robbers and traitors grow like vines, and the kingly power not being stirred. For that reason he wished to move the capital to loosen the state's difficulties. The elders of the regions were not of the same mind which consequently brought about their attack. Not even a season had gone past when the imperial capital was lost. If they had made to follow Fu's plan, in some cases it could have delayed the fall. Tracking back the circumstances and seeking the reality, how could he have been a rebel!

The Emperor said:

Fu held rank among [the Generals who] Conquer and Garrison. He held tight his troops in a corner of the region, when summoned he did not come, and during the danger he did not take care of it. He is also a criminal Under Heaven.

Tan said:

That is so. Fu shook his tassel at the central court and had a long standing reputation for exceptional intellect. He set out to occupy the peaks of a region and truly had the weight of special burdens. Yet lofty strategies were not lifted up, he from time to time neglected harmony, and during the danger he did not take care of it. He must together with Under Heaven accept his blame. However, to speak of him as a rebel, is it not also false!

The Emperor's thoughts started to open up.

Fu had two sons, Mi and Jiao. Mi, courtesy name Taixuan, was by nature unassuming and plain. At the time people declared him a pure scholar. His rank reached Gentleman of the Masters of Writing. Jiao, courtesy name Zhengxuan, also had talent and ability.

Chenggong Jian, courtesy name Zongshu, was a native of Dong commandery. His family had for generations been Two Thousand Shi officials. He was by nature simple and plain, did not seek glory and profit, and immersed his heart in savouring the Way, there was nothing which interfered with his aspirations. His soundless understanding was beyond other people. Zhang Maoxian always said:

Jian's pure serenity is comparable to Yang Ziyun, his soundless understanding imitates Zhang Anshi.

Later he became Gentleman of the Central Writers. At the time Fu had already become Colonel Minister of Personnel, and moved to General who Garrisons the East. Jian, since he himself, though his talent was lofty, yet was positioned below Fu, spoke to Fu, saying:

Yang Xiong was a Gentleman for three generations without being moved, and yet Wang Mang and Dong Xian ranked among the Three Ministers. Past and present follow the same principles, and that is all.

Fu was very ashamed of it. His official position reached Central Retainer to the Heir-Apparent and Cavalier Regular Attendant. At the end of Yongjia, he ran to Gou Xi, and was lost together with Xi.

[Zhang Maoxian = Zhang Hua. Yang Ziyun = Yang Xiong (53 BC – 18 AD).]

[dangerousstrawberryshark]

K-pop Boy Bands Stations

Seventeen

Choi Seung-Cheol (S. Coups)

...

Yoon Jeong- Han (Jeonghan)

...

Joshua Hong (Joshua)

...

Wen Jun-Hui (Jun)

...

Kwon Soon-Yeung (Hoshi)

...

Jeon Won-Woo (Wonwoo)

...

Lee Ji-Hoon (Woozi)

...

Lee Seok-Min (DK)

...

Kim Ming-Gyu (Mingyu)

...

Xu Ming Hao (The8)

...

Boo Seung-Kwan (Seungkwan)

...

Hansol Vernon Chwe (Vernon)

...

Lee Chan (Dino)

...

TXT

Choi Soo-Bin (Soobin)

Choi Yeon-Jun (Yeonjun)

Choi Beom-Gyu (Beomgyu)

Kang Tae-Hyun (Taehyun)

Kai Kamal Huenging (Huening Kai)

Monsta X

Sohn Hyun-Woo (Shownu)

Lee Min-Hyuk (Minhyuk)

Yoo Ki-Hyun (Kihyun)

Chae Hyung-Won (Hyung-won)

Lee Joo-Heon (Jooheon)

Im Chang-Kyun (I.M)

EXO

Kim Jun-Myeon (Suho)

Kim Min Seok (Xiumin)

Byun Baek-Hyun (Baekhyun)

Kim Jong-Dae (Chen)

Park Chan-Yeol (Chanyeol)

Do Kyung-Soo (D.O)

Kim Jong-In (Kai)

Oh Se-Hun (Sehun)

Zhang Jiashuni (Lay)

Li Jiasheng (Kris)

Lu Han (Luhan)

Huang Zitao (Tao)

Stray Kids

Christopher Chan (Bang Chan)

Lee Min-Ho (Lee Know)

Seo Chang-Bin (Changbin)

Hwang Hyun-Jin (HyunJin)

Han Ji-Sang (Han)

Felix Lee (Felix)

Kim Seung-Min (Seungmin)

Yang Jeong-In (I.N)

Kim Woo-Jin (Woojin)

NCT

Lee Tae-Yong (Taeyong)

Moon Tae-Il (Taeil)

Seo Young-Ho (Johnny)

Nakamoto Yuta (Yuta)

Qian Kun (Kun)

Kim Dong-Young (Doyoung)

(Korean Name) Lee Young-Heum (Ten)

Jeong Yoon-Oh (Jaehyun)

Dong Si-Cheng (Winwin)

Kim Jung-Woo (Jungwoo)

Huang Xuxi (Lucas)

Mark Lee (Mark)

Xiao Dejun (Xiaojun)

Wong Kunhang (Hendery)

Huang Ren Jun (Renjun)

Lee Je-No (Jeno)

Lee Dong-Hyuck (Haechan)

Na Jae-Min (Jaemin)

Liu YangYang (Yangyang)

Osaki Shotaro (Shotaro)

Jung Sung-Chan (Sungchan)

Zhong Chen-Le (Chenie)

Park Ji-Sung (Jisung)

ENHYPEN

Yang Jung-Won (Jungwon)

Lee Hee-Seung (Heeseung)

Jay Park (Jay)

Jake Sim (Jake)

Park Sung-Hoon (Sunghoon)

Kim Seon-Woo (Sunoo)

BTS

Kim Nam-Joon

Kim Seok-Jin

Min Yoongi

Jung Ho-Seok

Park Ji-Min

Kim Tae-Hyung

Jeon Jung-kook

Solo Artists

Lee Ho-Seok (Wonho)

Kang Dong-Ho (Baekho.)

Cho Seung-Youn (Woodz.)

[nthngtoseehere-blog]

I’ve poked around a little in Tumblr etc to see what people say about Café Minamdang, and it seems like people either really enjoy it or they really hate it. I can see why – while it occasionally gets serious, it’s mostly goofy af. Headdesk-inducing goofiness, even.

I just finished ep 6, and I actually love it. I started watching it specifically because people said it was ridiculous and funny, and I needed something like that to off-set the heavier stuff I’m also watching (Beyond Evil, Bloodhounds, Flower of Evil).

I love me some angsty and traumatized MLs so the fact that Nam Han Jun has not been a happy-go-lucky lunatic all his life is a bonus, mainly because so far they haven’t given up the goofiness to go all in on the angst.

Actually, the fact that he hasn’t always been a con-man, and that he’s been running his shaman con from the beginning with the mindset of someone whose career was always meant to help people, makes me like the show more. Han Jun has let his inner court jester off the leash, but he’s still a good guy underneath it all.

I love the dynamic between the ML and the FL so far. I’m hand-waving the age/timeline stuff and just going with what the show tells me to think about that rather than analyzing it too hard, so I think her early crush on him was cute.

Usually the trope of the cop who assumes they know who did it and refuses to be objective in the slightest really frustrates me, but it works here somehow? I think because there really does appear to be no reason to doubt the so-called evidence until Han Jun makes a stink about it. Jae-hui has started to question things, now that she’s being called out on her rigidity, which makes a huge difference.

I think my favorite element so far is how much Han Jun really doesn’t give a fuck if law enforcement will believe him, or support him, or even listen to him. I’m guessing he gave up on that sometime during his incarceration. He’s perfectly aware of how easily the law can be manipulated to sacrifice the innocent, because he’s been the sacrificial innocent, and he has no faith left.

He knows he’s right, and he’s going to investigate what he wants to investigate, and Jae-Hui and her cohort can either listen to him or they can continue to focus on what they think is right; he doesn’t care either way.

It’s kind of refreshing. Usually, there’s some level of desperation on the hero’s part to be understood and believed by the people in power. They either try to hide what they’re doing because they’re afraid of being misunderstood, or they’re aggressively trying to get people to believe them.

Han Jun doesn’t do that. He doesn’t agonize over it, either; he just does his thing.

It helps that he has people on his side, even if none of them are particularly powerful. Han Jun, Hye Jun, Su Cheol and Na Dan are such a great little ridiculous, pure, mutually supportive family.

Speaking of actual family, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more realistic brother-sister relationship. Han Jun and Hye Jun have such a great love-aggravate-support-mock dynamic.

I have to admit that I keep waiting to find out that Su Cheol is the bad guy. I couldn’t figure out why until I realized that the other show I’ve seen that actor in is Lovers of the Red Sky, in which he played the villain. I don’t *want* Han Jun to be betrayed by his friend, though, so I will be very happy if he doesn’t turn out to be evil.

Oh, side note: I kind of love that while Han Jun started out being the BAMF martial artist who taught Jae-Hui, he’s now barely able to hold his own in a fight while she’s Avengers-level kick-ass. It feels like a skill he let lapse because it maybe required a level of...I don’t know, dedication to heroism? That he no longer feels. Whereas Jae-Hui has improved because she’s driven to be The Best Cop Ever after the tragedy of her brother’s death and the fact that his killer got away.

But yes. 100% enjoying this show.

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Dual Position Battle, final bits and thoughts

This recap will cover the final point reveals from the end of episode 7, as well as my final thoughts on the performances, including my own ranking and my analysis of MNET screentime allocation (I have the numbers, my loves). 

Ranking announcement from the end of ep 6

Ok, here’s the ranking announcement from the end of episode 6. At this point, ep 8 is probably out, so this is out of date, but it’s still kind of interesting. 

What I did is, I put the votes in my spreadsheet and found the average number of votes per trainee, which turned out to be 818,005. Then I had the spreadsheet calculate what percent of the average vote each person’s vote was. I think that helps put the number of votes in perspective. For example, international sweetheart Sung Hanbin’s 3.3 million votes represented 404% of the average (in other words, more than four times the average!). Meanwhile, poor Feel Special member Lee Donggun’s 81,739 votes represents about 10% of the average. Ouch. 

What’s kind of interesting is that the top 15 were all 123% or more of the average or higher, while from 16 to 51, they were all 89% or lower of the average. It’s really a kind of haves and have-nots situation here. 

People who were on a team that got the 100,000 benefit will be marked in blue. People who also got the 150,000 personal benefit will be marked in purple. Members of Zoom are marked in green (because I think they should have won.)

Sung Han Bin 3,307,923 404%

Han Yujin 2,909,883  356%

Seok Matthew 2,825,146 345%

Zhang Hao 2,673,322 327%

Kim JiWoong 2,529,910  309%

Kim Gyuvin 2,283,675     279%

Kim TaeRae 2,172,772  265%

Keita 1,881,172  230%

Jay 1,376,663 168%

Hui 1,338,595  163% 

Park Gunwook 1,327,449 162% 

Kum Jun Hyeon 1,315,229 160% 

Park Hanbin 1,138,119  139%

Ricky 1,131,856 138%

Haruto 1,002,517 123%

Yoon Jong Woo 728,860 89%

Wang Zi Hao 654,985 80%

Zhang Shuai Bo 645,683 79%

Yoo Seung Eon 627,720  77%

Seo Won 609,101 74%

Takuto 573,842 70.15%

Na Kamden 573,627 70.13%

Chen Kuan Jui 570,537 69.75%

Lee Seung Hwan 550,610 67%

Cai Jin Xin 453,496 55%

Ollie 439,284 54%

Hiroto 425,135  52%

Ma Jing Xiang 397,838   49%

Lee Jeong Hyeon 382,238   46%

Mun Jung Hyun 366,626    45%

Anthonny 309,114     38%

Jung Mingyu 290,220   35%

Brian 285,579   34%

Cha Woongki 282,786   34%

Chen Jian Yu 266,785    33%

Lim Jun Seo 265,140   32.4%

Dang Hong Hai 257,333    31.5%

Lee Yedam 248,293   20%

Park JiHoo 238,539   29%

Cong 238,039    29%

Ji Yun Seo 230,839   28%

Wumuti 219,507   27%

Bak Doha 204,607   25%

Oh Sungmin 198,846   24.3%

Krystian 196,543  24%

Lee Da Eul 177,458   21.7%

Lee Dong Yeol 172,206   21% 

Park Hyun Been 123,848   15%

Jeong IChan 113,935   14%

Choi Woojin 103,062   12.6%

Lee Donggun 81,739   10%

The Performances, the votes, and the rankings 

In the last ten minutes or so of episode 7, they gather the trainees together in what might be the space where the audience usually stands, and torture them for a bit before finally revealing how many votes each team got. The winner within each category gets to perform on MNET countdown, each member gets 100,000 extra points, and the number one ranked team member on that team gets an extra 150,000 extra points. 

Below, I list the songs, the audience votes they received, and the total screen time (adding up the episode 6 segment and the longer segment in episode 6 or 7). I list them in order of audience vote.

Vocal and Rap

Tomboy 860 votes, 27 minutes of screentime

Man in love 752 votes, 14.5 minutes of screentime

Limousine 719 votes, 13.5 minutes of screentime

Not Spring… 617 votes, 15 minutes of screentime

Winner: Tomboy; Zhang Hao gets the extra benefit

My thoughts:

My favorite is easily Limousine. I just loved this performance. Man in Love and Not Spring were about tied for me; each had one singer I quite enjoy and a few singers I don’t enjoy as much, and neither was a song that I exactly want to listen to over and over. I guess Tomboy actually came in last for me -- I would rather listen to any of the other three again than listen to Tomboy again. If I’m watching the performances, then I’d rather watch Limousine the most -- the performance is so emotional and so good -- but after, that I’d obviously choose to watch Man in Love to see TaeRae’s weird elf face that I like so much. So, putting all that together, my rank is:

Limousine

Man in Love

Not Spring…

Tomboy 

Vocal and Dance

Love Killa 840 votes, 20.5 minutes minutes of screentime

Home 716 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Feel Special 677 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Butterfly 664 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Winner: Love Killa; Kim Gyuvin gets the extra votes

My thoughts:

None of these performances exactly floated my boat. Love Killa was marred by sort of blank performances, in my opinion (though it’s cool with me if you liked it, hope I’m not yucking your yum). Home was lovely at times but marred by tight, strained vocals here and there. Feel Special was a mess, brightened by Woongki's cuteness and, honestly, Z-bo's cheerful performance (I'm not his biggest fan, but it's not like the audience vote came out of completely nowhere). And Butterfly just sort of fell apart, as beautiful as Chen Kuan Jui's dancing was. I don’t really want to watch any of these performances again, or listen to them either.

I tried thinking, ok, which one would I want to watch a fancam of? For example, if it was a fancam of Gyuvin from Love Killa vs. a fancam of Woongki from Feel Special vs. a fancam of Chen Kuan Jui from Butterfly vs. a fancam of Yoon Jong Woo from Home, which would I prefer? And I found myself just ranking them based on how much I like the song itself. So my ranking is meaningless. They're all tied for 2nd place. No one is in first. First place is held in reserve for how good Love Killa would have been if Yoon Jong Woo and/or Ricky had been in the group instead of Matthew and/or Seo Won. (Sorry! I love Seo Won and want to get fro-yo with him, but the song didn't really suit him.)

Rap and Dance

Law 846 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Zoom 813 votes, 14 minutes  of screentime

Gang 798 votes, 12 minutes of screentime

Rush Hour 742 votes, 20.5 minutes of screentime

Winner: Law; Park Hanbin gets the extra votes

My thoughts:

This one is easy. Zoom. Zoom is my winner, hands down. 

I can see why Law won. It was exciting and sexy and the boys looked good. I like all five of these trainees a lot and think they're great performers. But here’s the thing about Law -- it’s so fucking good the first few times you watch it, but then it gets kind of dull. It’s just all kind of monotonous dancing, you know? Yeah, there’s the stupid flag wave, but there’s nothing else to break it up. 

In contrast, I keep noticing more cool things about Zoom as I watch it over and over. Like, the detail of how, when Wumuti does that kind of lifted leg butt wiggle on the line, “Wumumutiti!,”  the other trainees do a far scaled down version of the move, so that they’re supporting him but your eye still stays on Wumuti. It’s so subtle, but it’s cool because it controls where your focus is. I like being led around visually as I watch a dance -- tell me where I should look, choreography! Also, and I’m aware that this isn’t a unique take, but I love the way that the end of each rap section connects to the beginning of the next one. It makes it all feel like this is a real team, not just trainees who got stuck with each other. And I get so excited when I hear Wumuti’s awesome screech “Lights Camera Action baby!” and I know it’s Haruto’s dance break. YES!!!! Haruto, hit that breakdance pose and hold it for the camera click sound! It’s also so fun to watch Haruto’s fan cam and see him cheerfully clowning around with the other trainees when they were on the sidelines, during the performance. Ollie's cute rap, Hyunbeen saying "braggadocious," it's all so charming. They’re just all having so much fun. They’re IN the performance. 

For the record, I assume it was Keita behind most of what’s good here. From what I’ve heard, he did basically everything for this song, and did a lot in previous challenges, too. Keita’s so good that even MNET’s editing can’t hide him. The judges won’t shut up about him and every single other trainee respects him. I’m so glad that the audience sees it too.

So, Law won over Zoom in part (in my opinion) because Law was sexier -- I have a whole other post about how I think that Zoom’s styling really brought them down. But it may also have been the scheduling. I saw someone talking (in the comments section of The Bias List) about how she was in the audience for the taping of these performances! Jealous. According to her, it took ages and ages, with lots of time in between performances. She says Zoom was the last performance and by then, it was midnight and the audience was exhausted by then. But the team started performing and it was so energetic and fun that everyone in the audience jumped into life again. This is all according to a person on the internet, I can’t substantiate it, but I don’t know, it kind of rings true. 

It would be like MNET to try to sabotage Keita. Production had to know how good Zoom was and that it was likely to win, which would give 100,000 points to Ollie, Wumuti, Haruto, and Park Hyunbeen, and almost certainly would mean 250,000 points for Keita. If you look at the vote list above, you can see how much 100,000 points would mean for most members on this team. Yes this is just an interim vote and the final tally would be bigger overall, but even so, 100,000 points would help lock Haruto into safe territory, it would probably ensure Ollie's survival, and it would give Wumuti and Hyunbeen a fighting chance. 250,000 more votes might also move Keita up one space in the top 9. Scheduling Zoom last meant that it was an exhausted, cranky crowd who were voting, and that probably hurt it.

Anyway, enough about Zoom and Law. What about the other two groups?

As for Ggang, I think it was never going to appeal to me much because the song itself isn’t really my style. It’s not the trainees’ fault at all -- they did a decent job. But nothing about this performance specifically grabbed my attention to where I’d want to watch it over and over, and my little cousin Kum Jun Hyeon's shirt lift joke didn’t strike my fancy. 

And of course, Rush Hour just drags my spirit down when I try to watch it. I don’t know if I’d feel differently if I didn’t know the back story, but I do know the backstory, and I can’t turn that part of my brain off. 

So in the end, I guess my rank is:

Zoom

Zoom

Zoom

The other teams

Oh, and here’s my pie chart of the number of minutes devoted to each team. It’s kind of wild to see how little time was devoted to Zoom compared to Tomboy, isn’t it? 

As for the new songs that they’re going to be performing for the “Artist Battle”...

Oriental Pop “Switch” - sounds like a lost NCT Dream song

Sentimental Hip Hop “SuperCharger” - fast paced, kind of like Law

R&B Pop “Over Me” is sexy and charismatic

New-tro synth pop “Say My Name” is cute and lighthearted 

Funk Pop “En garde” is sort of weirdly forgettable.

Based on my theory on how important sexiness is, I think most of them will want #3, whether it suits them or not. Dancer types like Wang Zi Hao will probably want #2, and cutie pies like Woongki will probably want #4. It’ll be fun to see who ends up in which group, and whether it was the song they wanted or not. I’ll especially be interested in where the fans put Matthew, because he keeps trying to do sexy concepts and I think he’d be much better suited for something more like #4. 

Ok! We're finally done! And episode 8 is out. In fact, it's been out for a week if you knew where to look, and I did know where to look, but I have held back and didn't spoil myself.

Hope you're having a lovely day, hope that good things happen to you, and hope that all your pants are real sparkly. See you in the next one!