#i just felt that ming's “softness” just made sense when it seems like it didn't for many others

[clairedaring]

more my stand-in ep 3 thoughts and ming

i promise i have ONE last thing to say about ming's portrayal in ep 3 of my stand-in. but like in the writers defense, so much time has passed since ep 2?

if you take passing time into account, for me it does make sense for ming to be so domestic and somewhat sweet with joe, playing house with him for quite a while. the events of the first two eps happen within like one-two weeks and assuming ming graduated in the middle of the year, by the time christmas rolled around they'd have been with each other for like 6 months?

i think ming in ep.3 is just isn't living up to the toxic guy of everyone's imagination but what reason would ming have to be super mean to joe in this episode though? in ep. 1 he did say that usually he's not very mean his fwb.

every time he's been mean to joe, it's something to do with tong... or he feels threatened by his love rival, sol.

so even though they're "not boyfriends", for me ep.3 was that 'calm before the storm' period for ming where he's gradually accepted that he could be happy with just tong's substitute, because his sexual fantasies are already satisfied through sex with joe.

the status quo isn't really that bad so really other than a few remarks once in a while to put joe in his place and to remind joe that they are definitely NOT boyfriends, why would ming be unreasonably mean to joe?

i do in fact think that if ming didn't expose himself, ming and joe could have just been living happily and quietly because his crying scene when tong got engaged to may, felt more like closure for ming rather than him actually having any residual feelings for tong.

ming is not a bad kid... you can see how he put his family first, going to study abroad hoping that his feelings for tong would one day go away while his sister dates tong. so ming doesn't really have that evil antagonist aura the way tong does (that man is pure evil). ming is just very misguided and a bit entitled at times (understandably so considering his background). but in ep. 3 you get a glimpse of how ming is not as inconsiderate as he first appears and that once sol and tong are out of his mind, he can actually be somewhat considerate of joe's feelings and reciprocate the nice gestures joe do for him.

while ming is a manipulative male lead, i wouldn't say his actions in the current timeline are what i would characterize as manipulative but rather things he does with joe 2.0 to rope joe 2.0 back in his orbit is what i would consider as manipulative (which you will JUST HAVE TO STAY TUNE FOR).