#poor jongwoo

[dragonboots10]

I watched episode 6 last night

He was so funny for this I was laughing out loud at 2 am

[fishy-xp]

another question i had, was why did they introduce seokyoon like that? i completely forgot about it cuz i ended up getting involved in his storyline. but his first appearance, he asked jongwoo for a charger even though the camera later panned to show that he already had one. i remember the first time around, i thought it was super strange, and thought maybe he was an under-cover police or journalist investigating the goshiwon and its residents. and then now on my second rewatch, i thought maybe i remembered it wrong but no i remembered it right? so like what was that all about?????????????? it is just to further hone in on the 'we don't really know anyone, we're all strangers' theme or genuinely what was the reason? was seokyoon just trying to make friends?

[hobisfavoritespritecan]

Hello!!! Can you please write a Seo Moonjo fic, where he becomes possessive/obsessed with Jongwoo's gf or with a female who works with him?

Overcompensate

Absolutely lovely! Here's a bit of a drabble for you!

Pairing: Seo Moon-Jo X Reader

Warnings: mentions of gore & possessiveness, Moon-Jo shows very yandere tendencies, cannibalism allegories

Moon-jo was a simple man.

Not necessarily in theory, but in practice. He knew what it was he aspired to obtain in his lifetime and with the amount of work and dedication he put into those aspirations, it makes sense that he would achieve them. Simple.

But as to what he wanted and the lengths he would go to, stopping at nothing...that was a little more complicated.

To his surprise, he had found himself in a situation where the goal wasn't in relation to dentistry or murder. He was having a bit of an issue sorting out just exactly why the new tenant of Eden Residence was so captivating, so enthralling to him. What was it about the boy who lived next door that led Moon-Jo to believing that his existence was some sort of spiritual awakening he would have to come to discover? Why was he suddenly so fascinated in the idea of pulling back his brain and picking out all of his thoughts, consuming them in their entirety until there was nothing left of poor Jongwoo but a vessel of the human being he once was? It was Kafka-esque, a metamorphosis of his character; to watch him succumb to the ravaging animalistic qualities that Moon-Jo believed all humans to possess. It was strange and it was beautiful.

And oh, was it something Moon-Jo wanted.

So he put in the work. Day after day he spent trying to get under Jongwoo's flesh, tearing open another layer piece by piece to truly understand his newfound obsession. But with every step closer to his goal he got, the more confused he became. There was nothing he was learning that he had hoped for. Jongwoo was buckling under the weight of his neighbor's madness, yes. But he wasn't the right image of Moon-Jo's work. This frustrated him to no end.

He still remembers when everything finally clicked into place. The night had just fallen and the stars crept up in the sky, illuminating the long path to the Residence. Although the lights were dim, one could still make out the small cats darting back and forth as they played with one another in the underbrush. The air was crisp and still with no wind, a perfect temperature to end an outrageously hot summer day. Moon-Jo awaited on the rooftop with two beers, as he usually did, watching the path below for his Jongwoo to arrive back home with his furrowed expression of displeasure and overly large backpack slung over his shoulders from an excruciatingly long day at the office. He would be lucky to convince Jongwoo up to the roof where he sat and even luckier if he could manage to get him to drink his beer. He knew Jongwoo was onto him and his...stranger tendencies, but he would receive the fruits of his labor. He always did.

The beer can was cold under his grasp, the condensation slipping from his fingertips and falling beneath him as the drops pattered onto the cracked concrete. He was starting to grow slightly warm, however, he wasn't sure if it was because of the weather or the growing anticipation he felt as he awaited the boy's arrival. His eyes didn't leave the road once.

As he looked beneath him towards the winding street, he finally saw his neighbor trudging up the path, same expression on his face Moon-Jo had expected him to be wearing. But, to his surprise, walking beside the man he'd so desperately tried his best to court 24/7 was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

It shocked him-almost-his hand immediately dropping the beer he was holding as he lost his composure for the first time in many years. It was sudden, as though he'd been impaled by sword, piercing through his lungs and stopping his breath as his heart skipped a beat. He had never been so hungry, so devout for human meat. He didn't want to cannibalize you, no. But he so desperately wanted to consume you and your being which is almost the same thing...right? He knew what Jongwoo had meant to him now, it was almost so clear in the way it presented itself; Jongwoo was never meant to be the product of his manipulation. It had always had to have been you.

Your eyes looked up towards Eden, missing the strange man on the roof entirely. Moon-Jo found himself entranced by them, watching the way they shone under the stars and the soft light from the windows of the Residence. They were like Bosch's paintings of the divine, absolutely encapsulating the beauty of the gods. Your hair fell slightly past your shoulders and framed a face he could only assume belonged to heavens itself. Your body swayed with the movement of your feet as you followed your boyfriend's suit, duffel bag in hand.

Moon-Jo thought he had died and been met with the face of a deity.

On your end, the only thing you were thinking about was Jongwoo's warnings from earlier. Once he had moved to Seoul and started living in this dingy place, he had instantly been met with strange roommates whom he'd talk about often. You were worried about his dwindling sleep schedule and his overall safety, residing in a place like this on the outskirts of town. If something terrible were to happen here, you weren't even sure police would show up in this precinct. For Jongwoo's sake, however, you swallowed down your nervousness preparing to have that conversation with him later.

Collecting himself, Moon-Jo practically sprinted towards the stairs and made his way down to Mrs. Eom's desk, leaning against the dilapidated building's walls, forcing himself to contain the sparks flying through his veins. He had to keep himself together, make the most impeccable first impression and swoon you over, whoever you might be. He needed you to like him, to trust him. If he ruined his image right off the bat by voicing his true inner monologue, it would be so much harder to mold you to his image and sway you into his grasp.

"Jongwoo, are you sure this is something you want to do? We could always sleep at my place if you're as uncomfortable by this place as you say." You said, closing the heavy door behind you and setting down your duffel bag for a moment to regain your breath.

Jongwoo shrugged and picked up your things containing all your overnight clothes and whatever else you'd brought to work that day. He had just simple given you a "yeah, this is fine" before turning around to be met face-to-face with the one person he didn't want to see or have the imposition of introducing to his girlfriend at all. He had hoped he might be able to sneak you past and into his room before anyone even noticed he was there; as he usually did. He'd presumed Moon-Jo to be on the roof for his nightly drink, whenever he stayed at the residence and not in his own apartment.

Beside the wall-almost eerily so-Moon-Jo stood, ignoring Jongwoo completely. His eyes were trained on you as you gathered yourself enough to take him in, watching the man before you breathe in the very fiber of your being. He was tall and dark haired with extraordinary cheekbones. With a face card like that, you were sure he'd have had to be a model or do side-gigs of the sort. His smile was a pleasant one as it seemed inviting, but upon staring at it for a few moments, something about it felt off to you. His black button-up was loose around his collarbones and neatly tucked into his slacks. He was fairly handsome, you thought, forgetting that Jongwoo had warned you of this 'crazy neighbor' before inviting you to stay at his place to catch the train back home tomorrow.

A piercing feeling of nervousness took over your body and shocked you instantly. There was something extremely peculiar about this man and you wanted nothing to do with finding out what it was. There was something haunting about the depth of his cold, dark gaze, contrasting Jongwoo's warm and inviting one. You swore to yourself in that moment not to walk anywhere on these premises without Jongwoo for fear of running into this man alone.

However uncomfortable you may have felt, Moon-Jo was in love, if that's what you would call it. He wanted this-you, so intensely and so immediately that his entire body felt as though it were shaking with tremors. He would stop at absolutely nothing to have you, to own you. You were what he had been unknowingly waiting for his entire existence and Jongwoo had only been the key. Smiling, he shook his hand out towards yours, ignoring the complaints from your boyfriend from beside you.

"My name is Seo Moon-Jo. The pleasure is all mine."

"(Y/N)." You replied.

[itaerae]

may i please request switch team as ur boyfriend 🙏 fem reader please

switch team as your bf 💭💭

pairing: na kamden, kim taerae, terazono keita, park hanbin, yoon jongwoo, zhang shuaibo x fem!reader

word count: 487

warnings: none ! (not proofread)

notes: i TRIED my best ᴖ̈ tysm for the request !

ᥫ᭡ na kamden

⋆ he adores study dates ! bby is an engineering major, you better help him out

⋆ will zone out at times and just stares at your face, pou behavior

⋆ y’all def having matching pou plushies, you can’t convince me otherwise

⋆ he doesn’t show much affection outside, but inside he’s over the moon for you <3

⋆ his love language is def acts of service; he loves the feeling of being able to do things for you !

ᥫ᭡ kim taerae

⋆ let’s you plan matching outfits ! (his fashion is atrocious, taerae ily but no absolutely not)

⋆ he has that glowing smile on his face every time he’s around you, a whipped man for sure

⋆ y’all def go karaoke for fun, but then he laughs at you when his score is higher

⋆ takes you out for ice cream afterwards though ! a win-win for both

⋆ his love language is physical touch; bby can’t keep his eyes and limbs off you, he’s attached 24/7 <3

ᥫ᭡ terazono keita

⋆ you tease him for his height and in return he teases your rapping lol

⋆ he takes you on the cutest dates, precious :(

⋆ WILL show up at your doorstep unexpectedly, be prepared to open it !

⋆ he loves being around you, you’re his comfort person; he loves how he can just naturally express himself with you

⋆ his love language is somewhere in between quality time and acts of service <3

ᥫ᭡ park hanbin

⋆ he’s very stressed out being a group leader sometimes and doubts if he’s too harsh, you’re like his stress reliever :((

⋆ melts into your affection all day, everyday

⋆ he swears y’all are soulmates, lives by the words match made in heaven

⋆ matching everything; keychains, shoes, clothes, food, etc. he loves to show off your matching accessories on dates !

⋆ his love language is words of affirmation ! whether it’s receiving or giving, it doesn’t really matter <3

ᥫ᭡ yoon jongwoo

⋆ he SCREAMS bf material, is indeed the perfect bf

⋆ loves to take you on late night dates or drives ! whether its 11 PM or 3 AM, any time can be date time

⋆ indulges in deep life convos with you purely because he finds your thoughts and opinions comforting :((

⋆ cuddling is a must, he WILL hold you for hours. there’s no getting out of this one !

⋆ his love language is quality time; he adores every single moment with you <3

ᥫ᭡ zhang shuaibo

⋆ bobo teaches you twice choreographies !

⋆ precious likes to buy matching stuffed animals with you ! y’alls rooms are def cluttered with hello kitty things

⋆ quality time with you is def doing each other’s make-up + skincare !

⋆ sometimes he just needs to reboot, just let him be lol 🧍🏻

⋆ his love language is words of affirmation; pls shower the boy in compliments, he deserves it <3 (poor bby doesn’t deserve the hate he's getting ˙◠˙)

[bep1erfics]

boysplanet trainees - lalala&okokok trend pt. 1

context 💌

‘lalala’ is the more outgoing, bubbly person while ‘okokok’ is the more laid back and chill one. for example you could even describe them as the talker & the listener!

　　　♪───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ────♪

over me team ❗️

ricky: okokok 💿

- he’s more quiet & self reserved. LOVES SNACKING ISTG ANYWHERE HE GOES HE CARRIES 193837 snacks in his pockets tysm gyuvin

- when people talk, he listens with open ears

- he’s SO shy skdjdjdb, everytime he makes eye contact he looks the other way AND SHIFTS HIS EYES TOWARDS THE FLOOR 😭 protect this boy at all costs

jeonghyeon: lalala 🎀

- literally is ricky’s other half, GENIUS LEE OOPS omg i love leejeong hes so quirky

- the biggest extrovert ever, cries easily

- radiates the biggest babygirl energy, bffs with all the trainees on boys planet which i think is so cute 😭 i would literally die for jeonghyeon

zhanghao: okokok 💿

- this man is literally the smartest guy ever. he might be cute, but in reality he’s literally so self aware. probs has an iq of 394738

- gives off father vibes. YUJIN & OLLIE are literally his children, if you’re younger than him he’s automatically your dad

- he listens to everyone’s opinions and is the calmest person on the show after ricky 😭

kuanjui: okokok 🎀

- the most extroverted of all extroverts

- CAN LITERALLY BLEND IN WITH ANY FRIENDGROUP, lights everything up with his bubbly and courageous personality

- zhanghao’s bff, they’re like the cutest duo (don’t be mad haobin stan’s i think haobin is cute as well)

jay: okokok 💿

- man’s is an introvert as well

- chill but is SO EASY TO PISS OFF like when ricky missed his highfive on purpose? HE WAS PISSED LMAO

- i feel like he’s a good friend to others though, like he would def comfort you if needed

switch team 🍭

kamden: lalala + okokok 🍰

- HE’S THE AWKWARDEST GUY ON EARTH. you talk to him? he doesn’t listen, he literally spaces out like pou

- you would think he’s introverted but he’s an esfp?! kamden is an EXTROVERT?

- socially awkward and an extrovert… the more you know

keita: lalala 🎀

- CUTEST GUY, he literally also blends in with any friendgroup easily

- you could bicker with him and bc he’s so loud, you would automatically lose in a span of 2 mins. this guy would beat you up with his chatter

- HES CUTE POSITIVE LOUD i love keita

taerae: okokok 💿

- HES APART OF THE GYARUZ but is like the shyest of all shy people….. AFTER HIS TAEEEERRIAAAA HE LITERALLY SHOVED HIS FACE ON HIS BED I CANT DO THIS

- not with those two toned pants. it screams INTROVERTED

- he’s a grandpa. THE GUITAR???????? THE CLOTHES???????????????? he’s so grandpa coded

phanbin: lalala 🎀

- istg he’s such an outgoing person, so funny and talented I LOVE YOU PHANBIN

- YOU PUT HIM WITH JUNHYEON????? a mistake. YOU PUT HIM WITH WOONGGI????? a fight will break out. YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE? he dances like a literal legend

- gaslight gatekeep girl boss vote for phanbin

jongwoo: no comment i’m so sorry i’m not gonna do him… he needs to leave g group alone. the xenophobia IS NOT IT. 😒 sorry

shuaibo: NEITHER????? LALALA??!?!?

- you can tell he’s a really self reserved person, BUT THIS MIGHT BE BC OF THE LANGUAGE BARRIER IDK BUT HE LOVES HIS CAT AND THATS ALL THAT MATTERS. 🐈

- ITS SO HARD BC mnet didn’t give him enough screentime but he’s a lovely person 😭 evil edits did him DIRTYYYYY, he’s so cute and bubbly but fr he wanted to go home ASAP during episode 11 he was literally sleeping 😅

- #zhangshuaibowewillmissyou

supercharger team 🐥

ollie: lalala 🎀

- cutest person ever (poor guy got e worded)

- loves to tease ricky, always screaming lovelicky (😭)

- he’s a bit introverted, but with the yuehuaz he’s the most cheerful person, chocolate in a human form 🍫

haruto: lalala 🎀

- LOUD, the mood maker of g group, he’s so funny 😭

- honestly has the best humour ever. HIS INSTAGRAM STORIES ARE SO FUNNY ISTG bro even tells us how often he 💩… tmi alert

- haruto is so goofy 😭 but yeah he gets emotional easily, poor guy

woonggi: lalala 🎀

- ANOTHER GOOFBALL. sassiest queen ever like we could be besties

- woonggi, seowon & taerae are literally so sassy i love it

- also can be friends with ANYONE he meets. YOU WALK INTO A ROOM WITH CHA WOONGGI? you walk out of that door twerking, screaming WOONGGI BOYYYY

(ollie was a victim of this.)

seowon: okokok 💿

- seowon is literally the calmer version of woonggi

- looks at everyone so endearingly it makes me sob how he got eliminated

- GYARUZ ON TOP

zihao: okokok 💿

- haruto’s husband, HE WAS THERE FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS FRUSTRATED DURING SUPERCHARGER 😭

- UMMM I HONESTLY DONT KNOW like zihao is all giggles if mnet gave him screentime we could’ve seen his more serious side

- on a side note, zihao seems like the sweetest person ever on boys planet 😭 farewell i’m so mad he got eliminated

takuto: lalala 🎀

- THIS GUY DOES NOT STOP TOYANAGA TAKUTO-ING

- oml he’s so clueless… LIKE YK WHEN HE LIFTED UP HIS SHIRT AND RICKY + SEONGMIN HAD TO HOLD HIM BACK FROM REVEALING HIS nonexistent abs

- he was such a bright person… BUT FR FAREWELL TO SUPERCHARGER TEAM YOU WILL BE MISSED

[braceletofteeth]

Hi! I was wondering, what do you think would've happened to Jongwoo, if Moonjo's previous work hadn't been a failure?

Hi!!

Well, considering the end of Jongwoo's success story, I'd say he'd still find the online ad about the goshiwon, but this time, when he got to the top of the hill, he'd be received with closed doors and police tapes (or ashes). Nothing to be seen there anymore. He'd have to carry his broken suitcase and broke ass somewhere else.

If he didn't find another suitable place for his budget, he'd have to take a loan with someone (Jieun or Jaeho, and I can't tell which option he'd find more embarrassing). But the good news is, no matter the place he ended up in, it couldn't be as bad as Eden, right? Probably still too disgusting and cramped for his taste, but most people would just try to stay out of his way instead of intentionally provoking him.

At work, although Byeongmin and Jaeho would still get on his nerves, I think he could have endured longer, since he had no other choice (no other job offer or source of income). At home, he'd keep trying to write his book; he wouldn't feel as inspired as he was because of Eden, but he had a good rhythm, so he'd probably finish it eventually (no guarantee it would be published, though; his writing career could possibly go nowhere and there is a very real possibility he'd stay under Jaeho's wing for a long time).

... That's the optmistic prospect.

As you might have noticed, Jongwoo's (mental) instability was beyond Eden and Moonjo's influence. He's got poor anger management, PTSD, and on top of that, he's impulsive, paranoid, and prone to hallucinations. His dissociative disorder might not even be a new development, as far as we know.

Eden was full of a-holes, but so was the rest of the city. Remember how Jongwoo got himself involved in a fight he had nothing to do with, on his first night? That's Jongwoo without Moonjo. The guy who felt vidicated and enjoyed applying punishment with his own hands in the army? That's also Yoon Jongwoo.

When Jongwoo loses control, he can't think properly about the consequences of his actions. He absolutely does not need another to get himself in trouble. In fact, without Moonjo around to prevent it, he'd probably get charged with assault or get seriously injured all on his own at least once.

And that's still being optmistic.

In short, Jongwoo's mind is a mix of some very volatile ingredients. It's difficult to keep them under control, and even more when you can't or won't recognize you need help. His future in Seoul had always been unpredictable... but from the moment he arrived, in the state he was in, the odds were never on his favor.

[lhoellh]

Stranger from hell analysis

I have rewatched both Strangers from hell and Hannibal NBC and the similarity in characterization is uncanny. But first, I just want to explain that although it seems the title "Strangers from hell" is the widely accepted title in English, "Hell is other people" is so much more poetical don't you think?

Throughout the series, it has been thoroughly discussed that the people that surround us are the ones that make our lives for better or worse and that is what we see with Yoon Jongwoo. From his poor mother, his brother, the residence, and his job. But what really stuck with me is that it is not the place that is making Yoon Jongwoo's life miserable. It's the people around him. He does not consider her mother and his brother and maybe his girlfriend the burden or his final straw to insanity, but the people in his residence and his work. This may seem like a given, but I just like this when thinking about this series.

--- The next will contain spoilers. Be warned---

Now the similarities between Hannibal NBC and Strangers from Hell, is, of course, the 2 main characters.

From the psychoanalytic theory where childhood is very important, both our sugar killer's childhood is not really put importance and we are only given small amounts of information regarding this regard. This information is enough. In psychology, mothers are very important figures in our life as a baby once. This mother figure is what makes us who we are today (well as I have said, mostly on what the psychoanalytic theory suggests). But from the Hannibal nbc and strangers from hell series, both Hannibal Lecter and Seo Moonjo are orphaned and have no clear distinct features of a mother figure to learn the ways of society or as Alfred Adler's theory teaches them social interest. However, since they live as the adults that we see they are, we know that someone took care of them.

My question is, in the psychoanalytic view, does their lack of parental love, neglect, and obvious lack of social interest, the reason why these individuals are who they are as adults? In a humanistic-existential theory most specifically Erich Fromm's theory, both show necrophilia, or the love of death, and malignant narcissism, or the extreme obsession with oneself, and this characterization, if spoken to, will make Hannibal and Seo Moonjo itch. Additionally, they are perfectionist and thinks that everyone is beneath them. Overall, these two individuals are toxic and beyond repair.

2. Hannibal and Moonjo are seen as smart and educated. We know that they are in the medical field, and we understand that they both are good at doing it. Their jobs help them with their murder hobbies, and their medical knowledge helps them with their signature killing style.

3. Gift-giving! In terms of love languages, it is seen that both Hannibal and Moonjo-despite being obsessive lovers- share their own form of love in acts of service. With Hannibal with his livers and sausages (if you know what I mean), it is understandable that he feeds it to people in his small social circle-but I see that as satirical where their high social standing makes them ignorant even to the littlest things like the food that they are eating. But with Will... Hannibal feeds Will with the intention of acceptance and affirmation that what Hannibal eats tastes good, and thus, Will should have them too. It is twisted, but who are we to judge his form of love?

We can also see this with Moonjo's bracelet full of teeth. Like Hannibal who has a fascination with human meat, Moonjo has a fascination with teeth. And like Hannibal, Moonjo shares them with Yoon Jongwoo because if he wears the bracelet, then maybe, maybe Jongwoo accepts Moonjo's love. Oh, I almost forgot the human meat that he feeds to everyone. But what makes it special is Moonjo's action while he feeds them to Jongwoo (I am being delusional but aren't we all?) where it looks like he feeds them to jongwoo so that jongwoo can understand moonjo better.

4. Throughout the end of the series, we can notice a similarity in the story resolution and how it shapes our two main characters.

a.) First with Yoon Jongwoo. At first, he has this life that in a sense, I still consider normal since it does not affect his daily life. He has his own problem with his poor mother, and his brother which seems to be an equally financial liability that makes him go to the city to finally be alone and work. It is not perfect, but it is his life that he just lives through as part of his lifetime. Toward the climax, with all the evils he has been through, the psychological abuse that not a normal person can handle is the last straw for his patience. I personally believe that a normal individual is judged by his patience in society, and if this patience does not exist, is what makes things problematic. Because of this, as we follow through to the end, he snaps and kills everyone including the very man that is obsessed with him- Seo Moonjo.

What I like about this end is that with all of the things he has gone through, we don't necessarily know how he would live his life after. We know that the current end tells us that what he did to Moonjo will be considered as self-defense and he gets to live in society to act like a normal human being. But can he? And, what then? We do not know.

b.) Now with Will Graham. An individual who has many mental illnesses that makes him think so differently than an average person, which in a sense, might makes his life a little bit harder than most considering that he does not follow the norms of the society, but like Yoon Jongwoo, he lives with it. Following through the 2nd season regarding his arrests, we noticed a turn of personality, specifically, hostility towards Hannibal. Will's unlawful arrest draws his last patience and at last! His becoming. I am curious to hear more of Hannibal's thoughts about this considering that this is part of his design, and yes, he cannot control what happens next, but what does Hannibal really think of this? Does he love it? Was he surprised? Aroused? Anyways, this new Will that we will eventually see in season 3 was very romantic unlike Strangers from Hell, and honestly, I am here for it!

If I have watched this when I was younger, I think I would have hated the ending. But since I watched it at the prime age of 18 (still too young I guess?), I LOVE LOVE LOVE it so much. The love that should not exist in the first place, a love that is so forbidden that you just have to choose which one, and the becoming of what you two truly want is my peak romance. Nobody writes romance like this anymore I guess...

Anyways! I just got really excited with this since I think I have found my favorite genre of literature and it's just murder bl haha.

[amethystina]

If I could describe how I think Moonjo entered Jongwoo's heart (mind?) to the point where they ended up together until death, I imagine something like this:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMrQoc9Vn/

ignore the subtitles and just focus on the video. I'll have to read your fanfic again for sure!

Well, you're not wrong xD

Poor Jong Woo. He was put through such an ordeal.

And, not going to lie, I think Moon Jo had it coming. I mean, don't get me wrong — I enjoy their dynamic and I had a lot of fun writing my fic and all that. But considering everything Moon Jo did to Jong Woo during the drama?

He definitely had it coming xD

I hope you have fun re-reading the fic! :D

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Eps 9-10 Recap: Over Me

Hello, team BP! As you may know, I already wrote a recap/master post for episode 9, and another one for episode 10. This recap focuses just on the stuff that’s relevant to team Over Me -- their rehearsal period in episode 9 as well as their rehearsal footage and performance in episode 10. But you’ll have to get over the read more first. 

The Trainees

Here’s a list of the trainees in this group along with their rank as of episode 8 and their two previous missions:

Zhang Hao 2 / Kill This Love/ Tomboy Jay 12/ Love Me Right / Home Ricky 14/ Back Door /Rush Hour Chen Kuan Jui 22 / Kill This Love/ Butterfly Lee Jeong Hyeon 24 / Love Me Right / Gang

The First Rehearsal Segment

At 43:13 in Episode 9, we visit with team Over Me for about 4.5 minutes. 

The camera focuses on the Leader sticker on the floor, next to a bit of red fluff that must have come from those red fabric bands the boys are using in their dance. Looks like Yoon Jongwoo just took the sticker off and threw it, or dropped it, on the floor. 

Zhang Hao is saying, “It must’ve been really hard to be a leader of 10 people.” Already, there’s a lot to unpack there. They’re talking about Yoon Jongwoo, clearly. But saying it like that sounds like they’re excusing something about him, something negative about him. Right? Like the way that when the poor Supercharger group fell apart at the self-evaluation performance, the trainees said, “Oh, this choreography must be super hard.” You talk like that when you’re excusing something negative.

Remember how I said, when I talked about T h e  G r e a t  R e s h u f f l i n g  that I think they got rid of Jongwoo in part because they were just sick of him, and wanted Hao as the leader instead? I do think that happened. I think Jongwoo got stuck in a sort of negative headspace and people weren’t enjoying it. I think it was easier for Jongwoo to be the comeback kid than to be an actual contender. My take is that he’s climbed so high that now he’s scared to fall, and it’s making him act less friendly and warm than he used to. I could be wrong about all of this, of course.

That said, I think the PRIMARY reason they kicked out Jongwoo is that he was going to steal the show. As a result, the performance just won't be as good as it could have been. I feel sad about that. 

But as much of a bummer as it is, given the situation, I can’t blame Hao and the others for doing what they had to do to succeed. They didn’t create the situation; they just reacted to it. And I like Hao! I’ve liked him since the start of the show. 

The team nominates Hao to be the leader, and we’ve seen him do well as a leader in the past so it should go ok. After all, as he reminds us, he studied to be a music teacher and is “passionate about teaching others.” Aww, I get it, Hao. He promises to help everyone shine well on stage. Everyone but Keita and Yoon Jungwoo.

After electing Hao the leader, the team immediately also gives Hao the Killing Part. Lee Jungyeon gets to keep sub-vocal 2 that he wrote his own rap for, and as it turns out, he can also sing decently well (he’s a bit pitchy, but he has a nice tone and can probably work on it). We see almost nothing of Chen Kuan Jui this whole time, and he ends up with sub-vocal 4, so I guess Hao is taking sub-vocal 3 as well as the killing part. 

And Hao feels certain they’ll win first place. Well, I was pretty sure that whatever 5 random trainees ended up in this song, this would be the winning team, so there’s that. 

Again, we see absolutely nothing of them rehearsing. We didn’t see any of them rehearsing in episode 8, either. Is the show purposefully keeping the choreo a surprise until we see them actually doing it? 

Second Rehearsal Segment + Performance

Skip to 1:09:56 in episode 10 for the rest of the performance. 

So, I probably could have gotten this recap out sooner -- I was all up to date and I got most of all of this written -- but then I kind of stalled out because I just didn’t really want to talk about what happens with Over Me. It’s actually made me genuinely sad. My fella was like, you seem down, are you ok? And I had to be like, “I’m sad about what happened on my silly Korean reality show.” To his credit, he just listened and agreed with me a lot. 

What could it be? What could have made BPR-Noona so sad? Let’s back up to the beginning of the rehearsal footage! You’ll find out either soon, or next episode! Let me give you 30 minutes of random filler first! 

Oh no wait, I don’t work for MNET. I’ll get to the point fairly quickly. 

As the boys take the stage, the judges talk about how this is a sexy song, and how it’s difficult to  perform on stage.

We see that some people in the audience are holding up Lee Jong Hyeon signs so that’s good, because right now there are like, 5 or 6 really popular foreign trainees, so we’ll need to pump up any slightly viable Korean candidates to make sure to get them into top 9 to replace them foreigners!.... Sigh. 

They all introduce themselves, and the audience goes crazy. 

Back stage, Yoon Jong Woo graciously wishes them well. Also Park Hanbin is holding a tiny fan. There’s so much to love about this picture.

But soon we skip back in time…. 

We skip to a rehearsal with the judges -- they’re dancing in front of Solji and we see Solji look like this: 

She asks if they’re going to record like this, because their singing seems half hearted, almost like they’re embarrassed of how sexy the song is. Ricky says they haven’t been practicing the vocals, and we’re left wondering -- what is going wrong with their rehearsals? 

Because MNET is incapable of telling a story in order, we now do a flashback inside a flashback, because that’s confusing! 

We skip to the day before. The team is working on the “rotations”, which seems to be formation changes. It doesn’t seem to be going very well, and as they’re trying to fix mistakes, Zhang Hao wants to give every single suggestion a chance. It seems to be confusing and frustrating for everyone. In fact, Chen Kuan Jui ends up sitting out the hall, just needing a few minutes to himself to calm down. (Interestingly, CKJ and Zhang Hao speak Korean when they’re alone together; CKJ is from Taiwan, so his language is actually totally different from Zhang Hao’s, but it’s interesting that the language they choose is Korean.)

We see the team at dance rehearsal with one of the psychopath dance teachers. The choreographer of the piece is there, and she’s the woman who did the killing part in the demo -- I pretty much assumed that she was the choreographer, so good job me! They ask the team how Hao is doing as a leader, and they don’t say anything for a moment, so the psycho says, “Ah, I see,” and he’s kind of right. 

CKJ interviews that Zhang Hao isn't really doing a good job as a leader because they try every suggestion every time and maybe that’s not so great. Lee Jeong Hyeon says it was inefficient and Ricky says they still don’t know what to do. 

Hey maybe you shouldn’t have kicked out Yoon Jongwoo and Keita because things tend to work out better when they’re around 

The group rehearses their dance in front of psycho judge and they actually bump into each other and stuff. It’d be comical if the stakes weren’t so high. The psycho dance teacher is like, what the fuck? And for once I’m with him. They have no excuse. The choreographer doesn’t say a word the whole time (that we see). I think she’s kind of… over this. So to speak. 

Later on Solji meets with Zhang Hao, apparently at his request. (Can I request to meet with Solji? I just want to chat about like, singing and kpop and I don’t know, life? I like Solji.) He tells her that he’s just having trouble figuring out how to lead the team.

 She basically tells him worry less about everyone’s emotions, and to be more firm and more in control. 

Next day, Hao goes in early and rearranges the choreo himself. When the team comes in, he teaches the new rotations and they begin working on it. It seems to be working a lot better now. 

Later, we see them at the recording studio, which is something we haven’t seen with any other group. Ricky gets praised for his pronunciation (but not his  vocals in general, which I think also deserve praise) and Lee Jong Hyeon gets told he sounds really professional in both singing and rap. We don’t see Jay singing, because the show hates him. We barely even see him at all. 

Look at him tucked in a corner. Come on, Jay, push for yourself just a little, man! 

We skip forward and now it’s D-day. 

They come out and the stage is all draped in red fabric. 

To continue with your Korean reading skills, 팀 says "team", as in, the English word spelled in Korean letters. The thing that looks like a capital E is a T, the straight line is an i, and the square is an M.

Part of me wishes they’d just gone full tilt and decorated the stage with like, multiple beds. But I guess the gauze draped over pianos (?) was as close to that as they’d dare. 

There’s a cute moment backstage when Yoon Jongwoo tells Takuto to cover his eyes, and Takuto, possibly not knowing that they’re joking with him, says “I can watch sexy stuff too.” 

The performance begins. 

My take:

I’m sorry to be kind of negative in these reviews. I really think all 28 trainees are exhausted emotionally and physically at this point, just living off of adrenaline for three months, and it’s starting to catch up to them. And yeah, this performance wasn’t quite… quite.

Also, stylist noonas fucked over Jay. 

I have to mentioning the problem with his styling up top, because I think it’s at least PART of what went wrong in terms of the vote. He’s capable of looking so much better than this -- what happened here? They made his eyebrows too dark, I think? And the choker screws with his proportions in a really bad way. Plus his chest is so light -- he needed to have consistent coloring from his neck down to wherever you could see with the shirt open. I don’t know, this just is all wrong. I’m not a stylist so I don’t know how to fix it but I’d start by taking the choker off for sure.

As for the actual performances...

Did you ever watch the video for Love Talk by WayV? I might catch hell from N-Citizens for this but that doesn’t give me any sparkles in my pants. It’s more like I cringe so hard, I almost fold inward and disappear into subspace -- except when Ten is on screen. Ten’s the only one who seems completely at ease with the overtly sexy message of the song. (If you’re not familiar, Ten is the one on screen from 0:00 to 0:20, among other times.) Everyone else is trying to look sexy or “serious” or… IDK, undressed, whatever. But Ten, I buy. There’s a reason that SM gave him Birthday. Whether he specifically makes your pants sparkle, you have to acknowledge that he owns this concept. Most people simply do not.

It’s really, really difficult to sell sexy without seeming sleazy, or inappropriately aggressive, or even worse, sleepy. I think a lot of trainees think that just staring at the camera dead eyed is sexy but it’s really not. I don’t know WHAT it is, to be honest. I just know that Ten can do it, and Kai can do it, and Joohoney and IM from Monsta X can do it. 

On this team, Chen Kuan Jui can do it. CKJ was utterly fearless and completely, 100%, “in” the song. I don’t find CKJ sexually attractive in particular -- who knows why one does or doesn’t find a particular person sexy -- but his fancam is sexy AF. I wish we could see him more, that he wasn’t behind the other trainees. I wish it was basically just a CKJ dance solo. Heck, even my fella picked CKJ out as obviously the best dancer in this group, and when the song was over said, “I kept waiting for that one blonde guy (he meant CKJ) to do a dance solo and he never did.”

Ricky was really good too, of course. I still think he’s occasionally just a tiny bit stiff in his body, but in terms of confidence, comfort level with the song, and facial expressions, he does great. He knows how to smile in a sexy way -- I think that’s super important. And his vocals are also really good. He’s just sort of outclassed by CKJ, for me. Also, if you watch either of their fancams, it really looks like they’re in two different songs, so I wish the group had spent a bit more time figuring out what style of dancing they were going for.

If I was only allowed to vote for one person, though, I would have voted for Jay, because he’s the one who I would least want replaced by some other trainee for this performance. I think Jay’s vocals kind of make the song what it is. His dancing and performance commitment was absolutely up to par for a main vocal -- vocalists are given a bit of leeway in terms of dancing and he doesn’t even really need it, as far as I’m concerned.  

Lee Jeonghyeon did ok, I don’t know, I have nothing really good or bad to say. Sorry. He looked handsome. His rap sounded good for a rap, though I think I would have liked the song better without it. (I’m a big fan of letting kpop songs NOT have a rap break in them, sometimes.) All I can think is, the team kept him, and not Yoon Jungwoo? God, Jungwoo would have killed this. 

For me the biggest disappointment was Zhang Hao. I don’t know what it is, because I’ve liked him since the beginning, but this performance was just sort of… flat. I think he was too busy leading and he’s too tired and maybe a sexy performance just isn’t in his wheelhouse yet. I both believe and hope he can do better under better conditions, because I know he’s extremely talented, it’s just that for me, he didn’t do as well as I would have hoped. 

It’s not as if Lee Jeonghyeon or Zhang Hao did badly; they both did well. They just didn’t shine, to me, or put sparkles in my pants.

Afterwards

The judges are impressed. They have nice things to say about Jay -- kind of? LipJ thinks Jay should have toned it down. They say Lee Jeonghyeon was cool and very handsome and that Zhang Hao pulled off the sexy part well. But we hear nothing about Ricky or CKJ, even though the judges MUST have said something nice about them.  

So the boys go back stage to the folding chairs of doom to find out their numerical value, and then the awful thing happens.  

Jay came in last with 485 votes. 

Everyone is shocked. But Jay just nods. He says he expected it because no one was really cheering for him.

Look how sad and shocked everyone is.

And watching at home, I felt a little sick. What the fuck. What the fuck is wrong here. 

A vote that low is punitive, you guys. That’s what they do when they hate you, or when you are Takuto. Jay isn’t Takuto, so they must hate him. Why? What is going on? 

You know what? I don’t think I want to know. Jay’s vocals were so good. There was no reason for him to get such a low vote except that maybe people think he’s “ugly” (do they? IDK) or because he’s foreign or there’s some dumb social media drama or whatever. Maybe it’s because he’s too passive and it gives people the cringies? I don’t care. His vocals were great so shut up and press A. 

I do think, however, that all this doesn’t necessarily mean Jay is doomed. The audience that goes to see live performances are not necessarily a representative sample of the full Star Creator vote. Plus, I think as the dust settles around this performance, the injustice of Jay receiving such a ridiculously low approval score will become clearer and clearer, and people may switch their vote to Jay. All I know is that I’m going to be voting for Jay from now on, because this is some fucked up bullshit. I’m also going to try to give his fancam some views.  

Zhang Hao comes in first with 852 points, which ties Haruto. I don’t exactly agree; I think Ricky or CKJ should have come in first, but I get it, it’s fine. I don’t like, hate Hao or anything. I don’t think this was his finest moment but I actually think that no one has really had their finest moment in this go-round. 

Zhang Hao interviews, “It was harder than I thought. The killing part had so many parts, so my mind was all over the place. I was worried if I could take first place. But when I saw the results I felt proud.” Aw, that's good. You worked really hard, Hao.

And that’s the end of this recap, and the end of episode 9-10 analysis. Next up is an elimination episode with metric crap-tons of filler. I’m caught up  so I should be able to get a recap to that out pretty fast. 

See you all in the next one, and thanks as always for reading! 

[colorfulwasps]

Strangers from Hell is so special to me because I relate to Jongwoo so much like fuck yeah I too have anger issues that should have been resolved with therapy but unfortunately I am poor so I'll just direct it all to my art instead.

[1eos]

I’m so sorry to my poor brain I went looking again after the new synopsis dropped cause I knew they’d be scrambling and they are they’re all screaming about it and saying we won and they were right and screaming he’s gonna now apparently bottom for jongwoo and making out with him and being his babyboy and they’re gonna get him kissing big buffer boys. like who? They surely can’t mean jongwoo? what’s even funnier is this is all inbetween good luck tweets I’m assuming the job progressed. To repeat myself I really really hope theres nothing because I want them to be so disappointed and screaming they lost because it’s all ridiculousss how they’re acting 😷. I really need to stay away from looking for a while I think but I love reading your take on them ~ 🔮

BUFFER BOYS?????????????????daf:af:a:ff:a:fa:f bye thats the funniest part bc leo is CLEARLY the biggest bitch on the roster (complimentary) 😂😂😂😂😂😂 take OFF the yaoi goggles wtf. which, to segue, is what annoys me abt these twitter fujoshis like they have to change everything abt these men to create a fantasy when like....you can be tall/big/broad/fat/muscular/etc and be gentle in relationships like its 2022 and you still think real life gay ppl have to adhere to YAOI manga rules? go outside. make this drama blow up so eventually leo can get what he really wants: being in a project with his ideal type gong yoo

[blue-ladoo]

she’s connecting the dots

[sofarraway]

Jongwoo is lying on his side, asleep. My poor boy. Moonjo kneels right beside his darling's bed, intently observing as Jongwoo's chest raises and falls with every breath. Adoration is clear in his eyes. [ read more ]

[honeyedirene]

jongwoo's yandere harem??

okay so we know that moonjo is gaga for jongwoo but have we ever considered anybody else?? also this is an idea for a fic i have on AO3. the link is : https://archiveofourown.org/works/38691447/chapters/96738597

Ji-Eun

Manipulative

Gaslighting him to believe that nothing is wrong with his neighbors

Doesn’t support Jongwoo’s love for writing

Thinks she will marry him

Wants him to stay sweet and naive

Doesn’t trust Moonjo

Uses Jaeho as an advantage but doesn’t trust him completely.

Uses her sweet persona to fool everyone

Can’t keep a grip on Jongwoo because of distance and her job

Can’t get him to move in because of his pride and she has traditional parents

Compares him to the younger version of himself

Tries to isolate Jongwoo but can’t because of her disadvantages. She can’t comfort him.

Ji-Eun fails at keeping him sweet because he loses his shit and breaks it off with her.

Fate is undecided because I want her to cheat on him with Jaeho but she’s just trying to make a deal with Jaeho to keep him obedient. 

Jaeho

Condescending

Uses his age as an advantage

Keeps Jongwoo in his sight via job

Is an asshole

Isolates him from the workspace in order to get Jongwoo to depend on him

Is a closeted Bi man

Wants Ji-Eun and Jongwoo but is confusing his feelings.

Bro is mad annoying

He is most definitely dead because I hate that mf 

Downtalks Jongwoo’s writing as a “hobby”

Is the last person Jongwoo would ever date in this bunch

Kihyuk

At first he doesn’t understand Moonjo’s obsession with Jongwoo

He stalks him daily to understand Moonjo’s fascination

Becomes fascinated himself

He’s distant though

Understands that he doesn’t have the advantages like Ji-Eun or Jaeho and can’t approach Jongwoo like Moonjo has

Is also in love with Moonjo

Wants a poly relationship with Jongwoo and Moonjo

Jongwoo isn’t aware of Kihyuk’s existence

Kihyuk thinks that Jongwoo was a lot like him pre-Moonjo which is why he likes him

He dies lol

Seokyoon

He’s not as possessive or obsessive like the others

He’s just protective over his hyung

Age is his advantage because he gets to call Jongwoo affectionate names

Jongwoo thinks it's because he’s young but it’s only a three year age gap

Kinda annoying

Out of everyone, he spends the most free time with Jongwoo

He feigns ignorance and innocence to get Jongwoo to help him

Since Jongwoo is paranoid about their neighbors, he uses that as an excuse to get Jongwoo to come home

It works almost all the time

But it is rare that he does that since Seokyoon knows that Moonjo is looming over him.

Poor baby just wants to become a rich and famous rapper so he can sweep Jongwoo away from this place

Moonjo

Ultimate stalker

Shows up at the worst times possible to manipulate and gaslight Jongwoo into killing everyone who’s ever wronged him

Can’t kill anyone that Jongwoo personally knows because Jongwoo WILL know

He wants Jongwoo to do it himself

Does abnormal things to scare Jongwoo and then makes it seem normal

Likes to talk about murder but Jongwoo thinks he’s just talking about fiction

Moonjo recommends good books.

Has a teeth kink

Watches Jongwoo sleep from his pervert peephole

Takes showers with Jongwoo on purpose but Jongwoo thinks it is a coincidence

Doesn’t sleep with a blanket

He is cold, not literally his skin is cold af.

I think he may have anemia

Likes to touch Jongwoo but not weirdly. Just small touches on the shoulder or brushing his bangs (?) back

Jongwoo

He’s not oblivious but he’s not the brightest crayon in the box

He thinks that Ji-Eun is just stressed from work, Jaeho is just an asshole, Kihyuk (who?) is his weirdo neighbor, Seokyoon is his slightly annoying younger friend, and Moonjo the gayest mf in the world.

He isn’t the one with internalized homophobia. That’s Jaeho.

He likes dudes but none of these dudes qualify.

Jongwoo is so close to snapping

Tired of being nice? Go apeshit bby

Goes to the rooftops where either Moonjo or Seokyoon is there waiting for him

This mf gets no breaks but all the bitches

Is harassed 24/7

Who he ends up with is undecided because none of them deserve this man

He needs therapy

[meri-meri-mwah]

I... just finished Hell Is Other People webtoon and...

I TRULY believe Strangers From Hell is a homoerotic version of the webtoon. Like... THE WEBTOON... JONGWOO DID NOT DESERVE ALL THAT. MY POOR BABY.

But seeing the ending... what the author posted months ago makes so much sense now. If this doesn't smell like a sequel or something then. 😮💨

[braceletofteeth]

Jongwoo: What are you doing here?

Moonjo: Why? You thought I wouldn't find out?

Jongwoo: Look, I'm in great pain right now. I don't need this.

Moonjo: [sits by Jongwoo's side quietly for about ten seconds]

Moonjo: I'm a dentist. Why are you here?

Jongwoo: Well, it's very simple.

Jongwoo: I don't trust you.

Moonjo: Ah.

Moonjo: Thank you.

Moonjo: Now we're both hurt.

Jongwoo: [sighs profusely] No. No, we're not. There is no we now. I'm the one in pain. You're just being dramatic.

Jongwoo: And why are you bitter? I didn't ask you to follow me here.

[silence]

Jongwoo, having a sudden realization: You are not going to kill my dentist!

Moonjo: [goes very still]

Jongwoo: He's doing me a favor. He's helping me. I won't let you!

Moonjo: Hm. I see.

Moonjo: Out of here he can be all kinds of disgusting and disgraceful, perhaps even in here, but since he's "your dentist", whom you're paying to take care of you, he must not be harmed.

Jongwoo, sarcastically: So you understand.

Moonjo: Yes, absolutely. May I stay to make sure you're in good hands?

Jongwoo: Do whatever. Just don't embarrass me.

[Narrator's voice: To Jongwoo's dismay, Moonjo took "do whatever" very seriously.]