enhypen dynamix !?
Jan. 9th, 2021 11:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
permutative
(note 4/3/21: this doesn't reflect my current opinions on enhypen dynamics at all but i do think it's pretty interesting so i'll keep it up to the public ^^ but yeah take all of the opinions here with a grain of salt)
this is kind of disorganized and bad but i think my perspective on enhypen friendships/relationships have changed so much over the past couple weeks since my last i-land post that i feel inclined to write stuff up. sorry my can’t-shut-up disease is real, as always! this is not comprehensive at all and it's like 100% influenced by my crasy tunnel vision... um.
some other relevant information:
enhypen hyung-line: heeseung (01) + jay, jake, sunghoon (02)
enhypen maknae-line: sunoo (03) + jungwon (04) + niki (05)
enhypen bighit-line (and when they started training): heeseung (march 2017) + jay (april 2017) + sunghoon (february 2018) + jungwon (november 2018)
in order to gauge popularity i'm using ao3 (for i-fandom) and postype (for k-fandom) stats. this might not be a 100% accurate indicator of popularity, just because enhypen has a strong seasian fanbase and idk if their shipping culture necessarily translates into ao3 content or anything like that. but at least for now it's good enough...
international ship ranking (based on ao3 as of january 9th, 2021)
1. heeseung/sunghoon (87)
2. sunghoon/jake (84)
3. sunoo/niki (81)
4. jay/jungwon (50)
5. sunoo/sunghoon (30)
6. jay/sunghoon (29)
k-fan ship ranking (based on postype stats, credits to
girlrock for digging this up on dec 30th, 2020)1. sunghoon/sunoo (254)
2. jay/jungwon (193)
3. the ship name for heeseung/jungwon except it’s also a skz ship which skews the data (140)
4. jungwon/sunoo (69)
5. sunghoon/heeseung (37)
6. sunghoon/jay (30)
a note on bighit-line friendships: it seems like jay was honestly the closest to all of the other trainees—not surprised, considering how social/extroverted he is. on the other hand, jungwon was kind of on the younger side, sunghoon was busy balancing figure skating along with training, and heeseung was sort of more “unapproachable” as a top-ranked trainee so… idk you can draw your own hypotheses here.
▶ heeseung/jay
they’re the oldest friendship within the group and trained the longest together so there’s a natural bond there. jay said that they were like family and that he’s seen heeseung more than he’s seen his mom and i honestly see that? like they honestly remind me of that sibling-level closeness where there’s a lot of familiarity and trust even if they aren’t typical #besties. also jay clearly looks up to heeseung a lot meanwhile heeseung just finds it funny and has become a lot more laid-back upon debuting. the one-sided rivalry (jay --> heeseung) is so funny to me <3
▶ heeseung/sunghoon
this is just a simple mutual respect friendship. i think heeseung really values how reliable and hardworking sunghoon is and sunghoon respects heeseung. he also acknowledges heeseung’s random cute moments, but honestly, it isn’t much deeper than that? i’m honestly surprised that they’re so popular with i-fans, and i wonder how much of it has to do with heeseung & sunghoon both being popular internationally and then having a straightforward friendly relationship.
▶ heeseung/sunoo
screammm heeseung is probably the one enhypen member who has been influenced by sunooisms the most! his evolution from being absolutely terrified of/terrible at aegyo to doing aegyo readily is like 80% thanks to sunoo. also both of them are the most committed to being “good idols” (or at least are the best at it) in the fanservice and being-attentive-to-fans sense, so they take a lot of selfies together; i literally have no idea how close they are but they definitely get along. i think my issue with them is that i can’t tell how much of their relationship heeseung wanting to be a good idol and then taking advice from sunoo vs heeseung being friends with sunoo and then being influenced by his mannerisms.
▶ heeseung/jungwon
although they've known of each other since before i-land, jungwon mentioned that heeseung had an intimidating reputation and they weren't able to get close until they began the show. that being said i do think they’re very close now...when jungwon mentioned that he’d stay up till 4am or 6am talking to the other trainees after the mics were turned out i’m pretty sure he was talking about heeseung lol. also heeseung was one of the people who encouraged jungwon to be the leader and then jungwon goes to heeseung when he has struggles n__n idk i think it’s notable that jungwon said that heeseung was his “twin” because he wanted them to have a friendship that transcended their three year age gap!!
▶ jay/sunghoon
they’re also canonically friends. i still find it interesting that instructors used to be surprised that jay and sunghoon hung out with each other (the whole black vs white narrative lol). i think they’re very different and don’t necessarily get along as “easily” as jake does with sunghoon but the third-wheel energies during the 02z live wasn’t as bad as i thought it’d be. but also like out of jay's bighit trainee friendships i think jay is the least close with sunghoon…? their rational vs emotional mild unsoulmatery narrative is pretty fun to me though.
▶ jay/sunoo
ok these two don’t like each other that much but [tinhats] IT’S FINE. maybe in the context of i-land everything is significantly more… tense but they literally have to get along for the sake of the group. idk i think it’s funny how often they sit next to each other because the contrast between sunoo sitting next to niki/jay sitting next to jungwon vs sunoo sitting next to jay… well it certainly exists. i wrote a whole essay about how it’s okay that they don’t get along and i pay attention to their interactions way too much. but like jay did call sunoo pretty once and they’re just mutually not close. IT’S OKAY.
▶ jay/jungwon
jay clearly adores jungwon. like, even during i-land he was like [emotional] “if jungwon gets eliminated i’m going to break the egg and bring him back” like that’s real. he's mentioned that jungwon has a personality suited to leading and definitely places a lot of trust in him/has confided in him regarding his role in the group. as for jungwon, he’s a bit more levelheaded and finds jay’s antics really endearing and teases him a lot. i think it’s kind of interesting that jay goes to jungwon for emotional support but jungwon honestly seems to value jay more for lighthearted things/how he can cheer jungwon up?
▶ jay/niki
jay knows japanese (i still don’t know how, but it’s certainly something that exists) so i think he naturally looks out for niki because of that. jay definitely dotes on niki the most after jungwon. sorry to bring up i-land but now that i’m thinking about it it’s probably interesting that jay and k were close because of the japanese thing as well… huh. also niki spent the holidays in jay’s home so yeah <3 jay caring older hyung narrative is REAL (?!)
▶ jake/sunghoon
not to sound crazy but these two... wow. they are #besties to the core and i respect them for that. it’s honestly pretty interesting that they managed to get so “close” within less than a year and sometimes i do wonder how much of it is just variety editing focusing on their moments especially. but these two are a pair that i genuinely think would be friends if they just randomly met in some alternate universe. still thinking about how sunghoon chose jake over his sister (!?) as someone he’d miss the most/sunghoon choosing jake as the person he goes to when he has problems/etc. i do think the “we have similar mbtis” thing is cool to think about (and maybe false?! i find it so hard to believe that jake is an istj when his enneagram type is the same as sunoo’s. how does that work). also i often remember how jake once said sunghoon reminded him of himself before his PERSONALITY CHANGE. like jake shim your hidden depths!! anyways, they genuinely like each other so much <3 amazing <3
▶ sunghoon/sunoo
these two are friendly with each other and i do think they’ve gotten a lot closer (especially after being roommates during summer training). i just think they’re very different from each other and sunghoon is just like politely indulging in sunoo/respects sunoo for his ability to use aegyo and be a charming idol. also sunoo saying that sunghoon (not so secretly) thinks sunoo is cute? like yeah that’s real. also their cat/dog friendship where sunghoon thinks sunoo is cutest when he’s angry/annoyed at sunghoon <3 that’s so cute. as always sunoo trying to get close to sunghoon because of how handsome he is will forever remain iconic but they’re just in the middle of the pack closeness-wise.
▶ sunoo/niki
i think the most important thing to understand is that niki is literally fifteen years old and living in a country he didn’t grow up in away from his parents and is quite literally doing his best… anyways i think sunoo looks out for niki a lot and they definitely spend a lot of time together watching movies and stuff. at the same time i think it’s notable that niki said he feels closest to jungwon (?) like i think sunoo and niki’s relationship might be more brotherly than best friends-like. i’m not sure how much of their friendship is affected by sunoo’s inability to become super close to hyungline naturally so there’s that too. but yes, sunki bedsharing is very real and their relationship is very heartwarming <3
▶ jungwon/niki
i wasn’t going to write anything about them at first but i feel bad that i haven’t talked that much about niki’s friendships. watching the maknaez vlive made me realize how much everyone genuinely looks out for niki. while jungwon and niki didn’t have much of an oppurtunity to bond during i-land, i think their age difference opens them up to be a lot closer to each other.
▶ (BONUS) heeseung/jay/jungwon triangulation
an interesting bit of predebut lore is that jay took heeseung and jungwon to his father's restaurant in brunei. that in particular kind of gave me reason to believe that jay wasn't as close to sunghoon while they were trainees, although i'm not sure how much sunghoon's busy schedule played into this. but anyways, heeseung and jungwon both enjoy teasing jay a lot! idk it’s just interesting to me because i think heeseung and jay both rely on jungwon a lot and have more “emotional” relationships with him meanwhile heeseung and jay don’t seem to value each other for that same thing as much. jungwon also goes to heeseung for support and thinks jay is super fun and caring <3 idk what i’m saying besides rip jay who tenderhearts so fearlessly vs heewon mutual trust bedsharing narrative
▶ (BONUS) jake/sunghoon/sunoo triangulation
SUNOO IS SO PETTY ABOUT JAKEHOON SOMETIMES it’s kind of funny. like it’s not deep at all but whenever sunoo comments on jakehoon’s friendship and is like [derogatory] “wow you guys are besties” i absolutely lose my mind. the best part is that jake is just like this nice harmless boy and sunghoon is similarly polite and well-mannered... they both get along with sunoo pretty well, actually, it’s just that jakehoon understanding is on a different level. i could say more about how jake is sunghoon’s source of comfort meanwhile sunoo sort of pushes sunghoon to go out of his comfort zone as an idol but… this is veering into tinhat territory. i’ll stop
relationships that i didn’t mention:
> heeseung/jake: they’re late night snack buddies! honestly i think their relationship is pretty cute i’m sorry i don’t have much to say here…
> heeseung/niki: [lack of data]
> jay/jake: they both speak english?
> jake/sunoo: jake is a naturally nice guy who gets along with the other members easily so yeah their minimal interacts are pretty cute…
> jake/jungwon: jake calls jungwon cute a lot. umm is it clear enough that i don’t pay attention to jake outside of jakehoon… i’ll reflect and return with a better image later
> jake/niki: [lack of data]
> sunoo/jungwon: the way i literally watched the maknaez vlive but still have nothing to say. they were both so focused on taking care of niki there that i didn’t even pay attention to their dynamix
> heeseung/niki: [lack of data]
> jay/jake: they both speak english?
> jake/sunoo: jake is a naturally nice guy who gets along with the other members easily so yeah their minimal interacts are pretty cute…
> jake/jungwon: jake calls jungwon cute a lot. umm is it clear enough that i don’t pay attention to jake outside of jakehoon… i’ll reflect and return with a better image later
> jake/niki: [lack of data]
> sunoo/jungwon: the way i literally watched the maknaez vlive but still have nothing to say. they were both so focused on taking care of niki there that i didn’t even pay attention to their dynamix
in terms of popularity, i think k-fan shipping is sooo skewed by how popular sunghoon, jungwon, and sunoo are? idk i was kind of shocked by the complete lack of sunki but they really just be 2pick shipping over there. it’s just sunghoon-designated-left and sunoo/jungwon-designated-right. as for i-fans, i think jakehoon/sunki popularity makes sense given how close they appear. jakehoon in particular gets a lot of attention in variety/youtube channel edits of their content. heehoon is kind of boring but they’re also both popular members/clearly like each other which probably appeals to people more than the one-sided-rivalry heejays and [radio static] sunsunisms. also, it’s so interesting how SHIPPABLE sunghoon is with all the other members!?
anyways, when i think about enhypen friendships i’m mostly just like heejaywon / jakehoon / sunki but i’m interested in seeing how niki’s friendship with jungwon develops and also whether sunoo will start actually getting along with jay. here's my personal ship ranking, which tends to change like... every two weeks (i don't ship niki with anyone romantically because, well, he's 15. even shipping jungwon with jay/heeseung makes me lose my mind a little).
wow... reading over this is so embarrassing. i think my biases are pretty clear and it’s kind of tragic how little i think about jake and niki’s friendships with others. also the amount of jay apologism in this post is kind of insane, hidden bias much? i can't believe i wrote so many words about the friendships of straight boys who have known each other for like less than a YEAR. anyways, sorry for being crazy and hope this was at least a little comprehensible/interesting <3
no subject
Date: 2021-01-09 08:40 pm (UTC)thank you for writing this honestly you surpassed me in understanding enhypen a long time ago and i'm just constantly grateful for your engine scholarship n___n also the EFFORT THAT MUST HAVE GONE INTO THIS GIF SEARCH... INCREDIBLE.
> i respect heehoon as mutual respect friendship. do you think heeseung is too much of a disaster (when he isn't affecting his idol image) for him and sunghoon to really be closer LOL.... i think they have complementary personalities but it doesn't translate to closeness?
> i love your sunoo/heeseung paragraph T____T i really do agree that heeseung is the only member he's successfully sunooified (even niki is like... sunoo's "#bestie" but clearly doesn't take that much influence from him???) although i'm fascinated by the nuances to it and how much is just heeseung seeing sunoo as a person he can learn from and consciously picking up his habits for the sake of idolhood. i feel like it's mostly just that and not him being naturally influenced in a cc user crackerphobic way but i still think it's nice and i actually like the sunoo/heeseung dynamic for it. like yeah they don't really care about each other that much but heeseung being such a discerning infpdol who has slowly grown into his aegyo responsibilities is really enjoyable <3 as time passes i am increasingly a leeheeseung supporter...
> i enjoy the heewon growth and especially how it seems like it was jungwon (literal 14 year old) being intimidated by established trainee heeseung at first but then during i-land he saw him pretty much on the verge of a mental breakdown and realized that heeseung depended on him a lot? i'm realizing that i actually really like this dynamic thanks to you omg... also love how jungwon is the only other enha who can sing. kings of transcending their 3-year age gap and being vocalists sometimes
> jaywon is cute i concede! well it's grounded in REALITY at least. i think the breaking the egg line is so funny lmfao i think it's nice that they have similar power dynamic fuckery to taegyu except beomgyu is not obsessed with a baby 04 visual who is also his leader.
> this jakehoon gif is killing me....... what in the world. me with the #bestie? i have nothing interesting to say here but they're endearing to me. #LoveIsLove
> definitely agree with your sungsun reading but we already knew this hklhsdfagh this was also my reading from the get-go and i never understood the ship rationale from fandom just from the "i'll be cuter" conversation but i love giving them hidden depths and pretending that a man like park sunghoon could be theoretically bisexual in fanfiction... i like that sunghoon is just a nice normal well-mannered person and he's actually very similar to yeonjun i think but the only difference is that yeonjun is perfectly suited to idolisms and aegyo and business gay performance... wow now i'm just rambling but anyway i also think sunghoon is getting generally better at being cute but he's also an istj so i have no idea how this will pan out. WHAT AM I SAYING? I DON'T EVEN KNOW
> "i’m not sure how much of their friendship is affected by sunoo’s inability to become super close to hyungline naturally" HSDLFKHSLDFHLH honestly the sunki grounders narrative is so good and i do think that contributed to their closeness but like... whatever! if sunki want to just be a 15 year old told by his mom that people ship him with the april stan in his group then so be it. they're still endearing
> "[derogatory] “wow you guys are besties”" SHAKTI THIS LITERALLY TOOK ME OUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT i think it's funny that sunoo is like. that because what does it even mean? i don't think he cares that much about being closer to them and they're both straight but he's still disgruntled about their pda LOL...? it's incredible to me. sunoo is so cute <3 i really like their triangulation but you know this
anyway wow this was delightful thank you so much i love your commentary... i don't think niki is popular amongst korean fans because a lot of them didn't want any japanese members at all (the popular lineup pre-finale was korean enha members + daniel) so it's not surprising :/ also it's kind of funny how sunoo and jungwon fulfill the same right role for those fans LOL
you know my thoughts on sunghoon shippability <3 i'm literally insane. and i'm intrigued after reading this by how much enha really is about looking out for niki... i'm endeared by the members who have substantial and discernible dynamics with him and i really want to see the maknaeline triangulation grow more in 2021...
no subject
Date: 2021-01-11 01:23 am (UTC)> screaaaam i don't even know about heehoon... like during iland sunghoon's always like yuhh yeokshi heeseung and it's not like they /don't/ get along i just think they both have people they consider to be sources of comfort (jungwon/jake for heeseung/sunghoon respectively) so they aren't as close. ALSO ur kinda right the contrast between perpetually-sleeping-in-late wears-one-shirt-a-week heeseung vs sunghoon who gets up early and is slow to get ready and is super tidy... um. uhhhhhh. anyways
> SCREAMMM IM GLAD U SEE THE HEEWON VISION! i remember after i first saw their solo live together and i was like having an ethical crisis over shipping heeseung with a 16 yr old but i've made my peace with that <3 kings of transcending their 3-year age gap and being vocalists sometimes THEIR JOINT SLAY. ok i'll stop
> jhsdklfjd;gkdf'h cannot believe i manage u to kind of acknowledge JAWYONISM. sorry i'm insufferable and just like it when jay gets made fun of by baby 04 leader <3
> OH MY GOD UR WHOLE SUNGHOON RAMBLE... we get it he's part of ur 5pick even though he's straight he's just special. anyways yeah it'll be interesting to see whether he gets better at fanservice and that sort of stuff as the years go on [even if i like that he doesn't rlly know how it works bcs it tells me that his LOVE FOR JAKE IS REAL. #besties]... not so sure abt the cute part but who knows maybe heehoonsun aegyoline will be a thing.
> if sunki want to just be a 15 year old told by his mom that people ship him with the april stan in his group no words but also you're the comedian here.
> AGREED IM OBSESSED WITH JAKEHOONSUN TRIANGULATION... sunoo being disgruntled by the pda <3 i honestly wish maknae line weren't so scattered in age and that sunoo had someone in his year or something!? like that's the vibe i get cuz while he might be close to niki it's like a 2 yr age difference...
i didn't know that niki wasn't popular in korea but i guess that makes more sense with the postype stats now... i was surprised because niki often seems like the most popular enhypen member to me (especially on youtube?!) but ah well... i'm also a lot more endeared by maknaez/ppl caring after niki once i wrote up this post & can't wait to see how stuff changes over the next year or wtvr TT tysm for your commentary and of course i agree about sunghoon being shippable <33333