#itwy

[professionalshipping]

Sorry Paperjeans and Oriya

When I was a teenager I really hated if tomorrow was yesterday based on a lot of nothing after barely any reading of it, but I reread it and it was way better in hindsight and it was genuinely really good and hot and cute and I respected that it committed to making every character some breed of asshole and the drama that ensued.

I think it was this weird hangup I had about romance media where I expected everyone to be super nice in romantic fiction. Or maybe it was that it was about normal people so I didn't interpret it as something I was SUPPOSED to find morally questionable and instead thought the narrative was endorsing this behavior.

Maybe a combination of both. I think I've definitely expressed both sentiments before. I'm probably going to reread insomnia and see if that one is better. Or maybe it isn't.

Either way I was wrong about them.

[dddeeee]

In Time With You (2011) - ep 8 (text confession) 

Ok we’re making progress here but you send her a TEXT? REALLY?? WTF Da Ren 

[dddeeee]

In Tim With You (2011) - Ep 8 (Eat shit Ding Li Wei)

Bless you big bro. BLESS. lol

[dddeeee]

In Time With You (2011) - Ep 7 (Worst Birthday Ever)

Sad Da Ren is sad 😢. It’s such a betrayal. How could you forget your best friend’s birthday You Qing! Because I like her, I’m gonna blame that rat bastard Ding Li Wei. And you know what kills me? Da Ren doesn’t focus on his hurt or disappointment. He never asks why she didn’t call (neither does she care to explain or even apologise). His only concern is for her. His birthday wish? For her happiness. Nothing for himself. It’s no coincidence he works in the service industry. DR can’t help putting others before himself, often to his own detriment.

[dddeeee]

In Time With You (2011) - Ep 8

[dddeeee]

In Time With You (2011) - Ep 7 (UGHHH)

So he’s back. And boy is he a piece of work. From the way Ding Li Wei just shows up and invades her personal space, expecting to pick up right where he left off, there is no doubt he will impose his will on every aspect of her life. He physically overwhelms her at every opportunity. He forcibly kisses her. He’s manipulative as hell. YQ had the right idea when she first saw him--she ran away screaming bloody murder.

What Da Ren says is totally true, she does have rotten taste in men. What on earth does she see in him? In my book, he’s no match for Da Ren. She on the other hand, has a type--the smooth-talking cool and cocky types like Henry and Nic (the polar opposite of Da Ren)--but DLW plain reeks of toxic alpha male entitlement. He says all the right things, the things You Qing desperately wants to hear. Is he sincere? Who can tell under that smug exterior? What’s clear is that he’s good at striking a pose and playing the part, and he and YQ have palpable sexual heat. The attraction is strong, and the great sex passion of their previous relationship still lingers on her brain. It’s torture to watch YQ be genuinely happy with this asshole, but you can understand why it’s so easy to fall back into step with him.

There’s something going on here about masculinity, the way in which DLW and Da Ren offer two contrasting modals as viable partners for our heroine. But unlike many a drama romance, it’s the gentle, nurturing man who will win the heroine’s heart.

[dddeeee]

In Time With You (2011) - Ep 7 (the 7-11 once-over) 

Why does being familiar make ‘I love you’ so difficult?

If we never knew each other, or didn’t change from enemies to friends, maybe our ‘never’ could change to ‘fated’. 

I love how this lovely little interlude where Da Ren and You Qing pretty much ogle each other serves no real plot purpose other than to have Da Ren overhear her conversation with her sister about Ding Li Wei. No, it’s true purpose is to kill us with their wistfully yearning, warm and affectionate voiceovers while they secretly heart-eyes each other to death.

[dddeeee]

In Time With You (2011) - Ep 6 (The breakup)

Da Ren finally does something he should’ve done 4 eps ago. And Maggie isn’t wrong. He didn’t intentionally set out to but his dithering clearly hurt her. And while I get why anyone would be drawn to attention and flattery, it’s disconcerting that he allowed himself to get swept up by Maggie’s single-minded pursuit to such an extent.

At 25 she’s around the same age You Qing was when she broke up with Ding Li Wei, and I wonder if perhaps Da Ren saw a little bit of her in Maggie’s over-eagerness, the willful ignoring of warning signs. I also suspect that he’s never had to do the dumping before (inferred from when he told YQ that they couldn’t accept their friendship) and plain just didn’t want to be the bad guy.   

As Maggie cries on the floor saying all she wanted was a good man, what she’s really saying is she saw in Da Ren someone who wouldn’t abandon her like her father did to her mother.