🦌🐆 heeki tingz: thoughts + media dump

[carboxyl]

(gif source)

i have no idea where my obsession with heeki even began because i went from something like heehoon -> heejake -> hoonki -> heeki, not to say i don't like any of these other pairings now but like something about heeki seems like venturing into uncharted territory with just a torchlight and that excites me so much. ni-ki is my third bias after heeseung and jake, so i guess i wasn't immune to the pickship-ism of it all but i personally think that they both share a bond that isn't the most apparent but somehow the deepest one. i think i'll go point wise about my thoughts on them on an rpf based tangent, which means u should def take all of this with the tiniest grain of salt, because they're my observations.

• heeseung and ni-ki are heavily parent-child relationship-ified. this 'dynamic' is necessarily not true but it is true that heeseung cares too much about ni-ki. it doesn't come off in an overbearing manner though but more in a 'i will support you in whatever you choose to do' kind of way and i think that's very charming.

• heeseung and jake are considered to be ni-ki's unofficial dad and mom respectively, this comes from a fansign ask to ni-ki and heeseung about enhypen being a family and what roles they would play. both of them answered that heeseung would be the dad and ni-ki, the carefree child. but please, this is all in fun and games. heejake got the brunt of the domestic trope though, with ni-ki being assigned their 'kid' in every au ever. the trend has kind of died down now, i think.

• heeseung does behave like a middle aged dad with chronic back pain sometimes though, no excusing him here.

• i think most of their dynamic is derived from the fact that heeseung is the oldest even though he isn't the assigned leader of the group. he naturally has responsibility to act a certain way, as an adult, as a mature older figure to the rest of them. while he himself is just barely 20 years old, i think he does realize and ruminates a lot about how the rest of them are still fairly young. he naturally takes interest towards ni-ki, who is growing up away from his family and his country while also facing immense amounts of pressure from all sides he's oriented himself in.

• i think heeseung is the type of person who deflects self-reflection and tries to pour out his bogged up emotional energy into someone else. social psychology calls this the negative-state relief model, if i remember correctly. it's essentially the mirror image of empathy: instead of helping because we care about the welfare of another person (empathic concern), understand their feelings (empathic accuracy), and share them (emotional empathy), we help because such actions allow us to reduce our own negative emotions.

• heeseung genuinely enjoys spending time with ni-ki (playing fifa, their shared love for lego, bowling, their fishing trip, etc.)

• they're a good example of opposites coming to understand each other. back at i-land, the concept of the individuality vs group harmony was primarily explored through ni-ki in the show (in the dna, into the i-land performances). i loved how they both represented two contrasting viewpoints and how they eventually came to a middle ground that was optimal for the both of them. heeseung was the ace, the best fucking trainee in the entire roster, everyone knew him and everyone loved him instantly vs ni-ki who was a nobody but had to simply prove himself through his skills and talent alone, and had reason enough to believe that he was alone in that house and in the ground. heeseung was almost already an artist and ni-ki was simply some dancer who wanted to become an idol type of narrative. i know it might look a bit unfair to expect perfect characterization from ni-ki at age 14, but i think he acted perfectly for his age. it's more admirable of him to have risen up to the challenge and built himself through the course of the show. from being shown as a boy who wouldn't hesitate to put his friend through tough times if it meant that he'll have better competition for himself (selfish), he goes to being a natural leader who steps up and helps people get their shit together so they can ALL flourish even if it puts him behind (selfless). many regard jake as the icon of growth, but to me, it will always be ni-ki who stepped up and filled in the biggest shoes.

• compare this to heeseung, whose characterization stays consistent to an extent. his primary conflict is explored through leadership and perfectionism. being a leader automatically made him lean towards being democratic and consider everybody around him, when he could've easily just gone and been the best on his own. he's touted as THE BEST that i-land has to offer and was automatically thrown into the spotlight, with expectations boiling over from each trainee. while he did have moments where he did put himself first, it backfired on him. he went in with a preconceived image and came out as a even more handcrafted idol, who will furiously put on the best façade to appear perfect in front of the public. heeseung stays on a constant high while experience minor setbacks in terms of responsibility while ni-ki experiences conflict, learns from it, and tries to focus on bettering himself while also keeping an eye out for others. heeseung was always shown to be someone who wouldn't hesitate taking the backseat if it meant someone else could benefit from the opportunity, it translates to even two years later where he still puts his own priorities in the back burner if it means he'll get to help someone feel better. heeseung never lets himself go the same way with anyone else as he does with ni-ki.

• they're removed from the pressure cooker under which they were forced to form bonds you know what i mean. now they're more settled, niki imo has almost taken an admiration towards heeseung, for what he was, what he is to him, and what he will be for him in the long run. now, i find their dynamic so genuinely pleasing to watch and get to know because on one hand, you have heeseung (+jake) making sure that niki has no regrets growing up away from his home, thousands of miles away (and potentially always entertaining his childlike tendencies) and on the other, you have a niki who is so curious about what it means to be an adult, what it means to emulate a sense of being grown up in a saturated entertainment industry, and wants to be close to heeseung because he is technically the oldest and should "know" how things work in the "adult" world better than any of them. heeseung brings out the adult in ni-ki even if he wants to indulge the child in him and ni-ki brings heeseung's inner child even if he wants to particularly seek him out for being very "adult-like". it's a fair balance.

• heeyunki triangulation is one that i'm REALLY looking forward to in the future, especially regarding how they might evolve. now we have the obvious nuclear family situation going on but who knows, in the future we might have the angsty love triangle emotional constipation train wreck situation. either way, we persevere!

• a trope that i really enjoy with oldest/youngest pairings is obviously the one where the youngest who was so cute and adorable with baby fat on their face has now grown past the oldest's shoulder in the blink of an eye and this driving the oldest one crazy because, of course, how in the fuck did this kid 1. grow so tall 2. get a character buff 3. and look so handsome? AAAA heeki should have at least 100k canon au bible fic in the tag based on this trope man.
jaywon shippers usually claim 10 months as their song but fuck you guys, i'm taking it for my heeki. or you guys can keep it and i'll start using 20cm as their theme song.

• i just like the idea of two freakishly tall guys getting together.

HEEKI MEDIA DUMP !!!!!!

plz enjoy :-)

heeseung wanting one of the plushies from the show and ni-ki pointing and calling himself one

"heeseung hyung is like his friend."

i-land heeki dancing together on their first day in the house

"even though he's the youngest one, i learn a lot from him."

looking like they're straight out of a teen romance art film

heeseung see, heeseung do

he wouldn't let anyone play with him like this

heeki's routine

just. them <3

they're always having fun wherever they are

BIG HUGS!

the mermaid blanket saga

ni-ki thinks heeseung's cute <3

heeseung piggybacking ni-ki at a fansign

them being giggly by just standing toe to toe, face to face

THE AMONG US GAME </3

when heeseung was still taller than ni-ki

"if i win, you have to keep playing with me."

"맏막즈 가야지!"

"i know everything about you,"

C U T E

heeseung cheering for ni-ki on i-land despite being on different teams

sneaky pics

heeseung making fun of ni-ki's reunion with key

heeseung about talking to jake and ni-ki when he worries

ni-ki's so proud of heeseung </3

ni-ki showing his football tricks to heeseung

HEESEUNG LOST TO NI-KI!

"i have to play with him, aigoo," (see point number 3)

ni-ki actually skipping with excitement to play basketball in the arcade with heeseung + watching him play in awe

ni-ki baby <3 likes sleeping on his hyung's lap </3

japanese lyrics instant feedback!

them playing soccer while everyone else is resting at the camping site

HYUNG, LET'S GO BOWLING

"i'll go on a date with heeseung hyung [for christmas],"

ni-ki teaching heeseung his moves on set

"heeseung hyung sleeps in a very lovely manner."

heeki's simple handshake

them trying to be ghostbusters at mixed up's shooting spot and failing

ni-ki's pick me girl laugh

"heeseung hyung, cheer for me too!"

"there was word going around that someone was better than heeseung at dancing [at be:lift]."

he wants his head pats </3

"who's the cutest member?" "heeseung hyung!"

them cooking eggs for the rest of the group

this impromptu hug at dance jam </3

"i love you all." + "me too."

they're actually two five year olds

heeseung being angry about someone breaking the lego set that ni-ki gifted him

"i know things are hard as a maknae but ni-ki is doing so well. i'm proud of him."

"i don't say this a lot but you're actually my favorite."

now obviously, this is a non-exhaustive list which means i will definitely add to this every time something monumental happens with heeki <3 this is no primer by any means but i hope i convinced you to the possibility of some romantic heeki handholding in the future <3 thanks babes, have a lovely day.