itotoro's 뽀삐 Primer

[itotoro]

Note: These are all the musings of a random person on the internet. Have fun!
also: my goodness I feel like I'm missing a lot of stuff, and am not doing HeeChuu justice. Let me know if there's anything i can add/expound on!

ITOTORO'S 뽀삐 PRIMER

The Function of this Primer
I'm writing this primer because i'm stuck in ppoppiland of two things:

1. I want to crystallize my own understanding of HeeChuu and put it all in a single place
2. I want to make it easier for others to go feral to understand and write about HeeChuu.

Ultimately this primer aims to be the best jumping-off point for any person who wishes to foray into the HeeChuu side of things.

뽀삐즈 - an Introduction

What is HeeChuu?
HeeChuu, or ppoppies (뽀삐즈) is the ship name of Jeon Heejin and Kim Jiwoo (Chuu) from LOONA. With a steady stream of cute interactions from a LOONA TV in April 7, 2018 to a recent Chuu Can Do It outtake uploaded on May 1, 2021, HeeChuu is arguably one of the most consistently visible ships of LOONA as of late.

It's a different story for AO3 Fanfiction. With only (as of May 1, 2021) twenty-nine AO3 fics to their name, HeeChuu can be considered a rare pair. To put this into perspective:

Table 1: Select AO3 statistics of LOONA fics*

Member	AO3 Fics (as of May 1, 2021)	Top Ships on AO3 (as of May 1, 2021)
Chuu	1,508	Chuuves (Yves and Chuu - 643) Chuulip (Kim Lip and Chuu - 221)
Heejin	1,249	2jin (Heejin and Hyunjin - 626)

*As of May 1, 2021, the LOONA (band) tag has a total of 3,395 AO3 fics, with the top ships on AO3 being Chuuves (637), 2Jin (622), and Lipsoul (553). These are three of the six "royal ships" of LOONA, the others being Hyewon (472), Visoul (350), and Yeorry (173). Subtracting these royal ships from the total (they may not necessarily be mutually exclusive), this leaves us at an estimated 588 non-royal fics, which are then distributed among a whopping 60 other non-royal ships. At 29 fics, HeeChuu is doing better than the average of 9.8 fics allocated per non-royal ship

As gleaned from the table above, HeeChuu's numbers are a far cry from their respective top ships, also performing below the more popular non-royal ships (such as Yvesoul and the already mentioned Chuulip). Which begs the question: Why should we give HeeChuu attention?

What makes HeeChuu unique as a LOONA ship?
There are three things that make HeeChuu stand out among the LOONA ships:

1. Dynamic expression of affection
2. Unique subversion of default roles
3. Sheer amount of content

Dynamic expressions of affection
HeeChuu is arguably the most openly touchy ship in LOONA. Big hugs, hand holding, cheek kisses - you name it, HeeChuu enjoys it. It is so apparent that even the members themselves point it out. This owes to their relationships outside of LOONA - caught in 4k is the fact that Heejin and Chuu are openly affectionate to their family members. From the reactions of the other members (except maybe Choerry), this is something unique to the two of them.

This expression of affection isn't limited to physical touch. They are loose-lipped with compliments and anecdotes about each other. They're both extroverts (as we'll discuss in the Theory portion) which is it makes sense that their expression of affection is SO LOUD. Adding to what we know about their relationships with their respective families, we can conclude that the two of them are so comfortable with expressing and receiving this particular brand of love - physical touch and words of affirmation.

Unique subversion of default roles
In fic writing, Heejin and Chuu are commonly slot into specific roles, especially in the context of their most popular ships, 2Jin and Chuuves. HeeChuu as a ship provides the characters of Heejin and Chuu with an opportunity to take a step out of those roles, particularly in relation to their age dynamic.

Chuu is the youngest of the unnie line, with which she's commonly paired. Heejin on the other hand is the eldest of the maknae line, with which she's (you guessed it) also commonly paired. These play into their usual roles in a ship - Chuu as the bubbly ball of energy, Heejin as the feisty stick in the mud. Half-kidding. But because of their distinct personalities and the default role they play in relation to their usual pairs, we rarely get to see an exploration of their characters beyond this.

This is where the subversion comes in: in HeeChuu, Chuu steps into her "unnie" role, subverting Heejin's natural leader/responsible role. This works because it isn't actually a subversion, but a return to their own roles in their respective families - Heejin as the youngest out of three, Chuu as the eldest. Within the HeeChuu dynamic we see a Chuu with a more measured enthusiasm and Heejin with a less pronounced assertiveness.

What this entails: HeeChuu is a ship that, from its very premise, already implies an added dimension to their relationship. The ship necessitates a Chuu that's more responsible and a Heejin that's more vulnerable. The ship necessitates a multifaceted Chuu and Heejin that goes beyond their established roles in the fandom.

Sheer amount of content
As of May 1, 2021, the LOONA fandom is still going through a drought. With no comeback announcement in sight and only FOTMs and occasional selfies to tide the fandom over to the next album, it is understandable that most LOONA ships are also experiencing a drought of content.

Except HeeChuu. There has been a steady of stream of HeeChuu content over the past months, owing also to Chuu's increasing media features (Chuu Can Do It and their joint magazine shoot). It also helps that Chuu mentions Heejin whenever she can. And this isn't just content where they're in the same frame - you have Chuu actively talking about how pretty Heejin is and how they rely on each other emotionally, teaching each other and cheering each other on.

TL; DR: HeeChuu is an underexplored ship worth investigating due to unique relationship dynamics and a boatload of content

In the next segments of this primer I'll discuss HeeChuu in theory to gain a deeper appreciation of the existing and potential dynamics, then I'll discuss HeeChuu in fic-writing practice for both Canon-compliant and AU.

뽀삐 - in Theory
This segment and the next one dwell in the realm of conjecture (read: HEADCANON); MBTI, though established, is not the end-all be-all of a person's character. Moreso the Hogwarts House and the Thinker-Doer model (which I made up late at night while plagued by a fic). However I do hope this works as a lens for us to view Chuu and Heejin as multifaceted individuals, at the same time reminding us that there is so much to these two that we will never understand.

MBTI Dynamic
We know how much the Moon Girls love MBTI (to the point that Heejin wrote it as her blood type). I'll be taking a look at Chuu (ENFP) and Heejin (ENTJ) using their function stacks and also looking into how these inform their characters and their relationship. I'll only be touching on their two dominant functions and brushing over the differences in their stacks.

Chuu: Ne-Fi-Te-Si
Leading with the Ne function Chuu is extroverted and loves engaging with new ideas and possibilities. She's the "dip your toes to learn to swim" kind of person, jumping into challenges without knowing all the rules, trusting her gut enough to see her through. It's chaos and she loves it - learning new things and meeting new people is all part of the experience of the world. She 's an Intuitive, which means that the way she understands the world is through connections. From a fancy thrift store cloak she can jump to thoughts about bats and squirrels and Animal Crossing and that's natural for her!

The Fi comes in when she sifts through all these big and exciting ideas, taking stock of what it is exactly that matters to her. Her priorities lie in what will make her an authentic person, the best version of who she wants to be. And we've seen Chuu share who she wants to be as an idol- a person who can make her fans smile. The chaos of her character revolves around this in whatever role she takes.

Heejin: Te-Ni-Se-Fi
Leading with the Te function, Heejin is another extrovert, this time engaged with solving the puzzles of the world around her. Instead of exploring Heejin is working. She's constantly honing her skills - baking tirelessly, practicing guitar and even rehearsing her facial expressions in the mirror. Armed with knowledge and logic she's always making the next decision to further herself and reach her self-established goals. She's driven, fueled by a powerful vision for who she wants to become.

The Ni comes in as she engages with more and more of these puzzles. In her head she's exploring the possibilities - she's extremely driven, always challenging herself to take things to the next level more as a proof of concept than anything else. The members commonly talk about her as having "tunnel vision" and it's fueled by this, the constant need to comprehend in a deeper level. Intellectual conversations stimulate her, and she's the type of person to go deep in a conversation instead of wide; she'll engage others in an impromptu debate about tteokbokki long after they've moved on from it.

The ENTJ and ENFP In Tandem

The shared functions (Te and Fi) are both Judging functions, having a lot to do with their decision making and as a result, their morality and character. Having this in common means that Chuu and Heejin can easily relate to each other's motivations and decision-making process, and as a result strengthen the use of these functions in each other. This can be seen in Chuu and Heejin's anecdotes about cheering each other on when losing motivation - they reinforce each other's judging functions.

It is interesting to note that, while they share their Judging functions, Heejin's primary judging function is Te while Chuu's primary judging function is Fi. This is a classic Thinker vs Feeler dynamic: Heejin is definitely more comfortable sticking to the realms of logic and theory while Chuu is more comfortable with delving into emotions and feelings.

They differ in their perceiving functions (Chuu's NeSi to Heejin's NiSe), which means they take in, process, and retrieve information differently. I won't go to deep into this now, but (especially for Ne-Ni) this can be a give-and-take thing for them. Chuu's Ne takes in and connects so many bits information, which can then be digested and analyzed by Heejin's Ni. This makes for very interesting and long conversations, which they've talked about sharing already.


Sorting Hat Chats
Heejin is a self-proclaimed Gryffindor, and Chuu is repeatedly categorized by the other members as a Hufflepuff (except by Kim Lip bc she loves Gryffindor). Though not "JKR canon", the Sorting Hat Chats is a lovely framework I will attempt to use now to categorize these two. If you're not familiar with this framework I suggest reading up on it first, since the next part assumes you know what Primary and Secondary houses mean.

Chuu: Hufflepuff Primary and Gryffindor Secondary
Chuu is a Hufflepuff Primary. She places deep value in the emotional welfare of other people, prioritizing them over her own emotions. She draws strength from giving strength to other people as an idol, more so than achieving any ideal she has for herself. She connects easily to people from all walks of life, finds life in those connections.

She's a Gryffindor Secondary, which is up for debate. She's definitely an improvisational secondary with her "takes things as they come" nature, but what makes her Gryffindor instead of Slytherin is that she's more a "take things head on" than an "adapt to the situation" type of person. For most things that come her way she's unabashedly herself; instead of taking on the perfect character needed in a given situation she sticks to her guns: hyper and a little rash, unapologetic with a cheeky smile. It's charming and it works - her personality wins others over.

Heejin: Gryffindor Primary and Ravenclaw Secondary
Heejin is a Gryffindor Primary. There's a powerful drive that's been fueling her since she was very young, and it doesn't seem to be fueled by the opinions of her family members or the world around her. Her dreams are fueled by a deep desire in her heart, one that she hasn't really justified (or had the opportunity to.)

She's a Ravenclaw Secondary, which is probably what fuels the other member's categorizations of her as a Ravenclaw. She's the type to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to understanding concepts, a clear preparation-oriented secondary instead of improvisational. She likes to learn about new things, storing all sorts of helpful (and unhelpful) knowledge in her brain in case she'd need it for something new (knowledge of languages, for one). Her strength is in preparation - constant practice, constant development of herself, but what makes it Ravenclaw and not Hufflepuff is how specific her knowledge gets for her problem solving. Growing avocados, really?

Thinker-Doer model
If you don't know what I'm talking about at all, here you go. If you want to get to the good stuff, feel free to skip this part hehehe.

While I'm here: Here's my second iteration of LOONA's Thinker-Doer categorization


Chuu and Heejin as mild Doers
Both Chuu and Heejin are on the Doer side of the Cartesian plane, which means that they're more gut-oriented than brain-oriented. Funnily enough someone else has mentioned this. This means they can get along with more spontaneous decisions but they also run the risk of "satisficing" due to time pressure.

Chuu's Reactive emphasis vs Heejin's Proactive emphasis
Chuu and Heejin are on opposite sides of the Cartesian plane for this axis, which points to both potential areas of conflict and opportunities for growth. Chuu is reactive, meaning she concerns herself with the immediate issues in her environment (NOT just because she's trying to save the Earth), whereas Heejin is proactive, meaning she concerns herself more with her internal vision and long-term goals.

In a conflict, this will manifest itself in decisions where another person's direct needs interfere with the vision (e.g. in a flight to Switzerland Heejin is more likely to prioritize listening to the tour guide and Chuu is more likely to prioritize helping a random tourist take pictures). In growth, this will manifest itself as one tugs the other towards their side of the Cartesian plane (Chuu can tug Heejin towards reactive by pointing out the tourist's need for help and Heejin can tug Chuu towards proactive by helping her catch up on what she missed with the tour).

뽀삐 - in Practice
Now that we've laid the theoretical foundation for our understanding of HeeChuu, it is time for application! What is it like to write HeeChuu into fanfiction?

The Baseline
Foundational to the HeeChuu dynamic is their outward expressions of affection. Physical touch is a hallmark of their ship, so it's either incorporated into their relationship or excluded for very important reasons. It is also very important to note that Heejin is not as in-touch with her own feelings as Chuu is, which gives power to non-conscious and non-verbal expressions of her emotions. However this does change with maturity and age.

Another hallmark is a degree of nuance. As discussed, the HeeChuu dynamic necessitates a more mature iteration of Chuu's bubbly nature and Heejin's go-getter personality. Their relationship hinges on a deeper understanding of each other's values and motivations, which can either be established at the beginning of a fic or explored through its plot. HeeChuu's strengths is in the multidimensional foundation of their relationship.

The last hallmark to point out is their age order. A lot of what makes HeeChuu distinct from the other ships revolves around Chuu being older than Heejin. They could also pass for same-age friends, but that dilutes a lot of the potential of their dynamic.

That's pretty much it for all the boring stuff. For the next part I'll just be listing down some random things that come to mind when it comes to HeeChuu in both Canon-compliant and Alternate Universe concepts. The next part is also half-brained; it's almost 2AM and I spent all my brain cells on the previous sections.

also: this is the only ship where I'm 100% sure Chuu is the big spoon

ALERT: HEADCANON INCOMING
as if the previous segments weren't headcanon LOL

HeeChuu in Canon
- they bond over their musicality. Blending! Heechuukebox! A promised cover of I Love You 3000!
- Heejin probably inspired Chuu to learn how to play the guitar
- late night conversations where other members will tell them to SHUT UPPP
- Chuu in canon likes watching as Heejin works on whatever hobbies she's doing. Also likes saving the scraps she leaves lying about (can't find the tweet for this sadly)
- they went on an overnight trip to Japan. THOSE POLAROIDS
- if you REALLY want to use angst... nevermind i won't say it
- Heejin has a keychain of the two of them
- Chuu has had a meal with Heejin and her cousins
- they're both blind without their glasses

HeeChuu in AU
- On a pirate ship Heejin is definitely ranked. Chuu would be on board only if she had an indispensable skill or quality (like an uncanny ability to sing for fish)
- you will NOT find HeeChuu in space. They do not have the brain cells for it.
- if they were both teachers Heejin is probably going to be boring but super into her field of study. Chuu is probably going to be airheaded and lose track of deadlines. (something they can work on together 🤔)
- In a prehistoric nomadic tribe Heejin is a gatherer and Chuu is a hunter. Heejin will also be the first person to invent the wheel, only because she saw Chuu rolling down a hill in pursuit of a wild rabbit
- Heejin PALES in comparison to Chuu's athleticism. This is also true for Hyunjin. Y'all Heejin isn't sporty
- Heejin's Greek god parent is probably Athena. Chuu's is Apollo.
- Heejin is more likely to be a sacrifice to the gods, destined to be tossed into a volcano.
- Chuu is more likely to come from outer space (as an alien)

뽀삐 - Conclusion
I'm going to go feral HeeChuu is a unique ship of LOONA with a heck of a lot of untapped potential. If you love openly affectionate extroverts that exhibit a deeper maturity than meets the eye, give HeeChuu a shot!

Also, I know nothing! If you just wanna write cute girls being cute together that's A-Okay. I love cute girls being cute together.

I hope you enjoyed reading this primer and maybe write some HeeChuu fics of your own in the future 😊