kongthapatom

[kongthapatom]

Riddle me this: When have queer stories managed to become popular with little kids in Asia before MSP did?

This year I watched MSP cast promote the drama in schools and so many students ranging from small kids to high schoolers doing MSP dance challenges even months after MSP ended. It makes me ecstatic when I see them watching this drama, even becoming a fan! TinnGun made it seem so effortless to touch the hearts of Asian kids and teens in a way no queer drama has been able to do before. 

MSP really changed my perception of what it will take for queer media to overthrow the hetero agenda in Asia someday. It made me realize we need more feel-good, family-friendly and goofy stories that appeal to everyone and make them laugh instead of convoluted or grandiose stories that lose the plot or those that specifically amplify queer struggles and minimise the joy of love.

That in the end, when real change starts in society, no matter how big or small and culminates with homophobia finally packing its bags & Asian families being won over - it won't be because of dramatic and "realistic" queer stories rife with suffering, grief or heartbreak that got voted best by the critics. It will be because of a simple and sweet love story like MSP, where one boy had a crush on another boy and did everything it takes to help him reach his dreams and found his own happiness in the process, a story that is vibrating with so much of queer positivity, joy and heart that it's impossible for anyone who watches it to not became its fan.

It makes my heart burst with joy that queer kids today are growing up with much better examples of queer love in front of them than our previous generations ever did. Imagine the impact this will have, the difference it will make in young queer Asian lives.

Gun told Tinn that the love songs we listen to in high school are the best love songs ever because they're the original soundtracks of our first love - To think there is a generation of kids right now who are listening to MSP soundtrack and falling in love to the same songs Tinn and Gun sang to each other and will remember MSP as their life's greatest love songs someday in the future - it boggles my mind and perhaps we won't grasp the full extent of what MSP did for its queer audience until many years have passed.

Nonetheless, I'll never stop singing MSP's praises because all they had was a newbie director, rookie actors & a banger soundtrack to do the impossible and make queer characters go mainstream in Asian schools and resonate with kids. We'll soon find out if we'll see TinnGun in college next year being sickeningly in love and serenading each other with an even gayer cuter cheesier soundtrack! (I hope so) Even if we don't, I'm excited for the impact MSP and GemFourth will have on queer romance genre down the line.

[kongthapatom]

Made this GunTinn edit to Love Me Again by V cuz I miss Nong Lion and his Chinzhilla Baby 🦁🐭

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[kongthapatom]

i love you closeted queer people, i love you queer people who are afraid to "look queer", i love you queer people who hate getting told things like "you ping my gaydar" because that's scary, i love you queer people who are terrified of being outed, i love you queer people who don't fit the narrow tiktok/tumblr idea of what queer looks like (ESPECIALLY if you're disabled and/or a poc and that's part of why you don't), i love you queer people who rely on queerphobic family to survive, i love you queer people who find it hard to joke about their sexuality/gender, i love you queer people with a complicated relationship to being queer

[kongthapatom]

What era are we in now? No one looks for a reason why people are gay anymore. Look at me. None of my friends are gay, but I am. Listen. Have you heard about this? People can accept and not mind if someone is gay, lesbian… but when it comes to someone in their family, they can’t accept it. You do know that it’s not easy being gay in this country. Same-sex marriages are still not allowed here. That’s also true. What can we do? We might have to wait until those conservative dinosaurs die.

MOONLIGHT CHICKEN 2023, dir. Aof Noppharnach

[kongthapatom]

Imagine what I say. The sky is dark. The vibe is good. The weather is cold. We sit here by the fire. We lie down in there and look at the stars.

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not mix perfecting this look in every damn series

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OUR SKYY 2 X BAD BUDDY Episode 1

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It's the "I love you but not now" that did it for me 😂😂😂 Also, this episode really plays with call backs quite well.

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Aof really scheduled a Thai BL royalty crossover A tale of a thousand stars x Bad Buddy with the full force of its biggest stars (Nanon’s dimples and Mix’s eyes) for the first day of Pride Month and I SEE YOU.

[kongthapatom]

there’s something so good about how the next episode is gonna be phupa and tian having an actual adult disagreement about giving away their story and pat and pran coming together and scheming to get them to make up, which in turn helps them make up, and how pat and pran are (hopefully) gonna do some of the things phupa and tian did that made them fall in love (teaching in class, playing in the water) to help them make up and that’s gonna remind phupa and tian of how they fell in love and also show them that their story helps other people which is why they’ll ultimately (probably) let them have the story and it’s all just gonna be so full circle and serious but goofy all at once and be a love letter to both shows p’aof you are a genius

[kongthapatom]

Now that I’ve gotten through the initial giddiness I am processing the actual story we got for Pat and Pran in this special - and I love it. We are getting a glimpse into what their lives were actually like when they were still in school, still in love, and having to pretend to be enemies again. And even though we know that ultimately they cope with that fairly well and are still going strong after they graduate, putting on a facade and living a double life like this is not an easy thing to do and I’m glad we get to see a little bit of where it caused some conflict.

Because this is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to happen when they are not able to openly declare their love for each other. Sometimes, in an effort to cover up the truth of their relationship, one of them is going to overcompensate and accidentally hurt the other, be it physically (Pran punching Pat’s cheek) or emotionally (Pat saying something kinda mean about Pran). Even though they know it’s not real and they know why it’s happening, it has to sting a little and they’ll inevitably get their feelings hurt sometimes and have to repair the damage.

My favorite thing about Pat and Pran, and why they are a forever obsession for me, is that we get to actually see them be together and figure out how to make their relationship work. The special is keeping a pretty light tone so I don’t expect this conflict will get too serious, but I love that it’s continuing this tradition and touching on some very real emotional dynamics to give us a sense of how Pat and Pran survived this period with their relationship not only intact, but stronger than ever.

[kongthapatom]

I think Pran and Tian are going to become great friends because they already have a lot in common, such as:

- complicated mother-son-relationship

- crafty

- stubborn

- same hair inspiration

And most importantly:

- boyfriend got shot

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OUR SKYY 2 x BAD BUDDY episode 3 callbacks

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Engineers might not be creative. But we get things done, things that are practical. You use logic... when Architecture students like me see this as the Magic Mirror.

Bad Buddy (2021)

Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy (2023)