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[musicalgrl]

You know those lines that punch you right in the gut because yes, this show gets it. The guilt over not realizing your feelings sooner. The shame for ever having doubted it. The quiet admission that you know now what you didn't know then: that it's not wrong. That there's nothing in your life more right than this.

This is what happens when you let queer people write and direct their own stories! You get magic ✨

[musicalgrl]

Something I really loved in last episode was the conversation between Atom and Grandma.

When Atom said that he doesn’t have a dream for his future, I got scared it would go to the cliché answer "you just haven’t found it yet", but I’m so grateful the series went an opposite direction.

It was nice to have Grandma explains we don’t always get the/a dream, sometimes we just do what we’re most qualified for, and that doesn’t take away from the effort we put in, nor diminish the life we’re living.

[musicalgrl]

Yeah yeah yeah. Good for Ryu and Zen getting hit with the blinding light of love

And for having a soft color exchange (blue curtains, orange bed)

It's obvious they love each other while Zen wears both of their colors

BUT CAN I GET POLY?!

Atom obviously wants Zen

Like, carnally (scenes like this are such a blessing)

AND NOW HE IS ROLLING UP IN RYU'S BLUE!

Blue jacket! Blue shirt! Blue shorts!

Golf, you can't be doing this shit to me!

Atom cares about both of the boys because he was concerned where they went and even checked in on Grandma in their absence

Atom is in the blue light wearing a green shirt and green and orange shorts

This color-coded boy is tracking down his boyfriends

GRANDMA DESERVES THREE GRANDSONS!

[musicalgrl]

The Rebound is doing unrequited love so well!

I don’t think I’ve seen this theme handled so sensitively across so many different characters in a BL before. The writers have done such a good job of making Q and Atom’s affections for Ryu and Zen respectively, feel deep felt and genuine. Both are fully fleshed out characters who I (so far) want good things for, even if they don’t get the man they want.

Neither Q or Atom feel like an annoying obstacle to the main couples story either. It’s all quite refreshing to get to watch nuanced relationships like this.

Even the unrequited crush Lin has on Ryu, and the fucked up toxic affection Tos had for Q have both landed for me too.

[musicalgrl]

I've said it before.

And I've said it more than once.

Because I just can't shut up about it.

But they keep telling me I'm right.

Even when they want me to focus on something else.

So, I will definitely say it again.

Poly is the answer!

Give it to me!

[musicalgrl]

just to clear up any confusion about the Confession Reactions™:

[musicalgrl]

I liked the QToey first time scene a lot.

As an asexual person, I get the disappointment in the show runners not carrying over the conversation from the novel (especially since we got a canon asexual character this year in Wandee and on all levels a demisexual character in My Love Mix-Up) and not having Toey ask Q to wait until graduation; however, I do think the asexuality is there just not in an explicit way.

I keep saying this but Q reads heavily as demiromantic on several levels, but they never explicitly state it. It is in the way his friends recognize he experiences romantic attraction/feelings differently, and how there is a clear marker of when Toey unlocked Q's romantic feelings (the pencil box) and the way he is besotted with Toey.

I feel like it is there for Toey in a similar way. I may be wrong, but I never recall a moment where he comments on Q's looks (especially in comparison to TanFang and PhumPeem who are constantly remarking on each other's looks), and is more invested in Q's accomplishments as a person and his passion and interests rather than his appearance.

Then, the actual (implied) sex scene makes some interesting decisions. For example, Q asks for consent but Toey never explicitly gives it in the scenes we're shown and looks a bit fearful. Q is going to notice that, and ask about it. There is such a clear and big jump between the far shot of shirtless Q crawling onto Toey and then the actual (tasteful) sexual activity where we have a close up of their mouths and of Toey's hand grabbing onto Q.

Compare that to PeemPhum who don't have a nearly as big jump in time. QToey probably had a conversation, a conversation I would've liked to see, but something happened between those jumps. QToey's no clothes scene also was a lot more tender than PhumPeem's. PhumPeem are emotionally tender, yes, but are physically more compared to QToey which is simultaneously emotionally and physically tender.

Then, after the sex later in the episode, Toey remarks on Q's looks! He argues with Peem over who has the more attractive boyfriend and even gets handsy in a more deliberate way with Q!

Asexuality, more importantly the demisexuality, is there it is just understated in comparison to the other shows released so far. And you know what? I'm glad Thailand is experimenting with conveying asexual/aromantic identities in different ways this year (we have, what, four in a single year?), because it is a hell of a lot more than other countries do. They may have stumbled a bit on Toey, but it is an effort.

[musicalgrl]

An Update to the Kissing Multiverse!

The first version is here, second version here, third version here. There is also a little bonus stat crunching here. My tag for this project is here.

Well, Only Friends and Dangerous Romance are over, so I am back with another GMMTV Kissing Multiverse update for you all. And boy howdy it is a doozy. We've added 16 shows, 19 actors, and 33 unique kissing pairs!

Rules

Must have visible lip to lip contact

Must be shown on screen in a GMM tv series (no kisses from ads, promotional content, trailers*, movies, etc.)

*please note this means none of the GMMTV 2024 trailers count

Breakdown by Show

The data set now includes 77 shows.

(full list in alt text)

Breakdown By Actor

The data set now includes 131 actors.

(full lists in alt text)

Results and Discussion

Unique vs. Repeat Kissing Pairs

Last time round we learned that the vast majority of GMMTV kissing pairs are one-offs and that mixed gender pairs were less likely to repeat. Those conclusions hold true for this update.

There are 169 "unique" kissing pairs in the dataset, and of those, 156 (92.3%) appear only once, in one show. 13 pairs (7.7%) appear at least twice.

The 13 pairs that appear in more than one show are:

Book/Force (in A Boss and a Babe, Enchante, and Only Friends)

Bright/Win (in 2gether and Still 2gether)

Dunk/Joong (in Hidden Agenda and Star in My Mind)

Earth/Mix (in A Tale of Thousand Stars, Cupid's Last Wish, and Moonlight Chicken)

Fiat/June (in The Gifted and The War of Flowers)

Film/Gun (in Not Me and Three Gentlebros)

First/Khaotung (in The Eclipse and Only Friends)

Gun/Off (in Not Me, Puppy Honey, Puppy Honey 2, and Theory of Love)

Lee/Mook (in My Dear Loser and The Jungle)

Louis/Neo (in The Eclipse and Fish Upon The Sky)

Marc Natarit/Pawin (in Dangerous Romance and My Gear Your Gown)

New/Tay (in Dark Blue Kiss and Kiss Me Again)

Phuwin/Pond (in Fish Upon the Sky and Never Let Me Go)

The kissing pair that has appeared in the most shows is Gun/Off, with 4 shows out as of now (and 2 more in the works!).

10 out of 13 of these repeating pairs (77%) are same gender pairs, specifically BL branded or brand-adjacent pairs. Once again, an interesting look into the GMMTV het vs BL system.

All in all, 97% of mixed gender pairs and 85% of same gender pairs appear only once, in one show.

Same Gender vs. Mixed Gender Kissing Pairs

Of the 169 "unique" kissing pairs, roughly 60% are mixed gender pairs and roughly 39% are same gender pairs. This ratio has shifted slightly from the last update (when it was 59% mixed gender and 41% same gender) as I have added more het shows to the sample.

Now to look at the shows themselves: 35% of the shows had only same gender kissing pairs, 47% of the shows had only mixed gender kissing pairs, and 18% of the shows featured both. You will notice that this is a 8% increase in favour of "mixed gender kissing only" shows compared to the last update which is due to the number of het shows I added this update.

Most Kissing Pairs Per Show

The average number of kissing pairs per show is 2.4.

The shows with the most different kissing pairs are:

Only Friends (16 different pairs)

The Warp Effect (15 different pairs)

Friendzone (11 different pairs)

The Jungle and U-Prince (9 different pairs each)

The Player (7 different pairs)

Not Me, Three Gentlebros, and 3 Will Be Free have 4 different kissing pairs each, and then all other shows have 3 or fewer kissing pairs each.

Welcome Only Friends to the top of the ranking! 🎉 A well deserved placing. I would like to take a moment to hone in on the distribution of kissing over the course of the series:

We hit 9 kissing pairs in ep. 9, 10 pairs in ep. 10, 11 pairs in ep. 11, and 12(+) pairs in ep. 12. Very satisfying.

The Power of Jojo

Jojo, every series:

You get a kiss and you get a kiss! YOU ALL GET KISSES!

(inspired by @dribs-and-drabbles here)

As we've learned over these past updates, Jojo has an outsized impact on the number of kissing pairs. He has directed roughly 10% of the shows in this sample, but his shows account for nearly a third of all kissing pairs (32%). Half of Jojo's shows are in the top 6 for most kissing pairs per show (Only Friends, The Warp Effect, Friendzone, and The Player).

The average number of kissing pairs in a Jojo show is 7.4, compared to 1.8 for non-Jojo shows.

Interesting to note: last update, the average number of kissing pairs per show for Jojo shows was 6.0 (1.4 lower) and the average for non-Jojo shows was the same (1.8). Only Friends had quite the impact.

(note: in this section, I am just looking at kissing pair iterations here not at unique kissing pairs, e.g., Phuwin/Pond are a pair in two shows (once in a Jojo show and once in a non-Jojo show), so they are counted twice.)

Most Kissing Partners

First, to put this in context: 50.4% of the actors in this sample have only had one kissing partner. The average number of kissing partners per actor is 2.6 (an increase of 0.3 from last update - again, possibly due to Only Friends).

We've had some significant changes in the leader board this update. Previously, our top 5 were Joss (10 kissing partners), Lee and Namtan (9 each), and Ohm and Nanon (7 each).

Welcome our new leader, Lee, with 12 kissing partners!

Krist takes the second spot (11 different kissing partners), followed by Joss (10), Namtan (9) and First (8) to round out our top five.

Next we have Gigie, Mild, Nanon, New, Off, and Ohm with 7 different kissing partners each; Film, Mond, Mook, Neo, and Singto with 6 kissing partners each; and Bright, Fluke Pusit, Jan, Khaotung, and Mark Pakin with 5 kissing partners each. There are also eleven actors with 4 different partners, and fifteen actors with 3 different partners each.

This update sees an astonishing 6 new kissing partners for Krist and 3 for First, catapulting them into the top 5. The impact of Only Friends can't be denied either - it increased every one of its actors' total kissing partners, and pushed Mond, Neo, Khaotung, and Mark Pakin up into the upper echelons, along with First, of course.

Most Kissing Partners in One Show

We have a new reigning champion for "Most Kissing Partners in One Show"! Thanks to his tireless hard work in Only Friends kissing 5 different people, Neo rockets to the top of the list.

We now have seven people who have kissed 4 different people in one show thanks to Only Friends (First, Mark Pakin, and Mond in Only Friends; Fluke Pusit, Gigie, and New in The Warp Effect; and Plustor in Friendzone), and eight cases of people kissing 3 different people in one show (Book, Force, and Khaotung in Only Friends; Joss and Namtan in The Player; Joss again in 3 Will Be Free; Krist in The Jungle; and Singto in Friendzone).

Please note that all of these instances (except for Krist in The Jungle) happened in Jojo shows.

In total, there are 52 instances of people kissing more than one person in a show, and 31% of actors in the sample have kissed more than one person in a show at least once.

Which of the GMMTV boys has kissed the most guys?

Last update we had a five-way tie for first place between First, Fluke Pusit, Neo, Plustor, and Singto, with 4 men kissed each. Only Friends has significantly changed the situation.

Congratulations to First for taking first place in the men kissing men category, with 7 men kissed! Next we have Neo in second place (6 men kissed) and Khaotung in third (5 men kissed).

First has kissed Gawin (Not Me), Force (Only Friends), Khaotung (The Eclipse and Only Friends), Mark Pakin (Only Friends), Mix (Moonlight Chicken), Mond (Only Friends), and Ohm (The Shipper)

Neo has kissed Drake (Only Friends), Force (Only Friends), Louis (The Eclipse and FUTS), Mark Pakin (Only Friends), Mond (Only Friends), and Title (Only Friends)

Khaotung has kissed Book (Only Friends), First (The Eclipse and Only Friends), Mond (Only Friends), Pawin (55:15 Never Too Late), and Pod (Tonhon Chonlatee)

There are now seven men who have kissed 4 men each: Fluke Pusit, Krist, Mark Pakin, Mond, New, Plustor, and Singto. Special shoutout to Mark Pakin, Mond, and Plustor for racking up all these kisses over the course of one show each (Only Friends, Only Friends, and Friendzone respectively).

Finally, there are eight men who have kissed 3 men each, and eleven who have kissed two men each.

The Kiss Web

Behold... the Kiss Web, newly updated:

And, as usual, some colourful breakdowns too:

The reach of the top 5 kissers: Lee, Krist, Joss, Namtan, and First.

The kissing webs of the top three shows: Only Friends (in pink), The Warp Effect (in blue), and Friendzone (in green). Yes these are all Jojo shows.

Some "kissing triangles" (no squares this time because there were too many to show). Note the triangles completed in the course of one show: Nat-Plustor-Singto (Friendzone), First-Khaotung-Mond (Only Friends), Mark Pakin-Neo-Title (Only Friends), Fluke Pusit-Gigie-New (The Warp Effect), and Joss-Mild-Tay (3 Will Be Free).

I’ve been having fun Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon-ing around this web and I’d like to propose a challenge to you all: what is the longest chain between two people (with the most people between them) possible? Basically, reverse Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Bonus points if there is no quicker shortcut between them.

If you’d like to play another little game, see my post here.

Contributing authors: @airenyah, @alsoran, @alwaysthepessimist, various anons, @bengiyo, @burnsuncomet, @callipigio, @cangse-sanren, @catboykacchan, @catboyjosten, @catsundmaus, @chickenstrangers, @crowie, @dribs-and-drabbles, @ffirstkhao, @foralleternityidiot, @isaksbestpillow, @jeonghanurl, @kattahj, @kpinhiding, @lurkingshan, @maibpenrai, @maybeitdontmakesense, @nieves-de-sugui, @non-binarypal7, @sammie-lightwood-bane, @sollucets, @userneos, @theselightsareblinding, @tiistirtipii, @waitmyturtles, @williamrikers

Data visualization consultants and beloved proofreaders: @chickenstrangers, @dribs-and-drabbles, @wen-kexing-apologist

Asked to be tagged: @blmpff

[musicalgrl]

You should wear the one with my name on it to show everyone you're dating Tan. Nice. It’s pretty loose, so it will drop easily. Babe. Wear it for me, too. This one? Please.

WE ARE | EP14

[musicalgrl]

Okay I don't have the time to elaborate on this now (in hindsight this was a lie) but you can tell Ming's brother was taken aback by Joe. Like he was 100% not expecting the guy his brother is fucking around with to look him in the eyes without a shred of care and just tell him their family sucks and he doesn't want anything to do with them. Bro walked in expecting the guy to cling to Ming like a leech and got someone who couldn't wait to get rid of them. He was probably thinking Joe would try to get close to even Mike, to want to climb high by charming the whole family (like tong, couch couch) and making Ming fall in love with him so he can stay around after the year is up.

But NO. joe stared him dead and said he knows he's just a toy for Ming. He knows he's being used. Mike can't deal emotional damage or humiliate him to make him leave with this. He just started at this rich powerful neo baby and said I can't wait to get rid of you and your shitty family

And Mike was impressed. Like you could tell. He expected a shallow person or some gold digger clinging to his brother and was ready to intimidate him and he got a logical guy who didn't give a fuck. Do you know how much courage it takes to look the son of the probably most powerful family in the country in the eyes and express your feelings of 'fuck your brother and your wholeass clan'

In this whole exchange, Mike was mostly silent cuz Joe said everything he planned to intimidate him with first. First the being a toy, and then the acknowledgement of how powerful this family is. Like Mike's threats wouldn't work now if he said he would send people after him because Joe said it first, and at the end he even turned the situation around, saying 'do you think your brother would let me go'?

It takes balls to be like that. And Mike could see it. He probably actually has some respect for Joe after this sole interaction. If I was to write a post-canon fic for them where Ming and Joe are married, I can see Mike being the brother in law who likes Joe more than Ming if only because he doesn't give him a headache

[musicalgrl]

This so much of this.

So I finally caught up on My Stand In after being 3 episodes behind due to irl reasons.

The last three episodes have been a lot and while I’m sad to have missed the weekly discussions, I’m also kind of glad I watched all three at once because it gave me the opportunity to get to watch Ming’s progress rapidly rather than waiting (which my ADHD brain is very happy about) and the one thing really stuck with me through all three episodes.

Of the three who knows Joe is Joe, Ming is the only one to figure it out completely on his own. He doesn’t overhear anything, he isn’t told by anyone. Even the priest (is that what he is? Citation needed) won’t give Ming the straight answer he seeks. Joe is neither dead nor alive but a secret third thing, his soul has transmigrated to another body entirely.

Before, when he didn’t know, we got the small kernels of change. Ming is much more straight forward than he used to be. While he was never one to mince words, he is more truthful and up front, even with Joe 2.0. He is honest with him from the start about exactly what he wants. He doesn’t tell Joe the real reason why he wants it, but that’s understandable given that no one else is willing to believe Ming when he says Joe is still alive. So why tell this new stand in why you want him to be so.

Then he figures it out. He puts together the context clues and believes the impossible because he’s the only one who never gave up hope that Joe would come home, would come back to him. Joe does come back to him and Ming immediately sets out to ensure that Joe exactly where he stands in terms of how Ming feels about him. Ming needs Joe to understand exactly what he wants. Ming is probably always going to be the type of person who will use underhanded tactics in certain situations, but it’s completely understandable why he uses the contract to keep Joe with him.

Ming offers up explanations where Joe didn’t ask for them, because he knows that Joe deserves them, whether or not he asks for them. He wants Joe to understand that he regrets a lot of his past actions, including what he did for Tong at the end. Ming had all but admitted that if he could go back and change it, he would.

Ming is willing to confront so many issues head on. He is learning to deal with his emotions in a way that is more productive for them all. He has started to feel more of his emotions out loud in a way he didn’t before. He promised himself he would change if Joe ever came back and so far he has kept his promise. He will better himself and he will grow. He will no longer be stagnant.

He is even willing to tell his father that he is dating Joe. The mere mention of it clearly terrifies him more than he has the words to express, something that Joe picks up on right away and tries to protect both of them from. Preemptively breaking up with Ming to try and save them both a worst heartbreak than simply breaking up.

Tong had spent so much of the show attempting to prove again and again that Ming is under his thumb. He knew that Ming was in love with him in the past and still believes he is now, but he is wrong. Ming will no longer allow himself to be manipulated by Tong and by extension his mother. So he will shoot their ace out of the sky by doing the one thing that terrifies him the most. He will tell his father that he is gay. That he is gay and dating a man. A man named Joe.

He will accept what comes next because the only other options is to lose Joe and Ming absolutely will not do that for a second time. He is willing to lose everything, as long as it means he doesn’t lose Joe.

[musicalgrl]

feeling faint every time i look at this moment specifically. it's just so tender so loving so gentle. phum says peem treats him like a kid but there's just something so high romance in this small gesture to me. it's peem saying 'you've been quiet and im not sure how to deal with this side of you im not familiar with but whatever it is im here for you and i will keep you safe' and im honestly insane about it

[musicalgrl]

I am so entirely serious, I'm gonna need future BL to take SO many notes about the relationships in this show

the way this one simple line tells us so much about how much Fang loves his brother while also acknowledging that sometimes we need someone outside of our family to turn to. the way this moment also tells us how much he cares about Tan even if he might not always be the best at showing it. the way they're all just there for each other.

this show genuinely fills my heart with so much joy it's insane.

[musicalgrl]

The official pilot trailer of Happy Ending just dropped. And I'm in awe of the potential this show holds.

It's equal parts thrilling and aesthetically pleasing.

And Jeff is just brilliant. This is exactly how I expected him to be. Unhinged and bloody, but artfully so.

[musicalgrl]

This was such a fun convo.

I don’t want to brag, but I paid the most attention in class. Let me ask you then.

ONLY BOO | EP5

[musicalgrl]

BL Webtoons/Manhwas and their live adaptations

Video credit for this beautiful montage ☝️ @blwemlng on Twitter 🙏🙏

[musicalgrl]

We Are Forever

They made some Choices in the MV (excuse me, making the dancing blurry and behind his head made me SO SAD but anyway... some cute couple stuff, at least)