#hctm thun

[maybe-boys-do-love]

He’s Coming to Me is a comedy…unless you think about about it for more than 3 seconds…about how Med and his untended grave represents a lost queer generation in the 90s…how Thun’s only queer mentor to help him out of his own cemetery of secret pain and longing is a ghost…a ghost who could’ve lived if greed didn’t willfully keep the medicine he needed out of his reach…

He’s Coming to Me is a comedy…unless you think about how Med resigned himself to never leave the graveyard and to never be seen by anyone because of the way his family abandoned him in his condition…how he accepted his eternal state of loneliness…how even after he’s freed, Med depends on Thun’s desire for his touch because death has changed him forever and he can’t simply act on his own desires alone…

He’s Coming to Me is a comedy…unless you think about Thun’s refusal to give up on the people who are supposed to be lost…his refusal to give up on those who want to give up on themselves…unless you think about the second-life Med gets to live…how genuinely happy Thun and he are to have each other despite the limits to their intimacy, despite those who can’t see their love, despite the knowledge that some day it will end…about how they love each other perhaps more deeply because they both recognize how preciously brief anyone’s life on earth is before they’re reborn and the search for those small moments of love happen again

Yes, He’s Coming to Me is a comedy 🥺🥺🥺…😭

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: He’s Coming To Me Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I’ll cover He’s Coming To Me, how this show centers Thai-Chinese/Asian culture, shipper culture, and the brilliance of Ohm Pawat and Singto Prachaya. THIS IS A LONG POST.]

I’m gonna have to hold myself down for this one. He’s Coming To Me. This kind of show. HCTM is ABSOLUTELY the reason why I created this project watchlist in the first place -- to watch this kind of show. This show cements my utter respect and passion for the work of Aof Noppharnach. This guy’s work needs to be taught in schools. 

I’m like -- after days of finishing HCTM, and furiously and hungrily rewatching episodes, I am still shaking my damn head at this show. I knew it was great, but y’all didn’t prepare me for ITS GREATNESS. (And to be watching it the same week as Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars -- it’s been an Aof-themed moment, and I’m a touch overwhelmed by EVERYTHING I’ve absorbed.)

I am actually contemplating -- I’m seriously contemplating this! -- if I like this show better than either Bad Buddy or Moonlight Chicken. I know, I KNOW. I’m not talking about the story, the structure, the filming, the writing and direction. I’m literally just talking about my own damn preferences. I might just LIKE this show better, for what it held, what it told, and how the show showed so much respect for its story.

And there’s a lot I want to touch on in this piece, so as usual, a little list for myself:

1) Where this show came from vis à vis the watchlist, and what I think it meant by way of previous BLs 2) The Asianness of the show and how it transcended the usual BL tropes 3) A celebration of Aof’s favorite themes, and how cool it was to see them being born in HCTM (including the theme of young/first love that I haven’t seen before in his work) 4) A hopefully brief and not angry reflection on shipper culture, homophobia, Ohm, Singto, and how that affected HCTM in the annals of Thai BL

Without having seen his My Dear Loser work, or his screenwriting for Gay OK Bangkok 1 and 2 (which I plan to watch after the OGMMTVC is over, in preparation for Only Friends): HCTM is the first full Aof vehicle to enter my watchlist. So just quickly looking behind me: I’ve had shows like Love Sick, SOTUS, Together With Me, Love By Chance -- shows that began to toe the line, then define the line, then sharpen the line of what BL was. As I wrote in my Love By Chance review last week, I felt that LBC was the first show on my watchlist that felt like a true derivative BL, complete with tropes that had been born during Love Sick and SOTUS, and sharpened over those first few years of the Thai BL industry growing.

So it’s 2019 now, and we get He’s Coming To Me, both written and directed by P’Aof. Tropes? No tropes. What a flip from LBC.

Instead, we get an absolute head-first dive into many of the themes that we see Aof continued to play with in his later works. For me, HCTM evoked Moonlight Chicken the most, especially for what I call the Asianness of this show -- Aof’s unabashed focus on Asian cultural themes and threads that create structure and movement for his characters.

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to thank @telomeke very deeply for chatting with me about how I could learn more about Thai-Chinese culture, because themes and behaviors related to Thai-Chinese demographics are clearly common in Thai BLs, and I’ve felt that it behooved me to learn more about the culture (or as much as I can from the internet) as I continue to review these shows. But @telomeke reminded me that a lot of the assimilation of Chinese cultures and populations mirror the cultural mixing that took and takes place in Malaysia, where a part of my family hails and where I’ve spent a good portion of my life. So I’m relieved that I actually understand more about Thai-Chinese culture than I gave myself credit for, BUT -- that’s only a caveat, because I still have so much more to learn.

I say this because I’m using this word, “Asianness,” to describe in part at least one impression I have about HCTM, which is taking seriously the theme of ghosts and what role ghosts play in a human’s life. We see very often in Japanese doramas the practice of praying at an altar honoring past ancestors -- ancestor culture and worship are big in Japan, and the doramas don’t shy away from that. We see temple trips all the time in doramas and BL doramas -- especially during New Year’s. (Our Dining Table being just the most recent one.) We see Buddhist temple culture in Thai BLs often -- in KinnPorsche, in Bed Friend, in Big Dragon, and very especially in Moonlight Chicken.

I think what I want to point out here, if I can say it eloquently, is that a Western viewer might find more notable in an Asian drama, than in a Western show, the inclusion of practices of spirituality. In the West, spirituality might be indicated by a trip to a church, or prayer. But it strikes me -- and maybe this is because I’m a first-generation Asian-American, my eyes open to ALL the differences between my culture and America -- that Asian dramas incorporate the practices of spirituality more seamlessly, because practices like lighting an incense stick and giving a quick prayer before breakfast is more culturally embedded in places like Japan or Thailand. The practice is there, and you just do it, because that’s what you do for your culture. (I often see a stick of incense lit and burning next to a plate of fruits in the early mornings when I jog past Thai restaurants. It’s just -- what you do.)

It struck me, and I still wonder about it, if Western viewers may have thought that Thun was going overboard with his interest in Thai-Chinese Buddhist practices, including being so diligent about offering alms to the passing monks, going to the temple for merits, and keeping electric incense sticks on him to make sure that Med wouldn’t disappear. An auntie on Whatsapp might cock a curious eyebrow, but also regard Thun as a “good boy” who’s devoted to the temple.

In any case, this struck me particularly deeply, because I think, if P’Aof had been a little more abashed, that he could have toned this theme down -- the theme of the everyday practice of Buddhism.

And he didn’t. He didn’t tone it down. He leveraged it as THE major theme of the drama: that ghosts exist in Thai-Chinese-Buddhist culture and practice, and that some people can communicate with ghosts, including both Thun and his mom. 

The ABSOLUTELY wonderful @telomeke​ affirmed this for me, writing so eloquently: “Underlying HCTM is an unshakeable belief in the spirit world, and it's also a given ... for a majority of people in SE Asia and Thailand in particular that the spiritual realm is as much a part of the everyday world as much as the physical reality of what we can see and touch.”

The reason why I’m hammering on this in particular is because it categorizes the show as one that is utterly representative of A SPECIFIC CULTURE -- just like Moonlight Chicken, with its commentaries on spiritual and economic practices of the particular place of Pattaya. @telomeke​, I know you have specific feelings about the ending of HCTM, which I’ll get to in a moment, but I think for me, the ending of HCTM is deeply satisfying BECAUSE of this connection to Thai-Buddhist culture, what it says about ghosts and spirits, and how they continue to be incorporated in the ongoing life of a young Thai adult like Thun. AND, I appreciated that the ending skirted, just slightly, what we might have expected about someone losing their lover (à la Eternal Yesterday). Thun only temporarily lost Med... but Med still doesn’t quite exist. And I think there’s layers there that I’ll hopefully get to teasing out, either here or in a future post.

Going back to BL tropes and structures... I mean, HCTM was just like, yo, I’m gonna play in another ball field. I’ll have more thoughts on this after I watch Dark Blue Kiss, but at least, as far as I’m aware WITHOUT having seen DBK yet, that it’s not until late 2021 that P’Aof begins playing in the BL sandbox, takes his toy dump truck, and turns the tropes upside down in Bad Buddy.

And I see, in HCTM, P’Aof laying the groundwork for the themes that he DOES love, that I happen to love, and that get repeated in his oeuvre:

- The theme of community: the need for young and old queer individuals to interact with other queer individuals (most recently depicted in OS2/BBS/ATOTS) - The theme of NOSTALGIA: Med having never left his moment 20 years prior, listening to the same music of Thun’s mom’s generation (nostalgia being most recently depicted in Moonlight Chicken) - The parable of 1,000 stars: what it means to be the last star on which to make a wish (most recently depicted in ATOTS and OS2/ATOTS) - The anguish of coming out: Thun, Uncle Jim, Li Ming, Pran coming out to Dissaya -- all heavy, all impactful, all different stories that carry heaviness and their own meaning to each of these incredible characters

And there’s so many more. But what I really want to do, to get up on the rooftops that P’Aof loves so much, and YELL TO THE AIR is:

THE GENIUS, THE SHEER GENIUS, of linking these themes -- many of these as ASIAN themes! -- to specific issues that face the queer community, such as coming out, and being invisible (like a ghost) in a majority cishet society. 

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH. Oh, the pain in my heart. This is exactly what I wrote in my notes while rewatching the show: “This is the first time we get Big Cultural Themes outside of issues with the queer community -- and Aof LINKS the Big Cultural Themes WITH queer issues -- the brilliance of it all.” Just like he did subsequently in Moonlight Chicken.

What was so beautiful to me about He’s Coming To Me -- and how it was channeled with GENIUS TALENT AND GRACE from Ohm and Singto -- is that, unlike Moonlight Chicken, this was the story of one young man who needed to sort out his feelings. And there was another young man, a young man who was killed, who HAD begun realizing his feelings, but was trapped by station (from a rich family) and role (the only son in a family). Med even said, it would have been impossible for him to come out as the only son of his family.

As far as we knew, Med had only come out to Kwan, Thun’s mom, before he died. Med may have very well been attracted to other men before he died -- but we see him VISCERALLY attracted to Thun, and vice versa, and that burst of first love for both young men, IN THE CONTEXT OF Thun’s spiritual practice and abilities to BRING Med to “life” in Thun’s life -- I mean. I’m shaking my head. It’s a parable for manifesting what you want in your life, and making it happen. 

And yet, what HCTM also touches on, is that many times, you DON’T get what you want in life. Med WILL disappear one day. He will be reborn. It wasn’t his time at the moment of the ending, but it will be his time one day. Thun only has Med temporarily -- we don’t see the WHEN of that. 

BUT. I would posit (and @telomeke​ and @wen-kexing-apologist​, I wonder what you think of this), à la OS2/Bad Buddy, that P’Aof is OKAY with us not seeing this, and not necessarily considering the ending of HCTM to be a happy ending for Thun and Med. Because he knows -- and he knows that his Asian viewers know -- that Med WILL leave Thun one day. Not yet, though. Thun still has a little time to grow wiser and older and stronger. But Med WILL disappear one day. He had been hinting at it all throughout every episode of the series. He will have to leave Thun’s side. 

I think the way the show ended was graceful. It leaves that door open for Med to find his rebirth, because was a good kid and deserves to be reborn in a happy life. It allows Thun time to grow through his first love -- first love being such an important theme to this show. It’s COMPASSIONATE to Thun, very similar to me to the kind of compassion that P’Aof showed to Uncle Jim throughout Moonlight Chicken, and just now in OS2/ATOTS to Phupha. But it’s also rooted in the SPIRITUAL REALITY that Med WILL leave -- just not yet. And P’Aof is saying, I didn’t need to show y’all, because y’all Asians already know, Med’s outta here one day. 

The other thing to note about the ending is that P’Aof had already shown a tremendous amount of Thun’s pain. Thun wasn’t necessarily HAPPY in this show. He was curious, exploring, and loyal to Med. While Thun is clearly a young man who DEMONSTRATES happiness -- MY GAWD, the 19-year-old smile of Ohm Pawat!!! -- I wouldn’t say that he was a happy child. He lost his dad young. He was SCARED as hell for potentially letting his mom down. And: he had a lot of secrets to keep. The secret of being gay. The secret of being able to see and talk to ghosts.

“He’s coming to me.” Thun comes out, twice. He’s gay, and can see ghosts. 

Even though others can’t see ghosts, I can. Even though others aren’t gay, I’m gay. Mom: I’m different. 

When Thun sobs for Med while holding onto the jar of stars in his bedroom. When Thun spins around, looking for Med on the rooftop in episode five. When Thun calls for Med and Med isn’t there. Thun is alone. He is alone with his secrets, and Med is not there -- he is NOT coming to Thun in those moments -- and Thun is left alone, different and unique, as he has been his whole life.

I’d posit that that uniqueness is particularly difficult to deal with in collectivist Asian societies as in Thailand -- which led, in part, to Thun not knowing the language of his feelings as he came out to Med in episode five on the rooftop, and being SCARED, to his bones, to come out to his friends and his mom in episode six.

For 2019: I see this show as being ahead of its time, way ahead of its time. I have lots of theories as to why this show isn’t considered a more striking part of the canon of Thai BLs, and the incredible @bengiyo​ and @shortpplfedup​ have helped me to understand the magnitude of the impact that P’Aof made in breaking up the KristSingto ship to pair Singto with Ohm -- and how the fan shippers came for HCTM, and pushed GMMTV to hide this show for years before finally releasing it on YouTube with subs.

But besides that fucking bullshit, which I’ll return to in a second, I also want to note that maybe -- considering that we have more years now, after 2019, to consider the massive trove of Thai BLs that exist now -- the skirting of the still-nascent BL tropes framework was too early for many when this show came out. As I’ve demonstrated here in this piece -- this show’s complicated. There’s A LOT A LOT. I mean, I’m in love with P’Aof’s work because I LIKE HAVING A LOT in my shows. But you go a flip side and you get Together With Me and MaxTul with love bites and throaty kisses (in the words of Seinfeld, not that there’s anything wrong with that). 

HCTM is heavy. It carried a lot that wasn’t overtly sexual by nature, like many BLs at that moment in 2019 and right beforehand (randy Perth, randy MaxTul, etc.).

I understand from @bengiyo​ and @shortpplfedup​ that, because Ohm needed to move on from Make It Right and the OhmToey ship due to Toey leaving BL after MIR, and Ohm joining forces with Singto, that Ohm received massive criticism, and continues to be a subject of criticism and bullying today (some of which I’ve seen on this site). And that Singto was also the subject of online bullying as well.

With all of this in mind -- Ohm, Singto, and the unique nature of HCTM -- I’m continuing to mull over the issue of homophobia in shipper culture. If BLs are reduced down SIMPLY to the pairings that lead these shows -- and that there’s an EXPECTATION that the shows NEED to depict certain acts of queer sexuality, SPECIFICALLY among actors who identify as straight -- that seems straight up homophobic to me.

I can see HCTM being too ahead of its time to begin shifting that paradigm. I’ll see what Dark Blue Kiss does next in the Aof oeuvre from this purview, but what I want to get at is:

IT IS CRIMINAL THAT HCTM ISN’T MORE WIDELY KNOWN. This show is affecting me literally at the same level as Bad Buddy and Moonlight Chicken.

What HCTM HELD by way of Asian culture and spirituality, by the RESPECT IT HAD for the experience of first young queer love, by LEVERAGING the ABSOLUTE BRILLIANCE OF ACTING OF OHM AND SINGTO (omg, AND SINE INTHIRA, are you kidding me?!?!?), and, oh shit, by BRINGING THAT ALL TOGETHER? To TELL a story of queerness and spirituality in Thailand?

Fuck. I’m just shaking my head. If it’s too much for the shipper folk, then... okay, go off. Leave the good stuff to me and the fam that GETS IT — the fam that gets that what we’re watching is ART, and not intended vessels for fantasy and fetish.

Last notes. I just want to say that in my SOTUS reviews, that I theorized that Singto would be brilliant when paired with a really good actor, and HCTM proved it to me. If it weren’t for this fucking shipper bullshit, I would have liked to see Singto and Ohm paired again.

Ohm is probably the most prevalent actor on my Thai BL list. I get that he was nicknamed “the king of BL,” and that he’s been the target of bias for that label and his predilection for being utterly brilliant in telling queer stories (thank you to @bengiyo​ and @miscellar​ for helping to fill me in on this).

Let me just say that this man is a goddamn MASTER. @shortpplfedup​ nailed it in her Ohm appreciation post.  @absolutebl summarizes why Ohm is singular in this BL space. Shippers who want to bully the mans, bring him down or whatever, spread misinformation, I want to say, angrily and rudely -- fuck off, and be afraid of talent in y’alls lives. 

With the tangle of homophobia and cyberbullying that seem to have an overstated impact on the Thai BL industry, it is a damn shame that Ohm doesn’t get more of his flowers, because he makes shows better. I mean: this guy OWNS ROOFTOPS. Episode five of HCTM?! Episode five of Bad Buddy?! Get this guy on a rooftop and he will SLAY. Pair him with people -- Singto? Nanon? Perth? OHM MAKES THESE GUYS BETTER ACTORS than they ever were previously.

I say the following, in all honesty, with a touch of disdain, of condescension, and sadness, for the people who don’t watch this show because it doesn’t have pectorals or hot make-out sessions, and because it features actors that many fans might want to bully:

HCTM does not have the reputation that it deserves. It’s not just a good show. It’s an HONORABLE show. For me, it pays homage to Asian cultures and practices that I relate to. It features a story of queer revelations and love that is written with passion and respect. It features probably the best acting I’ve seen so far on my watchlist. And it features two actors who were willing to subvert expectations, at the risk of their own careers, to tell this story, as written and directed by one of of the most brilliant, subversive, experimental, and creative filmmakers I’ve ever watched in Aof Noppharnach.

I want and need BL fans to appreciate Asian culture more in these shows. And I want and need BL fans to appreciate human behavior development as well. Because P’Aof is telling stories out here, stories that can enrich our lives. I wrote in my Bad Buddy thesis that BBS will be required viewing for my children. HCTM joins that list. HCTM makes me want to be a better Asian mother, and to make a world for my children where the experience of first love and coming out can be regarded not with pain, but with celebration and joy.

[It’s going to take me a while to get over HCTM, but I’ve already begun Dark Blue Kiss, and am having a FABULOUS time with it. That opening theme! P’Aof and JOCKS! Yum. Another frappé, please.

Here’s the updated list! Much to the chagrin of everyone-I-know-on-Tumblr (I’M SORRY @shortpplfedup​), I’m adding a VERY fast rewatch of ATOTS. Blame it on Our Skyy 2. I’ll want to watch ATOTS after the cinematic affair that is ITSAY, and after I’ve seen P’Aof do his thing on two existing series in DBK/Kiss and Still 2gether. ATOTS was my very first P’Aof series, and I want to rewatch it in chronology.

Here we go. As always, I’ll take recs, comments, etc.!

1) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 2) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 3) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 4) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 5) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 6) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 7) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 8) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) 9) He’s Coming To Me (2019)  10) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (watching) 11) TharnType (2019) 12) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (I’m watching this out of order just to get familiar with OffGun before Theory of Love -- will likely not review) 13) Theory of Love (2019) 14) Dew the Movie (2019) (not an official part of the OGMMTVC watchlist, but I want to watch this in chronological order with everything else) 15) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) 16) 2gether (2020) 17) Still 2gether (2020) 18) I Told Sunset About You (2020) 19) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) 20) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 21) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS 22) Lovely Writer (2021) 23) I Promised You the Moon (2021) 24) Not Me (2021-2022) 25) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 26) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 27) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 28) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 29) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 30) My School President (2022-2023) 31) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 32) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults)]

[exclaims]

now that they put gem4th with hctm i can’t stop thinking abt what it would be like if they played med & thun 😭

[ranchthoughts]

inspired by @dudeyuri pointing this out in He's Coming to Me

I'm thinking about how HCTM goes HARDER with the concept of 'if you know how it's going to end, why start anything?' than even Bad Buddy.

In Bad Buddy, Pran doesn't see the use in verbalizing his feelings for Pat because it can only end in tragedy. He looks at their situation with their parents and doesn't see any way that he and Pat can have a happily ever after. But Pat's relentless optimism and love in the face of this helps Pran realize that some things are worth trying. Like in the episode 5 rooftop kiss, where Pat kisses Pran and Pran goes "...what the hell. Might as well go all in" and kisses Pat back. (I've talked about the kiss here and here (shout out to @dudeyuri' contributions); and more broadly about Pat and Pran and genre/tragedies here and here)

In Bad Buddy's case, Pran and Pat are able to defy their seemingly pre-destined tragic ending through the power of their relentless determination to be together (see @chickenstrangers' brilliant post here). If it means fake breaking up, if it means hiding parts of their lives from their parents and others, they can do it. They refuse to have their story end in tragedy. And they succeed! They have found enduring love and a future together in a situation where that seemed impossible, a guaranteed inevitability. They defied generations of family feud forbidden romance endings (Romeo & Juliet, Kwan & Riam) (and their own families' intergenerational trauma - see this post by @waitmyturtles) to find a happy ending.

But Bad Buddy's ending is not 100% happy - Pat and Pran aren't able to be open in front of their parents, they aren't able to realize their achingly simple dreams (Pat being respected and not questioned by his father, Pat able to join Pran's family at dinner - see @grapejuicegay 's tags peer reviewed here).

In the same vein, HCTM doesn't have a fully happy ending either, and it also deals with the looming spectre of inevitability tragedy. Only this time, it's even more inevitable.

(If you haven't finished HCTM beware spoilers)

HCTM establishes that ghosts remain because they died before their time, because they don't know the reason they died, or because they didn't get the proper funerary rites. If these issues are rectified, the ghost will be able to pass on and be reincarnated.

(forgive my potentially hazy remembering of HCTM, it's been a few months since I watched it and I'm writing this on a train)

Mes hasn't passed on because he didn't know the reason he died (and he hadn't received the proper care post-death from his family). Thun helps him rectify this: solves the mystery of how he died and helps arrange a proper send-off. Thun does all this because he loves Mes and wants to help him, and despite knowing it will help Mes pass on and leave him - the inevitability of their situation looms large.

At the end of the show, Thun cries because he believes Mes had left him forever, but by some miracle Mes has remained. But this is temporary, and we all know this. One day, Mes will pass on and be reincarnated. Not today - today Mes and Thun get to stay together - but one day, that is how this story will end.

So like Bad Buddy, it's not exactly a happy ending (Pat and Pran are trapped in a glass closet, Thun and Mes will be separated one day). But unlike Bad Buddy, there is less chance of a reversal of fortune, of defying the inevitable. Thun and Mes are working with cosmological forces of death and rebirth. Perhaps their love will be able to overcome this and Mes can stay with Thun... but the show doesn't confirm this. If anything, the show makes it clear that this is temporary, that eventually Mes will leave Thun.

Despite this though, and like always in Aof's stuff - better to have loved and lived than not at all. Despite their less than stellar ending, Pat and Pran have found an enduring love in each other and their lives are better and happier for it (Pat says it himself: he was happier when Pran wasn't in his life because he didn't have to compete so much, but he was damn lonely). Thun and Mes are the same - sure their love won't be everlasting because eventually Mes will have to pass on, but the joy and love it brings to their lives (and the self-realization it brought to Thun's) is worth it all.

Bad Buddy ends in the middle of things (Pran and Pat still haven't rectified things with their family) and so does HCTM (Thun and Mes are together, but only temporarily. We don't see their ending).

Shout out to another @dudeyuri post that made me think about this (here) and @waitmyturtles masterful post about suffering in Asian BLs and, more specifically, the lack of closing loops in narratives/relationships, which I have been mulling over since - Bad Buddy and HCTM's stories aren't over, we don't see the endings.

[silverquillsideas]

Thai BL Favorite List

I have been tagged by @littleragondin thank you so much!

Credit to @thatgirl4815 for the original.

Favorite Thai BL:

I've watched a pretty decent number of thai bls over the years, but none have given me as much joy and laughter and butterflies as My School President :D I didn't expect it to take the top spot from A Tale of a Thousand Stars, but here we are :P

Favorite Pairing:

tbh this keeps changing for me everytime I get hyperfixated on a new show, but currently, it's both mileapo and geminifourth :3

Most underrated actor:

I don't know nearly enough about a lot of other thai bl actors in general, I confess T-T but I'd still say Mark Pakin! he's a really really talented guy, and he needs to be in more shows, and in main roles. He's for sure gonna kill it in a rom-com type of show, in a comedic main character role. dude is naturally hilarious lmao

Favorite Character:

toughest question HOW CAN YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE? UNFAIR!!!

I'm gonna pick two, because it'll be cruel to separate them, even in a tumblr ask game TT_TT

and they are : heartliming!!! my babies! my two little sunshines! I adore them both so much!! *sobs in the corner* altho I know MLC technically isn't a bl, but I'll still pick them <3

 Favorite Side Character:

Tiwson from MSP XD what can I say this show and its characters got me GOOD laskgskalsfs

Favorite Scene in a BL:

oh hands down the rooftop kiss from bad buddy the series!!! :D shit makes me feral even now, literal goosebumps T-T

Favorite Line in a BL:

oh I absolutely don't remember dialogs until it's something truly life altering asjhaskfsfs I'm genuinely drawing a blank here :")

Most Anticipated BL (and why):

tbh none currently. I'm not keeping up with new shows atm, so I don't really know that many upcoming shows rn

Healthiest Relationship in BL:

I'm glad we are getting so many more of these in recent bls! but my faves are (unsurprisingly) tinngun and heartliming!! it's really not an exaggeration when I say they healed my soul TT-TT

Most Toxic Relationship in BL:

tbh I mostly selectively forgot the plots and characters of most of the awful bls in the past. but it'll probably be th*ntyp* skgsjfsfs

Guilty Pleasure Series:

none??? If I do end up liking something cringey and awful by popular standards, you can bet I'll still scream abt it with as much enthusiasm as any other show I liked lol :D

Most Underrated Series:

I'd say He's Coming to Me and Moonlight Chicken. both deserved so much more hype than they got. MLC deserved a longer runtime with more fleshed out storylines (but P'Aof did a stellar job, as always) and HCTM was way ahead of its time in terms of the themes and messages it tackled. Thun's coming out scene to his mom still haunts me T-T

+BONUS

Favorite Setting/Location:

with this one, I'm the most basic b*tch ever, so I absolutely jump with joy whenever the thai bl staple emotional support BEACH SCENE comes along !!!! :D so many magical moments come out of that single beach episode, literally nothing beats this trope lol

I'm pretty sure everyone in the thai bl circles has already done it, but still : @solana-ceae @watchingblsnowandforever @bevioletskies @trilliastra @purple-worm and anyone else who wants to!! :)

[aylinaliens]

what bl do you recommend for someone who never manages to watch more than three episodes of the bl series out there, doesn't like super cheesy romance so the thai white-shirted boys don't work, doesn't want too much hot and heavy stuff so kinnporsche doesn't work, doesn't want pointless second hand embarrassment, doesn't want sexuality discovery, doesn't want women constantly trying to break the couple, wants to laugh a little but doesn't want a comedy, a bl for someone very picky who just wants to have a good time honestly. i've tried a lot of bls but all of them seem like the same thing over and over. i'm almost hopeless in finding a bl to watch and i'm asking because the way i see it you're quite the expert on the area

Hello anon!! I feel your pain :( I was in like a year slump when it came to BL because everything seemed to mesh together. It can feel hopeless but you just have to find that “one” to pull you in. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a lot of trial and error. I went through and complied a list of BL that hopefully you haven’t tried seen before. But definitely try to experiment with BL from different countries because each country has different “niches.” I really hope one of these works for you though <3

He’s Coming to Me (8ep x 75min || Youtube)

In this short supernatura Thai romance BL, a young man (Thun, played by Ohm Pawat), tries to help a kind ghost (Mes, played by Singto Prachaya) figure out the mystery behind his death. As they work on unraveling secrets, discovering betrayal, and navigating life (slash the afterlife), Mes and Thun fall in love. If you like your BL to be heartwarming & wholesome (but not too sweet it’ll give you cavities) with a dose of angst give HCTM a try. *HCTM is still one of the most underrated BL out there. It does have a tad bit of sexuality discovery but it’s handled in a very nuance and beautiful way.

History 2: Right or Wrong (8ep x 25min || Viki)

One of the more underappreciated additions to the HIStory series, History 2: Right or Wrong gives us a BL about a divorced single father and a college student. It has found family, age gap (done in a healthy manner), and wonderfully fleshed-out characters. If you like a more mature romance that isn't heavy on the Kinnporsche-level steamy skinship, domestic fluff that actually has a plot, and characters actually going through character development I highly rec History 2: Right or Wrong.

GAYA SA PELIKULA/Like in the Movies (8ep x 30min || Youtube)

Gaya Sa Pelikula came out during the Great Wave of 2020 PINOY BLs and it still holds its stop as my #1 BL during that year. I know you want to avoid sexuality discovery but I still had to include this for the simple fact that it's top-notch. Gaya Sa Pelikua is about Karl and Vlad, two different people from two different walks of life who ends up living as housemates for awhile. Karl is suffocating under the pressure of his family while Vlad is getting over a breakup. They intially don’t get along but as time goes by they help each other actually live rather than just going through the motion. If you like your BL to be packed with emotion and to actually discuss LGBTQ+ issues in a frank manner please go watch this. I know you dislike coming out stories but Gaya Sa Pelikula is one of the best of the best of the BL genre because it’s so much more than that. 

Not Me (14ep x 45min || Youtube)

White and Black (both played by Gun Atthaphan) has a close connection but are seperated when they are children: one stays with their mother in Thailand while the other moves to Russia with their father. Years later, White returns to Thailand after Black is viciously attacked and sent into a coma. Since his brother hung around with a ‘sketchy’ gang, he decides to pretend to be his brother to find out what truly happens. This is a BL that is not solely focused on romance (although the romance that is shown is wonderful). It’s groundbreaking because it’s not just a silly college BL: it discusses real issues that are happening in Thailand today such as corruption, inequality, politics, etc. If you like your BL to have complex/layered characters & plots, give Not Me a try.

Ghost Host, Ghost House (8ep x 57min || Youtube)

This recent Thai BL is about Kevin, a live-streamer who is passionate about ghost hunting. He ends up moving in with some relatives who end up being ghosts (irony) and meets Pluem. Neither of the protags are ghost but this does dish into trauma and grief. However, it’s not super angsty or anything like that because the natural chemistry between the characters is solid. This is more of a character driven BL but that’s what makes it so good. We get to learn about all the characters and connect to them, which makes it painful when you have to say goodbye (but don’t fear, again, the two protags are alive). If you like your BL to be a bit eerie and heartwarming at the same time give Ghost Host, Ghost House a try!!

Triage (13ep x 44min || AIS Play)

In this time loop romance BL, Tinn is a doctor who, one day, finds himself repeating the same day over and over. Since he fails at saving one of his patients, Tol, the only way to stop the time loop is to actually save him. Mature BL that doesn’t focus on high school kids or set in college are honestly the way to go. The plots are meaty and just because the characters are older that doesn’t mean that super steamy skinship is required. I just started this yesterday so I’m not finished but so far I highly recommend it. Again, if you like BL that isn’t solely focused on romance please give Triage a try!!

3 Will Be Free (10ep x 50min || Youtube)

3wbf is not really a BL but it’s going on the list because it’s criminally underrated. Without giving away too much of the plot, 3wbf essentially gives us a canon poly relationship between a stripper, the son of a mafia boss, and a gogo bar manager. It gives us a trans character who is not played for laughs and has a legit powerful plotline complete with romance. Everything about 3wbf is top tier. From the acting to the plot to the characters to the cinematography.

Blueming (11ep x 14min || IQIYI)

Blueming is a well loved BL for a reason: it’s amazing. Despite being short, it manages to tell a coherent and interestig story. It’s not just a silly romance, it’s intimate and talks about heavy things like insecurities...yet the audience does not get weighed down with angst. If you like more nuanced or quiet BL that focuses on characters are indiviuals themselves, their family relations, and their relationship as a couple do give Blueming a try!

To My Star 1 & 2 (9ep x 15min || Viki)

Two polar opposites: a famous actor who is going through a rough patch meets and falls for a young chef, end up falling in love. This has a second season which I didn’t watch yet but I still heard good things about it. If you like the cohabitation trope and want to see two wonder characters blossom as individuals go check this out!

Old Fashion Cupcake (5ep x 25min || Viki)

Once again, BL that focuses on adults in the workplace are top tier. Old Fashion Cupcake follows 39-year old Nozue who is just going through the same motions in life. He ends up falling in love with his subordinate at work who is ten years his junior. Old Fashion Cupcake feels like being wrapped in a big blanket as you munch on your favorite comfort food. It’s soft and lovely and genuinely amazing. The way these characters build each other up. If you like realistic BL and character driven stuff, give this short JBL a try!

Cherry Magic (12ep x 24min || IrozukuSubs)

I won’t lie to you, Cherry Magic is mostly fluff but I had to include it. In case you have yet to give this a try, please do. The premise is bonkers: Adachi is a 30 year old virigin who gains the ability to read minds when people touch him. He ends up finding out that his coworker, Kurosawa has been pining for him for years. Do you like your BL to have respectful, wonderful, and relatable characters? Do you like to occasionally turn off your brain and watch something that is silly but full of heart? Cherry Magic proves that sometimes you don’t need an elaborate plot to be interesting. You just need sweet characters and an even sweeter romance. *Cherry Magic also has a few specials + film out!!*

Here are some other BL I recommend but do let me know if there are any other certain genres you like/dislike! This is not my full list, just the ones that avoid the things you dislike. ** are the ones that are some of my top favorites

I Told Sunset About You

Bad Buddy**

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss

Semantic Error

Light on Me**

Manner of Death**

Papa & Daddy**

Vice Versa**

My Tooth Your Love

A Tale of A Thousand Stars**

You Make Me Dance

Be Loved in the House: I Do

We Best Love: No. 1 For You

History 2: Crossing the Line**

Utsukushii Kare

Something in My Room

Dear Doctor I’m Coming for Your Soul

Given

Long Time No See

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai

Where Your Eyes Linger

Amerio Paradox** 

The New Employee** 

Choco Milk Shake**

HIS**

Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat for Dinner Yesterday)**

[chickenstrangers]

Photography in Aof's Series

I have been thinking a lot about cameras and queer visibility since @dudeyuri's tags on this post and @miscellar, @respectthepetty, and @telomeke's following discussions. In Bad Buddy and He's Coming to Me, the motif of the camera plays with the ideas of public vs private aspects of the character's relationships and how open and visible they are able to be. I think this is very true in BBS and HCTM, but it is also a recurring theme in Aof's shows.

Bad Buddy and He's Coming to Me

I am not going to delve too far into these shows because I think @miscellar and others have already written brilliant posts about this linked above. @miscellar makes a wonderful point about photography being seen as a hostile act in most of Bad Buddy because Pat and Pran are trying to hide their relationship, but the context changes when Ink is taking the photo: "ink's camera sees them for who they really are, and more than that, it affirms their relationship." Who is taking the picture changes its meaning, which I think can be extended to discuss queer media more generally, how directors using a queer lens will portray queer stories in more nuanced and/or realistic ways.

In He's Coming to Me, we have the theme of public vs private queerness with Thun taking a selfie with Mes but Mes is of course not visible. Not sure if I have anything to add here, but I do think this fits into the many other scenes where Thun does absolutely nothing to hide the fact that he's talking and hanging out with a ghost. They're hiding in plain sight but no one else sees what they do. This could be a comment on how often people overlook queer relationships or devalue them.

Dark Blue Kiss

In Dark Blue Kiss, Pete photographs Kao a lot, and he doesn't do this in secret. Unlike Pat and Pran who aren't even supposed to be friends, Pete and Kao have that act to disguise their relationship, so they are able to do some parts of their relationship in public. In episode 3, Pete takes Kao's photo in front of a horse and buggy ("You said you like taking photos of views." "You're in every view I see." "Smooth."). Right behind them we see other people also taking photos, including someone taking a photo of two people who look to be a couple, contrasting Pete and Kao with the visibility that straight people get to enjoy.

But while we do have public photography here, because their relationship is hidden and Kao isn't out to his mom, he hides the photographs. In Pete's room, there is a photoboard with lots of photos of the two of them or them separately. Pete doesn't have to hide the relationship in his own home because he is out to his dad and his dad is incredibly supportive.

Kao, on the other hand, primarily has his room decorated with posters about math (this is yet another Aof show where a character has 1 interest and it becomes their entire room décor). But he does keep all the photos, even if he can't display them.

He reveals them at their anniversary surprise when he decorates a whole room with pictures of them together. This moment shows that even though Kao isn't able to be completely open about their relationship, he still wants to put in the effort to show his love, even if it is only possible in an empty school room that no one else will see. While this moment is sweet, there's a thread of sadness behind it because being open to the world is such a huge point of concern in their relationship for the whole series.

Moonlight Chicken

Heart and Li Ming take photos together multiple times, and their comfort with this I think speaks to @telomeke and @waitmyturtles point about how this show is about generations and their different experiences of queerness (x), and so it is an important counterpoint to Jim and Wen that Heart and Li Ming are fairly openly affectionate with their friendship and then their relationship, within safe spaces. For example, they ask Wen to take a photo of them in the food court (Wen who acts as an observer throughout most of the show), and in this interaction Wen sees that there is more to their relationship than friendship. In this way, I think he acts in a similar role to Ink.

I also think it is noteworthy that Wen and Alan have so many photographs of each other, and then their break up scene takes place right in front of the photoboard that is a monument to the good times of their relationship. Wen starts with his back to the board, facing away from that history, and then the framing moves to have the board in between them. The traces of the past are literally acting as a wedge between them as they fight over it. And then that board remains in the apartment, with the photos taken down, as a continued reminder of what used to be there. The love that no longer remains.

There's an interesting parallel between Jim and Wen's conversation on the pier and the scene I talked about before in Dark Blue Kiss. While they discuss the Marina Food Court, there's tension between them, with Wen's guilt in his role in the project affecting Jim's diner and Jim still putting as much distance as he can between himself and Wen. In the background we see a two people, potentially a couple, taking photos. They are wearing almost the exact same colours as Jim and Wen. Their happiness in this scene seems like a direct contrast to the sadness Wen and Jim are expressing, hinting at what they might have when they get past this disconnect. And then once they do get together, Jim and Wen take their own photo together at the beach.

Our Skyy 2 x A Tale of a Thousand Stars

In these special episodes, as the brilliant @wen-kexing-apologist has discussed in their incredible essays (x, x), the main journey of the special surrounds Phupha becoming more comfortable being a partner to Tian in public and being more open with Tian in general, working through a lot of internalized homophobia. This is once again demonstrated using the photography motif.

Phupha takes photos of Tian taking photos of the food in the café, a date during which he is initially uncomfortable with how public they are. He is slowly getting used to how this feels to be so open. But he does push past the discomfort because he knows that this is important for Tian, and important for himself as well.

The next stop on their date is to a photobooth, which an interesting liminal space between public and private. Inside the booth they are alone, but it's still in a very public space, and anyone walking past could see them coming out together, or could look at the photo strips as they're printed out before Tian and Phupha have a chance to collect them. The public and the private are slowly becoming enmeshed.

Tian and Phupha then take a photo with Ink, Pa, Pat and Pran after the play. This is the most open they are with photography, Tian's hand resting on Phupha's shoulder, standing close. This is also an opportunity for Pat and Pran to be in a photo together publicly, like the play itself. Like I talked about regarding the play, it's important that all the people in this picture are queer, and that this creates a safe space to blend the boundaries between public and private sides of their relationship.

I also think it's important to consider when talking about photography, the role that the camera plays as a stand-in for the audience. We are getting this glimpse into the characters relationships, both public and private, and the cameras we see within the scenes can often reflect queer media and queer visibility more generally.

[konaizumi]

[playing basketball]

Thun, to Mes: this one's for you, babe!

Thun: *winks*

Thun: *shoots basketball and misses*

[absolutebl]

Explain that Word? Ter

Thai for the casual BL watcher. 

So I keep hearing the word ter, it’s a pronoun but it seems to be used multiple different ways in Thai so I finally decided to investigate, here’s what I learned. 

We are taught ter as she/her when learning Thai. That would be the formal and polite use but actually it’s rarely spoken that way. It’s not frozen register, it is used, but not often. 

When ter shows up in Thai BLs is tends to show up as you, which is again, almost a frozen register use. It enters parlance in songs in particular. Also it’s not gender specific. 

So when Tine sings his song to Sarawat at the end of Still 2gether he uses ter for you. In normal conversation, these two characters use the rude mueng for you with each other. In formal situations they tend to use each others names. But in song, Tine uses ter. 

The other time we see ter used as you in Bl is in He’s Coming to Me. Thun calls his mother ter over the phone, and Med/Mes thinks Thun is talking to a female lover. Partly because of of ter’s connection to song and poetry, ter as you in speech has an affectionate, old-fashioned component to it. 

Imagine picking up the phone or running into someone and saying softly, “Hay, you.” 

It’s sweet. 

Thun uses ter with his mother instead of maa (the Thai word for mom which sounds harsh to the English ear and bit like mare) because, as his mother explains, maa makes her feel old. This is a bit like giving one’s parent a pet name. 

Anyway, so that’s ter when it shows up. 

Here’s the post where I talk about some of the basic Thai language things it’s useful to know if you watch Thai BL. 

(source)

[dragonsareawesome123]

Gays on rooftops

He’s Coming to Me (2019), Episode 3

Word of Honor (2021), Episode 9

Bad Buddy (2021-2022), Episode 5

Not Me (2021-2022), Episode 8

Enchanté (2022), Episode 8

[viriyanon]

thun making his ghost boyfriend a facebook account [x]

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Everyone's a fan of the fantastic coming out scenes in He's Coming to Me episode 6, but can we also talk about how well that whole episode is constructed so that all the mysterious disparate plot pieces dropped in the first half of the series (Med's isolated memories of his life, Thun's friend's concerns about his behavior, Prai's grandfather, etc.) are suddenly revealed to coalesce perfectly in that episode, almost as if to reflect how sharing the mysteries of your heart with those you care about can bring coherence to a chaotic and overwhelming world???

[waitmyturtles]

HERE WE GO: Thai QL Favorites Tag Game! Thanks to @telomeke, @lurkingshan, and @kattahj for the tags!

Favorite Thai QL: Bad Buddy, with a close second going to Until We Meet Again. My valuation here is -- what show do I think about the MOST on a daily basis? In every other show I watch, I’m thinking of Bad Buddy, and how BBS did x, y, and z differently. Still to me one of the most brilliant overall dramas I’ve ever watched, so mind-blowingly layered, and to me, BBS serves as a love letter and an honoring to the traumas that Asian children face as their parents grow, painfully, out of their own traumas.

Favorite Pairing: I’m going to assume pairings refers to the fictional ships, so: PatPran, obviously, with DeanPharm, BunTan, TeeFuse, and FrameBook in close running! Honorable mention to ThunMed, but Med is a ghost, sooooo, yeah, is object permanence a requirement in ships?! 

Most underrated actor: I’m adding to @telomeke and @pandasmagorica‘s pitch for Gawin Caskey. I know I have yet to see him in Not Me, but he was fabulous in Dark Blue Kiss.... and he is TEARING IT UP in Be My Favorite. There is not one hiccup with this man’s acting. He and Krist are CARRYING BMF to fabulous results. Honorable mention to my fave, Nammon Krittanai, who held down in SOTUS S and ATOTS, and he’s gonna be in The Rebound with Frank Thanatsaran, so we’ll see how that goes!

Favorite Character: Haaaaaa. OMG. I have so many. Honestly... for this very moment, I’d have to say Pharm from UWMA. I know his blushing maiden approach turned off a lot of folks, but Pharm just gave us EVERYTHING by way of demonstrating ALL of his emotions at his entire situation in holding Intouch’s spirit within him and negotiating his future with Dean. Pharm may have been a blushing maiden, but he also held his own, stood up for himself with the temporary break, and found his true love on his own, independently, in the end. I absolutely loved Pharm’s trajectory. 

Favorite Side Character: Oh no, also too many to list! I love that @telomeke mentioned Yihwa from Together With Me, but for me, I think tied for my tops in this category, would be Thun’s mom in He’s Coming To Me, and Pete’s dad in Dark Blue Kiss. The very, very best BL parents.

Favorite scene in a QL: Thun’s coming out scene on the rooftop in He’s Coming To Me/episode 5. I float when I think of Ohm Pawat’s acting in that moment.

Favorite line in a QL: This is a good one. For pure sessyness, I like what Ae says to Pete in the thin-walled dorm room in Love By Chance, and what Sarawat says to Tine at the end of Still 2gether. 

But I think I like what Dean says to Pharm in... I think it’s episode 6 in UWMA. “Who taught you to say something like this?” Gives me the shivers.

Most Anticipated QL (& why): Only Friends, of course, with 23.5 and Dangerous Romance in close seconds. (If this were NOT a Thai list, I would say the second season of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, because I’m planning to LOSE MY MIND OVER THAT, lol.)

Healthiest relationship in a QL: Are we talking romantic relationships?! Because Thun and Thun’s mom in HCTM, and Pete and Pete’s dad in DBK definitely count, ha. As far as couplings go? I might actually argue for Uea and King in Bed Friend! They went through SO MUCH to get to where they were at the end of that show. SO MUCH. And King just LED in such a positive and healthy way, listening to every one of Uea’s needs and responding to them. They are a fabulous couple. I’ll give them their flowers for ending in such a healthy and open place! 

Most toxic relationship in a QL: TharnType, and that’s all I’ll say about that.

Guilty pleasure series: Ooooooh. I don’t think I can answer this, because I don’t think I’ve watched enough Thai QLs out of the context of the Old GMMTV Challenge to have watched a series PURELY for pulpy goodness. I think I need more familiarity with the genre by way of quantity to fully answer this!

Most underrated series: I agree with @telomeke. HE’S COMING TO ME. A show that was WAY before its time, and did not get its flowers, publicly, by GMMTV or the 2019 fandoms. The writing and acting on this show was SPECTACULAR. I will beat this drum forever: anyone who calls themselves a QL fan MUST watch this show for the standards it set in acting, in writing, and in message delivery. Utterly stunning.

Gonna tag some of the usual suspects of the OGMMTVC in here, as well as new friends I’ve made through Be My Favorite! @absolutebl, @solitaryandwandering, @nieves-de-sugui, @clairificusrex, @manogirl, @telomeke, @so-much-yet-to-learn, @twig-tea, @crowie, @chickenstrangers, @grapejuicegay, @dribs-and-drabbles, @miscellar, @aliceisathome, @rocketturtle4, and anyone else, feel free to jump in!

[earthfluuke]

MesThun headcanons if you’re still doing them👉👈

oh my GOD, i haven't thought about them in so long & this took me somewhere (to a place of PAIN because OUCH, these two).

after all that's happened, these two losers 100% share a bed every night.

when mes first returned, neither of them knew what to do. they shared a bed for what they thought was their final night together, but now that mes is able to stay, they don't know if that will continue. and neither of them are brave enough to ask.

mes probably takes the couch his first night back & they say quiet, awkward good nights.

neither of them get any sleep. they both lay there, thinking about the fact that the other is so close, just a door away.

thun finally gets it together – he almost lost mes once, he can't keep hesitating – and goes to open the door and ask him if he wants to join him. but before he can, mes slips through the wall.

they both just look at each other for a moment – thun sat up in bed and mes standing frozen – before they both laugh.

thun silently lifts the covers, and mes gets into the other side (thun would've put incense all over his apartment, just so mes has access to everything).

they sleep like that every night after.

now that they've confessed their feelings, thun wants to take mes on a date!

sure, they had that amazing day out together, just the two of them, but it wasn't official.

mes isn't very picky, but considering only thun can see him, they go for something very casual. it's not like thun can take him to a candlelit dinner at a five star restaurant without getting stars.

nah, he saves that for a special occasion in the privacy of his apartment.

thun probably takes him to an old record shop that sells cassettes. mes points out all of the most popular ones from when he was in college, and thun ends up buying him some.

they get food from a street vendor and walk around until they find a street band.

thun gets mes to dance with him, and it doesn't look too weird, especially if there's already a crowd. he'll spin mes around & they'll laugh, because they're finally able to be happy together.

send me a character or ship, and i’ll give you any head canons i have for them.

[heretherebedork]

A collection of unsuccessful and successful touching between Med and Thun and their hands.

[seatawinan]