#she knew it didn't start with neo or miw

[iguessitsjustme]

Genuinely almost cried when Mae walked away after shooting Thana at the end and that is damn impressive

[pandasmagorica]

First watch: 3 Will Be Free

tl;dr - Even though I'm not a big crime series fan, I loved this series and had to weigh whether to promote it to my top ten (I didn't, but it was close). There are some cringe moments and plenty of gun violence, not that much assault but still some. The plot holes weren't too distracting. Transgender viewers may be uncomfortable for episodes 1-3, but there's a real payoff for sticking with the series with a super-strong trans character.

This post is intended to be PG but the series itself is rated 18+ (I think for violence) just so you know.

Had been putting off watching this because it's not QL, even though I've watched other Thai non-QL (Gift Shop for People You Hate, 55:15 Never Too Late, and Midnight Museum). But after seeing some positive mentions about it here on Tumblr, decided to give it a try. And was very glad I did. And also questioning the take that it's not QL.

After seeing Tay Tawan in Dark Blue Kiss and the DBK prequels, as well as a guest turn in Midnight Museum, I totally did not expect his Shin character in 3WBF. Mostly mild mannered, a big contrast to his character in the three Kiss series, but don't underestimate him - he can take some wild action as well if that's his only choice at the moment - and there are some moments.

I also knew Gunsmile from his wisecracking ghost in He's Coming to Me. Here he's quite dark as a hitman.

As for guest appearances, I knew Sing from the same series as well as in Not Me and The Warp Effect, and Sine from brief appearances in He's Coming to Me and Secret Crush on You as well as her long-ago star turn in the horror movie Nang Nak. Sing's and Sine's appearances here were quite brief, but the story is the story and hopefully I will see them again in other work.

I've seen director Jojo's work before on Gay OK Bangkok and its sequel, which I liked, well, okay, but didn't love, as well as The Warp Effect, which I greatly enjoyed.

Enough introduction. On to the series itself.

The story gets off to a quick start. Neo (Joss Way-ar), a hustler and stripper, is having an affair with Va (Sine Inthira), the wife of a mob boss. When the husband Mr. Thana (Big Sarut) finds out, he sends hitmen Phon (Max Nuttawut) and Ter (Gunsmile Chanagun) to kill Neo, but Ter winds up accidentally killing Va instead. Neo runs from them to a dance bar run by Miw (Mild Lapassalan) only to discover Shin (Tay Tawan), who he seems to know, in the men's room. Phon chases after Neo only to be killed by Miw after being surprised to discover Shin (who he calls Mr. Shin, because Shin is Mr. Thana's son) and dropping his gun during the ensuing fight.

So now Neo, Shin, and Miw are on the run. The rest of the series is them trying to dodge the people who want to kill them and find a way to safety.

Except...Phon's lover Mae (Jennie Panhan), a transwoman (so is the actress), insists on joining Ter on the pursuit so she can get revenge for Phon's death.

This story had me with severe split allegiances: I wanted Neo, Shin, and Miw to get away safely, but I also found myself rooting for Mae as well. While the show mostly focused on the trio and their relationship, they gave ample time and character development to Mae and Ter. I'd say Mae's character underwent the most transformation of any of the characters, and that's not a pun. In the eyes of this queer, admittedly cis, male, this show has major positive transfemale rep. She is an incredibly strong characters.

On to the cringe moments: For a series that was as positive about a major transgender character, Neo's trans landlady and her roommate were absolute cringe and there only for comic effect. Their screen time was mercifully brief, but instantly too long each time they showed up. It also happens early in the series, before we've been able to fully see that Mae's character is going to be handled well. Their parts could have been eliminated with zero impact on the plot. I am completely mystified as to how a series that handled a major transgender character so well could fail so badly for the guest transgender characters.

So, I would recommend this show to my trans friends with the warning that it might be rocky going the first few episodes.

Spoilers follow

Okay, there are definitely some plot holes, mostly having to do with logistics: Why is Shin in the dance bar when Neo comes in? Why do some characters, such as Boss John, put themselves in danger when they don't need to? Why would the maid give Miw her uniform? How does Mae find Mr. Thana at the end? Why isn't Mr. Thana protected? With all the flashback reveals throughout the series, it's strange these aren't addressed.

But, aside from all the deaths along the way, it's a mostly happy ending for the trio. And Mae gets the right-sized amount of revenge and affirms her existence, at the cost of learning some hard lessons of the lengths she's willing to go to.

Is this QL? I tend to be expansive in what I'd consider QL and I'd say yes. The development of the poly relationship (even though it doesn't stay that way) is fairly queer as in LGBTQ+ and features at least one of the tropes, attraction at first sight. It doesn't matter to me that it's not the main focus of the series. Your mileage may vary.

It's a great series and I could eventually watch it again.

[morathicain]

Good evening my lovely! I hope your day is going well. For the Weird(?) Writer Asks:

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

🌻 Have fun! *double checks to make sure not anonymous*

Hello my dear! Thank you so much for your ask! =^^= Even tho it's weird :P

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

I ... I seriously don't know XD receipts? notes or pieces of paper? I don't remember much else ^^°

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

Omg, that's a long journey! Bc I started when I was ... 14, I think? I have to admit that I don't remember anymore if my first ever fic was Inu Yasha or HP. Inu Yasha, I guess. And probably bc me and my friends were talking a lot about it and then ideas happened and I knew about fanfiction to that time already and so I started. I didn't write so much at the beginning and there were definitely bumps when I didn't write much or nothing at all, mostly depending on my fandoms and what inspired me. 3 will be free was a damn rocket starter tho. From then on I wrote more and more and with each show I added, I wrote for more fandoms and here we are ;) Now work is busy but I'm still writing, albeit slower ^^°

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

Omg, I have so many headcanons for so many characters, especially Miw, Shin, Neo, Ram and King and a few more. A detail that plays into the stories but isn't a big issue would definitely be that Ter from 3wbf knows how to do most household chores because he learned them from his grandma as well as for her. She taught him bc she thought it would be important and he wanted to learn it all to support her and not be a bother to her. And he will be very careful to follow her diet and cook her sweet things from time to time and tidy up around her shop whenever she's not looking. And even tho he's not very good at embroidering, he does it regularly to calm down and there are several of his works framed in his grandma's house.

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

I absolutely do the faces for the characters I'm writing for XD Always glad whenever I'm writing alone!

Weird Writing Ask