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rocketturtle4 · 10 months

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Arthrit was my Favourite Character and I want to write about him; My reflection on the SOTUS Franchise as a newbie

In brief: I am attempting to understand the growth of Thai BLs by watching ABL’s understand the history of thai bl list on the Thai master post. I’m more interested in the growth and change on screen than the tracking of different actors/directors etc. but I do enjoy reading about those things. I am concurrently understanding the history of All BL by watching the Foundation Syllabus lists as well, I am not planning to review everything, but I adored SOTUS and I’ve started following @waitmyturtle’s journey through oldgmmtv and was surprised by our different initial takes on SOTUS and to a lesser extent the SOTUS franchise so I thought I’d share my own feeling about the shows. Yes I know ‘twas a while ago.

I don’t know anything about the actors as people and have minimal knowledge of the IRL ship drama (just aware that there was drama)

Disclaimers:

THIS POST IS LONG (LIKE LONG LONG), and I cut out so much you wouldn’t believe

Obviously, these are my own thoughts, I am not expecting everyone or even anyone to agree, I’m just sharing.

I only talk about Arthrit and Kong in this post, I enjoyed the side couples but I was much more invested in the main one and that’s what I want to talk about.

Not defending Gay for you as a damaging trope

Not defending blushing maiden and sex negativity as damaging tropes

Damaging tropes suck and being aware of them while viewing content is important for not internalising their message for yourself or your perception of others.

I’m demisexual FYI (My sexuality suddenly felt relevant halfway through my reflection so Imma put it here)

General SOTUS Thoughts

In writing this I have realised my attachment to Arthrit started later in the franchise than I thought but eh still mostly going to write about him.

Bullying/hazing (I didn’t mind this time) – I don’t like Hazing or bullying, but the way it was portrayed here, as a form of relationship building which was openly discussed as damaging and then improved on as part of the arc was fine for me. It was about recognizing the good parts of a practice and removing the bad and I was cool with that.

Kongpob (I’m a fan) – He’s hard working, he’s snarky, he’s clearly got good learning habits and cares about his education, he’s supportive of his friends and he stands up for injustice. I was definitely watching SOTUS for this character in the beginning.

Disparate personalities and positions of power (And the different ways our leads present as authority) (there’s also obvs age dynamics at play)

Arthrit is older but also the shyer and less expressive, his assumption of leaderships feels less aligned with his personality and so he cares more about maintaining his professionalism, first as head Hazer and later as an employee while Kong is an intern. (This does not make him a bad leader I think he’s a good one).

Kong is a natural leader, shown overwhelmingly by his standing up for his peers and their inclination to elect him as the campus star and then as the representative (which he runs away from cause he’s already got enough on his plate). His comfort with his own authority is a part of his pursuit of Arthrit and also his differing experience with Authority. (I think the way he bonds with P’Paga the scary office lady is a great example of this difference, he has good instincts).

This feels important to me as Arthrit is holding onto that authority a lot tighter than Kongpob, he’s working to maintain it because it’s NOT natural.

OKAY Onto Arthrit’s Arc and why I found it so impactful.

First up I can tell you the exact moment I fell in love with Arthrit’s character, it was right…

Here (Please study hard P'Arthrit)

(His eyes my good people, they had me and they never lost me) (I literally learnt how to GIF just so I could keep this moment forever) (Episode 13) (I mean, I found a GIF generator) From this point on I was watching this entire franchise for the way Arthrit emoted with his eyes first, and everything else second.

But let’s back up slightly.

My take on Arthrit’s emotional arc through the early parts of SOTUS was essentially:

Why is the first year defiant-flirting with me?

This first year is incredibly clever and that’s dangerous because it could undermine my authority and I want this program to be successful (He did recommend him as campus star, and comment to himself/his friends about not underestimating Kongpob, we had clearly early signs that Arthrit thought Kongpob was pretty amazing, he just couldn’t show this because of this authoritative position) (also age dynamics = a big deal in Thailand)

Then we had the sleep confession (He’s never really sleeping)

Arthrit’s panic over the fact that his sort of friend, definite nong who is a guy apparently had feelings for him

This manifested as his removing himself from Kongpob to work through and process his own emotions, my personal feelings on this were that Arthrit’s reaction was more confused than disgusted and he was trying to avoid a confrontation so he could figure himself out without hurting Kongpob. (There was also some unresolved feelings in here for his highschool friend that needed to be dealt with).

Not the ideal move and poor Kong was so confused and got hurt anyway but then we got to

“I don’t know you well enough Kongpob… But I want to know you more”

Now I seriously appreciated this because I often feel frustrated when characters emotions just immediately match: like one person confesses and two days later other person is like, oh turns out I am also madly in love with you. Boom. Couple. (This does sometimes make sense in the story, just not always).

Arthrit’s emotional response of: Yes I think I like you but I’m still figuring it out so do keep flirting with me so I can keep figuring it out…

I liked it.

Now immediately after this, Arthrit kisses Kongpob (mutual kisses yay!). I don’t take this as say, a final cementation of their relationship (as the kiss often seems to be treated, especially in K BL) but as an expression of interest.

Kiss = I am interested in you romantically, let’s flirt more/date to get to know each other so our feelings can develop.

Then we got to see Arthrit melt (the eyes conveyed it, I adored) honestly it was their tiny little movements that I liked the most and you can’t see that here but still.

Also his shy little smiles.

I totally think that the attraction here is not conveyed by Arthrit’s character the same way Kong’s but to me this reflects

Kong’s more straightforward and open personality + plus his self confidence (Seme dynamics definitely factor into this since these are characters not real people)

Arthrit being more uncertain as to his own emotional state, AND his greater shyness with expressing his emotions publicly (uke dynamics obvs - but not too pronounced I think). I like how the actor conveys these emotions. (whether or not it was intentional)

People have different levels of comfort with any kinds of PDA and that’s okay (look I’m not sure if blushing maiden trope arguably comes into play here but to me some people are shyer of affection than others and I personally feel that for Arthrit, this early on, his emotions were pretty clear and his responses makes sense.)

And then at the end of episode 13 we handed over the gear

In episode 14 we had a bit of drama because it’s early days and Arthrit is just realising he likes a popular boy

Jealously thou name is Arthrit

But things get resolved (by accident by Kongpob’s gift, amusing) and so we have the public declaration (like the kiss earlier this is instigated by Arthrit which I appreciate because he’s the one with the boundaries being crossed in this scenario). His little smile and duck down to hide his face felt very authentic because he’s not a PDA person and so he feels a bit embarrassed about drawing attention to himself.

And they had a good convo afterwards too + Kiss etc but I really want to get onto:

SOTUS S

(Because episode 15 of SOTUS is over the time jump it's included here)

Thoughts on the stuff that happens during the time jump (e.g. the end cut scenes of some episodes).

We had 2 scenes which stuck in my mind from this time, the piggyback ride ("you are my faen after all") after Kong hurts himself.

(THE EYES)

AND

Arthrit handing over the metaphorical power to the future head hazer.

I personally felt this scene was super important because it showed us:

Arthrit simping all over his boy being authoritative and flirting back with the same lines Kong had once used, in a public space.

Arthrit’s continued uncertainty, NOT (in my opinion) with the idea of being openly affectionate with his boyfriend (what do you call his face above if not openly affectionate) but with having his professionalism undermined by being asked to kiss said boyfriend in front of a whole group of his peers while he is technically their leader (plus they will tease him).

Look it's dark here, and I know my love of his eyes and their emotions is irrational but to me that gaze says: “you know I love you, but why are you doing this HERE.” @waitmyturtles, this was the thing I found most discrepant about your thoughts and mine, to me Arthrit’s emotions were conveyed so clearly by Krist, even in SOTUS but especially in SOTUS S. I was so absorbed by Arthrit sometimes I got completely distracted from Singto’s (excellent) portrayal of Kong.

Onto the main timeline of SOTUS S

(How many of my images of Arthrit being a simp can i put it here to justify my having them in the first place) (I restrained myself a lot you have to believe me)...it turns out I hit the limit, enjoy!

(I started doing a quick flick through the show to check my continuity but then I wanting to add stuff so I stopped and I'm trusting my brain)

We get an early sign that their relationship is going strong with their mutual missing of each other: Arthrit’s visit to campus and seeking Kong out because he misses him, and Kong telling Arthrit he has a duty to him as his faen and convincing Arthrit to stay the night with him because he misses Arthrit.

(They're both so doting naaaaww)

Later, we have this scene where Arthrit goes to tell his coworkers he has a faen and gets interrupted ("well I…") Now we don’t know this for sure, but he drew himself up and prepared to face it and then sort of deflates when he missed the chance, so I’m projecting and that’s what I think.

There’s some bumps in the road while they navigate their new seperation and Kong hits a boundary of Arthrit’s he clearly didn’t know existed when he showed up at Arthrit’s work. (I think this is again more of a personality thing, Arthrit is still figuring out his position and authority in the company and feels very unsure about having his male faen show up to his office without warning. This is not the university space where everyone around them knows they’re dating, it’s DIFFERENT. Kong on the other hand is the kind of guy who totally would have interrupted everyone at that dinner to be like, actually I cook dinner for my man. All. The. Time.) Anyways, they talk, Kong visits work in a planned way, and things are more settled and physical (have some more photos, justify my having them in the first place)

until…Kong shows up at work, and then after they sort of talk, Kong shows up next door.

Now while writing this I had a personal realization that I need to check in about (detailed in small text below the next photo) but first.

This moment makes everything else in the Arthrit’s arc make sense to me, to me he’s feeling uncertain about fundamental aspects of their relationship, rather than purely being temporarily hurt by Kongpobs actions, he internalises this uncertainty about their communication.

This is then kind of resolved but then made much worse by Kongpob moving in next door. (Yes Kong says it's to be close while giving Arthrit space, but doesn't Arthrit deserve to be part of that decision?) (We don't see how much they communicated prior to this, but it seems to me that Arthrit's point here, about losing faith in their ability to talk to each other is super relevant)

(Personal note, how secure I feel in a relationship directly affects how comfortable I feel physically in the relationship, and I don’t mean ‘I’m sad so I don’t feel like having sex right now’ I mean, ‘the foundation of our relationships feels less stable and as a result my comfort with physical things, especially sexual intimacy feels significantly reduced’

I THOUGHT THIS WAS NORMAL Y’ALL

Having sat and thought about it right now, I don’t think that’s actually the case for the majority? like not all the time at least? This made me think about my personal reaction to watching Nevertheless a few months ago (a kdrama) and I was crazy uncomfortable with the discrepant emotional comfort vs physical desire plot, (I finished it, because I had to, because leaving in the middle would have been worse but just, No.) I mean I get sex without feelings, sure, or with budding feelings, but sex while you’re feelings have moved from stability to instability or are just floundering in instability without resolution?. Possible? Absolutely. Comfortable? No way.

Is this a demisexual thing? (I'm demi if you missed the disclaimer at the top) Is this a me thing? I am going to examine this more but for now you have my facts and perspective and we’re moving on)

(also this relationship being kind of ace has actually been put forth by ABL (here) and most likely others. I had previously read this post and moved on (because I hadn’t seen SOTUS), so I just wanted to say this is not a Tumblr revelation, just a me revelation)

I may be projecting but…

I adored the way the actor continued to show Arthrit’s foundational uncertainty in where their relationship was going/at, through his discomfort with being physical with Kong even after he’d consciously forgiven him. (Okay definitely projecting)

Episode 7, where Kong gets hurt by the door and is forgiven, but Arthrit still seems kind of uncomfortable with the physical side of things both here and in the next episode.

Plus the excellent scenes where Arthrit keeps telling Kong off for giving him food and then ends up yelling, and Kong goes back to being uncertain about where the line is. (Arthrit needs to talk more I'll admit it).

Arthit during the scene where Kong professes his uncertainty, because it's another screenshot I already had. (HIS. EYES.)

BUT because Arthrit realises he's hurt Kong, they talk about it and tada: Arthrits more comfortable physically again next ep, because he’s more certain of his relationship again.

We get beaches

(seriously Arthrit’s little smile, I’m dying) and fun times and kisses

(I have so many screenshots in here everyone, it's concerning)

And then:

Arthrit get’s double shaken again (Dad + Photo) (and he processes things by taking physical space. AGAIN.) (still totally relatable but I’m actually kind of annoyed with him for not saying a word to Kong now that I’m writing it down, I was not at all annoyed when I watched it, for the record)

And then Kong goes “OKAY THAT’S IT” and expresses his (totally justifiable) uncertainty about what is going on, because Arthrit keeps not being clear and can’t they actually talk about things!! So Kong gives him back his gear and leaves. My take on this was basically:

Kong: You need to be sure you want to be with me.

Arthrit: wait what, you’re leaving? But you’re always there? You’ve been hurting? Oh no I’ve hurt you? *cries* *Processes* *Publicly declares feelings* There I fixed it.

To me, Arthrit was never uncertain about whether or not he Loved Kong (Is this in question?, I don't know), he was just navigating the stability of his existing relationship in a new environment with many new revelations. And I believe that, because, even through the uncertainty, Arthrit continued to stare at Kong with such intensity that I couldn’t look away.

Hmm despite that, I think this reflection has actually left me a little bit less obsessed with Arthrit (definitely a good thing, I realized after I finished SOTUS S that I have 48 screenshots of Arthrit’s face staring at Kong with different adoring expressions and that is… too many).

For me, Arthrit’s emotional arc was so captivating because of the way Krist acted throughout, his expressions (HIS EYES) and the links between his emotions and his physical comfort were compelling and I was sucked into his emotional journey above all else. Did the actor intend this? I don’t know, but I had a great time. I almost feel like I need to rewatch SOTUS S just to pay attention to Singto more because he was kind of sidelined for me.

OUR SKYY SOTUS (the quickest summary because the words are totally out of hand)

(I totally had more pics from our skyy but I've apparently hit my limit oops)

We had some lovely relationship comfort and stability followed by compelling drama and then resolution. I loved it.

The drama is basically just Arthrit going: oh no you’re leaving, what if I make things harder for you, what if things end, how will I live, *get’s bad advice about breaking up* we should take a break because I love you way too much.

Kong: You complete moron, I love you and that’s why we’re supposed to stay together, now I’m leaving tomorrow, and you better prove you love me too by showing up.

Arthrit: *takes time to process* Oh yeah cool cool, I totally love you a lot *shows up and decides to travel with him for a little bit because these boyfriends be clingy*

But with all the excellent acting.

(Tiny note, my understanding is that this performance might be more compelling because Krist is expressing more emotions, but I took that as the first time Arthrit had actually tried to talk about and express his feelings, due to feeling stable enough to do so (all previous space taking was emotional processing). So there isn’t a single scene in SOTUS or SOTUS S where I would have expected this level of emotion (except for when he realized Kong was leaving because Kong was hurt). I would have found it confusing because Arthrits clearly a brooder. So he doesn’t talk to Kong while he’s hurting (an incorrect choice but one he continues to make) and so only the attempt to speak about his emotions here induces this level of physical display.

I cry more when I try to talk about my emotions, anybody else?)

CHEERS FOR READING

ALSO, I appreciate all you Tumblr master posters so much more now (I swear I already appreciated you lots!! but seriously I thought this would take like an hour or two and it DID NOT - and I'm not even meta-ing just throwing my thoughts on a page)

#sotus #sotus the series #sotus s #sotus s the series #rocketturtle4 catches up #thai bl #analysis #our skyy x sotus #Arthrit sotus #Arthrit x kong #rturts is wondering #Rocket4Reviews

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onlyrainbowshipstbh · 2 days

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New via his Insta!

#new thitipoom #cherry magic #cherry magic th #cherry magic thai #cherry magic thailand #the warp effect the series #the warp effect #dark blue kiss #sotus s the series #sotus the series #***

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waitmyturtles · 11 months

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Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: SOTUS S and Our Skyy x SOTUS 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 SOTUS S and Our Skyy x SOTUS, to close out this series and the KristSingto ship.]

Listen -- I did it to myself. All in the midst of my absolute INSANITY for Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy this week, and Our Skyy 2 x ATOTS next week. I did all this to myself! My mind’s mush.

For some reason, as I was scrolling through MDL last month, I thought my OGMMTVC watchlist wasn’t complete if I didn’t finish the rest of the series of GMMTV’s first HUGE BL in SOTUS (2016). A lot of my priorities regarding learning about the history of Thai BLs have changed over the course of this project, and the watchlist has definitely expanded from @absolutebl‘s original three suggested BLs to watch to understand the old GMMTV brand of BLs. And, as I’m inching ever closer to He’s Coming To Me (2019) -- I realized that there would be quite the gap in my seeing the development of Singto Prachaya as an actor from when he first premiered in SOTUS to HCTM. I felt that, in order to be REALLY prepared to become a SUPER FAN of HCTM -- I needed to freshen up on my Singto.

What I wanted to see was -- could he save the franchise at all, simply by way of his acting? As ABL Sensei noted about the original SOTUS -- it was problematic enough to be emblematic of a style of BL that GMMTV is now moving away from.

From that point of view? I’m honestly VERY glad I finished out SOTUS as a franchise. I think it was hugely important for the OGMMTVC project, and for me to understand what GMMTV was experimenting with, and how the channel slowly developed with more expertise in making BLs and/or queer media over the course of the last eight years, particularly under the production eye of Aof Noppharnach as he took more control of GMMTV’s BL steering wheel. It was worth it for me to take the pain of dealing with Krist’s acting again, and as many of the WONDERFUL Tumblr family noted for me: SOTUS S and Our Skyy x SOTUS were by far easier to watch than SOTUS.

So -- I’m making a few assumptions, since I don’t concretely know the detailed history -- by the time SOTUS S comes out, KristSingto are an established pair. Fans are likely chomping for more (and spending more), and SOTUS S comes through as a means of continuing Arthit and Kongpob’s relationship.

Fam, all of you were right. Our Skyy x SOTUS was WAY, WAY better than either of the seasons of SOTUS.

SOTUS S was fine. It reminded me of the Korean period dramas I used to watch as a young woman when they first started airing in America, ones that I’d watch with my mom. Lots of, like, sitting at long tables with your trusted war advisors on how to take over the Goryeo dynasties. SOTUS S was like a Japanese work drama, where like, the STORY of the WORK is PART of the POINT of the drama (maybe a little like Step By Step right now? I think it’s always hard to create DRAMA around, like, a WORK PROJECT, but anyway. Minor quibble.).

Whatever. As with the original SOTUS: it took fucking FOREVER in SOTUS S to get to the meat of the story of where the relationship was landing with Arthit and Kong.

But let me give Krist a little credit. After Arthit got used to Kong being an intern at the company -- I will say that I felt Krist, in his acting, loosened up a bit. A little wink here, an actual smile there. Instead of playing defense at the baseline, Arthit/Krist started hitting some shots at the net. (I see he’s “loosening up” even more right now in Be My Favorite... yeah? I dunno, I ain’t watchin’ that.)

Did I feel like Krist’s betterment in acting was in response to Singto’s acting? Not... quite. Not yet.

Once I watched Our Skyy x SOTUS, I realized a couple of things. The style of workshopping that GMMTV BL actors go through NOW, CLEARLY didn’t exist at the time of SOTUS. I felt like SOTUS and SOTUS S WERE the workshop for these two.

And then Our Skyy premieres, and I’m like -- OHHHHHHHHHH. OH! Krist kinda has it in him to pull out some real acting!

The Our Skyy episode also had 1) great structure, 2) a CONCISE and CRISP storyline, and 3) SHARP dialogue. It didn’t seem like these guys needed to IMPROV their emotions, the way that Krist DID, and seemed to STRUGGLE to do in the first two seasons.

But most importantly, for me -- in relation to what I said about Singto earlier -- I realized something about Singto. Like I said in my review of the original SOTUS -- Krist could not catch what Singto was throwing.

I think in SOTUS S, Singto... didn’t give up, per se. He just STILL didn’t HAVE the means by which to ACT RESPONSIVELY to someone who WASN’T RESPONDING to him. I didn’t see Singto grow, at all, in his role in SOTUS S. He was still the same seme automaton. And there’s a problem with that, I think. I could not see, AGAIN, for the LIFE of me, why Kong would be ATTRACTED to Arthit -- EVEN IF Krist were playing Arthit as a very held-back, stuffy type. Kong/Singto radiated with energy and a POTENTIAL of love -- and watching them interact in SOTUS S was like watching the emanation of an incorrect math equation.

I was surprised. I thought I’d see more development, more flexibility, more comfort in the role of Kong. Both Arthit and Kong seemed to be playing their robotic TYPES.

Not so in Our Skyy. Finally. The guys seemed looser. I felt this most greatly after Kong cooked Arthit breakfast, and Arthit scoffs (as usual) away from Kong’s affections. And Singto/Kong opens his arms for a hug.

FINALLY. Wordless communication! IT WAS GREAT. And the message of the hug -- we don’t know if this will be our last hug, so let’s hug and make it count -- it was a great and meaningful message.

If I had to get through SOTUS S to get to that moment, and to see these two be able to share well-acted emotion by the time of Our Skyy -- I would argue, for my sake and sanity, that it was worth it for this project. Because that ship/pair was so important for early BL. I had to think that there HAD to be some art, AT SOME POINT, between those two, and we got just a taste in Our Skyy.

I want to think, and to say, that for GMMTV -- that may have been a bit of a breakthrough moment, that Our Skyy x SOTUS episode. Many of those other first Our Skyy moments, like Puppy Honey and Kiss The Series/Kiss Me Again -- those were appendages to existing series where the BL aspect was secondary. I think that wordless communication, the emotion and the hug from Kong and Arthit, mayyyyybe potentially showed that, hey -- we can create a bit of a foundation of emotional art here, with this format.

Some quick other thoughts on SOTUS S and Our Skyy before I move on:

1) I liked Cherry. Yes -- a femme-ish character set up for the laughs. But Cherry wasn’t designed nearly as problematically as the femme characters of Love Sick. I think, by adding Cherry, that the writers of SOTUS were beginning to acknowledge that their brand of BL NEEDED to step its toe into queer recognition -- especially considering that other shows that had aired around the time of SOTUS (namely Make It Right) dealt with queerness so head on.

2) WHERE WAS NAMMON IN OUR SKYY??? Come awn! He and Guy Sivakorn had AMAZING chemistry! (Guy Sivakorn, y’all, great GMMTV stable guy!)

3) I REALLY LOVED SEEING KONG’S CLASSMATES in Our Skyy, even for a second. All the homies with their flashy hair. I felt total nostalgia for all of them during SOTUS S and Our Skyy.

4) Durian’s outing of Kong and Arthit was bullshit. THAT was problematic AF. Judgy and shady.

5) Oh, speaking of non-continued couples: no Earth and Tod in Our Skyy. Dang. I thought Earth would come around. (The whole SOTUS franchise REALLY left couples hanging. Remember Prem and Wad?? Wtf! Graveyard of potential!)

Anyway. Listen. I don’t really consider this review over until I watch He’s Coming To Me. I now need to see Singto in a pairing with an actor who ACTS RESPONSIVELY, who is able to CATCH what Singto is PRESENTING.

I will admit Krist DRASTICALLY improved, even from SOTUS S to Our Skyy.

BUT. I now know, from Make It Right and Bad Buddy, that few actors can hold like Ohm Pawat in BLs (but I’ve yet to get familiar with Gun, and I can’t wait to do some talent comparisons between the gold stars of GMMTV soon enough).

And that’s what I’m looking forward to watching -- the SUBVERSION of a huge ship for the SAKE of getting two damn talented actors together for what I know will be a fucking gem of a show in HCTM. I cannot wait to get to it, and it’ll be really soon.

[Alright! On to Love By Chance, with darling Perth Tanapon and my first ride with Saint Suppakong. I’ve mentioned this here and there, but many thanks to the WONDERFUL @bengiyo for filling me in on all the deets of the break-up of the PerthSaint ship. As I get closer to He’s Coming To Me, understanding Perth’s and Ohm’s reputations -- especially as I close out watching Double Savage this week, and understanding how their ship subversions affected their careers in and out of BLs -- is super helpful context.

Here’s the list as it stands. As I said last week, I’ll definitely be a touch delayed with LBC, as I’ll be likely watching and rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS (x ATOTS??) and Our Skyy 2 x ATOTS (x BBS??!?) this week and next. BUT STILL, WE PLUG ALONG! And one tiny little change: because this project is so inspired by my passion for the art and the history of Bad Buddy, I’m including a full BBS and Our Skyy 2 x BBS rewatch as a means of honoring this whole undertaking.

As always, I’ll take any input or recommendations from all of you LOVELY family!

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) 7) Love By Chance (2018) (watching) 8) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) 9) He’s Coming To Me (2019) 10) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) 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) I Promised You the Moon (2021) 22) Not Me (2021-2022) 23) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 24) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 25) 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)] 26) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 27) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 28) My School President (2022-2023) 29) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 30) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults)]

#sotus s #sotus s the series #our skyy x sotus #arthit x kong #kong x arthit #singto prachaya #krist perawat #turtles catches up with the essential BLs #turtles catches up with thai BLs #turtles catches up with old gmmtv #the old gmmtv challenge #ogmmtvc #sotus

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allovelyhappily · 2 years

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Peraya at LOLFanFest2022

#i love them so dearly #sotus the series #peraya #singto prachaya #thai actor #krist perawat #singtokrist #thai drama #sotus s the series #kongpob x arthit #sotus

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zhaozi · 10 months

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#singto prachaya # singto prachaya ruangroj #sotus the series #sotus s the series #m:gifs

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geekygirl24 · 1 year

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Prompt from Flirty_Queen: Hi are you still taking prompts? I really liked the story of chapter 831, so can I please request a sequel to that? The aftermath of John's suspension, the office talking about Arthit with admiration (and fear) , some are jealous of their perfect relationship yada yada however you want...also if possible can you add a scene about the intern being inspired by Arthit and planning on asking out a guy he likes.

#sotus s the series #kongpob x arthit #arthit x kongpob

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ysphcpb · 2 months

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I hope you are loved by everyone.

#krist perawat #singto prachaya #sotus s the series #series #//i like how on the day kongpop was to tie threads and give blessings to his own juniors he also got blessings from arthit in return :)

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rocketturtle4 · 10 months

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I’ve started SOTUS S

Their adorable vibes are going to kill me

#SOTUS S #sotus s the series #sotus s episode 1

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onlyrainbowshipstbh · 13 days

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Jan via her Insta!

#janhae ployshompoo #jan ployshompoo #sizzy girl group #sizzy #cherry magic #cherry magic thailand #cherry magic thai #cherry magic th #cupid’s last wish #peaceful property #sotus the series #sotus s the series #***#the warp effect the series #the warp effect

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waitmyturtles · 11 months

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I’m usually not a fan of including side couples just to stretch a plot, but as of episode 3 of SOTUS S, I am DYING for side couple action with Tew and Day, because there is STILL NO SPICE, NONE TO BE HAD, between Krist and Singto. I see the TINEST bit of acting improvement on Krust’s part, but he is basically as responsive as an uncooked hot dog.

It’s so unfortunate, because Singto has only clearly gotten better between SOTUS and SOTUS S, and the rest of the cast, too. Krust can’t even make workplace drama dramatic, I’m DYING.

#sotus s #sotus s the series #ss/ep3 #HOW DID KRUST EVER GET SIGNED BY GMMTV HOW HOW HOW

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jj-dyl · 2 years

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this absolutely may just be recency bias because i’ve just finished rewatching sotus but i really want gunsmile (prem) and fluke (wad) should have a show together. just feel like they had a lot of chemistry yk?

#premwad #sotus #sotus s the series #sotus the series #gmmtv

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gabrielokun · 3 months

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#SOTUS S #Gabriel makes stuff #Arthit Rojnapat #Krist Perawat #Kongpob Suthiluck #Singto Prachaya #Kongpob x Arthit #KongpobArthit #Thai BL #Thai series #Thai Drama #BL Drama #BL series

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absolutebl · 5 months

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Hiii, I'm glad the ask box is open!

Idk if you already did a rec list on this, but can you recommend me old bls, like 90/2000s? I watched Seven days movies and its really good

Oh yay! Seven Days is the best. Actually, I have never done this. Here's a list of...

10+ BL's rated 7/10 or higher that aired prior to 2018

Just Friends?

Korea 2009 Gaga

This is Korea's first (kinda) upbeat version of a BL featuring already established boyfriends, one of whom is on military leave, trying to decide on coming out, family life, and the future. All of these are themes Korea will pretty much never tackle again, retreating as they would to their bubble. But what a fun little offering this little show was and is to this day. You should watch it.

Love Sick & Love Sick 2

Thai 2014 YouTube

This is one of those BLs that owes almost nothing to yaoi, although it started a number of tropes that are now endemic to Thai BL. What it is, instead, is a well scripted story of bisexual self-discovery and the inherent chaos of loving someone of the same gender for the first time, all wrapped up in hormones, existing relationships, and communication issues. It is high school queer angst at its messiest. Nothing is going to be easy for these boys because queer isn’t easy but also because life isn’t easy… welcome to adulthood sweethearts.

I'm actually considering a rewatch of these beginning of 2024 in honor of the 10 year anniversary if anyone wants to join.

Seven Days

Japan 2015 grey

The asker already mentioned it but still, never doubt my ability to recommend this show. One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

Addicted: Heroin

China 2016 Viki

When Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what I could have been. Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?

SOTUS & SOTUS S & SOTUS Our Skyy

Thai 2016 YouTube

This is the BL that launched a hundred BLs. No literally, it was SOTUS’s international success that pretty much built the Thai BL industry into the juggernaut it is today. People have baggage around SOTUS, I have nostalgia. Trigger warning on bully hazing. Review and discussion here.

Make it Right 1 & 2 (but not Beach)

Thai 2016 YouTube (Cheewin warning)

What to say about this show, the origin of the Thai BL pulps? It’s objectively terrible, and not just the leads but the side couple too - yet I love it. I tend to call myself the “world’s foremost Make It Right apologist.” I recognize the issues but I find it utterly charming, especially Tee’s utter devotion to Fuse the baby bi disaster.

Long Time No See

Korea 2017 Gaga

Catfishing assassins on either side of a turf war who fall in love not knowing they are on opposite sides. Or do they? Good fight sequences, mature characters, high heat, very suspenseful, AND an HEA. If you like KinnPorsche or Kiseki you will LOVE this one.

HIStory Obsessed

Taiwan 2017 Viki

I weirdly love this but you should know what you are in for: that title. It has a stalking theme meets fated mates and quite a bit of dubious consent. Uke obsessed with seme to the point of losing himself and his identity dies after being rejected, and then has a chance to reboot his life. He decides to save himself by never falling in love. But destiny is a bitch, and this time the seme becomes obsessed with him. This one owes a lot to dark Chinese and Japanese BL, but kind of corrects for the expected sad dead finale by ending happily and playing with a ton of BL tropes. The leads have good chemistry, it's higher heat and the first time Taiwan starts to push that, and VERY DRAMATIC.

Some Others you might consider

Candy and Kiss - Japan 2015

Silhouette of Your Voice (Hidamari ga Kikoeru) - Japan 2017

Red Balloon - Taiwan 2017

(source)

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