I Haven't Got A Job. Why Not? I Think They Only Want Clean People. They Haven't Taken That Thing Off

I haven't got a job. Why not? I think they only want clean people. They haven't taken that thing off yet? It's gone. But I guess some people still see it.

2023 Recap: The Fandom Experience

After years of binge-watching, I have returned to waiting for new episodes each week and let me tell you, it's been equally fun and frustrating. However, finding this tumblr corner was a blessing because honestly, nothing beats a collective frenzy around the things you enjoy (everything else that is to say about the community here was already mentioned by @befuddledcinnamonroll, I co-sign)

To celebrate the uniqueness and craziness of this den (affectionate) I present to you 5 of my favourite "JUST FANDOM THINGS" moments or events(?) that happened on my dash this year.

#1 That week during which we didn't know if episode 6 of The Eighth Sense happened for real or if it was just a hallucination.

This @jemmo post summarizes it well:

I admit I was a team "not all of the things we saw were real". And I still believe that it was partially shot through Jae Won's substance-addled brain.

#2 When @blmpff gathered troops to vote for Fluke Pongsakorn not to cut his hair.

Mags is doing the best work to keep us entertained and informed. That whole reblog chain and what ensued was hilarious. Spoiler. Fluke cut his hair anyway but I admire our collective dedication. (@callipigio, @neuroticbookworm, @omarandjohnny do you remember those dire times?)

(I could also mention the start of a @khunfeathers fanclub as one of the highlights. I'm expecting our bird to achieve the MoD cactus fame when Red Peaflow starts airing.)

#3 When out of nowhere my dash was full of La Pluie meta

I remember it mostly because I didn't vibe with the show myself so each week I was like, hmmm... good for you guys. It was a great mental exercise to identify the points that I agree and disagree with." @lurkingshan @bengiyo @neuroticbookworm and many many others put in incredible work. It felt like witnessing a creative writing course or something.

#4 When we started the QL songs tag game that made me watch half of the shows that I watched this year.

The number of songs I get to know through this game is INSANE. It was a final push for me to watch ITSAY because its soundtrack is a beloved one for many of you. And all the Pinoy songs @tenprem mentioned that led me to Like in The Movies! A brand new world opened before me, for real. Also, I got to follow lots of new people.

You can still see #5qls tag or check out mine and @thegalwhorants playlists.

#5 Watching His Man 2 tag be on fire and the 2sung fam growing stronger every week.

It's not connected to the drama world itself but still. I joined the hype train around episode 4(?) because @taikanyohou gifs and tags were too compelling, like in the example below:

And I wholeheartedly agree. The way this show was edited, those damn cliffhangers almost every week, the pacing... And to think that it's a dating reality show of all things, phew.

I didn't join the convo when the show was airing as I was still trying to process the fact that these are VERY REAL PEOPLE and I usually do not go there. However, refreshing the tag to see what those 10 users on tumblr thought about each new episode turned into a Friday ritual for me. Gosh. As @lurkingshan said this show is better than 90% of BLs that we had this year.

I probably forgot other fun times (please remind me!) but boy do I love it here.

12.01.24

ถ้ามีรุ้งด้วยก็คงจะดี /thaa mee rung duuay gaaw khohng ja dee/

รุ้ง /rung/ is a rainbow, the entire spectrum of light, all of the colors. Rung is the name of Mork's sister. So what he says here, could also be read as:

"If Rung was here too, that would be nice."

You know how rainbows are formed? Light refracts in airborne water droplets. And you know what is made of such water droplets and can thus create a rainbow? หมอก /maawk/ - mist, fog, Mork.

It's not just Day who realized that he can still experience the world in all its beauty. I think Mork also realized that what matters is in your heart. Because he'll always carry Rung with him, wherever he goes.

Rung is all around them.

Honestly, Neo is just trolling us now! 😂

Where's Mark, though?

Hi! I love reading your opinions and I have just started The Sign. What are your opinions on the show and what route are you hoping it would take for the second half of the show? Take care and happy new year!

Hello anon! You picked such an interesting moment to send this ask. We’re halfway through the show and I think its strengths and weaknesses have become fairly clear. Let's talk about it!

Strength: The Chemistry

I think this is the thing that had all the girlies losing it right out of the gate: Phaya and Tharn are hot and their interactions are hotter. The pull and chemistry between them is palpable and the set up for their romance is compelling. Kudos to whoever found Babe and decided to pair him with Billy: you, sir or madam, are incredible at your job and deserve a fruit basket. We are all dying for these two to finally fuck.

Weakness: The Pacing

Which is why it's kind of frustrating that the show is dragging its feet on letting their relationship advance. The first four eps were delicious tension-building, but as the show starts to stall and use dream sequence fakeouts to provide smut without actual relationship development, the audience is clearly getting antsy. The show's pacing is all over the place in general, with wildly varied episode lengths and inconsistent action and plot advancement from week to week. And the desire to drag out the romance without a compelling alternative plot to fill the show in its absence is causing some damage to the characters, most notably Tharn, who is just starting to seem unreasonably antagonistic to a person we know he likes, not to mention unperceptive in his continued inability to notice what is going on around him.

Strength: Production Values

This show is absolutely gorgeous; you can tell most of the money went into making every frame of it beautiful. The strength of the production values and hard work of the crew to create the look and feel of the world was evident from the first episode with all those beautiful training sequences on the beach. And this is used to particularly strong effect whenever we visit Phaya and Tharn's past lives and see the magical world that exists around them come to life.

Strength: The Supporting Cast

The show also has a great ensemble, with Yai especially a standout character who brings a lot of fun to the show, along with his girlfriend Sand and the police squad bros. This is not surprising, as big, messy, chaotic, endearing queer friend groups are an IdolFactory staple. As of last week, we officially have a lesbian side pairing! Tharn and Phaya also have interesting family histories with sweet grandmas and loved ones who lend depth to their characterization.

Weakness: The Copaganda

It was perhaps too much to expect that this bl about cops would have a more sophisticated perspective on law enforcement, institutional corruption, and the so-called "justice" system, but that does not stop me from groaning out loud every time they pause the story to let these characters wax poetic about the nobility of their jobs.

Strength: Thai Folklore

This show is teaching all of us some things about real Thai folklore about the garuda and nara, including local customs associated with celebrating these tales, and the depiction of these stories in the show is just beautiful. Despite it basically being a tourism advert (complete with couple shirts for no reason??), I really enjoyed the episode that took us to Nong Khai and the Mekong River to see how modern Thai folks interpret and celebrate the myths at the center of this show’s story and ground us in something real.

Weakness: An Underdeveloped Take on Toxic Masculinity

This show uses violence quite a lot in its story, including violence in interpersonal dynamics, and it sometimes seems to want us to be alarmed by uncontrolled male anger, and sometimes impressed by it. At this point, Tharn and Phaya have both struck each other in anger during personal disagreements, and there hasn't been any real reckoning with the fallout of that. On top of that, the show has given us some crime cases that highlight the harm of toxic masculinity while also seeming to glorify and revel in it, most notably in the framing of a man who kidnapped and retraumatized sexual assault victims as a hunky folk hero. It's a confused take, to say the least, and I'm not sure the show has the depth and precision necessary in the writing to take on some of what it's throwing at the wall.

Strength: Villains

All I can say is Heng was born to play an evil snake god. The show has done a good job at making him feel like a real threat and building the antagonism between him and Phaya to the point where Phaya has been isolated from support and made to look crazy in front of Tharn. Dr. Slow Motion is very good at this.

So, what's the TL; DR? This show is a lot of fun, but has some obvious weaknesses in the writing, so do your best not to take it too seriously if you can. I am ready to see Phaya and Tharn get together and finally start working as a team, for the full backstory and epic battle they are waging to come out, and for the motivations of the rest of the cast of characters to become clear (I just know there are some additional past life reincarnations waiting to be revealed). It's a great time if you don't think about it too hard, and I really hope the back half will pick up the pace so that we can all just enjoy the ride.