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wen-kexing-apologist · 3 months

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Body Language in Cooking Crush

Saw a great discussion about Dynamite and Fire in Cooking Crush unfold last night on my dash, (have I mentioned I love my mutuals?) and have not been able to stop thinking about what @twig-tea was saying in their post about body language, nuance, and consent and how Dynamite is constantly and carefully reading the room. And you know when someone says body language, WKA shall appear to do a scene break down!

I want to start, briefly, by reiterating the fact that Dy’s crush on Fire started after Fire intervened in his bashing, literally grappling and throwing one of the two bullies to the ground. So one of the very first things Dy ever learns about Fire is that he a) is kind enough to step in when he sees someone being hurt and b) will throw hands if he needs to. And Dy uses these two pieces of knowledge to gauge how he interacts with Fire as he begins his pursuit.

First Encounter

The first interaction we see, Dy comes out swinging right out the gate, he is explicit in his queerness, up front about his feelings, and obviously in pursuit.

Fire makes immediate eye contact with him, thanks him for the drink, and then proceeds to disengage from the conversation. But, remember, Dy knows Fire is kind and knows Fire can get physical, so he’s on a safe track so far, there is no harm in introducing himself. “Your name is Fire. My name is Dynamite. We know each other now.”

Something in Fire’s face softens, and where just a second ago he was completely disinterested and disengaged from Dy, now he is tuned in. But he catches himself quickly, almost immediately puts his mask back on, and gets the hell out of dodge. Dy presses a bit more and Fire gives him a fake smile that drops in to a frown. Fire isn’t angry here, he’s just annoyed. Which is fine, because Dynamite is intentionally being annoying, and he does chase after Fire with his drink, but he doesn’t try to keep Fire in place, he doesn’t touch him, he doesn’t grab him, he waits a moment (enough time for Fire to actually put some distance between them) before he follows after. What has Dy learned? Fire isn’t homophobic (at least to the point of violence) and there was the tiniest flicker of interest. He can keep on his pursuit.

This is followed by Dynamite placing himself in front of Fire’s line of sight on Jane, to Fire’s annoyance, yes, but I think it is important to note that Fire has no issues with touching Dynamite gently despite his very open queerness, FIre maintains the conversation, and even relies on Dynamite to get Jane’s number. When Fire calls Jane later and finds Dynamite on the other end of the phone, he’s once again frustrated and annoyed, but he doesn’t hang up the phone and he doesn’t balk at being called cute by Dynamite either. He isn’t mad about being flirted with by a guy, he’s mad that Dynamite played him and he didn’t get to talk to Jane.

And while Dynamite has fun annoying Fire, he isn’t an asshole either. He doesn’t let Fire immediately revel in connection with Jane, because Fire couldn’t work up the courage to ask her himself, but he also will not deny Fire his actual chance to pursue what could be genuine feelings for Jane, so he gives Fire her number the very next day. On his date with Jane, Fire spends the entire time looking for Dynamite, completely ignoring Jane at his side. Dy is correct, if Fire was actually interested in Jane it wouldn’t have mattered.

Kabedon

Fire pins Dynamite to a wall to interrogate him about his presence in the area during Fire’s date. But the way Fire is looking at Dynamite is not anger, it’s a challenge.

gif by @gunsatthaphan

And when Dynamite remains unphased, you can see that challenge fading almost immediately in to annoyance, and then…Dynamite squares his shoulders, takes the smallest step forward, accepts Fire’s challenge and...

Fire retreats, not far, but he does drop his hands, he does take a step back, he cedes territory, he…he submits. And not only does he do so, but he gives Dynamite a once over, and when Dynamite keeps flirting, and Fire does not reciprocate, Dynamite says he will just go somewhere else if Fire is bothered, but offering the observation to Fy that he hasn’t been paying attention to Jane. Here again Fire could have gotten aggressive or could have walked away, but instead he grabs Dynamite’s hand and presses them to Dy’s lips to shush him. Which is exactly the opposite thing you want to do if you are trying to discourage the boy who is clearly comfortable being pinned between your arms from pursuing you any further.

gif by @gunsatthaphan

And as Twig mentioned, the nuance in the body language here is that Fire is annoyed, but not upset. Fire is annoyed, but not angry. Dynamite leaves Fire alone for the rest of his time with Jane, and Fire sits beside her thinking about Dynamite instead. And there are clearly positive feelings for Dy taking root in Fire after this interaction, because this is what Fire’s reaction is when he thinks of Dynamite.

It's small, it's subtle, it's hard to see with a static photo, but he's got the barest trace of a smile on his face.

And Dynamite knows when to pull back, too. When Fire threatens to punch Samsee and is physically restrained by Metha, Dynamite leaves immediately and does not appear in front of Fire again until he takes the fall for Fire in front of his mother. And thus starts the shift in Fire’s interactions with Dynamite with the peace offering of soy milk, where Fire makes moon eyes at Dy for the entire scene.

Questioning in the Car

After being dumped by Jane, and starting to recognize he is having some sort of feelings for Dynamite, Metha (my beloved) takes Fire to acquire a sex worker and see how he feels about engaging in sex when a second penis is involved. And just like moving in to the same apartment complex was a coincidence, so too is Dynamite and Fire running in to each other on the street here.

gif by @save-the-data

Metha rolls down the window to start a conversation. Now. In my view, dynamite has always been paying attention to Fire’s reactions to his advances. But if that was not made super clear because Dy was being subtle about it at the beginning, it is made extremely obvious from every moment after the conversation on the fire escape. Because all Dynamite is doing from the second that Fire comes in to view is staring at him. Hearing Metha ask if they are using the sex worker service too and then watching intently as Dynamite’s eyes flit from Samsee, to Dynamite, down at the ground, and then straight ahead refusing to make more eye contact because Fire is embarrassed. Because he has realized he has some sort of feelings for Dynamite and he has been caught trying to figure out what those feelings are by the very person that has thrown his sexuality in to question in the first place.

And that trend continues when they are alone in the car. Dynamite might be in the backseat, but his eyes are trained on Fire’s face for the entire conversation. Body language and consent here, right? Fire is not comfortable being in this car with Dynamite, but again not because Dynamite is doing something to upset him, because he knows that being caught this way gives a pretty clear sign to Dynamite that Fire has feelings for him. But at this point Fire is a coward and Dynamite is brave, so he will initiate the hard and awkward conversation that needs to be had.

“Since I told you I like you, it made you feel uneasy, right?”

gif by @sidecouplesupremacy-blbambeyond

Boom. Called out about it, Fire for the first time since that initial moment of recognition turns to look at Dy. Now, the audience gets a good auditory confirmation that Fire is experiencing feelings, because we hear the heart beat sound effect. But Dy gets a confirmation too, because Fire’s mouth is slightly open, Fire’s brow furrows for just a moment. It’s hard to see it from the angle Neo’s head is at, but Fire is scanning Dynamite’s face, and he breaks eye contact when the feelings get to be too much for him.

gif by @sidecouplesupremacy-blbambeyond

By Dy won’t let him run away. Dynamite places a hand atop Fire’s head (worth noting that heads, if I recall correctly, are pretty sacred in Thai culture and having someone touch your head holds some weight to it). Fire gets lost in Dynamite’s face for a moment, and takes a little too long to pull away from Dynamite’s touch for someone claiming not to like Dynamite. Again, Dy may be a little shit (read: someone who enjoys intentionally annoying people) but he is not an asshole, he knows this is getting to be too much for Fire, and he defuses the intensity of the moment by pushing harder on the “you like me” point, but in such a way that allows Fire to hide behind annoyance once again. But Dy still wants to be certain he is reading the situation correctly, so he leans in a little, a teasing distance and Fire?

gif by @sidecouplesupremacy-blbambeyond

Jaw goes slack, then tenses as he swallows hard, and his eyes flicker down for just a second right to Dynamite’s lips. Dynamite backs off, and the thrill of the moment finally settles over Fire now that he has some breathing room from the intensity of that interaction for him and he starts to smile to himself. With Dynamite once again checking Fire’s face to gauge his reaction, and only smiling when he sees Fire is melting in his seat.

Cold Shoulder at the Grocery Store

The audience does not know this yet, but Dynamite has suffered a massive loss for being queer, and that has made him brave and strong, and that has informed the way that he engages with potential lovers. I won’t talk about it at length because multiple other posts have already covered that. But I think it is important to remember for what comes next. Because Dynamite looks pretty happy after that conversation in the car that Fire reciprocates his feelings. And then he sees Jane and Fire together at the store.

gif by @save-the-data

Dynamite sizes up the scene, sees Jane at Fire’s side, see’s Fire looking amped up and a little cocky, and you can see the moment he decides to shut his feelings for Fire down in the tiniest of lip movements. (Aungpao is blowing me away in this show, he’s seventeen fucking years old, his microexpression game is on point, he’s relatively green, and he’s keeping up with actors like GUN ATTAPHAN, OFF JUMPOL, AND NEO TRAI.) Dynamite is brave, but what he is seeing is Fire running from his feelings and trying to be straight, and for the time being, Fire is not strong enough for what comes next. Dynamite got his hopes up and they are being crushed in real time in the grocery store.

And when Dynamite does not engage, Fire doesn’t look relieved that he didn’t have to deal with Dynamite, he looked disappointed that Dynamite decided not to pay attention to him. To give him the space that he’s said he has wanted all this time. It takes Jane coming out about her relationship and calling Fire on his crush on Dynamite to corner Fire in such a way that he can’t run from his feelings anymore. But man oh man is he going to try.

Drunk Confessions

gifs by @gunsatthaphan

Dy is mad, trying to get past his feelings for Fy, and is now having to take care of a drunken man that is confessing his feelings because he is only able to do so under the influence. God I love this scene so much, because it is one of the rare times that I have seen a drunken kiss, and a chaste cheek kiss at that be so upsetting. And Dynamite has every right to be upset, a) because he might have pushed Fire around a bit, he definitely stepped over the line occasionally by following Fire around but he never was physically intimate with Fire and b) because Fire has jerked around Dynamite’s emotions partially without Fire’s knowledge, and you can see the mental calculus going on in Dy’s head when Fire kisses him, because this is a very blatant admission of feelings but not when he is sober, and that is wholly unfair to Dy.

But it’s getting Dy’s hopes up too and you can see him shake his wall back in place after Fire collapses on his shoulder because he can’t afford for Fire to get sober and clam up again. And here we get the admission of exactly what Dy has been picking up on this whole time: “Regardless of how much I say I don’t want to see you, you have no right to walk away.” To be clear here: this is not a ‘no means yes’ situation. This is a “you don’t have to stop” admission a la Secret Crush on You. Fire likes the game and is saying so himself right now. It’s why Dy picked up on from the beginning and why he was acting the way that he was, and seeing Fy with Jane after their conversation in the car is when he think he might have been misreading Fy the entire time and pulls away completely out of respect for the feelings of everyone involved.

Which is why Dy pulls away even harder and stops engaging with Fy at all after Fy wakes up sober, remembering everything that had happened the night before, and refusing to own up to it. Fire’s not ready the way Dynamite is, and so Dynamite will leave Fire to do the work from here. If Fire truly likes Dynamite, Dynamite will happily turn his feelings for Fire back on, but only after Fire proves that he is ready.

#i love my boys #cooking crush #cooking crush the series #fire x dynamite #dynamite x fire #fymy #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #thai bl #gmmtv #cooking crush meta #cooking crush analysis

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neuroticbookworm · 3 months

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FRIENDS. FRIENDS.

Cooking Crush is undoubtedly one of the best shows airing at the moment.

Today's episode gave me so much life that I don't even know where to begin, but I'm gonna try my best to pull two (2) coherent thoughts out of my melting brain.

1. The Three Must-Eat-eers Conflict and Resolution:

Last episode had set up such a perfect conflict that's rarely handled well in any media: the bruised feelings of the single friend when the rest of the gang gets into committed romantic relationships. Most of the time this scenario shows up in media, one party will be framed as selfish and/or jealous. None of that nonsense here; Cooking Crush has always taken the friendship of its characters very seriously, especially Prem, Dynamite and Samsee. Samsee’s feelings were hurt not just because of his own fears of being abandoned by his friends, he was also (rightfully) mad that he ended up as the only friend who was kept out of the loop of knowing that his best friends had boyfriends now. But Prem and Dynamite did not intend to do this, and they were also right to set their own pace in making their relationship public, but it’s just that the string of accidental reveals happened in an order that made Samsee feel like a third-wheeler in his own home, twice over.

Cooking Crush treats its characters with a lot of kindness and empathy and it shows. Prem and Dy wanting to keep their relationships under wraps for the time being is valid. Samsee feeling hurt and lost, and opting out of the competition is valid. This episode begins with the drama of the cooking competition and works its comedy (thank you for the chuckles, wildly gesticulating White Man) and romance (my poor heart swooned all over my rib cage when Ten helped Prem into his chef clothes). And when the time came for the big reconciliation, the show does not sweep away Samee’s very hurt feelings just because Prem and Dy struggled without Samsee for most of the first round of cooking. He apologizes for ditching them and Dy was having none of it.

(Dy, my perfect child, oh how I love you with my entire heart)

Perfect resolution. and a well-earned, most adorable group hug to bookend it. I truly could not be more in love with this show. Or can I?

2. Miscommunication? Nah.

Well, this episode also featured the Annoying Asshole Chef dude who’s determined to pursue Prem even though it is very clear that Prem is not interested and would reject his advances, if only he stuck around long enough to actually get rejected and not run away from him like a goddamn coward. I was furious when he positioned himself as an actual option for Prem to Ten in this episode, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment Ten chose to call him out on his bullshit.

But y’all. The very inappropriate hug. The well-deserved punch to his stupid face. The storm-off. All of it had me very concerned that this is all barrelling towards a classic miscommunication moment.

BUT NO.

THE SHOW SAID THERE WILL BE NO STUPID MISCOMMUNICATION.

NOT IN THIS HOUSE.

My problem with the miscommunication trope is that it ultimately positions the couple we are supposed to be rooting for as a weak team. Honest communication and vulnerability in a new-ish relationship is not easy, and it takes a lot of courage to take that step to be the one to spell out the facts, and trust that the other person likes them well enough to keep an open ear, and believe them when they say a meddling cowardly asshole is trying to get in the way of their relationship. Ten’s bravery was perfectly contrasted with the sliminess of the Annoying Cowardly Chef (I refuse to learn his name, he is not worth my braincells).

Oh but Ten wasn’t done yet!

I absolutely adore how he moves the conversation away from that pesky little pest of a human towards something that matters more: his desire to make things official with Prem. The Annoying Asshole Chef was not the focus of the conversation, Ten and Prem are. And it all culminates in an incredible kiss and a camera swoop that already has a permanent little shrine in my silly little head.

TAKE MY HEART, COOKING CRUSH. TREAT IT WELL.

#cooking crush #tenprem #offgun #off jumpol #gun atthaphan #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #thai bl

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kolaicendionysos · 3 months

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you can be the match i'll be the fuse cooking crush the series episode 10

#cooking crush #cooking crush the series #neoaungpao #neoxaungpao #aungpao ochiris #neo trai #neo trai nimtawat #LOVE THEM YOUR HONOR!!!!#they became my comfort ship!!!#they cute #other #my edit #bl drama #thailand bl #thailand drama #boys love

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gunsatthaphan · 3 months

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#caught.

#cooking crush #cooking crush the series #cooking crush ep9 #firedynamite #fire x dynamite #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #gmmtv #thai bl #bl drama #JHFKJD please this killed me 😭

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moonkhao · 3 months

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Congrats, My!!!!

COOKING CRUSH | EP11

bonus:

#cooking crush #cooking crush the series #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #firedynamite #my edits #both of them have grown on me so much especially dynamite ;_;<3 #cookingcrushedit

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waitmyturtles · 3 months

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I am all caught up on Cooking Crush (!!!), AND --

I did some tag diving, AND --

I am reading Fire and Dynamite differently than many in the pack, it seems.

As I'm catching up on these posts.... I don't see Dynamite as a stalker for a second. And I think I understand the context of Fire's sudden emotional change, from angry rejection of Dy to becoming a total puppy.

I see Dynamite and Fire both as products of internalized and externalized homophobia.

Does Dynamite come off as a wackadoodle hardcore flirt to start? For sure. This face is not a sympathetic face! (Although I was CACKLING at it.)

I posit that Dynamite went so hard, so unrealistic, on his flirting to Fire, because -- he's used to getting rejected.

(source: @moonkhao!)

If Dynamite's own dad rejected him for who he is, then -- Dynamite can possibly act however he wants to, to whomever, because he may very well think he has nothing to lose.

Fire reacts to Dynamite with disgust and anger. I posit that due to Fire's fear of

1) admitting his own queer preferences, 2) his fear of coming out, specifically to his mother, and 3) the confusion of not understanding, identifying, or realizing his own feelings, that Fire's initial reactions to Dynamite are ones of extreme rejection.

I also think that what's happening there is that Fire is initially rejecting HIS OWN FEELINGS, and HIS OWN REALIZATIONS.

Enough research exists to demonstrate that internalized homophobia leads to these kinds of distressed emotional states.

Fire in the car, as he and Metha are cruising? Fire's considering something. And it makes him tingle.

He needs booze to open up more. And then when he's sober, he rejects it again. And Dy sees Fire with Jane, and gets frustrated with Fire's mixed messaging.

Fire doesn't know how to authentically communicate at this point, because, yes -- one point in which I'll agree with posters on the tag is that he's had to learn to be submissive in order to placate an OVERLY demanding mom. He's used to hiding his true self.

But Fire is also AFRAID OF HIS MOM. He's afraid of her rejection!

Like, that's no good!

I think Fire's sudden change to becoming a puppy-wuppy is: HOMEBOY'S FINALLY FOUND LOVE! Love that satisfies his needs as his own authentic self. He doesn't need to hide anything from Dy anymore, because Fire's not hiding anything from HIMSELF anymore.

Most of the parents in this show are not good parents! Dy's dad can go to hell. Ten is forced to submit to his dad's demands. Fire is forced to submit to his mom's demands. That's very common in Asian parenting -- but we also have good parents! Unky's parents welcome him home in happiness and pride. Prem's grandma is a G.

Do we not think that this robust background information on where these men hail from is not impacting how they're behaving in their current relationship states? It is.

And I believe that the places of fear and rejection from which Fy and Dy come from exactly explains how they got together, and how they are together now.

I LOVE THEM, YER HONOR! DyFy 4ever!

#cooking crush #cooking crush meta #cooking crush the series #cooking crush the series meta #fire x dynamite #dynamite x fire #dynamitefire #dy x fy #fy x dy #dyfy #it's definitely dy then fy #tenprem #i didn't actually forget about tenprem we just get much more info about them lol #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #the dynamite defense squad

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