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#waitmyturtles i'm stealing your tag idea
gillianthecat · 1 year
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I decided to watch the beginning of SOTUS based on @waitmyturtles' reactions as part of her Thai BL education, and the conversations that inspired. I'm definitely not watching the whole show! Probably not even the whole first episode, I'll only go as far as I can stand it for, but I was finding myself desperately curious for context.
Well, 25 seconds in and we're already off to a good start 🥴
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I kinda like this theme song, ngl.
Wtf how is 2016 seven years ago already. What even is time.
Baby Off in the credits! Hello!
Actually this credits montage is making the show seem kind of appealing. Perhaps I will surprise everyone and myself by being a SOTUS fan.
I don't know if it's just this opening sequence, but the colors are so de-saturated compared to more recent Thai shows. Kinda makes it look like 90s home video.
This name tag table makes me miss Fighter and Tutor. 😢
But also, pre-Covid they could get HUGE casts of extras. That room is full!
So far the show is successfully building drama and intrigue! I'm more hooked than I suspected.
Arthit makes an excellent insecure petty tyrant. Unfortunately I'm having trouble imagining how they're going to transition him to love interest.
Brave Kongpop!
Seriously, there are like 500 extras in that giant room!
Baby Off!
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Oh yep. And here comes the femme characters as comic relief.
Ah, Kongpop is the other lead. Of course. For some reason I assumed he was a side character?
I like this smiley girl who does the grilled chicken dance!
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Aww, I think I might really like Kongpop as well.
Oddly enough the hazing stuff isn't bothering me (so far). I think because a) it's SO over the top ridiculous, and b) I came in expecting the worst. (But of course, it can always get worse.)
Maybe if I stop here I can pretend the show is a dystopian future romance (á la Divergent) about M and Kongpop falling in love as they rise up against their oppressive seniors. I'm kinda digging their chemistry.
However I'm predicting a het romance between M and the chicken dance girl (my beloved) [May] instead.
I can see from whence the Singto fandom. What a charming smile. He's already bringing a welcome groundedness to the role.
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Seaweed snacks! Now I want some. Your advertising is working on me. Also, one thing I think SOTUS does well is camera angles and editing; they really build the drama.
Also the sound recording (and mixing) quality is not terrible. What happened after this? Was Covid to blame? (Or perhaps GMMTV has always been better at it.)
I don't think I'd be that into this if I was watching just for pleasure, but I'm actually quite enjoy the experience of watching it for historical curiosity.
I like this girls at the table too! The women in this show are much more solid than I was expecting, and actually seem like real people [gasp!]
Honestly I'm not even looking at Arthit or the subtitles, I'm just watching Off in the background.
God, Arthit is so annoyingly awful. The only way to get through this may be to ignore his existence as much as possible.
I don't know if it's because Off is the one actor I recognize, or if it's because he just has that much charisma, but my eye keeps getting drawn to him on screen. (Even if he is aiding and abetting the evil guy.) I love the way he keeps snatching things from Arthit's hands.
Like, I can see how this COULD work, if Arthit wasn't such a stupidly petty tyrant. Enemies to Lovers! It's aiming for what FighterTutor managed to do so well. But. Well. The bully character has to have some redeeming feature. (Although perhaps he will win me over in the end.) As for their chemistry, I haven't seen enough to venture a firm opinion yet, but it's certainly not jumping off the screen.
Oh great, now we have homophobic bullying 🥴 But Singto really is very good as Kong.
Are you all sure this show isn't really Kong/M? Because that's still the story I'm creating in my head.
Umm. How on earth are they going to make this homophobic bully into a passable love interest. Help. I don't understand.
oooh, I could ship Kongpop with Wad as well. There is potential in this scene about the shirt exchange.
Ok! We've got M in the tight fitting tshirt! Show off those muscles, babe!
Like, I don't think Krist is bad in this so far. He's playing a petty tyrant bully perfectly. But I believe y'all when you so he doesn't manage anything other than this one note.
However, Singto is managing to single-handedly create something out of their scenes anyway.
Yes rebel Kongpop! I feel like my dystopian version of the story would be so much better than whatever we actually get.
However I do appreciate if it has to be bully romance that the target is not in the least a passive victim. (I ❤️ Kongpop)
This hazing is just so dumb. It's so silly it doesn't even bother me really, just makes me think about how young and dumb these engineering seniors are. Actually mostly it makes me mad at the school administration for sanctioning it.
I do love the way Off stands (and sits).
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And I love May and this wavy-haired girl! Interesting female characters in my BL?! Who have a life outside of "shipping" their classmates or having crushes on impossible gay boys?! My goodness!
Rebel Kongpop my beloved! And such a smartass 😍 Love his little smirk.
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Okaaaay. Still struggling to see how they can possibly build a romance out of this. Like, in Semantic Error and Why R U?, there was bullying yes, but even from the beginning there were hints of connection and attraction. And I am simply not seeing any of that here.
Well. I finished the whole first episode after all! And despite all expectations I'm kinda hooked.😲 I can see why SOTUS was so popular; the things it does well it does very well. And Singto is elevating it far beyond what it deserves.
It helps that bullying and hazing, while they annoy me, aren't a Yikes Nope 😬 I'm Outa Here for me the way rape is (which is why I couldn't make it past the first episode of TharnType). And cringy slapstick humor, while objectively less of a problem, for some reason make me even more uncomfortable (which is part of the reason I couldn't make it through 2gether). And it's not boring me, at least as long as the camera isn't on Arthit. (My problem with some other OG Thai BL that was so boring I can't even remember its name now. [edit: it was driving me crazy so i went through world-of-bl's list and finally figured it out... it was Nitiman. Maybe I'd find it more interesting if I tried again, but it just could not keep me engaged, sorry Nitiman lovers.]) And it's helps that my expectations were basement level. (Thank you @waitmyturtles for preparing me. And I'm sorry for your suffering in the process.)
So I will probably continue! Although I don't know how soon or how regularly, or if I will do such detailed reaction posts for the rest. The only reason I started this one is I didn't expect to last more than 10 minutes.
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rocketturtle4 · 10 months
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Don't mind me I'm just collecting evidence for Ray's complete lack of self-esteem self-anything
(I'm shadowbanned which means that fact that I'm tagging everyone is USELESS (although I may have someone to help me out) but maybe it won't be useless later. Also I also cannot reply to comments, and you will not see in your notes if I reblog your post...fun times) @waitmyturtles should thee wish)
Finally pushed over by this post (@burnsuncomet @dewtu @plantsarepeopletoo) because @thegalwhorants that's right, it is VERY SAD
Because is this scene funny and ironic? Yes!
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Do I think people (me, I'm people) are going to swing around in 1-11 weeks time pull out screenshot one and comment not on the irony of this shirt but it's poignancy? ALSO YES. (Screenshots stolen out of this post @chickenstrangers)
So I'm starting my evidence collection now...
Poor Boy Gifs (a selection) (in no particular order)
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His t-shirt and reactions @khaotunq
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Drunk boy this gifset by @gunsatthaphan
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More Drunk Boy this gifset @heretherebedork
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This gifset @gunsatthaphan
Also this scene again because it's so awful it deserves to be included twice:
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this gifset by @userneos
speaks for itself:
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this set by @sunsetandthemoon (whose ENTIRE set here is just good evidence, but I promised myself I'd only steal one gif per post)
Ray's face when he sees Top and Mew dancing
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gifset here by @plantsarepeopletoo (multiple parts of this gifset have flashing lights)
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this gifset by @nick-nellson
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Look how happy he is surrounded by his friends!!!
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Oh and I'm sad again...
I gave in and grabbed 2 from this one @raypakorn
Since I already broke my rule I'm grabbing another one from @sunsetandthemoon:
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This is clearly just the (shit)icing on the (shit)cake of his (shit)life.
Finally thanks to @plantsarepeopletoo
His pure excitement at the idea of doing this project with his friends help...
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verses everyone else...
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Other Posts:
You're a burden screenshots (by @heretherebedork)
Information about Ray's subtitle/label "the one who [abandoned/discarded/threw away/cast out] himself" @lurkingteapot
Interesting thoughts on Sand and Ray by @bird-inacage - Ray's Fear of Inadequacy
Someone else who is sad with excellent screenshots @poetry-protest-pornography
I feel like this line might come back to haunt us lol @sparklyeyedhimbo
Trajectory of relationships and sex by @thatgirl4815
also by @thatgirl4815: Ray and apologising
Body language notes @captain-xandis
More random thoughts worth noting (Sand & Ray) @clara-maybe-ontheroad
Tweets
this post by @thatgirl4815
(directly referencing the scene where Ray wakes up and doesn't seem to mind the fact that he thinks he got roofied and kidnapped for sex)
Plus:
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originally posted here by @elliebirdwrites
Thoughts
(I'm not really taking it THIS seriously, just apreciating all my feels...also I don't think I've ?EVER actually watched a show from week 1...I normally have 2-3 episodes to obsess over by the time I start. This one ep business is not taking up enough time)
How much of Ray's identity revolves around making his friends (Mew) happy?
How much is he going to break when the ?rich? hotel owner moves into the only space he feels like he has value in?
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(and how much is his breaking going to break our best boy Sand?)
Let's see how much Ray(and Sand) can singlehandedly make me cry for the next 11 weeks...It is afterall, a FirstKhao specialty.
(now do I make a similar collection about Sand...or wait till next week hmmmmm....)
I'm going along with the masses and loving the poor boy and his rich (poor) boy.
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