#mesthun

[respectthepetty]

Hey there. Hoping you're doing well. This is gonna sound random but I need a reason to watch He's coming to Me. I was looking at a list of all gmmtv shows and I've seen them all, except He's coming to me. And the weird thing is I don't have a reason. I adore Ohm, i don't particularly like Singto but that has never stopped me before. I have no problem with paranormal bl or sadness in bl. But for some reason every time I think I'm gonna watch it, I don't. I don't know if this has ever happen to anyone else but every once in a while this happens to me with a show or a film, like there's nothing wrong with it but I can't press play. And I have no idea why. I was hoping for some motivation I guess, just cause I'm a completionist and it's nagging me that I only have that one show left. Anyway, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this. (thanks for the space)

@nothingsbetterthancoffee, as a fellow completionist, I understand. Nothing can be left unfinished. No stone can remained unturned. No show can be left unwatched! But also, this show is a HOT TOP for me, so let me easily help you by giving you not one but TEN reasons to watch He's Coming to Me:

It has color-coded boys in love. <- The reason I showed up

Med/Mes is a stable, loyal, and intelligent Blue Boy who is happy (yellow) even in death. Thun is a Red Rascal who is spontaneous, energetic, and passionate. The love was always there, but seeing the color exchange always brings a smile to my face.

It's only eight episodes, and they are FREE!

Think of this as an eight-hour workday. Eat some breakfast, clock in to YouTube, watch five episodes (because after episode 5 is the PERFECT place to pause a la Bad Buddy), eat lunch, come back, watch the final three episodes, then clock out.

I know nobody wants to think of watching shows as work, but sometimes it helps to see the finish line at the end of day. Structure aids in productivity. And free is my favorite kind of watching experience, so it makes it even better.

The rooftop scene needs to be shown respect.

Mentioning Bad Buddy reminded me that He's Coming to Me's episode 5 rooftop scene walked, so Bad Buddy's episode 5 rooftop scene could run. Put some respect on this show's name!

The team behind it are elite professionals.

Aof, the director and an out gay man, has given us EVERYTHING! Bad Buddy, A Tale of Thousand Stars, Moonlight Chicken, and so much more. Rath, the cinematographer, has served us beautiful visuals every single time in Never Let Me Go, Dark Blue Kiss, and countless others. The screenwriter, Title, gave us the MaxTul vehicle MANNER OF DEATH. Imagine the Powerpuff Girls, but with film making. THAT'S the level of power behind this show.

The cast is stacked.

You already mentioned Singto and Ohm whose backs must hurt from carry the plot of so many shows on their shoulders, but the rest of the cast is A+ as well.

Sing and Chimon play the best friends, and they are the very BEST best friends. Sing has given us Todd(Black), and Chimon is about to embrace his sugar baby-ness in the upcoming Dangerous Romance. If they can stand next to THE Gun and the Perth, while holding their own, they deserve some recognition.

The supporting cast could beat every other supporting cast in a fist fight without breaking a sweat. We have Gunsmiles (who is no longer on the GMMTV's roster, sad times) who played in one of the best plots in 3 Will Be Free. We have Ampere who plays the office ally in GAP and La Pluie. Then we have Jum who only knows how to play the kindest mother from GAP, The Eclipse, and the upcoming Last Twilight. The twins, AJ and JJ show up, as well as Love who riled up enough people with her performance in Bad Buddy to get her own GL show!

Finally, we have the main ladies! Gigie makes you feel bad that this is a BL, so she won't get the guy, but that's because she is such a good character! Then there is Sine. I won't write much about her because I'm in love with her. I can't be rational about her. She never misses, and as a vegetarian, I would eat meat if she told me to. I. Love. Her.

The plot carries.

We all know shows that drag out the main plot for far too long. This show isn't one. It understands the assignment, and has a genuine plot beyond two boys falling in love. It also has twists and turns throughout that make sense to the original plot. Nothing seems disconnected, and everything seems logical in a show about ghosts.

The love is real.

For only eight episodes, in which one is mainly about a CHILD seeing ghosts, the way the love unfolds between the two leads is realistic. It is odd to see them first encounter each other when Thun is a kid, and Med is already a dead adult, but the way they come together as adults is touching.

The conflicts are believable.

Because of the way Med and Thun meet, and the overall plot, the conflicts are believable. They aren't just having issues because they don't want to communicate, or because it's the second to last episode. NO! One is a ghost who had his entire life ended, and the other is a young adult trying to figure out his life. The hesitation, the separation, and the conflicts in between are plausible.

The coming out SCENES are top tier.

If there is only one reason to watch this show, this is it! I don't need BLs to have a coming-out scene. Ever. If all of these shows existed in a magical bubble where being gay is the norm, I'd love it, but something about how Thun comes out in several ways, first to himself, then to his friends, and finally to his mom are all handled in the most endearing ways. These scenes healed my soul long before Be Loved in House: I Do hit me with its coming-out scene.

It has a happy ending.

Not only does it have a happy ending, but it has several happy resolutions for all the plots. It makes sure to wrap up the narrative while giving a little extra that completes the stories without feeling rushed or random.

Now that I've given you all these reasons, I hope you find it in yourself to finish the series. I know the first episode is rough to make it through, but once you get to the second half of episode 2, it should be smooth sailing.

As for me, I need to go write up He's Coming to Me (in Colors) post.

(thanks for the ask)

[tiwporpat]

mes he’s coming to me

[absolutebl]

Hello Fount of BL Knowledge, I hope you can answer this question.

I am loving the pairing of a young seme and an older uke. other than Minato's Coin Laundry and the History 3 side couple, what other BLs have this pairing?

Not only do I gotcha covered, I am more than pleased to do this post. Power flipped hyung romances = one of my ABSOLUTE favorites! (I sort of did it here, Younger Gay Identifying Elder Gay as MINE, but I’ll do it again properly!) 

Age Gap BLs where the Seme is YOUNGER   

This was super common in early yaoi, like SUPER common. Japan loves an age gap + power play, and making the younger character the aggressor is the definition of power play. Guess who else likes it a lot? Why yes, Taiwan. 

In no particular order, this is just a list. 

Minato’s Laundromat

Japan 2022 GaGa 

AKA Minato Coin Laundry AKA Wash My Heart! AKA Minato Shouji Koin Randorii AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry

Younger seme older uke, 10 year age gap. I love this show so much. This is by far the best long running example that really dwells on this trope, Shin is very much the aggressor also very much still a high school kid. Minato is very much NOT. 

Old Fashion Cupcake 

Japan 2022 Viki & GaGa 

Also from Japan, another 10 year gap, and a flipping genius version. This time both parties are older, so there’s less of a stigma around the age gap, but there is stigma about the one being the other’s boss. 

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits for episode one. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said man with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review. 

Seven Days

Japan 2015 grey 

AKA Seven Days: Monday-Thursday AND Seven Days: Friday-Sunday Japan

Seryou kinda counts as the pursuer, but the dynamic is very very weak in this one. Still the way he asks to use Yuzuru’s first name (so CHEEKY) and the way he says “senpai” in SUCH a cute way makes me so happy.

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. 

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

Taiwan 2018 Viki 

Seme uke is VERY weak with this one but the younger character is certainly the pursuer. It’s SO GOOD. 

Lin Pei Yu directs this is a sports romance (volleyball) with a good boy/bad boy pairing, and mu favorite of the HIStory franchise. There is no clear seme/uke. Ostensibly it's high school set but Taiwan doesn't care about age appropriate actors. It's a very soft sweet romance with some ridiculously easily overcome conflict. There's great kisses but it's medium heat. The side dishes are the stepbrother trope but they’re very tame, and there’s no other triggers. It's not just my favorite of the franchise, it’s one of my favorite BLs with a perfect happy ending.

SOTUS

Thailand 2016 YouTube 

Guess who started this trope in Thailand? Yeah, sometimes I forget too. But they are not just classic sunshine/tsunder but classic younger/older. 

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 here. 

Oxygen

Thailand 2020 YouTube 

Thailand’s first real stab at this dynamic as a main couple and it so worked for me. There are many who find this BL too slow and wooden, but I loved it so much. 

I think of that as the paragon of Thailand’s BL style, since Oxygen uses every BL trope in the playbook for one of the gentlest lowest angst BLs ever made. This one showcases how far Thailand is moving BL from its yaoi roots, and is a prime example of the sweet “new BL” model for which Thailand is the main advocate (Korea is liking it a lot these days too, tho). My first watch along. 

Lovely Writer

Thailand 2021 YouTube 

Again Sib is quite a bit younger than Gene and the pursuer, man I love this dynamic. Since Gene is out of university and established in his career, I'm calling this one for age gap.

Thailand criticizes itself and the BL industry while simultaneously giving us classic seme/uke with great chemistry in a one-two punch of “we love it, but are we supposed to? and must we think this hard, yet enjoy it SO MUCH?” This show won’t appeal or make sense to those who don’t already have at least some Thai BL watching experience. What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters.

Manner of Death 

Thailand 2021 WeTV

It’s not really relevant to the story, but Tan is younger. Not only that, he’s Bun’s friends younger brother. 

I like MoD a lot but I’m conflicted over it being actual BL. It’s a great gay romantic suspense, although the mystery element is its weakness. MaxTul, the Kings of chemistry, are, of course, perfect and perfectly cast, but their romance thread is more a distraction than an addition. Still, I could watch them make-out the phonebook. Watch along here. 

En of Love: Tossera 

Thailand 2020 YouTube 

Younger boy wants to court older boy and does and… that’s it. No really that’s the WHOLE STORY. There is actually no angst, drama, or, indeed plot. But are they the softest bois ever to BL as a main couple? Yes they are.

Private Lessons

Korea 2020 GaGa 

Another BL short from Strongberry that I love and given it is age gap and teacher/student (catnip) it should rate super high. The chemistry is slightly off though, but stil I do love this one for the dynamic. Certainly world watching especially if this is your trope. 

MingKit MarkKit

2 Moons (VERY side dish) YouTube 2 Moons 2 YouTube (major side dish) Gen Y (leads) Gen Y 2 (sides again in LTR) 

Thailand’s premier version of this dynamic I just lumped them all into one category. Only in 2 Moons 2 are they played by different actors, otherwise it is all KimCop, and who can complain about that? If you want to watch specifically for this dynamic than go for Gen Y. Trash watch here. 

SIDE DISHES with this dynamic! 

HIStory 3: the BL that shall not be named (BoXiang & ZhiGang)

Also HIStory 4: Close to You

The side characters in H3:MODC (and cameos in H4) BoXiang & ZhiGang have a huge age gap, 12 years, and it is a big deal for their relationship. When they start out BoXiang is a desperate himbo high school kid and ZhiGang is a small business owner. BoXiang’s friends tease him more for his lust over such a much older man than for being gay. 

HIStory 4: Close to You (YongJie & XingSi) 

YongJie is quite a bit younger than XingSi, not sure on the specifics but he's in middle school when XingSi is in high school and still in college when XingSi has his own business. Also the stepbrother trope. This couple is VERY problematic, but I like them anyway, probubly because I love this trope so much, and I am trash for trash. 

Brothers (KhunKaow) 

This is not a good show, but side couple Khun & Kaow are great in it and this is my favorite version of an age gap: younger seme + older uke. Khun is in university and Kaow has a baking business.

Don’t Say No (LeonPob) 

Leon and Pob qualify. That’s all I have to say about that. 

You’re My Sky (SanAei)

SanAei are a classic uni age gap pairing. San is a bit of a spoiled rich kid jock who identifies the older nerd character as HIS and is just like, MINE. That’s MY elder gay. 

Top Secret Together and Love By Chance both have sub plots of high school boys pursuing college ones, but TST one didn’t go anywhere and LBC went very very bad, so yeah... no. LBC’s is my favorite version too, best friend’s older bother, sigh. I would LOVE to see this done better. 

Others that kinda qualify

Pornographer series

So this is a dirty gaslighting crazy piece of Japan being SO Japan about this trope. But it sure is age gap. Established novelist with an intention to corrupt, bullies college kid into writing his porn for him with the intent to seduce, but his is the bottom (not a submissive) so it’s intentionally playing with the seme/uke dynamic. It’s an ugly dirty series, but also hot. 

He’s Coming to Me 

Mes is much older than Thun, and Thus is (in the end) the pursuer, but it’s kinda complicated by the fact that Mes is, ya know, a ghost. 

Plus and Minus

The side pairing is an age gap with the younger as pursuer but it’s not really relevant to the story.

Tasty Florida

I think you could argue the younger character is more intersted in the relationship, but it;s also pretty clear the older boy will be in charge. 

HIStory My Hero

It’s body swap and necessary pursuit for reasons of paranormal, so I’m not sure I’d count it. 

My Ride

It’s not relevant but I believe Mork is younger. 

Love Stage!! (sides)

The Thai version sides, TheeJet, are age gap and in the comic Thee is the pursuer. In this series, they are in a secret LTR so who chased whom isn’t relevant. 

My Engineer (sides)

I make no case for it but possibly RamKing? 

Not Me (sides)

DanYok is said that way, but Yok is certainly the pursuer at the beginning, and he’s younger. 

Similar: 

BLs With Age Gaps - Hyung Romances - these is just when there is a big age gap, not necessarily a power flip. 

I also love noona romances for this same reason, the abnormal power dynamic (older woman, younger man) gives agency to the female character in an Asian romance drama = very rare. 

Thai Pronouns & Honorifics when Seme/Uke is Flipped 

Aggressive & Autonomous Ukes in BL Uke Forced to Undertake the Seme Role 

Updated Aug 2022, not responsible for this dynamic turning up after that. Although YOU BETTER FLIPPING TELL ME ABOUT IT. 

More after 2022 here:

(source) 

[gunsatthaphan]

↳ bl nostalgia week - day 5: mes x thun [he's coming to me]

[petekaos]

do you like men?┃you like men, don’t you?

[heretherebedork]

No offense but..

what are some of your top pairings..?

Ahahahaha. Okay. This list is: no MDL, only completed shows, only canon pairings, in no particular order

Also, you may notice a pattern and that is soft and that is just... me. Softest boi. Also, not giving me a number was your mistake.

AePete: Softest boy and his feral demiboy. How can I resist?

LeoFiat: Co-dependence and an unnegotiated kinky relationship with a long period of mutual pining and then deep and caring love? Yesssss. GIMME.

PhuphaTian: Just... soft love and gentle, adult love and that grows and they take care of each other? Of course.

Kurosawa/Adachi: Ugh, the kings of soft and love and affection and they're just darling, okay? Plus, actual adults being actual adults.

BbombJin: My soft university boys who just love each other so much and talk about their issues and Jin loves to be held so much.

TinCan: Look. I love Can enough for the entire world and he's so fantastic with Tin and they're just amazing. I love both their incarnations and I love them in general.

InKorn: I would sacrifice so much for these two to have a chance at a life together. I adore them. They're such good boys. My poor darlings.

MesThun: Ugh, soft ghost boy and his soft ghost whisperer and I just love them deeply and they're so gentle and soft and full of LOVE.

WinTeam: BETWEEN US MUST EXIST.

Jack/Zhao Zi: I love them and their softness and their food sharing and their absolute ignoring of social norms and I just adore them deeply.

MekBoss: Mutual pining BABIES.

RamKing: I mean, who can resist the flower crown kings?

GunBar: MY SOFTEST KINGS. THE ONES WHO ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE. The boys so soft they couldn't even contain an actual plot or conflict. I love them so much.

TanBun: Yeah, I love them. Crime solving kiiings. Also, again, adult relationship that occasionally involves communication.

Duong/Nam: I love them deeply. They're absolute darlings and I miss my Vietnamese BL softness so much right now. I miss these darlings. Good vibes, yo.

Okay. I've worked on this for a while and I think I'm pretty good on this list. Am I forgetting some? Oh, 100%. But this is from without any MDL, any checking on youtube, any looking. This just me... thinking of my top pairings off the top of my head at 8 am on a Wednesday.

[maggiecheungs]

he’s coming to me (dir. backaof noppharnach, 2019) || a tale of thousand stars (dir. backaof noppharnach, 2021)

[nohshinwoos]

mes + 😛

bonus thun:

[earthfluuke]

MesThun headcanons if you’re still doing them👉👈

oh my GOD, i haven't thought about them in so long & this took me somewhere (to a place of PAIN because OUCH, these two).

after all that's happened, these two losers 100% share a bed every night.

when mes first returned, neither of them knew what to do. they shared a bed for what they thought was their final night together, but now that mes is able to stay, they don't know if that will continue. and neither of them are brave enough to ask.

mes probably takes the couch his first night back & they say quiet, awkward good nights.

neither of them get any sleep. they both lay there, thinking about the fact that the other is so close, just a door away.

thun finally gets it together – he almost lost mes once, he can't keep hesitating – and goes to open the door and ask him if he wants to join him. but before he can, mes slips through the wall.

they both just look at each other for a moment – thun sat up in bed and mes standing frozen – before they both laugh.

thun silently lifts the covers, and mes gets into the other side (thun would've put incense all over his apartment, just so mes has access to everything).

they sleep like that every night after.

now that they've confessed their feelings, thun wants to take mes on a date!

sure, they had that amazing day out together, just the two of them, but it wasn't official.

mes isn't very picky, but considering only thun can see him, they go for something very casual. it's not like thun can take him to a candlelit dinner at a five star restaurant without getting stars.

nah, he saves that for a special occasion in the privacy of his apartment.

thun probably takes him to an old record shop that sells cassettes. mes points out all of the most popular ones from when he was in college, and thun ends up buying him some.

they get food from a street vendor and walk around until they find a street band.

thun gets mes to dance with him, and it doesn't look too weird, especially if there's already a crowd. he'll spin mes around & they'll laugh, because they're finally able to be happy together.

send me a character or ship, and i’ll give you any head canons i have for them.

[wjmild]

“Now we have made a promise that we will always find each other.” 

[seatawinan]

He’s Coming to Me +  8 Letters by Why Don't We for Chan @kuraioshiro

[respectthepetty]

Hey there again. Ok. So I've just finished He's Coming to Me. And you were right. It's great. I laughed, I cried, I gasped… The pace of the show is just right. Nothing seems out of place or superfluous. All the cast is amazing. The rooftop scene was heartbreaking and Ohm is amazing in it. It really broke my heart even though I knew it was coming. It goes hand in hand with his performance in Dew which I thought was amazing. And of course you were also right about the coming out scene. It was so well done. It was really masterfully constructed from beginning to end. And Sine is amazing all throughout the show but in this scene specially, her expressions tell the whole story. What was surprising for me was that I actually liked Singto. He's so good here. So pretty much all you said was true but… (sorry, there's a but) I didn't like the ending. I mean, I didn't hate it, but it made me sad. I don't know if this is gonna sound weird but I wanted more for Thun. I wanted Mes to go into the light. And then Thun would grieve, sure, but eventually find someone else and remember Mes as his first love, but have someone else he could be in the world with. This is probably an unpopular opinion but there it is. All in all I'm so glad I finally saw it, so thank you for the push (and for the space).

@nothingsbetterthancoffee, I have other recommendations for you, but wait . . .

You didn't like the ending?

You wanted them to be separated?!

That's cool. I'm fine. I'm not hurt at all by the thought of them not being together.

I wanted Med to inhabit someone else's body, so Med could live again, and they could be together forever, but your idea makes sense too.

*sniffling* I'm glad you watched it. I'm glad you liked it. I'm glad you asked me about it. I'm just really *breathes deeply* glad.

Because now that you wrote your ideal ending, I can offer you shows that might interest you:

Something in My Room - Thai. About a ghost haunting a house so his death can be resolved and the guy he falls for. Ten episodes that are less than an hour each. This is the ending you wanted.

Kissable Lips - Korean. About a vampire and the human he falls for. It's quick with eight episodes that are ten minutes each, so an hour and a half in total, maybe. The ending would satisfy you. unlike the rest of us. It's supposed to get a second season, but I doubt it because one of the stars, Kim Ji Woong, is an idol again or something K-pop that I don't fully understand.

Eternal Yesterday - Japanese. About a zombie (?) and the classmate he falls for. It is eight episodes that are less than thirty minutes each. You will like the ending.

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul - Thai. About a reaper and the doctor he falls for. Longer with twelves episodes about an hour long. The ending is happy-ish. You could like it.

Miracle of Teddy Bear - Thai. About a teddy bear that becomes a human and the guy he falls for. This is LONG at sixteen episodes that sometimes go over an hour long. I hated the ending. You might like it.

Choco Milk Shake - Korean AND Strongberry (who we trust!). About a cat and dog that come back to life as humans and the human owner they fall for. Quick with eleven episodes, that in total equal less than two and a half hours. The ending got all of us, so you might like it.

See the comments for more recs!

You don't have to watch any of them, and if you watched some already, cool beans. I just thought I'd offer you something for making it through your wall and finishing He's Coming to Me.

Congratulations on completing the GMMTV list, and thanks for the ask (and follow-up).

[geekygirl24]

Prompt from Anonymous: Hi, this might be a bit ridiculous, but could i ask for a Thun/Mes fic from He's Coming to Me? Since Thun is the only who can see Mes, I'm just wondering if you do one where Prince and Khiaokhem accidentally walk in and Thun making love to Mes, and describe how they see it from their POV since they can't see Mes? 

This Chapter is NSFW

[absolutebl]

man spreading in BL 

[patandpran]

He’s Coming to Me - 2018

[petekaos]

AOF NOPPHARNACH + the pinky promise/hands/touch motif

dark blue kiss (2019), dir. aof noppharnach // richard siken, the language of the birds // still2gether (2020), dir. aof noppharnach // rachelle toarmino, you up? // he’s coming to me (2019), dir. aof noppharnach // kathleen woodward, aging and its discontents