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Gaipa is a character I cannot think about too much or it hurts but also I have been living in this scene for the last 3 months so I'm going to try.

It means so much to me to see Gaipa and Mrs Hong have such an honest and explicit discussion about Gaipa's queerness. It really shows how comfortable they are with each other, and how much they love each other, and that this isn't the first time they've discussed it. Moments like this one are part of what makes this show feel so queer, and it's something that I don't feel I've seen much of in queer media.

A lot of queer stories are coming of age narratives or stories of discovering queer identity. And that's important! Vital! We also have that in Moonlight Chicken with Li Ming and Heart's budding relationship. It's wonderful to see characters coming into their own with their queer identity, and all of the other things that come along with these stories, including coming out. But it's also so important to see what happens years or even decades after the initial "coming out".

Conversations about identity don't necessarily stop, especially in such a close relationship like the one between Gaipa and his mother. This isn't about questioning his identity or devaluing it, but stating support and love explicitly. Mrs Hong says she always knew that Gaipa was gay, since he was a child. We don't know what his story was growing up, if he sat down with his parents and came out, or if it happened more casually if they already knew. It was an unspoken understanding, but that doesn’t prevent him from wanting to speak it.

Queer coming of age does not stop once you've come out once. Adult queer narratives do not need to avoid explicit discussions of identity just because the characters are more settled and comfortable with their sexuality. This scene really resonated with me for me by showing the continuation of that queer experience.

There's such clear comfort in this conversation and how it shows that Gaipa and his mom truly know each other, how open and loving they are with each other, how they can joke around about it and be playful with each other, but they are still not taking the unspoken words for granted. Gaipa still wants and needs it to be said aloud. Their conversation in this scene is not a revelation that Gaipa is gay, and it's not new information that Mrs Hong loves and accepts him for it. But I can completely understand wanting to hear it said aloud, "Do you regret it…that I'm gay?" And she says unequivocally that no, she has no regrets, she just wants him to be happy, and find the love that he wants.

I talked about this a little bit before but this question of regret is really powerful. Gaipa isn't necessarily very happy at this moment; he's lonely, he clearly wants to find a reciprocated love and hasn't yet. His mother can see that he is sad about this. But does that mean she regrets that he's gay, or wishes he were different than he is? Even if it were easier for him in general to be straight? But as Jim and Wen discuss, being straight is no guarantee of happiness either. Mrs Hong has no regrets about this, and loves Gaipa wholeheartedly.

The relationship between parents and their queer children, whether biological or not, plays a large role in Moonlight Chicken. We see that Jam accepts that her brother is gay but has a much harder time accepting that her son is. We see Jim being upset to learn that Li Ming is gay, for much of the same reason that Gaipa is asking his mom about, his worry that life will be harder for Li Ming because of his sexuality. We see this scene echoed in Wen's conversation with his stepfather, who also fully supports Wen, asking about who he's seeing, and they clearly have a solid relationship, though much of this support is a bit more implicit than in Gaipa's conversation. All these moments together highlight the complexities of these relationships and highlight different queer experiences.

Queerness isn't Gaipa's whole identity, but it's an important part, and it's understandable for him to want to be open about it with his mom. And it is so powerful for me to see him at this stage in his journey and see this sort of conversation on screen.

Hello! #15 and #24 for the BL ask game?

Oh, I feel like this person knows me because they are explicitly asking hard questions.

15. favorite premise (even if you didn’t love the actual show)

Bestie is here, and his answers are Bad Buddy because he likes the Romeo and Juliet story and appreciates that they don't die here. He also said Until We Meet Again, because the fated mates across lifetimes is his specific weakness.

I think, for me, it's probably Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss! because I like the idea of two people with unusual levels of luck being drawn to each other, and when they're together they're just like anyone else. There's something magical about that as a queer narrative.

24. dream actor pairing

Bestie tried not to answer, but after pulling a knife, he said, "Earth Pirapat and Apo Nattawin" or "Bible Wichapas and Khaotung Thanawat" and says "I will explain in essay form why I want Bible tying up Khaotun, and NO ONE will sway me."

For me, my answer is Sam Lin (WBL) and Elijah Canlas (Gameboys). Both of them are phenomenally talented and both pull unwritten details out of their characters in tangible way on screen.

Thanks for the ask!

For the bl ask game.

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