Elisheva (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elisheva_m) wrote2023-10-27 12:54 pm
elisheva_m) wrote2023-10-27 12:54 pm
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Chaotic Boy Energy - Notes for a series which will never be made
Chaotic Boy Energy - Notes for a series which will never be made
Very much a work in progress. See rule 4.
Maybe someday I'll build up the knowledge and work up the confidence to give the characters names that are all their own. For now, just think of it in terms of these actors being cast for these roles and descriptions of what they'd be doing as these characters. It's how it works in my mind.
THIS IS AN OLD VERSION, LOOK AT THE TOP OF THE JOURNAL FOR THE CURRENT ONE. Unless you're bored or interested in some of how it evolved, feel free if you want.
When this started, it was just a scattering of things I'd imagine to cheer myself up when bedbound by chronic illness. The beginning point was Title (Drake Laedeke) and Jim Bae's (First Kanaphan) chaotic boy energy friendship in Blacklist. It was a lot of fun and I thought it would be grand to see more of it. Didn't care what kind of story it was, just as long as the lads were smiling and goofing off.
My brain one midnight: Vampires. Drake is a vampire.
How could anyone as chronically bored as I am just set that aside? From that, the rest, mostly through asking questions, though Neo's character has a way of bursting into other people's scenes on his own. What's the setting? NOT a university. A boarding house maybe. Who else lives there? If First, then Khaotung. What's his story? How does he fit in? But no crying, every director makes Khaotung cry. What's happening now, what else is going on, how can we add more fun?
These are the rules:
You cannot undead Khaotung.
You cannot make Khaotung cry.
This is very important.
Drake is a vampire.
The rest is negotiable and subject to change.
This is the story so far.
Drake and First are best friends. They have a band called Chaotic Boy Energy. Drake often wears a t-shirt with their logo. Their philosophy of music does not involve practicing.
They live in Mrs Hong's boarding house. She has bright blue hair.
Khaotung is the newest resident. The story opens in the front hall of a large, old house. Khaotung has just come through the front door and is standing with two suitcases and a box, looking around and getting his bearings. In the foreground, Drake and First race across the hall, in through one door and out another, and then peer back into the hall, staring at Khaotung with heart eyes and delighted smiles.
Smitten with this quiet thoughtful stranger, they fall over themselves and each other to greet him and take his luggage upstairs.
In his room and somewhat baffled by their carrying on, Khaotung thanks them but declines further help in unpacking. "It's just a couple of bags. And a box of books."
Disappointed but considerate, First and Drake retreat to Drake's room, which is very much the room of a 243 year old teenage boy, with clothes scattered around and aged, deteriorating Outlaw Wanted posters half covered over by football players, six decades of rock bands and a large hand written sign that says "Life's too short to practice". Or maybe that's on his second favourite t-shirt. Drake's character was turned at whatever age actor Drake is now but was still 18 at heart. 210-some years later, he's as set in his ways as any old man so this isn't going to change.
Drake and First discover that they've both fallen for their new housemate and as they saw him at exactly the same time, they don't even have that to give one of them a stronger case. So they decide to do their best to earn his affection and to respect whatever decision he makes, even if he says no to both of them. (Fifth rule: Khaotung has the agency in this decision; no one's heart is a prize to be won so reflect that in word choice.)
They proceed to empty a basket of clean folded clothes and chuck them at each other. They consider folding them again but decide health is more important and they must therefore resume chasing each other around the house instead. It's their favourite form of exercise, even more than mountain biking. Mrs Hong is adept at avoiding being run into. Others in the house aren't.
Various types of scenes to establish and develop characters and story:
First & Drake and Mrs Hong share cooking duties. First and Drake always cook together, with their typical exuberance, banter, pranks and mess but clean up after themselves with only somewhat diminished enthusiasm and just a couple of water fights. Mrs Hong chases them away when she's in charge but accepts Khaotung's help. There are hints that she knows some of his past and invited him to live there when he needed somewhere to stay.
They eat together, conveying a sense of found family, with separate dishes for vampires and mortals. It just is, with no attention called to it or what exactly these vampires eat. The emphasis is on their conversation and fondness for each other.
Khaotung keeps a journal. Through this we learn some of his thoughts about the friendly, lively, always entertaining madmen he's now living with. They're a bit much but he likes them.
He's nearly over a broken heart but isn't quite ready for a new love. There will be no flashbacks as the crying is in the past. Do not forget the second rule. He can have a touch of melancholy at times, all the better to be cheered up by his housemates' antics.
Whenever he settles down to write, their laughter and running about is heard in the background. He listens and smiles. Sometimes he hears their unique style of music instead. He prefers the running.
Drake and First are best friends and are never seen apart except when they ditch each other to flirt with Khaotung. Drake's approach riffs off of Korn's after he's gone from winding up Wai to fight him to winding up Wai to make friends. First channels Yok. Lots of smiles from both. That's the purpose of this imagining lark after all and directors aren't letting either of them smile anywhere enough any more.
The clutter of First's room indicates he's been here for a while. He always knows exactly where everything is, it just takes him a moment to find it when he wants it. Khaotung's room is sparse, just the furniture there when he moved in, some clothes and other things, and a bookcase with some but not enough books. Some are his diaries.
Drake reads manga. It's the only time he settles, albeit in an active, animated kind of way with exclamations and reactions. Sort of like playing a video game except with page turning.
With this being a boarding house, when a character is needed briefly they can be there to inquire about the room. Such a character stops by one day. Remainder deleted as it was too forced, from early days when i was struggling to try to flesh out a rather random set of "scenes". Two of the three things I wanted to convey are now done far better through the rest of the text. Leaving this here in hopes a new stranger stops by.
Interject some chaotic boy energy relief, chasing through the hall, random wrestling, not so random wrestling, pranks, play, friendship development, smiling and flirting. All flirting should also be friendship development so the romance doesn't go racing ahead ungrounded. Khaotung is becoming more comfortable with the chaos, joining in with some of the antics and starting to flirt back a little. First is often heart eyed around him.
Drake and First discover that Khaotung is amused when they... find I've once again left a sentence fragment here without a note as to where it might have been going.
Khaotung finds Mrs Hong placing folded blankets in every room and asks what they're for. "Fire blankets. My youngest son and his husband will be staying for a few weeks." She looks at the curtains, sighs and says to herself "Well, I suppose it IS time for something new". Nothing further is explained but she's also seen testing fire extinguishers. Pails of water appear near doors. No attention is called to either of these, they're just background for whatever else is going on. Which probably involves boy chaos, flirting, friendship and chaotic boy flirting as there should be an abundance of all.
A new stranger appears in the front hall. Mrs Hong recognises him and chases him out the front door, wielding a fire extinguisher. "Leave our boy alone" she shouts. As she mutters to herself, we get hints that this may be the one responsible for Khaotung's broken heart.
Elsewhere in the house, a look between Khaotung and First goes on a bit too long but it's not yet a proper lost in each other's eyes moment. First smiles. Khaotung breathes in and slowly sighs.
Neo and Louis arrive. Neo is more or less channeling that epitome of chaotic boy energy, DUEAN!!! (less if you're a good enough comedy writer to imagine him a different way of doing that; more if, like me, you can't). Louis is a mischevious, naughty imp (literally) who cutes his way out of all the trouble he makes like he was Zhao Lusi. Or Louis.
His favourite target for pranks and mischeviousness is, of course, his husband, who pranks him back. Some hint that this is basically their foreplay. It happens often.
Neo has an undefined mother-son relationship with Mrs Hong and considers Drake to be his brother. It's not revealed how this came to be. Perhaps they'll tell me some night when I can't sleep but they haven't yet.
Mrs Hong sometimes wears a t-shirt with her motto "Embrace the Chaos" hand-written on it in rainbow colours. It was a birthday gift from her family. There's also a similarly adorned apron in the kitchen. It's very popular amongst the boys.
Neo and Zhao Louis take this phrase rather more literally and usually include a baby at the end as they tackle each other, each one of them being of course The Chaos, though only Louis is called "you chaotic little imp". Louis has other endearments for Neo.
When Drake wants to wind Neo up, he calls him whatever a good Thai phrase is for someone very young, like the nongest nong of all the nongs in your whole entire family, and reminds him that he hadn't even been born when something new to Thailand 220 years ago was invented. I don't have a way to research this sort of thing and I don't want to use a western timeline. Drake is talking from first hand knowledge after all.
Neo is not the nongest nong of all the nongs in their whole entire family however. The mortals are, including that new one Neo doesn't really know yet. Louis may be older than calendars. He's not sure.
Mrs Hong doesn't talk about her age or her past. She's younger than Louis and older than Drake. Louis is not allowed to light the candles on her or his birthday cakes. Or anyone else's.
When Neo wants to wind Drake up, he calls him "old man", or maybe just uncle. Neo is 199 but has a two and a half decade-long habit of rounding up to 200 when he's frustrated with being the youngest. Drake only remembers his own age by adding 43 years and 7 months to Neo's so he's often unclear exactly how old he himself is.
Louis and Neo have been living at university and are home for a bit during a break. After a couple of episodes they can be there or not as the situation needs. But not full time (this factors in for season 2). Except I'm better at imagining Neo's visual door-bursting humour than writing other stuff. Hopefully there's enough for anyone reading this to imagine in their own versions of other stuff.
They've brought their mountain bikes of course. First was the one who introduced this activity, which was immediately adopted by the indestructible immortals. Mrs Hong approves of anything which will help them burn off some energy outside the house instead of in.
Drake is the drummer for their band, Neo on guitar and First on bass. Louis sings and tries to convince the others that melody and playing in tune are important. He finds an ally in this in Khaotung, who doesn't need to express more than an agreement to convince Drake and First. They are now enthusiastic about tuning, practicing and trying to get Khaotung's praise. Khaotung is bemused and making the most of this. Neo doesn't understand what the fuss is about.
Zhao Louis does and alternates between keeping them practicing and pranking his husband to ramp up the romantic tension. He slightly favours Drake's side in this over First's, Drake being a blood relation by marriage and all.
They're writing a song for Mrs Hong's birthday. In a fit of originality, they've titled it "Embrace the Chaos". The words change every time they play. Drake estimates that they would have eleventy thousand verses by the time the day arrives if they didn't keep forgetting them. Khaotung suggests writing them down. This is immediately adopted going forward but forgotten about the next day. The paper they wrote them on is probably under something else in First's room by now. He'll find it when he least expects it and not a moment before.
Years ago, when their first Mortal, who wasn't their First, moved in, Mrs Hong drew the line at sledging down the stairs on serving trays. Her indestructible not yet 200+ year old teenage boys did respect this, and an imp of a not then husband, but only for serving trays. After days of negotiation, a compromise was reached in which loud warning must be given before descending by any means other than feet.
Now that the characters are introduced (what did I mean to follow this with? Answers on a postcard please.)
First is absorbed in working at a potter's wheel in a small ramshackle room in the far corner of the back garden, with clay slip across most of his arms, half of his clothes and some of his face. He is, of course, smiling broadly. Drake is sat on the floor arguing with a character in his manga.
First finishes the task at hand, then begins cleaning up the clay slip from his work. Hands covered with it, he looks at Drake. Drake notices, stands up and wraps his book carefully in a towel and places it on a high shelf out of harms way and then runs. First catches up to him and grabs hold, cleaning his hands on whatever bit of Drake or his clothes is closest as they wrestle and laugh.
Neo bursts through the back door, shouting about dinner being nearly ready. Drake jumps up and grabs the garden hose and aims it at First as he is the dirtiest and therefore needs the most cleaning. Neo wrestles Drake for the hose. First gets it away. They all end up soaked and very pleased with themselves.
They're too drenched to go into the house like that so Drake and First shed their clothes and wrap themselves, toga-style, in bed sheets from the drying line.
Mrs Hong, Louis and Khaotung are in the kitchen finishing up dinner. Louis is tending to a pot of vegetables on the stove and muttering about this being the most tediously boringest way ever to cook.
Neo bursts through the door into the kitchen and races through. He's left his clothes in the back garden. Louis drops his spoon and starts to follow him. Mrs Hong grabs Louis by the collar and says firmly "AFTER dinner." Louis rolls his eyes and gives the kind of sigh usually only managed by an exasperated 15 year old boy. He's had many years to practice.
After dinner, or perhaps later if we can think of something for everyone else to do whilst Louis and Neo slip off and then return, Khaotung's character's ex reappears in the front hall and is summarily chased away by Mrs Hong, with Drake and Neo joining in because chasing is fun and they love Mrs Hong so if she wants someone gone, they'll make sure it happens. And chasing is fun.
Elsewhere in the house, a look between First and Khaotung is definitely going on a bit too long. It is closer to but not yet a proper lost in each other's eyes moment. Khaotung smiles. First goes a bit squishy.
Drake learns who this stranger is and immediately abandons his hopes for Khaotung, acknowledging to himself that First is falling hard and Khaotung is inclined towards First. It's one thing for his best friend to earn their crush's affection but it's quite another matter altogether for this stranger to mess it all up and this will not be tolerated. Mai khap.
From here on Drake's antics involving Khaotung are directed towards getting him to fall into First's arms, then feigning innocence when Khaotung looks at him in confusion. It works on the telly so surely it will work for real. The more this happens, the more Khaotung goes along with it and the more his attention is captured by First. First also develops an unusual clumsiness, ensuring these efforts aren't one-sided. Maybe it does work.
First is spending more of his time with Khaotung but fortunately Drake has Neo and Louis to chase through the house and be chaotically boy with. Mrs Hong fingers a nearby fire blanket and nervously watches Louis when he's running. Drake lights up when they drop by; Mrs Hong relaxes when they leave.
The ex appears again and is chased away again by Mrs Hong and a very determined Drake. The lingering look between Khaotung and First goes on a bit longer. They both smile. Emotions playing across their faces indicate Khaotung is more confident and First is falling deeper.
The vampires are vegan. This is the sixth rule. Drake is in the kitchen with delivery man Jimmy. Jimmy wears a short-sleeved maroon jacket over a white shirt with the sponsor's logo in gold on the chest pocket. Drake holds up a phallic shaped package so the label is clearly visible. It reads "Finest Quality Laboratory Cultured Vegan Blood Substitute Food Product". Drake fondles the large sausage, bites his lip and looks beguilingly at Jimmy.
Neo bursts through the door, shouts "BARBEQUE", grabs a box and races out the back. Louis follows, carrying a long metal skewer.
Continuing, Drake says "Wouldn't you like to be a vampire? You could enjoy this succulent food with us. It fulfills all your immortal nutritional requirements and tastes delicious." Jimmy looks apprehensive.
Cut to the back garden, where Neo is holding the skewer, now threaded with something like blood sausages and synthetic pork balls, at arms length while Louis breathes fire to cook them. This is both creatively clever and dangerously stupid.
They very proudly set the table with their charred food, sausages and faux pork balls arranged innuendoly so. Mrs Hong sighs but looks relieved. Drake is not bothered. He will eat anything. Except he can't. But anything vegan and vampire. They are ethical vampires. Mrs Hong wouldn't allow anything else and Drake can't see a reason to disagree.
From here on we learn more about Thai vampire dishes prepared with vegan blood substitute products. We need their chicken rice of course, which is something like a synthetic soya on rice. The faux chicken is pale but the sauce can be richly blood coloured.
Some of this can come from Mrs Hong talking with Khaotung as they prepare a meal. He is not convinced by the taste and texture of it and will stick with mortal dishes. Drake and First are less educational for the viewers, preferring activities like squirting each other with a tasty assortment of blood-substitute dipping sauces, the perfect accompaniment to your finest quality laboratory cultured food products. Drake winds First up about his developing romance. First goes a bit tongue-tied but his face and body language convey his emotions.
We need more relationship development between First and Khaotung. I'm not good at writing it though. But it needs to be a real relationship with a real friendship. Heck, First's character needs more development full stop. There also needs to be a real friendship developed between Khaotung and Drake which goes beyond Khaotung's growing realisation that Drake is doing his chaotic utmost to help in matters of the heart.
There have been indications that First sculpts in clay as it is a suitably physical means of expression and, more importantly, delightfully mucky. Louis takes responsibility for the firing.
Khaotung and First are in Khaotung's room upstairs. It's finally a proper lost in each other's eyes moment. The camera pulls back and we see the ex at the window, prising it open. Neo bursts through the door, races across the room and jumps through the now open window at the ex. Both disappear and a loud crash is heard below. First and Khaotung don't notice anything except each other. They are well lost. Their smiles are shy, matching each other in tone.
Neither of them have any idea that Neo is helping too. Not that Neo minds. There's a job to be done and bursting through doors and out windows is fun.
Jimmy is back with another delivery. Neo eats a lot and Louis does tend to overcook things. Drake opens a box and selects the irresistable extra spicy flavour, raises his eyebrows and extends another flirtacious invitation to become a vampire. Jimmy looks like he might just possibly be starting to be intrigued by this. Who could resist after all?
After he leaves, Mrs Hong scolds Drake about getting involved with a mortal. Will only lead to a broken heart when they die so very young, a brief 90 years if they're lucky. Trust her, she knows.
This frustrates Drake, when will he find his finest-quality-vegan-blood-substitute-sucking forever love? Is he doomed to spend another 250 years dating, he counts on his fingers, and over again, and starts a third round before giving up, however many partners only to end up alone? He's becoming increasingly miserable. But Neo bursts into the room, tackles Drake and all is well. They go into the back garden to skewer blood sausage like things and synthetic offal for Louis to torch.
The bedsheets are out on the laundry line that day. One catches fire. An unseen door opens and two pails of water come sailing over, dowsing sheets, skewer and Neo. As the remains of the burnt sheet fall, Mrs Hong is seen, shaking her head, looking to the sky for strength and sighing heavily.
The meal is a bit soggy but Zhao Louis and Neo are still proud of their efforts. Mrs Hong still loves them. Drake loves them too and food is food.
Having decided that today is not the day to go sledging down the stairs on serving trays, Drake and Neo are 200+ year old teenage brothers rough-housing and laughing as they play video games in Drake's 243 year old teenage boy bedroom. They share a proudly recyclable cardboard box of blood-substitute snacks and display its logo prominently.
First and Khaotung are in the kitchen, washing the dishes and finding a dozen different ways to accidentally touch each other in the process. Khaotung flirts, First melts. They've finished up and First is hanging up the dish towels. Khaotung grins mischieviously, eyes alight. He looks at First and puts a finger under the tap to spray him with water. For a long moment, First goes squishy with adoration and then grabs a spray bottle and aims it at Khaotung.
Khaotung dances out of the room, First gives chase. They run up the stairs. Neo and Drake's laughter and gaming can be heard across the hall. Khaotung opens the door to First's room at the top of the stairs and enters, then turns and smiles. First closes the door and leans on it, his breath catching, not from the chasing but from emotion.
In the distance another door can just be heard opening, along with other sounds. First begins to move closer to Khaotung, but goes shy. Khaotung breathes in slowly and takes a step towards him. First stammers out the beginning of a confession and goes tongue-tied, his face open with sincerity. He smiles helplessly, making a safe emotional space for Khaotung to step into. Khaotung initiates their kiss, tenative, then bolder. As they do, a fairy dust glitter effect brightens over Khaotung's head. A cough is heard outside, which they of course do not notice.
On the other side of the door, the ex is nearing the top of the stairs, his head enveloped in a cloud of glitter effect fairy dust and it's making him cough. Neo bursts through the door of Drake's room, his brother close behind. They both leap down the stairs onto the ex, shouting the required warning with all their might. Back to Khaotung and First who are still lost in their moment and oblivious to everything else, including the loud, long sequence of crashes. Immortal 200+ year old teenage boys do not fear death or bodily injury. They really will live forever.
From this point on Khaotung is impervious to the ex, even though he gets closer each time and at last is immediately next to him, even right up in his face. The others do not realise this and chase the ex away a couple more times. Louis joins in the final time. Breathing fire is involved. Mrs Hong is well pleased.
And chaos reigns until we're ready to move on. All is well, everyone is happy. A mysterious handsome stranger appears in the front hall, inquiring about a room. He smiles beguilingly at Drake and we see a pointed tooth.
Voice in the sky narrator: This ends Season 1 of Chaotic Boy Energy.
Notes for Season 2 may be found here. It is even more of a work in progress, just a couple of new characters, a bit about the ones we're already met and some musings on where it might possibly go.
When I'm especially unwell, Neo's character's energetic antics are the best for cheering me up. In the written form, it's Zhao Louis' who most often makes me laugh out loud. I probably love Drake's character best and I'm most proud of sketching a balanced, healthy romance with one partner moving from security and confidence to being made vulnerable by love and the other moving from vulnerability to confidence and finding security in love.
It wasn't my intention but I'm chuffed that I've succeeded, to my own satisfaction and I hope others', in writing an entertaining story which involves no conflict, although that pesky ex might take a different view. Chaos was a lot more fun.
Thank you to these brilliant actors for their unwitting help in doing this.
Oh, and Khaotung keeping a journal and it being important to him, I'd been at this thing for two months before I realised what I'd done lol:facepalm:sob
Very much a work in progress. See rule 4.
Maybe someday I'll build up the knowledge and work up the confidence to give the characters names that are all their own. For now, just think of it in terms of these actors being cast for these roles and descriptions of what they'd be doing as these characters. It's how it works in my mind.
THIS IS AN OLD VERSION, LOOK AT THE TOP OF THE JOURNAL FOR THE CURRENT ONE. Unless you're bored or interested in some of how it evolved, feel free if you want.
When this started, it was just a scattering of things I'd imagine to cheer myself up when bedbound by chronic illness. The beginning point was Title (Drake Laedeke) and Jim Bae's (First Kanaphan) chaotic boy energy friendship in Blacklist. It was a lot of fun and I thought it would be grand to see more of it. Didn't care what kind of story it was, just as long as the lads were smiling and goofing off.
My brain one midnight: Vampires. Drake is a vampire.
How could anyone as chronically bored as I am just set that aside? From that, the rest, mostly through asking questions, though Neo's character has a way of bursting into other people's scenes on his own. What's the setting? NOT a university. A boarding house maybe. Who else lives there? If First, then Khaotung. What's his story? How does he fit in? But no crying, every director makes Khaotung cry. What's happening now, what else is going on, how can we add more fun?
These are the rules:
You cannot undead Khaotung.
You cannot make Khaotung cry.
This is very important.
Drake is a vampire.
The rest is negotiable and subject to change.
This is the story so far.
Drake and First are best friends. They have a band called Chaotic Boy Energy. Drake often wears a t-shirt with their logo. Their philosophy of music does not involve practicing.
They live in Mrs Hong's boarding house. She has bright blue hair.
Khaotung is the newest resident. The story opens in the front hall of a large, old house. Khaotung has just come through the front door and is standing with two suitcases and a box, looking around and getting his bearings. In the foreground, Drake and First race across the hall, in through one door and out another, and then peer back into the hall, staring at Khaotung with heart eyes and delighted smiles.
Smitten with this quiet thoughtful stranger, they fall over themselves and each other to greet him and take his luggage upstairs.
In his room and somewhat baffled by their carrying on, Khaotung thanks them but declines further help in unpacking. "It's just a couple of bags. And a box of books."
Disappointed but considerate, First and Drake retreat to Drake's room, which is very much the room of a 243 year old teenage boy, with clothes scattered around and aged, deteriorating Outlaw Wanted posters half covered over by football players, six decades of rock bands and a large hand written sign that says "Life's too short to practice". Or maybe that's on his second favourite t-shirt. Drake's character was turned at whatever age actor Drake is now but was still 18 at heart. 210-some years later, he's as set in his ways as any old man so this isn't going to change.
Drake and First discover that they've both fallen for their new housemate and as they saw him at exactly the same time, they don't even have that to give one of them a stronger case. So they decide to do their best to earn his affection and to respect whatever decision he makes, even if he says no to both of them. (Fifth rule: Khaotung has the agency in this decision; no one's heart is a prize to be won so reflect that in word choice.)
They proceed to empty a basket of clean folded clothes and chuck them at each other. They consider folding them again but decide health is more important and they must therefore resume chasing each other around the house instead. It's their favourite form of exercise, even more than mountain biking. Mrs Hong is adept at avoiding being run into. Others in the house aren't.
Various types of scenes to establish and develop characters and story:
First & Drake and Mrs Hong share cooking duties. First and Drake always cook together, with their typical exuberance, banter, pranks and mess but clean up after themselves with only somewhat diminished enthusiasm and just a couple of water fights. Mrs Hong chases them away when she's in charge but accepts Khaotung's help. There are hints that she knows some of his past and invited him to live there when he needed somewhere to stay.
They eat together, conveying a sense of found family, with separate dishes for vampires and mortals. It just is, with no attention called to it or what exactly these vampires eat. The emphasis is on their conversation and fondness for each other.
Khaotung keeps a journal. Through this we learn some of his thoughts about the friendly, lively, always entertaining madmen he's now living with. They're a bit much but he likes them.
He's nearly over a broken heart but isn't quite ready for a new love. There will be no flashbacks as the crying is in the past. Do not forget the second rule. He can have a touch of melancholy at times, all the better to be cheered up by his housemates' antics.
Whenever he settles down to write, their laughter and running about is heard in the background. He listens and smiles. Sometimes he hears their unique style of music instead. He prefers the running.
Drake and First are best friends and are never seen apart except when they ditch each other to flirt with Khaotung. Drake's approach riffs off of Korn's after he's gone from winding up Wai to fight him to winding up Wai to make friends. First channels Yok. Lots of smiles from both. That's the purpose of this imagining lark after all and directors aren't letting either of them smile anywhere enough any more.
The clutter of First's room indicates he's been here for a while. He always knows exactly where everything is, it just takes him a moment to find it when he wants it. Khaotung's room is sparse, just the furniture there when he moved in, some clothes and other things, and a bookcase with some but not enough books. Some are his diaries.
Drake reads manga. It's the only time he settles, albeit in an active, animated kind of way with exclamations and reactions. Sort of like playing a video game except with page turning.
With this being a boarding house, when a character is needed briefly they can be there to inquire about the room. Such a character stops by one day. Remainder deleted as it was too forced, from early days when i was struggling to try to flesh out a rather random set of "scenes". Two of the three things I wanted to convey are now done far better through the rest of the text. Leaving this here in hopes a new stranger stops by.
Interject some chaotic boy energy relief, chasing through the hall, random wrestling, not so random wrestling, pranks, play, friendship development, smiling and flirting. All flirting should also be friendship development so the romance doesn't go racing ahead ungrounded. Khaotung is becoming more comfortable with the chaos, joining in with some of the antics and starting to flirt back a little. First is often heart eyed around him.
Drake and First discover that Khaotung is amused when they... find I've once again left a sentence fragment here without a note as to where it might have been going.
Khaotung finds Mrs Hong placing folded blankets in every room and asks what they're for. "Fire blankets. My youngest son and his husband will be staying for a few weeks." She looks at the curtains, sighs and says to herself "Well, I suppose it IS time for something new". Nothing further is explained but she's also seen testing fire extinguishers. Pails of water appear near doors. No attention is called to either of these, they're just background for whatever else is going on. Which probably involves boy chaos, flirting, friendship and chaotic boy flirting as there should be an abundance of all.
A new stranger appears in the front hall. Mrs Hong recognises him and chases him out the front door, wielding a fire extinguisher. "Leave our boy alone" she shouts. As she mutters to herself, we get hints that this may be the one responsible for Khaotung's broken heart.
Elsewhere in the house, a look between Khaotung and First goes on a bit too long but it's not yet a proper lost in each other's eyes moment. First smiles. Khaotung breathes in and slowly sighs.
Neo and Louis arrive. Neo is more or less channeling that epitome of chaotic boy energy, DUEAN!!! (less if you're a good enough comedy writer to imagine him a different way of doing that; more if, like me, you can't). Louis is a mischevious, naughty imp (literally) who cutes his way out of all the trouble he makes like he was Zhao Lusi. Or Louis.
His favourite target for pranks and mischeviousness is, of course, his husband, who pranks him back. Some hint that this is basically their foreplay. It happens often.
Neo has an undefined mother-son relationship with Mrs Hong and considers Drake to be his brother. It's not revealed how this came to be. Perhaps they'll tell me some night when I can't sleep but they haven't yet.
Mrs Hong sometimes wears a t-shirt with her motto "Embrace the Chaos" hand-written on it in rainbow colours. It was a birthday gift from her family. There's also a similarly adorned apron in the kitchen. It's very popular amongst the boys.
Neo and Zhao Louis take this phrase rather more literally and usually include a baby at the end as they tackle each other, each one of them being of course The Chaos, though only Louis is called "you chaotic little imp". Louis has other endearments for Neo.
When Drake wants to wind Neo up, he calls him whatever a good Thai phrase is for someone very young, like the nongest nong of all the nongs in your whole entire family, and reminds him that he hadn't even been born when something new to Thailand 220 years ago was invented. I don't have a way to research this sort of thing and I don't want to use a western timeline. Drake is talking from first hand knowledge after all.
Neo is not the nongest nong of all the nongs in their whole entire family however. The mortals are, including that new one Neo doesn't really know yet. Louis may be older than calendars. He's not sure.
Mrs Hong doesn't talk about her age or her past. She's younger than Louis and older than Drake. Louis is not allowed to light the candles on her or his birthday cakes. Or anyone else's.
When Neo wants to wind Drake up, he calls him "old man", or maybe just uncle. Neo is 199 but has a two and a half decade-long habit of rounding up to 200 when he's frustrated with being the youngest. Drake only remembers his own age by adding 43 years and 7 months to Neo's so he's often unclear exactly how old he himself is.
Louis and Neo have been living at university and are home for a bit during a break. After a couple of episodes they can be there or not as the situation needs. But not full time (this factors in for season 2). Except I'm better at imagining Neo's visual door-bursting humour than writing other stuff. Hopefully there's enough for anyone reading this to imagine in their own versions of other stuff.
They've brought their mountain bikes of course. First was the one who introduced this activity, which was immediately adopted by the indestructible immortals. Mrs Hong approves of anything which will help them burn off some energy outside the house instead of in.
Drake is the drummer for their band, Neo on guitar and First on bass. Louis sings and tries to convince the others that melody and playing in tune are important. He finds an ally in this in Khaotung, who doesn't need to express more than an agreement to convince Drake and First. They are now enthusiastic about tuning, practicing and trying to get Khaotung's praise. Khaotung is bemused and making the most of this. Neo doesn't understand what the fuss is about.
Zhao Louis does and alternates between keeping them practicing and pranking his husband to ramp up the romantic tension. He slightly favours Drake's side in this over First's, Drake being a blood relation by marriage and all.
They're writing a song for Mrs Hong's birthday. In a fit of originality, they've titled it "Embrace the Chaos". The words change every time they play. Drake estimates that they would have eleventy thousand verses by the time the day arrives if they didn't keep forgetting them. Khaotung suggests writing them down. This is immediately adopted going forward but forgotten about the next day. The paper they wrote them on is probably under something else in First's room by now. He'll find it when he least expects it and not a moment before.
Years ago, when their first Mortal, who wasn't their First, moved in, Mrs Hong drew the line at sledging down the stairs on serving trays. Her indestructible not yet 200+ year old teenage boys did respect this, and an imp of a not then husband, but only for serving trays. After days of negotiation, a compromise was reached in which loud warning must be given before descending by any means other than feet.
Now that the characters are introduced (what did I mean to follow this with? Answers on a postcard please.)
First is absorbed in working at a potter's wheel in a small ramshackle room in the far corner of the back garden, with clay slip across most of his arms, half of his clothes and some of his face. He is, of course, smiling broadly. Drake is sat on the floor arguing with a character in his manga.
First finishes the task at hand, then begins cleaning up the clay slip from his work. Hands covered with it, he looks at Drake. Drake notices, stands up and wraps his book carefully in a towel and places it on a high shelf out of harms way and then runs. First catches up to him and grabs hold, cleaning his hands on whatever bit of Drake or his clothes is closest as they wrestle and laugh.
Neo bursts through the back door, shouting about dinner being nearly ready. Drake jumps up and grabs the garden hose and aims it at First as he is the dirtiest and therefore needs the most cleaning. Neo wrestles Drake for the hose. First gets it away. They all end up soaked and very pleased with themselves.
They're too drenched to go into the house like that so Drake and First shed their clothes and wrap themselves, toga-style, in bed sheets from the drying line.
Mrs Hong, Louis and Khaotung are in the kitchen finishing up dinner. Louis is tending to a pot of vegetables on the stove and muttering about this being the most tediously boringest way ever to cook.
Neo bursts through the door into the kitchen and races through. He's left his clothes in the back garden. Louis drops his spoon and starts to follow him. Mrs Hong grabs Louis by the collar and says firmly "AFTER dinner." Louis rolls his eyes and gives the kind of sigh usually only managed by an exasperated 15 year old boy. He's had many years to practice.
After dinner, or perhaps later if we can think of something for everyone else to do whilst Louis and Neo slip off and then return, Khaotung's character's ex reappears in the front hall and is summarily chased away by Mrs Hong, with Drake and Neo joining in because chasing is fun and they love Mrs Hong so if she wants someone gone, they'll make sure it happens. And chasing is fun.
Elsewhere in the house, a look between First and Khaotung is definitely going on a bit too long. It is closer to but not yet a proper lost in each other's eyes moment. Khaotung smiles. First goes a bit squishy.
Drake learns who this stranger is and immediately abandons his hopes for Khaotung, acknowledging to himself that First is falling hard and Khaotung is inclined towards First. It's one thing for his best friend to earn their crush's affection but it's quite another matter altogether for this stranger to mess it all up and this will not be tolerated. Mai khap.
From here on Drake's antics involving Khaotung are directed towards getting him to fall into First's arms, then feigning innocence when Khaotung looks at him in confusion. It works on the telly so surely it will work for real. The more this happens, the more Khaotung goes along with it and the more his attention is captured by First. First also develops an unusual clumsiness, ensuring these efforts aren't one-sided. Maybe it does work.
First is spending more of his time with Khaotung but fortunately Drake has Neo and Louis to chase through the house and be chaotically boy with. Mrs Hong fingers a nearby fire blanket and nervously watches Louis when he's running. Drake lights up when they drop by; Mrs Hong relaxes when they leave.
The ex appears again and is chased away again by Mrs Hong and a very determined Drake. The lingering look between Khaotung and First goes on a bit longer. They both smile. Emotions playing across their faces indicate Khaotung is more confident and First is falling deeper.
The vampires are vegan. This is the sixth rule. Drake is in the kitchen with delivery man Jimmy. Jimmy wears a short-sleeved maroon jacket over a white shirt with the sponsor's logo in gold on the chest pocket. Drake holds up a phallic shaped package so the label is clearly visible. It reads "Finest Quality Laboratory Cultured Vegan Blood Substitute Food Product". Drake fondles the large sausage, bites his lip and looks beguilingly at Jimmy.
Neo bursts through the door, shouts "BARBEQUE", grabs a box and races out the back. Louis follows, carrying a long metal skewer.
Continuing, Drake says "Wouldn't you like to be a vampire? You could enjoy this succulent food with us. It fulfills all your immortal nutritional requirements and tastes delicious." Jimmy looks apprehensive.
Cut to the back garden, where Neo is holding the skewer, now threaded with something like blood sausages and synthetic pork balls, at arms length while Louis breathes fire to cook them. This is both creatively clever and dangerously stupid.
They very proudly set the table with their charred food, sausages and faux pork balls arranged innuendoly so. Mrs Hong sighs but looks relieved. Drake is not bothered. He will eat anything. Except he can't. But anything vegan and vampire. They are ethical vampires. Mrs Hong wouldn't allow anything else and Drake can't see a reason to disagree.
From here on we learn more about Thai vampire dishes prepared with vegan blood substitute products. We need their chicken rice of course, which is something like a synthetic soya on rice. The faux chicken is pale but the sauce can be richly blood coloured.
Some of this can come from Mrs Hong talking with Khaotung as they prepare a meal. He is not convinced by the taste and texture of it and will stick with mortal dishes. Drake and First are less educational for the viewers, preferring activities like squirting each other with a tasty assortment of blood-substitute dipping sauces, the perfect accompaniment to your finest quality laboratory cultured food products. Drake winds First up about his developing romance. First goes a bit tongue-tied but his face and body language convey his emotions.
We need more relationship development between First and Khaotung. I'm not good at writing it though. But it needs to be a real relationship with a real friendship. Heck, First's character needs more development full stop. There also needs to be a real friendship developed between Khaotung and Drake which goes beyond Khaotung's growing realisation that Drake is doing his chaotic utmost to help in matters of the heart.
There have been indications that First sculpts in clay as it is a suitably physical means of expression and, more importantly, delightfully mucky. Louis takes responsibility for the firing.
Khaotung and First are in Khaotung's room upstairs. It's finally a proper lost in each other's eyes moment. The camera pulls back and we see the ex at the window, prising it open. Neo bursts through the door, races across the room and jumps through the now open window at the ex. Both disappear and a loud crash is heard below. First and Khaotung don't notice anything except each other. They are well lost. Their smiles are shy, matching each other in tone.
Neither of them have any idea that Neo is helping too. Not that Neo minds. There's a job to be done and bursting through doors and out windows is fun.
Jimmy is back with another delivery. Neo eats a lot and Louis does tend to overcook things. Drake opens a box and selects the irresistable extra spicy flavour, raises his eyebrows and extends another flirtacious invitation to become a vampire. Jimmy looks like he might just possibly be starting to be intrigued by this. Who could resist after all?
After he leaves, Mrs Hong scolds Drake about getting involved with a mortal. Will only lead to a broken heart when they die so very young, a brief 90 years if they're lucky. Trust her, she knows.
This frustrates Drake, when will he find his finest-quality-vegan-blood-substitute-sucking forever love? Is he doomed to spend another 250 years dating, he counts on his fingers, and over again, and starts a third round before giving up, however many partners only to end up alone? He's becoming increasingly miserable. But Neo bursts into the room, tackles Drake and all is well. They go into the back garden to skewer blood sausage like things and synthetic offal for Louis to torch.
The bedsheets are out on the laundry line that day. One catches fire. An unseen door opens and two pails of water come sailing over, dowsing sheets, skewer and Neo. As the remains of the burnt sheet fall, Mrs Hong is seen, shaking her head, looking to the sky for strength and sighing heavily.
The meal is a bit soggy but Zhao Louis and Neo are still proud of their efforts. Mrs Hong still loves them. Drake loves them too and food is food.
Having decided that today is not the day to go sledging down the stairs on serving trays, Drake and Neo are 200+ year old teenage brothers rough-housing and laughing as they play video games in Drake's 243 year old teenage boy bedroom. They share a proudly recyclable cardboard box of blood-substitute snacks and display its logo prominently.
First and Khaotung are in the kitchen, washing the dishes and finding a dozen different ways to accidentally touch each other in the process. Khaotung flirts, First melts. They've finished up and First is hanging up the dish towels. Khaotung grins mischieviously, eyes alight. He looks at First and puts a finger under the tap to spray him with water. For a long moment, First goes squishy with adoration and then grabs a spray bottle and aims it at Khaotung.
Khaotung dances out of the room, First gives chase. They run up the stairs. Neo and Drake's laughter and gaming can be heard across the hall. Khaotung opens the door to First's room at the top of the stairs and enters, then turns and smiles. First closes the door and leans on it, his breath catching, not from the chasing but from emotion.
In the distance another door can just be heard opening, along with other sounds. First begins to move closer to Khaotung, but goes shy. Khaotung breathes in slowly and takes a step towards him. First stammers out the beginning of a confession and goes tongue-tied, his face open with sincerity. He smiles helplessly, making a safe emotional space for Khaotung to step into. Khaotung initiates their kiss, tenative, then bolder. As they do, a fairy dust glitter effect brightens over Khaotung's head. A cough is heard outside, which they of course do not notice.
On the other side of the door, the ex is nearing the top of the stairs, his head enveloped in a cloud of glitter effect fairy dust and it's making him cough. Neo bursts through the door of Drake's room, his brother close behind. They both leap down the stairs onto the ex, shouting the required warning with all their might. Back to Khaotung and First who are still lost in their moment and oblivious to everything else, including the loud, long sequence of crashes. Immortal 200+ year old teenage boys do not fear death or bodily injury. They really will live forever.
From this point on Khaotung is impervious to the ex, even though he gets closer each time and at last is immediately next to him, even right up in his face. The others do not realise this and chase the ex away a couple more times. Louis joins in the final time. Breathing fire is involved. Mrs Hong is well pleased.
And chaos reigns until we're ready to move on. All is well, everyone is happy. A mysterious handsome stranger appears in the front hall, inquiring about a room. He smiles beguilingly at Drake and we see a pointed tooth.
Voice in the sky narrator: This ends Season 1 of Chaotic Boy Energy.
Notes for Season 2 may be found here. It is even more of a work in progress, just a couple of new characters, a bit about the ones we're already met and some musings on where it might possibly go.
When I'm especially unwell, Neo's character's energetic antics are the best for cheering me up. In the written form, it's Zhao Louis' who most often makes me laugh out loud. I probably love Drake's character best and I'm most proud of sketching a balanced, healthy romance with one partner moving from security and confidence to being made vulnerable by love and the other moving from vulnerability to confidence and finding security in love.
It wasn't my intention but I'm chuffed that I've succeeded, to my own satisfaction and I hope others', in writing an entertaining story which involves no conflict, although that pesky ex might take a different view. Chaos was a lot more fun.
Thank you to these brilliant actors for their unwitting help in doing this.
Oh, and Khaotung keeping a journal and it being important to him, I'd been at this thing for two months before I realised what I'd done lol:facepalm:sob