#ANOTHER CHINESE BL...WOW

[bl-bam-beyond]

I'LL TURN BACK THIS TIME (2025, CHINA)

Episode 1

Post 2 of 3

Gu Shi Wen (LI YI MU) can't wait to reveal his feelings for his stepbrother Shen Nan (KOU WEI LONG) after a rocky start. Shen Nan can't hear the confession but watches in horror as Shi Wen enters the cross walk as a speeding truck blows its horn. Unable to stop, leaving Shin Wen dead in the street.

Shen Nan is stunned.

@pose4photoml @just-another-boyslove-blog @wanderlust-in-my-soul @absolutebl

[clairedaring]

Nonkul and Bright's experience in queer media prior to I Feel You Linger In The Air

So... I've fallen down the huge rabbit hole that is I Feel You Linger In The Air (even though I was already down bad earlier this year when I finished the novels) since the airing of the series. I've tried my best to consume everything translated IFYLITA-related content and now I'm here to summarize a few points I love about the (immaculate) casting of Nonkul and Bright.

For Nonkul

Prior to IFYLITA, Nonkul has had a few BL-adjacent projects:

2014 indie gay film "Love's Coming", where he plays a friend of the gay protagonist.

2016 sitcom series "Bang Rak Soi 9/1", where he plays a student with a crush on his straight best friend (main character played by Tongtong, who you may have known from To Sir With Love or Khun Chai)

2019 chinese bromance "Dive", where he plays the 2nd main lead who develops "strong friendship" with the protagonist as swimming teammates

But IFYLITA marks Nonkul's first time playing in a BL series where he is the protagonist.

Back in 2021, Nonkul posted this Q&A video on Facebook, where he answered the question "If you have a chance, would you consider playing in a BL series? If accepted, who do you to co-act with?". To which Nonkul went on a full long discussion on how he doesn't view BL as a genre and talks about what kind of role he would want to play (full clip below).

Transcript:

If that series is an interesting storyline for me, I am always open to any kind of genre. I never categorized BL series as an BL series, I just think of it as a series with another plot as part of my work. It is a normal series that can have any of the plots which I will categorize as Romantic Comedy, Drama or whatever. Thus, when I choose the BL series I want to work with, the love preference of the character does not affect my decision. If the plot of the series is interesting, of course I'm gonna do it for sure. Every work that I chose, I personally think it at least enjoyable for me. Of course, if in the future, there are BL series with plots that I find interesting, that I enjoyed the script. "Like, wow, that's my type!", I will definitely selected it to be my future project. A good written series is a good series. This is what I believe as an actor. - Nonkul

For BL Series, I think I can work with everyone. I don't think I have anyone in particular. One thing! I desire the character of that person/actor? to be close to the character in the series. At that point I will be satisfied. Sometimes, I as an actor have a chance to work with people who didn't have a lot of acting experience. I will still discover something new from him as well. And there is a BL novel which I really like! [Nonkul explains the plot of his favorite BL Novel 'Peremo'] I would prefer to choose the "heroine" role because it will be a new experience for me as an actor because it will be a new experience for me as an actor. Because basically I only play as a hero role for the main character or support character in my work, but a "heroine" role in a BL series is the only chance for me to play a character more feminine. So it is a new experience for me. [Nonkul continues raving about 'Peremo']. But if you think that you can make [an adaptation of Peremo], please do not forget me, Nonkul! Pleaseeeeeeee, I will do my best, I promise!!! However, I'm not only fixated on this novel. I'm also open for many more BL series if there is an interesting plot. - Nonkul

Interestingly the 3 checklists Nonkul mentioned his dream BL novel/character 'Peremo' had was 1. playing the 'heroine' role; 2. it has a LOT of action; 3. it is also sci-fi fantasy genre. And then in 2022, Nonkul booked 2 action dramas and IFYLITA which checked off criteria 1 and 3 of his wishlist (he mentioned it in this interview).

In 2022, at the beginning of IFYLITA announcement event, Nonkul mentioned that one of reasons that he accepted to play Jom in IFYLITA is that the story didn’t just put love scenes in just for fan services. Previously he had rejected some series because of that.

Nonkul read the novel prior to the acceptance of the role and you can tell he put a lot of care into bringing Jom to life (Nonkul immediately tweeting his apology after the pilot trailer is out about him accidentally using right hand to sketch (because Jom is left-handed), discussing various novel details with fans of the book at event, discussing how to punch Ohm like Jom would instead of punching him regularly as he would in other series, even giving book-film comparison commentaries in the BTS of the episodes)

Nonkul's physical and facial features are also so similar to Jom in the novel, especially his Chinese heritage is taken into account by the casting directors (Jom is also Thai of Chinese heritage iirc). Honestly kudos to P'Tee and co for snatching Nonkul.

For Bright

Prior to IFYLITA, Bright has played a supporting male gay character in the CH3 Lakorn 'Rivalry' and starred in PP Krit's MV 'It's Okay Not To Be Alright'.

But IFYLITA still marks Bright's first ever male lead role (ngl I was quite shocked when I found out about this because like the man is SIGNED to CH3, what are they doing?) AND his first official "BL" series.

Bright also accept the role of Khun Yai after he went to buy the novel and read them.

Before filming, Bright practiced a lot to portrayed Khun Yai as close to the novel as possible (the way Khun Yai walks with hands behind his back, his posture, him speaking in the different local dialect...)

Here are some translated interview questions Nonkul and Bright did before filming IFYLITA for bangkokbiznews that I found really interesting and want to share (original Thai article) (translated by twitter user lingerair/eugust)

Question: How is your individual characters? How are they similar or different from you? (1)

Nonkul: Jom and I are very different. Jom has soft and sensitive part. He cried so many times, and often gets upset with things that if it's me, I wouldn't be upset like him but his tears is already flowing. Bright: Khun Yai is quite similar with me. He's calm and wise. It's easy to be Khun Yai when I read the script. I try to put myself as Khun Yai. I'm Khun Yai and Khun Yai is me. I always think like this to be able to moderately act as Khun Yai.

Question: BL series has become a powerful "soft power". What do you about this? (2)

Nonkul: To be honest, whatever entertainment media it is, I view all of them as soft power but can't deny that during this period foreigners are especially interested in Thai Y series. I think it's a good thing. In the end, no matter what kind of content they are interested, it's a pleasant thing. Bright: Bright agrees (to that) very much. There are so many BL series with many fans both in and outside of the country, thus I think that it's good quality soft power in presenting a lot of things. Such as "I Feel You Linger In The Air" has a lot of Thai culture incorporated it in. Nonkul: Since it's period (series), it won't look like we're forcing Thai culture into (the series). We want foreigners to learn about how was it during the era and how it affects the present.

Question: This novel has a lot of fans waiting, do you feel pressured in taking a role in this? (3)

Nonkul: There's a little bit of pressure but personally, when I've worked till this point, I'm kinda used to this. I can say that I already have some expectations (for myself) and receive some pressures as a motivation in working but I'm not that stressed by it. Bright: Similar to Non, I'm a little bit pressured but we will both do our best, everyone will do their best. Fans has expectations because they want to watch the adaptation. We'll do it in our way and we hope everyone'll likes it.

As a huge fan of the novel, I just love how much love Nonkul and Bright have for the original novel and the amount "homework", care and dedication they have to crafting their characters to be as close as possible. I really hope everyone who have reservation or hesitance watching I Feel You Linger In The Air because you didn't vibe with previous Dee Hup House’s productions, should still give IFYLITA a chance (or at least try watching Episode 6 & 7) because it is seriously unlike any previous DHH’s productions (in all aspects: plot, direction, pacing, cinematography, music, lighting, color-grading, overall production…)

For my post on Bright and Nonkul's preparation for IFYLITA

[halliescomut]

Y'all want another rant??

I have seen so MANY cracked-out, poorly considered 'hot takes' this weekend, and wow are they aggravating. We can start with the continuing discussion regarding HeartStopper and it's author, who feels the fact that there are no sexual scenes in their work make it inherently better than other queer media. (Edit: The initial comment ppl point to is from 2017, but there has also been no clarity or further statements made despite this being regularly discussed, which is certainly not the norm for addressing divisive statements.) Now, the fact that she's mentioned things like this in conjunction with dismissal of East Asian and South East Asian BL, makes it clear that this is not simply a 'purity' thing, but also has racist undertones. My biggest issue though, is that it clearly demonstrates that they have not attempted to consume any of the available content out there. Are there BLs that focus on the sexual aspects of relationships? Yes, there's the Pornographer, but there's also My Dining Table. You have TharnType, but you also have My Only 12%. Hell, my absolute favorite BL is GameBoys, which first season ends in the ONLY kiss and the couple is still separated by a plastic barrier.

So how can you say that EVERY show revolves only around sex? Realistically you can't. And there's a whole slew of other issues with such statements, like the fact that for a vast majority of romantic couples, sex and physical chemistry is a vital and valued part of their relationships. Or the fact that reducing the queer media of a non-white culture down to sex alone contributes to the misleading idea that people of color are ruled by base human desires, and don't have the intellectual ability to create a romantic relationship based on something other than sex. Honestly, it's giving very British, unsurprisingly.

The reality is that in the world they created in HeartStopper, an overt focus on a sexual relationship would feel vastly out of place. Both because of the age of the characters, but the tone of the story. It's a romanticized coming-of-age/coming out story that revolves around first love. It's intention is to focus on the emotions involved in those experiences in a 'rose-colored glasses' type of way. It's why we've seen plenty of gay men criticizing the show by saying it's unrelatable. And while I don't imagine that it's 100% true representation for every gay man out there, I'd say that's based more on it being distinctly romanticized in a way the real life rarely is. I think it's also intended to be slightly aspirational, it shows a world where more often than not a queer teen's family, friends, community, and society are supportive, kind, and loving; something that has rarely been the reality of many queer adults today. It's not wrong or bad to be aspirational, it's a facet of the queer experience that is necessary, but it should not be taken as a replacement for more 'realistic' queer media, especially in an attempt to sanitize the lived experiences of thousands of queer men.

(I'd like to note that I do intentionally tag any posts that I make about HS as BritishBL because I'm a petty bitch.)

The amount of sex either alluded to or shown in a piece of media does not indicate it's value. If you have done even a mild foray into BL outside of Thailand, then you are likely well aware that Chinese and South Korean BL is often promoted as being more 'tame' or 'respectable' than Thai BL, or even Japanese BL. But if you think critically about it for even a moment, you're able to easily conclude that the reason those countries often produce queer media that's more on the level of a PG or PG-13 rating is because there are still very strict societal AND governmental standards that prevent the presentation of queer media. It's rare if not unheard of to have shows or movies based on queer written media show even a single kiss, and it's because of homophobia, when you move outside of China to places like Taiwan (which China still considers to be part of it's empire) you may see more 'explicit' presentations of queer relationships, but they often still skew towards being more in that PG-13 range. I've inserted below a chart that I pulled for another project, but is applicable here as well showing the legality of same-sex relationship as well as the legal protections of them (i.e. same-sex marriage recognition or adoption)

While for China and North Korea in particular, we have to sort of accept their word, you can see that for the vast majority of East Asian countries, same-sex relationships are not illegal, but they area also not actively supported. And while progress has been made in many places, there is still a long way to go to offering them equal opportunities and protections. And, as is always true, the negative effects of bigotry and homophobia have the largest impacts on those that live in poverty or are members of other marginalized communities. So while, you may see rich and privileged queer people from these countries living their life without much backlash, that is never going to be the lived experience of your everyday gay salaryman.

Just want to pause here and say this next part is not related to Alice in any way, it's just another aspect of upsetting to me discourse I saw this weekend.

Moving on to another very concerning discussion that I saw revolving around Mew and Top in the first episode of Only Friends. The are SO MANY comments being made on edits all over social media dissing Mew for choosing not to have sex with Top once they got to his apartment. With the vast majority saying something along the lines of 'He's hot, Mew should have just done it", "Virginity isn't even a real thing", "He knew what Top wanted when he invited him over", and it honestly gets more frustrating and disturbing from there. The #1 key to consent is that it is ALWAYS ongoing and you have the right to revoke it at anytime. It is an incredibly valid criticism of Thai BL that they waffle a little bit with that consent line, and I feel like some of the same people who argued that the sex between Lom and Nuea in Wedding Plan last week was iffy consent because Lom was clearly drunk, are spouting these bullshit opinions about Top and Mew. Consent can be and often is a VERY nuanced conversation. Mew believing that he was ready for sex with Top when he left that bar, and realizing that he wasn't once they got back to his apartment is incredibly realistic. It happens to a lot of people, and unfortunately those people are often not with someone like Top, who in that moment was willing (even if not precisely happy) to forego sex. This is a scene that shows what a reaction SHOULD be to a removal of consent. You don't have to be happy about it, but as a human who hopefully has respect for the other human involved, you should respect it.

As far as the 'virginity is a social construct thing'--you're right it is. But it is not wrong or weird for a person to prefer that there be a personal and emotional connection between themselves and a potential sexual partner. There's literally a whole sexuality where a person does not feel romantic or sexual attraction WITHOUT an emotional connection.

That's not to say that this automatically concludes that Mew is definitely intended to be demisexual, it's possible that this is fully unintentional on the part of the writer, director, or actor. But in terms of negatively reacting to this scene on public social media, you are actively dismissing the very real feelings of very real people who you may be interacting with. Because just as there is absolutely nothing wrong with being comfortable having sex without feelings being involved, the same is true in reverse. As with all things related to sex, it's about the comfort of the person participating in the act, beyond that there is no 'better' or 'right' way to feel about it.

And moving onto that last incredibly upsetting point...that Mew knew what was going to happen when he left the bar with Top, how disgusting of a take. There are literally thousands of people, most female presenting, who get asked that same question when reporting sexual violence from people they were dating, or met in bars. The dismissal of a person's autonomy because 'they knew what they were getting into' is nothing more than disgusting. It's not just a bad take, or a problematic one, it's a take that feeds into the victim-blaming society that we live in and makes it more and more difficult for survivors of sexual violence to come forward, and impedes our ability to install tenets of consent in our society as a whole. By continuing to spout such ridiculous and disgusting ideas, you are setting a standard that prevents ANYONE from revoking consent at any time and enables assaulters to pressure people into sex, or just bypass their consent completely, knowing that the likelihood of actual repercussions is very low.

So I guess TLDR- All levels of intimacy (both physical and emotional) are important in queer media, from the most innocent to the most carnal, and healthy representations of consent conversations, especially those that show people's autonomy as being fully respect should be praised, not dismissed.

[skylar-325]

Hi.... If you don't mind me asking, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series/games/etc) and your top 10 favorite characters from any media ? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this questions....

Wow, that’s definitely challenging lol. I consume media like it’s a necessity for survival but I can try XD I don’t think I can rank them since each of them mean so much to me but I’ll list them here.

1. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (book): if you’ve read it then you probably know why and if you haven’t then I definitely recommend it. It was a life changing experience for me. As someone who uses reading as an escape from reality, it hit pretty hard T-T

2. Haikyuu : Big found family enthusiast so that’ll apply to most of my favourites. Haikyuu nearly made me cry on multiple occasions because of how well the characters are written. I see my self in them and somehow rooting for them makes me have hope for myself. Hopefully that makes sense. XD

3. Link Click (anime): Hurt. Very big hurt. Another doomed found family but I really enjoy the mystery and thrill of it. The characters are really well written. Not to mention each of them is also ridiculously hot.

4. Little mushroom (book): apocalypse setting sci fi story, a human inspector falls in love with a mushroom. It might sound strange, but it’s a beautiful book and perspective we get on life made me fall in love with it all over again. Also the mushroom takes the form of a human so like…it’s cool.

5. Bungou Stray Dogs (anime): only watched the anime so far but I do plan to read the manga soon. Adore all the characters and the storyline is really interesting. I’m a literature nerd so seeing edgar allen poe and nathaniel hawtharne interact with japanese and american authors is like a dream come true XD

6. Six of Crows (book): peak found family. laughed and cried reading this book and realised my bisexuality along the way. something about jesper being all be gay do crime really resonated with me. adore kanej and would commit crimes for the entire gang.

7. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (book): my childhood really. i’ve read every single rick riordan book in existence but this was my start to being a book worm. love greek mythology. also inspired me to be a writer.

8. Qian Jin Jiu (book): political intrigue and mystery along with action and romance. super fun to read when im not trying to remember a gazillion names. love love loveee the main pair.

9. These Violent Delights (books): so so good. chinese retelling of romeo and juliet but juliet is a badass. super fun read and it’s the kind of writer i aspire to be.

10. Blue Lock (anime): so. watched the first season and i lost my mind. it was insanely good and i really liked the message behind it. which is funny given how found family core is my usual watch list is. s2 is kind of a disappointment so it’s def ranked lower on my list because of that. but i do plan to read the manga someday.

Special mention for Ouran High School Host Club. Just finished watching it but it’s easily top three anime for me.

ok now top ten characters. again not ranked other than no.1.

1. Kim Dokja (ORV): i don’t think i can explain why. something about being shown a damning mirror in a piece of media

2. Hinata (Haikyuu): his passion and dedication to improve and succeed despite his situation. also his personality. i adore him.

3. Lu Guang: again can’t explain it. just want to wrap him in a big blanket forever.

4. Annabeth Chase (PJO) : My OG girl boss. I spent my childhood trying to be her.

5. Inej Ghafa (SOC): an assassin who convinced a mob boss to buy her out of a brothel and became the most dangerous weapon on the street. her will and strength is awe inspiring.

6. Wei Wuxian (MDZS): he stuck to his principles no matter what and it’s something i really look up to.

7. Chigiri (BL): His story of being the best, only to hurt his knee and lose it all and to fight to get back to who he was is beautiful. Getting back up after life deals such a harsh blow isn’t something everyone can manage.

8. Oikawa (Haikyuu): his story hurts me and is constant reminder of the chances one has to make it in industries like sport or art. his dedication to his passion regardless is beautiful.

9. Osamu Dazai (BSD): He’s just super fun to watch. No deep explanation. Very relatable.

10. Tamaki (Ouran High School Host Club): really like his characterisation, the way they built him from the first episode. his love for his friends and club is everything to me. quickly became my fav character.

Special shout-out to yoo joonghyuk and han sooyoung, too much to explain but they make me cry.

[derfisch]

okay, I said I was gonna do it! below the cut:

a brief review of every anime I watched this season (no battle shounens, guaranteed)

there are 11 that I watched! wow!

to start with, I watched some less recent anime:

Fruits Basket (2019)

I can see why this one is a classic. if the original is anything like the new one (I haven't watched that either), this is held together by excellent, deep character writing and a fantastic sense of place that never falters. the main character, whose archetype of "ditzy genki girl" would usually be written as very one-dimensional and fluffy, has loads of interesting facets of her personality, and goes through plenty of character growth along with everyone else around her, all without feeling the need to make her less girly or compromising her agency in any way.

for negatives, the humor fell flat more often than not, and the melodrama felt a little heavy handed, especially toward the end when they need you to know The Stakes Are High. I'm also unsure how I feel about how it decided to portray some really incesty relationships? but as a CCS enjoyer it's not like I can complain too much there, lol

despite those flaws though, I would still absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a good drama. I found it pretty good for sleepytime watching too, if you need something like that.

My Roommate Is A Cat

while I did like it a lot, there's not a whole lot to say about it. I like all the characters, even though they don't go too deep. it's fun, it's cute, and it's funny. there's a cat. I like the bits where we get to see from the cat's point of view, and they totally misunderstand the situation. it's not the prettiest anime out there, but I'd still give it a watch if you have the time for a short one

Love Stage!!

absolutely gutted by this one. as a BL anime from about a decade ago, there's a genre-required sexual assault scene. I cannot recommend it to anyone on that basis alone. this is not a triggering subject matter for me, and I was made deeply uncomfortable by it

which really, really sucks, because outside of that I'm super into its characters and its scenario. the tonal whiplash between the sexy seme raping the innocent uke and a few episodes later when he's genuinely regretful of it, and they actually have to work through their feelings over what happened, I appreciated it so much. and even outside of that, the relationship between the two is really interesting. the character writing is super strong, and the conclusion is satisfying and somehow feels earned

if you're absolutely sure you can handle the uncomfortable stuff, maybe give it a watch. otherwise, there's much better gay media out there for you that doesn't subject you to uncomfortable shit like that

Oshi no Ko

I literally cannot tell you anything about this other than you have to watch this. even if you don't give a shit about idols. I'm serious. watch the entire first episode (and I mean the whole thing! don't quit halfway through), and you'll probably know if it's for you or not. but it is gorgeous, and the storytelling and characters are phenomenal. there's a reason no one will shut up about it. I am chomping at the bit for season 2, and the only reason I'm not going to read the manga is the anime is so beautiful

A Herbivorous Dragon of 5,000 Years Gets Unfairly Villainized

[kenny lauderdale voice] is chinese animation anime?

I remember my roommate watching the first episode of this with me around when Dragon Goes House Hunting was airing, to compare the two, and he ultimately passed on it. with that no longer fresh in my mind though, I went back and gave it another shot, and I'm glad I did

it's really short, the usual 12 episodes of a season being made up of 15-minute episodes. the characters don't have a lot of room to breathe, and the story doesn't have enough time to build on its premise for the climax to feel justified. but despite that, I loved the characters themselves, and their interactions with each other. The humor was pretty good, and I found the main duo super endearing. It's not much of a time commitment, so you don't have much to lose by giving this one a shot. oh, and watch Dragon Goes House Hunting too when you're done

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years Of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?!

[kenny lauderdale voice again] is live action drama anime?

I saw this recommended a lot when I went looking into popular BL drama. maybe I expect too much from my media, but I wasn't really into this. the main character has barely any personality beyond "anxious wreck," and his love interest comes across as a bit creepy, but otherwise not very interesting. In fact, it takes a flashback for us to really have any hint of why the love interest likes the main character at all. this is also peak "why do japanese dramas have such ridiculous acting"

I couldn't really bring myself to finish it. I made it about 2/3 through, seeing if it got better, but I just really couldn't go on any longer

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

another drama! this one was much, much better. it starts with the couple already together, and focuses more on how they cohabitate and work on their relationship. the characters in this feel very real, and their scenarios never feel particularly contrived or unnatural. also, it features characters who are properly middle aged, which is pretty rare for Japanese media in general, let alone BL

this was the hardest one to watch though, because it's only available on Netflix and it's blocked in my country! I couldn't find a good site to pirate it either, so I had to use a VPN. I hope it becomes more easily available some day

now, into the newer stuff:

My Happy Marriage

what interested me about this is it billed itself as a "historical drama," which is surprisingly rare for a culture that seems to have no problem commodifying its history. unfortunately, that's only half true. the setting seems to have one foot in meiji-era japan, and the other in a poorly explained fantasy setting with nonsensical magic powers

I could put up with that, except I really can't stand the characters either. the main character is Tradwife Prime, who's incapable of mustering an ounce of agency except to simp for the man she was forced to marry by her very abusive parents. said husband is nice, but bland as they come. she has a sister who is a huge jerk seemingly just to mess with her.

it has two things going for it: there is some catharsis in seeing husband guy treat this poor woman right, and also it's drawn and animated really well.

maybe it gets better after the first half, but I dropped it about halfway through. if you are the straightest, most misogynistic man, who only sees value in media that reinforces your pitiful worldview, and think all women should exist to be subservient to their husbands, maybe watch it. except even they probably shouldn't, or they'll risk feeling inferior to the most boring man on the planet. but maybe watch it if you like pretty pictures, and don't have a functional brain? or just watch it in a language you don't understand, I guess. make up your own story! you'll probably do better than the writers

Yohane the Parahelion

I watched this because, I kinda liked love live when I watched it a while back, and I thought putting the girls in a fantasy setting sounded neat. also, there's a cute dog, and I wanted to see more of the cute dog

unfortunately, the story is too busy expositing about the characters themselves and their nothing personalities to tell us about the setting, which feels underutilized. every few episodes, there's a hint at some spooky magic stuff happening, which is then stopped after a couple minutes to go back to light drama and fluff

and I started out liking the dog, who kinda feels like a big sister character, but that's literally her entire personality, and I got bored with her after a while, and the show itself just as quickly. it feels like a story yohane (the one in the love live world) wrote herself while she was bored, without consulting an editor or anything. can't recommend unless you really like looking at the cute dog

Sweet Reincarnation

this is a bad anime. I can't believe I watched it all the way through

the premise sounds fun. a patissier gets sent to the shadow realm and then gets isekai'd into life as a prince in generic fantasy world (do all these isekais take place on the same world, you think?), and is totally unhinged about turning the world into a sugar utopia under his command

what are the implications of this? the consequences? we'll never find out, because instead he just does really boring political drama shit. also he's like really good at diplomacy and negotiation for some reason? I don't think candy makers normally have to do that

it's kind of a shame because there are brief moments where the anime remembers what its stupid premise is, and those are genuinely fun. dude bankrupts the treasury buying fucking apples or whatever. uses his OP isekai power to invent irrigation and scare the shit out of everyone in the surrounding area. super fun stuff. but it lasts like 3 minutes every episode, and then it goes back to boring shit

also more arranged marriage, and this time it's with 10 year olds! no commentary whatsoever on how fucked up that is either, main character who is mentally about 30 years old at this point, totally stoked about his actual 10 year old wife to be. real normal shit

you already know it's shit though, right? you don't watch isekais to see a good anime anymore, right? you'll watch your garbage anime and you'll enjoy it anyway, right? okay

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today

I love this anime. it follows the lead that Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill took of living life with a gruff, much more capable giant animal domestic partner. but instead of a cool magic wolf, yukichi is the masterful cat in question, and he fills the role of what I can only describe as the perfect house husband, with some sass and kitty antics included. he's also a big soft boy, which naturally gets bonus points from me

the series is pure slice of life. I haven't read the manga, but you can feel where the chapters begin and end within episodes, which makes them feel like short vignettes, rather than full stories. that's all this anime needs to convey its characters though! everyone feels well fleshed out, and their interesting personalities shine through

I do have 2 content warnings though: one, the main character ends up drinking alcohol a lot. you might know this is a trigger for me in certain scenarios, and this did make me uncomfortable. I was able to manage because the scenes in question are so short and tend to avoid portraying it as much more than an annoyance for yukichi, but if you're more sensitive to it than me, you're gonna have a rough time. second, probably less serious, but in an episode, the main character gains a bit of weight (which you would never guess by looking at her, but you'll have to trust the writers lol) and they make a big deal about her having to diet and exercise. might be kind of uncomfortable for some people who are used to having their weight pathologized, so feel free to skip that bit.

aside from those two complaints though, I really recommend this anime! it's super fun and really sweet

I ended up really watching a lot this season! I hope next season has some good ones too

[wegonbealright-09]

wow you know Wang yibo, what a small world, I got introduced to him recently by a friend who is a shipper of him & another Chinese actor called xiao zhan because they got paired in gay bl live action and I'm getting into his drama and himself as a person the past month along with other Chinese actors...

I love Chinese celebrities because they're always in some deep shit there's no dull moment and C-netizens are so outta pocket. And Wang Yibo is my husband he's the only male celebrity I like other than Jimin.

[randomingoftherandomness]

I have mixed attitude towards c-dramas, i don't really like them, however there are such gems of a pairings sometimes - like Jiang Cheng and wwx, or scorpion and his yifu. They often have intrigueing premise and idea, and absolutely DON'T follow it through. The only chinese drama i enjoyed throughly, without ignoring a mess (because there wasn't any mess) is "Ruyi's love in the palace". It was amazing not because of brilliant acting, or costumes, even tho it did have all of that. It was amazing because every word had a weight, and every action had a consequence, every issue was addressed, and there wasn't even a hint of 'modern values'. characters felt real. real people of different time. And human feelings are universal. 99% of ancient puppets genre c-dramas fail to deliver that. I know they aren't historical they're fantasy at best and idol cosplay show at worst, but they don't even try to create athmosphere of 'old times'. I guess they really are made for teens, but when i was a teen i also couldn't watch it without cringing - they were too juvenile for my taste. They don't make me care about anyone as a viewer - any wounded will heal, any thousand years old evil will be easily defeated by rag tag team of boy band members, they bleeding from their mouths and go about their day. They constantly talk about immense sacrifices like waiting for a lover for billion years, meditating for another billion, but it's so unrealistic and impossible to take seriously especially when characters never deny themselves anything even on small-scale everyday level. 1)

MJTY is also guilty of this. FL is supposed to be villain protagonist yet they're so afraid for her to be treated like a villain. When she gets discovered her targets start defending and saving her? This craziness alone turned me off of this show. Yet GSJ and GYZ get accused of all crimes for breathing. They're doing and saying the right thing in majority of scenes but everyone looks at them like they are demons. The director loves BL and incest (considering his previous works) so it's given that shangzhi is his faves. So evil angle they get probably is for fetish fuel reasons, to make their hotness too hot to handle. And still, i hated that. They're treated like enemies in their own family for working hard on its prosperity and actual enemies get love and protection. YWS never openly renounced her evil ways, never asked for forgiveness, she just acted like nothing happened, her spy and killer nature is swept under the rug. It's a big fail of the show. All other characters are just fools who want to destroy their own clan. That's what it looks like. Now, as i gather from weibo, they're testing the waters for second season and milking the second cp. Obviously, there's nothing more stupid than to make qian someone's housewife, and as if shangjue will bring home such devious and morally corrupt person to play happy family with (the very home she worked hard to destroy, to the people she worked very hard to hurt). That's murder and disrespect of their respective characters. Betraying everyone and yourself for insane "love" is a good plot for a tragedy, but it has to be perfectly written. there wasn't love between these characters and they're both level-headed people so logical possibility of that storyline is zero. But they will be molded into meaningless happy end romance, with everyone cheering. In my opinion, the ending of MJTY is satisfying as it is. Does anyone really need baby drama and love brained shangjue? That's the opposite of what he's like and why he attracted fans in the first place 2)

My brain is empty because wow that is one wall of text lol

I'm not saying that this is a 'reason' or an 'excuse' as to why certain promising premise falls through in cdramaland, but honestly speaking, censors and cash play a VERY big role in what ends up on screens and this isn't something we can deny. How many shows and movies have filmed scenes/scripts/sequences/storylines that were completely dropped at the Nth hour for "reasons"? Profit pays a big role in what gets aired, and from the get-go, cdramas aren't the places to be if you're looking for morally grey/villain MCs that allowed to be morally grey/villainous/unrepentant (or in YWS's case, allowed to work for redemption). That's not the way it works. Which sucks, admittedly if you (like me) enjoy that kinda of stuff.

In response to your statements regarding 'Does anyone really need baby drama and love brained shangjue?', I may be kicking the hornet's nest here, but just as I was the intended audience for Word of Honor, I am not the target audience for The Untamed. And that's okay :) Your Mileage Will Vary when it comes to what's 'good' and what's 'bad'. Someone will enjoy the baby drama and love brained shangjue, though that someone will not be me and I am thinking it won't be you too.

And again, that's okay. As long as you're not going around being a dick to people who would and will enjoy that content, you'll be fine.

After all, as I've heard said by some people who say it with their whole chest with no regard to how entitled it can come across, variety is the spice of life :)

[nthngtoseehere-blog]

Dramas I'm watching / want to watch

So many. SO. MANY. What's wrong with me.

In Progress

Bloodhounds (Korean)

I keep having to take a break after each episode because I’m so worried for the main characters. But omg Woo Do Hwan’s character. His sweetness makes me die. And then he’s also absolutely a BAMF. Wah!

Born Again (Chinese)

I will probably finish this? I think? I’m not entirely sure where it’s going, and I’m kind of wary. We’ll see.

Café Minamdang (Korean)

This is adorable, though it’s losing steam a bit. I’m on ep 14; there are 18 eps. Seo In Guk is very good at playing a jaded good guy who has decided to embrace lunacy because fuck everything.

Devil Judge (Korean)

I keep having to take a break because holy crap this show is intense. Talk about dystopian. But Kang Yohan and Kim Ga Won have such a creepy, sexy, weird relationship, wow. Seriously good show.

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner (Korean)

Short Korean bl with reincarnation shenanigans in the tradition of "character has lived for hundreds of years resentfully waiting for The One," which is the kind of thing I love.

Flower of Evil (Korean)

Again, this show is intense, psychologically (both the stress the ML is going through as well as the fact that he’s hard to emotionally connect with because he is, basically, disconnected from his own emotions). I think I will actually need to just skip the episode I’m in if I want to finish the show, actually. I love the ML and the FL a lot.

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Thai)

Weird but charming bl. It doesn't inspire me to binge watch, but I keep going back to it.

The Guest (Korean)

I’m three episodes in, and it’s SO CREEPY, and so awesome, and I’m so hooked. It feels a lot like the kind of horror movies my friend and I like to watch together, where the horror is...fun? I mean, it’s not a ‘fun’ show, but the intensity of it isn’t doing psychological damage to me like a couple of other intense shows. It’s the kind where I watch through my fingers and go “oh holy shit that was horrifying and awesome!!” so I suspect I’ll binge this one straight through without the need for a break.

KinnPorsche (Thai)

I really like this, but I'm about to get to the VegasPete stuff and I'm resisting. I'm a little worried it will be too much.

The Law Café (Korean)

Adorable! The whole scene where the neighborhood aunties describe the ML and his cousin as “the Dumb and Dumber of the neighborhood” is hilarious and captures the vibe of the show so well. And the music video! You don’t have to turn your brain off to watch this show; it’s just that even though there are serious elements, the show doesn’t take itself too seriously. Fun.

Laws of Attraction (Thai)

Really good murder mystery with one lead who is an asshole and another lead who is a really nice guy, and it's hilarious that they're going to fall in love. I can't wait!

Lovers of the Red Sky (Korean)

I loved this until episode 14 when all of the good guys suddenly came down with a case of terminal stupidity. I’m mad about that, but I also do want to finish the show so I’ll come back when I am less irritated.

Master’s Sun (Korean)

This is a weird show, but I like it! I’m kind of watching this one when I’m not in the mood to watch any of the others.

Mirror of the Witch (Korean)

I almost gave up after episode 1 (wow, that was fucked up), but the ML showed up in episode 2 and charmed the heck out of me.

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thai)

Currently airing. CUTE. MeenPing - I could watch them read a phone book and it would make me happy.

My Love Mix-Up! (Japanese)

The manga this is based on is adorable, and somehow the show has maintained the original’s charm!

Pit Babe (Thai)

Currently airing, but I'm going to wait to find out how it ends before watching any more of it.

The Sign (Thai)

THIS IS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. Action/fantasy?crime drama with reincarnation and mythological creatures and gay boys and a transgender actress WHAT.

To Sir With Love (Thai)

A Thai bl lakorn (like a soap opera). It is SO soapy. Wow. I'm enjoying it but I can only watch one episode every so often.

Taxi Driver (Korean)

Another “holy crap this is intense I gotta take a break” – in this case, it’s super violent. I don’t hate that, just need something less violent in between stories.

Want to Watch

City Hunter (Korean)

All I know is that my son’s Korean gf thinks I’ll like it since I love Healer, so I’m going to keep looking for it until it shows up on a streaming service I have access to.

The Good Bad Mother

Mostly I want to see something else with Lee Do Hyun after his supporting roles in Hotel Del Luna and Beyond Evil. But I don’t want to watch Youth of May because SPOILER? it would be too depressing.

Good Manager [Chief Kim] (Korean)

I hear the bromance is top notch!

Immortal Samsara (Chinese)

Cheng Yi!!!

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (Korean)

I watched the first ep and a half, and I think it’s going to be tough to watch, but really good.

Lost You Forever (Chinese)

I have watched the first 7 episodes and I love it, but I think I need to make sure it’s going to fully air before I watch more.

Man to Man (Korean)

I have heard the bromance in this show is excellent, and I want to see Park Hae Jin in something else (I liked him in Bad Guys). I’ve watched the first episode and the FL is like fingernails on a chalkboard, though. I still want to keep watching at some point.

Midnight Museum (Thai)

This sounds fun, weird, and maybe a little cute?

My Lovely Liar (Korean)

To watch when I’m in the mood for romance with a lil angst.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (Chinese)

Cheng Yi!!!

Rain or Shine [Just Between Lovers] (Korean)

I watched an episode, and shelved it for when I’ve finished the other super intense shows I’m currently midway through. I can tell I’m going to like it though.

Royal Secret Agent (Korean)

It sounds really cute?

Sweet Home (Korean)

The horror looks delightful.

Suspicious Partners (Korean)

Also to watch when I’m in the mood for romance. I don’t really know anything about it except Ji Chang Wook is in it and there’s romance?

The Uncanny Counter 2 (Korean)

This has triggered the part of me that has to check the ending of a book before I commit, to make sure it won’t upset me (yes, I do that with books; yes I also do that with tv shows. We all have our own ways of protecting our mental health, ok?)

Warrior Baek Dong Soo (Korean)

Ji Chang Wook in a historical drama which does not sound like a mental health nightmare for me! (Empress Ki is probably really good but I try to avoid hating all the characters and being emotionally devastated by my entertainment.)

[kukuandkookie]

Got this post recommended to me—and wow that cover (😂)—and ah, reading your welcoming of recommendations, I wanted to say… Yeah, Remnants of Filth aka Yuwu and the author Meatbun is very very famous for their angsty novels that are both very sexy but also make you so emo over her characters SMFNSKSJ.

To start with danmei recs though, I think official English translations are a great place to start! So Seven Seas, Rosmei, etc.

I also don’t have a dedicated list of danmei recommendations the way I like to have for donghua and manhua because there are people out there who know better than me…but I do have a list of danmei manhua (and baihe manhua) recommendations!:

I also find danmei Reddit and Twitter great places for recommendations too; the former because people read a large variety of novels and will discuss them in length, and the latter because you can tell what’s popular and some really dedicated fans will make pretty, aesthetic PowerPoints for their favourite novels. 😆

Another good site is NovelUpdates, since you can find links and summaries there but also people will make lists (eg if you want a “pilot danmei,” someone may have a list for that). I’d just be careful with the actual reviews because…well uh, I’m of the mind that portraying dark topics and not condemning them outright or acceptably doesn’t automatically make a work bad or suggest the author condones said dark topics, but a lot of reviewers sure seem to think so.

And continuing onwards with more recommendations, I’m a little too sleepy to type as detailed a post as I’d usually like to—but luckily I have old posts to draw on!

So I have this introduction post to danmei here with a few recommendations as well, and then this one about danmei donghua recommendations, and this one about danmei manhua with green flag leads, or this one about red flag leads. 🥰

I even have a list of cdrama recommendations that also has a section for BL and then what I call “BL if you squint,” which is homoerotic and queer-coded cdramas that can actually be called bromances (because I hate people calling BL cdramas “bromances”—just because they’re censored doesn’t make them lesser!!). The “BL if you squint” cdramas basically embody the idea of sworn brotherhood being homoerotic in modern Chinese slang:

Cdramas are the most censored forms of media in China, but censorship is a spectrum. Audio dramas are the least censored after the novels, so if you find some with English subs or even just ones you’d like to support, I really do recommend checking audio dramas out too, even if you can’t understand them (I have links and explanations and audio drama-related recommendations in that danmei introduction post!).

And okay, I did mention that post where I gave danmei donghua recommendations, but since I’m doing this anyway I’ll also leave my overall donghua and manhua recommendations list just for the heck of it: 😆

Overall though, I hope this helps! 💕

I was checking out danmei on Amazon and trying to decide which series to pick up next. I have the first volume of Heaven’s Official Blessing which I picked up years ago and never finished. So I might pick that one up but I’ve been eying Peerless and Ballad of Sword & Wine.

But as I’m scrolling the suggestions Amazon is feeding me—why is there SO MUCH OMEGAVERSE BOOKS OUT THERE—I get served up this amazing looking cover.

I have 1000% percent seen this partial trope AND scantily clad lady adorn many a bodice ripper novel.

The fact we are now at a point in our society that we’re getting scantily clad men on pirate themed gay bodice rippers just heals something in my soul.

It looks so trashy and the cover is prolly AI art. But I can appreciate the author filling in a niche market for gay pirates who look like they stepped out of a Hugo Boss advert absolutely wrecking a twink who looks like HE stepped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch advert. 🤣🤣🤣

Or the fact Amazon is looking at my search for Chinese martial arts danmei and decided I needed gay pirates in my life.

And so much Omega fic…so so SO MUCH omegaverse. NGL my general ambivalence towards omegaverse has slowly morphed i to antipathy in the past year because it’s become so over saturated and sometimes it feels like I am drowning in slick and boy pussy when I want to read a good shameless smut fic.

EDIT: Also if anyone has any recs for danmei, please feel free to share them. I like some angst but I ultimately like a happy-ish ending. Which seems to be kinda rare in this genre. LOL. Like Remnants of Filth also caught my eye but I can tell from the description it’s one big whump train and I dunno if it ever lets up on the angst. Pffft

[tryingtodee]

Is Keaya Alberich x Diluc Ragnvindr (Kaeluc) Incest?

Tw: eh, mentions of incest ig and Homophobia and racism at the last part

Tldr: It's is.... NOT INCEST

Why is it not incest? Because they're sworn brothers

" But it's still BROTHERS!! IT'S INCEST!!!!!! "

Now listen here you ignorant fool.

Chinese version of "sworn brothers" is 义兄. Meaning 义兄 =两个人之间没有血源关系，但是兴趣相投，或者是志向相同,虽不同路，但相互怜惜便结拜为兄弟.

Translation: to 2 people, NOT related, but have the same Ideals and aspirations. However, they go different paths in the future, thus, to cherish this bond, they become sworn brothers BY a ceremony.

Kaeya and Diluc are no where near related, Diluc's dad just took Kaeya in to foster.

Notice that the word 义兄 is hardly used now in modern society, that's because it was commonly used in ancient china ( when there were emperors and wars and etc.) with many ancient Chinese literature to back the term up.

The reason why many Chinese kaeluc or luckae fans ship this is because of the double meaning. In ancient china, homosexuality is actually very common, it only became illegal in 1903 (Where the war with England and stuff happend).

A lot of famous Chinese literature like 《红楼梦》、《金瓶梅》 has some 男风（男=boy/men 风= wind, 男风= "a wave/ trend of male homosexuality" or a more secrete way of saying male homosexuality ) topics and stories. Ancient Chinese history books like 《宋书·五行志》explained ：“自咸宁、太康（公元3世纪）以后，男风大兴，炽于女色，士大夫莫不尚之，天下咸相仿效，贵胄孤寡女眷尤甚，或是至夫妇离绝，怨旷妒忌者。”

男风大兴，炽于女色 = a love of men to the point that it overcame the love of woman

Thus since homosexuality was a thing in ancient china, there must be gay marriage. However, historians found that ancient people was using the term 契兄弟= contract brothers ( 契= deed/ contract, 兄弟= brothers) to describe gay marriage.

Since having a gay relationship has intertwined the words brothers "兄弟” in it, many historians also wondered that “ 义兄” which was widely used back then could have a double meaning to male lovers.

Yeah, it could or could not be in Diluc's and Kaeya's case. However, Mihoyo didn't use 继兄= step brother, but instead used 义兄= sworn brothers.

继兄= step brother 🙅‍♂️

义兄= sworn brothers 🙆‍♂️

(If they were step brother's it would be stepcest, I guess)

And since a lot of BL (boys love, basically yaoi) written in current China has risen in popularity. If you read a lot of BL novels, u may find that sworn brothers is a common troupe in them, as this is also a way to censor and give an excuse to the bond between the 2 men.

Why would we need an excuse for a bond between two men?

Because China and most other Asian countries are not as accepting to homosexuals like the west. But that can be said in another post, probably not, i dont like posting these.

Here is my closing.

I myself dont ship Kealuc. No, not because im Homophobic. No, not because im against a tan dating a white. And No, it isnt because im a Jeanluc or any other shipper. It just does'nt float my boat, ok? It's cute, yeah, angry x sly is cute.

Then what gives me the right to rant about this?

Im just tired of seeing artist on twitter, instagram and tumblr getting harrassed for liking a ship that you or anyone else dislikes. Comments like "Wow you're art is so good, such a shame that you ship Kealuc tho" or "it's always the talented artist who are the Kaeluc shippers" but the ones that hurt me more are the one who directly attack my identity "it's always the chinese who are problematic" and even "First you start a pandemic then you do this, can you be even more disgusting?"

That's not ok, that's racist.

Racism is not ok. And it never will be, dont tolerate racism cause if we do, nothing will change.

Thank you for taking your time to read this.

I hope that if you were onw of the people who attack others, I hope you can change. I wish you no bad luck.

(Oh yeah, you can make fun of me for using mobile lmfao)

[lizhly-writes]

somebody said this on orvcord so now i have this.  hope you like chinese transmigration novels lol

Man it's always "i'm a girl who transmigrated into a bl novel what am i supposed to do now?!" and never "I'm a boy who transmigrated into a gl novel what am i supposed to do now?!" Lol

“The standard is 100 roses,” Zhao Yuhang muses. “But it’d probably be better if it was 100 of her favorite flower. Maybe Jiang Mingxi knows what it is? Hey, Haoran, can you ask her?”

Right, so there are two things wrong with this. First of all: “Why do I have to do anything about it,” I say, raising my eyebrows. “This is your thing.”

“Yeah, but it’s less weird if you ask her, you know I’m not that close with Sister-in-Law.”

“So you don’t think it’s weird if I ask my fiancée about another girl’s favorite flowers?”

Zhao Yuhang pauses. “…Sister-in-Law isn’t the jealous type, and it’s really not like you’re doing anything wrong,” he says, but I can practically see him mentally writing off that plan. Good.

Second of all: “Has it maybe occurred to you that Chen Lihua’s never going to like you ever.”

Zhao Yuhang gasps dramatically, hand clutching his chest. “Ah-Hao, why are you so mean,” he wails, like an idiot. “Don’t say it like that! Just because you’ve got Sister-In-Law doesn’t mean you have to curse us single dogs, you know?”

“Who said I’m cursing you? I’m just trying to be realistic,” I say. “I’m saving you effort.” Seriously, give it up, man. It’s not going to work. This is a GL novel, Chen Lihua’s never going to have the hots for you, especially since she’s Jiang Mingxi’s love interest. Similarly, even though I’m Jiang Mingxi’s fiancé, all of her attention is taken up by Chen Lihua.

As far as I can tell, their relationship together isn’t romantic yet — it’s closer to… mmm, extreme competition and almost physical fights — but it’s going to get there. And when it does, I, as the villain of the story, have to remind Jiang Mingxi about the promise between our families, and then she’ll take potshots at my inferiority complex about my worth compared to my older sister, and then I’ll get mad enough that, I don’t know, I’ll offer a billion yuan to Chen Lihua to leave, and then when that doesn’t work, I’ll hire assassins to kill her, at which point my evil deeds are exposed and I’m condemned as a villain and then maybe I die or something. There’s probably a humiliation conga involved. I don’t really remember.

So. Yeah.

“It’s not worth it,” I conclude. “Just give up now.”

Zhao Yuhang makes a face. “Don’t you believe in true love?” he wheedles. “Enduring hardships until the depth of your feelings manages to get through?”

Well, Yuhang, I think you’re supposed to chase after Chen Lihua and pave the road to the entertainment industry for her until she gets together with Jiang Mingxi officially. And then I think you either pine for the rest of your days or ‘blacken’ and become dangerously obsessed with one or the two of them. So, uh, no! No, I don’t in believe in love. Not with those two.

“That sounds overrated,” I say.

“…Wow, it’s lucky you have a family engagement,” Zhao Yuhang says. “With your romantic sensibilities, you’d never get a girlfriend.”

I snort. “Yeah, well, maybe I’d have better luck getting a boyfriend. Are you interested?”

“Even if Chen Linhua didn’t have my heart? No.  Absolutely not. You have no romance in your soul. I’d die of neglect in a week.”

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

For Grant Chapman's Birthday here are his best quotes from All The Young Dudes and Out of the Blue.

“Never look at another bloke a bit too long? Never get that feeling about a film star, or a teacher?”

“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. I always land on me feet.”

“No one owes you a happy life." // "But you owe yourself one, love.” - Remus Lupin & Grant Chapman

“Like magnets, you and me. Always snap back together again.”

"He’s special to me , and if you’re not man enough to be kind to him, then you don’t deserve him. He’s been waiting for you. He’s never stopped waiting. He won’t say it, because Remus doesn’t say stuff like that. But he feels it. He feels everything, you must know that.”

“Look; you had him at his best, ok? I had his worst. And I was glad to do it. I have one part of him.”

"You’ve been my little bit of magic.”

Out of the Blue:

“I used to be scared of dogs too.”

“Are you still?”

“Nah. I lived with a werewolf, and he cured me.”

“Really?!” Kieron’s eyes went big again, no longer afraid. Grant felt a rush of affection for the sweet little face. He loved kids.

“Really,” he confirmed, “And let me tell you, he was one of the nicest people you could possibly meet, and not scary at all. He liked chocolate, and eggs for breakfast, and reading books and watching telly, and he never ever bit anyone.”

“Wow.”

Remus had come up again. For the hundredth time that day, it seemed. Bloody hell, Grant thought to himself, we are in a nostalgic mood, aren’t we? As he wasn’t sleeping, he thought he may as well give into it. He leaned down to the bottom of the bookcase, very slowly, so as not to disturb Kieron, and pulled out a shoebox from the lowest shelf. Opening it in his lap, he bit his lip. All his Remus stuff.

Not very much; really just a few letters, and some scribbled down addresses and phone numbers; the takeaway menu from their favourite Chinese restaurant, and a book of matches from Remus’s first gay bar.

[rainbowsky]

Just when I thought I couldn't love that man more than I already did! Wow. His sentiments are so much like my own.

I have read Beijing Story and I've seen Lan Yu at least a half a dozen times, and I 100% agree with his sentiment on the book vs the film. The book is very classic BL in a lot of ways. It glorifies and over-emphasizes the sexual aspects of the relationship, to the point of seeming gratuitous and even exploitative.

I see this often in fan fiction, where the story seems to be built in service to sex scenes rather than the sex scenes being a natural part of the story of a deeper relationship. It's something I've become a bit more capable of overlooking sometimes, but I have a very strong preference for stories that give us fully realized characters who are grappling with challenging life circumstances, nuanced emotions and complex relationships.

The book also at times writes the sexual situations in ways that come across as unrealistic, inexperienced or voyeuristic/externalized. I remember thinking, "this is just a fanfic." There were sections where it didn't read like it was written by a gay man. (The author is anonymous, so who knows, maybe it wasn't).

Having said all of that, there were moments in that book that were utterly gutting and beautiful. I'm not trying to paint it in a negative light. I enjoyed the book and found much of it quite outstanding.

However, the film takes the relationship to another level for me. Through Kwan's lens the story becomes more satisfying - more realistic and natural.

It is so interesting to read his thoughts on this. Thanks so much, Pie. What a gift to be able to read these words.

I don't know if he and DD will work together in the future or not, but it would certainly be a dream come true for me!!

What are the chances of that? That two of my favorite Chinese language gay films, Happy Together and Lan Yu, would cross paths with GG and DD in this way? First Wong Kar Wai working with GG on the Tasogare ad, and now DD and Stanley Kwan following each other on Weibo? I feel like GG and DD are magical creatures.

A very young Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬 (right) directing Leslie Cheung 張國榮 (left) and Anita Mui 梅艷芳 (middle) for Rouge 胭脂扣 (1987). Kwan would win the Best Director title for the film at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬 is not only a famous director from Hong Kong, but also the first well-known openly gay figure in Hong Kong entertainment. He came out of the closet in 1996 (before Leslie Cheung, who did so in 1997), in the documentary he directed for the British Film Institute named Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema 男生女相：華語電影之性別. His works had garnered accolades for their in-depth portrayal of female characters, at the time when women in local movies often did little more than being pretty and screaming a lot.

(Under the cut: Director Kwan’s own words on one of his most famous works and a gay film classic in Chinese-language cinema, Lan Yu (2001), in 2022 after BL culture has entered mainstream)

Keep reading

[singharit]

A Not-So-Quick and Dirty Rundown on Queer Thai TV

Have you ever thought to yourself, "wow, I love how queer-romance oriented fanfiction is. I wish there was something that level of ridiculous but profesionally made so I don't have to survive on the crumbs of Western shows."

Yes?

Boy, have I got an industry for you.

Over the past few years Thai TV, and Thai queer TV in particular, has somewhat exploded in popularity not unlike Korea’s Hallyu wave of yesteryear. It’s new on the scene, it’s got its own little quirks that set it apart from Korean or Japanese TV, and to many people it seems a bit more exotic. It's really not that dense of an industry to break into, but I am nothing if not pedantic about literally everything ever, hence this post.

Contents

An Industry Overview

Language & Cultural Notes

What To Watch

Links & Resources

◇   ◆   ◇ 

An Industry Overview.

Production companies in Thailand are not dissimilar to K-Pop record labels, or perhaps a comparison to '30s Hollywood might be more apt. Actors sign to a company as young adults -- the primary big hitter being GMMTV -- and that company produces dramas almost exclusively featuring actors from its on-call stable.

Now, a few years ago some higher ups at GMMTV realised that shows with queer characters were getting way, way, more views than their solely straight ones. Solution? Make more, except focus on solely on the queer characters this time. Thus an industry was born.

These shows are referred to internationally as either BL or GL, boys’ love and girls’ love, and within Thailand as Y-stories. I fucking hate the terms BL and GL so will not be using them, but that seems to be the “””official””” way to refer to both the industry and fandom.

They also tend to be a few things:

Very male heavy. Things have started changing lately, with more female characters in general being written, but you can still expect many women to be either the protagonist’s sister, mother, ex-girlfriend, or first love.

About light-skinned, Thai-Chinese origin, middle-class characters from Bangkok. This is also slowly changing with some shows set in e.g. Chiang Mai or Phuket, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

Character-driven and focused almost entirely on romance. Any other type of plot that happens is a side effect, not an intentional stop on the road to getting these guys to kiss.

Based around more than one couple, and not just in a side-plot kind of way. There’ll be at least two, more commonly three, pairs that share screentime with something like a 70/30 or 50/30/20 split.

Single season shows, where a season can be anywhere from eight to fourteen 40-minute episodes. Second seasons do exist but are rare.

Full of fanservice. Cutie Pie recently had thirteen minute make-out scene, and guys will frequently be shirtless for no reason other than to show off their pecs. You get used to it after a while.

Common tropes & things you’ll see a lot of:

Engineers! Why is Thailand so obsessed with engineering students? I have no idea! But you’ll see at least one in 90% of dramas, so you’d better get used to them.

What Westerners might consider to be strange ethics, e.g. booze blurred out and scenes with guns having big “don’t try this at home” warnings emblazoned on top, but sexual assault explicitly shown.

Painfully obvious product placement. It’s a necessary evil for these shows to get that sponsorship $$$.

A baffling insistence on refusing to hire sound engineers, which is made all the more egregious by the equal insistence on featuring live singing.

Coming-of-age stories.

Cringe. Cringe. Cringe. The secondhand embarrassment is soooo real sometimes.

Friend squads to die for.

Happy endings!

Now, one thing I can’t gloss over is gay-for-pay. It’s a thing. It’s no use pretending that it doesn’t exist, especially when it’s so prevelant. When these types of shows starting becoming popular, a few actors realised that by giving another guy one single, painful to watch, peck on the lips, they could build up a legion of fans ready to scream, “he can’t be homophobic, he was in a gay show!”, and that they could make bank while doing so. I’m not going to name names here, except I absolutely am. Krist Perawat, God Itthiphat, and Mean Phiravich are shitty people and should be ashamed. But bottom line, unless an actor is proven to actually be an ally or queer themselves, don’t trust them.

Related to the above: RPS and actor pair-ups. When casting actors, production companies tend to focus on casting a set couple with both marketability and potential long-term chemistry. The idea behind this is that pair two actors up for a significant amount of time and it’ll allow them to be more comfortable together, thus allowing better chemistry and more complex storylines. Gun Atthaphan & Off Jumpol, for example, in their first appearance together had a very chaste questioning-your-sexuality storyline, whereas their most recent work, after a partnership of six years, featured them as gang members explicitly shown to be sleeping together. These actors build up a rapport, develop a certain dynamic that suits them, and fans watch a new show for them rather than the plot. For some, like OffGun, this works great! They’ve been together a long time, are good friends as a result of that, and they’re now old enough to know to set boundaries with fans. For others, for a variety of reasons, this system crashes and burns. When I talk about the shows themselves a bit further down, this is why I’ll be noting the actors. Watch a few shows and you’ll notice that actors are important to understanding the dynamics you’ll be getting.

But! Despite how dire this industry can seem from what I’ve been talking about above, there are many queer actors and creatives supporting each other and using these shows as a vehicle to express themselves, producing content that wouldn’t otherwise be welcomed on TV. In the last two or three years alone, the environment has become much more open and welcoming, and it’s been a really beautiful thing watch the industry and all of the people involved flourish.

Kings Tul Pakorn & Max Nattapol

◇   ◆   ◇

Language & culture notes:

Thai romanisation is not standardised. At all. There’s multiple systems in use and depending on the system, and the translator, you could have three or four ways of romanising one name, e.g. Mes, Met, Med, or Mate. Another particular recurring point of confusion I see often is Kan vs Gun.

Thai full names are long and too unwieldy for everyday life. Every Thai person goes by a nickname instead of their given name, which can be basically any word in existence. Surnames are only used for formal occasions and official documents and such. Also, every family’s surname is unique, so you can immediately tell when people are related.

Name order is Nickname Forename Surname, while actors are referred to as Nickname Forename. E.g. for Max Nattapol, Max is the nickname while Nattapol is the forename. His surname, which I just had to google, is Diloknawarit.

The exception to this is actors who are mixed race and those who’ve spent time abroad, e.g. Jeff Satur and Perth Nakhun, whose legal names are Worakamon Satur and Stewart Nakhuntanagarn Screaigh, respectively.

It’s not uncommon for Thais to change their legal names, mainly either for auspicious reasons or to emphasise a new phase in their life. This is why you have people like Fiat Pattadon suddenly becoming Fiat Patchata

Thailand uses both the Gregorian and Buddhist calendars. They both use the same days and months but the Buddhist year reckoning is 543 years ahead, making this year, 2022, 2565.

Any shows set outside of Bangkok will usually have Thai subtitles since the Northern & Southern varieties of Thai are full dialects, not just accents. You can’t get rid of the subs so just ignore them.

Honorifics & vocab:

P’ - precedes the first name of your elder. E.g., P’Sean, P’Kit. Pronounced literally as the letter ‘p’. Sometimes used as a term of address on its own, in which case it tends to be romanised as phi. Gender neutral.

Nong - precedes the first name of your junior. E.g. Nong’Yo, Nong’Ram. Sometimes shortened to just ‘N’’. Also used as a term of address on its own. Not strictly required to be respectful, so comes across more as affectionate. Also gender neutral.

Ai’ - precedes the first name of a man. Quite rude, so using it implies either disrespect or, with a friend, real closeness in the same way that an English speaker might call a friend “bitch” or “dickhead”. The female equivalent is Ee’.

Hia - precedes the first name of an older close male friend or relative. Used within Thai-Chinese families, or towards a person of Thai-Chinese descent, meaning literally “older brother”. Implies much more closeness than phi. The female equivalent is Je.

(Can also mean “fuck” when said in a different tone, just to be confusing.)

Nu - diminutive literally meaning mouse, used mainly by parents and for very young children.

Khun - Mr/Mrs/Miss. A general use polite term, can be used either on its own, preceeding a first name, or preceeding a title. When preceeding a title tends to make words more formal. E.g. por = dad, khun por = father. Gender neutral.

Khun Nu - Mr mouse? Nope! Young master. E.g. Tankhun in Kinnporsche is a Khun Nu, and Kuea in Cutie Pie is Nu Kuea.

Faen - gender neutral term for significant other. Often times when you see the term boyfriend or girlfriend used it’s actually this instead, so worth remembering. Incredibly useful for conversations with a double meaning.

Krub and Ka - sentence enders, essentially a politeness marker. Can also be used on their own as an acknowledgement or an “excuse me?” kind of thing. Krub is male while Ka is female. Also romanised as khrap and kha.

Want a video about this from someone actually Thai? Perth Nakhun has gotchu.

◇   ◆   ◇

THE SHOWS

Most of these shows are available, legally, for free on YouTube with subtitles. For those that aren’t, or if any links have since died, message me. Fansub teams are scattered around a bit haphazardly so it's hard to know where to look sometimes but these (drama)s are very (cool) so you should definitely give them a go.

I’m focusing solely on TV here; films are a whole other area which I don’t have much experience in. For a list of like, literally every show and film ever, see here.

Key ✨ - Personal recommendations 🏳️‍🌈 - Openly queer cast and/or crew involved in the show Title, with a link to the listing on MyDramaList Synopsis, including notable cast members. Notes, aka gossip & triggers. Links

Summaries my own, because my own may suck but the official ones are even worse.

◇   ◆   ◇

The Classics.

Note: quality on these shows tends to be a lot lower than recent ones. These are the very start of the industry, and so show a time before they’d found their footing. They're messy, kinda cringey, and filled with teenagers, but on the other hand, there’s a certain charm to them because of that? They feel more genuine for their amateurish production, like they've been made for love rather than money, and there’s a real sweetness to a lot of the couples.

🏳️‍🌈 2 Moons

After Wayo enters the same university as his longtime crush Pha, he joins a competition to be crowned the campus moon (think prom king) in an effort to get Pha’s attention. As the former moon Pha is in charge of mentoring the new crop of hopefuls, but he seems to have a strange dislike for Wayo. Meanwhile, Wayo's best friend Ming attempts to win over a taciturn senior, Kit.

Note: this show had drama. Note the lack of actor's names. After Pha's actor, God Itthipat, revealed himself to be a homophobe that auditioned for the show solely to boost his modelling career, the author of the original novel took the opportunity to reveal she didn't like the cast and fired everyone. A reboot with a new cast — very imaginatively named 2 Moons 2 — was produced with plans to finish out the rest of the series, but that also crashed and burned via one of the producers coming onto and then being rejected by Wayo's new actor, Earth Teerapat. The producer fired Earth from any promotional stuff and the next season and then blacklisted him, the rest of the cast quit in protest, and season 3 has been languishing ever since. Last I heard the production company were refusing to admit any fault and going through a new round of auditions with little success. Actually a pretty sweet show on its own merits, so has quite a few fans despite all of this. General consensus is that 2 Moons 2 is the better series but it also moves a lot faster and I prefer the cast of S1. Watch either; you get more plot with S2 but it doesn't matter in terms of continuity.

(🏳️‍🌈 applies to the original 2 Moons only, with Kit’s actor aka Copter Panuwat being nonbinary.)

S1 Trailer ♦  S2 Trailer  ♦  Watch S1 and S2

🏳️‍🌈 Love By Chance

Pete (Saint Suppapong) is a shy student who keeps to himself to hide the fact that he’s gay after previous experiences with violent homophobia. A chance encounter with the hotheaded and outspoken Ae (Perth Tanapon) brings him out of his shell to the point where he takes a chance on not just friendship, but also love.

Note: another one with drama. The short version is that a) only one of the cast (Earth Katsamonnat) is out as queer, resulting in many of the gay-for-pay actors belittling and bullying him on set, and b) Perth’s manager at one point started talking shit publicly about Saint, implying that he gets acting roles via selling himself to producers. Seemingly owing to age and industry inexperience Perth basically ignored the entire thing was happening, and what started as a few snide comments blew up to result in what looked like a very real and very public breakup. Earth and Saint both reject any association with the show now.

Note v.2: TW for rape and pseudo-incest (step-brother romance), but both are side storylines that are easily skipped with no impact on the rest of the show. Skip any scenes with Kengkla, Tum, and Tar. Despite [gestures] everything, the AePete parts are incredibly sweet and worth watching.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

✨ Love Sick

Student council member Punn’s (White Nawat) father wants Punn to date his boss’ daughter, never mind that Punn already has a girlfriend. The only thing that could sway him from the idea is if Punn had a boyfriend instead. Punn’s target for the farce? Noh (Captain Chonlathorn), president of the school music club who is desperate to get more funding for their activities.

Note: This is the show. The one that paved the way. I watched this show in 2016 and still think about Punn and Noh today. Skip any scenes with the girls, since their storyline is waaaay lower quality and also something that was written just to fill the time.

Trailer ♦  Links  ♦  S1 Playlist

Make It Right

After his girlfriend cheats on him, Fuse (Peak Peemapol) gets drunk and sleeps with a friend, Tee (Boom Krittapak). At the same time, Frame (Ohm Pawat) and Book (Toey Sittiwat) also sleep together. The story revolves around these four and their attempts to rationalise that night with their previous straight identities.

TW: consent issues.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

Puppy Honey

When their school club for looking after stray animals is threatened with disbandment by the dean, best friends Porsche (Kang Korn) and Pick (Off Jumpol) try to recruit the dean's neice Emma (Cherreen Nachjaree) and her best friend Rome (Gun Atthaphan) to help change his mind. There's just one problem: Emma is terrified of dogs.

No trailer :( ♦  Watch Here

Sotus

Engineering student Arthit (Krist Perawat) is known for his hazing of incoming first-years, but he meets his match with the arrival of new student Kongpob (Singto Prachaya). The two don't want to like each other, but are drawn together nonetheless.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here (Sotus S is S2. Ignore that.)

✨Together With Me

Reunited for the first time in years at university, best friends Korn (Max Nattapol) and Knock (Tul Pakorn) drunkenly spend the night together. Afterwards they try to work out if they’d work as a couple, and if it’s even possible to go back to being just friends.

Note: this is actually a prequel to another drama, Bad Romance, but that isn't required watching for continuity.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

◇   ◆   ◇

The New Blood.

Now we're getting somewhere! These are the post-2019 releases, which, as the industry was starting to get established in its norms, marked a significant uptick in both quality and quantity.

🏳️‍🌈 2gether

With an admirer making unwanted advances toward him, cheerleader Tine (Win Metawin) decides that the perfect thing to do to get him to back off is be in a very public, fake, relationship with the campus hottie, Sarawat (Bright Vachirawit).

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈✨ 3 Will Be Free

What do a male stripper (Joss Way-ar), a pickpocket conwoman (Mild Lapassalan), and a gang princeling (Tay Tawan) have in common? Being bisexual, accidentally murdering a man, and going on the run together, of course.

Note: Polyamory and also a major trans character!

TW: attempted rape.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈✨ A Tale of Thousand Stars

Rich kid Tian (Mix Sahaphap) spends his time gambling and drinking the days away; he has a terminal heart condition so it's not like it's his life is worth anything, right? Wrong. After unexpectedly recieving a heart transplant from a young teacher killed in a car crash, he abandons his life in Bangkok to move to her rural (aka lacking in electricity and running water) village in an attempt to find some meaning in his life, and to keep a promise she made to a forest ranger, Phupha (Earth Pirapat).

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈✨ Bad Buddy

A rivals to lovers comedy where two university students, Pat (Ohm Pawat) and Pran (Nanon Korapat), who’ve grown up next door to each other, and whose families are feuding a la Romeo and Juliet, decide that generational trauma has had its turn; they’re gonna fall in love instead.

Note: F/F side pair!

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 Dark Blue Kiss

Pete (Tay Tawan) and Kao (New Thitipoom) are a couple and generally happy together, but that happiness is threatened by Kao’s reluctance to come out to his mother, something that Pete can’t understand. Kao, on the other hand, is tired of Pete’s possessiveness and jealousy. The two of them try to work out whether they care about each other enough to work through their issues.

Meanwhile, coffee shop owner Sun (Podd Suphakorn) takes in and employs bad boy Mork (Fluke Gawin) in an attempt to reform him.

Note: This is actually the third part of a series, following Kiss and Kiss Me Again, but those aren’t required watching afaik. There’s an official cut of all the PeteKao scenes Kiss Me Again for people who don’t wanna slog through Straight Nonsense, but I haven’t seen it so can’t say anything for the coherency.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 The Eclipse

Suppalo is a prestigious all-boys high school known for being unyielding in its standards, which fall to its prefects, including Akk (First Kanaphan), to enforce and maintain. On the outside, everything looks fine. On the inside, students protest daily about restrictive uniform rules, the administration tacitly encourage the bullying and osctracism of nonconforming students, and a beloved teacher recently committed suicide. New transfer student Ayan (Khaotung Thanawat) couldn’t give a shit about Suppalo’s rules. What he cares about is finding the truth behind his uncle’s death, what drove him to that point, and what it is about the school that inspires such blind compliance in Akk.

Note: this show has an interesting backstory in that the director, Golf Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, originally worked in the film industry before becoming Thailand’s first openly trans MP. When they lost their seat due to the military cracking down on pro-democracy protests and ousting anyone from parliament they deemed too liberal, Golf returned to filmmaking with a focus on subversive and anti-establishment media, including this show!

Trailer ♦ Watch Here

Enchanté

Returning to Thailand after spending time in France, Theo (Book Kasidet) is quickly bored by his change in surroundings and lack of friends, so turns to writing in a library book to someone he refers to as “Enchanté”. At his friend Akk’s (Force Jiratchapong) suggestion, the two of them start searching for his penpal. The problem? Not one, but four guys step forward.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 ✨ He’s Coming To Me

Amnesiac ghost Met (Singto Prachaya) waits for the day that one of his relatives will visit his grave so he can leave Earth and reincarnate. He spends 20 years like this, until one day he encounters a boy, Thun (Ohm Pawat), who can not only see him, but who also says his death was not accidental. Leaving the graveyard together, the two of them try to unravel the mystery of who Met was and why he’s been forgotten.

Trailer ♦ Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 ✨ I Told Sunset About You / Last Twilight in Phuket / I Promised You The Moon

After a childhood falling out, close friends Teh (Billkin Putthipong) and Oh-aew (PP Krit) ended up as bitter rivals. Now in their last year of high school and preparing for university entrance exams, the two of them are thrown together again by a Chinese language class. Oh-aew is failing miserably. Teh grew up speaking the language. What starts as tutoring in an attempt to repair their relationship quickly turns into something a lot more as they try to cope with the return of their friendship and feelings.

Note: whatever the Thai genre equivalent of arthouse lgbt cinema is, this series is it. It’s so real.

ITSAY Trailer ♦  Watch Here (VPN to the UK required)

🏳️‍🌈 ✨ KinnPorsche

After saving a man being attacked behind the bar where he works, Porsche (Apo Nattawin) finds out that that man, Kinn (Mile Phakphum), is the heir to one of Thailand’s biggest crime families. Faced with debt, a younger brother to put through university, and the family patriarch’s gratitude, Porsche takes a job as Kinn’s bodyguard. All he has to do to survive is swallow his morals, keep Kinn safe, and try to ignore how much he wants to sleep with him.

Trailer ♦ Watch Here (First 3 episodes available for free, full uncut 18+ ver. available only through subscription).

(Also has a bangin’ theme song in both English and Thai.)

✨ Manner of Death

Returning to the small town where he grew up after moving away for university, one of coroner Bun’s (Tul Pakorn) first cases when he arrives is the supposed suicide of a childhood friend. It doesn’t matter that she was drugged prior to her death, nor that there were signs of a fight in her home, the police want her case buried so that’s what he’s told to do. Bun refuses. After being backed into a corner by threats and violence from an unknown source, he's forced to team up with mysterious bar owner Tan (Max Nattapol) to find out the truth, who all the evidence seems to point to as her killer.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

✨ Not Me

Identical twins Black and White (both Gun Atthaphan) grew up to have completely different lives after their parents divorced. When Black is beaten within an inch of his life by an unknown assailant, the pampered White goes undercover in Black’s anarchist gang as his twin to try and find out who did it, and forges a connection with Black’s rival, Sean (Off Jumpol), in the process.

Trailer ♦  Watch here

TharnType

Type (Gulf Kanuwat) is generally known to be very friendly and outgoing, except for one thing: he's homophobic due to being molested by a gay man as a child. When he enters university and finds that his new roomate, Tharn (Mew Suppasit), is out and proud? He wages a campaign to get Tharn to move out, of course. Tharn stands his ground, and so starts their life of constant push and pull.

Note: This show had a less than stellar reputation from the get-go due to the storyline, and it didn't help matters when Mew was cast. During promotions of his previous show, What The Duck, Mew at one point came onto his costar, Art Pakpoom. By Art’s account Mew had trouble separating the show from their real lives, thought they were actually dating, and became incredibly controlling and possessive over him. This all came out via Art having a breakdown on I think an instagram live? Fans, typically, rallied behind Mew in this, saying that Art had led him on with their contractually obligated public affection and was the worse party of the two of them for the fact that he was airing their dirty laundy in public. It became a whole Thing for a week or two, Art’s mental state and career both took a nosedive, and now everyone ignores that it ever happened. There was a whole push of MewGulf as a fanservice couple afterwards to try and make us forget about Art, which for a lot of people seems to have worked :/ Apparently people watched this because the kissing is good? Idk I didn’t watch it.

Note v.2: This is a spin-off of Love By Chance, so same warnings apply wrt Tum & Tar.

(I guess it qualifies for 🏳️‍🌈 considering Mew, but god, at what cost?)

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

Theory of Love

Film student Third (Gun Atthaphan) decides it's time to get over his years-long unrequited love for his oblivious best friend, Khai (Off Jumpol). Taking cues from his favourite films, he confesses in one last ditch attempt that goes nowhere. And then, just as he starts to pull away, Khai starts his own chase.

Trailer ♦ Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 Until We Meet Again

After a tragic end to their romance, lovers Korn (Kao Noppakao) and Intouch (Earth Katsamonnat) are reincarnated as Dean (Ohm Thitiwat) and Pharm (Fluke Natouch). Meeting for the first time again when Pharm enters university, Dean and Pharm are instantly drawn to each other. They grapple with the concept of fate and falling in love so quickly, while flashbacks show the course of Korn and In’s relationship.

Note: big suicide tw for this!

Trailer ♦ Watch on YT or on Viki

Why R U?

Aspiring writer Zon (Tommy Sittichok) finds out that his sister has been using him and his rival, Saifah (Jimmy Karn), as fodder for her own romance novel. He demands that she take it down and she agrees, but only, she says, if he can prove that a) he’s a better writer than she is, and b) there’s absolutely nothing between him and Saifah.

Simultaneously, rich boy Fighter (Zee Pruk) tries to win the heart of a poor student, Tutor (Saint Suppapong), while chafing under his father’s expectations of a girlfriend and a career in business.

Note: this show is really lopsided. It’s also a hot mess. Initial plans were for the SaifahZon story to take centre stage, however they were filming each episode as they went and Covid happened partway through production and put a halt to everything. Trying to salvage whatever they could, they took what they’d already shot, aka the FighterTutor storyline, and finished the show with that, resulting in a mess of timeskips and general weirdness. I find the dynamics interesting enough to still be in invested, but obviously ymmv.

Trailer ♦ Watch Here

◇   ◆   ◇

The Pulp.

Like I said, post-2019 we've been getting a lot of new releases per year.  This is a selective round-up of stuff from smaller studios, shows with prominent actors, good stuff that just didn't reach the right audience, and the low-quality fluff.

Cutie Pie

The sons of two prominent families, Lian (Zee Pruk) and Kuea (New Chawarin), have been engaged since they were young. When an argument splits them up, Kuea is determined to use it as an opportunity to be himself rather than the doll-like image of a fiancé that he had portrayed for Lian. Lian, on the other hand, decides to pull out all the stops to win Kuea back, making sure that this time there's no obligation attached to their love.

Trailer ♦ Watch on YT or on Viki

Cupid’s Last Wish

Win (Mix Sahaphap) and Korn (Earth Pirapat) are close friends until Win's father dies and bequeaths Korn shares in the family business. Convinced that Korn was only using him for his family money, Win cuts off all contact. When a car crash somehow results in Win swapping bodies with his sister, he’s told that to turn back he must travel to four different temples scattered across Thailand in seven days, and that he must do it alongside Korn.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 Diary of Tootsies

When a friendship group of three gays and a lesbian all get dumped on the same day, they vow to each other to find love before the year is out.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

🏳️‍🌈 Gen Y

Hearing that there's one particular senior at university who's hard to approach, playboy Mark (Kimmon Varodom) makes it a personal mission to find, win over, and date medical student Kit (Copter Panuwat).

Note: I would be tempted to call this a redemption series if it weren't such a mess. After everything that was the first 2 Moons cancellation, fan favourite actors for Ming (Kimmon) and Kit (Copter) stuck together. This is supposedly what their season 2 would've been, if it existed, right down to Wayo (Bas Suradej) also being present as Mark's best friend, called Wayu here. Everything is much the same, both the Mark/MingKit dynamic and Wayo/u mooning over Pha, whose face is consistenly not shown and who also at one point dies so that the writers can pair Wayu up with the winner of a fan poll instead. No, I am not making this up, and yes, it is exactly as funny as it sounds.

✨ Great Men Academy

Hopeless romantic Love (New Chanyapuk) makes a wish on a unicorn (I know… just go with it) to turn into a guy (James Teeradon) so she can attend the same all-boys school as her crush. Gender bender shenanigans and rom-com situations occur as she tries to fit in, and when her male form instead catches the eye of another senior, Tangmo (JJ Kritsanapoom).

Note: I... actually really enjoyed this. James Teeradon in particular is phenomenal, as always, but the whole cast are great.

Trailer

🏳️‍🌈 Lovely Writer

Gene (Up Poompat) is a successful BL writer, never mind that he’s desperate to break into another genre like fantasy. His work is so successful, in fact, that his most recent novel gets turned into a TV show. As producer of the show and present on set everyday, he forges a bond with his leading man Nubsib (Kao Noppakao), but their blossoming relationship is soon threatened by the industry environment, fan expectations, and the very show that brought them together.

Note: this has a lot of meta commentary on the industry as a whole. Even if it weren’t good, which it is, it would be worth watching for that alone.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

My Engineer

Bohn (Cooper Patpasit) is a self-acknowledged shitty person who forces an underclassman, Duen (Poy Kritsanapong), into bringing him a red rose everyday in an attempt to weird hazing thing. It starts as a joke, but Bohn stops laughing when their forced proximity actually brings them together.

Meanwhile, extrovert King (Lay Talay) attempts to win over serious introvert Ram (Perth Nakhun).

Note: BohnDuen might be the primary couple, but RamKing is the highlight of this drama. We're supposedly getting a S2 centred on RamKing... eventually.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here (...and the fanmade RamKing cut here.)

My Ride

Medical student Tawan (Fame Chawinroj) and motorcycle taxi driver Mork (Fluke Pongsakorn) meet by chance one day when Tawan hires Mork to drive him across town. This one ride turns into many, and their feelings turn into love, regardless of the class difference.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

My Secret Love

Kimhant (Earth Teerapat) is a conscientious student who cares a lot about maintaining both his own and the university’s reputation. Mek (Fluk Chatchawan), on the other hand, cares more about his youtube channel than his degree. When a prank of Mek’s goes awry, the two of them are forced to first work together, and later fake date, to save themselves from suspension.

Note: this show has absolutely no business being as good as it is??

Trailer ♦ Watch Here

Secret Crush on You

At the beginning of his university life, Toh (Seng Wichai) falls in love at first sight with third-year basketball player Nuea (Billy Patchanon). Drunk on his first love but lacking the confidence to confess, Toh turns full-on stalker. When fate throws them together regardless of Toh’s wish to keep his distance, will he take the chance he’s given?

Note: This show is all about taking the characters who are typically the butt of jokes in Thai dramas and showing that they deserve love too. We have openly weird, chubby, and trans characters all having their own storylines and it’s incredibly sweet. Also, Saint Suppapong has seemingly aquired a flock of baby gays to guide.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

✨ The Stranded

After a tsunami strands a group of teens on their island school, they divide into groups as they try and work out not only how to survive, but also how to leave.

Note: Fair warning, the first season ends on a cliffhanger and we’re unlikely to get another due to the death of the lead actor.

Trailer ♦ On Netflix

✨ Triage

Losing a patient is nothing new for A&E doctor Tin (Tae Darvid). What is new is pronouncing that patient, Tol (Tee Thanapon), dead from a car crash, and then, the following day, seeing him be wheeled into the emergency room again. And again. And again. The same day loops over and over, and as Tin tries to learn how to escape, he gets closer to both Tol and also to a hospital conspiracy that threatens to consume them both.

Note: the broadcasters were doing this weird thing where the episodes were only available legally on YT for a two-hour window after they aired in Thailand. Ordinarily I would say to support the legal upload, but I feel like at that point it’s almost a moral obligation to encourage piracy.

As a sidenote, this and Manner of Death are by the same author. They’re only tangentially related though (ie Bun shows up to do an autopsy) so you don’t need to watch both for continuity.

Trailer ♦ Short film ♦ Ahoy!

Vice Versa

Talay (Sea Tawinan) is ecstatic when he lands his dream job, except that when his friends take him to the beach to celebrate, he drowns. Waking up in an alternate universe and the body of a rich boy, Tess (Ohm Pawat), he's told to find someone else, essentially his soulmate, who has also crossed over so that they can go home together and Talay can get back to his life. Whoever it is (Jimmy Jitaraphol) in the body of Tess’ friend Tun (Nanon Korapat) may fit the bill, but he has zero intention of leaving this world that he likes more than their original.

Trailer

You're My Sky

Thorn (Suar Kritsanapong) and Tupfah (Tae Chayapat) are both basketball players, but while Thorn is determined to turn professional if possible, Tupfah has put his own ambitions on hold. As they spend time together, and Thorn tries to convince Tupfah to return to the sport they both love, they, of course, fall in love themselves.

Trailer ♦  Watch Here

YYY

When one of Nott's (Yoon Phusanu) inventions goes haywire and wreaks havoc in his apartment building, he's on the verge of being kicked out. Luckily, prospective tenant Punn (Lay Talay) arrives just in time. Preying on the landlady's sympathy, the two of them concoct a plan to fake date in exchange for Nott’s continued residence.

Note: big flashing lights tw for the first minute of episode 1. This entire show is like someone’s acid trip come to life.

Trailer

◇   ◆   ◇

Currently Airing

Between Us (Aka Hemp Rope among fans)

A spinoff of Until We Meet Again, focused on Pharm and Dean’s friends Win (Boun Noppanut) and Team (Prem Warut) as they start a friend-with-benefits relationship that morphs into love. Win helps Team with his insomnia, and Team helps with feeling wanted.

Trailer 1 | Trailer 2

Ghost Host, Ghost House

A recent returnee to Thailand form the US, Kevin (Tod Techit) is fascinated by ghosts and Thailand’s cultural prevalence of them. Disregarding the warnings of his extended family and the local handyman, Pleum (Boy Nattapon), who he may have just a tiny crush on, he happily goes ghost hunting and exploring abandoned buildings in search for them, not knowing that there are some much closer than he thinks.

Trailer

Love in the Air

When Rain’s (Noeul Nuttarat) car breaks down one day and a handsome stranger fixes it for him roadside, he doesn’t expect that stranger to be Phayu (Boss Chaikamon), notable faculty alumnus and the object of his crush’s affections. Being an idiot, Rain hatches a plan to make Phayu fall for him in an attempt to get one over on him, but soon enough he’s the one catching feelings.

Simultaneously, Rain’s best friend Sky (Peat Wasuthorn) has a one night stand with rich boy Prapai (Fort Thitipong). Having recently left an abusive relationship, Sky isn’t looking for anything serious, but that doesn’t deter Prapai who fell in love at first fuck and makes it his mission to both win Sky over, and show Sky that he’s someone to be treasured.

Trailer ♦ Watch for free cut & on subscription uncut. (Note: the uncut ver. isn’t legally available in Europe.)

◇   ◆   ◇

Upcoming excitement.

Gap

Mon (Becky Armstrong), a fresh graduate, starts working as an intern in a big company because she admires the chairwoman, Sam (Freen Sarocha). She soon learns that Sam is nothing like her media persona, but is drawn to her when their paths cross anyway.

Note: Girls!!! Holy shit!!!!! So this is actually the first major F/F production that I’m aware of, and it came into existences at the behest of Saint Suppapong. After Saint starred in Love By Chance and Why R U he realised how skewed the industry was in favour of men, and actually founded his own production company to try and combat that. (Secret Crush On You was another of his productions!) This show is hopefully the first in a looong line of upcoming F/F dramas.

A few little teasers.

Moonlight Chicken

Jim (Earth Pirapat) is the owner of a Hainanese chicken restaurant. He values a simple life of making good food and looking after his customers. One night when looking after a drunk customer, Wen (Mix Sahaphap), they end up sleeping together, which quickly turns into a relationship that threatens the tight-knit little community that Jim has built.

Trailer

Never Let Me Go

Following the death of his mobster father, Neung (Phuwin Tangsakyuen) is the one left to pick up the pieces and take over the family empire. Unused to trusting people, he initially shuns the new bodyguard, Palm (Pond Naravit), that his mother assigns to him, but tensions quickly get the better of them and they start to fall in love.

Trailer

Wish Me Luck

Rak (Fiat Patchata) is somehow holding his own while juggling two jobs, one at a supermarket, the other as an intern for a small advertising firm. The supermarket is the least demanding of the two, but the advertising firm has the bonus of his very hot boss, Chai/Shine (Na Naphat), who takes it upon himself to personally oversee Rak’s vocational training. But as the work piles up and Rak struggles to hold his head above the water, he has to decide which is more important to him, and whether he’s going to let his emotions get in the way.

Trailer

Wish You Luck (yes, these two are named very confusingly.)

After a devastating event leaves cities empty and countless people dead, Ken (Tonnam Piamchol) survives by living alone in the wilderness, where his bad luck can’t jinx anyone he cares about. Q (Title Teshin), a strange boy he comes across one day, is trying to make his way home to Chiang Mai. Thrown together by the road, the two try to survive and make what they can of the new world.

Note: Tonnam lead role!!! Tonnam has been in a lot of dramas lately, including Triage, Cutie Pie, and Love in the Air, in supporting & background parts. He somehow manages to be a great actor even when he has literally 2 lines in a scene to work with, so we’re all really excited to see him as a lead 🥰

Trailer

◇   ◆   ◇

Links

Networks: @/asiansapphics @/asianlgbtqdramas @/lakornet @/asianlgbtnetwork

General where to watch stuff legally:

GMMTV YT

GagaOOLala (subscription service)

Viki

iQiyi

WeTV (finnicky depending on your region)

Viu (need to vpn to Southeast Asia or Middle East)

◇   ◆   ◇

@yilinglaozus​ @dekaja​ @sp8sexual​ you all liked my previous post so now you have to deal with this one too <3

[marimopeace]

there's a limit on how much you can be an isekai intellectual...

a bunch of analyses have been popping up before me all day so i wanted to throw my hat into the ring. all love to ppl who are exercising their creative minds + ppl like geoff here who just talk about these things because of fan interest but i feel like there reaches a point where exploring the "types" of isekai is pointless? i've seen ppl list out the different types of villainess revenge isekai or fantasy mmorpg isekai but eh why fit them all into separate boxes like that?

i think it's easier to think of isekai as a "type" (genre) of itself with only two categories: 1) a focus on isekai (lit. another world) 2) tensei (lit. to be reborn). this allows for a variety of applications and thus tropes that ppl see so many trends of!

with isekai - in another world

you see everything from:

pure fantasy (inuyasha, digimon wait maybe not the best example but in my childhood mind i count digimon as pure fantasy, fushigi yugi)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (.hack//legend of twilight, sao ugh, log horizon, overlord (LOVE OVERLORD!)

otome game-esque worlds >>> this is where it gets complicated with "villainess routes" since i admit there are multiple villainess tropes but this is why it's nice to not think of this as a "sub-type/genre" bc it frees you from those complications! (the saint's magic power is omnipotent, the white cat's revenge as plotted from the dragon king's lap soso cute!, the savior's book cafe in another world, i'm a villainous daughter so i'm going to keep the last boss wait i can't remember if she's reborn in this one lmaooo see this is why rules make everything hard)

with tensei storylines - being reincarnated/reborn in another world as *insert character/role*

you see...

the same tropes!!

pure fantasy (a returner's magic should be special, reminiscence adonis, the lady and the beast, light and shadow, i can't think of a manga off the top of my head for this ah)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (so i'm a spider so what i stan kumoko so hard, her majesty's swarm, can't name another off the top of my head ah i hate lists shorter than two things...)

self-insert based games/novels (fiance's observation log of a self-proclaimed villainess, who made me a princess, death is the only ending for the villainess, the villainess wants to marry a commoner, honestly games vs novels are different applications but i'm not in the headspace to try to remember a bunch of both lol)

*insert line break to give random ppl a break from scrolling but tl; dr just enjoy things for what they are no need to micro analyze*

similar variations occur in both genres (if ppl want to be super technical i guess i'm arguing that isekai itself is a massive genre that has the "another world" subgenre and "reincarnation" subgenre tl; dr) so i think it's honestly a huge pain to try to separate all these trends into so many different types of stories. for me personally it's easier to not get overwhelmed by this gigantic umbrella of "isekai" that spans light novels, manhwa, manga, and mobile games by just stripping each story down into its trademark tropes (aka character archetypes, story structures) and slapping "oh this is a person going to a world that's not ours" and "this person gets reborn as blank in another world". none of this "omg this power fantasy is such a this kind of isekai moment" or "there are 14 different types of villainess revenge stories and this series fits into this" bc AH labels! limitations! circle-jerks via ppl trying to compartmentalize everything and sound smart for leaving a comment on story analysis instead of ooh-ahhing over a character's face! dividing things into light novel manga vs manga vs korean manhwa ft. female characters!

the last bit is mainly why i feel frustrated by ppl's insistence to group everything?

the video linked at the beginning of the post (honestly good video essay, i enjoyed it, i just kept thinking in my head the whole time "marimo these are tropes do not take the genre talk literally") has a baby comment thread talking about "korean isekai manhwas" as a genre featuring nothing but reincarnated villainess' and i can't.

like i cannot acknowledge that as a genre of any sort. the energy i felt reading through some of those insights takes me back to 2012 when all yt americans discovered k-pop and deemed all korean music k-pop from then on! (ppl still do this now, yes you are seen and don't talk to me pls i don't like you. k-pop is korean pop music and nothing less and nothing more. take a few seconds and try to parse apart aspects of korean culture instead of slamming everything into a monolithic label that has the letter k and a hyphen.) it feels so odd to see a bunch of young ppl on ig and tiktok acknowledge korean media that happens to be in the form of a webtoon as "oh stories all about young girls becoming villains in stories they made/played" bc it feels so reductive u.u

(positionality disclaimer that i'm praying isn't actually necessary: i am a 3rd-generation korean of japanese descent do not fite me i am exhausted irl of ppl asking for validation/verification bc massive shove off.)

breaking news! korean manhwa...is just as multifaceted as japanese manga...bc how can comics as an art-form not have multiple genres...huh such a shocker?!?! same likely applies to media in other parts of the world like chinese manhwa and french comics--not my place to explain either of those i just know those industries exist bc of wakfu and donghua shows by Tencent.

at the end of the day it's not like analyzing any kind of isekai is wrong--absolutely not!! i think it can be super fun to think about how isekai elements complicate a story (MCs trying to go back home, ppl from the og world, reincarnation plot-twists) or maybe even bash a series for including some kind of other world element when they could have just written a super fun fantasy.

insert marimo's brief ramble that hey you can get sick of truck-kun's hitting disillusioned guys who happen to be super duper smart or girls who happen to be master chefs/craftsmen but transporting a fully-grown being into a fantasy setting is the ultimate cheat code for making mundane modern technology seem cool and overpowered, and being reincarnated as a fully grown person in a world with a pre-made story/game set-up completely bypasses the need for an author to slowly flesh out world-building in a natural progression so isekai is actually a really smart writing tool it's just that there are some series where the author didn't use it well at all and it's cheesy or clearly isekai was misused as a vehicle for character/story development and it was pointless *DEEP BREATH OUT*

in this essay i will argue...lol i am such a culture studies major!! if i were an english major i would be talking all about writing but here i am having a side-tangent about world-building via someone being reborn wow i love this for me (don't get me started on when an author has someone reincarnate as a baby and the story is mostly them having warm fluffy moments with their family--typically father figures--and getting lots of powers i could and would and probably will rant about east asian toxicity)

but anyway am i crazy????? like yes for being passionate about the technical use of a word like genre (i am a scorpio rising let me be fussy pls) but i don't think it's a lot to ask for ppl to not unironically see "villainess revenge isekai" as the definition of korean manhwa.

idk as someone who resonates with why japanese isekai is so popular domestically + why a lot of korean manhwa feat. the same tropes (it's not for great reasons lads it's actually depressing tbh) i'm just starting to feel kind of pained by the generalization and need to separate "cute japanese girl in an otome game"/"japanese boy finds a harem in another world" from "korean girl dies and comes back as a villainess" bc they are just! applications to the same story device!!

recommendations for any who makes it this far down below <3

// also gladly recommend any of the examples i've listed in the above rant as i've read/watched all of them and adore them v much! //

save me princess

super refreshing fantasy manhwa ft. a princess and her ex-boyfriend having to save the world!

the beginning after the end

an AMERICAN web novel turned into a comic (but see it being not korean/japanese doesn't really matter when you just consider isekai as a genre...isn't it nice to not overthink it?) ft. a super-powerful wizard king reincarnated into another world and starting from scratch--gives mushoku tensei vibes but huge twists!

the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion

love love LOVE this story--read the title and you'll learn how this girl reincarnated as the character raeliana in a book gets married to a duke!

trash of the count's family

such a good novel!! a guy gets reborn as a lazy oaf and he takes the hero of the story under his wing...plot twists come up later on!

this time i will definitely be happy!

v good and refreshing for a shorter series! she's been reborn 3 times and remembers every time the hero's stabbed her in the back, and now she just wants to break up with him!

silver diamond

older manga but v good adventure w intrigue! a boy who loves plants get sucked into a desert world with demonic lizards and a mysterious bodyguard by his side. shonen-ai not BL but wonderful vibes nonetheless + great side characters!

the princess imprints a traitor

adore everything in this from the world (not in that way this society makes me so angry) to the machinations at play and the dynamic between the fl and ml

[secriden]

oh my gosh babe, no this is the absolute OPPOSITE of annoying i love LOVE it when people interact this way!! this is like the best part of fandom-- sort of dipping your toes into something, and then having someone friendly and nice be like 'LET ME SHOW YOU THE RICHES OF THIS KINGDOM'! *u* <3 (i have no idea who haobin is but I *think* I get the idea. xD)

re: Daou's enlistment

thank you for explaining the thai enlistment thing! but also...wow, daou was enlisted but still got time off to film Love in Translation? and do promotions? that's kind of cool (in that he could keep his career alive even while enlisted), although also sound so hard having to stay fit for military training. one of my good friends is in the infantry and the training is so brutal. but the buzz cut makes sooo much more sense now. i was wondering at the odd choice cuz its so 'rough and tumble' for the thai bl industry. although it definitely has its own aesthetic appeal.

all i know is that the whole clip where offroad jumps into daou's arms when he's in military fatigues is like... what kind of fanfic my lover who I thought was lost on the battlefield has returned to me scene am i watching come to life right now?? i could practically hear the swelling orchestral music. *w*

re: pentor & diamond

YES I made the connection about pentor shortly after i posted my reaction post. xDDD I'm still reeling from that. I really really really hope that if Mame decides to make Love Sand into a show that they recast Pentor. He was hilarious and I really enjoyed his scenes and he's SO SO handsome in that soft kind of winsome way. I WANT TO PROTECT HIM. Also I'm insanely intrigued by the way FortPeat seemed to be familiar/know Pentor fairly well in the BTS of Love Sea and I'm just wondering how?? like I'm wondering if its just from workshops or if they already have like an early friendship cuz of the overall tight knit thai bl actor community.

ohhh I'll check Diamond out! Are Laz1 broken up now that DaouOffroad are kind of focusing on their acting careers and Pentor is off doing another survival show?? IDK how I feel about him going the kpop route tho-- cuz he wouldn't have time for acting if he's going to be in training for kpop.

re: Daou's background/singing

oh damn ok if he's had Chinese opera training that explains how he can hit those insane high notes. like his range is .... very impressive. but yeah just off the few clips i've seen, it does seem like he hasn't been taught to really support very well? although i'm by no means an expert, but he seems to have a lot of tension in his throat when he's in that transitional zone between the mid to high range. then he nails the highest register cuz that may be the opera training kicking in. his singing kind of fascinates me - i wonder if i can find any videos of like a professsional singer analysing his singing style. :O

LOL WAIT DID DAOU RELEASE A SONG ABOUT THE WHOLE PHI/NONG thing??? or is that a cover of a song that already exists? I didn't realise phi/nong excludes romantic implications tho?? i kind of assumed it was kind of like the korean "oppa" which, yes can be used for biological siblings but also works for like a gf/bf (bf/bf) situation. :O its hilarious that he posted a whole ass clip in reaction to that tho. xD Their sense of humour/dynamic is so different from what I'm used to (ok mostly fortpeat) and i love it in its own way. xDDD

The use of the English partner is interesting. Like fortpeat use partner too but I think they mostly use it in thai (hmmm... I need to rewatch some interviews, maybe I'm wrong about this). I wonder if that's like a bl industry staple to avoid having to confirm/deny relationships. Cuz partner works for "professional/acting" and "romantic" relationships.

although idk how much they're trying to "hide" when they have apparently literally eXCHANGED RINGS ALREADY WTF. XD

what... what was offroad expecting?? did he think daou was going to feel the ring through the tissue or something? xD

also daou showing off the ring has the same vibe as fort (peat gave fort a ring a while back and he's quite intentional about wearing it at specific events and standing in such a way that draws attention to his hands when he doesn't really do that at events where he doesn't wear that specific ring ((although its a bit different cuz fp's aren't meant to be couple rings idt... its just a gift that peat gave fort))).

SO i've never heard of lakorns before. :O I looked it up and it says "thai soap opera" so like... basically the thai equivalent of a latin american telenovela? super dramatic and potential for unhinged family story beats?? xD how intriguing. I don't think I've seen a Thai before but I did grow up watching the Indonesian/Malay/Indian versions of these types of shows and I have very fond memories of them. I wonder what that looks like in a bl tho :O

....the one with the fox???? *so confused* I tried googling "century of love fox" and got this (which cracked me up):

*does a bit more digging*

OH. O_O I... I see.

re: the whole discussion about fanservice/"ship"

OK... OKAY yeah i can kind of see why DaouOffroad may be... has quite a bit of evidence. Damn, ok, Daou just saying "its not fanservice" with his whole entire chest is a lot. "It make me upset when people assume that". WOW.

But I actually really like the point he's making about how .... dismissive it can be to assume that it IS fanservice. I've never seen that take before, and it's very thought provoking. I think (although cmiiw please!), he's kind of making the point that implicit in the idea that they're "just doing fanservice" or "its all just for show" is the assumption of heteronormativity which on a fundamental level counteracts something they maybe feel strongly about in terms of representation. Like for them, its important that people not assume that they aren't a genuine couple.

I guess the whole "it's really not our business either way" is a good rule to follow because that kind of stops both extremes.

[Note: I personally don't like it when fans get overly invested with specific couples to the point of pressuring the people to act certain ways or getting mad if they interact with other people... cuz that's the other end of the toxic fandom space that made me leave the kpop fandom years ago. But Daou still makes an excellent point that I've never really considered before and that's so cool and very thought provoking. Hmmm.]

But on the other OTHER hand-- yes, your honour, me thinks they are in love. /sCREAMS

an introduction to daouoffroad: a record (mostly for me)

so, the lovely @luthienmpl was very kind and gave me a daouoffroad starter pack so i'm gonna learn about them!

i adore finding out about something this way because it's like someone shared their love of The Thing with me! how lovely! how lucky to catch a glimpse of how much joy The Thing gives someone else!!

this is literally just random stream of consciousness thoughts as i watch the videos so i'll spare anyone who isn't interested and put it under a cut.

oh my god they met as contestants on a survival boyband show wtf!? what kind of fanfic kdrama au start is this already!?

ok damn but daou's runs tho :O <3

nooooooo offroad is crying and thanking daou for his support how dARE YOU TOY WITH MY HEART LIKE THIS!? ;A;

ohmygosh is that the actress who plays P'Joy in LITA??? <3

fuck, the pressing the face into the tummy of the one standing thing. why is that so cute. ugh D:<

waitwaitWAIT is that a thing? do directors just... write stories/shows for couples who have good chemistry whatttt?? is this like a thai ent industry staple? (oh i guess mame kind of did that with fortpeat/mutrak) that's so funny omg. xDDD

laz1 is so kpop styled :O and i must add Last Kiss to my playlist imMEDIATELY its such a pretty song?? <3333

thiS BRIDGE i AM FEELING IT!?!?! DAOU WHAT IS THAT RIFF!?!??! HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SUCH A SMOOTH TRANSITION UP TO THE HIGH NOTE!? *O* <3

(was daou already an established singer before or something?? boy has pIPES!)

*faintly* d-did he try to... bite... the cat's... paw??

/SCREAMS nO THE HARMONIES yeah ok i'm a fan weLP THA TWAS QUICK

(i'm such a sucker for vocal line groups ugh dammit TwT)

wait, enlistment?? huh i did not know thailand also did that... is it the same as skorea?

oh-- oh my god he sent flowers? through his sister?? *whispers* that's so sweet ;u;

goodness, offroad literally running and jumping into daou's arms while daou is still in military fatigues-- guys this is either zero attempt at being subtle or the best cp marketing i've seen in my life wow

awww did offroad bring his graduation gown to the event just so he could get pics with daou?? that's so cute! ;A;

okAY SIR?? SIR NO the sleeping right pressed up to offroad as he pretends to snore but like daou is just paSSED OUT HALF ON TOP OF HIm NO SIR NO I CANNOT HANDLE THIS NOPE BYE

(the cut right as daou reaches up to shut offroad up had me cracking up tho, they've got a wicked sense of humour i really like them)

ahahahah the members playing along is really cute!! poor daou has to be relegated to the "jealous bf" -- this is SO interesting to watch coming out of old kpop fandom and kpop skinship to this xD like... i am enLIGHTEND *O*

*cries* what is this... poolside actual love confession proposal with rings and pLANNING to commemorate their.. working.. relationship!?!? i'm??? they are so LOUD wtf-- i'm not... used to this... !?! *incoherent noises*

sidebar: i'm struggling to get a handle on their honorifics... are they phi/nong? but sometimes dauo sounds like he's using mueng/guu when he addresses offroad directly?

ljsdfjsLfj THE FACE. IN THE TUMMY. ITS BACK <3

OH FUCK OFFROAD WITH THE ASH HAIR. *O* YEAH YEAH OKOKOK i'M NORMAL ABOUT THIS!!!!

oh oh NO did daou just push offroad to the inside of the road so he's on the outside like that's--t hat's so boyfriend coded wtf

bahahaHAHAH is offroad going on about the bracelet because now daou *has* to buy one for him? xD what a smart cookie. xDDD

wAIT DID IT WORK!? PAHAHA--

other thoughts:

pentor looks SO FAMILIAR and i can't figure out why??? ;A; is he in something else?? i'm so confused but i think i love him already WHAT AN ADORABLE DIMPLED BOI *O*

i know you included the Whats The Matter? MV but I'm sorry I'm going to live in Last Kiss for like the next 5 days especially thAT BRIDGE WTF <3

the acoustic/live version is so PRETTY omg ;A; that 3 part harmony in the first chorus *chefs kiss*

sOMEONE is doing like a really high harmony in the pre-chorus and its so thin and wispy and pRETTY ahhh <3

although also ngl i think daou needs maybe some more vocal training he sounds quite strained sometimes... and he's got a lot of tension in his throat but good GOD his range!! he's SO talented wtf; ALSO their youngest member has SUCH a nice tone UGH <33333

their 2 shows:

ok love in translation actually sounds like exactly my cup of tea hahahah it looks so cute <3 and potentially heartbreaking but like not TOO heartbreaking

century of love... yeah ok i'm gonna put that on my list of things to get to when i'm in the right headspace for that kind of angst but what an interesting concept!! its like comphet, the series. xD

wait both their shows are comphet the series? xDDDD they just swapped who was suffering from it.

hoboy they are SO LOUD already from the beginning wtf

(sidenote but I would KILL for fortpeat to go on something like this cAN YOU IMAGINE the sHINANIGANS!! peat being so happy at all the food. fort's teasing. ugh. where can i start a petition ya'll)

the heIGHT DIFFERENCE am i'm feeling some type of way about it, yes yes i am

bAHAHAH the mandatory piggyback ride that they actually just SAY is boyfriend material i'm-- i'm not use do this lack of wink wink nudge nudge skinship approach in my boyband duos like?? *confused noises pt 2*

oh oh my gosh they have auntie fans too??? how adorableeeee!!!?! damn offroad sounds so soft in southern dialect idk whats going on my ears are blessed *u* <3

I don't know why but daou's "Try traditional snack!" made me crack up xDDDD

i have just realised what a mistake it was to start this on an empty stomach T___T that all looks SO GOOD wtf

lol that poor lady with the corgi's just wanted to go on her way and she got way-landed by these insane boys xDD

wft the nUZZING INTO THE NECK THING. IT S STILL. SO MUCH. IHAVE FEELIGNS ABOUT THIS MOMENT Tu T <3

guYS-- GUYS you said you both paid half... so you don't... you don't still need to do the cheek kisse-- oh nevermind you did them already ok then

i mean ok but for real tho the amount of times offroad just cracks up at somethign random daou does is genuinely really sweet?? like they seem to really have this wavelength that is just their own *u*